Chapter 4

(A storm grounds every flight for the night. Billie and Annabelle end up sharing a nearly empty airport terminal at 2 a.m., surviving on vending machine snacks and increasingly personal conversations.)

The airport felt haunted after midnight.
Not scary.

Just… abandoned.

Most of the lights had been dimmed, leaving long stretches of empty terminal glowing in pale gold. Closed coffee shops sat behind metal shutters. Empty gates stretched endlessly in both directions.

Outside, rain battered the massive windows.
The storm wasn’t slowing down.

Neither were the announcements.

“Attention passengers. Due to severe weather conditions, all outgoing flights have been suspended until further notice.”

A collective groan echoed through the terminal.

Annabelle groaned too.

For the fourth time.

She dropped her head against her backpack.
“This is actual torture.”

Nobody answered.

Mostly because nobody was there.

Almost everyone had either found a hotel or given up and fallen asleep somewhere.
Except Annabelle.

And apparently the girl sitting across from her.

The girl wore a black hoodie with the hood pulled up.

Baggy sweatpants.

Sneakers.

Headphones around her neck.

She looked equally miserable.

For nearly twenty minutes they sat in silence.

Rain hammered against the glass.

An announcement echoed overhead.
Annabelle sighed dramatically.

The girl laughed.
Just once.
A small snort.

Annabelle looked up.

“You think this is funny?”

The girl grinned.

“No.”

“You laughed.”

“You sighed like somebody just told you your family died.”

Annabelle gasped.

“That’s rude.”

“It’s true.”

“I had plans.”

“So did everybody else.”

“Not like mine.”

The girl raised an eyebrow.
“Oh?”

“I was going to sleep in my own bed.”

The girl nodded solemnly.

“Damn.”

“Exactly.”

“Difficult times.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

The girl laughed again.

A proper laugh this time.

Warm.

Unexpectedly contagious.

Annabelle found herself smiling.

Another hour passed.

The terminal became even emptier.

At some point Annabelle realized she was hungry.

The only thing open was a vending machine.
A terrible vending machine.

The kind that sold stale chips and suspicious sandwiches.

She stared at it.

The girl wandered over too.
Both stood there examining their options like they were making life-changing decisions.

“Everything looks terrible,” Annabelle announced.

“You’re right.”

“I’m offended by every option.”

The girl pointed.

“Those pretzels look okay.”

“They look expired.”

“Everything here looks expired.”

“Fair.”

The girl dug through her pocket.

“I’ve got six euros.”

“I’ve got four.”

They looked at each other.

Then at the vending machine.

Then back at each other.

The girl smiled.

“We’re pooling resources.”

“We are?”

“We are now.”
Five minutes later they were sitting on the floor sharing pretzels and gummy bears.

“I’m Billie, by the way.”

Annabelle nearly choked on a gummy bear.
“Wait.”

Billie laughed.

“What?”

“Billie?”

“Yeah.”

“Like Billie Eilish?”

Billie cringed.

“Unfortunately.”

Annabelle stared.

“Oh my God.”

“Please don’t.”

“No, because now I can’t unsee it.”

Billie covered her face.

“I knew this would happen.”

“You’re Billie Eilish.”

“Allegedly.”

Annabelle laughed.

Billie smiled despite herself.

The weird thing was that after the initial surprise, nothing changed.

They just…
Kept talking.

About terrible movies.

About weird childhood fears.

About music.

About school.

About family.

About everything.

By 3:17 a.m. they were sitting with their legs stretched out across rows of empty airport seats.

Rain continued outside.

Neither noticed anymore.

“What’s your biggest irrational fear?” Billie asked.

Annabelle groaned.

“No.”

“Tell me.”

“No.”

“Tell me.”

Annabelle pointed.

“You first.”

Billie considered.

Then sighed.

“Moths.”

Annabelle blinked.

“Moths?”

“They fly like they have personal issues.”

Annabelle laughed so hard she nearly slid out of her chair.

“Oh my God.”

“I’m serious.”

“They’re butterflies with anxiety.”

Billie immediately pointed.

“Exactly.”

“That is the funniest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Billie looked pleased.

Eventually the laughter faded.

The terminal became quieter.

Softer.

More intimate somehow.

Like the rest of the world had gone to sleep.
Leaving only them behind.

“What do you want?” Billie asked suddenly.
Annabelle frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“Like really want.”

The question lingered.

Heavier than the others.

Annabelle looked down.

“I think…”

She hesitated.

Billie waited.

No interruptions.

No rushing.

Just waiting.

“I want to feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.”

Something shifted in Billie’s expression.

A tiny flicker.

Recognition.

Understanding.

“Yeah,” she said quietly.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

For a moment neither spoke.

The storm continued outside.

Rain streaked down the glass.

The airport lights reflected in Billie’s eyes.

And Annabelle couldn’t look away.

Billie looked away first.

Which surprised her.

A lot.

Because suddenly she was aware of everything.

The way Annabelle smiled.

The way she laughed before finishing a sentence.

The way her eyes lit up whenever she talked about something she loved.

The way hours had disappeared without either noticing.

Dangerous.

Very dangerous.

“What?” Annabelle asked.

Billie blinked.

“What?”

“You’re staring.”

Billie immediately looked horrified.

“I was not.”

“You absolutely were.”

“I wasn’t.”

“You were.”

“I was thinking.”

“About?”

Billie froze.

Annabelle smirked.

Billie groaned.

“Oh, you’re enjoying this.”

“A little.”

“A little?”

“A lot.”
—

By 4:45 a.m. they had moved closer together without realizing it.

Shoulders occasionally bumping.

Neither moving away.

Neither wanting to.

The first hint of sunrise appeared beyond the storm clouds.

Gray light filtered through the terminal.

Passengers slowly began returning.

The magic started breaking.

Little by little.

Billie hated it.

Which was ridiculous.

She’d known this girl for a few hours.

A single night.

That was all.

Yet somehow the thought of leaving felt wrong.

Annabelle seemed to feel it too.

Because suddenly neither knew what to say.

The boarding screens flickered.

Flights were being restored.

People stood.

Collected bags.

Prepared to leave.

Billie swallowed.

“Looks like we’re escaping.”

Annabelle smiled.

“Looks like it.”

Neither moved.

“Hey,” Billie said.

“Yeah?”

There was a tiny bit of nervousness in her voice now.

The first she’d shown all night.

“If I leave right now and never see you again, I’m gonna be annoyed.”

Annabelle laughed softly.

“Annoyed?”

“Very.”

“That’s serious.”

“It’s extremely serious.”

The smile on Annabelle’s face grew.

“So what are you suggesting?”

Billie pulled out her phone.

“Maybe we prevent that.”

For the first time all night, Annabelle felt genuinely nervous.

Butterflies.

Actual butterflies.

“Oh.”

Billie smiled.

“Yeah. Oh.”

Annabelle pulled out her own phone.

A moment later their contacts appeared on each other’s screens.

Names.

Numbers.

Proof that this wasn’t ending here.

Billie looked down at her phone.
Then back up.

A smile pulling at the corner of her mouth.
“Good.”

“Good?”

“Now I can bother you.”

Annabelle laughed.

“You were going to do that anyway.”

“Probably.”

“Definitely.”

“Definitely.”

Final boarding calls echoed through the terminal.

The moment had arrived.

Neither wanted it to.

Billie stood first.

Annabelle followed.

For a second they simply looked at each other.

Both smiling.

Both feeling something neither was quite ready to name.

Then Billie stepped backward.

“Text me.”

Annabelle smiled.

“I will.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

Billie’s grin returned.

Bright.

Genuine.

Dangerous.

The kind that made Annabelle’s heart do stupid things.

Then Billie turned toward her gate.

Halfway there she looked back.

Annabelle was still watching.

Their eyes met one last time.