"Uh- Norah? You sure you should be working today? You look... awful," Y/n stated, trying to say it in the nicest way possible as they looked down at the blonde teenager standing beside them.
Norah shrugged, taking the receipt back that the customer had just finished signing and placing it into the register. "Have a great day!" She forced a smile on her face, waving goodbye to the customer before turning her head to face Y/n. It wasn't hard to miss the bags under her eyes as well as how messy her ponytail looked compared to how nice and neat it usually was. Norah never left her house looking like a mess. Her appearance meant a lot to her as she believed she would be taken more seriously by the public if she appeared professional and cleaned up. Right now, all Y/n could see was a teenage girl finally cracking under the stress that had been weighing her down for so long. "I'm fine, Y/n. Really. Don't worry about me."
"Don't worry about you?! How can I not! You look like you just dug yourself out of a grave! Have you been giving yourself proper rest? Have you been on a good sleep schedule?"
Norah's face seemed to fall, not taking any information in after the whole 'dug yourself out of a grave' comment. She stared blankly ahead, not focused on Y/n anymore as her thoughts seemed to be elsewhere. Then she muttered under her breath, the hand resting at her side beginning to twitch, "What if zombies and ghosts are real too..."
Y/n paused, registering what Norah had said before smacking their own head and groaning. "Oh great- we officially broke you."
Norah blinked, coming back to reality as she looked up at Y/n and frowned. "What did you think was going to happen when everything I knew, everything I believed in, turned out to all be false and my whole reality came tumbling down at the realization that I really don't know what's going on in the world!" she snapped, throwing her arms in the air.
"I-... don't know? ...No, look, I get it. This is a lot to process and I know you're probably having the hardest time wrapping your head around all of this. Trust me- I wouldn't have even gotten you involved if I didn't think it was necessary to have you a part of this... but it is necessary. Out of every citizen that resides in this town- you're the smartest person I know and if anyone can figure this mess out, I know it's going to be you. But if this is going to affect you in a bad way -physically and mentally- then you really don't have to help out anymore. Your well-being matters way more to me than making sure a demon escapes this town."
Norah sighed, shaking her head as she looked back at the counter and placed her hands on top of the cool surface. "No, it's fine. I'm fine. It may not appear like I am physically alright right now, but once I've come to terms with the fact that the world might have more to offer than I originally thought it did with creatures I could never hope to imagine ever existing outside of storybooks... I'll be fine. Honestly right now, I just need some coffee. You don't have to worry about me."
"You act like that's easy not to do. Especially seeing the state you're in right now- of course I'm going to worry!"
"But you don't have to, Y/n. Seriously, I'm okay. At least, compared to Bill I'm okay. If you should be worried about anyone's physical or mental state right now, you should be taking a look at your new roommate.."
That caused Y/n to contort their face into an expression of confusion. They moved to lean against the counter, raising a brow in Norah's direction. "What do you mean?"
"What do I mean? ...You have taken a look at Bill recently, haven't you? He looks absolutely drained. His pace has slowed down a bit when he walks and his posture is a bit slouched now compared to when we had first met. And either you have been giving him make-up to try on or he naturally looks like a racoon right now with those bags under his eyes. Pretty sure they're darker than mine. He looks... off. So I don't get why you're paying so much attention towards me when he clearly needs some help."
YOU ARE READING
Mercy (Bill Cipher x Reader)
FanfictionA-X-O-L-O-T-L His time had come to burn He invoked the ancient power That he would soon return And return he had, but at what cost? Was it worth it with everything he lost? If he wants to shrink the blame, He'll have to invoke my name. One way to ab...
