Tonight

Chapter 17

Dianne's eyes fluttered open, a strong beam of sunlight peeking through the flap in their tent and hitting the wall above her bed. She lay for a moment, feeling happy to finally be warm and dry tucked under a duvet - that is, until she realized her arms were pinned down by her two best friends curled up next to her. She blinked, confused why three of them were asleep in a single bed, until she saw a glint out of the corner of her eye - the silver handcuffs still in her lap sparkling in the sunlight. As if a light switch had been tripped, all of the memories came flooding back, her brain suddenly overloaded with images of the last 24 hours - music, arguments, kisses, and Joe Sugg.

She groaned under her breath, trying to wriggle out of her friends grips, managing to release one arm and reach for her phone that thankfully she had plugged in to charge before drifting off. Eyes widening, she yelped out loud as she saw the time.

"What the --" Amy grumbled as Dianne sat straight up, nearly shoving her off the bed.

"It's 1pm," Dianne shouted. "We slept for seven fucking hours!"

"Well, I'm not surprised, you were bloody exhausted..." Oti groaned as she stretched overhead.

"How did we fall asleep all in the same bed?" Amy questioned, standing up and flopping into her own bed.

"Remember, Dianne confessed her love for Joe Sugg and then immediately passed out mid-sentence," Oti laughed as Dianne shot her a glare. "She trapped us."

"That's why I can't feel my arm," Amy whined.

"First of all," Dianne stood up and began rifling through her case for a fresh set of clothes. "I'm not in love with Joe Sugg. Second, why did you let me sleep that long?"

"Amy and I passed out too," Oti shrugged. "So I guess we all needed it."

"Yes, but now I have less time to find Joe," Dianne mumbled, throwing another black band tee over her head and pulling on a pair of ripped jeans.

"I thought you didn't love him," Amy teased, sharing a knowing look with Oti.

"I...I don't," Dianne retorted, though her voice sounded a bit more uncertain. "But I have to find him and give him Chippy back."

"Oh yeah, who the hell is Chippy?" Oti questioned, her eyebrows knit together in confusion. "You were talking about him...or her? It? Right before you passed out this morning."

"Joe's granddad," Dianne answered distractedly, brushing her hair and smoothing it back into a high ponytail, missing the confused looks Oti and Amy were now exchanging.

"You have to...give Joe his granddad back?" Amy giggled. "Di, I think you're still sleep deprived."

Dianne sighed dramatically, grabbing the handcuffs, "No, but I have his granddad Chippy's tie. Joe wrapped it around the handcuffs before our performance yesterday because the cuffs were cutting into my wrist. It's his good luck charm - he puts it on the mic stand before each show. I have to get it back to him."

Realization dawned on both of her friends faces as she pulled on her combat boots, hopping around the tent, gathering up all her belongings and throwing them into her bag.

"Alright," Oti started slowly. "Why don't we just go back to his tent? He's probably exhausted and slept until midday too."

Dianne nodded distractedly, grabbing the handcuffs before turning to look at her friends with a mixture of determination and fear, "I'm not going to regret this am I?"

Amy grinned, "Regret what? Returning the good luck charm, or seeing Joe again?"

---

Joe groaned as he stretched his arms over his head, the tent no longer covered in shadows of the early morning sun, but now full of bright rays that filtered in at harsh angles, the sun clearly very high in the sky.