love you in the dark || adele x fem

Chapter Three

Three weeks later...

Valerie's heart pounded with excitement as she shouldered her backpack and stepped out of the plane. She got greeted by familiar heat; she hadn't expected Munich to feel equally warm as Los Angeles. She was really here now. Only one more week until the first concert was taking place and she couldn't be happier.

"Are you okay? You look a bit pale?", Amanda asked while guiding her into the bus that was waiting on the runway. She and Amanda had met up at LAX, after a week of texting back and forth. Rose had arranged their flights, even booking them seats that were next to each other. The arrangement had turned out perfectly, Amanda was a calm person, which really had helped Valerie's pre-flight nerves. "I'm fine", Valerie replied, brushing away a curl that has fallen into her face, as she followed Amanda to the place where all the taxi were waiting. "I'm just a little nervous, I believe. I have never been to Germany before. Actually, this is my first time being in Europe", she confessed, climbing into the taxi that was stopping for them. Amanda nodded understandingly. "I can show you around tomorrow of you'd like that. I've been here before. Not that I will be a good city guide, but I can try." Valerie smiled at her. "That would be awesome. Thank you."

The taxi drove away from the airport through the busy streets of Munich. Valerie's faces was glued to the window, trying to take as much of the city in as possible. The architecture stood out to her immediately – classic and elegant. Such a stark contrast to what she was used to see. It hit her, that this was her reality now for the upcoming weeks. She was about to experience something that she only had ever dreamed about.

When they arrived at the hotel, Valerie was immediately struck by how peaceful the place felt. She had expected it to be busy like the streets that they just drove through, but the neighborhood appeared to be very calm. The building was old, but beautiful. Its age only contributing to the charm that radiated off it.

She was at a loss of words when they entered the lobby together. The wooden floors where polished and the huge tinted windows let in soft, natural light. "Wow", Valerie exclaimed, taking in the details of the lobby. "This place is beautiful. I never stayed anywhere that looked this nice." Amanda grinned. "You better get used to it. Rose doesn't do anything halfway."

They checked in and then the women parted ways to find their rooms. "See you tomorrow for the city trip then", Amanda smiled and quickly hugged Valerie goodbye. After a while of looking around and dragging her two heavy suitcases over the red carped floor, she finally stood in front of her room. The room that was going to be her new home. With a peep the light on the door turned green, letting her in. The space was simple but still beautifully designed. There even was a small balcony that overlooked the little park that lay behind the hotel, giving her the perfect view to watch the sunset later that evening. She started to unpack, storing everything in the drawers, hanging her nicer outfits into the white closet. As she unpacked, she felt her eyelids growing heavier with every item she stored away. She had barely slept since she left her L.A. home. Most time of the flight had been spend with the two women chatting with each other and a few, disturbed naps during night time. She had been to nervous to sleep properly. But now that she finally was her, the sleepiness was winning the battle against her adrenaline. After a quick dinner alone in her room and a hot shower, she fell into the soft bed, sleep coming over her almost immediately.

The next morning, Valerie got woken up by the violent sound of her alarm going off. Even though she had slept for so long, she didn't feel recovered at all. The only thing that pulled her out of bed was the thought of exploring Munich today. Amanda had arranged to take Valerie, Katie and Samara out into the city for some sight-seeing. The four of them fell into an easy rhythm as they explored. Amanda led the way through the crowded streets, showing them all the hidden gems she had found in the city the last time she had been here. Valerie really enjoyed this little exploration. She was intrigued by the cities architecture, the mix between old and modern buildings. On top of enjoying the city, she also really enjoyed getting to know Adele's background singers more. The three women were so nice to her and made her feel so welcome into their group. "We need to get something from here", Amanda said, stopping in front of a cute looking bakery. The storefront was decorated with flowers of various colors, displaying so many baked goods, that Valerie didn't even know where to look first, let alone decide what she wanted to get. "I tell you; you will miss this once you are back in the US and can't find anything that can compare to this."

That evening, the four of them found themselves in a small bar in the center of the city. They had some drinks, getting to know each other more, telling Valerie how they ended up in Adele's team. It was nice and Valerie felt at ease in their presence. She got the feeling that this team would feel more like family than work.

Monday arrived with a sense of purpose. After having two days to herself, doing whatever she wanted to do, from today on her work schedule started. Valerie and the rest of the team gathered at the arena for the first time. Even when they arrived, the size of the whole construction took her breath away. Everything was massive. She got a tour through "Adele World", taking in all the details that were added to the tents, especially the ferries wheel at the far end took her breath away. This residency was nothing like she had ever seen before. Then it was time to see the inside of the arena. It took her breath away. This place was huge. The stage was enormous, it's framework still being finalized. And then there was the massive screen, she had never seen a screen of that scale ever before. Eyes wide, she looked around, imagining the fans filing up the arena, singing along, while lights danced across the stage, Adele in its center. "This is going to be record-breaking", she breathed out, not being able to fully comprehend what her own eyes were seeing. "Yes it will", a man next to her agreed. They had introduced each other before, but his name has slipped from her mind immediately after, and now she was too embarrassed to as. She hoped that she was able to remember it again later. "This is incredible."

They returned to the hotel in the afternoon, after getting a long tour through the whole backstage area. Valerie felt overwhelmed by what she had seen today. It was surreal that this incredible area was her new workplace. She couldn't wait for this residency to start. Her thoughts skipped to tomorrow. She would finally see Adele again. She was scheduled for a make-up trial with the singer, to really break down the look for the first weekend. The thought send a flutter of excitement through her, she would finally properly meet Adele, in a calmer environment without rushing through the whole process. She couldn't help but smile at the thought. 

This is somewhat of a filler chapter, but I think it had to be done :) I tried to keep it as short as possible, because I think it's kinda boring (at least it was boring to write haha).

I promise, the next chapters will be much more exciting!