Friends with Benefits | Joanne

32- Dizzy

I woke up feeling absolutely vile. My head was pounding, my eyes couldn't focus. I sat up on the edge of the bed, gripping the sheets as I felt myself wobble.

Slowly walking into the kitchen, I tried to take deep breaths. When I reached the sink, I poured a big glass of water and sipped it. Once I started to feel a little better, I grabbed a banana and put some bread in the toaster. I managed a few nibbles, but the waves of nausea were making it hard to eat. I groaned and tipped the remainder of my breakfast into the bin.

We had a full day of rehearsal and I didn't want to let anyone down, so I pulled on my dance clothes and packed my bag. I threw in a water bottle to fill up at the studio, and- as a second thought- grabbed a couple of granola bars and a banana just in case I couldn't face a full meal later on.

I must have looked as awful as I felt. I spotted Joe's concerned expression the moment I walked in. He made his way over to me, slid my bag off my shoulders and pulled me into his arms.

I smiled as I heard him mutter "are you alright?" before pressing a protective kiss to my forehead.

I shrugged. "I'm not feeling so hot right now. Hopefully once we get moving I'll be OK."

I noticed Joe watching me as I sat down and changed my shoes. "Are you sure?" he asked me cautiously. I smiled over at him.

Dance is my medicine. I've always believed that, the more I move, the healthier I am. The moment I stop dancing, I am guaranteed to get sick. I don't know if it's a placebo effect but I'm not about to change my habits to find out. I'd rather keep dancing and stay feeling well.

As we ran the routine, I felt the same waves of nausea running over me. I stopped momentarily and took a couple of deep breaths. I could feel Joe's concerned eyes on me. I shook my head and smiled at him, hoping my eyes conveyed that I was alright to carry on.

Once we had a break, I sat down and tried to eat some of the banana I had brought with me. I ate slowly, drinking plenty of water and made sure to keep breathing deeply.

///

"37 times?"

The guys were about to leave for the evening, leaving Joe and Dianne to rehearse for the next couple of hours. Trent had told them that 37 was the magic number- the number of times they would need to go over the dance for it to truly stick in their heads.

Joe smiled. "37 it is. Get that music on, Dianne. Let's see if we can get through it."

They ran the dance back-to-back three times. Twice perfectly. The third time, Dianne mis-stepped as Joe was on the floor and he collided with her knee. She stopped, bending over to hold it as it throbbed.

"I'm so sorry" he whispered, holding out his hand. "Shall we carry on?"

Dianne nodded. She was a professional; a little bump or bruise wasn't about to stop her. As they continued to move, the waves of nausea came back. Watching herself in the mirror, she saw the colour drain from her face. She took a deep breath, turning back to Joe to continue their turn sequence.

Suddenly, her head dropped and she began to lean forwards. Joe caught her just in time, picking her up as she wrapped her arms around his waist. He put her carefully on the seat at the side of the room and told her to put her head between her legs. Dianne did as she was told, trying to breathe and focus on stopping her head from spinning.

Joe watched her for a moment before grabbing a water bottle and a granola bar from his own bag.

"Have you eaten enough today?" he asked quietly. Dianne shook her head slowly.