ARTIFICIAL // B.E

10

aspen

"you should take yourself, feel the rhythm, life goes on again. though i ain't sure it's really how we meant, i'll feel settled in a simple sense, 'cause i think of you less and less." i sang into the mic and looked out across the crowd as i sat at the end of the stage.

i wrote this song just a few months after me and raelyn broke up. it honestly helped a lot in getting over her.

it just reminds me that life goes on.

no matter what, whatever you're going through, life still goes on. whatever you're going through will pass, whether it's something good or something bad.

it's a comforting, bittersweet thought.

"and though it's fading with time, i remember the warm nights with love in your eyes." i continued singing, smiling at someone in the crowd as we made eye contact.

don't get me wrong, i'm over raelyn. completely, one hundred percent over her.

though, i wouldn't necessarily say that i didn't miss what we had.

you know... when she'd actually be a decent girlfriend and not ditch our plans.

again, i don't miss her; just the times we had.

i glanced backstage, quickly spotting billie. she had a cute smile on her face as she listened to me perform.

i might've found something a lot better than that though.

§§§

"aspirin, i said i'm sorry." billie whined. she tried reaching for my hand, but i didn't let her take it. "lemme hold your hand!"

"no, you promised! you pinky promised." i huffed as i crossed my arms over my chest.

"i was peeing! it's not my fault i had to pee and you woke up!" she grumbled.

"you still pinky promised that you'd be there when i woke up, and you weren't. i told you that i take pinky promises very seriously, and that i'd be mad if you broke it."

she groaned dramatically as she fell back across the bed in my hotel room. "blame my bladder, not me!"

unlike billie had promised last night, she wasn't there when i woke up. granted, i woke up in the middle of the night, but she still wasn't there!

though since we actually woke up and got ready for the day, the both of us have been busy with separate interviews and press and all that, so we haven't had much time to talk about it.

truth be told, i'm not that mad about it. like she said, she just had to pee. it's just funny watching her be all pouty about not getting to cuddle or hold my hand.

though, if i had woke up, and she had actually just left me by myself, i would be really mad, 'cause what the fuck? why promise something if you're gonna break it in less than a day?

"i'm sorry!" she pouted before wrapping her arms around me, keeping my arms at my side. she pressed a kiss to my cheek. "c'mon, you know you wanna forgive me." she said in a teasing tone.

"you're such a baby," i huffed before turning my head to the side to give her a quick kiss. "you do that shit again though, and we're throwing hands!"

"noted." she chuckled before pulling me down to lay on the bed with her.

she pressed another kiss to my cheek. "what if i just?" she pressed her lips to my cheek again, though started sucking as if she was trying to give me a hickey. i pushed her away, watching as she laughed loudly.

"you're annoying!"

"i wonder if i can actually give you a hickey on your cheek." she thought out loud after a moment.

"i'd rather not find that out."

"you're no fun." she mumbled.

i flipped her off and grabbed my phone to start scrolling through it. billie, being the baby that she is, moved back over to me and laid her head on my shoulder. she wrapped her arms around me.

"baby," she murmured as she rested her chin on my shoulder to look at me. "gimme a kiss."

i turned to look at her, a smile tugging on my lips. "baby?"

"yeah... is it okay if i call you that?" she asked softly.

"yeah, go ahead," i giggled. "i like it."

she smiled at that. "okay, for real though... gimme a kiss. i haven't had one all day." she complained.

she's so damn cute, what the fuck.

i pressed my lips to her. i was gonna go back to scrolling through my phone, but she placed her hands on my cheeks, deepening the kiss.

i set my phone to the side before pulling her into my lap so that she was straddling it. i placed my hands on her waist, gripping it firmly. her hands moved up so that she could tangle her fingers into my hair as we made out.

she pulled back some, only to start trailing kisses along my jaw and down my neck.

just as she started to give me a hickey, there was a loud knock on the door. she let out a low groan as she buried her face into my neck.

"ignore it." she mumbled as she started kissing my neck again.

i had full intentions of doing just that, but the knocking persisted. she let out another annoyed groan before falling back onto the bed dramatically.

i giggled as i stood up. i placed a kiss to her forehead, which made her smile, before going to the door to see who it was.

i opened the door, my brow raising as i saw that it was claudia. "hey; what's up?"

"hi. uh, i'm out of shampoo; do you think i could borrow some?" she asked sheepishly.

"yeah, c'mere." i chuckled as i let her inside.

she followed me inside. "oh, hey, bil."

"hey, claudia." billie mumbled.

"is she good?" claudia asked with a giggle as we made our way into the bathroom.

i grabbed my shampoo bottle and handed it to her. "yeah, she's fine."

she shook her head with another laugh as i walked her back to the door. "i'ma need that back." i pointed at her.

"yeah, of course." she assured before leaving.

i shut the door and walked back over to billie, who was still laying on the bed with a mixture of an annoyed look and a pout.

i got into the bed, this time straddling her lap, instead of her straddling mine. her eyes lit up as i did so.

"now, where were we?"

§§§

a/n ayo

thoughts?

predictions?

how are y'all doing?

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