"Is something wrong Declan?" Ali asked concerned as she observed Decs fidgeting from across the table in a chiswick cafe.

"No,why?" Dec asked.

"I don't know" Ali replied "you just seem nervous,a bit fidgety and clumsy"

Dec had already managed to knock one full glass of coke all over the table not long after they'd sat down.

Ali was right though,he was nervous,very nervous.

His plan to ask her out hadn't yet materialised and it had now been a good few weeks since that night when he laid in his bed and decided that was exactly what he was going to do.

There were various reasons for that.Other people were often around and this was something he definitely wanted to do when it was just the two of them,but most of the time he just chickened out.

The knots in his stomach had always got the better of him so far and there was time after time that he was kicking himself for not having the courage to go through with it.

He didn't know what he was so scared of?he'd never had any trouble asking girls out before and it was a very rare occasion that he was turned down.

This was different though.This was his and Ants close friend Ali.

What if she said no?what if Ant had been right all along and things would then be very awkward afterwards?maybe to the point of them having to hire a new manager.That was the last thing Dec wanted,but he couldn't deny the fact that he had feelings for Ali.He'd been trying to ignore them for months,years even,but that hadn't got him anywhere so far,so he just couldn't pretend anymore.

So here he was!

Sat opposite the person he desperately wanted to make his girlfriend.He had to go through with it this time as Ant,who had been in on the plan all along and by now was pretty fed up with Decs dithering,swore he would ask Ali out on Decs behalf if he didn't do it today.

It wasn't unusual for Dec and Ali to have lunch or dinner out together,they were good friends after all,so Ali never suspected anything when Dec invited her out.

"I am a bit nervous" Dec confirmed.

"Why?" Ali asked confused as she took a sip of her refreshing iced tea.

"Well..." Dec mumbled,as he fiddled with a napkin,staring at it intently to avoid Ali's curious gaze.

"Well what?" Ali questioned,now starting to get slightly worried about what was on Decs mind.

"Well" Dec continued "there is something I've been meaning to ask you for a while now"

"Oh yes?" Ali smiled "what's that?"

"Well...umm...I...I..." Dec stuttered.

"For goodness sake Declan" Ali frowned "if you've got something to ask me,just ask,you don't usually have this much trouble talking,can't shut you up most of the time"

"Ok" Dec took a deep breath in and attempted to calm himself "sorry"

Ali smiled gently at him,slightly concerned about whatever was going on in his head and was he blushing?his cheeks were definitely a bit more flushed than they had been when they first sat down.

So she tried a different approach.

"Dec" she whispered softly "whatever is bothering you,I'm sure we can sort it out"

Dec was now metaphorically kicking himself about how this was turning out.This wasn't how he had planned for it to go,he had gone through what he would say over and over again in his head,so why wouldn't the words come out now at the crucial point?

After taking another deep breath in,he finally sputtered the sentence out.

"Ali,will you go out with me?"

Ali looked at him confused for a moment before bursting into fits of giggles.

"Why is that so funny?" Dec frowned,feeling slightly offended.

"I'm sorry Dec" Ali grinned "I didn't mean to laugh,it was just that...well,you sounded like a thirteen year old schoolboy asking his first crush out"

"I did not" Dec snapped.

"Yeah,ya did" Ali grinned.

"Ok,maybe I did" Dec laughed "but I was nervous"

"Declan,you are silly" Ali smiled affectionately "is this why you've been all over the place today?"

Dec nodded shyly.

"What a state to get yourself into" Ali grinned.

"You haven't answered the question" Dec pointed out.

"No,I haven't" Ali replied "Dec look at me"

Dec raised his eyes to meet Ali's.

"I would love to go out with you" she beamed.

"You would?" Dec replied excitedly "really?"

"Yes,really" Ali laughed at Decs enthusiasm.

"Have you felt it too?" Dec enquired.

"Felt what?" Ali asked.

"The spark?" Dec continued "the spark between us,it's been there for a while"

"Of course I've felt it" Ali grinned "I've never felt it with anyone else and do you know what?"

"What?" Dec asked curiously.

"I've been waiting bloody years for you to ask me out" Ali stated.

"What?" Dec asked shocked.

"I've been waiting for years" Ali repeated "I always knew you were the one I wanted,so I decided you were worth waiting for"

"Wow" Dec exclaimed "I had no idea,but you've had boyfriends"

"And you've had girlfriends" Ali replied "but they obviously weren't the right people for us,maybe now we know why?"

"Yeah,maybe we do" Dec nodded.

He was still trying to take this new development in.All this time he'd been trying to deny he had feelings for Ali,she had been feeling the same?

"Makes me sad" Dec sighed.

"What does?" Ali asked.

"That we've wasted so much time when we could have been together,you know?properly together,not just going out on valentines day because neither of us had anyone better to go with" Dec replied sadly.

Dec was surprised when Ali took his hand into hers and squeezed it tightly.

"Hey" she said softly "there was no one better"

"Really?" Dec smiled.

"Yeah" Ali nodded "you know what?every year I would pray that you would still be single so I could get you all to myself on valentines day"

"You're so sneaky" Dec joked.

"Maybe a little bit" Ali laughed "but don't worry about lost time Dec,we've now got all the time in the world to make up for it"

"I guess we're a couple now then?" Dec beamed.

"I guess we are" Ali agreed.

Dec glanced around the busy cafe,luckily Chiswick was an area where many well known celebrities lived.It wasn't such a novelty for anyone to be around famous people there,so he was generally left alone when he went out,apart from the occasional annoying press photographer,but even so,he was still too shy to do what was on his mind.

"I really want to kiss you" he whispered across the table.

"Might be best to wait until we're totally alone for that" Ali giggled "you never know who might be lurking in the shadows and we certainly don't want to be on the front page of The Sun newspaper tomorrow morning do we?"

"Come back to mine?" Dec asked hopefully.

Ali smiled and nodded in acceptance.

Once back at the house,Dec couldn't help but smile to himself continuously at the outcome that he'd yearned for for so long.

"You're grinning like a Cheshire cat" Ali laughed as she sat close to Dec on the sofa.

"Can't help it" Dec beamed "I'm just so happy"

"Me too" Ali replied.

Dec leant in towards his new girlfriend,ready for their first kiss,he really did feel like a teenager all over again,he could actually feel the butterflies in his tummy.

"Everything ok?" Ali asked when the anticipated kiss didn't arrive.

"Yeah,sorry" Dec frowned "it just dawned on me that I'm about to kiss my manager"

"Yes,you are" Ali laughed,before placing her hands on Decs cheeks,pulling him closer and kissing him passionately before he knew what had hit him.

"Wow" Dec smiled as their lips parted.

Nothing more was said for a while.Ali relaxed into Decs loving arms and they both stayed there for what seemed like the longest time,both lost in their separate,but similar thoughts.

They were thinking how happy they now were,how delighted they were with how everything had turned out and how much they liked and cared for each other,this was the best possible outcome,they were now girlfriend and boyfriend.

Everyone else was delighted for them too once they had announced that they were together,although Dec and Ali refused to believe most people when they told them that they always knew they'd get together eventually.

Ant was also very happy for them and his doubts about Dec and Ali's relationship affecting their working situation never materialised.

"Seriously kidda" Ant beamed one day after they'd had a working lunch out with Ali "I'm so happy for you both"

"Thanks Ant" Dec smiled "we're very happy"

"Yeah,I can see that" Ant nodded "it's all worked out well hasn't it?"

"It definitely has" Dec replied "and there's never been any awkwardness since we got together has there?"

"None at all" Ant agreed "but I'm sorry I doubted that this could work,I should have minded my own business"

"It doesn't matter now" Dec smiled "it's all good now"

"Yeah,it is" Ant replied "but you could have been together a hell of a lot earlier if I hadn't stuck my nose in"

"You were just looking out for me" Dec sighed "and Ali"

"And myself" Ant frowned.

"Forget about it now will ya?" Dec requested "what's done is done"

No way would Dec want Ant to feel bad about anything.Yes,Ant had advised him against getting involved with Ali,but he totally understood the reasons why.

It did make Dec a little bit sad that he could have been with Ali a lot sooner,but as she pointed out,they now had all the time in the world.

And what was going on in their world was amazing.They both knew they were 'The one' for each other very early on in their relationship and Dec made that clear to anyone who would listen.

"I'm going to marry her" Dec stated to Ant one day.

"Bit soon isn't it?" Ant frowned "you haven't been together very long"

"I don't mean yet,you eejit" Dec laughed "I just mean one day,one day I'm going to make Ali my wife"

"Great" Ant replied "could do with a good party"

"Any excuse eh?" Dec grinned.

"Yeah" Ant nodded "well,it's been a while since I've been to a wedding,they're always a great day out"

"Slow down" Dec laughed "you were just saying how we'd not been together very long"

"Well" Ant grinned "nothing wrong with planning ahead"

"True" Dec agreed "but I'm not planning anything just yet,I'm talking about in the future"

"The not too distant future?" Ant enquired.

"Don't worry Ant" Dec smiled "you'll be the first to know once I am ready for that,we've got something else to look forward to first"

"Oh Yeah" Ant nodded "soon be time for the National Television Awards once again"

"Yeah" Dec smiled "how the hell has it come around again so quickly?seems like we only just picked an award up and now it's nearly a year later?"

"Time flies by unfortunately" Ant mused "we'll be collecting our pensions before we know it"

"We're not that old" Dec laughed "we're not even 40 yet"

"We will be next year" Ant pointed out.

"Don't remind me,Mr Gloomy" Dec frowned "so what do you think our chances are of winning another award?"

"Pretty good I'd say" Ant smiled "judging by how our fans have stuck by us throughout the years"

"Yeah,they have" Dec replied "they're pretty amazing,but we shouldn't get too complacent,our luck could run out one day"

"Hopefully not yet" Ant smiled "I guess we'll find out in a few days"

Indeed the boys were to find out once again just how loved and adored they were by the British public,when they won the best presenter award for the thirteenth year running.

They were over the moon about it and it was already turning out to be a great evening.

They'd won the award they yearned for every year and Dec was happy that Ali could now officially accompany him to the show as his partner.

But there was something else that was about to come their way before the evening ended,something that would get 2014 off to an amazing start.

Something that would be a total surprise to both Ant and Dec!