"DECS" Ant shouted excitedly down the phone line a couple of days later.

"What?what on earth is it?" Dec replied,feeling equally as excited as his best friend,even though he had absolutely no clue what was going on,but Ants mood was definitely infectious.

"There's a house come up for sale on my street,just a few doors down" Ant announced happily "want to go and view it?"

"Really?" Dec replied "we'd be neighbours?"

"Just about" Ant grinned "wouldn't that be amazing?"

"Yeah,it would" Dec smiled "but let's not get ahead of ourselves,I might not like it yet"

"Well" Ant stated "hang up the phone to me and call the estate agents and arrange a viewing"

"Alright Mr Bossy Boots" Dec laughed "give me a chance"

So the very next day,Dec was viewing the house on Ants road and he had insisted that Ant tag along to give his opinion.

"So what do you think?" Dec smiled after they had gone back to Ants place afterwards.

"I like it" Ant nodded "I can see you living there,but the important thing is,what do you think?"

"I do like it" Dec sighed thoughtfully "it's the area I want and it's so close to you and Lisa"

"But...?" Ant frowned.

"But" Dec replied "there's a lot about it I don't like,I'd want to change a hell of a lot of things if I did buy it,maybe completely gut it and start again in the style I like"

"Well,you can do that if you own it" Ant stated "renovatate it like"

"Yeah,I can can't l?" Dec nodded.

"So...?" Ant enquired,with an air of excitement returning to his voice.

"I'm gonna do it" Dec grinned "I'm gonna make an offer"

"Brilliant" Ant laughed "we're gonna be neighbours"

"Don't get too ahead of yourself Anthony McPartlin" Dec replied "it might not be accepted yet"

"Well" Ant smiled "as long as you're not a tight arse and make a ridiculously low offer,I don't see why it wouldn't be?call the estate agent now,go on,do it"

"Alright" Dec laughed "calm yourself will ya?"

Decs offer was accepted and he immediately started coming up with ideas about designing his home exactly to his own taste.

"I guess we'd best tell Lisa about this" Ant stated.

"Oh Yeah" Dec agreed "do you think she'll mind?"

"Why should she?" Ant mused.

"Well" Dec smiled "she might think I'm a bit of a stalker,following you wherever you go"

"She's thought that for years anyway Decs" Ant joked "so I doubt this will surprise her,she'll be home from work soon,so we can run it by her then"

Sure enough,Lisa soon arrived home and immediately knew the boys were up to something.

"So,are either of going to tell me what's going on?" She questioned.

"What?" Ant asked innocently "we never said anything"

"You don't need to" Lisa stated "I know you two and I can tell by the looks on your faces that you're up to something,so come on spill the beans"

"Well" Ant replied "Decs has found a house he likes,he's put an offer in on it and it's been accepted"

"That's brilliant" Lisa smiled "congratulations Declan"

"Umm...yeah thanks Lisa" Dec mumbled.

"Ok" Lisa carried on "so what's the problem?what aren't you telling me?"

"Over to you Declan" Ant grinned.

"Oh thanks Ant" Dec frowned "thought you were going to help me out here?"

"I already have" Ant replied cheekily "now it's up to you"

"Oh for Gods sake" Lisa snapped "will one of you idiots just tell me what the hell is going on?"

"Ok,ok" Dec sighed "well...er,the house is on this street...um,just three doors down"

"Is that it?" Lisa burst into fits of laughter "so we're gonna be neighbours?"

"Er,yeah" Dec replied,surprised at Lisas reaction "you don't mind?"

"Why should I mind?" Lisa smiled "it will be brilliant having you so near,on the same street,that's amazing,I can't wait,when are you moving in?"

"Well" Dec replied "I want to renovate it first,so in a few months time I guess"

"What are you going to do to it?" She enquired.

"Not sure yet" Dec replied "but I know I definitely want a swimming pool and a gym"

"Really gone up in the world haven't you Decs?" Ant grinned.

"Yep" Dec smiled "we both have,we'll soon both have our perfect forever homes,I can't wait"

"Yeah" Ant nodded "things are going so great aren't they?"

"Yeah" Dec nodded in agreement.

"And you now won't have very far to stagger home when you get pissed at mine" Ant laughed.

"Well,I'll still be crashing at yours in those situations,won't I Lisa?" Dec grinned.

"Absolutely" Lisa replied "you're welcome here any time,you'll always have your own bed at our place wherever we are,you know that right?"

"Yep,part of the furniture I am" Dec announced with a cheeky grin.

So,the renovations at Decs new house were soon underway as he and Ant threw themselves into the new series of 'Saturday Night Takeaway' amongst other things.

They relished the Ant versus Dec challenges,which always brought out their competitive nature.Some of them scared the living daylights out of them,especially if they involved heights,but they threw themselves into them wholeheartedly.The fact the the series was getting more and more popular and the audience watching at home was getting bigger every week meant all their hard work was paying off,there was nothing they desired more than to keep the viewing public happy.

The second series of 'I'm a celebrity,get me out of here' was to follow just a few weeks later,ITV had decided to broadcast it early on in the year for some reason,thankfully it would eventually find it's place in the channels winter schedule in years to come,but that didn't apply to this series.

Unfortunately,as great as Ant and Decs career was going,Decs private life was becoming even more of a struggle.

As hard as they both had tried,he and Clare just couldn't seem to recapture the magic of their relationship that they both yearned for,so Dec had made a decision.

He felt like buying his house and renovating it was a new start and he realised that applied to his relationship too.

He still loved Clare,he really did and he was pretty sure she still loved him,she said she did anyway,but they couldn't carry on like this,their failing relationship wasn't healthy for either of them and it wasn't doing anyone any good by dragging out the inevitable.

So as the summer of that year turned into autumn and Decs house was almost complete,he knew it was time to end it,to stop making each other miserable,to both move on with their lives.

He just wanted to be happy and everything in his life was contributing towards that,he loved his job,he was financially stable,he had made the most incredible,supportive group of friends since moving to London,his partnership and friendship with Ant had gone from strength to strength and he was about to move into his fabulous new home,his life was perfect,all except for his struggling relationship.

So the time had finally come to put an end to it and he invited Clare over to chat one evening.

He immediately felt incredibly guilty as she greeted him with a warm smile and affectionate,loving cuddle as he opened the front door.

"Hi darling" she smiled as she made her way into his cosy living room.

"Hi" Dec muttered nervously.

"You alright?" Clare enquired as she sat down on the sofa "you said there's something you want to talk to me about?what is it?"

"Umm...do you want a cup of tea or something first?" Dec asked,attempting to delay the inevitable.

"No thanks" Clare replied "just tell me what's on your mind Dec,you're worrying me now"

"Ok" Dec sighed as he sat down next to her and enveloped both of her hands in his.

"You know I love you don't you?" Dec enquired.

"Yeah of course I do" Clare smiled "and I love you too"

"Yeah" Dec nodded "but how do you think things are going with us?"

"Er...ok,I think" Clare replied "why?"

"Do you really think things are going ok?" Dec asked surprised "because I'm not so sure"

"What are you saying Declan?" Clare asked nervously.

"It's just..." Dec paused to gather his thoughts for a moment "it's just that we seem to argue a hell of a lot,we have done for the last couple of years,since..."

"Since you cheated on me?" Clare stated coldly,pulling her hands away from Decs touch.

"Yeah since then" Dec nodded,while hanging his head ashamed.

"I just think we've drifted apart" he continued "we've been together such a long time and..."

"Ten years" Clare interrupted.

"Yeah,ten years" Dec smiled "and it's been mostly great hasn't it?we've had so much fun and grown up together.You were my first love Clare,nothing can ever change that"

"So what's your point?" Clare asked,even though she knew exactly what Dec was hinting at.

"My point is" Dec sighed "that maybe we've outgrown each other,we're different people now than we were ten years ago,we were just kids back then,now we're pushing thirty and we probably just want different things"

"So you're dumping me?" Clare asked with tears forming in her eyes.

"I wouldn't put it like that" Dec sighed "that's such a callous term for the end of a long term relationship,but don't you think we've become more like brother and sister than boyfriend and girlfriend or lovers?"

"Maybe" Clare replied with hot tears now burning her cheeks.She wanted to tell Dec so badly that she still loved him completely and utterly,that she couldn't live without him,but the words just wouldn't come out,all she could do was listen to her soon to be ex boyfriends reasoning.What else could she do?she couldn't force him to stay with her if he didn't want to.

"I'm so sorry Clare" Dec said with a sad smile "you know you're the last person in the world I want to hurt,but we can't carry on like this,all the arguing,how busy I am at work and with the house renovations,it just doesn't make sense anymore"

"You're breaking my heart" Clare wept,suddenly finding her voice.

"I know" Dec sighed with tears now flowing freely down his own cheeks "and I'm so sorry,I really am,but this is probably for the best,a fresh start for both of us"

"You won't give me another chance?" Clare begged "I can do better,I promise I can,I want to spend the rest of my life with you Declan,marry you,have kids with you,grow old with you,we can do that can't we?"

"Sweetheart" Dec replied sternly "don't you ever think this is because you've done anything wrong,you absolutely haven't.I'm the only one who is guilty of that,I know things just haven't been the same since that night when I stupidly let what's in my pants rule my head and I know you've never really forgiven me,even if you say you have"

"I...I have" Clare stuttered.

"No you haven't" Dec smiled gently "and I absolutely understand that,I probably wouldn't have forgiven you if the shoe was on the other foot"

"But I still love you" Clare replied weakly.

"And I still love you" Dec sighed "but as hard as it was to make this decision,I want you to move on and find someone who will treat you like a princess like you deserve"

"You used to treat me like a princess" Clare pointed out.

"Yeah" Dec nodded,that comment stung a bit,but he knew it was true,he wasn't the attentive boyfriend that he used to be and that Clare wanted and needed.

"All I can say is that I'm so sorry" Dec sighed "I never wanted to hurt you,I just don't see any other way"

Clare nodded tearfully,beginning to accept that this was it for them and Dec wasn't going to change his mind.

"Hey" Dec smiled and nudged her gently in the ribs "there'll always be a special place for you in my heart,you know that right?nothing or nobody can ever change that"

"Yeah" Clare agreed,while drying her eyes on a crumpled up tissue "we've had some great times haven't we?"

"We certainly have" Dec smiled "remember our first proper date?"

"Oh God" Clare laughed "how could I forget that?It was certainly memorable,I mean who stuffs themselves with sugar free sweets until they get the worlds worst case of diarrhoea?especially just before a date"

"I learned my lesson that day" Dec grinned "haven't touched a sugar free sweet since"

"Good" Clare replied.

"I was so scared I'd messed things up with you that night before our relationship had even got off the ground" Dec mused.

"Yeah,I remember" Clare smiled "I do have a sense of humour you know though,I saw the funny side"

"Yeah,I know you do" Dec replied "you make me laugh so much"

"So what happens now?" Clare asked sadly.

"We both go our separate ways I guess" Dec sighed "we can stay friends though,best friends,I'd like that"

"Yeah me too" Clare smiled "let's do that"

They hugged after agreeing they would always be friends and always be there for each other.

But deep down,they both knew that was never going to happen!