Yes, two chapters at once! So I know there's book 2, but I wanted a mini chapter because I'm not doing Regionals meaning there would be nothing about Strictly... This is all from Joe's point of view.
It was the Strictly final, and Andrew had made it to the top four, and was honestly a good contender to win. I hadn't seen Dianne since Internationals, and she unfortunately couldn't make it to the final either, but we texted and facetimed every day.
Our team for Regionals wasn't the same as our team for Internationals, but to perform at Blackpool and in the Strictly Final we had our old team, and we were performing new dances. I was still dance captain, obviously.
The dance we had for Blackpool was good, but we were performing one to Run Boy Run for our dance this day, and it was one of my best works. Shirley had seen it in our tech run and was very impressed with us. Andrew had loved seeing us perform too, and had been surprised at what it was like at the British Dance Company compared to his team in Australia. Apparently it was really different and he said although his allegiance would always lie with Australia, he much preferred the atmosphere at the BDC. I was definitely proud of that, and it'd earned him brownie points with Shirley.
Since doing Strictly, Shirley had to step down as head of the team. She didn't have time. We now have a professional dancer named Alesha, and she was awesome.
However, just as we were about to go on stage, I noticed someone sat on the front row in the audience. Dianne. Suddenly I felt like I could achieve anything. I was over the moon.
Shortly after the show had finished, Dianne came hurdling into my arms.
"Joe," she breathed, hugging me tight.
"You're here?!" I looked at her in joyous disbelief.
She nodded. "I decided to fly out to surprise you and Andrew! AND ANDREW WON!!"
"I know!" I grinned. "It was literally the most amazing final."
"It really was," she nodded.
We decided to leave and take a stroll outside alone, away from everyone. It was dark, but the moon was glittering above us. It was like the sky had cracked into a thousand pieces, with moonlight reflecting off every surface. But even in the darkness I could see her. I didn't need to be able to physically see her to see her anyway. It was beautiful.
"So, how long are you here for?" I asked after a while. It was a question that had been lingering for a while.
"I don't know," she bit her lip. "Andrew is coming home for Christmas in a few days, but I think I'm here til Tuesday! However our mum and dad are planning something special for us and won't tell us anything about it, so I'm kinda worried about returning home," she laughed.
"Well, I'll happily keep you here for as long as possible," I grinned, and then kissed her.
"Obviously," she tossed her hair. "But honestly, I can't believe this. I have to go back and see Andrew soon, because he still doesn't know I'm here, but we need to meet up tomorrow, and spend as much time as we can together until we leave. Also, Andrew is on the Strictly Tour, so I'll come visit before Nationals too!"
"Hell yeah," I grinned. "I love you, so much."
"I love you more," she smiled.
We stayed there for a while, just staring into each others' eyes. Yes, I could see her almost perfectly in the cracked darkness.
Boom. Til next time, my darlings. B xo