Chasing Air // Billie Eilish

Chapter 53

ELLIOT'S P.O.V
"And Bil can't do this, why exactly?" I asked Finneas as I stared out of his studio window.

"Because her voice is very..." He held out a hand, searching for the right word as he spun to face me in his chair. "Smooth and soft–don't get me wrong she can put some power behind her voice, but you get what I mean. You have a more raspy and uneven voice. And that's not a bad thing at all. You have a very unique voice and you could really do something if you wanted to, you know. I would compare your vocal tone to that of Jessie Reyez's. Really beautiful. Listening to her sing in person was–phenomenal. She holds so much emotion in her voice. Brilliant, Elliot. All this to say, that's the kind of voice I wanted this time around."

"You totally just went full-on nerd, Finneas," I teased him. Being around him while he was working was inspiring. He was so into what he was doing and so passionate about it. Him and Billie both.

"Yeah, yeah." He leaned towards his computer screen, squinting. "We're gonna run this one more time. This time I want it to be more like... crescendo, higher and kind of breaking into a falsetto, and then bring it back down." He waved his hands around as he spoke. "Doesn't have to be too pretty. Like I said, these are all gonna be stacked on top of each other."

-

"I'm telling you, Elliot, I could really do something with a voice like yours," Finneas argued as we walked into his house.

I pulled my coat off and hung it on one of the hooks. "And I'm telling you no."

"Nothing serious, Elliot. Completely just for fun. It'll be fun." He dropped his keys on the counter and kissed Claudia on the cheek as she blew on a pot of noodles in an attempt to keep the water from boiling over.

"You set that timer, Bil?" she asked quickly before blowing again.

"Well, it was that or death, so yeah," Billie mumbled back, mouthing silent words to me. I wasn't sure what she was saying, but I knew that it was something about needing help and Claudia being crazy from her hand motions.

"What was that, Billie? You're having that much fun helping Claudia out?" I leaned against the counter, a wide grin on my face. "That's great. You guys should do this more often."

Billie shot me a death glare as Claudia stood up straight, wiping her hands up. "What's up, babe? You guys get a lot done?"

"Actually," Finneas started and Claudia held a hand up in his face, silencing him.

"Not you, Finneas." She winked, blowing me a kiss.

"Claudia!" I gasped.

"Finneas!" Billie motioned towards Claudia.

"Billie!" Finnease held his arms up in defense.

"You guys are ridiculous." Claudia laughed, pulling Finneas towards him and fixing his hair.

"Hey, you're not getting off that easy," Billie said, giving me a stern look.

"I didn't even do anything," I replied defensively, sitting on the couch.

She huffed and sat next to me, crossing her arms and looking away from me.

"Baby." I grabbed her wrist and she shrugged me off.

"No."

"Are you actually upset? I can tell Claudia not to–"

She shook her head, setting her elbows on her knees and hiding her face in her hands.

"Are you okay?" I rubbed her back with my right hand, leaning down so that our heads were level.

"I miss you." She looked up at me, her eyes glossy. "You're always off with Finneas now and I just got you back." Her lip quivered as she stared at me with a pout on her face and my chest ached with sadness. "I know I'm being a brat, but I can't help it."

"Come here." I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her into my lap. "You're not being a brat. It's okay for you to be upset. I'm sorry that I've been letting your brother take so much of your time. He's helping me with something for you. I promise, I'd much rather be spending my time with you."

She nodded, setting her head on my chest. "It's okay."

"What are you doing tomorrow?"

"I finished up the last of my Christmas shopping today, so nothing." She sniffed, wiping her cheek with her sleeve.

"Let's go on a date. A real, normal date." She held my hand.

"What?"

"Don't question it. Will you go on a date with me, Eilish?" I took her hand in mine, kissing her nose.

"I'd love to go on a date with you, Elliot."

    "Well, prepare yourself, because this will be the most mundane, cheesy thing you'll ever have to attend, besides maybe our wedding. We'll see." She winked, patting my thigh before getting up and going to the bathroom.

i know the last chapters have been super short because it's just a bunch of fillers, but i'm back!! and things will hopefully getmore interesting soon