Can I Hold You Now? ~Luberto~

~7~

"Luca! Luca WAKE UP!" Giulia bounced on top of Luca and shoved his shoulders, "WE'RE GOING HOME!"

"What?" Luca blinked open his eyes and tried to shove Giulia off. Then it hit him.

Today was the day.

He was seeing Alberto again!

Luca jumped up, "I have to pack and- I don't know but Giulia you should pack too cause I-" he continued rambling as he rushed around his room.

"Look at my gay fish-" she sighed to herself, then started walking out of the room, "The train leaves in an hour!" She shouted.

Luca panicked and rushed around his room even faster. All he could think about was Alberto, and how close he was to him.

Luca shoved one of his uniforms into his bag, then came across the flannel he wore all of last summer. Another button had fallen off since then, and one of the sleeves was starting to fall off. He sighed and put it away.

A few minutes later, Giulia's mother walked in with a tray of pancakes, "Luca?"

"Sorry, Ma'am, I really need to finish packing!" He said as he stuffed a final shirt into his bag.

"Luca, you can eat! The station isn't that far away!" Giulia's mother sat down on his bed and set the tray on the side table, "You will leave on that train,"

"But I can't wait any longer to see Alberto!" Luca blurted, then clapped his hands to his mouth.

Giulia's mother laughed softly, "I understand completely, you have nothing to be ashamed of. Even when I was a girl, it felt like my life revolved around another girl I met,"

Luca blinked, "Really?"

"Yes," Giulia's mother sighed, "but I believe you and Alberto can make each other happy. Every time you have a phone call, or the look on your face when you read a letter from him, I know you two can be together,"

Luca blushed, he never thought about the way he looked while reading one of Alberto's letters, "Th-thanks?" He looked up at Giulia's mother. Suddenly, his mind snapped back into panic mode and he began to rush around the room again.

Giulia's mother smiled at Luca and left, leaving the tray of food behind in his room.

Luca finished packing his belongings and walked out into the hallway, nearly falling down the stairs. He yelped and regained his balance, then heaved his bag down the stairs and dropped it at the front door.

Giulia was waiting when he made it to the front door, wearing a red and white striped sweater and her signature blue beanie, "There you are!" She exclaimed, "Andiamo!" She grabbed Luca's wrist and began to tug him out of the door.

"Goodbye, you two," Giulia's mother said, hugging them both, "be safe, and stay warm," she warned, "a storm is supposed to hit Portorosso before you come back,"

"Okay, mama, we'll be safe, goodbye!" Giulia said excitedly, already halfway out of the door.

"See you later," her mother sighed and watched with a smile as they ran up the street.

Luca pulled on Giulia's hand, "must-" he gasped, "slow- down-" he dragged his feet. He stopped in the street, catching his breath, his breath appearing in white puffs in the snowy air.

"C'mon! We're so close!" Giulia looked at Luca, then the top of the street.

"Hey! Luci?" A voice called from the street, "are you going back to Portorosso?" She stepped up to him. It was the girl from Vanessa's party- the one who- "I got you this," she held up a small camera, "it only has one piece of film, so use it wisely," she winked as she handed it to him.

"Uhh- thanks!" He said with a crooked smile, "I'll try my best,"

"Good," the girl nodded and skipped back down the street.

"Okay, now we HAVE to go! The train could leave at any minute!" Giulia began to pull Luca again.

Luca suddenly got a random burst of energy and sprinted up the street, leaving Giulia confused and tired.

They finally made it to the train station, where a few different people were boarding the large train. Luca's heart put on a burst of speed.

A few minutes later, the pair was seated and watching the station slowly vanishing into the snow. Luca smiled and looked at a clock.

"Only an hour and a half left!" He whispered excitedly to himself. He watched landscapes appear and pass through the window, then was lulled to sleep by the puffing of the engines and the peace of the snow.

"Luuuca! C'mon! Where are we going today?" He was shoved awake by a pair of strong, tan hands.

"Huh?" Luca asked, shoving the mystery hands away.

"Aww, c'mon, cutie." Alberto put his head over Luca's, blocking his vision, "I know you don't wanna wake up, but Paris is only a day away! Then we can see Rome! I know you've been dying to go there,"

"Sleep, then Rome!" Luca shouted tiredly into his pillow.

Alberto flipped him over and kissed him gently, "I'll kiss you more if you wake uuup..." he said.

Luca smiled and slid up into a sitting position. His was in the middle of a large field of flowers, a light blue Vespa parked not too far away, "I'm up now!" He called to Alberto, who was still hovering over him.

Alberto smiled and leaned in, then-

"Luca! LUUCA! LOOK OUTSIDE!" Giulia shook Luca awake, her face pale with worry.

"Wha- what?" He blinked open his eyes. Luca was still sitting in a train car, still miles away from Alberto, "what did you say?"

"Look outside!" She grabbed his cheeks and turned him to face the window. Everything was white. All Luca could see were the streaks of speedy snowflakes whizzing by.

"Is that good?" He asked, still half-asleep.

"NO!" Giulia shouted, "I heard some wonky noises not too long ago- everything seems so quiet."

Luca listened, something was definitely wrong. He was trying to puzzle out what it was when, suddenly, the train stopped.