The dance thankfully finished without any more drama. Most who attended ended up at the Joyce residence for an after party, including our familiar group of rambunctious friends. The music was already in full swing when they showed up.

"The size of this motherfuckin' house!" Niall exclaimed, as he looked around the main entrance.

"Aye! It's class!" replied Orla. "There's 8 bedrooms, and some of em have these wee tiny bathrooms off to the side!"

"What the hell do Jenny's parents do?" Niall asked.

"Her Da's a big time surgeon over at Altnagelvin," answered Erin. "He took Orla's tonsils out."

"And not a day goes by when I don't think about them," Orla said solemnly. "Granda found out from Dr. Joyce that they just toss em out!"

"Stall the ball," said Michelle. "Jenny's Da actually spoke to Joe?"

"What's the big deal?" James asked.

"Cuz my Ma said he never talks," answered Michelle.

"What? Like, doesn't say much?" James asked.

"No, like he doesn't say one fuckin' word," replied Michelle.

"Aye, it's true," Erin chimed in. "Accordin' to my Ma, he talked plenty when datin' Jenny's Ma, Janette Joyce, formerly O'Shea. But then, one day, he just stopped."

"Seriously?" James asked.

"Aye, I heard the same from my Ma," said Clare.

"That's fucked up," said Niall.

"Who just stops talkin'?" asked Laurie.

"I met him when I had me... um... appendix removed a few years ago," said Fin. "The nurse did all the talkin' and explainin', while he just nodded."

"Jesus, but that's weird," said Niall.

"Totally fuckin' insane, it is," said Michelle.

The conversation came to a halt once a new song began playing; recent smash hit song, C'est la Vie by Irish girl group B*Witched. All the Girls gasped in excitement.

"It's our song, Girls!" exclaimed Clare.

"Happy fuckin' days!" exclaimed Michelle.

Nearly every girl from Our Lady Immaculate took to the dance floor, all of them at this point familiar with the choreography from the music video.

"Not familiar with this one," Niall chuckled as he watched Orla dance happily.

"Christ, but it's been playing everywhere recently," groaned James.

"Aye," agreed Fin. "My... um... sister'll have it blastin' in her room at full volume. Ma has to constantly yell at her to turn it down."

Niall kept watching his girlfriend dance in pure joy, a warm smile plastered on his face. His girlfriend? Still hard to comprehend! Stupid as it sounded in his head, he really hoped this wasn't a dream. Once the song was done, normal dancing continued and the Girls got back with their partners.

"That was a cracker dance routine," Niall said sign a chuckle.

"Aye, it is!" Orla exclaimed. "We watched that music video and live performance hundreds of times, so we did!"

"I don't doubt that," said Niall.

"Will ye come dance with me now?" Orla asked with a hopeful look in her eyes.

"Sounds absolutely grand," Niall answered with a warm smile.

While the other couples shared a couple dances with each other, they soon found themselves looking for some empty rooms for a bit of alone time. Michelle had her legs wrapped around Fin's waist as they snogged like mad, pawing each other. The fidgety ginger fella felt around for a doorknob and nearly fell backwards when it opened. They both laughed as they plopped in a large bed.

"It was really fuckin' sexy... the way you's stood up fer me at the dance," Michelle breathily said in between kisses.

"I mean... um... I w-wasn't gonna let some arsehole s-say... um... shit a-bout you's," Fin fumbled to say as Michelle unbuttoned his shirt.

"It was still fuckin' class," she said as she kissed his bare torso. "I'm gonna do somethin' for you's that I've never done for another fella b'fore!"

"W-w-what's that!?" he asked as she undid his belt.

"Just wait and see!" she exclaimed with a devilish smirk. She then slid her straps down and yanked at the waist of his pants.

"S-s-sweet J-Jesus!" he exclaimed.

Meanwhile, in a different room, Erin and James were softly kissing while sitting on the side of a bed.

"So... are ye sure ye're ready for this?" Erin asked as she broke away from the kiss.

"Aren't I supposed to be asking you that?" James asked with a chuckle.

"Seems best if we're both ready, hi," she retorted in a nervous tone.

"I'm definitely ready," he answered warmly. "I hope you are too."

"Definitely!" she exclaimed a little too excitedly.

"Good," he chuckled. "I'd hate to see these go to waste.

The wee English fella then pulled out the wee box Gerry gave him before the dance.

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed. "Are those condoms!? Real, actual condoms!?"

"I certainly hope so," he smirked.

"Where'd you's get them?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Just... at a drug store," he gulped, not wanting to say her dad gave them to him.

"Ye didn't get them at the Woolworths, did ye?" she asked nervously. "Mammy works at the Woolworths!"

"I'm aware of that, Erin," he replied as calmly as possibles. "I didn't get them at the Woolworth."

"Not Dennis's Wee Shop?" she asked. "Jesus, but that would be a nightmare!"

"Does Dennis even sell those?" he asked.

"I never looked," she answered.

James grabbed Erin's hand and rubbed it gently.

"Look, it doesn't matter where I got them," he said. "It's just good that I have them.

"Aye. That's a fair point," she conceded. "Do you's... know how to use em?"

"Got a decent idea," he answered. "I got some sex education at my school in London."

"Thank God," she sighed. "They certainly aren't teaching it at our school!"

They took another look at the wee both, both going wide eyed as they took the next big step in their relationship.

Back downstairs, Orla and Niall continued dancing, her arms wrapped around his neck, and his hands on her sides. Both starred happily at each other, letting the music take over. In that moment, it was the most peaceful the eldest Mallon sibling had felt. Just then, the song Sweet Harmony by The Beloved started playing.

Is it right or wrong

Try to find a place

We can all belong?

Be as one

Try to get on by

If we unify?

Niall suddenly began feeling strange and wasn't sure why.

All this time

Spinning round and round

Made the same mistakes

That we've always found

Surely now

We could move along

Make a better world?

The last time he remembered feeling this way was his second to last night in prison. Why was he feeling this way now all of a sudden?

Let's come together

Right now

Oh yeah

In sweet harmony

Once the chorus began, Niall finally remembered.

Let's come together

Right now

Oh yeah

In sweet harmony

This was the song playing that day.

Let's come together

Right now

Oh yeah

In sweet harmony

The day he dropped that bomb off.

Let's come together

Right now

Oh yeah

The bomb that took the life of Connor Brody.

Time is running out

Let there be no doubt

We should sort things out

If we care

Like we say we do

Not just empty words

For a week or two

The whole room began spinning, and all the sound seemed to get muffled. The only thing Niall could hear now was the song and his own breathing, both seemingly amplified. It was getting harder and harder to breathe.

Make the world

Your priority

Try to live your life

Ecologically

Play a part

In a greater scheme

Try to live the dream

On a wider scene

He then began hearing the voice of Connor Brody as clear as the day his life changed forever.

"Ye there!?" Connor Brody called out. "Ye drop off this package?"

Niall suddenly heard something else; more specifically, someone else. Someone was calling his name.

"Niall? Are you's alright?"

The voice sounded far away. He couldn't tell who it was at first.

"Niall? What's wrong?"

It became the only thing he could hear.

"Niall!? Please say somethin'!"

He finally heard the voice clearly. It was Orla, his Golden Princess, calling to him.

"Niall!" Orla exclaimed louder. "Please!"

He finally broke out of his trance, took a huge gasp of air, and found himself looking at Orla, whose beautiful amber eyes were tearing up and looking red. He cupped her face, as if to make sure she was really there. His own eyes gave off confusion, as if he wasn't sure any of this was real.

"What's the matter?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"That song... that song that's playin', he struggled to say as he was still panting.

"What about the song?" she asked, not understanding.

Before he could answer, the speaker system suddenly exploded. Sparks flew and other partygoers began to panic. Niall collapsed to the floor, groaning and grabbing his right side in pain. Orla didn't understand what was happening, but she knew something was wrong and her Champion needed her. immediately bent down, put one of his arms over her shoulder and lifted him back up to his feet. They made their way outside to backyard of the Joyce residence, sitting on a nearby bench. The open air seemed to do Niall some good. He was leaning forward, holding his knees, eyes shut tightly.

"Breathe, Niall," Orla said in a soothing tone, her arms wrapped around him. "Just... breathe..."

After a few deep breaths, Niall finally sat upright, and slowly opened his eyes. He turned to look at Orla, letting out a sigh of relief as he gave his Golden Princes a hug.

"Thank god," Niall sighed. "I was afraid ye wasn't real."

"Aye, course I'm real," Orla replied worriedly, still hugging him. "What happened back in there, Niall?"

They pulled out of the hug but continued holding hands, eyes locked onto each other.

"That... song was playin' that day," Niall answered solemnly.

"That day? Ooooh... I see," Orla realized.

"It was playin' on the radio," he continued. "Connor Brody... the security guard... had this wee radio on his desk. That song was playin' when... the bomb went off. Damndest thing is... that fuckin' radio survived the explosion. I could still hear the song as I passed out. I... hadn't heard it since that day."

"Have ye had these sort of panic attacks b'fore?" she asked.

"None this intense b'fore," he replied. "But, there countless nights in me cell... where I'd wake up with these pains. As if... I still had somethin' in my sides, and the flames were still burnin' me."

"Was this yer first one... since bein' let out?" Orla cautiously asked.

"Aye," Niall nodded. "I hadn't felt any sort of issues since I... since I met you's."

"Really?" she asked with genuine surprise.

"Aye, really," he answered. "It's the most calm I've felt in so long."

The two stared affectionately at each other for who knows how long, before they both leaned in to share a tender kiss.

"OI! LOVEBIRDS" The kiss was interrupted by Michelle suddenly shouting from the back door. Her hair and dress were extremely disheveled, and she was carrying her shoes. Fin was behind her, glasses crooked, jacket halfway on, shirt untucked, and he was still holding onto his pants.

"Lovin' time's over!" she continued to shout. "We gots to get the fuck outta here!"

"What did you's do now, Michelle?" Niall asked with a chuckle.

"No fuckin' time to explain, Wank Features!" she shouted back. "Just shift yer fuckin' holes!"