Billie Eilish Imagines

The 31st

Halloween used to be my favorite season, my favorite time of year. Now I'm afraid that for the rest of my life it will instead be the most painful.

The sun is currently making its way down over the mountains, putting a chill in the air as it begins to cast darkness over the cemetery. I stare at the headstone in front of my cris-crossed legs from where I sit on the dying grass, hoping that somehow the body below isn't truly gone; that it can somehow feel my energy or read my thoughts and know how much pain I am in, how much love and sorrow I have in my bones.

I thought about bringing orange or black flowers but that felt too corny, and there weren't any at the grocery store anyway, so I settled for a regular bouquet of pinks and reds, a beautiful arrangement nonetheless. Strangely enough I hadn't cried once today, even though I'd been a complete mess the past few weeks, recalling my last truly happy memories of the previous year. So I just sit silently, letting the cold air begin to prick at my skin as night begins to fall.

I can hear the echoing voices of trick or treaters the neighborhood over, and I know it's only a matter of time before they begin to crowd the streets and sidewalks. The happiest night of the year for kids everywhere. It used to be my favorite night too.

I start to think I should get going, remembering I'll have to do walk home amongst the crowds that will only get larger the longer I wait. I stand and stretch my legs, ready to say my last goodbye when I hear something behind me. I figure it must be someone else coming to visit a loved one, or maybe just someone who thinks it's fun to visit a cemetery on halloween, but when I turn around there is a girl around my age sitting on one of the taller gravestones, arms crossed, looking straight at me like she'd been watching me this entire time. I nearly jump out of my skin. She immediately puts her hands out when she sees the terrified look in my eyes.

"Whoa sorry, didn't mean to scare you." She says sincerely. The first thing I notice are her eyes, which are wide and an almost unreal shade of blue, heavily lined with black eyeliner. She's wearing a baggy sweatshirt and matching sweatpants with nike's, a backwards ball cap and a bandana worn over her dark hair. "Are you here all by yourself?" She continued when I said nothing. What business is it of yours? I wanted to retort but held my tongue. "I'm visiting my mom." I replied instead. Her face fell a little.
"Ah, right. I'm uh...sorry for your loss."
"It's okay."
She shifted her feet and began to draw lines in the dirt with the tip of her shoe. "Are you visiting someone?" I asked, figuring it was appropriate to return the question, now that this stranger knew that my mom was dead. To my surprise she shook her head. "Nah, just hanging out."
I gave her a puzzled look. "Right."
"I just come here to get away from things." She explained. "It's nice here, quiet. It just surprises me to see anyone besides some obnoxious kids here on halloween night, that's all." She grinned. I nodded and offered a weak smile, crossing my arms and trying not to shiver in the cold, wondering how much longer this conversation with a mysterious stranger was going to go on for.

The streetlights had come on now, the kids' laughter and screams from across the street getting louder. I looked back to catch the girl eyeing me up and down for a split second.
"I'm Billie by the way." She said.
"Cora" I replied.
She walked a bit closer and stuck out her hand. "Nice to meet you Cora."
I shook it, noticing how soft her skin was, and how her paleness almost made it look like she was glowing under the moonlight. I also became acutely aware of how attractive she was, and caught a whiff of her vanilla perfume.
"Wanna go somewhere warm?" She asked, probably noticing my shivering.
When I didn't answer right away she put her hands up. "Unless you have other plans of course."
I shook my head. I didn't have other plans, but was I really about to go off somewhere with a stranger I met at the cemetery on halloween night? But words seemed to fall from my mouth before I could give it a second thought.
" Yeah, that sounds nice."