Joe and Dianne: Life away from you

The importance of you

Zoe's POV:

"I can't believe it's been a whole year Alf." As I rested my head on Alfie's chest, I allowed my thoughts to break free from my mind. After the party last night, he and I had decided that it made more sense to stay the night in what was now Joe and Dianne's spare room, rather than driving all the way back to Brighton at two in the morning.

"Since what?" he questioned as I felt him yawn and stretch underneath me, the not so early bed time we had last night clearly effecting him.

"Since everything... Sine we met Dianne, since Joe began Strictly, since we came here to celebrate his 27th birthday. It's gone so quick don't you think?"

We were plunged into a soft silence for a moment, as Alfie's early morning brain tried its hardest to formulate a sentence. "I mean, yeah I guess it has gone quickly. Especially for those two, they never bloody stop, what with their booming careers and the million and one different things they're working on at the moment."

He had a point. Over this past year, I had seen my brother a measly 6 or 7 times due to his various commitments and the adventures he was going on. And every time that I had seen him he had changed so much.

After the four of us went to the tree-houses together, once their stint on Strictly had finished, I had noticed a few changes to my little bro even then. Of course the loud Australian dancer with the red hair snuggling with him almost the entire time was the most noticeable change, but there had been other, more subtle changes in Joe that I had picked up on.

The way he had protected Dianne at any given opportunity. They way he had all of a sudden held his head higher and smiled more so than he ever had done before. And the way that not only was he more in touch with mine, Dianne's and even Alfie's emotions that weekend, but for the first time ever in my life I had witnessed my brother take charge of his own. Admitting to us the last time he had cried, the last time he felt down and at one point even muttered the phrase 'I don't think I've ever been this happy.'

It was the little things that had always made me worry about Joe. The little things that I knew had the ability to turn into the big things that you needed after a long day. Little things like the power of a smile, or the simple act of coming home and seeing someone else there, rather than a cold, empty room.

During the first week of their relationship that I was aware of, I had noticed just how much of an effect that loud Australian dancer had indeed had on my little brother. And I couldn't have been more thankful for how much she has done for him right through the year up until last night when I watched her dance with him, laugh at his shit jokes, and walk around his home and speak to his friends, that were now in their home with their friends.

It was funny to see him with someone at first. But now it was different. Now they were a unit. And every time I saw Joe without Dianne, rather than 'Hello' the first thing I always heard myself saying was 'Where's Di, Joe?' It had become a thing in our lives. It was now impossible to imagine them on their own. They belonged together.

"You didn't hear a word of what I just said did you?" Suddenly hearing my boyfriends voice pull me from my thoughts I looked up at him and smiled. Rubbing my hand gently over his toned stomach, I closed my eyes and snuggle into him a little bit more.

"No sorry. What did you say?" The moment that I let the words fall from my mouth I almost heard Alfie roll his eyes.

"I said that I think we should get up. I just heard some movement outside and some out of tune singing which I can only imagine came from your brothers other half."

At Alfie's use of the phrase 'other half', I couldn't help but feel my heart melt at the thought. It still seemed strange to think about, even after a year of this new form of normality within our lives, but he was right. My little brother, the bachelor, the third wheel, was now complete with his own other half.