Chapter Text
Selene did end up seeing Bill again, and he’d appear in her dreams every few days. They’d chat about a lot of things, but she was still hesitant to make a deal. The idea of being possessed sounded… less than ideal. That was only during the night, though. During the days, she would work, and listen to her friend’s stories.
“And then we had to fight the wax statues! Dipper was awesome, he chased one onto the roof!” Mabel recounted during a slow shift, just a few days later.
“Haha, yeah, it was kind of awesome once I got past the whole ‘I could fall to my death’ thing.”
“I wish I was there!” Selene said as she sweeped the floor. She noticed the two of them leaving, and furrowed her brow in confusion. “Wait, aren’t you guys working?”
“Oh, uh, yeah. We’re just taking a break!” Dipper told her.
“Well, it is slow. I’ll come with you-!”
“Sorry Selene!” Mabel interrupted. “Twin stuff. See you later!” She called out as they left.
“Oh. Okay. Bye!” Selene shrugged it off. Siblings did stuff together, it was normal. Even if it stung.
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The trend continued. They’d work. They’d talk. The twins would leave her with all the work. It seemed out of character for them, but she felt like their shifts were becoming her own. What hurt worse, though, was that they never included her in anything.
Days became weeks. Too nervous to bring it up, she just kept her head down and did the work. All the while, she’d complain to the one person she could trust.
“It’s just not fair! Why do I have to do all the work!?”
“Aw, cheer up Lunar! Pine tree and shooting star just don’t see your worth.” Bill assured her.
“Do they even like me? I really thought I was being a good friend, but they don’t really seem to care.”
“You’re doing great. If I weren’t stuck in the mindscape, I’d totally help you out! Speaking of which…”
“No. Not yet. I’m still thinking it over…” she told him. Bill’s form turned red, and he approached slowly.
“You’ve been saying that for the past week and a half! I really don’t like liars, Selene. So tell me; will you make a deal with me, or not?” He said, the threatening tone in his voice barely masked. Selene backed up, shaking slightly. Bill coughed, and his color shifted back to yellow. “Sorry. I’m sorry about that. I kinda lost my temper!”
“I- I noticed. Look- if by next time I don’t agree, I’ll understand if you leave. Just give me one more chance to think it over.”
“One more chance, Lunar. I know you’ll make the right choice though!” his voice flipped back to friendly quicker than Selene could blink.
“You scare me when you do that.”
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The next day, near the end of her shift, Selene was having trouble with the vending machine. She had spent the last of her money for the week on a granola bar, which was now stuck between the glass.
“Come on-! Everyone else already went home for the day, and even if they hadn’t, I can’t ask for help over a stupid two dollar granola bar…” she sighed, defeated. Walking out, she began to make her way down the path to her spot in the woods when she heard someone call her name. Looking back, she saw her friends holding something. Mabel walked over, handing her a small basket.
“We almost forgot to give this to you!”
“Oh- thanks?”
“We kind of noticed you’re… not doing well?”
“Wait, what?”
“It’s kind of obvious.” Dipper pointed out. “You work late even though it’s summer, and we never see your parents-“ he started, before his sister interrupted him.
“So we made you a care package! It has snacks, a blanket, and some notes from us!” Mabel explained. Selene smiled, and tried to keep herself from crying.
“Thank you- you really didn’t have to do this-“
“Yes we did, now accept it and feel our love and affection run through your veins!”
“I’m accepting it, I’m accepting it!” She laughed.
“We also wanted to apologize for leaving you with our share of the work. We thought you needed the money, but then Mabel realized we were kinda leaving you out of all our adventures.”
“Apology accepted. Well, you should both be getting home now. I’ll see you tomorrow!”
“Bye!”
“Bye Selene!”
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The stuff in the basket was nice. Some cute notes, mostly from Mabel. Some snacks, including granola bars and gummy bears. Best of all was a blanket. It wasn’t high quality, but it looked hand made.
“I knew she could knit, but this is impressive for just a few weeks of work.” Selene told herself, realizing Mabel had likely made it. “They’re so nice, and to think I assumed they were leaving me with all the work to be cruel. I’m an awful person…”
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Things were different after that. While she wasn’t included in everything, Selene found herself joining them on more of their outings. For her, that was enough.