Friends with Benefits | Joanne

21- Ghosted

"Joe, that's so much better" Dianne said as she smiled, walking off the floor after their final camera block. "That third date must have done wonders". She winked at him, noticing a blush creep across Joe's cheeks.

"Even in this light, I can see you blushing". She nudged him and watched as Joe grinned, running his hand through his hair. "Did you have a good time?"

Joe pushed her lightly. "Of course I'm blushing. And, yeah. It was good. How... how are you?"

Since Dianne's outburst, Joe had been unable to stop worrying about her. He watched everything she did a little more closely and was trying his best to ensure he did everything he could to avoid stressing her out.

"I'm OK. Thanks for asking" she said, her brown eyes meeting his. "I actually slept pretty well last night. I think I needed to get it all out of my system."

Joe nodded and wrapped an arm around her. "Well, I'm here if you need me. And I promise I'm going to do my best to smash this routine. I want to get to Blackpool, of course I do, but I want to get there for you."

Dianne couldn't hide her smile, the dimple in her cheek giving it away. "Joe, that's so sweet. After a week of crippling self-doubt and invasive thoughts about my worth as a human being, that's really made my day."

Joe sighed and pulled her in closer. "I know you're trying to make light of it, but you do know I'm here for you, right? Any time you need to talk. Honestly, any time."

Dianne shrugged. "I know, but you've got Pip to think about. I don't want to be a burden. Anyway, I'm fine now."

Joe sighed. "You're not fine. You're just a very good liar. It doesn't matter about Pip. I am your friend and you're very, very special to me. Just... let me be there for you, okay?"

"Okay. Can we change the subject now?"

Joe could tell Dianne was uncomfortable, and that she was trying her best to mask it. He nodded and looked over at the new set which was being arranged out on the dancefloor.

"Come on. Why don't we just sit for a bit and watch everyone else?"

///

"Get in!"

Dianne threw her arms around Joe. "I still can't believe it! Blackpool- here we come!"

As soon as it had been announced that they were through, Joe had felt relief flood his body. The samba had not been his favourite dance, and the feedback from some of the judges had been less than kind. But they had done it. And he would be dancing in the ballroom at the Blackpool Tower, with his nan in the front row.

"We should celebrate. Do you have any plans tonight?" Joe asked as they changed out of their costumes.

"Aren't you seeing Pip?" Dianne asked, looking in the mirror and taking the pins out of her hair.

"No not tonight. Why don't you come back to mine? I think I've still got a bottle of champagne left over from my birthday. Why don't we crack it open? This is a milestone. I think we need to celebrate."

Dianne nodded, turning to smile at Joe. "That sounds good to me. But before I go anywhere, I need to do something about your little friend."

Joe looked down at his crotch and then back up at his dance partner, one eyebrow raised. Dianne laughed and shook her head. "Not that little friend. The little friend who has taken up residence on the back of your neck."

Joe felt around until his hands grazed over a raised bump. "I knew you'd been staring at something!"

"Just let me pop it. And then we'll go and get drinks."

Joe rolled his eyes. "You know, there were a lot of things I never expected would happen when I signed up to do this show. I wish the producers had been more thorough. I wish someone had told me that, nine weeks in, my dance partner would be sat on a table in my dressing room asking to pop my spots".

Dianne grinned. "Come on. Just let me do it. It'll take two minutes and you'll feel so much better."

Joe rolled his eyes. "You're disgusting. You do know that, right?"

Dianne nodded. "Yep. And you still think I'm the best."

"I did. I don't know how I'll feel about you after this."

Dianne shrugged. "You'll let out all sorts of bodily functions in front of me, but popping a spot is too far? You need to look at your priorities, mate."

Joe groaned dramatically. "Fine. But don't hurt me."

///

As far as nights with Joe had gone, our Saturday evening had been really civilized. Joe had ordered a car back to his, we had opened a bottle of champagne and he had put on some music. We had stuck to the one bottle, just a couple of glasses each, and had spent the evening playing games on his PS4.

I woke up on Sunday morning in my own bed, with not even a hint of a hangover. I was actually proud of myself. I had had a reputation as a party girl when I was younger, but my age had been slowly catching up with me. I was impressed that I had managed to keep control. It was probably a good thing; I had no idea what kind of secrets would have come tumbling out if I had let loose.

When I eventually rolled out of bed and found my phone, I had a missed call from Joe. I must have only just missed him, and immediately called him back.

"Hey, what's up? Sorry I missed your call".

"Sorry" Joe sounded quiet. Upset. "Sorry, I just... I don't even know why I was calling."

"Joe, what's going on?"

I heard him walking, pacing, around in his flat. "It's Pip. She hasn't replied to any of my messages. I... I went to check on Instagram this morning to see if she'd been online and she's deleted me. She's deleted Zoe too. And on twitter. I... I just don't know what's going on."

I sighed and leaned back on my bed. "Joe, that sucks. Do you think she... she just got what she wanted and left?"

Joe groaned. "Probably. The three date challenge. It sounds like one of my videos. Bloody typical Joe Sugg. I should have known."

"You couldn't have known. Anyway, it's her loss. You're bloody brilliant."

"Thanks."

I grabbed a pillow and rolled it under my head, making myself comfortable. I had a feeling this might be a long conversation. "And don't go having any thoughts about it being because you're shit in bed, ok? I... I know first-hand from our previous arrangement that she can't use that as an excuse."

Joe chucked softly. "Well, that is something. Hang on. I've got a text."

I laid back, listening as Joe read it out loud, getting angrier and angrier at every word.

"It's from Pip. It just says 'Sorry. I don't think I am the girl you need me to be. Thanks for everything.'. Well, that's great. What an explanation. For god's sake."

I could hear how frustrated Joe was. "Joe. Joe!"

"Sorry."

I smiled. "Don't apologise. Look, let's get some air. I'll meet you and we can talk about this in person."

"I don't want to leave. I don't want to go outside" Joe whined.

I sat up, looking over at the pile of possibly-clean clothes on my floor and working out what I could wear. "Come on. Don't let it stew. Let's go and get cocktails in some trendy rooftop bar and people watch. We can try and work out what types of dogs people have, and what jobs they do. You know you love it."

Joe relented to my demands. I knew he would. "Fine. You don't have to come all the way down here, though. Where's half way? Hang on; I'll open a map."

I could hear Joe's fingers pressing against his screen as he typed. "OK." His voice rang out through the speaker. "Halfway between us is Notting Hill. How about I meet you at Notting Hill Gate station? Don't be late, though. I'm getting changed and leaving right now."

I smiled, already making my way over to my clothes. "I'll be as quick as I can. See you in a bit."