Friends with Benefits | Joanne

5- Partners

"Welcome, everyone, to Strictly Come Dancing 2018!"

The entire crowd of dancers, celebrities and production staff cheered.

"Now, I'm going to keep this brief because we have quite a hectic day for all of you."

Joe sat back in his seat and listened.

"We'll go through the rehearsal schedule and things momentarily and answer any big questions you might still have. Then, it's spray tans, hair and makeup and costume. You will move around in groups- there is a schedule on every door in this entire building. Please do not be late for anything- you will have time to catch up later, but we have a schedule and we need to stick to it! Filming will begin promptly after lunch."

Joe watched as the professional dancers walked out of the doors at the back of the room, making their way to their various stations. A flash of red hair caught his eye. Dianne turned to look back and, as their gazes met, smiled across the room at him. Joe winked, cursing himself for being so weird on their first day and hoping he could put it down to nerves if she asked about it later.

///

It was so good to see Joe. He looked calm and ready and it made me excited to get working on the show again.

When we saw one another in the main hall, the familiar feeling from our first meeting rushed over me. It stayed with me, until Katya pulled me out of it.

"So, lady in red" she began as we walked to our shared dressing room, "tell me all about Thursday night. I saw Ant arrive as we were all leaving, and I didn't get chance to speak to you on Friday because you disappeared."

I took a breath and tried to plan what to say. "Yeah, sorry for disappearing. Erm... I don't really know what to say about Ant." I tried to steady my shaking hands as the memories of that evening came flooding back. "It wasn't a great night. We... we decided to end things."

Katya looked at me with sympathetic eyes. "Oh, Di. I'm sorry. I knew things had been hard, but... ah, that sucks. Are you okay?"

I nodded, trying not to cry. "I will be. I'm just going to focus on dance for a bit. I don't want a relationship, or any of that emotional baggage. I think I just need to work on me. Just being me."

She patted my shoulder. "Sounds perfect. Also sounds like a great excuse for a girl's night."

I smiled. There was a reason we were such good friends. "Definitely. Just name the day."

///

Joe made his way through the various stations he had to visit. He was fitted into a sequined shirt and coral suit for his first appearance, which had to be pinned in.

"I hope you're not going to lose weight on this show!" The costumer laughed as she pulled a layer of fabric and folded it in on itself. "You'll be a skeleton by the end!"

"Do people usually lose much?" Joe asked, fidgeting. "I don't know how much I've got to spare."

One of the other costumers joined in their conversation. "You might be one of the contestants who puts on a bit of muscle, though. That sometimes happens. Either way, you'll probably need a whole new wardrobe if you stick the competition out."

Joe's nerves had calmed quickly; everyone around here seemed to be just as nice as Dianne. He'd been put at ease right away and was actually beginning to look forward to whatever was going to happen over the next few months.

"So, have you met any of the pros before? Or do you watch the show?"

Joe shook his head. "I... I don't actually. I'm not usually in on a Saturday night to be honest. But my grandparents love it; which is kind of why I'm here. I know a couple of names- Anton, obviously and I met Dianne last week."