Her heart is breaking in front of me

'I got new rules'

'You did so well.' Joe smiles at his partner, as they make their way down to the canteen.

'We did so well.' Dianne corrects him. 'It's a team effort Sugg.' He shrugs. 'I got a call last night, I thought I'd tell you in person.' He nods, guessing what this is about. The police had decided to take up her case, but they were unsure if he would plead guilty or not guilty. 'He pleaded guilty.'

'So, no trial?' She nods enthusiastically.

'No trial.' She lets out a grin, she had been worried about a trial, unable to face the prospect of a trail. It had been hard enough reporting it to the police, she didn't know if she was strong enough to be able to do it in front of twelve other people, and someone who was trying to trip her up. She would be painted as a slag, any dignity she may have retained would have been damaged. Not that she had much left anyway. 'Mum and dad got a take out when we heard.' He smiles a little, knowing how much stress she was under, and he was glad this wouldn't overshadow her Christmas. He was aware of how much she loved Christmas, it was a horrific enough situation without Christmas being ruined.

'Let's celebrate.' Joe tells her, as they reach the canteen. 'We will go to winter wonderland.' She looks up to him, she's never been to winter wonderland before. She didn't like the cold, and winter wonderland seemed a very cold event.

'I don't know.' He shakes his head.

'If you end that sentence how I think your about to end it, don't.' He tells her, before walking over to their table at the end of the room. 'We are going, and you are going to enjoy it.' She is about to protest. ' I swear to god Dianne, you are coming.' She nods, backing down from the argument. Over the last few weeks, they had got closer and closer. Her friends still weren't talking to her, but she had gained a new group. She was surprised at how nice they were to her, considering their history. Every time she looked at them, she felt a pang of guilt. They were getting even more comments now she hung out with them, but it was dying down. For the most part. 'You are the biggest pain in the arse I've ever met Dianne.'

'What is this about?' Oli buts into the conversation.

'Joe wants me to go to wonderland.' She sits on her chair, in-between Joe and Stacey. 'To celebrate.'

'Winter wonderland.' He tells his friend. 'Wonderland is in Alice in wonderland.' This gains a smirk from his friend.

'What exactly?' Stacey asks. 'You guys shagging?' She pulls a face, trying to hide the feelings that were growing for the skinny boy from Wiltshire, with the funny accent.

'Nope, Anthony pleaded guilty, so no trial.'

'Oh, that's just brilliant Di.' Her friends puts her arm around her. 'That really is good news, bet you are made up.' She nods, smiling for the first time in a few weeks. The prospect of the trial had scared her, it had kept her awake most nights. She would phone Joe regularly, talking on facetime for hours whilst he comforted her about how, if she did have to take the stand, he would support her, and she would be fine. The ground wouldn't swallow her up, and no one would judge her. She is the victim here. Joe's only just noticed how pretty it is, having not really seen it before. Every time he had seen it, it had been fake, but it had mostly just been a pout. Or recently, she just looked dead. She knew she looked rough, but none of her new friends would tell her. They knew she didn't sleep, Joe told Caspar and it got around their little circle of friends. It was something that none of them needed to tell her, she didn't need to have any more stress.

'We will go Friday.' He tells her, 'And you will enjoy it.' A sigh plays on her lips, wrapping her hair around her finger. 'It's stepping out of your comfort zone.'