"So, how's our star feeling?" Naomi snapped.
"You little manipulator, now that we're going out, you better find a seat, because if I lay my hands on you, our parents won't recognize you."
"How ungrateful!" her sister laughed, feigning scandal. "You would never have performed in front of such a large audience if it weren't for me."
"Oh, I should thank you too," she blurted out, annoyed.
"At the very least…" Naomi smiled and winked. "So, what does Bill look like up close? I envy him!"
Belinda thought back to those dark eyes, which still made her blush just remembering them.
"Tall."
She and Annalisa burst out laughing, while Naomi complained. "You could have at least asked him for an autograph for me."
"While he was singing?" she retorted ironically.
"You could have asked him at the end, if you hadn't run away like a rabbit."
"I think your answer was a disappointment to him," Annalisa laughed. "Fans usually jump on him."
"If I had, I would have looked like a koala clinging to a tree… In fact, I don't think I could have even climbed it," Belinda giggled, thinking of herself clinging to the singer's neck.
"Let's ask the security guard if he can get us an autograph," Naomi suggested, heading quickly toward the man.
"Where are you going?" her sister shouted after her.
There was no way to stop her, and after gesticulating a bit while talking to the man, Naomi motioned for them to join her.
"Oh God, when will this day be over?" Belinda huffed, pushing her hair back.
"I told this very kind gentleman," Naomi explained, batting her eyelashes at the man, "that I'm your sister, and since you got so emotional on stage because you're shy, you didn't have the courage to ask Bill for an autograph. And he, very kindly, replied that if we wait here, he'll see what he can do." Then, lowering her voice, she continued: "I think he liked you; maybe he'll ask you for an autograph."
"Your nerve is incredible," Annalisa commented. "But I adore you."
"Ah, if it weren't for me..." Naomi preened. "By the way, Linda, do you know he thinks I'm the big sister? Maybe because you're a dwarf."
Belinda had always suffered from her height; after the miserable comparison with Bill and her sister's teasing, she rebelled, shoving her.
"Don't think you'll get away with this. I may be short, but I'm the oldest and I can kick your ass back home."
"Touchy," Naomi laughed, dodging a slap and hugging her. "But, Bilinda, you sing really well."
"It's true," Annalisa confirmed. "It was exciting to see you sing together. I filmed you on my phone, I hope it shows well..."
At that moment, the security guard motioned for them to follow, and, at a brisk pace, they reached the wings of the stage and were directed to the end of a corridor.
Belinda felt that familiar panic again. She wanted to run away, but her sister was carefully holding her by the finger and giggling.
"You're having fun, aren't you?" she muttered, giving her a murderous look.
"Come on, if you get through this, it means everything's going well," Naomi laughed.
A man of medium build introduced himself, saying his name was Marcus, and showed them into a small, bare room with some plastic chairs, a metal coat rack, and a few instrument cases.
"Wait here." She smiled and handed each of them a guest pass.
"I'm starving," Belinda complained, fluffing her hair.
"I promise we'll make the world's greatest pizza, if you can hold out just long enough for me to take a picture with Bill and sign him," Naomi promised, crossing her fingers.
"Why don't you just wait? I'm going outside, I'm short of breath in here," Belinda suggested uncomfortably.
"And you're leaving us alone? We only got this treatment because you were there," Annalisa begged. "Do you think they let everyone who asks for an autograph through?"
"That's exactly what I hate." Belinda stood up and paced back and forth. "I feel like enough of an idiot for the way I acted on stage… I felt like everyone watching us was laughing at me."
"No, they mistook it for shyness." Naomi waved her hand away. "Only we know you were pissed off."
"It wasn't funny at all." Belinda approached her sister menacingly.
"Yes, I know, sorry... But it was so instinctive to think of you, I couldn't resist. You seemed like a real singer." Naomi burst out laughing.
"Ha, ha, very funny."
"Really, Linda, during the concert you looked so... enraptured," Annalisa added. "And then you mimed the guitar movements so well..."
"It seemed to me that you belonged there, on stage," Naomi murmured, giving her an intense look.
"No! I didn't like that you pushed me... and in front of all those people, too."
"But who would have thought they'd choose you?" Annalisa defended herself.
"Well, just push your luck," Naomi chuckled, rolling the offending cross between her fingers.
"My hands still itch thinking about it. What if…" Belinda advanced toward her sister and grabbed her by the lapels of her jacket.
Just then, the door opened behind them, letting Tom, Klaus, and Kristian pass.
An amused look from Tom, who raised his eyebrow, made it clear he fully understood the situation.
"Are you still mad?" he asked, advancing toward Belinda.
She abruptly let go of her sister and tried to compose herself.
"Quite a bit, but we can leave it until later," she muttered.
"Oh, but don't worry about us. I like watching girl fights." Tom crossed his arms, barely holding back a laugh.
"I'll sort this out with my little sister in private," she muttered with determination.
"Sister fights are even more fun," Tom winked. "With my brother, there's no competition: he gives up immediately."
"If I can keep her from blocking me, it's done: I'll weaken her with tickling and then hit her," Belinda replied, bursting into laughter.
"It's a real pleasure to meet you, I'm Tom," he introduced himself, leaning down to kiss her and shake her hand.
"Nice to meet you, Tom. We should exchange sibling fighting strategies."
The other two boys introduced themselves in turn.
Annalisa blushed as she hugged Kristian and watched him in ecstasy.
"Nice voice," Klaus complimented Belinda, shaking her hand. "Do you sing?"
"A while ago..." he replied, sighing. "I also played guitar and piano."
"It's a shame you stopped," Kristian interjected. "I could never do that."
"Sometimes life makes you face choices…" Belinda murmured.
They exchanged a sympathetic glance, while Naomi craned her head to look behind them.
"Bill'll be here in a bit," Tom winked. "You know, the Diva needs to remove her makeup."
Just then, the door opened and the interested party appeared, his face clean and his hair loose around his shoulders.
"I hear you, Tom, is it possible that you always make me look bad?" his brother admonished, flashing a broad smile at the girls.
Belinda and Tom exchanged a glance and burst into complicit laughter.
The boy stared at them, confused, but before he could ask any questions, Naomi rushed over to shake his hand and introduce herself.
Belinda looked at her, smiling: there she was, with dreamy eyes and a charming smile, worshipping the boy whose poster had been hanging in her room for almost two years, and to whom she entrusted her last thought of the evening and her first thought of the morning.
She shook her head and postponed her belligerent intentions; those were moments that rarely came in life. Her sister's dream was coming true, and she wasn't going to ruin it.
Looking up, she caught Bill looking at her and blushed.
Damn!, Couldn't she have learned to hide that annoying reaction yet?
What the hell, I'm twenty! she thought irritably.
The boy held out his hand with a smile.
"I didn't have a chance to thank you for the performance; you were in such a hurry to leave."
"Yes, sorry, I was uncomfortable and had a killer instinct toward my sister that was impossible to resist." Her face twisted into a grimace. "That was so rude, I should be the one thanking you."
Tom continued to snigger, and Naomi glared at him, while Bill looked inquisitively from his brother to Belinda, not understanding their strange knowing glances.
"Don't worry," he replied politely. "I really enjoyed singing with you; it's the first time I've ever done a duet so well."
"And above all, it's the first time a girl has told you she's not a fan of yours and isn't dying to jump on you," Tom teased.
"I shouldn't have said that, it wasn't very nice," Belinda apologized, looking at him sideways.
"But that was the best part of the evening!" Kristian exclaimed amusedly. "I haven't laughed so hard in a lifetime."
He high-fived Tom.
"There wasn't anything funny at all," Bill muttered.
"Maybe for you…" the boys chuckled.
Belinda let out a liberating laugh and shook her head.
"Did you come all the way from Italy especially for the concert?" Bill asked.
"No, it was a coincidence," Naomi replied. "My brainy sister is here for studies, and we accompanied her. When we found out today that your tour would be starting in this city, we insisted on coming to see you. We never imagined we'd be so lucky as to meet you in person."
"But we often meet fans, so it's not unusual for them to see us live and talk to us," the boy replied. "How long are you staying?"
"Just a few more days, and then we're off to Potsdam." Annalisa kept her eyes fixed on Kristian, who looked uncomfortable under that insistent gaze.
"You could come to tomorrow night's concert, then," Tom suggested, eyeing Belinda sideways.
The girl's eyes widened. "We're still missing this one..."
Naomi clapped her hands excitedly. "What a wonderful idea!" Her face darkened almost immediately. "It's a shame there aren't any tickets left, though."
"No problem," Bill reassured her, smiling. "You can use the passes you have around your neck tomorrow night too, to get in backstage and watch the concert from a privileged position."
Naomi's laughter, like the tinkling of bells, spread through the room, infecting everyone present.
"I don't think so, guys," Belinda interjected, as her sister gave her a light kick on the ankle. "Shut up, Trilly! They've already given us so much, we can't take advantage of it."
"But it's a pleasure," Bill reassured her, taking her hand. "Think of it as a way to thank you again for your performance tonight."
Belinda looked up, meeting those eyes full of curiosity and interest, but almost immediately forced herself to look elsewhere for fear of feeling involved.
Smiling persuasively, the boy released her hand and turned to Naomi. "We could trade."
"My sister for your brother?" she laughed impertinently. "I'm up for it."
Everyone burst out laughing, except Belinda, who shot her a murderous look.
"Yeah, that wouldn't be bad." Bill pretended to think about it for a moment, but then smiled. "I actually meant to ask you to borrow the necklace... Is that the one you dazzled me with?"
"Nice ploy, huh?" Naomi gloated, proud of her ingenuity. "The cross is Linda's, but I don't think she'll mind if I lend it to you."
"...Linda?" Bill asked, perplexed.
"The one you call Bilinda, that is, her." He pointed to his sister. "I call her Linda. She calls me Trilly, because she says my laugh is like bells and associates her with the mischievous fairy from 'Peter Pan.'"
"Oh, sweetie..." Bill looked a little confused.
"Then from now on I'll call you BK so you can have a nickname too," Tom chuckled, seeming to find this very amusing.
"Idiot." Bill turned to Belinda and pointed to the necklace. "Do you mind lending it to me? I'd like to wear it to the concert tomorrow, and I'll give it back to you at the end of the performance."
"Okay. Anyway, as far as my opinion is concerned..."
Tom approached Belinda. "Brothers or sisters, they're joys and sorrows: you can't be with them, but you can't be without them either."
"Amen," Klaus agreed.
Belinda smiled and winked at Tom, giving him an affectionate pat on the shoulder.
"Thanks for understanding."
The guitarist whispered to his brother: "Get over it, she's a fan of mine."
Bill shook his head as someone knocked on the door. A man came in to remind them they had to leave and had little time to move.
"What are you doing tomorrow before the concert?" Annalisa inquired. "Do you have any interviews, meetings with other fans?"
"No, the morning is free," Klaus replied, stretching.
"And you?" Tom asked.
"Shopping spree." Naomi lifted her chin solemnly. "I have to buy myself something nice for the concert."
"Look, you're not the one performing..." her friend scolded her.
"But they've seen me dressed like this before," she pointed out angrily. "We need something new."
"Spendable!" her sister scolded her.
"I love buying accessories and clothes, too," Bill confided.
"Don't worry, if you give her your credit card, she'll bankrupt you in a morning."
"That's not true." Naomi leaned closer to Bill. "I only buy really trendy and cute things."
Belinda rolled her eyes, and Annalisa shook her head.
"I'd love to go shopping tomorrow, too, but it's a disaster to go out, with fans always waiting outside the door." Bill sighed.
"If I find something suitable for you, I'll take it and give it to you tomorrow, okay?" Naomi consoled him. "I understand we have the same tastes."
"That's very kind of you, thank you," he replied, giving her a huge smile.
"Come on, let's go back to the hotel," Belinda interrupted. "And let's go find a pizzeria, I'm really hungry."
"Um... pizza," Kristian sighed. "You're making me hungry too."
"We'll order it as soon as we get to the hotel," Tom suggested, nodding.
Annalisa raised her eyebrows. "Are you in a hotel?"
Klaus shrugged. "Yeah, it wasn't worth commuting from home for three concert stops."
"And where are you staying?" Naomi asked.
"The Ritz," Tom replied. "You too?"
"Uh, maybe," the girl sighed. "Our hotel is very comfortable, but not as good as yours."
"But you can see the Ritz from the balcony..." Belinda told her.
Naomi turned to her sister, her mouth hanging open. "Really?"
"Yes, we're on the north side of the building."
"How lovely!" the girl exclaimed. "So..."
"Then nothing, that's enough." Belinda took her arm. "Guys, we're going. Thanks again for everything."
"See you tomorrow," Naomi promised.
Tom laughed and leaned over to kiss them on the cheek, whispering in Naomi's ear, "Do you need an escort for the ride home? Are we sure we'll see each other tomorrow?"
She turned her head toward her sister, smiling.
"I'll definitely be there. I might have a few bruises, but she won't be any better. Anyway, thanks for the thought, you're very kind."
Bill also bent down to greet Belinda, who complained, "Oh my God, could you not wear heels too? You make me feel like a Lilliputian!"
Laughing, he kissed her on the cheeks. "Botticelli's Venus was beautiful and it fit in one hand, don't forget that."
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and walked away toward the door.
Surprised and shocked by those words, Belinda felt her cheeks burn. She quickly walked toward the door and off down the corridor, without looking back or checking to see if the other two girls were following her.
"Wait!" Naomi chased after her.
But she headed for the exit, pushing open the door, and breathed in the fresh evening air, gazing up at the starry sky.
When Naomi and Annalisa reached her, she motioned for them to go toward the hotel, and in a silent agreement, they agreed not to speak until they reached it.