oracle | bill cipher

part vi. | party at the pines'

"You can't trust him."

"Why not?"

"Because!" The boy in front of you huffs, puffing out his cheeks in frustration. "He's dangerous, (y/n). He's just using you for whatever sick twisted scheme he's concocting. He doesn't care about you! He's evil!"

Your fists begin to shake with rage. You clench your jaw, staring down at your lap in silent fury. You're not quite sure why you're this infuriated, but the emotion feels right. This child before you has no right to talk about your best friend this way. He's not evil. You know that. 

Standing up, you gather your things. You shoot one cold last look at the brunette child. "You can't possibly believe this. You're letting your imagination get the best of you - you can't believe every word that comes out of that dumb book… You stay away from him - from us."

The world around you shifts once more. When you see him again, the boy looks slightly older. He's disheveled, brunette hair messy and knotted. There's dirt covering his face, blood dotted across his skin. He looks up to you, blurry face still able to express a vivid amount of anger. 

"What did I tell you?!" He shouts, running a hand through his tangled locks. "I told you he was no good - do you even know what you've just done?!"

You look around, vertigo washing over you. It's difficult to keep your balance. There's a dull throbbing in your head that's slowly growing more prominent: you're going to have another vision soon. You can feel the waking nightmare coming on. 

The sky is an unnatural shade of red. You hear screams and cackling in the distance. You raise your hands to your ears, trying to drown out the noise.

"... You don't know him." You find the words spilling past your lips. "You don't know him like I do. This - this is all a big misunderstanding. He's just trying to get home-"

Before you wake up, a familiar grin flashes through your thoughts. "Knock, knock, Pine Tree."

_____________

Your front door slams open, hitting the wall. Bill strolls inside, large grin plastered on his face. "I'm back!" He sings, far too loud and chipper for this early in the morning. 

Groaning, you throw an arm over your eyes. "Keep it down, will you? I've got a headache. You're only making it worse."

Bill's grin flickers for the quickest of moments as if in remorse. Whatever moment of humanity he might of had is gone when he throws himself over the back of the couch, landing on top of you. He laughs childishly as you shove him off, letting out an undignified screech. He lands on the floor in front of the coffee table with a thud. 

"What was that for?" You whine, cracking an eye open to look at him. 

"Because!" He grabs a poster he'd been carrying in his back pocket, opening it up for you to look at. "The Mystery Shack's having a party tonight! And we're going!"

You squint your eyes, scrutinizing the poster. "... The Mystery Shack? That place is just a shitty Tourist Trap. They're just gonna end up taking our money."

"But it'll be fun!" Bill insists. "Come on! We get to dress up all fancy-like and dance until we drop!"

With a huff, you move to sit up straight. Bill crawls up onto the other end of the couch. You give the Dream Demon a look, analyzing him. You cross your arms, narrowing your eyes at him. 

"Alright, spill it, Cipher. What's the real reason you want to go?"

"What? A demon can't want to dance with his best friend?" Bill raises an eyebrow, but you're clearly not buying the excuse. He frowns at your reaction before giving an exaggerated sigh. "Fineee. If you really want to know, I've gotta keep my eye on that Pines family. I have a good feeling they're going to a thorn in my side."