Sincerely Yours, Bill Cipher

Seconds Tick By

Thankfully, the door was unlocked. Otherwise, we would have totally had to break a window. And that isn't the kind of casual entrance we were going for, though I'm sure Florian could've pulled it off with the levels of confidence he has.
Plan goes, Florian enters first. And only him for the first phase of the mission. Though the rest of us will be peeking through the open windows. It seems the Shields are negligent to lock their house. Go figure.
So the majority of us hang at the window, barely looking over. The sight is chilling, and I can only imagine what's gone on in the last half hour.
Yule, looking agonizingly exhausted, still hovers in the corner his brother backed him into, but now his hands cover his mouth in shock. As a ghost, I didn't think he even had the capability to look more pale than he already is as a spirit. I have been proven wrong. He trembles as he looks at Tyler from across the room.
Tyler is doubled over in pain, his hans pressed firmly over his lower abdomen. Though he moans and hisses, he seems to have no outward injury.
"No, no, no, no..." Yule groans, his voice muffled by his hands. "What did I do? What have I done? I didn't mean it! Oh, I didn't!"
As the seconds tick by, Tyler's pain seems to ebb away. His pained look is replaced by one of hatred. His head whips in the direction of his little brother. "What the heck was that?! I oughta do away with you for good, you demon!" He looks around for his iron fire poker again. When he finds it and picks it up, he drops it instantly, following a scream of pain. His ratty gloves are looking worse for wear, more  than I could see of them in my dream. It looks like even these gloves could not protect him against the iron for long. One already has a tear down the middle. In frustration, Tyler throws them off and onto the floor.
"T-Tyler?" The choked voice comes from the open door. And there stands Florian, his features ever looking so much like my best friend. "It can't be..." Acted shock passes over his face, though it looks so real.
Tyler nearly doubles over again from his sheer astonishment. His expression changes from surprise, to confusion, to grief, and then to unbelieving relief. "Yule? But- But it's not possible. You- you're dead."
Yule looks on in terror from the corner. "Who- what-" Then I see him come to realization. "No way. Is that...?"
"I have absolutely no idea," Florian replies to the changeling with a broken laugh. "Gravity Falls can get pretty weird, can't it, Tyler?"
Florian is gathered up in Tyler's arms in an instant. Tyler presses his instantly tear-streaked face to the top of Florian's head. Florian grips Tyler tightly by the back of his shirt and begins to sob. Tyler murmurs incomprehensible words to what he believes to be his little brother as he runs his fingers through Florian's hair.
Guilt begins to pool in my stomach. What a horrible trick we have to pull on Tyler in order to rescue Yule. How terrible to give him this false hope! How can we reveal to him that his brother is still, very truly dead?
Florian gently pushes away from Tyler. I see genuine fear lying in his expression. "Just a moment ago- who was that you were yelling at? Is something wrong? Is it mom? Is she okay?"
Florian has wonderfully heeded and applied all the information we gave him. However, even we do not know where Mrs. Shields is right now, though we told the fae a bit about her.
"Mommy," Yule whimpers, the thought of losing his chance to ever be held or directly loved by her again to excruciating for him to handle. I've read that expression of his many times when he's been mourning over his own loss of his family. He's wearing it again, and I feel my heart tighten in my chest just seeing it. I have no idea what it's like to love a parent, or for a parent to love their child, but if either are even close to the love I feel for my friends, I can imagine the overwhelming emptiness of losing it.
"There's a spirit in here, Yule. It seemed physically harmless at first, but I've just discovered that that's not the case. It's dangerous. It's been haunting me and mom for days. Don't worry. Mom's okay. I sent her away on a short trip with her friends to 'get her mind off things', but-" he gasps, "oh my gosh, let me collect myself for a second." He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, then moves on. "Okay. But the real reason was so that I could get rid of this ghost for good, without her even finding out about it. Especially not now. I can't have her getting scared like that, Tide."
Yule gives a short, choked outcry at the familiar nickname from his brother, but I see Florian's expression waver in confusion for just a second. Perhaps one second has been a second too long.
Tyler notices Florian's quick moment out of character. How? I don't think I'll ever completely figure out. I think he's been suspicious this while time. But, then again, who wouldn't be? People don't usually resurrect from the dead just like that.
"You are not my brother, you freak," Tyler hisses. I believe he's realized Florian's true identity. Shoot. This was not how the plan was supposed to go.
"Tyler," Florian pleads, concern flickering across his face. "Tyler, it's me, it's your brother!" His voice is peppered with desperation.
"If you're really my brother, then what is our father's name?"
     I never knew how long a silent second could last until now. My legs are shaking with fatigue from crouching at the window for so long. Tyler Shields has us cornered, and he knows it.