Heyo! Sorry I haven't posted, I've been at band camp all week! (not overnight cause of 'rona, but I'm still SUPER tired lol). Anywho, here's the chapter! I love reading all y'alls comments! 3

Steven

After the shop closes up I excuse myself to the breakroom (my room?) to call Connie. I jump onto the futon and my canine teeth poke into my lower lip. My phone starts ringing before I even start dialing and my heart leaps out of my chest. I feel my face turn pink (not glowing pink. A human pink).

"Connie!" I smile when I answer.

"Hey, Steven!" she laughs and my soul feels lighter. I love Connie's laugh.

"Check this out." I bare my teeth and press my tongue against the back of my teeth, "Hot right?" I narrow my eyes and wink sarcastically.

"Pfft." She laughs again, "Very." The corners of Connie's mouth lift into a smile. My face feels hot and I snicker.

"Are those your real teeth?" Her face cheeks were pink too,

"Yeah! I noticed it earlier today after our monster hunting boat trip!" I have a lot to explain to Connie. Maybe I shouldn't tell her about how I almost died, but she would want me to tell her, and I want to tell her.

"How did that happen?" Her chin is resting on her palm, she looks so relaxed.

"Promise you won't freak out?" I prop my phone up against one of the couch arms and lay down on my stomach.

"Promise."

"Well, we were looking for the lake monster, and we found it."
"That's cool! Do you think it's a corrupted gem?" Her eyes shine like stars.

"No, because it bled."

"Did it attack you?" Her arm stiffens slightly.

"Yeah, but I'm fine now. See?"

"Now? Were you not fine?" I notice her eyes widen and her shoulders tense.

"You promised you wouldn't freak out." I narrow my eyes and scrunch my mouth into a pout.

"I'm not freaking out!" Connie turns her head away and closes her eyes. She's trying not to smile and she opens an eye to peek at the screen. "Please continue." Her voice is a soft whisper.

"Well, the monster attacked me and tried to drown me and he bit my arm!"

"Did you die?" She gasps. I know what she's quoting and smile.

"Sadly yes…" I bow my head, "But I lived!" We both start laughing. There's a knock on the door (my door?) and I grab my phone and sit up.

"Come in!" I smile as Mabel walks through the door.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Ford's attempting to make burgers. Want one?" She grins brightly.

"I'll pass." I really don't want to hurt her feelings, "I'm a vegetarian." Mabel glances at the phone in my hand.

"Ok, well you can find something else in the kitchen later." Mabel shrugs and turns away.

"Mabel, wait. Are there any restaurants around here?" Gravity Falls has to have something. Right?

"Yeah! Lazy Suzan owns a diner! We can show you tomorrow." Mabel smiles again and runs down the hall.

After talking to Connie and meeting with my therapist I was really tired and hungry. I walk towards the kitchen and can hear voices talking. They were deep though, so I figure it's Stan and Ford. I don't hear Dipper or Mabel's voice. They must be upstairs already. I pause in the hall. I really shouldn't be eavesdropping, but I think they mentioned my name.

"What Bill poisons his mind?"

"That's not how it works."

"Ok, but he could lie." I can't tell who is saying what, but I don't want to interrupt so I spin on my heels and tiptoe back down the hall. I close the door behind me very slowly, so that it doesn't make a sound. As soon as the lock quietly clicks into place I let out my breath. I didn't even know I was holding it.

I change into my pajamas and flop down onto the futon. It's bumpy and not really comfy, but I like it. I feel safe in this little room. It smells like dust, firewood, and lilacs.

It doesn't take long for me to drift into a sleep.

Stan

Ford decided to go to bed early, so now I get to stay up and watch whatever I want all by myself. There are a few good shows on, mostly reruns. I just started watching "Under the Knife" even though it's been over for a year or so. I like thinking of nothing when I watch tv. I know what's happening on screen, and I remember what happened, but I'm not really paying attention.

The tv screen fizzles into static and I groan. I stand up and hit the top of the tv.

"Work!" I huff and hit a final blow before sound starts coming through again. I sit back down in my chair and get comfy. It's not the same show though, it looks like one of those new super hero action movies. There's a muscular grey woman with rainbow hair standing over the camera.

Boring.

I try to change the channel to find the show I was watching, but nothing happens. I don't bother getting up again and just decide to watch what's in front of me. The grey woman smacks the camera (I think it's supposed to be in first person) by throwing a statue at it. The woman is standing on a small steaming island surrounded by lava in a cave looking thing.

The person behind the camera looks at their feet and is missing a sandal.

"Bismuth!" That voice sounds really familiar. Steven? He's an actor? I wonder if I could sell his autograph.

The screen gets blurry and wobbly and it makes me dizzy. But everything suddenly comes into focus and there's a sword driven into the woman's chest. Then I hear crying. I think. But it's not coming from the tv… I get up from my chair and follow the sound down the hall.

The sound is coming from the break room, so I open the door a hair. The room is filled with a bright pink light.

"Kid?" I take a cautious step into the room towards the futon. Steven is glowing bright pink. "What the-?" I reach over and gently shake him. His whole body is burning up, worse than a fever.

I leap back when Steven gasps awake and looks around, terrified. He looks so helpless.

"I'm sorry… Did I wake you up?" The glowy pinkness starts to fade away.

"Why are you apologizing?" I ask and Steven looks up, searching for an answer, "You didn't wake me up, I'm still awake." Steven sits up and rubs his eyes with his palms, "You didn't eat dinner did you?"

"No, I don't think so." He looks confused by the random question.

"I can't sleep well on an empty stomach either. Common." I leave the room and I figure he's following me. I walk past the tv that's now playing static and Steven pauses.

"Did I…" His face is pale and he looks scared. If I were to drop a pin I think he'd jump high enough to hit the ceiling. I keep walking to the kitchen and Steven sits down at the kitchen table as I open the fridge. "Are you vegan or vegetarian?"

"Vegetarian." I pull a carton of eggs out of the fridge and start heating up some butter on a frying pan. I make an egg in silence and when it's done I put it on a plate in front of the kid.

"So… Do you have nightmares a lot?" I ask and Steven swallows his food.

"Kinda… I just have a lot of bad memories." It takes me a moment to process.

"So what you were dreaming about was a memory?"

"Yeah." He's almost done with his eggs.

"Who was the lady in your dream?"

"Bismuth. When she first met me she thought I was my mom and tried to kill me…"

"So everything that was happening in your dream actually happened?"

"Yeah…" His face is twisted up in a pained expression, "But I didn't have a choice! I had to! I freed her later… She's ok now."

"Freed her?" This kid is speaking nonsense. What does he mean that "She thought he was his mom"?

"She's a gem."

"Like the kind I keep seeing on the news?"

"Yeah…" Then it hits me. That's where I recognize Steven from. That's why Bill said he was the savior of the Universe. He's that kid!

Choo choo hope ya liked this chapter! You're amazing and wonderful (not just because you read:)