Dark Days (BillxDipper)

XXIX

AN: Full credit to the artist~ (Also~ Remember, Bill has wiped Dipper's memories <3)~~ 

     Bill still hasn't come to finish the deal and I wonder when he will finally come to call on me. It's been over a week and a half now and I've seen no sign of him. Has he forgotten? Or just decided he doesn't care enough about my end of the deal to follow up? Decided that maybe, he doesn't want me for whatever he meant by 'personal time' anymore? If that's the case then that's fine by me, though I wish he would say so at least so I'm not waiting day after day for something that's never coming. I don't want anything to do with him anyway. Though I'm loathe to admit it, I've had some strange dreams lately, and my stomach flutters whenever I picture him in my mind. My cheeks grow warm for some reason and I hate it, mostly because I don't understand where it comes from, nor do I have a reason for such feelings, but whatever. I'm ready to get this deal out of the way, I don't want to die but I'm getting antsy the longer he takes, my paranoia flares up and I constantly feel watched, hunted even. The anticipation and waiting is freaking me out, not knowing when it will come. 

     "Bro-bro! Do you wanna make breakfast?" Mabel asks me, shaking me from my thoughts. Mabel has practically been begging me to bake every morning since she gave me the apron. I feel a small smile lift on my face, cutting through my thoughts and I try to shoo away any thoughts of Bill that still floated around my mind. "Sure, what do you want today?" I ask and she thinks for a moment. "Strawberry waffles!" She says and I smile, nodding my head and put the apron on and start. We're quiet for a while as I mix the batter and puree some strawberries then put them in a pot on the stove with sugar to make a sauce. Mabel's always been good at reading me so I shouldn't have been surprised when she spoke up. "He still hasn't come for 'personal time' yet has he" She says, air quoting personal time. I stop what I'm doing and am glad my back is to her because I'm not sure what kind of face I'm making. I shrug, forcing myself to unfreeze and continue mixing the strawberry sauce. "Not yet. I don't know what the hold up is..." I say letting a hint of exasperation in my voice. I feel a twinge of fear for some reason and my hands shake as I pour the batter into the waffle iron. "You doing okay Dipper?" Mabel asks, concern in her voice. 

     "I just don't know when it's going to happen, or what he wants... The waiting game just has me on edge a bit is all... I'll be fine" I say and force myself to turn around and smile at her, I hope it's as reassuring as I mean it to be, hiding the prick of fear that gnaws at me. Mabel's shoulders relax and she smiles back, though I can tell she's still unsure. I haven't let on the high possibility that I'll probably end up getting killed by Bill, I don't want her to know. That's probably selfish but if she knows then she'll do everything in her power to keep me alive, she may even end up making a deal with Bill to replace me with her... I can't let that happen. So I carry the secret behind my back and refuse to let anyone know, not even Wendy. 

~~~

     "Mabel, do you wanna go to the store with me to get these pictures printed out?" I ask Mabel. I had forgotten to do this a few days ago. I had wanted to get them printed out the day after we went to the fair, but it slipped my mind until now. "What pictures?" She asks and skips up to me. I show her my phone and the pictures from the night at the fair a week ago. "Yeah! We gotta make multiple copies! I want some of these and I want to give some to Candy and Grenda and Wendy!" She says, her eyes sparkle with excitement and I smile saying, "Sure thing, let's go then." We head out to my car and roll the windows down, listening to the radio while I drive. Mabel sings along, slightly off key to the songs she knows, getting more and more excited with each new song she knows. The wind whips at my hair and it's hot but it feels good. I stick my arm out the open window and Mabel copies me, waving our hands against the wind current and we laugh. 

     When we arrive I find a decent parking spot and we go into the store to the media section, starting the printing process. Mabel is plastered to the printing slot as she catches and grins at each one every time they come out, organizing them into piles for each of her friends. Finally they are all printed and I pay for them before we head out. As we are about to get back in the car Mabel shouts, "Wait I have to pee! Hold these" She says and shoves the photos in my hands, darting back into the store leaving me in the parking lot. I give a small chuckle and set the photos in the car through the open window and lean against the hot metal, waiting. I don't know why she didn't just go before we walked out, but whatever. That's Mabel for you, I think with a smile and shake my head. The sky is bright and beautiful, the breeze is warm and inviting. I feel a small smile form again and I tilt my head up, soaking in the warmth of the sun. 

     Out of nowhere I get goosebumps and a chill rolls down my spine. I open my eyes and look around. The parking lot is surprisingly quiet, full of cars but no people. The warm breeze stops all of a sudden. I squint against the sunlight looking for anything out of the ordinary, but I'm not sure what to look for exactly. Finally my attention is caught by something. A flock of birds dart from one of the trees at the edge of the parking lot. I watch the black birds fly in a swarm, listening to their cawing and hear the beat of their strong wings as they fly away. I notice they almost seem spooked. It was kind of strange, but just as I decide to ignore it, a gust of wind whips at me and I squeeze my eyes shut against it. 

     The wind dies as quickly as it came and when I open my eyes again Bill is standing in front of me, a strange expression on his face and I feel my stomach drop. "B-Bill... What are you doing here?" I ask. My first thought is that's its time to hold up my end of the contract now, but his timing is terrible. Then again, he's given me almost 2 weeks, so in a way he's actually been generous in a way... but still. "You need to come with me now" He says, Mabel finally walks out of the store then and is heading towards me but stops dead in her tracks, freezing when she sees Bill. He growls at the sight of her and I watch Mabel's eyes go wide as she starts sprinting towards us. "Dipper!" she screams, but Bill grabs me by the collar of my shirt and I reach out for Mabel. She runs faster than I've seen her go in quite some time and she reaches out for me, still too far away. She shouts to me and I see the tears in her eyes. The panic on her face makes my stomach turn and tears well in my eyes. I try to wrench away from Bill but Mabel vanishes, and so does the parking lot and store. Everything's gone.