A/N: I've dug myself into a hole that I can't get out of. But it's a cozy hole, and I set up a wireless access point so expect more writings from the hole of despair of fanfiction failure. I should have let it go while it was at its peak but whatever. Pickford's a small town and I don't know where it's supposed to be specifically in CA, so I took some artistic license in that it doesn't have an internationally-flying airport and that it's two hours from LA. This chapter took a load of research. I've never flown overseas so I know nothing about customs. I looked up the proper flight number for around the time she said she'd depart (she said 10, flight CO1403 leaves at 7:30), proper airports, currency, everything. And I don't really speak Italian, I'm just using a ton of websites, so pardon me if something's wrong. And on the way to DC one time, my friend took Dramamine and started talking JUST LIKE KEELY so that's personal experience. AND PS – I've never been SYA (school year abroad) so I don't really know how it works. Pardon any mistakes.
Emma: Thanks :) Me neither lol
Strawberry Shortcake: I'm a good angsty person.
Britishbabi: Haha, the thing is that she sang in it in the remake, which is why I put it there :) Thanks :)
Shanaenae: What, fall for an Italian boy? –uneasy smile- Yeah, right… lol… don't get your hopes too high. But I promise it will end Pheely-ly.
Be234therz: I'm afraid someone will hunt me down and kill me if I don't write a sequel lol :) Thanks for liking it!
Evilhappybunyalym: Good point – this was actually somewhat brought on by rereading Frisco. So, plug time - ID 2436240, one of the best stories ever, by my pal Teej.
Sultan: Just so everyone else knows, Italia is Italian for Italy :) Thanks for reviewing. I will miss your happy long reviews while you're gone! PS – "nugget" is from "Corner Pocket," I had to come up with another stupid nickname on my own though.
WBF: I like depressing.
Lucky-starz: Haha, thanks :) He won't be a complete mess, maybe… I have to write the first chap of the next story to figure that out.
Browneyedcutie: Thanks :)
Friendsfreak: Yeah, I know… me too. –is a hypocrite because I've done that numerous times-
Citygrl: Thanks :)
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Volare (Reprise)
--
Sometimes the world is a valley of heartaches and tears,
and in the hustle and bustle no sunshine appears.
But you and I have a love always there to remind us,
there is a way we can leave all the shadows behind us
Keely's POV
I climbed in the driver's seat of my mom's car. Fortunately, I'd still be driving on the right side of the road in Italy (I looked it up), otherwise there'd be a lot of crashing and burning in my near future. All my bags were stacked in the trunk and my mom got in next to me. "I can't believe my little girl's on her way to Italy," she mumbled, muffled by the tissues she was dabbing her eyes with.
"Mom, I'm seventeen," I groaned, backing out of the driveway and rolling down the street.
Unfortunately, we had to drive to LA, because I was flying out of LAX. So it was about two hours of this stuff. Mom crying, me consoling her, and several almost-crashes. I let out a huge sigh of relief when I saw the "Theme Building," that huge thing out front. "Yes!" I couldn't help but rejoice.
I parked the car and Mom helped me haul my bags out of the car. A random hand appeared from nowhere and grabbed a bag from the trunk. Guess who?
"Hey," I smiled at Phil. "You came."
"I said I would," he pulled the handle out from the bag and did a weird twirly thing. "Let's get you to security."
With three people I managed to get my huge bags to security. Unfortunately, neither my boyfriend nor my Mom could come with me though. So I hugged my crying mother, and then I turned to Phil. "Bye, Phil."
And right there in the middle of Los Angeles International Airport, my fabulous, 22nd century boyfriend pulled me to him for a spectacular kiss. I heard whoops and clapping from the people waiting in the lines, and when we parted it was loudest. I hugged him tight. "I love you, Keely Teslow."
"And I love you right back, Philly-Willy."
"That's never coming off the table, is it." It was more of a statement than a question, and I nodded.
Volare, oh oh.
Cantare, oh oh oh oh.
Let's fly way up to the clouds,
Away from the maddening crowdsI did my best to concentrate on the music booming through my headphones. "You and me, my life would change in a second, in a second…" the song sounded eerily familiar. It applied so well to my relationship. I switched the Zen Micro from FM input to my music collection, and scrolled through "All Tracks" and randomly hit play. A song came on that I love, and it applied now more than ever. "Volare," an Italian song about love in flight. It applied now more than ever, seeing as I was in love and flying to Italy.
I was at the end of the terminal, and I could see planes taxiing in and taking off. It was oddly soothing, coupled with the random songs playing in my ears. Someone across the gate shot a look at me, and I realized that I was belting out the songs as I heard them. "Oh God," I mumbled, switching the Zen off.
After about half an hour of waiting, they started boarding ("Flight CO1403 to New York/Newark Liberty now boarding"). I was one of the first people to board, because I got first class seats for the whole flight to Rome. I sank comfortably into the big leather seat, and a girl with wavy dark hair sat down next to me. She smiled, and I nodded at her with a smile. "Hi, I am Alessa," she said, offering me a hand.
I shook her hand. "I'm Keely," I said with a smile. "Are you going home, or on vacation?"
"I'm going home," she smiled, a slightly wistful look in her dark eyes. "Back to Roma."
"I'm going for a semester away," I said, excited to meet someone already. "Quanti anni ha?"
She giggled. "Sono diciotto anni," she replied. "And please, don't be so formal!"
"I'm seventeen!" I said, making a mental note of her second comment. This was turning out well already, a girl my own age (sorta, she was eighteen). "So you live in Rome?"
"Sì," she said. "Born and raised."
"Who lives out here that you visit?"
"My sorrella, my sister, Bianca, moved here a few years ago."
I was beyond excited. "This is so cool. Someone I can practice Italian with!"
"And I can practice English!" she said, as happy as I was.
We can sing in the glow of a star that I know of,
Where lovers enjoy peace of mind.
Let us leave the confusion and all disillusion behind.
Just like birds of a feather, a rainbow together we'll find
Phil's POV
I sat at Security, a Sports Illustrated magazine laying open on my lap. I wasn't looking at it at all – 21st century sports couldn't interest me less; I was just trying to look casual. I heard Keely's flight announced for boarding and I smiled a sad smile to myself. One of the bag checkers saw me staring into space and she smiled sympathetically.
Keely's mom had left a while ago. I have never seen anyone cry so much. Seriously. Never in my entire life. I checked my watch. Let's see, departure at 10:00, flight from here to Newark… my mental math gears whirred. She'd be there at about 3:30 Pickford time, or 6:30 New York time. And then her flight delay would be two and a half hours, so she'd leave at 9 PM NY time… plus eight hours to Rome, so she'll be in Italy at 5 AM New York time. I didn't even want to figure out the time change for that. I just knew I'd be staying up all night until three.
Volare, oh oh.
Cantare, oh oh oh oh.
No wonder my happy heart sings,
Your love has given me wings
Keely's POV
The plane raced down the runway, about to leave this side of the country. I noticed Alyssa's knuckles growing white and I could hear her muttering, "Dio, Dio, Dio, Dio…"
"Alessa," I said, putting a hand on her arm. "Don't freak out."
"I hate flying," she muttered.
"I used to," I consoled, "because I used to get airsick. Then I started taking Dramamine and falling asleep." I had popped the white pill a couple of minutes ago, and I noticed my words were slurring together. "G'night," I said, ripping a pillow and blanket out of the hands of the man walking them up and down the aisle. I felt the plane's burst of speed and the wheels lift off the tarmac. I heard Alessa sigh in relief and I patted her arm. "Takinoffworsspar," I garbled.
"Sorry?"
"Taking… off… worst… part," I concentrated through the fog of forced sleep.
"Yeah," she nodded, and that was the last thing I heard before the Sandman carted me off.
Hours later, I woke up to someone slapping my hand. "Keely! Wake up!"
"Wha?" I asked, sitting up straight.
"Benvenuti to New Jersey," she said with a smile.
And the layover started. Like typical teenage girls, Alessa and I explored the airport. We got our java fix at Starbucks and grabbed dinner at a Subway, since neither of us liked the airplane meals. The two hours flashed by and soon they were calling boarding for our flight again. "Flight CO40 to Leonardo da Vinci International Airport now boarding," yelled the woman on the intercom.
"Flight CO40 to Fiumicino now boarding," Alessa mocked in a near-perfect imitation of the woman's voice.
"Fiumicino?" I asked, curious.
"That's the city it's in," she said as we headed to the gate.
Sometimes the world is a valley of heartaches and tears,
and in the hustle and bustle no sunshine appears.
But you and I have a love always there to remind us,
there is a way we can leave all the shadows behind us
Soon again we were back in our huge leather seats. The Dramamine was still working, at least in the airsickness department, I soon discovered when we were back in the air. I wasn't tired at all but I wasn't barfing, so that was fortunate.
However, natural sleep soon took over. After spending hours force-feeding Alessa some bubblegum music from my Zen Micro, we both decided to sleep. The seats reclined quite nicely, and within minutes we were both asleep. I woke up a couple of times and surfed through the channels to see what they were playing. "House" was the only show that looked even slightly interesting, but I can't stand medical shows. I gave up on the Comedy Programming channel and just went back to sleep.
After several hour long naps with breaks for bathroom travel, we finally landed at "Fiumicino." I checked my watch; it was 3:30 AM back at home. I wondered briefly if Phil would be awake, and decided to call him while shaking Alessa awake. "We're taxiing in," I told her. "Get your carryon ready."
She nodded and I speed-dialed Phil's cell phone. He picked up almost immediately. "Hey babe," said the voice in my ear.
"Hey," I said with a smile and a yawn while Alessa got her bag out of the compartment. "You waited up for me?"
"Of course," he said. "So, you in Italy?"
"Yup," I was so excited. "And I met a new friend." I handed the phone to Alessa while I got my own carryon out of the overhead bin.
"Uh, hi," Alessa said, giving me a funny look. "I'm Alessa." She laughed before handing the phone back to me. "Your boyfriend?"
"Yeah," I said with a stupid smile. "Listen, I've gotta get off the plane, but I'll call you when I get back to the hotel." I laughed. "Love ya!"
"He sounds very nice," she giggled as we got off the plane and went down the jetway. "You are lucky."
Volare, oh oh.
Cantare, oh oh oh oh.
Nel blu, dipinto di blu,
Felice di stare lassu
We got out of the jetway into the gate and we followed the signs down to baggage claim. Fortunately, they were in both Italian and English, but I would have just followed Alessa if they hadn't been. We both got our enormous bags, and then a very tall, quite handsome boy about our age ran up to Alessa and picked her up, twirling her around. I gave her a look, and when she came back to stand next to me I leaned over. "Boyfriend?" I whispered.
She shook her head. "Dante, this is Keely," she said in normal volume.
"Well my my my," he murmured, taking my right hand, obviously not thrown off by the silver ring on it, and kissing it. "Benvenuti all'Italia, signorina Keely."
"Um, enchanted," I said, taking my hand back as soon as he let go. "Alright, Alessa," I turned back to my new friend, "do you know how I can find the, um, Bed and Breakfast Lemon Garden?"
"How, how do you say, fortune!"
"Fortunate," I smiled.
"How fortunate!" she repeated. "The Lemon Garden is right down the street from our house. You should come with us to our home for dinner."
I smiled. This was already a great trip.
Penso che un sogno cosi non ritorni mai piu,
Mi dipingevo le mani e la faccia di blu.
Poi d'improvviso venivo dal vento rapito,
E incominciavo a volare nel cielo infinito, infinitoWe piled into Dante's car and he drove us back to their place. "Wow," I exclaimed. The house was small but very cute and cozy-looking. I followed them inside where I was greeted enthusiastically by their mother.
"Mi chiamo Keely Teslow," I said, holding a hand out to shake.
The mother shook my hand enthusiastically. "Mi chiamo Bianca," she said. Alessa spewed a ton of Italian at her mother, and from the couple words I could pick out she was describing our flight. "Sei di America?" the mother smiled at me. I nodded with a grin.
"Isn't your sister's name Bianca too?" I asked Alessa.
"Named after Mom," she confirmed, setting dishes out on the table.
The most amazing meal followed – I loved Italian food to death, but I'd never had it like this. Authentic. I have no clue what it was but it was SO good.
Later that night I had to go to my suite at the B&B. It was a very nice room, and I was sharing a double with another girl on semester abroad from LA. She'd been on our flight but I'd not met her. Her name was Elisa. We got along well, and we stayed up a lot of the night just getting to know each other – talking about boys, school, et cetera – even though we had classes in the morning. Soon we stopped talking, switched off the Italian news show and went to sleep.
Volare, oh oh.
Contare, oh oh oh oh.
No wonder my happy heart sings,
Your love has given me wings
No wonder my happy heart sings,
your love has given me... wings
And that's a wrap. Stick around for PV2.