Girl in the park. A Joe and Dianne story.

The worst week of my life

So this is written a little different to other chapters but i feel it makes more sense this way

Dianne's PoV

Remember remember the fifth of November.

It's a silly little rhyme for kids but November fifth was the start of one of the worst weeks of my life. I would certainly remember it but I'd much rather forget it.

Monday

Monday started like any other Monday. I woke up in my boyfriends bed. My wonderful caring gorgeous boyfriend. His arms no longer wrapped tightly around my body just loosely draped over my stomach letting me know he was still there. He looked so cute when he slept. His lips in a small pout.

I stared at his face studying him whilst he slept. It was still early even for me. He probably wouldn't be awake for another 15 minutes or so. I used this as an opportunity to take in every detail of his face. His fluttery eyelashes, his chiselled chin, the way his hair flopped and the faint stubble coming through from missing a few days shaving.  He was all mine. Something I'd never get over. A guy like him loving someone like me.

This bed in his beautiful home was our haven away from all the commotion of life as a Strictly contestant. Once through his front door we didn't need to look over our shoulder. We didn't need to act as though we weren't dating. We didn't have to bury our love for each other. We weren't on edge that the press were going to misinterpret every look we gave each other every time we walked down the street together.

In these four walls we were just another anonymous young couple living their best London life. No labels defining who we were. No social media star and the professional dancer.

No we were just joe and Dianne here. That young couple who enjoy a glass of red wine after work. Who spend their Sunday afternoon meal planning for the week ahead.  That couple who bookmarked cute cafes for brunch dates. That couple who could make each other laugh continuously for hours just pulling stupid faces and making silly noises. That couple who were nearly always touching each other in some way. The couple that found joy and happiness in the simplest of ways.

I laid there staring up at the ceiling thinking how lucky I was to be here. I was thankful that I didn't completely give up on dance after a disastrous split from another partner turned boyfriend. I was younger then though I didn't know what real love was. But laid here on a drizzly November morning I knew for certain that real love was what I had with Joe right now.

We always had an alarm but after 9 weeks of early starts in the studio the alarms weren't that necessary anymore as we both naturally woke up. I felt Joe begin to stir next me pulling me into him and placing soft kisses on my shoulder,neck and cheek. I didn't have a favourite joe but early morning sleepy soft joe had a special place in my heart.

One thing Joe did make me do was mute any block gossipy news pages on my social media and delete the news app from my phone. Something I wasn't used to was the press constantly hounding me. The constant articles didn't get to me most of the time but Joe thought it best I didn't have to see not just the articles but the comment sections. Let's just say some people have far too much time on their hands to write such vile hate towards someone they've never met.

The majority of joe's audience seemed to have welcomed to me into his life. They regularly commented how they hoped we got together after the show and how they didn't want our videos together to end. Some even said I should have my own channel because I'm natural apparently.

One of my favourite things about training with Joe is stopping off for a coffee or a full breakfast in one of the many quaint and quirky cafes in central London. We now had our favourites that we'd become regulars at depending on which studios we were using. This particular grey Monday was no different. We stopped by a place called love walk both ordering coffees,juices and smashed avocado and eggs.
I watched the various people coming and going at 8.15 on a Monday morning. Professional types in suits grabbing a drink on the go and a piece of cake for later. Students dropping by before class sat at tables with their laptops tapping away. Yummy mummy types on their way to baby yoga. Everybody was in their own bubble not really realising how one moment can change everything. For me that moment was going to punch me sooner than I'd anticipated.