Blanco looked up from his phone. He didn't think Mahmood would be able to send him anything.
"Well... Do you want it?" Stefan asked through the door. Blanco swallowed the lump in his throat and walked up to the door. He opened it to see the Estonian standing there with a box wrapped in tinfoil.
Blanco looked at the gift. It was definitely in a box. He was almost nervous to open it. Stefan held out the gift closer to Blanco.
"Well? Aren't you going to open it?" Stefan asked him.
"Y-yeah. I am." Blanco quivered as he reached for the gift. He began to slowly tear away at the tinfoil. When he reached the box, he pulled off the remains of the tinfoil. He opened the box, and what lay inside the box made Blanco start to cry.
....
"And the winner of Sanremo 2022 is..." Amadeus kept the suspension high as he was about to announce the winner or winners of the 71st Festival de Sanremo. Mahmood and Blanco await for the results. Both were nervous out of their minds
"Brividi! Mahmood and Blanco!" Amadeus announced as the crowd went wild. Mahmood looked at Blanco as both men began to jump for joy. Even though Mahmood had won three years prior, he was still very excited to be representing alongside his best friend.
Alessandro! We won!!" Blanco cheered so loud and pulled his friend close to him; his face, three inches away from Mahmood's. The two then did something that neither of them had expected they'd do... They kissed.
Both boys thought it was a very magical moment. Neither could complain. In fact, Mahmood felt queasy, like it was something he wished to do again. He knew that Blanco wouldn't like it, though. He was straight.
In the dressing room, a few hours after winning Sanremo, Blanco looked at Mahmood, who was more calm than Blanco would've thought.
"How can you be so chill?" He asked.
"You do know that I've done this before, right?" Mahmood chuckled.
"Oh right." Blanco said nervously. Mahmood noticed it.
"Hey, what's wrong? You don't seem very happy." Mahmood said as he scooted closer to his friend.
"I'm just nervous.... What if I mess up?" Blanco quivered a little. Mahmood noticed this and began to comfort him.
"Riccardo, don't worry. It'll be okay! I'll be by your side the entire time." Mahmood assured Blanco,
"You will?" Blanco asked,
"We're in this together. I'll always be by your side. We'll ride together on that diamond bike." Mahmood chuckled a little as he knew what reference he made,
"Oh, Alessandro! You make me so relieved to have you as a friend!" Blanco smiled as he hugged his friend...
....
The gift was a miniature bicycle model with two seats. The best part was that the bike was covered with diamonds! All Blanco could do was bawl.
"Su una bici di diamanti..." Blanco quivered in a whisper. He looked up at Stefan with tears streaming down his cheeks. "Wait..."
"There's one more... but I figured you'd want to read the card after you opened the gift." Stefan said as he handed Blanco the envelope with the letter inside of it. The envelope had "To: Riccardo Fabricconi" written on it. He looked at the writing on the envelope. He knew that Mahmood's handwriting was about as good as a fifth grader's, so the fact that his handwriting was fairly decent, made Blanco chuckle a little bit.
"What's so funny?" Stefan asked Blanco.
"Just... Mahmood never pays attention to how his handwriting looks. It actually looks okay on the envelope." Blanco chuckled a little.
"Don't you wanna read the letter and what it says?" Stefan asked. Blanco's stomach felt queasy. Nervous butterflies flew around endlessly in his insides as he slowly opened the envelope, trying his best not to tear the envelope or the letter.
When he opened the folded letter in half, he began to bawl again.
"To: Riccardo Fabbriconi.
Hey. It's me, Alessandro. I know you weren't expecting this from me because I've been arrested, but I wanted you to know something.
I've been wanting to say this for awhile, and I couldn't figure out the right time to tell you. You always seemed to be busy, or change the subject, and I figured you wouldn't understand.
Riccardo Fabbriconi.... I love you!
I love you. I love everything about you! Every time I'm around you, you make my heart skip a beat. Your smile is adorable and I love when we just forget the world and be ourselves... I feel like I can be my true self around you. I haven't really thought that way for anyone else.
I'm sorry if you don't feel the same way, and I'm sorry I couldn't tell you sooner. I just didn't want to ruin our friendship. I wish I could be there, next to you, holding you and let you lay on my chest as we watch TV. But we can't, and I don't know if we ever will.
I'm glad you know that I'm not the one behind Duncan's murder, but others don't. So for the sake of Eurovision, just pretend I'm guilty so that the contest can still go on. Don't worry about me... I'll be alright.
I love you.
-Alessandro Mahmoud.
Blanco's stomach dropped. He had been crying so hard, that the note was covered in teardrops.
"He.... he loves me?" Blanco quivered. He didn't expect his best friend to love him like that... And he didn't expect to feel the same way.
But it was too late.
He had failed his mission to save Mahmood from conviction,.and to avenge Duncan Laurence after he was killed. All Blanco wanted to do was hold his beloved Alessandro one more time.
"He always has, Blanco. Haven't you seen the way he looks at you? His eyes give it all away. He loves you more than anything in the world." Stefan said to Blanco.
Silence... Nothing but dead silence.
"Blanco?" Stefan broke the silence.
"Yea...." Blanco quivered.
"You haven't given up... Have you?" Stefan trembled.
"I mean..... I don't want to..... But I don't think there's any hope left.... We can't leave the hotel, and it's not like anyone here has anything that'll help us save him...." Blanco collapsed to his knees and began to bawl again.
"Blanco. You can't give up hope. There's still time." Stefan tried to comfort Blanco. "There's still a chance."
"Stefan, please! Even if there was a chance, it's too small of one to even notice it!" Blanco sobbed. All that could be heard for the next two minutes was the sound of Blanco's weeping. All he wanted was Mahmood.
Suddenly, a knock came to the door
"Should I get that?" Stefan asked. Blanco slowly nodded with tears streaking down his face. Stefan got up off the floor, wiped the dust off his legs, and walked to the door. He was shocked to see who was standing there.
It was Jon Ola Sand!
"Jon?.... What are you doing here? I thought you were retired!" Stefan said shocked.
"I was, and I still am." Jon sighed.
"Then... Then why are you here?" Blanco trembled.
"Well, I'm here to help... You see, Dare To Dream was like my last graduating class. It's like if a teacher of a classroom found out their valedictorian was murdered and their salutatorian is being framed for the crime..." Jon sighed before getting to the point.
"Look, I couldn't live with the guilt if I didn't help you, and I desperately care for Mahmood, Duncan, and everyone else involved who have been hurt. So... I took it upon myself to buy these." Jon said as he held out his hand. Five flashdrives lay on the palm of his hand.
Blanco's face lit up and tears began to form again.
"All of these flashdrives can hold up to two gigabytes. Five of them should be more than enough to collect all the footage you need." Jon smiled.
"But I will only give them to you on one condition." Jon said. Blanco stepped back.
"And that condition is that you NEVER think about giving up on those you love ever again. If Mahmood means that much to you, you shouldn't give up just because there are a few setbacks.
"OH MY GOD!!! THANK YOU! YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH THIS MEANS TO ME!!!" Blanco cried as he ran to hug Jon.
"Anytime, son. I'm happy to help." Jon whispered. Then he broke the hug. Stefan knew this was the time to ask Jon a question.
"When is Mahmood's trial?" He asked.
"The trial is tomorrow at 3 p.m, and you know where the courthouse is." Jon said. He knew that what he had told them was against the law, but he also knew that an innocent life was at risk of being convicted.
"Thank you, really! How can we ever repay you?" Stefan asked.
"No need. Like I said, I care about Mahmood. I couldn't leave him like this." Jon smiled as he approached the door and began to leave.
"See? You can't give up hope just because the chances of hope are low. That was miraculous right there I tell you!" Stefan cheered.
"We gotta tell the others! Let's go!" Blanco cheered as he grabbed Stefan tightly by the wrist and dragged him out of the hotel room.
"Guys! There's still hope! We can still save Mahmood." Blanco yelled throughout the hallway. Chanel turned her head.
"What are you talking about?" She asked.
"You'll never guess who showed up to help us! It was Jon Ola Sand! He gave me these flashdrives, and now we just need to go to the security room later on tonight and get the footage!" Stefan cried.
"Wait, really?" Ochman asked.
"Yes!" Both Stefan and Blanco said at the same time.
"I hate to burst your bubble, but how do we get to the security room when Mahmood's trial is tomorrow?" Andrea asked.
Blanco didn't think of that, but Stefan did.
"The security room is right below the hotel room number 312, which is the room that Norway's Subwoolfer is staying in!" He said with excitement.
"So what you're implying is that we ask Subwoolfer if we can use their hotel room and sneak out the window? Stefan? Are you crazy?" Sam asked rhetorically
"I've always been crazy, but it's our only chance. If we wanna save Mahmood, we have no other options except for their help."
"You really think they'd be willing to help us. They're literal aliens." Brooke sighed.
"Guys, they're not aliens. But yes! They want the contest to go on just as badly as we do." Sheldon backed Stefan up.
Everyone stood silent.
"Well, it doesn't look like we have much of a choice." Andrea sighed. Everyone else nodded in agreement.
"Alright then, Blanco said. "Now let's give that wolf a banana."