For the next few days following her and Joe's kiss (if you could even call it that!), Dianne was desperate to find a day and time that they were both available to sit down and talk about what it all meant. But with her rehearsals and his meetings, they just couldn't get the chance, and it was becoming frustrating for both of them!
Dianne had barely stopped thinking about Joe all weekend. And when she wasn't thinking about him, she was worrying about Neil, Katya, Zoe and Seann. At least dance rehearsals and choreographing her and Lee's next routine could distract her for a while, and she was pleased with her partner's efforts. But it didn't ease her anxiety about everything else, which didn't go unnoticed by her partner.
The dancer seemed to be growing increasingly uneasy as the days passed, and the last thing Lee wanted to do was aggravate it. Unfortunately, the universe appeared to be conspiring against them, as Lee discovered on his way to their last training session before studio rehearsals. The press had set their sights on him and Dianne, deciding to blame their partnership for her and Anthony's breakup. Lee was irate when he read the articles, knowing that there was absolutely no truth to them, but fearing his partner's response.
As it turned out, Dianne was oblivious to the articles; caught up in everything else that was going on. Lee didn't know how to broach the subject – or if he even wanted to – and tried to focus on the dancing instead. However, Dianne noticed his discomfort quite quickly; especially when they were dancing close together, and his body language became tenser.
"Hey, is everything okay?" she asked.
Lee let out a breath, knowing that there was no point in lying to her, "Not really".
Dianne was worried, "What's wrong? Do you want to go over that section again?"
"No, it's not about the dance," Lee responded before cautiously asking, "Have you seen the articles about you?"
Dianne shook her head, "No, I haven't seen anything," she replied slowly, then attempted to relieve the tension by jokily asking, "What have I done this time?"
"It's about you and your ex," Lee replied hesitantly as he retrieved his phone for her, "And me".
Dianne looked puzzled, then scanned the article in front of her, "Where did they get that idea from?"
"You know what the press are like: once they get a whiff of 'the Strictly Curse', they're all over it like a rash," Lee responded grimly, "Especially after Seann and Katya".
Dianne shrugged, "Well, I'm glad I've taken attention away from them for a bit!" she remarked flippantly.
Lee shook his head, "This is bull," he sighed, "Didn't you guys break up ages ago? It had nothing to do with me".
Dianne nodded, "I know, but we have been spending a lot of time together".
"Training", Lee countered.
"Yeah, but the press can't see that," Dianne pointed out, then sighed, "What they can see is us posting a load of stuff online; not all dance related".
Lee mulled this over, "Yeah, I guess that would attract their attention".
Dianne returned his phone in order to grab her own, "Look, why don't I get Joe back here?" she suggested, "He might be able to give us some advice".
"Are you sure?" Lee asked apprehensively.
Dianne nodded as she found him near the top of the list of her recent contacts, "He knows his stuff".
As much as Lee wanted to trust Dianne, he couldn't help but doubt her judgement in this case. He didn't really understand how this was Joe's business, given that he barely knew either of them. However, the redhead seemed intent on bringing him in, so Lee figured that he just had to humour her; even if he didn't agree.
---
As Dianne filled Joe in on the situation, Lee still didn't really know why he was here. Of course, Joe had helped them raise their social media profiles, but it didn't explain him literally being in the studio with them when this could have been done just as easily over the phone. The singer couldn't help wondering whether there was something going on between Dianne and Joe. He noticed their beaming faces and their close proximity as soon as Joe arrived, and Lee felt like a bit of a gooseberry! He also wondered whether their close relationship may have played a part in Dianne and Anthony's break-up, which he was now receiving the blame for. Of course, Lee knew that Joe and Dianne's relationship (whether it be platonic or romantic) had nothing to do with him, but he did feel quite uncomfortable about Joe's involvement in their partnership.
"So, you think our social media posts have attracted the press' attention?" Dianne asked as he browsed the articles on her phone.
Joe nodded, "Yeah, probably," he muttered, "I guess this sudden burst of content would have caught their eyes".
"But you're the one who suggested that we use our platforms more", Lee pointed out.
"Yeah, I did," Joe sighed, "Sorry, I didn't think that you'd be targeted as well".
Lee rolled his eyes at his words, then turned to Dianne, "'He knows his stuff', does he?" the singer questioned pointedly.
"Hey, this isn't Joe's fault," she chastised before shaking her head at Joe, "You don't have to apologise, the journos just took advantage".
"Because I let them," Joe argued bitterly, "I encouraged you guys to share more online".
Dianne rubbed his arm, "You said that we shouldn't do anything we're not comfortable with, and we didn't," she reminded him, "So, the stuff we posted was on us; our responsibility".
Joe smiled slightly, "Well, I'm still sorry".
"Don't worry about it," Dianne assured him, "I was the one who reached out to you, it's not like you forced us to do it".
"And now you're reaching out to me again," Joe remarked before jokily adding, "Are you sure you wanna do that?"
Dianne smiled encouragingly, "Positive".
Lee watched this interaction with narrowed eyes. Unlike Dianne, he wasn't positive about Joe helping them again. Although his ideas during the previous week had probably contributed to them getting safely through the last round, Joe had actually caused more problems for them in the long run. Of course, he and Dianne had free will – they had chosen to follow his advice when they could have ignored it – so this situation was their faults as well.
But it didn't help that the advice that Joe gave them was hardly ground-breaking. Lee could have figured out for himself that they should 'carefully reduce their social media output' and 'keep their heads down more' – as Joe suggested this time around – so he didn't understand why they needed his 'expertise'.
"Thanks again for your help," Dianne murmured as she walked Joe to the door after their meeting; a sentiment that made Lee roll his eyes, "We really appreciate it".
"It's no problem," Joe assured her, "I'm just sorry I got you into this mess, I really hope this will get you out of it".
"Like I said: this wasn't your fault," Dianne countered, "But I hope it'll work too".
Joe smiled reassuringly, "Well, don't hesitate to get in touch if you need to," he replied before hesitantly adding, "Or if you just want to talk about anything".
Dianne cautiously stepped closer to him, "Look, I know that we agreed that we'd meet up during the week and talk properly," she began quietly, "But, obviously, things are pretty full-on right now; I don't know whether we'll get the chance".
"It's fine, I totally get it," Joe assured her as he gently squeezed her arm, "Focus on yourselves, we can do it some other time".
Dianne considered this, "Well, why don't we go out for dinner or something next week?" she suggested cautiously, "Have a proper sit-down and talk about... stuff?"
Joe smiled, "Yeah, I'd like that".
"Me too," Dianne smiled in return, "Well, I'll text you the details".
Although neither of them had explicitly said it, Joe and Dianne both knew deep down that they had just agreed to go on a date. The pair wore goofy grins on their faces as they parted ways, excited about the major step forwards that they were taking.
However, the redhead's good mood didn't last long as she turned back to her partner, "What was that about?" Lee questioned in annoyance.
"What was what about?" Dianne asked absently.
Lee rolled his eyes, "Inviting Joe back," he replied, "We should be dealing with this ourselves".
"We are dealing with it, but he knows more than we do", Dianne replied.
"We're not idiots, Dianne!" Lee countered before letting out a breath, "I just don't get why you're bringing him of all people into this".
Dianne sighed, realising that she had to tell him the truth; no matter how awkward it was, "Look, Joe saw that I was upset about being in the dance-off two weeks in a row, and he offered to help us".
"Hold on, how did he see you upset?" Lee asked in confusion, "He wasn't even there".
Dianne shifted uncomfortably, "I went to his place after the shows; I just needed someone to talk to".
"So, instead of talking to me, you went to Zoe's brother?" Lee questioned emphatically.
Dianne shrugged, "I'm sorry, I know I should have gone to you," she replied earnestly, "But I wanted to talk to someone who isn't involved".
"But he is involved, because of Zoe", Lee pointed out.
Dianne considered this, "Yeah, I guess he is," she murmured, "But he wanted to help; he has experience with PR stuff".
"So do our agents, Dianne!" Lee exclaimed, "Why did you have to go to the sibling of one of our competitors? Can't you see what a massive conflict of interest that is?"
"He's a friend", Dianne insisted weakly.
"He's over-involved, is what he is," Lee countered, "How would you like it if I'd been telling Joanne Clifton about our routines, and brought her in to help with the choreography?"
Dianne scoffed, "That is not the same thing".
"Yeah, it is," Lee argued, "You've been talking to Joe about our partnership, and bringing him into our sessions; shouldn't there be boundaries?"
Dianne hesitated, realising that he had a point, "Yeah, there should," she murmured, "I'm really sorry, I've handled this all wrong".
Lee sighed, regretting his outburst and the effect that it was having, "Look, whatever you choose to do outside the training room – and whoever you choose to do it with – is none of my business. But when you bring it into the training room, it becomes my business; and it interferes with our work," he pointed out, "There's a line, Dianne, and you're seriously blurring it right now".
Dianne deflated at Lee's words, although she knew that he hadn't meant to hurt her. But perhaps the reason why the words stung so much was because they were true. Dianne had been blurring the lines, allowing – and even encouraging – Joe to get more involved with the show than he should have been, especially given his loyalty to Zoe. And Dianne had a loyalty to Lee, to her job; she couldn't sacrifice it. Dianne realised that maybe she needed to put some distance between herself and Joe before things got more complicated than they already were. Although the pair of them were on the brink of something, Dianne knew that she had to cut ties before they found themselves in too deep with each other; otherwise it would be even more difficult to let go.
Even though it might have seemed dramatic, the redhead retrieved her phone and deleted Joe's number from her contact list. Not only did it mean that she wouldn't be able to contact Joe as easily, but she also wouldn't know if he was trying to contact her either; it was the only way that Dianne could think of to put distance between them and allow them focus on their own responsibilities.
---
However, Dianne hadn't predicted how hard the reality of avoiding Joe would be. Going from speaking almost daily, to not speaking at all for over a week was tougher than expected. Dianne had enough going on to distract herself, but she still felt as though something was missing. Joe was confused by the lack of contact from the redhead – he missed her, and was eager to talk to her – but he didn't want to disturb her. He had told Dianne to focus on herself, so he shouldn't have been surprised that she hadn't been in contact with him for a while. The professional dancer had a job to do; of course he wouldn't be at the top of her list of priorities. In fact, Joe reckoned that he didn't even appear on her list of priorities at all: and why should he? If anything, this should be a wake-up call for Joe to focus on his own priorities: namely, his sister. Zoe still contacted him to keep him in the loop, but less frequently than before. Not that Joe was surprised though; things had been difficult lately, and he didn't want to create any more distractions.
"How are things with you and Neil?" Joe asked during one of their mid-week catch-ups over the phone.
"A bit better..." Zoe murmured, "I guess".
"Wow, you really know how to inspire confidence, don't you?" Joe retorted sarcastically.
Zoe sniggered, "Well, we haven't exactly had a heart-to-heart about it," she explained, "But he does seem to be in a better mood these days".
"That's good," Joe remarked, "But why do you sound so unsure?"
Zoe sighed, "I think Neil's just fed up of everyone going on about it," she mused, "He wants to move on – we all do – but the press just won't let it go".
Joe considered this, "Look, this might sound a bit harsh..." he began, "But this is one of the biggest scandals that's happened on Strictly for years: it's no surprise that journalists would want to milk it as much as they can; it's how they earn their living".
"I know," Zoe muttered, "But it's bordering on harassment; Neil shouldn't have to deal with that".
"None of you should," Joe agreed, "I'm sorry that you're going through this".
Zoe shrugged, "It's not your fault," she assured him, "You've been great; you and Alfie both have".
"Well, I wish I could do more; but I'm glad we've helped", Joe remarked.
Zoe smiled and nodded, "Anyway, I'd rather not talk about Strictly drama anymore!" she sighed, "What's going on with you?"
A part of Joe was desperate to confide in his sister about what was going on with Dianne, in need of some advice. However, Zoe had no idea about the extent of his involvement with the redhead; and telling her – especially right now – would only succeed in making things more awkward. So, instead, he just shrugged and told her what she wanted to hear: a drama-free update! This was something that Joe needed to deal with on his own; he just wasn't sure yet of what he was supposed to do.