accompanied | billie eilish

twenty-two

billie

"ohhhh, canadaaaa," marcus sings as we walk into our toronto arena for soundcheck.

"i forgot you're canadian," aria says, wrinkling her nose as she looks up at him.

he blinks. "have you ever heard me speak?"

i roll my eyes at the two of them and step away, over towards finneas and tyler who are deep in conversation.

"speak of the devil," tyler says teasingly as i approach.

i frown. "what's up?"

"we've been discussing ways to set you and aria up," finn explains. "ty know ari well and i know you well, so." he shrugs.

i run a hand through my hair. "aw shit, what y'all got?"

"well for one you could try actually flirting with her," tyler deadpans.

i roll my eyes and groan in exasperation. "dude i'm trying, okay, but she always takes it as that dumb being nice shit that girls do when they're friends with each other and i'm too fucking scared to straight admit i like her. this is why i only hang out with guys. everything's so much easier with guy friends."

"you and claudia are nice to each other," finn points out.

"yeah cause she literally feels like my sister."

"well. if you can't flirt with her," says ty slowly, thinking, "and you can't tell her you like her... take her out somewhere. i'll convince her that we should go out somewhere tonight and you can convince her to go somewhere else with you. or something."

i shrug. "go for it."

"this really isn't my scene," i wince as we step into the club.

"not quite what i had in mind either," ty sighs as a drunk girl collapses to his right.

"loosen up guys, we're gonna have fun," ash calls, perched on aria's back.

i grimace. "i don't drink."

"loser," says ash sweetly, slapping aria on the back. "to the bar, faithful mare!"

"neigh," says aria sarcastically, and the two of them disappear into the crowd of people.

the club isn't really finn or ty's ideal either, so the three of us seek out a secluded booth and settle down. at least with all the other celebrities in this place we don't get approached or anything.

after a while, aria stumbles up to us, looking more than tipsy and less than entertained. she makes grabby hands at tyler, motioning for him to pick her up. he in turn looks at me meaningfully. i nod quickly, getting his gist, and stand up next to her.

"let's go somewhere more quiet, yeah?" i ask. she nods, and i lead her towards the nearest exit which appears to be an elevator.

"top floor," says aria dully as the doors slide shut behind us.

"you've been here before?" i ask in surprise.

she shrugs. "past tours. ash and sam always used to team up like a fucking party unit and drag us to the nearest club. i think me, ty and shay wrote a song on the roof here actually," she says thoughtfully.

she's leaning heavily against the wall, and i realise
how much she must have drunk tonight.

"come on. lean on my shoulder," i say gently as the elevator pings and the doors roll open. we step out into the cool night air; the rooftop around us is dotted with potted plants and fairy lights. a table and bench are in the centre, and every skyscraper around us can be seen.

cars drive by and sirens wail in the distance as i lead aria over to the bench, and help her gingerly sit down.

"maybe you shouldn't have drunk so much, huh?" i tease. she shrugs and sighs.

"sorry. sometimes the club is my thing and sometimes it's not. apparently tonight it's not."

"no worries, i don't really like them either," i shrug. she sighs, and runs her hands through her hair, which usually means she's about to say something that means a lot to her.

"i. i miss sam," she says in a small voice, and it cracks. "i miss him. he's a brother to me and he won't even speak to me anymore. it feels like he's torn a hole in my chest and i don't like it. he's one of the only people in the world i let myself care about."

her words tear a hole in my own chest for her; i wrap my arms around and pull her in close, rocking gently from side to side.

"i'm so, so sorry," i say quietly. "i know what it feels like to lose someone- because you have. you have lost someone. and i'm sure you have too, so you'll know that it just takes time to heal. you'll be hurting for a while, and there won't be anything i can do except wait for it to pass with you. and i'm sorry about that."

she sighs and looks up at me from where her head rests on my shoulder.
"you're perfect, you know," she says softly.

her words catch me off guard. "what do you mean?"

"i mean. you're pretty. and you're funny, and you're smart, and you have a pretty voice, and you put up with me when i'm sad, and you're pretty. and..."

she pauses for a few moments, her dark eyes gazing into the depths of mine. something seems to click within her;
she leans forwards, closing the space between us,

and pressing her lips to mine.