Mahmood opened his eyes.
"Ronela?" He asked. "You're alive?"
"Course I'm alive! What, did you think I was dead?" Ronela responded.
"Uhh... Well, Chanel told me-"
"Chanel doesn't know everything." Came a Greek voice from behind Mahmood. He turned around to see two girls in the back of the helicopter. Both were cramped together due to the lack of space.
"Amanda? Andromache?" Mahmood asked.
"Duh." Andromache chuckled. "Who else did you think?"
"I didn't know you guys were in this operation." Mahmood chuckled.
"We're in more than you think." Amanda laughed.
"Now buckle your seatbelt! We're going back to the others." Ronela reminded Mahmood.
Mahmood sighed of relief. He was alive, Matteo was defeated, and he could live the life that he always dreamed of... An amazing life with his beloved Riccardo Fabbriconi....
Then Mahmood realized... Blanco was down underneath him when he was holding onto that pillar!
"Blanco's still down there!" Mahmood cried out.
"Mahmood, we have to get out of here!" Ronela spoke rather low. Mahmood looked down at where Blanco was. He knew that he had to get down there.
"No! I won't leave him!" Mahmood cried. 'i can't live without him! He means everything to me!"
"Mahmood... He's probably already dead down there." Amanda sighed.
Mahmood's heart shattered into a million pieces. He couldn't imagine a life without Blanco... But he knew that it was probably too late. Blanco had given himself to try to save Mahmood, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.
As Mahmood looked back at the burning building, he couldn't help but think that this was all his fault. If he hadn't confessed his love for Blanco... If he hadn't gone to the party in the first place, maybe Blanco would still be alive.
Mahmood couldn't cry. The tears wouldn't come out; he was so depressed. He buried his face in his hands. He couldn't bear to look at the building or its remains... Suddenly, the tears started flowing like rivers.
"RICCARDO!!!!!!!" Mahmood wailed. He had lost the one thing that meant the most to him.
Blanco....
"Look, there's everyone!" Andromache cried. Mahmood looked to his left and saw everyone there. Sheldon, Sam, Andrea, Achille, Brooke, Ochman, Keith, Jim, Cornelia, Rosa, Chanel, Emma, Monika, Michael, Duncan, and he knew that Stefan was with Filip and the rest of LPS... But no sign of Blanco.
The helicopter parked, and Ronela got out of the driver's seat and out onto the pavement.
"RONELA!!!" Chanel, Emma, and Monika cried at the same time. They all ran for their friend.
Mahmood left the helicopter. Everyone looked at him with glowing eyes.
"Mahmood! You're okay!!" Sam cried. Everyone ran to hug him. He hugged them all back.
"I-is Blanco here?" Mahmood quivered.
"He went to look for you... Why? Is he not with you?" Ochman asked. That's when Mahmood fell to his knees and bawled.
He didn't say anything, no one else said anything. He just sat there and bawled all of the tears that would come out, and everyone let him.
"I'm.... So sorry, Mahmood." Sheldon knelt down to comfort Mahmood.
"He's.... He's gone.... I'll never see him again! I just wish I could've told him that I'll always be there..... I just wish I could've held him.... One last time....."
"Um guys? Someone's walking towards us." Andrea said, pointing to a shadow in the distance. It didn't look like it wanted any harm... In fact, Mahmood could smell the familiar cologne scent from a kilometer away. The figure came into view, and Mahmood began to cry again.
"Guys... I'm sorry I couldn't find hi-..." The familiar Italian voice that Mahmood heard was music to his ears. Blanco was alive!
"RICCARDO! I'M RIGHT HERE!" Mahmood bawled. He stood up and ran for his beloved. Once he reached his arms, tears flowed down his cheeks.
"I thought I lost you!" Both boys said at the same time as they hugged each other tighter.
"I love you so much, Riccardo!" Mahmood cried.
"I love you too, Alessandro!!" Blanco cried as well. Then the two went back to bugging.
Both boys just stood there and hugged each other. They didn’t care about the rest of the world. They had each other, and that’s all that mattered.
Suddenly, Stefan came running from the building that was next to them. He sounded scared and short of breath.
“Stefan? What’s wrong?” Duncan asked,
“Guys… It’s Filip!” Stefan answered. Everyone sparked their attention to Stefan.
“What happened to him?” Mahmood asked, Stefan began to tremble.
“He… He won’t get up!”
…..
The rest of the Slovenian band sat next to Filip as he lay on the bed. He looked lifeless. Mark grabbed a warm, damp cloth and let it rest on Filip’s forehead. They hoped that he would wake up, and they hoped it would be soon, but the longer they waited, the more obvious it became… Filip was gone.
“Filip, you gotta get up!” Zala wept. “Please! We need you…”
Silence.
“Please!!! I know you can hear us!” Zala cried out. She held Filip’s hands in his as she bawled. “Filip… Please!”
“Face it, Zala! He’s not coming back.” Žiga sighed. “No matter how bad we want him here, he’s not coming back.”
“YOU CAN'T SAY THAT!!! IT'S NOT TRUE!!!!” Zala cried. “IT CAN'T BE TRUE!!!”
“Don’t yell.” Mark responded.
“What? Do you guys not care??? Filip means everything to me, to all of us! We…. We can’t go on without him.” Zala cried again.
"Zala's right. Filip is everything to us... All of us." Gašper sighed.
The room was silent.
"But that still doesn't change anything..." Žiga trembled.
"Then what does??" Zala wept as she looked at Filip, who hasn't moved since Stefan brought him to the bed. She sat down beside him and stroked his auburn brown hair.
"Please... God please! Anyone please!" Zala wept. "Please, don't take Filip. Not yet! Please."
As Zala continued to sob, she didn't notice the bits of movement being made underneath her. That was, until she began to hear the sound of mumbling. Zala knew immediately who was making the sounds.
"Filip?......" She trembled in a whisper. He looked up at Filip. The color was back in his skin, and Zala could feel him breathing! He was alive!
"Someone! Get Stefan! Filip's getting up!" Zala wept. This time, the tears were happy.
Filip opened his eyes.
"Zala... What? What happened?" Filip asked, still getting used to his surroundings.
"FILIP YOU'RE ALIVE!!!" everyone cried and ran to hug him. He hugged back.
"How did I get here?" He asked.
"It's a long story, but Matteo has been dealt with... We won!" Zala said excitedly.
"You went onstage without me??? AND WON?" Filip asked, pretending to be freaked out. Then he burst into laughter.
"You really think we'd play without you? We would never leave your side! We love you, man!" Gašper smiled at Filip.
That's when Stefan burst into the room, everyone followed behind him.
"Mahmood! You're alive!" Filip smiled.
"You're awake! Thank God!" Stefan sighed in relief.
"I wasn't ready to leave yet." Filip chuckled. That's when Ronela remembered something...
"Guys, where's wrs?" She asked.
"Ronela?...." Came a voice from behind them. It was wrs. He stood looking at Ronela, his eyes swollen from crying. He continuously kept rubbing them because he thought he was dreaming.
"ANDREI!!!" Ronela ran for his arms. He ran for hers back.
"I thought I lost you, my little angel!" Andrei whispered, stroking Ronela's hair.
"You'll never lose me." Ronela whispered. "I'm not going anywhere for a long time."
"You better stick to your word on that one. You just about gave me a heart attack!" Andrei chuckled a little Everyone smiled, and soon, all the smiles turned to celebration.
"We did it!!!" Blanco cried, hugging Mahmood. Then suddenly, Duncan spoke up.
"Wait..... If we proved Mahmood innocent, and we caught the murderer, does that mean?......." Everyone looked at the Dutch with glowing eyes.
They knew exactly what he was going to say...
.....
"LET THE GRAND FINAL OF THE EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 2022 BEGIN!!!!!!" Laura Pausini, Alessandro Cattelan, and Mika cried at the same time. The Eurovision Song Contest is in full swing. It was the grand final, and Rosa was just finishing up her performance. It was almost time for Mahmood and Blanco to perform.
"Oh, I might stop talkin' to people before I snap!" Rosa finished her performance. At that moment, Blanco hadn't felt more nervous about anything in his life.
"You okay, Riccardo?" Mahmood asked his lover.
"Yeah.... I'm just a little nervous." Blanco responded.
"You'll be amazing! Don't worry, I'll be by your side." Mahmood said in a comforting voice. Blanco blushed.
"Alrighty then. Let's kill it!" Blanco said. As they were welcomed onto the stage, they began to sing. As soon as he started singing, Blanco's nerves just left his body. He felt as if he was able to do anything he put his mind to. He sang with his full heart, and sooner than later, the crowd went wild.
"THAT WAS ITALY EVERYONE!" Laura cheered. Blanco pulled Mahmood into a tight hug. They were proud of their performance, regardless of the result.
....
It was after the final, Italy had taken 6th place in the contest, which wasn't bad. Both boys were content with the score they got. Everyone was planning on meeting after the final for an after party.
"C'mon, Alessandro! We don't wanna miss the dessert table!" Blanco giggled. Mahmood chuckled as they walked to the party together.
The party was being hosted by Duncan Laurence. He threw it to celebrate the victory of Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest, and to celebrate the victory of everyone who helped save Mahmood from conviction. Filip was there. He was playing poker with his other band mates like nothing had happened. It made Mahmood giggle a little.
Achille was there as well, and of course he got access to the mechanical bull and wouldn't get off that thing if the world was ending. What caught Mahmood's attention, however, was Amanda and Andromache standing over by Achille and the bull. It was almost like they were waiting to talk to him.
....
"Go on. You can do this, Amanda." Andromache encouraged her friend. Amanda was shy. She was nervous.
"I... I don't know about this." She protested to get out of what she was planning on doing, but it only made Andromache push her ever more.
"Okay, fine!" Amanda sighed as she walked up to Achille.
"Hey... Could we... Um... Step outside?" Amanda asked nervously.
"Oh, sure." Achille smiled, jumped off the bull, and walked into the balcony with Amanda.
"So... What's up?" He asked.
"Well..... I used to think you were just some rowdy guy out for attention..... But since I saw you help save Mahmood, I... I realized that I thought wrong." Amanda admitted.
"What are you saying?" Achille asked, confused.
"I'm saying that.... That I love you!" Amanda admitted.
"Whoa. The L word. Didn't think you were that ballsy to use that word when we practically just met a few days ago." Achille giggled.
"Oh, just shut up and kiss me already!" Amanda giggled. Achille swooped Amanda into his arms and kissed her soft lips. It was a glorious moment for Achille, and even for Amanda.
Andromache walked out to see how successful Amanda was, and she walked in on them mid kiss. She took a few steps back and left the scene. She didn't want to disturb a beautiful moment, for moments like that might not last forever.
Nothing lasts forever, which is why you have to hold onto it while it's there. The best things in life aren't permanent, but they can feel like they last a lifetime...