Luca's home

2

The train ride was long and had Luca antsy the whole time. Giulia on the other hand, was so excited to be going back home.

As the train came to its stop, Luca and Giulia took their bags and headed to the front of the train. "This is going to be great!" Giulia cried. Yeah, great. Luca thought.

Out of the cracked train window, Luca could see the rows of people waiting to board the train, some waiting for their friends and family to step off the train. Luca looked around for Alberto, but didn't see him.

The two stepped off the train, along with the other passengers, and stood scanning the crowd with their eyes, looking for everyone. All of the sudden, Giulia started to run. Luca followed after her.

"Mia oh mia!*" Giulia yelled as she drooped her bags and came to a stop. Luca could barely catch his breath from running until he looked up. There stood Alberto and Mr. Marcovalda waiting at the end of the platform with big smiles and open arms. Mr. Marcovalda held Giulia tight in his arms. This was their first hug in almost a whole year. He almost crushed her based on his size!

After admiring the cute scene between the father and daughter, Luca looked over to see Alberto awkwardly waiting for what was next. Should i hug him? Do we just shake hands? Luca thought.

After contemplating how to greet his long time best friend, Luca stepped towards Alberto and wrapped his arms around him in a big hug. This felt right to him.

Alberto quickly hugged back pressing Luca into his chest. It took Luca a minute to realize how much Alberto had grew over the year! He was practically twice the size of Luca!

"Alberto!" Luca pulled away from the tight hug, blushing a bit.

"Luca!" Albertos newly deepened voice broke through. This shocked Luca and Giulia.

"Your voice!" Giulia laughed. She too went in to hug Alberto.

"Wow, I didn't think it changed that much!" Alberto laughed. Luca really liked his new voice, it made him more mature.

"Man, i feel like a baby now!" Luca bumped Albertos side. He caught Giulia giving an intriguing glance towards the two of them. Luca knew she was trying to hint at something but he just shook his head to dismiss her.

"So, Alberto" Giulia started. "Got a girlfriend over the year or something?" She winked as they grabbed the bags and headed out of the train station.

"What? No way" Alberto was quick to answer, in a surprised tone. This made Luca feel almost relieved.

"Has Alberto not told you?" Mr. Marcovalda stopped and looked to Giulia.

"Told me what?" Giulia asked as Alberto blushed.

"Alberto?" Massimo raised his brow.

"Uh" He scratched the back of his neck shyly. What is this big secret? They continued walking in brief silence. No one really knew what to say. The awkward tension was broken as soon as they exited the train station to the town's centre. The bright buildings and warm air welcomed them. Luca stopped to breathe in the seaside breeze. This was the best part about coming home. Laughter and music filled the area. People stopped to wave, welcoming the two home and The sun shined brighter than ever.

"Wow! I sure missed this!" Giulia stopped to admire Porto Rosso. It was like all the awkwardness dropped for a minute. Luca dropped his belongings once again and ran towards the ocean. The group was confused for a moment until Luca reached the edge of the stoney ground and jumped into the bright blue Italian sea. There was no ocean in Genova so this felt better than ever for Luca.

Luca hit the cold water, exposing his true sea monster form. He swam for a while until Giulia came to find him.

"Luca! Come to my house, we brought your bags! My papa made pasta!" She called out.

Luca followed behind her, walking all the way from the shore to Giulia's home. The place was just as they had left it, only now it smelt of pesto and delicious pasta.

Luca made his way to the dinner table, greeted by Massimo in the kitchen and Alberto sitting at the table. It was immediately awkward again. The two kind of just looked down.

"Hope you kids are hungry!" Massimo smiled as he dished Luca's favourite pasta onto four plates.

Although they called frequently and sent letters to each other, Giulia, Luca, Alberto, and Mr. Marcovalda had lots to talk about. They talked for so long that when Luca got up to leave the table, he noticed it was dark out.

Luca walked upstairs and into Giulia's room that turns into Albertos room after Giulia leaves, and through the open window to the treehouse Giulia built. He lied on his back, and looked up to the stars admiring every single one of them. The sky looked so beautiful at night and the evening breeze made it so peaceful. It was so quiet, Luca almost fell asleep until he heard the ruffling of someone coming up the tree to join him.

It was Alberto.

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Hey! Hope you like the first two chapters, definitely leaving it off on a cliffhanger. Let me know if you are enjoying this story and have any recommendations! If you like it i will continue to write! :)