𝟐𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏

Instagram
2 new notifications!
Today 8:03am

happy birthday

(message not delivered)

it's not my birthday

merry christmas?

it's june

um
WHATEVER
just appreciate the photo

what photo

bro the photo i just sent
maybe it didn't send
shit it didn't send

oh
my
fucking
god
is this what i think it is

depends what you're thinking

THE ALBUM TRACKLIST???

you'd be correct
🐢
fuck i didn't mean to send that

aw he's kinda cute
NO
BILLIE WHY DO I HAVE THE
TRACKLIST TO YOUR ALBUM

because i wanted to show it
to you before anyone else
aside from my label
and finneas
and claudia
and my mom and dad
ugh it's the thought that counts

nda sounds the most interesting

really why

idk
something about it
i already know my future
and therefore i am
so
no male fantasy
but also happier than ever
shit
ALL OF THEM
can i choose all of them

what are you choosing

MY FAVOURITE
even though i haven't heard them yet
i'm choosing ahead of time
wait

waiting

what's your favourite
cause whatever yours is
will most likely be mine

hail
it's 8am

and?

too early to be asked such a
question that makes my brain
do braining stuff

i could argue it's too early for
you to be presenting this to me
WAY too early to lose my mind

we'll lose our minds together

that is so fucking cute

you're cute

iMessage
Today 8:05am

𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐭 - 𝐮𝐧𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 ✨

┌──── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────┐

fruity bitch - 𝐇𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐎'𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧
fishing rod - 𝐎𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐑𝐨𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐨
grandma - 𝐎𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐞𝐥𝐬

└──── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────┘

fruity bitch
this is a cry for help.
BILLIE EILISH JUST CALLED
ME CUTE

fishing rod
WHAT THE FUCK
CAN WE GET SOME CONTEXT

fruity bitch
i said something was cute
then she went
you're cute
and
just no
but yes
very yes

grandma
dude
just cause you're not home
doesn't mean 8 FUCKING AM
is a good time for an sos
or for my phone to blow up
oh who changed my name

fishing rod
😐

grandma
OLIVIA ISTG

fishing rod
wait hay where are you
why aren't you home 😧

grandma
if she told us
said she'd have to kill me
"confidential" apparently

fruity bitch
FOR GOOD REASON
fine if you're not giving me advice
i'll leave you to sleep

grandma
thank you
bother me later about this
and i promise i'll be
100x more enthusiastic
🥰

fruity bitch
i hope you have nightmares

grandma

(fruity bitch disliked this message)

fishing rod
GOOD LUCK BABES

fruity bitch
thank you dear friend

grandma
duck you
fuck toy
FUCK YOU

fruity bitch
the moment was ruined

grandma
i know ☹️

Instagram
4 new notifications!
Today 8:09am

you left me
i'm heartbroken
my heart is broken

OH MY GOD IT'S SPONGEBOB
I'M BACK SORRY
my roommate needed help

oooOO
i didn't know you had a
roommate

she's my best friend
so not really roommate

is it olivia?

yep

her music is so fucking good

yeah she's really talented
more like a sister tbh

AWW
i'll have to meet her one day
after you of course

stop
i can't daydream about that
because i will spiral
and not be able to think
about anything else

WHAT'S SO BAD ABOUT THAT

normally it would be fine
but i'm staying with a friend
atm and i don't think he'd
appreciate me losing my
marbles over you AGAIN

he??

dw bil i'm a very big lesbian
plus he's pretty much a
second older brother by now

OH
no no i wasn't
sorry i didn't mean it like that

it's ok

so what are you guys doing

...
i feel terrible but i'm not
allowed to say

nda huh?

lmao
not really
but i don't think the people i'm
working with would love it

ohhh it's work
top secret shit
got it 🫡

i feel shit cause you leaked
your album and i can't
even tell you what i'm doing ..
you have no idea how hard it is
not to say anything to you

hey no i get it

if it helps
even dylan doesn't know

HOW??

THATS WHAT I'VE BEEN
WONDERING 😭
still waiting for him to look
through my emails and stuff

finneas would do that

brothers

SIGH

thank you so much for the tracklist
it's the best non birthday/xmas
present i've ever gotten

ofc
no one else i'd want to share
it with

hayleyobrien has posted to their Instagram!

●○

○●

Liked by taylorswift, dylanobrienofficial, billieeilish and 2, 786, 091 others

hayleyobrien it's cold but it's june and feels like december. why does it feel like december 🧊

view all 8k comments

username1 OH MY GOD IS THAT LONG POND (21 min)
3.1k likes

livmichaels i don't know where the fuck you are but it ain't cold (10 min)
2.7k likes
          ↴
hayleyobrien
@livmichaels rude. go back to sleep

oliviarodrigo istg there isn't a bad photo of you (18 min)
2.4k likes
          ↴
hayleyobrien
@oliviarodrigo um hello says you

username2 guys just cause she's at long pond doesn't mean she's working WITH taylor. she's done stuff with aaron before and it's HIS STUDIO 😭 (19 min)
1.8k likes
          ↴
dylanobrienofficial
@username2 OK BUT RED TV???
↴
username3
i love how dylan's just as invested in this as us

username4 who's waiting for billie to pop up (20 min)
1.3k likes
          ↴
username5
            @username4 but not everything's about billie?? she's got a life outside instagram...
↴
username4
@username5 shut up becky
↴
username5
@username4 fuck off heather ☺️
↴
username4
                  @username5 my names brittney
↴
username5
                    @username4 ok. fuck off brittney.

billieeilish PRETTY GIRLLLLL (3 min)
699 likes
          ↴
hayleyobrien
no you

dylansprayberry what's a long pond 😐 (1 min)
12 likes
          ↴
dylanobrienofficial
@dylansprayberry bringing shame to our name. educate yourself
↴
dylansprayberry
@dylanobrienofficial OHHHHH TAYLOR SWIFT

iMessage
4 new notifications!
Today 11:11 am

┌──── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────┐

thing 1 - 𝐇𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐎'𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧
move out - 𝐃𝐲𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐎'𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧
honorary sister - 𝐎𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐞𝐥𝐬

└──── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────┘

move out
you bitch

honorary sister
agreed
"confidential" MY ASS

move out
SO THIS IS WHY YOU'RE
AWAY FOR THE WEEKEND

thing 1
huh what

move out
you can't not tell us
then go to instagram
and post about it

honorary sister
what he said
completely defeats the
definition of confidentiality

thing 1
OH
even if i was
it's all top secret
people can jump to conclusions
on ig if they want to
i'm allowed to do and say
certain stuff so....
take from that what you will

move out
and if your brother
decides to cash in his
long overdue favour?

honorary sister
bitch your favour is staying
with us
btw when are you leaving

move out
oh yeah
and not anytime soon
i'm getting the "subtle" hints
they aren't working

honorary sister
UGHHHH
hayley tell your brother
to stop leaving underwear
in the fucking kitchen

thing 1
DYLAN
THATS DISGUSTING

move out
no clue what you're talking about

honorary sister
dude.
i'll call your mum

move out
crap
no not mom
fine
anyways
what if your BROTHER
asks you where you are??

thing 1
no dylan
especially no to you

honorary sister
HAHAHHAHAHA

move out
hoe you don't know either

honorary sister
🫠

"LOVELY TO FINALLY speak with you, Hayley! How are you doing right now?"

The teenager lightly smiles as she places the call onto speaker phone, and adjusts herself on the green sofa she's sitting on. "I'm actually really good, thank you. Tired, but really good."

"That's great to here, I'm sure all our listeners will be thinking the same. We'll get stuck right into it, if that's alright with you?"

Opening her mouth to agree, Hayley hesitates for a moment, shaking her head even though whoever is speaking to her doesn't have a view of herself. "Sorry, it's a bit weird that you know my name and I don't know yours."

"Oh! Normally people don't ask for my name, they're just happy to answer. It's Michael, thanks for asking."

"I guess I find it impolite," she begins to explain. "We're about to have a conversation, you know? It's like talking to your friend about super personal shit- Crap, sorry, am I allowed to swear? What's the limit?"

Michael chuckles in amusement. "You're alright, if anything gets too out of control, we can bleep it out considering the public is behind us by a few seconds."

She breathes out in relief. "Okay, cool. Yeah, let's get into it."

"I think the first thing we need to talk about is your most recent release, 'Mess It Up.' How did that song come to fruition? Give us a little bit of insight."

"Oh, man," Hayley says, a short laugh leaves her lips. "Well, long story short, it's about feeling like every step you're taking in your life isn't enough. Like, every time you feel that sliver of hope, the feeling of failure comes and overpowers it and you fuck up. It's about believing in a relationship, friendship, whatever, that is ultimately doomed because paranoia and anxiety will mess it up. To be honest, it's about whatever you perceive it to be."

"I know for me, when I first listened to it, I was almost immediately comforted knowing that I'm not the only person constantly worrying that I'm going to mess things up. Are you hoping people are getting that reassurance?"

Hayley softly smiles and clears her throat. "Yeah, totally. I first started writing music for me, it was an incredibly personal experience. But later on, more in the last few years, I've gotten this immense joy by sharing it with other people and seeing their reactions to it. If I can help make their day better, even if that's only for a second or two, that means absolutely everything to me."

"I love that. Was the process to creating this song different in any way to your others? We know you've been working with Aaron Dessner from The National on your recent projects, was he assisting you with this?"

"No, Aaron actually had nothing to do with this one. I reached out to a friend who happens to be a producer, sent him what I had lyrically, and he was more than happy to come experiment. We kinda just locked ourselves in a studio for a week, and yeah, here we are."

"What's it like working with Aaron?"

"I seriously don't know another person that could do what he does. He's one of my closest friends, for sure. Actually, I kind of think of him more as a second older brother. He's like family now. I think we have the kind of relationship where there's a certain sensitivity that doesn't necessarily exist in most artist-producer relationships within our industry."

"You've obviously returned from a massive tour around Europe in the last month for your recent EP, is touring something you've got planned for again in the forseeable future?"

"Nothing's in concrete at the moment. I know I've got a few festivals booked and a couple smaller shows, but nothing huge."

Hayley's eyes widen when the door to the room she's residing in opens, and she quickly straightens up on the couch to make a motion of zipping her lips to the person who is interrupting. The man chuckles to himself and nods, slowly closing the door behind him and leaving her alone.

"Um, but yeah, I love touring with my whole heart. It makes you feel connected to the fans on an entirely different level."

"Perfect, I know a lot of people will be ecstatic to here that, Hayley. Speaking about your recent EP, have you thought about an album?"

"Oh, God." She laughs at the question, bringing Michael to join in; although, he isn't aware of how hers isn't completely genuine. It's just someone else subtely applying pressure to her, whether he knows it or not. "An album isn't on the cards any time soon, but I've definitely got some stuff in the works right now. It's all very exciting. I think too, as an artist and for me personally, it's not the best year to be releasing a record."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, I mean, there's Billie who's got her album coming, my friend Olivia Rodrigo also just dropped 'SOUR,' I know Lorde's bringing something, the entire world knows about Taylor re-recording stuff- like, purely just from a marketing and awards perspective, I'd be making a pretty big fucking mistake by dropping an album this year."

"Personally, I think you're on the same level of the artists you just mentioned, but you've got a point. Twenty-twenty-one is definitely appearing to be the year for music."

"Definitely."

"You mentioned Taylor, I'm assuming you're referencing Taylor Swift?"

A wide grin lifts up Hayley's lips the second the woman is mentioned. "Obviously. I think I'm one of the biggest Swifties you can find."

"So, what's it like knowing her? I can imagine you must've been pretty star-struck first meeting her."

"I honestly can't remember much of it, if I didn't have my brother there with me to confirm it actually happened, I would've thought I was dreaming or hallucinating. She has been such a huge inspiration for my career and personal life, so it's pretty special that I get to be able to call her a friend."

"Do you have anything planned with her? Fans noticed your Instagram comments from the other day, some of them going as far to assume that Taylor's red heart means you might have something to do with Red?"

"Collaborating with her is one of my dreams, I think I'd be content with dying after that. But nothing's been announced as of now."

"It must help Aaron works with Taylor, no?"

"I mean, not really. We all know each other through one another, but each of us have our own personal relationships with each other, so it's not like one person's going off and saying stuff to the other, you know? If Taylor and I were to work together, I'd hope she'd decide from it on her own merit, not because someone's telling her to work with me. Although, that would be pretty cool if someone said I was good enough to work with Taylor fucking Swift."

Michael chuckles. "One last question for today, Hayley. The media's been buzzing with stuff all about you and Billie Eilish. Care to comment on that?"

A soft blush tints her cheeks as she gnaws her bottom lip, a small wave of anxiety taking over her body as the teenager's name is dropped; something she had found herself doing more and more often as of lately. "Billie's been my biggest idol within the industry for as long as she's been in it. I just respect the fuck out of her with everything that she does. All her work is so raw, emotional, and it's so motivating to me, as an artist. She's everything I want to be. She is such a lovely person, and although our friendship is relatively new, I feel very lucky to get the chance to finally know her."

"It's been a pleasure to talk to you, Hayley. Thank you so much for your time."

"You too, Michael."

"This is KIIS-FM and right now, you're listening to 'Mess It Up' from Hayley O'Brien. Thanks again, Hayley."

As soon as the call cuts, Hayley sighs loudly and tosses her phone to the side, slumping down on the couch. Her hair sprawls out on the cushions behind her, her body curled up so she can hug her knees against her chest. Her eyes droop closed, struggling to stay open due to the lack of sleep from the night before.

Her peace and quiet is quickly stolen as the door opens once more. "You know, you're more than good enough to work with me."

Hayley opens a single eye and a smile instantly overtakes her dull features. Taylor's blonde locks poke into the empty recording room, her blue eyes lighting up from the grin that mimics the brunette's. "Thanks, Tay."

"All go okay?" The older woman takes the empty seat on the couch and lets Hayley lean her head on her clothed shoulder as she sighs.

"Yeah, all good. You stirred up some shit the other day," she teases.

Looking out one of the windows, the studio overlooks a small body of water. The pond is currently vacant of any wildlife, safe for a single bird perching on a nearby tree. Being past mid-day, the risen sun reflects off the water in a way that seems like a mirrorball had been placed above in a dark room. It looks like hundreds of carefully placed shimmering diamonds. It's a jewel. Long Pond really is Hayley's safe haven.

Taylor's eyebrows raise innocently as she glances down to the girl. "From what? A red heart? Come on, it's a heart."

"And your fans are psychotic," Hayley deadpans.

"Did you just call yourself psychotic?"

"I thought it was common knowledge."

Shaking her head with a wide smile on her face, Taylor begins to plait a section of brunette hair that trails down her friend's shoulder. "Oh, did Aaron come in earlier?"

Hayley rolls her eyes. "Yep, little shit was about to spoil everything on live radio."

"You know you left the door open, right? I can hear everything you guys are saying," said man calls out, his voice floating through the small hallway and into the ears of the two women.

Both laugh (it's more like a giggle), until Hayley's dies off and she dons a more serious demeanour. She pushes herself off Taylor's shoulder so she is able to look at the woman face to face. "So, are you finally going to tell me what I'm actually doing here with you guys?"

Slowly, Taylor's lips move up into a smile. She quickly grabs a stray leaf from earlier stuck in a section of Hayley's dark hair, and takes out her phone to unlock the Voice Memo app. "It's called 'Nothing New.' I think you'll be perfect for it."

hayleyobrien has posted to their Instagram story!

𝘏𝘐 𝘔𝘠 𝘓𝘖𝘝𝘌𝘓𝘐𝘌𝘚𝘚𝘚!!

𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘚𝘖 𝘍𝘜𝘊𝘒𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘔𝘜𝘊𝘏. 𝘉𝘶𝘵. 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳... 𝘚𝘰... 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘐'𝘮 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣 𝘺𝘦𝘵.

𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘛𝘰𝘰 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭 (10 𝘮𝘪𝘯) 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘛𝘖𝘖 𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘛𝘢𝘺𝘭𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵.

𝘈𝘭𝘴𝘰, 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘙𝘦𝘥 𝘛𝘝 𝘣𝘺 𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘶𝘯𝘦, 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯.

𝘖𝘬 𝘣𝘺𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦 𝘹𝘹