Wayfarer [Bill Cipher x Reader] [REVISED]

Chapter Two: The Piano Knows Something I Don't Know

"Yeah, I know. Anything I can do to make it up to you?" He gave you a little smile.

You paused, tapping your chin. There was the possibility of asking for more money... but it wouldn't do to get too greedy, would it? He could just find another, cheaper travel partner if you proved too demanding. Better not push your luck. But in the meantime... "Well, since I'm the one driving, it's my car, my rules, okay? You know, don't leave your trash lying around, let me pick the music, and don't do anything that would make us have to talk to the cops. Understood?"

He nodded. "As long as you don't play any synthesized music." He cringed. "God... it's like teeth scraping against wet styrofoam!"

"Alright, alright," you said, holding up a hand. "No synthesized music. I got it. And hey, don't worry. I'm not a mean person... at least I don't think so. Don't bother me, and I won't bother you. Is that cool?"

He nodded.

"Well, then, if we stick to those rules and don't get up in each other's business, I say this trip'll go pretty smoothly. Everything will turn out fine!"

But boy, were you wrong.

Of course, you didn't know this when you pulled into the parking lot of a little South Lake Tahoe motel. Its turquoise and white neon sign lit up your way to the long, low silhouette of the building, the quiet chirp of crickets sounding out in the cool evening air after the rain had faded into the distance.

Pulling in and parking, you got out and headed towards the lobby right next to the sign. A doorbell chimed as you passed through the glass double doors, the glow of fluorescent light filling the lobby as you walked up to the front desk.

"Hi, welcome to the Blue Lagoon Motel!" the receptionist behind the desk chirped, her bright eyes flashing under heavy lavender eyeshadow as she set down a small but rather thick novel, the name "Danielle Steel" becoming visible on the cover for a moment. "I'm Darlene. How may I help you this evening?"

"Hi, I'd like to make a reservation," you said. "The sign out front says you have vacancies... ?"

"Oh, of course, of course. We have quite a few rooms available right now, as a matter of fact. Let's see..." She glanced at the ledger. "How's room 142 sound? A nice, quiet room away from the highway, with a nice queen-sized bed for you and the gentleman in the back to share... "

"The... ?" You glanced back at Bill, your ears becoming hot. "Oh, no, no, no, we're—we're not—we want separate rooms, please," you blurted out. "With twin-sized beds."

With that, the twinkle in the receptionist's eyes departed, and she seemed to... frown? "Well, alright then, if you say so," she said with a sigh and a glance at the ledger once more. "Two single rooms with twin-sized beds, is that correct?"

You nodded.

"Well, looks like I'll be setting you two up in rooms 102 and 103. Credit card information, please."

You gave it to her, and she wrote it down. "We'll be charging the cost of your stay to your credit card as long as you stay here," she said, handing you two room cards in paper slips. "Remember, checkout time is at 11, don't miss it, the password for the complimentary Wi-Fi is on a placard in your room, and breakfast is served daily from 6:30 to 8 am. Is there anything else I can help you with today?"

"No, that's about it," you said, accepting the room keys from her. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. The two of you have a good night!" she called out as you and Bill exited the lobby.

The two of you made your way back to the car, and you parked right in front of your motel rooms. "Well, that was weird," you said with a bit weaker of a chuckle than you intended as you handed a room key to Bill. "What was that about?"

He shrugged. "Eh, just the same formula that's everywhere in this sad excuse of a world," he said, rolling his eyes. "Boy plus girl equals romance, which somehow equals sex." He tsked.

"Yeah, I know, right?" You rolled your eyes too as you swung your door open, hopping out of the car. "It's like, um, hello, in case you didn't notice, friendship exists? Also being queer? But yeah, you're right, that sort of stuff's everywhere. It sucks."

"Yeah, I know." Bill opened the door on his side, too, and as you began to walk towards the trunk for your stuff, Bill's backpack fell out of the car. "Oh, for crying out—"

You rushed over as it hit the ground and the zipper split open, half a dozen things rushing out of the backpack: a few folded shirts, a slim red volume, two orange pill bottles, and a contact lenses case. As you watched, the pill bottles began to roll away on the rough asphalt, only for Bill to snatch them back up.

"It's fine, I got it," he muttered, holding out a hand to stop you as he snatched the rest of the things up and stuffed them back into his backpack. "It's fine."

Swinging the backpack over his shoulder and taking a few steps towards his motel room door, he paused. "Well, guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow, huh?" he said. He gave a little wave. "Welp, bye, then."

He turned back towards his room door and took another couple of steps before you thought to cry out. "Wait!" You ran up to him as he stopped in his tracks and looked back at you. "I, uh, forgot. We need to exchange numbers." At his baffled stare, you added quickly, "You know, so that I can talk to you when we're in separate rooms!"

"Oh. That. Right, right," he said, pulling out his phone.

He opened up his contacts and handed it to you. Handing him your phone, you hurriedly typed your number into his phone as he did the same to yours. There were an awful lot of cracks in his phone screen, weren't there? Ah, well. Not like you could judge, you thought to yourself as you swapped phones again.

"Okay, remember, that lady up at reception said that breakfast is from 6:30 to 8, so we both got to get up at a decent time, okay?" you said. "We're going to be going on a hike around 9 or so, so you need all the energy you can get. I don't want you to be hiking on an empty stomach, okay?"

"Sure. That all for tomorrow? Hiking, then heading back here?"

You nodded. "Yup. It's basically just going to be us hiking around for a bit, and then we'll come back. That sound okay with you?"

"Yeah, yeah," he said, nodding. "Okay, cool. See you tomorrow, then!"

"See you tomorrow!" you replied.

Then, turning towards your rooms, the two of you parted.

Writer's reminder: Hey you guys, here's a friendly reminder that writers love feedback! Remember to vote or comment on this chapter to let me know how you feel about this chapter or the book so far. :)