Learning Curve | Joanne

Mixed Signals

"Oh my God, tell me everything. What's your partner like? Are you any good at it? How's it all going? I've just watched the show; I'm so impressed, Joe."

Joe leaned back on his pillow, smiling. He held his phone in his hand, the image of one of his best friends taking up his entire screen.

"Thanks, Britt. It's been so good. I'm having the best time."

Having friends living in all corners of the world was both a blessing and a curse. Finding time to speak to Britt when she was over in LA was difficult, but Joe absolutely adored his friend and loved how enthusiastic she was being about one of the biggest- and most controversial- career decisions he had ever made.

"And what about your partner? How is she?"

"Dianne? She's great. She... we get along really well. It's weird, actually. We just seem to have clicked. I mean, she's insane, but in a good way. And she seems to get my sense of humour which is good. I don't think things would be going as well if she didn't get me. But we just spend all day laughing."

Britt grinned. "Ah, I'm so pleased. Has it been weird? Like, it's a huge change."

Joe nodded. "It's a little weird, I can't lie. The dancing thing is obviously the biggest part of the whole experience, but there's other factors that I didn't think about. I don't know, I guess it's a bigger change than I was expecting. It's a lot of commitment and a lot of... intensity."

"I can see that. You look exhausted."

Joe ran his hand back through his hair, pushing it away from his face. "Is it that obvious? It's only the third week- imagine how I'm going to feel if we get through to, like, the end? I'll be like a ghost."

"You will!" Britt laughed. "I bet you'll still be smiling, though."

"Hopefully. Hopefully Dianne won't have absolutely given up on me by then. She's been pretty positive so far but, like I said, we're only a few weeks in. She's got a lot more to learn about me, I'm sure."

"I could give her a few hints, if you like."

Joe grimaced. "Under no circumstances, Brittany. You know far too much about me. I don't want to scare the poor girl off. A couple of hours with you, and she'll be tripping me up on purpose just to get out of the competition."

Britt grinned. "I do have some stories, Joseph, that's true. But I have also probably read more of the 'Joe Sugg Manual' than she has- I could give her some tips."

Joe shrugged. "I could do with someone doing that for me, actually. Like, for her."

"What do you mean?" Britt asked, confused. "I thought you said things were going well?"

Joe let out an audible sigh. "They are. Definitely. But, it's just... I've never spent this much time with a girl before. Not when it's just me and her. And you know I'm not great with emotions and stuff. Plus, because I've not dated anyone seriously in a long time, there's things I don't know. Girl things."

"Girl things?" Britt asked, one eyebrow raised. "What does that even mean?"

Joe shrugged and took a deep breath. Britt was one of his closest friends, someone he knew really well. He trusted her. He knew she wouldn't judge him for what he was about to say.

"OK, so maybe it's not a girl thing. Maybe it's a Dianne thing. But I'm a bit confused. How... how do you know if a girl likes you?"

Britt grinned widely. "As in, likes you? Ah, Joe, really?"

Joe nodded, knowing he was blushing slightly. "It... it's so cliché. And I don't know if I'm making it up, or if I'm reading these signals wrong because- well- you know I haven't spent a lot of time around girls like this and I'm not great at the whole 'reading emotions' thing. She's really touchy-feely, but I think that's a dancer thing. Plus, we have to be close because of the routines and stuff. But she's just... I don't know."