Do you still cry? //Billie Eilish

apartment hunt

September 15th

-Lisa's pov-

This past week, I worked more than my usual hours. Fortunately, my boss was out of the office, so it wasn't as bad as usual because I didn't have to deal with her bullshit. That may be why I found myself enjoying work for once. I was also still in touch with Elias, whom I had planned to go out with on Friday after his apartment hunt in the city.

We decided to meet in the evening after he was done to get dinner together and have a few drinks. 

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The doorbell rang, and I quickly fixed my hair and tucked my blouse into my jeans skirt. Today, I had to admit that I looked good. It was the first time in almost three weeks that I didn't feel terrible. Yay. 

 I gave Elias a brief tour of my apartment and prepared a mango aperitif with prosecco, mint, and sparkling water. We sat on my living room couch and chatted a little.

"Your apartment is really cool, Lisa. I like how you decorated it. It's quite different from what I'm used to seeing at your place back home," he commented.

"Just a bit less posh," we both laughed. "I like some retro touches and mid-century stuff, you know." 

He said, "I'll definitely need your help decorating my place. I want it to look as cool as yours."

"I can help you with that, no problemo. You'll definitely need a beer pong table and a wall mount for all your skateboards, though. How did your apartment hunt go, by the way? Did you find a place you like?"

"Yes, I did. I visited three apartments in total, one in the 2nd and two in the 18th district. The last one I saw today was the one I liked the most. I asked them to put me on their waiting list, and they'll let me know tomorrow if I can have it or not, but I have a high chance of getting it, they told me."

"That sounds promising. Do you have any pictures of it?"

He showed me a few pictures, and we continued talking about his flat. After having another round of aperitifs, we decided to go to the Italian restaurant down the street. It was the cutest little restaurant, and they knew me there, for I was a regular.

Fortunately, it was still warm enough for us to sit outside. We shared a bottle of Italian red wine, which was super good—it's the one I always get. Both of us ordered a Margaritha Pizza and a side salad. 

Honestly, I had such a great time with Elias. He made me forget about Billie for a few hours, which was what I needed. I've always liked him the most out of everyone in my friend group, so I was genuinely excited that he was moving to the city. 

After dinner, we were both a little tipsy and decided to have another bottle at the restaurant. My group chat went off at some point, and my friends were discussing where to go party tonight. 

I informed Elias, and he was eager to join. He wanted to make friends in the city anyway, and he is super good at socializing with people and hits it off very well with almost everyone, so I wasn't worried about bringing him along.

We met up with my friends at our usual bar, which we went to most weekends. This time, all my friends showed up, which was unusual because usually, there would always be someone who didn't. 

I introduced Elias to everyone, and they all seemed to like him. The guys especially hit it off well. We spent the entire night drinking, playing games, and chatting away.

The bar closed around 2 a.m., and we all started settling the bills. Elias paid for my entire tab, although I insisted on paying my share. 

We all headed to a DNB club to dance and had a blast. We partied for hours and had plenty of vodka shots. I paid for all of Elias' shots to return the favor, considering he paid for dinner and drinks at the bar. 

We ended up super drunk and sat on the sidewalk in front of the club together.

"Thank you for tonight. I really needed that," I said, leaning against his shoulder. Everything was already a bit blurry, and I was extremely tired.

"I enjoyed going out with you so much. If everything goes well, I'll be living here in two weeks. I hope we can do this again soon."

"For sure! Should we head home now? I'm too wasted; I can't go back in," I replied.

"The first train leaves at 6:30 a.m., so I still have some time to kill. I can walk you home if you want; it'll help sober you up. How does that sound?"

"Okay, sure," I agreed, and we started our journey home. It should have taken around 25 minutes, but due to our intoxicated state, it took us way longer than that. 

We shared my AirPods and listened to music while half-walking and half-dancing. When we reached my apartment complex, the mood changed a bit.

"You know you can just crash at my place. Taking the first train is crazy, Eli. You'll be awake for another four hours before you get home," I suggested.

"It's not that bad. I'll be fine. I don't want to overstep any boundaries, and I have a lot of stuff to do at home tomorrow... well, today," he replied.

"Okay, I understand. Thanks again for the evening. We should do this again sometime soon," I said, locking eyes with him.

"Fuck it," he said, leaning in to kiss me.

When we kissed, one could sense that we both wanted to do this for a long time. If only 18-year-old me knew that we would finally get to kiss our number one crush—well, our number two crush, but whatever.

We made out sloppily, and he pushed me against the entrance. We made our way up in the elevator. We kissed again for a few seconds, then he stopped and smiled at me, asking if that's what I wanted. 

Was he what I wanted? At least he was someone I wanted for a while.

"Yes", I said, staring into his eyes. We quickly made our way into my apartment and did what we did. (sparing you the details)

---

Afterward, I lay on his chest.  We weren't talking at all, but it wasn't uncomfortable at all. Actually, it felt good lying there with him. Still, my thoughts slipped to a certain someone, but I tried to get her out of my head as quickly as possible. 

"I don't want to be disrespectful in any way, but I'll have to go. The first train leaves in like 40 minutes." 

"Oh sure, yeah, I'll let you out. You need a key for the door downstairs",  I said  

"I really like you, Lisa," he said, looking into my eyes before getting up. 

"I like you, too."

We quickly threw on our clothes, I grabbed my keys, and we went downstairs.

I opened the door, and we kissed goodbye. He then started walking away.

"Elias, wait!" I screamed after him.

He turned around, looking confused.

"You're heading in the wrong direction. The train station is that way." I said, giggling and pointing in the opposite direction.

"Oh, alright."

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