On the Rocks The Next Step

-Previously...

-I haven't been able to stop thinking about Noah.

But I can't be crushing.

We're going to England, baby!

I just wish he didn't have to go.

You're going to be fine.

My back has been sore all week.

It's not getting any better.

I've decided to go with the original trio.

Riley just made a huge mistake.

She doesn't see that now, but she will.

She will.

We didn't qualify.

The Next Step lost a qualifier? But we never lose!

I don't know how The Next Step is ever going to come back from this.

'I'm going to the rehearsal room right now because I need to

'figure some things out.

'The team was depending on me to

'lead The Next Step back to regionals.'

And I let them down.

# Give me dizzy eyes

# Wander like a child on the playground

# Make my dreams go wild

# For a little while

# You're my wonderland... #

'I can't believe we lost the qualifier.

'I mean, I know we'll have other chances to get to regionals,'

but this is a huge setback.

Miss Kate never lost a competition.

# When the sun goes down... #

'Dancing usually helps me focus.

'But I'm not a dancer any more.'

I'm the head of the studio.

And my problems won't just disappear.

No matter how hard I dance.

# Should've known should've

# Should've known should've... #

'That qualifier was my first big test as studio head.'

And I failed.

'I have no idea where we go from here.'

# We.... We are gonna show the world

# Everything we're made of

# We're gonna tear the roof off this place

# Stand up. #

Hey.

Hey.

Do you want to talk about things?

I just... I feel awful.

The Next Step, internationals champions,

couldn't even make it into regionals.

And I'm the head of the studio, so it's all my fault, right?

'I hate to say it, but Riley is right.'

The truth can be hard to hear, but she needs to face the facts.

Well, it is your responsibility.

I mean, you weren't out there dancing, but...

You are the head of the studio.

'I do appreciate Michelle being honest with me.'

And she's right.

But I just wish I knew what to do about it.

I just feel so overwhelmed.

I know it's a lot of pressure.

I know what it's like.

I stepped down from being dance captain and I became an alternate.

Are you suggesting that I step down?

I'm just saying...

If you would ever need to step down from being the head of the studio,

no-one would judge you.

It's just good to know your limits.

Thanks.

See you later.

'I can't believe that Michelle thinks I should step down.'

'I never even considered it before, but'

maybe she's right.

What if the other dancers feel the same way?

Where is everyone?

I don't know. I've been here for almost 20 minutes,

and Riley still hasn't shown up with this week's schedule.

But aren't we supposed to have a rehearsal right now?

That's what I thought!

'I think it's Riley's fault we lost the qualifier.'

I saw something was wrong with Noah, but she didn't listen.

-We can't be the only two bothered by this.

-No, definitely not.

We need to make a plan, so I guess I'm going to start by finding

out what everyone else thinks.

'The Next Step deserves better than this.'

If people agree that Riley's the problem, maybe we can do

something about it.

'I've been icing my back with frozen peas,

'and it actually started to feel a little better.'

It's like the cold soothes the pain

and the peas give you a little massage.

What are you doing?

I was, uh, I was just killing a spider.

A big daddy long legs.

'Noah's been hiding out ever since the qualifier.

'It's weird, even for him.'

Have a seat.

I want to know what's going on.

OK.

'I was hoping that my back would be better by now, but it still hurts.'

Oh, mama.

Why'd you sit like that?

Just giving the quads a little workout.

The qualifier was tough, huh?

It shouldn't have been tough.

We should have won.

Noah, you messed up the lift.

You can do that lift in your sleep.

What's going on?

Listen, I'm good.

I promise.

'I don't want to lie to Amanda, but I have to.'

If anyone finds out that I'm injured,

I'll lose my spot in A troupe.

-Well, if you need anything, I'm here.

-Me too.

Still working the quads.

'Before the qualifier, I wanted to tell Noah that I liked him.'

But maybe we aren't as close as I thought we were.

Maybe I was wrong about us.

'I need to convince everyone that with Riley as our leader,'

we'll never make it to regionals.

-Hey. How's it going?

-Hey. Good. You?

-Pretty good.

I'm just... I'm a little upset about the qualifier.

Yeah, I can't believe the troupe didn't make it.

Miss Kate would never let anything like this happen.

Yeah, it's not what I thought A troupe would be like at all.

Have you noticed that Riley is always in her office?

She never even comes out to see us.

'I'm telling Sloane what she wants to hear.'

I want to make sure she draws the right conclusion.

I kind of feel bad talking about Riley like this right now.

It's OK.

I bet other people feel the same way as you.

-Well, I've got to go, but you'll let me know?

-Yeah, for sure.

-OK, cool.

-It was good talking to you.

-Bye.

I think it's time we asked Riley to step down as studio head.

We need a leader to get us to regionals and it's obviously

not her.

# This is not a love song no. #

'My back is still bugging me.'

And I think I may have cost the team our chance at regionals.

But all I can think about is how I lied to Amanda.

Ooh. Human hopscotch.

So what you doing?

Oh, just counting tiles.

Sometimes I like to pretend that I'm a little space capsule and

the holes in the ceiling are little craters.

And I'm trying to land on the moon.

'I only lie in my space capsule when I want to escape my problems.'

But sooner or later, we all got to come back down to Earth and deal.

You still thinking about the competition?

No.

I just lied to a girl.

Why?

I guess it's just because I don't want her knowing the secret I have.

Is it possible that you like this girl?

Wait a minute...

Do I like Amanda?

Yeah. Whoa!

I like Amanda.

Well, if you like her, then you should trust her.

You're right. And I do.

And I shall.

Thanks for the talk, Henry.

'Now I have two big secrets to tell Amanda.'

One, about my back, and two, about how I like her.

A lot.

VOICEMAIL: You have one unheard message.

'I've been so worked up by this qualifier mess that I didn't

'even realise James left me a voicemail.'

Ever since he's been in England, I haven't been able to connect

with him as much.

But I don't even care right now,

because I'm just so excited to hear his voice.

Hey, babe, how's it going?

I only have a couple of seconds before I have to get back

into the studio, but I just wanted to say congratulations on

qualifying for regionals.

I mean, I haven't actually heard anything from anybody but I'm

sure you guys crushed it.

I'm so happy for you. You deserve this. Anyways, call me back.

Can't wait to talk to you. And as they say over here, ch-ch-cheerio.

'I thought James' message was going to make me feel better.'

But it just made me feel so much worse.

I feel like I let everybody down.

Everyone was depending on me and I couldn't do it.

I just wish James was here right now.

KNOCKING

-Hey.

-Hey.

-Are...are you OK?

-Yeah. I'm fine.

You don't look OK.

What did you want?

Look...

I know the qualifier was a huge disappointment...

..but I know that we'll pull through.

We're The Next Step.

And you're doing an incredible job.

And I hope you know that.

That's all I want to say.

Thank you.

'It is nice to feel appreciated.'

Even though I don't really feel better,

it's nice to know that Alfie's there for me.

-Hey.

-Hey.

Hypothetically,

if there was this girl

that I really, really liked.

I had this big secret...

..could I trust her with it?

Yeah, I think you could.

Just so we're clear,

you're the girl.

And you're the one with the secret?

Yeah.

I really, really like you.

I really, really like you too.

But that's not your secret, is it?

No.

You can tell me.

'I'm really nervous right now.'

I thought if I told Amanda that I liked her first,

it would make this next part easier.

But I was wrong.

There's something wrong with my back.

-That's what happened at qualifiers.

-Your back? Have you seen a doctor?

I'll get it taken care of.

-It's just, you can't tell anybody.

-That's not fair, Noah.

Listen, you just... You got to trust me.

'I'm not sure keeping Noah's secret is the right thing to do.'

But he's trusting me.

And that means I'm going to trust him too.

-OK, I won't tell anyone.

-Thank you.

But I do think you need to tell Riley what really happened at

-that qualifier.

-I'll tell Riley eventually.

Listen, it's already starting to feel better.

It's probably just a pulled muscle or something.

So... How many reallys do you like me?

Mm, three.

That's a lot of reallys.

'I've waited so long to tell Noah how I feel.'

I always thought it would be amazing if we liked each other.

I just never knew how amazing.

Yeah, last year my sister was on A troupe.

Miss Kate would never let anything like this happen.

'I overhear Skylar and Cassie talking about the studio.'

And I'm concerned, because what they're talking about isn't good.

-I'll see you at the meeting later.

-Yeah, for sure.

-I'll make sure everyone knows when and where.

-Perfect.

-See you.

What's up, Skylar? Cos something obviously is.

I'm just a little worried that we won't even make it regionals

after we flamed out at the qualifier.

If you really think the team's in trouble,

why not just talk to Riley about it?

Cos what if Riley's the problem?

'I had no idea that people were upset with Riley.'

The last thing she needs right now

is the whole team turning against her.

I mean, no-one's trying to overthrow her or anything.

I just think it might be a good idea to get together and maybe

vent out some frustration.

Sure.

So you're in?

-Yeah, I guess.

-OK. I'll text you the details.

-Yeah.

-And don't tell Riley..

-I won't.

-OK. See you later.

'This could be very bad for Riley.

'And for the studio.'

I need to go to that meeting and figure out what's going on.

Before it's too late.

'I'm in my office trying to focus on anything other than how I

'messed up the qualifier.

'And I get a call.'

There's only one person that that could be.

-Hey.

-Hey, what's up?

I was just rehearsing with the guys until I got your text. What's up?

Yo, do you want a juice?

Hey.

Hey, um, could you actually ask West and Eldon to leave?

-I need your full attention.

-Hey, yo, yo, yo, guys, leave.

-You want a juice?

-No, for real, guys.

-Water?

-For real, guys.

OK.

All right, what's up?

-The Next Step lost the qualifier.

-What?

What happened?

I happened.

As studio head, everything that happens at the studio

goes through me so obviously if we lost the qualifier,

then it's all my fault.

OK. Your fault?

Did you not pick the best dancers to compete?

Yeah.

At least I thought I did.

I mean, Noah messed up the big lift on stage and even before then

-he was marking through all the rehearsals.

-Hold on. Noah?

That doesn't sound like Noah.

He doesn't mark anything. There's some issue there.

So... You think I should talk to him?

Yes, you should talk to him.

'I've been so distracted lately. James is right.'

Noah has been acting strange.

And I need to know why.

You're cute. Listen. I've got to get back to rehearsing with the guys.

OK. Thank you.

-Love you.

-Love you too.

'I've been a wreck all day, but after talking to James for'

five minutes, I'm finally starting to feel like myself again.'

OK, so I think we can all agree that something needs to change.

We joined this team hoping to one day win internationals and

right now we're not even going to regionals.

-Perfect. You're just in time. We're about to vote.

-Can I say something?

Sure.

There's been a lot of talk about how somehow one person is

responsible for a lot of what's gone wrong at the studio lately.

We're a team.

And we have to deal with issues as a team.

'Forget winning.'

Losing is when you really prove that you belong together.

If we can stand by each other now, nothing will be able to shake us.

But that doesn't mean we can just go

and ignore everything that's gone wrong.

The Next Step needs a strong leader and Riley hasn't proved that

she can be that for us.

Riley isn't the perfect leader.

Not yet.

She's new to running the studio,

just like a lot of us are new to being a part of A troupe.

'Riley isn't a good leader!'

I can't believe everyone is just buying into this.

We have to support each other on this journey.

It's the only way we'll win.

So do you still want to have your vote?

Maybe we'll just hold off for now.

'I've defused the situation for now,'

but Riley's going to have to start proving that she's our leader.

I know she can do it.

I just hope she knows it too.

'It's time for me to step up and start acting like

'a real studio head.'

I need to find out what happened at that qualifier.

OK, everybody, um...

..we need to clear the air about the qualifier.

Noah.

You seemed distracted, like something was wrong. Am I right?

I admit there was some level of distraction.

OK. I appreciate your honesty,

but I need to know why you were so distracted.

Did you just not care? Did you not eat your breakfast that morning?

-Were you hurt?

-'I'm really nervous for Noah.

'He's never been a great liar, and Riley isn't letting up.'

I think he's going to have to tell her the truth.

Noah, we all deserve an answer.

Very well.

The reason why I was distracted

at the qualifier...

..is that...

Spit it out, Noah.

Um...

I like Amanda and Amanda likes me.

'What? This is how Noah tells everyone about us?'

There. I said it.

That is the reason why I messed up at the qualifiers.

Yeah!

'Sometimes the only way to hide the truth is to tell another,'

more shocking, truth.

OK, we cannot let our personal relationships interfere with

what's best for the team.

Yep. I told him that.

Look, we lost the qualifier, which is upsetting, of course.

But there's still two more,

which means two more chances of making it into regionals.

And we will make it to regionals.

We're the best studio in the world, and we need to start acting like it.

OK?

ALL: Yeah.

Let's get to work.

I think we've got to show her what kind of team we are.

Oh, yeah. It's time to show her.

-Hi.

-Oh, hi.

# Been a long week Been a long time comin'

# Gotta break free Gotta go do somethin'

# Got my look right Feelin' so tight

# That nothing can stop me now

# Send a text out Tell 'em where we're goin'

# Put my tunes on Getting my beats flowin'

# Here we are now... #

We're a team, but just because we're working together doesn't mean

we can't be hard on each other.

I'll definitely be keeping my eye on Riley.

# I let the blood rush My heart's beatin' to it

# And when the bass drops Is when I have to lose it

# Oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh The music made me do it

# The music made me do The music made me do it

# The music made me do

# The music made me do it

# The music made me do The music made me do it

# Oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh The music made me do it... #

'Dancing together now as a team, this feels like something special.'

This is why I came to The Next Step.

'I'm proud of Riley.

'Now we can focus on the next qualifier without any distractions.'

# Oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh The music made me do it... #

'We may have lost the first qualifier,'

but we will make it to regionals.

We're The Next Step.

And nothing is going to stop us.

# The music made me do it The music made me do it. #