Mia was frozen stiff. How could this be happening? Of all the things, why did it have to be him? She took in a sharp breath as she was tripped backwards, falling into a chair. "I'm sure you have plenty of questions, Mia. Why I'm here, why me, why you." Bill took a pause to grin at her. "Well, I'm going to answer those for you so you don't have to ask. I'm here because I want to make things right and I would like you to help me since you're close to the Pines."
Hearing these words mixed in his egotistical attitude made her furious. However, she held her tongue from shouting. "The least you could do is show some sincerity. You know, show that you actually feel bad. I'm not convinced and nothing you say can convince me." Her words spat venom, but the demon seemed unphased.
"Actually, I am quite sincere. Just because I don't say it how you would doesn't mean I'm not." He leaned forward, his voice becoming more serious. "I've had a lot of time to think on my actions. Failure does things to you. It makes you think, and all I've had is time." He took a pause for the girl to say anything. She only stared at him so he continued, "I'm well aware that you don't believe me. I didn't expect you to. I know what I did is unforgivable. The least I can do is make it right in some way, and I'm willing to do anything to prove myself."
The words meddled in her brain, but one stood out in particular. Time to think. Was six years even enough time for someone like him to think and come around? No harm in asking. "I wouldn't have figured six years is enough for you to turn around."
"Maybe it's been six years for you. It's been much, much longer for me. Time works different in many worlds. Some faster, some slower. That entire song and dance. Six years for you was hundreds for me. As I said, I had plenty of time."
She still refused to believe him. Ford was stuck in the multiverse for 30 years. Then again, it was directly connected to their world. They dabbled in the probability of other dimensions and alternate realities other than their own having different spans of time. Never had they put into practice to test this theory. It was too risky and unsafe, especially with no way of seeing what's beyond the portal prior to traversing the gate.
"It's fun seeing the gears in your head turn. So much going on."
Was he teasing her or just filling the silence? She choose to ignore his comment. "Ok,big question. Why do you look like a human?"
She could tell the question surprised and amused him. "Isn't that what you kids are into these days? Giving things a human-like appearance?"
"For a number of reasons, yes. Though it isn't exactly my cup of tea."
"It's also easier to relate to, and I can express emotions better than a faceless triangle."
"Human or not, you aren't going to make me more comfortable with you."
"Then I'll just have to do my best to earn your trust. That I've turned benevolent and mean no ill intent."
He sounded like he was trying too hard. However, who knows how much social interaction he actually has. Bill may only know how to manipulate and doesn't have any knowledge on how to act like a normal person. "What was the thing that prompted you to want to change?"
His expression changed to a more somber one. "I looked into your head and went over all the years you had been friends with Pinetree and-"
"Dipper and Mabel," she snapped to correct him.
"Right. Seeing what I had caused them, what they are now going through. I didn't know my actions would cause so many problems for the kids. I want to make it up to them. Is that so wrong?"
"If you're being sincere, no."
"Give me some time, Mia. I'll prove it. I won't make any deals with you. I do want your help, but I won't force it or even bother you about it. No tricks." A few moments of silence passed. He had hoped she would say something, but she just sat there. Her glare unwavering and unconvinced. He continued, "I'll give you time to think on it. Have a good day at school, Mia."
The alarm woke her up from their conversation. She swiped it off and sat up, taking in all that had just occurred. Dipper's words played in her head, the promise she had made with him. School was only in a few hours. She couldn't plague his entire day with worry. Mia opted to tell him afterwards. Although, there was one person that needed to know right away. She just hoped he was back on the grid to call.
Her face lit up in the dark room as the screen flicked to life. No new messages were there to greet her, not giving her much hope. She brought up the contact and called. The dial tone sounded in her ears. The longer it lasted, the more her heart pounded.
"Hello! You've reached-" Crap. she hung up and leaned her head against the backboard. The fogginess of the morning weariness still clung in her mind and eyes. The next contact she chose was the main line, knowing the other turned his phone off at night, much to her annoyance.
The tone came through once more. As it rung, she wondered if he was even going to bother picking up. Finally, the tone was replaced with a voice, "What do you want? We're closed!"
The gruff voice on the other line was annoyed as to be expected. Mia knew she dragged him out of bed.
She simply answered, "Hey, Stan. It's Mia."
"Mia? It's 5 in the morning! What are you doing calling this early?"
"It's important. Is Ford still on his trip?"
"Yes. Now what's so damn important that you need to disturb my sleep?"
Mia took a pause. The set of words that she needed to spit out should be so easy, but they caught in her throat. The tension and worry it would cause all of them weighed heavy in her mind. This wasn't something she could just keep a secret. Mia swallowed her fear. "It's about Bill. He's visited me in my dreams."
Mia flinched and pulled the phone away from her ear as Stan's voice changed to a sudden yell, "What?! Are you sure?"
She moved the phone to her other ear. "Positive."
Stan's end went ominously quiet. Mia assumed he was trying to process the information, repressing the fear and memories that his name suddenly brought out. "I'll contact Ford," He finally spoke, the irritation in his voice replaced with seriousness and, Mia noticed, a hint of fear. "Stay safe, and don't do anything stupid or make any deals, got it?"
"I don't plan on it." Stan hung up, putting Mia in silence once more. She sat there wondering what would happen next. All she could really do was wait until she heard from Ford. Could be a few days to a week depending on where he was.
Mia threw the blankets off and swung her legs over the side of the bed. The clothes were an easy pick. A simple pair of jeans with a tank top, maybe a small jacket over it if she felt like it. Today was not one of those days. She stepped out of her room and shut the bathroom door behind her.
The routine consisted of normal activities: brushing hair, brushing teeth, eyes. Eyes. She stared down at the little container on the counter. Grabbing it, she popped the lid open. Mia knew she had to wear them. It was for her own good. The attention and pressures that came with choosing not to wear them. They plagued her then, she didn't feel like putting up with that again.
Jack sat at the table when Mia turned into the kitchen. "Good morning," he said nonchalantly.
"Morning," she managed to mutter a response. The tone of voice was not what Mia hoping to come from her throat.
He looked up from his phone to her while she made herself a bowl of cereal. "Why the tone?"
"Couldn't sleep. Restless dreams." She took her bowl and sat across from him. The usual peppy morning person was suddenly not.
Jack looked to her and put his phone to the side. "What about?" He picked up his mug and sipped on the coffee inside it.
Mia, in her numb state, returned a hollow reply, "Nothing you should worry about. It's not like you'd care anyway."
Jack stopped mid-sip. His harsh gaze landed on Mia. He opened his mouth to say something. He stopped. Mia stared down into her bowl of cereal. She hadn't touched it or even looked up. The silver spoon slowly stirred itself around the flakes. He observed the expression on her face. There was no anger. No sign that she was trying to act out. She was clearly upset and worried about something. His brow furrowed, getting defensive. "Then don't be late for school," he nearly spat. Jack took his coffee and phone, getting up and heading to his office.
Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to say that to him, but Mia didn't feel like coming up with some excuse. She pushed the bowl away and set her head in her hands. Maybe she'd just grab a snack
She slung her backpack over her shoulder and headed out to her meetup point. Seeing the twins already waiting for her got her heart pounding. Doing her best to push the emotions into the back of her mind, she greeted them, "Morning, guys."
Mabel gave her friend a suspicious yet concerned look. "What's wrong, Mia?" Sometimes Mia wondered if the girl had some sort of sixth sense, it was hard for anything to get past her.
Dipper's expression turned to worry. "Is it about the dreams?"
"It is, but I want to take the day to kinda piece it together. We don't have that much time during school to really talk about it." Her words weren't a complete lie. It seemed to satisfy the two for now, which she was grateful for.
The whole day seemed to pass by slower than usual. No matter how hard she tried, her concentration was broken many times over to where she stopped trying by third period. Time seemed like torture to her. So much so, that she felt it was a miracle that she even got through the day.
Mia was not ready for this. She had Mabel with as a classmate in the last class of the day. It was going to be very difficult, but at least the teacher was doing a lot of talking so she didn't have to face the girl behind her. Her fidgeting increased with time and the poor pencil in her mouth didn't deserve such torture. It was probably a good thing she only used mechanical pencils to write.
His laugh, she could still hear it vibrating in the back of her mind. It taunted her, intimidated her. Was it him active in her mind or just the memory?
The shrill chime of the bell gave her a start, jumping in her seat. Her hands shook, her breath and heart raced. The hands on her shoulder comforted her but also made her panic more.
"Mia, you've really been worrying me all class. You have to tell us what's wrong."
Mia swallowed hard. "I will. I just… Not here." From the look Mabel gave her told that she had a sneaking suspicion. She could just make out the fear behind her worry.
The walk to the twins' house was stressful. The unease stalked with them the whole way. Mia was the first to step in, slinging her bag against the wall and sitting down in the first seat she could find.
"Ok, Mia, you have to tell us," Dipper demanded. "What's got you so spooked?"
Mia's breath shook as she spoke, "I… I don't even know where to begin. Much - much less say what happened."
"You're going to have to tell us one way or the other," Mabel said. "Just take a deep breath and tell us."
Mia did just that. A couple actually. She couldn't keep holding this off, but the worries were rooted deep by now. Mia's breath hitched when warm hands grabbed hers, bringing them from her head to settle on the table. Her eyes followed the arms up to meet Mabel's eyes.
She spoke once more, "We're here for you, Mia. We're in this together."
Mabel may as well be a saint. Her gentle words silenced the beast of worry and fear inside of her. This made it easier for her to speak. "I already contacted Stan early this morning. He's going to get a hold of Ford." She judged their reactions, and by that, she already knew they understood. "It's Bill… He's the one that's been in my dreams. He showed himself to me."
Silence.
And fear.
That's all that was observed around them. That, and his muffled cackle in the back of their minds.
Dipper held his face in his palms, having to gain his composure in the moment. Mabel's hands squeezed tighter. "What do we do?" Mia asked. They couldn't sit in the silence, letting their minds wander.
"We beat him before," Dipper stated. Even though this statement was meant to be hopeful, he felt defeated, drained from years before.
Mabel finished his statement, "And we can do it again." The determination in her voice sounded genuine, fueling what little they had in them.
"What did he say to you, Mia?"
"That he wants to teach me and just like he did with Ford, but I think mostly just to keep me occupied. Then he said he wanted to make up for all the years of torment he had caused."
Dipper slammed his fists into the table. "That's a load of crap! Why would someone like him care?"
"I don't think he does. He also said something that struck me as odd. Wherever he was stuck, was hundreds of years while we only had six. It's not impossible when you think about possibilities, but who's to say he's sincere."
Mabel rested a hand on one of Dipper's. "Didn't you guys talk about that kind of thing?"
"Only in theory," Mia answered.
Dipper rubbed his face with his free hand. He appeared to still be piecing all of this together in his mind. "The process was something we didn't have a lot of resources to test. If we made something and lost it through another dimension, that would be all that lost that we wouldn't be able to retrieve. Knowing where it went and what time would be near impossible to figure out, especially if time was faster somewhere else than here."
"That still leaves the question, what do I do? If I don't make any deals, he can't really do anything. I'm not going to be giving out any information about us and our lives, though he probably already knows a lot if he's been watching us and knows about what happened."
"Or he's been watching through your eyes," Mabel offered.
"I don't think there'd be much of a difference."
"For now," Dipper offered, "Let's wait until Grunkle Ford returns from his investigation. He can give us more advice and maybe something to help us. In the meantime, the three of us need to be careful."
"I'll let Mark know, too. If something happens, he'd be the closest person I could get to."
"Good idea."
Mabel took a glance to the clock in the kitchen. "We should get something to eat and try to take our minds off it."
Dipper nodded his head in agreement. "That sounds like a really good idea. We have some time and there's no need for us to panic. That'll only make this situation worse. We'll wait for Grunkle Ford to get back and see what he says."
The three of them cooked something while chatting about anything else, mostly school. Mia looked back through the years at the problems the twins had because of the demon. Watching them manage this in the moment, she had to admit, she was proud of them.
