Sydney sat frozen, her phone in her hand, her thumb mindlessly scrolling through tweet after tweet, post after post, comment after comment. Ethan Jones and Billie Eilish. Ethan and Billie at the Super Bowl. Ethan laughing with Billie. Ethan looking so comfortable next to Billie. The internet was already pairing them up, gushing over how good they looked together. Some fans were even jokingly calling them the next 'it couple.'
Her lips pressed into a thin line as she scrolled further. There were pictures of them leaning in to talk, and videos where they looked like they were having the time of their lives. Sydney's chest felt tight, and yet… she couldn't quite put a name to what she was feeling.
Annoyance? No.
Disappointment? Maybe.
Betrayal? Absolutely not. Because why would she feel betrayed? It's not like they were dating.
"Hey, I'm pretty sure it's nothing," Bella's voice cut into her thoughts, gentle but firm.
Sydney barely had time to process that before Cynthia's bluntness crashed into the moment.
"Well, have you seen how close they looked? Plus, if he told her he wasn't going to have time to hang out but somehow found the time to go to a game with someone else—he clearly lied," Cynthia pointed out, crossing her arms.
Bella shot her a glare so sharp that Cynthia immediately cleared her throat and let out a sheepish laugh. "Ehm… that's not what I meant! I mean, uh, you know how these things go, right? Maybe it was just a coincidence, maybe he was just—"
"Just stop. Just stop talking," Bella cut her off, rolling her eyes before turning back to Sydney. "Don't listen to her, Syd. I'm sure there's more to this. You know how the media twists things. You've been in this industry long enough to—"
But Sydney wasn't even listening. Instead, she did something that stunned both of them. She laughed.
And not just any laugh. A full-blown, carefree laugh, like the whole thing was ridiculous. Like it wasn't even worth her energy.
Dropping her phone onto the couch, she shook her head, still laughing as she waved them off. "Oh, come on. Why all this drama? You both know there's nothing going on between me and Ethan, right? We've just been talking, that's all. He's free to go out and have fun with whoever he wants. It's not like we're dating or anything." She threw her hands up as if to say case closed and plopped back down onto the couch.
Bella opened her mouth, probably about to say something, but Cynthia—who had clearly decided it was time to switch topics—cut in first. "Yeah, exactly! You guys aren't dating, so this is literally nothing! Now, instead of overthinking this, come and tell me about the next episode. Is Maddie going to find out what happened between you and Nate?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
Bella just stood there, arms crossed, watching as Sydney effortlessly turned the conversation away from Ethan. Watching as she laughed, as she teased Cynthia for always being desperate for spoilers, as she acted like nothing was bothering her.
But Bella wasn't convinced. Not for a second.
"What?" Sydney asked, catching Bella staring.
Bella hesitated before shaking her head. "Nothing, nothing. I was just thinking about something."
Sydney gave a small shrug. "Okay then!" she said as they all settled back into their usual banter. The night continued as if nothing had happened. They laughed, they gossiped, they threw popcorn at each other during the movie.
But Sydney? She wasn't okay.
She could pretend all she wanted, but deep down, the image of Ethan and Billie at the Super Bowl was still nagging at her. It clung to the edges of her mind, no matter how much she tried to push it away.
For the next two hours, she tried to focus. She really did. But her mind kept drifting. The urge to check her phone was becoming unbearable.
Finally, when she was sure neither Bella nor Cynthia was paying attention, she cleared her throat. "I'll be right back, just gonna use the bathroom," she announced, getting up quickly. Her friends barely acknowledged her, too focused on the movie.
As soon as she left the room, she made a beeline for the living room bathroom, closing the door behind her. Without wasting a second, she yanked her phone out of her pocket and went straight to Twitter.
She didn't even have to search. ETHAN JONES was already in the top five trending topics. Her stomach clenched as she clicked on his name. The page loaded, and just as she was about to dive in—
A voice came from behind her.
"I knew it."
Sydney let out a squeak of pure panic, and before she could stop it, her phone flew straight out of her hands.
As the phone flew through the air, time seemed to slow down. The three of them—Sydney, Bella, and Cynthia—watched in horror, their eyes wide, their mouths slightly open, as the device tumbled toward the floor in what felt like a cinematic free-fall.
Thud.
The sound echoed in the room, followed by a collective gasp.
"CYNTHIA, WHY?!" Sydney shrieked, diving to grab her phone as if it were a fallen soldier on the battlefield. She scooped it up, cradling it protectively, inspecting it with the precision of a scientist examining a rare specimen.
"What? It wasn't me!" Cynthia argued defensively, throwing her hands up.
"I'm so sorry! Is it okay?" Bella asked, leaning in, peering at the device like it was a critically injured patient.
Sydney's expression darkened. "The back is cracked!" she whined, holding it up for them to see, as if she were presenting evidence in court.
Bella winced. "Oof."
"That's why you should use a phone case," Cynthia said matter-of-factly, shaking her head like a disappointed mother.
Sydney's eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?"
"I mean, why wouldn't you have a phone case? If you had one, it wouldn't have cracked. It's basic phone safety, Sydney."
Sydney inhaled sharply, already feeling her patience thinning. "Cynthia, I swear—don't distract me! That is NOT the point right now!" She turned back to Bella, glaring. "Why did you do that anyway?"
Bella hesitated for a second before sighing. "Okay, fine. I just noticed that ever since we found out Ethan was in L.A., you've been totally off. Like, zoned out, distracted, not fully here. I wanted to check on you."
Sydney sat up straighter, eyes flashing. "What? I was not out of it."
Bella gave her a deadpan look. "Really?"
"Yeah, really."
Bella smirked. "So what exactly were you checking on your phone just now in the bathroom?"
Sydney's brain short-circuited. "Well, I was… I was checking… uh, checking… for—" She paused, then blurted, "THE WEATHER."
Bella and Cynthia both blinked.
"The weather?" Bella repeated slowly, skepticism dripping from her voice.
"Yes."
"In the middle of the night?"
Sydney nodded, attempting a confident expression but failing miserably. "Y-yeah."
Bella leaned forward, her smirk growing. "Sydney, you do realize that for an actress, you are an absolutely terrible liar?"
Sydney groaned, throwing herself back against the couch dramatically. "Fine! Fine! Okay, I admit it! I went to check if there was any more news about Ethan and Billie!"
Bella and Cynthia exchanged a look before turning back to her with identical, knowing smirks.
"Awwwwwwww!" Cynthia cooed, placing a hand over her chest as if her heart was melting. "Sydney has a crush!"
"What? No, I don't!" Sydney shot back, sitting up straight, but her flushed face betrayed her.
Bella leaned in, wiggling her brows. "Girl, this is way more than a crush. You've got it bad for him."
Sydney groaned, covering her face with both hands. "Ughhh, what do I do?!" she whined, peeking through her fingers like a child afraid of a monster under the bed.
Sydney's mouth fell open as she stared at her two best friends, Bella and Cynthia, who were exchanging a knowing look. Suspicion curled in her stomach.
"What?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.
Bella smirked. "It's just weird that you're asking us for advice."
"Yeah," Cynthia added with a dramatic gasp. "Normally, you're the one we come to for relationship advice."
Sydney groaned, throwing her hands up. "Yeah, because normally, I know exactly what to do! But with him, it's just so—ugh!" She flopped back onto the couch, running her hands through her hair. "I always know what people want from me. I can read them like a book. But Ethan? He's just—he's the problem! He's so... unpredictable. I mean, isn't he the guy? Shouldn't he be the one asking me out, making the moves?"
Bella raised an eyebrow. "Wow. Welcome to 2022, where girls can make the first move too. Just go see him! Simple as that."
"No!" Cynthia practically lunged in between them. "Don't listen to Bella! You should wait. You don't want to put yourself out there just to get hurt. What if—what if he's pretending? Maybe he doesn't even like you! I saw this movie where the guy was just doing a bet to impress the girl—what if that's happening here?!" Her voice got higher with each word.
Sydney stared at her blankly. "Cynthia, calm down. There is no bet."
"You don't know that!"
"I do. And besides—" She smirked, flipping her hair dramatically. "Who wouldn't like me? I mean, I'm Sydney freaking Sweeney."
Bella squealed, grabbing her hand. "That's it, girl! That's the confidence I'm talking about!"
The three of them burst into laughter before Sydney pulled out her phone. "Okay, okay, I'll figure this out later. Right now, let's see what that boy is up to."
The moment she clicked on Ethan Jones' trending tab, her friends scooted closer, peering over her shoulder. The first thing she noticed? Billie. Billie everywhere.
"Oh, he's still with her," Sydney muttered, scrolling through picture after picture. "I mean, of course, they look close, right? But look at all this! He's been busy."
The more she scrolled, the crazier it got.
"Wait, what is he doing to that guy?" Cynthia pointed.
"That's Matthew Stafford. He's an NFL player," Bella said matter-of-factly.
Sydney blinked. "And how do you know that?"
Bella tossed her hair. "Duh. My brothers are obsessed with football. But forget that! Look at this—"
"Is he actually playing a 1v1 against Shaquille O'Neal?!" Cynthia screeched.
Sydney's jaw dropped. "Who is this guy? And wait—" she swiped to the next post, her voice rising in disbelief. "Is he having a serious business conversation with Snoop Dogg now?!"
Bella squinted at the photo. "Look at their faces. I bet neither of them even knows what they're talking about."
"Oh my God, he's everywhere," Sydney whispered. "I mean, how does he have this much energy?"
That was how they spent the rest of the night—falling deeper into the rabbit hole of Ethan Jones' wild escapades. First, all three of them were glued to the screen, then Cynthia's head bobbed, and she slumped over asleep. Bella held on for a while longer before she too passed out, leaving Sydney alone, still scrolling.
And the one thing she noticed?
Billie was in almost every single picture.
Sydney swallowed hard. 'Is she spending the night with him?' The thought made her chest feel tight, but she shook it off. She was just being ridiculous. Right?
More hours passed. The room was silent except for the soft breathing of her sleeping friends. She was on the verge of dozing off herself when another post popped up.
Her eyes widened. "What? He's getting a tattoo now? I thought he hated needles!" she muttered. But before she could keep watching, exhaustion finally won, and she drifted off.
—
"Sydney. Sydney!"
A voice broke through her sleep, followed by a gentle shake. She groaned, rolling over to see Bella peering down at her.
"Ugh, what?" she mumbled sleepily, her body stiff from sleeping in the weirdest position possible. She cracked one eye open and groaned again, rubbing her face.
"I woke you up because the way you were sleeping looked painful," Bella said with a snort.
Sydney stretched, wincing as she felt the crick in her neck. "Ugh, thanks. Remind me never to fall asleep like that again."
She pried Cynthia off of her, who was still snoring away, and made her way to the bathroom for a shower. By the time she was done, she felt a little more human. Grabbing her phone, she replied to a few messages, but the one she wanted to see most was nowhere to be found.
Ethan still hadn't texted her.
She pushed it out of her mind. It wasn't a big deal. It was fine. Everything was fine.
That afternoon, thanks to waking up late, she was in the middle of a yoga session when her phone dinged. She nearly tripped over herself reaching for it. Her heart pounded as she grabbed the phone, hoping—no, praying—it was him.
But it wasn't.
A message from her agent popped up instead, reminding her about an upcoming photoshoot. Sydney let out a slow breath, muttering to herself, "Okay. You know what? Screw this." Without thinking, she dialed Ethan's number.
She wasn't even expecting him to pick up. But he did.
"Sydney Sweeney."
She heard the hesitation in his voice before he finally spoke again. "Hey, Syd."
Her heart did a weird little flip. "Ethan! How are you?"
"I'm fine," he said automatically. A little too quickly.
She smiled. "Oh, that's great!"
There was a brief pause before they both spoke at the same time.
"So, I wanted to ask—"
"Honestly, not fine. I fucked up."
Another awkward silence stretched between them.
"Oh." Sydney blinked. "Wait, what did you want to say?"
"No, no, you go first. Yours sounds serious."
Ethan opened his mouth to explain, but suddenly his screen flashed with another incoming call. Rebecca.
"Syd, I'm so sorry, but I have to call you back. This is important."
"Oh. No problem. Just… take care of yourself, okay?"
"Thanks, Syd."
The call ended. Sydney sighed, packing up her yoga mat. "I tried doing the good girl way, but well… I guess that never works."
As she walked past the kitchen, Bella and Cynthia were busy making something—most likely another failed attempt at edible food.
Cynthia looked up, squinting at her. "What's wrong? Where are you going?"
Sydney opened the door to her room, tossing over her shoulder, "I'm going on a trip."
Bella's spoon clattered into the bowl. Cynthia's jaw dropped.
"A trip?!" Cynthia's voice cracked in disbelief.
"Yes," Sydney said simply, opening her suitcase.
"To where?!"
Sydney turned around, zipping up her bag with a smirk. "I'm going on tour."
A beat of silence passed before both her friends screamed in unison.
"WHAT?!"