aspen
"dude, come on!" billie urged as she interlaced our fingers to pull me through the airport.
the past month flew by faster than expected to. we're currently boarding our flight to new orleans, louisiana for the first show of the tour.
billie is, understandably, excited.
i am too, but i'm too tired to be running through the airport like she's insisting that we do.
"i am, sheesh." i mumbled as i rubbed at my eyes. i almost tripped as she tugged me along with her. "calm down!"
she stopped so that she could turn to face me. wordlessly, she stepped closer to me before turning forwards again, though she bent down in front of me, indicating for me to get on her back. i did so without hesitation.
why would i turn down a free piggyback ride?
she held my legs, while i loosely draped my arms over her shoulders. i laid my head on her shoulder, letting out a yawn.
"we've gotta hurry up and board the plane, because the faster we do that, means the faster we get to new orleans, which means the faster we get to perform!" she explained as she continued to walk quickly through the airport.
"a few minutes won't make that much of a difference; we've still gotta do soundcheck and everything else once we get there." i pointed out.
she was silent for a moment before kissing her teeth. "shush."
she accidentally bumped into finneas, who was talking to xavier about some producer things or some shit; i don't really know. she apologized briefly, though he just laughed it off.
we eventually made it outside, where we were boarding a private jet.
perks of touring with an a-list celebrity, i guess.
"okay, you're gonna have to board yourself, because i do not trust myself to carry you up those steps." she told me with a small chuckle.
i let out a small sigh as i got off of her back. she immediately rushed up the stairs, while i took my time in walking up them.
finneas and xavier soon followed, along with our managers.
i sat down in one of the seats, then pulled my hood over my head and tightened the strings so that it would cover my face.
i had planned to take a nap for the three and a half hour flight, but billie had other plans.
"i'm so fucking excited, dude," she said, practically bouncing in her seat. "aspennn!"
"whaaaat?" i dragged out in a mumble as i turned to face her. i un-tightened my hoodie a bit so that i could see her.
"are you not excited?" she raised a brow.
"i'm tired. it's nine in the morning; it's too early for this." i huffed.
"lame." she decided before turning to finneas to talk.
i didn't respond, instead re-tightening my hoodie so that i could take a nap.
§§§
"aspen, come on." billie barged into the green room.
i looked up from my phone and met her eyes. "hm?"
she walked over and grabbed my hand to start pulling me out of the green room. "we gotta do soundcheck."
over the past month, i've learned that billie is just a naturally affectionate person with the people she's close to. she has almost no sense of personal space. it's kinda cute though how she always tries to hold people's hands or give them hugs.
"i was about to come do it," i assured her with a small laugh. "i was watching tiktok though, and i kept getting stuck in a loop of 'just one more,' you know?"
"that app is addicting, i swear." she shook her head.
"honestly." i agreed.
she lead me to the stage, and she handed me a mic. "we're gonna soundcheck 'lovely' real quick," she told me. "so get your mic and shit."
billie has 'lovely' on her set list for this tour. she was originally just going to sing it by herself, but our management suggested that i come onstage during it and sing khalid's part.
i say suggested... but they more so demanded it.
"finneas!" billie caught his attention.
he turned his attention from where he was talking to his girlfriend, claudia, to look at billie with a raised brow.
i only just recently met claudia, but she's honestly one of the sweetest people i've ever met. she's such an angel.
"we're sound checking 'lovely.'" she told him.
he nodded his head as he gave a thumbs up. andrew, billie's drummer, gave a nod in response as well.
soon enough, finneas started playing the piano for 'lovely.'
§§§
"you've got this, aspirin." billie gave a smile.
i glanced out at the crowd from backstage. i had about a minute until i had to go onstage and perform.
"stop calling me that," i laughed as i shoved her shoulder. "but i'm just a little nervous; i mean, this is, like, a billion times the amount of people i'm used to performing in front of."
before billie announced that i was going on tour with her and opening for her, i had about six million followers on instagram. now i have almost twenty million, so this is a lot different than the shows i played before the pandemic started.
"nah, you're my little pain reliever," she giggled as she threw an arm around my shoulders. "but honestly, i find it easier to perform in front of tons of people rather than a small amount, so you should be fine." she reassured.
"right..." i mumbled. "okay, i gotta go."
"good luck." she grinned.
"thank you." i gave a smile.
i walked out onstage as xavier started playing the beginning of my opening song. i heard the audience start cheering as they saw me, and it admittedly put a big grin on my face.
§§§
i watched as billie performed. the control she has over the audience is honestly mesmerizing and will never cease to amaze me.
i could only dream of having that kind of control.
whenever i had came backstage after my set, billie had welcomed me into a hug, and she told me that i did really good. i called bullshit, but she assured and reassured that i really had done a good job.
she's too sweet.
sooner than i had expected, billie was starting to sing 'lovely.' i slowly started walking back onstage.
"thought i found a way. thought i found a way out, but you never go away, so i guess i gotta stay now." billie sang.
"oh, i hope someday i'll make it out of here." i started singing along with her as i fully made my way onstage. the crowd erupted into loud cheers; it was probably the loudest they've cheered so far. "even if it takes all night or a hundred years."
billie turned her attention from the crowd to face me. she made eye contact as a soft smile formed on her face. we continued singing, and i couldn't help but smile as well.
"isn't it lovely? all alone. heart made of glass, my mind of stone. tear me to pieces, skin to bone. hello, welcome home."
i looked towards the crowd. "walking out of time, looking for a better place. something's on my mind. always in my head space."
when we finished the song, billie looked at me with a contagious grin. she held her hand out for a high-five, so i happily gave her one. once i did though, she interlaced our fingers for a moment and waved our hands a bit.
i looked towards the crowd after she dropped my hand. i blew them a kiss and gave them an air hug before running back backstage.
§§§
"dude, that was so fucking amazing!" billie gushed after her show as we chilled in the green room. "i swear, nothing beats the feeling of getting to perform, especially for a crowd like that."
"it was definitely surreal." i agreed with a laugh. i ran my hand through my hair. "fucking crazy."
billie grabbed a water bottle, drinking about half of it. "i can already tell this is gonna be a tour to remember."
"for sure." i nodded.
§§§
a/n i love them sm already
thoughts?
predictions?
how are y'all?
also— do y'all want a face reveal? i had one posted a while back but i deleted it so—
i'll post it on this if y'all do want one, but i'll only leave it up for a day or two 💀
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