𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘺, 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 / 𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙚 𝙚𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝 - 𝙨𝙢𝙪𝙩

sign of the times - iii.

i sat my things on the ground all around me. a handmade terracotta pot sat on the bureau to my right with the pamphlet the blonde lady at the front desk had spoken to me about. i flipped through the pages swiftly. the pool was open from eight a.m. to ten p.m. and complimentary breakfast was severed in the early morning hours of amber dawn way before billie and i would probably wake.

cleaning and room services were also listed, but i didn’t pay them much attention either. instead, i walked to the floor to ceiling windows and looked out at the serene cityscape. i’d never thought i’d be here. why me out of all of her brilliant and avid supporters?

surreal was a true understatement.

not knowing how to process everything i was feeling, i looked on the back of my room key card and opened my phone's settings, finding the hotel's wifi. i typed it in quickly, but my phone died before i had fully connected. fuck.

annoyed, i went through all of my baggages and pulled out my cord, still unaware i’d left the cube in the outlet at the airport. i searched and searched, but it was no use. it wasn’t there, and i couldn’t believe that i’d already lost it.

how will i be able to see billie’s texts? how will i know if something happened to her? how? how? how?

a sort of maniacal frenzy took over me. i pursed my hands on the window, my imprints marking them, and tried to take deep breaths in and out to calm myself. i didn’t have to worry, though. billie said she’d be here around nine, and compared to my usual dumbass (!!), she was usually not too late from the time she said.

i relaxed, reassured i was just freaking out for no reason and took a second to really look around at my surroundings. the room was smaller than i had expected it would be, but it was far more beautiful. two beds filled the tiny space almost entirely and matching dark, leather chairs overlooked the passerby and the old buildings that could be seen even from as high up as we were off the ground.

the room was decorated in soft, antique-looking artwork (ornate gold frames with painted lush forests of verdant foliage and riverbeds of limestone!). it was a direct contrast to the bustling sound of car engines and traffic that littered the streets below.

i smiled, taking it all in, scared i’d somehow lose it if i didn’t (fearing all of these memories would stay in germany!).

i wondered if finneas and his girlfriend would be sleeping at the same hotel as well. i couldn’t think of a reason why they wouldn’t be. they’d probably be next door. finneas wasn’t one to leave his sister’s side on tour, and if i remember well, billie had told me he hadn’t even invited his girlfriend before knowing i was coming.

i was sure he would have slept in this exact room if billie hadn’t insisted i come.

it sounded like finneas (especially in berlin of all places!). i’d only met him once in passing, but he’d been just as kind as i’d thought he’d be; the supportive brother billie loved with her whole heart. he was really shy as well, way more than most would have probably expected him to be. personally, i hadn’t found it so surprising.

billie was timid, too (way, way more than she put off!). she was just far better at hiding it.

i walked to the bathroom and turned on the light. my eyes were puffy from a lack of sleep, and my stomach grumbled from hunger. i hadn’t eaten since that morning on the plane when they'd served us some horrible breakfast food (if you could even call it that!). i still wish i had eaten all of it, though. i regretted it now.

i’d call room service after i got ready. billie had said everything was paid to the room directly and to go for it if i wanted anything. i hadn’t wanted to take her up on the offer, but i was starving. i’ll just get the cheapest thing they have on the menu, i guess.