The Bijou Cinema was usually busy. Standing alone in the line, Carla McCorkle wished she had her friends there. For their company, but also for the safety they would provi—

"Give me that bag!" A man snarled. He had hooked his hands onto her purse, and her grip quickly started slipping.

"Help, my purse!" she squeaked. "Someone!" She felt the looks of everyone there, but none of them were making any move to help her. The thief gave her a grin and started pulling harder. Their attention was quickly drawn to a loud yell behind her however, and they stopped struggling.

"LEFT HOOK!" a boy shouted to the sky before swinging at the thug. It was a perfect hit, and the sound of crunching echoed through the street. The man was left sprawled on the ground, and the crowd around them started cheering. Whoever this unnamed saviour was, he was really strong. She stepped toward him, got on her toes, and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you mystery man," she said to him after the audience lost interest again. No one seemed to be doing anything about the attempted thief on the ground, despite his teeth being all over the road.

"It's nothing," the hero said. "Name's Stan, by the way." He seemed to be her age, and his rosy cheeks were adorable. She slipped her hand into his.

"Why don't we watcha movie together, Stan," she suggested as they headed to the front of the line. The ticket counter clerk had seen the altercation and ushered them in without paying.

"For such a good deed," was the guy's explanation. After the movie, she gave him her phone number. The next few years after that they were known everywhere as the Glass Shard couple.

Unfortunately, things change over time. Or, in this case, over a single day. Carla had been dating Stan for years, and she felt the relationship was losing some steam. No longer were they known as the Glass Shard Couple. After another somewhat tedious night on the town, Stan dropped her off at her house. She gave him a small smile and wave before closing her door. Sneaking past her parent's door, she changed into pajamas and shimmied into bed. She looked up at the ceiling. A few glow-in-the-dark trinkets hung there. They swayed slowly. Her eyes widened when the gentle motion started speeding up. Their glow continued getting brighter until she couldn't keep her eyes open. After a few seconds, she lowered her hands. The brilliant glowing had stopped, as had the colour. Getting out of bed, she realized everything was grey. Her sunshine yellow walls had been muted, as had her dark pink bean bag.

Her confused thoughts were redirected to a formation in the air. It was hanging in front of her, an outline of a triangle. In a blink it was filled in. A bowtie-wearing pyramid appeared in front of her.

"Hey there poodle girl!" he greeted. His voice seemed unnaturally obnoxious, and she couldn't help but flinch.

"Uh, hi," she greeted. She gave a shy wave, which was tracked very closely by the triangle's eye.

"You might not know it, but I'm the answer to all of your problems!" He did a twirl. Carla still had no idea what was going on, but elected to go with the flow.

"What problems?" she asked.

"Relationship problems of course!" His pupil turned into a heart for a moment, before returning to its original shape. "I've noticed things have been getting rough with good ol' Stan."

"Well, I guess, yeah. Are you some sorta love god or something?"

"You could say that. That doesn't really concern you, though. What does concern you is you're crumbling relationship." He gestured at her. "You deserve a better relationship and you know it!"

"Well, I would like to start over. He's a nice guy and all, but a little nudge wouldn't hurt."

"I'd be glad to give you a hand," he said as he stretched his out. "I'll promise you a great relationship, just shake my hand." Carla stared at it before tentatively reaching hers out. The spindly black arm of the triangle was surprisingly strong. As they shook, a soft blue flame sealed the contract.

"Uh, thanks…" she said, still unsure if any of this was real.

"No problem kid! In just a few hours you'll remember what real love feels like!" He started rising into the air. "I've gotta go, see ya never again!" In a flash of pale blue light he was gone. Carla sat there, giving her hand a look to see if it had gotten burnt. It hadn't.

"Hey, I've been noticing we've been a bit… uh… separated," Stan stuttered to Carla. She realized this was what the love god had done, and she smiled.

"Yeah, I've noticed too. Why don't we go dance at the Juke Joint and talk about it later." Stan hastily agreed, and they made the short walk over. Stan stuck a quarter in the jukebox, and it started playing from the Top 10 List. They grooved all over, laughing and having the best time they'd had for a while. All thoughts of the deal she'd made that night were forgotten. Their boogying led them to the restaurant stage. There she noticed a purple-clad musician. A sign set up beside him that read "Dimension Healing with Thistle Down".

Something about him struck her funny. Maybe it was the peaceful guitar strumming, or the well-groomed hair, or the gorgeous nose. Whatever it was, it was like a magnet. All feelings for Stan forgotten, she climbed up and joined him. She had just found her true love. And Stan had lost his.

AN

This chapter sort of stretches how far Bill was planning in advance. See, if Stan had of stayed with Carla, he might of had a place to go when he was kicked out. For whatever reason, Bill didn't want that. Maybe he needed Ford to be pushed into the portal, maybe he just wanted to watch Stan suffer. Either way, a deal was made that had a negative outcome for the Pines. Woot. Next up... Clarissa Console, a sort of OC featured in Eyes of a Clerk.

As an aside, anyone who wants to read Pacifica's visit with Bill should go read "Pacifica Solves the Triangle". It's what gave me the idea for this collection in the first place.