red rain (victoria de angelis)

chaper three

The next day was pretty unspectacular for both of them.
Victoria rehearsed a bit with her band colleagues and Francesca had just finished the interview and was getting into a taxi.
Sighing, she looked out through the wet windows into the grey sky, which was pouring with rain.
The artist this morning had nothing on it, which on the one hand is bad because she desperately needs contracts to build up her existence, but on the other hand it is also good because this way she can mainly take care of her favourite band.
Speaking of Mâneskin, the brunette slipped a small note between her fingers.
It contained the telephone number of Victoria de Angelis.
Hesitantly, she fished her mobile phone out of her coat pocket and typed the number into her phone.
Her thumb hovered over the green receiver, but she hesitated again.
"What if she's busy or doesn't want to hear from me at all?" she asked herself, nervously biting her lower lip.
She gathered all her courage and lowered her thumb to the screen.

The all-too-familiar toot started and gave her a slight flutter of the heart.
Nervously, she stroked her curls, and the soft voice on the other end of the line rang out.
,,È Victoria! Chi è?" (This is Victoria! Who is this?)
"Ciao, sono Francesca." (Hi, it's Francesca.)
Her voice sounded scratchy and her throat hurt, so she had to cough briefly.
,,Ciao Francesca! What's up??" (Hello Francesca! What's up?)
"Do you have any plans for today, or would you like to meet me?" Francesca asked nervously.
"All four of you, of course!" she quickly followed up with, when Victoria's answer was not forthcoming.
,,Certo, I'd love to. We'll be there in an hour, ok?" the blonde replied and said goodbye after confirming the brunette.
She hung up and took a shaky breath.
Of course she would like to meet Victoria alone, but she would certainly find that strange.
Oh, how wrong she was.

At home she was greeted by Mocha and Ginger.
Her pair of Dalmatians jumped happily around her and wagged their tails excitedly.
She quickly fed them and opened the doors to the back garden where they could play for now.
Francesca quickly looked at the clock in her kitchen while drinking a glass of water.
She still had about an hour before the others arrived.
So she showered, changed and put on some pasta water.
Her dogs had settled down at her feet and were watching Francesca, jumping around happily dancing to the music and possibly burning the pasta.
,,More than just a dream..." she sang to herself when suddenly the bell rang.

Mocha and Ginger jumped up and ran to the front door barking loudly.
,,Mocha! Ginger! Siediti! Giù! Giù!" (Sit! Down! Out!) she shouted and made the two of them stand obediently next to the entrance.
She quickly opened the door and greeted her guests warmly.

"Hi, everybody!" laughed the brunette.
,,Oi, what cute things!" Damiano squealed and squeezed past Francesca to pet the two Dalmatians who happily pounced on him and loved to have their bellies rubbed.
After an extensive round of greetings between Ethan, Damiano, Thomas, Victoria, Mocha and Ginger, Francesca led them into the main part of their house.
,,Woha!" came out of Ethan's and Thomas' mouths at the same time, so they looked at each other and started to laugh.
,,It's really nice here," Victoria said and let her fingers wander over the dark wood of the table.
Smiling, Francesca thanked her and excused herself to the kitchen, where she took care of the pasta and chopped the salad.

Later she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned quickly.
Victoria was standing next to her.
,,Do you want me to help you?" the blonde asked friendly and smiled at her.
,,If you want to, you can set the table," the taller of the two replied.
Victoria nodded and followed Francesca's instructions to the right shelf.
With her hands on her hips, she stood in front of the cupboard door and looked up.
She would never in her life  reach those plates.
Suddenly she felt a body close behind her and noticed someone lifting the plates above her.
A slight blush came over her cheeks, but she couldn't deny that Francesca's body felt good against hers.
She quickly pushed the thought aside and took the plates from her hand.
Francesca's smile carried something knowing about it, so Victoria quickly turned away and disappeared in the direction of her band mates.

Almost half an hour later, they were all sitting together and eating.
They were chatting, laughing and probably drinking their third bottle of wine.
The rain outside had increased in the meantime and a light rumble of thunder could be heard.
A bright flash of lightning flew through the night.
Victoria flinched and looked out through the large windows
The sky had turned dark and the trees swayed menacingly with the strong wind.
Slightly frightened, she snuggled deeper into her chair and only half listened.
Goosebumps crept over her body and again and again she was frightened by the loud thunder.
The others didn't seem to notice, but Victoria's heart began to race.

Suddenly a snug fabric settled over her bare shoulders and brought her some comfort.
She turned and smiled at the curly head that kept creeping into her thoughts.
"What do you think about spending the night at my place tonight? It's very late and I don't want to leave you out there in the storm." Francesca announced her worries.
Hesitantly, the band members looked at each other but realised that she was right.
So they set off and all got a few things from Francesca.
Because of their size, they also fit the boys.
Each guest room had its own bathroom with showers.

Victoria jumped into the shower and let some hot water run over her skin.
Then she slipped into a white silk shirt that went down to her knees and snuggled under the thick down duvet.
Her bedroom door was slightly ajar, giving her the opportunity to watch the light and the shadows in the corridor.
But they too went to sleep at some point and so she was all alone.
Loud thunder broke over her and a few bright streaks of light swept in behind her, brightly illuminating the whole room.
Frightened, she crawled further under the covers and curled up into an embryo.
No one had ever really known the extent of her fear of thunderstorms, so she was mostly alone with it.
But normally Ethan, Damiano and Thomas were never far away and always there to reassure her, but today they seemed to be asleep already.

Across the aisle, dark eyes wandered over the lines of Romeo and Juliet's story, only sometimes slipping out into the dark night.
But her thoughts were not on the tragedy before her eyes, but on a certain blonde.
She was afraid of thunderstorms, Francesca had clearly noticed, and now wondered whether she was already asleep or perhaps suffering from anxiety.
She knew that, her little niece was also terrified of thunderstorms.
Unable to reconcile this with her conscience, she peeled herself out of the thick fabric of the blanket and waddled down the corridor to Victoria's room.

Quietly she opened the door and looked into the darkness.
,,Victoria? Are you asleep already?" she whispered and pricked up her ears.
A loud thunder crashed over her and the ceiling mountain rustled.
A curse and finally the click of the dessert lamp sounded and in the golden glow of the bulb Francesca recognised a little girl whose eyes were bloodshot and wet and a tousled light mane sticking out on all sides.
,,Francesca?" a soft, rough whisper sounded and the girl carefully closed the door behind her.
She slowly walked over to the weeping figure in the bed and sat down on the edge.
For a short while they looked into each other's eyes, then the blonde sniffled and pushed out her lower lip.
,,Shall I stay here?" Francesca asked, already knowing the answer.
The head in front of her nodded vigorously and Victoria slid a little to the side.
Awkwardly, the other girl crawled into bed with her and covered herself.

At first they lay next to each other with a lot of distance, but after the next thunder, Victoria had already snuggled up to Francesca.
She deeply inhaled the smell of chocolate, rain and parchment.
Carefully, Francesca put an arm around the smaller girl, who snuggled even closer to her.
Her blonde hair smelled of fresh flowers, wood and a hint of mint.
Together they listened to the storm that swept around the house and, to calm the blonde girl down, Francesca hummed an old Italian night song that her father used to sing to her when she cried through the night again and absolutely did not calm down.
At some point, their hearts slowed down and their breaths became fewer and deeper.
They both enjoyed each other's company so much that they slept better than they had in a long time.
In the future, Victoria will no longer be able to calm a thunderstorm without this closeness and both will find these smells like their personal drug.

~~~~1600 words~~~~