𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 ➪ 𝐕𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐀 𝐃𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐒

LXII. NOT OFTEN

ALTHEA'S POV

"She wasn't staring." I said calmly to Victoria who was raising her voice at me from next to me as we walked back to our room.

"Oh, come on! You talked to her!" she raised her voice even more. I turned to her as I stopped walking amd grabbed her hands.

"Victoria, if you really want to argue over a friend from high school who is literally straight then go ahead but not with me." I said and carried on walking as if she wasn't trying to catch up with me to shout at me more.

Today was the day of the second semifinal so I understood why Victoria was so on fire about every little thing and how it got her really angry, she was just stressed because the finale was coming up with big, big steps. The pressure was really going down on her and now she found something to let go on, me.

"She was still flirting with you and I bet you were flirting back!" she shouted at me right when we entered our room.

"Why the fuck would I be flirting with her?" I now also raised my voice. She was crossing the line now. "I have you, why would I do that?"

"Because she was your type and I know your type!" she shouted.

"You are being so pathetic right now, yoy know? Your my type! I love you and we've been together for a stupidly long amount of time and from my part no other person can change that." I said.

"Yeah, well, things and people change." she said.

"You know what? I don't want to do this. If someone has changed, it wasn't me so take a hint who it was." I said and stormed out of the room from the sheer rudeness of her words.

I went down to the lobby and walked out of the hotel. As I was walking down the steps I heard my phone ring in my pocket. I took it out, hoping it was Victoria, but saw it was Giorgia, either way, I was happy.

I answered her call as I sat on a wall, lighting a cigarette.

"You know that's not healthy." she said to me.

"Mother Giorgia." I said and she laughed. "Why are you calling?"

"I was just calling Damiano and I wanted to see what was up with you." she explained.

Me and Giorgia had become friends ever since Damiano had introduced her to the group, so many years now. She was an amazing woman and I used her as an example of the ideal human to be. We often went out together for lunch or dinner, we met up very often and whenever she was going to a important event where she was speaking, I'd always be in the crowd cheering her up with Damiano.

"Oh, well, same old." I said, shrugging.

"Where's Vic?" she asked.

"Upstairs." I said stifly and she noticed this.

"Did I mention something sensitive?" she asked.

"No, no, we just got into a fight, not a pleasant one. We were both terrible towards each other." I said.

"Fight? You guys? No way, but you two fight so rarely." she said.

"But when we do then they're always quite bad." I said.

"Well, what happened?" asked Giorgia and after she saw the look on my face she added, "it won't get out that you confinded in me."

"Alright." I said. "We were having breakfast with Damiano, Thomas, Ilarya, Ethan and Enzo and then I see a girl that was one of my friends in high school, smiling at me. She nodded her head for me to come over so I naturally did. You know, when you see someone you used to know well then you want to catch up with them. Victoria saw the smiling and that I went up to her. All we were talking about was how our life was now after graduating and she was congratulating me on things working out so well with Victoria but Victoria had to overreact and act like I had kissed the woman right in front of her! It's like she doesn't trust me around attractive women.

"Now, now don't say that." Giorgia said. "I'm sure she does. What am I on about? She does, of course she does. We all know you, Al, we know you'd never flirt with someone who isn't Vic. That's what we all love about you, your loyalty."

"I just wish Victoria would appreciate it." I said quietly.

"She does, now go back to your room and try to work put things with her, the final is in a couple days and she needs you to be there for her to feel less stressed otherwise it's going to overwhelm her." she said, smiling at me.

"But - " I started.

"No, uh. No excuses, I'm hanging up and when I call you tomorrow I expect things between you and Vic to be back to normal. Goodbye, Althea!" she exclaimed, making sure not to get another word of reject from me.

"Alright, I'll try. Bye, Gio." I said and she smiled before waving and hanging up.

I decided not to wait and to just go up there and settle things between Vica and me. Arguements were definitely not my thing.

Without wasting any time, I walked to the reception and quickly took the first lift to our floor. I got out and walked down the corridor to our hotel room.

With slight hesitation, I opened the door and walked in.

"Victoria," I started and she turned to look at me from the window and then I realised what she was doing. "Where you spying on me? No, you thought I went off with her, didn't you?"

"I - I know you didn't!" she exclaimed.

"You didn't believe me when I said I wasn't flirting, of course you didn't." I said.

"Thea, no, please. I trust you. I - I was just making sure." she tried explaining.

"Victoria, when will it get through your head that I want you and only you?!" I realised I was raising my voice so I lowered it a little. "It's been years!"

"It has! It has long ago, I'm just too stupid and insecure to ignore nonsense like this." she said. "Please forgive me."

"I - I need to think." I said and with that I left the room.

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please don't ask me why i wrote this at three in the morning. i have no valid answer.