Nationals of the Prix de Fonteyn begin, with tensions running high. Ben tries to psych out Christian, pursuing Tara by asking her out. This leaves Kat feeling left out, but Tara grows closer to Ben (who tells her about his "ladder theory", the step up from friendship that a relationship involves). When Ben kisses Tara in front of Christian right before his solo, it distracts Christian and makes Tara realise Ben was using her. Sammy tries to hide having a boyfriend from his father and brother, who come to watch him dance, so he brings Abigail to lunch. After his performance, they find out the truth but are mostly unfazed. Meanwhile, Abigail chooses the musical over her mother's pressure to compete at Nationals. Tara, Grace, Sammy and a Tasmanian student named Michael Slade (Rarmian Newton) who tried to sabotage Sammy's contemporary solo are all chosen to represent Australia on the International stage.