AN: So I do all of my writing late at night, so please forgive errors and what not.
Anyway, enjoy a chapter of the boys not knowing how to deal with feelings and junk :p
A couple hours had passed, and both Dipper and Bill had almost drifted off while cuddling.
Dipper was starting to get too hot, and had to move away from Bill, who surprisingly allowed him to move.
"Feeling a little better?" Bill sat up and adjusted his T-shirt since it had gotten all twisted up from Dipper struggling.
"I guess," he mumbled, still groggy. "What are we gonna do about Ford?"
Bill laid on top of Dipper, using his elbows on either side of him to keep himself propped up. "Well, I'm assuming he's going to stay until you two talk through the whole magic thing, so you're just going to have to get it out of the way."
Ignoring the fact that Bill was on top of him, since he knew that he did it for a reaction, he sighed. "What do I even say to him though?"
"There's only a few ways someone can trigger their magic. One is to do a ritual that involves a blood sacrifice, so make sure to be clear that it wasn't that one," he chuckled. "Yours was triggered because you wanted to protect Star, and I'm willing to bet Sixer will buy that. Just be sure to act like the party was the first time it happened. He doesn't need to know the first time was to get away from Clyde."
"Well duh," Dipper laughed. He shifted a little under Bill's weight, as he was becoming a little uncomfortable. "Could you get off?"
Bill smiled like a shark and pushed his nose to Dipper's. "Feeling uncomfortable, Pine Tree?"
He was trying really hard not to give Bill the reaction that he knew he wanted, but he wanted Bill to get off of him. "Dude, move!" Dipper wiggled underneath him, but Bill just smiled down at him.
"You're going to have to try a lot harder than that," he said in a sing-song voice.
Dipper rolled his eyes and blew in Bill's face, making him flinch back. "Wasn't expecting that, were you?"
Bill put his hand behind Dipper's head and carefully grabbed a handful of his hair, then pulled Dipper's face to his, giving him a wet, sloppy, kiss. "And you," he tapped his nose as he pulled away "weren't expecting that."
"Actually," he breathed "I kind of was, you've done it a lot lately. I don't think it's something you should make a habit of right before Ford comes into town. I can't really explain why I have a demon hanging on me."
Bill's smile dropped, and it looked like he actually agreed with Dipper. "I'll just have to get it all out while we wait for him."
"What? No, Bill-"
Bill cut him off by tickling his sides, and occasionally kissed his cheek through the struggling.
"Bill, stop!" Dipper was trying to get off the bed, and eventually did, when he fell off with a loud thud. He groaned and sat up, rubbing the back of his head.
Bill was looking down at him and was biting his lip. "Sorry."
Dipper stood up and grabbed his phone off of the bed. "I'm going home to check on Mabel."
When he got home, he immediately changed his clothes and took a quick shower, then knocked on Mabel's door, hoping that she wasn't mad about the night before.
"Uuughh," she groaned. "Not so loud!"
Dipper peeked into her room and smiled sheepishly. "Can I come in?"
A muffled, "yes" was gurgled, and Dipper slowly pushed the door open to find Mabel laying in bed, still dressed in her mouse costume.
He chuckled at the sight and cleared his throat, trying to make sure she knew that he had entered the room. "You feeling okay?"
Mabel sat up and rubbed at her head. She wasn't about to admit to Dipper that she had had enough alcohol to have this bad of a hangover, but she knew that she was caught regardless, so she just stuck her tongue out at him.
"I see," he laughed. He quieted for a moment and thought about what to say. "Listen, Mabel, about last night. I-I'm sorry. I really didn't mean-"
"Dipper, the guy grabbed my butt. You had every right to be upset. I was too. I mean, yeah you may have overreacted a tiny bit, but I'm not mad." She sighed and looked down at her outfit. "How did I end up in bed anyway? The last thing I remember is Clyde helping me get into the car."
"Bill carried you in." He walked over to the bed at sat near her feet, leaning on the footboard as casually as he could, since he didn't want her to see that he was still a little tired from the magic. "The demons were more responsible last night than I was."
Mabel nodded. "At least Bill seems like he's actually here to do some good. He could be being a much bigger jerk."
Dipper rolled his eyes. "I've just kind of started to ignore most of what he does. . ." He trailed off and sighed. "Mabel everything is weird right now, and Ford is coming down for a visit because Ty told him that I used magic, and I don't know what to tell Ford if he found out about Bill. He'd probably freak out and try to fight him or something, and I'm pretty sure Bill would win, I've seen what he turns into, it's not pretty."
She leaned forward and put her hand on his back. "Everything will be okay Dipper. I'm sure if grunkle Ford does find out about Bill then we'll be able to talk with him about it. Ford is pretty down to Earth, I'm sure he'll take talking over fighting."
He shrugged and nodded at the same time. "I guess."
Mabel got up and stretched, ignoring the tingling sensation in her head. "When's he comin' down anyway?"
"He said sometime this week. He had to finish up some stuff in town, then he'd head over this way. Stan says hi by the way."
A large smile spread on her face. "You think he might come along too?"
"I-I don't think so. Ford made it sound like it was just going to be him." Dipper stood up and huffed at the pain in the back of his head, then rubbed it. Stupid Bill, knocking him off the bed.
"Something wrong?" she asked as she unclipped her hair from its matted mess of bobby pins.
"Bill accidentally knocked me off the bed and I hit my head. I'm fine, it just stings."
She wasn't sure what to make of the two boys, and really didn't want to push Dipper into anything he didn't want to do, but she definitely wanted to keep her ability to make Bill go away if needed, so she sucked in a deep breath and cringed at her own words. "How are you two? He seems like he's been really attached to you lately. That a good thing?"
Dipper shrugged again and put his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "He keeps just acting like I'm his, his boyfriend or something. I don't know if I like it." He looked away from her and bit his bottom lip. "But I also don't think that I hate it."
Mabel froze and her face lit up with surprise. "You think you've started to feel something for Bill?"
He cleared his throat and shrugged. "I-I don't even know Mabel! I just. . . don't hate the affection. At first I did, and it was really unwanted, but now I feel bad about him feeling bad, and every time he. . . is affectionate, I don't mind it. Is that wrong?"
Mabel shrugged with one shoulder as she tried to brush through her matted hair. The pulling at her head didn't help the constant thudding in her ears, and she gave up and sighed, figuring that she would just try to get the knots out with conditioner when she showered. "I told you Dip, feel whatever comes to you. We're adults now, and can make our own decisions. If feeling a certain way towards Bill makes you happy, then by all means, do what makes you happy. Just, be careful." She sat on the bed next to him and rested her hand on his shoulder. "Bill's sweet, but he's still a demon. No matter how actually kind of awesome he's being, I don't want you hurt."
Dipper smiled weakly at his twin and nodded. "As always, you're a huge help. Now go take a shower. I'll make the food for once."
The next few days felt like some sort of odd purgatory. Bill and Clyde had fully prepared to disappear for a little while, making sure that they could avoid Ford as much as possible, and Mabel was too busy preparing the house for Ford's visit to talk much, since he had called her and given her a better window of when he would arrive.
Dipper spent most of his time reading over the book again, hoping that he could get a better grasp on the symbols and magic stuff before Ford tried to talk with him about it.
Bill had drawn only four small symbols on Dipper, -one on each side of both wrists- and told him that those would be enough for the time being, so long as he didn't do anything too crazy.
"No more fire," Bill chuckled as he finished making the symbols.
They were at Bill's place, the night before Ford would arrive, and Dipper was admiring the new small tattoos.
"My mom's going to kill me," he laughed shakily.
"You either die from your mother's wrath, or from the magic. Take your pick," he laughed back.
He moved his wrists away from Bill and rubbed at them. The pen tingled and was almost a little painful. "The tattoos don't sound as painful."
Bill leaned back on his bed, resting on the wall it was pushed up against. "So, seems like we may not really see each other for a couple days. . ." he trailed off.
"Yeah, seems like." The air was a little awkward between them since Bill had accidentally pushed him off the bed. Did Bill feel bad? Dipper avoided looking over at the demon and took a deep breath.
"Pine Tree, if the things I'm doing really bother you, I can stop. I mean no harm with them. They just. . . make me feel, not bad."
He bit his lip and sucked in another deep breath. "What's making you feel bad?"
His eyes fell away from Dipper and he ran a hand through his hair. "Being in this fleshbag. That and I don't feel like we're getting shadows quickly enough." He looked down at his hand and sparked up a small blue fire in it. "It's kind of funny that your fire is yellow though."
"Why so? Isn't most fire yellow?" Dipper finally looked up at Bill and watched the fire burn in his hand for a moment before Bill let it die.
"Magic is different for every being. The fact that our colors match so perfectly is just amusing, that's all." He closed his hand into a fist and met Dipper's stare.
Dipper felt a heat rise to his face and he was sure he turned a bit pink in the cheeks. Bill's eyes were so golden and so full of life. He blinked and looked away quickly. Shit. He wasn't supposed to like looking at him. "Maybe you should stop doing the whole affection thing. I know it makes you feel better, but," he paused for a moment and thought of what he could say "it makes me feel worse."
"Oh." Bill stayed still for a moment before looking down at his legs. "You should probably go get some sleep." His voice was quiet and his face was blank of any emotion.
Had he hurt Bill's feelings? Did Bill really have feelings to hurt? "Don't be so difficult!" Dipper snapped. "You can't make me feel bad for you like this! What if you're just stringing me on? How do I know you aren't planning on making me feel sympathy for you, then turning around and using it all against me?"
Bill's head shot up at the sudden shouting and he stared back at Dipper with wide eyes, keeping his face from showing any emotion. "Believe what you want. I just. . ." Bill let his head fall back and he looked at the ceiling. "Can I be alone for a little while?"
"You don't have to ask, I'm leaving." Dipper got up and stormed out to his car.
What the hell was going on with his head right now? Why did he care so much about what Bill was feeling? The damn guy had a cute body, sure, he wasn't going to deny that anymore, but he was an ass. He tried to kill Dipper and his family, and that was that.
Dipper gripped at the steering wheel and took several deep breaths as he pulled into the driveway. There was another car there. Ford's. He had come a little earlier than he said.
Dipper let out a frustrated groan and let his head mash into his palms. He was in no mood to deal with other people right then. Not while he was so confused and upset. He didn't even know why he was feeling that way, which made him more upset.
Gritting his teeth, Dipper made his way into the house and did his best to not seem so flustered.
"Dipper! How're things?" Ford was sitting on the couch next to Mabel, who was holding a mug full of coffee, and Ford had a book open, looking as if he had been reading it to her.
Mabel noticed her twins distress right away and cocked her head at him. "Everything okay?"
Dipper felt an uncomfortable lump form in his chest and he bit the inside of his cheek. "I just, am going to go to my room. Sorry to be rude." He stomped off and nearly slammed his door behind him.
Should he even sleep that night? He really didn't want to face Bill, but if the concern for the amount of shadows was real, then he should just suck it up and help people.
Without really deciding on what he wanted to do, he drifted off after a while, and found himself in the trees again. Something was different though. All of the trees had black bark, and there was actual sound of wildlife around him.
Both Bill and Clyde appeared by him, and they went about their routine, Bill completely ignoring Dipper's existence. Which made Dipper sour.
Fine. If Bill was going to play that card, then so would he. He didn't have to deal with him until Ford was gone anyway.
As Dipper's door closed, Ford stared after him and looked at the boy's twin. "Is he alright?"
Mabel bit at her lip and nodded. "Probably just some issues with his uh, friend. They've been arguing a lot lately."
"Friend huh? Is this friend of the romantic nature?" he chuckled. "Not many people get that flustered over something platonic."
She clenched her teeth and sucked in a breath. "Well. . . It's complicated. That's for sure."
Ford let out a laugh and shook his head. "Relationships are a mess. That's why I never really got into all that. Poor Dipper's a good lookin' kid too, so I'm sure he has a few women trying to get his time."
"It's not a girl." Mabel took a sip of her coffee and kept her eyes on the floor.
"O-oh. Well. Either way. Relationships can be hard. You're a sweet girl for believing in them so strongly."
She nodded and took another sip of her drink before setting the mug down on the coffee table. "So how was your trip down here?"
Ford closed his book and set it by her drink then pinched the bridge of his nose, rubbing it lightly to sooth where his glasses had been sitting. "Well, it was a trip. I'm not really one for driving." He adjusted the glasses and looked back at where Dipper had disappeared to. "So I heard that he had a bit of an outburst the other day."
"A guy grabbed my butt at a party and Dipper was just being protective. His friend was able to calm him down."
"As he should be!" he boomed with a scowl. "Young men and hormones, I swear. Was this the same friend that's causing issues now?"
She nodded again. "As horrible as this sounds, they're almost too much alike to get along. They're both interested in the same stuff, and they talk like each other, but bicker like an old married couple. It's strangely cute."
Ford laughed and nodded. "I think I'd like to meet the kid. Is he social? If he's like Dipper he might be too quiet to hold a conversation!"
Her chest tightened and she stammered a bit before answering. "H-he is actually pretty extroverted, but I doubt you'll see him while you're here. Especially since it seems like they just got into a fight. But, if you do. . ." she shifted positions and looked down at the couch "his name is William Anderson. He goes by Bill."
His brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed. "Bill, huh? And he's giving Dipper trouble?"
"I-it's not that. Dipper freaked out at first, but they've worked past his name."
Ford stood up and cleared his throat. "Well, either way, I'd like to meet the young man. I'm turning in for the night. Goodnight Mabel."
She nodded quickly and smiled awkwardly. "Night grunkle Ford."
As she laid in bed, she began to worry. She had said too much about Bill's existence, and now Ford was keen on meeting him. He would probably ask Dipper about it, and Dipper would probably start to panic as he tried to spit out excuses.
She sighed and shut her eyes tightly. There was no point in worrying about it so much. Ford was bound to hear something anyway, right?
Her breathing steadied, and her eyes stayed closed on their own, sending her into a dark room, where she couldn't see anything.
Dipper was standing with his back to her and she reached out to touch him. Something in her gut felt wrong and she wanted to make sure he was okay.
Her hand went straight through him and she stumbled a bit. "D-Dipper?"
Without turning his head, he glanced at her and glared, eyes filled with disgust. "Some sister you turned out to be," he said as he walked into the darkness.
"What? Dipper! Come back! Don't leave me!" She reached forward to grab at him again, but he flinched back and shook his head.
"Don't ever come near me again. I hate you."
Mabel shot up in her bed and looked around the room. She was back in her room, and it was almost sunrise. "Just a nightmare," she huffed.
AN: Nightmares spare no soul, and shadows follow us all.