Pine Tree wanted to talk. This could go so many ways, that when Bill took a minute to look through to the future, something he was trying to do less because as a humanoid it took extensive power, but he couldn't see any outcome, much less what Pine Tree wanted to talk about. Oh well.
"Sure, kid," he said anyway, because it would look bad if he didn't want to talk with Pine Tree, his supposed true love.
"So, um, let's sit down." They sat down. "I was wondering... how you think of us? Are we dating? Are we in love? Is that the same thing to you? What does love mean to a demon anyway? Because I need to know where you stand on these things if we are ever going to work out."
"HAHHAAHAAAHAHAHAHAAAHAHA!" Bill did the worst possible thing and laughed. He's a real wreck without future sight. "I think of us as a pair. Two things that should never be split. No clue what dating means, but I am in love with you, kid! You know that! Anyway, why should we talk about this sad stuff when there are so many other things to talk about. Like how pain is hilarious!" He pointedly did not answer Pine Tree's question about what love meant to demons. That is a whole separate conversation no one needed right now.
Pine Tree grimaced as Bill laughed, and through his whole speech. "Bill, you know that's not what I meant. I'm not talking to you about this because I want to. I need to. Also, let me talk to some other time about why you shouldn't hurt yourself."
Maybe Pine Tree was ready for the love question to be answered. "Love, to devils and demons, but not me, means a different thing, Mason. Love means power over the one being loved. Loved is also another way of saying manipulated. Love usually has what humans would call a malicious connotation. Bad stuff. To humans. To demons, not so much. I've adopted the human meaning when talking to you, though. Mason, when I say I love you, I mean I have this feeling in the place where my heart should have grown that feels like I'm getting one of your delicate human illnesses. I get a bad throat and my chest goes super fast and I barely feel right and I get dizzy, but at the same time, I feel wonderful, like something I could have never conceived before I met you. I, because of certain events, have forsaken being a typical demon. I love you, Mason."
"I... uh... thanks." He's so cute when he's flustered. "I have always thought I would never find anyone I could really fall in love with. I have walked through life with just friends and my parents. And Mabel. Mabel has always been there for me. But even though I'm only 13 and shouldn't worry about this yet, I never have had great luck with girls. But then you were there, for me. At least, this year. Last summer, you were trying to take over the world and kill me. But this year you have been there to talk to and laugh with. And it's nice."
Pine Tree didn't know that that story was all for show. But Bill still felt bad about it. How odd. After that, which took an hour or 2, they head back to the Mystery Shack and talked.
"Bill, can you not try to hurt yourself? I get tired of seeing you beat up. I'm sure whatever higher power is up there does, too. I mean, what if there are people up there that watch us and don't like it when we get hurt? What would you say to them?"
"That is the smartest thing I've ever heard you say."
"I know, right? But, really. I don't want to see you cut, scraped, or bruised anymore, okay? In this world, harming yourself is a way of saying I'm depressed, get me help."
"Okaaaaaay... I guess."
"Thanks."
By that time, they had arrived at the Mystery Shack. Little white flakes were falling from the sky. Would this physical world ever cease to amaze Bill? He felt awe at these tiny, soft things accumulating on the ground, and the exquisite grey clouds overhead.
"Mason, what's this?" He grabbed one of the flakes, but it seemed to melt, leaving water in it's place. Pine Tree laughed.
"You're cute. That's snow. Once it accumulates on the ground, we'll come out here and play in it. Snowballs and snow forts and fighting and sledding and ice skating, if the ice is thick enough. Personally, I hate snow, but it is fascinating to watch." Pine Tree was serious about the last part. He probably wanted to look for anomalies. They walked into the Shack, where Pacifica Northwest was just leaving. Pine Tree waved, but Pacifica turned away.
"What's up with her?" Pine Tree asked.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out," Shooting Star looking more worried than normal.
"Well, here's Bill. What are we going to do with him?" Pine Tree asked, probably refering to an earlier conversation.
"Did you ask him?" Of course, Shooting Star put him up to that heartfelt conversation! He put every lie he had on the line, and that was what he got? Just Shooting Star, trying to protect her stupid twin, Pine Tree. This whole family is just a bunch of... of... Bill couldn't find a suitable insult. That was annoying. Just like everything in this human world. He should just revert back to Mindscape form.
"Yeah. Mabel, he really does love me. It's what he said, and I believe him. He said that he had forsaken the ways of demons and devils to fall in love with me." Wait... Pine Tree defended him? He believed him? He truly believed that Bill loved him. It was the most comforting thing anyone had ever said, to his face or not, about him. It warmed the place where his heart should have been and filled him with joy that should not have been possible in the hollow spaces of a normal demons' mind. But Bill, he's no normal demon.
"Okay." She didn't sound convinced.
"What do you want to do today, Bill? We have the whole day to do anything!" Pine Tree sounded happy, for the first time since seeing Bill as a humanoid. Just then, the phone rang. Shooting Star walked over and picked it up.
"Hello, Mystery Shack, Mabel Pines speaking!" She said cheerfully. "Oh my God! MOM! It's wonderful to talk to you! Yeah, he's here! Stan? No, he's... working the Mystery Shack right now. Yeah, he can call you back, but he's pretty busy these days. Yes, I know family is important, mom, but does he? Hehe. That's true. School's great! Yes, I have friends. Candy, Grenda, Pacifica? Mom, I told you about them. They're from summer. Yes, I know. Okay." She handed the phone to Pine Tree.
"Hey, mom? I'm great. Yes, I'm doing much better. I'll send it to you during winter break, okay? What? Really? Yes, I'm sure we can! Well, Stan probably can't. You know how busy he is. Yeah, it's weird, but winter break is his best time. Maybe. I don't really know, mom. How are you? That's good! Yeah, I have a few friends... You want them to come to? Um... Okay. Yeah, I'll talk to him. His name is Bill. Yeah. Bye, love you! Mabel, say goodbye!"
"Bye mom, I love you!" Shooting Star said, and Pine Tree hung up.
"Was that your mother?" Bill asked, fearing the answer.
"Yeah. She... wants you to come to Piedmont and stay for winter break. Is that okay with you?" Pine Tree sounded nervous.
"I'd love too! But the town border?" Bill felt the anticipation in his... stomach? Is that what they called it?
"Oh... Yeah. I wish I had the Journals right now..." Pine Tree smiled. "I'll figure out some way to reverse it."
"I'm counting on you!" Bill smiled. "Come here." Pine Tree walked over to him, laughing. Bill hugged Pine Tree, feeling as full of love as he could. But Bill didn't see it as love. He saw it as pride for manipulating Pine Tree. But he was wrong. They hugged for a while, enjoying the feel of it all being real. Pine Tree pulled away.
"Can I tell my parents we're dating?" He asked, looking worried.
"Yeah, I don't see why not."
"Okay. Also, we need a backstory for you. They would not believe me if I said I was dating or even friends with a triangular dream demon who tried to kill me and Mabel last summer." Pine Tree looked like he was going into obsessive anxiety mode.
"Calm down. I am a demon, after all. Lying is my thing. We'll make a perfectly believable background for this Bill... who is not a dream demon, but a nice student with straight A's at a private middle school shortly outside of Gravity Falls. He likes to read and play the violin. He has been helping you study for big tests and finals." Bill hoped he could calmed Pine Tree down a bit.
"Okay... It's gonna be okay. Thanks," Pine Tree took several long, deep breaths and he seemed to settle down a bit.
"Now let's go have a fun, free day!" Bill was happy. He liked freedom.
"Where do you want to go?"
"I don't know. There are so many things I haven't done yet, so... anything!" Bill grinned. His kind of smile.
"Well, let's do human things, then I'll show you the forest in real life, and then maybe we can go eat at Greasy's?" Pine Tree looked happy.
"Sounds great, Mason!"
First they walked to Gravity Malls. They looked around a little bit, Pine Tree showing Bill how kiosks worked, and finally settled on going to Antique Emporium. They walked around there, hand in hand, Bill pointing out things he remembered from various time periods. Bill found this surprisingly fun, and after a few hours of this he could feel his meatbag body beginning to wear down. His feet felt like lead attachments to his legs, which felt as stiff as wood. He stumbled.
"Bill, are you okay? You look... tired."
"I'm fine," Bill answered as he almost fell, using Pine Tree to get back up. "But maybe we should sit down."
They sat at a nearby table, talking for about a hour. By now, it was around 3 pm, and Bill was beginning to realize he was enjoying himself. More than a demon should. A normal demon, anyway. But by this point Bill had also realized he was not exactly your run-of-the-mill demon.
"Let's go to the forest! I wanna seeeeeeeee it! With human eyes!" Bill shouted, disturbing some nearby shoppers.
"Okay, lets go!" Pine Tree said this with more enthusiasm than someone should when dating a demon.
Soon, they were off to Gravity Falls Forest. It was a pretty long walk, and yet again, they held hands the entire time. This was a rare period of silence for them, though, and Bill just thought. He thought about his Pine Tree mostly, but also some about how beautiful this dimension was once you were on it. He also thought about how he was so happy. He really shouldn't have been able to feel joy. He had no heart, even if there was a space for it in this form. He had no heart, so why did it feel like he could hear his heartbeat through his chest?
"Bill... do hear that sound?" Pine Tree asked, looking worried.
"What sound?" Bill jerked out of his thoughts.
"That thumping."
What Bill thought was his non-existent heart was really a giant's footsteps. And they were getting closer.
"It's a giant!" Pine Tree shouted as soon as he realized what was happening.
Bill said nothing, simply stuck out his hand and shot fire out at it, rendering it lifeless. He smiled. He had forgotten how fun killing stuff was! He had also forgotten how much he loved fire.
"HAAHHAAHAHAHAAHAHAAHAHAHAHAA! I love killing things! Isn't it great? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAAHAHHAA!" Bill could do this for hours. He got lost in the joy of killing, and did not even notice Pine Tree's smile fade or his hand drop from the other boy's.
"Bill?" Pine Tree's scared voice broke Bill's sadistic rage joy.
"Huh? Oh your God... Mason, I'm sorry," Bill could feel the fear radiating off Pine Tree. "I'm so, so sorry." It was not natural for a demon to apologize. "I'm sorry I still have a demon heart. Or, really, lack thereof," Bill really was sorry. He ruined his own plan.
"I- It's fine," Pine Tree stuttered, trying to put up a "I'm okay" smile. He failed. That almost made Bill feel bad for killing the giant, at least while Pine Tree was watching. Bill felt the place in his chest where his heart should have been grow a little bit. Pine Tree seemed to try so hard to overlook his demonish tendencies. It was probably out of love, knowing Pine Tree.
"No, I really am sorry. I shouldn't lose myself like that around you," Bill didn't know why he said that. He might just be going sane. That was a disturbing thought. Demons don't apologize. Bill was turning into a mockery of a demon, and somehow he didn't care, because he was happy for the first time in a long time. And this time he wasn't lying about it. After that brief, yet scarring, encounter they decided to walk home. Well, Bill walked Pine Tree to the Mystery Shack, then drove away in the golf cart to the Twin Bed Motel. He walked up to his room, number 618, and flopped down on the bed. What was happening to him? He didn't
want to make Pine Tree unhappy or scared or even just lie to him. It felt weird, but he was just so... happy here. He didn't want to ruin this beautiful thing. He also used beautiful for the first time in his life, unironically. He was still homesick, but it felt different. He could almost feel a heart growing in his chest. It was painful, but still pleasant. How odd. Before long, Bill fell into a deep, dreamless, but full, sleep. He woke up the next morning with a renewed resolve. He would carry out his plan! No matter what!
Bill drove back to the Mystery Shack quickly after a burning hot breakfast. Pain is hilarious! But not around his Pine Tree, he sternly reminded himself, not wanting to scar the brunette again. He almost felt bad about that. Almost.
"Hey, Bill!" Pine Tree ran up to him, looking so very happy. Pine Tree hugged him, and hugged him again.
"Hey, kid! What are you so excited about?" Bill was quite genuinely curious.
"I'm just glad to see you again!" Pine Tree grinned. "I've got to go to school today, though, so I won't be around."
"Okay. Is that that place you do the torturing with?" Bill saw Pine Tree's eyes fall at the mention of torture, but they quickly brightened again.
"Yeah," he said, laughing.
So Pine Tree was gone for about 8 hours. That was... miserable. It was dull. The sky seemed so very grey. Then the phone rang.
"Hello, Not So Mysterious Shack, how can I help you?" Bill answered the phone. "Oh, um... you're Mason's mother? yeah, he's not here right now. Sorry. I'm his friend Bill. Oh? Yeah, my private school has different hours. Yeah, I'll tell him to call you back. Stan's not here either, sorry. He's running errands. Okay. Goodbye!" Bill let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. Talking to your boyfriend's mother was surprisingly stressful. He wondered why. It's not like he was nervous to meet her or impre- Crap. He was nervous. That was so un-demonish, it almost scared him. Not to far from it. But demons didn't get scared. Not good ones, anyway. Just then, Pine Tree came through the door.
"Hey Bill! Miss me? Admit it, you missed me!" Pine Tree smiled, and Bill decided to laugh. He could remember saying that to Pine Tree on numerous occasions.
"Of course I missed you!" Bill ran up to Pine Tree and kissed him. "Also, your mother called. She wants you to call her back."
"Oh my God. You talked with my mom?!"
"Yes... I swear I didn't curse her."
"Did it go okay?"
"Yes, I told her I wasn't in school because my private school has later hours. It's fine."
"Okay," Pine Tree breathed in and out slowly for a minute. "Okay. We've only got this week to come up with a backstory for you, now that I think about it. We should do that tonight. I'll ask Mabel if you can stay over."
"Okay!"
Pine Tree went and asked Mabel, then he excitedly came back to the TV room.
"She says it's okay for one night!" He smiled.
"Great!"
So they stayed up the whole night, creating a backstory and persona, really a character, for Bill to play during his stay with the Pines' in Piedmont. William "Bill" Cryptos. A student at the private school right outside of Gravity Falls, and worker at Edgy On Purpose. He and Pine Tree met while Bill was on break one day. None of this would stand up to any closer inspection, but Piedmont was a far away place. After that they went sleep, intertwined in each other's arms in the chair. Bill was so exhausted. He felt his eyes close as Pine Tree's breathing became even, and right about the same time, they feel asleep. It was nice, having someone else there to guide you when you were drifting off. Bill woke up late the next morning, and Pine Tree was already gone. He was disappointed, because he had wanted to kiss Pine Tree again, before he left. But that would just have to wait for another day. Or a few hours. It didn't really matter to Bill. he just needed to see Pine Tree soon. For some reason, there was this hunger deep within him, this feeling. It felt like pure pain, but it was nothing Bill had ever felt before. It was also not very hilarious. It tore him up inside. So, he began to pack for Piedmont, remembering that Pine Tree said they only had this week to get ready. Bill was nervous. So very nervous. But he wanted to get out of this town. It was too close, but yet not quite close enough to his home. This town really just reminded him that he was never good enough to fit anywhere. He was the demon of weirdness, after all.
A/N: And there you have it, folks! It took me 3 days of nearly solid writing, but I got 3142 words, 376 sentences, 146 paragraphs, 12.6 pages, and 17215 characters! The longest chapter I have ever writen. I'm very proud of myself.
