IPNOTIZZANTE - Damiano David

Principessa II

Damiano was nervously playing with his fingers while he was staring into distance through the bus window. His lower lip was twitching and he urgently needed a cigarette. It was 6.20 A. M. and the rest of his bandmates had been in deep sleep through the whole journey to Rotterdam. They had taken the plane to Amsterdam, and had been picked up by bus to travel to the Ahoy arena. As soon as he had landed at Schiphol, he felt nauseous and he felt as if his heart would explode through his chest. He could feel her scent and hear her laugh everywhere. The flashbacks came to him while they were getting closer to their destination.

Why the fuck did we have to land in that damn city where everything reminded me of her? Why do I have to go through this all over again?

Within the next 15 minutes, they had finally arrived in front of the arena where they had been met by numerous paparazzi and fans who wanted to take pictures, mostly with Damiano, since he had always been the most wanted one in the group. That fact annoyed him a bit, since he thought that they've all deserved equal treatment and attention. But he was grateful for their fans and people who supported them. The four had exited the bus, Damiano evidently annoyed due to the previous inconvenience in Amsterdam, and the three still drowsy and unaware of their surroundings. The first thing that he had done as soon as they've exited was to grab his pack of cigarettes and light it. The smoke seemed to calm him a bit, and they had stopped a bit further from the crowd, so they can gather themselves and completely wake up. Except Damiano, who had been unable to sleep regardless of his tiredness. Their manager had walked up to them and informed them that a volunteer would soon be there to assist with touring the arena and guiding them to their practicing spot.

"Hope that it's a girl, though.", Thomas had commented and laughed, which made the two other boys giggle as well. Victoria had rolled her eyes at him.

"Don't be stupid. We're here to perform, not flirt.", she pushed him playfully, which made him stumble a bit, since he was still sleepy. "Besides, regardless of the gender, I hope it's at least a nice person and not some asshole."

The rest of the group agreed.

Just as Damiano had finished his cigarette and started entering the bus again, to grab his belongings, he was interrupted by the voice of their manager."Ah, I think that would be out volunteer."

He didn't even bother to turn around, since he was not too interested into the looks of the person, and he was aware that they would spend most of the time there together, so he would manage to remember what they looked like. He had taken another step into the vehicle, when he was yet again interrupted by a sound that he thought he would not hear for a long time yet.

"Hi guys, sorry I'm late.", the sweet sound of her voice made his knees week but he still couldn't gather the strength to turn around. "I'm Amelia and I will be your assistant through all of the days of the contest."

Amelia. No. It can't be her. This is too big of a coincidence, and it can't be possible. That's not her, Damiano, you're hallucinating.

"I don't think I can believe this.", he heard Ethan saying. "It's... you."

Her smile made his heart flutter and all he had wanted to do is run towards her and hug her until he cracks all of her bones. Instead, he just stood at one spot, frozen.

"Amelia! I am so happy to see you again!", Victoria had greeted her happily and gave her a big hug. "How are you?"

"I am very well and happy to see you guys, too.", Amelia spoke with a huge grin on her face and proceeded with hugging the rest of the group, then finally meeting the manager.

"Damiano, look who's here!", Vic had called for her friend, but got confused since he was nowhere to be found. "Oh, must be in the bus, gathering his things. Let me call him.", she had started to walk towards the bus, but Amelia had grabbed her forearm.

"Just give him a moment.", Amelia pleaded. "Maybe he's mad at me."

"Impossible.", Thomas protested. "He's been weeping over you ever since we've left Amsterdam."

The news made Amelia's stomach turn and eyes widen. "Are you sure?"

"Positive.", Thomas continued. "He's the happiest man in the world right now. And so are we, since we've seen you."

"Luckily we got a familiar face to assist us.", Vic agreed with Thomas. "Now, I gotta go get Damiano since we're already late."

As Victoria had entered the bus, she was surprised by the lack of any sound of rustling, but she had soon seen the face of the person she was looking for at the back seat of the bus.

"Damiano?", she had walked up to him. "What are you doing here? Are you okay?"

He was staring through the window again. "The Universe is fucking with me right now. It can't be her, out of all of the people in the world."

"Damiano, it was somehow logical. She's Dutch now, speaks fluent Italian, beautiful, sweet, kind and great at communicating. This is a great opportunity for you to reconcile."

He shook his head. "No. I don't think I could handle losing her again."

"So, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I just can't get even more attached."

"Look... We need to go, people are getting more impatient and we have a lot of work to do. We're waiting for you in front of the bus, okay?"

Damiano nodded. "Thanks, Vic."

"No problem, brother.", and soon enough, he was left alone in the bus.

I missed you like crazy, but I already know the ending of this story. I don't know if you can be my Principessa anymore.

He had gathered his things and walked out of the bus to face the girl he was crazy about, but his pride convinced him to shut off his emotions.