Don't Forgive Me

Chapter 55

All were amazed at this small white-haired child, dancing and singing up on stage. Whilst, one pair of family members, a great uncle and nephew bonded over their shared cringing.

Bill could feel the old man growing impatient next to him. The boy only shrunk into his seat more and more as the embarrassment set in. Tips of his ears growing hot, if he were a teapot he’d be whistling.

Stan grumbles, yet mable seems content. Bill was beginning to think this might have been a mistake. He was nervous that he might be in the wrong place and miss the opportunity that The Great Constellation had given him.

The blonde’s eyes dart around in the crowd, but it seems like he won’t be getting out of this any time soon. By now it was mid-show and he felt like he might panic.

Bill is broken from his trance when he is tapped on the shoulder. He jolts and turns his head to face his great-uncle.

“Hey, I’m going to go use the men’s room. You two stay put. I mean it ”, Stanley said as he got up and awkwardly pushed around people in the wooden pews. It was more aimed towards Bill to watch his sister than anything.

It seems like Stan knows Mable’s ways of running off and getting into trouble. The blonde boy huffed but agreed to stay with his sister for the time being.

Around twenty minutes later, the show was over. The little girl was completely blown away by all the amusements. Everyone was getting up to leave, talking about how adorable the child star was.

The twins had found it odd that their Uncle hadn’t come back yet from the bathroom. The boy was annoyed by this point, seething with what could only be called discontentment. Mable spoke up, cupping her ears so that she could hear Bill over the crowd.

“Hey, Since Grunkle Stan won’t be back for a bit. I wanna get an autograph! I bet it's fancy too.”, her braces sparkled as she shouted. “Come with me?”

Bill only sighed heavily and gave her an approving nod. As the rest of the people funneled out of the tent, the twins made their way backstage. His sister immediately spotted the child performer and tromped up the wooden steps to greet him.

She’s already over there, shaking hands with him and making a bubbly acquaintance. That girl seems to have magic about her in which she can make friends wherever she goes.

The boy trudged up the steps putting his satchel loosely on his shoulder.

In the Great Constellation’s domain, the time was ticking by smoothly. Dipper sat on a floating stool and grinned as he folded his fingers together. He watched the hands of the clock embedded into one of his star trees.

Up high in the canopy were enormous bells that chime every time the clock struck an hour.

Any moment now, he knew they would ring. He crossed one leg over the other, and mirrors appeared around him at his every whim. He waited for the events of the night to unfurl. Dipper leaned forwards to witness what was to come.

Bill could have sworn he heard the deep strum of church bells in the distance. He was interrupted by this distraction and he tripped going up the last step of the staircase. He bit it, and fell forwards on his hands, ankle entangled with the crook of the stair.

The demon cackled at the sight, throwing his head back in the chair but whipping forward again to enjoy every moment of it. The brown satchel that had been lazily strung on Bill’s shoulder flew forwards with momentum and slid across the stage; releasing the journal from its contents.

The blonde winced clutching his ankle which was scuffed, bound to be sore and bruised later. He got up slowly, and just as he did so a chubby hand offered to help him up. He took it without thinking and was pulled to his feet.

“Dear heavens, are you alright?” inquired the much shorter boy with a thick southern drawl.

“Oh uhm, yeah. Heh, I’m fine I just misstepped.”, Bill said looking down at the little white-haired boy. He couldn’t be older than ten by the looks of him. His head bobbed around looking for his missing bag, he spotted Mable making her way over with the items.

“Here you go, bro. Gideon, this is my brother, Bill.”, Mable said as she handed over the book.

“It's nice to make your…. acquaintance.”, Gideon paused as his gaze shifted to the number two journal as it was exchanged between the twins. He and Bill shook hands, but it was a little too long for comfort.

“Perfect.”, Dipper smirked as he leaned lazily back in his chair, crossing his arms. He then turned out the mirrors by letting them float upwards. He needn’t see anymore to be satisfied.

“Does….anyone smell that? Smells like burning.”, Bill said as he sniffed the air. The three of them turned to face the pungent, and smokey scent. Before anyone had any time to react, orange ignited the tent riveting upwards.

“My tent!” Gideon shrieked as everyone started to scream and flee the scene. As they were all making it down the stairs Stanley quickly found the kids. His eyes were wide with worry.

“Come on you two, let's get you out of here.”, Stanley quickly ushered them away towards the parking lot. He spotted the child star as he stood outside of his tent which was engulfed in flames. “Hey! Lil’ Gideon! Thanks for the show! You really know how to light up the party!”, he snorted with laughter as he got into his red convertible.

The little boy’s hands scrunched into tight fists and his face got as red as the flames behind him.

“I’ll get you Pines!”, he yelled as the car sped off into the distance leaving him in the dust.

Mable unbuckled her seatbelt and crawled into the front seat of the car.

“You didn’t have to do anything with that fire, did you Grunkle Stan?”, she asked softly.

“Not that I know of. I was just joking, he’ll probably think it was me anyways. We’re rivals.”, the elderly man said as he drove on. He shrugged, and Mable chatted it up with laughter.

Bill scrunched up in the back seat, pressing his knees against the backs of them. He took out his flashlight and flipped through the pages of the journal.

He arrived at his dogeared page and stared at it, reading it over and over again. Bill began to resent the picture ever so slightly of the diamond-shaped snake creature.

What was he thinking, he thought to himself. The blonde closed his eyes in frustration as the back of the car bumped and trembled down the road.

In the dead of the dark, after nightfall, Bill walked to the bathroom mirror. He gripped the sides of the porcelain sink and stared into the mirror.

He was beyond annoyed with the demon. The boy glared at the reflective surface before harshly whispering, “Come on out Dipper, we need to talk.”

As if on command, the demon appeared. The boy was about to spit hot oil in his tone but was caught off guard by how calm and cheery the beast was.

“Wonderful, just fantastic, little triangle.”, the demon commended him. He clapped his dark-clawed hands together with a smile. The blonde reeled in confusion.

“W-what do you mean? I didn’t do anything.”, Bill said heatedly.

“Be patient, this is just the beginning. You will reap your rewards in time. You’ve completed the first step. Now you just have to wait for the rest to fall in place. Things will come to you.”, the entity's cat eyes showed heavily lidded at the boy. It was strangely calming.

Bill’s shoulders relaxed, he still felt disheartened. “When will I know?”, the blonde asked quietly.

“Oh, I think you’ll know. It will be obvious. Now, wake up.”, the creature said as a singular clawed handreached throught the mirror and  took the boy by the chin and pushed him backward.

He fell and with the overwhelming chiming of bells awoke in bed to bright sunlight. The twinkling slowly faded into the sound of his alarm clock which must have awoken him.