In Another World

Chapter 13

It turned out that cute texts weren't quite the same as actually being in the arms (or even the same room) of the person; let alone not being able to see them for a week. But at least it wasn't a week of complete silence like it had been previously! Joe and Dianne were pretty much in a long-distance relationship at this point: daily video calls, flirty texts, and the occasional meal in the privacy of their apartment were becoming norms for them. Although the pair yearned for more, they knew that this was realistically the best case scenario. They could be together without it interfering with their work, even if it meant making a few sacrifices.

It was the last round of the competition before Strictly went to Blackpool, and Dianne was desperate to get there; and not just as a supporting dancer this time. Every week, Dianne strove to improve on the previous routine: making it more technical, more crowd-pleasing, and more memorable than before. And – aside from the semi-final – this was the week with the highest stakes, and more to lose. To say that Dianne was on edge would have been an understatement! So, when Joe invited her over to his apartment for a meal and the chance to unwind, Dianne jumped at the opportunity to spend more time with him.

Although Joe's week hadn't been as stressful as Dianne's, it hadn't been easy either. The young man was still doing damage control from his video, but he had nobody to blame besides himself. Although, if Dianne hadn't ignored him for over a week, Joe probably wouldn't have ended up in that frame of mind; but he was not going to put any blame on the woman that he was crazy about! And he certainly was crazy to have done what he did, but Joe knew that there was no point in dwelling on it. He was prepared to deal with the consequences, and the fact that he was now dating the girl of his dreams made it all worthwhile. With that in mind, Joe had decided to arrange a date night, to allow them to spend some much-needed time together at last.

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As she made her way towards the lift, Dianne quickly texted Joe to let him know that she was in the building. The moment that she stepped into the small space, Dianne's phone vibrated, and she beamed as she read the message on the screen.

Joe Sugg: Can't wait to see you! X

The Australian was brought out of her reverie by a familiar lively voice entering the lift, "Oh, hey Dianne!"

She glanced up and panicked when she recognised Doctor Ranj in front of her, "Uh, hi..." she replied slowly, "What are you doing here?"

"I live here, what's your excuse?" Ranj chuckled.

Dianne hesitated, "I'm just... visiting someone".

Ranj pressed the button for his floor and quirked an eyebrow at her words, "Joe?"

The redhead froze, unsure of how to react. How did he know that she was visiting Joe? What if he knew about their relationship? What if he told someone about it?

The doctor watched her flustered expression in confusion, "Sorry, I didn't mean to assume," he apologised, "But Joe's the only person I could think of who lives here and that we both know, and you've always seemed pretty close to Zoe as well".

"Uh, yeah," Dianne nodded, quickly attempting to come up with a feasible excuse, "She left something at his place, but hasn't had a chance to pick it up yet, so I offered to do it instead".

"Oh, what is it?" Ranj asked curiously.

Dianne faltered, "It's... personal".

Ranj studied her suspiciously, but nodded in understanding, "Right, got it," he replied, then cleared his throat, "Well, that's really nice of you".

Dianne shrugged, "It's nothing", she muttered, inwardly praying for either an opportunity to change the subject, or for the lift to stop immediately and open on his floor. Fortunately, the latter happened, and the doctor said a quick goodbye before stepping out of the lift and leaving her alone. Dianne let out a deep breath, both relieved that the conversation was over, and rattled by the exchange. It may have seemed innocuous to an outsider, but not to Dianne. If the redhead didn't already have doubts about the situation, this had just reinforced them even more: Dianne actually felt worried, and not for the first time.