The two used what little time they had in the Mindscape to take out two shadows, Bill carefully avoiding Clyde, since he didn't want any kind of showdown in other people's heads.
As he woke up, Dipper found that he and Bill were tangled up again, but didn't bother to freak out, since he knew it would just cause more drama than needed. He stretched out, nudging Bill away a little. He didn't seem to be awake yet, and his body retaliated by pulling Dipper back over to him.
He struggled to get out of his grasp, waking Bill up.
"Pine Tree, I was comfortable. We don't have to get up anyway," he whined. He held onto Dipper tighter, and took a deep breath. "Stay here for a minute?"
Dipper wasn't sure what Bill was playing at, but he figured he would stay, since he was comfortable as well. "Any reason we need to be cuddling?"
Bill opened one eye and smirked at him. "It's warmer this way. Besides, my body wants this. I figure I'll get all of my body's wants out of the way with you, that way I won't have to deal with wanting to do them with other people."
"Whoa." Dipper pushed back a little from Bill and gave him a concerned look. "Not everything, everything, right?"
Bill let out a loud laugh, and pulled Dipper closer. "Don't worry Pine Tree, you're safe."
Dipper tensed up and became a little antsy. "I think it might be time to get up."
"We both know you already are," Bill chuckled.
Dipper's face turned a bright red and he rolled out of the bed. "I'm going to take a shower," he said quickly.
As he showered, he heard Bill and Mabel talking in the kitchen, and hurried out so that he could make sure Bill wasn't saying anything incriminating about him.
"So, what's that other demon's deal? He seems like he's got some issues." Mabel was sitting in front of a plate of something Dipper couldn't identify, and Bill had a matching dish.
"He's basically my cousin. And yeah, issues run deep the the family," he laughed.
Dipper looked at the clock on the stove, and saw that it was already mid-day, so he started to make himself lunch. "So is he just like, stuck somewhere? He made it sound like you have him locked up."
Bill took a bite of the mystery food, and seemed to enjoy it. "That extra room I have is marked up to keep any demon inside. Hell if the door closed on me I'd be stuck," he chuckled.
Without looking at each other, both twins made a mental note of that, and could tell that the other was thinking the same thing. If they needed it, they had a demon trap.
"Let's go to the mall!" Mabel exclaimed suddenly.
Both boys looked at her strangely and waited for her to respond in some way, other than smiling a goofy smile.
"Really though, we could all use a breather, and I can do some shopping!" Mabel scarfed down the rest of her food, and hopped up from her chair. "I'll go get ready while you two eat! Be ready when I come out!"
Bill looked down at himself and realized he was still in his pajamas. "What are you going to wear today Pine Tree? I might as well match with you again," he chuckled.
Dipper shrugged and grabbed his soup from the microwave. "The clothes I'm wearing right now work if we're just going to the mall." He looked down at his well-worn jeans and blue T-shirt, then nodded. "Yeah, this is good."
Bill snapped his fingers, and Dipper's shirt changed to yellow, and Bill was wearing black jeans with a blue shirt. "There, now we match."
"Alright then," he chuckled.
Mabel came out a little while later, dressed in a plain blue sweater with black leggings, and snorted when she saw the boys. "We're all matching! I have to take a picture!" She flung out her phone and pulled the two boys together, then snapped a picture.
Bill stuck out his tongue, Mabel smiled and put up a peace sign, and Dipper had blinked and nearly spilled what was left of his soup.
"That's a keeper!" Mabel sang as she danced away. "Now hurry up and finish eating slow pokes! I wanna go to the mall!"
The mall wasn't very crowded since it was a Sunday, but the few people that were there seemed to be giving Bill dirty looks, since he was running around as if he had never been inside a mall before.
"Pine Tree, was there one of these in Gravity Falls? Why didn't you tell me! Look at all of the people and stupid crap they're buying!"
"Hey, I'm a people, and I do not buy crap," Mabel scoffed. She crossed her arms and stopped walking, staring at Bill. "Speaking of buying though, you two should totally go find Halloween costumes while I go meet up with Jessica."
Dipper groaned. "That's why you wanted to come here. To trick me into dressing up this year."
Mabel nodded and waved as she started to walk away. "I'm being a mouse! Try to match!"
As soon as she was out of sight, Bill turned to Dipper with a large smile on his face. "Oh, Pine Tree," he sang.
"Whatever you're thinking Bill, no." Dipper walked off without him, but Bill made sure to follow his fast steps.
"You didn't even hear me out."
"I don't have to, to know that it's probably something I won't like."
Bill grabbed his sleeve and tugged him to the nearest Halloween store, ignoring his protests.
"Let's see what I can find for you," Bill said as he looked the aisles up and down.
Plastic weapons, masks of various ghouls and animals were everywhere, gallons of fake blood and cheesy decorations giving the store the complete, only-here-for-a-month-or-so Halloween look.
"Please don't put me in anything weird," he groaned.
Bill bounced around the store for a while, before stopping mid way through an aisle and shook his head. "I can make up better costumes with my magic, duh." He grabbed Dipper's sleeve and lead him back out of the store, looking as if he had somewhere to go.
"Where are you taking me?" Dipper protested.
Bill stopped for a moment, then looked around, taking in the small groups of people that were pooled around the stores and making their ways down each side of the main walkway. "There's gotta be some sort of magic store in here," he mumbled.
"I've been here a thousand times, trust me, if there were a store that sold anything magic, I would've seen it by now." Dipper pulled his arm from Bill's grip and looked around, seeing the usual mall he had always seen. Mostly clothes stores, the food court, and the occasional knick-knack store that sold super random, and cheap, weird stuff.
"There!" Bill grabbed Dipper's arm again and lead him straight into one of those weird little stores, and headed straight for the little rings and necklaces that were kept in a glass case. He stared down at them for a moment, biting at his lip. "Pine Tree, what do you want to be for Halloween?"
Dipper rolled his eyes and looked down at the jewelry with him. "I don't see how these dumb rings can help me dress up for Halloween. Mabel was serious when she said I'd better match her, so I can't just show up with a ring on."
The older man who was watching the store stepped over to them, his long pulled back hair flowing behind him as he walked. His boney fingers came together and he stood tall over the boys, looking down on them with a small smile that revealed his strangely perfect teeth. "I see you boys are interested in certain items." His gray eyes fell onto Bill's wrists and his smile widened. "And I see that you know how to use them. I don't get many of you around."
Bill smiled and crossed his arms in such a way that showed off his wrists, as if he were proud of the markings. "I'm looking for something for pleasure more than business. Halloween is coming up, and I'd like something with power, but not enough to make any of the effects, long lasting."
The man's gaze went to Dipper, who was shocked that the conversation was even happening.
He had been in that store a million times when he was bored, waiting for Mabel to be done shopping, and not once had he seen anything of the magic sort. Looking down at the rings, he still didn't know what Bill was talking about. They were just rings.
"I see. I believe I have the perfect pair for you two. Though I cannot promise that you will want to take them off after the night has ended." The man looked to Bill to see his reaction, almost as if he was hoping for Bill to waiver, but he didn't.
Instead he smirked at the man and held his stance, not showing any sign that he was going to change his mind. "I tend to stick to what I have."
"Alright. Don't say that you haven't been warned." The man unlocked the glass and showed one of the rows of rings that all had large stones set in the middle.
Bill looked at them carefully for a moment before plucking two rings from the case. With rings in one hand, he used his other hand to snap his fingers, making a small snake statue, made of what looked like turquoise, with the snake in a striking pose, appear on the counter. "You've been very helpful," he grinned.
"As have you. Have a fun Halloween, boys."
Bill walked from the store, Dipper following close behind, wildly confused as to what had happened.
"What was that all about?"
He stopped and grabbed Dipper's hand, slipping the ring onto his right ring finger. "You have to trade magic for magic. He gave us the best Halloween costumes someone could ask for, I gave him a charm that will protect his business from theft and bring in more customers, since shops like that tend to have a lot of shoplifters, and not a lot of people wanting to actually buy."
Dipper pulled his hand away and examined the ring. The material didn't feel as cheap as he thought it would, the ring having a good weight and shine to it, and the stone in the middle was an oval, that was a deep burgundy color, looking as if it were an actual pricey stone. "They didn't look this nice in the case."
"Of course not, they didn't have magic in them. Almost any item can be turned into a magical one, but certain ones are already magic, and just need a little jumpstart to go back to their original shine." Bill put his ring on, it looking similar, but the stone in his was a much lighter red color. Maybe it was a ruby? Dipper couldn't tell.
"Well, I think we should see what Mabel's doing. I'm done with being in the mall today." He pulled his phone from his pocket, and tapped away at his screen, asking what Mabel was up to. She responded quickly, letting him know that she was almost done, and that she would meet them at the car. "Alright, we can go wait in the car. Mabel said she'd be out soon."
They walked in silence, Dipper examining the ring as much as he could, almost bumping into people on their way out.
"It's really not complex Pine Tree. I told you, some things are just simple, don't overthink it." Bill leaned on the car and waited for Dipper to unlock it almost impatiently.
Maybe he was ready to go home too, Dipper laughed to himself. "I just think it's cool, I guess that's all." He yanked his keys from his almost too tight pockets, and fumbled for a second to find the right key.
A loud crashing sound from behind them made him drop them, and Bill looked back to see what had caused the noise.
Two cars had gotten into a small crash, one turning the corner and not in his lane, and the other in his own lane, waiting to turn.
"Just a fender bender," Bill said as he turned back to Dipper. His usual smug look vanished when he saw that Dipper was on the ground, breathing heavily, holding his knees to his chest. "Pine Tree?"
"I need Mabel," he breathed. "Where's Mabel?"
Bill wasn't sure what to do. Mabel wasn't at the car yet, and he wasn't sure how to contact her. "Star is fine, she's on her way to meet us, come on kid, it was just a bang."
Dipper showed no signs of calming down, and he dug his phone from his pocket frantically, nearly throwing it at Bill. "I need Mabel," he repeated. Being at a mall, the loud crashing sound, Bill there, calling him the name he couldn't stand, and Mabel nowhere to be seen was too much for him.
Not sure what else to do, Bill dialed Mabel and waited for her to pick up.
"Dipper, I told you I'd be out soon, geez. I'm heading out of the store now."
"Star? I think Pine Tree is broken."
"What? What happened Bill?"
"There was a fender bender in the parking lot, it made a loud noise and now Pine Tree is freaking out and keeps saying that he needs you."
Mabel cringed and sighed. "I told you, he can't handle loud noises. I'll be out really soon, just rub his back and tell him I'm on my way. And Bill? Keep the nicknames to a minimum when he's freaking out like this. It makes it worse."
The line went dead and Bill stood there for a moment, staring down at Dipper, who was at the point of tears. "Hey, it's okay kid. Your sister is coming out now, she's on her way."
Dipper nodded and tried to slow his breathing. He hated that he had a freak out like this in front of Bill, but at the same time he felt Bill should see what he had done to him. This was his fault anyway. Things like this wouldn't bother him if Bill hadn't put him through hell when he was only twelve. Maybe seeing him like this would make Bill realize that he had put him through enough, and he would stop being so pestering.
"You know, I'm going to show you some more magic when we get back to your place. I was going to save it until later, but I think you're ready for it. You did read the book right?"
Dipper nodded. "Some of it didn't make sense though." His voice was strained, since he was trying really hard to focus on where he was. He wasn't in Gravity Falls, he wasn't being chased by demons, and Mabel was safe. She was buying clothes with a friend, and she was safe.
"I'll help you through it"
"Why are you being so nice?" Dipper finally looked up at Bill, but before Bill could respond, Mabel bounced over and kneeled next to Dipper.
"You okay? I promise I didn't go anywhere, I'm okay. We're okay." She pulled him into a hug, and he happily hugged back, bringing his thoughts back to the present.
"I'm fine. Thank you Mabel."
She helped his stand up, and looked to where the cars had crashed into each other. "Everyone looks okay, they can handle it. We should go home and let you relax, okay bro-bro? I'm driving."
"I can sit in the back with him," Bill chirped.
The twins both looked at him skeptically, Dipper still a little worked up. Bill was being helpful, and it was weird.
"Dipper, what do you want?" Mabel picked up the keys and unlocked the car, but kept her gaze on her brother. His panic attacks were happening a little more frequently than she would like, and she was worried that spending time with Bill and other demon stuff wasn't helping. She thought for a moment about telling Bill to leave right then, and decided that his answer would make up her mind for her.
"If Bill wants to sit in back with me that's fine." He slumped into the back seat and kept close to the door. Even if he had agreed to let Bill sit with him, it was still his fault that he freaked out in the first place, and he wanted it to sink in for Bill.
The drive home was mostly quiet, until Mabel remembered why she had dragged them to the mall in the first place.
"Hey! You guys didn't pick out any costumes!" She looked in the rearview mirror and glared at them.
"Actually Star, we already have some. We just have to wait until Halloween to show them to you. They're a surprise."
"Yeah, even to me," Dipper grumbled.
"Well, whatever they are, they'd better match my killer mouse costume. I designed the thing myself. It's going to knock people's socks off!"
Bill laughed and relaxed into the chair, his eyes focusing on something passing by out the window. "Oh, ours will match. And they too will 'knock people's socks off'."