Dance With Me (Niall Horan)

Chapter One- X Factor

"I got the call; I'm dancing on the X Factor!" Danielle whispered over the phone at 3am on Saturday morning. 

"Dan that's amazing!" I almost scream, but I have to keep my voice down. I was happy for her, it wasn't as if I hadn't gotten picked, I would have, if it weren't for my stupid behaviour. When I got grounded, my mum was harsh. So after picking me up from a party drunk out of my mind, she told me it was no dancing for a month. 

"I'm super nervous though, I've got to go down today, to rehearse, will you come with me?" she replied to me down the line.

"Yeah sure!" I have to remind myself that this is big for her, and I can't get too jealous of her. It's not fair for me to punish her just because she was able to go to an audition that I couldn't. 

"Maybe we'll see contestants. Like that boyband." Danielle replies after I hadn't spoken. "I bet you fancy the one with the curly hair." She teases and I laugh. 

"I have a boyfriend silly!" 

"Ugh, Max." she complains, "just dump him, he’s a terrible boyfriend! You need one that cares for you no matter what people say, and will stick up for you, and be loving and caring and not afraid to show that side of them!" it seemed as if Danielle was looking for a guy that didn't exist.

"Dan... There is no such thing as a guy like that."  I tell her truthfully.

"There is. and I'm going to find him one day." she yawns, "We should probably get some sleep now Lenn. We need to be up at 6 for the train." Then as an afterthought, she adds, "You'd better bring your dancing stuff, you never know, they may let you dance too."

"I doubt it Peazer." I roll my eyes, and mentally tell myself that the chances of that happening is slim, I really don't want to get my hopes up... 

"Well do it anyway Byrnes." She mocks, emphasising my last name. "Now go to sleep." She orders, not saying goodbye, but I hear her hang up. 

True to her word, Danielle is at my door at 6 in the morning, bags under her eyes from lack of sleep and her eyes bare without make-up. I open the door and greet her with  a grunt, still not fully awake yet, and go back into the kitchen, Danielle following me without a sound. 

"What are you doing?" She asks, looking at my small post-it that I was using to write a note to my mum.

"I'm not sure how to explain it to my mum." I admit, after all, I was still grounded, but I don't want Danielle to be alone today, and I can tell it means a lot to her that I'm going with her. 

"Just say you've gone out with me." She shrugs, and I write it down, "You can just face the consquences when we get back tonight. Plus, you missed the audition because you were grounded, that's punishment enough. If she doesn't understand, I'll talk to her and explain you were doing me a favour."

*

After arriving at the studio where there were rehearsals going on for dancers, my jealousy had now heightened, sitting with other spectators, I watched as Danielle spoke with other dancers on the stage, warming up for her dancing, and I wished I was up there with her. 

I hadn't never regretted getting grounded more than right now, especially because I know that I probably would've been let off, if it weren't for the fact that my mum wanted to spend the evening with her fiancé Jeffrey and I had to stay home and look after my little brother. 

Life sucks when you're from a broken family. 

I'm not quite sure how long my mum has been with Jeffrey, my almost step-dad. My parents divorced when I was 8, my mum had then immediately began to date Jeffrey, and as I grew older I began to understand the reasons for my separated parents, and why my dad always dropped me off down the road from my house to avoid seeing my mum or her new boyfriend. Then along came baby Howard when I was 12, and technically Howard wasn't a baby anymore, it's more of a nickname that never fails to get under his skin. So whilst my dad was still trying to find someone else in his life, my mum had it all. She got me and my older sister Lindsey everyday, apart from every other weekend, a new baby and a new boyfriend, who became her fiancé a year ago, to mark some sort of anniversary for them, but they'd never tell me what. My sister likes Jeffrey, but despite the fact that I should be over my parents divorce by now, I still find myself wishing that somehow they'd find a way to get back together. But she's getting ready to marry someone else, I don't think at this point that she has anymore feelings for her past love. 

"Lennox!" I looked back up to the stage, Danielle was beckoning for me to come over, and then I looked beside her. Jeanette Quiggley. One of the first choreographers that I'd worked with over my professional dancing career. I made my way onto the stage, Jean quickly pulling me into a hug and asking me if I'm well. 

"You have no idea how shocked I was when I didn't see you on this list with Danielle!" She exclaimed, showing me the list of names on her clipboard. "And then I heard that you hadn't even auditioned and I thought that something had happened to you, but of course, Dani just cleared all of that up for me. Now if it weren't you, I wouldn't have told you, but a girl has dropped out, had a tiff with her boyfriend and can't come down here, so you can have her spot!"

"Isn't that great Lenn!" Dani cheers and I nod, pulling Jean, my now favourite person on the planet, into a hug. 

And that was that. I was dancing on the X Factor. I, however, never realised what would happen when I did.