Razorblade Romance (Ville Valo Fanfic)

7. Bittersweet

He called Seppo and spoke in English so I could understand what would happen. We would stop far away from the media, where Seppo was waiting for me and Ville would go on alone. The media would be waiting like vultures, as he said, right on the entrance.

It didn't take long. I saw a man, maybe in his 60s, white hair, as his trimmed beard. That must be Seppo. Ville opened the door and got out, offering me his hand. Always a gentleman.

"Darling, this is Seppo, my second mother." Ville giggled in a funny way, Seppo, rolled his eyes. "Seppo, this is Eve. You'll promise with your life that you will take care of her until I arrive."

Seppo laughed. "Oh hello dear, nice meeting you." He gave me his hand.  "This young man here is worried. But everything will be just fine. Ville, we find you and the guys inside the party. And pick up your goddamned phone."

"I will, don't worry." He then turned to me. "Kulta, we meet inside. Anything, you call me. But Seppo will look after you."

I didn't know what 'kulta' meant, I would ask him later. He looked truly worried. "Like I said, I've seen worst. Besides, I didn't told that I practice karate. I'll be prepared." I smiled reassuringly.

"Great, that's exactly what I needed, a fighter one." Seppo exclaimed and we laughed. "Boy, go on, the soon you go, the sooner we see each other." Ville nodded and looked at me hesitantly. He then gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and entered the car. "See you soon." He whispered and I smiled at him.

"Shall we? We're going through the backstage." Seppo showed me the way and I followed.

I decided to ask. "Seppo, what 'kulta' means?" He turned to me a bit surprised. " It means darling, sweetheart in Finnish. It's an abbreviation of the word kultaseni."

Oh.

As we entered, Seppo spoke in Finnish with some people. The place was ridiculously charming and fancy. I felt underdressed for the occasion. Seppo picked up my coat and my scarf, explaining he would keep them with the band stuff. While he was away, I checked the room again. I saw the women's dresses and felt reassured. Nobody was wearing long, fancy ones, so I could mend easily. The temperature was alright, as I was with my back exposed.

I was nervous, as Seppo came back and was speaking with someone on the phone. A waiter offered champagne for us, for reflex I accepted it, Seppo didn't. Maybe it would help me calm down a little.

"Eve, Ville is giving some interviews right now. They'll hold him a little, so you'll have to bear with me a while."

I smiled. Seppo was trying his best to be nice to me, but I could notice a hint of preoccupation in his face. Or maybe I was seeing too much and he was just checking the party. He pointed to the bar. "Come, let's sit a minute so we can talk. I'll grab a drink for me too."

It was crowded already. I didn't recognize anyone, but lots of people looking like real rock stars.

"So, Ville told me you're studying here in Helsinki."

"That's right. I'm here just a month now."

"I see. Look Eve, I'm a very straightforward person, so I'll do my best to say this and not sound too harsh, okay?"

I had a feeling I wouldn't like this conversation. I nodded.

"Ville... He's a very sensitive person. I worry for him, you know? The reason we did all this, was to spare him. Of course, he wanted to spare you, too. He ended a relationship recently and it went bad. Really bad. The point is, he spoke of you like you're the best thing ever happened since then." I smiled. Did he say such a thing? He was by far the best thing that happened to me since I was in Finland.