A/N: Well, I suppose it's gonna be like that again. Only a few reviews? it's surprising to me, since it's summer vacation for me and should be the same for the majority of you. Oh, well, the show must go on! here's Chapter Forty-Six! woooo, another really long one, about twenty pages long in length. Just so you know, I couldn't split it anywhere, so here ya are. I hope you enjoy!
A Triangle in the Stars
Chapter Forty-Six: Building Up Trust
Connie was walking along, holding an umbrella. She trudged forward through the mud. She began to think this was a bad idea—the wind whipped against her aggressively, too aggressive to let her get very far very fast. And then a flash of light appeared in front of her, nearly blinding her. A voice echoed out, as Bill Cipher came into view, his hat a large and sturdy umbrella, "Need a hand, kid?"
She stared at him with disbelief. "I... you can do that?" she looked unsure, too.
He nodded, smirking slightly, "Of course I can! I'm here to help."
The wind was barely affecting him or his umbrella at all. Neither was the pounding rain. And he wasn't scared of the thunder anymore.
"O-okay... how can you help?" she was still cautious.
"I can either teleport you to the Beach House, or I can walk you there," he offered, holding a hand out. Though, with how Connie seemed so distrusting, she'd probably pick the non-magical route. Not that he blamed her. He'd be able to take her and drop her off anywhere else, especially dangerous areas, if he felt so inclined. But he didn't. So he wouldn't. But she wouldn't know.
She frowned. "Promise you won't trick me?" she asked, still trying to walk forward on her own. But she could barely get even inches farther.
"I promise," he said with no hesitation, observing her.
She watched him a little more carefully, and a few seconds passed before she sighed, "Alright. I'm trusting you to take me to the Temple."
She took his hand. He nodded, and then disappeared in a flash of light, whisking her off to the Beach House. She gasped, and was really shocked when she actually wound up there, taking it all in with wide eyes.
"Hey, Connie!" Steven waved to her, smiling. Bill smiled too, and made the umbrella disappear again. He snapped his fingers, and the mud on Connie's boots vanished. He then floated over to Steven's side. He honestly felt pretty good.
"Wow, Steven... you didn't tell me he had gotten that... strong," Connie was troubled by this, as she put away her own umbrella. She desperately wanted to call up Wendy to see what this meant; the boy's smile faded a little bit. The dream demon glanced at Steven before he looked at Connie again, brow furrowing. It was true. He was steadily getting his powers back. But he'd never use them for evil purposes again. How long it would take for the brunette to realize that, well, he didn't know. But he hoped it would be soon.
Steven also hoped she would soon, too. He frowned. "So, uh... maybe we should play a game, or something. Citchen Calamity, maybe?" he suggested.
"That sounds pretty good," Bill Cipher smiled a little, fingers poised to snap a board game or something into existence. Connie grew a little more afraid and unsure.
Steven, instead, told the triangle he had one and went to pull it out from a cupboard. He then walked back to the living room with it, "So... Connie... do you know how to play?"
"Sort of..." she shrugged, "but not really."
The triangle grinned. He was going to play fair here. With his powers, he'd always win. He spoke, "We're gonna have fun, kids!"
Steven smiled and then started explaining the rules. Connie was clearly uncomfortable, especially with Bill right there. Bill noticed the discomfort, and was thus somewhat tense and also fairly uncomfortable. He made sure to hide this though, sitting and waiting for Steven to finish. The boy set up the game, sitting as well, "Alright, I'll go first..."
Connie barely listened to what he said, also sitting. She was entirely focused on Bill. He glanced at her, frowning a little, before he paid attention to what Steven was doing. The boy put the dice in the dice-rolling blender and turned it on, before letting it go. The two dice rolled out, and he grinned, "Alright! I get a card!"
Bill grinned at this, and kept watching, waiting for his turn.
"You get an apron... move five spaces?! this is great!" Steven grinned and moved his little character five spaces. "Bill, it's your turn!"
"Hehe, okay!" he rubbed his hands together and placed the dice into the blender, blending them, and let it go. The two dice spilled out onto the board, and he chuckled again, "I get a card too! let's see!"
He reached for one, which caused Connie to shrink back a little bit. Bill didn't notice, thankfully, as he pulled out one.
"Hmm... what did you get?" Steven looked immensely interested, while it was still obvious Connie was not, for she was too focused on watching the demon's every move.
The triangle looked at the card, and smiled, "I got a fork! four spaces!"
And then, with magic, he moved his pawn four spaces. He looked over at Connie, and sing-songed, "Your turn, kid!"
The brunette snapped out of it, and nodded. She rolled the dice, drew a card, and found she lost a turn.
"Awww, well, maybe next time?" the demon comforted her awkwardly.
She shrugged, "Eh, maybe."
Steven found he was able to move six spaces, or give those spaces to his competitors, with his next card drawn.
"So I'll give five to Connie, and one to Bill!" he declared, smiling.
Bill chuckled, "Hehe, thanks, kid!"
The fact that he got fewer didn't bother him now. Besides, Steven and Connie were friends far longer than he was with Bill. He made a small note that he would've gotten angry pre-empathy time, and sighed inwardly. It almost didn't dawn on him that it was his turn until he snapped out of this, rolled the dice, and drew his next card. It was a spoon. He remarked, "Two spaces. Still cool!" and moved his chess piece two spaces.
Steven, remembering Connie lost a turn, went and got two spaces backwards, when he drew his card. Connie looked lost. Bill analyzed the battlefield. So far, he was actually winning, by two spaces. And it wasn't by magic either. He chuckled, and then repeated the ritual. A fork again. Moved four spaces. And then he looked at the brunette, entirely giddy. He seemed to be having way too much fun.
The boy was losing, actually. He drew another card, scanning it, "Hmm... interesting... I receive a recipe—if I get eggs, flour, and sugar, I can go ahead by ten spaces!" he grinned. "Alright!"
The demon laughed. He thought it was literal for a second. He soon realized they skipped over Connie, and frowned a bit, "Hey, Connie, you can take my turn, if you want!"
She raised her head, snapping out of it again. "No, no, thank you," she smiled a little. But she was good at doing that when she didn't actually feel happy. Steven frowned.
Bill's frown deepened, and he gestured to the board, "We're in this together, kid. Once ya start playing, you can't exactly stop until you finish the game."
He caught onto the fake smile. He was good at fake smiles himself. Being a master manipulator, one had to distinguish between real and fake smiles—one of the rules. And he sighed. He wondered if this was a waste of time.
"We could play something else..." Steven suggested, with a sympathetic smile.
"No, no, it's just me. Carry on without me, will you?" she still had that fake smile.
The demon sighed, brow furrowing sadly, "No. I..it's me, isn't it, kid? you're suspicious of me. That's why." He then slightly bowed, "...I get it."
She sighed, "It's just hard to believe you changed—after all that Wendy's told me."
He tensed a little, putting a hand on his bowtie, "So she told you..."
Words couldn't express how much he'd come to regret it. Only actions would. But only if people were willing to listen and see.
"Told what?" Steven asked, feeling left out.
Connie ignored him for various reasons. And there was silence around the board game, with the triangle sadly staring down at it.
"Bill, Connie, tell me what's going on!" Steven pleaded.
"Steven..." Connie began, in opposition.
"...Neither of you should know..." Bill got up and levitated up to the loft.
"Wait, what about the game?" Steven asked, before Connie got up too and went to sit in the kitchen.
"Sorry, kid," the dream demon sighed, settling into the bed. "Not exactly feeling it anymore..."
The storm still raged on outside, but it seemed to be slowing down. He hoped that was a fluke. He really did. Steven put up the game, sighing. He decided he would talk to Connie, walking over to her. She had to understand—things were different now. He began, "Hey, whatever Bill had done... it doesn't matter now. Things are different, and he's different, too... I don't know what he did, but—"
"That's right. You don't know," Connie shortly replied.
Bill listened in, curling up. If Connie told him... he couldn't imagine what that would do. Well, he could. And he didn't like any of the possibilities. At all.
"Then tell me!" he said, almost yelling. "I don't understand what's going on, and maybe I would if someone would just tell me!"
"Steven... I can't. You really don't wanna know," she lay her head back, sighing, looking at the ceiling now.
"That bad, huh?" he asked, waiting for her to say something. When she didn't, he went over to Bill, climbing the stairs.
The demon sniffled, and nodded, grabbing the sad bunny and hugging it, "Yes. It's bad, kid. Really, really bad. I'm not proud of it. Not anymore."
He didn't care that Connie could see. He really didn't. All he cared about was Steven's belief in him. Steven's friendship. He'd be damned if he lost them.
"Please tell me... I won't think any less of you. It's in the past, and it doesn't matter anymore. I know about your parents, and your brother. I can handle anything else..." Steven was about to cry. If he could understand, couldn't he help? why wouldn't anyone just tell him?
A dark look descended upon Bill's eye, but it was more of sadness than anything else. He took a deep breath, "Okay... remember what I told you not to ask about..?"
It was a roundabout way, but he'd get to it. He needed to psyche himself up.
"I know..." Steven replied, seeming to misunderstand. "But it's obvious it's dividing you and Connie and probably Wendy too. If I knew what it was... I could help. I could fix that!" he exclaimed.
"Yeah.. I don't think you can fix it this time... that event was god-awful.. and it is called.. Weirdmageddon," he uttered its name, and he could swear the air in the house went cold and dead.
"Weirdmageddon..." Steven repeated as he climbed up onto the bed, frowning. He remembered the word. "What happened in it?"
He shook a little, "Well, basically, it's the apocalypse with a main ingredient of weird, with one central purpose—to destroy every rule in existence. But I was limited to Gravity Falls. I had done and was willing to do some pretty nasty things in order to expand it and keep it going, and even beforehand to kick-start it. But, while I was there, well... I..." and he stopped right there, his mind going blank on him again. He squeezed the stuffed animal, tighter and tighter.
Steven let him take his time. He knew it had something to do with Gravity Falls already, based on what Wendy had said, but didn't know the extent of what it was. Bill sighed, and finally got his mind working again. He started listing off what he'd done, in no particular order, "I petrified almost all the townsfolk and had them placed into a throne of frozen human agony. I rearranged the orifices in Preston's face. I trapped Dipper's sister, Mabel, into a lotus eater prison. I burned the Journals and sicced Teeth and 8-Ball after Dipper. I, either privately or publicly, tortured. And then later I almost killed Dipper and Mabel in order to get one of the Grunkles—whom I turned into a backscratcher a little earlier—to let me into his mind, in effect giving up the equation to destroy the barrier around the town."
He felt that was enough, and tightened the hold on his stuffed animal. Ugh, he hated it all. And he hated how gleeful he was too.
Steven was really caught off guard, eyes wide, "Wow... I... I never realized it was that bad."
The triangle choked a little, on a sob, "I didn't want to tell you this because of that, kid... well, it used to be for another reason, but it changed. I.." he curled up, "I understand if you want to break up the friendship and hate me... or beat me up... or worse. It's what I deserve."
He glanced over at Connie, for a split second.
"No... Bill... this shows how far you've come. It just proves how awesome you are now, how you've improved," Steven smiled. "It's easier for me, because I've seen you change firsthand. I didn't realize the extent of it all... and that's why Connie can't. She hasn't seen what you're like now..." he began to think about how to show her that.
And the golden demon was once again surprised. But it was a happy surprise. He smiled, but it was a little sad, and loosened his hold on the sad bunny. Steven was right. He had changed. In an awesome way. He was awesome now. He chuckled, "Thanks, kid..."
He was also thinking. What could they do?
"No problem..." Steven was thinking about the whole Weirdmageddon business now, though. He was interested, curious. Wanted to know more, even.
Bill kept staring at the boy. He knew what this meant for the rule he imposed yesterday. It was effectively blown to bits. So now Steven could ask anything about Weirdmageddon too. He sighed. Thank God it didn't break him like he expected it would, though.
"There's still so much I don't know about you though..." Steven frowned.
Connie walked upstairs just then, searching in her bag. "This might help," she put down on the bed that book from earlier. The Tale of William Nolis—as she and Wendy had deemed it. She didn't even spare Bill a glance.
The demon trembled the moment he caught sight of it, and curled up even more. He whispered, "Uhh.. no... you.. that's.. not.." and groaned when he couldn't get it out. Tears threatened to appear in his eye, but he fought them.
Steven ignored her, for a moment, directing his attention to Bill still, eyes wide and frowning worriedly, "Bill, are you alright?" but he received little response. He then shot a look at the brunette, and took a deep breath before he stated, "I'm not going to read that, got it? if Bill wants to tell me something, he'll tell me. I'm not going to make him feel uncomfortable reading stuff about him that might not even be true!"
Connie was shocked. She stared at him, "Steven..."
The triangle demon smiled a little, still trembling, but he knew everything in this book was all true. He really appreciated how Steven was willing to respect his privacy and everything. He wiped at his eye, tightening his one-handed grasp on the sad bunny. He decided just to listen now.
"Connie, if you're going to treat Bill like he's not worth anything, or like he's a criminal, we can't be friends anymore. I don't want that and you don't want that so please just give him a chance!" he pleaded. Connie looked down, realizing Steven was right. She hadn't given him a chance. Bill kept listening, glancing at the book every now and then. He hoped this conversation would be the key to unlocking the floodgates. He really did. The storm outside was still going, but it seemed to be alternating between calm and tumultuous now.
She sighed, "Okay, Steven. I'll try... for you..."
"Alright," he smiled. "We should go play a game of Marco Polo!" and then thunder struck outside the house, reminding him of the raging storm. He shrank a little, slightly embarrassed, "Oh, right... forgot about that..."
Bill laughed, and then suggested, "Maybe an interior game of trust would be more appropriate?"
"Tag? hide and go seek?" Steven offered excitedly.
"Tag seems like a good one," the demon smirked. "I won't use my powers. It'd be pretty unfair if I did."
"Can't we all just talk?" Connie proposed.
"Or talking. Talking sounds good too," he pushed the book away. He wondered if they could do both at once.
The boy smiled. He was okay with this. Connie took the hint and put the book in her bag, and sat next to the two on the bed, "Alright... so..."
"So... who's gonna start, first of all? and with what?" Bill tilted himself, still holding the sad bunny singlehandedly. Steven shrugged, and Connie did too. The demon adjusted his bowtie, thinking, "Maybe.. something about... our likes, maybe? or would that be too simple?"
There were so many things to talk about, though. It might have been why he couldn't focus in on just one. Not like he used to. And he knew almost everything there was to know about these two anyway. But he wanted to start some kind of conversation. He really wanted to earn Connie's trust. The two kids shook their heads.
"Hmm... I like tennis. Have you ever played tennis?" she asked Bill, honestly trying.
Bill frowned a little, and shook himself, "No.. I actually haven't..."
He regretted that too. But it wasn't like he could. He wasn't a very competitive shape, and his home dimension's version of tennis was highly competitive, not focused on fun at all.
"Oh... well, what do you do for fun?" she asked, smiling.
"Well, I used to find screams and chaos fun..." his frown deepened, "but.." he looked at the sad bunny tucked in his arm still, too embarrassed to say this if the blush crossing his frame indicated anything. He hoped she figured it out. Heck, she already knew. She read the book on his childhood, after all.
"But what?" she asked, frowning. She didn't get it, much to his displeasure.
He sighed. "I... I used to play with stuffed animals," he mumbled, too low for them to hear.
Her frowned deepened, "What?"
Steven was just watching again.
"Stuffed animals, kid," he repeated, louder, the blush going brighter. "I played with them. There. I said it."
"What does that mean?" Steven blurted out, thinking he meant something different, and Connie didn't say anything.
"Like you, kid," he looked askance. "I know you play with them too. All innocent-like, and imaginative." His blush disappeared, and his frown deepened, "Those were the days..."
And even then they were bad.
Steven and Connie exchanged glances, sensing how uncomfortable Bill was becoming, so...
"Oh. Okay then..." the brunette looked away and scanned the room. Eventually, she found something intriguing. "So, uh, is that new?" she asked, pointing to the Rose Quartz portrait hanging above the door.
Bill looked over at it, grateful for the change in topic. He shook himself, "No. That's been there for quite a bit. Since this house was first built."
He stared at it. He wondered what she thought of him. She seemed pretty upset, especially after their actions kick-started a huge and vicious war. But, of course, he didn't care back then. But now. Well. He did. And he felt terrible, even though it eventually led to great things. The demon hid this feeling well from the kids though.
"Oh..." Steven muttered, looking at the portrait as well. "Yeah, that's been there."
He nodded, and went on to provide background information, "It was also painted by Vidalia. She had quite an interest in how Rose looked." He then smiled a little, "And it was for you, kid."
"Wow..." the boy smiled. He hadn't known that. Connie was a little impressed.
"Yeah, it's amazing. It's so you'd have what she looks like, and the sense of her always watching over you," that smile grew, despite how he felt. He wondered how different things would be if he hadn't gotten involved, if at all. He hummed a bit.
"How do you know all this?" Connie asked. Apparently she didn't know everything about Bill.
"Well, I simply observed everything via triangular peepholes," he chuckled somewhat hollowly. "It has its perks. And its downsides."
"Oh... wow... so what do you know about me?" Connie asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I know you're an excellent warrior," he answered, and his triangular frame displayed a hologram of her fighting, which changed as he said other things. "You absolutely love reading and your room is filled with books. You frequent the library a lot. And so on, but I won't reveal some of them because I know they're too personal."
"Hmm... do you know what the fusion between me and Steven is called?" she asked, smiling, intrigued.
He nodded, smiling a little, and the hologram formed the fusion, "Stevonnie."
The brunette looked impressed, "Hmm... how about..." she tried to think up something. Steven was reminded of the day he had questioned Bill about these types of things, but he kept quiet and listened.
The hologram disappeared, and Bill took a deep breath and released it into a neutral sigh, petting the sad bunny, as he waited. He was also reminded of what Steven was thinking about. And he also remembered the fact that he didn't feel like answering any questions Connie would have if he told her about him knowing lots of things. Granted, he was tired. Now he didn't mind at all. And he felt good. He could feel the girl was beginning to trust him. And it warmed whatever he had that represented a heart. The storm outside was still raging, but it was considerably less intense than earlier.
"So, you know all about Rose... what do you know about the other Gems?" she asked, smiling.
"Well," he chuckled, "Pearl was a renegade, a master warrior despite her status as a 'lowly Pearl'." This almost made him grimace, due to the similarity it had for him, but he continued, "She loves cooking, and does it well, but hates the process of eating and digestion. She also loves cleaning up. For Amethyst, she's.. uh, rather messy. She came from a Kindergarten here on Earth, but stayed in the ground for too long. Not that it changes anything about her strength. She's also pretty carefree and fun-loving. And then Garnet..." he paused here. This was also somewhat uncomfortable for him. He remembered Sapphire and all his dealings with her. He held back a shiver, and nonetheless pressed on, "Well, she's a fusion. Between Ruby and Sapphire. And she can't exactly see into the future like I can, but she can see many different possibilities and paths and decide which route is best for us all to take. She's also pretty cool. Calm and collected. And has the most faith and trust in everyone. Especially you," he spared the boy a glance, and he gained a smile, "kid."
Connie had diamond eyes. She grinned, "Wow... incredible!" she stared at him, completely amazed.
His smile grew, "Thanks!"
The brunette nodded.
"How much do you know, exactly?" Steven asked, staring at Bill with wide, starry eyes.
The demon explained, "I'm almost like a never-ending well of information of days past and days to come! as well as days present, but those are kinda less fun in my opinion."
The boy quirked an eyebrow, "What makes you say that?"
"Yeah..." Connie looked suspicious.
Both of the kids were dead cats.
"Well, kids, where's the fun in seeing things that are already happening, hm?" he looked at them both, smirking, "wouldn't it be funner if you could see what led up to that moment? wouldn't it be cooler if you could see what results from that moment? though I get what you're thinking—the present is just as important. Cause if we had no present, we'd have no past or future! it'd be like time went out to lunch." He chuckled then, ignoring the reminder that the first thing he did in Weirdmageddon was to force time to take a long break.
"True, true..." Steven smiled. Something dawned on the girl just then.
"Hold on, guys... I'll be right back in a second," Connie went downstairs, dialed a number and put the phone next to her face. "Hey, Wendy?"
Bill blinked, and his smile and good mood were lost as he stared down at her; the hold on the stuffed animal tightened too.
"Hey, dude," Wendy sighed a little. "Did Steven ever go to It's A Wash?"
"Uh, no. I'm at the Temple now with him and Bill and I think that... well, this Bill is nothing like the one you described."
Bill listened in once more, and he was once again surprised in a happy way, regaining that smile, but it was smaller than before. Wendy's eyes were wide, and she, rendered almost speechless, stammered, "R..really?"
Though her opinion of him had changed after reading that book, she still felt rather antsy about and a little suspicious of him. So this kinda clashed with her thoughts.
"I don't know what happened..." Connie rubbed at her chin, "but I think he's changed or he's a really good actor. And he seems a lot more powerful than when I first met him, so I think it's the former."
There was silence on the phone for a while, before there was a deep breath, and then a sigh. Of relief. The redhead spoke, but it was tinged with sadness, "More powerful and yet he's not attacking anyone? wow... I was unsure when Steven said he was changing too... it's good to have a second opinion that agrees."
She never thought in her life she'd ever say that. Ever. But there it was. And she really wanted to come over and see for herself. The demon was happily surprised once again, and that smile broadened.
"That's exactly what I first thought... I really think he's different now," she smiled and glanced up at him and Steven. "I don't know... Steven's got this way with people."
Steven smiled back, and Bill chuckled quietly, but it was out of warmth. Wendy smiled too, if the tone in her voice indicated anything, "Even with sociopaths... wow, man. That sure is something... he sure is something..."
She wanted to call up Stan and Ford now, tell them the issue's been resolved and they can go back to their business. But she was afraid it'd raise suspicion, and that Ford would say she and everyone else involved were being brainwashed. She sighed a little.
Connie nodded. "Yeah... he sure is..." she blushed.
Wendy chortled a little, nodding, "Yeah, man..." and then her smile faded into a frown, "should I come over too? I feel like seeing this for myself..."
She glanced out her window, seeing and hearing the rain pound against it.
"If you want to..." Connie frowned. "But could you talk to the twins and see if they can change their minds?"
Wendy nodded, and got up, putting on her coat and donning the hood. Luckily the rain and wind had calmed down enough to allow people to pass safely through it. But not yet for boats. She sighed, "I can try, dude... I don't think they'll get it, and, if they do... well, they probably won't change their minds. They'll think we've all been tricked."
Bill set down the sad bunny and got up, stretching. He was ready to bring Wendy here, if she wanted.
"Well, okay..." Connie sighed. "When they come, I'm not going to stay here..."
Wendy shrugged, "Your choice, dude..." and then she switched the application to her text app, and sent the twins a quick message about what was going on. But, as the little red triangle that popped up next to her message indicated, it didn't send. She frowned, tried again, and then headed out the door. It again didn't send. She sighed, Oh, well...
The demon decided to jump in, feeling a little antsy, "Hey, Connie, does she want me to go get her?"
She hummed and then asked, "Hey, Wend, do you want Bill to come get you?"
There was silence over the phone, but it was only for a few seconds, "Yeah. Sure. Whatever. I guess I'll see you there in a flash then."
Apparently she was still antsy about it all. Bill couldn't blame her. It would take more than a book and a second opinion to fully change a mindset that had been held for nearly a year. He floated down to the door, activating his umbrella hat, and got ready to teleport over there.
"See ya," she hung up, and looked over at Bill. "She said yes, she wants you to teleport to her."
"Got it. Be right back," and he vanished in a flash of light. Less than a minute later, he reappeared, with Wendy by his side. Her coat was wet and she was shivering slightly. She looked around to see if she had arrived at the Beach House, and she had. She saw Steven and Connie, and so she smiled, doffing her hood. The demon once again collapsed his umbrella, snapped his fingers to dry her off, and then floated back up to the loft.
Connie went back up as well, smiling. The redhead followed her. She felt something different about the triangle. And she liked the difference. It was more than a little subtle and faint, the warmth and humanity, but it was there, ready to bloom. She didn't think it was possible. She really didn't. Wendy cleared her throat once she reached the loft, "So.. sup?"
"I'm doing okay," the demon answered, hiding the anxiety, the stuffed animal beside him. He wasn't exactly that comfortable to hold it with Wendy around.
She nodded, "Good," and then looked at the other two.
Steven smiled, "So... it's cold and windy out there... I have an idea!" he ran downstairs, grabbed some packets of something, grabbed some marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers. He also got some metal rods. He went to the fireplace and started it up. "Come on, guys, let's have s'mores!" he grinned. That wasn't all he had planned...
Bill smiled, and floated downstairs to join him, "Hehe, I'd love some!"
Wendy nodded, "Been a long time since I had s'mores. I wonder if they're as good as my mom's were," and then she sighed, heading downstairs too. Bill glanced at her, frowning softly.
Connie ran down too. "Oh, boy!" she grinned.
Steven gave everyone a stick. He got out a kettle, and began preparing something in it, putting it on the stove. Wendy and Bill smiled as they grabbed a stick. She was thinking back to her mom and how the family would always on rainy days like this gather around the indoor campfire and mom would make these treats. And her smile grew sadder and sadder every second despite her wanting to keep the mood happy. The demon kept an eye on her. He knew all about her family and how her mom suffered an untimely demise. He hadn't cared before. But now he thought it was sad.
And there's the chapter! Steven knows now...
Ace had Steven and Connie, and I had Bill and Wendy. More parallels were drawn, secrets have been told, and Bill is starting to get out of the humble funk he's been in for the past ten or whatever chapters. XD
Oh, and wait... sniffs the air, can you smell that? I think we're around the bend now. Aren't we? XP so leave a review, and I'll have the next one up next week Thursday, or maybe Saturday. XP Decisions, decisions.