Joe and Dianne's Strictly Stories

Samba: MMMBop

A/N: This chapter was originally written by xxJoanneLovers, so thank you very much for your help! 

Love: an intense feeling of deep affection. Something that Joe Sugg had never felt before. Well, until a certain redhead came into his life, but that's jumping ahead! 

Joe didn't believe in love. Something about it just seemed all too good to be true, because – at the end of the day – life isn't really like it is in rom-coms. Really, how could a person possibly love someone so much that their heart simply beat for them? And the idea of 'love at first sight' was completely lost on him. Joe could understand finding someone attractive, but to fall in love with them based purely on a first impression was ridiculous, not to mention shallow. No, love just couldn't possibly be real. And, despite everything that he had been told by his other band members, who happened to be absolutely infatuated with their other halves, Joe just didn't believe it to be true.

"Five minutes 'til call to stage", Joe heard the stage manager shout as he finished his vocal warm-ups.

"Come on Joe, you can do this: go out there and put on the best show of your life!" he muttered to himself as he fixed his hair in the mirror. 

Tonight was by far the biggest performance of his life. Not many people could say that they headlined one of the biggest music festivals in the U.K, but now he could. This had been Joe's dream since he first started the band, and every moment had been leading up to this one. In a matter of minutes, he and his bandmates – Byron, Connor, Caspar, and Oli – would be on stage performing in front of thousands of adoring fans. Joe could feel the adrenaline pumping around his body in excitement as he prepared to go onstage, and tried to channel his energy into the performance.

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Joe left his dressing room with a spring in his step, exhilarated for the show that was about to start. But his bubble of happiness was soon popped as he found his bandmates all sharing small intimate moments with their girlfriends backstage. His eyes darted around the room, watching Oli lean down and give his girlfriend one final kiss before show-time, and seeing Caspar hold his girlfriend as close to his heart as he possibly could; all savouring the once in a lifetime moment. Most people would love seeing their friends so happy, but something about watching everyone around him so madly in love made Joe's blood boil. But was he angry because of his bandmates wasting time with their ridiculous displays of affection, or was he angry because he was jealous that he didn't have anyone to do those things with?

Joe didn't want to think about it, especially not when he was about to give one of the most momentous performances of his career, "Get a room!" he growled, watching as everyone drifted their gazes towards him.

"Could your eyes get any greener?" Connor teased.

"Yeah, just because you don't have a partner!" Oli added. He wasn't trying to be malicious, but he couldn't resist picking on Joe, who was usually so good-natured that it was difficult to wind him up about anything. Apart from this. Love was Joe's only sore point.

The stormy-eyed man shook his head, "It's not like love is real anyway", he argued defensively.

Oli scoffed, "You're never gonna find someone with that attitude, mate!"

"Who says I want someone?" Joe questioned as he folded his arms.

Byron chuckled, "You do! Your whole body does!"

Joe scoffed, "So you're a guitarist and a body language expert, are you?"

"No, but nobody can be that cynical about love!" Byron argued.