Everyone was doing it, so I felt the need to do my own one shot for what I think could happen after 'Not What It Seems', or as I like to call it, 'The Episode That Broke Us All'. This was typed on my phone and was my first ever attempt at writing Bill. Do you think I did him justice?
DISCLAIMER: I do not, no matter how much I may want to, own Gravity Falls or its' characters. That's owned by the evil, yet awesome, Alex Hirsch. It's also owned by Disney, believe it or not. If I DID own Gravity Falls, it may not have been as cool, but Dipifica would be canon instead of just implied. :P
Enjoy and please feel free to leave a review! They make my day and encourage me to write more one shots. ^^
TRUST NO-ONE.
The journal's words rung through him like a bell as he watched his own sister trust that...that traitor.
He had lied to them. He had probably killed a man. He'd had all three journals in his posession this entire time... and yet, his sister trusted him more than her own twin.
Where had he gone wrong? He'd always tried to be there for her, be a good brother to her, so why had she betrayed him like that?
The author emerged from the glowing abyss of the portal, but for once, he didn't care. Mabel offerred him a sparkling smile, assuming he'd be happy to meet the man he admired so much, but the only emotion he let her see was one of anger. Right now, he couldn't even care less about the secrets of this town. If the author randomly sprouted wings right now, his glare on her wouldn't falter.
Mabel's smile fell at her brother's reaction.
"Bro-bro, I-"
The affectionate nickname made the male twin feel sick. "Mabel, I...I can't believe..."
His voice, hoarse from all the previous shouting, came out much shakier than intended. Stan- if that was even his real name- attempted to take a step closer to him, but the boy only stepped further back.
"Dipper," the man tried, the desperation still evident in his voice. "I know this looks bad, but you gotta believe me! I would never-"
"No," the boy cut him off, an bitter tone adding to the still rising shakiness in his voice. "I'm not going to believe anything you say ever again."
"Dipper-"
"Get AWAY from me!"
Without another word, the boy picked his hat off of the floor and thrusted it violently over his head so that it would cover his eyes. He vaguely recalled hearing the author say something to his apparent brother, but the pre-teen was too upset to care what it was. He entered the rusting elevator, slamming the door of it with the kind of violence that could have flung it off of its' hinges, had it been done by a stronger person.
Head lowered, Dipper made his way to the forest. It wasn't safe in any means, but at least the creatures there usually made it obvious to him if they were planning on hurting him or not. He was starting to see where the term 'stabbed in the back' came from. Betrayal hurt, especially from the people one cared about most.
He slumped onto a nearby log with a sigh, the day's events finally weighing down on him. He hated this. He was just so fed up. Fed up of all the secrets, fed up of all the lies, fed up o-
"Well, well, well!" Dipper's sad chesnut orbs tentatively looked up. "How's my favourite meat sack today?"
"Aaaaaaa-ooomf!"
He fell off of the log.
With a groan, Dipper rubbed his sore head and picked himself up.
"Bill!" He growled, pinning the demon with a venomous glare, despite the fact that a large part of him was feeling terrified at the triangle's presence. "What are YOU doing here?!"
The creature's small black arms shrugged. "Just figured I'd, ya know, stop by, see my favourite Pine Tree."
Despite himself, the pre-teen rolled his eyes. "You're just here to gloat, aren't you?"
"Okay, ya got me there, kid. Couldn't pass somethin' like this up."
He clicked his 'fingers', and a large yellow star poofed into existence. In the centre, it read: YOU TRIED. He handed it to Dipper, but when he picked it up, it burnt to ashes in his hands.
Instead of being scared or surprised, though, the boy only shot him another glare and slumped back onto the log. He covered his face in his hands.
"Does my one eye decieve me?"Bill blinked confusedly. "Looks like the little Pine Tree's finally been chopped down, huh?" He paused as he looked down at the boy. "Well THAT'S dissapointing. I was expecting WAY more from you, actually."
Dipper gritted his teeth. He really wasn't in the mood for this right now. Not with his world crumbling apart like it was.
"Crumbling apart?" Bill scoffed with a chuckle. "Don't be so dramatic, kid. Things are gonna get WAY worse than they are now. Save your moping for the REAL end. Now THAT'S gonna be fun!"
He would never admit it out loud, but there was something about the broken boy that disturbed him. Yeah, him. The being that liked to casually tear teeth out of deers' mouths. The same guy that had invaded the minds of many and caused them to go completely insane, just for laughs.
Why was the flesh stick so...emotionless? Sure, the kid was upset, but when read the boy's mind, he expected at least SOME kind of reaction. He wasn't even remotely perturbed!
...
Wow. He really was broken.
The triangle felt his invisible mouth smirk. Perfect.
He's have to thank Claw and Shooting Star for their treachery later. Because of them, the child was more vulnerable than he ever had been. He knew from experience that that made manipulation a walk in the park.
He shrunk down to a non-threatening size and, floating over to the boy, sat on his shoulder.
"Bet'cha feel pretty betrayed now, huh, kid?"
The boy flinched and attempted to swat Bill off of him, but his hand only went through the creature's tiny form. He glared again, but the shape noticed how glassy the angry eyes were. Yep- he was upset alright.
He patted Dipper on the shoulder blade with a small black hand.
"Chin up, Pine Tree." His eyelid narrowed confusedly. "Though, not gonna lie, kid, I'm surprised ya didn't see this coming."
Dipper found himself raising an eyebrow, even though he knew he really shouldn't be listening to Bill at all.
"W-what do you m-mean?"
Success. Pine Tree had taken the bait. Trying not to look too happy, the triangle casually starting playing with a yo-yo he had conjured from nothing.
"The jerk's a con-man, Dipper. It's literally his job." He deliberately kept his echoed voice light and casual, just like it always was.
The child was starting to shake a little now. "I-I know, b-but..."
"...But what?" The being scoffed. "Ya thought you were different from the suckers he gets PAID to lie to?"
Bill noticed the kid's body posture starting to get limper, as if his resolve was breaking. He sensed the boy beginning to get emotionally tired as well.
"B-but it's..." Dipper sighed angrily and tried once again to shove Bill off of him. "UGH! Why am I even LISTENING to you?! All you've done since meeting me is LIE! You're no better than STAN is!"
Bill rolled his eye. "Where'd ya figure that?"
"What?"
"Name me ONE TIME I've lied to ya," he challenged, sounding a little annoyed. "C'mon, I dare ya."
Dipper hesitated at the shape's annoyance. For some reason, it seemed genuine. "T-the, uh, the d-deal!"
"Nope. Watch it again, Pine Tree."
Before the boy could ask what that meant, the creatures's eye exapanded and turned into a movie projector. It was displaying the memory of the deal onto the grass below their feet.
Dipper was stood inside of his bedroom and Bill was talking to him about a deal. The boy looked exhausted, but he was apparently forcing himself to listen.
"I just want a puppet."
"Just... one puppet?"
Dipper watched with a frown on his face. Bill hadn't actually lied at all during that exchange, had he? Sure, he didn't specify which one he wanted, but he had said he wanted a puppet. He had no way of knowing that Bill would use him as one, but the creature technically never lied. The memory finished a few minutes later, and Bill's projector turned off.
"Now do ya see?" He crossed his little arms."Say what ya want about the humans, but I never lied once."
The boy sighed defeatedly. "You're... I can't believe I'm saying this, but...you're actually right." His brown eyebrows knitted into a frown. "Wow. My life really is messed up "
The triangle let out a laugh. "You're life was messed up when you first found that journal! I mean, why'dya think I smashed that laptop?"
"Why... did you do that?"
A shrug. "You were gettin' too close ta finding out about this portal shindig. After I destroyed it, you were supposed to leave all this stuff alone." The boy frowned at him. "What? So maybe I found it funny ta watch you and Shooting Star have a whizz at tryna solve this town's mysteries. You know, you two thinkin' you had a chance and all that."
"Jeez, I'm glad you had fun," Dipper muttered bitterly. "But it's probably over now anyway. I'm not ever going to trust my sister again, let alone go mystery hunting with her." He sighed and pinned his sad gaze to the floor. However, Bill noticed that the boy had stopped trying to shove him off of his shoulder. Wow, progress.
"You know," Bill said slyly, "we COULD make a deal..."
The boy's eyes widened. "No way!" He exclaimed. "HECK NO! I'm not falling for that again!"
"Really?" He persisted. " 'cus I could help ya get revenge on them all."
It was tempting, but Dipper still refused adamantly. "I said no. That won't solve anything. Forget it, Bill."
Bill inwardly frowned. He needed a different approach. "I could even get'cha outta here," he continued, making his voice deliberately sound soft and inviting. "I could take you back to the Mindscape with me, away from all the liars and the secrets..."
Again, the boy shook his head, but it now looked as though he was having a hard time doing so. Deciding to give the boy some time to think about it, Bill floated off of him.
"Well, think 'bout it, kay, Pine Tree?"
He ruffled the boy's hair with a warm hand, making the pre-teen yawn.
"I'll be watchin' if ya change your mind, kid."
With that, he popped out of existence. Dipper's eyelids weighed down on his eyes as he watched Bill leave and before he knew what was going on, was in the real world again. He gasped as he witnessed his previously monochrome surroundings lowly shift back to its' original colours.
But, as Dipper looked around the forest of the real world, he found the colours more depressing than the greys could ever had been. Was going to Bill for help really his only option? He felt the all-too-familiar sickening stab in his heart as he thought about that poor excuse for a family. Maybe he'd have a think about his offer. In the meantime, it was starting to rain, so decided he had better get back to the shack, the place he had once called home.
