Insomnia // Billie Eilish

Chapter 54

"Billie, why the fuck do you think that we need this many loaves of bread," I ask, recounting the four loaves of bread that she put in the basket.

"Mackenzie, we need toast," she says seriously, making me laugh.

"Dude, we don't need four loaves of bread. You don't need to eat that much toast."

"Fine." She puts some of the bread up. "We should go to the candles aisle."

"You are never coming to Walmart with me again." I shake my head. Between her fans constantly coming up and her having no idea what we actually need, bringing Billie grocery shopping is slightly frustrating. I love spending time with her. Just not at the grocery store. And her fans are the sweetest things ever, but there are so many of them.

-

I trudge back to Billie's car, covering my head to keep my hair from getting wet. It gets curly after being wet. I swiftly open the door and sit in the passenger seat. The cold air hits me and I shiver. "Geez, Billie. Turn the air off."

She quickly turns it off and turns to me, her eyes filled with anticipation. "So? How'd it go?"

I sigh heavily. "Nothing's changed. E-everything's the same." I pause for a minute. "Let's just go steal him," I joke.

"You're insane," she says, backing out of the parking spot.

"No, I'm no—" I stop and point at a yellow slug bug as it drives by. "Yellow car! Oh, and punch buggy!" I punch her arm she yells.

"Ow! What the fuck." She rubs her arm with her left hand. "What is yellow car."

"Oh. It's a game me and my dad used to play. You have to see who can find the most yellow cars by the end of the day."

"Damn. I'm gonna win this. You can't see shit with your blind ass." She chuckles.

"Nuh-uh!" I cross my arms. "I can see just fine."

"No, you can not! That's why I have to drive you everywhere. That's the real reason you don't have a car or your driver's license. Because you can't see shit."

I shake my head. "I have a drivers license, thank you very much. We'll s—"

"Yellow car! Right there! You see it?" She points out of her window.

"Billie, what the hell? I see it. Watch the road."

"Just making sure you see it." She grins.

"Calm down. We're ti—"

"Yellow car! There's another one! Damn, I'm good!" She shakes her head.

"Oh, my gosh! Close your eyes!"

"I'm driving! I can't close my eyes. I told you you're insane." She laughs. I don't bother to argue back. The ride is silent for the next few minutes as we both concentrate on looking for yellow cars.

"Yellow car," she yells suddenly, making me jump.

I quickly yell back. "Nuh-uh! Where?"

"It just turned."

"I don't believe you."

She quickly switches lanes and turns. "I'll show you. Look right there."

She points in front of us at a car that I swear is a green. "That's green. At least I'm not color blind."

"First of all, being blind in general is much worse. Second of all, that is yellow."

"Dude, no it is not." We argue a little longer and then she finally agrees to forget about it. As we ride through our neighborhood, another yellow car comes into sight.

"Yellow car," we both shout at the same time.

"I definitely called that first," I say.

"No, you didn't. You're such a cheater."

-

"Wow," Billie says. I don't bother to look at her. I'm too comfortable. "We have our own pool. That's so cool. Ooh, that rhymed!"

"Billie, you rhyme all the time—"

"That rhymed too," she points out. "We're great."

I laugh and look at her, holding my hand up to shield my eyes from the sun. "You're so pretty." I smile, noticing the faint freckles on her nose from being in the sun so much.

A light pink dusts her cheeks, her nose wrinkles, and her eyebrows knit together as she squints at me. "I hope you burn."

"Damn. I'm being all sweet and shit, and you want me to burn."

She laughs loudly, throwing her head back. "That's not what I meant. I hope you get sunburn. You have the cutest freckles and your skin is perfect. You deserve sunburn, but thank you, mamas."

I shake my head. "You're just rude."

"I can't stand you."

"You can't stand me? You just told me that you hope I burn. You're a bully."

She groans. "Dude, I was kidding."

I struggle to hold my smile back. "I just don't know if I believe you, Billie. I don't know if I can forgive you for telling me that you hope I burn." I cross my arms and lay my head back, closing my eyes.

A few moments later, a heavy weight is placed on my legs and a hand on my jaw. I open my eyes again. Billie's head is blocking the sun from my face. "Well," she says, putting her arms around my neck. "What can I do to make you forgive me?" She glances down at my mouth and then back at my eyes. God, she's hot as hell.

I place my hands on her hips and look up at her. She rubs her thumb over my bottom lip and then slowly leans in, gently placing her lips on mine. I lean away after a few seconds and she shakes her head, pulling me back in as she tangles her fingers in my hair.