The others

The agreement

It was deadly quiet in Joe's mind by the time he had gotten back to his dressing room. His tired and aching legs instantly bringing his equally achy torso to the small dressing table on the far side of his dressing room. The Hollywood style of lights around the mirror catching his attention as he sat himself down on the accompanying seat.

His feet resting gently on the floor, and his back startling upright as he took in his appearance, Joe allowed a small sigh to escape his lips and a shaky hand to travel through the tangle of his hair. The stickiness of the hairspray which had been placed into it before hand grasping onto his fingers, until eventually they escaped with a gentle scratch of his neck. Partaking in the same nervous habit he had always done in times of uncertainty. Only to move his hands down past his shoulders and straighten the gold jacket he wore that evening. His unashamed love for the item seeming to be one of the only things he was capable of enjoying about his body in that very moment.

The Paso had gone somewhat as planned. With a decent score of 34 under his belt, the brunette felt as if he should be at least a little happy with his performance. But after the blunder he made of getting up off of the wrong knee, Joe couldn't help but continue to run the routine through his mind for the possibility that he would need to perform it again in a few minutes time.

It was a bizarre feeling, or so he thought, that despite having been in the competition for well over eight weeks by now, the sensation of fearing that he may not be able to dance on the following Monday morning was still seeming to be somewhat of a novelty. And that the current worst possible outcome would be that he wouldn't be able to have the same feelings of frustration, tiredness and pain which would lead him to nothing but pure fear, seeming to make him feel physically ill.

The week had been full of ups and downs in its own right. With the trials and tribulations he had shared with the redhead a few days ago Joe still had the seed of doubt in the back of his mind. The irrational fear that she would leave him back at square one at the drop of a hat if the opportunity arose. And so, with that fear, came a sense of urgency for the brunette to prove both of them wrong. To prove not only to her, yet also to himself that despite his untimely mistakes both on and off the dance floor, he was still worth the risk.

Taking in the view of his body further, Joe sat patiently. The spins, foot placements and coordinated pieces of movement continuing to flurry through his mind like a stuck cassette tape. Until eventually, the stressy brunette was ripped out of his concentration by the gentle squeak of the door to his left, followed by the gentle thuds of someone walking towards him. Each step becoming progressively louder until eventually a stream of black and gold was visible in the mirror before him.

Wrapping her arms around his upper body, Dianne rested her head upon the strength of his right shoulder. Her hazel irises meeting his blue ones in the reflection before them. His back was still stark straight, whilst a gentle rhythm of breaths left through his nostrils. A relaxing glint in his eye as the sight of his redheaded companion came beside him.

"Stop thinking about it." She whispered softly in his ear after a few continued beats of silence. Turning slightly, Joe leant his head against hers. The subtle scent of apple poking through the mass of products in her hair relaxing him a little further as the warmth of her body pressed onto his back.

Shrugging slightly, Joe closed his eyes.

"I'm just a little frustrated is all." He eventually whispered in return.

"Yeah, but you don't need to be Joe." She responded almost instantly, squeezing him a little bit tighter. "You smashed it out there okay, and I'm beyond proud of you."

Shrugging once again, Joe allowed a sigh to fall from his lips; swiftly followed by one from his counterpart.

"Thank you...truly, I appreciate it but I just feel like I need to be ready for... it." He continued, reluctant to say the words. "You know... Just in case."