Chapter Two: Less of a Triangle?
Nothing really changed for Katie or her room mates for the first few weeks after their strange encounter with Bill. Shea continued her research on oysters and pea crab parasitism. Jo continued taking classes to help her on her way to becoming an elementary school science teacher. And Katie continued juggling her job at the Greek restaurant, work in the psychology lab, and research with one of the college's history professors. All three of the young women found themselves very busy; but only one of them felt as if they were being watched as they worked. Only one felt the burning of a single eye searing into them as they typed, read, cooked, watched tv, fed the snake, fed the gecko, fed the fish, ate, washed dishes, everything!
Katie grunted and looked up from the paper on her desk for maybe the hundredth time. She couldn't shake the feeling off. She knew she was being watched and she knew who was behind it. She couldn't see him or anything, but she could feel his presence. It bothered her, and it drove her mad that she couldn't yell at him to go away. She hadn't heard back from her friend since she had written him about the issue a few weeks ago. It would probably be a couple of months before she got a return letter, probably wordy and warning her to avoid anything that had to do with a certain triangle.
Said triangle was hovering in the mindscape a few feet away from the tired looking young woman. Bill had finished his business a week ago, and had devoted his time to watching this person before he decided to try to repay her. He needed to make sure he wasn't helping just any human, after all. What a waste that would be. Learning that she was pen pals with Pine Tree had been amusing. He would have to intercept and destroy his return letter if his forming plan was to work.
His eye narrowed a bit as the girl yawned and pulled her signature blue, cat-eared hat off and tossed it to the foot of her bed. She was going to bed soon. Bill would have to leave before she entered the dreamscape. He was not interested in dealing with the dreams of a stressed 21 year old. He had seen enough "Oh no I'm late to class" and "Oh God I'm naked in public" dreams to last him an eternity. Which he had. Plus, she could potentially see him once she fell asleep, and that was no fun at all.
Bill had plans for this woman. She was just as curious about the supernatural as Pine Tree had been, and even less cautious. She spent a lot of her limited free time investigating codes and hunting for folklore She didn't know what Bill was, which gave him an advantage. It had been several years since he had made an attempt at conquering the "real" dimension. He had to admit that he wasn't going anywhere without a trusting assistant. He had had one, ages ago, but that had crumpled. He would be more careful with crafting and shaping this disciple. Had he a mouth, he would have grinned. Yes, that was a perfectly juicy idea. Brilliant!
He chuckled to himself and vanished deeper into the mindscape. He would begin immediately. He flew off in the direction of a particularly dilapidated old building on the outskirts of Gravity Falls. It was time to attain a new, more solid form.
A week long time skip. Because transitions are not my strong point and my snake is begging like a dog to share my dinner. You cant have pasta, Romulus!
Katie returned home fairly early. It was unusual, but she had finished most of her work pretty quickly today. She wasn't on the schedule today, which gave her time to finish a book on Alchemical history for her professor. Maybe she could even relax and watch tv afterward, or take a relaxing bath. She shrugged. She would figure out what to do after she finished the book.
She flopped onto the couch and propped her feet up on the coffee table after kicking off her shoes and launching them across the room. She would move them later. Maybe. She grabbed her book and started reading. Time seemed to pass pretty quickly. Within an hour she had finished the last chapter. She grinned and shut the book.
"Good, good, good. I can email him later to ask what he needs me to do now." She stood and looked around the apartment. Neither of her room mates was home at the moment. Jo was probably in class, or at the grocery store. She loved to cook, and was the best at it in the apartment. Her goulash was to die for, and she made a wonderful tuna casserole. Shea was undoubtedly at the bio lab shelling and weighing oysters, and collecting the tiny parasitic pea crabs she found in them. She wouldn't be home until early in the morning, as she collected oysters to process at about a hundred per trip. Katie had gone with her once, slogging through mud and algae-filled water, carrying a large bucket to hold all of the bivalves. She never wanted to see another damn oyster ever again.
A knock at the door startled her. No one ever visited them, unless it was the maintenance people coming to fix something. She didn't think anything in the apartment was broken. She curiously opened the door, ready to send whoever it was away so she could relax.
A man a good deal taller than her met her eyes. He was lean and lanky, with legs that seemed to go on for miles and a confident air about him. One of his golden-hued eyes was hidden under a black eyepatch, a familiar yellow triangle stitched into the fabric. A tall top hat sat on the mass of blonde hair atop his head, and he work black pants, a white button up shirt, and a long yellow tail coat, with a black bowtie clinging to his neck. He grinned widely at her when recognition, followed by annoyance, flashed across her face.
"Hey there Ears. It's been awhile." Bill Cipher almost cooed at her.
Katie groaned in exasperation. She wasn't going to be relaxing anytime soon.