Ego

Pacifica's Party

No one's surprised when they show up together. Mabel at least tries to be, but really, it's been obvious for well over six months the tension between them. It's only that much more obvious now, with Bill's hand in Dipper's back pocket, Dipper's eyes fixed forward.

Cipher's always been a little too touchy (Hell, having a body does things to the senses. Tingly, unorthodox things). Running fingers through someone else's hair isn't some heinous crime, and the act's more like detangling knots and separating curls than it is intimate, anyways (Dipper always bats his hand away when Bill pulls at the softer part of his scalp; he sits up and loses the spot in his journal just to push the demon off). If Bill sits too close, or rests his hands too low, no one bats an eye.

What tips people off is Dipper, who swears up and down how much he hates having Bill around, but always bites his lip, and bites it so hard one day, it nearly costs him stitches. It's embarrassing to walk around with teeth-marks on his lower lip, especially when the person he's been biting that lip for can't help but trail the markings with a slow, curling smirk. The stitches are avoided, but people notice just how often he's catching a grin between his teeth when a certain demon appears; they side-glance him every time.

So, yes. No one's surprised when they show up together. There are a few whispers of course, because-. Well, Dipper's not the house-party type, and even though Bill is, people aren't exactly trampling over themselves to invite the town's psychopath anyplace social (not that it ever stops him).

Weirdmaggedon's still a touchy topic, but it's one of those things people opt not to mention.

If someone does bring it up (when Bill first resurfaces, it's all anyone talks about), there's usually a pause, maybe a faint nod of agreement when one of them mutters, old and disheartened, "It just ain't smart, keepin' him around," before going about their business. One of the perks of having a body is that people treat you human, and one of the perks of having an attractive body is that people treat you human, and then some. If they ever choose to run him out of town, Cipher'll first have to drop all the way down from a 10 to a 6, at least.

Until then, the boys make for some pretty fantastic eye candy.

Dipper feels the hand in his right-back pocket squeeze, and promptly yanks Bill's arm away from him, knocking a fist against the demon's chest.

"Okay, yeah, no. Not cool," he repremends. Bill only rolls his eye.

"What do you expect my hand to do on your ass? Play chess?" he teases. It tricks a slight snort out of Dipper, though he makes up for it with a less than approving frown.

"God, would you try to behave?" Dipper groans, running a hand through his hair. "You're lucky Pacifica and I are cool; you're not exactly the face people wanna see around here."

Bill can only laugh at that, slinging an arm around Dipper's shoulders; it earns himself an even dirtier frown than the first. "I'm honored. I haven't been invited to one of these human-festivities since they were burning people at the stake."

Dipper chooses not to hear the part of that statement that suggests Bill definitely fucked around during Salem, and probably caused a good portion of it (Holy shit, he's been around way, way too long). Instead, he tilts his head curiously.

"Didn't you ever go to parties with Ford?" Dipper asks.

That gets a full, surprised laugh out of Bill (He laughs a little too hard, if Dipper's being honest). "You think that guy was invited to parties? Oh, sapling," he coos. Dipper glares at the condescending hand Bill pats his head with (even if it does feel kind of nice) before shaking it off. "Last time anyone in your family was invited to a party, it was-. Let's see." Bill counts on his fingers with a hum, only to shrug. "Well, I forget when the Freemasons disbanded, but-."