VALERIE WAS CURLED UP IN BED, lazily scrolling through her phone when her screen lit up with an incoming facetime call.
she answered without hesitation, billie's face popping up on the screen, her hoodie pulled over her head like she was trying to disappear into it.
"bro," billie said immediately, her voice half a whisper. "i just spent the last ten minutes hiding behind my couch."
valerie blinked. "okay, first of all, what the hell? second of all... what the hell?"
billie sighed dramatically. "so i ordered food, right? and when the guy knocked, i panicked and just... dropped to the floor."
valerie cackled. "why are you like this?"
"i don't know!" billie groaned. "but then i had to do the awkward slow peek around the corner to see if he left, and of course, he hadn't. we made direct eye contact."
"oh, you're never recovering from that."
"i'm deleting my existence." billie flopped onto what looked like a pillow. "so yeah. that's where i'm at."
valerie shook her head, still grinning. "you're actually unhinged. anyway, what'd you order?"
"tacos. i suffered for them, but they were worth it."
they fell into easy conversation, jumping from topic to topic, cracking jokes and roasting each other like it was their full-time job. at some point, valerie's phone buzzed with a text from danah.
imessages
2:21 am
danah the menace
bro i just had a thought
uh oh
do you think fish ever get thirsty
wtf it's 2am
ANSWER THE QUESTION
i hate that i'm actually thinking about this
i mean technically they drink the water they live in,right? so maybe they don't feel thirst like we do?
so you're telling me they just exist without ever craving a drink???
yes?
couldn't be me
you just drank my last brain cell with this conversation
valerie sighed, shaking her head as she put her phone down. billie was watching her with an amused expression.
"danah?" billie guessed.
"yep," valerie said, rubbing her temple. "she just asked me if fish get thirsty."
billie stared for a second before bursting into laughter. "do they?"
"don't start," valerie groaned.
"nah, now i need answers," billie grinned. "like... do they ever just go 'damn, i could really use a sip of this ocean'?"
valerie grabbed a pillow and smacked her phone with it. "you are both the worst."
"you love it," billie teased.
"unfortunately," valerie sighed.
they kept talking, the hours slipping away unnoticed until billie yawned, rubbing her eyes.
"alright," she sighed. "we should probably sleep before one of us starts questioning if birds have accents or some shit."
"too late, i was literally just thinking about that," valerie admitted.
billie grinned. "of course you were."
there was a small pause, neither of them moving to end the call just yet. finally, billie smiled softly. "night, val."
valerie smiled back. "night, b."
and with that, they finally hung up, both still grinning as they drifted off to sleep.