I'm so happy you all liked the fluff of the previous chapter. Well, since I did a fluff chapter, now I've got to do a bit heavier one.
Thank you to Energy witch, Ella Le Hissy, Catwildes, I'mnotaguestanymore, Guest, Nom, Gu3t, DiamondLuna2, I Am SPOON, and TheEvil4ssHole for all your wonderful reviews.
I Am SPOON: Your comment made me laugh so hard.
Insert Name Here: I haven't yet decided if I'm going to have Ford find out about that little secret, at least not at this moment. If he does, I don't know if he could forgive deceit a fourth time.
This chapter is dedicated to all the reviewers who wanted a Bill and Wendy bonding chapter. There's a bit of BillFord, but mostly focuses on Bill and Wendy.
A little after one Bill scooted away from Ford's hold. He looked down at the sleeping man. Ford's steady breathing made him smile.
Bill leaned over and gently kissed Ford on his forehead. Ford's eyebrows knitted and he moaned then returned to his relaxed state.
As tempting as it was to sit there and watch the man sleep (as he had done plenty in the past), he had a mission that needed to be completed.
As quietly as he could, Bill stepped down off the bed and tiptoed to the exit. He cringed at the amount of noise the elevator made. Bill glanced over his shoulder to see Ford still fast asleep. He figured after three decades in the portal, he would be accustomed to waking at every suspicious noise.
Nonetheless Bill boarded the elevator and rode it to the top.
The light from the stairway illuminated the gift shop. Bill looked around then made his way to his room. A few minutes later he had everything he needed and snuck onto the porch.
He tapped his foot while shivering. His breath formed into fog and mocked his discomfort. He smiled as headlights announced the vehicle's approach. Bill took off down the steps and climbed into the opening van door.
Bill knocked snow from his hair as he greeted his friends.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Thompson asked from the front seat.
"Dude, don't be lame," Lee teased.
Nate punched Bill in the arm. "Cipherbomb here is gonna give it to the man."
"Cipherbomb?" Bill asked.
"Yeah, we came up with a cool nickname for you, man," Lee replied.
"Sounds like a cheap and gross drink," the person in the passenger seat commented.
Bill looked up and smiled at the dark-haired boy who refused to look at him. Despite Robbie's cold tone, it didn't hide the anxiety Bill felt radiating off of him.
Bill realized the quiet presence in the seat behind him. He glanced back to see Wendy sitting there with her arms crossed.
She noticed his stare and said, "Don't get yourself arrested."
Bill smiled then turned around in his seat.
A few minutes later the van came to a stop. Thompson parked a block away from where they would be doing their work. He shakily stepped out of the car, praying that they wouldn't get caught.
The group hurried down the sidewalk. At the very least they were thankful the city removed the snow from public pathway, otherwise their tracks would give them away.
Bill peered around the side of the building. The motel that had housed him for a week and a day sat in view. He seethed as he thought of the manager who refused him his money when he didn't even stay half the allotted time.
Bill nodded at the others. On his command they crept over to the motel property. It took little effort for them to scale the fence. Bill used his magic to lower himself over without having to climb. Robbie's breathing hitched, but he tried to play it cool. The rest of the group high fived and fist bumped him.
Robbie passed out the cans of black and red spray paint. Wendy came prepared with a few cans she stole from her dad's shed. Bill found a pink one that Mabel had left behind lost and forgotten under the chair in the living room earlier that day.
The group dispersed. Each of the windows on the first floor were entirely painted while the few occupants slept in bliss inside.
Bill approached the room that had housed him. The caution tape had been removed. He wondered if the manager went ahead and gave the room he was currently still paying for to a new tenant.
The blond shook the can. He sprayed neon pink all over the window. Sure it was less terrifying than the darker colors the rest of his team selected, but at the very least it would cause confusion and annoyance to the manager.
A smirk crept over Bill's face. He placed his gloved palms against the glass. He shut his eyes and muttered an incantation. He grinned as he imagined the horrors the current resident witnessed in his sleep.
Bill heard a shriek from the inside. He stepped back and his crimson irises returned to their gold hue. The small dream illusion was nowhere near as terrifying as it could be if he had even half his power. However, it was enough to serve his purpose.
Bill applied a second layer to cover up the prints left behind by his gloves. He made a mental note to throw them in the fire once they returned home.
The group met up close to the main office once the task was done. The empty cans were all deposited in Robbie's backpack. Thompson shuddered as he disposed of his, but not because of the cold.
Wendy pointed at the manager's car parked in front of the office. She nodded at Bill who smirked at her idea. The two held tight to their cans. Bill shook the paint as he laughed under his breath. Bill stepped in front of the windshield and Wendy took the back one. On the count of three they released the paint.
Bill laughed as the windshield was quickly covered by neon pink. Wendy snapped up and put her finger against her lips. Bill never heard or saw her warning. His maniacal laugh filled the air.
The rest of the teenagers came running to see what was so funny. Lee and Nate cheered as Bill defaced the manager's vehicle.
Through the light in the window, everyone except for Bill saw the manager approaching the door.
"Dude, let's go!" Wendy shouted and grabbed Bill's hand. He dropped the paint can by the car as he was dragged away from the motel.
In the distance they heard the angry shouts of the manager. Bill laughed as he imagined the balding man turning red and jumping about as he raged at the damage.
Quickly they piled into the van. Thompson didn't wait to make sure everyone was buckled up before he took off.
"Hey, don't drive like a loony!" cried Robbie. "It'll make us stand out."
"Just calm down!" Wendy exclaimed.
"That was intense," Lee laughed.
"All thanks to Cipherbomb," Nate cheered and clapped Bill on the back.
"Do we have all the evidence?" Robbie asked. He searched through his backpack and sighed in relief at seeing all his cans accounted for.
"My two are in there," Wendy said leaning over the seat.
"Eight total," Robbie announced.
"I dropped mine!" Bill shouted.
A choir of panic arose from those within the van.
"It's, it's okay," Wendy said. She pointed to Bill's hands. "You're wearing gloves. No finger prints."
"Mabel," Bill argued. "It's her can. Her prints are all over it."
"This was a bad idea," Thompson lamented.
"It's okay," Lee said trying to calm the group. "We're all underage. The worse we'll get is community service."
"I'm not doing community service," growled Robbie.
Thompson looked like he was about to cry.
Wendy leaned against the back of her seat. She would never get into college with a criminal record. She placed her hand against her head and mourned her chance of ever leaving the lumber town. Her father would definitely ship her off to the logging camp the upcoming summer, if not the next day.
"Stop the car, I'm going back," Bill ordered.
All eyes (save Thompson, who was driving) landed on Bill.
"Man, we can't let you," Nate argued.
"It was my idea and I dropped it," Bill reminded him. His grin widened. "I'll set things right."
The car halted at a stoplight. Bill opened the door and threw himself out. The others watched as he rolled in the snow, scrambled to his feet and started for the motel.
"Bill!" Wendy screamed from the rolled down window. "Are you nuts?"
"Of course I am!" was Bill's reply. We waved at them with a wide smile then continued on his way.
"Let him go," Robbie argued. He hoped Bill would arrive to see cops already on the scene. The thought of Bill being dragged to the police car in handcuffs comforted him.
The light changed to green. Thompson hesitated. Wendy used that time to jump the vehicle and hurry after Bill. The rest of the group were both in awe and terrified. She yelled for them to go on without her.
It didn't take long for Wendy to catch up to Bill. The two stopped just outside the motel room. The manager yelled at someone. The two closed in to see the angry man screaming into the telephone.
"What are you going to do?" Wendy asked in a whisper.
"Plan B," Bill said with a laugh.
Wendy grabbed Bill's arm as he went to confront the manager.
"Don't," she pleaded. She looked over at the raging man then back at the demon.
"It's what I wanted to do from the start," Bill said with glee dripping from his voice. He stared at his target. "But Fordsy wouldn't approve of it."
"But he'd approve of this?" Wendy whispered, motioning to the vandalism.
"Compared to what I'm about to do..." Bill began. His eyes flashed red and his fangs grew. "Oh yes."
Wendy released her hold on Bill. She watched with wide eyes and a gaping mouth as Bill neared the man they had just escaped.
He stepped into sight. The manager whipped around at the new presence. He gasped when he recognized the man standing halfway in the light.
"You," he hissed.
"Me," Bill said with a laugh. "Oh, yes, it's me."
He moved closer. The manager gripped a metal wrench he always kept on him for protection.
"Don't be ridiculous," Bill said and snatched the weapon from the shorter man. The wrench clanged as it smacked against the sidewalk.
Wendy trembled. She wished she had not let go of Bill. She hoped that the spell would take effect soon before Bill did something they'd all regret.
"Don't come closer!" the shorter man yelled. "The police-the police are on the way."
"All you had to do was refund my money," Bill continued. He ignored the rising pain in his stomach. "Even half of it." He turned his head to spit a bit of stringy vomit. He looked back up at the human. "Now all these repairs are going to cost way more than a measly hundred."
Wendy stood in the shadows with her eyes widened.
Bill's stomach lurched. He bent over and pretended to be laughing. He grabbed his knees and felt the bile forcing its way up his esophagus. Effort was put into hiding the blue glow on his left hand.
The manager was backed against the chain-length fence. He looked over in the direction of approaching sirens.
Bill used the distraction to rid his stomach of its contents. Tomato and beef soup tasted horrible coming back up. Bill ran the sleeve of his coat across his mouth.
His legs wobbled as he continued to walk. Despite the wave of dizziness, he continued on with a smile on his face.
"Of course now that I'm really pissed off," Bill said. His eyes switched to crimson.
The manager shrieked. He turned to run, but tripped over his own feet. He grabbed onto one of the holes on the fence and shakily pulled himself back up.
Bill smirked and snapped his fingers.
The entire motel burst into flames. The manager pushed his back against the fence and yelled in horror. The colored windows shattered as black smoke poured out. The flames danced all the way down the building.
His eyes landed on his precious office building. The structure crumbled around the leaping flames. His eyes watered. His money box was likely being ravaged by the fire. The business his father-in-law had left him in charge of smoldered.
Shakily he looked up at Bill and screamed at the red-eyed creature staring back at him. Bill laughed, displaying the fangs that glistened in the flame light.
The manager sunk to his knees. He grabbed onto what hair remained on the sides of his head and yanked. His face pressed against the tarmac of the parking lot. The sounds of the fire consuming his livelihood combined with Bill's laughter echoed behind the hands he pressed against his ears.
Bill slowly approached the weeping man. He leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Was it worth it?"
The man sobbed. Bill stepped back and chuckled. He made his way over to the vandalized car and snatched up the can of spray paint. He grinned at the redhead who stood with her mouth hanging open.
When Wendy could finally speak she asked, "What? What did you..."
Bill's grin increased. "Just a little illusion," he said with a wiggle of his fingers.
Wendy looked back at the broken man crying over a loss. She looked back at the motel. Other than a few major updates and paying to remove the paint from the windows, there wasn't much in terms of repairs.
The two walked away from the property and turned the corner just as the police showed up. Wendy felt a little bad for the man's state, but according to most people in the town, he was no good.
Bill fell to his knees. Wendy spun around to see Bill clutching her stomach with one hand and pressing against the sidewalk with the other.
"Dude, what's wrong?" Wendy asked.
Bill smiled despite his head spinning. "That one uses a lot of energy."
Wendy shook her head and called Thompson to come pick them up.
"You are worthless, man," Wendy commented when she hung up.
Bill laughed. He leaned against the side of the building until their ride arrived. Melting snow dripped about a foot away from him.
"But I suppose that was kind of cool," the teenager admitted.
Bill bowed his head. "I am, aren't I?" he said with a laugh.
Wendy smirked and kicked up a good hunk of snow into Bill's face. He jumped up and yelped at the sudden cold. Wendy didn't bother hiding her laughter.
"I'll get you back for this, Red, just you wait," Bill said pointing a finger at her.
Wendy lifted her eyebrows. "I'll be waiting."
It took little time for the van to arrive. Everyone was relieved to hear that there would be no charges against them. However, Bill never explained why.
"Way to go, Cipherbomb!" Lee cheered.
The two pounded fists.
Bill was dropped off at the Mystery Shack. He waved off his new set of friends.
As quietly as possible, Bill snuck into the shack. He tiptoed over to the vending machine.
Bill smiled as he approached the lab. The coat was shed and the soiled gloves tossed in the wastebasket. Bill made a quick trip to the bathroom then moved to the bed.
He pulled back the covers and snuggled up close to the warm body.
Without opening his eyes, Ford asked, "Where were you?"
Bill started. He smiled and draped his arm over Ford's chest.
"Bill," Ford pressed.
"Don't worry about it, Sixer," Bill said and kissed the other man on the cheek. "Just go back to sleep." He then kissed him on the lips.
Ford smiled. He pulled Bill in tight. The demon yelled in surprised, then grinned when he felt the warmth. He nuzzled his head under Ford's neck.
"You're not going anywhere else tonight," the gray-haired man spoke.
Bill looked up at the man staring down at him.
"I don't plan on it," Bill said with a laugh. He pecked Ford's lips with his own, then shut his eyes.
Ford sighed and tightened his hold on Bill. He wondered why he ever granted Bill permission to share his bed. Those soft curls tickled his chin. Perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing after all.
There's a little bit of fluff here.
The illusion Bill did here is the same type he used on Robbie back in the Haunted Shack chapter. He can't hurt anyone physically, but people outside the Pines family he can still perform illusions on. Bill only has a small fraction of his magic, which goes to show just how powerful he is. The moral of this chapter: Don't try to rip off Bill, it won't end well.
I might do a Christmas chapter next. Fluff and possibly some more drama.
