TW: Karen's Ahead. One goes after Vox.

Over the past couple of weeks, Bill has grown to love playing the game "Ruin a Karen's Day".

Having to go to the General Store nearly every single day out of the week tends to grow tiresome, especially when the only thing you're allowed to do is either walk around and gaze at the exact same merchandise that they were selling yesterday or take a nap in the back room and hope you don't wake up until it's closing time. So to pass the time, Bill has made it his goal to ruin a Karen's day everyday. It's both fun and causes chaos and he absolutely adores it.

He didn't even know what a Karen was or that this species of humans actually existed until he encountered his very first Karen.

The first time he encountered one was during the busiest time of the day at the store. The line was out the door filled with people who were coming from all across town just to come and try the General Store's milkshakes. It seemed as though everyone understood that if they wanted one they would have to wait in the line and the majority of people were willing to do that if it meant they got a milkshake at the end of the day. Everyone except for one person, at least, understood the assignment.

Norah and Y/n had been on register with Olivia and Adrianna in the back making milkshakes. With two registers open, they were hoping to reduce the line 2x faster but that line really seemed like it was never ending. Bill internally made a bet that they would be stuck here after closing hours because of the amount of people trying to get milkshakes.

As Bill was watching off to the side, he watched as a middle-aged woman with a blonde bobcut stormed up to Norah's register while in the process cutting the entire line behind her.

"...Can I help you with something, miss?" Norah asked, her tone lacking any emotion as she glared at this woman who was disrupting her line.

"I sure hope you can do something- I've been waiting 30 minutes for my milkshake and I still haven't gotten it! Where is it?!"

Norah's body tensed, looking back towards the kitchen where they were currently making the milkshakes before facing the customer once more. She didn't recall ringing this woman's order up, she would've remembered a voice like that if she had. Was it possible that Y/n had been the one to take her order? But they were busy dealing with their own customers right now and this woman was already holding back the line long enough. They needed to get this line moving again. So she made the decision to take this woman's order, asking which milkshake she had ordered and what name she had left on the ticket. According to her, she had ordered a large Magical Unicorn under the name Beth.

But Bill would call her Karen #1 later on.

See, Bill didn't recall seeing this woman up at either register in the past 30 minutes. He had been watching Y/n and Norah work as quickly as they could through this seemingly endless time and with each customer that came up to the register he took a mental picture of them and stored it in his memory box. That way when Adrianna came out holding a milkshake with a name on it, Bill could easily point her in the direction of where the person had gone to sit down. Not once did he remember seeing this person come up. It could be possible that she had ordered her one milkshake so fast that he just completely missed her, but he doubted that. He didn't believe that to be the case in the slightest. So he waited for Karen #1's milkshake to finish being made and see what happens.

"Here you are, Miss Beth. One large Magical Unicorn milkshake. We do apologize for making you wait so long," Norah said as she handed the milkshake over to the customer.

"Oh, that's alright dear. Now, is this where I should pay for it?"

Norah paled, staring at the woman in complete shock by this question. You pay at the same time you order the milkshake. So if she had put in the order like she said she did thirty minutes ago, then she would've paid thirty minutes ago. Which meant only one thing...

Bill was right when he thought he hadn't seen her come up to order yet. Because she hadn't ordered yet. Karen #1 ended up cutting the entire line just because she believed she was more entitled than everyone else not to wait in line and tricked Norah into her wicked schemes so she could be served without having to wait.

Honestly, the demon found this little stunt she had pulled quite amusing. Humans can be so despicable, constantly thinking of their own wants and rarely taking a second to think about those that are around them. Such narcissistic creatures.

It was so entertaining to watch.

Normally.

But for some reason, this time was different.

For some reason he couldn't watch the scene with a smile on his face questioning where his bowl of popcorn was. The moment his eyes landed on Norah's face and saw just how horrified she was at the fact this customer abused her kindness and made her feel like such an idiot for not knowing she just helped her cut the whole line for some milkshake— Bill couldn't help but feel a rage boil within him.

Bill couldn't quite explain it to you why he felt this way so suddenly. When they first met, Bill wouldn't have given a crap if some human decided to make Norah feel like an idiot. Who cares if someone wanted to take away the one thing that mattered most to this poor girl and it just so happened to be her intelligence. Who cares if someone made her look like a fool in front of a whole line of customers by tricking her into making them a milkshake without having to actually wait for it like everybody else. Who cares?

Bill cares.

For some unknown reason.

The demon gritted his teeth, storming over towards the counter and getting right in Beth's business. Without thinking, Bill reached out and snatched the milkshake right from her grasp which resulted in all the whip cream falling off the top of it and landing on the carpeted floor.

"What the-" Beth started, turning to face the enraged blond male and instantly matching his rage with one of her own. "How dare you?!"

"How dare I? How dare I?! I'm not the one who believed I was more entitled than everyone else here! I mean seriously- Do you feel proud of yourself right now? Proud that you successfully abused some kid's kindness so you could get your frozen drink before everyone else? I hope you don't, because I see it as pathetic." Bill grinned, taking a step towards "Karen" and swinging the drink right in front of her face carelessly while he spoke in hopes some of it would end up spilling on her accidentally. "I mean, it leaves me to wonder why you couldn't simply stand in line just like everyone else. Maybe your legs are weak. Are you weak, dear Beth? Is standing in line too much hard labor for you? Then maybe you shouldn't have left your house in the first place. Or let me guess- you've never waited for anything in your life, have you? I bet Mommy and Daddy always answered to little Beth's whines and cries, always gave that child that threw a pathetic tantrum everything she wanted just to get her to shut up. Right? But now you're an adult and your Mommy and Daddy aren't here to soothe the little baby anymore. So here you are finding new ways to throw your little tantrum and still get the treatment you want! I guess little Beth never really grew up and she's still the little baby that expects everything to be handed over to her on a silver platter."

The look of pure horror that spread across this stranger's face was enough to satisfy Bill. She looked absolutely horrified, and who could blame her when a demon calls her out in public right when all the phones fly out to catch it all on video? He wouldn't be shocked if this went viral. Oh he hoped it would, just to please his own satisfaction and humiliate this stranger for her childish actions even further. His toothy grin spread from ear-to-ear, very pleased by the reaction he was receiving.

"Who... Who do you think you are speaking this... this way to me?! I- I want to speak to your manager! Right now!" Beth yelled with what little dignity she had left

"...Sweetheart, did you not know? I don't work here~ There's not a manager for you to speak with! Now, I'm sure the lovely workers here could call their manager and report this whole incident, but you realize they would have to inform their manager that you decided to cut the entire line and try to get a milkshake by lying and deceiving their employees, correct? ...Or you could go to the back of the line, act your age for once in your life, and wait. The choice is yours, dear Beth. What say you~?"

There was a tense moment of silence between the two of them, the both of them waiting to see who would be the one to break first. In the end, it was Beth who moved first as she walked the Walk of Shame all the way to the back of the line. A roar of applause was sounded in the General Store as she did this. Every customer who was there to witness that interaction was pleased to find Bill the champion of the battle, and Bill couldn't lie that it felt good to hear everyone applaud him for his victory. He had no idea that calling someone out for their childish actions would get him so much recognition and love from the townspeople.

Bill's ego wouldn't allow him to stop there now that he knew the positive feedback he would receive. Thus began his game: "Ruin a Karen's Day".

The second time he encountered a Karen, there was no audience to watch and applaud him, sadly.

The Mercy General Store had just closed for the day and everyone but Y/n and Bill had already clocked out and gone home. Y/n just had to turn off the lights and lock up and they could finally go home and get some dinner. Simple.

At least, it should've been simple.

But right as they were about to leave, a family of six walked in asking for an order of milkshakes.

Now, all the people who normally make the milkshakes had gone home for the evening. So they really should have just told these "lovely" people that they were closed and to come back again tomorrow when their store was open. But then the customers had to go on about how they drove all the way out of town, a whole hour just to come here and eat the "famous milkshakes" they've been hearing about online. And of course they couldn't forget leaving out the most important detail that Grandma turned 80 today and she really wanted to celebrate her birthday here.

So what else could Y/n do but accept the order and reopen the entire store back up just so this nuisance of a family can get what they asked for and Y/n and Bill could continue to prolong dinner?

Apparently there was also the fact that the security cameras were on and that if the boss saw Y/n turn down some customers, even if it was after hours, then they could get into serious trouble and risk losing their job. So again, how could Y/n refuse?

Bill thought it was simple: Just refuse.

If your boss was forcing you to work longer than you were being paid for just to make some idiots— who couldn't bother to look up what the store hours were— happy, then why continue to work there?! Bill didn't get it. But Y/n had their reasons and the demon wasn't allowed to question it. So he just accepted the fact they were stuck here for another hour or so and moved to stand behind the register while Y/n went in the back to make the milkshakes. Apparently they couldn't leave the register unattended with customers in the store and since Y/n didn't trust Bill making the milkshakes without spitting in every last one of them out of spite, that left Bill on register duty while Y/n got to work.

Bill didn't really mind. He would much rather the human do the work than get his own hands dirty. Besides, if he did it then they would've been stuck here for two-three hours. Just because he watches the kids make milkshakes daily doesn't mean he knows what the heck to do. Y/n knew what to do and they seemed pretty quick about it as well, so it was a good decision to place the human on the job instead of the clueless demon.

The first five milkshakes were done fairly quickly, leaving the Peanut Butter Cup Explosion as the very last milkshake to be made.

Bill knew why. He's heard Vox complain about it very verbally with Jerome when they think they're alone and Bill can't hear them. According to Vox, the peanut butter in the ice cream gets really frozen in the coolers. So frozen that the peanut butter is as hard as a rock and is impossible to break apart. Not only does it take forever to successfully scoop it out of the container but it also takes ages to break down the solid rock into a smooth, non-chunky milkshake.

Bill knew exactly why that milkshake was taking the longest to make and knew it wasn't even worth complaining about. They just had to wait until the peanut butter was ready to cooperate with Y/n, that's all.

Though, Karen #2 didn't seem to get the memo that complaining wouldn't exactly speed up the process here.

"Can you go in the back and check up on them?" the customer asked.

"...No? Why would I do that? They're fine, they know what they're doing."

"It's just taking them an awfully long time, and I kind of wanted to eat my milkshake with the rest of my family. At this rate they'll be done eating when mine is finished being made."

Bill crossed his arms, his right eye twitching just a tad bit. "Okay...? Maybe next time you shouldn't pick the milkshake that takes the longest to make. That's not our fault that you picked it. They're going as fast as they can and it's only been like an extra five minutes compared to how long it took to make the others. So calm down and go sit down with your family, we'll bring it out when it's ready."

This did not seem to satisfy the Karen as she looked over Bill's shoulder to try and catch a glimpse through the window in the wall to see what was going on back there.

"...They're not even doing anything, they're just walking around back there! Could you just go back there and see what's going on? Maybe help them so we can speed the process up?"

Bill took a sharp, deep breath in, unfolding his arms as he let the breath out slowly and allowed a smirk to slowly make its way onto his face. "They don't need help. They know what they're doing. I can hear the blender, meaning they are currently trying to find a way to break apart that rock of ice cream you decided to order. It's not mine nor their fault you decided to order the most complicated milkshake on our menu. And maybe this would be going a lot faster if we still had our milkshake people here. But they're not here. You know why? Because we're closed. We have been closed for the past half hour. We're only still open because of you! Instead of being home and enjoying a break after such a long shift, we're here dealing with you! Because you don't know how to look up store hours before deciding to make your hour trip out here! If your mom's 80th birthday actually mattered to you, you would've come here on TIME! But you didn't, did you? So now you just have to suck it up because we're doing the best we can on such low staff! Maybe next time you should show up when our store is actually open and we'll be able to get your milkshakes out at the same time so you can eat them as a family! Now go outside, sit down, and we'll bring it out to you when it's ready!"

Oh it felt so good to just yell at customers for being complete imbeciles. Nothing brought more joy out of Bill's day than this. And Y/n would let him do it, too! Apparently they've been wanting to scream at some of these customers for years, but since they worked here they could never stand up for themselves unless they wanted to get in serious trouble. "The customer is always right" is the dumbest saying Bill had ever heard of. He was so glad he didn't work here and could just speak freely whenever someone pissed him off.

Especially when he encountered Karen #3.

What was the male equivalent of Karen? Ken?

We'll call him Ken.

The day was going surprisingly good for the most part until Ken showed up.

Y/n, Jerome, Norah, and Vox we're all working a shift today. Y/n and Norah were working together to count inventory and see what they would need to order for next week, Jerome was placed on register duty, and Vox was working in the back making and serving the milkshakes. Thankfully it was a slow day so it wasn't too hectic for Jerome and Vox to do their jobs solo.

And Bill was currently just roaming around the store, chatting with customers and occasionally moving items around in the store just to screw with Y/n while they were trying to count inventory. Just another day at the Mercy General Store. Even Bill couldn't figure out how this day could go horribly wrong.

Until it did.

"Can I get someone else to serve me my milkshake whenever it's ready?"

Bill paused, slightly tilting his head just enough to glance over at the register to see who it was that asked that particular question. It wasn't anyone he was familiar with, not someone he's seen in town. Might be some old fellow that decided to drive from out of town just to try their milkshakes. Many people have in the past, he wouldn't be too shocked if that was the case here. Whether he recognized the old man or not didn't really matter, however. What did matter to Bill was why this old guy would ask a question like that in the first place. What was wrong with Vox serving him his drink when it was ready?

"I'm... sorry?" Jerome raised a brow, looking very confused and uncomfortable as he had just finished writing down this customer's order.

"You should be. I don't know who is in charge here, but letting some boy waltz around with a skirt on is just downright wrong. If he comes and serves me my drink, I'll just end up losing my appetite. So I want someone else to serve me my milkshake— or someone can go smack some sense into that young man's head and get him to put some pants on."

Jerome's whole body tensed up at this man's words, staring up at him in shock and disbelief.

Jerome looked away, looking past the old man to see Vox standing there in the middle of the room. Frozen. They had just returned from serving someone's order when this man decided to open his mouth and let all the hurtful words spill out. Vox looked down, their hands gripping the sides of their skirt. Starting to find difficulty breathing, they quickly rushed to the backroom before anyone could stop them. Jerome's heart shattered watching them run out of the room like that.

Before Jerome even had a chance to try and defend his friend against this bully that had no right to say any of that, a certain dream demon had stepped in with his eyes ablaze with an indescribable rage.

"Get out."

The customer was startled by Bill's sudden appearance, taking a step back and nearly running into the person behind him in line.

"Excuse you?"

"No. Not another word out of you. You need to leave. Now."

"And who do you think you are exactly, kid? What makes you think you have any right to come up here, interrupt our conversation so rudely, and then start yelling at me to leave?"

Bill's face was red at this point, one might even say they saw steam coming out of his ears with how much anger was building up in that flesh suit.

"What makes you think you have any right to judge how someone else decides to dress?! If you have a problem with it, keep it to yourself because literally no one gives a crap about what you have to say!" Bill spat, taking a step forward and causing the old man to take another step back. The line of people behind him began to move out of the way, watching as Bill began to go off on him. "You know- Right as I begin to think that people aren't so bad, it's the individual humans like you that make me lose hope in humanity all over again! Why can't you just mind your business, leave the situation be?! You don't get a say in how they choose to express themselves! It's not your body!

"This whole idea that you humans have about what is considered 'masculine' clothes and what is considered 'feminine' clothes- it's a JOKE! You people made those rules up just to have control in how women and men should look- but why can't skirts and dresses be considered a masculine outfit to wear? Why did it take so long before society allowed women to wear pants?! Why did they need your approval in the first place before they could express themselves comfortably in the way they wanted to be seen?!"

All the while Bill was screaming in this man's face, he continued to walk towards him in a threatening manner while Ken continued to walk backwards in pure and utter shock.

"If you don't want to be served your milkshake by them, then that is completely fine. This establishment has a policy for serving humans only anyhow, not crap-covered pigs like you. They will not be serving you today or any other day. Kindly take your business elsewhere before I have to end up breaking my end of the deal." Bill's tone was so smooth, and yet every word that spilled from his lips was laced with venom.

Ken's back hit the door, causing him to yelp but he was too afraid to look away and break eye contact with Bill for even a second. "What-... What deal?"

A grin slowly began to creep its way onto Bill's face. A grin that would continue to spread wider. And wider. And wider. It was becoming uncomfortable to look at and yet Ken couldn't force himself to look away.

"The details are far from important," Bill began as he leaned closer, lowering his voice into that of an innocent whisper. "But know this: if you don't leave this establishment in five seconds, I won't hesitate to turn you into a bloody corpse. It'd be quite simple, really. You humans are so fragile and pathetic... and I've had practice over the years. Continue to harass my little friend, and I'll just add you to the ever growing list. It'd be so easy. So... incredibly easy. And I've been meaning to make myself a new necklace for sometime. I think your teeth would do quite nicely-"

As Bill lifted his hand up to reach out towards Ken's mouth, the old man was rather quick to turn around and open the door. A couple of the customers in line began to notice Ken's pants turning a darker shade in the back as he began to run out of the store and towards his car in the parking lot.

Bill needed a moment to recollect himself, allow the crazed look in his eyes to fade before he turned around to face the others in the store once more.

No one said a word as they could still see the rage in the demon's eyes. Jerome stared at Bill, just as silent as the others in the room but looking so grateful for the fact the demon had stood up for his best friend at that moment. Bill paid no mind to this, however, as he walked towards the backroom without another word.

Vox was sitting on the dirty floor while wearing their brand new skirt that their parents had just bought for them. They loved the skirt so much that they wanted to wear it today, show it off to both Jerome and Norah and maybe do a spin in it for them. They loved the way the skirt flowed as they twirled in it. They couldn't stop spinning in it when they had tried it on at home.

But Vox wasn't spinning now. The only thing that was flowing now were the tears that were spilling from their eyes.

They didn't lift their head as they heard someone plop down beside them, their eyes focused more on the dirty floor below them. Their skirt must be getting dirty. They should get up.

A heavy exhale could be heard coming from beside them.

"He's gone. He's not going to bother you anymore," Bill spoke softly, looking down at the silent kid. He frowned, leaning back a bit to press his back up against the wall. No reaction. That didn't seem like a good sign. Jerome or Norah should be back here. Y/n should be back here. He shouldn't be. Vox didn't trust him nearly as much as they trusted the others. But he wanted to try to do his best to comfort them. No one should be put down like that just for being different. So what if you're a freak. Bill's a freak. It's cool to be a freak, to be different. It makes you unique from everyone else. That shouldn't be something that anyone else should make you feel ashamed of.

"I doubt it means anything coming from me- but you should know, Headphones, that you were killing that look today. You look fabulous. Don't let someone who is clearly below you tell you how to dress. You did see what he was wearing, right?! I've never seen such hideous clothing before in my life! Instead of wasting his time judging you, he should've been taking notes or asking you for advice on how you always look so great and where you find the best pieces of clothing to wear!"

Vox lifted their head up slowly, staring up at Bill with bloodshot eyes.

Bill smiled softly down at them, that anger that had once clouded his vision was now replaced with a gentle gaze. "Vox, don't let anyone try to change you and tell you you're wrong for being you. You are great as you are. If you want to wear a skirt, wear a skirt. If you want to wear pants, wear pants. At the end of the day- just be you, kid."

Vox sniffled, staring up at Bill as they let the words sink in. They slowly began to lift their hands up, their right hand hovering over the back of their left one as their right middle finger separated from the rest of their fingers to begin tapping-

Oh.

"You want...touch? ...If you need a hug or something... Yeah, yeah I'm comfortable with touch right now."

Vox didn't hesitate once Bill said this, leaning forward and wrapping their arms around Bill's torso to hug him tightly. They buried their face in the demon's t-shirt, hiding away from the world for just a moment as they soaked up this hug for as long as they possibly could.

Bill tensed up, not expecting them to hug him so quickly... or tightly. It wasn't bad. Quite the opposite, actually. It was warm. It was nice. Bill couldn't help but to hug the kid back just as tightly. They needed this hug. They deserved this hug after what they had just gone through.

"Thank you..."

Bill's brain paused, looking down at the small human in shock. This was the first time Vox spoke to him. They felt comfortable enough to finally speak to him.

Bill loved playing the game "Ruin a Karen's Day".

Prudo ri wkh vwrub: Grq'w eh d Nduhq

Chapter 15: Sunday, November 13, 2022

Don't forget:
A hiatus is coming soon.
If you want little short stories during this hiatus, I suggest leaving questions for the characters.
If there's something you'd like to know or someone you'd like to see more of, leave them in the comments.
I'll then pick and choose which ones I feel like tacking.