A/N: I see that there are no new reviews. Oh, well. I thank those who favorited and followed the secret story and this. But, enough of my babble! say hello to Chapter Thirty-One! it starts off directly from the previous chapter. Like directly directly. So.. yeah! I hope you enjoy it!

A Triangle in the Stars
Chapter Thirty-One: The Book

The demon was fairly shocked, his eye wide. Thoughts rushed through his mind about that pink character. He didn't know what that was, but it was either one of two people he knew, or simply knew about. His adopted brother... or... her...

He didn't quite know what to think. He shook himself, trying to push that away for right now, and floated upwards and off the Warp Pad. The triangle looked around, taking in everything like he hadn't seen it for a long time. And it might as well have been, even if it was only for a few hours. It felt like it, after all. The sun was hanging a little lower than it would at noon, a clear sign it was the afternoon, but light was still pouring through the home.

Steven sighed. "Can you make something to eat? I'm starving..." he said sleepily, yawning. He didn't seem to have noticed the strange anomaly that had occurred in the Warp Tunnel.

The demon looked over at him, and nodded, still thinking about everything that happened today, that he told. He replied, snapping his fingers and making the cooking utensils appear once more, around him, and the abandoned breakfast plates on the bed disappear, "Sure thing, kid. What do you have in mind though?"

He shrugged, "Something simple and plain, maybe. That's all my stomach can probably handle."

"Got it," he thought of something. A simple chicken sandwich. He dispelled the cooking utensils and decided to test his magic out a little. Bill waved his hands, and a chicken sandwich appeared in Steven's hands. And one appeared in his too. He smiled a little, "There ya go. Simple and plain."

Steven ate it slowly, nodding with gratitude, and then went upstairs to watch TV. He turned it to Crying Breakfast Friends, feeling he needed to calm down after everything that happened. Bill ate slowly too. He hummed a little, following Steven and sitting beside him on the bed. Then again, it was probably also the traitor... he rubbed his "chin" with thought, eye slightly narrowed. Either way, he was grateful for this change of pace and thought. His parents had had enough thoughts dedicated to them. And even that was too much.

Steven finished up quickly, and soon fell asleep sitting there, never mind watching the TV. The dream demon only spared Steven a glance, and that was it. He wasn't going to infect the boy's dreams with nightmares. But he didn't really know exactly why. Not yet anyway. He kept an eye on the television, eating only on commercial breaks or when nothing was really happening. This was a downside to having your eye double as your mouth. He sighed. The boy eventually fell backwards, still fast asleep.

Bill continued to watch the show, laughing at nearly everything. He still found tears funny, he realized. He didn't quite know how to feel about that. Steven was silently asleep, sprawled out on the bed, still in his normal clothes.

The show soon wrapped up, and the demon glanced at Steven again, the laughter dying down. He finished off his chicken sandwich, and studied the boy once more. What made this kid tick? what couldn't he understand? this was troublesome, but not for the reasons he first had. Not anymore. Bill looked down at his hands. He was confused. What couldn't he get? why was this happening to him? he sighed a little, and then glanced up at and turned off the television with his magic.

Steven moved a little, wrapping the blankets around himself. The triangle watched this occur. Steven was the new show for right now. He wondered what he was dreaming. Probably Lapis. Or about the demon himself? this was a power he must have lost for a while, he surmised—that inferno attack and the fight with Gabriel must have had something to do with it. This wasn't good.

Bill soon shook himself, trying to get his mind off this, and then looked at one of the stuffed animals lined up across the edge of Steven's bed. It was the same one with which he had unknowingly cuddled earlier this morning.

The sad bunny.

He frowned softly, and gingerly grabbed its plushy paw. It reminded him a little of how he sometimes felt on the inside. Perhaps that was why he was so subconsciously drawn to it? and then he remembered something from his childhood. His expression grew a little sad, and perhaps also nostalgic, and he sighed.

And suddenly, Connie and Wendy arrived, the brunette almost bursting through the door. Connie looked around, and soon spotted Steven lying on his bed. She gasped, "Steven! we've been looking all over for..." but then she saw Bill. Her expression got hostile, "What are you doing here?"

Something snapped inside of Bill just then. It was minor, but he felt his subconscious shift a little into his old ways. He was grateful for this. Bill let go of the paw, and turned around, frowning at Connie and Wendy, before he then grinned at them, and dropped off this sarcastic remark, "Well, hello to you too, kid! and I don't know if you noticed, but I live here now!"

Wendy, however, wasn't so hostile at all. She stood by the door, leaning back against the frame, just staring at Bill with a strange expression. It seemed mixed with confused sorrow and pity, along with what seemed to be an apology. The triangle noticed, but didn't care at the moment.

"Well, where were you and Steven? we looked everywhere..." she glanced at Wendy, looking and feeling a little guilty. They hadn't even entered the school the second time around. All they had done was exit the school to his house, to the library via Lion's portal, and then to Fish Stew Pizza. Hardly looking at all for the duo.

The demon's grin turned into a frown just like that, as he caught onto the lie. He crossed his arms, "No. You haven't. And our whereabouts aren't any of your business..."

He didn't want to think about that anymore, or talk about it, especially not to Connie or Wendy. Wendy grimaced, but remained uncharacteristically silent, squeezing her arm a little bit.

"But you were at the school. We saw your video on Tubetube, and on Keep Beach City Weird!" Connie argued, pulling out her phone.

Bill's frown deepened, and he sighed, getting up and levitating off the bed and over to the young teenagers, "Yes, yes, I know. Been there, done that, thank you. Still none of your business."

The redhead took a deep breath, studying the demon a little more now that he was closer to them. Before she read that book, she felt fear and hostility whenever he was near. Now all she felt was a sort of understanding, albeit a little flimsy and confused. She furrowed her brow as she stared, and the demon briefly shot a glare at her, trying to get her to stop looking so hard at him.

It barely succeeded.

"We, uh... read your book," Connie soon decided to say, putting her phone away. The majority of the time between Steven getting possessed and Steven getting reformed was spent on mulling over the strange book at the restaurant.

And almost all the hostility suddenly left his widening eye just then. His eyebrow was raised, and he appeared confused, "M..my book? there's a book on me?"

Wendy nodded, still remaining silent. Said book was currently tucked in her jacket. He glanced at the jacket, and frowned. He had no idea who decided it would be a fantastic idea to turn his life into a book. But if he found them, he'd... he'd... agh, he couldn't even think up a threat.

Connie was silent now too, for once. Steven's eyes were wide open. He was awake and listening, and had been for a little bit, silently.

"Let me see it..." the demon began quietly, staring at Wendy with a hand outstretched. She straightened up just then, but didn't give him the book. He repeated it a little harshly, somewhat desperately. The redhead stiffened, and then pulled out and passed him the mahogany book. Bill took it and stared, perhaps even glared, at the cover for a long while, eye twitching every now and then. Wendy was honestly expecting him to burn the book.

Connie, however, didn't know what she was expecting, to be honest. The two of them went through the entire thing, annotating and putting sticky notes in it. He opened the book and flipped through it, not really registering any of the pages or Connie's and Wendy's notes. He knew his life after all. He, unfortunately, had the rotten luck to have lived it. Bill subtly choked on a sob, trying not to cry. Oh, he'd be damned if he broke down crying in front of these two kids, especially the redhead. Wendy kept studying him, for any reaction at all, but even she couldn't pick up on the demon's turmoil.

Connie bit her lip, wondering if he was cringing at her handwriting, which seemed unlikely but possible. And he obviously wasn't. He shut the book when he got to the end and practically shoved it back into Wendy's hands, trembling almost uncontrollably. He clenched his hands into fists, growling slightly. And he was once again thinking about his failure of a childhood. Today was just his lucky day, wasn't it? Bill floated away from them, crossing his arms and mumbling stuff. The redhead's eyes were wide now, as she hugged the book to her chest. This wasn't really what she was expecting.

"Bill... are you okay?" Steven had stood now, by the banister, and had been watching him leaf through. Connie was a little surprised by Steven's appearance as well as question.

The demon glanced up and over at him, and shook slightly. He regained his composure with a few breaths, and sighed, "Yeah... yeah... I'm fine.."

This time it was somewhat obvious it was a lie. Wendy knew it was time for her and Connie to take their leave,—heck, she almost swore "Get out" was among what Bill had muttered, and it was also written in his body language—and pulled open the door after putting away the book, wordlessly still. Connie soon decided to follow through with the hint, even though she would have liked to talk to Steven. She headed out the door, and Wendy trailed her, closing it soon afterwards.

The boy walked down the steps to Bill, gave him a small hug, and then returned upstairs. Bill sniffled, appreciating the hug once more but was even a little sad it didn't last this time, and followed the boy back upstairs.

A/N: And there it is! woop, there it is! Ace had Connie and Steven, she played them wonderfully. I had Bill and Wendy. I hope you enjoyed this. :3
I'll see you next Thursday, or this Saturday! oh, and, uh, heh, good luck with school! I hear some of you may have started this week. Even to those who hadn't yet, like me, I wish you good luck still!
So.. yeah! see ya!