As I look into her blue eyes and smile ~Victoria De Angelis(english translation)

Chapter 6: Crazy Lady

"The delivery service is here!" I shout with 6 pizzas in hand as I enter the studio. For a week and a half, my 5 roommates almost now only spend time here and really only come home to sleep. And if I'm honest, I miss all of them a bit. Especially Vic. I'm here with them every day, but of course I don't play with them. "Our Hero! I think I'll just write a song about you." At Damiano's statement, I can't help but laugh and start handing out the pizzas. Once everyone is fed, I sit down on my table, which has become my best friend by now. "Hey, everything okay?" I ask Vic, who falls back against the wall. "Yeah, it's all just a lot. As much as I love making music, a day off would really do me good right now." "I know. If there's anything I can do for you, let me know." "Just having you here is enough." My heart immediately starts beating faster and I almost choke on my pizza. "Hey everything good?" she asks immediately concerned and I just nod quickly. Only now do I notice the thick circles under her eyes. "How long is your brainstorming phase going to last here?" "Fortunately, only tomorrow, and after that we have to plan Ethan's birthday." Right. October 18. "If you want I can go ahead and plan some stuff." "That would be great." "Always." She gives me a kiss on the cheek and makes everything in me go crazy. We stay sitting together for the rest of the break talking or Vic sleeping on me. Just as she finishes telling me a funny story about Chili, Jake interrupts us like he did back at the market. "Hey you two lovebirds, work goes on!" Vic sighs and walks over to him. Wait. Did he say lovebirds? What's that supposed to mean? I'm not in love after all... I quickly shake the thoughts out of my head and instead prefer to head out to buy some stuff for Ethan already. Right in the first store I found the perfect T-shirt for him. "Best Drummer" I continued with a few balloons and a bit of other decoration. As I walk through the stationery section looking for the cards, I pass by the little notebooks and think of a conversation I had with Damiano the other day.

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"Well what are you thinking about?" I hear Damiano's voice as I sit outside, the book on the floor in front of me and my gaze fixed on the sea. "Good question. Everything but also nothing. So much but also so little. So much has happened lately and I don't even know how to put it all into words." Damiano laughs calmly. "Then write down how you feel." Astonished, I turn to him. "How do you think I write songs. I write what's on my mind right now. You might as well try it out. That's why I always carry a little notebook like this." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a little black notepad. He hands it to me and I start flipping through it. There are short sentences or crossed out words everywhere. Thrilled by his talent, I gratefully hand it back to him.
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I stop accordingly and pick one out, too. I even find the same one as Damiano and decide to get that too. I mean if a musician like him has that, maybe it will bring me luck. As soon as I have the booklet I start looking for a card and quickly find one. I chose one with a funny saying and go to pay everything. Again outside I am addressed all at once by a woman. "You know Thomas Raggi, don't you?" I look at the woman in surprise. "What?" I ask overwhelmed. "There are photos where you can be seen with the band. Do you know him or not?" I just nod, caught off guard by the questions. "Can you call him? Can I get his number? Where do you live?" "I don't think he or the others want you to know." "What's that supposed to mean?" she replies flippantly, her face darkening. "Well just that you should accept their privacy." "You think he's yours, too! He's all mine. Now give me his number." Shocked by the sudden change, I look at her, dumbfounded.  "I don't think Thomas belongs to you. He's a free-living human being." "Oh shut up you bitch. You're just like everyone else." The woman has raised her voice with each passing second and it's hard for me to stay calm. I only catch her reaching for my cell phone in my hand when someone calls out from the side. "Hey the lady wants her phone!" I react as fast as I can and quickly pull my hand away. Frustrated, the woman turns away and angrily stalks off, but stops after a few feet. "I'll find you and it won't end well!"  I decide to go out for ice cream before the mad woman follows me to the studio or even worse to the villa. While I get served my ice cream I still feel watched, but can't see the dark sparkling brown eyes anywhere anymore. So, to get other thoughts, I decide to try out the new notebook. I dig a pen out of my pocket and just start writing. An hour passes and I feel safe enough to drive back to the studio. Once I'm there, I tell everyone about my previous experience. "Wow these fans are really going too far. I'm about to write in our Insta Story that they should please not bother our friends." Ethan explains and strokes my back. "Do that. I know we're famous but this is really going too far." Adds the guitarist. Vic takes my hand and squeezes it lightly. Then the other two guys come too and they all give me a big hug. "You guys don't know how grateful I am to have you." "You say that. Without you we would have starved a long time ago." We laugh about Thomas thinking only about food again and break away. "Well then, we're finished for today. Tomorrow we'll do the rest and then we'll have a little break." Ethan announces and we all agree exhausted. "Can I ride with you, the boys want to listen to loud music? And my head already hurts from all the work!" Ethan inquires, as we come to a stop in front of the cars. I was about to agree when I remembered that the whole back seat is full of his presents. "Oh. Um. I'm afraid I can't do that. I have..." "Sarah and I are still going somewhere." Vic saves me and Ethan looks down disappointed. "Next time I promise." He nods and I pull him into a tight hug. "Sorry." "It's okay, have fun with whatever." He gives me a kiss on the head and says goodbye to Vic. I quickly wish the others a good night as well and then get into the car, relieved. "So what drugs are you hiding here?" Vic asks, sticking her head back. "All his presents and stuff," I explain and start the car. "Well then where are we going if we can't go home right now?" "There's a MC Donalds near here. They have delicious strawberry milkshakes." "Well then, let's go. I start my Spotify playlist and the first song that comes from my chill playlist is 'We fell in love in October'by Girl in red. Vic immediately starts humming along and a few seconds later we are both singing along loudly. Now that I pay attention to the lyrics it seems a bit ironic. Since everyone knows what the song is about and it's October. After 5 minutes we hold our milkshakes in our hands and drink them with pleasure in a parking lot. "We absolutely have to do something together the day after tomorrow. I don't even want to imagine how much time you've been alone lately." "That would be nice, but you get some sleep first." She nods and signals to me by slurping that her milkshake is empty. I take her cup and quickly take the two to the trash can before getting back in the car and we continue on our way. When we arrive home we immediately go up to my room. Vic drops into my bed and looks at me waiting. After sleeping with me that one time, she almost always sleeps with me. Especially on days like this when Thomas, for example, is already asleep again. "I'll be right there, I'll jump in the shower quickly." "Sure and then I'm supposed to lie here alone stinking in bed?" She looks at me with begging eyes and finally convinces me, even if my hair desperately needed the water. "Don't say I didn't warn you, though." I turn off the light and lie down with her. A few seconds later her arms are tightly clutching my stomach again. "Alright maybe you were right. Were you frying fries with your hair?" She mumbles into the pillow in earnest and giggles softly. I roll my eyes just for myself and then close them.

Freshly showered, I step out of the shower early in the morning. The cold water from my hair drips onto the floor. 18 October. That means party! "That took a long time!" Our eyes meet as Vic gets up from the bed. "We have two bathrooms, don't we? You could have taken a shower downstairs." "Sure. The guys have been holed up in there for hours." I just shrug innocently and get a slap on the ass as she walks by me. She sticks her tongue out at me with a nasty grin and closes the door behind her. I shake my head with a grin and start to blow dry my hair. It's no use getting me completely ready right now. After all, the party isn't until tonight. As soon as I'm done, I go down to the kitchen and start making pancakes. I hear a door open and almost fall out of my shoes as a cloud of fragrance literally leaves the room in front of me. I turn my head a little more to the right and now recognize Damiano, Thomas and Jake strutting out. I actually have to start coughing with all the deodorant and perfume. "Say, do we have a perfumery in there now? You guys smell like you've used every perfume imaginable around here." The guys just shake their heads arrogantly until Damiano comes up to me curiously. "And what are you doing?" "Pan cakes. They're part of a birthday breakfast." "Is there anything we can do to help?" "If you want you can go ahead and set the table." "Ay ay Captain!" Immediately the singer sets off, while in front of me the first pan cake is already sizzling. It takes about half an hour until I'm ready and at one time two arms wrap around my neck. As soon as I feel the cold wet hair in my back, I know immediately who it is. "You done for once, too?" I tease her, adding the last pan cake to the pile. "Of course." In my stomach, I have that feeling again. I've heard of butterflies in stomachs before, but you usually only have that when you're in love. But I'm not in love with Vic, am I? I turn to her and shake the thoughts out of my head even though they come right back at her smile. "What are you thinking about that makes you grin like that?" "What?" I notice the blood rush to my head. "Oh did I catch you thinking about someone special?" "What, no. Let's go get Ethan." Vic just winks at me, making my emotions go even more crazy. "Everyone ready?" comes Jake into the kitchen with the other two in tow and we nod. Quietly we go upstairs and open the door from the birthday boy. "Happy Birthday to you..." starts Damiano singing and we get into it with our weird sounding voices. Ethan moves a bit so that he can see us now. With one arm in front of his face he tries to cover his wide grin. Just as Damiano started, he finishes the song and we all clap happily. With a tight hug I wish the drummer all the best. The others of course do the same and Ethan is already held in everyone's arms once. His stomach growls loudly through our congratulations. "Don't worry the pancakes are already ready on the table." "Really?" I nod, and I swear I've never seen Ethan on his feet so fast. Within seconds, he's down at the table. Laughing, we follow him. He bites into one with relish and immediately pushes another piece after it. "These are the best you've ever made," he says. "With extra love today. Just for your special day." He grins widely and we eat together. The plan for today is pretty simple. Jake kidnaps Ethan and we take care of the rest. So it comes that the two already leave the house around half past eleven. "All right! Let's go I would say. Sarah and I take care of the kitchen and you two of the living room. Finally, we decorate everything outside." Damiano announces and we all nod in agreement. While Damiano hangs the decorations, I prepare the snack and drink bar. "Excited? First birthday with us." "Of course!" "That's a good attitude. By the way, even if I'm killing the vibe a bit with this right now but sorry again about yesterday. Some fans just don't know when they go too far." "Oh all good and now let's get the party ready." "You're right!" Damiano spins 180 degrees one time and tosses a few party snakes around, spinning like a ballerina. "Oh ever thought about changing your career?" "I know I would have been a great ballerina!" he leaps into the air and spreads his legs before landing gracefully again. "All respect to you." I remark on his little show and clap. He bows to me and grins his typical grin. After a few hours we are done with everything and only have to take care of ourselves.

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Hey hey,
new Sunday means new chapter!
Spoiler the party is going to be exciting...🤭