Uncertainty - Stanford Pines x Reader (female)

Chapter 11

The next day dawned, and I found myself in the living room, flipping through a book I wasn't really reading. My mind kept returning to the strange dream I had had last night. It was odd - I rarely remembered my dreams, and this one had been so vivid it was hard to shake off. Although I still couldn't recall everything.
I tried to focus on the book in front of me, but the words seemed to swim on the page, refusing to coalesce into something coherent.

I sighed, closing the book and setting it aside. It was no use. I couldn't concentrate on anything, not with that dream still lingering in the back of my mind.

As if on cue, Ford burst into the living room, his arms full of ancient-looking scrolls and an old book clutched in his hand. He had a frenzied, almost manic look in his eye.

"Y/N. Good, you're already here.", he said abruptly, not even looking at me as he quickly set the scrolls down on a nearby table.
I sat up straighter, watching him with curiosity.

"Yeah... I'm here.", I replied slowly. His abruptness was unusual, even for him. I'd been around him when he was focused, but this was something different - he seemed almost panicked.

Without another word, Ford turned around and yelled out in the direction of the kitchen, "Family meeting! Family meeting!"
I heard footsteps approaching, and a moment later, the twins appeared, looking bewildered.
"Ah, come in, come in!" Ford gestured for them to take a seat.

Mabel's eyes immediately locked onto a bag on the table. "Ooh, mysterious scrolls and potions! Are you going to tell us we're finally of age to go to wizard school?" She started rummaging through the bag with excitement. "Is there an owl in this bag?"

Ford swiftly snatched the bag away from her. "No! I can assure you if there's an owl in this bag, he's long dead." Mabel's face fell in disappointment.
I pushed myself off the couch, curiosity getting the better of me, and walked over to join them at the table.

The table was covered in these ancient-looking scrolls and tomes, some of them bearing symbols I recognised from somewhere. The atmosphere was tense, and Ford seemed wound tighter than a coiled spring.

"Now tell me, do any of you recognize this symbol?" He held up a scroll emblazoned with the image of a yellow triangle with an eye and several hieroglyphs. I frowned, trying to recall why that symbol looked so familiar.

Dipper peered at the symbol, recognition flickering in his eyes. Dipper and Mabel gasped in unison. "Bill."
Ford's eyes narrowed. "You... you know him?"
I looked back and forth between them, completely lost. "Who's... Bill?"

Ford fixed me with a pointed look. "Bill Cipher, a dream demon. One you should be exceedingly wary of."
The twins nodded somberly, looking a little paler. "He's been terrorizing us all summer! I have so many questions and theories...", Dipper elaborated.

I blinked, trying to process this new information. A demon? They'd been dealing with a literal demon all summer?
"And you're just now telling me this?", I asked incredulously.
"Yeahhhhh, the subject just... never came up before?", Mabel offered sheepishly.

Ford interrupted before I could press further. "It's a long story, Y/N.", he said, his gaze flickering back to the scroll. "Suffice it to say, Bill is dangerous and cunning. I've had several close encounters with him myself."
I bit back a retort about how important information like this probably should have been mentioned before.

"Dipper's been pretty paranoid since Bill turned him into a living sock puppet."
Dipper nodded at Mabel's statement. "The important thing is we defeated him twice."
Mabel added with a grin, "Once with kittens and once with tickles!"
"It was a lot more heroic than it sounds.", Dipper quickly clarified.