[3rd POV]
After the lunch with the family, Billie ended up returning home a couple of hours later, but not before thanking Claire for the meal, and giving a kiss to Haley, as well as a promise to talk later.
Billie had some things to do over the next couple of days, with the reveal of her appearance to the world, she had to deal with some of the backlash that might come, and deal with some of her investments that she needed to keep up on. Mostly the smaller ones, which basically included a shit load of paperwork.
That paperwork was a pain in the ass to do, and took hours. And most of it included some personal information, which meant that she had to personally fill it out, as it wasn't something she could just let others look over and do for her. Otherwise she'd be giving out personal information that would be…well, better off not in anybody else's hands.
The paperwork was annoying, and took forever. And what made it worse was there was a lot of it, thanks to her owning so many properties, as well as small businesses that she owns at this point. Like burger joints, coffee shops, and more.
All of them were owned by her, but being ran by others that she had entrusted with the job. This made the actual running of them far easier, but the paperwork would still end up on her desk, when it came to the more important stuff.
Paperwork was the bane of her existence at this point.
Which is why she was currently in her office in her apartment. Sighing as she signed yet another paper after looking it over closely. She had been doing this for hours now at this point, quietly listening to one of her shows while she signed every necessary paper.
"God I hate paperwork" She muttered to herself, bored out of her mind. It didn't help that the shows she did have to watch, were…subpar for the most part. Thankfully one show did exist in this world still, one of the best of all time.
Breaking Bad.
She had been wondering if the characters actually existed here, but it seemed they didn't, which she was grateful for. As if they did…that would make things much more complicated. As it would have opened up a rabbit hole of other potentially dangerous worlds, like Sons of Anarchy.
She didn't want anything to do with them. She far preferred her calm and enjoyable life.
But she had been recently looking into other worlds that were a part of this one, ones that she hadn't found out about just yet. And was surprised that there was another rather interesting show that took place right here in California.
Victorious.
She knew next to nothing about the show, so she was in the blind. But she did know a handful of the actors. And it did explain why Ariana Grande wasn't a thing here, because Cat from the show was a person.
It was very interesting.
Especially since it also meant that Icarly undoubtedly existed somewhere, with them having a crossover and everything. She knew that technically Henry Danger and Thundermens were connected to Icarly, but she was pretty confident that they did not exist here.
Because there weren't heroes and supervillains running around (thank god).
Either way, she was very interested in visiting the school that they all attended. It could be neat, and she imagined Haley would have fun there too. Hell, she could even attend if she really wanted to.
Flipping through the paperwork, she sighed as she signed the last piece. It was on one of these neat little burger joints she had bought. It was going under due to the family that owned it going through hard times, so she had bought it and instead hired them to run it, with them able to continue running their beloved burger joint, and making a good bit of cash.
Putting the final paper down, Billie leaned back.
'Now it's time to deal with the next task' Billie thought, as she went onto Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Going through each of them, changing her profile pic to a new one that showed her face and everything.
No point in the old profile pics anymore.
She also went through and had her team upload the first of her music videos, this one being for Ocean Eyes. She imagined it would get a lot of views, as it would be the first time she properly showed her face in a video, beyond the rather low quality video of her in the concert.
This video would have much higher quality, and be easily watchable. Seeing her face in a clear video.
Looking over her assets, she hummed.
'I'll have to invest a bit more. Netflix will be a good option, it's stock crashed from 14 billion to 3. So I should be able to buy out a decent chunk of it. And with my other investments, I'll be making enough to buy more of it' Billie thought.
She didn't really like investing, but it was the best way to live comfortably, and to be able to afford some of her future plans. She wanted to make the music industry a better place not just for Haley and herself, but for all artists.
And the best way to do that was through money. And she would need a lot of it if she wanted to take it by storm. Which is what her plans would do, even more so than she already had.
It would make companies like Universal, Sony, and others that were in the industry, look at her as if she was a threat. And she wasn't entirely confident in dealing with giants like them. Not yet.
So instead she was going to invest, grow, and build herself up, so she wouldn't have to worry about them trying anything stupid. Like a hostile takeover of her company, or something else. Which she knew was pretty much inevitable at this point.
'Should also look into investing in the companies that will produce the audio equipment I'll be using in the future. Like Bose. Although I know it's a private company, I'm pretty sure I can arrange something with the owner' Billie thought, writing down the companies she planned on investing in the future, and how much they should cost.
It'd be a pretty penny, but she was confident that she could afford it.
Glancing at her follower count on Twitter, Billie raised an eyebrow as she realized it was rapidly beginning to shoot up. Probably because of the new music video, or maybe because she has her appearance showing for once.
She didn't really care that much to be totally honest, but it was pretty damn neat at this point. She wondered if she would eventually become the most followed account on Twitter and Instagram. She imagined she would, considering she was so huge.
But either way it didn't matter.
For now Billie decided it was time to do something that was actually enjoyable for once. Aka playing some video games. This time she planned on playing some cod for a few hours, that or some Halo.
Something that didn't give her a headache afterwards.
With that in mind, Billie left her office towards her living room, one thought on her mind.
'…Thank god that is over'
____________________________________________________________________
That's the end of the chapter!
Just a chapter going into Billie's thoughts and thats about it. Nothing crazy.
Have a good day! 3rd POV]
After the torturous day that was spent almost entirely doing paperwork, dealing with taxes, and other bullshit that she really would rather not be doing, Billie had finally had some free time the day after.
And with that free time, she had decided to spend her day deciding what she wanted to make next. At least, what she wanted to sing next. She had a few ideas, but not all of them were very suitable for her.
Mostly because they were simply not her style.
Which is why she decided to invite Haley over. It was Sunday, so it's a good time for her to come over. And she had finished her paperwork faster than she had initially expected, so she now had time.
Sitting on her couch in the living room, Billie looked over the songs she had narrowed it down to for herself. There was the next album she could do from Adele, which came after 19.
The album "21" which was by far the biggest and most well known of all of Adele's albums, and it really wasn't that close.
"Set Fire to the Rain" "Rolling in the Deep" and "Someone Like You" were the three songs that the album was well known for. With each of them hitting a little over two billion listens on Spotify. And that was just on Spotify, in total it was almost certainly far more than that.
They were basically her most well known songs. And thanks to that, Billie was confident that it would bring her even more success. At the very least, she was confident in getting multi platinum on the album, and maybe even better.
Besides "21" there was also a album that was a little less…well, feminine. The album of the artist "Alex Warren" that had only really blown up around when she had died in her past life.
The Album known as "You'll be Alright Kid", it was the album that had one of the most popular songs of the year in which she died, the song "Ordinary". She particularly liked it because it was just so…romantic. She thought it would be even more popular in this day and age then it was in the future.
Although the only downside was that he was a male singer. Meaning she would have to adapt the song to fit her tone and style. But she was confident in doing it.
But the question was…which one should she start with?
She didn't plan on actually uploading one until next year in February or so. But she would have to start the recording process, and eventually the music videos for certain ones.
As she looked over the two, Billie heard the doorbell ring and got up to answer the door, her face warming into a small smile as she saw Haley standing on the other side.
"Hey babe" Billie said, as she leaned forward and pecked her on the lips.
"Morning Billie. So, you said you wanted to talk to me about some new songs you've written?" Haley said, knowing that when it came to music, Billie tended to get to business, while still having fun and messing around when creating said music.
It was part of her entire style.
"Yep. I've got two options that I need to go through. But you've got even more than me. Thought I should write a few songs for you to look over and think of making. But it's up to you which one to go with. Any of them would be huge on the charts, trust me on that" Billie explained, her girlfriends eyebrows raising.
She knew what Billie meant by that.
They were basically the biggest names in the music industry right now thanks to their reveals. With her monthly listeners skyrocketing, while Billie's increased by a little bit. Billie was already one of the biggest on the planet right now, but just because she was the biggest, did not mean that she was the best.
Something that Billie made very clear.
Her end goal was to surpass the greatest pop artist of all time, and one of the greatest singers to ever grace the music industry, if not THE greatest of all time.
Michael Jackson
She wanted to become the "Queen of Pop" in essence. But she was far from reaching that level of stardom. To reach the level where people will literally FAINT just from seeing you in person.
Michael Jackson was the same man that could make cartels stop fighting in order to let him make a music video. He was known on every corner of the planet and was easily the most well known artist in the entire world, all the way until he had passed.
That is what she wanted to surpass.
There were others she wanted to surpass of course. Queen, Elvis Presley, The Beatles (And John Lennon), Stevie Wonder, Bob Marley, David Bowie, and so many others that were some of the all time greats.
She was a long way away from that level. From that scale of popularity and stardom.
"Alright, lay them on me" Haley said as she sat down next to Billie, a coffee in her hands as she looked at the two small stacks of papers in front of her.
On each of them was song titles.
"Love you Like a Love Song" with the words "Album: When the Sun Goes Down".
But it was the second one that really got Haley's attention as she looked it over with interest. For on the second one it had the word…
"Chandelier"
And next to it, was the album name "1000 Forms of Fear".
The former was an early album of Selena Gomez, big, but not on the same scale as the other one.
For that was Sia's major breakthrough. And Chandelier was the biggest of those songs, and Billie was confident that it would be by far, the biggest of Haley's songs. But it was also not an easy song to sing, so she'd need to practice extensively in order to properly pull it off.
"So…which one do you like more?" Billie asked, as Haley looked at Love you like a Love Song, before staring at Chandelier.
"Chandelier. This one…I don't know, it just kinda calls to me? Is that weird?" Haley asked, as Billie shook her head.
"No, it's normal. It's your artistic intuition. Because you can see that this one…this one will be big. But, it will also be harder to pull off than anything you've done so far, are you sure you want to do this one?" Billie asked, wanting to make sure as Haley nodded.
"Yeah I'm sure. I…I think this one is perfect for me. A song that I can make my own, even if you are the one writing it" Haley replied with a small smile, staring at the small stack of papers.
Every instinct in her body was telling her that this song was going to be the start of something new for her. Something…special.
She just hoped this wouldn't be a mistake.
At the same time, Billie was inwardly very impressed that Haley noticed the difference between the two. That Love you like a love song, while good, was a rather cliche pop song. Not terrible, but not fantastic or anything.
But Chandelier? That was different. Harder to sing, more impressive, more…unique.
And that would make a huge difference. To show that Haley - HD - can do more than just cliche pop songs, but has a range, that she can sing just as good as any other artist in the scene.
But Billie just watched as she began to read the lyrics and explanations on the full album, inwardly having one thought on her mind.
'…Now I just gotta hope she can pull it off…'
____________________________________________________________________
That's the end of the chapter!
Just a chapter of Billie and Haley talking with one another, and deciding Haley's next album. Which will be the one Sia got REALLY well known for. An iconic album that is going to catapult Haley further.
The next chapter is when Billie will officially start to take part in the Modern Family shenanigans, so be ready for that. And friendly reminder, we are currently in season 3!
Anyways, have a good day! 3rd POV]
A couple of days later, Billie had gotten invited to the first "Family Get Together" where the entire Dunphy family would be in one place. Including Lily, Gloria, and Manny, who she had not met yet. She wasn't sure what the get together was for, but she was between like two different things.
Either one of them was going to be fun to be around.
The get together itself was at Mitchell and Cam's place. Which narrowed it down to one of two things.
Cam and Mitchell's announcement about adopting a new baby. Well, at least it was supposed to be. But she remembered distinctly that it did not happen normally, as they end up waiting for Lily to get older before adopting their son towards the end of the show.
Either way, she was currently on her way to their house. Haley sitting next to her in Billie's 2011 Dodge Challenger. A nice car, and one of her favorites. With Billie actually owning a few cars at this point, most of them being muscle cars or older ones.
She did have a McLaren, but that was about it in terms of modern stuff.
She preferred the older stuff.
"So, anything I should know about before we get there? You know, like warnings about certain people, things I should avoid talking about, stuff like that" Billie asked, glancing at her girlfriend as she drove.
Haley just shrugged.
"Not really to be honest. The only thing I'll say is that Manny - my…uncle - can be a rather…well, weird kid" Haley responded, trying to find the right words to describe the son of Gloria.
"Weird how?" Billie asked with a raised eyebrow, inwardly laughing at the look on her girlfriends face.
"He really really likes poems and plays for some reason. Which is fine by itself, but he takes it a bit…far. Like you know, way too far. I'm also like 90% sure that the kid is into me. Which normally would be kinda funny, if he wasn't basically family" Haley replied with a sigh, remembering the boy that had flirted with her more than once.
It was funny, but also a little…well, strange.
"And Jay hasn't tried to stop him or anything?" Billie asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh trust me, he's tried. But Manny is pretty difficult to deal with once he wants something. And he refuses to change certain parts of himself. Which would normally be kind of admirable, if that part wasn't him flirting with me" Haley responded with a sigh, knowing she might have to deal with that during this little get together.
"Hmm…alright, I'll just have to deal with it then. Oh, and everyone in your family knows who we both are, right? I just wanna know in case I've gotta explain again" Billie asked, as Haley nodded.
"They all know. If I hadn't already told Gloria and Manny, Jay would have. And it's not exactly hard to find out that I'm HD, considering we're all over the internet"
"Oh, speaking of our recent stardom, how's school going with all of this? You dealing with anything too…problematic?" Billie was only asking this because she knew how people can be, especially in the case of teenagers who have nothing better to do than bully other people.
"Besides a few people asking for me to sign stuff, nothing really. The teachers at my school have been super helpful. Which is kinda weird because they used to hate me I think" Haley said, as she realized that her teachers weren't this nice before.
Becoming a world known singer tends to do that.
Nobody wants to offend the teen that was worth millions, and knew another woman that was even more wealthy. It'd be stupid to piss her off too bad. Money was power, afterall.
"Good. And I doubt they hated you. Probably just miserable because of all the kids they have to work with every single day" Billie said, waving off her concerns about them hating her. Most teachers didn't hate any of the kids in school, they just hated the sheer amount of work they have to deal with, without getting paid what they should be.
"Well, if they did hate me then it was kind of fair to be honest. I was a bit of an asshole before I met you"
"Well I'm just glad you aren't dealing with any stupid bullshit from the rest of your classmates" Billie responded, not really sure what to say to what her girlfriend told her.
Haley noticed that her girlfriend had avoided saying a word about what she had said, and rolled her eyes, knowing why.
"Turn right here" Haley said, as Billie turned. And upon turning, they both saw the home of Mitchell and Cam in the distance. Pulling up, Billie parked on the street, making sure not to block anyone or anything, before shutting the car off and getting out.
"Any idea what this get together is about?" Billie asked, as they walked side by side towards the front door.
"No idea. It's impossible to know with Uncle Mitchell and Cam" Haley responded, inwardly hoping it wasn't anything too crazy. Like clowns or something, cause Cam really really liked clowns…for some reason.
Walking up to the front door, Billie knocked on it, waiting for the door to be opened.
"Oh, and before we go in, I apologize for anything embarrassing that you're about to see" Haley said, and before Billie could say a word, the door opened, revealing Gloria on the other side.
"Haley! You're finally here! Ah, and this must be that Billie that everyone has been talking about" Gloria said with a bright beam, her accent heavy as she looked to Billie.
"And my my, she is preciosa!" Gloria said, looking Billie over and giving her a big hug, the woman blinking in surprise before returning it, and speaking.
"También es un placer conocerte, Gloria" Billie spoke, which meant "It's nice to meet you too, Gloria" in Spanish.
Gloria's eyes widened in surprise.
"Haley, you didn't tell me she could speak Spanish!" Gloria exclaimed in surprise, the others that heard her looking equally as surprised, which was mostly Jay and Alex who looked at Billie.
Haley stared at Billie in surprise too.
"I didn't know she did either" Haley responded, giving Billie the "Look" causing her to glance away awkwardly.
"I know a few languages. Spanish, French, German, Japanese, a few more. I decided to learn them to help with my song writing process. That and I was thinking of eventually releasing music in other languages" Billie explained, with their surprise deepening.
While Alex was just staring at her with a shine in her eyes, realizing that Billie wasn't just skilled at music, she was a genius in general. She wondered if Billie knew anything beyond languages and music.
If she was good at science and mathematics too.
"Oh if you do, you have to tell me! I'll be the first to listen to it!" Gloria exclaimed, eyes sparkling at the thought.
She had started listening to Billie's music after learning that the two were dating, and found that she quite liked her music. It was…a different vibe, but it was a fun one. Haley's was also good, but it was more…normal.
That didn't make it bad or anything.
"So does anyone have a clue why Uncle Mitchell wanted us here?" Haley asked, as they all looked at one another.
"No clue kid" Jay said, imagining that it was going to be something weird or strange. Usually when Cam was involved with a family event it tended to be…unique.
He just hoped it wasn't anything too…outlandish.
____________________________________________________________________
That's the end of the chapter!
Next chapter will be the rest of this "Episode" which is season 3 episode 2 for those that are wondering. It won't all go according to canon because…well, Billie is there. But there will be a few things that are the same for obvious reasons.
There'll of course be some OC shenanigans that will be going down, especially with Billie and Haley.
Anyways, have a good day! 3rd POV]
Sitting on one of the couches in the living room of Cam and Mitchell's home, Billie was playing uno with Alex, Haley, and Luke. The three of them were in a heated battle for the victory. It was a best of three, and at this point, all four of them have one once now.
Billie narrowed her eyes as she glanced at her opponents, she had two cards left in her hand, a yellow 8 and a plus four. All she needed was to place the single yellow down and wait, then she'd win.
Haley had three cards, Alex 4, and Luke had 11.
They stacked three plus twos onto him after they caught him trying to look at Alex's cards without her noticing.
Payback.
"So…you all ready to admit defeat yet?" Billie asked, as she saw Luke place down a yellow 3, allowing her to place her own card, while also making sure to say "Uno".
"Nope. I'm confident that you will not win" Alex said with a grin, glancing at Luke who nodded with his own grin, same with Haley.
"You're so doomed" Haley said with a grin, as she placed down a plus four. Then Alex stacked hers on top of that, with Luke coming after.
"Hah…man, you guys just…really wanted me to win, huh?" Billie said with a shit eating grin, slamming her plus four onto the table with a victious laugh. The others groaning as they saw her place the four.
"Ah man! You are way too good at this!" Luke whined, a pout on his lips as he put his cards back on the table, Alex and Haley doing the same.
"She got lucky. The chances of her having that plus four was astronomically low. In pretty much any other case, she would have had to draw twelve cards" Alex said, as Luke looked at her.
"We still lost though" Luke grumbled, as they heard a voice echo, the voice of Claire.
"Guys, everybody, come on down to the TV room. I've got something really special to share" Claire said, as Billie glanced at Haley who shrugged. As they all began to funnel into the TV room.
"Okay, how's everybody on drinks?"
"If this is Alex's graduation again, just leave me the bottle" Gloria said, as Billie blinked at the words, finding them to be a little…well, mean.
"I'm good, Cam" Jay added, a sigh escaping him when he heard Gloria's words.
"You want anything Billie? We've got juice" Cam asked, as she shook her head with a small smile.
"No I'm good Cam, thanks for offering though" Billie responded, as the man only smiled in response, obviously tense about something. Most likely about the fact that he wanted to reveal that they were going to adopt another child, a boy.
Moving into the TV room, Billie stood next to where Haley sat, as Alex and Luke joined her on the couch. Phil joining them a moment later as they all stared at Claire as she put a dvd into the dvd player.
"Okay everybody…showtime" Claire said with an almost excited tone, as she turned the tv on.
It was a…security cameras footage?
"Oh, my gosh. It's us at the market. How did you-" Phil started, a little horrified before Claire cut him off.
"Uh huh. Yeah, it's security camera footage" Claire said with a small grin, the man staring at her in slight horror.
While everyone else was just completely lost.
"I don't understand. What are we watching?" Mitchell asked.
"Yeah this is a little…creepy to be honest. How did you even get the camera footage in the first place?" Billie added, with Jay continuing.
"And that definitely ain't the Godfather, I can tell you that much" Jay grumbled, thinking they were going to watch a movie or something.
"Okay, look, I fell yesterday at the market, and Phil and I have been having a little disagreement as to what happened. Just watch. Okay, right here" Claire said, pointing at the screen as they all watched.
"I stop to fix my shoe, and then Phil-right there. Okay" Claire said, looking back to the family as in the video he was talking to a woman.
"He makes way for this very attractive woman, whom he conveniently leaves out of his retelling of the story. Now right here, Phil backs up, pushes his butt into the cart, pushes me into the cans! Do you see that!? It's all his fault, just like a said! I was right!" Claire yelled with a victorious grin on her face, the others just looking at her.
"Suck it!" Claire added, pointing at them.
"When did you get this-" "Oh, my God. That's why you wanted to come separately" Alex cut her dad off, everyone looking at Claire, more concerned than anything a t this point.
"You went through all that trouble just to prove you were right? That's…just kinda weird" Haley said, giving her mother a very open, judging look.
"…I'm more confused on how this isn't illegal. Or is it?" Billie asked, glancing at Mitchell.
"Yeah, pretty sure this is illegal" Mitchell agreed, wondering if his sister was crazy or not.
"It really wasn't that much trouble. I just went to the store, found one of Haley's old friends, Jordan the bag boy, who then got me the manager. He gave me the address of the off site security office. I filled out some paperwork. Sally faxed it to corporate. Three minutes later, I'm buying a pack of DvD's and burning a copy. Cake" Claire said as if it was nothing.
"It's like a sickness" Luke said as everyone looked at her in concern.
"…Your mom is kinda scary" Billie said, glancing at her girlfriend who nodded.
"What? None of you believed me, so I got proof. You should all be sucking it right now"
"Yeah, please stop saying that" Billie said with a deadpan.
"Agreed, stop with the "Sucking It" Claire. The children!" Gloria said, with Cam agreed.
"Yes, children are very impressionable. You'll never know what they'll pick up" Cam said, referencing the rude behavior that Lily had been picking up, mostly thanks to Mitchell. Well, according to him at least.
"Okay, Cam, I'm sorry that I blamed it on you, okay? But we both need to look at our actions. I mean, if we're thinking about adopting another baby, then we need to-" Upon hearing this, everyone looked at them in shock.
"You guys…you're adopting another kid?" Phil asked, shock on his face.
"No, no no!"
"Congratulations!" Gloria said as everyone began to clap except Billie who silently watched the two.
At the same time, Cam moved to let down a banner that said "It's Gonna be a boy" and music began to play. A song from Footloose, if Billie remembered.
"What the hells happening here?" Jay asked, lost.
"Is that from Footloose?" Phil asked, remembering the song.
Seeing the look on is boyfriends face, Cam turned the music off with a hurt expression.
"Really Mitchell? You couldn't even share telling your family!" Cam said, borderline breaking into tears.
"But why are you upset, this is such good news?" Gloria asked, confused.
"No, we're a little on edge because Lily has been acting out, like she doesn't want a sibling and-" Mitchell began to explain, before Cam cut him off.
"Yeah, because Mitchell taught her to hate sharing" Cam informed, before Mitchell began to continue again.
"And/Or because Cam wears her like a fanny pack"
"Oh, stop blaming each other. No Kid wants a sibling. I mean, Claire hated you so much she stuck you in a dryer when you were 2" Jay said, as Billie stifled a laugh.
"You put me in the dryer?"
"I did, but it wasn't because I hated you. It's because my friend Marci said that it wouldn't run with a kid inside it, and I knew it would. I was right" Claire explained, her own victorious smile forming again.
Once again creeping everyone out.
"Good governor…it's been going on since you were 5?" Phil asked, concern clear on his face.
"Oh my god…it is a sickness. What would make me have that need at such a young age?"
"How long was I in that dryer? Because I-is this why I'm afraid of tumbling? I had to quit gymnastics, Claire!" Mitchell exclaimed, staring at her, evidently mad.
"A childhood without tumbling? You knew this and stood by and did nothing!?" Phil asked raising his voice as he looked at Jay.
"Okay, okay. What's done is done! All you can do is learn from your mistakes. And in that spirit, I would like to propose a toast…to Manny. This week, he did something he wasn't supposed to do, like we all do-" "Like we all do!" Gloria finished raising her glass.
"Salud to Manny!" Gloria exclaimed, before Jay stopped her.
"Uh, not yet" Jay said, before continuing. "But Manny stood up like a man. He admitted he was wrong and he took his licks, and I'm damn proud of him"
"Ah, now we clink!" Gloria said, trying to do it again.
"No, we clink when I say we clink. So Manny made a mistake, but he didn't take the easy way out. He's got guts, he's got integrity. As far as I'm concerned, he's the best little b-" "Okay, stop! Stop! I didn't do any of that!" Manny exclaimed, shooting up as the nerves became too much.
Billie just watched this all, honestly lost on what was happening. But she was thankful that she was not the only one. As pretty much everybody was confused on what was happening.
She had a feeling that was going to become increasingly normal.
"Mom broke into the locker and threw the necklace inside, and then we ran away like cowards. I'm sorry, Jay! I'm sorry!" Manny said, as everyone looked at Jay.
"I knew it! I was right! I was right!"
And when everyone heard that, realization settled in.
"Ooooh!" They all said, understanding now why Mitchell and Claire were the way they were. They got it from Jay.
"That explains a lot" Billie said, the others agreeing.
"Yeah, I mean, it was kind of right in front of us wasn't it?" Haley said.
"Yeah, literally in this case" Alex added, causing the two to giggle slightly.
Eventually the get together began to melt back into it's fun atmosphere, the family talking and just…enjoying their time together. Acting as if Billie had always been a member of their family, like she was not an outsider.
It was…really nice.
And as she stood next to Haley, looking over everyone that was talking, Billie smiled softly, one thought on her mind.
'…Looks like I've gotten more than just a girlfriend…I've gotten a family
Chapter 18 guest at the apartment
3rd POV]
After the surprisingly fun get together with the Dunphy's and their extended family, Billie had returned home. The next few days had passed by without much fuss, with her hanging out with Haley pretty much everyday. Most of that time was spent discussing her next album, and Billie helping her with the songs themselves.
Mostly the actual singing of them. As some of them were very very difficult for Haley, who was still very much a beginner. But she was a talented beginner, so that was a huge bonus. It would take her some time to truly master these songs, but she had made a decent amount of progress in the few days that she had been trying.
At the same time, Billie had been adapting her own album choice "21" which had been an Adele album at one point. This album would be a huge success as long as she could pull it off correctly. But her style was a bit different, so she had to be very careful how she did it.
Thankfully she had a custom built recording studio in her apartment. With the apartment looking a lot bigger on the inside than it did on the outside. It was more like several apartments in one thanks to the customized designs she had, and the various things installed.
Currently Billie was sitting on her couch, sipping on some coffee as she looked over her album again. She had the name, and had the cover, but she needed to think of some music videos.
She had several ideas on a paper, but none of them really stuck with her, not yet at least.
Haley was also interested in having a music video, but Billie already knew how to pull that off for the most part. She remembered that in her last life Sia had used a dancer from the Abby Lee Dance Company in her music video, aka one of the dancers on the show "Dance Moms".
That was in fact still a show here, so she could get the same person. As that was an iconic part of the video, and it would help her get the stardom that she deserved.
She believed her name was Maddie or something similar.
As Billie looked over her notes, she sighed. Music videos were not really her strong suit, and she was beginning to wonder if she should think of hiring someone. Because frankly, she had no directing experience.
So hiring someone is likely going to become a must in the coming years.
Billie was brought out of her thoughts as she heard her door get knocked on.
Walking over to the door, she opened it, only to stop when she saw who was on the other side, her eyebrow raising.
"Hey babe, what're you and your sister doing here?" Billie asked, noticing Alex standing next to her girlfriend. She didn't really mind Alex coming over, but she was definitely not expecting her presence here. She didn't really seem like the type to want to join her sister to Billie's apartment.
"Our dad has a Tightrope and is taking up the front yard walking across it" Haley said bluntly, as Billie blinked at these words.
"A tightrope? Where did he even get one?" Billie asked, lost.
"Dunno. But all we know is that our mom is being…difficult today because of it. Luke and dad are both going crazy trying to get across the thing, and mom is too worried about trying to not let dad get himself killed to pay attention to what we are doing. So…I was hoping that it would be okay if I can do my homework here? I promise I'll be quiet" Alex asked, looking at her with a hopeful expression.
Billie raised an eyebrow before glancing at Haley who nodded with a small smile.
"Yeah let her stay, she's usually pretty quiet when studying anyways. Plus it might be nice having a third party to listen to my next album, could help with fixing up any mistakes we might have missed" Haley said, as Billie listened and slowly nodded.
It was…actually a pretty good point, a good idea too. Alex was very good at noticing small details, so she was pretty sure that she could help with this. And from what Billie remembered, Alex is actually pretty good at singing too, even if she hadn't used that talent or anything.
"Alright, come on in" Billie said, moving to the side to let Alex in, as the teen gave her a grateful smile and walked in, her sister entering the large apartment behind her.
As she entered, Alex looked around in slight awe. The place was large, and very very nice. It sort of reminded her of her grandfather Jay's place, but somehow even nicer. She also noticed various memorabilia that was on the walls, like a signed jacket that Michael Jackson himself had worn to a concert.
That was one of Billie's prized possessions.
There were also game consoles set up at the large flat screen tv, and on the desk in the middle of the seating area were a pile of notes.
"So can I ask what exactly do you and Haley do here? Like, besides making out and all that gross stuff" Alex asked, as she walked to the couch and sat in a comfortable spot, Haley and Billie sitting next to each other in behind where the notes lay.
"Besides that "Gross Stuff"? We primarily plan for future songs, like the album we're working on right now. I also help her out with her homework, and watch movies and stuff. All the fun stuff that couples do, basically" Billie responded, as the teen nodded slowly, not really surprised with the mention of tutoring.
It made sense that Billie was the reason why her grades had skyrocketed, she was very intelligent. She had to be if she had graduated high school at the age of 16.
She was half tempted to ask Billie if she was skilled at more than just music, but decided against it, as that would be rude.
"And the album you're working on, did you write it, or did Haley?" Alex asked, wanting to know before she started listening to it. It would make her understand things a bit better.
"Billie writes all my songs, but I add some of my own stuff into it. Mostly the actual singing parts. I'm not really good at writing songs, not nearly as much as I am at singing them" Haley admitted, not really ashamed of that fact.
There was a reason why all of her songs now had the credit "Billie Eilish" as the song writer. Because there wasn't really a reason to hide it anymore, and it would become increasingly obvious that Billie had a hand in it, with some of the songs that she was going to make for Haley in the future, and that closeness of the two of them.
"Guess that makes sense. Alright, how about you guys talk about your stuff, and then once I'm done with this homework I can start listening to provide my opinion?" Alex offered, as the two looked at one another before nodding.
A third voice would be genuinely helpful for this. And Alex was completely and utterly unbiased in this case, even if she did like her sisters music quite a bit.
With that, Alex began to get to work on her homework assignments, while Billie and Haley began to work on her album. And as they got to work, Billie had one thought on her mind.
'…Seems I might have a new regular at my apartment'
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That's the end of the chapter!
So Alex is going to be a good friend of Billie, sort of like a sister to her. She'll be particularly helpful with providing her unbiased opinions, and might even do some music too, since she is a cello player.
Not much to say beyond that, so…
Have a good day!
chapter 19 Alex time at the apartment
3rd POV]
The rest of the day had been spent rather well, with Alex doing her homework, while Billie and Haley had begun to work on Haley's first song she wanted to finish. Chandelier was one of the last that she wanted to do, as it was one of the harder ones, and she still had not decided how she wanted to perfect it.
So instead, she had practiced primarily "Elastic Heart" and "Hostage". She had gotten down the singing technique for the overall album after Billie had helped her learn the "Sia" way of singing, but it was more so continuing that technique that was the hard part.
She had found that the music in this album was far more difficult than anything she had done until this point, just like Billie had warned her.
But thankfully, they did have someone there that could point out anything that they might have missed, and give a third party point of view.
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[Flashback]
Alex was sitting at other side of the L shaped couch, doing her homework while sipping on some tea that Billie was kind enough to provide her. While at the same time, she was absentmindedly listening in on the two speaking about Haley's songs, and listening to her sister actually sing too.
She found that her sister was…genuinely incredible. She didn't think she could sing that well in real life, and was totally expecting it to be a product of autotune, but she was just as good in real life as she was in her actual songs.
Meaning she used little autotune, and was all natural.
But she also found that the current songs that she was trying to work with were…a bit different than what she had done up until this point. Far more difficult, complicated, and utterly unique in comparison to what she had done before.
Before it was mostly the cliche pop song, even if it was weirdly good cliche pop songs.
But now it was something truly different.
And it was becoming clear to Alex that her sister was unused to the changes. And was greatly struggling with trying to get the actual technique down.
Which was fair, if she was completely familiar with it. But she needed to be sure first before she actually said anything.
"Is this your first time singing something so…complicated? It sounds quite a bit more complex than anything you did in your first album" Alex asked, as she looked up from her homework to her sister.
"It is. It was between this album and another one. But the other one was pretty similar to what I did before, and was…a little cliche to be honest. So I decided to go with the harder one because it sounded more interesting, and I thought my fans might like it a lot more" Haley responded with a nod, as Alex hummed.
"Yeah, no offense but I could kind of tell. It sounded like you were struggling with it" Alex said, trying not to offend her sister. She was expecting Haley to snap at her like she usually would in this sort of situation, but instead Haley just sighed.
"I was. But I'm pretty sure this is one of those things that I just have to keep trying at! And hopefully I'll get it in the end. If it proves to be too hard for me to do, then I'll just let Billie take it over and I'll go with the other one. It won't be a big deal" Haley said, still upbeat about the album.
She was confident that she could do it. Because Billie wouldn't allow her to do it in the first place if she didn't have faith in her ability to make it work.
"How long did it take to make your first album?" Alex asked curiously, wondering if it was just a problem of experience more than difficulty. She didn't know how long her sister has been singing, but it couldn't have been longer than a few months with the way she only changed in that time.
"A few months I think. Wasn't really keeping track" Haley responded with a casual shrug.
Alex just looked at her like she was crazy. Because to go from a normal person to being capable of making a huge album that was known to millions was insane. And to be able to grow that fast meant she really did have an incredible amount of potential, and even more than that, talent.
"Crazy right? I don't think Haley realizes just how talented she is" Billie said with a laugh upon seeing the look on Alex's face. She had been surprised too when she first started teaching her, the way she had grown so quickly was genuinely incredible, even to her standards.
"It's beyond crazy! That's insane! No normal person can go from being a normal teen to a musician known throughout the world, even with the help of someone as skilled as Billie! No wonder you're struggling, it really is just the fact that you lack experience!" Alex exclaimed, baffled with how casual Billie was with all of this.
That she wasn't freaking out more about how insane this was.
"Oh I know. But my girlfriend here - and your sister - is just very talented, Alex. And yeah, I think you're right. She just needs some more experience and vocal training, that's all. I don't expect this to be finished in just a month or anything, and am fully expecting this to take months to even a year or more" Billie responded, agreeing that it was crazy.
But that just made it more fun to help her grow.
To see what she could become with the help of someone who had trained so much in her past life, and even quite a lot in her current life. Using her new and stronger mind to learn musical techniques she didn't even know about in her past life.
To become the greatest to ever live, greater than the likes of Michael Jackson.
"So why am I needed here, if it's just a lack of experience?" Alex asked, confused. If it was just an experience problem, then it would just naturally go away with time.
"Because you can still give my critiques silly. And with those critiques, I can learn faster and be able to grow more than before. Plus you wanted to come here, didn't you? And it's not like either of us mind" Haley said with a small smile on her face, knowing that her sister tended to underestimate herself.
Sorta like how Billie had been, and continued to.
"…Alright then. I guess you'll just have to continue so I can help"
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[Flashback End]
They had continued. For quite a while at that. Alex had listened to every word sung by her sister, while also doing her homework with quite a bit of ease, doing it even faster than she used to.
She wondered why she was so calm about her homework, when usually she would get nervous doing it, hoping not to lose her perfect A grade. She suspected it was due to the music or maybe the atmosphere, but she wasn't sure.
Alex had even asked Billie a few times about what she knew about science, and was surprised to hear that Billie knew up to a decent college level.
What surprised her even more was that Billie had a particularly impressive amount of knowledge in relation to sound, sound waves, and the sciences involved in them. And according to Billie, it was to become even better at singing and making music.
But Alex wondered if she just secretly enjoyed learning.
Either way, as Alex left the apartment later that night with her sister, she found that she had enjoyed herself a lot. And inwardly decided to ask to return again in a couple of days.
At the same time, Billie watched her leave with a small pleased smile on her face, and one thought on her mind.
'She'll definitely be coming back in the future'
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That's the end of the chapter!
Just a simple chapter with Alex interacting with the two a bit more, talking about the album and stuff like that.
I'll be covering a date between Haley and Billie soon, as well as more Dunphy shenanigans as well.
A vault chapter should be coming later tonight (Thursday