A Matter of Perspective

Christmas 2 - Megan

Megan stood on the curb, anxiously tapping her toe to an unknown beat, the hot Australian sun beating down on her blonde hair as it rose to its highest point in the sky. Even though she'd spent the better part of the last four years traveling the world on various dance tours, there was nothing quite like being back home in Australia - even though their Christmas season was sweatier than most.

She heard her phone ding in her pocket, grinning as she read the message.

Be there in two mins, Mego!

Megan took a deep breath, trying to steady her beating heart. She was excited - arguably too excited - to see her best friend for the first time in a very long time. And mixed with that excitement was an underlying layer of nerves, because she wasn't going to just be seeing Dianne - she was also going to be meeting her new boyfriend. Though, she realized, "new" was a relative term. Dianne had been with Joe for a year now - but in their friendship, where they went years without seeing each other - Joe Sugg was still a relative newcomer in her best friend's life.

It wasn't like she was wholly unfamiliar with the man who had stolen her friend's heart on last year's season of Strictly Come Dancing.  Dianne had clued her in to many of the reasons why she loved Joe through their phone calls and texts - but with their busy schedules, it wasn't unusual to go a few months between catch-up sessions, and she hadn't talked to Dianne much in the last six months. Instead, she'd relied on a few quick Google searches here and there, plus a few cheeky viewings of their YouTube videos - so that when the day came where she'd finally get to meet him in person, she wouldn't sound completely clueless about the man that was clearly a big deal in the UK...and an even bigger deal in Dianne's life.

Now though, that the day had arrived, she was nervous. Nervous to bring a new person into the fold, but even more nervous that she might not like him. Dianne hadn't always shown the best ability to pick winners in the past - sure, they had all treated Dianne like a princess at the beginning, and judging by their videos, Joe and Dianne seemed beyond happy, even a year on - but Megan had always seen right through men in the past who put up a front with Dianne only to show their true colors after a few months. Deep down she was afraid that there would be an obvious difference between Joe and Dianne on camera and Joe and Dianne in real life.

Just as she began to dive back into the archives of all of Dianne's relationships, trying to remember the warning signs she'd missed, she heard a car horn honk, pulling up toward the sidewalk where she had been patiently waiting. With a flutter in her stomach, she grinned at the bright red hair flapping in the wind as her best friend leaned out the back window, waving enthusiastically as the car came to a stop and then suddenly Dianne was there in the flesh, giving her a big old hug.

"Megs!" Dianne shouted, hugging her tightly. "It's been so so long, I missed you so so much!"

"Me too," Megan grinned, squeezing back. "How are you? How's life?"

Dianne pulled back, a wide smile on her face, "I'm so good. The best I've ever been."

Megan raised an eyebrow, "Oh really?"

"Yeah, come on, let's catch up on the way to the dunes," she smiled, tugging on her arm and leading her toward the car, ducking in and sliding over the middle seat. After Megan greeted Dianne's brother Andrew and his fiancee Mel, she turned her sight toward the man on Dianne's other side, who up until now, had remained silent.

"Hi, I'm Joe," he spoke, his voice soft and properly British, his right hand outstretched for a shake. She noticed he had beautiful eyes - no wonder Dianne couldn't stop talking about them last year - and she noticed, he looked a bit nervous.

"Megan," she shot him a polite smile, reaching out to grasp his smooth hand for a firm shake.

"Mego has been one of my best friends forever, Joe," Dianne interjected happily, "I can't believe you're here, Meg! The timing is just so perfect!"