Never Trust Your Demons

28

"Ta-da!" Bill stops, gesturing to something on the ground.
"A rock?" I look at him, confused. He nods. "A rock. Why a rock?"
"Because this rock has something under it," He smiles, shoving it aside. It reveals under it a rectangle of futuristic metals.
"Whoa," I breathe out, kneeling down next to it. "Is this..."
"An alien spaceship? Ask the cliffs," He points behind me to them. Turning around, i notice their strange shapes make one strange shape.
"Oh my gosh, this is a UFO!"
He nods again. "This the kind of dumb thing you were looking for?" His hand flames up and tears the rectangle off.
I sigh, smiling. "Exactly the dumb thing i was looking for."
I climb down into the ship with the ladder, Bill levitating down next to me.
"This thing's pretty much the source of weirdness in this town. Well," He chuckles. "That and the people."
"I'm still getting used to be climbing down into an extraterrestrial vessel," I give a short laugh in return. I jump down the last couple feet, looking around the vast area. "This is so cool!"
"Another suggestion for dumb things to do today: You want to work on that chaos magic?" His hand flames up again.
I hesitate. "What makes you think I'd want anything to do with that again?"
"Because, like I said, it reacts to your fear, anxiety, and anger. I'm amazed you haven't thrown a flaming punch to K.C. yet," I can sense a tinge of annoyance as he mentions K.C.'s name. "But if you don't learn to control it... well, you'll loose control. In front of everyone, especially if K.C. keeps pushing your buttons like that. I'm pretty sure I saw some sparks yesterday."
My eyes widen. Oh, that wouldn't be good...
"And there'd be nothing I could do to stop Pinetree and Shooting Star from remembering what happened a couple weeks ago."
"Oh, that really wouldn't be good..."
"Wouldn't it though?" Bill replies. "Now, about working on it..."
"Just... help me get it under control, okay?" I ask.
"Fine," He shrugs. "But there's so much more you could do with power like this."
"I don't even want it though!" I protest. "All I want is to pretend like I never got them!"
"Fine, fine," He makes a "settle down" motion. "Let's get started."

It takes an hour of practicing "channeling my excitement" to satisfy Bill. I only have a short while to explore the ship before realizing I have to get back to get ready for the dance.
"Do me a favor," Bill says. "Don't tell Pinetree about the UFO, okay? He and Sixer will wonder how you found it, let alone got inside," He shrugs, seeing the question "Why not?" in my eyes. "Anyways, where else is going to be an okay place to practice?"
"I...I think I've got the fire under control, thanks," I start walking away.
He shrugs. "I guess it's only everyone's trust in you on the line..."
I freeze. He's good at spinning that against me. I sigh in response. "Fine, see you, 'Cy',"
I shortly make it back to the shack, going to my room as I once again ignore Dipper's confused, studying looks. It seems as though Ford's been telling him I'm not to be trusted or something.
I close my door behind me. It hadn't taken me long to figure out what to wear. The dress from the Northwest's would do. It's not too fancy, and as long as I have it, why not use it?
I'm going to need to do something with my hair. Leaving it down and wild wouldn't exactly be practical for dancing. I end up pulling it back into a ponytail, the purple headband holding back my bangs. Hey, it's not supposed to be fancy. It's only a high school dance, not even my high school dance.
Shortly, there's a honk as Thompson's car comes to pick up Dipper, Mabel and I.
Mabel's wearing another one of her homemade dresses and Dipper dons a snazzy suit and tie. I can't believe they're already going into high school in a year!
"Where's Cy?" I ask, climbing in after my cousins. The one seat left is next to K.C. Great.
"He said he'd be coming on his own," Lee replies. "He'll meet us there."
"Glad they didn't cancel this due to the election," Thompson remarks.
"Yeah, those fireworks are set to blow in a couple hours," Wendy laughs.
"So that's what the disco ball was for!" Mabel exclaims.
Upon arriving, there aren't many kids there at first, more trickling in every few minutes. I still don't see Cy though. I lean against the wall next to the door hoping to spot him as he comes in.
"Hey," I hear an all too familiar voice.
"Go away, Kevin," I don't call him by his nickname, knowing it annoys him.
"Looks like you got stood up," He taunts. "I could've told you this would happen."
"Why don't you shut up and go home; the trash can's right over there," I turn to face him, pointing to the corner.
I smile triumphantly back into his glaring eyes.
His glare fades back into a smile. "You still want me."
"What?! No!" I shove him away. "You've got it backwards. I hate your guts. You are the one who still wants me."
He laughs. "Denial-"
"Yes," I cut him off "Absolute denial that in no way proof of a crush. I've heard all this before." Oh man, he's going to think that proved his point.
He grabs my hand. That just proved my point.
"Admit it, Conifer, you still like me."
"I'm not going to lie like that," I reply flatly. "Or let you believe something so dumb."
He chuckles. "Would it really be a lie?" He leans closer, and I can tell he's going for a kiss as I lean away.

Something suddenly flies between us, knocking him back. When I get a good look at it, I see familiar blue flames fading away from a knife stuck in the wall.
"Sorry, my hand slipped," I look up and see Bill's smile as he holds a hand out to me.
"You, my friend, are a life saver," I laugh in response to his excuse, accepting his hand. "But where'd the knife come from?" I ask, out of K.C.'s hearing range.
"I thought the deal said no more questions," He taps my nose. He's wearing what he normally wears when I see him alone, except the tails of his coat aren't nearly as long and he's ditched the cape. "Now, we should dance," He suddenly spins me around and brings me down into a dip.
I laugh as he pulls me back up. "Great. Let's go somewhere else, though," I jerk my head away from K.C.'s shocked expression and to the middle of the dance floor.
"Brilliant idea!" He pulls me after him. He stops suddenly as the first slow song of the night starts, and I would've run into him had he not caught me.
He takes my hand in his, the other on my waist. His smile is very different. It isn't the normal mischievous smile he dons. It's much sweeter than that.
It's silent for a moment as we sway back and forth.
"Listen..." Bill suddenly says. His hand grips mine the tiniest bit tighter as he glances away. "I know I've done nothing but drive you crazy since you got here," I start to protest, but he continues. "Possessing your cousin, giving you insane, nearly uncontrollable powers, and almost destroying your family's trust in you... And you have no idea why. I can't even answer any questions you have, which is a lot. I wish I could, but for now, I really need you to trust me on this... I'm... sorry for the trouble I keep causing you... I really am."
There's another moment of silence.
I swear, moments like that love me.
"I know it seems weird to believe that, on account of all the reasons I've listed plus some, but that's just who I am, I can't help it, and-"
"Apology accepted," I smile at him.
"-if you don't believe me on any thing, please just-" He stops, looking back at me. "Wait, really?!"
I nod. "You don't get sincere like this often... how can I not believe you like this?"
He gives an audible sigh. "I just... I don't usually apologize. For anything. I'm a nightmare's nightmare! A demon of unimaginable power! Saying 'Sorry for doing what I do,' isn't exactly my forte. I didn't realize saying it to you would be that easy! You know... once I got the words out. I guess I just needed the right person to say it to," He chuckles.
I smile a bit bigger. "I knew there was a good reason I liked you..." I reply softly.
His face seems to light up. "So you really do like me?"
"Well..." I'm glad for the dim lighting as I blush. "Yes... that's okay, right?"
He kisses me on my forehead. "Better than okay."
Another silence.
"What if I promised you your questions would be answered before the summer's up?" He asks.
"Really?" He nods. "Then... I'd promise to try and be patient until then.
"And trust me until then?"
Pause.
"Of course."
He smiles, placing a hand on my cheek. I wrap my arms around his neck, leaning closer.
My eyes close as our lips meet.
My first kiss where I actually know what's happening. Probably the best that's happened to me ever.