Rainbow connection

Samba

Monday had been a disaster.

Joe had improved so much during his time on strictly and his scores from previous weeks proved that. It was just this samba that he couldn't get into his head.
Tuesday morning and Joe had decided to get to the studio an hour early in the hopes of getting some extra practice in. His heart sunk when he walked into the room to see Dianne blocking through steps, obviously with the same idea as him.

"Morning." He called as cheerfully as he could muster. If truth were told he hadn't slept well at all, dreams of embarrassing himself of live television haunted him but his worst worry was letting down the girl he had grown to really like.

Dianne nodded at him and carried on her steps.

"Great" Joe thought, "She's so mad she won't even talk to me"

Despite his frustration, he was determined to get this right, and so sat in the corner if the room watching videos of sambas. All these professional men could shake their hips and pump their chests in ways that Joe didn't believe possible. It was hopeless, he'd never get there.

Obviously sensing his shift in mood and calming down herself, Dianne went to comfort Joe.

"Hey, we've both come in super early, do you wanna get some extra practice in?"

Later on that day, when they had tirelessly worked for hours, they called it a day.

"Do you wanna come to mine to film the reaction video?" Joe tentatively asked. He was aware of how annoyed Dianne had been with him today and thought she could do with a proper nights rest, although he would never say it to her face.

"Sounds good"

They were till yet to have a full conversation since their argument the day before. Joe had shouted back at Dianne, claiming he was still completely new to this and Dianne thought he should be picking steps up faster now. She had stormed out crying and Joe was left alone to his thoughts. 5 minutes later she had returned and they had carried on training as if the tiff never existed.

Joe was actually very worried about his partner. They had been spending more and more time together and he had feelings for this girl he had never had before. Despite getting too scared to act on it, he still wanted to make sure she was okay and her stress levels this week were worrying him.

"Do you want to stay over?" Joe asked when they had finished filming. "Byrons staying at Emily's so there's lots of room."

In reality Joe wanted to make sure Dianne got a proper nights rest. He could see the energy drain from her face when she realised she had to back to the other side of London.

"Are you sure Joe? I wouldn't want to be imposing on your only few hours off"

"Of course, honestly it's too late for you to get back, plus you make the best coffee."

The next two days they trained harder and longer than ever. Dianne was physically drained and felt so guilty. If she was this tired as a professional, how would Joe be feeling? Joe however had one thing on his mind, Blackpool. If he could get there, he'd do his family proud and that was all he really wanted from this whole strictly whirlwind. Not to mention the fact he wanted to let Dianne compete there for the first time in her life.

He was so frustrated that despite the work he'd put in, the samba was still sagging behind the standard of his previous dances. The thought of not going through, surprisingly to him, only upset him, as he thought of not seeing Dianne everyday. He found himself not caring about the competition, he just wanted to spend time laughing with her in the studio.

"Di if this actually is our last week..."

"Joe stop it! Positive attracts positive."

"No Di please listen, if it's actually the end, please can we stay in contact?"

Dianne was taken back by this question. Joe was quickly becoming one of her best friends. If she was honest, she was closer to him than anyone else not in Australia.

"Joe please, you're going to be fine honestly, but if you're not, for whatever reason it's our time to leave, you should know you'll always be one of my best friends for life." More than a friend to me anyway. But Di could never admit these feelings to Joe. She was his professional, and liking your dance partner was the least professional thing she could possibly do.

"Of course Joe!"

They say in silence for a few moments longer before their peace was interrupted by Joes soft sobs.

"Oh Joseph, bless you." She cooed, "It's gonna be alright you know,"

She felt herself get teary when he didn't reply. She wrapped him in a big bear hug so he could sob into her chest and massaged the back of his head. Assuming his emotion was the result of a drained young man under a lot of pressure to get through this one week, she guided him out of the studio and into a car. Getting him home, rested and prepared for the next day was the only way forward.

"It's camera block through tomorrow, when you get in tonight, look back over a few videos and I'll send some other sambas you should watch."

Joe was starting to calm down and suddenly felt rather embarrassed. He'd never been one to show his emotions but being a round Dianne had unlocked this part of him. He would never admit it to her but he was ready to admit it to himself.

Joe Sugg had a crush. Not a stupid high school crush but he had properly fallen for one girl.

Dianne Buswell.