You returned to the Mystery Shack like normal, like nothing happened. Your face looked emotionless as if there was no emotion behind those eyes of yours. Bill had let you stay in the scape for the rest of the night, he gave you the comfort you needed. He gave you food, a place to rest, and even the smallest affection, you never slept so comfortably in your whole entire life. You smiled remembering what Bill had done for you, but your smile slowly disappeared when you arrived at the shack's front door.
Upon entering, nobody was inside the gift shop, but you could hear talking from upstairs. You raised an eyebrow as you heard the voices as you walked closer to where it was coming from. You walked through the corridors to the stairs leading upstairs. Going upwards, you heard the voices of your siblings, you gritted your teeth when you remembered what happened last night, what they did, their voices hit a nerve in you.
You decided not to deal with them at the moment, you were already too exhausted to do anything, and after the events that unfolded last night, you doubted that you wanted to speak to anyone, besides Bill that is. He seems to be your only friend in your current state, and that was the reason you wanted to stay strong for the time being, you weren't going to let some single disaster ruin your summer break, even though it technically is already ruined- Ahem, upon heading to your shared bedroom at the attic, you opened the door slowly and as you entered, you were greeted with the usual decoration and atmosphere of the room you have stayed in for days now. But something was different, the triangular window that sat in the middle between the beds that belonged to your siblings was shattered, your eyes widened, and immediately ran up to the window to check on the other side, as you looked down, you saw a certain black cat that looked up and you, you couldn't help but see that he smirked on you and ran off to the woods.
"Hey-!! Wait up!!" You shouted as loud as you could and wasted no time rushing downstairs, as you reached the gift shop, you saw Stan standing in the register counting money, you suddenly stood quiet while feeling awkward, your intention of chasing that cat was gone for a few seconds until you snapped out of it, you frantically shook your head in slight frustration and went straight to the door, Stan was a bit startled seeing you run up to the door at such rush.
"Kid, where the hell are you going?" You were surprised that Stan still dared to talk to you after what had happened. "It's none of your business!" You yelled out with a glare, Stan looked kind of shocked that you spoke with such tone, but he didn't say anything after that and let you leave the shack. Stan couldn't help but wonder what made you leave in such a rush, after what events unfolded just last night, you were still a kid he was in charge of taking care of and he couldn't just hate a young child such as yourself, he thought that was just irresponsible but the thing that he thought you did was unforgivable.
He remembered what Ford said to him after putting the twins to bed, and he had considered it very closely even since this morning.
»»----> Last night ☆
It was just after everything had settled down, the moon was bright as ever tonight, despite the event that shocked and worried everyone.
Ford looked frustrated, Stan looked at his brother, knowing why he was acting in such a way. He couldn't believe it either, why would you have done this? That was what he was thinking at the moment, but he didn't even have a possible answer, everything was like an unsolvable puzzle piece.
"Why would she-?" Ford managed to mutter and a long sigh escaped his mouth, he was tired, including Stan, everyone was, even the twins seemed exhausted, he couldn't imagine what they felt, the twins may have experienced a lot of imaginable things but even they couldn't handle these type of things, and he knew that they were still kids, but everyone was forgetting about the fact that you were also a kid yourself, younger than the twins that is.
Stan walked up to Ford and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Come on bro, why don't just give it a rest?" Stan asked, he didn't want his brother to stress over another thing since he already had a lot of things on his plate. "I know, I know," he paused for a good while before taking a deep breath. "I just don't understand." Ford was quiet, he seemed to be thinking about something.
"Have you noticed y/n acting strange or anything? I mean, she seems like a normal kid to me, doesn't seem the type to hold grudges either, but that might just be me." Stan was scratching the back of his neck, waiting for Ford to answer his question. Ford didn't answer, the room had a tense atmosphere that Stan couldn't help but sweat just a bit.
"Actually, have you realized that she has been acting weird?" Ford asked, finally realizing something. "Uhm.. no??" Stan shrugged, he wasn't really the observing type. "It might just be me, but she has been going out a lot, and she also sleeps a lot more, don't you think there's a pattern?" Ford didn't want to believe it, he didn't want to, he wanted to think that this was just a misunderstanding and that it was just pure coincidence, but was there really a thing called coincidence in this town? I think not.
"A pattern.." Stan repeated what Ford just said, after a few moments of silence, Stan's eyes widened. "You don't think- it isn't possible-" After just realizing, he understood what Ford was trying to say, and he didn't want to believe it either.
"It isn't completely impossible, the statue is gone, yet nothing weird or abnormal has been happening, I know his powers would be weaker due to the fact he is still in a state of regenerating, but that process would quicken if he made deals with people." Ford started to get worried and he thought about the possibility, it was true that there was a slim chance that you didn't have any connection with 'him' at all, yet there was still a chance, a big one, and it worries him what kind of business you got yourself into.
"Stan," Ford called out to him sternly and grabbed the two of his shoulders. "Whatever you do, act normal, and take care of the twins while being wary around y/n, i- don't trust her." It seemed that Ford was hesitant to say that last part, you were his niece yet he couldn't bring himself to trust you due to the possibility of your connection with a certain someone.
Stan looked worried, he couldn't help but think that this situation got more serious than he initially thought. One thing that Stan knew about his brother was that he may be paranoid and crazy most of the time, but at those times he would be correct and he hated that about him, he hated the fact that his conclusion would be the most unbelievable thing and it turns out to be correct, and nobody had no reason to believe that Ford would make stuff up, and that fact alone made Stan wanting to believe him, but hesitation kicked in, he didn't want to believe it.
"It's not possible- surely it isn't-" Stan wanted to retaliate the even slightest chance of it being possible. Though, he knew it was just him being in denial. He remembered all the trouble he and his family and everyone went through, the trauma that impacted everyone that just made them want to forget and continue their life as normal, nobody wanted to believe that 'he' had returned, not after what happened 2 years ago, and Stan even thought that Ford also wanted to forget about it, but after Ford's long history with Bill, Stan didn't think it was so easy to just forget and toss those memories away like it was garbage bags.
"How about we retire for the night? It seems to be the better option right now, we aren't in the right state of mind." Ford rubbed his forehead in a state of frustration, he was right, they were both exhausted and it wouldn't be their fault if they started talking nonsense.
"Sounds about right," Stan answered with a brief nod. They didn't exchange words with each other as they both parted ways to go to their separate bedrooms. It had been a stressful night for everyone, and it was time to sleep through the night and wait till morning shone once more.
»»----> ▲
You were running as fast as you could to try to catch up to Nyx. Nyx being in his cat form meant that he had left some footprints on the way so you could easily follow and track him down.
As the footprints stopped continuing, you took a break and stopped running, you were panting heavily and tried your best to catch a breath, it wasn't helping that it was a hot day and you were sweating profusely.
Suddenly, you looked up and saw Nyx sitting on a tree stump and just staring at you. "We meet again, Sunflower!" Nyx greeted you before licking his paw, you didn't know if he was a good actor or if he genuinely was that way.
"Uh.. good to see you too, Nyx." You greeted him back awkwardly, you hadn't seen him in a while, but not long though, it just felt long for some odd reason. "I heard what happened, I'm sorry." He apologized, seemingly feeling pity about your situation, you just let out a scoff. "Yeah yeah, I don't need your pity." You spoke harshly, you didn't need pity right now, you needed answers. It was no good being in a state of emotional discomfort, it won't do you any better and you didn't want to be viewed as a damsel in distress that's for sure.
"You're an independent young lady, Sunflower, I admire that, no wonder Cipher has taken a liking towards you!" Nyx was acting way too friendly and it somehow made you feel uneasy. Sure, he has the form of a fluffy and cuddly animal that many of the human population love, but the fact that he was actually a demon and took the form of a cute animal was the unsettling part.
"Independent? I don't know about that, I still have an inner childish and spoiled side to me." You were just like any other kid, might act mature at times but still immature. "Independence can be in many shapes and forms, you may still act like a child at times but to be true, you are still growing up so you still acting like a kid is normal, you can still be independent yet at times acting childlike, it's nothing abnormal!" As Nyx was done speaking, you noticed a familiarity in his words. That's right, Nyx reminded you of your mother. As weird as it is, you found a small resemblance in the two of them, how they talked, comforted you, and always talked about the bright side of things, despite Nyx acting shady that is.
"I guess you're right, thanks Nyx." You thanked him with a slight smile, you had grown accustomed to having two demons around to talk to. "Any time, Sunflower!" Now, it finally hit you, why was Nyx calling you Sunflower? But you didn't think so deeply about it, he does know Bill and probably thought calling me that was suiting, who knows?
As things grew quiet for a few seconds, the world around you became gray in an instant, you and Nyx didn't react to it much, you already gotten used to it and Nyx was probably not fazed.
Before any of you could react, suddenly Nyx was lifted from the tree stump he was sitting at and as you looked around, Bill was there in sight and he had a glare shot towards Nyx, he looked furious.
"You- you don't have the right to call her Sunflower! Only I get the right to do so!" Bill was yelling at the cat that was right in front of him, Nyx didn't look surprised at all- wait- did he plan this to happen..?
"So? You don't own her, Cipher." Nyx rolled his eyes as he grinned, it looked weird to see a cat grin. "Oh!? And who are you to say that!?" Now he was really pissed, you were just observing the whole thing with an awkward and nervous look on your face, Nyx really did know how to get under Bill's nerves.
"And who are you think so highly of yourself? You got too cocky and overconfident and you got yourself nearly killed." Nyx was trying to annoy him and you could see that, there was no way Nyx was doing this without any intentions, unless his intentions were ill, but you have no idea why he would do it out of ill intentions, unless he got something else up his sleeve.
"I'm going to kill you- you bi-" Before Bill could say any further, you decided to interfere before things got too serious. "Alright you two demons, how about we all calm down?" You tried to speak in a soothing tone, which somehow worked and Bill put down Nyx back where he originally sat.
"Sunflower.." Bill spoke in such a dim tone that it almost melted your heart. "Yes..?" You spoke slowly, you didn't know how his mood changed so suddenly, but you were glad it did. "Can we talk privately?" He asked, his tone sounding slightly firm, yet not too firm, he seemed to be considerate of how he spoke towards you, he didn't want to make you nervous after all.
He shot a glare at Nyx, giving him a sign that he should leave before things get rough again. Nyx understood what Bill meant and he rolled his eyes. "I'll you two lovebirds be. Jeez, why am I the third wheel..?" He muttered to himself before suddenly he vanished just like that.
You and Bill just ignored what Nyx just said, despite it having a deeper meaning than you two initially thought.
"So?" You were the first to break the awkward tension that was rising in the grayscape, Bill looked up at you and sighed, you couldn't help but feel an aura of sadness that was surrounding him. "What's wrong?" You began to feel concerned about him, you were wondering what had happened that made him feel so upset.
"Nothing.. it's just that-" He stumbled across his words and he began to twirl his fingers around for some odd reason, yet you found it adorable, if he had a human form right now, you would have guessed that he would be pouting.
"Do you trust me? I mean- not that I'm trying to say that all we've been through has been a waste, I just feel like there's a small barrier in our friendship.." he spoke in such a sweet and upsetting tone that it somehow filled you with guilt. Were you acting distant? You didn't mean to. Were you acting dismissive? You also didn't mean to. Or was it something else? You were always someone with a hard attitude towards some people, and you could say that you were quite distrustful at first about Bill, was it still showing? Bill has been growing on you and you have started to actually like being around him, if you had shown signs of a distrustful attitude then it was probably your mistake.
"I'm- sorry you have been feeling that way.. I didn't mean to act-" You haven't finished your sentences when Bill started speaking again. "No no! I didn't tell you this so you could apologize, I just wanted to ask if you trust me and all, after the things I've done for you and things we went through as a team, surely we have some trust, right?" His voice sounded so soothing that it was music to your eyes, your mind was at ease and your heart melted, yet you felt guilty, you felt bad that Bill had been feeling these things and you didn't bother to check on how he felt, you just thought that since he was a demon, he would have no problem with such feelings, but I guess you were wrong.
"O-of course I trust you, I'm glad at everything you've done for me!" You didn't want to hurt his feelings at all, that was the last thing you wanted, you wanted to try to make it up to him after the things he had done for you that you appreciated deeply.
"That's good, I'm glad." He tipped his tophat as in a nod and he stayed quiet for a few moments before looking away from your gaze. "I'll always be here for you, Sunflower." He said in a soft-spoken tone, his words were like a stress reliever for you, after that one event, you didn't want more trouble and you were basically already disliked by the citizens of Gravity Falls and that thought alone felt like a dagger pierced through your heart since you were framed by your own siblings, but at least you had Bill, and maybe also Nyx, you didn't want anyone else to be with you at this moment, just you and some demon you freed.
You couldn't help but feel your lip form into a smile, you felt happy, his words were caring and maybe even genuine, and that's all you needed to keep going, even in the state you were in.
Suddenly, Bill went up to you and hugged you, his triangular body seemed so small and he had his hands wrapped around your neck, you couldn't but smile even more as you hugged him back.
As you two continued to hug in a warm and comforting embrace, you had no idea that this was apart of his plan, to give you false comfort to make you feel better, everything was a lie, yet you didn't know that he was speaking sweet nothings to your ears and that you were just eating it up and accepting it.
But despite his dark plans, he actually liked the hug.
»»----><----««
Bill having mixed emotions.
Bill has two options here, either he settles down his feelings or I'm going to make the ending of this book unnatural :]
"25-9-3 23-6-19 9-10-12-25 23 8-23-1-10 15-10 11-25 8-12-23-10, 22-3-4 15 1-23-10-4 4-9 13-19-19-8 25-9-3. 21-12-9-5-19 23-10-20 5-23-18-19."