Youngblood

Chapter 26

Joe's POV

We arrive at school on time and head over to meet everyone else. They're all intrigued about how Dianne's dance class went, and it makes me happy to know that they all care for her.

"Ok, go on, spill. Were you amazing?" Anna laughs. "I bet you were. You can be a fiery thing. It's because of the red hair."

"I mean, I don't know if I was good, but I enjoyed it," Dianne says.

"Stop lying, I know you were good," Byron says.

"You can just tell," Jack says, who has his arm around AJ. I'm glad he finally found someone, just like me.

"Dianne, you're going the same colour as your hair," Oli points out. Then Caspar comes over and stands right in front of the redhead.

"Dianne, spill, how was it?" Caspar says, making us laugh.

"She's gone all modest," Lauren says.

I put an arm around Dianne and bring her in, and she buries her head in my shoulder to hide her red cheeks. I didn't get to see her dance, because of her mum showing up, but I just know she was amazing. And the teacher said that she'll film her next lesson so we can see for ourselves.

The bell rings and I kiss Dianne's forehead as we head to our separate form groups, her cheeks having returned to normal colour. But as she walks, she has a little extra spring in her step, and it just makes me happy to see her like that.

Dianne even manages to stay positive during science, which is an impossible task to anyone who hasn't just taken part in their first proper dance lesson. And her mood doesn't even dip in maths, which just adds to my list of reasons why she's superhuman.

"You didn't stop smiling," I laugh, taking her hand after the lesson.

"And it was maths," Conor says. "There's something wrong with you. Who can smile at maths?"

"I wasn't smiling at the maths," Dianne says. "I was just remembering last night."

As she looks at me, I know that it isn't just the dance class she's smiling at.

"Di, what else happened?" Amy says, catching on by the time we have arrived at the benches.

Dianne takes a deep breath

"Well, after the class, my mum showed up."

"But she..." Mikey trails off. "You know what I mean."

"She did this whole apology speech," Dianne continues. "And I know what she did in the past wasn't exactly good for a parent, but I'm just happy to have her back."

Dianne's POV

The school day finishes, and me and Joe head back to his. It's my brother's last day here, and however sad it may be, I'm happy that he'll get to go back to dancing, knowing his little sister is safe and happy.

"How was school?" Zoe asks as we get in. She arrives home before us as she gets to go in her car, rather than having to get the bus and then walk from there.

"Good. Everyone wanted to know about how my dance class went," I say, taking a cookie off Tracey that she had made during the day.

"Joe's friends can be alright sometimes then!" Zoe teases. There's a knock at the door, and my brother answers it to reveal Mum.

"How was school Dot?" Mum asks. I've missed her saying that.

"It was good, as usual," I say. "I was just saying how Joe's – our – friends took an interest into my dance."