In Another World

Chapter 7

Joe and Dianne had been texting almost constantly throughout Sunday. They convinced themselves that they were just discussing ideas for her and Lee, but it was actually just an excuse for them to flirt a bit more! Mainly about pancakes – which wasn't the most conventional subject for flirtation – but they told themselves that it was perfectly innocent and didn't have to mean anything, even if it actually did.

Joe didn't think he had ever been so excited for a Monday before! He was eager to help Dianne and Lee in the competition; and if he got to spend a bit of extra time with the redhead, then it was just a bonus. However, the young man had completely forgotten to make a note of where he was supposed to meet the pair. Joe didn't want to interrupt the little training time that Lee and Dianne had, but didn't want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere either! Whilst waiting for his morning update from Zoe, he texted Dianne to check where they were meeting, but their conversation went on a little longer than it should have, considering how busy she was.

"Wow, you're popular today", Lee remarked as Dianne rushed over to her mobile to check her latest message, keeping his tone as nonchalant as possible to hide his annoyance.

"Yeah," Dianne murmured before sighing, "Sorry, this is really unprofessional".

"Well, you've got your fingers in a lot of pies, haven't you?" Lee shrugged.

Dianne glanced up at him in bewilderment, "I've got what-now?"

Lee chuckled, realising that she had clearly never heard that expression before, "It means that you're involved in lots of different things," he explained, "So, of course your phone's gonna ring a lot".

"I guess, but it's still not a great look: having our phones going off so much", Dianne pointed out.

"Well, I won't tell if you don't!" Lee joked, then looked more serious, "But it seems like it's important".

Dianne considered this, "It's actually about us".

"What do you mean?" Lee asked in confusion.

"Well, after being in the dance-off again, I figured that we could use some help", Dianne explained carefully.

"With our dance?" Lee questioned.

Dianne shook her head, "With our partnership".

"Right," Lee nodded before facetiously adding, "So, are you bringing in some kind of relationship counsellor for our VT or something?"

"Not exactly," Dianne replied, "I've invited Joe Sugg here to help us become more popular with the viewers".

Lee quirked an eyebrow, "Joe? As in, Zoe's brother?"

The redhead almost had to stop herself from sighing at the term, "He's a brand manager, he knows all about public image".

Lee nodded in understanding, "Are you that worried?"

"Honestly? A bit," Dianne admitted, "Our dances have been good, we didn't deserve to be in the bottom two at all; let alone twice! And everyone I spoke to feels the same, so there's obviously something that's not resonating with the audience".

"And you think Joe can help with that?" Lee queried.

Dianne smirked, "Well, he hasn't got eight million subscribers for nothing!"

Lee sniggered, "How do you know his subscriber count?"

The redhead didn't want to admit that she had done a bit of research into Joe and watched a lot of his videos over the last few weeks, so it didn't take long to learn about him. She was even considering subscribing to some of his channels, though she didn't want to come across as stalkerish! Although the subscriber numbers didn't really mean anything to Dianne at first, she realised how impressive they were after talking to Zoe about her career.