There we stood, outside of the Solstice Theatre in the cold, San Francisco weather. Amedeo and I stood in silence, staring at each other, just waiting for the other to start speaking first. The cold, winter wind was blowing through our hair, sending a chill through the already suffocating air around us. I hugged my arms awkwardly as I looked between the ground and at Amedeo. Never once did he take his eyes off of me, staring at me with his signature smoldering, pensive look. He sighed and finally, was the first one to start the conversation. 

"I'm sorry." He breathed heavily. Already, his eyes looked red with tears, and he could no longer look at me. He was looking to the side, shuddering a bit. I couldn't tell if he was shuddering from the cold or from the emotions he was feeling. The air he exhaled turned frosty and cold, visible in the air. I could tell this wasn't going to be easy for him. Nevertheless, he continued. "I'm sorry for everything. For my terrible behavior over the past few weeks, and especially for my inexcusable behavior at the dance. I never imagined I could act that way and I never wanted to hurt you. And yet, I did. For that, I apologize from the bottom of my heart." He looked back at me, frowning. "I am sorry for all the times I have made you feel uncomfortable, annoyed, or not treated you like the precious person you deserve to be treated as." 

His eyes were full of remorse and sadness, his eyebrows upturned as he looked at me and continued his speech. "You truly are precious, Daniela. From the glorious moment I first met you, I knew that you were special. Then when I heard your angelic voice, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I've never heard any sound so sweet and breathtaking as your voice." He smiled through the sadness. "You were so kind from the minute you met me. You didn't ignore my problems or the tragedies I was dealing with at the time. You listened to me, and you really comforted me." His face turned serious. "That's why I love you." I felt a pang in my heart as he said those five words.  

"For once in my life, I couldn't control my emotions. I am so used to holding my feelings deep down inside and never letting them show. I never wanted to a burden to those around me. But, with you, I just lost control." He stepped a bit closer to me, but still keeping his distance. He looked up at me, his eyes filling with tears. "I have never felt the way about a person that I do about you. Suddenly, nothing but you mattered to me. You were my whole life, Daniela." He shuddered, a tear sliding down his cheek. "And for that, I am sorry. I never wanted to place that much pressure on you when I confessed, but I couldn't hold it in. I needed you to know how I felt; how much I loved you, how much I depended on you, how much I needed you. But that was unfair, and I must have brought you so much distress and pain. For that, I will always feel guilty, and I'll never forgive myself." He looked at me. "I was blinded by my feelings for you. I thought that if you were with me, I could make you happy."

He wiped the tears from his eyes. "But today, when I saw you performing with Lucio, I knew in my heart that's where you belong. You belong with him. I see that you are truly happy with him." He looked at me, emitting a sound that was a mixture of a sob and a chuckle. "I could never make you that happy." I frowned at him, feeling tears well up in my eyes. He smiled at me through all the pain. "That's all I desire, for you to be happy. If that means you're happy with Lucio instead of me, then that's what I will support." Another tear slid down his cheek. "I just want you to be happy, Daniela. I'm so sorry." He apologized for the millionth time that day. He looked at me with tears streaming down his face. "If I can't be in your life as your lover, then I hope I can be in it as your friend. But if you don't want that either, I understand. Just know that I am always here for you, whenever you need me." He smiled. "Because I love you." 

I looked at this pitiful, amazing man that stood in tears in front of me, telling me of his love for me. This moved me so much more than his confession that day in the theatre ever could. Now, I one hundred percent believed that he loved me. He loved me enough to let me go, even though it would be painful for him. He would support Lucio and I's love and he would continue to be our friend, because he just wanted me to be happy. A mixture of relief and sadness washed over me as I took in all his words. Without warning, a tear slid down my cheek. Amedeo noticed, frowning immediately. "Daniela?" He said my name in a whisper, concerned. I just continued staring up at him. Out of everyone, I felt for Amedeo the most. He seemed genuinely in love with me, and I was so sad that I had to turn him down. I turned to look at Lucio, who was staring at us worriedly from the bench. In my heart, I knew I belonged with him and that he was the one I loved, but it didn't make turning Amedeo down any easier. 

I looked at my friend who stood in shambles before me. Without a single word, I ran up and hugged him tightly. Amedeo's face and body language showed me that he was incredibly surprised. He held his arms out in the air for a second, debating whether or not he should hug me back. I continued to hug him tightly until I felt his strong arms close around me. We embraced tightly, tears still flowing freely. "Amedeo, I love you much more than you'll ever know." I felt his arms tense around me as I said that to him. I pulled away to look him in the eyes. He looked so surprised, the tears staining his cheeks and making his eyes cherry red. I smiled up at him. "You are an amazing person, an amazing singer, and an amazing friend. I am so glad that you came into my life." I frowned. "And I'm sorry I can't return your feelings, Amedeo." He frowned again, but he looked like he was expecting it. 

He was still holding me in his arms as I continued talking. "But I don't want you out of my life. I want you to be my friend forever. These past couple weeks without you have made me so sad. And that day in the theatre when I wasn't able to talk to any of you really broke me. I really missed you, Amedeo. So please, continue being my friend." I smiled. "I need you every bit as much as you need me." Now, Amedeo was full-blown sobbing. His body shook as he looked at me, biting his lip and crying. He hugged me again, even tighter than last time. He sobbed into my shoulder as I hugged him back, just as tight. This time, he wasn't desperate. He wasn't clinging onto me. We were both supporting each other, like friends should. Despite all the tears, I smiled. I gained back my friend. 

We broke out of the hug, Amedeo smiling at me. He wiped his eyes, looking at me with gratitude. "Thank you for being you, Daniela." I smiled. "And thank you for being my friend, Amedeo." We shared a moment together, just smiling at each other. Our hearts were both mending now that we were friends again. Suddenly, I remembered Lucio. I turned to the side to see him standing up from the bench he was sitting on, watching us like a hawk. Well, like a worried hawk. I grimaced. I'm sure all the crying and hugging didn't look all that encouraging from where he was sitting. I turned back to Amedeo. "Want to mend another friendship?" Amedeo turned to look at Lucio, tension coming across his face. But eventually, he smiled. He turned to look back at me. "Andiamo." 

Lucio met Amedeo and I in the middle, coming up to the sidewalk we were standing on. He looked between me and Amedeo, trying to read the expressions on our faces. I smiled at him. "We're all good." Amedeo nodded in agreement. Lucio smiled at me, sighing in relief. "That's wonderful." He turned back to Amedeo, the smile and relief disappearing. Amedeo stared back at him, his mouth in a straight line. I bit my lip. If Amedeo and I were all good, wouldn't Lucio and Amedeo be too? I stepped back to give them some air, but still shamelessly listened in on their conversation. 

Amedeo started first. "I'm sorry, Lucio. For the way that I've been towards you and Daniela. I hope you two are very happy together, honestly." He looked down at the ground. "I didn't treat you like a friend should. You are still one of my best friends, Lucio. I hope I'm still yours." He slowly looked back up to meet eyes with a now emotional Lucio. Lucio paused for a moment, staring back at him, until he walked over and embraced him in a tight hug. Both of them started crying, which in turn made me cry. "I'll always be your friend, Amedeo." Lucio said, through tears. Amedeo sniffled and nodded. "And I'll always be yours." 

The two broke apart, laughing and wiping the stray tears from their eyes. Then, they both turned back to me. I wiped a tear away from my eyes, smiling like I had just won the lottery. I ran up to the both of them, wrapping them in a group hug. They each laughed, wrapping their arms around me and each other. We hugged one another tightly, feeling nothing but happiness. All that was missing from this hug was Cosimo. And thankfully, he wasn't missing for long. 

"Ragazzi!" A voice cried. We turned back to see Cosimo sprinting towards us, paper bag in his hand and a big grin on his face. He stopped short of knocking into all three of us, huffing and catching his breath. He smiled at Lucio and I, and then turned towards Amedeo. "So, if we're all good here, can I get in on this?" He asked him. I guess it was his way of trying to restore the peace between him and Amedeo. Amedeo just nodded happily, a smile on his face. "Get in here." Cosimo joined the group hug and we all embraced. I was so happy in that moment. The friendship was back and stronger than ever. 

"So, how did you know we were still here?" Lucio asked Cosimo, once we were finished with the hug. Cosimo chuckled. "Truthfully, I left to get you guys some pastries." Cosimo said, holding up the brown paper bag, which we now saw was embroidered with a name of one of the local coffee shops. "I thought we could celebrate making up, you know? But when I saw Daniela talking with Amedeo, I went back to the store to get some more so that all four of us could celebrate. I thought we'd need them." He smiled, taking the happiness and peace all in. "And I'm glad we do." We all shared his smile, just looking at each other. Lucio reached out and held my hand. "I'm glad we do too." He said, smiling at me. Cosimo groaned in a playful manner. "Okay, just because I'm alright with you two being together doesn't mean you get a free pass to PDA whenever you want." We all laughed as Lucio and I continued holding hands, despite Cosimo's protest. Though, he didn't seem to mind.

"Should we enjoy these pastries in the park?" Amedeo suggested. We all nodded and soon, we were on our way to the park. There, we were able to resume our usual friendly camaraderie and conversations. We all complimented one another on our performances that day and shared more our ultimate hopes and dreams for singing with each other. Amedeo dreamed of going to New York to perform opera at Carnegie Hall, Cosimo dreamed of staying right here to sing for the San Francisco Opera, and Lucio dreamed of going anywhere he was wanted. I shared with them all my dream of going to Italy, which was met with excitement. "You'll definitely go, hands down." Cosimo said. Amedeo nodded. "Yeah, one hundred percent." Lucio smiled. "I've always believed in you." I looked at them with a big smile. "And I believe you'll all get your dreams." We all smiled at one another as we continued bonding over pastries. 

Soon the sun was setting, and all the pastries were gone. We got up from the patch of grass we had been sitting on and went on our separate ways home. "Invite us over to dinner one of these days." Cosimo asked, air kissing me on the cheeks to say goodbye. Amedeo nodded, smiling and saying goodbye to me in the same way. Lucio, Amedeo, and Cosimo all looked at one another and hugged again, slapping each other on the back the way guys did when they hugged. I smiled at the heartfelt scene. I was no longer the one who broke up a friendship. I was the one who helped put it back together. Cosimo and Amedeo went on their ways home, waving and smiling at us. "Don't stay out too late, lovebirds!" Cosimo cooed on his way out. I chuckled, looking down at the ground. 

Lucio and I turned to look at each other, smiling brightly. "What a day." I remarked. Lucio nodded, sighing. "It was an amazing day. We're all together again." I smiled at his words. Lucio shifted his eyes to the side, a mischievous smile appearing on his face. He turned back to me, holding my hand. "Come with me. I want to take you somewhere before I take you home." I tilted my head. "Where?" We started walking anyways. Lucio turned back to me with a smile. 

"Where I fell in love."