-Collene Moore
"You did what?" Stanford yelled, face bright red.
Geez, and Dipper had thought Stanly was the scary one.
After the whole ordeal at Bartleby's, Dipper had carried his Grunkle out into the club where they were greeted by a very distraught, and very relieved, Mabel. Dipper told her everything that had happened on the cab ride home and the two had anxiously waited back at the apartment for the return of their Great Uncle Ford.
Because there was no way in hell they were going to get away without an explanation when Stanly was covered in bruises and half the items in the apartment had to be thrown away.
Needless to say, it was a nerve wracking couple of hours.
Still, Dipper would have taken the wait over what they got when their Great Uncle heard the news.
"Don't blame the kids, Ford. It's my fault." Stanly said from his position at the kitchen table, wincing as one of the cuts on his lip opened and began to bleed. A worried look flashed over Fords features before his face hardened once again.
"Oh, that it is. And I assure you, you and I will be having a long talk about that later." He stated, voice dripping with anger before turning to his grand niece and nephew and releasing a sigh.
"Look, kids, what on earth were you thinking going to that place alone? Why didn't you just call me at my office?" He asked, obviously trying his best to restrain his emotions. Dipper looked to his twin, who raised an eyebrow and shrugged, shaking her head.
It seemed this was all on him.
Fantastic.
"Grunkle Ford, I thought I could handle it. I mean, I've been to plenty of those sorts of places and dealt with those sorts of people..." Dipper trailed, looking to his great uncle and pursing his lips. He was just beginning to realize how stupidly he had acted. But what else could he have done?
If they hadn't arrived at the apartment and gone to that club, then Stanly would likely be dead right now. Or worse.
And looking back on his meeting with the club's owner, 'or worse' was certainly a viable option. Dipper shuddered at the thought.
He felt a warmth on his shoulder and glanced over at Mabel, who had moved closer and was now gripping her twin protectively. She gave Dipper one of her wide smiles, which she returned half-heartedly.
"Yes, but not here. Not in this city. Not Bartleby's. And not..." Ford's jaw tightened, and he shook his head, "...not Bill Cipher." He said, voice a mixture of fear and loathing. "Look Dipper." His Great Uncle placed a large hand on the boy's shoulder, meeting Dipper's gaze with a look that was sincerely fearful. "That Cipher... He's dangerous. Incredibly dangerous. He's got this whole town wrapped around his little finger and he's utterly insane. I'm talking downright psychotic."
Dipper couldn't help but roll his eyes at Ford's words.
"Yeah. I noticed." He mumbled.
"He could be your best friend one moment, then be stabbing you in the back the next. And working in that hell hole of a bar will be like balancing on a tightrope over a tank of sharks." Stanford finished.
"Yeah, sharks with fucking Tommy Guns tied to their heads." Stanly added, earning a snort and soft laugh from Mabel.
"Tommy Gun." she chuckled, and Stanly smirked. Ford shot them both a look, and the pair quitted.
"I don't know if you are trying to warn me, or scare the shit out of me, but you are doing a stellar job in both areas." Dipper stated once he had Stanford's attention again.
"Good. Because being scared means you'll be careful. And tomorrow you'll need all the help you can get." He sighed, running his fingers through his hair.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to have a long talk with my brother." He said, turning to Stanly. His twin sighed, slowly getting to his feet.
"Yeah, yeah. Just give me a sec with the kid, will 'ya?" He asked, giving his brother a crooked smile.
"Fine. Meet me in my office." And with that Ford turned and left the room. Stanly sighed, reaching up to rub his chin out of habit and wincing in pain. He glanced over at Dipper, gaze soft, and ruffled the boy's short brown locks.
"Look kid. I'm sorry I got you and your sister wrapped up in this mess on your first day back. What can I say? Old habits die hard." He dropped his hand, shoulders sinking. "I can't get you out of this one. So just... be careful. Okay?" Dipper met his Great uncle's gaze, nervously reaching up to rub the back of his neck.
"Yeah. Alright." He responded, and Stanly smiled before hissing and licking his lip.
"Damn. I'm getting to old for this." He groaned, turning and heading towards the back of the apartment.
"Good luck Grunkle Stan!" Mabel called, earning a wave from Stanly before he disappeared. Dipper groaned, collapsing in the seat beside his twin and running his hands over his face.
"I feel like I've accepted a death sentence." He stated, glancing at Mabel, who was fiddling with a strand of her short dark hair – placing it over her puckered lips as if it were a mustache.
"Probably because you kind of sort of did, bro- bro." she murmured. Dipper leaned back in his seat, gazing up at the ceiling. The sound of shouting came from the back room, and Dipper almost felt sorry for his Grunkle Stan.
Then again, it was Stanly's gambling habit which had gotten Dipper into this predicament in the first place, and a little bit of Ford's fury might put the older man back on track.
For a little while, at least.
Dipper's first day back to the city and everything had already gone to shit.
He shouldn't have expected any less from himself.
"Why the hell did I agree to all of this?" He asked to no one in particular. Mabel dropped her hair, getting to her feet and brushing her brother's hair back from his forehead, giving him a chaste kiss.
"Because you are a big, dumb, loveable idiot whose heart is bigger than his head no matter how much he pretends it's not." She stated, before heading towards the back.
"I'm going to bed. Night Dip." She called over her shoulder. Dipper reached up to pat down his messy dark locks, a smile forming on his lips.
Thank god for his sister.
"Yeah. Night Mabes." He responded, pushing to his feet and deciding that sleep sounded like exactly what he needed.
*************************
The next morning Dipper found himself standing outside of Bartlby's in the pink hued darkness just before the sun peeked it's tired head over the horizon and brought on the full light of morning.,
He'd been standing there for at least twenty minutes now, fidgeting with his necktie and making to knock at the massive door before his nervousness got the better of him and he went back to his tie again.
Once he knocked on that door. There was no going back.
Dipper hadn't really been given a uniform of any sort, so he'd settled on just wearing his everyday clothes and hoping for the best. That morning he'd spent half an hour coming through his mess of brown curls in an attempt to reach some sort of order. Unlike his sister, whose wayward locks looked intentional and cute, Dipper's hair constantly looked like the boy had never brushed his hair a single day in his life. Normally he just covered the disorderly ruckus with a hat, but he'd guessed that wouldn't go over well in a place like Bartleby's and Dipper didn't want to incur the owner's wrath on his very first day – so he'd attempted to grease back his hair using some of his Grunkle Stan's pomade.
The result was...less than satisfactory. He'd ended up having to wake Mabel and ask for her help – much to her displeasure. It didn't help that Dipper had a rather large and unnatural birthmark that took up most of his forehead that practically glowed the moment it was no longer hidden by Dipper's usual curtain of bangs.
"Okay, Dipper. You have to do this eventually. For Stan." Dipper mumbled to himself, staring the door down as if it was what was actually preventing him from knocking. Giving his tie a final tug, Dipper stepped forward and gave the door a single precise knock, the sound making his heart palpitate from its position somewhere lodged in Dipper's throat.
Just like yesterday a small panel got moved away and Dipper was met with a shadowed gaze.
"Oh, it's you." A gruff voice said and the panel slid shut before the door opened. Dipper swallowed nervously, as the man gestured for him to enter, trying to ignore the fear creeping it's way beneath his skin. All of Ford's warnings began to run through his mind on repeat as he walked down into the darkened club, which had yet to open for business. As the guard guided him through the sea of empty tables, Dipper tried to focus on not thinking about where he was and who he was now working for. Instead, he concentrated all his energy into just not thinking at all.
It actually seemed to be working until the pair came to a stop.
"Here." The guard opened the door to a backroom opposite the one he'd entered the previous day, and handed him a set of folded clothes. "Put these on." He stated before shutting the door. Dipper sighed, glancing down at his new uniform and quickly stripping. It was utterly humiliating to be changing in a public bathroom like this, and Dipper had a sinking feeling that that is exactly what Mr. Cipher had intended. This was a power ploy to make sure Dipper knew who was boss.
And boy, was it working.
After slipping into the black trousers, white button up, black vest, and tie, Dipper studied his reflection in the mirror.
The outfit was surprisingly form fitting – a fact which made Dipper uncomfortable considering he'd always been a bit on the scrawny side. Apparently he'd inherited quite a bit from the Pine's side of the family but sadly their body mass had apparently skipped a generation.
Instead, Dipper sported small shoulders that narrowed down into an even smaller waist. His face, too, was not nearly as sharply a his Great Uncle's but instead bore a certain childish softness to it, like he'd never quite grown out of his baby fat. Thankfully, this was tempered by relatively sharp cheekbones and a distinct brow which always seemed to be lifted in a questioning manner – a trait Dipper had picked up from his Grunkle Ford when he was younger. Mabel always picked on Dipper for it, but the boy enjoyed the odd touch. He thought it made him look smarter.
Sighing Dipper turned away from the mirror and tugged at his sleeves, giving his tie a final tug before heading back out into the bar. Dipper couldn't help but notice how creepy yet enchanting the place was without all the noise and smoke and bright lights. Here in the dimness the only light came from a few blue toned sconces by the bar, reflecting off of the glass and mirrors to give the whole place a starry glow.
"I see you decided to uphold your end of the bargain." A familiar voice cooed, and Dipper noticed a shadow figure walk around the side of the bar, shoes clicking in the silence.
"It's not as if I had much of a choice." Dipper responded before immediately cursing himself. Did he want to get on this guy's bad side?
Bill clicked his tongue.
"There's always a choice, Pine Tree. Even if the end result is you and your entire family being hunted down and shot." He responded, a dark glint in his eye as he came to a stop directly in front of Dipper. He glanced the shorter boy over, cocking his head thoughtfully.
"It suites you." He finally commented, and Dipper felt as a huge weight had just been lifted off of his shoulders.
Well, at least he'd passed the first inspection.
His relief was soon turned to panic however when the blonde haired man leaned forward, hand reaching upward to brush across his forehead.
"Interesting..." He stated, before pulling away. "Though I liked your hair better how it was yesterday. Classy really isn't your style, kid." He laughed, and Dipper felt his cheeks heat. Bill turned and sauntered back towards what Dipper could only assume was the other man's office, stopping at the door to glance back at the boy with a smirk.
"Also, we don't open for business until sundown. You've got twelve hours to practice your bartending skills." He stated, waving his hand towards the empty bar. Dipper groaned internally. Twelve hours, and he was probably expected to work through the night as well.
This was heading exactly in the direction Dipper had feared it would.
"Good luck, Pine tree!" Bill chortled, accenting the nickname as if he knew it got under Dipper's skin. The blonde turned and entered his office, the door falling shut behind him and leaving Dipper alone until nightfall.