The Catalyst | Joanne

Chapter 6

It hadn't been Dianne's idea to put a meet and greet portion into the Here Come the Girls tour. In fact, she had been against it in the beginning. Before a show, she liked to have plenty of time to warm up and go over her steps. Taking an hour or so out of that time wasn't ideal. But the producers had seen pound signs when the idea was first raised; a quick way to make an extra few quid off a new group of dance fans. A group who were used to buying merchandise and books and bath products; a group who were willing to pay.

Dianne had quickly settled into the process. It had been heartwarming to meet so many people who genuinely had found a love for dance through watching the show. Young girls who looked up to herself and her two friends; it made Dianne determined to be a good role model. She wanted to show that hard work pays off and that passion and love for what you do is more important than anything else. Meeting these people showed her that she was doing something right.

Of course, there had been worries aired about the process. Joe had many stories about the odd crazy fan, as had many of his friends. He had been worried about the level of exposure and about her becoming tired out before the show had even started. Joe was more of an introvert than Dianne; she thrived off social activity whereas he found it draining. Dianne was lucky that she could take the enthusiasm and the outpouring of love and transform it into energy on the stage.

There had been a couple of blips in the process along the way. Security had got lapse at one particular venue and people had managed to sneak in when they hadn't paid. Dianne didn't know until she saw it on social media and it hadn't bothered her; she wasn't in this business for the money and- ultimately- she knew that she probably would have done exactly the same thing at their age if the chance had presented itself.

Another incident came when someone had snuck into the venue after a show and had ended up backstage. It was dealt with and the situation was forgotten, but it had left Dianne on edge. It had been at the next show where she had met the girl she was convinced she had now seen twice more.

It was a quiet night; the ticket sales were relatively low and the meet and greet hadn't sold out. Still, Dianne painted on her smile and posed for pictures with everyone who asked. Towards the end of the line, a girl approached them as part of a group. They explained that they had met online- through their mutual love for Dianne- and that they were now all friends. It was a story they heard over and over again and it was lovely to hear. Dianne made sure to thank each girl individually for the collective gift they had brought her. The final girl in the group was quieter than the others- a small, dark-haired girl with intelligent eyes and a sad smile. As Dianne pulled her close for a quick hug, she heard the girl whisper four words that had stayed with her ever since.

"You saved my life."

Dianne hadn't wanted to react the way she had, but the words had taken her by surprise. Blinking she stared at the girl for a moment as she tried to rid herself of the shock.

"Oh. Oh wow. Okay." She took a shaky breath. "Sweetheart, I don't know that I did anything. You're strong, ok? Remember that."

As the group were ushered out of the room, Dianne took another deep breath. The entire situation had been so unexpected, and she had never been briefed on how to react to such a comment. She could only hope that what she had said was OK. Determined to get through the rest of the show, Dianne had put the girl to the back of her mind.

The girl had been close to the front in the audience, the lights from the stage catching the lenses of her dark-rimmed glasses every now and again. Dianne occasionally caught the eye of someone in the crowd; usually she would smile to them quickly as she continued her routine, completely on autopilot, but something about the way this girl was staring so intensely made her feel uneasy.

After the show, the cast had made their way to the back of the venue and slipped into their cars. With Patrick at the wheel, Dianne had been put in charge of navigating their way to the hotel they had booked into for the night. Glancing up from her phone to check which road they were on, the car's headlights illuminated a figure on the corner of the street.

Dark coat.

Dark-rimmed glasses.

A lit cigarette in her hand...

Dianne bolted upright, a sheen of sweat coating her forehead. Breathing deeply, she squeezed her eyes closed before opening them carefully.

She took in the features of the room; the dark blue walls, feature fireplace, the pattern on the bed sheets barely visible in the early-morning light creeping through the blinds.

"Hey".

Her attention was pulled towards Joe, who was slowly sitting up to face her. Running a hand through his unruly hair, he looked at her with concern. "Is everything alright?"

Dianne shrugged. "Yeah. Sorry. Go back to sleep."

Joe pulled himself up to match Dianne's position and placed a protective hand on the small of her back, rubbing small, calming circles over her t-shirt.

"You sure?"

Dianne took a breath. "I... I think I've seen her before."

"What?" Joe's voice cracked as he tried to whisper. "Are you still dreaming?"

"No". Dianne shook her head. "No, no. I... I, uh... sorry." She wasn't sure why she was apologizing.

"Take your time" Joe whispered reassuringly. "What's going on?"

"The girl from the supermarket. The one who was outside the flat?" Joe nodded as Dianne explained. "I... I don't know if it was just in my dream, or if it's coming back to me. But I think I know her. Well, no. I think I've met her before. At a show. She said something to me. I.... I guess it stuck with me."

Joe rubbed his thumb over the hand Dianne was resting on top of the covers.

"What did she say to you, honey?"

After a shaky breath, Dianne turned and looked into her boyfriend's worried eyes.

"She told me I'd saved her life."