Failure to Launch

I don't think I can continue the field trip anymore. The journey demands a lot of research, which means it needs time I don't have, and there's no fun in it anymore. I won't finish Failure to Launch either and it will forever remain a draft. Failure to Launch indeed. So here is what I planned:

So tired. The late and sleepless nights... the presentations and tests... gah!

Episode Four of the Blue-stocking Collab, Failure to Launch. Let's go!

#

When evening came, one hundred and thirty-seven steps were bathed in the soft glow of the lamp posts... and Hyme was fined for eating a sandwich. It was a terrible case of bad timing since one, their tour was supposedly about to start in a couple of minutes and two, Riverside Academy students were on the widest staircase in Europe--the Spanish Steps. The heavily-populated you-really-shouldn't-be-making-a-spectacle-or-the-crowd-will-get-worse Spanish Steps.

So while Hyme and the teachers talked it out with a not-so-patient police officer, the rest of the students moved down to the Fontana della Barcaccia and away from the ever-growing crowd.

"Picture, picture!" Miguel yelled, looping his arm around Nico's.

Nico smiled. "Chill. The fountain won't be going anywhere."

Sam knelt down and put her finger on the shutter release but stopped. "Kuya," she said, regarding Pancho. "You aren't going to join?"

His gaze fell to the fountain. "Uh, no."

Sam shrugged nonchalantly yet underneath, she somehow radiated disappointment. Two weeks, two days, and one country later, Migs and Pancho were still not on speaking terms. They couldn't even get close enough for a picture together, as evidenced by the current situation.

"Azalea?" offered Sabrina, holding out a freshly-plucked branch.

Pancho glanced at the abundant azalea shrubs that grew on the famous steps. "I don't think you're allowed to get that."

She darted her eyes and threw the branch away. "I will take that as a 'no'." She knelt down next to him, dipping her fingertips into the fountain. Meddling in relationships was a troublesome thing and none of her business, but she was curious, damn it! She had to admit that these romance troubles could seriously become more interesting than the all-important trip to Europe. After impatiently waiting ten agonizing seconds, she asked, "You guys are still doing the 'meet eyes, blush and look away' thing?"

And here it comes. "Do you have a better idea?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. It's called 'kiss and make up'."

His eyes flared and went half-lidded. The mysterious yearning that ached inside of him was harder to ignore. "Nice way to put it."

"Woah. Sorry." She put a comforting hand on his shoulder. However, her apologetic expression was quickly replaced with a smug one. "I bet you want to, though. Doing it again must have crossed your mind."

"Yes--I mean, no! I don't know." It was his turn to dart his eyes. Miguel and Nico continued to pose for photos, seemingly oblivious to their conversation. Pancho leaned towards her and whispered, "Should we really be talking about this here?"

"Probably not. I'm bored and we have time to kill so--"

"Now we don't," he said. He stood up and pointed at a tall, slightly-tanned man running towards them. "Our tour guide's here." Thank god.

"Just when things were getting interesting," Sabrina muttered under her breath.

Pat, who stood nearby--or rather, eavesdropped nearby--asked, "What tour is this?"

Cheska was the one who answered. "The Twilight City Stroll." She spread her arm in grand, exaggerated sweep, and laughed.

After hastily putting an end to the sandwich matter, Sir Raymond approached the stranger. He forced a grin on his face, hoping it would hide some of his exhaustion. "Uh, salve." He raised his arm, and did a double-take at the khaki pants and bright red aloha shirt the man wore. A mistake? "Are you Vincenzo from Cities of Italy Tours?"

"Si, I am Vincenzo," the bright-eyed tour guide said, much to everyone's surprise. He eagerly shook Sir Raymond's hand. "Benvenuti! I apologize for running late."

"No problem. May I see your license?"

"Of course. " He slipped him a thin blue badge, the words "Guida Turistica" shown prominently on the top. As Sir Raymond combed through the card's contents, Vincenzo said to the group, "Buonasera, Riverside Academy. Rome may no longer be caputi mundi--"

"Latin for 'Capital of the World," Sir Rentoy interjected for the students' sake.

"--but you will see that it is still a rich and magical city, full of life. I am happy to be the one who will show you its wonders. Don't be afraid to ask any questions. Let us first talk about the Spanish Square we are in now, the Piazza di Spagna. It is one of the most popular places to meet in Rome, having the Trinità dei Monti, Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti, and Fontana della Barcaccia for starters. The Fontana della Barcacca, the fountain most of you were waiting by a few minutes ago, was commissioned by Pope Urb..."

A light tap on Nico's shoulder caught his attention, not that he was paying much of it to Vincenzo's lecture. From the corner of his eye, he saw Hyme with a small, mischievous smile. 

(silent, playful conversation between Nico and Hyme)

#

"Please," Nicole groaned. "No more."

One tour spot and the group was already exhausted. Vincenzo was a good, well-meaning guide but he couldn't shut his mouth for the life of him. He would go on about the history of Italy's important monuments to the individual background of each and every step on the stairs they were on to the story of the bird poop that was never cleaned on the very top of the Colonna dell'Immacolata. One tour spot equaled one hour. And they had just begun.

That being so, the ten minute breaks in between were greatly welcomed.

"Fresh Italian gelato on the house!" Vincenzo anouch. He was precariously gripping bunch of cups after a particularly long jog to purchase them. (In his experience, the gelato places around the Fontana di Trevi had extremely high prices yet extremely low quality) Not a drop of sweat touched his disgustingly perfect skin.

(talk, talk, talk over break)

The other tourists had their back to the fountain, held a coin in their right hand, and tossed it over their left shoulder.

"Why are they throwing it like that?" Pancho asked Vincenzo.

"Ah. It is a tradition. You must do it the proper way if you want the legend to come true." He placed a clean, shiny coin in Pancho's palm. "Here, try it."

"Okay." He breathed in. Back to fountain, right hand, left shoulder. Go! He heard a tiny splash and turned. The coin seemed to wink at him, which was a ridiculous notion.

He heard another splash to his right and saw giant ripples from where the coin had skidded across the surface. Of course, Hyme couldn't be bothered with following tradition. He didn't believe in any myths or legends. It had become a game of ducks and drakes.

"Seven ripples!" he exclaimed in triumph.

"Impossible," Nico said, standing next to him. "You can't use coins for this."

"I just did."

(Insert Nyme moment here)

Author's Note: Now here is the part I really hate. I didn't know how to execute it properly. I want to change it and do Vincenzo more justice, but eh. 

"Pancho," Miss Cathy called. "Could you show it to us again for the class?"

"Sure." A strange sense of pride swelled in his chest. It was time to show off, and he was certainly in the mood for it.

The students watched as another coin went airborne. (In his own words, "thrown like a pro.") Naturally, no one was impressed. Vincenzo, on the other hand, had an unusually severe reaction: horror.

"What have you done!"

Pancho stepped back, his eyes shifting about nerviously. "I threw another coin?"

"No, no, no!" Vincenzo scrunched his eyebrows together in thought. "At least it was not three. We can still fix this." He scanned the crowd and, finding whatever he was looking for, his eyes brightened. "Do not worry. I think I have a solution," he yelled, seized Pancho's hand and broke into a run. Along the way, he grabbed Miguel's hand too.

They stopped in front of a small fountain that sat off to the side and was partially hidden. Two thin streams of water filled into a plain marble tub. The design couldn't hold a candle to the Trevi Fountain. It wasn't a pretty sight to look at, with its white stains and yellowed ends.

"You will drink," Vincenzo announced.

Over his shoulder, Migs threw Pancho a look that seemed to say, "This guy is nuts!" to which Pancho replied, "I know, right?" It was easy to slip back to familiar habits. Nothing could be more natural. For the first time after the kiss, they smiled at each other, and then shortly wiped it clean off after remembering their predicament.

Pancho coughed. The day to talk isn't today, he reminded himself. He forced himself to look into the pool of water. "What is this?"

"Just drink."

They eyed the fountain suspiciously and then, deciding there couldn't be any harm in a little sip, they drank. "What are you planning?" Pancho asked, once he was finished.

The corner of Vincenzo's mouth twitched. "A solution. This, my young friends, is the Fontanina degli Innamorati."

"The Fontania deglee Innamoratee? What is that"

"That, I cannot say." He put his hands up, hammering in that he would explain no further.

The two boys couldn't keep themselves from sharing another look.

(tour guide talks about stuff, trails off)

"How can he not notice this?" Nico whispered, half to himself. He was staring intensely at Miguel's face.

Obviously, this caught Miguel's attention. "How can who not notice what?"

Nico gave him a knowing look. "Pancho. This. Every time. " He appeared to be grasping for words. "This!"

"Ano? Hindi ko maintindihan."

"'You don't understand'? What do you mean 'you don't understand'?" Nico appeared unbelievably furious, a rare thing for an easy-going person like him. "The stares. I'm talking about the stares."

"Ano ka ba? Akala ko napag-usapan na natin it."

"This is far from settled. I don't care that you don't care." His last words earned an indignant scoff. "You're staring at him like a lost, wounded puppy or some shit like that."

"Oh! Paarang ako ay lost at wounded puppy!"

"Don't joke with me."

(argue, argue, argue)

"Get the fuck together already or get the fuck out of each others' lives!"

"Ano'ng pakialam mo? Feelings ka dyan?"

Nico clenched his fists. "Shut up! You know my feelings and they aren't for you. At least he loves you back, at least he could love you back."

"Wagmo akong idamay sa problema mo sa relasyon," Miguel bit out.

(tense silence)

"You know what? Forget this. I'm out."

[tense. end of tour. things somehow get a little bit better by the time they get back.]

"Buonanotte, Riverside Academy."

#

A/N: Could the tension in Migancho be easing already? Will the legend of the two thrown coins come true? Why does Nico care so much about Miguel and Pancho's relationship? Will Miguel and Nico no longer be besties? Find out next time.

I wanted to make Nico a sort of antagonist for the series. In our stories, I pictured him as a sort of lost guy who's torn up because of his suppressed one-sided love for Hyme and his bitterness toward the obvious growing relationship between his best friends, Pancho and Migs. He's angry that they don't realize how luck they are and doesn't realize why they can't enjoy the "miracle" they've been given. He's dying to confess to Hyme but holds back because of Hyme's apparent "homophobia," meaning that he can't be friends with him afterward, unlike if he confessed to a more understanding person.

Vincenzo was supposed to be a reoccurring character who would pop up now and then on the trip. He works various part-time jobs and is in dire financial states.

I had to do a crap-load of research for this, my favorite and most hated part of writing. If you spot any inaccuracies, please tell me.

Want to see the actual setting of the beginning of Failure to Launch? Click here or here for amazing photographs I managed to find.