The first thing Victoria does when she wakes up the next morning is reach for Max's body beside her, instantly remembering what happened the day before, but she frowns a little when she remembers that they each went to their rooms to sleep. After getting soaked in that rain they decided they'd better go inside and take a shower, and Max was so genuinely tired that it took her a short time to fall asleep after feeling the warmth of the water against her wet skin. So Victoria simply planted a kiss on her cheek and let her rest.

The Italian dresses quickly but quietly, because she hears the three boys arriving around five in the morning, and knows that today will be a day of rest and relaxation for all of them. It's already nine o'clock, the sun's rays are shining into her room, and she thinks that if she's awake, Max will be awake too, because their rooms are next to each other. She can't stop her stomach from turning at the mere thought of the girl in the other room and what happens the night before, she still doesn't believe it's real.

She is thankful the house has carpeting, or else it would be too noisy. She checks that the door to Max's room is open, but she could have sworn she had closed it the night before. She pushes it gently, not wanting to disturb her, but the bed is perfectly made and the curtain is drawn. She sees that the phone is not on the bedside table either, so she thinks about going out into the garden to look for her, but she is not there either.

She finds her on the sofa in the living room, her back to her, her eyes fixed on the horizon. She fiddles with her phone in her hands, and turns around with a tired smile when she sees Victoria come in. The blonde realises from the pallor of her face and her tired eyes that she has been there for quite some time. "Good morning," Max's voice is delicate and appears frail, and something inside Victoria is triggered, something she doesn't like, but she decides to ignore it momentarily. "How did you sleep?"

"Like a baby," Victoria's smile is sleepy, but it prompts one from Max. "From the look on your face I can tell you didn't get much sleep. Do you want some breakfast?"

Max simply nods, getting up and following the blonde closely into the kitchen. She sits down on one of the stools as she tries to tame some of her tousled hair. Victoria watches her out of the corner of her eye as she makes coffees for the two of them, checking that she's okay. But Max is still distracted, as if her mind is wrapped up in something she can't get out of. Suddenly, the Englishwoman looks at her phone, but stares at it for too long to just check the time.

Victoria thinks she understands something of what is going on. Max still hasn't responded to Connor's message from last night, and if she doesn't, it could have a negative impact on her career. Victoria thinks she understands a bit about beards and contractual agreements, but she can't even imagine half of the suffering and pressure Max is being put under.

"You don't look well," Victoria takes the cup in both hands as she looks at the Englishwoman. "Do you want to talk about it?"

The brunette sighs, tossing her hair to one side and casting a furtive glance at the phone in her hands. "I've been thinking all night. Everything that happened yesterday..."

Victoria looks away. Please don't say you regret it.

"I'd like to be honest with you from the beginning, and let you decide if this is what you want," Max brings her hand to hers, and though Victoria's heart warms, the Englishwoman's hand is ice cold.

"What do you mean?"

"Being me right now isn't easy, Victoria. I don't want to sell you a part of me or a life with me that isn't realistic. I want you to know everything there is and everything that can happen if you decide to stay with me," Victoria nods, thinking that, at the very least, it's progress that Max is willing to talk things through. "My relationship with Connor is going to be complicated. In the public eye we're the perfect couple, I'm tired of hearing and reading so many times a day that they adore us, when behind closed doors we don't even talk to each other. I can't just break off my relationship with him, I told you these people won't let us off the hook that easily. You should know that nothing I do with him makes sense to me. Pictures, messages, posts... I don't care, Vic. He's not the one I want to be with."

"I know, Max," Victoria squeezes her hand gently. "I believe you. It's enough for me to know that what you feel for me is sincere, no matter how much you have to pretend that outside. I know we can't get anything out in the open, or tell anyone, I'm aware."

"You say that now, Vic. But when you see Twitter, Instagram, magazines, articles... When you read what people think about something that isn't true... I don't want to hurt you. As much as I tell you I want to be with you, I know it can be frustrating not to be able to do anything about it," Victoria sees Max's face look saddened, so she walks over to her and wraps her in a hug. "If anyone on my team finds out, it's over. If the public finds out, they'll ruin my career. Everything I've worked for, everything I've dreamed about my whole life would go to shit."

"Hey, look at me. I know, and I understand you. I know you're being honest. It would be selfish of me to tell you to forget about everything to focus on this. I'm never going to ask you to do something like that. We can... try it while you're here. We don't need to formalise anything, as long as we're comfortable it's enough, okay? We'll be safe from people here, no one will know anything."

"You're too good, Vic...," Max leans back against the Italian's small body. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You'd probably have a much easier life," Victoria smiles, and though she says it jokingly, Max shakes her head.

"You don't know how grateful I am that you're in my life. I wouldn't change a thing, Vic," the Englishwoman admits, and is touched when Victoria looks away momentarily. The phone rings on the wood of the table, and they both look away. Connor's name reappears on the screen, and Max's jaw clenches at the fact that he seems intent on ruining her trip.

The Englishwoman notices that the blonde's gaze is still on her phone, so she takes her by the hands and pulls her closer to her. She rests her hands on her slightly bare hips and strokes them with her thumbs in circles. Victoria's breathing quickens a little, and suddenly Connor's message stops making sense, stops existing.

"I want you to kiss me."

Victoria's eyes widen. "But what about the boys? They can come out at any time."

Max shakes her head. "I want you to kiss me," she repeats. "Have you seen what time it is? Those three don't wake up until after lunch."

Convinced by her irrefutable arguments, Victoria leans in and kisses Max, who continues to caress her skin, sending shivers down the Italian's spine, who gasps as the brunette rises from the stool and pulls her closer, remembering the previous night in the rain. Now it's Max who has to lean in slightly, guiding the blonde to the couch without parting their lips. Victoria hits the armrest and falls backwards, giggling, but her eyes darken as Max stands over her, tucking her hair behind her ears.

"Not so funny anymore, huh?" Max whispers close to her mouth, and Victoria has to strain not to crash her lips against hers again.

"Victoria?" A male voice startles them, and they both look at each other with surprise in their eyes. Max sticks closer to the Italian's body so Damiano can't see them from his position on the couch, and Victoria sighs, so the Englishwoman has to cover her mouth with her hand so he can't hear her gasping for breath.

Rubbing his eyes, Damiano shrugs, thinking he had heard a voice, but goes back to the bedroom. Still breathing rapidly, Max slowly pulls her hand away from Victoria's mouth, who looks at her intently. "He's gone," vocalises the Englishwoman, who looks at Victoria's face and stifles a giggle. "You should see your face."

"Get up before I need a cold shower," Victoria mutters through her teeth. Max smiles, gives her an innocent kiss on the cheek and helps her up, hugging her afterwards. "You go from hot to cute in a matter of seconds."

"That's a special skill," Max smiles sideways and winks at her. "Come on, you want to help me answer it?" Max shows her the phone with much less regret than before, and Victoria also puts the spite aside, considering the good mood they both seem to be in. "What would you say to him?"

Please, talk to me. I really do hope you have a good trip. I'm willing to give you space, but I think we need to talk. We can't lie forever.

"I'd say fuck you," Victoria replies simply.

"Believe me, I'm not unwilling. But we have to act civilised at least, or people will get suspicious. How about this?"

okay, connor. we should act cordially at least for the sake of our contracts. don't think i'm doing this because i forgive you.

"You say too little to him. He deserves to be told to go fuck himself," Victoria takes another sip of her now cold coffee. The phone vibrates again in Max's hands, and they both read the message.

Thank you. Let me know when you arrive to London so we can talk about this. Just so you know, I never meant to hurt you.

Max clenches her fists in anger, and Victoria has no choice but to take the phone out of her hands and give her a long kiss. The Englishwoman calms down considerably, allowing herself to be carried away by Victoria's quick lips. "It's all right. You don't need to think about it any more. You're here now, away from him and everything. You can be yourself here, all right? Now get dressed, I'm going to show you the first stop in Rome: the supermarket."

As Max promises Simon before she leaves, she uses all the time she has free to try her hand at writing. Not that she suddenly has her album ready, but she does find that it is easier to write there, in the villa, in the Italians' studio to be precise. She spends her evenings tucked in there, while the four Italians keep busy. She is often alone at home, because Maneskin have to go to the studio to rehearse for the Saturday concert, but the lack of company doesn't bother her too much, because she knows that at night she will have Victoria's bed to hide in.

For the first few days they find it a little difficult to control their bouts of kissing and other physical contact, so much so that Max swears she has received the occasional sidelong glance from Ethan, but when she turns around he doesn't look at her, so she thinks it's just a figment of her imagination. She can't help it, though: being with Victoria next to her is a festival of emotions, especially since they've confessed to each other how they really feel. She feels like stealing a kiss, hugging her or even holding her in her arms while they talk about anything silly, and although it's true that she's a little embarrassed to have to repress her instincts in front of people, she's happy to think that in the evenings they'll have their moment.

She likes being with Victoria so much that she thinks she could write a thousand songs for her. Not all of them would be exclusively about the butterflies in her stomach every time she kisses her, she could also dedicate songs to her that talk about the support she gives her, the calm she feels with her and the crazy things she would be capable of doing. So every time Max announces she'll be in the studio and Victoria comes in, she hides her notebook because she doesn't want her to see that maybe, just maybe, some of the lyrics that pop into her head are for the blonde.

She keeps in touch with Jack on occasion, as the boy suggested. They send each other lyrics and verses they have written for possible songs, and Max is happy with the result. She already has two songs finished, the two she showed Jack in the studio a few days ago, and she's waiting for a couple of paragraphs to send him for his opinion.

what do u think about this one:

i've always been the one to say the first goodbye

had to love and lose a hundred million times

had to get it wrong to know just what i like

now i'm falling

idk about the whole song yet but my concept would be: whipped.

wow that's a good summary. let me go through it in case somethin pops into mind! and send me anything that comes into yours. your writing is good, max.

by the way, i was meaning to ask u something. i'm writing for some other singers and we've got something that can be a good match to ur voice. u interested?

really? ofc i'm in. who is it?

i'll send the concept and some of the lyrics for u to read, and if you're convinced let me know. we're missing a verse left, so if you're feeling inspired go ahead.

damn u not gonna tell me who is it?

i don't want you to accept just because of who it is. i want you to feel comfortable with the lyrics and the ideas. don't want to pressure u into something max, hope u understand.

ok doc.

There's a knock on the studio door, which startles Max, who throws her phone as far away as she can to hide. But when Victoria enters, who sees the phone land on the carpet and Max innocently raise her head, she raises her eyebrows, as if asking for an explanation. "Private business," Victoria folds her arms. "I promise I'm not doing anything weird. If you come over here and sit down I'll tell you, but I can't show you anything yet, it's top secret!"

"Go on, tell me. Someday I'll get you to let me read everything in there, won't I?" Victoria nods to the now closed notebook that Max guards.

"Sure you will. When they become songs, they'll all be yours," Max gives her a little smile. "I was talking to Jack. I sent him a few things to look over and let me know if they're okay. Then he told me he's writing with someone and I might do a collaboration with someone. He hasn't sent me the lyrics yet, but it sounded important." Max smiles.

Victoria also smiles. "You look happy."

Max shrugs with a wide grin. "Things are going well. My mother is happy with Robert, Simon is finally giving me some freedom to write, I have lots of ideas, and you're here by my side, Vic. I have every reason to be happy," Victoria can't control herself: her lips beg her to kiss her and she does, gladly. "By the way, now that I'm not giving interviews or anything, I wanted to post something on Instagram. Would you like to play a cover with me?"

"A cover? With me? Of what?"

"I was thinking of something for you to play with me on bass. Do you know 505 by Arctic Monkeys?"

"Are you kidding me? I love that song."

Max laughs. "I thought so. I learned the lyrics, you said you liked it, so I want to play it with you," Max pouts. "Come on! People will love it."

The Englishwoman manages to convince Victoria for two reasons: that stupid pout that makes Victoria's heart race, and because Max has gone to the trouble of learning the song just because she liked it. So in the end she nods wordlessly, being enveloped in a quick hug for which she still blushes slightly.

The brunette stands in front of the camera, sitting on the floor next to Victoria, who has the bass in her lap and tests the strings to see that they are in tune and sound good. "I start recording in three, two, one... What's up, guys? It's been days since I've been here, I know, but I've been pretty busy with things that you'll be able to see in a while. As you can see, I'm accompanied by my fantastic Vic, Victoria de Angelis, from Maneskin, and we thought we'd record a cover to thank you for the amazing support you've been giving us. I'm sure you know this one: this is 505."

Victoria starts playing bass, and Max instantly knows when to start singing, bringing the mic to his lips.

I'm going back to 505

If it's a seven hour flight or a forty-five minute drive

In my imagination, you're waitin' lyin' on your side

With your hands between your thighs

The melody is soft, almost as soft as Max's voice, which barely rises above a whisper. Victoria has to remind herself several times that she's in front of a camera, and that as much as she loves to hear her sing, the lyrics are not appropriate to stare so raptly at her.

Stop and wait a sec

When you look at me like that, my darlin', what did you expect?

I'd probably still adore you with your hands around my neck

Or I did last time I checked

However, Max looks at her with a playful smile that is barely noticeable, so that only Victoria can see it, being close to her. The Englishwoman shakes her head to the sound of Victoria's bass, who doesn't even have to look at the sheet music: it's one of her favourite songs since she was a child, she doesn't need anything more than her memory.

Not shy of a spark

The knife twists at the thought that I should fall short of the mark

Frightened by the bite, though it's no harsher than the bark

The middle of adventure, such a perfect place to start

I'm going back to 505

If it's a seven hour flight or a forty-five minute drive

In my imagination, you're waitin' lyin' on your side

With your hands between your thighs

But I crumble completely when you cry

It seems like once again you've had to greet me with goodbye

I'm always just about to go and spoil a surprise

Take my hands off of your eyes too soon

Max's voice rises above her accompaniment, and Victoria says nothing, as much as she would like to look at it right now as if millions of people weren't watching that video. Her low tone has become high-pitched in a matter of seconds as Victoria plays the solo instrumental, and her breathing quickens as she hears the high notes the girl is able to reach as opposed to her low voice at the beginning of the song.

The vein in her neck relaxes and Max closes her eyes as she sings the last verse more softly. She only opens them again when the song ends, smiling, matching the last word of 505.

I'm going back to 505

If it's a seven hour flight or a forty-five minute drive

In my imagination, you're waitin' lyin' on your side

With your hands between your thighs and a smile

Max laughs at the Italian woman's astonished expression, sticks her tongue out at her and hurries to turn off her phone camera. She decides she'll edit it later and upload it that night if she likes what she sees.

"I didn't know you could reach such a low pitch."

The singer shrugs as she picks up. "It's not my specialty, but I can tell by the look on your face that I can hold my own."

"I don't think you're going to be able to upload that video. I look at you too much," Victoria warns her, and Max frowns lightly. "Seriously, watch it before you upload it. If anyone sees that they're going to know instantly that I wanted to kiss you right then and there."

"Alright, sexy bassist, you have me where you want now," Max sticks her tongue out at her again, and this time Victoria doesn't hesitate to leave the bass leaning against the wall and put her hands on her waist to kiss her deeply. Max is surprised by Victoria's confidence, but she likes that she's so determined, so she lets out a sound of satisfaction. They break apart not long after, more out of fear of one of the boys showing up than lack of desire. Max bites her lip as she looks at her and smiles, "You're so pretty. And I'm so happy I could kiss you all day and all night."

"Please do."