Following Bill's giant freakout, apology, and unofficial deal with the twins, the rest of the encounter between the three kids and the demon went without much of a further issue. Samuel went home in the middle of the afternoon after making his farewell to the twins. When he's alone with Bill in his bedroom, Samuel gets the courage to ask the floating triangle the very important question that must be answered.

"You seemed... really panicked at the idea that Dipper would see my notebook. Why is that?" He looks at the triangle with an expression that means no judgement.

Bill avoids answering and makes up a lie, hiding being his confident behavior. "Oh, that Pinetree and his endless studies! He gotta be more carefree, you know? You should've seen how he was in the summer..."

"Yes, I know how my best friend usually acts. I'm not sure what's bothering you so much about this, but okay... Well then, speaking of..." He starts moving.

Bill sees that he reaches for the notebook. "Hey! What are you going to do?"

The kid is surprised by this reaction when he grabs the item. "Um, writing on it, why?"

Bill tries to be threatening, he is deeply serious about this. "Don't open it!"

Samuel stares at him, this time with judgement. There's something the yellow demon isn't telling him.

Bill gives up and tells the entire truth about the situation and his feelings. "... Okay, fine... I did something on your notebook during detention. Nothing awful, but... I didn't want those two to find out. This is why I panicked at their home... And a little now. So, uh... Sorry, I guess...?"

His vessel reacts understandingly and wants to be reassuring. "I think I get it. Maybe you aren't ready yet. So, I won't show them until you feel ready. It's a promi..." He switches the term at the last moment, knowing what he likes to hear. "It's a deal!"

Bill then proclaims. "You can't see it either! ... I don't wanna talk about what I did, even to you..."

Sammy is really surprised at this. "What? But this is my notebook. How am I supposed to use it if you prevent me?" He feels offended for a bit, but thinks about a solution. "Okay, here's what we're gonna do... I'll let you carry it for a bit, and I won't look at what you're doing. When you come back, I wanna see the pages that bother you ripped out so I can use it, and you'll only show me when you feel ready. Do we have a deal?"

Bill politely grabs the notebook from his hands. "... Sounds fair, Fuzzball. We have a deal... Thanks..." So Bill goes to another spot of the bedroom, turning his back. He locates the few pages where he has done those drawings, and carefully rips the pages before magically storing them away for now. "Done!" He then gets curious himself about what the human wants to do. "What is so important for you to write on this notebook anyway?"

Samuel answers honestly. "Observations about you."

Bill reacts dramatically, with a hand above his skull to match. "Oh, what an honor! I know I've always been a big topic to admire, but I still get flattered to this day..." He stops the act. "... Why...?"

He hears the honest answer immediately. "Because I'm curious about you. And my friends asked me to do this so they can read it."

The demon gets a little confused. "Why would they need to know all of that?"

Understanding the reaction, the kid answers. "So they can send those to their grand uncle... So he can be aware of how you behave... He trusts my judgement of you, and knows my observations would be the truth. And if he sees them, he might turn more inclined to trust you."

Bill's eye widens... He's mostly speechless, and actually a bit hopeful. "... It's for Sixer...?"

"Don't call him that, that's rude!" The dark-haired boy takes the opportunity to ask. "By the way, why do you use nicknames for everyone? You do that for my friends as well, and I don't think I've heard you say my name a single time since we've met either."

He shrugs. "Because it's funny..." He starts rubbing with the kid's hair for a joke. "And you should feel honored that I'm contemplating your hairstyle to that extent, Fuzzball!"

The human reacts by shaking his arm on his head to drive him away. "Stop that!"

Bill actually almost giggles at this. It's been a long while since he managed to have any kind of laugh. But he's not there yet, he still feels empty inside.

Samuel feels a little bad about getting angry, so he adds. "Thanks for your honesty.", he says before starting to write about the situation. Bill... has been opening up to the trio a lot more despite the jokes. "I hope you'll feel ready to share what you did to that notebook to me someday. As I said, I won't share that information without your permission, and I won't force you either." He gives a stare of honesty, causing Bill to trust him about that.

Several weeks have passed since this very unusual situation settled. It is a fairly special place to be indeed. On the surface, you have three normal kids that have been very close friends since their earliest school years, hanging out whenever they get the opportunity to do so. But then, you look closer and it turns out all of them can speak to a demon who's having struggles dealing with his evil failures and that they want to help him move on. To make matters worse, none of the kids' parents know about this, and the only adult who does know lives far away...

Still, despite some scares, the situation actually plays better than what one would expect. Bill Cipher, who almost brought the end of the world, is sort of, maybe, kind of... growing kinder to the three kids he's been tormenting just weeks before. Mabel remained 100% convinced that this demon can be forgiven, while her brother Mason is still having big doubts that he can't ignore, but does place his trust. Samuel, meanwhile, on top of having the difficult task of being the one to live with and get possessed by Bill, has to be the main mediator between him and each of the humans that know the secret. Much like Mabel, he's hopeful. But at the same time, much like Dipper, he is a little scared that things would go south. But he tries his best to remain confident.

When Dipper and Mabel boarded that bus to reach home, they expected their lives to immediately go back to a regular one by leaving all the craziness of Gravity Falls behind. They also never expected that it would directly affect their best friend. Yet here they are, dealing with another crazy situation together.

In an early October Friday morning, Bill looks outside the bedroom's window. Samuel starts wearing a brown jacket over his shirt due to the weather and is ready to leave. But then...

"Hey Fuzzball... I got something to ask..." Bill approaches him genuinely.

"Um, yeah, what is it?", asks a slightly confused Samuel.

"Can I... well... do the walk to school today? I have a hunch that feeling the weather could help me get in better spirits." The demon feels a little bothered admitting that, but he does manage to say it.

"Well, you asked nicely, so, okay... For this once, at least." He says that with a smile and they shake hands.

So Bill takes control and leaves the home, walking peacefully, taking his time, feeling the wind on the human face, and watching all the orange leaves with a little smile.

Dipper and Mabel stand in front of the school, and Dipper started switching his usual sleeveless vest for one with long sleeves. They find Samuel, arriving with a big smile and Dipper starts waving.

"Good morning, Sam..." He almost stops mid-sentence when he catches a good look at his eyes. "... -my...?" He can't believe what he sees.

Mabel is surprised, but claims without judgement. "Bill, you seem... kinda upbeat. And cheerful... We're not used to that."

Samuel's body shrug. "Autumn always looked like a cheerful season for me... I guess that's the reason?"

Mabel smiles a lot at this. "Oh, it does make you genuinely happy? That's awesome! It's true that it creates a beautiful scenery, it's so poetic!"

Then the demon agrees with her, but his reasons to do so are, well... "Yeah, it does! Lots of people associate it with sadness, which is funny. Also, I like seeing the orange leaves falling. It's like seeing all those trees slowly rot from the inside once a year, it's really beautiful!"

Dipper is slightly disturbed. "Riiiiiight..."

He then says. "Well, Pinetree, Shooting star, I bid you farewell for now!" He mimes a hats off gesture before leaving Samuel in charge again. "Oh hey guys! How are you doing?"

They answer and are a little surprised... For a bit... Given Bill's less cruel and loud behavior seconds ago, they almost get confused about where the line is between Samuel and Bill in that conversation.

Dipper shakes his head quickly to refocus and answers. "Oh, we're doing great, Samuel! I trust you do as well!"

Their friend doesn't bring up the demon situation at all. "So, let's enjoy the school day before our week-end."

And so they spend the entire day hanging with each other outside of lectures.

During the lunch break, Mabel brings up what seems like an innocent question. "Say, would you guys want to hang out outside tomorrow. We could, let's say..." Dipper notices, as she continues to speak, that she seems to have something specific on her mind. "... take a stroll at the park. Enjoy the soft breeze and the scenery of the trees."

Sammy has no objection to that. "Yeah, sounds like a plan. Unless it starts raining, but I won't jinx it."

Mabel playfully touches his lips. "Yeah, shut your lips...", she says with a giggle, signifying she's joking.

At the end of the school hours, the sweater-wearing girl insists. "So we'll meet tomorrow and do what we planned, alright?"

"Sure thing. See you two tomorrow!" Samuel leaves after waving at his friends.

Dipper asks his sister. "... Why would we be going to the park, exactly?"

Mabel answers him confidently. "I have an idea..."

Her brother frowns a bit. "Should I be concerned...?"

She playfully answers, gesturing her hand appropriately. "Naaaaah..."

Author notes: So with the storyline's situation being fully settled and no conflict in sight for now, here's a little breather of a chapter to start act 2.

Thanks for reading and I hope you're looking forward to what Mabel's thinking.