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After about five minutes straight of knocking on the door, James eventually opens it, revealing Hazelee in his arms. "Carcar," Hazelee cheeses, reaching her arms out to me. I hold her close to me, kissing her before James passes me her diaper bag.

"So, I have news," James starts, "I got a court date in two weeks, I'm getting Hazelee back."

My smile instantly drops at his words. I knew he wanted custody but I never thought he'd go through with it. "Are you serious?" I ask hesitantly.

"Yes Carter, I'm serious," he scoffs.

"You don't know how to take care of her. Does your tiny brain not comprehend this? And is it true that you've been talking to Bronte?"

"She's come over a couple of times," he confesses.

"You realize that if you have any type of relationship with her, the judge won't give you full custody?"

"We'll see about that," she rolls his eyes before slamming the door in my face making me jump.

"Alight cutie, let's go home," I bop Hazelee's nose before buckling her into the back seat. I connect my phone to the car's Bluetooth, instantly calling up Billie.

"Hey Carter," she answers.

"Hi, are you busy or do you have a minute?" I question, not wanting to bother her if she's busy.

"I'm just driving home from a fitting, I have all the time in the world," she replied and I could just hear the smile in her voice.

"What was the fitting for?"

"Remember that Vogue shoot I told you about?"

"Right," I drag out the word. "I wanna come," I pouted jokingly.

"You should!"

"Dead ass?!"

"Yes," she giggled, "Why not?"

"Alright bet."

"I'll pick you up in the morning but what did you call for?"

"I just picked up Hazelee," I sighed, "James has a court date in two weeks. Look, I don't want to be a mother for the rest of my life but he's not capable of raising her. She's only just turned two, she's a human, a tiny human who doesn't just require food and diaper changes. She needs love and acceptance and patience and-"

"Carter," Billie interrupted my ramble. I took a deep breath, realizing I had worked myself up to a disgruntled state. "You're right, but he won't get custody. You just have to collect all the evidence and you have lots. If you can prove that Bronte is still doing drugs and has been in contact with James then the judge is legally obligated to keep you as her legal guardian," she rationalized.

"How do you know so much?" I asked in practically a whisper.

"I've been doing research," she admitted casually.

"You're too good to me," I shook my head. "I just got home but I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yes, you will. Be kind to yourself, yeah?"

"Thanks, Bil, bye." I waited for her to finish saying goodbye before ending the call and bringing Hazelee inside.

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"I'm just so sick," I grumbled with a fake cough, trying to hold back a smile as Billie was holding back laughter beside me.

"Fine, take the day off but I expect you to be back tomorrow," my boss angrily spoke over the phone.

"I will, thanks," I let out another dramatic cough before hanging up and pushing Billie for almost giving it away.

"Ay, I'm driving," Billie giggled loudly. "That was really great acting though," she caught her breath.

"Thank you," I grinned, watching as she pulled the car into a parking spot in front of the daycare.

"I'll be right back," I announced before getting Hazelee out of her car seat in the back and carrying her inside. Billie was dead set on taking her car so she let me put a spare car seat in the back of hers.

"Hi Carter," Sophia welcomed us.

"Hey," I smiled, handing Hazelee over to her. "So I might be a little later with pickup today than the usual. I have a busy day."

"No problem," Sophia smiled, as I hung up Hazelee's diaper bag in her cubby.

"Alright, see you later bubba," I said giving Hazelee a kiss before practically jogging out the door. I'm extremely excited to follow Billie around for the day. I have been dying to see what a real photoshoot was like. I used to dream of being a singer, dream of her fame.

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"You ready?" I asked Carter as I parked my car in front of the building.

"I'm so ready," she smiled and I couldn't help but smile back even though I was a little nervous for this shoot in specific. I've never done anything like this, aside from by myself in my room.

"Billie," Laura shouted, holding out her arms for a hug.

"Hey," I replied, pulling away from the hug after a few seconds. "Laura this is Carter, Carter this is Laura my day-to-day and also friend," I introduced the two and watched as they said hello to each other.

"Is there anything I can do?" Carter asked, looking around at the sets around the large room, excitement twinkling in her eyes

"Actually you could help me steam this backdrop," Laura suggested, pointing to a large black sheet hanging from the ceiling.

"Of course," Carter nodded, following Laura and happily picking up the steamer. I stared at her in awe for way to long before deciding a picture would last longer.

I saved the picture before sending it to Zoe, Drew, and I's group chat on Snapchat.

What's taking so long? Make this shit official.

Wait... is this the shoot?

i'm waiting zoe. i don't wanna get into shit too quickly like last time

and yes drew it is

fuck i'm so nervous

You are one sexy motherfucker you got this

What Drew said

"You ready for hair and makeup?" My manager asked, making me close my phone.

"Let's do it," I nodded, walking over to the other side of the room and sliding onto the chair. Glancing through the mirror I watched as Carter talked to a few people on my team, bursting out into a fit of laughter at something Laura said; which only made my smile wider.

After hair and makeup was done I got whisked away to change into the first look. Once I was in front of the camera, my brain automatically went into a mode where I forget that there's people watching, only focusing on the camera lens. I made the mistake of looking towards Carter. Her cheeks were tinted a light pink and she looked at me in a way that made butterflies swarm my stomach. Luckily, the thick layer of makeup hid the blush I felt on my cheeks.

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"You did amazing!" Carter exclaimed after I had changed back into my normal clothing.

"Thank you," I chuckled, wrapping my arms around her.

"You ready to go?" I asked and she nodded her head in response. I absentmindedly reached out for her hand, linking her fingers in mine but she didnt protest, instead, squeezing my hand slightly.

"So, when do these pictures come out?" She questioned as we walked towards my car.

"Soon I think," I exhaled, honestly the thought of people seeing these terrifies me, but in a good way if that makes any sense.

"Why do you sound so nervous? People are gonna love them," she looked up at me, tilting her head slightly.

"I don't do shit like this," I confessed, opening the passenger side door and waiting for her to sit down before closing it.

As I opened the driver's side door and sat down she spoke, "but you aren't the same person you were when all of this started. You've grown up and moved past things. Laura showed me the interview you did and you had some really great points. Everything will turn out perfectly," she assured me.

I let out a content sigh, taking in all her words, "You're right," I agreed. "I don't know about you but I'm craving ice cream."

"Sounds great," she smiled as I pulled out of the parking lot.

A few moments passed and I was pulling up to an ice cream shop that I knew had vegan options. We walked inside and soon enough we were back in my car, both enjoying the flavours we chose. Luckily, I only got a few looks inside the ice cream shop and didn't get bombarded with people.

"I kinda miss singing," Carter broke the silence.

"Yeah?" I questioned, shifting myself in the seat to give her complete attention.

"Yeah. It was so therapeutic and even though I was performing in front of small crowds I really loved it," she explained further.

"So you stopped when you started taking care of Hazelee?"

"Mhm," she nodded, "There just wasn't enough time but I'll admit, I have been writing again recently."

"I want to take you somewhere," I smiled, buckling back up and driving off.

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I didn't question her on where she was taking me but when we pulled into a back alley I got lowkey sketched out, "Where are we?" I asked.

"My childhood house. I still have a room here and shit, I come back practically every day," she explained as she turned the engine off.

She reached out for my hand once again, sending a small shiver up my arm from the touch. We walked through the backyard and a set of glass doors, meeting a kind-looking lady.

"Billie," the lady smiled, pulling Billie into a hug and I disconnected our hands. "Hey mom," Billie stated, pulling away from the hug. "This is Carter, Carter this is my mom."

"It's so great to meet you, I'm Maggie," she smiled kindly.

"Nice to meet you too," I said before Billie then whisked me away to what looked like a dining room.

"Dad," Billie said, "This is Carter. Carter this is my dad, Patrick."

"Hey," he waved.

"Hi," I smiled back.

"Okay, bye," Billie said quickly, pulling me into a small room filled with recording equipment. My senses were overwhelmed, I didn't know I'd be meeting her parents and now I'm trying to take in my surrounds. I've always dreamed of having this amount and quality of production equipment.

"Wow," I breathed out. "Okay one, I didn't know I'd be meeting you're parents but they seem nice, and two, holy shit."

"Sorry, they don't really care when I bring people around but I coulda warned you I guess," she shrugged, taking a seat in the office chair that sat in the middle of the room. "This is Finneas' old room, we made our ep and first album here," she explained, holding her arms out to display everything.

"It's amazing," I said in awe. "You did everything in here?" I asked, sitting on the edge of the bed that was pushed up against the wall.

"Yeah, actually I recorded all the vocals exactly where you're sitting," she smirked.

"That's actually crazy," I shook my head in disbelief. The fact that all her music is just her and her brother in this tiny room is unheard of. "So why did you bring me here?"

"Well," she smirked, spinning around in the chair to face a keyboard, "I thought maybe you'd want to sing with me?" Her voice suddenly changed from one of confidence to uncertainty.

"I-yes!"

"Great," she smiled, placing her hands on the piano and lightly playing the keys. "What song is your go to?"

"Body Gold by Oh Wonder but it's not well known so-"

"I know it," she interrupted, "You want to play the piano?"

"Sure," I shrugged and took her place in the chair. Just as I began playing the chords I stopped, "wait, come sit with me," I told her. She nodded hesitantly before sitting on my lap. I reached my arms around her, placing my hands on the correct keys. I have these chords memorised by now and I'd rather stare at the back of her head.

As I started the intro, Billie swiped all her hair to one side shifting slightly so I could get a better view. "Before you came round my heart would never beat much faster. Before you came round I was ready to slow down," I began, my voice slightly shaky as my nerves were running wild.

"Before you came round I was heading for a small disaster. Before you came round I was ready to blow me down," she joined, singing perfectly on pitch.

"Let it go, paint my body gold, Take our bodies higher and higher and higher," I sang as she harmonized effortlessly. "We can go until the morning glow. We can go higher and higher and higher," my nerves finally eased, my voice getting stronger and more confident.

"Before I was found I felt like I could drain the ocean. Before I was found I didn't wanna breathe out. Now my soul beats a sound loud enough to quiet the thunder, A love with no doubt and now I'm never gonna slow down," we sang, our voices meshing perfectly. We continued the entire song, Billie occasionally harmonizing and sometimes matching the note.

"We can go higher and higher and higher," we finished, the electricity in the room buzzing. I lifted my hands off the keys, setting them on her waist as she turned around the face me with a look I couldn't quite describe. Without a word spoken our lips met in a passionate kiss, a feeling I haven't had with her yet. It was deeper than just lust.

Neither of us took it further, instead enjoying the feeling of her lips on mine. Her arms wrapped around my neck as she got impossibly closer. My body warmed as I realized, I love this girl.

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A/N: You guys want to see a picture of Hazelee?

Oh Wonder is so underrated, I've been listening to them for years.

Word count: 2349