Chapter Text
Felicia wished to get out the city one day. She didn’t hate New York, there were definitely more opportunities there than there were in Italy.. But it had become such a trash hole in the past few years. Of course no one took care of anything, they were going through a depression after all! But she had seen more empty heroine needles than blades of grass in the recent years it had become worrying. But she had no time to think about junkies, no time to think about the cities miserable state! She had a job, a demanding one at that. Pretty girls made it big, no matter what scene they were in. Modelling, burlesque dancing, acting, in Felicia’s case, singing!
She started it for fun, did a couple gigs in town, eventually became a pretty good hit! She was proud of herself, able to get a somewhat stable job, able to pay the protection fee for her apartment, able to make pasta again.. it was great! But she did get nervous before every gig.. Being pretty came with its cons, men howling like animals at the slightest peek of her beautiful tanned skin, those long eyelashes, her plump lips.. It drove ‘em crazy! She doubted herself at first, ‘people only like me because of my body!’, she would think to herself, but she reminded herself every time that she had a talent, and if she could sing those lovely songs she’d always listen to as a child with the voice of an angels, then she’d sing till her voice was nothing but a mere whisper.
..
“..Just disgusting.” Monika thought to herself.
She would say it out loud, no one would care nor bat an eyelid, but she had a reputation to keep up.. Just stay silent, stare at the crowd, and smoke maybe too many cigarettes.. A filthy habit, but it came rather naturally. Being in the mafia brought up way too much trouble than it needed, she was rather annoyed that all this dirty work was dumped onto her and not her older brother, who was probably more capable at this than her.. She didn’t think America would be this bad, probably better than her home of Germany, but Christ was this country a pigstye. People getting caught in the web of cheap drugs, mafia business that never had to include them, mass depression, prices absolutely no one would ever be able to keep up with.. She felt a bit bad, but she knew damn well a lot of the things happening were of people own stupidity.
Very few things actually brought her joy now, beer, walks around lesser known parts of town during night, pretty ladies, music.. She loved the way women sang, something she could never admit to anyone unless she had a death wish, after all homosexuality was pretty looked down on.. She didn’t think of it as a guilty pleasure, more a private interest.. She took a quick sip of her beer, flinching at the taste.. Mediocre at best.. She placed the glass back down, hoping no one saw her make a face..
“Aye, boss, you need to focus..” One of her men tapped her on the shoulder, snapping her out of whatever trance she was in.
“Who said you could touch me?” Monika brushed the mans hand off, almost choking in disgust.
“Right, right, sorry.. But focus, best singer in town’s boutta come on stage, that Feli.. God whatever her name is.” The man apologised unconvincingly.
Monika wished she could just shoot this man in the chest for disrespecting her like that, but if a pretty lady was about to sing on stage, she couldn’t disturb her performance now, could she?
“Alright. You’re giving her this much credit, she must be great.” Monika looked back over to the stage, watching the pianist crack his fingers, flipping through a small book in front of him.
“She’s a charmer really, super cute. Hey, maybe you can shoot your shot, not too sure she’ll go for ya though..” One of the other men sat around the table joked.
“Right. And you think she’d give someone like you any attention? I think not.” Monika shot him a glare, nothing more, but it was a very firm warning.
..
Felicia was backstage, nervously fiddling with her dress, trying to make herself at least somewhat more decent.. The dress was a nice shade of red, and the sequins around the belt were to die for, but so low cut! She didn’t want to accidently flash someone and possibly lose her only way of income..
“Feli, my baby, why are you fiddling around like a crazy animal? You look fine~” Amelia, a good friend of hers, suddenly wrapped her arms around her shoulders from behind.
“Oh, goodness, Amelia.. I-I know I look fine, I just wish this had some extra fabric is all..” Felicia jumped, frightened by the sudden contact.
“It looks alright to me.. Come on, you’re on stage in a minute! I’ll be cheering you on from back here, don’t worry!” Amelia pushed Felicia slightly more forward, almost shoving her onto the stage fully..
“Alright.. Ah.. I’ve got this, I’ve got thiss..” Felicia closed her eyes for a second, giving herself a quick prayer before rushing onto the stage as soon as it was her time.
She felt eyes on her as soon as she made her way over to the microphone. She tapped it, made sure it was actually on, remembering what the manager told her..
“Introduce yourself first, make yourself known, then you can sing”
“Ah.. Ahem! G-Good evening everyone..! It’s my first time in this bar, I hope you will all enjoy my singing tonight..!” Felicia was quick to grab even more attention. She was certain it was because of her accent.
Obviously Italian, with that unmistakable New-Yorker influence. She took a couple deep breaths, and as soon as the pianist started, she was prepared. She closed her eyes as she started to sing, not really up to looking any of these men in the eye. Of course she felt their stares, all over here, but she couldn’t shake that feeling of eyes boring into the side of her head, not staring at anything else, just her face. That was what made her nervous. But, she could not afford to mess this song up.. She knew this bar was pretty well known for it’s fights, guns and drug deals ending horribly.. High Mafia rate.. She sung perfectly, even momenteraly opening her eyes. She gazed to the corner she could swear she delt a heavy gaze coming from, and she spotted that gaze immediately. A very pretty woman, dressed in an impressive blue suit, short blonde hair, light blue eyes, that heavy, unbreakable stare.. This woman clearly meant business. Felicia just prayed she was staring because she liked the song and not because she was imagining selling her off to a foreign country to get her turned into some inhumane experiment.. She gripped her microphone tighter, closing her eyes again, continuing to sing..
“And after all is said and done..”
She prayed her voice wasn’t shaking.
“To think that I’m the lucky one,”
She heard herself, she knew she sounded pristine..
“I can’t believe that you’re in love with me~”
Finally.
The clapping started, the whistling was loud, the crude remarks about her body came flooding in.. She was just glad she didn’t mess up. Now, she had to speak even more.. She didn’t hate it, she loved rambling, but the comments were somewhat nervewracking..
“Ah, I’m so glad you all enjoyed that..! But I wouldn’t say my cat screeching was that good..” Felicia chuckled into the microphone.
“Don’t say that tuts!” “Gorgeous!!”
The clapping continued for just a short moment.. “You all flatter me, really! Well,” Felicia then looked at that woman again.
She was truly a sight to behold.. “Goodnight!~” Felicia then winked at the woman, before letting go of the microphone and scurrying off stage.
Felicia sighed in relief as soon as she was off stage, the loud chatter continuing, a couple comments still able to be heard behind the thick curtains.
“Feli! What was all that about?” Amelia spotted her immediately, rushing over and grabbing her arm.
“Huh? All I did was sing, Amy! God, did I mess up?” Felicia already started to worry.
“No, no! You sung perfectly, as usual! But Feli, why’d you wink at that lady?” Amelia took Felicia to a further table, leaning her back against it, Felicia stood rather awkwardly in front of her.
“Uhmm.. The blonde lady? I don’t know, she was just very pretty and her suit was fancy.. S-Should I not have done that?” Felicia bit her bottom lip, nervous.
“You don’t know who she is? Feli, you seriously need to start reading the papers! She’s a.. Ugh, look. She’s a mob boss, you know what those crazy people do! God knows what she’s planning with you now?” Amelia tried not to scare Felicia, maybe that worked too much..
“Oh, what are you on about? She wouldn’t hurt a fly! She definitely blushed like a baby when I winked! You know what, I think I’ll go talk to her now~” Felicia giggled, already turning to leave backstage and walk into the bar.
“Feliciaa! Come on, don’t talk to her! Oh, you silly girl..” Amelia sighed as Felicia skipped away, holding some of the fabric of her dress in her hands, making sure her heel wouldn’t get caught in the fabric.