AN:People asked questions about Matthew after last chapter so here's a bit about him. Matthew is a changeling like Feli, Lovi, and Arthur, and he works for Feli as head cook in the hotel. Since his presence goes unnoticed most of the time, he has put this skill to good use for the smooth running of the hotel. He can listen in on people's conversations in the courtyard and lobby without being detected and if something is amiss with the people then he can report it to Feli to hopefully help the hotel. For example, Matthew reported an extremely drunk guest to Feliciano once which made the owner inspect the room the guy was staying in before he could leave the hotel room, and discovered the man had broken a lamp. This allowed him to get money from the man in order to pay for the damages, something that would have been harder to do after the man left. Another time, Matthew overheard a married couple arguing about not having enough time together because of the kids. Feliciano arranged a nice, private, quiet dinner for the couple while also arranging for a kids only movie night inside the lobby. So you see, Matthew isn't particularly sneaky and he never uses what he overhears for personal gain. He's just very grateful to Feli for the job so he helps him out with his unique gift whenever he can.:AN
Chapter 6 - Super Trouper
Juliet took another shot and held the empty glass up in the air for all the other girls to see, before she set it back on the table and then stood back up again, dancing around on the surface. She was careful not to kick the glass off though. Suddenly she made a perfect spin and pointed out at a particular group of dancing girls.
"Can I trust you?" she shouted to them over the blaring music.
"Yes!" they all shouted excitedly and came over to stand near the table.
"Then catch me!" Juliet laughed recklessly and turned around to fall backwards into the crowd. The girls caught her, all of them cheering and laughing before they set her on the ground. She grinned and hugged them all, and was preparing to go back to the table set up for drinks, when suddenly the lights went out and the music abruptly cut off.
There were some screams and irritated shouts and Juliet looked about wildly. She didn't think this had been a plan for the evening. The dark was not one of her favorite things, and unlike some people who got fearless after consuming alcohol, she got more jumpy and scared. So she used the light from the moon to locate Roslyn and Kazumi and clutched onto them tightly.
"What's going on?" she whispered.
"Dunno." Roslyn, was also looking about wildly, "If this was planned, we weren't told about it."
"Maybe we blew a fuse?" Kazumi suggested, "Using all the lights and stereos out here?"
Suddenly Feliciano's voice came over the speakers.
"Ladies, and no gentlemen!"
"Apart from us" Lovino's voice cut in.
There was light laughter and then her papa's voice returned.
"Presenting for one night, and one night only..."
"Because he tricked us into it while we were drunk." Arthur's voice interrupted this time.
There was more laughter in which something along the lines of "We weren't that drunk" could be heard.
"Anyway..." Feliciano's voice came over the speakers again, "We proudly present to you the first ever all changeling singing group, Vita!"
There was wild cheering and clapping from the group of girls and Juliet let her own excited whoops ring out louder than the rest. A spotlight appeared on one of the tables that had been pushed to the side of the courtyard, to reveal Feliciano in a shiny blue shirt with black slacks, sitting on the edge of it with his legs crossed, while in chairs on either side of him sat Lovino in a shiny red shirt, and Arthur in a shiny green shirt.
They waited for the group of girls to quiet down before Feliciano cleared his throat and brought the microphone he was holding, to his lips, while Lovino and Arthur mimicked him. Then they sang completely acapella and horribly off key.
"Super trouper beams are gonna blind me, but I won't feel blue. Like I always do. Cause somewhere in the crowd there's you."
The group of girls was laughing and leaning on each other with some pointing their thumbs down or covering their ears with mock horror.
"Hmmm..." Feliciano spoke into his microphone again, "That didn't quite go as planned."
"We must be too rusty." Arthur agreed, barely able to conceal his grin.
"Thank god, looks like we don't have to sing after all." Lovino added, also having trouble containing his amusement.
"Whelp, guess that's it for the night then." Feliciano shrugged and made as if to set his microphone down and hop off the table.
"Oh come on!" Roslyn called out, barely able to contain her own laughter, "You can do better than that!"
"You think so?" Feliciano was unable to stop grinning now, "Well then let's try once more, guys. But maybe...we could use something extra?"
"Like this?" Arthur held up a remote and clicked it.
Instantly music began echoing out of the speakers and Juliet cheered and threw her hands in the air. It was a song that she knew quite well. Papa had sung it to her, and she had sung it with him, quite often.
Feliciano hopped off the table while Lovino and Arthur stood up. All were smiling widely and they started swaying in unison to the music. The crowd of girls was already going wild, and then Feliciano raised the microphone to his lips and began to sing once more. This time in his perfect, light tenor, voice.
"I was sick and tired of everything, when I called you last night from Laszlo. All I do is eat and sleep and sing, wishing every show was the last show."
"Wishing every show was the last show" Lovino and Arthur backed him up with a descant.
"So imagine I was glad to hear you're coming."
"Glad to hear you're, glad to hear you're coming."
"Suddenly it feels all right." He smiled at Juliet in particular and winked.
"And suddenly it's gonna be..." Lovino and Arthur chanted.
"And it's gonna be so different when I'm on the stage tonight!"
Feliciano spread out a hand for dramatic effect and the girls all went crazy with cheering and clapping again. Boy bands were an incredibly popular thing for all the girls on the island, so having one right in front of them was amazing. And now the three changeling men sang in perfect harmony.
"Tonight the Super Trouper, lights are gonna find me, shining like the sun! Smiling, having fun! Feeling like a number one!"
Their movements were perfectly in unison and matched the lyrics of the song.
"Tonight the Super Trouper, beams are gonna blind me, but I won't feel blue! Like I always do! 'Cause somewhere in the crowd there's you!"
Feliciano smiled tenderly at his daughter, but then almost gasped into his microphone as four new figures suddenly joined the back of the crowd. Gilbert, Antonio, and Alfred were all grinning, but Ludwig was just looking back at him with an unreadable expression. Feliciano took a deep breath to calm his nerves in preparation for the second verse. Even though he couldn't understand why they were all suddenly here at the same time, he would get through this song without letting his voice tremble. This was for Juliet!
"Facing twenty thousand of your friends, how can anyone feel so lonely? Part of a success that never ends. Still I'm thinking about you only."
"Still I'm thinking about you on-ly." Lovino and Arthur echoed again.
"There are moments when I think I'm going crazy." Feliciano tried desperately to look at anybody else's eyes but...his
"Think I'm going, think I'm going crazy." Arthur and Lovino had also noticed the group of men at the back and were desperately trying to keep it together.
"But it's gonna be all right." Feliciano's mind tried to convince him that it would.
"You'll soon be changing everything." Arthur and Lovino closed their eyes briefly to try and calm down.
"And it's gonna be so different when I'm on the stage tonight!"
Feliciano tipped his head back and held the microphone pointing nearly downwards while he swept his hand out to the side again. The girls screamed with approval, especially Juliet. And Arthur and Lovino took calming breaths before they joined him for the chorus again.
"Tonight the Super Trouper, lights are gonna find me, shining like the sun!"
"Supapa Troupapa" The trio and the girls were surprised to find three more male voices singing a light echo to the chorus.
" Smiling, having fun!"
"Supapa Troupapa" Gilbert, Antonio, and Alfred echoed again.
" Feeling like a number one!" The trio in the spotlight all glanced at each other out of the corner of their eyes.
"Tonight the Super Trouper, beams are gonna blind me, but I won't feel blue!"
"Supapa Troupapa"
" Like I always do!" They couldn't deny that the descant matched.
"Supapa Troupapa"
" 'Cause somewhere in the crowd there's you!" Feliciano found Juliet's eyes again and was able to smile before he turned to the others with a nod. They helped him up onto the table where he made sure he was centered before he raised the microphone to his lips again. And this time he couldn't stop his eyes from seeking out and locking with the perfect blue ones.
"So I'll be there, when you arrive. The sight of you will prove to me I'm still alive. And when you take me in your arms, and hold me tight, I know it's gonna mean so much toniiiiiiiiiight!" He tipped his head back again on the last note and let his free hand raise high into the air slowly. Then Lovino and Arthur climbed up onto the chairs beside him as they started the chorus for the third time.
"Tonight the Super Trouper, lights are gonna find me, shining like the sun!"
"Supapa Troupapa"
" Smiling, having fun!"
"Supapa Troupapa"
" Feeling like a number one!" The trio placed a single finger out in front of them, all smiles again as they ignored the men standing in the back of the crowd and got into the music once more.
"Tonight the Super Trouper, beams are gonna blind me, but I won't feel blue!"
"Supapa Troupapa"
" Like I always do!"
"Supapa Troupapa"
" 'Cause somewhere in the crowd..." Feliciano leaned forward with a very wide tender smile as he stared only at his daughter, "there's you!"
"Super Trouper, beams are gonna blind me." Lovino and Arthur finished off the song softly, and then all three changeling's held their microphones in the air and closed their eyes in triumph.
The crowd erupted in applause with screaming girls, and Gilbert whistling really loudly in the back while Antonio and Alfred whooped.
"Oi!" Arthur shouted into his microphone, "This is a bachelorette party. Women only. Us being the exception as we can change into women if we wanted to."
Gilbert chuckled and turned to the others.
"Guess we have to go then."
"Not a chance!" Several girls shouted and all swarmed about them, pulling them all in different directions out onto the dance floor.
Arthur was about to shout in annoyance again, but Feliciano put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head, before he crouched down on the table and then hopped off.
Juliet came racing over and threw her arms around her mother with delight and gratitude.
"That was amazing! What a wonderful surprise!"
Feliciano laughed and hugged her tightly.
"I'm so glad you liked it. Now we'll get out of your hair. And sorry about those men at the back, they're guests that didn't get the memo about this party being girls only."
"Oh it's fine. If they want to stay they can." She tried to sound like she didn't really care, even though she cared desperately that they stay, "And you don't have to leave either!" She was surprised that she was saying it. If papa and them left then she wouldn't have to worry about him possibly running into her three dads on the dance-floor. She was still clinging to an invisible hope that he hadn't recognized them in the dim light at the back of the group. On the other hand, she really did want papa to be part of this. He had done so much for her, and she was getting married tomorrow, after which she would have to leave him to start her own life.
"Actually we do." Lovino interrupted her thoughts with a grimace, "These old costume shirts are hot and itchy as hell. I'm not spending all night in it!"
Juliet laughed.
"All right then, but you must all come back after you change, ok. Promise?"
"If you're really sure." her papa smiled and then turned to the other two and they left hurriedly, heading back into the villa.
Juliet made sure they were gone before she turned back to the crowd of dancing girls. To her relief, Roslyn was dancing with her father, that meant Juliet could put her plan into action immediately. She would start the interrogations with Antonio first. She might even be able to get through all of them before her papa, uncle, and Arthur finished changing clothes and came back down to the party.
