36 Questions: A Joanne Fanfiction

Question Thirty-Two

What, if anything, is too serious to be joked about?

Despite the fact that this week the pair had double the work to do, they found themselves inundated with interviews and press for the show. The trouble was that, as the only male celebrity left in the competition, and with strictly being at its' most popular, everyone wanted the chance to speak to them, especially as rumours circling their relationship were at an all-time high. Consequently, Joe and Dianne were currently at this morning, ready to be grilled by Rochelle and Philip.

"Joe?" asked Dianne before they went on.

"Yeah?"

"They're going to ask about the rumours aren't they?" she asked, and he detected an air of vulnerability in her voice that wasn't usually present. He looked to her face, her lip between her teeth giving away her nerves immediately.

He sighed. "They probably will, yeah. But we haven't acted unprofessionally remember? It'll be alright. I'll try and distract them or something, we'll be okay."

She smiled weakly at his attempt to reassure her. Deep down, she knew that he couldn't be the one to completely put her at ease in their current situation because, to put it frankly, he was part of the problem. Interviews, especially ones on TV that had a purpose which could potentially ruin her career for a 'strictly curse' story were not something she was expecting to enjoy. But before she could ponder this too much, they both found themselves on the This Morning sofa live on air.

To her relief, the beginning of the interview went smoothly. As she had previously suspected, the interviewers were more focused on her partner, to which she was grateful as it gave her the chance to be able to settle down and get used to the show. Joe, bless his heart, had been trying his best to include Dianne in the questions, giving her a chance to say something if she pleased but the vast majority of questions were focused directly on him. It was something the other pros had told her, and that she'd noticed from the handful of interviews she'd had with the British press- they didn't care about the professional dancer and were only interested in what the celebrity would have to say, after all, those were the people that drew in the most views.

As the interview was starting to close, she was asked about what it was like to teach him. She looked at him uncertainly, before beginning to speak. As she spoke, she became less aware of the cameras surrounding her and the expressions of those interviewers and focused on Joe, speaking from her heart. "We've never had a day in the studio where we haven't laughed continuously." She said, smiling at their many memories they'd made within those studio walls. She continued her mini speech, unsure at when to end it, she wanted the public and Joe to see just how much she appreciated the opportunity to be partnered with him, yet she didn't want to add fuel to the fire of the rumours surrounding them. It was a difficult balance to reach, and she wasn't sure she'd found it. Eventually, she finished. "So yeah, I've had the time of my life." She said, watching her partner's rather than Philip's reaction. He smiled gently at her in response.

Without her realising, the interviewers had smiled knowingly at each other. Joe didn't notice either, so they simply moved along with their questions.

"I think the public, especially your fans are going to love this one." Joe heard her say when asked about the nature of their next dances.

'Our fans.' He corrected her in his head. It was true, Dianne had become a huge hit with his audience, they all loved her and this was something about her that he loved. Her interest and support of Joe's job was really important to him, she had taken it all in her stride, and he found himself missing the idea of not filming or working with her anymore. She'd not understood the field to begin with, but now there were people willing her to make a channel of her own, himself included. The shipping of team Joanne by their audience hadn't been a topic either of them had commented on but it was most definitely present. After watching him for so long, it was obvious that they'd become familiar enough with him to understand some of his behaviour, so for them to see his connection with his partner meant a lot to him. Gradually, as the competition had progressed, the letters and gifts addressed to him began to have her name on too, and this was something he really loved.