Never let go.

I was sitting in the lounge with Joe, Kevin, Danielle, Nick, Jess, Frankie and Reece when my phone went off. I picked it up and walked out off the room. Mum. I pressed the green button and held it up to my ear. “Hello?” I said, as I sat down on the stairs.

“Hey sweetie.” I could hear soft music playing in the background. I smiled, hoping she was having a good time. “Can you go and ask Denise something for me?” I nodded my head then realized that she couldn’t see me.

“Okay. I’ll go and find her.” I said, jumping off the couch and into the kitchen. I found Denise and Paul sitting at the dinner table, talking over a cup of coffee. I handed her my phone and smiled. “Mum.” I stated. She nodded her head and spoke down the phone. I walked back into the lounge, falling onto the couch next to Joe. He laughed at me, and poked my stomach.

“Who was that?” Jess said, not taking her eyes off whatever was on the TV. I looked down at her ring, something that sat on her finger proudly as it rested on Nick’s chest.

“Mum.” I said, as I rested my head against Joe’s shoulder. He wrapped his arms around my waist and held onto me. My eyes fluttered before they shut slowly.

“What did she want?” She asked. I opened my eyes and looked over at her. Joe pulled me closer to him, making me more comfortable.

“I don’t know, she wanted to talk to Denise.” I said. Jess nodded her head and went back to watching the TV. Joe placed a small kiss on my temple as my eyes shut again. I heard the door open, and then shut again but I didn’t open my eyes to see.

“Your mum says you lot have to stay here tonight.” Denise informed up. I guess it was her that came into the room. “So Isabelle with Joe, Jess with Nick and Reece in with Frankie.” She told us, as if we didn’t know. I nodded my head and let out a yawn. Joe rubbed my side, comforting me. “Iz.” Denise said, making me slowly open my eyes to look at her. She gave me a sympathetic smile. “As you look like you are about to pass out--” I laughed softly. “You can be off food duty tonight. We’ll order in.” I flashed my teeth at her.

“Thanks.” I whispered, closing my eyes again. Joe leant down to my ear.

“Do you want to go to bed?” He asked me. I shook my head.

“I’m hungry.” I whispered, opening my eyes and pouting at him. He laughed and nodded his head. “But after food, sleeping time.” I muttered, sitting up properly. Joe kept his arms around my waist, keeping me close to him. Denise threw me my phone and she winked at me.

“You’ve got a text by the way.” I narrowed my eyebrows and unlocked my phone. I pressed the read button and smiled when I saw the name.

From-James.
Hey Isabelle. (: I just wanted to tell you, for our date tomorrow, you should wear something nice. Like a dress or a skirt. Maybe not just a skirt. x

I burst into laughter and looked up at Joe who was reading my text. He had a smirk on his face and looked like he wanted to laugh. “I like him already.” Joe said to me. I laughed, and nodded my head. “Guys, when do you think we should meet James?” He said to the rest of his family. Everyone turned to us, smiling. I smacked Joe’s chest and my cheeks blush. “How about Saturday after the game?” He winked at me. I let out a soft groan and leant my head against the back of the couch.

“He isn’t even my boyfriend!” I said, looking around everybody. They had stupid smiles on their faces.

“YET!” Jess shouted, scaring the hell out of both me and Nick. “Sorry.” She whispered, obviously overly excited. I laughed softly and rolled my eyes at her. “But he does seem like a nice guy.” I sighed at my best friends and family.

To James.
Thanks for that. I was unsure; you just made my mind up. (: x

I could see Joe reading over my shoulder. I looked over at him and narrowed my eyebrows. “Next time you look over my shoulder, I’m going to send some long text to you about the things about you that I hate.” I said, putting my phone on my thigh. Joe stuck his tongue out at me and laughed. “Seriously.” I muttered before turning my attention to some advert on TV.

“When do we get to meet him?” Kevin asked from the other side of the room. I turned to him, my eyes narrowed. He held both hands up. “I’m just curious. Because Jess and Dani seem to think that he is a really nice guy. And he needs to know us before he does anything to rash.” My mouth dropped as Kevin said what was on his mind.

“Wow Kev. Just wow.” Danielle said, looking up at her husband. “Never thought you’d be the one to threaten a guy.” We all laughed at Kevin.

“Well.” Kevin started to say. “I’ve known Izzie since she was born.” I rolled my eyes.

“You were 3 when I was born.” I laughed at him. Kevin rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at me.

“Anyway!” He said, making a point that he was changing the subject. “I’ve known Izzie since she was born. And we.” He said, pointing at himself, Joe and Nick. “Need to know if this guy is perfect for her.” I shook my head at him.

“Shut up.” I muttered as Denise walked into the room.

“What do you want for dinner guys?” She asked, before getting yelled at. Sounded like me and Jess wanted Chinese. Joe, Reece and Frankie wanted pizza. Kevin and Nick wanted Indian. And Danielle wanted cheese and peanut butter on toast. We all looked at her.

“That’s disgusting.” Joe said, screwing up his nose. We all laughed before attempting to decide on what we wanted. “Pizza.” Joe said, resting his forehead against mine. I poked him in the chest.

“No. Chinese.” I said, arguing my case. Joe shook his head, his hair tickling my forehead. “Why don’t we let Jess and Nick decide as it’s their day today?” I suggested. Just as I finished my sentence, Jess screamed.

“Chinese!” She said, a massive smile on her face. “You don’t have a choice.” She kissed Nick’s nose, making me laugh.

“Well, I can’t wait for the wedding planning. Nick won’t have a say.” Denise muttered to herself, making me burst into laughter. Everyone turned to a laughing Denise and me. I held my stomach as she nudged me with her elbow. I almost choked on the air I was breathing in. Joe smacked me on the back, helping me breathe. “Chinese it is then.” She smiled at us before handing me a piece of paper. I scribbled down what I wanted before handing Joe it. He wrote in really big letters PIZZA! I rolled my eyes and nudged him in the ribs. He looked down at me, before crossing it out and wrote what he wanted. The piece of paper travelled around the room, and then ended back to Denise. As she walked out of the room, my phone buzzed on my leg. I picked it up and looked at Joe, who was looking at the TV.

From-James.
Anything you will wear will make you look pretty. x

I felt the blood rushing to my face. I rubbed the back of my neck, kind of embarrassed. Joe looked at me and lifted his hand to my face. He softly brushed his fingers down my red cheek and smiled at me. I was pretty sure that his touch made my face even worse. “What did he say?” He asked, his fingers dancing down my neck. I shuddered under his touch, making him more dominant and have a higher power over me. I held my phone up to Joe and he took it from me, moving his fingers from around my neck to my waist, pulling me closer to him. “He lied.” I looked from the TV towards Joe. “James. He lied.” He bent his head down so his mouth was level with my ear. “You are beautiful.” He said, before kissing my cheek. I looked up at him and smiled. I leant up before placing a kiss on his cheek. He smiled down at me, before turning his attention to the TV. I slid my phone out of his hand and hit the reply button.

To-James.
Smooth Mr Smith. Real smooth. ;D x

I laughed to myself before finally turning my attention to the TV.

---NeverLetGo----

“Chinese.” Denise called while we were in the middle of watching Shrek 3. Me, Frankie and Reece groaned. It was the first time I had watched the movie. Joe smiled at me.

“I’ll do yours.” I flashed my teeth at him as he walked out of the room. Jess gave Nick a small kiss before launching over to where I was sitting. I smiled at her and she smiled back.

“Engaged, Jess.” I said. She took a massive breath and nodded her head slowly. “Excited?” She laughed and nodded her head, bouncing on the couch.

“I can’t believe that you knew for all this time.” I stopped her.

“3 days!” I said, throwing my arms up in the air. We both burst into laughter.

“What about you and Joe?” She asked and I let out a massive sigh. “Well, earlier, he was touching your neck and you acted all weird.” I shrugged my shoulders.

“It’s Joe.” I said, as if it was casual. “He wanted to know something from me.” Jess narrowed her eyebrows at me. “James text me something.” And at that thought, my cheeks went red again.

“Well, this has to be good.” Jess said, smirking. “The only other boy has made you blush seems to be Joe. And if this is about James, he must have said something good.” I burst into laughter at her crazy idea.

“Here.” I shoved my phone into her hand. She looked at the text before giggling. “But then Joe said James has lied.” Jess narrowed her eyebrows at me. “He was like, ‘you are beautiful.’ It was weird.” Jess burst into laughter.

“Duh!” She said, smacking her hand against her forehead, before rubbing it. “One, you are beautiful. Two, Joe likes you.” She slowed out her words. I gave her one shove and she landed on the floor. Joe walked in, our food in his hands. I rolled my eyes as he sat down next to me. He handed me my bowl of Chinese, before sitting down with his pizza.

“How did you manage to get pizza?” I asked, taking a mouthful of my food. Joe grinned at me, a mouthful of pizza.

“My mum loves me.” He said, spitting his food everywhere. I closed my eyes in disgust. Everyone else walked in, whatever they had to eat in bowls or plates.

“So, if she loves you, why did I get pizza?” Reece said, making me open my eyes and screw my nose up at him. I burst into laughter.

“Because I love you as well, Reece.” Denise said, walking into the room and placing a small kiss on his forehead. He grinned at her, before we all turned our attention to Shrek. Joe nudged me in the ribs, before I looked at him.

“What happened while I was doing your dinner?” He asked me. I nervously bit my lip and shrugged my shoulders.

“Me and my baby sister where having a lovely talk.” I flashed my teeth at Joe before he rolled his eyes. “Love you Joey.”

----NeverLetGo----

Me and Joe were lying across the couch. I had my back against the back of the couch and was holding onto Joe so he didn’t fall off. “You blinked!” I yelled at him, before he fell off the couch. I burst into laughter as he sat on the floor, pouting. Kevin and Nick were nearly on the floor with laughter. I sat up properly and held my hand out to Joe. He grabbed it, and immediately I knew what he was doing. I landed on top of Joe and we both burst into laughter. He flipped us both over and I landed on the floor. He moved his hands to my waist and started to tickle me. I started to kick my legs around, occasionally they were kicking Joe’s butt. “Get off me before I’m sick!” I managed to scream in between laughter and screaming. “I’ve just eaten!” I screamed. Suddenly I felt Joe’s weight off my body and I looked up to see Reece and Frankie, who had him by the back of his hair.

“You leave my sister alone!” Reece said, letting go of Joe and charging into Joe’s stomach. I jumped off the floor, just as Joe fell back down. I sat on the couch while Frankie and Reece punched Joe. We all stared at Joe grabbed both boys and threw them over his shoulder, walking them out of the room. I laughed and lied down on the couch, stretching. Reece came running in and dived on top of me, his elbow landing in my sore rib. I took a deep intake of air and placed him in my lap where it was more comfortable. “Hide me from Jay.” He whispered, hiding his face in my neck. I laughed and grabbed him so his legs were either side of my lap. I could feel him giggling in my neck.

“Where is Reece?” Joe growled, crawling into the room. I laughed as I saw Frankie riding on his back. “He gave me a wedgy.” I almost cried with laughter when Joe told us. I could feel Reece’s body suddenly go slack and slowly hear him snoring. I looked over at Joe, who was crawling towards me. I kicked him in the chest.

“He’s asleep.” I said, rubbing Reece’s back comfortingly. Joe nodded his head and stood up, making Frankie fall onto his butt. I stood up and tucked my hands under Reece’s bum. Joe looked over at me.

“Do you want me to take him?” He asked, holding his arms out. I shook my head and smiled at Joe.

“I’m alright thanks. I’m going to go to bed after.” I said, yawning in time. He nodded his head and Jess walked over to me. She kissed Reece’s head before my cheek. “Congrats.” I said to her and Nick. She grinned at me, before I walked out of the room. I carried Reece up the stairs and into Frankie’s room. I laid him down on the bottom bunk of Frankie’s bunk bed. I kissed his forehead.

“Love you.” He whispered, before turning over and sleeping. I rolled my eyes and walked out of the room. I wandered into Joe’s room, letting out a massive yawn. I pulled out a pair of boxer shorts and a white t-shirt. I quickly got unchanged and into Joe’s clothes. I walked over to his bed and flopped down on it. I was so tired, today had killed me. Joe walked in, and threw something at me. I rolled over to see my phone sitting beside me. I smiled at Joe.

“Thanks.” I said. He nodded his head. I climbed under the covers, the cold covering me. I shuddered and Joe laughed. “Shut up.” I yawned, my head hitting the pillow. As my eyes started to slowly shut, I felt Joe climb in. Straight away, he entwined my fingers together with his and pulled me closer to his warm body. I placed my hands on his bare chest. I let out a soft sigh as Joe’s warmth comforted me.

“We won’t be able to do this for much longer.” He said, placing his spare arm around my waist, his fingers ticking my hip. I shut my eyes and thought about what Joe said.

“What do you mean?” I asked, rubbing my thumb over his hand. He sighed and pulled me closer to him. I tucked one of my legs between his and then the other one over his hip. Weirdly enough, this was a comfortable position for me. Joe took his hand off my hip and placed it on my thigh that was over his hip. He rubbed his thumb against it, sending shivers down my body.

“This.” He whispered, suddenly sounding upset. “Sharing a bed. Cuddling together.” I could imagine Joe’s cheeks going bright red. “This is what I will miss.” I could feel Joe’s hand tightening around my leg. I opened my eyes and lifted my hand to stroke his face. He closed his eyes as I ran my fingers over his stubble. “When James comes and asks you to be his girlfriend.” I ran my hand through his hair and then played with a piece of hair on the back of his neck. “We won’t be doing this. You’ll be with James when you are sleeping. Not me.” I let out a soft laugh, which lead Joe to open his eyes. I pulled him closer me, his forehead landing on mine. He refrained from looking in my eyes.

“Joe.” I said, getting his attention. He looked down at me and I could feel his breath on my lips. It took all my strength not to kiss him. “You are my best friend. And I am never letting someone get between us. You want me here, in your bed. I’ll come. Just call.” I said. Joe nodded his head and gave me one of those pathetic smiles he usually gives when he doesn’t believe me. “I promise you, Joe.” I said. At that moment, Joe’s eyes looked down at me and he nodded, smiling properly.

“Okay.” He whispered, showing me his teeth. I flashed my teeth back at him and closed my eyes. “Tired, Iz?” He asked me. I nodded my head and Joe laughed to himself. “You know it’s along 9pm?” He said, interrupting my sleep once more. I nodded my head again. “Okay, clears that up. Night baby girl.” Joe whispered to me, placing a kiss on my forehead.

“Night Joey.”