take my hand //billie eilish//

chapter 17•

~two year time skip~

river pov:

i moved out and sold my house, i moved in with my best friend noah and his girlfriend(not billies ex noah), we have lived together for a year and a half and met at work

hes the sweetest, i had a girlfriend but we broke up two months ago and thats when his girlfriend moved in, shes the best shes super sweet they are perfect for each other

"im just going to the store yall want anything?"
"we are good thanks" i smile and walk out

i get into my car and turn on the radio, 'up next is hostage by billie eilish'

i start my car but dont go anywhere, it hit me like a ton of bricks, i sit and listen to it, me and claudia have still been so close, we have been meeting up and hanging out but she never mentioned billie

i start my car and begin driving to the store, i sit at the red light thinking about billie and whats she is doing with her life now, until..

my phone screen lights up as it vibrates in the seat next to me its claudia

i connect my phone to my car and answer "hey clauds" i sing "hey river" her tone seemed off like something was wrong

"spit it out clauds" i laugh "billies having a release party for her new album when we all fall asleep where do we go and i was wondering if youd want to maybe come"

i froze

~flashback~

river pov:

"do you ever wonder where we go when we fall asleep?" i laugh "billie thats stupid we stay in bed" "no like when we all fall asleep where do we go like our minds, we dream so where does that mean we go"

i laugh at her "i wish i could answer that but i cant, your imagination scares me" she looks at me, she looks dead ass and she was thinking about it for two weeks straight until she stopped because no one could answer her question

~end of flashback~

"river are you there" "shit sorry yes, uhm sure ill come as long as you stay with me" she giggles "of course i will" she ends the phone and i guess i should head home and get ready

as i turn around and head home my mind races, i havent seen or spoken to billie in two years what if she doesnt recognise me

i get home, i grab my keys and phone and run up to my apartment "noah, daisy you wont believe what just happened" they snap their necks to look at me

"claudia called and asked me to go to billies release party and i said yes" i put my keys on the island and lean on daisys shoulder while she sits

she looks up at me "this could be a good thing river" she smiles "i know but what if she doesn't recognise me, what if she doesnt want me there" i spit

"when she sees you, she will know exactly who you are and maybe this could bring use together i mean she has came out" i sigh "i know but that doesnt mean anything anymore"

"im going to get ready" "when does it start" noah asked "shit in the 30 minutes" i run into my bedroom almost slipping

i pull out every piece of clothing i own until i see a dark purple hoodie, billies hoodie

i ignore it and pull out a black dress, perfect i put it on trying to pull it down to cover my ass so i dont walk in there like a whore

i straighten my hair and put on my black heals and head out my room "go get your girl back" noah says while laughing

"i will see use later i love you both" and i head out texting claudia that im on my way, i get into my car and the nerves kick in

am i over dressed? who cares

around 10 minutes i arrive at billies and it looks the same i see 100s of people gathering inside, until i see claudias figure walking out the door

i get out and walk up to her and hug her "i thought you would leave me" i laugh and she hands me a red solo cup

"never" she winks, i know she said it as a joke but shes never actually left me even when i stopped speaking to everyone she always reached out and im thankful for that

i walk in and see a few noticeable faces until i see one i could never forget, billie.

as i walk up to her a blonde girl runs up to her and kisses her, okay then. i take a drink from my cup and fuck claudia made this strong

i feel a hand squeeze my hip and its finneas "oh my god" i wrap my arms tightly around his neck "ive missed you ginge" i laugh "and i mrs marlow have missed you more" he takes my hand and leads me to maggie and patrick

i smile so hard and hug them both "our favourite girl" they say in sync, it feels good to be home

as we continue to talk until i hear a microphone turn on, we all spin around and see billie stood on the kitchen island holding the blonde girls hand

"thank you all for coming i couldnt be more happy to share my album with anyone else, we have worked on this album for longer than i can count and im so happy its finally done, thank you finneas for helping me not give up"

she paused and everyone looked at me, and thats when i noticed so was billie, i place my cup in claudias hand and run out

"finneas will say some words now" i hear as i head for the front door

billie pov:

river is here

i hand finneas the microphone and run through the crowd "babe wait" "ashley not now" i spit as i push through the crowd

as i step outside i see her sat there all alone on the sidewalk

"river" i say lightly

she stands up and looks at me right into my eyes and god ive missed her green sparkle and her long brunette hair that falls perfectly infront of her chest

river pov:

"hey" i smile lightly feeling awkward "i didnt expect you here" she says "i know im sorry claudia invited me" i giggle "no im glad you came actually ive missed you" its happening

"i never forgot you river" i try my hardest to keep my cool "so why didnt you reach out" river dont do this i think to my self

"it never felt right after you left, i was broken i tried to end my life and once i realised that this was all for a reason i finally got over it but i always checked on you through your social media and through claudia" my heart sank and my eyes filled but i didnt want to ruin my eye liner

"i see you have a girlfriend im happy for you" i say trying to hard the fact im about to cry, she just smiles

she puts out her arm for me to link and i do and it feels like nothing ever changed billie is still the billie ive always known

as we walk in her girlfriend runs up to us and dirty looks me

i guess billie never mentioned me to her?

what will billie do now? her first love has walked back into her life...