𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋𝐒 ➼𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐄 𝐄.

11 | when we all fall asleep

but she was right. that stupid smile on my face didn't seem to wipe off.

claudia took me into the the backstage areas where a bunch of wires and speakers were loaded up. the two of us bumped into finneas, who was already prepped and ready to preform. i met andrew while claud finneas talked, who was incredibly sweet. he was the talented drummer who was on stage with the siblings as they performed.

"i don't want to be in the spotlight," he explained when i asked about his opinion on the attention they were getting. "i like just being 'the drummer'."

i nodded, then felt claudia's hand brush my arm. "i wanna show you something."

i followed her, waving to finneas and andrew. i walked beside claudia. turning a corner, i started to hear voices in the room beside us. "this is the v.i.p. lounge, some venues have cool places like this."

as we opened the door in front of us, it lead into a big room with tables filled with platters and decorations. walking further into the room, a herd of people hurried to our side. i heard things like "oh my god, claudia!" or "i love you, claudia!" even "where's finneas?" which i thought was kind of funny. claudia held my hand and guided my through the people, greeting them quietly. within the loud cheers, i heard,

"andrea!"

i froze. my head turned as i tried to find the person who said it. "don't worry about it," claudia whispered into my ear. "i'll explain later." i nodded, but my heart still raced. how did they know my name? i didn't have any major instagram clout, so it's almost impossible someone would know me. she pulled me into a private area that guards stood in front of.

my heart continued to beat out of my chest. my ears rang as my feet moved on autopilot. questions with no answers plagued my mind and as i tried to calm down, my phone buzzing with notifications.

eventually, claudia brought me to a seat. my head was so achy with thoughts i almost forgot where i was.

"hey, you ok?" her soft voice broke the layers of my daze.

i nodded. "yea, no, i'm ok."

she chuckled. "i can tell you're not used to it."

i shook my head, trying to shake off the shock in my brain. "i can handle it," i said, knowing that i was lying to claudia and myself. i didn't like it. the strange feeling of being known without knowing it. it terrified me. how could they possibly know? "it's just that... i heard someone call my name."

claudia nodded in understanding. "i heard it," she replied. "i was just as freaked out as you were when i heard my name called for the first time."

i turned to her. claudia was such a beautiful woman, and that's not the gay side of me talking. her hair was a gorgeous deep brown that matched perfectly with her soft, porcelain skin. my mind went back to seconds ago when she held my hand the whole way. it made me feel so lucky to have her. i smiled.

"i was walking with finn after a show in london, i think." claudia began. "i heard several people scream my name with finneas's. it was scary, to be honest. these people i've never met before start shouting claudia."

"i just don't get how they know." i said this as i pulled out my phone to see a ton of notifications. most were from instagram, but some were texts from my friends. i opened ig to find hundreds of mentions in my inbox.

"that might be your answer."

i clicked on the first one i saw that lead to a separate post. the post showed the familiar face of none other than billie. i gingerly read the title,

billie eilish is seen kissing a girl, recognized as @ andrea.rodriguez, in front of an underground club!

the post was posted yesterday but it already had over 800k views. so that's how they know. a fucking post. i felt relieved, confused, angry, and invaded all at the same time. i felt my nails dig into the palm of my hand as my brows furrowed. the comments were half and half, which pissed me off. half positive and light-hearted, half dumb and ignorant. and those comments were almost worse than the post itself.

eilishsavocados lets be honest we all knew she liked girls too

billericious AAA MY BILLIE FINALLY HAS A GIRLFRIEND AKDJFKDL

karen.livelaughlove i understand you all might not have responsibilities, but i don't want MY christian kids to see this bad influence

lindakidzbop i know right?! first the obvious satanism and now promoting lgbt propaganda?!?!

realjesuschrist all y'all fucking karens need to stfu i don't have a problem with love

realgod ^ i agree with my son

claudia was reading the comments with me over my shoulder. i saw her grit her teeth and breath in sharply, making a 'khhhh' sound. i shook my head slowly, feeling my nails dig into the sides of my phone case.

"what the fuck?" i whispered. "are people really out here tryna—"

i didn't finish my sentence, i was getting a call from bil. i instantly picked up, putting it on speaker.

"hey," i said.

"uh, hey," she sounded tired or in some type of pain. "can you and claudia come to the stairs backstage?"

i became concerned. "wait, what happened? where are the stairs?"

she groaned, clearly having something hurt her. "just... tell claudia. she'll know."

billie hung up. my muscles tensed as i looked to claud helplessly. she nodded, taking my hand once more and bringing me out of the area. my heart started to pound out of my chest. what happened to her? the show was starting in less than an hour. i panicked, debating whether or not to call her back.

but i didn't, and part of me wish i did.