𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑 𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚑

𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗

September 26, 2018

Billie's POV

It's been two days since Gemma practically pushed me out of her house. She wasn't at school yesterday or today and I'm beginning to really worry. Not to mention the fact that we almost kissed. I don't know what was running through my mind... Nothing apparently. She had me in a chokehold. She just looked so good as she was so focused on the painting in front of her. Something about the way she licked her lips and threw her hair up into a messy bun.

As I was scribbling nonsense into my sketchbook, Drew's contact lit up my phone screen and I immediately grabbed it, needing a distraction from all this Gemma bullshit. "Drew, hey!"

"Billie, why the fuck did Gemma post you on her Instagram story a few days ago? Someone just sent me a screenshot and what the hell?"

I swallowed back a lump in my throat as she spoke to me. "Um, we just bumped into each other at a record store?" I lied straight thru my teeth. I didn't mean to but Drew just sounds so upset and I can't have her mad at me. 

"So she took the picture without you knowing?!" Drew practically shouted and I had to hold the phone away from my ear. "You're telling me she wants it to look like you two were hanging out. God, she infuriates me!"

Holy shit, I didn't realize Drew hated her that much. What did she ever do to Drew? "No, it's not like that!"

"Then what's it like, Bil? Wait, why are you so calm? Did you know about this?"

"I- never mind," I huffed, coming up with the quickest excuse I could think of to end this call. "Finneas is calling me, gotta go." I hung up and dialled Finneas' number. He's exactly who I need to talk to. I have never been so confused in my goddamn life. 

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"You said you have her Snapchat?"

"Yeah," I sighed, running my hands over my face and up into my hair, feeling frustrated.

"So then message her," Finneas said in the most obvious tone. 

"I don't want to seem like I care Finneas, why don't you understand this?"

"Okay, first of all, chill. And second of all, why not?"

"Because I'm not supposed to care about her. Did your small-ass brain forget about the call with Drew that I just told you about?" I rolled my eyes, getting more upset by the second. 

"Okay, look. Stop caring about what other people think,  Billie. You've never been one to care, so why now?"

"I don't know," I sighed, slumping back onto his couch. 

"You like her, don't you?"

"I don't know Finneas. I hardly know her and I don't know if I should get to know her more, y'know?"

"Why wouldn't you? Most high school rumours are that, just rumours. You've been to her house alone before and she didn't try anything, right? So, just get to know her because I can tell you want to, and stop giving a shit about what other people think."

"I guess. But I'm not messaging her first."

"Fine," Finneas rolled his eyes, flicking the side of my head. "But you need to tell Drew that you lied. You can't have her believing that Gemma posted that picture without your permission."

"I know."

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Gemma's POV

"How was your flight?" Layla asks, engulfing me in a huge bear hug. I sigh in relief, melting into her hold. It's been a long fucking time since I got a hug.

"It was boring but I missed you," I squeezed her tight and released. "Thanks for picking me up," I grabbed my duffel bag and tossed it into the backseat of her car. 

"Of course," she smiled as you both got into the vehicle and buckled up. I looked around at the somewhat familiar streets as she drove away from the airport. I hate it here. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing Layla and her family but I don't like this state. I don't like that I have to rush here in a blink of an eye, and every time I am here, I'm in a constant state of anxiety. If I make one wrong move, or accidentally say one wrong thing, my whole world could be turned upside down within the blink of an eye.

"Hey, I can tell you're overthinking. Stop that," Layla chuckled. 

"You know this always makes me nervous," I rolled my eyes, resting my head on the passenger side window. 

"But every time, it goes great, right?"

"Mhm," I hummed, feeling exhausted after the flight. 

"Wait, who was that girl in your story? Was that the new girl that you were telling me about? The one that you had to do a project with?"

"Yeah, her name is Billie," I answered, the corners of my lips subconsciously lifting into a smirk. 

"Okay, so tell me! Did you hang out? Went out?"

"Um, we've sorta hung out a few times," I began, reminiscing about the few times we've hung out or talked.  "She came over to work on the project but we ended up smoking and didn't even work on the project because we got carried away with the weed. She's so like cute and hot? I don't know, but she's chill. We ended up hanging out and went to a record store. Oh my god, she also invited me to a party and I stupidly went but when one guy shouted some fucking rude ass shit about me, Billie straight up went to him and punched his nose. I had to stop her and drag her away from hitting him a second time." I ranted, unaware of the long tangent I just went on. 

"I have literally never heard you speak for that long in your entire life," Layla's eyes were wide,  a large smile on her face. 

I felt my cheeks warm up as I bit my bottom lip, I sunk into the seat with embarrassment. "I- I might like her a little," I let out a sigh, blowing a strand of hair out of my face. 

"Is that why you're extra nervous this time?"

"I guess? I mean, I sorta look forward to seeing Billie now and I feel bad enough just leaving like this. What if I ended up leaving permanently?"

"You won't, I promise," Layla assured me.

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A/N: Any ideas as to why Gemma had to leave? You won't find out for a while.

I've also had like an extremely rough day so I apologize if this chapter sucks but I don't really have time to re-read and edit. 

Words: 1065