Eighteen-years-old and cute as a button, Julienne 'Jules' Ambroise made her way through the forest, making weird actions with her arm which teenagers recognised as searching for a phone signal.
She had black hair, ombréd aqua, the fringe brushed in an arch. Hazel eyes scanned the territory. She tugged self-consciously at her blush pink sweater, even though there was no one around to watch. She was wearing black leggings, coupled with red Converse high-tops that crunched on the dead leaves left behind from fall.
There it was. The shape of a stone triangle, complete with an outstretched hand and a top hat. Half of its eye was covered by moss that'd crept over it in the last five years. No one bothered to clear it off. Everyone figured Bill Cipher deserved blindness.
Bill Cipher. It was a little cold for summer, and Jules shivered, but it turned into more a shudder once she remembered the tale the man-child at the Mystery Shack'd told her.
She stopped an inch from the triangle, pausing to admire the intricacy. He was mouthless and eyebrow-less, so she couldn't tell he was feeling - or had felt - any emotion except surprise when he was petrified.
This was her moment. Her moment in the spotlight, for once. Not overshadowed by her older brother Alex's achievements, not spoilt because it'd been done by the legendary Pines twins or Wendy or Old Man McGucket or Robbie Valentino, or any of the Zodiac heroes.
Alex lived in Omaha now. He was twenty years old, studying at UNL. Good.
Her moment. Truthfully, it was a bad moment, because what she was about to do was out of pure spite, revenge and a lust for fame.
She didn't care. She placed her hand tentatively in Bill's outstretched one.
There was a flash. Blue fire crept along Bill's arm, turning it black. It reached his body, turned it yellow, then his other arm, his top hat...
Bill blinked the moss out of his eye, adjusted his top hat, withdrew his hand and floated up, a head above Jules.
"What year is it?" he moaned. It was Jules' turn to blink.
"2017," she replied, bewildered. "Wow. It really is you. Bill Cipher, right?"
"Yessiree, Bill at my own service. And you are Julienned Fries, am I right? Tell me I'm right. I'm always right."
Jules' eye twitched. "Jules. Jules Ambroise. I brought you back...?"
"I noticed. I'm amazing, okay? What for? Pine Tree, Shooting Star, Stitch Heart, Llama...they defeated me before. Your grand plan?"
"Take on a human form," Jules said determinedly. "They'll recognise you if you don't. Or you could hide in a pack of Doritos-"
"Let's go with the human."
"Just morph into something. Don't take over me. I have a great life to live yet. Morph into an eighteen-year-old, like me, like one of my school friends, like a blonde boy. Like an inconspicuous, average, maybe short -"
Bill shrugged, shape-shifted, and Jules had to stop herself from screaming.
He was not average. He was freakin' beautiful, and it really just wasn't fair right then and there.
Silky blonde hair. Fluffier black hair under that. Tanned skin, a few almost-invisible freckles, like makeup, expertly dotted. A collared white shirt, the same bow tie, a teal sweater, dark brown jeans and hipster boots...
"Is this literally your definition of average?"
"It's my definition of beautiful, and you don't have to scream," he smirked, tapping his temple.
"I will hurt you."
"What's your point? So, I sneak into town, then take over Gravity Falls and the world from there? Doesn't seem like much of a plan, Fries."
Jules threw her hands up. "I. Am. Working on it. For now...I'll take you to the Falls. You can stay in our attic. We'll burn the bridges when we come to 'em."
"Anything else you wanna tell me? Like, oh, how are we going to explain 'Look at Fries' amazingly hot new friend, where did he mysteriously appear from'-"
"You keep this up, Cipher, and I will alert every single person in Gravity Falls that you're back," Jules warned. "The Pines twins are coming this summer, like always, but that's it."
Bill raised an eyebrow, placed a hand on her shoulder, nodded sympathetically. "I understand. They'll throw you in prison for reawakening me and then petrify me yet again. That sounds amazing," He whispered in her ear.
Jules glared at him, and if looks could kill...Bill would still be there, because he was a dream demon. It didn't matter to him.
She really should've thought this through.