Hey guys!

I had two parties to go to yesterday, and one went on longer than expected.

Bottom line, here I am today with chapter 2!

Chapter 3 will be posted tomorrow!

Enjoy. ;D

-Fly

It was the day before their birthday. Mabel had decorated a giant room in the shack just as Stan had years ago. The lights were low, and a disco ball was hung from a chandelier. Music was set up at Soos' old DJ booth, and a couch had been pushed up against the far wall.

"Mabel, this was a horrible idea." Dipper said, horrified. The stereo system was already loud, and adding on her own speakers seemed like a bad idea. She hadn't listened, of course. "I'm going to be deaf by the end of the night!"

His sister waved her hand dismissively. "Nah, nah. Relax, bro bro! This is our eighteenth birthday! Live a little!" She reached into her sweater pocket and pulled out a remote. Dipper's hands flew to his ears as 'Don't Start Unbelieving' played. The floor shook, and a bowl of chips fell to the ground.

Mabel paused the music, sheepishly blushing. "Okay, maybe I'll turn it down a little."

-=[TIME SKIP]=-

"Good night, Mabel."

"Good night, Dipper."

There he was. Golden rays of sunlight reflected off his one eye. His hair was neat, and a tall top hat balanced on top. A bowtie had been hastily tied on, contrasting with the yellow overcoat and white shirt. His pinstriped pants were free of wrinkles, and his shoes were nicely shined.

Where had he seen this man? Why did he seem so familiar? The figure smiled.

"Wake up and you shall see!"

So he did.

-=[TIME SKIP]=-

Dipper woke with a start. He'd been having weird dreams since their arrival in Gravity Falls- each one featuring a man with golden hair, fancy clothing and one eye. He'd smirk at him before disappearing, leaving him alone in inky blackness.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" His sister pounced on him, any sleepiness draining from him. She giggled in anticipation, getting off him and dancing in a circle. "YES YES YES YES!"

Dipper smiled weakly. She may be an adult now- But she was still Mabel. "Right." He said, earning an unreadable look from his sister. "Kidding, kidding. Happy birthday, sis."

Out of nowhere, Mabel fainted.

Before her brother could even react, he followed suit.

"Trees that fall show their rings-

Years that pass...

Or other things?"

When they awoke, their minds were scrambled.

"Oh my god." Mabel was clutching her head, obviously in pain. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god..."

The boy beside her cringed in sync with her, immense waves of pain crashing in their head.

And then, all of a sudden, it stopped.

Mabel stood up. "What happened?" Her calm voice shook with fear. "Who's he?" She reached out a hand, but nobody was there.

Dipper shook his head. "No, no, Mabel. No one's there. Sit back down." She refused.

"Dipper, who's that blonde guy?" She massaged her forehead as if trying to summon any more memories. "He had... Oh! He had... Uh..."

"He wore a tux. A yellow tux." Dipper finished for her, smiling. "Mabel! Mabel, we remember!"

In a flash, they were running to go tell Stan.

-=[TIME SKIP]=-

"Oh, 'The show must go on!' Yeah, yeah." Dipper muttered in frustration. " Hmph. 'As if we'd actually put off our party!' Oh, never!" He kicked the wall. "Damn it, Mabel. Why can't she see this is far more important than a stupid birthday bash?"

Mabel was chatting with Soos at the DJ booth. The first guests were minutes away, and Mabel had been preparing for it for the past hour.

Stan had regained his memories too, and left to go for a drive. He needed time to think, and the party would tune out anything important. He didn't let Dipper come. (nor did Mabel- "It's our party, Dip!")

The doorbell rang. "Coming!" Mabel screamed, sprinting for the door. Grenda and Candy stood in the doorway. they were dressed neon-colored dresses, chips and chocolate in hand. "Guys! Oh my gosh, hi!" They immediately erupted into conversation.

"I'm going to college!" Candy screamed, and Grenda crossed her arms.

"Pfft, I have a boyfriend. Mabel, which is better? Hot guys or nerdy stuff?" Her voice was still low, but it was more even now.

"Girls, girls, that's great! But 'cha wanna know the BEST thing that's happened to us?" Mabel snapped, and confetti sprung from a canon in the corner. "WE GET TO PARTY TOGETHER!"

Dipper laughed quietly from his spot on the stairs. If he went deaf that night, at least the last thing he'd hear would be his sister's cries of excitement.

Guests arrived in groups.

Wendy came with Lee, Nate and Thompson- Tambry came soon after with Robbie.

Pacifica and her friends arrived just after they had, as their feud with Mabel had dissipated long ago.

A few other girls poured in, along with Grenda's boyfriend.

Melody- who had flown all the way to Oregon- was the last to arrive. She was with Soos at the DJ booth before anyone could even welcome her.

That was it...

...Or so they thought. A crowd of strangers also poured in, but Mabel didn't care. "MORE PEOPLE TO BEFRIEND, AM I RIGHT DIP?!" She yelled to her brother, but he could barely hear her over the noise.

He decided he'd watch from the top of the stairs, away from the dancing. It didn't help with the noise, but it was as close to leaving as Mabel would allow.

He lost himself to the music when Abba came on- silently bopping his head to the beat. He prayed no one was watching as he swayed his hips slightly, a grin crawling onto his bored expression.

Out of the blue, he felt a tap on his shoulder. "OHMYGOD" HE swirled around, face flushed with embarrassment. "WHO ARE YOU?"

A tall, slender man stood behind him, gloved hand still resting on his shoulder. He wore a familiar yellow tux, a snow white shirt underneath. Coal black pants completed the formal look, and shoes dark as midnight tapped to the music.

His smile showed shiny white teeth, and every part of him screamed to run. "Hey there, kiddo!" He laughed wonderfully, his one visible eye squinted shut. Dipper took the time to examine him further, noting his black top hat and bowtie. His hair was blonde, his skin tanned. When the eye opened, it was a dark grey. "You know, it's not polite to stare."

Dipper shook his head shyly. "Oh, no I wasn't- Uh, sorry..." The man trapped the boy against the balcony fence and himself, using his gloved hands to pin down the other's.

"Wow, six years and you never did change... Much." Dipper's eyes widened, questions building up inside of him. "I mean... Wow. You look-"

"What do you know about what happened six years ago?" Looking at the man again, he seemed to fit the description of the figure in his dreams. "And let me go!" The man sighed, pulling the boy's wrists towards him. Dipper blushed as he was jolted forward, but refused to give in. "Let me go or I'll call the fucking police."

"Do you not remember what happened six years ago?" He finally let go of Dipper's trembling wrists, but wrapped his arms around Dipper's waist before he could escape.

"N-No-Wait, What-Wha-" The boy stuttered, squirming uncomfortably. "What're y-you... AUGH!" He was pulled away from the railing and down the stairs, the man's shit-eating grin teasing him all the way.

"Let me jog your memory." He insisted, and Dipper found himself dancing. It was forced, of course- When someone's hands are locked around your waist, and they're dancing, it's impossible not to. He tripped over his own feet, his hands shooting to his captor's shoulders to stay upright.

"Don't think I'm doing this because I want to." Dipper muttered, but any complaints were drowned out by the volume of the music. As the dancing went on, he started to remember, if only just pieces of the puzzle that was his memory.

Fancy store

Creature attack

Sleeping peacefully

Unorthodox marks

Insane choices

Shared Dreams

Eyes and Fireworks

False normality

Worrying family

Possessiveness and-

Dipper bit his lip. What was he thinking six years ago? He was just a kid, and... He forced himself to look up at the man, who just smiled teasingly. "Is there a problem, Pine Tree?" His eyes darted elsewhere again, feeling his face go pink.

Affection

Fear

Sleep

Curiosity

And-

"Son of a bitch."

Loss

His heart was now hammering in his chest, and he was worried he might throw it up. "Why the fuck did you do that?" His harsh words did nothing to his partner, and their dance finished.

"Because I had business to attend to- Things even I couldn't control... I didn't want to leave you like that, so-" The man's rushed explanation was cut off by a hasty kiss, but before he could return it the lips were gone again.

Dipper was still furious. "You could've told me you'd be back, you could've-"

"No, you couldn't remember. If you did, you'd be dead." He noticed the confused expression on the other's face, and groaned loudly. "Dipper, all those times we faced off in the past years? If you had remembered, I would've won. You wouldn't find the courage to beat me, and I'd have to live eternally with the guilt of killing my favourite little Pine Tree." He released the boy, a blank expression on his face.

And in front of his very eyes, the demon of a man vanished.

-=[TIME SKIP]=-

"Bill?"

Mabel, along with half of the guests, had passed out on the dance floor. Dipper was alone in their room.

"Liam?" He tried, but the room was still. "Damn it, what the hell is your name?" He could sense the demon's eye on him, watching him. "I know you're listening, you overgrown Dorito."

"Billy?" Nothing.

"Willy?" Still nothing.

"William?" Memories sparked inside of him.

"Will. Right, it's Will." A bright light appeared out of nowhere, wind whipping his messy hair around. He squinted his eyes shut, and the room went silent again. He peeked through squinting eyelids, praying he wouldn't go blind. His heart leaped at what he saw- Will was back, leaning on his cane.

"You called, honey?"

Dipper scowled, but remained calm. "We never finished our conversation, you know."

Will rolled his eye. "Oh, you mean that 'conversation' where you stuttered a bunch, I tried to apologize, and you did a little something that proves you aren't actually angry?" A smug grin forced Dipper to back down. "Oh yeah. You'll never escape that, nor will you run from any old memories. They're all back to haunt you, as am I."

The boy was speechless. He'd only just remembered what had happened, and Will was acting as if he'd never left. He grunted in frustration, but figured it wouldn't do him any good to start a fight. "Can you sleep over?" It came out of nowhere, but he desperately needed comfort.

Of course, the man gladly accepted. Six long years without any positive attention from his Pine Tree had been lonely, to say the least. "To finish my thought from earlier, you look good." he admitted, twirling his cane in his palm. "You're still Dipper, but..." The boy's face flushed, and Will stopped himself. "Ah, let's continue this conversation in the morning, hmm? Humans needing their... sleep... and all..."

"Yeah." Dipper nodded, climbing into bed. He'd gotten a new one last year- his feet used to be right at the edge, but now it could fit not one but two people just fine.

And that was a proven fact.

A velvet glove grazed across the boy's forehead, but it was pushed away. "No, Will. We aren't sharing another dream. At least... not tonight." He rolled over to face the wall. "I need time to think."

Will groaned in dismay, but obliged. "Fine. Tomorrow, is an us night, you hear?"

"You got it."

"Good. Need some help?"

Before Dipper could object, he was pushed into a peaceful sleep.

Sorry it's not that long! I hit my 2000-word goal, but this chapter deserved to be longer.

*holds back promises i can't keep*

*GIVES UP*

I'll try and do a 2500-3000 word chapter next time!

See you guys then. 3

-Fly