accompanied | billie eilish

twenty-eight

NOTE : i know NOTHINg about court lmfao this is fabricated for fictional purposes and very likely not how such an event would take course in reality

~~~

2 days until the lawsuit

aria

"when i said i wanted to come back to la, i didn't mean under these conditions," i mutter, rolling my eyes as i drag my suitcase into the hotel lobby.

"after it's over, no matter what happens. we can go out somewhere and have some fun. okay?" finn asks gently. "even if it's just to my parents' house."

"okay," i murmur, feeling a little better.

tomorrow will shape our careers forever. if sam has found a good enough lawyer it could be the end of us.

and that prospect is terrifying.

~~~

day of the lawsuit

aria

i walk into the courtroom, one hand holding tyler's and the other holding finn's.

our attorney, mr simon fisher, is sat at one table on the far side of the courtroom. he smiles grimly at the seven of us as we sit down; me, ashley, shay, tyler, billie, finneas and our manager mike. bil and finn have been permitted to attend due to the fact that they were present throughout all of this, which makes me feel at least a little better.

opposite us, on the other side of the courtroom with the jury in between us, is sam sat at a table with his attorney, who i've not seen before. sam catches my eye and gives me such a withering stare that i look away.

"all rise," the bailiff speaks as the judge enters the room. and with that, the trial begins.

the first ten minutes or so are spent asking both lawyers for a summary of what has happened to result in us being here today.

"the defendant, samuel parker, has formally exited my client's band, as a result of unsupervised drug misuse concealed from the other members," says mr fisher drily when he's asked to speak. "he has decided that he is being omitted from his rights to the contributions he has made to this band's career. in his eyes, he still has rights to the band's royalties of all aspects, from touring and merchandise to future albums without his name on as well as sales of previous albums with credits to his input entailed."

that sums it up pretty nicely.

when mr fisher is asked to give his opening statement, he stands at last, and i focus in on what he's saying as much as i can.

"your honour, and the jury; the defendant has struggled with drug misuse multiple times in the past, and has even gone so far as to admit it publicly in band-promotive interviews. when my clients discovered a stash of similar substances crudely hidden within samuel's bunker on the tour bus they confronted him, with said substances; samuel parker simply left the band in a rage. he handed over his rights to the band with his own free will, and i believe one of the makeup artists living on the bus with the rest of the tour team was onlooking the raucous scene and caught some on camera."

mr fisher looks over and nods at someone stood in a corner; they press a button, and a shaky-handed media clip plays onto a screen on the wall, opposite the judge. i bite my tongue as i listen to sam shouting at us again, and watch him twist my own arm behind my back again.

"this will be noted," the judge nods as the video ends. "parker?"

sam's lawyer stands up.
"sam was pressured into leaving the band due to his addiction, which is being handled," says the lawyer coolly. "what's more he has been omitted from the royalties to work which is rightfully his."

"not his alone," argues mr fisher. "all of the vision's work is registered legally under the group name of the vision. all five members, which means at the most sam would only receive a 20% cut of total profits, even less after the label's cut is subtracted from that. and finneas has joined in light of light of sam's absence, meaning he'll receive even less."

the lawyers argue about more things, presenting new evidence and information. despite myself and how important this is. i find myself beginning to slide away, staring at a fly frisking about idly on the tabletop.

never in a million years did i think i would find myself in a courtroom, apart from jury duty. even just a few months ago i wouldn't have been able to imagine sitting in a room where such terrible things have happened. countless murderers and rapists and pedophiles must have been convicted in this very room, and sitting here today for whatever sam is charging us for seems almost petty next to that.

i'm jolted out of my thoughts back into reality as there bursts angry shouting from sam and his lawyer.

"read the contract," sam's lawyer says to the judge. "read the contract that the vision signed five years ago with the label. i have a copy of it right here." he pulls a thick stack of papers out of his bag and i frown. didn't the label agree that would remain completely confidential until it ended?

i look over at mike, who looks similarly confused.

the judge picks up the contract reluctantly and begins to leaf through it. his actions are clearly idle at first but after a few moments he pauses, and flips back to a page.

"the five original members are all listed as equals to one another, no matter what," the judge announces. "unless samuel parker passes away then he is entitled to one fifth of the vision's earnings from existing royalties, until this contract ends in... three years."

there's a ripple of outraged murmuring, and sam and his lawyer sit back with smug faces.

"what? that's not true, right?" i ask mr fisher. his face is unreadable.

"i had no access to that contract," is all he replies before standing up and approaching the judge. he returns a few moments later with the document and begins to leaf through it at an alarming speed.

"he's right," mr fisher says in surprise.

"no fucking way," says finneas.

"isn't there any way around it?" ashley asks mr fisher desperately.

he doesn't reply for a moment. then he looks up at us with a glint in his eyes.

"there's one."