THE SECRETS WE KEEP.

- NO HOLDING BACK. (PART 1)

AMYS POV:
A girls night was necessary after the camera blocking dramas of the day. Everything that could of gone wrong, went wrong. I couldn't wait to kick up my feet, put on a face mask and just chill out. Except that wasn't the case. Tonight had another purpose other than relaxing - to sus out the relationship of "Joanne". Oti, Nadiya and I had put our heads together, coming up with a plan to get out all the details from Dianne on her true feelings. Her breakup with Anthony had left her heartbroken which was something no one around Strictly liked to see. But something just seemed different when Joe and Dianne were around each other. They smiled like cheshire cats. They laughed like they were at a comedy show. They made each other happier.

"How was camera blocking with Joe today?" I asked Dianne, sending a quick wink over to Oti who tried to hold in her giggles beside me. I tried to stay as calm as I could, going by our plan of what we had rehearsed. Relaxing back into my seat, my feet propped up against the table, the aching feeling in my legs getting stronger. We were all gathered around my bed in our respective chairs, holding a glass of wine in one hand and our phone in the other, ready for any photo opportunity that happen to pass. "It went well actually, he did really good. There are some parts I want to change before tomorrow" She replied back to me, taking a sip from her wine glass to turn back to the sight of us three hunched over in front of her. Our elbows rested on our knees holding our faces in our palms, our ears wide open to listen in like a hawk. She gave us a confused expression, setting down her glass onto the table and crossing her arms before speaking to us like an angry school teacher; "Okay, what?"

For a brief second her face went blank. The moment of realisation hitting her about what we really wanted to know. "You want to know about Joe and I?" She asked us with a raised brow, all three of us humming in agreement to the statement she made. My stomach flipped slightly at the thought of what she could reveal to us. I mean, we all knew there was something there. You could feel it in the room. The way they looked at each other, the way they held each other, the way they talked about each other. I already knew from the twinkle in her eye that she was falling for him. And she was falling hard. And I had a front row seat to watch it all happen. A loud sigh escaped her lips, one full of exasperation and exhaustion. I knew how tired she was. Not just exhausted tired but mentally tired. Her and Joe had been on this cat and mouse chase for weeks, and finally she had the chance to open the bottle and let it all pour out to us. "I'm just scared okay?" I could barely make out her mumble but my heart sunk at what I heard, a hand of comfort immediately reaching out to hold hers.

Her quiet sniffles filled the room around us, no one wanting to say a word. Not one of us wanted to say the wrong thing to put her off. We all felt speechless, hanging onto Diannes every last word. She took a quick breath in and let it out slowly before her explaining began. "Joe and I.. we're becoming so close you know? If I tell him I like him and he rejects me, it could ruin that. Our friendship right now is the one thing getting me up in the mornings.." All of a sudden, her voice broke and her head fell limp into her hands. Her jerking body rocked the chair, quiet sobs coming through the gaps of her hands. Seeing Dianne so upset broke me. She was like my sister, a part of my family. In sync, the three of us rushed to her side, providing comforting shoulders to cry on. We held her in a tight embrace, staying close for a few moments.

"I cant believe I've fallen victim to the famous Strictly curse" She let out a quiet giggle from her hands as she rested back in her chair, a loud groan escaping her lips. Hearing the words curse made my eyebrow raise as I knew that none of us believed that was even a real thing. Thinking she was joking, we all let out a light chuckle to fill in the gaps of silence. But she kept on going. "How could I let this happen?" She whined, bringing her feet off the floor to sit in a folded position on the chair. I could feel my blood boil slightly at the thought of her believing the press and their terms. Jumping to stand in front of her, my hands came to rest on my hips and I gave her a glare, one with a raised brow and pouted lips. "What is happening between you and Joe is not a 'curse'. Dianne, every person here can see you falling for him. So please, stop calling yourself a victim to a non-existent curse and go tell him how you really feel." My body felt light, a weight being lifted off my shoulders, thoughts being removed from my mind. I knew the reaction my outburst would cause but all I said was true. I let myself fall back into my chair, leaning forward to look at Dianne who had not moved from her one spot. "Amy I cant.." I heard her mumble before she went back to picking off her nail polish, a known nervous habit of hers. "Dianne why not? What's stopping you from leaving this room and telling him how you feel?"

"He loves her, don't you get that?!" The sudden outpour of emotion sent shock waves throughout my whole body, making me take a double take at who spoke. Dianne had shoved past me in the chair and began to pace the room, going from the door to the opposite wall. Door to wall. Wall to door. Her ramble continued, telling all about how he had gone on a date with a girl and she just knew she had missed her chance. In her words she was "too late". The image of her being so alone with those thoughts made my heart ache in pain. Her whole demeaner had now changed. Her glossy eyes were now full of tears, ready to flow out at any given chance. Her light smile hide the pain she wanted no one to know. I just wanted to hug and comfort her, continuously telling her that everything would be fine.

In reality, that's not what I did at all. I rose from my chair and grabbed onto Diannes hand, trudging her along like a sack of potatoes to the door. "You and I are going to talk to Joe, now. And you can't say no." I demanded at her before opening my door and walking down the corridor, leaving the whole room in state of shock at my abruptness. But I knew that if I did not take her to him, she would never find out how he truly felt. And then, it would really be too late.

JOES POV:
The sound of the wall clock tick-tocking away to itself filled the empty silence I had created. My mind was in a different state to this hotel room, something did not feel right. The whole way through camera blocking, I couldn't help but feel different with Dianne. I was continually tormented by the thought of her feelings, whether what Olivia had told me was true or not. But one things for certain - we were not ready for tomorrow. Interrupting my train of thought was the three bangs at the door. Bang. Bang. Bang. As much as I knew it was no-one, my heart wished for it to be Dianne standing on the other side of that doorframe.

As if the stars aligned right, the petite redhead was standing in front of me. The tension between us was so thick you could almost touch it. This seemed to have become familiar between the two of us, how unwelcoming as it was. Before a second thought could be mastered, my hands were cupping her cheeks, a shocked look on her face. My gaze dropped from her eyes to her lips. They looked so soft, so.. kissable. And before I knew it - my eyes shut, my head tilted slightly, leaning my body forward to hers. Our lips were placed onto each others in a soft kiss, an arm going around her waist to pull her in close to my body.

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thanks everyone for reading this chapter! i've decided to split it into two parts because as one, it would be really long and hard to concentrate on. again, if there's anything i can do to make my writing a little more interesting for you please let me know in the comments! the next one will come soon :)

p.s thank you so much for over 500 reads on this story, i never would have imagined it would get that many! <3