Only Time Will Tell (A Luberto Story)

Chapter 15- Alberto's Plan

(Time skip to three weeks in the future)

It had been three weeks since Luca and Giulia arrived in Portorosso, and Luca had enjoyed every single second of it. There were so many things that Luca, Giulia, and Alberto did together; many of which were what they had done together the first summer. After the first night, Luca and his family had started to move into their new home. The house, which has a similar design to Alberto's house, was only 5 minutes away from Alberto's house, so Luca would very often visit him in his free time. After a few days, Luca's family had finished moving in, officially giving Luca a home on the surface.

Over the three weeks, Alberto, Luca, and Giulia continued to hang out every day. Alberto still worked with Massimo, but only in the morning, giving Alberto the rest of the day to do whatever he wanted. Alberto unsurprisingly spent much of this time hanging out with Luca, who he still had feelings for. Luca, being the same way, found himself falling for his best friend more and more each day. Giulia noticed this immediately, knowing that the two boys had feelings for each other, but didn't say anything. She knew it was important for them to figure it out on their own.

While Luca was busy moving into his new home, Alberto spent his time fixing up the island where he had first met Luca. Alberto had cleaned, fixed, and polished it up, making the tower unrecognizable. Alberto had fixed the latter, and reorganized everything inside of his tower. There were now organized shelves and bins, holding all of the valuables that Alberto had collected over the years. As much as he wanted to get rid of them, he just couldn't tell himself to do that. The valuables meant to much to him, even though he had so many more interesting things now. On the roof of the tower, Alberto set up a table with a neat, white table cloth along with a set of chairs made out of wood. Beside the table was a red blanket with yellow stripes on the edges. To add even more detail, Alberto set up some candles and strung ivy to give the roof a charming feel. Alberto had finished the tower right before Luca was done moving in, which followed his plan perfectly.

Oh right, the plan, Alberto thought.

Over the course of the three weeks, Alberto spent all of his free time hanging out with Luca and Giulia, and everyday he got more and more comfortable around Luca. He wasn't as awkward and acted like his normal self around him, mainly due to Giulia's help. Eventually, he was able to develop a plan. Along with Giulia's help, Alberto was going to invite Luca to the island and confess his feelings. Alberto realized that half of the summer was already over; he NEEDED to tell Luca eventually. Alberto reminded himself of the million horrible outcomes that were possible, but told himself that it would be okay. No matter what happened, Alberto would still love Luca just the same.

"BEEP BEEP BEEP!!"

Alberto groggily woke up and stood up from his bed. Just like any other day, he got up slowly and got ready to go help Massimo with work. Although he had to wake up early in the morning everyday, he had gotten used to it by now. It was basically a routine at this point. Alberto undressed and put on his usual fishing vest with a pair of brown shorts. He tied his belt around his waist and headed downstairs.

Just one more day of this, Alberto.

Tomorrow, you're going to tell Luca you love him. No big deal! Silenzio Bruno!

Alberto walked into the kitchen to see Massimo sitting at the table, espresso in his hands. What was different this time was Giulia sitting at the table as well.

Alberto was surprised. "Giulia? You're never up this early!"

Giulia took a sip of her espresso, "You forgot, Al, haven't you?"

"Huh?" Alberto asked puzzled.

Giulia sighed, "I mean- the race! Registration starts today, and the race starts in a week. Don't you remember?"

Alberto paused, "Uhhhh..."

"Santa ricotta," Giulia muttered under her breath. "I told you last night, Al. We're gonna sign up when you're done working, and practice starts right after that, so get yourself ready!"

Alberto felt tired, not wanting to practice for the race, but he knew Luca really wanted to do it, so he told Giulia not to worry. Anyways, Alberto knew he would enjoy the race considering that he missed it last year.

"Sounds good, Giulia," Alberto replied. He walked to the counter and grabbed a cup of espresso, sitting down with Massimo and Giulia. He quickly drank up his hot espresso and got ready to leave with Massimo.

"Andiamo, Alberto. Let's not waste any time," Massimo said.

Alberto waved goodbye to Giulia. "Al, save some of that energy for our practice!" She yelled as Alberto headed towards the door.

Alberto remembered the plan he made for tomorrow night. "Oh- about that. Can we maybe not practice tomorrow?.."

Giulia asked, "I mean, why would you.... oh wait, never mind."

"Alberto, andiamo!" Massimo said, eager to start the day.

"Yeah haha, like we talked about, remember!" Alberto said quickly. "Okay bye sis see you later!"

The front door shut loudly, leaving Giulia all alone. Giulia remembered helping Alberto with the plan he had created; the plan where he was going to confess his love to Luca. Giulia was right by his side, giving him ideas on how to fix up the tower, and how to tell Luca in a meaningful way. She cared deeply for her brother, and wanted him to be happy. If Alberto was ready to tell Luca how he felt, then she was ready to help him out. Tomorrow night was when Alberto would invite Luca to the tower and tell him, Giulia remembered. Speaking of Luca, where is he?

Suddenly there was a loud knock at the door. She opened it to see Luca standing there, holding a bouquet of beautiful pastel green flowers.

Giulia laughed, "Luca? Did you get me flowers haha."

Giulia invited Luca in and the two sat down at the table.

"N-not exactly.." Luca said.

Giulia knew who they were for, but she didn't say anything.

Luca sat in his chair anxiously. "These are...

"These are for Alberto."