He has returned (Gravity Falls fanfiction)

chapter twenty-two

Bill was woken up by the sound of heavy wailing. It was already dark and he arose quickly, not looking at the sky. He turned his head, trying to make out where he was. The kitten was still next to him, sound asleep. He waited a few minutes so his eyes would adjust to the darkness and then tried to coordinate where the crying was coming from.

When he could make out the outlines of the trees he got up. The cat noticed his sudden movements and stretched, then jumped onto its paws and stroked around Bills legs. The boy grabbed the cat and put it on his shoulder so he could move around better and not fall over it. He slowly walked towards the sound, not daring to step on a twig and show whoever was there that he was there too.

He poked his head around a tree and saw a slumped figure on the ground, curled up into a ball, just like the creature on his shoulder had done before, when it was asleep. When he looked a bit closer, paying attention to the details, he noticed that they were wearing Mabels sweater. Only then did it dawn on him that it was indeed Mabel.

„M-Mabel, what are you doing here? What’s wrong?“, a lump had instantly formed in his throat. It was guilt. He had never felt guilt before, except…

Bill pushed those thoughts away. Mabel was probably crying because he had ran away, not telling her, leaving her alone. The short time Bill has spend on earth, he had already discovered a lot of human emotions so he could make them out on others too. Mabel was feeling despair. And Bill was the reason. Mabel hadn’t heard him through the heavy crying so Bill walked towards her. When he was close enough he put his hand on her shoulder.

„Hey, I am not gone, Shootingstar! I am right here!“, Bill said calmly. Mabel swung her head around, her eyes red and swollen. A wave of relief rushed over her.

„BILL! WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN?!“, she shouted, still more relieved that angry. Normally, Mabel never used the word „fuck“ in a sentence about a person. And she also did not want to teach Bill more swear words but this time it just slipped out.

Bill laughed about her reaction. He found it sweet and ironic at the same time that shootingstar would ever be glad about seeing Bill Cipher, that she would even search for him.

Mabel got up into a sitting position, wiped her eyes and glared at the boy. „Tell me, why did you run away, what did you do and why do you have that cute little kitten on your shoulder?“.

‘Kitten‘, so that’s what the thing was, Bill though. He picked it from his shoulder and put it into Mabels lab, where it started purring again and rolled into black nothingness. Bill explained to her why he had run away, how he had then fallen asleep and that the cat had stayed with him the whole time.

Mabel understood but didnt forgive Bill. She had thought that he had fled forever and that Dipper, Ford and Stan would blame her fir it. Overthinking had become her worst nightmare since becoming a teenager. Puberty was hard and it had only just stared. At least she had her bother going through it with her, and now also Bill who probably had it a lot worse.

Bill had sat down next to Mabel and they were both petting the kitten now.

„How will you name it?“, Mabel asked Bill. He hadn’t even thought about that and he told Mabel so and asked her to help him with that.

„Is it a boy or a girl?“, Mabel asked as the next step.

„There is a difference for animals?“, Bill asked, dumbfounded. Mabel laughed at that.

„Of course there is, dummy! It’s the same as humans.“

Bill should have guessed that and he felt embarrassed over his stupid question.

„Soo how about you just name it ‚Ash‘? That's a gender neutral name until we get it to the vet and find out what its gender is.“, Mabel continued, as she sensed Bill becoming uncomfortable.

„Hmm idk, that’s not really fitting.“

They both stared at the little fluff, thinking about names.

„How about 'Void‘?“, Mabel asked. Bill thought for a moment and then agreed.

„Thats pretty accurate. I like it!“.

„Hello Void! I am Mabel.“, she introduced herself to the kitten. It just stared to purr louder, seemingly accepting the name. Bill and Mabel smiled at each other. They sat in silence for a bit, the only sound being the purrs and the wind.

„So, how do we get back to the house?“, Bill asked.

„You also dont know the way back then, huh?“.

Bill just shoock his head in reply.

„Guess we'll have to wait until the sun rises and then search for it. There is no use for trying in the dark.“, Mabel said and Bill agreed. 

„There is a clearing right over there. Do you want to lay down with me and try to sleep? It was pretty comfy and Void liked it too!“, Bill asked.

“Yeah sure.“, Mabel replied. „We can watch the stars then.“

The stars?… Hundreds of thoughts and memories rushed into Bills brain and he tried to push them away as best he could. Tears came to his eyes but he tried not to show them and Mabel couldn’t see them in the dark either wway.He had forgotten that this dimension was great for watching the stars.

Bill got up first and turned away from Mabel, wiping his eyes. Mabel put Void to the side and also got up. The three of them walked to the meadow and laid down. The whole time Bill had held his eyes closed. He wasn’t sure if he was ready to see the stars again. He felt Void trampling on him and then laying down on his stomach. Bill firstly opened one eye, then another. The stars looked like twinkling diamonds in a dark emptiness, lots of dreams and hopes, wishes and demands, all in one place, one brighter than the other, outshining even the sun. There were no clouds tonight so the sky was completely clear. 

„The stars are beautiful tonight.“, Mabel said while yawing. 

„Oh yes they are…!“, Bill answered after some time, not even daring to blink. Tears filled his eyes but he urgently rubbed them away, not wanting to get his vision blurred. 

„I am glad I can watch them with someone!“, Bill whispered. Either Mabel was already asleep or she just hadn’t heard him. Bill guessed the first thing because she was slightly snoring. He then said the same sentence to Void again but it was also already sound asleep. Bill was sad about the memories the stars brought him but now they lived next to a beautiful memory, one he shared with another being. He liked  that it was Shootingstar, the name also being very fitting. Void and Shootingstar, a perfect match.

Bill wasn’t sleepy anymore. Either due to the coffee still working or because he had just slept for who knows how long. And he did not want to sleep. He never took his eyes off the stars. He was calm and happy. 

Then the whispers began.