The Artist / Billie Eilish

Chapter 9

We spent the night looking at the stars and talking about whatever came into our heads.

Our legs dangled over the side of the pool - our feet floating in the water. Billie glanced up at the sky, swaying her feet gently in the illuminated water below; the soft lighting from inside the pool reflecting against her skin.

She smiled, biting her lip slightly before beginning to speak, not breaking eye contact with the stars above. "Y'know," she started softly. "For someone who I've only known for a week, I feel crazy close to you."

She looked down, swirling her feet around in the water gently, and then at me. Smiling, she sighed before continuing. "I feel like we've been friends for way longer than that. I don't know why... But I do."

I watched the slowly-changing colours of light reflect against her face, and I watched her scrunch her nose up with a smile.

"Sorry for the fuckin' cringe. Damn."

We both laughed as I scooted closer to her, resting my head on her shoulder as we both watched our feet in the water.

"I get you," I replied softly, and she rested her head against mine.

Almost instantly after that, the patio doors behind us flung open, and the group stumbled outside to us - laughing and shouting incoherently.

Billie and I quickly got up, Ethan making his way over to me and throwing his arms around my waist - picking me up to spin me around messily. "I missed you Rosieee," he sang, giggling at my laughter as I gently hit his shoulders to let me down.

"I missed you too, E," I chuckled, ruffling his hair as he frowned at me.

I saw Billie awkwardly look up at the stars again before Finneas gained her attention.

"So, the first week of tour prep is officially done!"

Everyone cheered and laughed, pulling each other in for a group hug, which soon turned into Finn and Macy trying to tackle Billie jokingly - Macy headlocking the black-haired girl and rubbing her knuckles on her head despite Billie's protests.

•

Soon enough, we were all back in Billie and I's hotel room for the last time. As it was the last night, we decided to have a group sleepover - so we were all currently in our pyjamas surrounding the TV.

Justin, Ethan, Macy, and Luke were all huddled up on the bed, Finneas and Claudia had made a little nest out of their hotel room duvet on the left side of the bed, and Billie had made one on the right.

"Okay, who's going to help me with the snacks?" I called from the kitchen, hearing a collective groan from the other room and giggling to myself.

Not long after, I heard someone trudge out to the kitchen, and turned to see a frowning Ethan.

"I was comfy, bitch," he muttered, throwing a bag of popcorn in the microwave and pressing the buttons.

"I knew it'd be you. You're totally my servant," I stuck my tongue out at him and he laughed and shook his head, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"So," he mumbled through his yawn, opening the fridge to search for more potential snacks. "How was the party for you? Have a good time"

I grimaced as I remembered the beginning of the party, preheating the oven for the pizza. "The beginning was kinda shitty, but then Billie rescued me. It was super chill and nice after that. Not what I was expecting, but I'm happy I went."

Ethan raised his eyebrows at me suggestively, whistling and peering back into the fridge. "I'm saying nothing..."

Rolling my eyes, I laughed and put the pizza in the oven as I saw Ethan read the packet.

"What the fuck is this? This isn't pizza," he gasped, looking horrified, as I set the timer. I smiled at him as I heard someone else leave the bedroom.

"It's a vegan pizza, E. It won't hurt you," I explained jokingly as he feigned throwing up.

Someone leaned up against the counter behind me, and I instantly knew who it was.

"Dude, there's a leftover pizza in the fridge anyway. No way in hell is anyone else eating my pizza, I'm hungry as shit," Billie exclaimed, sitting on the floor to watch her pizza cook through the glass door of the oven. Ethan opened the fridge and squealed when he found the other pizza, opening the box and shoving almost a whole slice into his mouth. I heard him and Billie laugh as I wandered into the other room, tossing the bag of popcorn on the bed as both Macy and Justin dived for it.

To avoid that carnage, I opted out of sitting on the bed and instead jokingly sat in between Finn and Claudia, both of them laughing as Claudia's arms wrapped around my waist.

Over the past week, Claudia and I have actually made quite good friends in each other. We see each other a lot because she's usually waiting around for Finneas to finish rehearsing, and I'm usually waiting around for either Ethan or Billie to entertain me, so we usually end up just doing something together.

I moved onto Claudia's lap as she rested her chin on my shoulder, laughing as Finneas pretended to be upset. "Sorry bro, I had to steal your girl. There's no way I'm getting in the middle of that popcorn war, and Bil and E are arguing over vegan pizza in the kitchen. Sooo," I sang, smiling innocently as he chuckled and fell back into the duvet.

Soon enough, Billie and Ethan came back into the room with a pizza each, and we were all about to settle into a movie when there was a knock on the door.

An unfamiliar voice called Billie's name, and her face instantly fell.