The lights just flickered off
No one had predicted it, or anything like it. One second, the party was hype and everyone was having fun... And the next, the lights flickered off completely. Everyone ran about frantically. Everyone that is, except for the Italian-Egyptian singer, Mahmood.
He had just arrived at the party not too long before the lights flickered off. He was told that this party was going to be for past and current Eurovision contestants. He had received an invite from Damiano David, Måneskin's lead singer. Blanco had also received an invitation. However, he had other things to attend to. The Eurovision semi finals were in a week. Everyone had flown in from their home countries all the way to Turin, Italy, for the event.
Mahmood entered the room. Once he got there, Duncan Laurence, the Netherlands' first victor in the competition in 44 years since his win, walked up to him.
"Hey, Mahmood! Glad you could make it." He smiled. His smile was adorable to most, and his teeth glistened a bright pearl white.
"Hey Duncan! Long time no see!" Mahmood laughed a little and patted him on the back.
"Wanna hang with me and Jordan? We could spare a little bit of room." Duncan insisted to Mahmood. Mahmood rubbed his neck as he was thinking.
"Uh... I might get a drink. I don't really feel like third wheeling your love boat." Mahmood laughed. Duncan couldn't help but chuckle as well.
"Haha, just as cheerful as I remember from Tel Aviv!" Duncan chuckled as he took a sip of his drink. "Well, in that case, I'mma go find Jordan. We'll be over by the leather sofas if you need us."
As Duncan headed off, Mahmood sighed. Even though Duncan and himself were compared a lot a few years back, and even though he took second place to him, he still loved his company and he respected him.
Suddenly, the lights flickered off.
Everyone frantically ran around the room. Several people tried to get them to calm down. Others were dialing 9-1-1 for help. Others were calling electricians.
Mahmood stayed put. He knew that the best thing to do in these situations was to stay calm. Don't panic, stand still.... Then, he heard a scream... Duncan's scream.
"Duncan???" Mahmood cried out and got nothing but silence in return.
He began to run towards the direction he saw Duncan run in, when he felt someone push up against him, shoving him into the wall. He didn't have the time to let out a scream before the man cuffed his hand over Mahmood's mouth.
"You heard nothing, pretty boy." The man whispered slightly to him. Suddenly, Mahmood felt limp. His vision began to blur as he collapsed to the ground...
...
The lights had turned on by now. Everyone else was frozen in fear. Jordan had heard Duncan scream, but didn't know where to find him.
Duncan?! Duncan, where are you??? You're scaring me!!!" Jordan cried out in tears. That's when Jordan heard someone else cry his name.... Someone that wasn't Duncan.
Jordan came running. He pushed through the crowd to get to the voice. Once he made it to who was calling, he saw his worst nightmare.
Duncan lay there on the floor. His skin was pale. He had thick finger marks on his neck.
"DUNCAN!!!!!!!!!!!" Jordan cried as he ran for his beloved as he lay on the floor, lifeless and frail.
"Duncan... Please get up! Please!" Jordan cried as he rubbed his hand across his lover's face.
"SOMEONE!!! CALL THE DOCTOR! OR THE POLICE! OR SOMEONE!!!!" Jordan cried out.
...
Mahmood woke up. Dazed, expecting to be in his bed, he had no memory of what happened. He looked around. Some of it was coming back to him. He had come to this party, but he couldn't remember what happened after that. He knew something else had happened, he just couldn't figure out what it was.
He stood up. He felt a little wobbly at first, but he managed to get back on his feet. He made his way into the room. When he got there, everyone was crowded around something on the ground. Mahmood later learned that what was on the ground was the dead body of Eurovision’s one and only Duncan Laurence.
He gasped as he saw the sight. It scared him. He never would’ve thought that someone would’ve been murdered at this party, especially someone like Duncan Laurence.
The cops arrived shortly after. Several paramedics were there, trying to save Duncan. They weren’t successful. Jordan put his hands over his mouth as the paramedics checked for a pulse.
.
“We are very sorry to inform you that Duncan has been a victim to a serious crime of murder.” the paramedic sighed. Jordan collapsed to the ground shaking. He had lost the love of his life to a murderer, he knew there was no getting Duncan back, even if he tried, he could not get him back.
“No! You can't be serious! This can't be true!” Jordan sobbed. He knelt down next to his lover and ruffled his hand through Duncan's curly brown hair.
"Does anyone know who did this?" asked the cop that was there next to Duncan. Everyone shook their heads. Jordan's whole body was shaking. He was just so taken aback by everything.
"I see." the cop responded. Then there was silence. Straight silence. It was so quiet, that it felt like you could hear a pin drop. The cop broke the silence after what seemed like an eternity.
"There are fingerprints on the body. That means that someone here put their hands on Duncan. We need to get a test of everyone's fingerprints here." the cop sighed. “No one is to leave until all fingerprints have been collected.”
No one is to leave? Mahmood thought to himself nervously, but he knew that there was nothing to worry about. After all, he was out cold during the murder. it was all going to be okay.
After what seemed like hours, it was Mahmood’s turn to give his fingerprints. He slowly walked up to the cop as they took his fingerprint.
he thought.
He was shaking. He was shaking very anxiously, and everyone could see it. When he got back to the hotel, he saw Blanco. Blanco was there, watching the TV when Mahmood got Back.
“Hey! Alessandro!” Blanco cheered as he ran for his friend. Alessandro is Mahmood's real name, and Blanco called him by it.
"Riccardo!” he cried and ran into Blanco's arms He cried into his shoulder as Blanco rubbed his back. He knew when his friend was upset, and every time, he tried his best to change it and make it better.
“Riccardo! It was scary! The lights flickered out! There was a murder! I had to get my fingerprints checked!" Once Mahmood said that, Blanco flipped a switch.
“WAIT WHAT??? WHO DIED??? ARE YOU OKAY??? DID YOU GET HURT??" Blanco had gone from calm and Collective, to panic and concern.
“It was… it was Duncan Laurence! I don't know what else happened……. Blanco…. Duncan is gone!” Mahmood cried harder. Duncan was a good friend of his. He didn't want to imagine that he wasn't here anymore, that he was gone. But it seemed to be true.
"what??? Duncan Laurence was murdered????” Blanco cried, he was just as shocked as Mahmood was, if not, more.
“I don't know! I was blacked out! I don't know how, I can't remember how. But I woke up to the cops talking into their walkie-talkies. I found everyone crowding around his dead body. It all seemed to happen so fast, seconds earlier we were just talking to each other about life….. Now he's gone!”
“Oh my God!” Blanco covered his mouth with his hand. "Who did it? More importantly, who would do something like this?”
“A psychopath, that's who!” Mahmood clenched his hand in the shape of a fist. He was going to avenge Duncan. He just had to figure out how to do it.
Suddenly there came a knock at the door. It almost seemed like a pounding. like someone was trying to force their way in.
“Alessandro Mahmoud! Are you there?” It sounded like the voice of an officer. Slowly, Mahmood shuffled his way to the door. When he opened the door, an officer stood tall waiting for him.
"Can I help you officers?” He asked. That's when the officer pulled up the confirmed fingerprint scanner.
“I'm afraid you're gonna have to come with us." The officer demanded. Mahmood was confused. Then the confusion turned to shock, then that shock turned to fear. Was he getting arrested? And for what?
"Sorry? What's going on??" Mahmood asked, confused.
“ Your fingerprints are a 100% match to the fingerprints on Duncan's body!” the cop said. Mahmood grew even more scared. He knew that he didn't do it. But apparently the cops didn't.
“No please! It can't be him!" Blanco tried fighting it. He tried saving Mahmood, however it wasn't working with the cops.
“Can you prove that?" the cop asked rhetorically. Blanco was silent. The cop tipped his hat as he said, “that's what I thought."
“We have the proof right here. This man is guilty!" a second officer said as he came walking near the room.
Mahmood knew he was innocent, but he also knew better than to fight with a cop. That could get him into serious Federal trouble.
"Blanco, It'll be okay. I will be proven innocent in court or something. Don't worry, I'll be fine.” Mahmood tried to assure Blanco. It wasn't working.
"Oh, and one more thing?” Mahmood asked Blanco. “If I don't get proven innocent by the time the Eurovision Song Contest this year happens, I want you to bring your all onstage. Kill it! You got this…” Mahmood gave Blanco a smile before finally getting cuffed by the officers. Blanco took one last look at his beloved before he was escorted away.
“But I can't do it without you!" He cried out, but it was a little bit too late for that. Mahmood had already been escorted out of the room.
Blanco collapsed to his knees. He couldn't let this happen! He couldn't lose Mahmood. He couldn't go on in the competition without him. He knew that it would have been the same, he couldn't possibly go to Eurovision without his best friend. Without the one was there for him for the entirety of Sanremo, the one who won Sanremo with him. the one who is there through it all. Blanco knew what he had to do… he had to prove Mahmood innocent.
He had to save Mahmood.