You Are Not Alone [Charles Leclerc]

🌠Thirty-ninth chapter🌠

"What do you want?
'Cause you've been keeping me awake
Are you here to distract me so I make a big mistake?"
Into The Unknown; Idina Menzel ft. Aurora

-

"And here we are!" Penelope clapped her hands enthusiastically. I looked up at the big sign saying: Count Bassie. I expected a normal teen club, but this looks and sounds more like a sophisticated jazz bar. That's great, I was really afraid that she is gonna take me to some dark and loud club with tons of creepy guys waiting for their victims. We sat at the bar and ordered two Pina Coladas. A very handsome barman started a conversation with us but I couldn't notice that he was flirting with Giada much more than with me.

"He is into you," I whispered to Penelope when the bartender had to make drinks for other people and left us alone. Penelope just rolled her eyes and giggled. I looked around and noticed a stage with a microphone and a piano, "will there be live music?"

"Yes, I heard that they have a new singer. Really good one but really...problematic. It will start in..." Penelope glanced at her watch, "minute. Do you want to sit closer?" A great singer with a bad reputation? I know one. Wait...don't tell me...no, that's not possible. She is not the only singer in a whole Genoa, it has to be someone else, "Ariana?" Penelope woke me up from my thoughts, watching me with a frown, "are you alright?"

"What?"

"I was asking if you wanted to sit closer to the music," at that moment, lights faded down a little bit and people stopped talking.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, PLEASE WELCOME MISS LAVINIA MORETTI!" Of course. Of course it's her. Lavinia came at the stage while the people were clapping.

"Hello everybody," she exclaimed loudly, "I hope you are having a great evening and I hope I won't ruin it," she joked and laughter filled the air of the club. Lavina nodded at the pianist who started playing. My eyes were glued on her, how beautiful she is and how flawlessly and effortlessly she is moving and singing.

"You seem fascinated by her," Penelope noted when I was silently watching singing Lavinia.

"Huh?" I asked and Penelope just cocked her head to the side, "oh, she just reminds me of someone."

"You mean yourself?" Penelope chuckled and took a sip of her cocktail, „oh, come on," she laughed when she noticed my confused look, "it's obvious that you two are similar. Both Italian, both beautiful, both with complicated lives, both musically talented...do you want me to keep going?"