"Hey, what are you reading?" your voice filtered through the silence, breaking Dipper out of his bubble. He glanced up from the book in his hands, watching you lean against the doorframe of the Attic bedroom, the late afternoon sun causing the stained-glass window to throw an array of magnificent colours across the room. He shifted, glancing at the cover and reading the words that were imprinted on it.
"The War of The Worlds... by H.G. Wells."
A grin blossomed across your face, lighting up your features like a spring bud blooming into a flower, recognition and excitement shining within your eyes. Of course, he remembered you raving about it a mere two weeks ago when you had finally come to the end of this well-known classic. A small smile of his own entwining itself into Dipper's lips as he watched you try to contain your enthusiasm, working out how to phrase yourself in a way that was understandable and not just a cascading ramble of passion.
Just like him, you were a book fanatic- and that was a part of the reason you two got along so well. There were times where you and Dipper had spent more than 6 hours engrossed in conversations about literature... Plotting theories, discussing characters, overanalysing and comparing writing styles... talking to you was probably his favourite part of the summer, although he was too shy to admit it.
"That book was fantastic. Way ahead of its time... may I join you?"
Dipper nodded and you walked across the room, your skin illuminating in the tainted light as you took a moment to glance out the window before you settled down on his bed.
"Where are you at?"
"He just arrived back in London after parting with the artillery man. Near the end."
"Ah... you're coming up to the best part," Your voice hitched slightly in your throat. A single butterfly fluttered in Dipper's chest as he felt the warmth of your thigh brush against his skin, the mattress bending under your weight, moulding itself to accommodate you into his world. He couldn't help but stare at you... how beautiful you looked... the way the shadows danced across your face... "Can you read it to me?" Your voice chimed like a million church bells, echoing through the room, fragmenting the stillness of the atmosphere. For a moment, Dipper was stunned by the request. It had been unexpected. But willingly, he shifted to allow you more space on the narrow bed, as you lay down next to him.
When your body collided with the duvet, his scent descended around you, a comforting presence of oak and sandalwood tinted with a light hint of vanilla. He started to read, his voice a low hum that resonated through him. The vivid imagery of post-apocalyptic Victorian London flashing through your mind, familiar and almost nostalgic. It was more interesting that you remembered... but that could have been because he was the one reading it.
Your hand traced circular patterns against the fabric of his orange t-shirt, tickling his stomach, involuntary curling the edge of his lips. The sudden smile twisting his words as he tried to repress laughter. He stopped abruptly.
"Do you want me to read or not?"
A soft giggled fell from your lips at his annoyance and without warning, you pulled yourself into his torso, letting your head settle onto his chest. Dipper blushed, his heart racing on the non-existent wind. He took a deep breath, relinquishing in the heat of your touch- but also recollecting his thoughts which had flown out into a million different directions.
His voice fell back into its gentle pace which reverberated with the rhythm of his heart beat. Tenderly, you snuggled into his T-shirt, letting the light comfort of this moment, of this place, of this being settle over your mind.
Against your will, you felt the charm of sleep begin to clasp onto your consciousness. Eye lids heavy, fluttering slowly shut. Your breath syncing with the pulse of the boy underneath you. Dipper's voice fading out until it was nothing but a faint murmur in the depths of your awareness. Peacefully, you let yourself fall into the pure light of sleep...
-
"That I have counted her, and that she has counted me, among the dead..." Dipper trailed off, eyeing the painful blankness left of the page. He placed the book down and rubbed his eyes with the flesh of his palm, the mastery of H.G. Wells still running through his head. The vivid imagery, the suspense, the subtle foreshadowing... everything twisting together to create a brilliant classic. "Holy shit."
"You were right (y/n)," He chuckled, not noticing that you had fallen asleep. The laughter dying in his chest when you didn't respond. He frowned a little, shaking you softly.
"(Y/n)?"
You stirred slightly, a miniscule mutter rumbled from your larynx- before you rolled on top of him. Trapping him under you. Pinning him to the mattress. He sighed- resigning to the fact that he was going to wait until you woke up.
Lying very still, trying not to disturb you, he observed you sleep peacefully- breath trapping in his chest as your beauty, once again, took his breath away. You were so tranquil... so crystalline...
He was so lucky to have you.
Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into the core of him- into the very essence of his being and gently kissed the top of your head. He was never going to let you go, never going to hurt you- and he knew he was playing with a dangerous entity. You were beautiful and intelligent- a risky concoction that could dazzle anyone. He had tried- He had really tried not to fall for you, to keep his distance, to be wary, to maintain his composure. But the thumping of his heart, the rushing of his blood to undesired places, the dilating of his pupil whenever you were around told the truth. You had him wrapped around you fingers and there was nothing he could do...
(But what he didn't know was that you loved him)
Then, as much as he wanted to stay awake to make the most of this rare moment, he too fell into an unexpected siesta; subconscious slowly subsiding into oblivion.
-
"HEY DIP DIP!" Mabel screamed up the stairs, her feet pounding on the creaking planks. She came to a stop momentarily at the top of the steps- panting- resting her hands on her knees as she bent over herself. "I really need to work on my cardio!" she wheezed- Before popping straight back up and running down the hall. Halfway through her teenage years and she still hadn't lost her childish energy.
"DIPPER- HAVE YOU SEEN (Y/N)? I CAN'T FIND- "
She froze, bedroom door flying open and banging against the wall, as her eyes focus on her brother's bed.
"... them."
Quietly, she creeped forward, holding her breath and peered over the two of you. Your leg draped around Dipper- his arms holding you so tightly it looked like he was suffocating you.
Her eyes glistened...
"It's so adorable!" She said in an intense whisper; her voice mimicking that of a kitten drowning in rainbows, glitter and awe. With a shit eating grin devouring her face, she pulled her instant camera out of her pocket and snapped a photo of you two- the film rolling out the Polaroid.
"Scrapbook opportunity!" She said giddily to herself- determined not to lose such a precious moment as this. Flapping the photo gently, she silently backed out of the room, a small giggle getting the better of her before she closed the door. Shutting you, and Dipper, back into your own world of dreams.
-
And as they slumbered- the day drawing to a close- the dimming sun pulled the shadows along the room, contorting them into cold hues of deep blue which contradicted the warmth of the summer day. This gloom enclosing around them. Enveloping them in the coolness of the fresh night. But, as the last of the sunrays filtered through the triangle window located on the other side of the room- an image illuminated within the impending darkness.
On the wall, glowing yellow, was a single triangle... and within it an unfaltering eye. Radiating an uncomfortable shade of chilling blue, that stared out towards them. Watching... waiting... laughing... this sinister image was now just a reminder of the horror that had taken place more than four years ago... But maybe- just maybe- it was a warning.
(Its cold gaze fixated on the couple in the corner- making one of them unknowingly squirm- for a moment it looked like it- blinked...)
A warning that the serenity was coming to an end...
"We'll meet again... don't know where... don't know when..."
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAA
