Water It The Next Step

Previously on The Next Step...

All 20 quests done!

I'm your knight in shining armour, and we're back together!

Whoo!

'Out of the corner of my eye, I see West putting money in books.

'I mean, it's a little weird, but...'

it's a side of him I've never seen before.

Michelle! Are you coming home to The Next Step?

-Well, I guess so!

-CHEERING

So...we're back together.

Yeah.

-Thank you.

-Thanks, man.

'This is the first time really talking and hanging out

'since when we got back together, so...'

We're still kind of out of sync, I guess.

I feel like we're looking for things to talk about.

Nothing's just coming up naturally.

It's kind of awkward right now.

-Hey, guys. How's it going?

-Hey.

I got you guys these two movie tickets

in honour of you guys getting back together.

'West hands us these movie tickets'

that, um...are, like, a couple of weeks expired.

-Thank you.

-Yeah, no problem, man! I got them a couple weeks ago,

cos I didn't think it'd take you guys that long

to figure out your issues.

'It's still nice.'

You know, I guess it's just the thought that counts.

-Hi, lovebirds.

-Hi, guys.

OK, so since you guys are back together,

we want to give you your duet back.

Thank goodness James and Riley are back together.

This was always their duet.

No, you guys already have it.

-Just keep it.

-Yeah, you won it fair and square.

OK, seriously, you have to take it back.

We have to do what's best for the team, and that's you guys.

And I mean, you guys have way more chemistry

-than we ever will, so...

-Yeah!

-HE LAUGHS

All right, if you insist, I guess.

-Thank you.

-You're welcome.

Good luck! And don't mess it up, OK?

-We'll try!

-LAUGHTER

When Giselle and Thalia... tell us that

me and James had a better connection than they do...

'I'm not really so sure if that's true right now.

'I just hope James and I find a way to get our connection back.'

# We...we are gonna show the world

# Everything we're made of

# We're gonna tear the roof

# Off this pla-a-ace!

# Stand up! #

Go one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. And two, three...

-MICHELLE:

-'We're rehearsing the semifinals routine.

'I don't know it that well,'

-so I'm just kinda catching up.

-And one, two... Nice.

-Legs are down.

-Sorry.

-..four, five, six, seven, eight, and...

'It feels so good to be back on the team.

'I honestly missed them so much, and...'

I just can't wait to go to Nationals.

Three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Good, pause.

-Awesome. That's good, you've got the hang of it.

-OK.

-Great.

Um, you guys keep going.

Michelle, can we talk in my office super quickly?

-Oh, yeah, sure!

-Great, thanks. Keep going, guys!

'I'm a little nervous when Kate calls me into her office.'

Um, it probably has something to do with me leaving,

but I hope we can put that behind us.

-What's up?

-First of all, I want to say

how great it is to have you back. We're so happy.

-Thanks.

-I just wanted to make sure you still feel comfortable

having the female solo for Nationals.

I actually don't know about doing the solo.

I mean, I'm sure someone else deserves it more than I do.

I've been gone for a while.

Even though Michelle spent some time away from The Next Step,

she still deserves the solo.

Look, Michelle...

You're one of the best dancers here at The Next Step.

We all want you to have this solo. You deserve it more than anyone.

We're counting on you.

LAUGHTER OUTSIDE

I'll do the solo, but I'll need some time to work it out in the studio.

Not a problem. You can have the studio this afternoon to rehearse.

Awesome. OK.

'I'm kinda nervous about coming up with a solo for Nationals,

'just because it's around the corner.'

So I hope I can pull it off.

OK, so there's this big...tarantula,

and it just rested really gently on a branch.

No, no, no, on a beehive, and a swarm of bees flew out.

Big bees, OK? And I was trying to get away

and they flew right into my nose.

And it just flew out my ear, out my ear, and it just...

Ah! What? No!

I kinda elbowed it, and I had to grab it from the top of...

-Hey!

-Sorry to break your concentration,

but what are you doing?

Uh, well, you know, I'm pretty much imitating people's voices.

It's like I'm dubbing their dialogue.

-It's pretty fun.

-For Thalia and Giselle?

'When West tells me that he's dubbing people's conversations...'

I mean, it doesn't really get weirder than that, does it?

Why don't you just ask them what they're saying?

Cos I don't really care about what they're saying,

I'm more interested in, you know, imagining what they're saying.

-Oh.

-Yeah! Well, why don't you sit down and try?

I mean, I'm a little intrigued. I've never seen anyone do that before.

-OK.

-Come on.

All right. Take it away.

For who?

OK. You'll be Thalia, and I'll be Giselle, OK? And go.

When I was... doing the robot, I was crazy.

They were moving as if they were like robots.

-Actually, they were dinosaurs.

-Yes!

-Big, ferocious dinosaurs!

'At first, I was a little nervous dubbing voices.'

I just knew it was for fun

and I stopped trying so hard and just kinda let myself laugh.

-OK. Let's go from that part, then.

-Yeah.

-Isn't it the other side?

-No, you're on this side of me.

-Oh, OK. Ready?

OK, but you have to make sure

-you lift me up.

-OK. Try it again, try it again.

'Right now, me and James are trying to put together...'

a duet for Nationals.

-Too far forward, too far forward!

-OK.

'It's not going well, and...'

SHE SIGHS: ..I guess we're just not as in sync as we used to be.

-OK, how am I taking you?

-How is this?

-Is it like that?

-Like this?

-You come...

-No.

Can you come over? OK. Uh, nope.

-Yeah, that's not working.

-Don't you go over the front?

-You have to go over the front.

-No, I don't...

-Try it again.

-Can we just try something else, maybe?

-What?

-I don't know.

'For some reason, we can't get it.'

It's like, for some reason, she's not trusting me or something,

I don't know, but we just can't execute any of these lifts.

-No, no.

-OK...

-That's awkward.

-That's really awkward. Try that again.

-Maybe if we take a break.

-A break?

-Yeah, like take five, recollect ourselves,

-and then try again later.

-All right, let's do it.

Oh, you meant, like, by yourself.

'I can tell that we're both just not...'

working well together right now and I just need some time

to think things through and then, we can try again later.

It's not working and I'm worried about it never working again.

HORNS HONK

'Right now, I'm just trying to work through my solo.

'I'm kinda nervous about pulling this off,

'because it's so sudden, jumping back into dance,'

but I hope I can do it.

-Oh, hey!

-Hey. Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you.

Oh, no, you didn't, I was just, er, working out choreo in here.

-You can stay, if you want, though. I don't really mind.

-All right.

'I get kinda nervous when Eldon walks into the studio.'

I haven't really talked to him in a while, so I hope this goes well.

How's it going? How's the solo?

It's OK.

-Yeah?

-Yeah, I'm still a little bit nervous about it. I just...

-I'm kinda lacking confidence.

-Yeah? Well, let me see some of it.

OK, hold on.

First of all, for the beginning, I feel like you should face the back.

-OK.

-Face the back, and do, like, a different pose with your arms

-or something, to make it a little more interesting.

-OK.

'As I'm watching Michelle practise her solo,'

she just doesn't seem to have the confidence that she used to have.

It's been a while since I danced in front of someone,

so I just kinda feel uncomfortable.

Yeah! Yeah, that's so much better.

'It's perfect that Eldon's helping me with my choreography.'

It's exactly what I needed.

OK, now, this time, try to look up a little more.

-OK.

-Come on. You got it, you got it.

'Eldon and I have been through a lot, but now that he's helping me

'with my choreography, it does make me feel like he's put'

our rough times in the past.

-You don't know what you're talking about.

-Come on, it's classical!

-Well, I hate classic music.

-No, I mean, look, it's Bach!

-You gotta love it.

-It's not Bach. It's not Bach!

-Yes, it is!

-You don't even know what you're talking about.

-Come on!

-Goodbye!

THEY LAUGH

'Hanging out with West is so fun.'

He gets into everything he does, he gives everything 110%.

So, um, who do you want to do next? I think this one could be good.

Um, you know, I want to do your thing.

-What?

-Your thing. What's your thing?

I don't... I don't really have a thing.

When West asked what my thing is, I'm kinda confused. I mean...

it's not really a question you hear every day.

And, to be honest, I don't even know if I have a thing.

I think everyone has a thing, Emily.

-No, I...

-Hey, Emily. Sorry to interrupt.

-Can I talk to you for a minute?

-Yeah, yeah, of course.

-Er...I'll get back to you on it.

-Yeah, think about it!

'Emily's my sister, and...'

she's always been there for me whenever something's wrong,

so I just wanted her opinion on this whole situation.

-What's up?

-I've just been feeling

-like I can't reconnect with James any more.

-Er, what do you mean?

Ever since we got back together, it's like we lost the chemistry.

Riley and James's problem is that they overthink things.

If they just took a breath and relaxed,

their problems would work themselves out.

Well, maybe you're expecting too much right off the bat, I mean...

just especially with dancing, it's so intimate and so connected.

I mean, maybe you both are just a little scared?

I guess so. It's just...

I don't know, I just wanted things back to the way they were.

Well, why don't you do something nice for James?

He did a whole list of things for you, you know he cares.

-Maybe he doesn't know if you care.

-'I think it's a great idea...'

to do something for James.

He's done so much for me, and...I just need to show him

that I care about him just as much as he cares about me.

# Oh, the same day Same routine... #

'Right now, I'm just watching Eldon work through his solo.'

He's doing great.

All right.

We know that you can trick and do all that crazy stuff,

but what's your storyline?

'When you have a concept for your dance,'

it kind of takes your dance to the next level,

because it's a lot easier to work through

and a lot easier to express yourself.

Er...I don't really have one.

You don't have a concept or idea?

-You're just dancing?

-Yeah.

I don't know, I just found the song

and I liked it, so I just started and...yeah.

'I'm surprised Eldon doesn't have a concept for his dance.'

The song is called Oxygen, so there's a lot to work with there.

Since you're dealing with the concept of "oxygen"...

um, I feel like the oxygen could start in your right hand,

and, at first, it's taking control of your whole body,

and then, by the end, your oxygen is all throughout your body.

'Michelle has some really good advice.'

I never really thought of doing that before, but, when she says it,

it all kind of makes sense, especially with the song.

You can, like, take one last breath at the end of the dance.

Like just stand at the end of the stage, and just look, and just go...

SHE INHALES AND EXHALES DEEPLY

-..to really show your concept. What do you think?

-Whoa!

-I just got goose bumps.

-Yeah?

-That's really cool.

-Oh! OK.

'Eldon and I get along really well.'

We just...connect, and we know how to help each other.

-Thank you.

-No problem.

-Yeah, it's been really good rehearsals lately.

-Yeah.

But, um, why are we... why are we in a mall?

Well, you said you wanted to see my thing.

And I'm about to show you.

Come on!

'My thing is that I return things.'

I return coats, scarves, shoes, make-up, jewellery.

If you buy it for me, I'm going to return it.

-Hi.

-Hey, how's it going?

I'm actually just here to return this scarf.

My aunt got it for me, and, as you can see, just not my colour.

OK, yeah, I just need your receipt.

Ooh, sorry about that, but I don't have one.

-Ooh, sorry about that, then, I can't take it.

-Why not?

Store policy. You need a receipt.

Actually, it's not.

Your store policy is to give store credit

when someone returns an item without a receipt.

'There is an art to returning things.'

And, sometimes, you gotta be a little tough to make it happen.

-Stuff like this just affects me...

-Look, she's crying and everything!

Come on, her aunt got this scarf for her and...

When West steps up to help me, I'm pretty excited.

I mean, I've never done this with a partner, so we'll see how it goes.

You know, um, she's new to this whole creativity thing.

You know, you gotta walk before you can run.

-She'll flip and you've a nice scarf!

-I'm affected by the scarf I wear...

-Scarf person to a scarf person...

-..and I can't focus...

-OK, OK!

-I'll do store credit.

-Oh, perfect!

-OK!

-It's under Emily.

'I wasn't really too sure...'

about Emily's "thing", but I mean, it turned out to be pretty fun.

Can we hurry this up, please? Thanks.

'West is surprisingly good at returning things.'

For a first timer.

I have to say, we make a pretty good team.

West?

'I come to Parker Alley, cos West told me to come here.'

Um, it's kind of late, though, and I don't see him anywhere.

Yo, West?

Hey.

What is this?

So I kind of put together a date for us,

complete with shawarma.

-I haven't had shawarma in so long!

-SHE LAUGHS

It's just, after everything you've done for me,

I kind of wanted to do a little something for you.

'I haven't had shawarma in so long because it would remind me'

of that first time I went on the bus with her

and made her get shawarma with me.

I don't know, it was just a memorable moment.

'And now, she's showing me that it meant something to her as well.'

And I love her for that.

DANCE MUSIC PLAYS

'Michelle's rehearsal is going great.'

From the beginning of the day until now, she's improved a lot.

She definitely has a lot of her confidence back.

Nice!

-Is that better?

-Yeah, a lot better.

Cos, with that solo, we're getting into the semifinals.

'It's really encouraging knowing that Eldon thinks that my routine'

is going to get us to the semifinals. I hope so.

I wouldn't have been able to do it without you, right?

Please.

I guess you and I are OK now?

-As friends, I mean.

-Yeah.

Cool.

-Thanks.

-No problem. You know what?

-Let's go to Culture Shock. Drinks on me.

-Cool.

'I had a great day with Eldon.

'You know, we got along so well, we helped each other out,'

and it was just great knowing where I stand with him now.

So...

This is nice.

Have you felt a little out of sync lately?

Yeah, I have to admit, kind of.

But I don't think that means we should stop trying.

I think the problem is that we're trying to be who we were,

when we need to be who we are now.

I think that makes total sense. Kind of like a fresh start.

'By start fresh, I mean...'

try our best to forget about the past,

and totally reconnect as if this was day one all over again.

So what was the hardest thing for you to do on the list?

Hardest thing?

Probably actually reading the diary.

HE GIGGLES, SHE CLEARS HER THROAT

-"That cute boy from the studio came in today..."

-No, you know...

-You know that was Eldon.

-Yeah. Definitely. Sorry.

Sorry that I assumed it was me.

'As we start talking about the quest,

'we're starting to get back in sync, and...'

..it feels like it used to.

What was your favourite thing from the list?

-Riley Roll-up.

-Riley Roll-up?

-Mm-hm.

Hmm.

-What are you doing?

-I just wanted to see...

I thought I saw something on the table right here.

COINS RATTLE

-You dropped... you dropped some change.

-Yeah!

SHE LAUGHS

It's all good.

'Him doing the Riley Roll-up just kind of

'reminds me of everything that he's done for me and...'

it's just kind of reminding me that I...I trust him again.

Here, a toast. To the new us.

GLASSES CLINK To the new us.

'And honestly, I was a little worried at first

'about our relationship, but now...'

I couldn't be more sure.

Riley, honestly, I think this is exactly what we needed.

-Me too.

-I had such a great night.

The date is pretty perfect. It's...it's exactly what we needed

to kind of get back into the groove of things and...

I'm feeling pretty good about us.

Well, it's getting kind of late, we should probably go.

Just one more thing.

-Oh, you want to dance.

-Yeah!

# We can be cool

# We can rely on each other too

# We don't reveal all the truths

# We still have fun with each other I know... #

RILEY: 'Dancing with James is...'

It's amazing.

'I've always loved being with him and being so close to him.'

-It's just really nice.

-# ..and onto the stage and know

# We were in love

# Love never dies to the point where...

# It can't be grown again

# We have to water it... #

-Now we're official.

-# We were in love

# Our love never dies to the point where... #

# We...we're gonna show the world

# Everything we're made of

# We're gonna tear the roof off this place!

# You...you can never fade us out

# Don't even ask the DJ

# Everybody knows we own this land.... #