A Siblings Advice

Love: I need your help, I screwed up.

Joe's POV

"Holy shit Di we've made it to the semi-finals! Right go on, put me out of my misery and let me know what we are dancing to this week?" I tease lightly, bustling into the training room for the week ahead and dropping my bags in a heap in the corner before strutting over to wrap my dance partner-now-turned-girlfriend in a hug before we get professional again. She presses a kiss secretly against my neck as she hugs in, savouring the feeling before 12 hours of a teacher-student relationship again. " Right Joseph, this week we are doing... a Viennese waltz AND the Argentine tango! Both the dance of love but in two totally different ways. The waltz is different to week five because this one doesn't have as much rise and fall, its more of a glide as such, a deep, loving dance and very typically a wedding dance so no pressure there huh? Then the tango, well that's more sensual, more sexy and very very passionate. It focuses more on the lust in love as opposed to the romantic side of it, so two very different types of dance." Groaning loudly and heading over to stretch, she just chuckles and tells me to catch myself on.

Half way through day three of rehersals for semi-final week and I am KNACKERED. "Come ON Joe! You can do this! You never struggled with this before today so what has got into you?" I can tell Di is stressed which isn't helping but I can't get my head round this stupid tango! " Okay I can't get this bit, can we switch back and do the waltz for a bit and let me clear my head please? If we have a good few run throughs of this years love, we can come back to red right hand with fresh eyes. Please?" I plead, trying to not let my frustration seep out In my words because the last thing she deserves is my shitty temper being pushed onto her. Thankfully, I seem to have succeeded with that and she smiles at me before dashing to the sound system to change the music and I head over to our start position and stretch into frame for a few seconds, determined to get it right for her. "Okay so the first run through was good but we need to focus on your technique which is basically none existent right now. Lets go again." As we flow through the routine, I stumble over the same section time and time again and eventually Dianne snaps. " Joseph Sugg! If you don't get this section right then this years love wont last at all! So help me god, I love you but I KNOW you can bloody do this." She exclaims, pushing me out of hold and slapping her hand to my chest angrily. It takes a second but we both slowly register the words that have tumbled from her mouth.

She said she loved me.

That we had this years love.

Dianne Buswell Loves me!

MY GIRLFRIEND LOVES ME!

Oh my god she loves me. What do I do? How do I respond, do I tell her I love her too?

And I did the absolute worst thing possible. Good one Joe! Well done you prick! You ran away and left her standing there, her words echoing round the silent studio. I ran away and didn't even glance back.

Zoe's POV:

"Good afternoon Broseph, you are live in my car and to what do I owe the pleasure? How is it going this week with the lovely Dianne?" I chirp, currently on my way to Wiltshire to spend a girly weekend with my mother while Alfie is away on a lads holiday. The words which follow make my blood run cold, the pain so evident in his voice, "Zoe, I need your help, I screwed up. Big time with Dianne. I don't think theres any going back from what I've done. Oh God she probably hates me and I don't blame her, i'll have to drop out of the show. Zoe...I didn't mean to but I panicked and im stupid." he cries, trying desperately to hide the fact that he is sobbing but failing miserably. Right.

Big sister mode: activated.

"Slow down, take a big breath for me Joe and start at the beginning. What have you done and why are you in such a tizzy?" I start, aiming to be the voice of reason to my poor, stress brother. He really doesn't deal well with emotions so whatever has happened, has knocked him for six. "Zoe, it's big. I've really done it this time. Zo she told me she loved me. That she was in love with me. And I panicked and ran away. I left her just standing there, on her own with her words almost echoing and I ran away. Zoe she will hate me. She said it in such an accidental but beautiful way and I couldn't deal with it. What do I do." He rambles, his breathing progressively increasing as he thinks more and more on the situation at hand, beginning to spiral. " Right Joseph, listen to me and listen well okay? Firstly, do you love her?" I press, willing his response to be what I think it will be. "Of course I do Zoe! I have never felt this way and it scares me, I love her but I can't tell her that now! Can I?" Smiling to myself, I know this will be easier than I originally thought, " Right Joe, we both know you can't deal with emotions, especially not when it comes to someone else and an emotion that you haven't experienced yet. And Dianne knows that too, I told her as much when we met up the other week! I did that sisterly thing where I pre-warned her about your little stresses and inability to understand emotions." I chuckle lightly, remembering our conversation back then and the laughter we shared over our little awkward Joe. " Now, take a deep breath, gather  yourself and go for a walk."

I can hear him draw a sharp intake, " What do you MEAN go for a walk? I need to fix this, not walk further away!" he grumbles, clearly not seeing where i'm going with this. " Yes Joseph, go and take a walk until you find a shop that sells flowers and chocolates, buy some nice ones and go back to her. Get on your knees and tell her you love her. Tell her how much she means to you. Just tell her how you feel for once! Open yourself up, make yourself vulnerable. It's okay. Now why are you still on the phone to me? Get going! Move!" I half shout. " Alright Zoe alright I'm going! Thank you so much for everything. Guess what? I'm in love! And I don't care who knows it! I love her Zoe! I did it! I'm finally in  love! All it takes is a little sibling advice to give me the kick up the arse I needed. Bye Zo!"

And with that, he was gone. Bless him, I'm so proud of him for everything but this is a whole other level. Smiling to myself, a phrase from our childhood runs through my mind: " I can't wait to tell mum!"