Wayfarer [Bill Cipher x Reader] [REVISED]

Chapter Twenty: Sedated

"We couldn't." Bill's voice cut through the air next to you as he fixed Don with a strange, half-lidded look. "Awful rude to eat food before the person that paid, ain't it?"

"Why, that's real polite. But don't fret, I've already had my breakfast. You two go ahead."

"Oh, I can't," Bill replied. "I'm allergic to dairy. Deadly allergic. And I dunno what kind of environment this was prepared in, so..."

You shot Bill a look. Allergic to dairy? Since when? you mouthed at him.

Just go with it, okay? he mouthed back.

"Oh, that shouldn't be a problem. There's no milk or cheese in these," Don said. "It'll be fine!"

"Yeah, well, if it's been anywhere near dairy, then lemme tell you, you're gonna haveta airlift me to the nearest hospital. My body doesn't do lactose." He gave Don a sharp look. "At all."

"Oh, c'mon now, I trust Jane to keep her kitchen neat. I'm sure that she wasn't back there letting this touch other things willy-nilly! You can eat it." Don turned his gaze upon you. "Now, what about you, young lady? Surely you'd like a bite?"

"Me? Oh, uh... I'm full already. You know, because I already ate breakfast back at the room?" you replied. You picked at an unraveling thread on the hem of your shirt, avoiding Don's gaze. "I mean, I don't like to eat a ton in the morning, anyways. I'm not really in the mood."

"Well, at least have a couple bites. Try it, why won't you?" Don said.

"Yeah, try some," someone in the next booth over echoed. "It'll knock your socks off!"

"Absolutely delicious," another person chimed in.

"A real treat!" yet another said. "C'mon, have a little."

As your gaze swiveled from person to person to person as each spoke up, it dawned on you that fairly few of the booths around you were empty. Many, especially the ones closest to you, hosted one or two people, all sitting still. Only a few of them had cups of coffee or a muffin in front of them. The rest of them sat in front of empty tabletops, their heads craning towards you. It was seven in the morning. What were all of these people doing here, if not eating breakfast?

A slow, cold dread spread over the base of your spine. Oh, no, were they—?

Your voice trembled slightly as you slowly let the next couple of words shake loose from your lips. "I mean, I really appreciate your buying this for us, Don... but I would rather not right now. Sorry, I'm just not in the mood for it."

"What do you mean, you're not in the mood?" someone asked. The squeak of rubber on tile rang out as several people got up from their booths. "Just have a bite or two!"

A few people began to converge around your booth, slinging hands over the backs of the seats, pressing in on you. You let out a quiet squeak and shrank away from them, leaning towards Bill as he leaned towards you. Just what was with these people?

"Oh, shove off. Is it really any of your business whether or not we eat this?" Bill told the people crowding in around your table. His hand came to rest on your arm.

"Well, I just think that it's poor manners to do this to Don," one of the strangers, a round, middle-aged woman said. "To refuse to take a bite after he went out of his way to buy it for you? How rude," she scoffed. "At least eat a little."

"Hey, in case you didn't notice, lady, I got allergies," Bill shot back. "You wanna pay for my hospital bills when this stuff wrecks my stomach?"

"Oh, fuck your allergies," another person spat. "Just be polite and eat the damn thing!"

"For fuck's sake—I've had enough of these two dilly-dallying!" someone else yelled. They grabbed your arm, and—

"OW! What the fuck?" They snatched their hand away, hissing. "What was that?"

The others backed away a little. The person who had grabbed you continued to hiss. They gave you a hard look. "What," they asked through clenched teeth, "on earth is that—that thing in your pocket?"

"My... Chapstick?" you asked.

"No, of course not! The—the other thing! What the fuck is that?"

You furrowed your brow. Just what on earth were they talking about? You reached down into your pockets, fishing out your Chapstick, a few pieces of lint, a couple of loose pennies... and the pink lizard carving you'd gotten back in Nevada. You held it up. "You mean this?"

The crowd recoiled. Even Don scooched further away. The townspeople's eyes became wide as they turned to each other, glancing at the carving and whispering among themselves.

What on earth was up with them? Why were they so scared of this carving? Well, at the moment, it didn't matter. If it got you out and away from these weirdos, then you were more than happy to play along with whatever weird ideas they seemed to have about it.

You slowly rose from your seat, Bill following suit, as you held the carving up right in front of you. The townspeople further recoiled.

"Hey!" Bill yelled at them, making them flinch. "You creeps! Let us out, or my friend here is going to touch you with this thing!"

For a moment, they held still. Then, when you took a few slow, steady steps towards them, they finally broke down and almost fell over themselves getting out of your way as you began to exit the booth, Bill trailing behind you.

Standing back to back, the two of you began to walk towards the exit, your arm making slow, steady arcs as you turned to make sure not to present your back to the crowd. You held your breath as each step took you closer and closer and closer to the entrance... and bingo! Your foot hit the entrance carpet to the chime of the front doorbell. Slowly, but surely, the two of you pressed on until you were right next to the car.

Then, hopping in and locking it, you peeled out of the parking lot before the townspeople could change their minds.

And, as the car pulled away, tires screeching, Bill turned his head back towards the diner. Rolling the window down, he cupped a hand and yelled back:

"HA! Take that, you creeps!"

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. :)