One

Chapter Four

Dianne woke on Thursday morning with a definite air of positivity, the dark cloud looming over her slowly drifting away. Admittedly, it was very slowly but it was better than nothing; she just hoped the rest of the week could shift it a little more.

Throwing aside the duvet, Dianne practically jumped out of bed to get ready and found herself at the studio ten minutes earlier than usual. She kicked off her shoes, leaving them under a chair, and walked over to the sound system, phone in hand open on Spotify. "The chance of Joe walking in early?" She mulled before shaking her head. "No chance." Without a second thought, Dianne plugged her phone in and began to play some music, letting it run through her for a couple of seconds before she started to dance freely, telling a story through her movements as she went.

Long hours and a few dyin' flowers
But you never seem to stick around

She began to move around the space, forgetting everyone and everything.

How could you let somethin' so good
Go to waste and bleed the colours out?

Letting herself properly listen to the lyrics, Dianne felt a sudden emptiness.

You don't know what you got 'til it's gone
Know when it's right 'til it's wrong

As she carried on dancing, tears began to pool in her eyes and fall down her cheeks.

In search of perfect when you had it with you all along
You broke her heart down with ease

Wiping them away with the back of her hand, Dianne carried on dancing as fresh tears fell.

Now I'm pickin' up every piece
You must be so hard to please

From outside, Joe, who was early, heard the soft playing of music and pushed the door open gently.

I wish I could say
Thank you for all the mistakes

He poked his head through the door slightly, frowning as he noticed tears glistening on Dianne's cheeks.

Thank you for all of the pain
I guess somebody else's loss is another's gain

Not wanting Dianne to notice him, Joe stayed at the door, watching through the gap he'd made, just big enough for his head.

I'm sayin' thank you to the one who let her get away
Away

Almost as if she could feel eyes on her, Dianne stopped dancing and turned in the direction of the door, going bright red when she noticed Joe stood with his head poking round the side. Walking over to her phone quickly, Dianne paused the song and, taking a deep breath, wiped her eyes and cheeks free of the tears. Pushing the door open fully, Joe walked through the room, dropping his bag by a chair as he went, and hugged Dianne from behind.
"Look," he began, "I don't know what's upsetting you but I want to help you. I'd hate for your last week of this season to be ruined by something. So-" he took a deep breath, not knowing what her reaction would be, "do you need to talk, let something off your chest?"
Dianne sighed heavily, "Yes. Yes, I really do." She couldn't keep it from him anymore; he was right- Dianne's week didn't seem anywhere near as good as usual and she assumed it was because she saw him with her.
"Let's go sit down," Joe said. He took Dianne's hand and led her over to the chairs along the wall, pushed against it to allow the dancers to have maximum space when rehearsing. When they had sat down, Joe remained silent as he waited for Dianne to talk. Her hand still in his, he gave it a gentle squeeze of encouragement whilst she thought of the best way to start.
"Okay well. My boyfriend- ex-boyfriend," she corrected, "and I had been together for roughly two years. I met him not long after I moved over here and I'd like to think we were a good match. We had no problems, no major arguments or anything. When strictly started, we still made time for each other; eating dinner when I got back, spending all of Sunday together, things like that. And then, Amy and I went out after the show on Saturday night and as we were leaving, I saw him. I saw him with another girl. Kissing her. Holding her. Dancing with her." Dianne paused for a second, tears beginning to choke her. "I was a bit drunk, I told him it was over then and there and walked out. I didn't give him a chance!" She started to cry, letting the tears fall as she ploughed on, a desperate need to get it all out into the open. "But I miss him, I miss everything about him. I shouldn't have broken it off." Letting go of her hand, Joe wrapped his arm around Dianne's shoulders and pulled her into his body. "There were no signs either. We hadn't drifted, we hadn't had any unnecessary arguments over everything. Nothing had been awkward so why... why did he cheat?"
"Because he knew he didn't deserve you," Joe said suddenly, surprising himself as the words fell from his lips. "He treated you like you were a throwaway, which you're definitely not, he doesn't need a second chance Dianne. By giving him a second chance, you'd only be hurting yourself more. It could never last now, the trust has gone. Once trust has gone, you are better off leaving things and moving on, finding someone who treats you the way you deserve to be treated. Which is not as a throwaway, you deserve to be treated like a princess Dianne." Silence followed. Dianne didn't have the words to sum up how she was feeling, and Joe was now frantically overthinking everything he'd just said. Did he overstep a boundary? What if that's not what she wanted to hear? Joe's worries were cut short, the long and treacherous pathway of bad thoughts closed off as he felt Dianne shift and wrap her arms around him, her face buried in the crook of his neck. It took him by surprise and he didn't hug her back for a couple of seconds until his brain caught up.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you," he heard Dianne whisper as she hugged him tighter, "that's just what I needed to hear."
Joe smiled, relief coursing through his body in ripples. "Anytime, I'm always here for you." 
"Right, we've wasted enough time talking about my relationship struggles," Dianne said as she pulled away, "let's dance!"

"Dianne, please. You're gonna kill us both off if we do another run!" Joe pleaded. "It's two o'clock and we haven't had a break yet and we've both been up since six!"
"Oh oops. Okay, we'll have half an hour." Dianne giggled at Joe as he collapsed in a heap with a heavy sigh. "You're such a drama queen."
"I'm the drama queen?!" Joe protested, sitting up on his elbows, "Who was it who got upset over a samba?!"
"So did you thank you," Dianne retaliated, "at least I didn't cry in Blackpool," she said with a cheeky grin, a glint in her eye as she walked over to her bag to get her lunch out.
"You did too!"
"I got emotional because you did I'll have you know. I think that makes you the bigger drama queen of the two of us." She gestured between their two bodies and smiled sarcastically. "Where's your lunch?"
Joe pointed to his bag, "In there." Reaching into the black backpack, Dianne pulled his lunch out and sat down next to him. "Thank you."

The two ate hungrily, mostly in silence bar a few bursts of giggles and pockets of conversation every now and then. Joe was relieved Dianne had trusted him enough to confide in him; Dianne was relieved to have everything off her chest, and she felt much better for it.
"Thank you for listening," she said after a moment of silence, "you were right. My week has been considerably worse than others. But I'm glad it's all out in the open and off my chest."
"Anytime," Joe said once he'd swallowed, "I'll always be around to listen to you rant. And I'll always try to offer advice but I can't promise it'll be any good."
"Hmm I don't know, your advice this morning was pretty good." Smiling shyly, Joe took another mouthful as he mentally praised himself for offering decent advice for once in his life.
"You're so proud of yourself aren't you?" Dianne asked softly, waiting for Joe to nod before continuing. "I can tell, it's cute."

"Please pick up," Joe muttered as he began to FaceTime Dianne. "Please, please, please... ah, thank god. Hi!"
"Hey, you okay?" Dianne asked as soon as the call connected, a confused look on her face.
"Yes, I was just thinking about our dances and I can't for the life of me remember a bit from our Charleston and the video on my phone isn't playing! I thought I'd ring and ask so I don't stress about it all night." Joe paused, knowing he was speaking way too fast. He took a breath and began to speak again, "would you be able to run it over with me now?"
"You're honestly the best student. Of course I will, which bit?" Dianne asked, propping her phone against the microwave on her kitchen counter- she'd been in there making a drink before Joe had suddenly rang her with no warning.
"The bit after I've thrown the ladder and we are in the middle, just after the swivels when I come back to you. Does that make sense?"
"Yep, I know what you're on about." Dianne moved back into the space and began to explain and run through the next steps patiently with Joe.

"Is there anything else you want me to go through?" Dianne asked once Joe's problem had been resolved. "Or are you all good?"
"I think I'm good," Joe said, running a hand through his hair. "I don't think there is anything else. I was just running all three in my kitchen and I kept getting stuck so I rang."
"Ah," Dianne sighed as she placed her hand over her heart, "you're so good."
"I do try," Joe smiled, "I want to make you as proud as I can."
"You already did. On the first day."

A: sorry I didn't upload last night. Next part will be up Monday as usual x