9125 Miles- A Joanne Story

Separate

"all that I wanted, to hold you, so close,"

London.

Tossing and turning was a complete understatement. Dianne had gotten no sleep whatsoever and she was four hours away from meeting Joe in the studio to rehearse for their American Smooth. They definitely needed a good training session today after yesterday's debacle. With it being Joe's first ballroom experience, he was excelling in some areas and others needed vast improvement.

Unfortunately, after a phone call with a man 200 miles away, Dianne was not at her best whatsoever. Of course, she knew it was for the best, the distance was far too much. But she was feeling anxious for the stress that was to come. She knew that when it was eventually announced, hers and probably Joe's lives would be harshly intertwined with negative attention and she didn't want that for him.

The thought pulled Dianne up short. She was much more considerate regarding how the press would negatively impact Joe's career and Joe's experience than someone she had known for nearly a year. Of course she still cared but it was peculiar at how quickly Joseph Sugg's name had sprung to mind. 

Shaking her head and plumping her pillow, she tried to get to sleep and drifted off quite quickly as he was the last thought in her mind. 

//

Joe looked around the rehearsal space and set down the two coffees and paper bag on the side. It wasn't like Dianne to be late ever but the text he had received from her this morning had seemed haphazard and confused. He suspected that he knew what had happened but tried not to get his hopes up. There had been a few incidents where he had done the same only to have his hopes dashed. 

What are you thinking Joe, he thought angrily, if they break up she will obviously be upset. If you like her as much as you think you do, you should want her to be happy. Joe sighed and relented to the thoughts swirling round in his head. If being with him is what made her happy then who the hell was he to question it. He could increase her happiness by getting this American Smooth right.

He started to move around the room with an invisible Dianne in ballroom hold with him. Joe stopped checking his feet and arm placement in the mirror and just enjoyed what he was doing. The music was playing on in his head and he was in his own little world. 

So much so that he didn't even hear her enter. If he had, he would have opened his eyes to see the adorable proud look on her face as she watched him, feeling as though her heart was about to burst. 

"Bravo Joseph!" she said clapping her hands. Joe jumped out of his skin and turned to face her, clutching his heart. "That was so cute!"

"Oh my god Dianne!" he said breathlessly, still recovering from his enormous fright. Dianne laughed but it wasn't her usual laugh, he noticed, the one that was filled with joy. It seemed like she was trying too hard to be normal and bright. He decided to leave it for now, knowing that she wouldn't immediately open up. She walked over to set her bag down on the table and frowned.

"What's this?" she asked. Joe walked over and saw that she was staring at the coffees and the paper bag.

"I er, got the morning coffees for a change. I also saw that they were doing the nice brownies in the shop and thought you would like them so I picked you one," he said almost shyly.

 Almost immediately, Joe regretted his words because he could see tears forming in Dianne's eyes. She tried to bat the tears away with her hands but in the end she couldn't hold them in. Her hands instead covered her eyes and she began to cry in a way that just broke Joe's heart. Also he seemed rooted to the spot, he had absolutely no idea how to react. Suddenly, something propelled him forwards and he stepped towards her, pulling her into his arms. He held the firm embrace for at least a minute, not caring that his t-shirt was becoming wet from her tears. Leading her over to a chair, he sat her down and crouched in front of her.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to upset you, I was just trying to do something nice for you-" stuttered Joe. 

"It's not you," she muttered, tears still streaming down her face. "Stupid break ups,"

All of a sudden, Joe understood. That must have been why she got no sleep, why she was a bit later than usual and why a small kind gesture must have set her off. Joe didn't say anything and just leaned up to wrap his arms around her again. She clearly needed a cuddle and Joe was happy to comfort her. 

"You can tell me as much or as little as you'd like," he whispered softly to her. "I would never pressure you into telling me anything. Just let me know how I can help you and I'll do it straight away,"

"That coffee would be nice actually," she said smiling through her tears. Joe immediately got up from his position and handed the coffee to her. Looking at her while she drank, he wondered how she managed to still look so beautiful whilst going through a life crisis. He knew she'd had no sleep and was extremely emotional and yet to him, she was absolutely perfect. Joe shook the thought away, he needed to be her friend right now.

"I mean, it was never going to be a long term thing," she suddenly blurted out. "He was what I needed at the right time, which sounds incredibly selfish but I felt really alone and he was there. But, I didn't envision marrying him or having children with him,"

"There's no shame in admitting something didn't work. And the reasons you've just given me don't make either of you horrible people and neither of you is to blame. Sometimes things just don't work out," said Joe looking in her eyes.

Suddenly, Dianne was transported back to a park bench 908 miles away from where she was right now. She was crying over her other ex and her dear friend Gorka had reassured her and comforted her and said all the right things. Now, years later, Joe was doing the exact same thing and she had only known him for about a month. For Dianne, this particular parallel served to highlight just how special Joe was. He could make her laugh until her sides hurt, but he could also help her emotionally and completely understand how she was feeling. It was like she was looking at him through different eyes and saw a near-perfect individual. 

She pushed aside her feelings, that was a conversation for another day.

"Thank you Joe. You're so wonderful," she said, smiling at him warmly. Joe looked at the floor but not before she could catch his blush.

"Anything for you," he muttered before quickly straightening and saying "Right should we crack on then?"

"Yes, we have a lot to cover today," said Dianne easily slipping into her teacher role. They began to iron out a few of the mistakes that Joe had been making with the dance, particularly his footwork. While he improved, it was clear that they were both a little distracted. 

//

After seeing Dianne upset today, it had ignited a fierce protectiveness in Joe, a feeling that he had never ever experienced before. He had realised that he would do absolutely anything for Dianne. To make her smile, to make her proud but above anything, to not make her feel the way that she did today. It was particularly strange to Joe that he had only known Dianne a month and yet he felt this strongly towards her. It was like he had lived his life and she had lived hers but all this while it was leading them to each other. To make a new life together. He felt closer to her than he had to anyone in his entire life. Of course, he didn't even know if she felt the same and would be devastated if she didn't. But he knew that their connection was real, and it would be a pleasure to have her in his life, even just as a friend. 

Oh dear, he thought as his head hit the pillow, I've definitely gone soft. 

Author's Note- Hello! Quickly, I'm sorry I haven't updated in a few days, I've been very busy sorting out things for university. I really enjoyed writing this chapter as it has a parallel to my personal favourite chapter 0.3 Miles. Also, thank you very much for all the reads, I never thought anyone would want to read it so it makes my day that people do! 

P.S, I think a lot of you will like the next chapter ;)