Dancing With The Stars *Narry AU FanFic *Transgender!Niall

15 - Contemporary

I was right about having to face consequences for Harry's actions. By the next morning - I slept over at Harry's house again - there were paparazzi and fans outside the studio waiting for us to come in. Louis had texted me and told me that him and Demi were mobbed and questioned when they tried to go in and receive next week's dance. I didn't think to ask him for ours.

By 11, Harry hasn't come out from his bedroom. I had since gotten up, made myself a pot of coffee, drank half of it, and eaten a slice of toast. I know I need to go in to tell Harry that we need to go in to get our dance, but I'm kind of afraid to wake him.

At noon, I finally decide to go in and get him. The longer we wait, the less amount of time we'll have to practice.

"Harry?" I call out when I first open the door. He's lying flat on his bed with his phone propped up on his pillow. He's awake because I can see his finger scrolling on whatever page he's on. "Harry, c'mon. You've got to get up." My feet carry me into the room so I can sit on the end of his bed. He's lying above the covers so I know he feels my hand on his back.

"Or maybe I could just stay bundled up here and never move again." He croaks. His voice makes it obvious that he is or was crying at some point.

"I get that feeling all the time but it never seems to work out too well. Might as well give up now." I try. He doesn't move and I pat his back a little. "Please, Harry. At least get up to eat something. That's all I ask."

He groans but still doesn't move. I sigh out and lift myself up off the bed. I walk closer to I can see his face. His eyes are squinted open away from the window where light is seeping through his curtains. He's frowning and his face has turned pale.

"Look, I'm gonna go--"

"No! Please don't leave." He bolts up in his bed. I jump a little at his sudden action, moving back from my leaning position on his bedside table. "I keep scaring you, dammit!" I'm sure he was planning on thinking that, but in his plan to make me stay longer, he's screamed it out.

"Hey, what? I'm not scared." I say, stepping back up to him.

"Yes you are! I shouted last night and you jumped, I shouted again and you pulled away from me. Just then, I yelled and you stepped away again."

I sit down on the edge of the bed, grabbing onto his hands. He looks up at me with red-rimmed eyes. I tangle the fingers on my right hand with his left hand fingers and reach my other hand up to wipe under his eyes. My hand then rests on his cheek, rubbing my pinkie finger back and forth to his bottom eyelid and back.

He leans into my hand, letting me continue the motion. His eyes close and he bites his bottom lip, which is chapped and almost cracked down the middle.

"I'm not scared of you." He shakes his head. "Listen to me, Harry. I'm not scared of you. I've never been scared of you. Yeah, you did raise your voice and startled me, but I'm not scared of you. I pulled away because it startled me. I was never scared of you."

Harry looks down at his lap. I let my hand slip off of his cheeks to rest on his shoulder.

"Listen," I sigh, raising my legs up onto the bed and putting them next to where Harry is sitting curled up. I pull my pant legs down a little to cover my ankles. "I need to go in and get this week's dance for us. You can stay here if you would like, but I really think you should see what it's like outside the studio. Louis told me--"

"I've already seen it." Harry says, playing with the collar of his shirt.

"What?"

"I said-- I've already seen it. That's what I was going through when you first walked in. It's all over Twitter. A few of the pictures had Louis and Demi in them. There's a whole battle between my fans and Zayn's fans if my outburst was provoked or uncalled for." Harry unlocks his phone and shows me the page where Twitter is still open.