FEEL THE MUSIC {BABY LASAGNA}

XI.We need to talk

ADRIANA

I was so fucking tired, I hadn't slept a wink after that call. It left me pretty scared and anxious, I had been threatened. I was terrified and I only needed to feel someone's presence around me just to feel safe, but it was too complicated. I knew I couldn't had just call Sofia or David because I would have had to explain the whole situation with my father to them and at that moment I felt like I couldn't speak, for that reason I couldn't call Paula either. I just needed to be around someone who would understand the situation without having to talk much, I could only think of one person, but he had ignored me all night.

In the end I wrote to him multiple times but I got no answer, so I deleted my messages feeling like I was the dumbest person in the entire World. Marko wasn't my friend, he was just another participant in Eurovision, but still he knew so much about me… Maybe I shouldn't tell my problems to strangers.

I looked at myself in the mirror and I was puzzled. I looked terrible, like I hadn't slept in months, not a very pleasant look for the interviews I had later on that morning. I tried to comb my hair and went outside of my room in search of caffeine. As it was pretty early in the morning,  I could go to have breakfast without anyone noticing me, or that is what I thought. 

-OMG, Adria are you okay?

Shit. Why of all people was Marko the one who I encountered in the hallway? I couldn't believe my luck. I was pretty mad at him to be honest. The afternoon before he had acted like we were best friends during our quick walk around Amsterdam and after that he had ignored me all night, even when I texted him that I needed him.

-Adria please answer me.

I really wished he'd stop calling me Adria, we weren't really friends, so I would appreciate it if he would stop pretending we were. I just misunderstood the way he interacted with me. He really cared about what others thought.

-Like you cared.-I said. I didn't want to listen to him pretending to be worried about me. I only wanted to be alone. It had been a hell of a night and I wasn't in the mood for talking.

-I'm truly sorry I-

-Don't bother. Goodbye baby lasagna.

I accelerated my pace and went outside of the hotel. I grabbed a coffee in the first café I saw and came back to my room. I had a lot of work to do on my face in order to look presentable for interviews.

I took a quick cold shower (which was an extraordinary event as I usually take hot and long ones) and did my makeup. 

The interviews took place at the hotel reception which had been reserved only for the eurovision events. It was a bit chaotic, the room was filled with cameras, microphones, interviewers, artists, our teams… 

I was extremely tired and pissed after all the interviews. Even when the vast majority of questions were about my song and my experience in the contest, they always asked about me and Marko, so I always denied being something else than two singers who competed at Eurovision.

-Well, it was not all bad. Adriana, you seemed like an approachable and kind person.-Natalia told me after the interviews.- But you need to rest more, you looked a bit tired.

-Okay, I'll try harder next time.

-Not harder, smarter. And I have to congratulate you.- She announced.

-Congratulate me?

-Yes. You have two proposes of marketing.

-Really? What are they about?

-Firstly you have one with Duolingo.

-WITH THE FUCKING GREEN OWL?

-Language please. And yes, with the green owl and maybe Joost Klein, as he has worked with them multiple times.

I could understand why. In one interview they asked me to sing my favourite songs of Eurovision and as most of them were 
in other languages they asked me how many languages did I speak. I answered four: Spanish, English, Catalán (which is a language spoken at North-east of Spain) and Italian which had similar sounds to catalán, so it had been easy for me to learn it. I also said I knew the basic sentences of German, Portuguese, Ukrainian and French, because whenever I liked a song which wasn't in my language I start lessons to learn a bit about the language in duolingo, but I always end up forgetting to continue the lessons.

-And the other propose?

-It was from the Croatian delegation. -I felt those worlds sinking in my stomach. First he treated me so well and then he ignored me. Was Marko only friendly to me because he wanted popularity? 

-Oh.

-I would recommend you to take both proposals but I am not gonna force you to do something you do not want.

I believe Natalia saw my mad face when she mentioned the Croatian delegation. She could be strict but she always made sure I didn't do anything against my will. In a way, she was like a second mother to me.

-I only want to do the duolingo one, if that's okay.

-Of course, Adriana.

After my talk with Natalia I went straight to my room but first I encountered Marcus and Martinus on my way. They invited me to go out with them, but I had to prioritize my sleep.

I woke up three hours later, just in time to do my hair and meet Joost to go with the Duolingo media team. I have to admit I had so much fun I forgot I was working. We recorded a tik tok where Joost and I were running from duolingo because we forgot to take our lessons and two more of us dancing to each other's song and then chasing each other while the green owl stayed in the place dancing. I swear I couldn't stop laughing when I had to chase Joost as he was much taller than me.

It was a great afternoon and it helped me get distracted from everything that happened the night before. 

Joost was a super fun guy. When we finished recording content for promoting duolingo I took my phone out to take a selfie with Joost, however, at that moment a message appeared on my screen. Marko had asked me if we could talk.

I left him in read, I didn't want to loose my time on someone who clearly was only my friend because of popularity. 

-Aren't you gonna answer him?-Asked Joost looking at me with a curious face.

-Why do you ask?-I asked him.

-I dunno. I thought you were friends. -Said the boy.

-It turns out we aren't. 

-Oh, I'm sorry. Can I ask why or am I too meddlesome?

-Why what?

-Why aren't you friends? You both look like you have so much fun when you're around each other. And didn't he help you come back to the hotel at the Madrid pre-party when you were like… super extra high?

-How do know that?

-Adri, you should've seen you that day. At least we can say you were the life of the party for a while… So when I saw the pictures of you and Marko returning to the hotel I assumed he was helping you.

-Oh dear…-I felt so embarrassed, but I couldn't stop thinking about what he said about Marko. The truth is that If I could return safely to the hotel, it was thanks to him. I couldn't stop thinking about what happened with my father in London and how he helped me, how big his smile was when I bought him a little keychain and how much fun I had with him the day before in Amsterdam. Deep inside I really wished we were friends.

-Hey, you didn't answer my question. Why aren't you friends?

Did Marko fake every interaction? I actually didn't think so, but still he had ignored me and the next thing I had known is that his team proposed to make marketing together. 

-You know what? I'm not sure. Maybe he's right and we need to talk.-The tall boy smiled after my words.

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Hello guys, I'm back.

This has been truly an intense week.
I took my exams and after that I went travelling with some friends (I'm posting this chapter from our hotel).

I hope you enjoyed the chapter and sorry for it being too short.

See you at the next part!