Reformed

Chapter Six

Bill's eye opened wide as he awoke from his sleep. He immediately shot up, grabbing his chest. It took him a moment to relax his breathing and realize what was happening and where he was. He was a human now, living in Sixer's bathroom... right.

The blonde then let out a deep sigh and leaned back against the cold, hard wall. He sat there and stared at the ceiling.

He had nothing better to do than just sit and think or sleep, but he had already slept so he would have to go for thinking right now. His mind ended up thinking about Pine Tree and Shooting Star.

He found it peculiar that they had started feeding him instead of Sixer. Why were they taking care of him in general? Why hadn't they just killed him yet? Were they working up to it? No, the Pines were too soft for that... but even then that didn't explain why they were making sure he was fed, or tended to his recently emptied eye-socket.

Bill's thoughts were cut short as the door to his room opened. Shooting Star stepped in, and, oddly enough, didn't shut the door behind her. He instantly tensed up.

Bill raised an eyebrow in confusion. According to what Pine Tree had told him, she shouldn't be here right now. He had already had his first meal of the day, and her brother always brought his second one. Did he sleep through Pine Tree trying to feed him? Had the kid just forgotten?

"You already fed me," Bill reminded, crossing his arms as best he could with his handcuffs on. He turned his head away from her.

"I know!" she chirped. "I'm not here to feed you!"

Bill's gaze snapped back to her. He tensed up even more. What did she want?

"I'm going to take you upstairs and you are going to take a shower," she explained, pointing towards him. "You stink."

The blonde narrowed his eyes towards her. He then sniffed himself to see if she was right. Mabel couldn't help but giggle a bit at that, making Bill grumble.

Shooting Star was always so cheerful and chipper whenever she came down. She would very kindly greet him and smile, no matter what. She would even sometimes sit there for a moment and try to talk to him. She would ramble on about how she had made breakfast that morning and explain the whole process to him. Despite the fact that he never replied or even acknowledged her, she kept up the same bright attitude every time. It confused Bill, and sometimes annoyed him, too, but he found a little entertainment out of it. He was so extremely bored that he'd take anything he could get.

"C'mon!" the brunette exclaimed, gesturing for him to get up. "Grunkle Ford has to take off your handcuffs."

Bill's stomach dropped at the mention of Sixer's name. He really didn't want to see the old man. He had been actually enjoying not seeing that brute, but he guessed good things never lasted.

The blonde hesitantly got up and walked over to Shooting Star. He stumbled as he wobbled on his legs, but fortunately caught himself by grabbing onto the sink. He hadn't been on his feet in... well, he wasn't sure the exact amount of time, but a while. His legs were weak and not used to being stood on, or even move.

"Do you need help?"

The worry in Shooting Star's voice and face made Bill feel so incredibly embarrassed and shameful. What kind of needy, weak creature had he become?

He shook his head in reply, so she turned around and stepped forward so he could follow her out of the bathroom. Ford was waiting a few steps in front of them. He gave Bill a dark stare, and Bill returned the favor.

The older man stepped closer to Bill before grabbing his wrists without warning. Bill became almost completely stiff with caution as he did, but fortunately, all Sixer did was unlock the cuffs with a key he had. He took the restraints off of his wrists and stuffed them into a pocket in his coat.