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

Epilogue

We ended up staying at Louis' a bit longer, telling each other stories of what we did after I left. Apparently Louis got in cahoots with Derek a bit more, as Derek was another one of my close friends at the studio. I made fun of them for bonding over my absence. Louis was embarrassed but didn't deny it.

Liam also told me that he wishes he had gotten a bit closer to me during season, as with anyone else, because it was only his first season, and no one else had really started dancing just this season. We've gotten a few new people over the years, but Liam was the most recent to join. "You guys are like a family at the studio, and I love that. I guess I was just too nervous that I would fail, so I didn't try to join in on all the fun. I focused too much on the competitive aspects."

"You were just a bit unlucky, Liam. Nic and I joined during the same season, so we were given a bit of an advantage. We were both new to everything and, I guess, we kinda just bonded over our confusion and fear." Louis tells him. "We were the same as you were, is what I'm trying to say."

I start after Louis, "It's easy to get caught up in the numbers and competition when you first start out; we all went through it. But, what I learned pretty quickly, is that there is a very slim chance that you will win, or even get far, during your first season. People that have watched the show for a long time usually have favourite dancers." I pause and look over to Harry. He smiles at me. "I hope you had fun, though. The first season is the only time where you're completely new so you're given a bit of leeway when you mess something up."

"That treatment sometime extends into the following season, especially if someone doesn't make any experienced friends that can show them the ropes. Maybe you'll be lucky enough to get that."

"Yeah," I smile devilishly. "Then you can fuck shit up like I did and get no penalty."

Louis scoffs. "Don't listen to her. Have you seen her track record? I'm surprised she wasn't fired for setting fire to someone's hair."

"That was a complete accident!" Liam looks at me questioningly. "Never trust me around curling irons."

"I'm so happy my hair is naturally curly." Harry says, faking the cross that many Christians do in church.

"You did it backwards. It's that shoulder first." I point to the shoulder that he touched last. "And your hair isn't that curly anymore. It's grown so long, it's more wavy than it is curly."

Louis leans over to Harry, whispering loud enough so everyone in the room can hear him. "Don't let her near you when you're sleeping."

Harry looks back at me. I pull a strange face of faux mischief, and he puts on a stereotypically horrified expression. We all laugh, the sounds mixing among each other and making the room much louder than it once was.

It's nice; sitting here with my friends, old and new, and my boyfriend, just messing about and having a pleasant time. It's been quite a while since I've spent time like this with more than one person. Even though I did have some good moments with my parents, that's nothing compared to spending quality time with the friends I never thought I'd ever see again.

I've missed it. I never realized how much I've missed it until I was given the chance to experience it again.

It's not until after a few random stories are told, again, that the conversations seem to fizzle out and we don't have much to talk about anymore. Yet, no one shows interest in leaving; not even Louis, even though he probably had plans to do something with Demi and Liam before we interrupted. We've talked right through the expected dinner time, and right until the sun has almost completely disappeared. Only, the time hasn't changed yet so it's still pretty early.