The Luckycharm -A Brian May fanfiction- English

Why did she lie to me?

         Sanremo - 3rd February 1984
                       Hotel Royal
                     Almost 3 p.m.

Brian P.O.

"I'll see you in half an hour down in the hotel lobby Rog" I greet him, putting the right foot out of the elevator "Paul explained me that the Ariston theatre is only five minutes away by car, but if there's traffic we risk arrive late and..."
"Don't worry Bri" he tries to reassure me, he knows me very well and he knows that I hate to not arrive on time "We'll all be punctual, moreover we're English and the English, unlike the Italians, are famous in the world just for their punctuality"
"Those are the Swiss, Rog" I correct him, crossing completely the threshold and turning to him.
"The Swiss are famous for chocolate and ... and for the banks!" he exclaims laughing, then he presses the number-four key on the button panel.
"Yes, but also for punctuality: the Swatch, that brand of watch-making, doesn't it mean anything to you?"
"Of course, it does, it remember me that if I don't hurry up to go down to my room I'll never be ready in half an hour"
"So it's better that you go. Bye Rog, see you later"
"See you later Bri Bri" he greets me, slowly disappearing behind the gray doors.

I stay motionless for a few seconds, I'm astonished, I stare the elevator with a puzzled look.

"The Swiss banks. But what the hell is in his the brain!" I think to myself.

I sigh, I'll never understand Roger all the way and yet we've known each other for more than fifteen years now. Maybe my mother is right when she says we never completely know who's next to us, that we'll be always surprised or we'll be disappointed by him/her behavior or attitude. I slightly shake my head "Oh Rog!" I whisper, I lift my right arm up and I see the time on my wristwatch "It's really late! I have to hurry if I want to be ready in half an hour"

I start walking with a fast pace in the corridor to reach my suite. I look around and for the first time I see the still-lifes affixed to the walls, I hadn't paid any attention to them last night because my eyes were busy looking at something else, or rather, they were busy looking at her.

"Well...I could have come up with a better excuse to stick up a conversation with Lilibeth" I say to myself, biting my lip, "You said that you have been here since last night, it's right?" I asked her as soon as I saw that she was about to leave, I thought she asked me an autograph, that she asked me something else but..."

...but I felt like I was completely indifferent to her. If it weren't for my excuse, a very childish excuse I have to admit it, everything would be ended there, but I didn't want it. As soon as the elevator doors opened and I found her in front of me, it was as if my heart had traveled from my chest to my throat in less than a second! She was beautiful despite her big brown eyes were tired as if they hadn't rested for days, they were restless as if they desperately were looking for something. And it's not just that, no, there was also something else in her, but I couldn't figure out what, everything was so fast, short, too short.

"My God! Surely she must have thought badly about me, that I'm the usual rock star who love flirting with the girls" I think to myself, turning to the right.

I see a lady in a blue coat walking with her suitcase in my direction. She immediately reaches me, her step is faster than mine, she stares at me for a few seconds, maybe she has recognized me. I lower my head and let my sea of dark curls cover my face, I don't want her to stop me right now, I'm terribly late. Today is a day full of commitments: at 11 we had an endless interview with Italian journalists, to which I honestly think I have seemed an idiot because of the idiot answers I gave them, after lunch we had the photo session on the hotel terrace that ended five minutes ago. Now I absolutely have to go back to my room, set me down and be ready in half an hour to go with the boys to the Ariston theatre, we have to record our performance for tonight's show.

"And tomorrow it will be worse!" I sigh thinking about tomorrow.

I bring my hand to my forehead and I let her dip in my dark curls.

Fortunately, the lady didn't recognize me, I can quietly go to my room. The corridor is deserted, it's deserted and dusty, I feel a slight tingle tickling my nose, so I insistently rub it with my right forefinger.

"Maybe I'm also allergic to dust like... like Lilibeth" I comment smiling, remembering her sudden sneeze from last night.

What I would give to see her again. I have to stay here until Sunday morning and today is Friday, I still have two days to hope to meet her again here in the corridor, even if only for five minutes.

"I didn't even ask her what her room number is or when she'll leave. I'm an asshole" I blame myself, I am thirty-six and a half years old that I do it and I'm used to it by now "I'm really an asshole actually because I have a wife and two kids at home and..."
"... Girls, I think I'll have to go back to my room"

I stop abruptly, in the middle of the corridor, I squint my eyes and wrinkle my forehead, I try to concentrate in an attempt to understand if the voice I've just heard is really of who I think it is.

It seemed to me Lilibeth's voice, but I'm not sure about it. I hear other female voices coming from the same direction, from the other corridor, the one that intersects with mine, so I quickly go back, driven by the desire to see her again.

"Lilibeth! You're always the same!" another female voice scolds her.
"Mizzy! It's not my fault if I forget things when I'm stressed"
"I know it Lilibeth, but these days we're with the minutes counted and you know that... "

Now that I've almost reached the goal I can finally see Lilibeth and the girls that I think are her traveling companions: one of them has blonde, wavy hair, she has a florid face with rosy cheeks and a coat with Scottish pattern; another one is thin and with long straight and brown hair, she instead wears a dark coat like Lilibeth's one; the girl who I think is Mizzy has red hair, a very bright red, green eyes and she wears a black leather jacket.

"...you know that I love you, Lilibeth" Mizzy concludes with a smile.

Lilibeth smiles at her too "I know it Mizzy" and she caresses her shoulder before turning to the others: "Girls, just wait here for me, ok? I take the belt and I'll reach you in the hotel lobby. What time is the car come here to take us to the Ariston theatre? If I'm not mistaken, we have to perform at five o'clock, it's right?"
"To the Ariston theatre?" I exclaim shocked to myself, fortunately I didn't do it aloud otherwise they would have heard me "They'll performer at five o'clock at the Ariston theatre...so...Lilibeth is a singer...but...but why did she lie to me?" I keep thinking, but in the meantime the girls continue to talk each other.

"Yes at five o'clock. We have time to get ready" the blonde girl reassures her.
"Ok Allison, see you later" Lilibeth replies to her and she's about to go to her room, but she's forced to stop again when she hears the voice of her redheaded friend: "See you later Lilibeth and...and take everything you need this time!"

Mizzy laughs and the other three girls laugh too.

Lilibeth turns to her "Don't worry Mizzy" she answers her laughing and she concludes with an ironic tone: "I don't want you to make me another lecture"

All four girls laugh again, then Lilibeth starts walking back to her room and her friends go to the elevator instead.

When I've reached the intersection of the two corridors, I stop exactly where the girls were until half a minute ago: I turn to the right and I see the three young women come into elevator; then I turn to the left and I see Lilibeth in front of her room door, she's taking the key out of her coat pocket. If I don't want she runs away to me again I have to take advantage of it now, now that the corridor is deserted. I reach her quickly, the moquette muffles the sound of my footsteps so Lilibeth doesn't realize that now I'm a few centimeters from her.