"Wow, this town really is pretty bleak," Bill remarked as the Mystery Shack came back into view.
The tour had lasted a few hours, and Bill didn't seem at all impressed with the city. I didn't blame him. Gravity Falls wasn't exactly the most eventful was slow and calm."I thought that when I first moved here too.." I replied with a sigh. "I still think it, actually."
"Oh? You're not from here?"
"No, I'm not," I stepped onto the porch and turned to face Bill. "It's a long story.."
"Well, I've got time." The boy smiled and tilted his head to the side expectantly. I chuckled, mainly because this boy really was interested in being friends with me. I didn't have too many friends. Most of them I simply knew through Mabel. I was kind of proud of myself for making one on my own. And such a charming one, too. I smiled contently at my thoughts.
"You really wanna hear it? It's kind of depressing," I said, flicking my eyebrows up.
"I don't mind, seriously."
"Suit yourself, man. You can come in-"
"In the shop..?" Bill asked quickly.
"No, no, there's more to it than that. I live here." I laughed and opened the door, and the other boy followed. The shop was empty so I hoped Stan would brush off the fact that I skipped work to run around with Bill..
As we walked by the living room, Mabel instantly took notice of my new friend. Her eyes lit up, and I rolled mine. She was already into Bill and I could tell. I frowned slightly. What if she tried to ask Bill out? For some reason the thought angered me, enraged me even. I quickly walked to the stairs, "this way." I blurted, walking up them and hoping Mabel minded her own business. I heard footsteps behind me and breathed out.
Bill glanced around once we reached my room, "pretty big don't you think, Pine Tree?"
"Ah, my sister used to sleep up here but she has her own room downstairs." I said. Bill nodded and I sat down on the edge of my bed. I jumped slightly when he plopped down next to me, a lot closer than he had to be, but I wasn't going to complain.
"So about that story..." Bill started, looking over at me.
I told the entire story about how I moved to Gravity Falls to the boy, who looked entirely displeased as I talked. Afterwords he told me how suckish he thought that was, and that he was really, really sorry. I shrugged in response and leaned back on my hands. I explained how my parents were never around anyway, how we usually just had a baby sitter while they worked. I was surprised at how empathetic the other was acting. For a while he simply stared at the floor and I glanced over at him frequently, not wanting to say something awkward.
"Do you wanna hear why I moved?" He asked. His voice was quiet, low. I started to suspect I had brought up bad memories by relaying the story to him. I bit my lip and looked at him.
"If you want to tell.." I said softly.
"My dad doesn't like who I am. He wanted me to turn out different; to be honest he never wanted a child." Bill started. "He was getting...abusive. He got thrown in jail for it and I have to stay here with my mom now. She's not exactly happy with me either but she doesn't hate me so..."
I blinked and shook my head. I couldn't for the life of me see why his parents would be unhappy with him. "Why aren't your parents happy with you?" I asked reluctantly, somewhat fearful that I had struck a nerve.
Bill's gaze lifted from the floor and settled on me. He looked at me for what seemed like hours. I looked right back at him, studying his flushed face. "My father caught me with a boy," He whispered, still staring at me. Immediatly I knew what he meant. Bill was into guys, and for some reason, the thought made me happy. I pushed that aside for a moment and tried to focus on the suddenly sad boy sitting next to me.
I opened my mouth, thinking of what to say. "I... I'm so sorry, Bill, I really am. That's terrible. Your parents should accept you no matter what." I said, my voice cracking at first.
Bill hadn't stopped looking at me this whole time. "I know. But that's okay. I'm here now, new start, right?" He smiled in a suggestive way that made my cheeks heat up.
"Yeah. I mean, you're welcome to come here whenever, if you ever need to g-get away." I said, shaking my head slightly at my stutter.
"That sounds great actually. Thanks for listening, Pine Tree. And for the tour. Maybe I'll stop by again tomorrow." Bill chuckled as he stood up. "I've really gotta go. My mom's probably mad at me already."
I sighed and stood up as well. "That's okay. It's late anyway." I said, following him down the stairs and to the door. As he was stepping out, I called, "Bill?"
To witch he turned and looked at me, "yeah?"
"I erm, I had fun. Today. I'm glad you stopped." I blurted out.
"Me too." Bill said simply, then smiled at me the way he did. Then he turned and continued walking. I smiled and shut the door, feeling butterflies in my stomach. I began walking when I bumped forehead with Mabel.
"Who was that?" She asked, grabbing my shoulders.
I snorted and moved her hands. "New guy in town." I said.
"What was his name?" Mabel continued.
"Not your business." I said cooly, walking past her. I felt her grab my shoulders again and spin me around. She looked as if she were already in a bad mood, and I probably shouldn't have said that to her.
"Nothing's my business, is it?" She snapped. I blinked and tried to hold my tongue. "Why are you so secretive all the time? I just want to know his name and you won't even give it to me?"
"Because I know how you are Mabel! You'll be all over him and it'll scare him off!" I said, scrunching up my nose. I shouldn't have said it, because she looked about ready to explode. Then she growled, and threw herself on me, hands on my throat. I went down easily considering I hand't been expecting it, and I wasn't going to fight my sister. We landed on the coffee table, which broke due to the force, but Mable didn't care. She reached a hand back and landed a punch in the middle of my face. Then another. And another. I wondered why she was like this. She never had hit me before. Why was she so offended by what I had said?
I looked up wearily as Stan was pulling her off me. My face was wet and sore. I slowly sat up, watching Stan scold Mabel and finally help me up.
"Kid, you're bleeding all over my carpet. Clean up in the bathroom, then you need to go lie down." He said in a stoic voice. I blinked and nodded, stumbling off to the bathroom. I was so stunned. Why did Mabel do that? I grabbed a cloth and looked in the mirror. Blood was dripping from my nose, mouth, down my chin. My eye was swollen and bruised. I groaned and wiped the blood off my face, then simply pressed the fabric to my nose and walked back out. I collapsed on the couch and watched Mabel help Stan clean up the broken table. Then I was out like a light.
The next day, Stan let me hang around the living room. He said it would be bad for business if anyone saw me beat up. I knew he felt bad for me but the stubborn old man would never admit it. I sighed and flipped through the channels on the television. My head ached horribly. I thought about Bill saying he'd stop by; perhaps he'd ask for me? I frowned and closed my eyes, clinging to that thought. I was terribly lonely, which was unusual, I normally liked to hang around by myself, and Mabel wasn't going to keep me company.
A few hours later I glanced up at the door way as a tall figure filled it. "Pine Tree!"
The voice made me smile. "How'd you get back here?" I asked quietly.
Bill leaned against the door frame. "Well, when I walked in and didn't see you, I asked the brunette girl at the counter and she didn't seem to happy about it- Oh my god. What happened to your face?" He asked, just realizing my bruised and beaten up face. He moved over and stood in front of me, and I looked at him. He wore a polo and a bow tie, like yesterday. His eyes were fixed on me, and lord did he still look stunning.
"My sister tossed me around a little but it's fine." I smiled, but Bill frowned.
"You don't even have ice on your eye! It's never going to heal like that, stupid." Bill stated, then turned and walked down the hall. He must've found his way to the kitchen because he came back with an ice pack. He moved over to me and ordered me to lay back, so I did. He gingerly placed the pack over my bruised eye, then sat on the arm of the couch and folded his arms across his chest.
I simply blinked at him and muttered a "thank you." He sighed and looked at me, concern apparent in his expression.
"Does this happen a lot..?" He asked.
"No, this is the first time she hit me.."
"Ah...Over what, anyway?"
"Oh, she just got all defensive because she wanted to know your name and I didn't tell her.. b-but that's only because she swoons over every guy she sees and I know you're not into that so I figure I'd just..uh.." I trailed off as I looked at Bill. He was smiling at me.
"That's sweet." He commented simply, then turned his head to the side. "You didn't need to do that for me though."
I shuddered slightly at the compliment. "Yeah I did." I mumbled.
Bill chuckled and shook his head. "Mind scooting over a little? But keep holding that ice pack on your face." He said, and I nodded, then shifted over. The couch was more of a chair, there was little room, but Bill still sat down next to me. My cheeks lit up as he leaned back. Our sides were pressed together but to be honest he was thin and fit quite nicely, so it wasn't that tight of a fit, and we probably didn't need to be touching at all. But we were. He let out a long sigh and smiled. "That's better Pine Tree!"
I grinned and shook my head. "Whatever. Hope you like stupid scary movies." I said, nodding at the television, which was showing some movie about teenage werewolves or something like that.
The rest of the afternoon, Bill and I sat there, watching the marathon of movies and continually making fun of them. I was really enjoying this and Bill appeared to be into it as well. When it got late, he asked if it was alright for him to stay.
Oh yes.
I offered for him to go up to my room and sleep in the bed there, but he said he was 'very comfortable where he was.' I shrugged casually, but to be honest I was very giddy. Bill and I were going to stay like this.
All night.
And we did. Mabel walked by, stopping briefly in the hallway and looking at Bill and I. She looked disgusted at first, but then her lips stretched into a thin line and she marched up the stairs. I frowned, wondering why she looked at me like that. Then I realized I was practically holding onto Bill like a teddy bear. My arms were looped around his bicep and I was pressing my cheek against him as well. He didn't seem to mind anyway. How long had I been like that? I guess after a while neither of us cared anymore. I looked up at Bill.
"Erm, I'm not bothering you, am I?" I asked tiredly. It must've been midnight.
"No, not at all Pine Tree. You're hurt anyway, so as long as you're comfortable." Bill laughed quietly and reached over with his free hand, taking my hat off and setting it aside just to ruffle my hair. Those butterflies were flying around in my stomach again. Eventually I heard Bill snoring ever so softly, and decided it was alright for me to drift off now. I closed my eyes and nuzzled the boy's arm, drifting off. It was crazy, how much I liked this guy. I had only known him for two days and I trusted him so much. And then I knew why I didn't like girls, and how I was different. I was into guys.
I was into Bill Cipher.