Chapter 35: Yawn
When they got to the cars Bill hardly had enough energy to throw a bit of a fit over the ride to come: The key word there being hardly. He still managed to look well and thoroughly displeased and after a long night of constantly being high-strung over their precarious situation, his nerves were shocked all to hell.
"I'm almost tempted to walk."
"You'd pass out on the road from exhaustion and malnourishment," Ford pointed out.
"Then carry me." Ford laughed precisely because Bill didn't at all sound like he was kidding.
Mabel, instead of standing around waiting for Bill to get in, was placed in the back of Stan's car.
"Why don't Soos and Bill go in the truck and the rest of us go with Stan?" Dipper suggested.
"I've got to stay here at the lake and get our boat flipped back over; probably have to collect some things from the bottom of the lake, too. You guys go on ahead," Ford supplied as he headed off towards Tate McGucket's office to rent out another boat.
For those not versed in the science of righting capsized vessels, this is neither the time nor place to discuss the details of doing so, or the numerous available methods. However, one should know that, in order to right his ship, Ford needed only another boat of decent power, two ropes of durable strength, and a sturdy tree near the edge of the lake. Stan would be back at the lake to help his brother and drive him home after he dropped the kids off at the Mystery Shack.
Wendy shrugged and sat in the front passenger seat of the "Stanmobile," as the license plate dubbed it. Dipper hesitated to leave, glancing back at Bill before getting into his own seat, hoping that Soos wouldn't have too much trouble with the amaxophobic Cipher.
Once the others had driven off, Bill turned to the old beat up truck. Surprisingly, the prospect of getting into it wasn't so bad….
Soos opened the passenger door. "Take s'long as you need bro! I've got the time." Soos smiled at him and left the door open, walking around the truck and getting into the driver's seat.
'Soos has good manners,' Bill realized suddenly. Before he knew it, he was climbing into the passenger's seat of Soos' brown little Toyota* and closing the door behind him. Soos looked mildly impressed.
"Woah, cool! Not too scary, is it?" Bill was again surprised to hear Soos asking him not to mock or tease him, but to genuinely question whether or not Bill was doing alright.
Bill buckled himself in as Soos cranked the engine to life. Bill rolled down his window and Soos, noticing, rolled down his as well.
'Curious...' Bill thought, intrigued. He'd always known that Soos wasn't as dumb as he looked: The first time he met the man Bill had complimented his intelligence mostly to annoy Dipper, who had not only been the clearly smartest one in their group of three, but who had also wanted everyone to recognize as much. Still, Bill had meant it when he said that Soos wasn't as dumb as he often appeared to be. In retrospect, Bill shouldn't have been so surprised by Soos' kindness and common courtesy. He'd always been a generally good fellow.
"How you doin' bro?" Soos inquired, which drew Bill away from his train of thought. He hadn't even noticed when Soos pulled away from the lake and began the drive back to the Mystery Shack. Soos was going a decent forty miles an hour down the road already and Bill, all the way up to this point, had simply been staring in Soos' direction and blanking out, lost in thought.
"This isn't nearly so bad," Bill said, looking around. With the wide window behind him, windshield directly ahead, and open windows to the left and right, Bill could see out in every direction. "Stan's car felt like a metal death trap you can't see out of, so that you never know what's coming. The golf cart was a flimsy thing, and I could easily imagine it being flattened by any car. But this…. It feels safer."
Soos smiled broadly, keeping his eyes on the road. "Rad! I'm totes glad, little dude!"
Bill nodded. "I suppose that, statistically speaking, car crashes involving trucks are more often fatal, but almost never for the person in the truck. Of any vehicle, a truck is probably the safest." Stopping to contemplate, Bill added: "I guess I hadn't even thought about it, but that time we went to see the source of the falls, you drove us in your truck and I didn't have any problems with it."
"Oh man, that's right! Totally forgot about that!" Soos said. "Wish we'd figured it out sooner; could'a saved you from bein' so freaked out. Sorry dude."
This time, Bill actually laughed a little: A slightly bitter chuckle. "If Stanley was here he'd probably smack me on the head and complain about me not having figured it out sooner. He'd probably be mad about the time wasted yesterday morning trying to get me in the car, too."
"Nah, Stan's tight. He wouldn't slam you like that. Or at least, if he does, he'll be doing it to hide the fact that he's stoked you won't be scared anymore!" Soos said cheerily.
A bit more quietly Soos added: "And, under the circumstances, he wouldn't hit you. Not even lightly."
Bill eyed Soos. "You know about all that?"
Soos shook his head. "Nah, not all of it. Just an ounce. But I've known Mr. Pines almost my whole life dude, so I can see and understand how he treats you."
"How exactly is that?" Bill asked, confused. "Like he's scared of me?" Bill couldn't imagine any other explanation. Stanley surely didn't care about him that much, not enough to avoid any and all forms of roughhousing. Was Stan scared to touch him then? Scared that Bill would infect him with his evil or something equally as ridiculous?
"Nah, it's not like that," Soos refuted. "He treats you like you're fragile." That surprised Bill more than anything, more than finding out that trucks didn't make him freak out and that Soos was even smarter than Bill had thought. Bill's golden eyes were wide as saucers when he looked at Soos now, and Soos couldn't help but look away from the road for a moment to see the wide irises that shone so brightly that the inside of the truck cabin had a golden tint of light over it.
"Fragile?" Bill repeated. He'd never been called that: At least not for longer than he cared to remember back to. As far as he was concerned, he'd never been called that. No one had ever thought him weak. Had ever treated him as if he was fragile.
But he'd also never been so human. Of that he was certain beyond the need for memory.
Soos nodded. "Eh, I know, it's strange for sure. But isn't everything in this town? That's why it's so off the chain living here!" Soos laughed shortly. "Point is, even if you weren't fragile before, you probably are now. And I think maybe you haven't always been mentally strong either. Being insane is like mentally breaking, right? And you were really insane last year. Either way, Mr. Pines doesn't know what to do with fragile things, so he's bein' extra careful with you. He's not sure exactly how fragile you are or aren't. None of them are. They all kind of tread lightly around you, not just from fear. 'Cuz they don't want to hurt you anymore."
Bill shook his head to clear it of the numerous thoughts plaguing him. He smiled and laughed lightly, looking back out the window. "I was right, all that time ago. When I said you were the smart one. Quite the imagination, too." Soos only smiled, and they drove the rest of the way in a comfortable silence, Bill falling asleep in the passenger's seat.
….
Dipper and Mabel sat waiting on the front porch. When Soos' truck pulled into the Mystery Shack's parking lot only a few minutes behind their arrival, they were pleasantly surprised and greatly relieved. Dipper got up and approached the truck as Soos put it in park, Mabel hobbling behind after him on wooden crutches.
The crutches had been Stan's, but rather than buying Mabel new ones, the old cheapskate simply sawed off the bottoms of the old ones to make them short enough for her**. Mabel didn't seem to mind one bit, even though the handles were a tad too far from the top for her to reach them comfortably.
Soos got out of the truck and walked over to the passenger's side, opening the door carefully and quietly. Dipper and Mabel were completely stunned when they saw Bill laying down on the truck's bench seat, curled up on his side with his knees pulled up to his chest and his head resting in the center of the bench.
"He fell asleep?!" Mabel whispered, startled by the sight before her. "Was he really that tired after last night? Or did he pass out from malnourishment?!" She sounded clearly alarmed, her voice rising in volume slightly.
"No, but I could still certainly go for a proper meal," came Bill's voice from within the cab of the truck as he was awoken by Mabel's panic, stretching and yawning as he sat up. At Mabel's confused look he added: "Soos' truck really isn't so bad."
The quartet began their walk to the Mystery Shack, going slower for Mabel, who was still getting used to crutches, Soos explaining why Bill wasn't terrified in trucks along the way.
Once inside Bill headed immediately for the kitchen and, not wanting Mabel to try and hassle with the refrigerator door, pulled out the fourth of a cake that was left from a couple of nights prior.
He sat down at the kitchen table, eyes drooping, the only thing keeping him awake being the biting hunger. No one spoke as Bill ate, Dipper also grabbing a bowl of cereal for each himself, Soos, and Mabel. Bill was the one most effected by the skipping of meals, but it went without saying that the others were hungry as well.
When Bill had finished half of the quarter cake he finally slowed down enough to talk. He hadn't been exactly stuffing his face because, even starving, Bill Cipher kept his manners.
"So shopping," Bill began, looking at Mabel even as he took another bite of cake. "I assume that's for the cake and ice cream and maybe the decorations too. Probably not to buy a gift: Knowing you they were both hand made."
Mabel nodded enthusiastically. "Are…. Are you getting anything?" She wondered, somewhat doubting it.
Bill seemed to contemplate this. "I…. Really don't know. I guess I could. It wouldn't kill me I suppose, and I do sort of owe them…. Or at least I can get something for Stanley. I'm not so sure 'bout Ol' Sixer though."
Because anyone who truly knows Gravity Falls knows that, it then having been the fourteenth of June, tomorrow was Stanley and Stanford's shared birthday. On June 15th, 2014, they were turning sixty-four.
"You should definitely get something for both of them!" Mabel said enthusiastically.
Dipper shrugged. "I don't know Mabel. If I was Bill, I don't think I'd want to get Ford a birthday present either. Ford might not even like it if Bill got him a present."
Mabel looked down at her bowl of cereal sadly. "Yeah, I guess you're right Dippy. Sorry I asked Bill." Mabel began to poke at her cereal absentmindedly.
Bill nearly groaned. He knew that keeping Mabel as pleased with him as possible was imperative to living through this whole ordeal. A happy Mabel meant a protective one, too. And so, it was for self preservation alone and totally not because he cared about Mabel's feelings that Bill consented.
"Fine, I'll get them both presents. And I'll make sure Ford's is good enough that he can't possibly complain. What it is I'm going to get him, I have no idea. But I'm sure I'll think of something."
Mabel cheered up immediately, literally cheering before scarfing her cereal down and tossing her bowl into the sink with a clatter. "Soos is taking me into town, so Dipper and Wendy can watch you and help you with your presents!"
Bill nodded and forced himself to finish off the cake, now feeling reasonably stuffed. "I guess a nap can wait until later. I don't know how you maintain such high energy levels, Shooting Star."
"Lots of sugar!" Mabel responded easily, grabbing Soos by his left arm and dragging him out of the Shack, bowl of Lucky Charms still in his right hand as Mabel hobbled on her crutches with him in tow.
*Fun fact! I have a truck almost exactly like Soos'! It's a brown old Toyota pickup truck, one of the best and most reliable trucks you can get. Technically it belongs to a, we'll say friend of mine, but still, it's in my driveway! Well, I say "my" driveway…. But anyway, I'll put a picture up on DeviantArt for anyone who thinks I'm lying. XD
Also, I come from a family of mechanics. In case anyone was wondering. ^^
**My dad did this for me once: Cut the bottom off a pair of metal crutches. Looked like I was hopping around on elongated 'V's instead of the usual 'Y's. Lol.