Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Becky Botsford sat in her room on one fine Saturday. She was re-reading the third book in the pretty princess diaries series- it was her personal favorite- when she heard a familiar call ring out from the town.

"Ah! Help! Wordgirl!"

Hopping out of bed, she quickly grabbed Bob who had been napping on her bean bag nearby. He let out a slightly agitated squeak upon being manhandled, but Becky quickly explained

"Sorry Bob- but the city is in trouble! Word up!"

Just like that she was zooming out of her window in full costume, flying over the city to the source of the cries for help… which, oddly, came from a hardware supplies store. It took seconds to arrive, and Wordgirl was ready for action!

"Alright criminal, prepare to-"

The wind was taken out of her sales when she looked around and saw no villain in sight, only a frightened and confused cashier huddled behind the register. Becky groaned in frustration.

"Come on! Again?!"

She landed a bit harshly, causing a 'thund' noise to echo throughout the shop. She hurriedly looked over to the cashier

"Did you see what villain was robbing your store?"

"Uh.. Uh no- I couldn't get a good look at them-"

Wordgirl cut him off with a heavy sigh. Captain Huggy Face asked Wordgirl, confused, why she was so frustrated. Becky crossed her arms.

"This is the fourth time in the last two weeks that I've shown up and the villain was already gone! I don't get it, the only villain who's as fast as me is Rhyme and even she takes a while to charge up.."

Bob held his chin as he began to think, chippering out a suggestion. Wordgirl nodded, begging to walk out of the hardware store.

"I suppose it could be Doctor TwoBrains… but if he really had invented teleportation why would he go here of all places?"

Bob shrugged, but before he could properly respond, Becky continued with her small rant.

"And why would he be using it so sparingly with such strange objects! Not one piece of cheese has been stolen, and neither has anything of value! Like seriously- this time it's the hardware store, last time it was the crafts shops…"

She trailed off. There was only a moment of silence. The narrator's voice broke the peace as it rang through overhead.

"Looks like you've got a mystery to solve."

Wordgirl put her hands on her hips, looking up in annoyance.

"You already know who's behind this, don't you?"

"Well, I might."

"It's not nice to tease children, you know."

Bob made a noise of agreement, putting his hands on his hips in solidarity. They heard the narrator laugh.

"Alright, you got me. Would I be forgiven if I gave you a hint?"

Becky and Huggy looked between each other before giving their nod of approval. The narrator aptly responded

"There's only so much I can say but.. it's someone you'll never see coming."

A stiff breeze came by, causing Becky to shiver.

"Well, that's ominous.."

Bob cocked his head, giving Wordgirl a questioning look.

"Oh, ominous means giving the impression that something bad or unpleasant is going to happen. What the narrator said was ominous because it was worded to be threatening or suspicious."

The narrator interrupted her definition.

"And things were about to get a lot more ominous.."

Becky looked to Bob, pointing up at the narrator in example.

"See?"

Meanwhile, in a run down apartment building a few streets down, Big Left Hand Guy was on the couch watching television. He'd turned the lights off to set the mood for the horror movie he'd put on, but it didn't help much as he'd been constantly laughing at the poor quality of effects and acting.

Just as the main character was staggering up the stairs in the third act, Big Left Hand Guy was distracted by a long squeak behind him. He looked over his shoulder and watched as the front door fell open slowly. He raised a brow, getting up out of his seat and walking to the door. He stuck his head out to judge if anyone was there, but only looked out into a vacant, dimly-lit hall.

"Huh.. could've sworn I locked this thing.. I really gotta call the landlord about that."

His train of thought was interrupted by a loud creak of a floorboard back in his apartment. He quickly swiveled back to look but nothing lay in his line of sight.

The noise seemed far too present to be coming from the movie, and when Big Left Hand Guy looked back to the television, it was clear the characters on screen were hiding, not walking about.

A weary expression came over Big Left's face. He cautiously closed the door behind him. Although he wasn't sure of exactly what he was expecting, he took a step further into the room and glanced around with worried eyes. He asked a slightly cautious

"Hello?"

What responded was a concise moment of silence. This moment was short lived, as a staggered sudden scream rang out from the TV, which gave Invisi-Bill such a start that he was startled out of his Invisi-Bill form with a yelp. Seeing his roommate pop into vision startled Big Left Hand Guy even more.

"GAH-! Geeze Bill, you scared me!"

Big Left Hand Guy complained, walking to the lamp and clicking the light on. Invisi-Bill put his hand on the back of his neck, providing an awkward laugh and a slightly less awkward apology.

"Invisi-Bill's sorry, he was trying to think of a way to appear without it being awkward."

Big Left Hand Guy sat back down on the couch, and Invisi-Bill popped out of visibility before he reappeared at Big Left's side.

Big Left Hand Guy casually put his arm around Invisi-Bill, pointing at the movie that had already rolled to credits.

"We have got to find a DVD version of this movie soon. You would love it; it's awful."

Invisi-Bill laughed at the sentiment, but didn't comment any further. Big Left Hand Guy frowned.

"Heh.. is there something wrong? You'd usually be talking my ear off after a walk."

Invisi-Bill sighed gently, sinking down on the couch to lay his head on his roommate's shoulder.

"Invisi-Bill has just been on edge recently… Should I be nervous about the villainy get together tomorrow? Invisi-Bill does love being around people but.. I'm.. not sure they love being around me."

Big Left Hand Guy looked shocked. He rubbed Invisi-Bill's arm and began to reassure him.

"Come on Bill, you don't have anything to worry about. At least you got invited! Coach hasn't asked me to help him commit any crimes ever since that dog whistle thing…"

Invisi-Bill smiled fondly. He remembered how mad Coach had been when Invisi-Bill had come to bail everyone out of jail, and how relieved Big Left Hand Guy had been to see him..

Invisi-Bill took a breath before he asked, a bit timidly

"Do you remember what Invisi-Bill told you about.. yeah.. Right?"

The question took the other man off guard. He stumbled through his response, much as Invisi-Bill stumbled through the question.

"Uh- yeah you.. You mentioned it when we first moved in together.. You deserve a lot better than that."

The atmosphere suddenly grew tense. Invisi-Bill gripped on to Big Left Hand Guy's shirt, pulling him to where they were eye level. His tone echoed out flat.

"Invisi-Bill needs to know that he exists. You see how they look through me when Invisi-Bill talks."

Big Left Hand Guy's eyes got big. He, much more nervously, chuckled.

"It'll be alright Bill, honest! People love bein' around you.. they just get a little overwhelmed. All your energy takes a second to get used to, but they'll realize it's worth it!"

Invisi-Bill's shoulders relaxed at this. If Big Left Hand Guy hadn't known any better, he would've thought Invisi-Bill had snapped out of a trance. He smiled, tone changing quickly

"Aw, thanks Lefty! You're the best friend a guy could have! Sorry about getting all down in the dumps about it, Invisi-Bill was just afraid of feeling…"

Invisi-Bill paused, trying to think of a word other than invisible.

".. unobtrusive."

"Huh?"

"Nevermind, Invisi-Bill just wants to thank you!"

He gave Big Left Hand Guy, who still seemed to be suffering from tonal whiplash, a genuine hug. Big Left Hand Guy let out a breathy laugh as he adjusted to the new mood.

"Don't mention it. How about you throw some popcorn in the microwave? The next movie they have going looks even worse than the last one."

Invisi-Bill smiled, eagerly nodding as he hopped out of his seat and skipped over to the kitchen. He put the popcorn in the microwave, and cautiously looked over to Big Left Hand Guy, who was now focused on the television once more.

Invisi-Bill slipped a hammer out from under his vest, quickly slipping it away into one of the cabinets he knew he roommate wouldn't be using for a while. Still with a smile on his face, he returned with the popcorn, and proceeded to laugh with Big Left Hand Guy at the B-rated quality of quite a few horror flicks.

Chapter Text

Invisi-Bill was little more than a bundle of nerves the following day. He looked over to the congregated group of villains up ahead. All familiar faces, which gave Invisi-Bill hope. Besides, Invisi-Bill loved making new friends, this would be good for him! Yeah…

He turned invisible with a distinct pop before sprinting over to the congregation. Scanning within the crowd, his excitement grew tenfold when he realized Whammer was there! Invisi-Bill ran up to him, popping into visibility again. 

"Hello!"

The Whammer was caught off guard, but upon seeing who it was that'd startled him, a huge smile came to his face.

"Invisibro!!"

He picked his friend up on a massive bear hug, which was honestly a bit too tight but Invisi-Bill only laughed.

"Invisi-Bill didn't know you got invited here too!"

Whammer set Invisi-Bill back down, releasing him from the hug.

"Pretty Whammin', huh? Whammer knows a ton of the villains here. Coach invited everyone! He must have some sort of surprise for us."

Invisi-Bill's smile dropped. For some inexplicable reason, a deep ominous feeling washed over him. He looked to the side in thought, as he didn't quite know what. He trusted Coach, but once the feeling was there he couldn't seem to shake it. He laughed tensely, and in a cautious tone asked

"So.. Do you know exactly what that surprise is?"

Whammer shrugged nonchalantly, not giving it a second though.

"I dunno, guess we'll figure it out soon enough. Whammer hasn't seen you out in a while, where've you been Invisibro?"

Invisi-Bill's smile grew genuine again, gladly explaining.

"Oh, well Invisi-Bill has been working really hard lately! There hasn't been much to show for it just yet but.. hey, at least Invisi-Bill isn't in jail!"

Whammer's laugh at the statement was cut short, as his attention was suddenly grabbed away by something behind Invisi-Bill. Invisi-Bill looked over his shoulder to see Chuck walking down the other street casually, clearly oblivious to what he was about to walk into. 

Whammer excitedly waved his arms in the air.

"Hey Chucky!"

Whammer yelled across. Chuck nearly toppled over from the surprise, and then immediately got a look of panic on his face. Whammer pushed past Invisi-Bill, briefly explaining

"Whammer's gotta go catch up with Chuck! He looks like he misses his old pal Whammer. How about you talk with that big left-handed guy til Whammer's back!"

Invisi-Bill's heart dropped into his stomach. He quickly tried to grab The Whammer's attention again as he ran off.

"Actually Lefty isn't here right now-! Coach is still grumpy at him for the… thing…"

He trailed off, realizing that no one was listening to him. He glanced around, disappearing and then reappearing in front of Amazing Rope Guy.

"Hello!"

Amazing Rope Guy was startled for a moment, but near immediately used his grappling rope to escape without a word.

"Oh- Goodbye!"

With more urgency, Invisi-Bill turned to the nearest person, who just so happened to be Timbo. 

"Hello there Timbo!.. Buddy?" 

He shook him gently, trying to prompt a response, but it became clear he wouldn't be getting it from Timbo as the man had fallen asleep standing up. A dread settled in Invisi-Bill's chest as he took in his oblivious surroundings… 

There was a moment where Invisible spaced out. His smile fell, and his eyes drifted downwards to his own hands. This state was broken by the peirse of a loud whistle blow. Everyone's head turned to see Coach standing at the head of the group.

He walked towards the center of where all the villains had gathered as he spoke.

"Alright villains, you're all probably curious why I asked you all to meet here. How do you feel about a little friendly competition?"

The listening villains looked between each other with a sense of approval at the idea. Coach continued.

"Well, here's my idea for one. Each one of you will try to steal as much as possible in the next hour without alerting Wordgirl, and whoever steals the most gets to keep the everything. The only rules that get you disqualified are no working with others and no getting caught. Sound fair?"

The other villains seemed to get excited at the idea. Invisi-Bill smiled to himself, liking the sound of it. Coach announced, even louder this time ,

"Great, I'll be the referee. Now get to it!" 

The small group villains were already dispersing, not wanting to gather too much unwanted attention. Invisi-Bill looked over to Whammer, who still seemed to be eating up whatever free time Chuck had. Invisi-Bill took a deep breath. 

"That's okay, Invisi-Bill isn't supposed to work with anyone for this anyways…"

He frowned, glancing to the side. Coach was walking between villains, giving out small bits of advice.

"Miss Question, you might want to change up your disguise a bit.. Timbo, try to look more awake. People might get suspicious… Whammer! Back on task!"

A wide smirk came over Invisi-Bill's face. He got a sparkle in his eyes as Coach walked closer, but that soon died out as he was passed by. Invisi-Bill sighed, nearly defeated. His impulse was to chase after in hopes of getting some sort of acknowledgement, but Invisi-Bill stopped himself. 

He balled his fists in determination and disappeared with a pop.

Invisi-Bill had to take a moment to look between the shops that surrounded him. The bank would be too obvious, and it's about time he gave Reginald's shop a break. The way Invisi-Bill saw it, quantity came over quality in this competition anyways. The one place that other villains didn't seem to have their eyes on was a store labeled "Video; Security; Cameras"... That seemed to be good enough for Invisi-Bill!

He approached without a second thought. As he opened the door and stepped inside, the bell on the door jingled loudly, causing Invisi-Bill to still. The cashier looked to the door with suspicion for a moment before shrugging nonchalantly and going back to work. Invisi-Bill was confused for a moment before he looked down at himself and realized he was still invisible. He would've laughed at himself if it wouldn't have given him away.

He creeped past the counter, he noticed a shelf with several polaroid cameras spread out atop it. They were pretty much the only thing in the store not tied down so Invisi-Bill thought that would be a perfect place to start! He picked up a few of the loose pieces of instant film that were laid out for display, and watched as it disappeared as he slipped it into the sleeve of his suit.

He glanced back at the clerk, who was still none the wiser of Invisi-Bill's presence. As Invisi-Bill turned back to the cameras, a blinking red light caught his eye. A security camera was pointed right at him.

Now, this was usually no problem with that; Invisi-Bill wouldn't be seen on camera… but that was just the problem, he couldn't see himself there. This usually wouldn't bother him in the least, but for some reason it made his chest sink in. He wasn't there.. he was supposed to be there.

It made his skin feel suddenly uncomfortable. But that didn't make sense at all. Invisi-Bill knew he was there, and the clerk wasn't supposed to be aware of his presence, so there wasn't any problem. Regardless, he could hardly stop his arm from reaching forward. He couldn't track the movement on the camera. Much more suddenly this time, he slammed his fist into the display in front of him.

The display completely toppled; his fist now hurt; and Invisi-Bill watched on the display as his actions were reflected. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Woah- What??"

Invisi-Bill's breath hitched again when he heard the voice of the not puzzled cashier. Invisi-Bill backed away from the mess, and as the worker bent down to investigate, he snatched the camera and ran out of the store, not pausing as the bell rang him out.

He ran to the side of the building and turned back into his visible form. His arms shook as he tried to catch his breath. He could see a red bruise beginning to form on the underside of his hand. He released an uncomfortable, breathless laugh from his throat. He slumped down, suddenly tired, and decided he could just wait there until he felt more steady..

By the time Invisi-Bill was stumbling back into the street, the rest of the villains were together. They'd managed to amass a decent amount of stolen goods, and even more miraculously, they'd managed to do so without getting caught.

Invisi-Bill knew he wouldn't win by this point, so he made the switch to invisibility as he drew closer, hoping to hear how the others had done. The villains were counting around their earnings, trying to see who had stolen the most, when Coach stepped in.

"I hate to interrupt, but as a referee, I'm going to have to make a few disqualifications."

He snatched the bag of loot from Amazing Rope Guy's hands.

"What do you mean by disqualifications?" 

Miss Question piped up, putting her hands on her hips.

"Does it look like any of us got caught?"

"No."

Coach responded, glaring at Miss Question for her snarky tone.

"But, you did break the other rule. No one here worked alone."

The villains looked between each other with confusion before Coach further explained.

"I gave everyone here advice that helped you succeed in your crimes, therefore you did not act alone."

The crowd suddenly changed their tone from confusion to disappointment and anger. Whammer's voice broke through the displeased grumbles to ask.

"Wait, so if we all lost.. Who's whammin' home with all the stuff?"

Coach slung the bag of stolen goods over his shoulder with a labored grunt.

"As referee, I think it's only fair I take this off your hands.. so it doesn't go to waste."

He then took off running, though he didn't get very far. He ran straight into what felt like an invisible wall, soon finding he'd only ran into Invisi-Bill's legs when Invisi-Bill reappeared with a pop.

Invisi-Bill was smiling brightly, proudly announcing.

"Actually, that means Invisi-Bill wins!"

"What."

Coach responded, more as a statement than a question. He got back on his feet and Invisi-Bill's excitement only grew, depressing the urge to have an outburst of joy.

"You forgot about Invisi-Bill! Invisi-Bill didn't get any advice, so Invisi-Bill wins!"

Coach was at a loss for words, in shocked silence as he racked his brain for an instance that would prove him wrong. The rest of the villainous crowd with great interest on how this would go. Coach eventually stumbled out an excuse.

"Well, I didn't see you steal anything."

Invisi-Bill's smile slowly fell from his face. He was washed over by a heavy feeling of vulnerability and looked down at Coach, now with a thumping anxiety.

"Invisi-Bill did! He stole a camera!"

Invisi-Bill tried to pull the Polaroid out of his pocket for proof but Coach shook his head, turning away in attempts to make an escape once more. Invisi-Bill blocked his path.

"Yes I did! Invisi-Bill even has the camera cards!"

He loosened his sleeve, blank photos spilling out and scattering on the ground. Coach, with a growing frustrated, repeated

"I didn't see it so it didn't happen."

Invisi-Bill felt his vision darken, almost as if a cloud had come from overhead. He didn't have time to wonder if he was the only one feeling such a strong ominous shift, because his mind was suddenly flooded with that simple statement. His hands clenched again, this time only feeling numb. Invisi-Bill's laugh came off awkward and strained, as he desperately tried to bite his tongue and suppress it.

"That- that's the point Coach! I'm me, Invisi-Bill! You're not supposed to see Invisi-Bill all the time… But just because you can't see me doesn't mean I'm not there. Invisi-Bill is here! Invisi-Bill exists!"

He could vaguely hear some sort of concerned murmur in the distance, but the world around him quickly seemed to be blurring. His face paled as though he was ill. Coach didn't seem to take notice, putting a hand on his hip and turning on his heel.

"Well I can't see you, so maybe Invisi-Bill doesn't exist."

His flippant, nonchalant, frankly annoyed tone implied that Coach said those words without any weight, but for Invisi-Bill the world took pause. There was a moment that felt like an eternity where he only stood there. His body felt like it was on pins; he became painfully unaware of his shallow breaths. As Invisi-Bill's eyes darted from side to side the world became more faint. His ears buzzed a horrible sound and his body fell listless. He could not feel his arms as within an instant they snapped to grab Coach by the shoulders, turning him back around in the process.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

His voice was harsh but Invisi-Bill could hardly register it. He didn't know when his hands let go of Coach's jacket but he could see them shake once more as he moved them when he talked.

"Invisib- I'm right here, Coach. I'm here! I'm real! You can't just- you can't just say that."

Against his own wishes, Invisi-Bill's cheeks pinched into a disturbed, wonky smile. An unfortunate reaction he could never rid from habit. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes. He loomed over Coach like a shadow, the glare from his glasses hiding his scared expression. Coach stepped back, now avoiding eye contact as it finally set in, this wasn't a situation he could just brush off.

"Look I didn't mean-"

"It's not like any of you can say- say that! You don't even look at me! Why can't you ju- just- just look at me?! I already have to say my own name just to hear it every once in a while- why can't any of you look at ME?!"

Invisi-Bill was cut out from the scene around him, truly as though he only spoke to himself as he continued to rant.

"I don't think anyone understands- I need attention. I'll never understand- YOU'LL never understand! I won't- I can't be alone- I just can't! So I have to be real, alright?!"

Coach said something else, but the words were incomprehensible now. The shorter man tried to back off, but before Invisi-Bill could register it he had picked Coach up by the collar of his button up shirt and lifted him to near eye height.

"I exist! I need to- I need to know I exist!.."

He gave a breathy laugh as his arm lowered. He almost felt when Coach was struggling to free himself from Invisi-Bill's grip, but he didn't feel as though he could release him even if he wanted to. He continued muttering, now truly to himself.

"I don't feel like I'm here… no.. no one can.. I can't do w-hat real people do.. I don't- I DON'T EXIST-!"

He felt a pressure on his shoulder that stopped him. Slowly, he began to hear his heart thumping again, filling his chest with a tangible feeling.

"I.. I don't exist.. I don't- I- D-d…"

"Invisibro..? You might wanna put Coach down.."

That was Whammer's voice. Invisi-Bill could recognize it now. He also recognized that it was Whammer's hand on his shoulder. For a brief moment his mind was occupied with only the thought of how strange it was to hear The Whammer's voice trying to be.. almost gentle.

Reality was fading back around him. He could hear the worried whispers now, though he still couldn't make out what they meant. It was only when his eyes adjusted that he even registered he was still holding Coach by his shirt.

Coach was absolutely terrified. When Invisi-Bill saw the fear in his eyes his face paled and he instantly let go of his grip, causing Coach to fall a short distance before he immediately ran off. 

Everything was much too quiet now.. Invisi-Bill was hesitant to look over to the other villains. They were standing much closer than before. Their expressions ranged from fearful, to concerned, to entirely confused. Invisi-Bill just froze, moving so much slower now than the world around him.

Miss Question shoved Amazing Rope Guy away (who had been hiding behind her during the whole ordeal), and took a step closer.

"Are you alright?"

Her tone was confused, and not in the way it normally was.. Nothing felt familiar at that moment. Invisi-Bill was short of breath, his voice almost meek when he responded.

"Invisi-Bill has to g… Goodbye!"

With one final pop he was gone. 

Chapter Text

The remaining villains looked around in shock, obviously not finding Invisi-Bill anywhere. They glanced between each other, not sure where to go from here, before a new sound caught their attention. 

Alarms rang out from the camera shop nearby and Wordgirl came zipping in, holding Captain Huggy Face by his arm. She looked slightly frazzled, as if she'd gotten there in even more of a rush than usual.

"Aha!"

She excitedly pointed at the villains, nearly dropping Huggy in the process.

"Stop right there villains! I'm here to put a stop to-"

She cut herself off, looking out into the small crowd of horrified looking villains.

"Woah.. Is.. everyone here okay? You know I'm not going to hurt you."

The villains nervously looked between each other again, and then looked around. Miss Question was the first to ask

"Say you don't have supervision or anything that would let you see people based off body heat, do you?"

Wordgirl floated down to the ground, giving Huggy a questioning look which he promptly returned.

"Um.. No? I feel like I missed something here.."

The conversation was disrupted by a loud crash coming from a nearby alleyway. Coach stumbled out with his shirt crumpled and his glasses off center.

"What you 'missed' was Invisi-Bill losing his marbles!"

Wordgirl sharply turned, a look of confusion setting in as she repeated.

"Invisi-Bill?"

The Whammer cleared his throat stepping up to the defense of his friend.

"The Whammer thinks that maybe Coach just scared him.."

Coach glared over at the Whammer, clearly offended

"I scared him? He lifted me up and borderline threatened me!"

He waved his arms in exasperation. Whammer thought for a moment, putting a finger to his chin.

"Huh.. Well yeah, he did kinda do that."

"Wait hold on-"

Wordgirl interjected, turning all the heads of the villains.

"So Invisi-Bill had some sort of outburst.. did he mention anything specific that caused him so much distress."

Timbo raised his hand, replying

"Uh.. I do remember him talking about wanting people to look at him and him existing and stuff.."

Bob chippered in confusion, looking up and asking Wordgirl where she was going with this. She looked down to her sidekick and promptly responded

"Well Bob- I think I may have just found a motive and suspect for that problem we've been having. An Invisible man who feels unobtrusive.. Wait- was he the one that stole from the camera shop?"

Miss Question nodded, promptly asking

"Why?"

Wordgirl ignored her, flying into the back of the video store and taking the surveillance camera. The cashier looked at her in bewilderment before she briefly explained.

"I promise I'll be right back!"

And flew off back outside.. the cashier just put their head down on the counter in defeat. 

She zipped back outside; It didn't take long for Bob, and eventually the villains, to gather around as the video started to replay.

It took a moment for Wordgirl to even register where Invisi-Bill was. In the corner of the screen she could see a camera lift, and it wasn't too long after that the table crashed. It.. wouldn't have made sense for Invisi-Bill to have fallen then, especially given what the villains had reported. It seemed like she wasn't the only one to realize that. There was a pause, where everyone looked between one another before Amazing Rope Guy suggested

"So uh.. You think somebody should call his roommate?"

Big Left Hand Guy was at home alone, just starting to make lunch when he heard the door unlock and open. He didn't even bother turning away from his work when he responded.

"Hey Bill! How'd the villain meet-up go? You're home a little early."

He waited for a response, and was confused when it never came. He turned around, further perplexed when he saw no one was in sight. He raised a brow, looking wall to wall. 

"Uh.. Bill, are you alright?"

He heard an inaudible mumble pass him, and just a moment later, he watched a visible indent form in their mattress. Big Left Hand Guy's expression quietly changed to a frown. He removed his oven mitts and set them on the counter before making his way over to their bed. He sat next to Invisi-Bill's outline, looking down at him as he tried to think of what to say.

"So.. I'm going to assume it didn't go very good, huh?" 

There was no answer. Eventually, Big Left Hand Guy felt Invisi-Bill's hand wrap around his arm loosely. What followed soon after was the all too familiar sound of Invisi-Bill reappearing. His hair looked a mess and his cheeks were a stinging pink. The expression on Invisi-Bill's face struck Big Left Hand Guy as completely alien for such a usually emotional man. Invisi-Bill's eyes were far away sad and the rest of his face remained tired and blank.

He turned over on bed but didn't look up. Big Left Hand Guy's concern tripled. 

"Bill.. What happened?"

Invisi-Bill didn't really answer the question, still looking out into nothing.

"Invisi-Bill… doesn't like when people act like he's not there."

Big Left Hand Guy's frown deepened as he furrowed his brows. He tried to think about what could have happened at the meeting to result in Invisi-Bill being in such a state but he soon stopped for both of their sake. He sighed gently and tried to be some sort of support.

"I'm so sorry buddy, I really wanted this to go better for you.. Hey look, maybe there's something you could work on to help make sure this doesn't happen again.. like a project, I mean."

The suggestion was a whim; an offhand comment meant to improve Invisi-Bill's mood, but as soon as the words left Big Left Hand Guy's mouth, Invisi-Bill's eyes locked forward.

 He sat up in bed so suddenly it nearly made Big Left flinch. A slight smile finally returned to his face. Invisi-Bill put his hands on Big Left Hand Guy's shoulders and spoke as if he was out of breath.

"Invisi-Bill has a plan."

Without waiting for a response, he swung his legs over the edge of his bed and started for the door. Big Left Hand Guy, more confused than ever, followed after him.

"Well- that's great! But what do you mean by-"

He was cut out when his phone went off. He recognized the number as Timbos, but decided it could wait and promptly hung up.

"- plan?.. Where are you going?"

Invisi-Bill stopped in his tracks, turning back to Big Left Hand Guy on his heel. It only took a moment to compose himself before he assured him.

"Invisi-Bill's just going on a walk. He'll be back, Invisi-Bill promises! There's just.. something that needs to be done."

Big Left Hand Guy's phone went off again. While he was turning it off, Invisi-Bill side-stepped over to the shelf next to their door, grabbing a small white bag Big Left Hand Guy hadn't noticed before. Invisi-Bill gave Big Left Hand Guy a reassuring smile, though it didn't seem to help all that much. Before Big Left Hand Guy could get a response out, Invisi-Bill was quick to pull him into a hug.

What followed was a silence that didn't exactly put Big Left at ease either.. The house has rarely been silent since Invisi-Bill moved in, and he had liked it that way. When Invisi-Bill was silent like this… something just felt wrong. He opened his mouth to say something, but no sound breached the quiet. The hug went on for nearly a minute before Invisi-Bill pulled away, a gentle smile still making residents.

"Invisi-Bill is going to make everything better.. I promise."

Before Big Left Hand Guy had time to move, he thought he had heard the door open, but as he looked up, he could only see it close.