The Artist / Billie Eilish

Chapter 11

I heard someone shuffle around, followed by groaning as morning light flooded the room.

Someone who I could only assume was Ethan started to repeatedly, softly but annoyingly, hit my cheek, and I cracked my eyes open to see his big, irritating head right above mine.

"She okay?" He mouthed, gesturing to Billie. Glancing down, I watched her fast asleep, her eyes still a little puffy. She had her head resting on my chest, with her hand on my stomach. She was totally out of it.

"She was alright," I whispered, looking back up to Ethan. "Just a bit upset. She didn't talk about it."

E nodded in understanding before pouting, and then making his way into the kitchen.
Finneas and Claudia must have left already, but I could hear Macy out in the kitchen as well. Justin was still asleep on the bed.

Billie slowly brought her arms up above her and stretched as far as she could, yawning and then readjusting herself on top of me, resting her face against my neck. She exhaled, and slid her hand up my hoodie to rest it on my waist.

After a couple of moments of peace, Justin felt it'd be appropriate to scream-yawn out of nowhere, followed by weird stretching groans. I almost jumped out of my skin, but somehow Billie didn't move a single muscle.

Justin peeked his scruffy bed head over the edge of the mattress to look down at me, seeing me glare up at him.

"Did I wake you?" He grimaced before quickly dodging the pillow I sent flying his way.

"No bitchass, but you woke everyone else in the goddamn state," I whispered as he laughed, lying back down and stretching again. I felt Billie's eyelashes flutter against my neck, and she almost instantly sat up.

Her eyes were still half shut and her hair was all over the place, but she mumbled something about being sorry and dragged herself to the bathroom.

Justin clicked his tongue behind me. "Tough crowd."

•

Later that day, we all decided to go to the beach and make a campfire.

We found a little empty part of the beach, and I started helping the twins with the fire (by helping, I mean just standing around by them), whilst everyone else just chilled out.

Macy and Luke played with a frisbee down towards the water, Finneas and Claudia were sat on top of Ethan's Jeep, and Billie was on her phone, perched on on a log not too far away. Ethan threw some wood into the fire pit, glancing at me before paying attention to where I was looking. I heard him sigh.

"Has she talked to you about anything yet?"

I turned to look at him before snapping out of it, and kneeling down to adjust the rocks surrounding the wood. "No... Not that she has to, because obviously she doesn't, I just feel so bad, y'know? I want her to know I'm here for her," I explained as Ethan nodded, clearing his throat.

"Yeah, I get you."

"Do you think she's talking to him now?" Justin piped up, sitting down and wiping the dirt off his hands onto his swim shorts. "That's who she's been texting all day, right? She's never on her phone this much, bro."

Ethan hummed in agreement, and we all watched Billie toss her phone to the ground beside her and rub her face with her hands, dragging them down her skin before sliding them back up into her hair.

I sighed as Finneas wandered over. "Need any help with the fire?"

As the twins and Finneas started to try and get the fire going, I decided to wander over to Billie.

When I got closer, she looked up and smiled half-heartedly, licking her lips and looking out at Macy and Luke. "How's the fire?" She asked, glancing back up at me and cocking an eyebrow.

"Good..." I mumbled with a smile, moving to sit down next to her. She played with her rings, and I noticed her tics start to act up a bit more than usual.

"You know you can talk to me about anything if you want to, right? I won't judge you for having emotions," I said softly, watching the golden sunlight illuminate her eyelashes and outline her face.

She chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah. Everyone can talk to anyone," her raspy voice explained as she watched the boys set up the fire. "But will anyone listen?"

She raised an eyebrow as if to disagree, and unlocked her phone again, indicating that that was the end of the conversation.

"Billie..."

"Don't."

I sighed, playing with the hood strings of her hoodie that I seemed to wear a lot at the moment.

"I don't want you to feel alone in whatever's going on right now. I won't do anything, or tell anyone - I don't even have to say anything if you don't want me to, I just want you to be able to ge-"

"Bro, have you not been fucking listening to me?" Billie raised her voice, looking up from her phone to watch me exasperatedly. "I don't want to talk to you about this, okay? It's fucking embarrassing and I care too much about what you think of me for you to think I'm some pathetic bitch who gets pushed around easily."

"I don't-" I started, before soon getting cut off again.

"Just leave it alone, man."

Billie stood and turned to step over the log, storming off across the beach.

Everyone else was watching, and no one knew what to say.