Through the Lens of You | Billie Eilish fanfic

Chapter 2: Chasing light

Lunch with Drew felt like stepping into a familiar movie, where the characters always knew their lines and the plot was predictable but comforting. We met at our usual spot—a small, unassuming café tucked away between a bookstore and a record shop. Drew was already sitting at our favorite table by the window, happy as ever, his hands moving as if conducting an invisible orchestra, summoning his Italian roots.

"You won't believe this one, Heather," he said before I could even sit down. "I've got a gig on a tour. Not just any tour—Billie Eilish!"

The name rang a distant bell. I vaguely remembered seeing her face on a magazine cover, maybe hearing one of her songs on the radio at some point, but I wasn't particularly invested. Still, Drew's excitement was infectious, so I humored him.

"Isn't she like, twenty or something?" I asked, half-interested.

"Twenty-one, but she's huge right now. You'd love the visuals on her show. It's all very artistic, lots of thought goes into the staging. Anyway, I'm doing lighting and some of the visual designs for the tour. When we hit Chicago, you've gotta come. I'll get you backstage, and you can meet her..."

"Meet her? But why would I..." My mind had already drifted to the light filtering through the window, casting long shadows across the table. I didn't dislike people, but I had a habit of keeping them at arm's length, observing more than engaging. Drew always said it was my "quiet intensity," the way I made people feel like they were being studied. I liked it that way. It kept things under control.

"Heather!" Drew pressed, snapping me back to the conversation.

"I think it sounds like a big deal," I said, keeping my tone neutral. "good for you."

"Come on, Heather, you're always like this when there's people involved. You can't just hide behind your camera all the time. You've gotta come to one of the shows and meet her. You'll see, for what's worth it might even be a good work connection for you."

I let his words hang in the air for a moment before nodding. I didn't make promises, but I knew Drew well enough to know he'd drag me along whether I wanted to or not.

**

Back at my apartment, I found myself flipping through the photos from my last shoot. Each image felt like a fragment of something incomplete, pieces of stories that didn't quite connect. The same could be said about my life. I wasn't unhappy, but there was a gnawing sense that something was missing. I'd filled the gaps with work for as long as I could remember, and it had been enough. Until now.

The thought of meeting this famous girl Billie Eilish lingered in the back of my mind. I wasn't starstruck—far from it—but there was a pull, a curiosity. Not about her fame, but about who she was behind the persona. Was she like the other celebrities I'd encountered? People who were so absorbed in their own orbit that they couldn't see beyond it? Or was there something else? Something more?

I didn't dwell on it for long. Instead, I grabbed my camera and headed out into the fading light of the city. I wasn't looking for answers, just more questions.