Tootsie

(and NO I'M NOT A MELANIE FAN ANYMORE!! so don't even start.)

Oh thank you so much it was unexpected💕

under her hoodie pt. 1

╰┈➤ ❝ the first bell ❞

★first person pov

★nerdy!teen!y/n x popular!bluehair!billie

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・

The first day of school shouldn’t feel like a weight on my chest- but it does.

My alarm goes off at 6:15AM buzzing, and jolting me awake. I let myself stare at the ceiling for a moment, wishing I could stay here, where nobody judges me, or talks over me, or expects me to speak louder.

Then-

“Y/N! I can’t find my shoe!”

Iris, my little sister’s dramatic panic echoes down the hall.

There goes the moment.

I swing my legs out of bed, grab the clothes I laid out last night- thermal tights, mini denim shorts and a light pink knitted sweater- and pull my hair into what looks like a braid if you squint.

Before I leave the room, I glance in the mirror. It’ll do.

_________ ׂׂૢ་༘࿐

Downstairs, chaos is already emerging.

My mom is juggling her purse, her work badge, a granola bar, and mascara. Iris, five and chaotic, sits at the table with a full princess tutu, and a half done up school jumper.

“There’s my lifesaver,” Mom breathed when she sees me.

“I lost my SHOE,” iris announces again.

“I know,” I say, scanning automatically.

I find it behind the couch, because of course I do.

As I tie her shoes, Iris looks at me with big worried eyes.

"What if nobody wants to be my friend?"

My chest squeezes.

"You'll make friends," I tell her softly. "You're impossible not to like."

She smiles- tiny and trusting- and I pretend I'm not giving encouragement I'm not sure always applies to me.

Breakfast is rushed. Backpack adjustments. A messy braid. A kiss from Mom before she runs out the door smelling like tired mornings and too much coffee.

Then it's me and Iris, holding hands as we walk towards the car.

_________ ׂׂૢ་༘࿐

School is loud before I'm even inside.

Cars blasting music, people shouting across the lot, hugging, laughing. Groups form instantly, like magnets snapping into place.

I walk Iris to her primary building. Se=he holds out her pinky with the seriousness of a legal document.

"Swear you'll pick me up?"

"Swear."

She nods- brave,tiny- and disappears inside.

Then it's just... my building.

My stomach twists.

Inside, the halls are chaos- slamming lockers, gossip, perfume clouds thick enough to choke on. I find my locker, breathe, and start organizing my books.

Then I hear it.

A laugh- low, sharp, dripping with confidence and trouble.

Then:

"Move outta the way- you're clogging the hall"

Someone skates through. Someone else whistles.

I don't have to look to know who it is.

Billie Eilish.

She walks like the noise follows her. Black oversized hoodie, rings glinting, hair messy and blue. Everyone watches her- some smiling, some scared, most curious.

She untouchable.

I keep sorting my books, pretending my pulse isn't hammering.

But then someone bumps into me while trying to get closer to her, and my notebook slips from my hands, hitting the floor with a humiliating slap.

Before, I can react, someone steps into my space.

Boots. Hoodie. Mint gum scent.

Billie.

She looks down at my notebook, then up at me.

Slowly. Like she already knows what she'll think, and I'm just confirming it.

"You gonna pick that up or just stare at it?"

My face burns.

"I- someone bumped me."

She smirks- not friendly. Sharp.

"Yeah. That tends to happen when you stand in the middle of everything like a traffic cone."

A couple of friends laugh under their breath.

I swallow hard, kneeling to pick up my notebook with shaky hands. She watches me- not kindly, not cruelly- just like she's studying a bug under glass.

When I stand again, she raises an eyebrow.

"You new?"

"No," I say quietly. "Just quiet."

Her expression flickers- amusement? confusion? - then settles into another smirk.

"Figures."

Someone calls her name.

She steps backward, still looking at me for one beat too long.

"Try not to get run over next time, quiet girl."

Then she turns and walks away, her group moving around her like she's the center of gravity.

I exhale shakily, clutching my notebook to my chest.

The hallway noise swallows everything, but my thoughts feel too loud.

I didn't expect her to notice me.

I definitely didn't expect... that.

But as I walk to my first class, cheeks still burning, heart pounding for reasons I don't fully understand, one thing painfully clear:

This year isn't going to be quiet.

Not anymore.

_________ ׂׂૢ་༘࿐