𝐁eyond the Lens - b.e

47 -

They were alone, almost as if the entire evening belonged to them. The silence enveloping them was not uncomfortable, but filled with unspoken implications. Ellie, still seated, glanced at Billie out of the corner of her eye, wondering if she felt the subtle tension that floated between them too.

Billie eventually broke the silence, still playing absently with a Uno card. "Tell me," she began softly, "that girl who approached you earlier... do you like her?"

Ellie turned her head abruptly toward her, surprised by the direct question. "The girl from the AV team?" She let out a nervous little laugh. "Not really. She's nice, but... let's just say she's a bit clingy. Nothing more."

Billie raised her eyebrows, visibly relieved, before simply saying, "Good." She delivered the words with a light tone, almost indifferent, but the phrase hung in the air like an implicit confession.

Ellie didn't even have time to respond. All she could do was cast a look at Billie, trying to understand what that "good" really meant. Billie responded to her gaze with a cheeky little smile, a smile that concealed much more than it revealed.

Before they could prolong the conversation, Kate and Zoe returned from their "bathroom break," with Kate claiming that she felt much better. The intimate moment that had just formed between Ellie and Billie was interrupted like a bubble bursting in the air. Ellie simply nodded, welcoming Kate and Zoe back into the group, but she couldn't shake off the thoughts of her exchange with Billie.

After a few minutes of joking and light conversation, the game of Uno came to an end. Billie, with a victorious smile, slammed her last card on the table.

"Take that, I won again!" she exclaimed, raising her arms in triumph.

Everyone immediately accused her of cheating, especially Zoe, who knew her too well not to suspect a little bluff. "You definitely cheated, there's no other explanation!" she laughed.

Billie, feigning indignation, shook her head, laughing. "You're just sore losers, that's all."

Kate, pretending to be outraged, crossed her arms. "We'll see about that next time!"

With the game finished, the girls decided to join the rest of the party, where the festivities were in full swing. The room was now filled with people dancing, drinking, or simply chatting in quieter corners. The atmosphere was light and joyful, exactly what was needed to celebrate the end of the Australian tour.

Ellie weaved through the crowd with Kate at her side, and they mingled with the lively discussions. A few meters away, Finneas was in the middle of a hilarious scene. He seemed both funny and completely drunk, wobbling slightly with a drink in hand. His girlfriend, although exasperated, was laughing heartily, clearly amused by her boyfriend's antics.

"I think it's time for Finneas to go to bed before he regrets too much," Billie whispered to Ellie, chuckling softly.

Ellie, amused by the scene, nodded. "Good luck handling him. He seems well on his way."

"Will you help me?" Billie asked with a smile.

Ellie didn't hesitate for a second before agreeing; she had already wrapped an arm around Finneas to help him walk. Together, they gently guided him away from the crowd, toward a room upstairs. The scene made the girls laugh, as Finneas, though slim, felt like dead weight in his drunken state.

"Come on, man, put in a little effort," Ellie murmured with a smile. "It's time for you to meet Mr. Sandman."

In a moment of lucidity, Finneas gave them a big grin. "You're the best sisters... well, one of you is... the other, I like you too."

Ellie burst into laughter as she and Billie gently placed him on the bed. Once he was settled, Billie sat on the edge of the bed, looking at her brother with a mix of tenderness and amusement.

"Well, he's out of commission for the rest of the night," Ellie sighed as she straightened up, brushing a strand of hair off her forehead.

"Thanks for your help," she said, more seriously this time. "It's nice to have moments like this with you."

Ellie felt something shift in Billie's tone, a shift toward something more sincere, more profound. She opened her mouth to respond, but just then, the girl who had flirted with Ellie earlier in the evening burst into the room. She was clearly tipsy and seemed completely unaware of the atmosphere between Ellie and Billie.

"Ellie!" she exclaimed, clearly thrilled to have found her. "I was looking for you everywhere!"

Ellie, taken by surprise, quickly moved toward the girl, trying to maintain a polite smile despite the situation. "Oh hey, I'm sorry, but you shouldn't stay here. Finneas is sleeping, and we should avoid waking him."

She carefully guided the girl out of the room, trying not to jostle her. As they reached the door, the girl turned to Ellie with a suddenly serious expression. "You know, I really like you. Like, really, you're gorgeous, funny..."

Ellie, a bit caught off guard, searched for something to say, but before she could react, the girl leaned in dangerously close to her face. Just then, Billie stepped out of the room, and the scene shifted completely.

Without hesitating for a second, Billie gently grabbed Ellie's hand and, in an unexpected gesture, kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks for that moment in the room, you were great," she said, with a smile that suggested much more than what she said.

The girl stopped in her tracks, visibly shocked. "Oh... I... I didn't know you were together in the room. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

Ellie was equally surprised by Billie's reaction. But before she could say anything, the girl apologized one last time and hurried away.

Once they were alone again, Ellie turned to Billie, her eyes wide. "What was that?"

Billie shrugged with a playful smile. "I saw her getting too close to you, so I figured it would stop her in her tracks. It worked, didn't it?"

Ellie stared at her for a moment, torn between amusement and astonishment. "You're really unpredictable."

"That's why you like me, right?" Billie shot back with a wink, before strolling casually toward the stairs.

Ellie stood frozen for a moment, her heart racing faster than usual.