The Catalyst | Joanne

Chapter 2

"Di, do you think we need two things of blueberries? Or will one be enough?"

Dianne paused for a moment. "Get one. If we need another, we can walk to Tesco or something later in the week. I'm sick of cleaning mouldy food out the fridge so let's only get what we need."

Joe rolled his eyes. "Two things," he said quietly, looking around the aisle before placing a protective hand on his girlfriend's back, "one- I'm the one who gets lumped with cleaning out the manky food and two- it's always you. You never finish anything, and then just put it back and forget about it."

Dianne nodded. "I know. And that's why I'm saying let's only get one."

"Perfect. Right, what's next?"

The two of them made their way quickly down the aisles of the supermarket. It was relatively quiet- Joe had lived in the area for a few years now and knew when and when not to go shopping if he wanted to avoid being 'spotted' by fans. Not that he minded, but there was a difference between being stopped once or twice for a selfie and being mobbed. Dianne was only just getting used to being in the limelight in this way: YouTube fans acted in a different way to the viewers of Strictly Come Dancing; the intensity of their 'love', their need to know everything about a person and the boundaries blurred by social media. Joe wanted to protect her as much as he could, even if it was just a small thing like going food shopping when it was mainly full of disinterested staff and busy mums with screaming toddlers.

"Joe" Dianne leaned into her boyfriend, hand grasping at his jacket sleeve, "don't look now, but there's a girl behind us. I'm worried she's following us."

Joe shrugged as if Dianne had said something inconsequential and moved to the end of the aisle, parking up their trolley by a display of cereal. "We'll just wait here for a moment" he said quietly. "Are you OK?"

Dianne smiled. "I'm fine. It's just... you know when you can tell someone's watching you? I just got a weird feeling, turned around and she was there."

Joe grabbed a box of cereal from one of the shelves and turned it over, reading the label intently. The girl exited the aisle and walked past them. Dianne smiled. "She's gone. That was some good acting."

Placing the box into the trolley, Joe turned and nodded. "Thanks, but it wasn't acting. I was actually deciding whether I wanted them or not."

Dianne couldn't help but laugh. "OK, anyway. Now we're not being stalked can we finish our shop and get out of here? I know I agreed to this, but my feet are really tired, and I just want to slob out on the couch and cuddle."

"I've never heard anything more perfect. Come on, we only have a few things left on the list."

The couple found their final few items and quickly paid for and packed their shopping. Joe ordered a car and they waited outside the building for it to arrive.

"How long?" Dianne asked, shifting her weight from foot to foot.

"Three minutes. Do they hurt?" Joe gestured down to her feet.

Dianne nodded. "They always hurt. I'm trying to take my mind off it but it's really boring out here."

Joe smiled. "I can't argue with that. Let's play a game while we wait. Mum used to that do with us in the car when we were kids to stop us asking if we were nearly there all the time. Let me just remember how it goes... OK, how many..." he paused, trying to remember what his mum's game actually was. "How many types of cheese can you name?"

Dianne scrunched her nose as she thought; yet another trait Joe found adorable. "Ten? I reckon I can do ten."

Joe shrugged. "A bold claim from Miss Buswell. Go on then- prove it."

"Erm... mozzarella."

"Tick."

"Cheddar."

"Yep."

"Milky Stilt"

Joe grinned. "That's three."

"Feta"

"Your favourite" he winked.

"Goat's cheese."

"Your actual favourite."

"How many is that?"

"Five. Keep going."

"Brie."

"Yep."

"Erm... oh! Car's here!"

The two of them stopped chatting as they loaded their bags into the car. Once they were in, they found that the chatty driver kept them entertained on the short drive back to the apartment building.

"Cheers mate" Joe said as they got out of the car, "have a good rest of your day."

Dianne took a bag and walked towards the door, waiting for Joe and holding it open.

"Any more cheeses?"

Dianne rolled her eyes. "Are we still playing? I was hoping you'd forgotten. What happens if I lose?"

Joe smiled. "I hadn't thought about that yet. Erm... if you lose, you have to cook dinner and I get to pick what we watch on TV. There's a really long documentary about the solar system I've been meaning to get into..."

Dianne groaned audibly, causing Joe to laugh out loud. "Right, let me think then. OK, what about... parmesan?"

"Yep. That's seven. Any more?"

"I... Uh...."

Joe moved to hold the door as he noticed Dianne's focus drift. She sometimes did this; she would zone out for a moment or two, especially when she really had to think hard.

"Di? Dianne?"

Blinking, Dianne turned to Joe. "Can we get inside? Now?"

Joe nodded, sensing a new air of panic in his girlfriend's tone. Walking through the lobby, he hit the button to call the lift.

"What's the matter?" he asked gently, watching as Dianne's fingers drummed against her thigh. "You've gone weird."

Dianne looked up, into Joe's eyes, and sighed. "That girl. The one from the supermarket. She was outside. Across the road."

Joe tried his best to calm Dianne. He needed to be rational in this moment, but also needed to protect her. "Maybe she lives around here? If we live here and use that supermarket, other people must do too. It's probably nothing. Just that you noticed her once and then you've seen her again. It's like when, once you see one yellow car, you then see loads."

Dianne exhaled. "You're probably right" she said quietly, her head slightly bowed. "It just... it freaked me out. This might sound really strange, but I feel like I recognise her from somewhere."