Halfway to Love | A Joanne Fanfiction

Five

Sunday came around sooner than Dianne had expected, due to another busy week on the show. After successfully navigating the underground, she found herself in a part of London that she wasn't too familiar with. But she needed this. Despite being so busy all week, she couldn't help but feel lonely-she'd spent so much time in the company of others for work, that she hadn't had the chance to reach out to any of her friends back home and was feeling worse because of it. She sighed to herself as she cleared her mind, painting a polite smile onto her face as she pushed open the door in front of her.

Immediately, she was welcomed by a friendly woman by the name of Jane, who she recognised as the lady that she had spoken to on the phone. Despite being completely and utterly out of her comfort zone, Dianne was quickly put at ease by the older woman. After a brief introduction to the rest of the volunteers, who had in turn greeted her with a wave and a smile, she was given a tour of the premises and directed to the kitchen.

"Now, as we said on the phone, we said that you would be in charge of serving the roasts. Is that still alright?"

Dianne smiled. "It's more than alright. I'd love to."

The woman breathed a grateful sigh of relief. "Thank you so much. I do have to ask you to tie your hair up though?"

"Oh yes of course!" she replied, before hitting herself as she realised her mistake. "Do you have a hair bobble by any chance?"

She was handed one almost immediately. After showing the redhead the correct procedure of serving, Jane left to Dianne to her own devices. As she left her to open the doors to the people waiting outside, she could help but turn back around, the girl's distinctive aussie accent and red hair were vaguely familiar, although she couldn't quite place her finger as to why.

Due to the similarities to her previous jobs as a kid, Dianne settled into her serving duties fairly quickly. She found herself plating up portions easily, and, as he made conversation with those using the centre, she felt those feelings of loneliness begin to drift away. She'd been warned of how to act to those who appeared to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, but she'd been lucky enough not to encounter anyone who wasn't polite and thankful, which made her job so much easier. She enjoyed herself, and mentally thanked the nameless old man who had unknowingly pushed her towards taking the opportunity.

She had lost count of the numerous orders and faces that she had seen, yet she valued every one of them. Her feet ached considerably after the live show the previous evening, and then standing up all day when she knew that she should have been resting. She didn't regret it, the snippets of conversation that she'd been a part of, and the gratefulness that each person she had met had demonstrated towards her made every minute more than worth it.

The four hour shift passed in a blink of an eye. All too quickly, she finished clearing up the mess that she had made, and she smiled to herself, satisfied with how the day's events had turned out. Sighing, she took out her hair, teasing the bumps that had arose with her fingers to comb it into something more manageable. Taking one last look at the now spotless kitchen, she walked out of the room and towards the lockers.

Jane decided to take her chance as she saw the red-headed girl face the locker. She walked up towards her, ready to thank her for what she had done, as well as try and figure out why her distinctive hair was so familiar.

"Dianne wasn't it?" she asked, and Dianne jumped slightly, having not heard her approach.

"Yeah, that's me!" she replied, a polite expression settling on her features after she had recovered from the shock.

"I just wanted to thank you for today, we wouldn't have been able to open if it wasn't for you." She told her sincerely.

"Oh no thank you! I had a lovely time!" she smiled. "If you're ever in need of a bit extra help again I'd be more than happy to lend a hand.

With that, Jane smiled gratefully. "I might have to take you up on that you know, what days are you likely to be around?"

Dianne laughed at this. "My schedule is so busy up until Christmas, I'm only free on Sundays really."

Sue's eyes light up in realisation. "That's where I recognised you from! You're from strictly aren't you?"

"I am yes. What gave it away?" she asked, her more confident tone having turned into something more nervous now that she had been recognised.

"The accent and the red are quite the giveaway." She laughed.

"True, true."

The two women stood in silence for a moment, unsure of what to do.

"Anyway, I best be going now though, the show didn't finish filming until gone eleven last night, I'm exhausted!" she smiled politely, grabbing her bag and leaving the room before Sue could even say a word.

As she stepped onto the pavement, she smiled as that rush of adrenaline left her. As Rev and her didn't last particularly long on the show, the scarce recognitions she had had still surprised her. She knew strictly was big in the UK, but the numbers had more or less gone over her head when they were explained to her, but now she was starting to realise it. She was suddenly grateful for the fact that Jane hadn't realised until after her shift was over, she didn't want to be seen as someone who only did good things because people were watching, she'd met far too many of people like that in the past.

The London streets were cold now, as the UK had well and truly entered the depths of winter. Every road was bustling with people and she still wasn't quite used to it. She wrapped her coat tightly around herself in an attempt to keep out the cold as she made her way to the underground. It was easy to become overwhelmed as a torrent of people, all moving in very specific directions caused her to become swept up. Thankfully she had her exact journey mapped out on her notes so that she wouldn't get too lost, a habit which Oti had quickly introduced her to as she arrived in the nation's capital. She stepped off of the escalator, totally engrossed in her phone, so engrossed in whether she was going southbound or northbound that she walked straight into a stranger.

She looked up guiltily to apologise, but found herself looking at the most amusing sight. A man, who she assumed was around her age immediately said sorry to her. But what amused her was instead his position. He appeared to be carrying a camera, but rather than filming his journey it was seemed to be directed right towards his face. She frowned, slightly puzzled before apologising quickly and making her way to her tube.

The man in which Dianne had just been bumped into laughed to himself as he noticed the red-headed woman's confusion at his camera, but before he could comment on it she had left quickly, with a rushed apology in what he could only assume was a kiwi or aussie accent.

Joe was just on his way to a friend's house, in which they were having a little gathering. He was trying to lay off the partying, but it was proving more difficult than he had initially expected it would be. In the midst of the big city, he'd almost forgotten how to have fun without the addition of alcohol so seeing his friends without going clubbing was something that he was really looking forward to. He usually favoured the boat as his method of transport for getting around, but the limited destinations available along the Thames meant that he was on the tube.

However, vlogging in a very busy place was never ideal, even if he did know exactly where he was going. Sticking an arm out to the extent of it being almost unnatural to film himself did look fairly odd to the general public, but he was more than used to the weird looks he'd get from it. Sighing, he made his way to the platform, watching the cramped carriages race past, grateful that his encounter with the red-headed girl had prevented him from going on a busy tube, and hopeful that the next would be quieter.

Meanwhile, Dianne bumped into three more people on her short walk to the tube after her encounter with the strange man with his camera: an old lady wearing a hand-knitted scarf, a little girl eating raspberries off of her fingers, and her dear friend Oti, who by the time Dianne had opened her mouth to apologise, had dragged her onto the oncoming tube. She laughed, listening to her friend as she launched into a rant about the difficulties of choreographing a dance to what was already her least favourite song.