I'm not going to type out all of the lyrics to "She-Devil, Nosferatu", but this song is what's playing at the beginning of this chapter, and ending as the action begins.
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"But will never understand why we're apart..."
The song finished, everyone crowded around the now officially dead Lucy. The music faded out, and the actors paused for a moment before beginning to move.
Alfred stumbled, clumsily knocking into several other performers, a haze covering his eyes as the image of Vladislav and Alice sitting together in the audience was etched into his retinas.
Someone bounced off of his shoulder on the stairs, and he heard a yell as suddenly he was falling too.
He landed heavily on his side, knocking the wind out of him.
"You jerk! BASTARDO!" Alfred groaned slightly as he got to his feet, wincing slightly at the pain in his ankle. And then he turned to see who was yelling at him.
Lovino was drawn and pale on the floor, his face taunt with pain that was barely showing through the mask. His arms were clutched tightly around his leg, pulling it in tight to his chest.
"Fratello!" he was shoved to the side by Feliciana as she rushed to her brother's aid. And Alfred just watched, blue eyes wide with horror.
"I'm fine Feli..." he tried to get to his feet, only for his legs to give out under him. Feliciana was immediately there, displaying more strength than Alfred would've thought it possible for her to possess to get her brother to his feet, bearing most of his weight.
"Lovino!" Director Karpusi called out, making his way over to the fallen actors as quickly as he could.
"I'm fine," Lovino immediately winced as he once again attempted to put weight on his leg. In an instant, Feliciana had swept him up in her arms and sat him on the edge of the stage, grabbing his leg in an attempt to see the damage.
"I just twisted it..."
"Sprain."
"Just a little..." The rest of the statement trailed off in a yelp as his sister lightly tapped the foot.
"Pretty bad."
"I can still perform!"
"No you can't," Feliciana leaned onto her back foot, hands firmly on her hips as she glared at her older brother, "Not without risking further injury. No sir, you're off that foot for a few weaks!"
"But..."
"NO BUTS!" she tapped his foot again, and he flinched, "You probably have a fracture or something. I don't know, I don't have x-ray vision!"
Karpusi sighed, "Alfred, you have put your costars in danger from your actions. You haven't been focused for weeks now. Get off my set, and I don't want to see your face until you know how to properly act in an adult production."
Alfred opened his mouth to argue, but a glance at the injured Lovino and the glaring Feliciana changed his mind. He ducked his head as he went to grab his stuff, and left, the door slamming loudly behind him.
Lovino felt like he was almost ready to bite through his lip, the pain was so bad.
"Feliciana," the Director called his sister's attention with a single word, "I need you to call in Luciano."
Lovino's eyes went wide, "NO!"
Karpusi just looked sternly at him, "We are almost to the performance, Mister Vargas," his given name stung, just signifying further that he was off the project, "You know as well as me that the only other person who's as quick a study as you is Luciano."
"I beg you," Lovino hated how his voice choked, "Not him! Anyone but him!"
Feliciana wavered, and then sat down next to her brother.
"Fratello, the show must go on," she waved at the spectators to leave.
"You promised me never again."
"We don't have a choice here, Fratello. This production is riding on it."
"I can still do it! I can be Harker!"
Feliciana reached for his foot again, causing him to snap it back so quickly that he flinched from the pain.
"I don't think so, Fratello," she got to her feet, "I'm going to get Luciano now."
And she left him.
It was happening again.
Luciano...he hated that guy. It was just one more reminder of how much better at EVERYTHING Feliciana was than him. Even in playing male roles.
It didn't help that he couldn't STAND Luciano's personality.
He had first met Luciano in high school, when he had taken the lead in the school performance, once again. Theatre was one aspect where he had never had to worry about competing with his much more talented sister.
And then, the night before the performance, he got sick. It wasn't his fault, the flu was going around the school like crazy, but Lovino didn't want to admit it.
He begged Feliciana to pretend that she was him, for her to learn his lines, EVERYTHING!
It didn't work out as well as he planned.
It was obvious that "Luciano" (as the alternate personality had named himself when asked) was most certainly not Lovino (though no one ever realized it was Feliciana). No, he was BETTER than Lovino. Despite his sadistic tendencies (as brought out when taunting Lovino about his shortcomings), he had a charming, debonair air about him. He had memorized all of the lines within one night, and everyone loved him.
Everyone except Lovino. And Luciano delighted in the fact.
He had to get out of there. Had to leave before HE came...
"CIAO RAGAZZI!"
Great. HE was here.
Lottie's head shot up as the new guy entered the theatre, and her eyes grew wide. There was something slightly...off-putting about him...but then he smiled at her and those thoughts flew away.
"Ciao, bella," he strutted over to her, snagging her hand to gently lay a kiss on it, "Mi chiamo รจ Luciano Veneziano. E tu?"
Oh no, she could feel a blush creeping up her cheeks, "Liselotte..."
"Ah, a molta bella name!"
"Luciano, quit your flirting," a voice interrupted them, and they turned to see that Lovino had hobbled his way over to them, "You have a job to do."
"Ah, more specifically," was the response as he stalked over to the other Italian, "I have YOUR job to do, as you are too much of a cripple to do it yourself. Tsk tsk, Lovi."
"Don't call me 'Lovi', bastardo."
"Ah ah ah!" Luciano danced (no other way to describe it, really) over to Lovino, and lightly tapped his lips, "Language!"
"Enough," Director Karpusi interrupted, handing over Alfred's copy of the script, Brigitta at his side, "Luciano, Brigitta will go over the choreography with you, and study these lines."
The grinning Italian turned on his heel, taking the script and thumbing through a few pages, "A lot of 'hero' junk, but I guess I can make it out. Wouldn't it be better for to have dear Lovi's script?"
Lovino growled a bit at that, but Karpusi was nodding, "That's reasonable. Lovino?"
His eye twitching, Lovino reluctantly handed over the script, biting down on a flare of rage at the triumph in Luciano's eyes.
"I'm out of here," he said, leaning on the chairs to hobble his way to the door, and his car.
He couldn't stand to be in the same room as that guy.