Bloom- Billie Eilish

Chapter 1

The alarm rang loud, making me cringe at the sound of that god awful radar ringtone. I stretched my legs out, letting out a soft but unwanted yawn, and I shifted my position so my feet were hanging off of the lofted bed. I slowly hop off the edge of the bed, landing hard on the floor and falling on my ass due to my feet still not being awake. I slam them on the floor a few times until the numbness turns into a tingling sensation, letting me know that my feet have regained consciousness. I slowly stood on my tippie toes and reached for my phone. I checked my calendar, slightly disoriented, to try and remember why I was rudely woken up at 4 am.

"Shit!" I mumbled. "I have a flight to catch." I ran to my dresser, where I realized that I had left clothes out last night, knowing I would be in too much of a hurry to pick something out. I grabbed the stack of clothes and shuffled to the bathroom to change. I put on my comfy light-washed skinny jeans that were ripped at the knees and hugged my hips softly. I cuffed the ankles once and threw on my light purple, cropped tee shirt. I pulled my neon orange hair into two little buns at the top of my head.

Looking into the mirror, I took in my appearance, knowing something was missing. I tapped my cheek lightly with my index finger, which I did pretty often when I was lost in thought. I walked back into the bedroom and opened up my little jewelry box. I pulled out a pair of sword earrings and a small, silver ring with an opal in the middle. I put on the accessories and smiled at the completed look. I checked the time on my phone. 4:15. My flight leaves at 6, and I had to be there at least an hour early to ensure that I made it through security in time for my flight. I slipped on my socks and white sneakers, grabbed my purse and keys, and walked out of my apartment, locking the door behind me.

After a short 15 minute drive, I made it to the airport. I parked my car and pulled my parking pass out of my purse. I had bought a parking pass so I was able to keep my car at the airport while I was on my trip. I put it on the dashboard for it to be seen through the window, because I was too broke to risk a parking ticket-or worse-being towed. I grabbed my luggage out of my trunk, locked my car, and walked up the sidewalk and into Atlanta's massive international airport.

I had planned a vacation to L.A. to wander the city, walk on the beach, and check out a few record labels in the area. And I know, a record label? It's so hard to make it in the music industry these days. But I was mostly just applying for positions as one of those front desk ladies. As long as my job had some relation to music, it would surely beat my current position as a retail associate at Pacsun, though I do love a good discount on clothes.

I made my way through security and put my earbud in one of my ears, hitting shuffle on Amber Run. As I got on the train toward my terminal, a song came on and I felt a sudden tug of inspiration, so I pulled out my journal and pen, scribbling down the lyrics as they came to me. The train stopped at terminal D, and I got off, walking toward my gate as I continued to write. That was, until I ran into someone, sending my pen and loose papers from my journal flying. "Fuck." I mumbled. I looked forward and saw a girl who looked around my age, with black hair and bright green roots.

"I'm sorry, I should've watched where I was going." She said, sheepishly.

"It's all good, I probably shouldn't have been writing and walking at the same time." I mumbled, bending down to pick up the scattered pages, and knocking heads with the girl.

"Ahh." I groaned, grabbing my head with my palm.

"Shit, I'm sorry, again." She laughed a little, and helped me gather the pages, and her gaze started to run over the lines. "What is all this, anyway?" She asked, curiosity clearly showing through the tone of her voice.

"It's nothing, just some lyrics to some songs." I looked at her and laughed a little. "A song I hadn't heard before came on, and I got a little inspired so I started writing while walking. I probably shouldn't have done that."

She laughed again. "I've done that before, don't sweat it." She kneeled still for a second, and spoke up again. "What song was it?"

I looked at her and tilted my head a little, surprised by her curiosity. "Amen by Amber Run."

"Hmm, I haven't heard of it, but it must be pretty good for you to be so engrossed with inspiration that we ran into each other." She stopped, holding the newest page I had been working on, reading it's contents.

"I don't wanna know

Where you're coming from, or where you're going

All I wanna know is who you are

And where you are

And what we are"

She looked up at me and handed me the last of the papers. "Which gate are you going to?"

"Gate 19." I replied. "I'm visiting L.A. for a bit."

"No fucking way! I'm going to L.A. too! But I live there. Wanna walk to the gate together?" She asked.

I thought about it for a few seconds before nodding. "Why the hell not, maybe you can make sure I don't run into anyone else."

She let out a soft chuckle before grabbing my wrist to pull me up and walking down the barren halls toward the gate. We get to Gate 19 and she plops down on a chair next to me. She grabs the earbud that isn't already in my ear and puts it into hers. "What are you doing?" I laugh.

"Waiting for you to show me the song that made you run into me, duh." She grins and I just nod, clicking on the song and letting it play. I open back up the journal and continue to add lyrics to the song while we listen. I look back up at her and see that she's staring at the page intently, clearly lost in the song and the words I'm writing.

Eventually the song ends and I've added another verse and a chorus to the page. She looks up at me, with a weird grin on her face. "What?" I question, only making her laugh.

"Nothing! It's just, these are actually some really dope lyrics!"

I tilt my head. "Eh, it's just a start. I still need another verse and a bridge. And chords and a tune and instruments and-"

"Calm down." She cuts me off. "You gotta take it one step at a time. Finish the lyrics first, then go to the tune and after you find a good melody, put some chords to it." Wow, she sure knew a lot about songwriting.

Either she read my mind or I had a weird look on my face, because she answered my silent question right away. "I write music too." She said, shrugging.

"Oh." Was all I managed to reply with, because the sound of a lady came over the intercom, cutting me off.

"Flight 126 to L.A. now boarding first class."

"Well, that's me." She sighed.

"I'm so sorry, again, for running into you. I'm Jade, by the way."

"I'm Billie. Don't sweat it Jade, just try not to run into anyone else while boarding." We looked at each other and laughed. She took the pen out of my hand and wrote down a number on the corner of the page. "Text me sometime, I wanna hear the finished product."

Just then, a guy who looked to be in his 20's walked up to us. "Come on Bil, we're boarding."

"Coming Fin." She looked back at me. "Don't forget, Text me!" And with that she was rushed away by the guy and vanished into the plane.