As per the last couple of weeks, Joe watched the latest episode of Strictly, pretty much with bated breath! He tried not to over-analyse the dynamics on the dancefloor between Seann, Katya, Neil, Zoe, Lee, and Dianne; but it was difficult now that everyone knew what had happened the previous week. He really didn't want to pry – and it wasn't as though he was going out of his way to implicate himself – but it was difficult not to when Joe was faced with articles about Seann and Katya every time he opened a new window on his desktop! 

It had been a particularly tough week, and Joe had spent the majority of it worrying about his sister and her dance partner. Zoe had kept him updated – though, not as much as previously; which wasn't a surprise – and it still seemed as though there was an elephant in the room. She wanted Neil to open up, fearing that keeping quiet would cause more harm than good; to his work and to his mental health.

"And I know what that's like", Zoe had remarked during their last conversation.

Joe nodded, "Which makes you one of the best people he could go to".

Zoe smiled uncertainly, "But I also know that it doesn't help when people keep insisting that you talk," she countered, "When you feel like people are watching you, waiting for you to break down".

"But that's not what you're doing, is it?" Joe pointed out.

"Not intentionally," Zoe shrugged, "But I get how it could be seen that way".

Joe let out a breath, "Look, this is an intense situation: emotions are running high, but there's no point in stressing about things that you can't control," he began, "Neil knows that you're there if he wants to talk, but he might not want to; and that's okay".

"Yeah, I guess", Zoe sighed. Joe could tell that she was unconvinced, and knew that it would be futile to keep pushing the subject. Instead, he tried to distract Zoe by telling her about the research he had done on the Cha-Cha-Chá; giving her a few pointers in the hope of impressing her partner and the judges! And, after watching their performance on Saturday night, it looked as though his advice had paid off!

Joe made sure to vote several times for Zoe and Neil, and Lee and Dianne. And although he wasn't religious, the young man even threw in a quick prayer for the latter couple to avoid the dance-off!

Joe tried to distract himself from wondering about the result for the rest of the evening by focusing on his own work, and trying not to get too distracted by social media. A loud buzzing from his phone later on brought Joe back to the present, and his heart skipped a beat as he read the message.

Dianne Buswell: Hey Joe. Would it be OK for me to come over? X

Joe let out a deflated breath, automatically fearing the worst. There was no way that he was going to rebuff Dianne, especially when she was upset, so he responded immediately.

Joe Sugg: Of course you can! See you in a bit.

Wine and tissues prepped, Joe steeled himself for a tearful Dianne on the other side of the door. However, as soon as he opened it, he found his arms full of the young woman. She had launched herself at him, enveloping him in a hug; and Joe almost lost his balance as he caught her.

"We did it!" Dianne exclaimed, "Thank you!"

With the redhead in his arms, Joe's mind went blank as to what she was talking about, "Um... you're welcome?"

Dianne giggled and let go enough to look him in the eyes, "Lee and I got through, no dance-off!"

Joe beamed, "That's awesome, congratulations!" he replied enthusiastically as he drew her back into the hug. It lasted a while, with the pair just wrapped up in each other; until Joe broke the tension, "Shame you've just spoilt tomorrow's episode for everyone in the building though!"

Dianne glanced round to discover that the front door was still open for everyone to see and hear them, which wasn't helped by the redhead's loud voice!

"No, I didn't!" she pouted, "And, even if I did, it's their fault for eavesdropping!"

Joe hummed in agreement, and the redhead managed to kick the door shut without causing too much noise, "Impressive," he remarked before letting go of her, "Fancy a drink?"

Dianne smirked, "Do you even have to ask?"

Joe grinned as they bounced towards the kitchen together, "Well, I'd have thought you'd been out with the others to celebrate after the show".

Dianne shrugged, "I did have one drink, but it didn't feel right without you", she admitted.

Joe glanced up in surprise, and she continued, "I mean, it was thanks to your ideas that we made it through, so it would have been wrong to leave you out".

"Right," Joe replied quietly as he poured the wine into a couple of glasses, "But now you've left Lee out".

"Oh, he was busy," Dianne countered, "Some of his mates came along to the show, and he wanted to hang out with them".

Joe nodded, "That's fair enough," he remarked, "But it wasn't because of me that you got through, you know; it was you and Lee".

Dianne considered this, "It was a team effort," she conceded, "You didn't have to help us, but you still went out of your way to".

Joe almost had to bite his lip to stop himself from telling her that he did have to help them. Not only was that a bit full-on, but he was also unsure of how it would be inferred: would Dianne be offended by the insinuation that she and Lee were that desperate? There was no way that Joe would do anything to risk ruining her good mood, so he hesitated.

"I wanted to," he decided on, "And I'm just glad it worked out".

Dianne smiled, "Me too," she agreed, then narrowed her eyes at him, "But I don't know what you're worse at: taking compliments, or giving me my drink!"

Joe quirked an eyebrow, then chuckled as he realised that he was still in possession of both of the glasses of wine, "Sorry!" he grimaced before handing her a glass, "And apparently, I'm equally rubbish at both!"

Dianne raised the wine to her smirking lips, "Well, at least there are more things that you're good at".

Joe blinked at her, unsure how to interpret her words, "Like what?"

"Like social media, making videos..." Dianne began cautiously, then smiled slightly, "Like making people laugh, putting others first, and always knowing how to cheer me up".

Her words caused Joe's heart to leap, "Is that how you see me?"

"Joe, that's how everyone sees you," Dianne replied, and Joe couldn't help glancing away as he felt a pang of disappointment that this wasn't specifically about her feelings, "You're a great guy, and I can't thank you enough for... everything".

The younger man smiled, feeling buoyed by her response, "You don't have to thank me", he assured her.

"And that's what I mean!" Dianne remarked fondly.

Joe sniggered, "Well, I think you're great too," he countered modestly, wanting to redirect the attention away from himself, "I mean, everyone does!"

"Thanks," Dianne whispered coyly before extending her drink towards him to clink their glasses together, "Well, here's to being 'great'!" she announced, causing Joe to laugh. They both knew that they were entering a grey area of their relationship, but there was something stopping them from taking the leap. Whether it was fear of rejection, judgement, or just of the unknown; Joe and Dianne were apprehensive about overstepping the mark, and what it would mean.

Lost in his thoughts, it took Joe a while to notice Dianne pacing back and forth across the room. But once he did, he couldn't un-notice it, "Hey, you're gonna wear a hole in the floor if you're not careful!"

The redhead abruptly stood still and looked awkward, "Sorry".

"You don't have to apologise," Joe countered, then looked worried, "Are you okay?"

Dianne nodded, "Better than okay".

Joe quirked an eyebrow, "Really? Because the pacing kinda says otherwise".

Dianne glanced at her feet, "Yeah, I guess I'm a bit restless".

"After all that dancing?" Joe scoffed.

Dianne shrugged, "I think the excitement of getting through to next week has given me a second wind".

"And I thought I was the windy one!" Joe muttered jokily.

"A different kind of wind!" Dianne chuckled.

Joe smiled, then was struck with an idea, "Hey Google..." he called out, "Play my 'Feel Good' playlist".

Dianne looked confused, "What was that?"

The room was suddenly filled with the synthesised sound of 'Take On Me' playing through the speakers, causing Joe to grin, "Maybe a bit of music will help you burn off some steam".

"Thanks", Dianne smiled, rather touched by his thoughtfulness. She took advantage of the gesture by launching into a series of kicks and flicks, but couldn't help feeling a bit self-conscious. Although Dianne was a professional dancer, this wasn't a typical situation for her to be in. It felt kind of strange to break out into a dance in a near-empty room with Joe hanging around in the kitchen, trying unsuccessfully not to watch her.

"So, are you just gonna stand there?" she questioned.

Joe was taken aback, "As opposed to what?"

Dianne held her hand out to him, "Joining me".

"I'm not sure about that," Joe snorted, "I haven't had enough to drink yet!"

Dianne smirked, "Good," she shrugged, "It's better to be sober, so you'll have better control over your spaghetti limbs!"

Joe nodded in agreement, then narrowed his eyes, "Wait, my what?"

Dianne giggled, "Don't worry, it's a compliment," she assured him before waving him over, "Come on, Sugg!"

The younger man deliberated over whether or not to join her. On the one hand, he hadn't danced since his birthday party, and didn't want to embarrass himself; especially since Dianne's Strictly partner was much more natural than him! On the other hand, there was nobody else around to make him feel embarrassed, and the idea of being close to Dianne was difficult to pass up. Plus, she was staring at him pleadingly with those big, beautiful, honey-coloured eyes. How could Joe turn her down when she was looking at him like that? Clearing his head of those somewhat inappropriate thoughts, Joe hesitantly joined Dianne in the middle of the room and took her hand in his own.

Immediately, Joe felt a sense of déjà vu as Dianne taught him some steps. Not only did he recognise a few of them from the party, but also through his own research since. He hadn't realised how useful that would have turned out to be until she was in his arms. Joe could feel himself relaxing yet also tensing up whilst they were dancing; it was a weird thing to get his head around, especially whilst in such close proximity to the redhead.

"Hey Joe..." Dianne suddenly began, "Dip me".

Joe was confused as she leant back in his arms, "'Dip' you in what? You're not a crisp!"

Dianne snorted with laughter, and Joe feared that she was about to fall out of his grasp. He pulled her upright, his arms tightening around her waist and back. Her own arms encircled his neck for support, and they found themselves practically nose-to-nose as she stood up. It felt like the world around them had stopped; even the music seemed to fade away as the pair stared into each other's eyes. Their faces inched closer, and they could feel the other person's breath ghosting their skin as the gap narrowed. Just as their lips brushed together, the sound of a ringing phone interrupted them, causing the pair to jump apart. Joe and Dianne glanced around the room blankly, their brains having not quite caught up with what was going on yet.

Once it had dawned on them, Dianne reached into her pocket to retrieve her mobile phone, and stared at it for a moment, "Sorry, I should get this", she muttered.

Joe nodded stiffly and stepped away from her, "Yeah, of course".

Dianne hesitated before answering her phone and lifting it to her ear, "Hey, Lee," she greeted as nonchalantly as she could manage, "What's up?"

Joe decided to give her some space for the conversation, and moved away to start tidying the room. He inwardly cursed the situation: although he liked Lee, the guy had really bad timing!

The redhead glanced at him, almost indecisively, "Um, just chilling out, why?" she questioned to Lee, then there was a lingering pause, "Oh, right. Yeah, I'm gonna need that. Would you be okay to just pop by my place in about... half an hour?"

Joe glanced up at her quizzically, and the two briefly made eye-contact, "Cool, see you then", Dianne murmured before ending the call.

"Is everything okay?" Joe asked cautiously.

"Yeah," Dianne shrugged, "Lee was showing his mates around the studio, and one of the runners said that I'd left my roller behind. I need it for stretching in the morning, so he's gonna come over in a bit and deliver it".

"Right," Joe nodded coolly, "Well, you should be heading off then".

Dianne nodded slowly, "Yeah, I should", she muttered.

There was a long pause as reality struck the pair. The interruption from Lee – on top of everything going on with Seann, Katya and Neil – was just a reminder that any kind of relationship between them would be difficult to navigate in such a tricky situation. As Joe had told his sister, this whole thing was so intense; getting more involved with Dianne than he was already would just complicate it even more. But it was difficult to resist; Dianne was difficult to resist.

Joe watched her gather her belongings, his heart sinking as he noticed her stoic expression. Fearing that he had ruined everything with his dismissive attitude, the young man knew that he had to salvage the situation quickly, "Di, wait!" he called out as she reached the front door.

Dianne stopped and turned to face him hesitantly, "Yeah?"

Joe wasn't sure how to articulate what he wanted to say, but knew that he needed to say something, "Do you think we should... talk about....?"

His eyes drifted to the spot where the two had just been standing, and Dianne somehow managed to catch onto what he was trying to ask, "Yeah, we should," she agreed with a slight smile before glancing helplessly towards the door, "I really do need to go, but I'll text you during the week; and we can talk".

"Okay, sounds good", Joe nodded, returning the smile.

For a few moments, the pair just smiled and nodded at each other. There was a lot going on in their heads, but they knew that now wasn't the right time to address it.

Dianne cleared her throat, "Um, thanks again".

"It's no problem," Joe assured her, "I'll see you soon?"

"Yeah, see ya", Dianne nodded with a grin. Joe watched her leave, and let out a long breath. It had been a strange evening; with lots of emotions, and words unspoken. But their arrangement to meet up and talk gave them both a sense of hope that they would be able to get all of their mixed-up feelings out in the open.