Story couldn't stop staring at her phone. The headlines blurred together—screenshots of her and Billie on the balcony, laughing, leaning close, fingers intertwined. A dozen captions read some version of "Billie Eilish's New Romance? Mystery Girl Identified as Rising Artist Story Belle."
Her stomach twisted.
It wasn't just the invasion of privacy—it was how intimate it looked. Like a secret no longer theirs.
Billie sat across from her, elbows on her knees, staring at the floor. The air between them was heavy with what neither had said yet.
"Your team's freaking out," Story said finally, voice quiet but steady. "Mine too."
Billie nodded. "Finneas is trying to handle the label side. My publicist wants to post some kind of 'just friends' statement, but..." She sighed, dragging a hand through her hair. "I don't know, Story. Lying doesn't feel right."
That made Story look up. "So what are you saying?"
Billie hesitated. "I'm saying I don't know if pretending there's nothing here helps either of us."
Story swallowed, unsure how to respond. She'd spent the last hour trying to calm the spiral in her head, but now, hearing Billie admit that out loud—it made her heart stutter. "Billie, this—"
"I know," Billie interrupted softly, eyes lifting to meet hers. "It's complicated. And unfair. And the timing sucks. But... I don't regret last night."
Story blinked. "You don't?"
Billie shook her head. "Not a second of it."
That cracked something open inside Story—a mix of relief and confusion that left her breathless. "I just don't want this to mess up your tour, or your image. People already dissect everything you do. I don't want to make that worse."
Billie let out a quiet laugh, but there was no humor in it. "You think I haven't been through worse headlines? Half the internet thinks they own me. If I spend my whole life trying to control what people say, I'll never do anything real."
Story fell silent, tracing the edge of her phone with her thumb. "So what are we supposed to do? Say nothing? Say everything?"
Billie leaned back against the headboard, thinking. "We talk to our teams. Set boundaries. We don't confirm anything, but we don't deny it either. We stay us. Quiet. Honest. Private."
The word private lingered like an anchor—safe, grounding.
"But what if they don't stop?" Story whispered. "What if they start showing up at hotels, waiting outside shows—"
"Then we deal with it together," Billie said simply.
The confidence in her voice made Story's chest tighten. "You make it sound so easy."
"It's not," Billie admitted. "But I know what it's like to have people twist your story for you. I don't want that for either of us."
For a moment, the silence between them softened. The panic faded just enough for Story to notice the tenderness in Billie's expression—the way she was still Billie, calm in the storm, grounded even when the world was loud.
Story exhaled slowly. "I'm scared," she confessed. "Not just of the attention. I'm scared of how I feel about you."
Billie's eyes softened. "That's the only thing I'm not scared of."
Story froze, searching her face for any hint of doubt—but Billie meant it. It was written all over her.
The truth of it hit like a rush of air, equal parts terrifying and beautiful.
YOU ARE READING
Everything I Wanted
FanfictionRising star Story Belle is quickly finding her voice in a world where dreams rarely come true. With lyrics that cut to the core and a sound as unique as she is, she's caught the attention of fans everywhere. But there's one person she's always hoped...
