VALERIE PULLED UP TO finneas's house and took a second to collect herself. "just another collab," she muttered. "no big deal."
except it was a big deal. because, well, billie.
she exhaled sharply, shook it off, and rang the doorbell. from inside, she could hear faint laughter, music, and what sounded like someone dramatically retelling a story.
the door swung open, and finneas grinned. "valerie! welcome to the madness."
"thanks for having me," she said, stepping inside. his place was cozyâvery normal, all things considered. the only giveaway that this was the home of a grammy-winning producer was the soundproofed studio door down the hall.
from the kitchen, claudia waved. "hey, valerie!"
"hey!" valerie smiled back, trying to ignore the spread of snacks on the counter.
"i set some stuff out in case you all need brain fuel," claudia said cheerfully. "feel free to grab anything."
"oh, thanks," valerie replied automatically, even though eating was the last thing on her mind. she glanced at the food once, then back at claudia, nodding like she totally planned to eat something later.
finneas led her to the studio, where billie was adjusting the soundboard. she turned, smiling when she saw valerie. "hey, you made it."
"yeah, barely survived the drive, though," valerie joked.
billie smirked. "l.a. traffic builds character."
"or rage issues."
billie laughed and pulled up a chair for her. "either way, glad you're here."
they settled in, and valerie pulled out her notebook, flipping to a page near the middle. "okay, so, this is kind of a weird idea, but my best friend livvie was the one who actually suggested we collab on this specific song."
finneas raised an eyebrow. "oh yeah?"
billie leaned forward, interested. "what's it about?"
valerie hesitated, then sighed. "okay, don't judge, but we... kind of call it 'the underwear song.'"
there was a beat of silence.
then finneas burst out laughing.
billie blinked. "wait. what?"
valerie groaned. "shut up, my friends and i wrote it during a sleepover a couple of days ago."
billie, still grinning, held up a hand. "okay, i need to hear this now."
finneas, wiping his eyes, nodded. "yeah, i don't even care what it's about. i'm already invested."
valerie handed over her notebook, bracing herself as they read. she watched as their expressions shifted from amused curiosity to something more serious. billie's brows furrowed slightly, her lips parting like she was about to say something but didn't. finneas just nodded along, tapping his fingers against the table like he was already hearing a melody in his head.
then, billie looked up. "okay, this is actually incredible."
finneas nodded. "yeah, i don't think we need to mess with this much. it's already kind of perfect."
valerie blinked. "wait, really?"
billie smirked. "yeah, i mean, i thought we were gonna have to spend hours working on something new, but if you're cool with it, we should just run with this."
valerie let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "damn. i was not expecting that."
finneas grinned. "welcome to the chaotic magic of songwriting."
billie leaned back in her chair, still looking at the lyrics. "you really wrote this?"
valerie nodded. "yeah. i mean, the girls helped with the idea, but the lyrics are mine."
billie met her eyes, something unreadable in her expression. "it's really, really good."
valerie felt her face heat up. "thanks."
finneas clapped his hands together. "alright, let's get to work then." he reached for a cookie and glanced at valerie. "you want one?"
she shook her head quickly. "oh, uh... no, i'm good."
billie shot her a look but didn't say anything.
as finneas started pulling up tracks, billie leaned closer and whispered, "you sure you're good?"
valerie forced a grin. "totally. just too excited to eat."
billie gave her a long look, then let it go.
"alright," finneas said. "let's make the underwear song a hit."