7x09

The only thing Piper had wanted today was for Finn to notice that she was wearing her hair down and maybe compliment her again. What she had not wanted was a vote that would ultimately decide on the best choreography for the Dancemania audition at the expense of their dance captain's feelings.

Did Piper think that the team had made the best decision for the audition? Ultimately, yes. Richelle's choreography was the obvious choice.

But was it worth the betrayed expression on Summer's face as she left Studio A in tears? No, that was definitely not worth it.

A-Troupe dispersed soon after Summer ran out on them. Piper had given a half-hearted congratulations to Richelle, taken one glance to where Amy was talking with Kenzie then another to where Finn was sitting at the cubbies with the boys and Lily, then promptly booked it out of Studio A. All anyone had wanted to talk about today was the fact that Finn and Amy as well as Kingston and Lily were dating, and Piper had never felt more alone.

Figures as soon as she accepted her feelings for Finn, he starts dating someone else, and so does apparently everyone else on A-Troupe.

Between all the talk of relationships and overthrowing Summer's choreography, it had been a crappy day. The only thing Piper wanted now was a scone from The Next Steep and a chai latte to drown her sorrows in. (She still didn't know why Finn and Amy had formed a bond over chai lattes of all things, but whatever. She didn't have any mental capacity left to worry about that today.)

While she waited for her order, she leaned against the counter, scrolling through the group text she was in with her siblings and cousins. All of her cousins were yelling at Leo about something, but that was nothing new. She hadn't scrolled far enough back to figure out what he had done this time, and she wasn't sure she even wanted to know. She would just ask James about it later.

"Pipes, there you are!"

She looked up as Finn strode across The Next Steep to join her at the counter. "Hey, can I get a green tea? And can you steep it at 175?" he said to Steve the barista as he sidled up next to Piper. The guy nodded, and Finn looked down at her. "They never steep it at the right temperature, you know."

"Mhmm," Piper hummed, raising her eyebrows as she kept scrolling through the cousin group chat. She'd heard Finn's rant about The Next Steep and their teas more than she could count at this point, and she still couldn't quite bring herself to care that much. Regardless of his strong opinions about the tea shop, Finn continued to give them all his money anyway. If he and Amy were serious about boycotting The Next Steep, they were both doing a terrible job so far.

"What's up? Why'd you run off after rehearsal?" Finn asked, nudging her foot with his to get her attention.

Steve handed Piper the scone she had ordered at that moment, and she held it up as if that in and of itself was supposed to answer his question. She proceeded to take a bite of it and was immediately filled with disappointment. It was dry. Of course.

Today really couldn't get any worse.

"Hey, my two favorite people!"

As Amy joined them, a bright smile on her face, Piper had to turn away to stifle a cough as she choked on her scone. Steve slid her latte across the counter to her, seeming more than ready for his shift to end as he gave her a look of disgust. Despite the rude look, she was grateful for the drink to down her disappointment of a scone. That was supposed to be her comfort food this afternoon, and yet, the universe continued to let her down.

"You good, Pipes?" Finn asked. His eyes were shining in amusement, and it was in that moment that Piper wished she could just go home, crawl into bed, and try again tomorrow.

"Yep, fine," Piper grumbled, setting her latte down as her phone lit up with a new group chat notification. This one was from James and in all caps. She didn't bother reading it.

"Hey, I was looking up times for tonight, and there's a showing at 7," Amy said to Finn, grabbing his arm excitedly.

Finn's face lit up, matching her level of excitement. "Sweet, let's do it!"

"Cool. I'll get the tickets ahead of time, so we don't have to wait in line."

"Thinking ahead- I like it!"

Chewing on the inside of her lip, Piper pointedly stared at her scone until her friends were done making plans for what was no doubt their second date. "What movie are you going to see?" she asked, trying to appear interested though she wasn't sure she really wanted to know. Maybe ignorance was bliss in this case.

"The Nightmare's Finale. It's the sequel to The Nightmare. It's supposed to be super creepy," Amy told her excitedly.

"Sounds like perfect date material," Piper commented dryly even though she actually thought otherwise. She hated horror movies, but Finn and Amy loved them. Just another thing for the two of them to bond over without her. She glanced at Finn reluctantly to find him looking at Amy like she was the best thing he'd ever laid on eyes on.

Somehow, that look hurt even more than the thought of him going to the movies with Amy instead of her. She didn't think he'd ever looked at her like that, and he probably never would.

"Are you okay, Piper?"

Amy's question brought Piper back to reality. She blinked and stood up a little straighter as Finn tore his gaze from Amy to look at her curiously. "Yeah, fine. Why?" was Piper's automatic response. There was no way she could tell either of them what she had just been thinking.

"You seem down. That's all," Amy said, her smile falling into a concerned frown.

Sighing, Piper thought of the rehearsal they had all just come from. Yes, Amy and Finn dating had been bumming her out all day, but it was hurting Summer that had driven her to The Next Steep in search of comfort food in the first place. Heeding that in mind, Piper asked, "Am I the only one that feels like we all just stabbed Summer in the back?"

Amy and Finn glanced at each other then Amy shrugged hesitantly. "We did what was best for the team, didn't we? We're taking the best choreography to the Dancemania audition."

"Yeah, but Summer's our friend," Piper said. Amy of all people should have understood where she was coming from, considering that she was better friends with Summer than Piper was. What good was it to have the best choreo when someone had gotten hurt in the process? "Didn't you guys see her face when she ran out of the studio?"

Finn let out a deep breath, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. "But it was a fair vote. Summer agreed to it."

Piper had expected Finn to back her up on this considering he had such a high moral compass most of the time, so the fact that he was apparently on Amy's side hit Piper as if someone had just slapped her in the face.

"You know I care about Summer, but I want to have the best routine for our audition too," Amy said seriously. "If we don't get onto the show, my mom would probably disown me at this point."

A grim expression broke across Finn's face at that, and he seemed to hesitate only a moment before laying a hand on Amy's shoulder. She glanced at his hand then looked to him with a small smile, and Piper pursed her lips, glancing between the two of them sadly before looking away. She had thought that as long as they weren't acting sappy together and exhibiting PDA of any sorts around her then she could stomach being around her best friends while they dated, but maybe she was wrong. Finn simply resting a hand on Amy's shoulder was enough to send a pang to her chest.

How was she supposed to be happy for them when the only thing she wanted was to be with Finn? Why couldn't she have accepted her feelings for him sooner?

Changing the subject, Amy said to Finn, "I'm going to run home and change before the movie. I'll see you later."

"Yeah, see ya."

Amy bid Piper farewell before leaving the two of them alone again. Piper sucked in the side of her cheek, tapping her fingers against the counter and glancing up as Steve slid Finn's tea across the counter to him. At least Amy hadn't kissed him goodbye when she left.

Had they even kissed yet? That was inevitable, wasn't it?

Piper quickly pushed that thought aside. It didn't matter, and she definitely didn't want to know one way or another.

"It's cool with you, right? If we go to the movies tonight?" Finn asked once Amy was gone. "I mean, I know that's kind of our thing, but I figured you wouldn't care since you don't like horror, so..." He was rocking on the heels of his feet, his eyebrows raised slightly.

Piper quickly nodded, feeling the slightest twinge of satisfaction that he also thought of movies as their thing. Most of their time spent outside of the studio together was either at the movie theater or in his basement watching movies after all. "Yeah, of course. You don't have to ask me if it's okay."

He nodded, looking down for a moment then glancing up at her again. They stared at each other for a moment as if both were at a loss for what to say then quickly averted their gazes. Piper continued tapping her fingers on the counter.

Still bothered by their conversation with Amy, however, she finally asked, "Are you really not bothered by what happened with Summer?"

He let out another deep breath, still rocking on his heels. "I don't know," he finally admitted. "Richelle's choreo was better."

"I'm not saying it wasn't. I just..." Piper held up a hand as if doing so would somehow help her figure out what she was trying to say. "I feel like we really hurt her. She's been trying so hard as dance captain, and we basically just told her she's not good enough for it."

"No one said that," Finn stated, his brows knitting together as if trying to recall when one of their teammates had said such a thing.

"It's implied, like... symbolism or something, I don't know." She huffed in frustration, wishing there was someone else in the world who understood what she was trying to say.

"I don't like hurting Summer any more than you do," he told her seriously, and Piper sighed, knowing that was true. Finn wouldn't willingly hurt a fly, least of all one of their friends. "But Amy's right. We did what was best for the team, and we can't worry about it now. What's done is done."

Piper nodded slowly, wringing her hands in front of her. He was right. She knew he was. She still didn't feel less guilty.

"Hey, do you think I should go home and change too?"

She quirked an eyebrow at his abrupt change of topic and glanced down at what he was wearing. "I don't think it should matter what you wear, but those are your dance clothes," she told him honestly. He simply blinked at her, and she sighed. "It'll seem more like a real date if you change, yeah."

"Cool, I should go do that then," he said, evidently happy with her answer. He pointed at her, giving her a grateful look as he added, "Thanks, Pipes. You're a lifesaver."

She simply gave a weak smile in response.

After grabbing his tea, Finn waved at her and strode out of The Next Steep, leaving Piper alone once more. She watched him go, wishing that she was the one going to the movie with him tonight instead of Amy. But there was nothing she could do to change it now.

With a sigh, she picked up her latte and scone and plopped down at an empty table. There was nothing to do now but scroll through Instagram as a distraction and wait for her mother to pick her up.

-----

"Since when are you auditioning for a TV show?"

"I told you last week. Nick got us an audition for Dancemania," Piper told her mother exasperatedly as they ate dinner that evening with her father.

Her mother lowered her fork, frowning as she asked, "What about Nationals?"

"We're doing both," Piper answered before taking a bite of her spaghetti and glancing around the empty table. All of her siblings had moved out of the house by now, leaving her at home alone with her parents. She missed them the most at dinner time when her overbearing mother's attention got fixated solely on her.

"How are you going to do both?" her father asked curiously. "Won't that be a bit much?"

"That's what I'm thinking," her mother agreed, "How are you going to prepare for both and stay on top of your schoolwork?"

"I'm not going to fall behind," Piper told them adamantly. Finn's and Amy's parents were so excited about the Dancemania audition. Why were hers so apprehensive about it?

"And with all that pressure, it could kickstart your anxiety again," her mother continued as if she hadn't heard her. She heaved a sigh and looked at her seriously, shaking her head. "I still think we need to find you a therapist for that."

"Mom, I'm fine. This season has been a lot better," Piper snapped irritably. Her father quirked an eyebrow in warning from across the table, and she took a deep breath, her hand clenching into a fist around her fork. In a softer tone, she added, "You're turning this into a big deal, which it's not. I mean, aside from the whole 'being on TV' thing."

"And what happens when a bunch of crazy people start following you around because they saw you on TV, eh?" her mother asked, shaking her head again as she stabbed away at her salad. "Perhaps I'd better go down to the studio and talk to Emily about this decision. Has she really thought it through?"

"No, do not do that, please," Piper pleaded. The last thing she needed was her mother storming into the studio to talk with Nick and Emily as if she was a little kid. None of her teammates' parents had objected to the Dancemania audition. Just her mother. As usual.

"Deborah," her father cut in, and Piper gave him a grateful look. "She'll never have an opportunity like this again. How bad could it be?" Piper gestured in his direction to emphasize his point as her mother sighed and clenched her jaw. "Besides, it's just an audition. They might not even make it."

Thanks for that vote of confidence, Dad, Piper thought to herself. Still, at least he was on her side.

"Yeah, and it's not like we haven't danced on TV before," Piper added rather reasonably. "Regionals is broadcast live."

"On SNR Network! You have to pay extra to get access to that channel. Anyone with cable can watch Dancemania," her mother objected.

Piper grit her teeth and refrained from rolling her eyes, lest her mother go off on a new tangent about that. No one had cable anymore. What was this- the 90s?

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves now," her father responded calmly, "Let's take it all one day at a time. When is the audition, Piper?"

"It's still two weeks away."

"So let's revisit this conversation in two weeks and have a nice dinner tonight, yes?"

Piper nodded, thinking that was a wonderful idea. Her mother reluctantly agreed and moved on to pondering when Julia's internship was going to turn into a real job. Piper resumed twirling her fork around in her spaghetti, trying not to think about what Finn and Amy were doing at that moment. One glance at the clock told her their movie was just getting started.

After dinner, Piper retreated to her room to make progress on a study guide for her upcoming Physics exam. She put on music to listen to while she worked but only made it through a handful of questions within a couple of hours. Studying proved to be a good distraction from thinking about Finn and Amy, but that was mostly because she had to focus harder since she had absolutely no clue what she was doing.

Taking online classes for high school was fine when she was working on History or English, but trying to essentially teach herself Physics was near impossible. She was already falling behind in her Physics class because the subject material was so hard. How in the world was she going to keep up with it when she was having double rehearsals for Nationals and Dancemania? Just the thought of it made her throat constrict and a nervous feeling settle in the pit of her stomach.

And as much as she hated to admit it, maybe her mother was on to something about dancing on television. Piper had managed to reassure herself down about it because she had equated dancing on Dancemania to dancing on SNR. But SNR was a small network that generally only the dance community watched. Dancemania was televised internationally to millions of people.

Millions of people who would be watching and judging her every move.

And as if that wasn't bad enough, Dancemania was infamous for switching up the structure of the show every few years. If A-Troupe made it onto the show, there was no way to know exactly what to expect. They would be grasping at straws to prepare dances they may or may not need. And they would have considerably less time to prepare for the show than they would have for Nationals.

Was Dancemania really worth all of this extra stress? She wasn't so sure.

Piper's heart had started racing, and nervous chills shot up her arms. Shoving aside her textbook, she picked up her phone and opened her text messages. It was getting late, and she was fairly certain that the movie Finn and Amy had gone to see would be over by now. She could feel herself starting to spiral as more worries crept into her mind. (What if I fail all my classes because of the extra rehearsals? What if I get kicked off the team? What if the team loses because I got kicked off the team, and then it's all my fault? What if I don't get kicked off the team, but I make a major mistake on the show, and the team loses, and I become the next meme? What if? What if? What if?)

She needed Finn to talk her off the ledge, so she sent him a short text saying simply:

Over the break between Regionals and the new season, the two of them had FaceTimed fairly often. It had started when Piper was out of town for Christmas, and then they continued doing it more often when they didn't feel like texting, even if they were both at home in Toronto. At one point, Finn had FaceTimed her when he was feeling frustrated with his brothers and ranted to her for a full half hour, and it had dawned on Piper that she was helping him instead of the other way around.

Tonight, it was her turn to rant, and she needed him to calm her down in the way that no one else could.

Over the next twenty minutes, she scrolled distractedly through social media, fingers tapping anxiously against her phone case while she waited for Finn to respond. When it became clear that he must have still been busy with Amy, however, she heaved a sigh and rolled onto her stomach.

Fine. If Finn was busy, she would talk to someone who wasn't.

The other line rang a couple of times before her brother's face finally appeared on her screen. "Yo, what's up Pipesqueak?" James was sitting in the living room of his and Riley's apartment, but he didn't appear to have any lights on except for one light in the kitchen behind him. The image was so dark, Piper could only just make out the features of his face.

"Do you not have better lighting?" she retorted.

He scoffed and shook his head at her. "You know, I could turn on a lamp, but I won't now." She rolled her eyes at him, and he grinned cheekily. "What's up?"

"I need you to come talk to Mom. She's going into crazy mode again."

"What's she saying this time?"