Insomnia // Billie Eilish

Chapter 13

I stared at the ceiling in my room and pulled on the sleeve of the oversized hoodie Billie gave me a while ago. I told her she probably wasn't getting it back. My phone started ringing and I hurriedly looked over to see if it was Billie. It was. I clicked the green button and held the phone to my ear, laying back down. "Hello?"

"Hey. What ya' doin'?" she asked.

I groaned. "Dying of boredom."

"Cool, so you wanna come over. Some of my friends are here, but I think you'll like them."

"Sure. I'll start walki—"

"I'm on my way to get you," she said.

A couple minutes later, her car rolled into the driveway. My mom and Matt were at the grocery store and my dad was at work, so nobody was there to stop me from leaving. I got in the passenger seat and buckled up. "Hey, Billie."

"Hey. Okay, so I'm gonna give you a heads up. My friends can be a little much, but they're usually pretty chill. I think you'll like them." She gave me a reassuring smile and soon enough, we pulled up at her house.

We walked in and there were a bunch of people on the couch. "All right shut up, whores," Billie said. "This is Izabella." She points to the girl on the far left. She had caramel skin and light brown eyes. She smiled and waves. "Michael." She pointed to the dude sitting next to Izabella. He had scruffy, dark hair and pale skin. She continued to go down the line and introduce me to everybody. "Danielle, Joshua, and... where's Brandy?"

"She said she was gonna be running late because her friend asked her to pick her up." Izabella shrugged.

"Who's her friend?" she asked. "Is she at least somebody I've met before?"

"She said you met her at her birthday party."

Billie sighed and sat down on the couch. I sat next to her and a few minutes later, somebody new walked in. "Damn, it's about time, Brandy." Michael laughed.

Somebody stepped in the door behind her, but I couldn't really see her. Brandy shut the door, stepping aside to reveal Olivia. "This is Olivia. I don't know if you remember her or not."

"Oh, yeah." Billie nodded. Olivia and I locked eyes and I quickly broke away.

"I'm gonna go get some water. Okay?"

"Go ahead."

I walked into the kitchen and got a cup, filling it with water. I turned around when I heard somebody walk into the kitchen. It was Olivia. She walked over to me, glancing over her shoulder. "What does she know? The one with the black and green hair."

"What are you talking about?" I played dumb. I knew exactly what she was talking about.

"How much does she know about me?" she pressed. "We're best friends. I know you can't keep your damn mouth shut. "

"We were best friends, and I can't keep my damn mouth shut?" I laughed, bitterly. "Just grand coming from you."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't be stubborn, Mackenzie. What the fuck does she know? I know you must've told her something."

I studied her face for a second. "Why do you care?"

"Answer my question, God damnit!" She slammed her fist down on the counter.

I didn't react. "Answer mine."

Billie walked into the kitchen and Olivia glared at me before leaving. "Do you guys know each other?"

I hesitated before speaking. I didn't know whether I should lie or not.  "I—"

"Don't lie to me," she said.

"That's Olivia. As in my ex-best friend. As in the one who I was on the phone with that day we watched Insidious at your house."

"I see where this is going," she said. "What did you not tell me?"

I pressed my lips together as I thought, looking out of the kitchen doorway to see if she was still close. "It's not much, but basically, she told everybody a bunch of stuff about my mom and now she's making me act like we're still best friends. If I don't then she said she'll just spread around more personal information about me. It's not that bad, though. It's just a little annoying."

"Do you want to make her leave—I can make her leave." Billie started walking away.

"No, you don't have to—"

"I'm gonna make her leave." She started walking away again and I grabbed her hand.

"Don't!" I said. "You're gonna make it worse. Olivia does some stupid shit. She doesn't think about consequences. If you make her leave, she'll get mad and do something impulsive."

"I don't want you to be uncomfortable. This is supposed to be fun, dude." I dropped her hand.

"It still will be," I reassured her. "I'll just ignore her."

She looked at me thoughtfully for a minute before agreeing. "Okay, c'mon. You can't just hide in the kitchen."

We walked back into the living room and sat on the couch. Michael turned towards me and started talking about cars. I laughed at something he said, in an attempt to hide the fact that I wasn't paying attention. "Your laugh is cute," he said. Me, being the awkward person I was, just laughed and subtly nudged Billie. "Are you currently talking to anybody?"

I opened my mouth to say something, but then Billie intervened, setting her head on my shoulder. "Yes. She's taken. No longer available. And also gay, so move the fuck along."

"By who?" He crossed his arms and smirked, not believing her.

She smiled and waved at him. "Me, bitch." What is she talking about? I almost said something, but I decided to see where she was going with it.

"Damn. Oookay." He laughed, skeptically.

"Do you have a problem, dude?" she asked. "Is it a problem for you?"

He shook his head and looked around. "She just doesn't seem like the gay type, y'know?"

"No, actually. I don't know. You know what? Just leave. You're pissing me the fuck off." The room grew silent.

He chuckled, looking around nervously. "Billie, you can't be serious—"

"Dude, get out!" She opened the door. "I'm not gonna let you sit around and be disrespectful. That shit gets on my nerves. No, we aren't dating, but what if we were. Maybe we will someday. Like, you never fucking know, and I don't want people like you to be around me if that happens... Or at all." She swallowed and pointed outside. "So, yes, Michael, please leave."

He looked around, waiting for somebody to help him. Izabella spoke up. "You heard her, baby. Hit the door."

"She has a point, dude," Brandy said with a shrug. I'm a pussy. I wasn't saying shit. I didn't know him.

As he walked out, Billie's parents walked in. "Hey, girls," Maggie said.

Everybody greeted her and, soon enough, everybody was gone besides Billie and I. "I need to go home soon. To prevent further punishment from my mom. She's texted me seven times already."

"Can I give you a ride?" she asked. I nodded in response.