Chapter Text
Three months later
Nemo's POV.
"Hello, everyone. Thank you all for coming." Teemu said, his expression solemn. Everyone stood in silence as he started the service, tears in his eyes. We were in Helsinki, standing only a few hundred meters from the Gulf of Finland as we held a funeral for the rocket jorts that got us out of the mansion. It was warm out, unusual for November in Finland, and almost everyone who was in the mansion was here as well as the ones who helped us get out.
"We are gathered here today to say goodbye to the jorts that saved us all, breaking the door of the mansion with the help of our dear friend Kristján Estoni Kohver Jakobson." Teemu continued, voice trembling.
Silvester grabbed my hand as he stood beside me. He had been clinging to me like a puppy ever since the mansion. I always let him. I looked at him lovingly as Teemu continued the service.
"Would Kristjan Jakobson please come up to the front?" Teemu requested.
"Uh. Teemu? Remember? He's not here." Ramo reminded the Finnish man. That was true. Kohver was the only one absent from the funeral as he was away at MasterChef Eesti, but he said he would call us as soon as he had the time. We didn’t hold it against him. He was probably thinking about what he would cook for the next episode, and everyone was saying that he's the one most likely to win the whole thing. Although he told us multiple times that he couldn't wait to get back home because he wanted to "finally cut his hair”, he kept it long for the publicity. It was understandable, the singed ends from the burnt door were starting to become noticeable.
"Very well then. Would you or Päevakoer like to speak on behalf of him then?"
"I will!" Mihkel volunteered, standing up from his chair in the back and walking down the aisle to get to the podium. Once he got there, he gently removed his sunglasses, signalling for the rest of 5Miinust to do the same. He cleared his throat and began to speak.
"I know us Estonians are known for not being too serious, and that's not going to change. I'm still the goofy Estonian that everyone knows me as, and I hope the mansion hasn't changed any of you either." Päevakoer let out a trembling sigh. "As for the jorts. We wouldn't be safe and sound without them. Not only that, but the friendships that were made from that set of stairs in the mansion and those jorts is something that will never be replicated. Whoever the hell is running the mansion will not make me dwell on the hardships. We're all here now, and that's what matters."
I began to cry. I knew it was stupid, but the things that Päevakoer said were true. We were all united here, together. Silvester must've noticed me crying, because he gripped my hand tighter. I looked at him and smiled tearfully. Silvester returned my smile. Looking into his crystal blue eyes made me feel whole again. I'm so glad we're able to be together even after what happened.
"I never want to lose you again." Silvester whispered to me. My smile only got wider as I started blushing like an idiot.
"You won't have to. Not for a long time." I muttered back with a smile. Silvester grabbed my other hand with his own and pulled me close. We leaned in until our lips eventually met. It was soft and beautiful. I held Silvester close, not caring about who was around. It was perfect.
By this time, Päevakoer had finished his speech. He made his way back down the aisle to sit down. Teemu cleared his throat.
"Would anyone else like to say anything?" He asked. Something inside me tingled, almost as if it wanted me to say something. I held my breath for a couple seconds before standing up.
"I would like to say something." I said. Silvester looked at me and smiled. I smiled back at him as I walked toward the podium. Everyone looked at me, Marko and Iolanda raised their eyebrows, probably in confusion. Why would I want to stand up and say something about the rocket jorts?
"What would you like to say, Nemo?" Teemu asked, handing me the microphone. I took a deep breath and looked out at the audience. My eyes met Silvester’s in the small crowd. He was smiling.
"I remember the second day we were all at the Mansion. Teemu, Marko, and Iolanda had been messing around with that stupid pair of jorts, crashing into the floor right next to my bedroom at 6:00 a.m." I took another deep breath and continued. "Although at the time, and for the duration of the Mansion, I was pissed at the antics, as time flew on, more people started joining in. Joost, the Estonians..."
I kept my eyes on everyone, tears forming again in my eyes as I continued.
"But as time went on after we left the Mansion, I felt like the jorts were a symbol of freedom, silliness and fun. Yes, it was reckless and very, very annoying, especially when I was trying to sleep..." I took another deep breath, "but even I can admit that it was fun to see the smiling faces of everyone after they had taken leaps of faith off those stairs, even if it meant their necks could break. At the end of the day, I'm grateful for the fun and relationships that the rocket jorts created. Even though we were all stuck fighting for our lives, we were making the most of it. Seeing Luna and Jaklin braiding Kohver's hair, seeing Hera and Kaleen's nails, seeing Tali comforting Päevakoer after the whole thing with Kohver and Ramo... It really means a lot."
I took a moment, clearing my throat for one last message.
"So no matter how hard these game creators tried to scare us and make us fear for our lives, which of course we did, they also unknowingly did something else: they united us."
"Anyone up for a petition of the renewed Eurovision 2024 slogan being changed to #UnitedByTrauma?" Joost joked from the audience, causing all of us to laugh. It was true though. It didn't matter the distress that we went through to make it out of the Mansion alive. All of us did, and that's what matters.
Suddenly, I heard a phone buzz. It was Päevakoer's phone, and it was a FaceTime call request. We all knew exactly who was calling, so we let Koer answer the phone.
"Hey Kohver! Apparently Teemu wanted you to make a speech, but I did it for you." Mihkel laughed.
"Aw man, I'm too late. Best I just hang up then." Kohver laughed, obviously sarcastic. Before anything else could happen, it seemed that there was some recklessness happening on Kohver's end of the call. Distant, muffled laughter could be heard.
"What the hell is going on over there?" Ramo asked.
"Oh, that's just Taavi and Keili. We're all in a hotel room right now and those two are having a pillow fight right behind me." Kohver groaned.
"Oh shut up, you love us!" A female voice, Keili Sükijainen, giggled, while seemingly whacking Kohver with a pillow. Everyone who could see what was happening on the phone screen started to laugh.
"Hey now! I'm on the phone." Kohver whined, but his tone wasn’t serious. Then, Taavi Immato pulled the phone away from Kohver, pointed the camera at his face, and stuck his tongue out, pretending to lick his phone.
Those three were definitely not sober.
"Gimme the phone back!" Kohver cried.
"Gimme got shooooottttt!" Taavi laughed, seemingly running with Kohver's phone in hand. Another man came into the room at that moment, seemingly annoyed by the antics that those three were getting into. He cleared his throat.
"What are you guys doing?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Mart! You're hereeeeee! Keili cheered.
"Guys, it's like 2:00 in the afternoon and you're drunk!! Care to explain??" The man, Mart, asked, but nothing else was heard before Kohver reclaimed his phone and hung up. After a bit of silence, Koer's phone pinged. It was Kohver apologizing for the rowdiness via text. The rest of us couldn't help but laugh.
"Well that sure was something." Teemu chuckled. "I guess it's about time to have the proper send off."
At that moment, Teemu picked up the shoe box that the burnt jorts were in, and we all made the long walk to the edge of the sea. Trembling, Teemu, Marko, Joost, Koer, and Iolonda all gently laid the shoe box into the water and gave it a gentle shove, letting it drift off into the distance.
"I promised myself I wouldn't cry...." Saba mumbled, teary eyed.
"It's ok, girlie. Crying is good." Nutsa replied, voice trembling. All of us stood there watching the sea in silence. Eventually, someone, who I think was Aiko, began pulling us all into a big group hug. It was tight, but it felt good.
...
Later that night, everyone was still here in Finland. We were partying at a bar that Jere had booked out for the night. A lot of us were intoxicated with the notable exception of Silia Kapsis, who is still underage but was allowed to get into the bar with a lot of convincing. She was able to join us with virgin drinks, and we celebrated the time we had together. Kohver even popped in for a minute. He was only a 3-hour ferry ride away after all.
"Decided to leave the chaos behind you?" Raiven asked, The Estonian man laughed.
"You could say so." He replied, walking over to the bartender to get a drink. When he got what he ordered, he gulped it down. Yep. He was definitely going to get drunk tonight.
I hung out with Silvester, Bambie, and Olly the whole time. We played stupid games like Truth or Dare and would you rather. A couple other people joined us here and there, but most of all, we were drunk as hell. Luna even suggested that we play spin the bottle, but we all shot that idea down.
Suddenly, my phone vibrated. I pulled it out of my pocket and I realized that it was a notification from a Eurovision news website. What I saw made me choke a little.
"Guys! The first national selection has just finished! An artist has been selected for Eurovision 2025!" I exclaimed, half drunk but surprisingly able to articulate my words.
"Oh that's awesomeeeeee." Silvester slurred, obviously more drunk than most of us here. I still had a pit in my stomach. This means the 2025 season has officially started and there would be another mansion...
"Whoooooo iiiis itttt?" Jere asked. "I heard Mooonnnnnegro is coming backkkkk."
I gulped as I opened the article.
"A... A rock band called NeonoeN….”