It takes two

Chapter eleven

"Morning bru, you Alright?" Byron knew the answer, for Joe had practically danced through the doorway the previous night, a new spring in his step and a new lightness that Byron had never seen before. Joe seemed happier, a lot happier. Joe had just come out of the shower, and was now pouring himself some water.

"Yeah. How was your night sleep?" Byron nodded, despite the chill that seemed to have flooded London last night, like an aquarium of frost. "Chilly last night, wasn't it."

"Tell me about it, I was doubling up the duvet and everything!" While Joe drank his water, still grinning too much for it not to be mundane, Byron deliberated asking him why he had changed overnight. Deep down, he wanted to know. "Joe? Can I, ask you something?"

"Fire away."

"Is everything good, you've been over the moon since you came back, did-did anything happen?"

Joe wondered when Byron would ask this, and simply walked around to him, knowing that he could trust Byron and something did very much happen.

"Erm, Yeah. Me and Di-Dianne; we kissed after the show, and we...we are dating." Byron nearly spit out his drink, not quite believing the words that had came out his roommates mouth. Joe had barely even had the courage to speak to a girl until last year, let alone be in a relationship.

"As in you and Dianne, Strictly Come Dancing Dianne?" Joe nodded, letting the moment sink in for a second. The words penetrated the air, sinking into all the sound waves. "I kinda knew you'd like her, she just seems so...right for you."

And this was the moment that Joe turned into a tomato.

"Yeah, she is. We've got the same sense of humour, and you know how much I like to have a laugh." Byron chuckled, for this was very true indeed. He now knew the reason why he had been so happy, but he was starting to now wonder why Joe was being a little quiet, almost as though he was hiding something.

"I do, Yeah." He paused, once again debating his next move. "Is there anything else?" He didn't want to push Joe into anything, so being the polite person he is, he proposed an open question instead, good job Byron.

Joe nodded a little slowly, preparing himself. "Dianne, she's got a daughter." Byron nodded, taking the words in after they hovered in the air. As much as everyone hated to admit it, having a child would change things in a relationship. It would mean a new person coming into a child's life, there being a possibility that they would leave again, unless it was the right person of course.

"Oh nice, do you know much about her?" Joe gave a little nod, an uncertainty to it. The two of them went onto the terrace, the cold London air surrounding them. That Sunday morning had brought bitter cold, hinting that there could be a whole lot more cold to come in the winter, the sky a pale blue.

"A bit. She's called Emelia and she's five or six, five I think. She's really cute, apparently sassy too." Byron laughed, resting his elbows on the railing. The two kept their eyes on the skyline.

"I think we're all a little sassy from time to time. And as for cute, well...all kids are cute, they're just so small and..."

"Adorable, fun, excitable."

"Exactly. Do, do you have a picture on your phone anywhere?" Joe scrolled through, but shook his head. He struggled to tap though, his fingers trembling from the cold, his white hoodie not quite doing the job much to his discontent.

"It looks like I haven't, I might give her a ring now actually." Byron soon left the terrace, Joe dialling the number that he knew he would have down from memory not too long from now. It went to voicemail so instead he gave a voicemail message before heading inside, giving up on the cold.