La Vie En Rose |MÅNESKIN|

Chapter 41

2021, Rotterdam, Netherlands

         Michelle was drunk, it was their last night in Rotterdam, a whole day had passed since the finale, Damiano had been tested to see if he indeed took drugs or not, even if they all knew he didn't. They were out partying in a club, a very expensive club, but they could get anywhere because they were famous, especially after the four Italians won. The brunette was dancing with Clara in the middle of the crowd, she knew her boyfriend was watching from the balcony, she could feel his gaze on her.

"Michelle?"

          She turned around when someone called out her name, she didn't know anyone in the Netherlands apart from the ESC contestants, she was really clueless of who this person could be, until she opened her eyes. Elle saw a face she knew, the face of someone she grew up with, the face of an old friend.

"Oh Lord! Dante Vittori, out of his Sicilian palace! Let's go outside." Smiled the brown-haired girl, before telling Clara that she would be back soon, she needed a cigarette, because as friendly as Dante looked, she knew he sometimes wasn't.

         The French girl had a really bad habit with cigarettes, she knew she shouldn't smoke because it could harm her voice and ruin her carrier, but she loved the feeling of the smoke in her throat. She leaned on a wall in the street, it was cold outside, especially in contrast with the dancefloor, she wished she had taken Damiano's leather jacket instead of letting it on the sofa next to him on the VIP space.

"What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in years, Dante." Asked Michelle with a teasing smile.
"I..." Started Dante before being interrupted by someone they both knew really well.
"Elle, Dami is looking for you, the man is drunk as fuck." Said Ethan in Italian while stealing her cigarette, it took him a second to realize that Elle wasn't alone, and most importantly, who she was with. "Dante?"
"Ethan." Muttered Dante gently.
"You two know each other? How?" Questioned the French girl surprised.
"Ethan is..." Started Dante hesitantly. "He..."
"I'm his boyfriend." Said Ethan peacefully.
"Holy cow." The brunette's eyes were wide open, traveling from one of the boys to the other. "My childhood best friend, and my favourite drummer boy."
"Don't call me that." Sighed the drummer.
"Do they know? Does Dami know or are we going to have another Thomas and Giulia situation?"
"He's too drunk to make a scene."
"I'll leave you two alone for now, but I expect to know the whole story tomorrow before I go back to Paris." Said Elle teasingly before blowing a kiss to the boys.

         She walked back to the club and found her boyfriend half asleep on one of the couches of the VIP corner of the club, she sent a text on the group chat to inform everyone that they were going back to the hotel and then managed to get Damiano in a taxi. She still couldn't believe that Dante and Ethan were together, it was probably the most unexpected ship of the year. Michelle had known Dante since she first travelled to Sicily when she was two, of course she had only a very few memories of that time, but every summer after that, every Christmas, they had spent it together. Dante's grandmother and Michelle's great aunt had known each other since childhood, old nobility things. Their families had always expected them to end up together, to do a good wedding, of course it was before Elle became the disappointment of her family, and before they realised that Dante wasn't really inclined to marry a girl. Yet, they all still hoped that the two young adults would come to their mind and sort those things out, but the girl didn't want to get married, and especially not to Dante Vittori. As much as she appreciated her friend, she also hated him, he only lived through what his grandmother ordered him to do, it had always been that way, and unfortunately, Michelle thought that it would always be that way, because the boy would never defy his family. So, it was more than surprising to see know that he was in a relationship with Ethan, a musician, someone who did music for a living, the reason why Michelle had become the disappointment of her family in the first place. Of course, the brown-haired girl was happy for her friends, Ethan deserved to be happy, and so did Dante, but she would never have bet on them getting together, or even them knowing each other.