Real(ity) Feelings

Chapter 15

And the smirk on her lips hadn't helped with the distraction.

He was constantly caught off guard by how Dianne reacted to him. He still felt like goofy, lame, little Joe Sugg from the countryside inside, but sometimes the way Dianne looked at him made him feel like he was a superhero. And what really blew his mind, was that she reacted that way to the real him. He hadn't changed his personality like he had in the past with other girls. He didn't have to put up an act - she genuinely laughed at his stupid jokes until she cried, and checked him out as he changed clothes when she thought he wasn't looking. She was also becoming his number one supporter - she'd recently been brainstorming creative ideas for new projects with him under the covers late at night when he couldn't sleep.

And her kind demeanor - to everyone in the house, but especially to him. She was constantly doing little things that made him wonder if she was putting in the extra effort to try and win him over - though after three weeks, she had to know she had him, completely. He had recently come to the realization that this was just who she was - a genuinely wonderful person with the biggest heart.

He recalled a week ago, when she woke him up, smothering his face with kisses, and presenting him with eggs on toast and a glass of blueberry juice. While it may have seemed like just a simple gesture to an outsider, to Joe it meant the world. They had had a conversation about their favorite breakfasts on one of their first nights in the mansion - Joe's being eggs on toast and blueberry juice, which was extremely hard to find in the UK. She told him later, she had incessantly begged the Oasis Island staff to bring some to the mansion for so many days in a row, they had finally given in and brought in an entire case just to shut her up.

It was moments like those, where Joe knew she was more than his partner in the game. He had started referring to her as his "girlfriend" in his head - a word he wasn't quite brave enough to say out loud, afraid it would make her retreat into herself again. He felt like there was something she was hiding still, but he appreciated the effort she was putting in to being honest about smaller things in her life, and he had a feeling she was getting closer and closer to finally letting him in all the way.

Luke escaped his grip, noticing Joe's eyes fixated on the redhead on the lounger.

"Mate, you are a goner for that girl," he chuckled as he reached forward to pull Joe into a headlock.

Joe tried to escape briefly before giving up and flopping back into the water, sighing out loud, "I know."

Luke shook his head smiling, releasing him and shoving him toward the edge of the pool. Joe nodded at him gratefully, before hoisting himself up and walking to stand over Dianne. She had her eyes closed, her mouth turned up into a small smile again. As he leaned over her, he shook his head slightly, letting a few water droplets fall from his hair onto her face. She wrinkled her nose before fluttering her eyes open to look up.

He felt his stomach do that weird flip flop thing again as he watched her face light up and her arms reach out to pull him on top of her. He sighed happily as he buried his face in her neck, feeling her small body stretch out underneath his as he settled between her legs, her hands lightly tickling up and down his back.

"Will this ever get old?" Dianne whispered against his hair.

"What? Me laying my full body weight on you or soaking you unexpectedly with chlorinated water?"

Dianne giggled into his ear, "I meant cuddling with you, but honestly yeah, I've enjoyed those things too."

Joe shifted to the side so his full body weight wasn't on top of her, keeping his head pressed into her neck. "I hope it doesn't ever get old."

He heard her sigh happily, as he began drawing figure eights on her bare stomach. She bent one knee and he moved his hand down to rub up and down her thigh, coming up dangerously close to her bum, before whispering "Want to go inside...and...cuddle?"

She smacked his hand away lightly, still giggling. He knew they would never go further than furiously snogging under the covers - Dianne was far too aware of the cameras, and frankly, he was too. But it didn't hurt to tease her a little.

"Stop," she said in a low voice, "Don't tempt me."

Joe raised his head from her neck in surprise, "Oh?"

He watched her blush and try to turn her face away from his, but he caught her chin and turned her back toward him. He smirked before leaning in and leaving a light kiss on her lips, increasing the pressure as he felt Dianne reciprocate immediately.

With a soft moan, she pulled away, whispering, "Like that, Joseph. Stop."

He smiled innocently toward her and laid back down, interlacing their fingers on her stomach.

"I think someone new is coming in tomorrow," Dianne announced, a few minutes later.

Joe groaned, her voice interrupting his ability to drift off into a comfortable snooze. "Don't remind me. I hate when new people come."

Dianne laughed, "I think sometimes you forget we're playing a game, Joe."

He smiled back at her, "That's because I'm not really playing anymore. I think I've already won."

Dianne beamed at him, her hands going back to stroking through his hair as his eyes closed again, nuzzling into the space between her shoulder and chin. 

He felt completely at ease - unaware of the storm that was brewing over the Oasis Island mansion as he slept. 

---

Ooooh that's an ominous last line. I thought I'd provide some over the top fluff before I make things a little more difficult for our main characters. I think there will probably be five or so more chapters before this story comes to an end. Brace yourselves for the rollercoaster!