The New Girl

[January] - Tours and Troubles (1)

"How's it going  mate?" Caspar's jovial voice came through Joe's phone as he took a much needed break from the satellite media tour his management company had booked him to promote his newest book in the Username series, set to come out later in the year. He had been working furiously the last couple of months, and it had resulted in a very solid line up of interviews.

On any other day, Joe would have been thrilled by the excitement that seemed to be filtering through the book community. But today, he just felt drained. That's why, he decided on his lunch break to call Caspar, who would surely take his mind off of the weight of his projects and help him relax. 

"Alright," Joe replied, putting in effort to sound cheery, "Long old day of interviews."

"Same questions over and over again?" Caspar asked sympathetically. 

"Yes," Joe groaned. "I feel like I'm losing it. I miss doing press tours together. Remember for the movies and live shows?"

"Those were the days," Caspar chuckled. "Sometimes I miss the days we weren't recognized unless we were together."

Joe grinned letting his memories of a few years ago filter into his head. Those really were some of the best days - thought he couldn't deny, managing solo projects was just as exciting. They just came with a new level of pressure and required maturity. 

"We should make another movie," he laughed. "An excuse to act like a 23 year old again."

"Can you imagine?" Caspar snorted "We could bring Oli and Dianne along. That would be the biggest and best shit show Netflix has ever seen."

Joe paused for a moment at the mention of Dianne's name. She'd arrived back from Australia just after New Year's, but had left again just as quickly to head out on tour with the Strictly gang. Three straight weeks of traveling around the country performing in arenas - Joe could honestly say the thought terrified him. But he knew his roommate was living her best life, which made him happy.

"Speaking of Di, what city is she in tonight?" Joe tried to keep his voice casual, memories of his roommates accusing him of having a crush on the redhead flowing back into his head. 

"Er, Leeds? Birmingham? Manchester?" Caspar blurted out. "Honestly mate, I have no bloody clue. Different city every night...I can't keep up with her."

"I hope she's having fun," Joe spoke quietly, almost wistfully, as he thought of his friend twirling around onstage every night. When Caspar remained quiet, Joe cleared his throat, "Er, more fun than I'm having, anyway."

He thought he heard Caspar snort, but before he could get a response from his roommate, Joe saw the production assistant re-enter the studio, signaling that he needed to wrap up his call.

"Hey mate, I have to go," Joe spoke again hastily into the phone. "Duty calls."

"Good luck!" Caspar replied in a singsong voice, with a teasing edge Joe couldn't quite read.

---

"Joe!" Dianne cheered as he answered her FaceTime call later that night. Burying himself into the sofa cushions, with Friends playing in the background and his real friend's face on his screen, Joe couldn't help but feel content. It had become somewhat of a routine, ever since Australia, for Dianne to call him a few nights a week for a virtual hangout. She'd unwind from her show, while Joe laid horizontal on the sofa, Caspar and Oli usually playing video games much later than Joe could handle with all his upcoming early morning meetings.

The conversations weren't usually super long - though Joe noticed they had been getting later and later, as Dianne began to get chattier.

"Di!" he mimicked her, pulling a blanket over his lap and letting his head rest back onto a pillow. "How did the show go?"