Keep Dreaming - Eurovision Song Contest 2018

3. Take Me to Your Heaven

Saturday, May 5th 2018

Lukas hated being on a plane so much that he couldn't stop whining. Tomas looked exasperated by his behaviour and tried to change the subject.

"You've ranked higher by three after your free advertisement for the Irish contestant, do you know that? I checked this morning."

"Oh yeah?" said Lukas, annoyed to speak English, his teeth gritted from the fear of being in the sky.

"His song didn't reach a higher rank though, but yours did."

It was half embarrassing and half great. Lukas didn't want to humiliate Bill Barnes, who only showed honest good will to him. I'm can't even imagine him doing this to manipulate me. He sounds even more gullible than me! 

Lukas took a look at the window and pouted, scared and annoyed. Clouds, clouds, maybe we're going to crash and die... Bill would have lighten up the mood, he seemed so easy-going and fun ! Lukas knew he had to look like him in order to gain points from the jury: a clumsy, shy and gloomy Lithuanian would not earn a single smile from them. He wished he could message Bill to tell him that he hated travelling on planes, but he wasn't allowed to use his cellphone. 

He sighed and listened to Tomas telling him over and over that he had a chance to win.

The truth was, Lukas was proud of his song and performance. He had sung Secret Life eleven times on Lithuanian TV, especially four times on LRT, and people had loved it everytime. He felt composed when he delivered his life story, not stressed out like he was during The Voice. Every night before the show, he would throw up and cry in his bed until he slept one or two hours. All the panic had vanished for the Eurovision Song Contest. It's me, it's my song. 

Was Fire about Bill's life too? It sounded very commercial, cliché, but he looked happy to sing it. It was a pretty standard title about being in love and feeling amazing, everything Lukas hated singing about. Happiness was not his artistic area.

"Are you listening to me, Lukas?"

"No," he admitted. "I'm... tired."

"Tired ? Didn't you sleep last night?"

"I did, but... It's the English language, Tomas," he lied. "I'm exhausted!"

"At least, you're not complaining anymore."

"Uždaryti savo spąstus," said Lukas playfully. "It means shut up, Tomas."

His agent and best friend hit him in the shoulder and laughed. For the first time in the last three days of his life, Lukas felt perfectly good and not weirdly out-of-place. Tomas was his anchor in this adventure. He could not have dreamt of a more perfect ally, whom he trusted whole-heartedly. 

"Why are you making that face?" asked Tomas, worried.

"I'm just happy to go to Paris with you."

"Are you trying to create a gay scandal to match Denmark and Turkey?"

"What?!" Lukas nearly shouted. "No! As my best friend!"

"I know, Lukas, I just love annoying you."

Tomas was married to a woman he had known for at least fifteen years. They were the best couple Lukas had ever seen: they could understand each other with a single look, they didn't resort to rude arguments when they had small fights, they knew how to talk to sort out problems. He was jealous of their relationship and wished he could find someone like this. In a sense, my friendship with Tomas is close to this. He shook his head. No, I hide too many things from him, it's not absolutely wholesome.

When the plane finally landed in Paris-Bauvais airport, the stress and fear of crashing was immediately replaced by excitement. He was going to visit Paris for the first time and meet all the other contestants!