Thank you to the lovely Evil-Ekat, as always, for being my beta-reader, trust me without her this chapter wouldn't be nearly as awesome as it is now.

Thank you as well, StoicHyena, Evil-Ekat, Devin Trinidad, ZaneTheNinjaOfIce, Laney, Ivy, Watergoddesskasey, Aqua girl 007, Leska, and Skyfur02 for your reviews! Your motivation will always keep me going.

Chapter 10: A Ruined Evening

Bill didn't visit Mabel for a couple days, and she was both relieved and upset by this. Relieved, because she sleeps through the night, and didn't have to worry about walking on eggshells around the demon. Yet she was upset, because he just left. She wondered if she did something wrong. Her brother spent all his time at the Northwest Mansion, and Mabel was left to run the Mystery Shack with Stan, and finish her sweater for Bill.

It's a solid gold color, still a shade of yellow, but not as bright. She sewed bricks into it, and on the front there is an eye stitched into it. She placed it in her closet with the scarf she knitted him a while ago. Nervousness twisted in her stomach, making her to scared to fall asleep for a while, until she passed out on her bed.

She slept through the night. When Stan held the tour for a moment and asked her if she was okay, she told him that she was fine. Still though, there was a nagging feeling in her stomach. It took her the rest of the day to figure out what the feeling is. Disappointment had settled into her gut, leaving her with an icy chill.

When she got to her room that night, she pulled open the drawer to her night stand. Mabel took out Nick's number. She had barely spared a thought for the brown-eyed boy who danced with her, and she felt a little guilty for not calling him sooner. At least a call to tell him that she wasn't interested. Yet she stared at the faded pencil marks, and knew that she didn't want to call him to say she was not interested. She dialed the number.

The phone rang, once, twice, three times. She pulled the phone away from her ear, thumb hovering over the button to hang up, thinking to herself that this was a mistake, when a voice sounds through the other end.

"Hello?" Nick's voice sounds a little warped through the phone.

She pressed it back against her ear.

"Hello. Um, this is Mabel from-"

"The party! Hello girl of my dreams." He chuckled, and static crackled in her ears.

Mabel reminded herself to tell Stan they needed a new phone. She laughed as well, some of her worries easing as he spoke.

"Hi Nick. How have you been?"

She twirled the phone cord around her finger, watching it for a moment before unwinding it. She repeated the process.

"I'm good. Just been waiting for a certain girl to call. You might know her she's pretty amazing. And really pretty."

Mabel blushed, glad that he can't see her.

"Oh?" She tries to sound playful. "I think I might know her."

"That's awesome. I was planning on asking her out to dinner, what do you think she'll say?"

Mabel froze, remembering what she had called him for. For a moment, she hesitates.

"Mabel?" Nick calls out through the phone, and Mabel realizes that she has been silent for too long.

Yet Bill doesn't appear magically before her, and Mabel has been lonely without her brother.

"Sorry. I think she'd say yes."

Her heart is racing, and she expects Bill to come and rip the phone out of her grasp. Yet seconds pass and Nick is setting up a time and a place that she almost couldn't make out over the beating of her heart. They say their good byes minutes later.

Tomorrow, she had a date for tomorrow, with Nick. With the same guy who she was originally calling to tell she had no interest in. Mabel changed into her pajamas, wondering if Bill was going to appear to her tonight.

She slept through the night, and disappointment reigns through her. Five o'clock hits and she changed and got ready for her date. It's the first time she has ever been dreading a date with a cute boy.

Nick took her to Greasy's Diner for dinner, and though. Mabel thought it was a bit cheap she doesn't say anything, and orders the pancakes when Lazy Susan takes their orders. Still, they have some of the best pancakes she has ever had, and smiles when Nick took her advice and gets the same thing as her.

He was pleasant, she decided, as she munched on her pancakes. He talked about living in Wisconsin before moving to Gravity Falls, and how for fun he played football. She tuned him out after a while, because she didn't care for sports and what he's talking about. She stared out the window, wondering if there was a way she could get out of this before whatever Nick wanted to do next.

A flash of gold caught her eye, and she leaned towards the window, trying to see it again. But the street outside was dark, and there was nothing there. A single streetlight shone, before it flickered out of existence. Chills ran up her spine.

"Mabel, are you listening?" Nick brought her back to reality. She smiled sheepishly at him.

"Sorry…" She muttered, turning back to him.

Her heart was racing still, but she brushed it off. Nick laughed, going back to his story.

She refused to look at the window, knowing that he was out there, watching her on this date. She stared over Nick's shoulder, not paying attention to his words.

'Don't look out the window, don't look out the window, don't look...'

She glanced at the window, fingers gripping the table with white knuckles. She bit her lip at the scream about to burst out her lips at the bright yellow eye staring at her. Bill stared at her, a gleam in his eye as he looked between her and Nick. Mabel glanced at Nick, still biting her lip, praying that he wouldn't come in here.

'Please don't.' She almost screamed at him in her mind.

Nick was looking at her, asking what she was looking at. Mabel realized he couldn't see Bill.

Bill stared at her for a moment, before sending her a smile and disappearing into the shadows. Mabel let out the sigh of air, relaxing as she couldn't see Bill anymore. She turned to Nick.

"I thought I saw a wolf." She explained cheerfully. "Sometimes they come out of the forest."

It was easier to pretend her heart wasn't beating a mile a minute at the sight of Bill than lie to herself. The worst thing was that she knew that Bill was still out there, waiting for them to come out of the diner.

"Oh... They come out of the forest?" He asked.

"Not often! But a few times..."

"Ugh, I don't like them." He said with a frown. "Their howls are so creepy."

"What were you talking about?" She asked, hoping to distract him.

It worked. Nick started ranting about whatever he had been talking about. Mabel stared out the window again, looking for a glimpse of gold that would catch her eye. She only saw inky blackness staring back at her.

She didn't notice Nick grabbing her glass, slipping something inside it. Still staring out, she grabbed her glass a second later, taking a sip of it.

He walked her home, walking through the dark in the woods which offered no light. It was nice walking earlier with him, but now as she walked home with him, she jumped at every noise. She knew that Bill was probably following them. She kept glancing over her shoulder, looking for him.

Why were they walking through the woods again? She couldn't remember. She remembered seeing Bill outside the window, and Nick paying for the bill, and then it started to get fuzzy. Why was her head fuzzy? Why was she walking through the woods?

Mabel placed her hand on her head, her skin felt hot. Maybe she was getting sick. Nick suddenly had his arm around her waist, and was helping her stand, because her legs felt like jelly. Why had she agreed to go on a date with this guy? He looked so nice with his brown hair and eyes that shone. He danced with her at the party, she remembered that his hand on her waist and a gold eye.

She wished she was home with her brother. She wished that she was home, with her brother knitting. She wished Bill was here because he radiated warmth and felt so nice against her. They had stopped walking, and she looked up hazily at the sky, trying to see the moon. It wasn't there.

A dog, howled, and her head spun. Nick dropped her to the ground and Mabel laid there, groaning. She felt so hot, her head spun, and someone screamed. Was it her? No, it wasn't her. It sounded like Nick, and she found that she didn't care.

Suddenly, she was being carried by someone who radiated warmth. She held on for dear life, as the world titled around her. Gold filled her vision as she opened her eyes, and her hands fisted into a suit jacket.

"Bill?" She muttered, voice thick with tiredness. She could see the moon through the trees now, and it calmed her. She leaned into the warmth he offered.

"Go to sleep Star." His voice was harsh but she sensed it wasn't at her.

She leaned up, burying her face in his neck, taking comfort in his presence. Her head didn't hurt any more, but it still felt fuzzy.

"My head feels strange." She muttered, staring at his collar.

When did it get so white? Was it always like that?

"I know, Star. Go to sleep." He murmured, and for a second she was sure that she felt him brush his lips against her head, but she must have imagined it.

"Don't leave…" She was so tired, the words come out jumbled.

She could barely understand them. Bill hums, and she can feel the vibrations in his chest.

"I won't. Go to sleep."

Mabel felt herself falling to the rhythm of his shoes on the forest floor. She buried her head in his neck, and fell asleep in his arms.