I'll protect you

Chapter one

"Go away." Dipper says out loud.

There was rustling behind him and Dipper whipped his head around and froze.

A man approached him, an attractive man. He was a little taller than Dipper, maybe a little over six foot. He had a few layers of hair, the under-layer was a raven black and the top mostly dirty blond but mixed slightly with a platinum blond. His outfit was somewhat unusual, a dark yellow hoodie with a black overcoat. His jeans were more black than his
hair was. His eyes were somewhat of a
grayish green color.

"Hi pinetree!" He says in a friendly voice.

Dipper couldn't move, or speak. Causing the person to stop walking and laugh a little.

"I guess this is weird huh." He acknowledges. Dipper nodded in agreement.

"Are you real?" He asked, still skeptical.

"Of course I'm real pinetree. You can't really kill a dream demon, although it was a creative idea." He says thoughtfully.

Dipper didn't know what do say. He just knew that the calm, attractive man that was standing in front of him was once the triangle that tried to kill his whole family. As if Bill was reading his mind, he started to talk again.

"I'm not gonna kill you by the way." He says quickly, "or you're family. Well anyone actually."

"So why should I trust you?" Dipper glares at him. Bill only shrugged.

"I guess you don't have to. I just wanted you to know."

Bill walks over to Dipper and sits down next to him. Dipper turned back around and pulled his knees to his chest again, looking into the water.

"You've grown up a lot huh?" Bill says civilly. Dipper laughed.

"Well I'm not gonna stay twelve forever." Dipper says with a grin on his face.

"You could have." Bill pointed out, Dipper rolled his eyes.

"Why are you here?" Dipper asked after a lot of thinking. Bill shrugged.

"You seemed upset about something so I figured I could take your mind off it." Bill says quietly. Dipper sighed quietly.

"Thanks?" Was all he could reply with.

"What were you upset about?" Bill asks him curiously.

"Not really upset...just...well it doesn't matter." The shorter boy shrugged.

"Lonely? Bored? Depressed?" Bill guesses.

"You don't know my life Bill." Dipper snapped at him.

"I know I don't pinetree." He says, "but I want to."

"Why." Dipper demand, "so you can use it against me? So you can make my nightmares worse? So you can tell everyone?"

"I'm different than that. I genuinely want to know more about you." Bill says in a caring voice. Dipper was more confused then he was a minute ago. "I'll make a deal with you." He offers.

"I'm not falling for that again." Dipper snapped again.

"Just listen pinetree." Bill says calmly, "tell me more about you, and in return I won't hurt anyone in Gravity Falls."

"That seems to simple." Dipper says in denial. Bill laughed.

"I told you I've changed." Bill says and his lips press into a straight line.

"Yeah and I don't believe you." Dipper says.

"Pinetree if I were to do something to you I would have done it already." Bill reasons, "besides the only power I have left is to mess with peoples dreams."

Dipper thinks for a minute, "have you ever messed with mine?"

"No. I thought about it but I figured you were going through enough." Bill admits.

"Oh. Yeah, thanks." Dipper says quickly.

"No problem kid." Bill says softly. He then laughs, "you know it's kind of weird."

"What is?"

"I missed you." Bill says slowly.

"You what?" Dipper looked at him for the first time since they sat down.

"Bill Cypher missed Dipper Pines. Weird huh?" Bill says thoughtfully.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss you to." Dipper admits looking back into the river. He felt Bills gaze on him but neither one of them said anything.

They didn't have to.

***

Word Count: 1,279
Date Published: 11/23/22