Not On The Wheel (Bill Cipher x Reader)

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Twins In The Polaroid

The tension in the Shack was unimaginable; it was as if someone had lit a match next to barrels of gunpowder. It was only a matter of time before it would all blow up, taking both the twins and Soos with it.

Dipper and Mabel had thought they were going crazy when they first noticed the odd and awkward atmosphere that had fallen over the Shack. Rooms seemed to be quieter no matter who stepped into them, Grunkle Stan appeared to be more irritable than usual, and Y/n was a jittering mess— even more so than she already was.

But when even Soos asked if there was something up with both Stan and Y/n, their suspicions were confirmed.

If they had to guess, it all started when Y/n got up for work the next day, when the trio noticed how oddly silent tours had started. And if there weren't any words between Y/n and Stan (mostly Stan) working on ways to further rip off the clueless customers, then that could only mean trouble.

There was no discussion between her or Stan about who would take which tour group, who needed to report to the front to help unload a new bus, or who needed to stay in the gift shop to keep customers entertained and entice them to the allure of more overpriced merchandise.

It was incredibly messy at first— and the three could help but cringe from the sidelines— but soon the two were able to migrate to their respective positions without doing so much as glancing at each other. It would have been rather impressive if it weren't for the fact that the two appeared to be walking on eggshells as they worked.

Then the twins noticed Y/n's even more drastic dip in behavior; she'd stay as far away from Stan as possible, even going as far as to leave the room should he walk in. Stan had followed behind them into the kitchen the next morning, much grumpier than usual. As soon as Y/n made eye contact with him, she high-tailed it out of there, leaving behind her half-finished mug of coffee in the sink.

It was because of this weird avoidance that the twins took longer than they wanted to tell her about the finer details of their discovery of America's 8th ½ President, Quentin Trembley. They could never sit her in one room without Stan making a guest appearance shortly after. He seemed oddly intent on watching the three whenever they appeared in the same room for longer and a minute or so.

Whenever the twins tried to visit her before they all went to sleep, Stan would always be patrolling the halls, immediately ushering them back upstairs to the attic. When Mabel asked why he wasn't in his room, he would always say he was about to go on a midnight walk.

Knowing Stan wasn't the one for staying active, the twins made the connection almost immediately. Now, they needed to know what had happened between her and Stan, and why each seemed so eager to avoid each other.

So when Y/n woke up the next morning— or, in reality, decided to stop staring between the ceiling and the polaroid in deep, yet groggy, thought— the Mystery Twins barged straight into her room, intent on getting to the bottom of this conundrum that plagued the Shack. They didn't bother knocking, deciding that their questions and story were much more important than potentially violating precious privacy.

"Y/N WAKE UP WE HAVE IMPORTANT THINGS TO DISCUSS!" Mabel shouted, quite literally kicking open the door. Dipper followed behind shortly after, mumbling an apology and gently closing it.

Y/n jumped in her bed, quickly scrambling to hide the polaroid under her. This certainly wasn't the good morning she had been expecting, let alone wanted in the first place. She felt she could go at least a few more hours without human (or potential demon) interaction.

"G-Guys," she stuttered, trying her best to suppress a yawn. She tussled her hair out of her face, attempting to at least look like she gained some amount of sleep and hadn't begun to slowly become nocturnal. "What are you doing here? And, uh, why did you kick my door...?