Finally, the Pines twins were back home.
Although they had only been back for one night, Dipper couldn't seem to shake the feeling that something was wrong. Like someone was watching him all the time.
Mabel had pretty much ditched Dipper the second they got back. Dipper didn't blame her though. She had a lot of friends that she needed to catch up with and Dipper was happy for her. He just wished that he had something to do that wasn't interfering with everyone else's lives.
"Dipping dot you have to go outside today!" Mabel said, pulling the comforter off her twin. Dipper groaned in exhaustion. He hadn't slept much the night prior due to a nightmare of his family dying.
"Aren't you going with your friends to breakfast?" Dipper questions her as he sits up in his bed, "besides I can take care of myself sis."
"I just want to make sure you're okay!" She giggled and ran out of his room. Dipper sighed and got up, walking over to his closet and swung the door open.
He got himself ready for the day, he wore a white hoodie with navy blue sleeves and hood matched with black jeans and white sneakers. He put on his classic pinetree hat and adjusted his hair so it was over his birthmark. He smiled softly to himself in the mirror before looking around his room.
'Now what to do today.' He thought to himself. 'I guess I could go out into the forest...with Fords journals destroyed I can start my own.'
He decided that that's the project he would start today.
He grabbed his blue notebook that had a black spine. It was a smaller notebook but it was all he had.
He grabbed a black pen off his nightstand and ran downstairs to the kitchen. Of course, he was pretty much home alone. Wendy didn't work at the shack anymore, she was off at college somewhere. Soos had moved to Portland to live with his fiancé, Melody. Stan was giving a tour of the Mystery Shack to some tourist. Ford was in the basement trying to write all his knowledge into new journals.
Dipper made himself a bowl of cereal quickly before leaving for the forest. He didn't feel at home before but now that he was in the familiar woods he felt more calm then he had been since Weirdmageddon.
He found a pretty clearing with a calm and clear river. The water was crystal clear and you could see the fish and the bottom of the ocean floor.
Dipper found a good spot in the grass and sit down. He set his journal and pen aside and brought his knees up to his chest. He let out a long sigh as he stared into the water.
'Mabel was right to want to stop time.' Dipper thought back to when they were twelve. Mabel was given a time bubble that prevented time from moving forward. Dipper, of course like the smart guy he is, convinced her to come back with him and leave the bubble.
"Pinetree!" Someone yelled.
Dipper whipped his head around so fast he could have passed out. There was no one there, only the bushes moving due to the breeze.
"Who's there?" Dipper said, feeling stupid.
'No one is there stupid. You're being so dramatic.' He went on to drag himself down even more
"Pinetree~" Some whispers with a slight laugh.
'Ignore it.' Dipper told himself. 'It's not real.'
"Pinetree.." Some says again.
"I said who's there!" Dipper finally snapped.
"I'm offended you don't remember me pinetree!" The voice says in a dramatic offended voice.
"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