Silenzio Bruno!

Chapter 3~ Alberto

With just two days before it was time for him to leave, Alberto walked around the small shops in Portorosso. Giulia had told him to "wear something nice" to the dance, but the only new thing he owned was the apron Massimo had given him a while back, and he was pretty sure that didn't count as "nice". He needed something sharp, something that would make him look like he belonged at Luca's school, something like...

There! In the window of a nearby shop was a brown suit that looked like it was the perfect size. Of course, it was a little too fancy for his taste, but it would do. Using the money Massimo had lent him, Alberto paid for the suit and walked out of the shop, satisfied.

Hopefully I can impress Luca, he thought. Wait, what was he thinking? He's my best friend, not my boyfriend. Still, his face heated at the thought..
No, no, no, he yelled internally. Luca is NOT my boyfriend, and I do NOT need to impress him! I'm just wearing this suit because Giulia told me to look nice.

The entire way back to the house, he argued back and forth in his brain. When he got inside, he saw that Massimo was sitting at the table, waiting for him.

"Alberto," he said warmly, smiling at the young boy. "I got you a gift for your travel to Genova." He placed a small package on the table.

"Oh, you didn't have to," Alberto said, but snatched up the gift anyway. He ripped open the packaging to find a purple bowtie. Stitched into the violet-colored material were small flowers, complete with miniature leaves and stems.

"Well?" his adoptive father asked, studying his face carefully. "Do you like it?"

To be honest, the tie really wasn't Alberto's style, but he truly appreciated the thought that Massimo put into this gift. Small things like this were the reason that Alberto was so happy here. Although he didn't like to think about the past, he couldn't help but remember all of the birthdays that his biological father had forgotten about, or all of the experiences that he never got to share with a father figure.

"I love it," he replied, and gave the tall man a big hug. "Thank you."

Massimo wrapped his arms around the boy and smiled. "I just thought that you might want to wear it with whatever outfit you bought to go to the dance with. Speaking of which, let me see it!"

Alberto laughed and pulled out his new suit from the bag beside him and began showing it to his adoptive father.

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Later that night, Alberto sat at the window in his room. On nights like this, when he couldn't sleep, he liked to stare up at the fish-um, stars-  and think back to the nights he spent with Luca on the island.

Tonight, with the cold winter breeze drifting through the window, he closed his eyes. He could smell the salty hint in the air that always followed the ocean. The light from the moon seeped through his eyelids, filling his head with memories of his best friend.

Alberto sighed and opened his eyes. It had been so long since he had last seen Luca, what if he had changed? What if he no longer wanted to hang out with the lonely boy that he had met on the island, who was so obsessed with traveling the world on a Vespa. What if Luca had found better friends?
What if he doesn't need me anymore?

"Silenzio Bruno!" he cried quietly, to nobody but himself. No, Luca was Luca, and nothing could change that. They had sent letters to each other and talked on the phone, and Alberto knew that his friend still wanted to hang out with him. It was just dumb Bruno again, trying to mess with his head and make him feel bad again. Well, he was over letting negative thoughts into his mind! He was going to meet Luca at the dance and he was going to tell him the truth!

I... like you!

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