UnWilling Roommates (Bill x Reader x Will)

Chapter 1: Moving In

(What's that you say?  You're not a girl?  YOU ARE NOW.)

"Home sweet home," you muttered to yourself, staring at the empty apartment. The walls were bare, the furniture was bland, and the fridge was empty.

You collapsed on the couch. "I love it!"

It had been the middle of the night.  Your parents' enormous house, full of fancy things you didn't need, had echoed your and your father's raised voices for hours after your fight.  You'd stormed to your room, packed a suitcase, and screamed "I'm moving out!"

You didn't even care where you went.  You simply hopped on the first bus out of town, and wound up in the middle of nowhere, AKA: Reverse Falls, Oregon. The town had caught your eye as the bus passed the "Welcome" sign. There appeared to be a crossed-out eye painted on the back of it.

Why would someone paint an eye only to cross it out? You wondered to yourself. Also, you saw a flash of red as you drove by that you could have sworn looked like a gnome.

You hopped off the bus when it pulled up to the station.  Taking a moment to get your bearings, it seemed to be a typical small town.  You squared your shoulders firmly, picked up your suitcase, and hiked into the center of town.

Having taken most of the day to get here on the bus, it was a sleepy afternoon. Most of the shops seemed open, but there was nobody around. There didn't seem to be much to do in the town, but that suited you well enough. You did see a brightly colored flyer on a telephone pole advertising some magic show called the Tent of Telepathy. It seemed to be the main attraction of the town, so you grabbed the flyer and took it with you.

Now you sat on couch in your brand-new apartment, staring with indecision at the flyer in your hand.  Why not? you thought to yourself.  Maybe I don't want to do something like this so soon after moving here... but then again, I'm on a roll with impulsive and stupid decisions, aren't I?

You didn't want to admit it to yourself either, but deep down you didn't want to think too hard about what you'd just done.  I've abandoned everything I ever knew to try and make it on my own in an unfamiliar town.  Am I a complete and total moron?

Probably.  Does it matter?

You'd spent most of the day shopping for necessities in your new apartment, so you decided to spoil yourself and check it out. And if it turned out to be sketchy... well, you knew how to defend yourself. You picked up your trusty crossbow, tucking it in its holster as you headed out the door to the show. (Why do you have a crossbow? Because crossbows are awesome.)

As dusk fell, you headed back through the center of town. It didn't seem so sleepy anymore. Clusters of people passed you, all headed in the same direction. Evidently the Gleefuls were the highlight of the town. Are these people all residents? You wondered to yourself. Why would everyone visit the same show over and over? They must really be dedicated to keeping their material fresh.

You heard the commotion before you saw the tent. It seemed like the whole town had turned up to see the magic show. When the tent came into view, you had to pause to take it in. It was much bigger than you had pictured, more like a circus tent than a camping tent. It appeared to be set up in a stone courtyard instead of pitched onto the grass, and there were a few cars parked outside despite most of the town having come on foot. Spotlights waved aimlessly around into the sky, announcing the tent's location to the town and the surrounding forest. Dramatic music was blasting from some unseen source, punctuated regularly by a gruff voice telling you that the gift shop was open for business.

You got in line with everyone else, buying your ticket and finding a seat in the middle of a row. You waited, a little edgy, trying not to poke the person next to you with your crossbow.

Finally the lights went down and a spotlight illuminated the stage. You leaned forward in your chair. The show was about to begin.

(A/N: Now that I've finished the sequel, I'll be retconning the beginning of this story a little bit to match the ending of the second book.)