Different From The Rest

Chapter 29: yappin

The sun dipped lower, painting warm amber stripes across the living room walls as the three of them stretched deeper into the couch cushions. The music had shifted to something vibey and easy—SZA, then Phoebe, then a Billie song Odessa snuck into the playlist just to tease her.

"I swear if you play my own voice one more time..." Billie warned, nudging Odessa with her foot.

Odessa grinned. "Come on, it's good background noise while you pine like a golden retriever."

"I am not pining."

"Babe, you wrote her name in the steam on your mirror this morning," Quen said without even looking up from their phone.

Billie's jaw dropped. "I did not."

Quen smirked. "Okay, you didn't, but you were thinking about it. I could feel it."

Billie groaned dramatically, falling back on the floor with a throw pillow over her face. "I hate you both."

"You love us," Odessa corrected, tossing a handful of popcorn at her.

Billie peeked from under the pillow. "Yeah, unfortunately."

They kept the jokes rolling for another hour—card games pulled out from a messy drawer, Billie losing a few rounds and accusing Quen of cheating, even though she never could prove it. Laughter bubbled up between them, warm and effortless, like the kind that only exists around people who really know you.

Eventually, the sky outside turned purple and gold, and the mood shifted slightly. Softer. Calmer. They sprawled in a new shape now—Odessa curled up with a blanket, Quen on their side thumbing through Instagram.

Billie leaned back against the couch, sipping the last of her drink. Her fingers tapped lightly against her knee, her thoughts clearly wandering.

"You wanna talk about her or you wanna pretend you're not dying to?" Odessa asked gently.

Billie hesitated.

Then shrugged. "She played Clair de Lune this morning. Like... out of nowhere. It felt like I was dreaming."

Quen glanced at her. "You looked like you were dreaming the first time she walked in."

Billie smiled at that—small and helpless. "I feel like I'm gonna ruin it somehow."

Odessa sat up a little. "You won't. Not if you keep being you. That's clearly what she's sticking around for."

Billie nodded slowly. "Yeah. I guess... it's just been a long time since someone made me feel like this."

Quen reached over and gave her ankle a soft squeeze. "That's how you know it's worth it."

Billie exhaled. Quiet. Full.

"I really, really like her," she admitted.

And for a second, neither of them said anything.

Then Odessa smiled. "We know.

Billie's phone buzzed on the coffee table, lighting up with your name. She glanced at it quickly, then looked away, pretending not to care—though the slight twitch of a smile gave her away.

Odessa, however, did care. She'd been watching Billie out of the corner of her eye all night, clocking every smile, every far-off look, every shift in tone when your name came up.

The second Billie got up to grab more snacks from the kitchen, Odessa snatched the phone like it was second nature.

"Don't you dare," Quen warned, already laughing.

"Oh, I dare," Odessa grinned, unlocking Billie's phone with a well-timed Face ID scan.

Billie's lockscreen was, of course, a blurry photo you had taken of her laughing with a cupcake in her hand.