accompanied | billie eilish

eight

billie

"morning, aria," i grin, sitting down on the edge of her bunk as she throws her curtain back to greet the rest of the bus.

"hi," she yawns, running a hand through her glossy hair and rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"don't have to be at the venue until seven tonight, and it's..." i check my phone. "eleven right now. what do you wanna do?"

"thrifting," she says, surprising certainly.

"alright," i shrug. "should i tell the others?"

she shakes her head.
"i can't be bothered with their shit today," she says, playfully rolling her eyes, but there's a simultaneous seriousness to her voice that makes me think better than questioning her.

i nod. "hurry up and get ready then."

she grins up at me, throwing back her bedsheets and rising up out of her bunk to her full height, a head taller than me.

"hello down there," she says playfully, resting an arm on my shoulder.

i shove her away. "shut up."

aria walks down the bus towards the mini kitchen area, looking back over her shoulder to grin at me again before she walks straight into sam.

instead of teasing her like he normally would, he shoves her angrily and mutters "watch where you're fucking going" before storming off the bus to the communal area outside.

"good morning to you too, sunshine," aria calls after him.

i watch, frowning; ashley, similarly concerned, gets up from her perch by the window where she was watching and begins murmuring to aria. their faces are concealed from me by ashley's afro, exploding outwards today; i shrug, and head upstairs to the sofa room, where i know finn and tyler are hanging out.

when aria is ready, she and i are joined by the security guard kohn, and the three of us promise to be back in a few hours before heading out.

"where even are we?" asks aria after a moment, as we walk down pretty white streets.

kohn bursts out laughing.
"you're hopeless, ri," he says in his deep, gravelly voice.

"hey, i'm just jetlagged," she whines half seriously. "educate me so i can become less hopeless."

"we're in milan," i say gently.

"ohhh." she nods. "makes sense. how long do you think it'll be before we get pa-"

"oh shit, there's paps," says kohn quickly. "come on, quick, this way."

he directs us down a side lane and we walk fast, heads down.

"where are we actually going?" kohn asks after a moment.

aria giggles. "now who's the hopeless one?"

"we're headed to a thrift store," i tell him. "no specific one, just whichever's nearest."

after a couple of minutes we find one and duck inside. to my relief it seems to be relatively empty, but spacious; filled with racks of colourful clothes, shelves of hats and tables of jewellery.

"we should be okay here for a while," nods kohn, falling back a little.

"oh man, look at this," says aria excitedly, moving towards a hat stand. "a... raspberry beret! like the prince song."

"how cliche," i quip, although my stomach does a flip as she pulls the beret onto her head and strikes a sarcastic pose. even when she's not being serious she's so so beautiful.

"right up your street," she smiles, still wearing the beret on her head as she picks up a neon tie dye hoodie and tosses it playfully towards me.

"i would seriously wear this, actually," i say thoughtfully, examining it.

"and this," she replies, picking up a chain off of the nearest table. she leans over me slightly as she clasps it around my neck; her sweet scent washes over me and i feel tingles run up my back.

"not bad, eilish." she winks.

i pick up a dreamcatcher necklace and loop it around her own neck.
"not bad yourself, taylor," i reply, hoping my voice doesn't shake.

she just laughs and we continue around the store.

we end up spending a couple of hours in the shop, and i genuinely relax, enjoying myself. it remains relatively empty the whole time, and both of us end up making a few purchases and we head back to the bus in order to get ready for tonight.

"hey tyler, i bought you something," aria calls as she steps onto the bus.

tyler looks over from the sandwich he's eating and frowns uncertainly. "last time you said that you brought me a tea cosy that said cheers, big ears on it. which i burned as soon as i got home, by the way."

"meanie," aria pouts. "but no, this is a serious present this time. come here."

he steps over toward her.

"now, close your eyes."

he hesitates.
"if you, like, hit me over the head and run off or something, i will burn you at the stake," he warns her before doing as instructed.

aria reaches into her bag and pulls out a checkered black and white beanie, placing it onto his head.

"now open your eyes," she says, holding up the selfie camera on her phone facing towards him so he can see.

"this is... kind of nice," he says, surprised. "thanks, ri."

"i know i'm a little shit but i love you," she says, wrapping her arms around him for a few moments before drifting off.

i smile at the encounter and make my way to my bunk. i pass sam, who glares at me for some reason, and makes his way up to aria. he hisses in her ear; i can't make out what he says from where i'm sat but judging by her reaction, it's nothing pleasant.

"what the fuck's gotten into you today?" she snaps. "leave me alone, you wanker."

i watch the exchange uncomfortably before turning away and putting my earbuds in, drowning out the whole of the tour bus's noise.