In Another World

Chapter 10

Two Strictly shows passed without Joe hearing from Dianne. As usual, he had voted multiple times for her and Lee, as well as Zoe and Neil; willing both couples to get through. And although he was delighted that they did, Joe was also disappointed that Dianne hadn't come to see him after the show like she had done during the previous weeks. The young man still stayed up late after the Strictly episodes, secretly hoping that she would show up at his flat; but she never did. Joe knew how pathetic he seemed, pining after Dianne; but he didn't think he had ever felt this way about a woman before. 

Of course, he had attempted to reach out to her by calling and messaging her a couple of times, but to no avail. Out of sheer politeness, Joe didn't want to overwhelm Dianne with his attempts, so he kept his distance from her in return. Joe was plagued with doubts: had he done something wrong? Should he take her silence as a hint that she didn't feel the same about him, and move on? But Joe wasn't ready to move on, and he knew that he needed to do something to at least get some closure.

Dianne, meanwhile, was faring no better. Although putting distance between herself and Joe allowed her to focus on Lee and the competition, she still missed talking to him. She hadn't realised how much Joe had brightened her days since they had first met, and it pained her to not only resist contacting him, but to also ignore his attempts. Dianne had received a couple of messages from him, and although it was comforting to know that Joe cared enough to reach out to her, it only really succeeded in making her feel worse about ignoring him. For all Dianne knew, he could have been jumping for joy about her silence! Though, she knew deep down that Joe wasn't that sort of person. The pair of them had grown so close; Dianne couldn't have been imagining or misinterpreting it. But it didn't matter anymore, everything was ruined now; and she was kicking herself for having been responsible for it.

Joe was also kicking himself, frustrated by all the unanswered questions. He didn't know who to talk to, or what he was even supposed to say. Joe continued to support Zoe, who was completely oblivious to what was going on in her brother's life, as much as he wanted to confide in her. The YouTuber had been trying to distract himself during the week by coming up with some new video ideas. Though, from Dianne's lack of contact to his own lack of purpose, Joe had been totally unmotivated to produce any of them. But as the young man's eyes danced between his ideas list and his camera, he was suddenly inspired as to how he could deal with both of his problems at once.

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I Have a Dilemma

"I'm not usually one for clickbait titles," Joe began, then pulled a face, "Wait, who am I kidding? Of course I am! But this is genuine: I have a dilemma".

The young man took a deep breath and looked straight into the camera lens, "There's this girl, this woman... and I think I'm falling for her," he admitted nervously, "But I can't tell you anything about her, and that's the problem. No-one can find out, whether we're together or not; if the press gets any idea that there's any kind of relationship between us, it could ruin everything for her".

Joe grimaced, "This could all be for nothing, you know; she might only see me as a mate," he muttered, "There are times where I think she does have feelings for me as well, but I don't know for sure, and I can't do anything about it".

There was a pause before Joe let out a breath, "I just needed someone to talk to, and you guys have been loyal to me for years; I feel like I can trust you with anything," he continued, "There are just some dodgy people out there who I can't trust, but I know that you'll be respectful. And hopefully helpful, because I don't know what to do!" he finished with a hopeless guffaw.

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Joe hadn't thought that it was possible to 'accidentally' film and upload a video, but it turned out that it was! Although he wouldn't necessarily call it an accident (since he consciously made the decision to do it!), within seconds of posting it, Joe was filled with regret. His videos usually gained views pretty quickly, but this was a whole other level! He was bombarded by 'likes' and comments, and although Joe was extremely grateful, it didn't take long for him to realise that he had made a massive mistake by posting it. Most of the comments were viewers wanting to know who the video was referring to – which Joe had been prepared for – but the reality of all the questions was overwhelming.