36 Questions: A Joanne Fanfiction

Question Twelve:

If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one quality or ability, what would it be?

The two had survived the week four eliminations and were now attempting the waltz. It was their first day on the waltz, and thank goodness, because it wasn't going well in the slightest. Dianne had helpfully told Joe that this was her favourite dance, and that it wasn't only Kevin Clifton's favourite song, it was hers too. Subsequently, he was feeling the pressure already. The waltz was proving difficult for him, and as this was the one dance that he set out to do well in, he was beating himself up for it. As this was his first proper ballroom dance, he wasn't quite so used to being so close to Dianne either, and found himself nervous in front of her again, like he was back to square one having never jived before. He could tell that Dianne was trying to be patient with all his many mistakes, but he could still see that she was worried too.

Dianne was stressed too. Joe and her had grown close enough for the press to be hounding them for the strictly curse, which was bad enough, but Joe was also not showing much promise for the waltz, and truth to be told, she was already worried for Saturday's performance.

It was now the late evening, and the two were beginning to get tired, although neither wanted to go home with so much progress left to do. This was something that Dianne admired about Joe, he refused to give up and go home until she was satisfied, no matter how far he had to go, or how long he had to stay. It was times like these where Dianne was reminded that Joe was not a professional dancer by any means, but she respected how much he tried, so she was trying her upmost not to get annoyed at him for all his mistakes. Eventually, she had to say something, as he stood on her foot, barely even noticing her.

"Joe, what are you doing?"

"Sorry." Was the immediate reply, a crestfallen expression on his face. He looked down, biting his lip to stop hot, frustrated tears from leaving his eyes.

Immediately, Dianne realised that something more was up than just a few missed steps. "It's alright. What's up? You've not been yourself all day." She spoke gently, stepping closer to him.

He sighed deeply, ran his hands through his hair and started to talk. "Umm I'm just a bit stressed. Let's face it, this dance isn't going anywhere near as well as we want it to, and well this was the one dance before starting this that I wanted to be good at. But I'm not." He spoke, looking over the top of his partner's head rather than see her expression.

She smiled softly, understanding his frustration. "You're trying your best Joe I can see that. But you just need to relax into it a bit more. Yes we're in ballroom hold a lot, nip to nip but you can't freeze up on me. I'm not that scary am I?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood, almost successfully.

He cracked a smile "No of course not. I think I've just put a lot of pressure on this dance. It's the one they do at weddings right?"

"Yeah, it is." She said, her eyebrows furrowed in a confused expression.

"Exactly, no one will want to have their first dance with me if this is what I can do." He joked weakly.

She laughed at this. "We're not getting married Joe. I definitely shouldn't have told you that this dance is my favourite but we'll be alright. You've got this Joe, you just need to believe in yourself and have fun with it. Yes, the technique is a lot, but it becomes more natural, I promise." She said, convincing herself at the same time as Joe that everything would be alright. The last thing he needed was more pressure.

"Okay, true. Can we try again?"

"Yeah, come on then." She said, already walking over to the speakers.

It was now a lot later, and the two were on their last break before their final power hour. The waltz had a long way to go, but they were both finally starting getting used to the dance, and being so close to one another.