Friends with Benefits | Joanne

26- In The Words of a Broken Heart

Dianne's words echoed in Joe's head as he sat on his own train back to London later that morning.

"You need to prove to me that you're not like all the other guys."

He desperately wanted to prove himself, but he had no idea how to get past the mistakes he had made. He had taken the coward's route, denying his feelings, and had hurt the girl he cared about most in the world along the way. It hadn't been his plan, but Stacey's comments, her questions, had caught him off guard and he had defaulted to being stupid. He scrunched his eyes as the word came into his head. It was not a word he ever wanted to use again.

No, not stupid. Immature. Like always.

Joe stared at the calendar in his phone. The following day was marked out, as Mondays always were, for training with Dianne. They would be back in the studio near his house. Near the coffee shop. Near every café, restaurant, pavement and lamppost that held memories of them together. Memories of the sound of laughter. A sound that made his heart flutter. A sound he doubted he would ever hear again. Not now.

Joe was angry at himself for so many reasons. His relationship with Dianne was in tatters. Their friendship was over. The trust between them had disappeared thanks to his actions. But, worst of all, dancing together would never be the same again.

He had ruined the partnership.

The only thing he could vow to do, despite the hurt and the anguish and the doubt, was to keep dancing. Keep working hard. Make her proud.

Her words continued to circle his mind.

"Prove to me that, for once, I was right about something and you were wrong."

Dianne had believed in their partnership since day one. She had always kept faith that he, that they, would do well. She had put all of her energy into coaching him, supporting him, to make sure he was the best dancer he could be.

He couldn't throw that away as well.

He needed to use her words, her intelligent words, to keep him going.

"Positive breeds positive".

Joe leaned back with a sigh. That was going to be a challenge.

///

On Monday morning, Joe arrived at the studio to find Dianne already there.

He glanced at the table where they kept their things and shook his head as he realised she had been to the coffee shop alone. The undertones of the message were clear:

One cup of coffee.

Nothing for Joe.

Because Joe is an idiot.

Joe slung his bag down and pulled out his phone. He didn't want to make eye contact, and so pretended to be answering an important email.

Couple's choice week (the irony of the name was not lost on Joe) was a street routine. Which meant that, because Dianne was a ballroom expert, the producers had given them a choreographer to help out. Joe was relieved when he walked into the room. Another person might just do enough to diffuse the tension.

"OK, you two. Phones away. Let's dance."

Joe and Dianne both took their spaces on the floor and began to go over the steps. The routine was hard, and Joe tried to focus his energy on mastering it as much as he could. He was determined that nothing would get in the way of the competition. It was one thing he could do to prove to Dianne that she meant something to him.