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Instincts

Marcus had a feeling something was different about the timepiece he passed over to Stephanie, but it wasn't like he could tell what. There was a fluffy and cloud-like feeling in his stomach, and when Stephanie left the room, he went over to snuggle up to Bill.

Bill was-- Marcus couldn't even put into words how grateful he was to be seen through by someone like Bill.

A part of him had been morbidly afraid of what might happen if it ever comes out that he was not Tim. He was scared of how hurt Bill might be, what he might think about him eating Tim's ruined soul, and he had only become aware of this fear when words got stuck in his throat. He couldn't speak the truth easily; it didn't roll over his tongue; it hurt.

It felt like his heart and throat had frozen over, but then Bill had said: "I had a feeling," breaking the ice that kept his throat frozen, but it didn't ease the pain.

"Then, what do you think I am?" Marcus had asked, feeling like just one step away from experiencing the human phenomenon of crying from how much the heart hurt rather than flesh.

And Bill had correctly named him what he was, reading between the lines, observing and... well, Marcus felt silly. Bill had implied multiple times that he had noticed the change, even with his parents, he spoke as if he had fallen for two people - Tim first, then him second. Bill had noticed everything there was to see - he wasn't comfortable and easy because he didn't mind the details; he was that way because he knew and avoided bringing them up.

Marcus hadn't even been aware of Bill being upset, but it made sense Bill would be. There was nothing Bill hated more than deceit. Bill had only overlooked this detail somewhat because it was about something iffy, and since it was so iffy, he couldn't ask about it either. Bill knew he didn't or couldn't see something, and for that reason, he accepted the sad reality that he couldn't be filled in about it.

Bill was only as fuzzy and positive towards Marcus (and also Tim), because neither of them was a liar. Another detail Timothy had been entirely unaware of: Bill could and would get mean and even aggressive when faced with lies or scheming, and Marcus found that out seeing Bill interact with Mats. (Bill fighting and getting suspended did hint at it, but Marcus had written that off as an unusual situation.)

Clem and Will didn't set Bill off. Clem had no filter, but he was honest, Will was honest by nature. But Mats was very social by nature, so he mirrored those around him, at times, going a bit too far with that, so there were times when he borderline faked things just to 'fit in' and Bill called him out on that in a brutally sarcastic way. Mats was embarrassed, Clem rubbed salt into the injury, but in a funny way, so that got diffused and gradually Mats learned a more honest manner of 'fitting in' - you didn't need to fake being the same to be friends with someone.

It wasn't a bad change. Mats didn't quit judo despite picking it up due to Will having an interest in it, but he did quit the online game Clem and Will both played and joined Tim and Bill in listening about the raids without the need to be a part of it not to 'miss out.'

But the fact that Bill could easily pick up Mats faking it when no one else could showed that his observation skills were something else. And that was a detail Marcus had failed to pay attention to.

"When did you realize that I'm not Tim?"

"On around third day after you took over," Bill said.

...That soon? Even Marcus was surprised to hear the number. What had he even said on the third day? Marcus had been asking stuff about Bill and his interests as far as he could remember and he hadn't done anything extra in studying either--

"What did I do?" Marcus asked.

"Remember someone threw a ball in the cafeteria, that fell right on our table?" Bill asked.