The Artist / Billie Eilish

Chapter 27

Billie's mouth opened and shut a few times before she spoke, her eyes darting around the hotel lobby in what seemed like panic.

She stuttered out a few random words before clearing her throat and adjusting her bandana, still not looking at me. "He, um..."

I could see her weighing up her options as I folded my arms over my chest, not taking my eyes off her. "I don't know. He must be some new tech guy. Maybe a support act? I don't know."

With that, Billie quickly turned and jogged over to the couches, getting our bags and talking to Macy about Steve.

As believable as that story was, I still had no idea who 'Q' was, and had no idea how to find out. I'm not sure if anyone even knew. Apart from Billie, obviously.

I watched the dark-haired girl as she gathered up both of our cases, smiling at me as we all walked towards the elevator, following Steve's voice.

•

"Yo, can you put a pitch monitor on my mic through the first bit of 8? Is that possible?"

We were all lounging around on random chairs where the crowd would be standing tomorrow, as Billie and Finneas began their soundcheck. Steve was out somewhere right now, so we all just stayed put instead of 'vacating the premises' like he'd instructed yesterday.

Last night was weird.

Staying in a room with Ethan wasn't weird, because we've done that loads of times before and Ethan means the world to me, but...

It was my first night in about 4 weeks that I'd spent without Billie, and I knew she was a couple doors down in her big empty room all alone.

I just felt sorry for her. This was her tour and she spent the first proper night alone. Hopefully Q is someone she already knows and will be able to keep her good company.

I don't know why she wouldn't just tell me, though...

Excusing myself from the group, I jogged out of the main stage room towards the double doors, feeling Billie's eyes on me the whole way. I quietly slid through the huge metal doors, making slight eye contact with Billie before disappearing from the room and instantly being lost.

I was in a huge ass corridor with millions of doors either side, and one at the end.

What is it with venues and corridors backstage?

Sighing, I hesitantly walked down the corridor, looking at the little signs places on every door and not knowing what any of them mean. Finally, I found the door that was labelled 'Greenroom', and pushed it open to go get my art supplies when I collided with someone.

Hard.

I nearly toppled over backwards before the person's hands flew out to grab me by the waist, laughing lowly and pulling me back upright.

"Sorry mami, didn't see you there. You lost?"

A guy I'd never seen before stood in front of me, his hands that were still resting on my waist making me feel uncomfortable. He smirked at me, sunglasses resting on his forehead, and scanned my body with his eyes slowly.

"Thank you..." I mumbled, resting my hand lightly on his chest so I could walk forward past him into the green room, watching his head look down at my ass as I passed him. I found my backpack and squatted down to rummage through it as it sat on the couch by me, still watching my ass.

"How come you're lost, mami? Need some help?"

He smirked as I turned to make eye contact with him, his pink and blue hair dangling down over his face. He licked his lips and stroked his chin as I looked back down at my bag.

"My name's Rose, and I'm lost because this is the first time we've been to the venue. I was just trying to find my bag."

He hummed in response, biting his lip as I pulled a pack of pens out of my bag along with my sketchbook, standing to place them on a table on the other side of the room. That didn't stop him.

"Rose. That's a sexy name mami. It's sexier when you say it..."

He sauntered over to me, standing so close to me that I could feel his chest against my back. I was sorting through my sketches to figure out which one to turn into today's painting, when I felt his breath against the back of my neck.

"You think it's sexy when I say my own name? That's a new one," I muttered sarcastically as he laughed under his breath, holding either side of my waist from behind.

"You can say my name if you wanna, mamas," he murmured, pressing himself against my ass. "Q."

My breath hitched in my throat as I stopped fiddling with my sketchbook, pressed in between him and the table. His hands slid around to the front of my waist, his fingers grazing the skin of my stomach under my shirt as I grabbed his wrists, pushing them away, hearing him laugh.

"Say my name, mama," he growled, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling my back into him, brushing his lips against my ear.

"Q?"

We both spun around to see Billie standing in the doorway, her mouth hanging open. The man who I now knew was Q stepped away from me, chuckling as he wandered over to Billie.

"Hey mami," he whistled as he strolled out of the greenroom, wandering away down the hall.

I exhaled shakily as I turned and carried on going through my sketchbook, Billie's eyes burning through the back of my head.

"What the fuck was that?"

Her eyebrows were furrowed and her jaw was clenched when I looked around at her, so I continued doing my work.

"You tell me, Billie. I have no idea who that even was, but you obviously do. Real nice friend you've got there, by the way."

Rolling my eyes, I started to gather the different paints and brushes that I'd need when I heard Billie sigh, seeing her walk up to me out of the corner of my eye. She brushed her fingertips against my waist and spoke softly into the quiet room.

"I don't know him either, baby. I'm sorry if he made you uncomfortable," she mumbled, pressing a kiss to my cheek as I sighed, leaning into her.

She pressed another kiss to my forehead as I rested my head against her chest, feeling it vibrate when she spoke.

"You wanna go somewhere tonight? A restaurant or something? We could explore New Zealand whilst we have the chance."

I giggled slightly, pulling back to look at Billie's face. "Is Billie Eilish asking me out on a date? Is that what's happening right now?" I teased, watching as she laughed at me, shoving me away.

"Of course I'd love to go on a date with you, Bil."