Zero Falls: Season One

Will vs Manliness-Part One

Will's POV:

It wasn't like he hated his job...

Who was he kidding? It was exactly like that.

Working at the diner did prove to help him and his brother to live easier, but it also has it's hardships. For example, like constantly dealing with rude customers, chasing out wild beavers, and cleaning the mystery stains on the tables.

Then, there was Will's boss.

He wouldn't say that Lazy Susan was bad. She was fairly nice actually, if not a little ditzy, even giving him gentle warnings whenever he was late for work. Still, she wasn't his first pick when it comes to running a clean establishment. For example...

"SCRAM!" Lazy screamed at a runaway beaver, swiping her broom at it, causing a customer's soda to spill on him.

Will quickly gave the customer a napkin, and apologized on Lazy Susan's behalf. Meanwhile, the waitress had succeeded in drawing the animal out of the diner.

"Phew! Those sneaky things are always getting in," She said.

She was correct about that. They mostly come in through the broken floorboards strangely, which made Will suspect that there might be a den under there. He was afraid to point this out to Lazy Susan, since it was likely that she'll make him check under the diner for any wild beavers.

Suddenly, he heard the bell by the door ring.

"Looks like you have new customers," Susan told Will.

Will nodded, was about to turn to the door, and greet the people coming inside, when--

"Greetings, commoners!" Bill exclaimed, upon entering the diner. "It is I, Sir Billiam here to grace you with my presence."

There was laughter behind him, and Wendy appeared. "Oh my gosh, you actually did it!"

Bill shrugged. "A dare is a dare."

The two walked in, they grinned when they saw Will.

"Dearest Brother, I am pleased to meet you again," Bill said, in a fake British accent. "And hopefully, you will acquire me with the ever so famous Family Discount?"

Will rolled his eyes. "I told you, that doesn't exist here."

"Aw, boo," Bill pouted.

Wendy chuckled softly, and Will noticed that she was wearing her human disguise again. "So, are you gonna be our server, Will?"

The blue haired boy shrugged. "I would have to, since Bill might go over budget if I'm not here to monitor him."

"You know me too well, Brother."

So, Will guided them to an empty table, where he gave them menus. He took out his notepad and pen, taking their orders. Of course, Bill wanted the expensive meals, but Will wrote down an average burger and fries for him instead. Wendy didn't seem to understand the menu, but with Will's help, she eventually picked a smoothie and a medium cheese pizza. A while later, their orders were done, and when Will came back to their table to give them their meals, Wendy seemed to have started an interesting conversation.

"After consulting with Fiddleford, Dipper seems to suspect that Kill opened a rift when coming here, and that's what's effecting our powers," Wendy said.

Bill nodded in return, not really adding anything. Will couldn't help but notice, that his brother flinched when Dipper's name was mentioned. Did the two have another spat? Because, from what he could recall, Bill was oddly silent after the events in the hunted convenience store. Did either of them make the other upset?

Will decided to leave the question for later, though a part of him was still concerned. He placed the meals on the table, and turned to Wendy. "So, can this rift be closed?"

Wendy looked at the pizza curiously, before gingerly picking up a slice and taking a bite. She chewed, while answering Will's question. "That's the plan. Though, it'll be difficult since we don't know where it is, or how to contain it. I'm scared for Mabel and Dipper, I'm still pretty skillful with my axe without powers, the only thing I can't do now is talk to animals, but if they get separated they'll be sitting ducks."

"Don't worry, the two are joined by the hip," Bill reassured. "We shouldn't ponder over the negatives so soon, let's enjoy what little free time we have."

"Bill is right," Will agreed. "Let's not worry about it now."

Bill grinned. "And I know exactly how to lighten the mood. One word: Pancakes."

Will sighed. "No, I told you we can't afford pancakes."

The blond groaned loudly. "Oh, come on!"

Wendy's gaze darted behind Will, and her eyebrows arched. "What about that?" She said, pointing behind the boy.

Will turned, and saw a game that had recently been added to the diner. The Manliness Tester. Will never thought much about it, since he found it pretty sexist, but then he noticed the sign beside it that Wendy was pointing at.

"Winner receives any item from the menu for free," Wendy read, smiling. "And hey, it says even employees can try!"

Will's eyes brightened curiously. "In that case, how about I give it a try?"

The two looked at him blankly, before bursting into laughter.

He flushed. "What's so funny?"

Bill stifled his laughter, and grinned at his brother. "No offense, but you're not exactly the ideal image of masculinity."

"I have to agree with Bill on that one," Wendy said, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly.

"I'm plenty masculine!" Will protested.

Bill rolled his eyes. "Oh please, you're frightened by spiders, you can't lift a weight to save your life, and you listen to girly Icelandic pop sensation BABBA."

"Because she is a queen!" Will shot back. "Also, just because I don't have typical manly traits, doesn't mean I'm any less of a man. And I'm going to prove it!"

Determined, Will stomped towards the Manliness Tester. He paused in front of it, the categories on the machine were Wimp, Middle Aged Woman, Barely Passable, Man, and Manly Man. He took a deep breath, before gripping the handle. He tugged with all his might, his knuckles growing white from the effort. His muscles strained in, and his hope soared when the light nearly reached the top. However. His hopes were crushed, when it dropped to the bottom a second later. A card comes out of the machine, that read You are a cutie patootie!

He heard Wendy and Bill laugh behind him, and he flushed deeply before crushing the card. "This machine must be broken or something," He insisted.

Bill rose a brow. "In that case...Wendy, you try."

The redhead nodded, and approached the machine. She stopped beside Will, and grabbed the handle. She only needed to tug once, before the light sped to the top and bells and whistles came from the machine.

"We have a winner!" Lazy Susan announced.

"Seems fine to me," Bill grinned at his brother.

Will ignored him, and sighed heavily. "I think I'm going to take a break..."

Wendy looked at him in concern, but before she could say anything, Will loosened his apron and hanged it on the nearby rack, before leaving the diner.