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Chapter Text

BOJAN

It's another night of partying for Bojan and his friends, not only his band mates but also some of the contestants for Eurovision Song Contest 2023. They've been using the big amount of parties they went to to create some new bonds, and he enjoys how the contest has become more than just about competing.

He goes up to the bar to ask for two piña coladas for him and Käärijä, whom he has grown particularly close to. The Finn has been drinking non stop all night, while Bojan might be struggling to walk in a straight line, and yet he wouldn't change these moments for anything. When he asks for the drinks, he stumbles upon Luke Black and immediately grins at the sight.

Okay, maybe he’s also been enjoying annoying the hell out of his new friends. He sings Käärijä's song loudly when he sees him pass by, he tries to imitate Alessandra's high note, and when he spots Luke he greets him with a high pitched "Hello?" the exact same way the Serbian singer does it in his Eurovision entry. Since they don't stop him, he just keeps going, it's his way to tell them they're special to him.

So, at this point it becomes involuntary for him to get closer to Luke and say "Hello?", still smiling. The other singer, for once, looks back at him unamused, which takes Bojan by surprise. 

"I'm not in the mood, Bojan. Go back to your boyfriend." 

His smile drops. "Woah, are you okay?" He's not my boyfriend. Shut up.

Salena comes out of nowhere, purse in hand. "There you are! You ready to go?"

And Luke just nods unexpressive. He probably drank until the point of depression, or he could be sleepy, since Luke always seems to be. His friend just looks tired , like life has left his body.

"But the party has barely even started! Hello?" Bojan repeats out of habit and also mentally slaps himself for doing it in the tone. He can’t help it. It’s the alcohol taking over. 

Salena smiles as she grabs their friend by the arm. 

"Bojan, we've been here for at least four hours, perhaps you lost track of time while hanging with Käärijä." She singsongs to him, guiding Luke while walking slowly but safely.

Everyone seems a bit too obsessed with Jere, and he gets it at some point. His chances to win are actually massive: He has the charisma, the catchy song, and he also has the Eurovision look . He understands the appeal Käärijä held on the ladies. 

They're like best friends now, so he shouldn't mind the jokes and comments others made about them… but he does, a bit. Can’t quite point out why. He doesn’t feel uncomfortable but he also has to constantly tell himself and his band "they're just jokes, we're just friends". 

"Don't be booooring Luke, maybe another piña colada will cheer you up!" Like he hasn’t had about eight of these already.

"You're so annoying when you're drunk, oh my god." replies Luke, not even looking at him anymore. Bojan knows he should stop at this point but his mind already lost the filter that makes him think before he acts, so he walks in front of his friends as a final attempt to stop them.

"Bojan, he's not feeling very crazy or party right now, please just move" 

"No, please, listen-"

"Hello? Just move!" Luke raises his voice, trying to be menacing and failing.

And Bojan, being the idiot he is, does the thing again.

" Hello? Don't leave…"

This time, Salena doesn't smile either, she rolls her eyes. 

But Luke, oh he looks pissed this time. Before Bojan tries to apologize, Luke pushes him. 

No, he pushes his face so he can move into the crowd and out of his way.

Perhaps he pushes way too hard and instead punches him (or it might be the alcohol) because Bojan suddenly feels extremely lightheaded and then swears he sees white. He hears someone gasp.

He opens his eyes, revealing he's back in his hotel room. Huh, he must've gotten way too drunk because he doesn't remember how he got there. His confusion passes by quickly when he feels someone moving beside him, still laying on the bed very much asleep. 

Did he hook up with someone? Gosh, he can't even remember with who! What an awful one night stand he's being…

"Bojan? You awake?" The world stops. That voice belongs to-

"Jere?" The other singer rubs his eyes and looks up at him, his hair messy.

"Yes, yes. Good sleep?" 

"I think so." (But why are we here? Did we sleep together? Does this mean he likes me…?) 

"Good, Jokerman" With that, Käärijä sits in the bed and plants a soft kiss on Bojan's cheek like it's the most natural thing to do. This is when Bojan realizes this can't possibly be real, because his immediate reaction is to giggle a bit and not to freak out.

"Bojan! Bojan!" He hears from… somewhere. The beautiful sight in front of him begins to blur out until…

"Bojan! Shit, are you okay?" 

He blinks a few times, trying to understand where he is now. There's loud music and yelling from everyone. Just a second ago he was in bed with... and then they… what?

"Did I just see Käärijä?" 

"Ugh, look what he made me do!"

"Did you just use your powers on him?" asks Teya, who helps the very lost Bojan get on his feet. 

"What- Luke also has powers?" he asks, mainly to himself. He knows about the powers, and how they've inspired most of the contestants' songs, like Teya and Salena's. It's not like he properly ever went to talk to them about it, it feels inappropriate. Maybe not to Alessandra, who, since day one has tried to figure out who can do what. 

And also there's the part where he can't do anything like that: He's powerless. In fact, he's pretty sure there's barely any contestants without powers this year, one of them being Käärijä and this is one of the reasons their connection feels good. They’re unintentional outsiders in a song contest filled with a sort of superheroes. 

"And if you weren't annoying as shit I wouldn't have used them."

"What did you do to me?" he asks when he regains composure, staring at his not-anymore sad drunk friend. They're both angry drunks now. "Why did you put that in my brain?"

"Oh, boy…" Bojan hears one of the girls say, like a warning .

"I didn't do anything! Your brain is already like this!" 

"My brain has never created this scenario! You're insane!" 

Is this how far Luke is willing to go to get back at him for the imitation? He wants to make him, what, desire Käärijä beyond friendship? Bojan has never thought of that! Never wanted to stare at those blue eyes first thing in the morning, nor to have the finn call him boyfriend in an unironic way… or… to see what that tongue can do—

"Okay, Bojan, I'm insane for making you go inside your dream, soooo sorry, goodbye!" Bojan barely registers the Luke's very sarcastic response before he leaves. 

He's almost back to being sober with this weird, out of body experience. He tries to convince himself that it’s the amount of piñas coladas he’s had tonight that made him hallucinate. Either way, it doesn't matter anymore. Luke and Salena are gone, while Teya stares at him, worried.

"He shouldn't have used his powers like that on you, his bracelet probably broke, are you okay?" 

A sigh. "I guess I deserved that, I may have echoed his Hello way too much" 

"I think you're also very drunk and need to rest, yeah?" Her voice is pretty comforting at the moment, a good contrast to the recent chaos. She's right.

"Okay, I just need to find my jacket." Because he's not gonna lose his beloved brown leather jacket in a Eurovision party. 

"I'll go with you."

When they get back to the table, Jere is nowhere to be seen and Bojan pretends it doesn’t sting. He supposes he made him wait too long for the piña coladas, which he didn't even come back with. At least his jacket is intact, so he takes it but turns around at Teya's yell.

"Oh, no! Alessandra! You too?"

There's a crowd circling around someone not too far from their table. No, not just someone , it's Alessandra shouting excitedly as she holds two bar tables in her hands above her head.

The crowd cheers. Bojan quickly notices the bowl cut and fluorescent green amongst those people. 

Käärijä is staring at her… amazed. 

Oh…

"I'm the fucking queen! Wooooo" And she's clearly drunk too. The tables bounce a bit off her hands like they weigh nothing for her. They probably don’t. 

Salena was right, they've been here long enough. 

"Yes, yes!" Käärijä yells back. He doesn't even try to hide how impressed he is with the girl. 

Of course , of course he'd be impressed, Bojan feels so silly having thought… His bond with the Finn was special. Perhaps someone with powers would be even more special for him, he's just "some guy Bojan" who happens to sing…

Is this him speaking or is it the effects of Luka's power? He might not know but: "Let's just leave, Teya, they seem fine."

"I don't know what is wrong with these people, they give us the bracelets for a reason, god I wish I could just take it off too and not have to worry about a ghost taking over my body, and instead, I don't know, have fun like them and show off their super cool and conventional powers-" 

As soon as the cold night wind hits his face, he throws up on the sidewalk, fully forgetting Teya's rant about superpowers. He doesn't wanna hear it, didn't want to be rude and tell her " Hey I genuinely don't wanna talk about powers right now and I fucking hate them at the moment because now I can't stop imagining Käärijä cuddling me in the mornings"  but maybe the contents leaving his stomach might work as a decent message too. 

"Oh, Bojan…" 

Oh, indeed.

KÄÄRIJÄ

"How do you still look sober? Do you feel the slightest bit drunk?" asks Bojan sitting by his side, completely pulling the happy drunk. 

Jere doesn't really get to experience that, which makes drinking alcohol a flavor-based experience for him. That's why he prefers piña coladas, of course, they taste good . This doesn't stop him from partying and enjoying the company of his best friend.

"Nope, I'm normal happy." 

"Boo, you're just happy all the time, and I'm here just being a mess in front of you."

"Sorry, I must not be very crazy or party tonight."

"You, shut your mouth right now. I'm having a blast as long as I'm with you." Jere can't help but smile at the comment, and it might be too because of how close the other gets to him when he talks to him. Minus the alcohol breath. "Maybe we need another round! I'll get it now!" 

The younger stands up and leaves without giving Jere a chance to answer. Not like he was going to refuse anyways. And, of course, singing out loud "Pidän kaksin käsin kiinni juomista niinku!" as he makes his way to the bar. That man is like a sponge, absorbing everything he hears just to echo it back.

Jere tries to observe him in silence. Well, that's all he's been trying to do during his Eurovision journey. He fears being too open about his expectations will only lead to disappointment. So, he's silent when his mind asks the opposite from him: when he wants to promise Finland a win, when he wants his performance to be flawless and when he wants to tell Bojan how he wouldn't mind going for something bigger and closer than a friendship. Instead, he lets his actions speak for him, doing subtle but significant approaches to his goals. 

Except with the Slovenian. That one is harder to decipher, because Jere doesn't quite get if their flirting is just a "we're close enough to joke about this" type of flirting or a "I do like you, please notice me" type. The mixed languages between them doesn't help much either.

His thoughts get interrupted when Alessandra, drunk as hell, sits down next to him with an evil grin.

"Oh, Käärijääääää..."

"Alessandra, hello. You having fun, yes?"

"Hell yes I am!" She yells like that's her usual volume. "But Jere, I have a question for you and it's been bothering me since we met. You're the only one who hasn't told me about- about!" She pokes his chest.

"About?" 

"What can you do, Jere?" He's asked in a fake whisper, so he doesn't understand the tone of the question. What can I do? Like… in general?

"I can do Cha Cha Cha!" Doesn't she know already? Did she forget due to the alcohol? His friend frowns. 

"No! Jere! Not your song, I mean your special talent ." 

"I can do this." He tells her before pulling a funny face. 

"No! I don't mean your weird expressions! I'm serious!" 

Okay, Jere is lost. "I don't understand, then." 

"Do you know why they give us these?" She points at her wrist, where she's wearing a shiny metallic bracelet. He's seen those before, other contestants also wear them. Sometimes they light up a bit. Unfortunately Jere had asked for one at the very beginning because they look cool, and they just said No . So they are not for rave nights, got it.

"No, I thought jewelry but I don't have one." He definitely felt like a little kid who didn't get a gift at a party where everyone did. Well, Bojan also didn't have one. The Finn thinks it would suit him.

"Jere… we have powers." She's staring at him with a real serious expression at this point. 

" Powers… " I'm trying to process.

"Like, superhero powers." 

"Oh… cool."

"You don't believe me." 

"No, no, I do!" He doesn't. It sounds insane and very unrealistic to him. If powers were to exist in this world, and specifically in the Eurovision Song Contest so that most contestants have bracelets, he would know.  

Right?

"Alright, fine!" Indignant and offended, Alessandra stands up and walks to the table next to them, where Voyager and Mae are still hanging out. Jere has no option but to follow her. He's now curious about this one. 

"Hello, Mae and gentlemen, Jere here doesn't believe in the reason we wear these bad boys. Could you please take your drinks off the table so I can prove him wrong?" 

They do as told while they continue laughing and Daniel can't believe his ears.

"Käärijä from Finland doesn't believe in our powers? That's shocking! Where have you been these past few years?" 

Now that Alessandra made him aware of the bracelets, he searches for them on his friends' wrists. Mae is also not wearing one but most of Voyager's members are. So, what, is this like a thing in Eurovision at this point? They all could be just messing with him–

That's what he's telling himself when Alessandra grabs the table with both hands and lifts it up, bracelet nowhere to be seen. She does it in a single swift movement, leaving everyone speechless and open-mouthed. The Australians cheer for her immediately. Mae lets out a "Woah!" But other than that, she just stares with wide eyes. 

Jere can't believe his eyes. The young singer is tiny! Her voice is very powerful, he just didn't expect her strength to be as well. People from the next table also join in praising Alessandra. Noa tells her to grab their table too and do both.

"Just be careful," he says, which comes out as lame because she clearly doesn't need any help or protection, even if his big brother's instinct tells him otherwise. 

"Alessandra! Alessandra! Alessandra!" After setting one table on top of the other, she does the exact same movement again. She's now holding two tables above her head like it's her daily activity. I mean, it might be.

But this. Is. Fucking. Incredible.

"Oh, no! Alessandra! You too?" He barely hears between the chanting and nonsense around his friend. 

"I'm the fucking queen! Wooooo!" 

"Yes! Yes!" He gives into the cheering, the surprised phase gone. It makes him wonder… could he do something like this as well? 

"Remind me to tell you more about the powers and Eurovision when I'm sober. Not tomorrow though, I'll be really hungover" And she won't be the only one . They've been at this party for several hours now. "I'll be your Wikipedia on the topic."

Jere feels a bit disappointed once they're back at their table and Bojan has left, he could tell by his beloved brown leather jacket having disappeared during the strong Alessandra moment (he'd never leave without it). 

"Fuck, I lost my bracelet." 

The excitement from her powers would have lasted longer but with all the noise plus the amount of drinks she's had by then, she got dizzy pretty fast and put the tables back on the floor before a tragedy could happen. She's now drinking a glass of water to sober up a bit.

"What does a bracelet do? You took it off before carrying the tables…" 

"It's like an inhibitor, kind of. Did you ever hear about the contestants being kidnapped some years ago?"

"Nope." 

"Did you hear about the explosion of 2018?" 

"Nope."

"Jesus, Jere… The quick explanation is that they found out powers are actually difficult to control, so they can be dangerous even to ourselves. The bracelets help us control them so much better." 

"Ah, I understand." 

"So if you see a contestant wearing it, they have powers. Not all of us though, I think Luke doesn't wear one, he's bragged about how he doesn't have to ruin his outfit with that piece of metal, his powers are fine, thank you very much." She pulls a funny voice trying to imitate the Serbian. Jere laughs and remembers that Bojan could do the impression perfectly if he were here.

"And what happens when you can't control powers?" 

He wants to know everything about the special abilities now. Especially if there's a connection with Eurovision too (at least that's what he thinks Alessandra will explain). Maybe he actually has a power he doesn't know about, he can imagine the songs he could write inspired by them like his friends do. The possibilities are there. It would be pretty cool.

"Oh, you know, you just… lose your sanity, I guess."

Chapter Text

KÄÄRIJÄ

It's been a couple of days since the party where Jere found out everyone but him knows about the existence of superpowers. He's been eager to know it all since then, but his friends were too hungover the next day and he didn't want to bother them with his list of questions.

How do you find out you have powers?

He used a highlighter for that one, being the most important one. 

Today it's another day, which means, it's time for him to repeat Alessandra's actions and go around asking everyone what their powers are and how they manage them. Yes, yes, he's got his notebook in hand, a list and pen.

He begins during breakfast, right at the moment Teya, Salena and Alika sit at his table, spotting the bracelets.

"Hello!" 

"Hi, Jere, how are you?" 

"I'm good, and I want to know what your powers are, please," he kindly asks. 

Teya sighs. "We're good too, thank you for asking. You've read our lyrics right?" 

"Yes, yes, I remember." To prove that he remembers, he imitates the little hand dance the girls do when they sing the chorus of Who the hell is Edgar . He knows his taste in music. 

"That actually happened, Teya can get possessed." 

Alika almost chokes on her food after hearing this, because it's probably the funniest true sentence they've ever heard. 

"Are you telling me Edgar Allan Poe wrote stuff via Teya?" The Estonian asks, in a mix between laugh and confusion. 

"So there was a ghost in her body, like song says." 

"Yes! And I can just speak to them." Salena smiles proudly, as her friend looks grumpy.

"Wow, beautiful. " Alika fakes an amazed tone, keeping a smile on her face.

"Jere, it's awful! Don't encourage this!" Teya whines at him as he giggles. "Powers can be cool when you do pretty much everything but be possessed, look at Alika! Or La Zarra! She glows!" 

As if on cue, La Zarra enters the hotel restaurant, along with some other singers like Luke, Andrew and the twins from Azerbaijan.  Some other contestants have already had breakfast because they're super early birds.

Huh, Fatima does glow, and Käärijä thought it was just her natural charisma and a great skin care routine, not an actual power.

The Serbian looks really happy as he walks up to their table, like he just got away with something sneaky. That means, he probably did.

"What's got you all smiley, Mr. Black?" one of the Austrians asks, already suspicious of his joyful expression.

"Oh, you just see who's coming down for breakfast too…"

Salena and Jere turn around to look at the door. A new group of people arrive: It’s Alessandra, laughing at some joke Kris from Joker Out made. Following them, there’s Jure, Nace and Jan.

And some seconds later, Bojan enters the restaurant too, looking the messiest anyone's ever seen him. His hair is disheveled and the outfit choice seems… out of character for him, like he picked whatever when he got out of bed. He's also wearing sunglasses indoors , was he still hungover from two nights ago? Damn, Jere needs to stop making his friends drink that many piña coladas, but then again he never knew when to stop since he didn't feel the effects of alcohol. 

"Oh my god, Luke what did you do to him?"

"Well, I… don't seem to remember" Jere can tell Luke's lying. Yeah, Luke is enjoying this. The Finn realizes he must’ve missed something because the Austrian duo look at each other in a mix of worry and amusement. Before Jere questions them, Bojan approaches the group.

"Hello, everyone…" he speaks with a monotone voice. 

" Hello, Bojan." Luke smiles with his arms crossed, and he sings the Hello , trying to provoke the Slovenian. 

Jere wants to greet his friend but he can’t help it and ends up telling him: "You look real bad, Jokerman" 

Alika holds back a giggle. 

"Don't worry, I feel even worse." Bojan takes off his glasses to reveal... 

“Oh, honey, those eyebags…”

“Did you go to a party last night too?” 

“Or did you get two days worth of a hangover?” one of the female singers asks too. “My friend, you’re living the real rockstar life…”

“No, I think maybe Bojan Cha Cha Cha’d too close to the sun and couldn’t handle it,” interrupts Luke Black confidently, making Jere feel a bit guilty. If Bojan really is still hungover from two nights ago, it’s definitely his fault. And if his friend likes his song a bit less after this he couldn’t blame him. 

“Noooo I’m so sorry Jokerman!” 

"So… why you look like this?" he tries to ask Bojan softly once they're both picking up their food from the buffet. The others might find his friend’s look a reason to make fun of him, but Jere is worried. Bojan doesn't just look tired, he also looks awfully under the weather. This time, his need to protect him doesn't come from being a big brotherly figure.

When Bojan is sad, Jere wants to destroy anything that causes him harm and make him smile no matter what. He wants to hug him and stay like that for hours…

"Nothing, I just… can't sleep."

"Why? Nightmares?"

"Kind of… just weird dreams, kind of." 

"Can I help? You should have Bulbasaur for the night! Cuddles with Bulbasaur can help!" 

His friend smiles and it lights up Jere's mood. "I appreciate the offer… but I think I can manage without him. Thank you though."

"Alright, Bulbasaur will wait for you, and if he can't help I'll do it too…"

They both freeze up and Bojan looks away. Fuck, he shouldn't have said it like that.

No, I just made him uncomfortable. Stupid Jere. 

Why is this awkward now?

It wasn't before… They could joke about sharing beds around the public just some days ago. They shared instagram stories about it. This time, no one else can hear them, and yet…

His heart drops at the same time the younger's hands rush to make his sunglasses fall back to cover his eyes. "Thanks… I'll let you know." 

Okay, change the subject! Don't ruin this more! 

"Jokerman, I want to tell you…"

Don't be weird.

"I want to see if I have powers like others." 

What? Why did I just say that?

It's not an entire lie… he just doesn't know yet the lengths a superpower could go. In fact, he doesn't even know how to find out if he has powers. Is there a healthcare center for superhumans?

"Oh… is this because of Alessandra?" How does Bojan know she convinced him?

"Yes. She helps me." 

"Alright, that's fine, Jere. I just don't know why you are telling me ." Bojan looks bored at the mention of powers and it hurts his feelings, just a bit.

"Well, I…" No, he's right. The Finn wanted to change the subject, the topic of powers has been a good distraction to keep him sane during this contest. But he could've said literally anything else, talked about the weather. "You're my best friend and I wanted you to know."

"Okay, Jere, good luck with that, then."

When Jere takes his seat back, Alessandra asks him, "Why the long face? Did you have a fight with Bojan? He's just grumpy today, you'll be fine." 

"Alessandra, please keep telling me about powers."

"Oh, okay! Sure! So, as far as we know they've existed for quite a long time, but it wasn't up until 2018 that it stopped being a secret when…"

BOJAN

So. Jere wants to have powers because of Alessandra. This is fine. Everything is fine.

Bojan is sure there’s evidence of his sleepy face on Alika’s phone now, giving her the perfect blackmailing content for later. He also may have worried his friends with that disastrous entrance. He can tell by the way Käärijä’s blue eyes have never left him since.

The thing is, he can’t fucking sleep.

Two nights ago, Luke Black cursed him with the image of Jere waking up next to him in a very romantic way and that's all he thinks about since then.

He daydreams about it, and he night dreams about it. And it wouldn’t be a problem if he didn’t feel affected when he sees Jere in the real world, having a chat with Alessandra like they’re keeping the most exciting secret. 

Screw Luke. 

He spent yesterday considering all his options: He could just rat out Luke and say he's screwed with his integrity. The Eurovision authorities couldn't ignore that.

Another option was to maybe hold Luke against his will in his hotel room until he agreed to take the hallucination back.

In the end, he decided to apologize. Less extreme, could be less genuine because he did enjoy repeating his Hello? back.

But today he wants to get over it. And he wants nothing more.

"Why aren't you sitting with Käärijä?" Luke is smiling as he sits in front of him. He looks so proud, it makes Bojan's blood boil. "And why are you telling them you can't sleep?"

"Because I can't."

"Yeah, no. You can. You're choosing not to."

What the fuck? Does he read minds too? 

Yeah, okay . He's purposely been avoiding sleep. It was the only solution he could come up with. It's dumb, but he's definitely seen less of Morning Käärijä this way. 

He swallows his pride and instead of answering the Serbian's question, he tells him, "Luke Black from Serbia, I'm really sorry I mocked you, I promise I will never ever on what's left of Eurovision do it again."

And he receives a shocked expression. "Wow, you practiced that didn't you?" 

"Yes, I did. Do you forgive me?"

"Hmmm… fine, yeah. I suppose I can if you really won't do it again."

"I won't, I pinky promise" He lifts his finger. Luke rolls his eyes but does the same. 

"I'm sorry I used my powers on you, I never meant to but it's also your fault for being annoying." That sounds fair enough. 

"I forgive you too… now…"

"Now… what?" 

"Please get rid of it?" Bojan even tries to pull some puppy eyes for Luke. Hell, he'll get on his knees and beg in front of everyone if that's what it takes.

"Oh…" Luke frowns. "Yeah, no." And keeps eating like it was unimportant. 

Excuse me?

"What?"  

"No." 

"Just no?" 

"Indeed, Bojan."

"Are you kidding me? I practiced my apology at 2 am! Because I couldn’t sleep! You can't do this!" 

Is he going insane? He can tell Luke doesn't feel sorry for him at all by the way he keeps cutting up his breakfast, very elegant and nonchalantly. 

"Luke, please. " 

"I can't, okay? It doesn't work like that."

"What do you mean? You- you put Käärijä in there- don't fucking laugh! I didn't mean it like that!" Bojan stares very offended while the other singer chuckles. His bandmates join them at the table one by one.

"Why are we laughing? Are we still making fun of how Bojan looks today?" asks Jan.

"Luke is messing with me, and has been since the other night!" 

Maybe going back to plan A: snitch on Luke with someone and force him to erase the dream doesn't sound so bad right now.

"Look! Listen to me carefully, Bojan Cvjetićanin from Slovenia. My power is not to induce you into a dream you don't have. Whatever you saw, and we both know who you saw, is part of something you're already dreaming of. I just made you aware of it. By accident, but still." 

"Well, I don't believe you!" 

"Then don't! I don't care if you believe in my powers or not." He huffs.

"I believe you!" Kris exclaims. "Powers seem cool!" 

"Thank you, Kris." 

Bojan looks at his friends, unimpressed that they don't see the gravity of the situation. It's fun and games for now but Bojan is genuinely worried he might never sleep well again in his life. 

Is he being dramatic? Of course! He doesn't know how powerful the contestants are! He might as well say goodbye to his friends. 

"Hey, Bojan, if it'll make you feel better we can do a dreaming session so you can see it again and believe me this time.” Luke suggests once he notices the genuine worry on Bojan’s face.

Oh, God, no. He can't… He’ll feel it again.  

"That's cute, dreaming session.” 

"So, like a sleepover?" Nace’s eyebrows raise at the idea as he takes a bite of his salad. 

Wait. That's it. A sleepover.

If all of Joker Out enter the same dream, and reveal what they dream about, then he can trust Luke is telling the truth and not just putting weird scenarios on people’s brains. They're his best friends, and they've known each other for several years, so they'd know if a dream is made-up. This could not go wrong.

"Yes! Let's make it a sleepover! I think if everyone at this table participates I can believe you." 

"Wooooo dreaming party!" 

"Alright, say no more."

Chapter Text

KÄÄRIJÄ

Turns out, there actually is a healthcare center for superhumans. In fact, there’s a specific section just for this in Liverpool and exclusively for Eurovision contestants. Every time Jere finds something new about the superpowers, he laughs at himself because how did he actually miss all of these places and information?

That’s how Alessandra and him end up at the Superhuman healthcare front desk. He tries to not act nervous but fails to hide it as they both see Loreen coming out of a room, pretty similar to an infirmary. She thanks the (super) doctor with a soft voice and then notices them back. 

“Oh, hello. Alessandra. Käärijä.”

“Loreen, hello.” 

“I hadn’t seen you here before, Käärijä. Is everything good?”

He freezes up. He'd lie to himself if he said he didn't find Loreen intimidating, although he shouldn't. She's been nothing but kind to him and every single contestant. 

He's not that blind to online information though: Jere knows he has the second highest chances of winning this year's Eurovision, but the Swede is the one to hold the highest.

Every time they cross paths his thoughts remind him he promised his country a win, and that it’ll be really difficult when iconic, has won the contest before, quite a legend, Loreen is trying to do the same. Plus, her song is really good as well. It's part of Jere's Eurovision favorites playlist.

“Yes, yes. I’m…” 

“We’re here for a checkup, you know, the usual,” Alessandra saves him from making a fool out of himself, being pretty confident. 

“Yes, yes! Health is important.”

“I’m glad to see you guys, but I have to go. Hope the checkup goes alright though!” 

“Why did I say ‘Health is important’? She thinks I'm an idiot now,” He thinks out loud, feeling pretty lame after the short interaction. 

“Meh, I’ve done worse. Her presence is strong as hell so don’t worry, it’s normal. Also, health is important.” 

“She didn’t have a bracelet on.”

 “Oh yeah, you’re right… she’s really secretive but I know she has a power. I wonder what it could be…"

A nurse appears at the front desk with a smile, interrupting his intrusive thoughts about the competition. 

“Hi, what can I help you with?” She speaks with a bold British accent.

Alessandra nudges him with her elbow, a way of saying You’ve got this. He feels the opposite way.

“Uh yes, I’m Käärijä from Finland and I would like to…” He’s tense. This should not be as nerve wracking as it is, and yet here he is forgetting the words in English, so he turns to his friend for help with pleading (but discreet, obviously) eyes.

“Is there like a test you could run on him to know if he has powers?” 

“Oh! Of course we do! Let me bring you a form to fill and we can take a blood sample right now…”

Right now? Now, hold on a second–

He hasn’t even finished the form when he sees the designated doctor pull out a massive needle to prepare it. Jere lets out a nervous giggle. Looking at that definitely doesn’t cause him to take his sweet time answering the rest of the questions. Although he was already slower than expected due to the form being in English. Thank God for Google translate and Alessandra being there to help him. 

While he appreciates the company, a part of him wishes there was someone else who was sitting at his side, giving him encouraging words and helping him write with good grammar. Someone tall, with brown hair, and golden retriever energy. A cute Slovenian, to be more precise. 

He sighs, remembering how Bojan was dismissive of the topic yesterday at breakfast. On the other hand, perhaps he shouldn’t have mentioned it, since Bojan is also powerless. It could be a sensitive topic for him.

They haven’t spoken much since, barely seen each other either, which made Jere even more worried about his health. Health is important.

Buuuuut...

I just really want him here with me right now.

His hand stops mid sentence, already forgotten what he was meant to write down. “I need Bojan here.”

“Okay…” Alessandra’s hand on his shoulder rubs a little to comfort him before putting some distance. “Do you want me to call him?” 

“Yes, please”

Jere keeps looking at the clock, then unlocks his phone once again only to see once again how Bojan hasn’t even seen his messages. Messages in plural.

Käärijä: Hi, can you come over to the healthcare thing now.

Käärijä: It’s important. Sorry. 

Käärijä: Please.

Käärijä: Jokerman, I miss you…

Käärijä: …

The Norwegian singer paces around the hall trying for what she swears is the last time to contact Bojan. That’s what they’ve been saying for the last hour or so.

“I’m going to kill him.” She mutters, and Jere pretends to not hear it.

His designated nurse has been real patient with them, she might think Jere is desperate enough to ask for Bojan and not proceed with this until he arrives. If he ever does, that is.

“Hi, guys, I’m so sorry but we’re about to close, we can reschedule if you want. We have no problem.” 

Alessandra looks at him, hesitating. It's his decision, after all. 

This is not a big deal, it doesn't hurt that his billion messages haven't even been delivered on their chat. It doesn't. So he will not quit. "Let's do it, but Alessandra, please distract me."

"Of course, okay… Jere, I have a question for you." He looks at her, away from the needle as the doctor rubs his arm with alcohol and a cotton. Thankfully, he's sitting down, so if he passes out he won't cause too much of a scene. 

"Yes, ask me." 

"You have a massive Rammstein tattoo on your chest, but a teeny tiny blood sample scares you?" 

"Well, tattoos don't get my blood out!" 

“They do!”

“Not on purpose!”

She laughs. "Okay. You've got a point, plus tattoos look cool." 

The doctor interrupts their banter. "Please hold this cotton on your arm."

 Jere does as told, surprised he actually didn't feel a thing. 

"See? That was nothing for Käärijä!" 

"Alright, so this might take some days if you haven't shown any signs of having the superhuman gene before. There's many factors to consider but I promise you we'll give you an answer, Mr. Pöyhönen."

"Thank you." He shakes the doctor's hand with his good arm, trusting everything will turn out just fine. 

Alessandra suggested they get ice cream, because nothing feels more rewarding than getting something sweet and unhealthy after a medical appointment. Jere needed the emotional support ice cream.

"Käärijä, why do you look sad? This was supposed to be exciting for you. I don't like to see you like this." 

And he sighs at her comment. He doesn't mean to lower the mood, the sun is setting and it looks amazing! He could have powers! It should feel great!

But then he checks his phone to find no new notifications, ruining the moment. This behavior is not usual from him. He's Käärijä . He Cha Cha Cha's, he's loud and very open about his feelings. Something's been off since a few days ago. Suddenly he wants to be quiet and crawl into bed and never leave. He feels scared.

"I think I have feelings for Bojan."

When Alessandra looks at him, he expects a joke similar to " We know " or "Congrats on being the last one to find out", remembering all those times their friend circle have told them to just admit it and finish their suffering.

Instead, she keeps a straight face and hugs him. "Hey, I'm sorry he didn't show up."

"He's probably busy." 

"Even if he's busy you're allowed to be sad about it."

"I know, I just- I'm terrified." He begins to explain to Ale through the language barrier how it's affected him. He's scared Bojan will push him away forever if he ever knows how serious his feelings are. Right now, Käärijä, the extroverted party animal and Jere, a fearful human, seem to be two different faces of him and he doesn't know which one is actually him.

"Jere, you should tell him. What will you lose? Bojan adores you. Even if he says no, thank you , you can say you took the risk."

"No, too much at risk." Their friendship is too valuable.

"You know him! You're best friends, would he ever be a dick to you because you have feelings?" 

She's got a point. Bojan can be a lot of things, but he's not a bad person. He couldn't be cruel or mean even if he wanted to. That's part of what makes Jere like him: his kind soul.

"No, no, don't think so."

"Okay, then what's stopping you? You guys are already super cute together. And you wouldn't be the first Eurovision couple, there's no rules against that, remember Efendi and Tix? Oh! Or Melovin and Alekseev! They liked each other before they got kidnapped!" (A completely normal sentence to say at Eurovision).

He guesses liking a fellow contestant in 2023 is definitely not as dangerous as it was back in 2018. They're not being hunted for sport and now have international authorities protection. This is a fully new perspective on the topic for him, so he smiles at the realization. 

"You really think we look good together?"

"Umm hell yeah! Like yesterday when he entered the restaurant, he was a zombie and you were still the first person he looked for with his puppy eyes."

"Okay, keep feeding my hopes please."

They both laugh. He's ready to let his sorrows go until his mobile rings. It's Bojan.

Jokerman: fuck, Jere, I'm so sorry, something came up with the guys 

Jokerman: I forgot to check my phone

Jokerman: how did it go?

Jokerman: I miss you too 

BOJAN

Bojan's hosting the dreaming session with Luke and the boys in his hotel room. He even got some snacks. He knew what to buy because Joker Out sleepovers aren't really new. This time it just happens to feature Luke Black and his totally normal dream inducing powers.

If he proves Luke caused him to dream about Käärijä on purpose, then Luke will have no option but to take it back and everything will be normal and fun again. 

His best friends arrive with the usual drinks for the night, really excited. Whatever happens next, he’s happy to know at least he’s not alone. He can always drown his sorrows in a bunch of flamin’ hot chips and his favorite energy drinks.

“So what movie are we watching?” asks Jure. “Let’s check the list!” 

They have a sleepover menu and list of movies to watch because of course they do. 

Jan interrupts him. “Why did no one tell Jure about the power thing?”

“What power thing?”

Bojan claps to make the announcement for his confused friends. “So, this is not our usual sleepover, we’re having Luke Black with us. He won’t be long now.”

“Oh, cool… why ?”

“Because he used his magical powers on Bojan and now our singer can’t sleep. But he’s saying he didn’t use them,” Kris explains making sure to emphasize the words our singer because without their singer they’re pretty much fucked on what's left of the contest.

“So Luke Black is taking part in our sleepover because he cursed Bojan.”

“No, he’s doing it again but we will all be there! That way you can see he’s just messing with me.”

“But if he’s messing around, wouldn't he just ruin the whole band’s sleeping schedule instead of just Bojan's? I don’t know about you guys but I need my beauty rest!” 

…that’s actually a really good point. He hadn’t thought that far, to be honest. 

Nace is already eating from one of the bags, so they can barely understand him when he breaks the awkward silence. “We’re in this together, guys! I’m not gonna let Bojan suffer on his own. It’s all for one and one for all.”

“Yeah!” 

“Okay, fine! Let’s do this!” 

“Thank you guys… you’re the best.” Bojan smiles.

Even Luke’s pajamas are stylish. 

Right now, he’s gracefully sitting down in a circle with everyone, and making his best effort to not look annoyed at them. Jure really wanted the sleepover part, so they might have been playing the musician and safe for work version of Never have I ever. Luke hasn’t taken a single chip during the last hour and he’s sure the others are wondering how he has that much self control. 

At least the Serbian is not the only one who can’t wait for the thing to already happen, because Bojan can barely sit still. That might be also because of the lack of sleep.

"Never have I ever had a crush on another Eurovision singer!" Jure looks at everyone and pretends he doesn't particularly stop when he stares at Bojan. Okay, that's it.

“Guys, okay, Jure this has been really fun, don’t take it personally but can we please start the dreaming session?”

“Oh, okay! Yes!”

Luke sighs in relief. “Okay guys, have any of you besides Bojan experienced the effects of a superpower?” 

The five members of Joker Out are powerless. And of course, they’re very well informed. It’s pretty rare that anyone in 2023 doesn’t know the existence of them. The thing is, if you’re just human, you obviously know less than the superhumans, you probably just know the basics they tell you about on the TV ads. 

Yes, there’s TV ads to create awareness for superpowers. Kind of like they do for some serious, deathly illnesses, it should be really offensive in his opinion. Although, the people in charge manage to make them merely informative and nothing more. 

So, even if anyone had ever used their powers on the band, they couldn’t quite know it…

“Not… that we’re aware of.” 

“Alright. You will feel some tingling and then will slowly relax until you fall asleep and your dream will begin.” 

“Wait, that’s not how it happened to me.” His experience was more like getting hit by a car, if you ask Bojan.

“Yeah… anyways-” The absolute bastard keeps talking. “I will also be in the dream but like a background character, so you five will interact with each other in the dream and I will not know the specifics of it until you’re up and conscious again.”

“How long will we be dreaming?” 

“Well, your dream might feel either super short or super long, but in real life it will be like a daily nap. Now, please get comfortable on the bed. I’m sure you’ve shared one before so, do your thing.

…also, turn off your phones, we can’t have interruptions.”

Bojan can tell his friends are experiencing different emotions as they get comfy and in their designated positions in the bed. They did have some times where the hotel gave them one room with a single bed but were too tired to complain. 

Jure looks happy to be there, he loves his sleepovers. Nace has a neutral expression, but that’s how he normally is. Jan and Bojan are clearly anxious about what’s coming and Kris has turned to stare directly at Bojan, which is weird from him. 

“What are you doing?” Bojan whispers. 

“I’m just worried about you, dude. If you need something, today or later, I’m here, okay?” His bandmate whispers back with a soft expression. Before he answers, Luke speaks up.

“Okay, now don’t freak out and just relax.”

“Why would we freak ou- Holy shit look at his eyes…” Whisper-yells Jure. Bojan can barely see in the corner of his eyes how Luke’s have turned into a glassy, icy blue, almost white. 

What the fuck. 

If he wakes up to that with his friend sitting on the edge of the bed his fight or flight instinct will arise. He has a hunch that this one will turn out even worse than… than the last… 

The Slovenian group open their eyes at the same time and find themselves at the Eurovision green room. It’s loud out there, with the crowd cheering for every country it’s hard to tell who supports who, it feels like a party but it also feels like home.

They’ve sung their song for the last time during the final and are waiting for the televote to be announced. The juries were hard on everyone except Finland, Norway and occasionally Slovenia, France... 

“Oh God, I think I’m going to pass out, guys.” Nace tells them, sitting down at their couch. More like holding on to it like his life depends on it. Bojan can’t blame him. Jan has asked for more alcohol (I f it’s possible, please, thank you)  to calm his nerves. There’s no other way for anyone to take in this moment. This is one of the greatest breakthroughs in their career, if they win…

His thoughts and the lowest televoting points are interrupted when Blanka from Poland approaches them smiling widely. 

“Hi, guys.” 

“Oh, hi, Blanka.” It’s Nace who engages in conversation with her. Bojan tries to make out what the hosts are saying but no matter how much he concentrates he can just process that some countries got low, not even which ones. All he can hear is the chatting next to him.

“I wanted to tell you… I think you guys are the hottest contestants. No, the hottest musicians in the history of music. Would you go for some drinks with me after this?”

“Wow, Blanka, we’re flattered. We sure will. And for the record, I also think you’re the most beautiful girl…”

Blanka is giggling and twirling her hair. Okay, sure, this is happening.

Suddenly, pretty much all votes have been announced and Bojan wonders how they missed them. He quickly forgets his doubts once he sees the missing countries’ points to be announced are Norway, Finland and Slovenia.

“Norway, you receive from the public… 345 points! Norway is now on the lead!” 

They turn to look at Alessandra’s couch and see how she screams, her friends surround her and hug her. She really deserves it. 

“Now, Finland… from the public you’ve received… 467 points! Congratulations! This is a new record in Eurovision history!”

Bojan tries to fight the urge to look now at Jere, but he fails. Jere puts his hands over his mouth, not believing what’s happening. The pink dressed dancers are jumping. The crowd, it goes wild. The roar doesn’t stop for several minutes and even the hosts seem impressed with the chanting of “Cha Cha Cha”. He debates whether or not he should leave the Slovenia room to hug Jere, until he hears it…

“It’s time for the final countries’ public vote to be announced, either Slovenia or Finland are the winners from this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Before that, we want to congratulate every participant country and their singers. 

To the public, we’d like to remind you that this year’s proceedings are going to support Ukraine during these difficult times, we’re sending donations in money and in food and clothes for those in need. Thank you once again for being part of this. 

Now…”

“Guys, let’s hold hands, I feel like I’ll die.” Jure exclaims. He doesn’t have to ask twice. They’re holding hands and they’re holding their flag and it also feels like no one is breathing for a solid minute. Fuck the hosts for making them wait.

“The public gave Slovenia… 679 points! This is the highest score a country has ever received! Slovenia wins the Eurovision Song Contest 2023!”

This time their lungs are out of breath because they’re yelling and cheering. What the fuck? They actually won… THEY ACTUALLY WON???

“OH MY GOD I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH!” 

“THANK YOU EUROPE!!!” 

They’re cheering at the camera. Kris is hugging him as tight as he can. Some people are telling them to go on stage right now. How can they even move their feet after this? Holy shit…

Jure has picked up his phone, he’s now calling his parents. “HI! MOM! DAD! I WON! … Thank you, I love you so much and I miss you, now I’ll buy you the big house I promised you mom… and dad, you’re getting the Ferrari you’ve always wanted! I know! I’m proud of us too!”

Then, another man with a fancy suit and a card in hand gets close to them. It’s Jan’s turn to speak. 

(This is odd.) 

“Hello!” 

“Congratulations guys, my name is—”

(This is like a videogame, they’re taking turns to talk)

What did this guy say his name was? 

“-And I want to offer you the opportunity of touring all around the world for a year.” 

“Woah! Are you serious?”

“Yes, this is my card”

(The card is blurry. The information in it is hard to read…)

“Thank you, we will call you but we’re definitely interested!”

Everyone's gone.

What’s happening? Bojan is left on his own… He’s aware he’s supposed to be in Eurovision, they just won. When he looks around, he can’t tell the crowd’s faces, or the other contestants faces, except his closest friends. It’s like he’s trapped in a bubble and everything outside of it is slowly fading. He stares at the confetti.

(If the dream is over, why is he still here?)

They just won Eurovision, nothing could beat his happiness now… Except.

Oh, no. Käärijä lost? But he wanted this as much as them, even more. He fought for it. If Bojan wanted another country to win it was definitely Finland. A hand lays on his shoulder, breaking him out of his bubble. It’s him.

“Jokerman, you’re a superstar…” Bojan hugs him immediately, holding on to him. He’s not ready to say goodbye. 

“I’m sorry, you didn’t win.” 

“Hey, doesn’t matter, I’m glad it’s you…” The other singer’s hot breath tickles his ear. Jere is warm. He tells him how much he wishes to never let him go, not just from the hug. Sadly, it has to end at some point. Bojan tries to hide his disappointment as the Finn steps back a bit. 

“Hey, we don’t leave yet, we have tonight and maybe tomorrow morning!”

“But goodbyes suck…”

“We can go have dinner after you sing again…”

Jere offers him a soft smile, his eyes are bright and joyful. If Jere actually has any superpower, it would be his contagious happiness. And Bojan thinks he doesn’t need anything else.

“I really want to kiss you right now…” Fuck, did he say that out loud? It’s not the first time he thinks about it. It just came out without his usual filter. 

“Then do it.”

Just fucking do it. 

He takes a single step ahead, a really hesitant one. His… friend (yeah right) doesn’t move an inch, and allows Bojan to put both his hands on his shoulders. No, it doesn’t feel right, he moves one to caress Jere’s cheek. He takes his sweet time to savor the moment. 

This is it, the “before everything changes”.

(But it’s not real, you idiot)

He leans in.

“Bojan! Just fucking do it!” 

Wh- who?

Right, it’s a dream.

“Good morning, sunshines…” Luke singsongs softly as the five guys open their eyes. He keeps going with a soothing voice “You’re in Bojan’s hotel room, waking up from a dream. How do you feel?”

Awful. Like my heart was ripped from my chest. You just took Jere’s kiss away from me. He thinks, waiting for someone else to speak first. 

“Holy shit… That was awesome. I never had a dream that felt this real before,” says Jure as he stands up. “I do feel a bit dizzy.” 

“Yeah, that was… intense.”

“Good intense or bad intense?” 

“I’d say just intense,” Bojan answers. The Serbian hums.

“I did see the Eurovision scenario, but now you have to talk to me and each other in detail about it for you to believe in my powers.” God, do they have to? Fuck…

“Do we really have to?” Thank you, Nace. 

“Or you can stay quiet. Defeats the purpose of the session, though…” 

A full minute of them thinking, also processing reality, goes by. It’s… quite awkward. Even Luke seems to be considering just leaving.

Jan is the brave man who breaks the moment. “Okay, I have to ask this, which one of you dreamed Blanka hit on us?” 

They turn at the same time to see Nace’s guilty look. 

“Really, dude?”

“OKAY! SHE’S HOT!” 

“How did you not tell us this before?” 

“You never asked… also I knew you’d tease me, bastards.”

“You know we’re not letting this slide now, right?” 

“No, please . I’m just making progress on speaking to her like a normal human being-”

“Hello? Guys? I fully understand the need to make fun of Nace’s questionable taste-” 

“Hey!” 

“But please keep talking about the dream, you can discuss the consequences later.”

“Okay, sure…” Jure takes the lead. “I remember calling my parents to tell them about the news, they were… god, you guys, they sounded so proud .” 

“Awww, Jure, you’re a softie.” 

“Yes, but I want to say… I feel a bit empty now that I woke up from that feeling.” 

“Yes! You’re right! That’s it!” Bojan feels touched by Jure’s words. Not quite about his parents but he realizes he’s right about the emptiness of waking up after it. Before, he couldn’t pinpoint why it was so annoying and bad to dream about Jere, but now…

“Okay, that’s good to know…” 

“Jan, what’s your dream?” 

“I dreamed we got a contract to tour every single country.” 

“Damn… that’d be tiring though.” 

“Let me wish, you guys. In a perfect world we never stop making music.”

“What about you, Bojan?” 

“Huh?” 

Everyone is staring at him, Jure will not let him go unless he answers. He’s been there before.

“Well.. I… Sorry, I’m still confused…” Bojan’s not sure if Luke can see through his lies. The Serbian knew he lied about not being able to sleep. He decides to fake a grin and try anyway. “I dreamed we had, like, the biggest amount of public votes ever in Eurovision history.”

“Oh so you gave us like 600 points?” 

“It seems like a reasonable amount to me.” His bandmates laugh.

“Is that so, Bojan?” Oh but Kris… Kris’ eyes could as well be knives going through his skull. The look he’s giving him is as sharp as Luke’s chin. 

Bojan fucked up, because the televote was actually Kris’ part.

“Y-yes, Kris, what did you dream about?” he catches himself stuttering. 

“Oh, I added the part where every euro went to Ukraine…” And he lies even more smoothly than the singer, grinning. Damnit. The Ukraine part comes from a couple of conversations the band has had before. It might as well have been the product of all of their brains.

“Well, Bojan, I think you believe me now, but I see your other dream is gone for now… I don’t know what to make of this.” 

“Yeah, well, I guess this session was also therapeutic.” He shrugs. It’s the middle of the night and Luke chose to not stay for the rest of the sleepover. Bummer. “Thank you though, this was fun, your powers are really amazing, Luke.” 

“Yeah, I know. Before I go… Just letting you know what if you need help later, I’m still willing to help, okay?” 

“I don’t think it’ll be needed…“

“Alright, good night!”

Bojan comes back into his room trying to keep quiet. The rest of the band has actually fallen asleep now. They’re sleeping peacefully and he feels like an asshole for digging his hole even deeper with the lies he’s told them so far. 

What is wrong with him? They are his best friends, he could’ve been honest and it would’ve been no problem. For anyone. 

And yet here he is. Kris knows he lied. He just created a new barrier between them and god knows how he’ll make it up once they find out. Because they will , sooner or later.

He’s also fucked up with Jere and done the exact same thing to him. He lied to his face and pushed him away. He curses at himself for being unable to face his own feelings.

Maybe he will try to join his friends’ slumber after he checks his phone to see if he has any new texts. Jere had first texted him during their dreaming session and Bojan added some more guilt to himself when he saw his friend wanted him to be there for the powers test they ran on him. He’s gotta make it up to him too. 

He has a lot of making up to do, so it’s time for him to try his best and get his shit together.

Chapter Text

BOJAN

Rehearsal week begins, but Bojan has everything under control. 

He figures it will be easy math: A lack of sleep plus some good energy drinks. It makes sense to him that the result would be very normal and neutral energy. 

So far it’s been working, he’s gone back to his sparkly personality, and most importantly he’s been back to singing each and every single entry song when a fellow contestant passes by. 

Right now, Joker Out sees Blanka and her dancers walking toward the stage for her rehearsal. He clears his throat, not taking his eyes off Nace, who feared this day would come around.

“Now I’m better solo, solo! ” 

“Jesus, Bojan, keep it down.” 

“ I never let me down, didi-down-down-down!” The rest of the band (minus Nace, of course) join him and even recreate Blanka’s little dance. She doesn’t seem to mind, as she stops to also sing, for Nace’s misfortune.

Bojan’s having fun. After overthinking the whole night of the dreaming session, he made a plan: Pretend everything is okay. Fake it until you make it. Just go with the flow. All that. If he gaslights himself into wellbeing, his friends will also stop worrying. It’s a win for everyone.

Their first rehearsal had gone as planned, pretty smoothly and most importantly, they all had fun. The second day is a whole different story. There are some technical difficulties, which says a lot because it’s not like their instruments are really connected. They’re supposed to work with a backing track. And it was not working, his earpiece has some noises coming from God knows where. How? 

He tries to play it cool by still enjoying himself and following the routine they have of messing with each other, him going to Jan, forehead to forehead and yelling nonsense. 

Once they finish… whatever that was, Nace and Kris don’t hesitate to leave in search for the person responsible for this chaos. They can pull off real Karens when necessary. Someone in the band has to. 

The other three come back to the green room and sit down, trying to hide the frustration. 

“I’d say that went pretty well-”

“Shut up, Bojan.” 

“Okay, jeez…”

It’s okay, it’s just a fork on the road, they’ll be fine after this. He notices his energy drink is almost finished, so it’s time to ask for an assistant to please get him another one, he’s trying to be constantly fueled for the day.

They watch as Alessandra comes out, looking pretty majestic. Then, Bojan sees the fluorescent green enter the green room, Jere is saying hi to the norwegian from the distance and he lets out a sigh without realizing. 

No, Bojan, don’t be negative. They’re like siblings. That’s what Käärijä told him yesterday when they met again in person.  

“You look better, Jokerman. You feeling good?” Jere said, hugging him like he always does.

“Yes, thank you. You don’t have news on the blood sample yet?” 

“No.” 

“That sucks, you really want this, right?”

The Finn stopped for a second, maybe asking himself the same thing. He didn’t take his blue eyes off Bojan when he answered: “Yeah, I think I really want this…”

He cleared his throat, feeling sweaty under the other’s gaze. “Um. You and Alessandra seem really close lately, should I be jealous?”

“Oh, no no no no. Jokerman, no one can replace you. She’s like a little sister to me. Nothing more.”

“Cool…” 

“Yeah, cool.”

So they’re cool. Clearly. They’re back to how they were before that party. Clearly, Jere didn’t change his tone to sound too serious when he told him no one would replace him, and Bojan obviously could tell what his friend really meant when he said “I think I really want this” while staring directly into his soul. It’s all good. 

He comes back to reality when a hand lays on his shoulder, making him flinch. The voice sounds like- “Sorry, Jokerman!”

“Jere, hello. Come sit.” 

“I can’t, sorry. I need to prepare to go on stage after Ale, but I wanted to say hi!” 

“Ah, okay…” 

Does Jere pick up his disappointment? Because his mood changes swiftly.

“We can do something tonight! Do you want to?” 

Oh. Okay, Bojan lied, he's unable to read Jere’s current intentions. He seems so different from before, he’s more joyful and confident . 

“Suuure… Do you have something in mind?” 

“We can have dinner, you and I.”

His heart skips a beat. If he looks too much into it, he might think Jere is asking him out on a date. But that’s insane, Bojan is probably dreaming.

No.  

What if he’s dreaming? 

The other singer is fully behaving like the Jere he’s seen in the dreaming session. He even did the hand on the shoulder thing! It’s too good to be a coincidence. 

A chill goes through his spine, as the assistant comes back with his energy drink, which he takes and immediately tries to down, scaring Jure. “Woah! Bojan, that’s not water, chill a bit.”

“Hah, I’m good, thank you Jure. Yes, Käärijä, let’s have dinner tonight.” 

“Yes, yes, good. I text you when I’m done?” 

“I can’t wait!”

Why did he accept? This is clearly another one of Luke’s fantasies, so soon it’ll be over and he’ll wake up back in his hotel room confused. At least he’s used to it, it’s been about five days since his insomnia began. It’s like his new hobby.

So, nothing is real, he can go with the flow and flirt with Jere if he wants. 

The rehearsals pass by pretty fast. As fast as the energy drinks are emptying too, to the point he can’t figure out how many he’s taken. Kris and Nace have come back, not in a better mood, but they’ve decided for the rest of the day to relax and admire the others’ talent. 

During La Zarra’s song, Kris tries to talk to him and only to him.

“Bojan, you look pale as hell.” 

“Do I now?”

“Yes… look, I’ve been worried about you since the dreaming session and I think it’s time I ask you why did you lie about your dream…”

Woah, the French singer is glowing… Is that real or is it like a filter for dream sequences? 

“Ummm… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“C’mon, Boj… Didn’t you hear me telling you to fucking kiss him when you were together back then?”

So Kris saw them in their collective dream? Bojan opens his mouth trying to deny everything once, but nothing comes out. He feels a pang through his middle body. “Ah, shit, my stomach hurts…”

“That’s because you drank your weight in energy drinks for the last two hours…” Jure murmurs.

“What the fuck?” An angry Kris turns to the rest of the band. “Jure, did you let him have those and said nothing? Look at him! He’s about to pass out” 

“I tried to! He flipped me off! Several times!”

“Guuuuuyss… I’m fiiiine, check this out.” The singer stands up and waves his arms around like that’s gonna be enough to prove he’s okay. He is. He feels perfectly fine. A hand touches his forehead, causing him to flinch again.

“He’s also burning up. I’m blaming you two for this. But now, let’s get him help”

Bojan slaps Kris hand again. “I don’t need help! I’m fine! Don’t talk like I’m not here! I’m not a baby, I can take care of myself just fine!”

“Well you sure are behaving like one right now”

“Kris do you just want to argue with me? Why do you ask these dumb questions if you’re going to assume whatever? Jesus Christ…” 

Why is this dream particularly long? He can swear he’s been here for hours. Seeing his bandmates angry at him is not a very dreamlike scenario, so it would be a great moment for him to wake up. Pretty please? 

“I’m not trying to fight, Bojan. You’re our brother, let us take care of you…”

The green room starts to spin a little. Some cold sweat drips from his hair. 

“Do you want me to be unhappy, Kris?” 

“No, I never said that-” 

“You want me to go and tell everyone I lied about the session, that you saw us. And then what? Huh? Nothing changes! Nothing matters anymore! In fact, you’re not real!”

“I am! I’m real. Bojan, you can lie to me, and to Luke and to yourself even, but you’re hurting yourself in the process. I can’t let you keep going…”

Jan has brought a lady dressed in a white nurse uniform. They’re speaking, not loud enough for him to hear. 

“I’m hurting myself? This is all Luke’s fault and his stupid powers!” 

“The dream is yours, Bojan. Listen to me, I know it’s scary that you like… you know who, is it really that bad if you admit you’re dreaming about him?”

Is it?

Yes. It is. And Kris doesn’t fucking get it. No one does.

The music’s stopped. Bojan thinks rehearsals are over. Or he could be back into his dreaming bubble where the rest of the world doesn’t exist anymore.

“You don’t get it.” 

“You’re right, I don’t. I’d like to, please. Bojan, let me help you .” 

Bojan takes a step back at Kris’ words. 

No, he can’t. What is he supposed to explain?

How can he explain?

Does he just… open up? And then, what? 

“And then, what, Kris… Do I just tell you my heart gets broken every time I wake up and he’s not there by my side? That I feel like… I feel like… when I sleep I see the reality I’ll never live in because he will not like me back?” 

“Bojan…” 

“It fucking hurts, Kris. If a simple human like me were enough he wouldn’t be out there trying to have powers and be super! He doesn’t even see how super he already is!” His back hits the edge of the couch as he takes another step back, but he quickly regains composure. The guys are acting like he’s made of glass and will break. They’d never treat him like this in real life. 

“Bojan, let this lady check you out, at least…” Jan approaches him carefully.

“Holy shit…” And then, Bojan is hit with the reminder that he’s just dreaming away.

So all these things he’s just said about Jere, he can actually just go and tell him and he will pay no consequences. He wants to know how it’ll feel to admit to himself for once how he’s truly feeling.

“I’ll be right back.”

“Bojan- Wait! Someone stop him!”

KÄÄRIJÄ

As La Zarra’s song was ending, most of the green room could hear Bojan raging . At first, Jere and his team thought it was about his rehearsal going horribly wrong. But as the silence in the stage rose, Jere listened with more clarity. 

“I don’t need help! I’m fine!”

Before, he tried to brush off how spontaneously Bojan had taken an energy drink and downed like half of it when he told him to have dinner together. The Finn should’ve known it was a red flag. But no, he was dumb and too busy being nervous because he asked Bojan out to dinner .

He had prepared himself, with Alessandra’s help, to actually make a move beyond the joke flirting he had with the Slovenian. She’d been a great support. Mostly, she’s been his cheerleader, bugging him non stop until he grabbed the courage to say “Fuck it, I’ll give it a try”. 

So yes, the dinner would’ve been a bit more romantic than their usual hangouts. 

Now, Jere is wondering if they’ll even make it to that dinner… 

Because Bojan is- “Nothing changes! Nothing matters anymore! In fact, you’re not real!” 

“What is going on?” asks Marco Mengoni, joining the Finnish area, just as Mimicat. On stage, Lord of the Lost should already be playing their song but someone behind the scenes tells them not to. 

“I don’t know…” 

“He looks exhausted as hell.”

When he least expects it, Bojan is abandoning his band and is walking straight towards Jere. 

This freaks him out. As the Slovenian gets closer Jere can see how white as a ghost he looks, sweating endlessly. He crashes into Noa. “Soooo sorry, Noa, love your song.” 

Joker Out is rushing behind his friend in hopes to stop him. Eventually, Bojan gets to Jere and attempts to plant himself in front of him. He fails though, because hiis feet are dancing around as if the floor wasn’t stable enough for him.

The Finn asks mentally what did Bojan do to end up like this? He wants to scold him for how much the other singer stopped taking care of himself to the point of getting sick and irritable.

Ukraine’s Jimoh speaks from the couch next to them. “Bojan, buddy, I think you need to sit down.”

“No, you’re wrong.”

“No, I’m sure I’m not-” 

“Jere, let’s just get out of here?”

What? 

“Bojan! Gosh…” Kris has reached his friend, but he doesn’t actually make the move to touch him at all. “Jere, don't let him leave. I will beg on my knees.” 

Why are they putting him in the middle of this, he wonders. As far as he’s aware, Bojan could be acting up due to a fight with his band.  

“Hey, Jere… we should just have dinner right about now, yeah?” 

A voice rumbles around the arena: “We’re pausing rehearsals. We need some medical assistance in the green room, please.”

Jere takes a step back. “I don’t think I want to anymore…” 

Bojan’s expression falls and Jere regrets his words. He didn’t mean them like that. But how can he defuse this situation when everyone is watching them? 

“Oh… I thought… Why is everyone staring at me? I was having fuuun.” Bojan’s speech drawls now. 

How can Jere help? What does he do? He searches around the familiar faces. Don’t just stare, do something! It would be great if someone intervened right about now!

Luke Black makes his way to the center of the crowd. 

“Bojan, you’re not okay. Let’s sit down and talk, would that be good?” He manages to pull a really soft voice, although Jere can tell he’s putting his best mask on for it.

“Luke, why did you do this to me?” 

The Serbian looks like he just got caught committing a crime as Bojan keeps talking.

“How did you manage to ruin me by using your powers on me once? And while drunk? You must be so powerful… I can’t do anything like that…”

This causes the contestants to whisper. No, they all feel like sharing their thoughts out loud.

“Dude, tell me you didn’t do this.” 

“Guys, shh! That’s not important now!”

“Luke is in so much trouble…”

“You’re right, Bojan, I will undo it. Just- let’s sit you down, I promise it’ll be alright.” Luke keeps going, ignoring the gasps arising.

Jere feels useless.

“Luke, I’m scared, they’re staring at me.”

“Ignore them, look at me, let’s breathe together…” 

“I can’t…”

Jesse, one of Finland’s dancers, grabs Jere’s shoulder, a way to tell him to drop it . But he can’t. Jere finally grabs the courage to actually intervene this time when Bojan’s breathing gets hectic and tears start falling from his eyes.

“Bojan…” 

“Jere, don’t leave me.” 

“I won’t.” 

“Don’t leave me again…” Again?

“Try to follow our breathing, Boj.” 

“I can’t, he’s going to leave me.” 

“Bojan, I’m not leaving you.”

He keeps his word, as difficult as it gets. Bojan doesn’t calm down any more. Jimoh approaches them and offers some breathing guidance for the Slovenian to follow. It doesn’t work. 

Jere is useless. 

Finally, Bojan runs out of air without a warning. His body becomes limp as a rag doll and instantly collapses into the floor. The tense silence transforms into cries, some calling out the singer’s name and some for help, now .  

What can Jere do? He uses his hands to cushion Bojan’s head a bit while the nurse finally gets her chance to check his vitals. Tvochi’s members help by asking the rest of contestants to stop standing there and clear the way for the paramedics, who arrive as fast as they manage with a stretcher and IV in hand. 

“Mr. Pöyhönen, please let us do the rest.” 

He shakes his head, unable to form words. Jesse comes to the rescue once again. “Hey Jere, he’ll be fine, they know what they’re doing. It's their job.” 

After giving it thought for some moments, he gives in. He’s useless and they’re the experts here.

The Finn doesn’t move much from the spot after Bojan’s been taken to the infirmary, followed by the rest of Joker Out and some members of the Slovenian delegation. He’s sitting down on the floor, hands over his mouth, fighting the tears. His thoughts are running a mile per second. 

He could’ve done better, he should’ve seen Bojan has been unwell since that party. Instead he got distracted by the talk about superpowers, what an idiot. 

Jere wanted to be useful. No, that’s not why he wants the superpowers. He’s scared as hell of not being enough to win this contest. Maybe having something out of the ordinary could make up for what he lacks in musical talent. It’s stupid… It feels more stupid now.

“Hey…” It’s Alessandra, with a puffy coat on and another one in hand, which she offers him. He didn’t think about changing until now. He didn’t think about anything but Bojan. “Don’t just sit there, Jere. If you’re going to give up on him, this is not the time. Okay? Now man up and be at his side!”

She’s right. He will beat himself up about this later, perhaps locking himself in a bathroom stall. 

But now, Jere stands up. His tears will dry on the way. 

“That’s my boy.”

Chapter Text

LUKE

Luke is very aware that he fucked up big time .

In his defense, he didn’t really think using his powers once on another contestant would snowball into that contestant refusing to sleep until he became as shaky as a chihuahua and caused a scene. 

He observed as some paramedics put Bojan into a stretcher to help him after the nervous breakdown he had in the green room, scaring the shit out of everyone, most importantly Käärijä, who was ready to cry right there and then. And God, didn’t that scene make him feel extremely guilty. 

The rehearsals have stopped indefinitely because of Bojan’s health status. Yes, Eurovision is indefinitely on pause. Not a good sign. At all. Some contestants sent him cruel looks once they knew it was his fault. Käärijä is definitely planning his murder now. On the other side, his friends tried to understand the position he’s in and supported him.

“Are you okay?” Had asked Teya.

“Well, I’m in trouble and I’m sure I’ll see the big bosses of Eurovision as soon as possible. I should get used to wearing orange, I guess…” 

When you find out you have superpowers, it’s not a pleasant experience. Your entire world turns upside down. Sometimes, quite literally. They manifest in different ways. For Luke Black, it was never hard: He was a dreamer before they appeared. 

He mastered his dreaming powers faster than the average superhuman, so when the bracelets were implemented as a safety measure in Europe back in 2019, he knew didn’t need one.

What happened back at the party was a once in a lifetime slip up that’s going to haunt him forever. Because it’s illegal for a superhuman to use their powers on a human without their consent . And that’s exactly what he did. 

How will Luke defend himself from this? He did do it. 

Then, again. Bojan lied too. The Slovenian avoided sleeping on purpose and also told him he was alright after they had the consensual dreaming session. 

Luke already has a theory about why he reacted like that, but he wants to wait until the meeting with some members of Serbia and Slovenia’s delegation, plus some superhuman representatives. They’re not putting him in a trial, but they might as well be. This is more of a “damage control” type of meeting, because they can’t allow any type of scandal between superhumans and humans to go out into the world and cause more drama. 

They’ve asked for the contestants involved to come forward and state their version of events just to prove Luke has zero evil intentions and will not become a villain. Some who did were mainly Teya and Salena, Joker Out and Käärijä . The fucker who turned out to be the first one to tell on him with the authorities. 

He wants to be mad, but he isn’t. Jere’s was an act of love, most of his are when it comes to Bojan. And it’s a headache to be here because they don’t have the nuts to tell each other with actual words. It’s been a careful dance around the other that a lot of contestants could see clearer than water (specially the ones with empath powers, like Loreen. Luke actually feels bad for her if she’s actively sensing their current energies).

He is petrified. Best case scenario, he has to fix his mess. Worst case scenario, he dies. Maybe not. He just really hates the idea of wearing orange. 

Then, the next morning after Bojan’s collapse, his hopes and prayers are answered by the presence of a fellow Serbian: Konstrakta. Luke’s big sister, not by blood. 

Her presence is really soothing, despite the fact that she appears in the hallway with an angry expression and ready to slap Luke for his dumb decisions. 

"So what on earth were you thinking? Explain yourself, young man."

"Jesus, okay, I wasn't! I was drunk and he was annoying!" 

She sighs. "Well I don't think saying that will help your case." 

"What do I say? It's the truth!"

"God, you should be thankful I was coming here anyway for the jury vote…”

And he really is. No one quite understands the science of Ana’s powers, but they know if needed, she will reverse what Luke’s did. She’s stated they’re healing ones. That’s why her appearance and her being part of the Serbian team is a full blessing for Luke.

They all sit in the meeting room, the air quiet and tense. There’s two mediators, some assistants ready to take notes, some representatives from their countries and contestants who are highly involved besides Joker Out and him, all surrounding a large table. He tries to not gulp at the sight of Käärijä, whose hard as stone expression doesn’t change at all during the whole thing, he also looks like he needs a shower if you ask Luke but he won’t tell him that right now. 

They’re asked to tell their version of the events when Luke used his powers, both at the party and for the dreaming session, and then yesterday when Bojan lost it too. 

He tries to keep it neutral (“Don’t say Bojan was annoying, for the love of God”) and as realistic as it was for him, so he says he was drunk. They even ask him what he drank that night, like he remembers. Like that’s relevant at all. (“Just be a good boy, Luke. They’ll try to provoke you.”). He states he thinks he mixed up his drinks too much and that’s why he got almost blackout drunk, and that’s when Salena came to his rescue, perfectly sober. 

Käärijä doesn't say anything during the meeting, much to Luke's surprise. He's wondering why he's here then. Maybe to witness his downfall. Once in a while he nods to acknowledge what others are saying, but never really taking sides. 

If Luke's correct, the problem wasn’t exactly that he used his powers. He has the feeling they didn’t quite work as usual. After the dreaming session, Jure from Joker Out said he felt a bit empty waking up from their dream of winning Eurovision. That’s normal. It’s happened before. But for Bojan to react the way he did… his bandmates admit it's very out of character for him when Luke shares his thoughts. So there must've been some secondary effects for alcohol plus dream powers that he didn't know about, because he's Luke Black and has never messed up this badly before. Fortunately, Jure supports his theory based on his experience, and they wonder: if the blond felt like missing what he dreamed of in a normal amount, how much did Bojan feel?

The mediators agree it's worth looking into this.

"Before any decisions are made, does anyone have anything to add?" 

Luke stands up. "Yes" ("And apologize, Luka. Make sure they know you really mean it") 

Of course he means it. At first it was funny to get his payback because he didn't think it would get this far . Now, everything's a mess. He has hurt a friend and many others on the way. "I'm really sorry everyone. I know what I did was wrong and I'm not going to justify it, I really want to fix it."

"Alright, we've decided that due to both parties being intoxicated during the events that took place at that party, no one is getting punished. Mr. Ivanović did try to fix his mistake, which unfortunately was not possible on his own. He'll only be asked to wear a bracelet from now on-" At least it's not orange. Thank God. -"and Miss Đurić will use her powers to undo the effects of Mr. Ivanović's. A member of the Slovenian delegation must be present during this and witness that Mr. Cvjetićanin consents to the usage of her powers on him. It can be a band member." 

The four members of Joker Out look at each other questioningly.

"You do it, Kris."

Kris nods, hesitant. "Okay…"

"Alright, Miss Đurić and Mr. Guštin shall now visit Mr. Cvjetićanin. Mr. Ivanović, you will go into the superhuman medical wing. Run some tests on him and give him a bracelet please. The rest of you may leave. What happened and this meeting stays in this room."

Luke may breathe a bit better, but he'll actually be at ease once Bojan is back on his feet being his usual annoying self. 

Oh, and when he gets his shit together with Jere.

Chapter Text

KÄÄRIJÄ

Jere wants to go into Bojan's room too, and he tries, several times. Just like he had made it into the meeting room a few moments ago just to say nothing. It's not that he didn't want to, he physically couldn't. He just felt heavy. 

Jere had tried to sleep as much as he could last night but the chairs in the waiting room of the medical wing weren't comfortable. At all. But he refused to leave even if they caught him sneaking into the room and were ready to kick him out, telling him he couldn't visit Bojan just yet . The band did enter, only to come back from it with a frown.

"He's freaking out… and still refusing to sleep." 

Apparently they've tried to give Bojan some sedatives, it was the best option they had. Bojan might have fallen asleep for maybe an hour before waking up once again, shaking and forcing himself to keep his eyes open, as obviously tired as he is. He hasn’t been eating much either.

"I just don't think it's a good idea if he gets any other visitors, I’m sorry Jere." Nace told him.

So they had no more time to waste when they told Konstrakta to go and do her thing. He follows the group back to the medical wing and ends up being stopped by one of the assistants. "Sorry, Mr. Pöyhönen. You can't go in."

"But… I need to see him, “ he attempts. 

"I know, you'll be allowed once they finish and we make sure it works."

He sits down once again in the waiting room with a grumpy face and arms crossed, he wants to at least see what they're gonna do to Bojan. He's unable to do anything and has been since yesterday. Jere never felt as useless as he has these past few days. 

"Hi, Mr. Pöyhönen?" He lifts up his gaze as someone calls his name, it's a nurse, a younger one. "Here are your blood test results." She's holding a sealed folder in her hands, kind of clutching it like it's worth millions and Jere hopes it's the case. "Would you like me to explain them to you?" 

Does it matter anymore? Will it be worth it to be a super without Bojan? He doesn't think so… although… "I have a question."

"Yes, of course"

"Will this-'' he points at the folder. "-help Bojan?"

It's a weird question, he knows. What he means is: if the answer is yes, Jere has powers, will they heal Bojan as much as Konstrakta's? Fortunately, the nurse gets what he's asking. 

And unfortunately, she shakes her head slowly. "I'm sorry, no."

Then Jere guesses there's no reason to open that folder anymore. "Thank you." 

He throws it in a bin at the end of the hallway as he makes his way to the restrooms. He keeps his promise and immediately locks himself in a stall just to let it all out. Everything he's kept for days now, the pain it causes him to see Bojan suffer. He cries and cries until he no longer can.

The only thing left for him to do is pray to whoever's up there to help his friend, he even promises to actually say "Hey, I like you, let's try this" once he sees Bojan's beautiful smile again. 

"Hello?" Someone enters the bathroom too, which makes him stop. He wouldn't want anyone to see him like this, so he makes sure the tears keep falling quietly . "Is someone in here? Are you okay?"

A pause. 

"I can still hear you, you know…" 

"I'm good." He blurts out. It's hilarious because he clearly doesn't sound good, his voice breaks mid-word and becomes a sob.

"Käärijä?" It's Chris from Lord of the Lost. "Can I help you?" 

Jere shakes his head then realizes the German can't see him. Okay, pity party is over, so he attempts to keep a bit of pride and stands up, removes the tears from his cheeks and gets out. Chris is wearing some comfortable clothes. At first sight you wouldn’t know it’s him.

"I'm fine, thank you. Why are you in medical wing?" 

"Oh, I've been feeling off for about a week. I wanted to make sure it's not a bad signal. I think others have as well. I'm assuming you're here for your friend, Bojan."

Chris can see through him. It’s no use for Jere to hide it.  "...yes."

"You haven't showered, have you? Look at your eyeliner, it doesn't match with tears, does it?" Without asking for permission the German takes off his tiny bag and searches inside until he finds some wipes for makeup. "If you're gonna be sad, at least use some waterproof makeup." 

"Thank you."

"Now why are you hurting, young man?" 

"I… did blood test. To be super." His English is worse today, it’s really difficult to string words together when he can barely think.

"Mmm okay, why did you want to be super?"

"In case I lose, I don't feel so bad. Now I want to help Bojan but it turns out I can't."

"I understand. Please look up." Chris takes his own eyeliner from the bag. Jere obeys. "So you think being super makes us more special than being just human?" 

"Yes, I guess."

"Okay, and what if you were a super whose powers didn't help Bojan? It wouldn't change much from now would it?" 

"No." 

"And yesterday, when he had a panic attack, did anyone use their powers to help him?" 

"I don't know."

"No one did, because a superpower doesn't fix people. Do you think Noa's power of the Unicorn would have improved it?" 

"Maybe?" Whatever having the power of the Unicorn means. "Konstrakta has healing powers."

"Yeah, but it's the humanity in her that allows her to use them."

"What does that mean?" 

"It means… a superhuman is nothing without the human . Someone whose powers are to heal will not use them unless they have empathy towards the hurt. Someone whose powers are to feel other people's feelings will not recognize them unless they see those emotions within themselves. And a super without humanity is just cruel. When Bojan had his panic attack, no one used their powers and instead used their human instinct to offer some breathing exercises. Does this make sense to you?" 

He never really thought of this. He's been stuck on the wrong idea about superhumans then? 

"Yeah…" He nods.

Chris finishes his new waterproof look. 

"There you go. So let me tell you, Käärijä, when you're on this side of the coin, you realize it's your humanity that actually makes you special. Here…" The older man takes off his metallic bracelet and puts it on Käärijä's wrist, smiling proudly. "Hold on to this. It’s our reminder that we still need to be human. I hope it helps you too no matter what the result is."

"Thank you, Chris. But you need bracelet."

"They'll get me another one. Now, be sad but at least don't ruin the look, got it?" 

"Yes, sir."

BOJAN

The past couple of days have been a hazy mess for Bojan to the point where he can't tell what is real and what is a dream. He knows he's lying in a bed but it's hard to tell where, and why. It feels like a movie because every time he blinks he witnesses a different scenario.

He opens his eyes, he wakes up next to Jere, ready to lean in…

He blinks and then he sees a worried Jure sitting beside the bed. 

Another blink, he's alone. 

Bojan is sure he's lost his mind by now and fears he'll never be back to normal. 

"Hey, Jure?" His throat feels dry so it's barely audible. Jure does hear him

"Yeah? What can I do?" 

"I'm not sure… if this is real or not. But if it is, I wanna thank you for everything."

"Jesus, Boj. Don't say that, you'll be fine, someone's coming over to help."

"No but listen to me-" 

"No, you idiot, I refuse. You'll be fine. Now shut up." Jure is aggressive and yet everything he says it's smiling. He wants to thank him for hoping for the best through whatever's happening but he chooses to stay quiet. After a bit, he closes his eyes again.

The noise of the door opening in a rush wakes him up again. He jumps, scared of someone breaking in. And someone kind of is. He's seen her before, she's joined by Kris who sits down and stares quietly. 

"Hello, Bojan.” The woman is wearing white and looks like a doctor. His memory is fussy, he can't quite recall if she really is or not.

"I've seen you before. Who are you?"

"You probably have. I'm Konstrakta, I represented Serbia last year.”

"Oh yeah. Loved the song. Why are you in my dreams?" 

Her gentle smile helps him relax. "I'm here to help you out. You see, I have the power to take back what Luke did to you."

"Really? You're not messing with me?"

"I promise you I'm not. But in order to do this, me and Kris need you to clearly state you are consenting to me using my powers on you." 

"Yes, yes, do it. Please."

"Alright. You will feel some tingling, I need you to relax and tell me everything that's happened since that night, and how you felt during this. Can you do that?" She rubs her hands together as if to warm them up. They start to glow a soft, bluish light. The sight makes him gulp and look up to the ceiling. He must concentrate to tell his side of the story.

"Okay… so we all went to this party. Me and other contestants, and I got super drunk. Jere kept giving me piña coladas, I couldn't say no but the bastard never seemed the slightest drunk.

At some point I lost track of time, I went to the bar to get some more drinks and I found Luke, who was mopey. I wanted to cheer him up! I realize now that imitating him is definitely not the best way to do that, because he pushed me away and then I saw this… fully unrealistic dream of me waking up next to Jere. It felt so real… I even thought my memory skipped the rest of the night and it was already the next day. He was so… warm and soft in this dream it made me miss him once I hit reality back.

At first I didn't feel much of a difference, but when I came back from the table, Jere was there with Alessandra staring at her in a way… how do I say this?"

"You were jealous?" 

"I guess… yeah… I hadn't felt like that before, because Alessandra is my friend, she's friends with Jere too, but that scene made my chest hurt ."

"Physically too?" 

"Yes, I thought it was because I was drunk. But I went back to the hotel and when I went to sleep the same thing happened, and it kept going, over and over. I woke up with pain, and I couldn't even sleep at peace."

"I'm so sorry you went through that. Why didn't you tell anyone?" 

"Because… well what if I was exaggerating? ‘Hey I slept dreaming about my crush and now everything aches. ’ That sounds dumb as hell, man. I mean, ma'am." He can sense Kris looking at him sadly as he says this, yet his friend remains silent. 

"It doesn't sound dumb when it concerns your health , Bojan," Konstrakta encourages him to go on.

"Maybe! I don't know, it's a mess. At least now I'm dreaming about you visiting me and not him . I even have a hard time having conversations with Käärijä because I can feel the ache in my chest, it never stops."

"Do you feel some sort of emptiness too?"

"Yeah, I guess I feel both things. It hurts to be asleep and it's empty when I'm awake." He turns to face Kris. "I'm sorry, I wanted to tell you I have a crush. I was planning to do it before… you know." 

"Hey, it's okay, Boj. I told you we're brothers, I'm not angry." 

"I caused a scene." 

"You did. We'll laugh about it in a few months. Maybe tomorrow if you’re better by then."

Konstrakta’s glow becomes brighter. "I found it. Are you ready to sleep peacefully now?"

"Wait, now? Like, I don't get to prepare?" 

"I'm telling you now to prepare. You won't feel a thing." 

"My memory won't be fucked right?" 

"Honey, your memory is already messed up, you think you're dreaming ." Her glowing, warm hands approach his chest and then she walks closer to move them to his face. 

"Okay, I'm scared, I need time." It's not like his body is strong enough to move away or escape anyway.

"Alright, I'll wait. How can we help you be ready?" 

"I- I-" As he tries to come up with an excuse to stall, his eyes are feeling heavy. Oh, no. Before he falls asleep he needs to accept it. Just say it, Bojan. "Kris, I have a crush on Jere." 

"I know, buddy." 

"When I wake up tell him… tell him…" What was he going to say? "To visit me!" 

"Just let it happen, Bojan. You will be okay."

He doesn't answer. And his eyes fall shut.

Bojan wakes up to the sunlight hitting his face. Where is he? What happened? He rubs his eyes, that was the best sleep he's had in a while.

After looking around a bit, he realizes he's in an infirmary room and the sun is setting on the window.. Huh. His memory is fuzzy. At least he's not alone, since in the chair beside him there's Jan, sleeping in a really painful position. That'll hurt later.

He clears his throat to not wake up his friend so suddenly, but fails anyways. Jan is a light sleeper and wakes up like it's the end of the world.

"Huh? What? Bojan, you're awake! Are you okay?"

" 'Ello ." He pulls his best British accent. Because it's funny . "Jan, I just had the wildest dream…"

Chapter Text

KÄÄRIJÄ

Apparently Bojan doesn't know which part of the last week has been reality and which parts have been dreams. That's how bad he got due to Luke's powers. Jere wants to be mad at him, but Luke redeemed himself when he accepted to use the bracelet and apologized in front of some international superhuman authorities . So he's safe, for now.

What's important is that the Slovenian singer woke up back into his normal, joyful, self. Jere can't help but light up at the sound of his laugh, as he sees him from the hallway, joking around with the band like nothing.

BOJAN

"Okay, I'm very happy you're fine but I want to tell everyone something now…" says Nace with a rare serious tone.

"Okay?"

"Are we just going to ignore that Bojan is in love with the green Finnish guy with a bowl cut ? Because I sure as hell will not." 

They all laugh. Bojan blushes, because he knew this would arrive eventually: Now, Joker Out are going to make Bojan's life insufferable by bullying him, just like they did to Nace.

"No! No, you want to turn them against me so we forget you're into bejba !" 

"Oh that's right! Nace likes Blanka! And Bojan likes Käärijä!" 

"Guys, guys… chill," says Kris. "I think it's only fair that we bully both of them equally for their questionable taste, right?" 

Jure and Jan nod as Bojan and Nace groan. "Nooooooo…"

"Okay, and speaking of… where is he?"

"Oh shit, Bojan you asked him to visit you, so maybe it's a good time for us to leave…"

"What?! No-!" 

"Ooooh it's time for you to Carpe his Diem-" 

"No! Don't leave! Also Jure, why would you say it like that?" 

"Because we love you, brother, good luck!" 

KÄÄRIJÄ

"He's all yours, Jere" Tells him Jure with a knowing smile. "He asked for youuuu…"

"Jure, be more discreet." Kris elbows his friend.

"Right, sorry." The blond regains composure and repeats himself with fake seriousness. "He did ask for you, though, okay, bye!" And leaves giggling with his friends. 

That doesn't sound weird at all. He expected Joker Out to spend more time visiting Bojan, even to stay the night with him. But no, they just left with smiles on their faces.

Jere doesn’t know what to expect when he walks into that room, he only knows what he knows about Bojan’s state because he was back in the waiting room when Jan came out like a worried mother asking for a nurse because his friend woke up. He prays the reaction from the band members is a good sign. 

Alessandra’s words about taking courage to take the first step repeat in his head, mainly the part where she said “Now man up and be by his side” to keep it easy to remember. So he does and opens the door.

BOJAN

He’s nervous, and it doesn’t go away once Jere enters his room with a hesitant smile on his face. It’s awkward in the way Jere probably doesn’t know what to say after all the chaos he made him go through.

He’ll start easy. “Hi, Jere.”

“Hey, Joker- Bojan” So this is serious. They’re both using actual names. “How you feeling?” 

“Definitely better. Whatever they gave me, it's working.” Bojan doesn’t remember what cured him. As far as his memory goes, the last thing he remembers clearly is the party , which turns out was a week ago. The rest is hard to tell. So his memory it’s not going great. 

“I’m glad, you scare us a bit.” 

“So I’ve heard.” 

“Yeah…” 

KÄÄRIJÄ

“What do you think happens now?” asks Bojan, staring at nothing in particular, with a small voice. “How do I come back from this?” 

“I guess you won’t know until you try.”

“Was it bad? Like, how many people saw me?” 

“It was… a lot, we were at rehearsals.” 

“Oh, god… And what did I do? The bastards didn’t tell me much, they kinda just made fun of me for embarrassing myself.” 

Is there a proper way to say “ You actually almost gave everyone a heart attack, I don’t ever want to let you go again ”? Is there a way for him to really hold back from hugging Bojan, cuddle him for three days in a row and never allow anyone else get close to him? What can he say to not make the other feel like glass? 

Jere is pretty messed up too, he just came back from a deep conversation with the man who sings about Blood and Glitter . He’s trying to not question his own worth anymore…

“You… drank lots of energy drinks. Then you yell at the band, then…” Came up to me. You wanted us to have that dinner. “You have panic attack” 

“Jesus, what a drama queen.” Bojan laughs it off, but the Finn can tell he doesn’t like what he’s hearing. “...was there something about a dinner?”

“Maybe. Don’t know.”

“Okay, now you’re messing with me, Käärijä. You’re a bad liar.” 

BOJAN

Jere is looking away, like a very shy puppy.

“...you know, when I get out of here, it would be nice.”

“Huh?”

“The dinner. It would be nice for us to have it once I’m fine, don’t you think?” He makes his best attempt at keeping a neutral tone. It’s easier than he remembers, since there’s no pain in his chest to stop him. Well, this time it’s not a dream. In fact, Bojan’s actually making advances because he’s certain it isn’t. Bojan will not be a coward anymore.

“Yes, yes. I agree.”

“Cool. You had a place in mind?”

“Of course. I pick fancy restaurant!”

KÄÄRIJÄ

They continue to talk, falling back into their usual banter like last week never happened, and Jere can sense Bojan is relieved about it. They discuss Eurovision, when it will come back if the Slovenian’s back on his feet by Friday, what are their plans for the summer… Maybe Jere will give himself time to visit Slovenia… to take a break from everything, definitely.

Then, Bojan yawns (cute) and turns to the window. It’s nighttime already.

“I think you should go back to sleep, fix the schedule, yes,” Jere suggests standing up. “I need shower. Will visit tomorrow.” He hopes Bojan doesn’t notice how off his English has gotten. 

“But we just started…” He thinks Bojan wants to stay awake and prove to himself he’s okay now, but he looks really sleepy, so the Finn can’t allow the Slovenian to go through the whole not sleeping thing again. They share a sad smile.

“Good night, Bojan. Get better, yes?”

As he grabs the door handle, Bojan’s voice catches his attention. “Wait, Jere.”

“Yes?”

“...stay.” 

Oh. 

“But… I have not showered.”

The other singer giggles and lifts up his bed cover as he scoots to the side. 

Oh. 

“I don’t care, I’m sure I’m doing worse. Please stay the night with me.” His brain short circuits. He must be dreaming too. Bojan keeps his grin like he didn’t just suggest they sleep in the same bed. A hospital bed. Like he isn’t wearing the same fluffy coat Alessandra lent him yesterday and no shirt underneath. This is going to be uncomfortable as hell… and yet…

“Okay.” 

ALESSANDRA

She promised to bring Jere some dinner, because she’s not letting him leave Bojan alone. If her friend missed the moment the Slovenian woke up Alessandra knew she wouldn’t forgive herself. 

The thing is, when she comes back to the waiting room, it’s empty. She quickly spots a nurse. “Hi, hi, have you seen Käärijä?” 

“No, maybe he went into Mr. Cvjetićanin’s room. I have to check on him now.”

Ale follows the lady into Bojan’s room. When they enter, they see…

Käärijä is indeed in Bojan’s room, they’re both asleep and pretty much cuddling . Käärijä is lying on his back with his coat open, revealing the naked chest, which the Slovenian is cuddling, his head buried in the other’s neck. 

This can’t be real. There’s so much to unpack here, starting with the fact that Bojan woke up. So either they got their shit together or he’s still in his dream trance. Oh, she’ll definitely force her friends to tell her all the details.

Right now, it’s better to let them be. 

“Ah… I guess I’ll check on him later… no, tomorrow.” 

Chapter Text

BOJAN

He opens his eyes, revealing he’s still in his hospital room. Huh. His memory isn’t as funny as before. Some images have come back to him during the night as he slept: Konstrakta was here, she used her powers and healed him. He also saw himself in a sleepover with Joker Out and Luke. Right, the puzzle of last week is starting to make sense.

His overthinking passes by quickly when he feels someone moving, still laying on the bed very much asleep.

Did he sneak someone into his bed? Gosh, he might get in trouble for this. The question is who-

“Bojan? You awake?” The world stops. He remembers now. He asked Käärijä to sleep with him in a bed that’s very much for one person. Maybe two if they find the right cuddling position, which they did .

“Jere?” The other singer rubs his eyes and looks up at him. 

"Yes, yes, good sleep?" I’ve been here before, haven’t I?

"I think so." No, he slept amazingly . Jere is probably the most cuddleable person in the world, because the warmth he emitted had relaxed him like nothing before. 

(He really stayed the night. He didn’t leave. Does this mean he likes me…?) 

"Good, jokerman." With that, Käärijä sits in the bed and plants a soft kiss on Bojan's cheek like it's the most natural thing to do. 

I’ve definitely been here before… No, I must be dreaming again. Please…

Both of them freeze once it hits them. Jere is out there kissing him. Like, at least let’s have that dinner first. (Like he didn’t just have him be in his infirmary bed)

“It was reflex…” The other tries to defend himself, not really apologizing, which is good. This is where the dream differs from reality. In the dream sequence, Bojan giggles like a school girl and then they… continue… to do other things…

Now, how can Bojan not let the peck slide when Jere’s hair is all messed up, making him look super hot? It’s a beautiful sight to wake up to. The most beautiful one.

Instead of answering with words, Bojan chooses actions. This time he makes sure to treasure every second, every touch.

His hands raise and place themselves on Jere’s face, who stays still but looks deep into his eyes. Bojan decides to take his time, memorizing how the beard feels tickly, how his cheeks are perfect. He goes up, letting his fingers understand the softness of his dark hair. A bit lower, and Bojan treasures how his hands fit perfectly hooked on Jere’s neck, like they’d be if they were slow dancing. 

His hands keep going lower, tracing every single line of Jere’s chest tattoo. Another essential part of the Finn he wants to keep forever. 

Eventually, he gets to the scar. Jere tenses and even looks away, perhaps worried Bojan would go lower. He won’t. Not today at least . 

“Everything… that makes you, you. I like it,” he whispers looking down at the scar, right below Jere’s belly button. He adores how proudly Jere will show it, because it’s a part of his story he’s not embarrassed about and never should.

He never wants to stop. 

“Bojan…” Jere whispers back. 

He must stop, though. Because, once he looks back up into the Finn’s blue eyes, the urge to kiss him becomes stronger than anything else.

This is it, the “before everything changes”.

So he does. He places his lips on Jere’s softly, and doesn’t move them for some seconds. He memorizes how soft his lips are. and how it feels like a match made in heaven when the other smiles into the kiss, not separating just yet.

And this is where everything has changed.

They eventually separate. Only because they have to breathe. Fucking human needs.

“Wow.” Exhales Jere. They stay as close as they can, feeling each other’s breaths. Right now, it’s just them and their little bubble. Nothing else matters.

“Yeah… wow.” 

“Bojan.” 

“Yeah.”

“I really like you, let’s try this.” 

“Yes.” 

“Yes?” 

“Yes!” 

“Yes!”

This is how the dream ends. Happily. What fills his chest is not an unbearable ache but the biggest amount of happiness he’s ever felt.

Chapter Text

ALESSANDRA

Alika is playing the piano in the hotel lobby from afar. She smiles as her fingers move from the other side of the room and the music fills the room without anyone actually sitting in front of the instrument. They’ve been chilling for a while as they waited for the rest of the female contestants to join them on a girl’s night. 

They’re going to celebrate the actual first week of rehearsals being over. And it was deserved after the whole Bojan situation. Alessandra is sure that if it kept going, the Slovenian wouldn’t have been the only one losing sleep.

Now, Bojan is back on his feet and so is Eurovision. Thank God.

Teya and Salena appear from the elevator, looking glamorous and happy. “Hey, guys! Sorry we’re a bit late!”

“Hey, don’t worry, you’re not the only one.” 

Luke Black comes out of the elevator too, he seems to need a night out too. Yeah, it’s cool to be back on the show, and it doesn’t mean they’re not tired from it. 

“Hey, Luke, would you wanna join our night out?” 

Alika slaps Ale’s shoulder to scold her. “No! It’s a girls only night! Sorry Luke, I’ve been waiting for this one for days, I strictly prohibit you from coming.” 

The Serbian laughs. “That’s totally fine, I think I’m choosing to never get drunk ever again. I do need some fresh air though.” 

Alessandra has noticed Luke doesn’t really look any more relaxed since Bojan was discharged from the medical wing. He’s wearing a bracelet now, so there’s no chance of the events that triggered his friend’s dreaming chaos happening again.

“I think Luke should be allowed to walk us to the club, can’t let him join the actual clubbing part, sorry bud,” she proposes and Alika hums, seemingly content with the idea. 

“Oooh look who’s coming over, looking sharp.” Salena whistles as Bojan walks up to the receptionist in a rush. The woman hands him a bouquet and he thanks her, he then turns around and spots the little group hanging out on the couches. 

“Hi, guys. You’re looking amazing for your club night.” The Slovenian smiles and Alessandra is so glad to have this version of him back. 

No, this one is a new, reborn Bojan who seems to appreciate everything and everyone even more after his weird (not sure if near-death) experience. Instead of just echoing back the contestants songs when they cross paths, he makes sure they know how great they do in the rehearsals, how great they look. But most importantly, he looks the brightest when he’s with Jere. And this one makes pretty much everyone around them glad. 

“You’re not looking bad yourself, Bojan Cvjetićanin from Slovenia.” Luke speaks for all of them. Bojan’s wearing a casual suit, still a suit, so he must be planning something fancy.

“Why thank you Luke Black from Serbia.” Bojan bows dramatically. “I’m having dinner with a Finnish singer, you must’ve heard of him.”

“Oh, could that Finnish singer be named Jere by any chance?”

“Maybe…” 

“Gosh, I’m so happy for you two, you lovebirds.” 

Of course, Alessandra did bomb them with questions, telling them what she saw back in the infirmary room, so they had no option but to tell her. She’s never felt more like a proud little sister. 

The thing is, they weren’t really private about it after that. 

It was officially confirmed for their friend group the first day of rehearsals, during breakfast, when Bojan made his entrance looking happy and approaching Jere with the loudest smooch on the cheek and hugging him from behind. And yes, the amount of PDA is real. But no one really minds as long as there aren’t any more contestants having a crisis.

“Thank you, girls. I’m very happy too, I just… feel like I’m dreaming. Super glad I’m not though…” 

Luke looks away guiltily. “Yeah, still sorry about that…”

“Hey, don’t be. In fact, I should thank you for helping us!” Bojan waves his hands dramatically and the bouquet shakes as he does so.

“I’m confused,” Teya states. “You’re thanking him for messing up your dreams?”

“Yeah! Dude, you should’ve told me your dreams could see the future, me and the boys are trying to not get our hopes up for what we saw on the dreaming session, but I’m just saying-”

“Bojan.” 

“Yes?”

“Luke’s dreams can’t see the future…” They’re confused. It’s been pretty much established that Luke just shows what people dream of. Nothing more… unless?

“No, but he did.” He stares at the Serbian. “It literally happened, dialogue and actions were the same up until some points.. Oh, you did mess up the place, it was back at the hospital room, not the hotel.”

“So… you’re saying-”

“It’s canon. It’s a fact, my friend.”

Bojan really believes what he’s saying. He doesn’t falter as the rest say nothing. Because, that’s not possible. When they had just met, Alessandra experienced her friend’s powers firsthand, and they just don’t do that. Luke opens his mouth but closes it, like he’s asking himself what to say to the Slovenian’s statement. Their conversation gets interrupted when Blanka joins them.

“Hi, guys! I’m so excited! Hi, Bojan, your date is here…” She points back and there is Jere, searching.. He smiles warmly once he spots Bojan and walks to hug him. Käärijä is wearing a dark blue suit too and his hair, instead of being on the usual bowl cut style, is slicked back. 

These newlyweds…

“Hi, everyone!” 

“Hi, Jere” They all greet him back. Then, they’re instantly forgotten as Bojan hands the bouquet and the Finn blushes. Right.

“Hey, Luke…” 

“Yes?” He seems to be deep in thought. 

Alessandra can tell they’re wondering the same thing. “You really can’t see the future, can you?” 

“Nope…” 

The next ladies to join the waiting group are Loreen and Mia. 

“Hi, guys.” 

“Hey, are you ready to party?” 

“Yes, of course, I’m so thankful for your invitation.” The Swede is always so nice. She notices the couple giggling in the middle of the lobby. “They’re so cute, I’m so glad Käärijä got his powers and his boy now.”

What?

“He has powers?”

No, he doesn’t. Alessandra was his power-seeking partner! If he has powers she should be the first to have known. She remembers him stating it didn’t matter anymore- 

Oh. Jere is actually wearing a bracelet. It’s barely noticeable underneath his long sleeve. 

Wow, Alessandra is actually offended now, so she stands up and approaches them, not caring that she’ll break up another of their cute moments.

“Jere, why didn’t you tell me you do have powers?”

“What?”

She grabs his wrist, lifting it up to point at his bracelet. 

“Oh, no no no. This one not mine. It's gift from Lord of the Lost.”

“Yeah, it has a secret message,” completes Bojan. Like that makes sense.

“Jere.”

“Yes”

“It’s blinking.” 

Her friend stares at the led light and how it is, in fact, blinking. “Yes?”

“They don’t do that unless you have powers.”

“Ah… Well I don’t know what they are because I use bracelet” Wasn’t he super excited about having powers some days ago? So he really meant it when he told her it didn’t matter anymore. Why? “I have Bojan, this is good enough for me.”

Most of the girls, after hearing this, go “Awww”. 

“Oh… okay, I guess.”

The couple leave for their dinner, holding hands and constantly whispering sweet nothings to each other. Man, Alessandra might feel a bit lonelier after the scene.

“They’re disgustingly cute.” Luke, as always, speaks the truth. They nod in agreement.

“Man, I’m so baffled. I helped Jere with his search for powers and now he doesn’t care? I will find out like I have found out about everyone else’s! I promise!” Ale shakes her fist to the air. 

Blanka is twirling her hair with her finger when she talks. “Oh, I overheard the nurse talking about his results when I did my checkup like, four days ago? If I remember correctly she said something about reactive types of powers that manifest in physical ways on the immune system, and that it was a defense mechanism to harmful substances for the body’s health.” 

Alessandra shouldn’t be as shocked as she is by the natural way Blanka just said this. 

Perhaps they’ve been misjudging her. 

“Someone translate?”

“He can’t get drunk.” The Polish girl now looks at her nails, like this topic is dumb and unimportant to her. How. 

“You’re joking.”

“No, they said they envied him for that.” 

“Oh…” This literally changes nothing. Except maybe Jere’s entry song being a full lie.

“Now, that’s not fair. Even not getting drunk is a cooler power than mine! Ugh…” Says Teya angry.