Chapter Text
The press area was buzzing with excited chaos, with the chatter between contestants performing in Eurovision in Concert in Amsterdam, as well as reporters and people from the press bustling from interview to interview. Daniel Zizka stood alone in the sidelines just taking it all in. He still couldn’t believe that he was selected for Eurovision to represent his country, the Czech Republic. When he knew he was chosen, he had to then keep it a secret for months, while his university classmates kept nagging him asking questions about why he kept not showing up to class (which he always awkwardly answered with ‘I had something important to do’ before switching the topic). When someone passed by, he smiled politely and waved, and when interviewed, he gladly obliged, but mostly he just watched everything unfold with his hands tucked into his shirt pockets, preferring to listen rather than speak.
Eva Marija was chatting with Cosmó, when she found her gaze on the young man standing alone with his head in the clouds. Something about him was drawing her in, perhaps his gentle, dreamy smile, or his calmness, like a lone flower blooming in a garden full of weeds. Before long, she noticed that she was staring and without second thought, she crossed the room to where Daniel was standing.
“Hi I’m Eva Marija from Luxembourg,” she said with a warm smile, “You’re the Czech representative right? She motioned for Daniel to come with her to where Cosmó was. “And that’s Cosmó from Austria, he’s a fun guy and a good friend of mine.” Cosmó enthusiastically waved at him.
Daniel was a bit startled but smiled and replied, “Nice to meet you guys, I’m Daniel Zizka and I’ll be representing Czechia with Crossroads, by the way, you can call me Dan.” He recalled seeing the young woman in front of him in a video performing the song ‘Mother Nature’ from him scrolling the Eurovision YouTube channel when he was listening to some of the other songs in this year’s contest.
Right then, Cosmó bounced over, grinning from ear to ear like he’d just thought of the best idea ever. “Perfect timing, you two gotta learn the dance from my song ‘Tanzschein’. It’s my entry, my pride and joy, and also an excuse to make everyone dance!” Before anyone could object, he dragged them both to a corner for some space. “Time to show us your moves, maestro,” Eva laughed, already ready to groove.
Daniel hesitated, but Cosmó had already started his demonstration. “First hold out your right arm with palms facing forward, move the hand to the left side near the waist like this, then move it to the right side, and repeat with your left hand. Next…and lastly, you gotta smile like you’re performing for an audience.”
Eva followed the dance easily, moving her hands to the rhythm playfully. Daniel’s movements were slower but more careful, his sincerity making the rhythm feel graceful. Eva turned to Daniel, teasing, “Not bad Dan, you’re a natural.”
He blushed, a small laugh escaping his mouth. “I was just trying to not accidentally hit you with my hands.”
Daniel was used to his friends and family calling him Dan as a nickname. In fact, he addressed himself to his fans by that nickname, but the way Eva called him Dan felt different. It was the same name, yet the way she said it, her soft and sweet voice, carried warmth. For the first time, he felt that ‘Dan’ wasn’t just a nickname, but a secret only they shared.
“Perfect! You guys are gonna rock at the semifinals!” Cosmó said with a wink, pushing Daniel out of his train of thought.
That night, the preparty performance went amazing. The crowd erupted into applause after he finished his song with a heavenly high note. His face went slightly red when he heard Eva complimenting his voice as ‘like an angel from the heavens’ from the front of the crowd to Cosmó when he was walking offstage. When the performances all ended, and the crowd started to disperse, Daniel lingered at the exit. Deep within his heart, he was already looking forward to London. Not merely for the performance or the stage, but to be able to see Eva again.
The day after Eurovision in Concert, when he was getting ready to return to Prague, Daniel found his Instagram inbox exploding with notifications from the group chat he was added into after he was announced as the Czech representative. He was pretty busy for that period of time so he didn’t check Instagram much aside from posting about his song, but he had time now, so he took a look.
Class of 2026
Pinned msg: LETS BANGARANGA!
Dara: I know we just did Eurovision in Concert but like… we should def do something together when we meet up for the London preparty
Dara: anyone wanna go to a club after the preparties
Veronica: We gotta go back to our home countries the day after, we are NOT getting drunk and hungover before going on a plane 😭
Dara: Awwwww ok :( wait omg maybe we could go karaoke (we can get a lil drunk just a lil bit perhaps? 🫣)
Alis: Last time you ‘accidentally’ got too drunk and we had to drag you back to your hotel room…
Dara: shhhh I won’t do that again
Essyla: I’m up for karaoke haha, don’t know any spots tho
Antigoni: ooh I know a place, we could go there to pass the time after the press welcome
Dara: Hell yea it’s settled🔥! My treat, who’s cominggg
darnadude created a poll
Akylas: FERTO
Eva: Sure :D
Alexandra: Count me and my bandmates in 👀
Søren: Let’s gooo
…
Seeing Eva agree, he pressed the yes option in the poll. He could use a nice karaoke session to wind down, have fun and chat with everyone in between the hectic moments of interviews, meeting with fans, and the actual preparty performance.
Not long after, the day of the London Eurovision preparty rolled around. The artists all were received with a warm welcome, and throughout the morning, everyone was buzzing with anticipation. Dara was already discussing what songs she wanted to sing in karaoke with Akylas, while bouncing between interviews and signing for fans. Soon enough, the contestants (who agreed to the karaoke hangout) were all crammed into a room with neon lights with a karaoke machine which, to their delight, had most of their Eurovision entries.
Satoshi immediately queued up his song ‘Viva Moldova’, hyping everyone up. “He just turned us all into Moldovans in spirit with this bop,” Jonas lightheartedly joked to Søren. Felicia then grabbed the mic and started to dance and sing to her song ‘My System’, transforming the room into a rave as everyone vibed along. The other artists then eagerly selected songs they wanted to sing, from attempting to sing each other’s Eurovision entries, to singing songs from their favourite artists, until the laughter and dancing engulfed the room as if everyone had known each other for years.
After Cosmó nearly cried his way through a sad ballad he was dared to sing by Dara, he solemnly declared, “Next time we do this, on the Eurovision mascot’s soul we are banning sad songs,” and everyone erupted into laughter.
Before Daniel could even wonder if his own entry could be considered a sad song, Søren headed up to the miniature stage and delivered a theatrical rendition of Jonas’s entry ‘Ya Ya Ya’. Everyone clapped along, and when he was done he dramatically bowed like he just finished the performance of his life. Eva then took the mic and queued up ‘Eins Zwei Drei’, much to everyone’s surprise, holding the mic like she was strumming an air violin while singing the song like an upbeat ballad.
After she finished singing, Cosmó patted her on the back saying, “Nice one bro, I did not expect you to sing that.”
“Just you wait,” Eva replied in a playful tone, “I am going to perform an actual cover of this song tonight.”
She then motioned for Daniel to go and sing a song, mouthing “Your turn,” while handing him the mic.
Daniel wavered for a bit, but the encouragement from everyone around him was hard to ignore. He stepped forward, a bit nervous, and queued up his favourite Billie Eilish song. As he started to sing, he felt his nerves melt away, his voice carrying through the room. Halfway through the song, everyone joined in, singing along to the melody. Eva’s voice rose above the rest, clear and gentle, and Daniel felt his chest tighten with the feeling of warmth that had nothing to do with the emotional lyrics.
When the song ended, the room erupted into applause. “Hey I said no more sad songs,” Cosmó said jokingly, his face showing evidence that a tear had run down his face.
“Well, I thought you were only banning it starting next time,” Daniel replied with a sheepish grin. Everyone started laughing, any tension in the room dissolving in an instant.
Soon, the contestants started to disperse in a haze of laughter, still teasing Cosmó about his ban on sad songs, returning to the venue to start preparing for the preparty performance. Before Daniel left, Eva brushed past him, slipping a small scrap of paper into his hand.
It read: Meet me outside the building later after the preparty ends,
in her delicate, cursive handwriting.
***
That night, he found her waiting by the lamplight outside the venue, still in her performance attire. Together, they decided to take a walk through a quiet park nearby, the city fading into the background, and the air carrying the faint scent of grass. Eva talked about home, the different species of flowers she grew in her backyard, orchids she tried to save, the way she loved plants that were resilient and refused to give up. Daniel listened, his shy enthusiasm making her laugh.
“Promise me Vienna, Dan, I’ll show you a cafe that’s literally a greenhouse,” she suddenly said, turning to him with a grin.
He nodded, a sincere smile on his face. “I promise.”
Eva looped her pinky finger around his, turning their promise into something they knew they would never forget.
Time flew by like a soft breeze. They chatted, sitting on a park bench below the starry sky until they both realised that it was nearing midnight, then parted reluctantly. Back in his hotel room, Daniel folded the slip of paper Eva gave him earlier and placed it carefully on his desk, intending to bring it home the next day. To others, it may be just a piece of paper, but to him, it was like a one-of-a-kind jewel, rare and irreplaceable.
He found himself humming to the tune of ‘Mother Nature’ in the shower, each note carrying the memory of her smile.