Thinking Out Loud

Chapter 2

Dianne rolled over in bed, waking up to the sound of nothing. It was Sunday which meant she finally had a day off from the non-stop training of trying to get her partner to be able to dance. The only noises that could be heard were Joe's soft breathing from beside her and the distant rumble of London traffic way beneath them. She checked the time on her phone, 8:30, and decided to just stay in bed until Joe woke up. There was no point going back to sleep, she wouldn't be able to anyways, but she didn't have to get up from where she was comfy and warm- so she didn't. Dianne picked up her phone and scrolled through her Instagram and twitter mentions, smiling at the good luck messages she was receiving, coming in in their thousands. The love and support she received had grown massively when she had partnered with Joe and Dianne thought it would have all disappeared by the time the season came about but it was bigger than ever.

After around half an hour of aimlessly scrolling through her mentions and the explore page, Dianne began to get bored of being the only one awake and wanted Joe to wake up. He usually woke up around 9 anyways. She put her phone down on the pillow beside her and shuffled close to Joe, so close that their legs grazed against each other and Dianne could feel Joe's gentle exhales as he breathed out. Dianne cuddled into the gap just under his chin and began to play with his fingers, twisting the silver rings around them. After a couple of minutes, she noticed the hand she played with link their hands together like a puzzle piece before she heard a long intake of breath, signifying that Joe was awake. As his eyes flickered open, Joe wrapped his arm around Dianne's body and rolled onto his back taking her with him, so that she was on top of him. 
"Morning," she giggled.
"Morning." Joe squeezed her gently before letting her fall off to the side of him. They both turned to face each other with happy smiles on their faces.
"How are you?" Joe asked. "You've had a busy week and I feel like I haven't seen you."
"I know right." Dianne pouted, "I'm very happy but I miss being in the studio with you."
"I miss it too Di."
"Tim is lovely but it's nothing like you, or even Revvo for that matter. I spent the majority of the time we weren't dancing laughing with both of you but it's not the same with Tim." She let out a heavy sigh.
"Dianne, it was different for us," he soothed, "for starters we already knew each other. Besides, look where we are now. Engaged, living together, plant parents." Dianne giggled. "Don't let sad feelings overpower the happy ones. You get to dance your heart out every Saturday, well pretty much everyday and we both know it's something you've always wanted to do. So, just think about the positives more, yeh?"
"You always know what to say, don't you?"
"A few years ago, I wouldn't have had a clue. I've changed and grown up quite a bit since I met you."
"I don't think you've changed that much."
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
"Well I fell in love with the Joe I first met, so don't change too much please."
"I'll always be immature and a little bit silly," Joe chuckled, running his fingers along Dianne's arm. "That'll never go."
Dianne smiled. "Good, I don't want it to."

"I think these tablets are making me feel... funny." Dianne held up a sheet of medicine, flicking it between her fingers.
"What are they?" Joe asked as he came into the bathroom to do his teeth.
"Birth control," she said, "I changed tablets last month because they were starting to make me ill or something, but these aren't much better."
"If they are making you feel poorly, stop taking them and go back. I'm sure Tim wouldn't mind if you had to miss an hour or so."
"I've tried most of them I think, the pills, and they've all made me feel funny at some point. I might just stop taking them and deal with it, or find another method. But we'll have to be even more careful because I'm not sure either of us want a baby Suggwell popping out any time soon."
Joe shook his head. "No, not yet."

Joe had uploaded a picture of him and Dianne to Instagram, the ring in full view but neither of them had commented on it, not once since their engagement. They weren't trying to hide it, it wasn't a secret, but they wanted the fans to notice first before the media got hold of the story. Just a few seconds after he pressed upload, Joe's phone began to blow up with comments and likes. As he expected, everyone had noticed the ring all right and the comment section was packed with the same question.
"Di, look at this." Joe held his phone in front of Dianne to show her the comments.
"Shall we just tell them?"
"Let's leave it a bit. There's no rush and I'm sure they'll live without knowing for a couple more hours."
Dianne shrugged. "Okay."

"Shit."
"What's the matter Joe?"
"We've uploaded that picture and not told parents."
Dianne turned to Joe, her eyes bugging out. "Oops... we'll do it now. My parents won't be awake, let's tell yours first."
"Good idea." Joe grabbed his phone from his back pocket and set it to FaceTime his mum immediately, fingers crossed in the hope she hadn't seen it yet.
"Hi sweetheart, everything all right?" She asked as the soon as the call connected.
"Hi Mum. We are both fine. We've got some news."
"Oo go on."
"Dianne and I are engaged." He took Dianne's hand, who was stood just to the side of him, and held it in front of the camera so his mum could see the ring.
"Aw, congrats you two. And that's a very nice ring Joseph, you've done really well."
"It's beautiful," Dianne commented as she smiled shyly into the camera. "Thank you Tracey."
"Thanks Mum. We don't want to keep you, and we haven't got a lot of time so we'll say goodbye now okay?"
"Yep, just call me if you need anything. You know where I am!"
"Will do. Bye."
"See ya."
"Bye." The call was ended and Joe scrolled through his contacts for his dads number straight away, setting it to facetime.
"What do you want?" Graham asked as his face popped onto Joe's phone screen.
"Oh hello to you to," he quipped sarcastically as Dianne giggled beside him. "We have something to tell you but I'm not sure I want to do it after that."
"Oh don't be a bellend. Tell me."
"Please." Joe raised his eyebrows and tried his best to look like a stern school teacher.
"Please?"
"Dianne and I are engaged." Once again, he took Dianne's hand and held it in front of the camera so his dad could see the ring.
"Well done. I can imagine you were a nervous weirdo trying to do that."
"So supportive you are!"
"He actually wasn't," Dianne said, "Well, if he was, he didn't show it."
"I was bricking it," Joe commented as he turned his head to look at Dianne, meeting her gaze.
"Oh." She giggled.
"We best be off, it's been nice talking to you you bellend."
"Bye you lot. And congrats."
"Thanks Dad."
"Thanks Graham."
"Bye!" The connection was broken and Joe turned to Dianne with a smile on his face. "He never changes. He'll be 101 and still act like that."
"But he's proud of you, I could tell." Dianne reached up to kiss Joe's cheek. "I reckon we tell Zoe and Alfie now, and then we'll sort out what to do with my family later."
"Okay."