(A/N : I'm adding this note while I write Chapter Eight. I'm lonely. And I came out to my cousin. I consciously know she'll accept me but that doesn't stop the worry. Sorry to dump this here, but I need to vent, and even if nobody sees this, I find some comfort in it being out in the universe. I'll leave you alone now. Sorry again.)
MABEL'S POV
"What a bummer," Pacifica said as we made our way back to the community pond. "Nothing new." I felt an intense urge to hold her hand as we joined the current, and against my better judgement, I did. She gripped my hand and intertwined our fingers. Her face was so red, it looked like Simon's tail.
"Yeah. Such a - a bummer." I stuttered pathetically. Fricking stupid.
"Mabel... can I talk to you? Alone?"
"Of course. Hey, Tyler?" He stopped and turned. "We'll catch up. We're gonna talk." He nodded, the smallest of knowing smiles played on his lips as he turned around and caught up to Ethan. Thanks. Now I'm even more nervous. We pulled off to the side, slipping out of the current. My face was burning up at the thought of what she might want to talk about.
"Mabel, I-"
"Pac, let me explain myself. Please. I like you. A lot. And I - I didn't know how you felt, so I just went for it, and I'm sorry and please don't be mad at me." No way she likes you. You're pathetic. I felt slender arms wrap around my stomach and pull me close. She was shaking like a leaf and had a grateful smile on her face once she looked up at me. She wiped the tears off my face and continued hugging me.
"Mabes. I like you too, you sappy dumbass." I was still for a minute. The next moment, I was holding her up out of the water and smiling like an idiot. She was laughing. I was laughing. We stopped. I lowered Pacifica back into the stream and we sank down. Another rustle came from the bushes. I followed her as we slowly shifted back towards the current. A distorted voice carried through the water.
"I know what I fucking heard Candy. There was definitely laughter." Deep and kind of disappointed.
"I know, but we have to go. You've read siren stories, and I doubt either of us are strong-willed enough to resist." Much higher pitched and slightly stilted. "Grenda, come on. We'll come back tomorrow. I'm tired and neither of us have eaten since breakfast." A moment passed and we were almost to the current.
"Fine. But I still wanna meet one. They're always called dangerous, but no one really knows, so maybe-" the voice was cut off as Pacifica pulled me into the current and we sped away. I thought I heard a shout as we were carried off, but I couldn't be sure. We swam back into the community area and were greeted with knowing faces. Ethan and Simon were giggling and kept glancing in our direction. Mandie came over to us and smiled.
"I see things went well." I was confused for a moment as to why it was that obvious ; I then realized we were still holding hands. My face instantly heated up again. Pacifica gave a nervous chuckle and gripped my hand a little tighter as she nodded. Mandie chuckled and went back over to Tyler, who she had been talking with when we came back. Ethan and Simon waved us over and we complied, not letting go of each other's hands.
"I told ya so!"
"You haven't won yet," Simon mumbled as he turned to us. "Who confessed first?" Ethan looked confident, with his arms crossed and a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Why does that matter? What did you guys do?" Pac rolled her eyes, but the blush was obvious. I looked at my watch and noted the time. Dipper won't expect me back for another thirty minutes.
"You tell us, and we'll tell you."
"They made a bet, Pac," I turned to face Ethan and knew he could see how red my face was. "I did. Now tell us what the bet was." I tried to sound confident, but my voice wavered ever so slightly. Ethan fist-pumped the air and smirked at Simon, who sighed.
"I said Pac would confess first, and he said you would. But since he won, I've gotta try to get Tyler to smile. If I'd won, he would've had to scare Mandie." Simon sighed again.
"Which would've been easy!" Ethan called, making Mandie stick her tongue out. We all laughed. Pacifica asked if we could go somewhere private, to which I excitedly nodded my head. She giggled. We said our goodbyes and left. We made our way to her pond. It was much like my and Dipper's, just smaller and more compact. We had convinced Stan and Ford to help our friends make cubbies too. Pacifica had asked for more of a "vanity" style area, along with the basic sleeping place. We'd given everyone the same glowing plant seeds and she'd chosen pink, purple, and blue, putting them in stripes around the vanity area. I knew Dipper was always confused as to why I'd scattered mine, but I liked the chaos.
"What 'cha wanna talk about?" I asked, sitting on her bed as she went about cleaning things - which was really unnecessary since everything was spotless. She grabbed another sweater I'd made for her. It was light gray with white polka dots all over it and a hoodie pocket added on afterwards. She blushed.
"Umm, can you close your eyes for a second?"
"Oh. Of course." I signed. I closed my eyes and covered them with my hands. I could feel the water shift as she changed. I blushed, realizing why she'd asked me to look away. I waited in silence for a moment. Of course, underwater, it's always silent, but whatever. The water moved again as she came over to me and pulled gently on my wrists, moving my hands away so I could see. She smiled gently and pointed up, gesturing to surface. I listened, following her up. It was much brighter here, since there were less trees.
"So, what does this make us?" She mumbled, rubbing the nape of her neck nervously. I considered for a moment, not wanting to make her upset.
"Well... I mean, neither of us asked the other out. So, I guess mutual crushes. Unless... Oh - Will you be my girlfriend?" I nearly shouted, realizing what she was actually asking for. She giggled, snuggling into my chest and hugging me.
"I'd like that."
DIPPER'S POV
I snapped my head up, startled to not see anyone around. I couldn't figure out why I was kind of sad to be alone. He left me a surprise. I looked around, my eyes landing on a small wrapped box. It was pretty, with light blue paper and a white bow on top. I gulped, remembering he was supposed to be evil. It's probably deer teeth or something.
I shook my head and grabbed the box. He didn't seem evil. He was really nice actually. And handsome. And his eyes are pretty. Wait. I paused. Does this mean I'm gay? Stan said two guys that like each other, but I don't think he likes me. So maybe... Maybe I should ask Mabel. She might know. I carefully unwrapped the box, not wanting to rip the pretty wrapping. I folded it carefully and set it on the highest shelf. It was a simple cube of cardboard. I unfolded it and was surprised to find something pleasant.
"Oh." It was a simple bracelet and necklace set. The bracelet was made of interlocking triangles, and reminded me of one of those basic chain bracelets people wore. The necklace was a leather cord with a silver circle charm. I looked closer. The circle had a pinetree engraved on the front, and on the back was the big dipper. I smiled softly as I put both of them on. They seemed fitted ; not too tight and not too loose. I felt a sense of pride as I put the cardboard box on the shelf next to the paper. "I'll have to put that somewhere later." Great, now I'm talking to myself. I used what limited protection magic I knew and made sure the water wouldn't damage either of the gifts.
I checked that everything was in the bag, only to find that the drawing of what I knew as "Bill" was missing. I guess giving it to him in the dream gave it to him in reality. I looked through my bag again and found the drawing of the symbol on my back, with another note and the photo paperclipped on.
The note read "Just in case you need it, I made you a copy. Love, Bill." I blushed, enjoying the gesture. I closed the bag with everything inside and made my way back home. My mind was swirling with thoughts as I replaced the rock covering the secret entrance. I swam to my cubby and put my bag away, leaving everything inside. I'll deal with it later. I hadn't noticed how tired I felt until then and laid down, covering myself and snuggling into the cloth. I fell into a dreamless sleep.
----------------------------TIME SKIP : BROUGHT TO YOU BY Septic Sam--------------------------------
I woke up to rough shaking, and knew Mabel was back. I scowled and turned over, not wanting to get up. It was useless. She grabbed me, picked me up, and pulled me to the surface.
"Sorry, bro-bro, but this is important," she squealed with a huge smile. I rolled my eyes, being used to her antics. "Guess what?"
"You met a demon and think you love them?" I said with a smile, trying to cover that I was confessing something that important by phrasing it as a tease. She believed me.
"What, no! I asked Pacifica out! And she said yes!" She had the dumbest smile on her face and a blush tinted her face pink.
"Congrats, Mabes. Umm... speaking of... Well, kind of." Why am I nervous? "What would you say if I was maybe, kind of gay...?" I fidgeted with my hands and looked down at my reflection. I wasn't surprised to see the fear and lack of sleep in my eyes ; I looked exhausted and terrified. I heard another squeal and was about to look up when she tackled me. She laughed at my confusion.
"I'd say 'Congrats, you found yourself, and no matter what I support you!'" She spun around and sent waves across the water. I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. She laughed again. "I literally just told you I asked out a girl! Why would I care if you liked a guy? You're still my brother!" I thanked her - totally didn't cry - and decided it was time.
"Hey, Mabes?"
"Yeah?"
"What would you say if I wanted to move out? Not now or anything! Just, sometime this year?" Her laughter was cut off. She had a serious expression on her normally joyful face ; It scared me.
"Does this have anything to do with you coming out? Like, are you moving in with a secret boyfriend?"
"What? No, of course not! Like anyone would date me. I just thought... our birthday is coming up and we'll be turning 18. And with you having a girlfriend, I thought you might like some more privacy." She nodded thoughtfully.
"Do you already have a place in mind? There's no more ponds around here. Wait, are you planning on moving to the ocean?" Shit. I shook my head.
"I do have a place picked out, but I'm not leaving until I'm 18. And before you ask, I'm not going to show you. It's a secret." She pouted for a moment.
"As long as I can visit you, I don't care. I wanna see it before you move though." I nodded, knowing I wouldn't be able to talk her out of it. I eventually convinced her I was still tired and went to sleep.
I hope he's there.
BILL'S POV
"What did he think of you?" I jolted up from the couch, flames ready to fire from my hands, still not completely aware. Ash laughed, backing away with her hands up. "You talk in your sleep. Also, why are you sleeping in here?"
Squeak! Anti landed back on my shoulder. "Because somebody decided to lie on me and I didn't want to disturb them." He nuzzled into my neck and purred.
"Aww! One, that's adorable. And two, answer my question." She smiled as she plopped down on the couch. I grimaced as I joined her. What DID he think of me? He had lapses of trust, but he doesn't trust me completely.
"He... he was still wary of me. I think he likes my appearance. I turned into a siren for a little bit so I didn't have to worry about breathing, and so of course, I had no shirt, and he was super red." I smiled at the memory. Ash chuckled again.
"He makes you happy. That's good. Well, lunch burned. So if we plan on eating before we have to be back at school, we'll have to pick something up. Any ideas?" I smiled sheepishly.
"How about nachos? Or tacos?" She nodded. "I've gotta go change. Be right back." I stood up and picked Anti off my shoulder, handing him off to Ash, who was already dressed. I walked down the hall to my room, stretching my arms as I opened my bedroom door. It was a pretty standard room ; pale beige walls with hardwood floors. A full-sized bed was situated in the corner, the numerous pillows and blankets made up nicely. My wooden desk was in front of the window, nowhere near as neat as my bed ; papers scattered across the surface, a couple of book piles, stray pencils hidden under the papers. I walked over to my dresser and opened the drawers, grabbing a clean button-up, black skinny jeans, and fresh boxers and socks.
I got undressed and had just slipped on my jeans when I felt a presence. I turned around and gasped.
"Pinetree, what the hell are you doing here? And why are you see-through?" He didn't say anything, just stared. His face was red again.
"I don't... I'm... I'm sorry." he mumbled, looking down. He was still in siren form, floating in the air just above the ground as if it was water. His figure was shaking and even though I couldn't see his eyes, I could feel the tears threatening to fall. I walked up to him and was surprised that I could hold him. He continued looking down as I hugged him.
"You have no reason to apologize. You've done nothing wrong. Did you do this on purpose, cause you aren't completely here. What did you do before you came here?" He slowly raised his arms to hug me back. His arms wrapped around my midsection, reminding me I still didn't have a shirt on. I felt tears in the crook of my neck. He's crying.
I rubbed my hand up and down his back as he explained what happened. "I was talking to Mabel and I told her I was tired, so I went to bed and... and now I'm here."
"What happened between lying down and being here? Did you say, er, think anything?" I peeked into his mind, and wasn't surprised by the panic bouncing around. The cause of the panic was what made me confused.
"He'll take it the wrong way. He'll think I'm a freak. He'll hate me. I'm just some annoying little pest to him. He'll never talk to me again."
"Pinetree," he looked up, his eyes even brighter than before, "I will never hate you. What did you say?" He froze, putting his head back on my shoulder.
"I hoped I'd see you..." he mumbled. I couldn't help the smile that appeared on my face. He wanted to see me! "I'm sorry. This is all my fault."
"Stop that. You are not at fault. Once you wake up, your consciousness will be back in the Overworld. Until then, stick with me. We don't know who all can see you, and I would feel terrible if someone stole you." He nodded, sniffling quietly. "Good. But I need to finish getting dressed, so if you could just, y'know, let me go for a second." He hesitated before releasing me and drifting back a little once I also let him go. He seemed calmer ; his breathing was steady and his heart rate was back to normal.
I turned back to my dresser, now a little self-conscious of the boy behind me. I put my shirt on and buttoned it up, folding the collar. I grabbed my white high-tops and put them on, grabbing my wallet and phone and stuffing them into my bookbag. I turned back to see Dipper sitting on my bed and looking around. This time, he had a shirt on ; a blue baseball t-shirt with a small gray cloud sewn onto the chest pocket. Beautiful. He seemed amazed.
"Are you ready yet," Ash called through the door, covering her eyes with her hand as she opened it. "We're gonna be late." Dipper made a small squeaking noise, which made Ash look up. "Oh, you're Pinetree! Bill never shuts up about you." She walked over to the obviously scared boy and stuck out her hand. "Name's Ashtoni."
He slowly accepted the handshake. "It sounds wrong coming from her." I was surprised by the sudden thought. "I've heard your voice before. And please, call me Dipper." He had a mix of fear and confusion on his face. I cleared my throat.
"Ash. Give him some space. He's not really here. Somehow his consciousness made its way down. Any ideas why?" She rolled her eyes and sighed.
"How did you pass exams? Jeez, dude. Does he have any new symbols on him?"
"I can answer that myself," Dipper mumbled. I walked over to him and sat down, close enough that our legs were touching. Well, my thigh was touching where his would've been. "I don't know if my awake body has it or not, but in my last dream - the one I met Bill in - he found a symbol on my back."
"Can I see it?" He looked down and turned to me.
"Could you maybe... turn around?" I've already seen you shirtless, but whatever. I nodded. I closed my eyes and turned around, finding comfort in the dark. I could feel him moving around, and hear the fabric of his shirt rustle. I could feel my face heat up at his timid nature.
"Knew it." More fabric rustling. "Bill, you can look." I opened my eyes. "That mark means a whole lot of shit for both of you. Even Dipper being here means a lot of shit." She pulled her phone out of her book bag and typed for a moment. "We'll grab lunch and then meet up with Mr. Liami at the school." She put her phone in her jacket pocket and began walking away. "Let's go. Bring your boyfriend." She called over her shoulder as she walked out of my room.
"We're not dating," I mumbled. Dipper frowned as he blushed. I stood and held my hand out to him. He took it gingerly. I led him down the hall and through apartment. It felt right, his hand interlocked with mine. We made it to the living room before Anti zoomed over to us and settled on my shoulder.
"Aww! Is this Anti? He's adorable," Dipper cooed, floating closer so he could pet the small dragon. Anti mewed and nuzzled into Dipper's hand. I nodded ; I could feel his breath on my neck.
"Hey, Pinetree, er, Dipper, sorry-"
"It's fine. It just... it felt weird to hear someone else call me that. I don't know why, before you ask." I nodded, a smile coming back to my face.
"It'll be faster to teleport, so... y'know." He nodded, realizing what that meant. He let go of my hand before wrapping his arms around my midsection like before. I grabbed one of his hands, intertwining our fingers again. "Ready?" He nodded again. I snapped my fingers, locking the apartment door and transferring us to Ash's Jeep. Ash smirked. Dipper groaned.
"Ow, ow, ow," he mumbled, staying wrapped around me, snuggling closer. "Ow."
"Get in the truck, dipshits." Ash teased. We ran into a problem ; Dipper had never been in a vehicle before. We ended up with Ash driving and Dipper sitting in the backseat holding my hand from the front seat. He didn't seem very scared ; he just sat at the window and stared with a look of wonderment on his cute, little face. We drove, passing the time by answering the siren's excited questions.
"Hey, Dipper. Have ya ever had nachos?"
"Is it a type of fish or berry?"
"No."
"Then no. It sounds interesting though." He continued looking out the window, giggling at the wind on his face. "What's school like here? I've heard about Overworld school from Ford, but there have to be differences." He gripped my hand, uncomfortable with asking more questions. His mind was full of theories and more questions he was too afraid to ask. "Sorry. I know I'm asking a lot of questions."
"It's fine," I chuckled. "As far as I know, our school system is the same as the Overworld, other than the fact we have magic classes and duels. Ash is the Ace. Pyronica, a pink fire demon in our grade, is the Queen. Darkford is the Jack. He's a grade under us, but damn, is he strong."
"Who's the King then?" Ash chuckled at the fact I deliberately left that out.
"Billy boy here is. Until he hands it off to Darkford at the graduation ceremony, that is." Dipper gasped quietly, and playfully smacked my arm.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Oh look, we're here. Do you wanna split an order of nachos, that way you can try them?" "Don't change the subject! I know you can hear me! But yes. Please." Ash pulled around the building and up to the speaker. She ordered a large order of nachos, three drinks and an order of three tacos. I went to hand her my card, but she declined it, instead pulling out her own and paying. "I could've paid, but thank you." I handed out the drinks. We'd gotten Pinetree a medium water. He sipped it calmly, obviously enjoying the iced drink.
Ash parked and took the food from me, Anti following along in hopes of sneaking food. I got out and shut the door before climbing into the back with Dipper. Ash handed the box of nachos to me, along with two forks and my sweet tea. Dipper was staring at the food with hungry eyes, his lips parted slightly. I laughed.
"What? I haven't eaten all day. Plus, it's new."
"No one said anything, Pinetree. You seem awfully defensive," I said, handing him a fork and opening the box. I put my drink in the cupholder and grabbed my own fork. Dipper was looking at me expectantly. I smiled and started eating, him waiting for a chance. I could see Ash's eyes in the rearview mirror as she smiled at us.
"Shut up." He took a bite, his eyes lighting up. "Holy shit! This is amazing!"
"Damn, for such an innocent person, you've gotta mouth on you!" Ash laughed.
"Sorry! But it is!" We continued eating, talking about whatever came to mind. Once we were all finished, we buckled in and headed towards the high school. We continued talking until the subject of family came up.
"What's your family like, Dipper?" She was met with silence. He looked tired again. We pulled into the school parking lot. We all got out, and grabbed our bags. Dipper floated awkwardly beside me. I slipped my bookbag on my back and held my hand out to Dipper. He took it and we made our way inside. He never answered Ash's question.
We walked inside, walking through the halls and past lockers, multiple of which were damaged from past fights.
"Dad!" Ash called, running up to Mr. Liami and hugging him. "We need your help."
"Hey, Apple-tart. What do you need help with?" He hugged her back and turned to me. His eyes widened when he noticed Dipper's spectre-like form. He shook the hand Pinetree wasn't holding, his eyes staring at Dipper. "Oh."
"Yeah. Can you please explain the mark on his back? His name is Dipper, by the way. Bill has the same one. I would have explained, but I didn't want to get anything wrong," she said, letting go of her father and pointing to Dipper. I gave her a quizzical look and based on her reaction, Dipper was doing the same. Mr. Liami had pulled out a notebook and was writing stuff down.
"I don't have that mark. I've checked."
"Not very well then, cause you have it on the small of your back, just like Dipper. I can show you." She walked behind me with her phone, and lifted the back of my shirt. I heard a photo being taken and waited, expecting for there to be nothing there. I couldn't explain what I felt when I saw the picture ; just like Ash had said, I had the same strange image on my back.
"Please stop staring at me. Please stop. Please. Don't look at me. I'm nothing special, please go away. For fuck's sake, stop." He was gripping my hand tightly and shaking, his eyes glued to the floor.
"Mr. Liami, can you please explain this? We still have graduation and Pinetree is going to wake up eventually." The bearded demon seemed to shake himself out of a trance and he nodded.
"Of course, yes, I'm sorry. So he's asleep right now?"
"I can talk. I'm just... shy," Pinetree's grip loosened and he steadied.
"Oh. I apologize. Now, when did you notice this mark?" He flipped through his notebook to a blank page and began writing. Dipper explained how we decided to meet up in his dream and what transpired, leaving out how often he blushed adorably. The entire time, Ash was on her phone talking to Eryn. Mr. Liami nodded and closed his notebook.
"That decides it," he sighed, smiling at us.
"You're fated."