ARTIFICIAL // B.E

19

billie

"quit it," i smacked finneas. "go away."

"i'm not doing anything though," fin made a face.

"you're putting your finger in my face. stop it," i smacked his hand again.

"i'm not touching you though."

"i don't care, quit it."

he continued to put his finger in my face. true, he wasn't touching me, but it was still annoying.

"stop," i smacked his hand once more, before then smacking his shoulder a few times. 

"i'm not touching you though," he said again.

"billie, finneas; cut it out," mom reprimanded. "seriously... act your age."

i let out a small huff before moving to the other end of the couch.

it's now june. we've been back on tour for a little over a week. we're in london right now, and tonight is our second show here.

i was just chilling in the green room, waiting for aspen to get back from an interview. then finneas decided it would be a good idea to bother me and put his finger in my face.

so annoying.

"momma," i caught her attention. "do you know when aspirin will be back?"

she shook her head. "no, but she should be back soon."

i let out a small groan. i pulled my hood over my head and tightened the drawstrings as i leaned back across the couch and crossed my arms over my chest.

"you can't even go an hour without aspen," finneas snickered.

"shut up," i grumbled. "you can't go without claudia, so i don't wanna hear it. 'claudia, i miss you so much, and i can't wait to see you again,'" i mocked.

"heyyy," he said defensively. "i don't even sound like that," he muttered.

i rolled my eyes before leaning further back against the couch and getting more comfortable.

§§§

"hi, baby!" i greeted as aspen walked into the green room.

"hi," she mumbled as she walked over to the mini fridge that was in here, instead of coming over to greet me with a hug and a kiss like she always does.

"you okay?" i asked softly as i raised a brow.

she nodded as she grabbed a bottle of water. "yeah, i'm fine," she nodded.

i watched as she drank about half of it before putting the lid back on and setting it down for now. "how much longer do we have until soundcheck?"

"about an hour," i told her as she walked over to sit beside me on the couch.

"you mind if i take a nap?" she questioned in a low voice as she laid her head on my chest.

"no, go ahead, baby," i murmured as i pulled her close to me. i pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

§§§

"is it just me, or has aspen been in a weird mood today?" xavier asked.

it's a little bit after the show. me, xavier, and finneas are sitting in the green room. finneas is on his phone, doing whatever, while me and xavier are talking.

"yeah, she has been," i mumbled. "well... she was fine earlier, but since that interview, she's been in a weird mood."

unlike every other show, aspen wasn't backstage for me to come and crash into her arms. when i asked where she had went, i was told that she already went outside to the tour bus. she had specifically asked for no one to follow her out there.

"i feel like the interviewer said some weird shit to her or something," he let out a huff. "or was just asking some questions that set her off."

"yeah, i think so too," i sighed as i pulled my legs to my chest. i wrapped my arms around my legs. "do you think she would get mad if i went out to the tour bus to try and talk about it?"

"i don't know. she was pretty clear about not wanting to be bothered," he said. his eyes widened when he saw that i had frowned a bit. "not that you're a bother or would bother her, but... you know..."

"yeah, i get what you're saying," i assured. "i just don't wanna make her more upset than she already is, but at the same time, i wanna comfort her."

he pursed his lips. "i think you should go try and talk to her at least."

i stared at the ground for a moment before nodding. "yeah, i will."

i got up from my spot on the couch. i made sure i had everything i needed before walking out to the tour bus.

i looked around for her, but i didn't find her. i walked to her bunk, and i cautiously pulled the curtain back. she was laying on her side, facing away from the curtain. i quickly realized that she was sleeping.

i let out a sigh. i decided to let her sleep. i went to my bed in the back, and i plopped onto it.

§§§

it's now a bit later. it's a hotel night, and we just got here.

i peeked out of the window. i spotted a few paps and sighed.

that's definitely not gonna improve aspen's mood.

"baby," i murmured as aspen walked out of the tour bus. i tried to grab her hand, but my brows furrowed when she moved her hand away from me.

"not now, billie," she let out a sigh as she walked into the hotel building.

i frowned. i shoved my hands in my pockets and looked down so that the paps couldn't see my face.

aspen walked into her hotel room and closed the door, so i just walked into mine. i pursed my lips as i leaned back against the door.

i took a shower and changed into a hoodie and a pair of sweats. i sat on the hotel bed for a while, not really doing much of anything.

after a bit though, there was a knock on my hotel door. i walked over to the door, and i looked through the peephole before opening it.

aspen immediately threw herself into my arms. she buried her face into my neck. "i'm sorry," she apologized quietly as she tightly clung onto me.

i pulled her closer to me. i picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around my waist. i closed the door before bringing her over to my bed.

i held the back of her head, and i rubbed her back. "what happened, my love?"

"today's just been bad. the interviewer was an ass, i'm on my period, and every little thing is pissing me off," she explained as she let out a shaky sigh. "i'm sorry for being mean to you and ignoring you; you didn't deserve that."

"it's okay," i assured softly. "we all have bad days; it's alright."

she clung onto me tighter. i laid her down, and i pulled her into my embrace. i held her comfortingly. "it's okay, baby, don't worry about it. just get some sleep, okay?"

"okay," she mumbled as she buried her head into my chest. "you're the best; i don't deserve you."

"stop that; you deserve the world," i told her as i kissed her head.

§§§

a/n ayooo

thoughts?

predictions?

words:
1200