Disclaimer: I don't own GF
Agh! This is so late and I'm so sorry! I had family and friend business and had little time to write the past two days. But here I am again. Sorry this chapter is so short! Afraid next chapter will be a little on the short side as well, but the length will pick back up! Promise!
~~0~~0~~0~~
He didn't look or speak to Mabel as he flopped onto his bed, completely spent from the day's events. Dipper could feel the bite of the deer teeth necklace go through his shorts and dig into his skin, forcing him to shuffle around to find a better position.
Across the room, Mabel sat on her own bed, her normally smiling face forlorn and worried. She too laid down, though on her back instead of her side, and stared up at the ceiling, folding her hands across her stomach.
The two twins were silent. After everything that just happened, what they were just told, what else was there to do besides slow down and just think for a moment?
For Mabel, her thoughts whirled and centered upon what just happened.
First of all, Dipper had been caught. Secondly, their deal had been caught. Thirdly, they just learned that they were the descendants of those who locked Bill away in the first place.
Mabel closed her eyes.
She didn't like Bill. She couldn't say she hated him as she really didn't hate anyone. Not even Pacifica.
No, she didn't hate the god. But she definitely didn't trust him. And now she knew why.
When she first met him, she swore something wasn't...right. At the time, she thought maybe it was because his grin was too wide, or he had such a strange affinity for yellow. Perhaps it was the floating top hat or his tall height. Heck, maybe his personality simply didn't meld with hers. Mabel didn't know why she felt such unease around the god, especially since Dipper liked him so much.
But now she knew why.
It wasn't anything completely face value like that. Not his too-wide and too-sharp grin, not the clothes, not his height nor his top hat, and not even his flamboyant personality.
It was as Grunkle Stan had sad. He was a pretender. And if there was anything Mabel truly excelled at, it was her ability to read and gauge people.
Dipper didn't have that ability. He was always a bit too shy and a bit too awkward. He couldn't see past the smile and flashing colors.
Mabel could.
And she worried. Bill was not to be trusted.
Across the room, Dipper laid on his side, staring blankly at the wall, tears bubbling in his eyes at what just happened.
How- how could this even-?
Dipper chewed on the inside of his cheek, ignoring the irony tang of blood that filled his mouth.
Stan knew. Wendy knew.
Everyone knew.
Everything had changed.
Dipper wasn't even sure how to take this all in, how to label his emotions on what just happened. It was like a rug was just ripped out from underneath him, dislodging him and letting him fly high in the air. The only question he had was ho long it would take him to smash back into the ground.
Everything else was flying around his head, filling him with unanswerable questions and excuses.
He had been caught. And everyone knew.
He was grounded.
Now how was he able to see Bill?
Well, that wasn't really the question he had. The real question was whether he even wanted to see Bill again.
Bill...the god who always laughed with him and sung off-key to 80's hits, who hugged him and kept him safe and...and...cared for him...
Was all of that just a- a ruse? The jokes, the adventures, the hugs, the...the kisses...was that all for nothing?
Dipper needed to know. Needed to know if anything that happened the past few months meant anything at all.
But at the same time, he cringed. He wanted to know, no, needed to know but at the same time, was scared for the answer he'd receive. What if Bill really was just using him? What if he really didn't care?
About him.
About their...well, whatever they had.
Dipper didn't know if he could handle that sort of rejection. That truth. If Bill left him...
Who would he have left? Wendy was mad at him and so was Stan. He didn't doubt that Soos would know by tomorrow and he had no clue on how to talk to Mabel about all of this. After all, it was his fault for dragging her into this mess. If he didn't do that, she wouldn't be in trouble.
He shouldn't of stolen that journal. That was what really started all of this off, wasn't it? He was too curious for his own good. And reckless. And wrong.
They did say curiosity killed the cat...
Dipper blinked hard.
"But satisfaction brought it back. Besides, cats have nine lives...meaning you can torture and kill them at least eight of those times and be stupidly humanly morally fine! Let's go find some cats, Pine Tree!"
Dipper shook his head. He could easily imagine Bill's replies to his thoughts. It was strange, how close he felt to the god.
But then, all this happened. And he wasn't so sure what to feel anymore.
Bill was old. And was labeled 'evil.' But ending the world? That was something...something else.
So why didn't he feel more horrified?
Sure, sickness rolled around in his stomach at the thought of Bill actually ending the world, but at the same time, felt...well, he wasn't so sure.
He was confounded with it all.
Dipper shoved his face into his pillow, opening his mouth and biting down hard, resisting the urge to scream.
Bill tried to end the world nearly seven hundred years ago.
But...but that was seven hundred years ago. Before imprisonment. Before America, even.
Before he met him.
People changed over time, right? That's what people always say. That right now is a phase or whatever and the future will be different, that you'll think different and act different. You'll still be yourself, but different.
Dipper wasn't so sure what older kids and adults from his school were going on about. How could you be different, but the same person at the same time? He just didn't get it.
But maybe, that's what's happening here. It's a possibility, right? That Bill has changed from back then.
Then again, he'd never met Bill from a long time ago. He didn't know how the god used to act, whether he was just a jerk or some complicated mastermind of a villain. He didn't know anything about Bill's past, really.
Only that Bill missed the outside world.
Oh, and that he had once known"lots of things," apparently. At least, that's what he always said.
Dipper bit his lip. He didn't know what was what anymore!
What was the truth?
And what was merely a lie?
But he did know one thing, however. He knew how he could solve all of this. After all, you don't just look at a story, a mystery, at a single angle. You try and find out every outcome, every viewpoint of everyone.
At least in Ducktective, that is.
He already had Grunkle Stan's side of the story.
Now, all he needed was Bill's.
~~0~~0~~0~~
Dipper winced a little when he finally padded into the kitchen the next morning, hat pulled low over unkempt and unwashed hair, one hand carrying his bag and the other deep in his pocket, lightly stroking over his necklace. Despite everything that happened yesterday, despite the punishment and the tears and the lack of sleep, he still had to go to school.
Dipper dragged himself over to one of the kitchen chairs, cereal, milk, some spoons and two bowls already sitting out for them.
Dipper shook his head. As unsure about Stan as he was right now, the man still did have his interesting way to show that he cared.
Sinking down into his seat, the brunet poured out the over-sugared chunks of cornflakes as well as the cheapest milk money could buy into his bowl, already reaching out to grab a spoon to stuff his face with food. He wasn't particularly hungry, but he knew it was best to eat at least a little something, or he'd be too hungry throughout the day to get anything else done.
He was already tired. Didn't need hunger on top of that.
About halfway down with his breakfast, Mabel came hopping down the stairs, huge bag already slung over her shoulder, sporting a bright yellow sweater with a llama stitched into it. A watery grin was plastered on her face, fake but bright. She chirped a brief and stiff "Good morning!" To him as she dropped her own stuff and sat at the table, pouring herself a meal just as he did, rapidly stuffing her face in obvious hunger.
"Morning." He greeted cautiously, unsure on what to say. There was a certain tension in the air, born of words that needed to be said still unspoken. Dipper squirmed around in his chair a bit, antsy from the obvious feeling.
Dipper lowered his face into what was left of his cereal, scooping up milk with his spoon and eating it like soup to give himself an excuse not to talk.
If Mabel noticed, she didn't point it out, too busy slurping up her own milk, a few droplets falling on her chin.
"You kids ready to go?" Stan suddenly said as he strode into the small kitchen, suit and fez already in place, looking much grouchier than usual. His eyes were like a hawks, sharp and cold as they stared down at either twin, the barest hints of worry and disappointment hidden in their depths.
Of course, neither twin noticed the true feelings of their Grunkle, still too ashamed to look up at him.
Stan refrained from biting his lip as the twins froze in their movements before nodding and grabbing their stuff, eyes darting between the floor and the wall.
Never at one another.
Never at him.
Snorting softly, he turned and led the two out of the shack, quickly yelling at Soos to watch the Shack, hoping that the handyman wouldn't screw anything up, not that he usually did, of course.
Stan had been serious when he said neither of the twins could leave without some form of supervision. He didn't want either of them running into the forest- especially Dipper.
The idiot had gotten himself attached. Stan may have cataracts, but he wasn't totally blind.
The way Dipper talked about Bill, with that slight blush formed by anger...
It worried him to no end, not that he'd ever admit that, of course.
Making sure both twins were in the back, seat belted in, Stan threw the stick and started up the car, pulling out onto the dirt road in the direction of the school only a mile or so away.
The older man glanced up in his review mirror while fiddling with the radio to try and fill the silence with something other than uncomfortable awkward tenseness. Some old 70's hit cranked slowly forth.
Both twins in the back were looking out their respective windows with a slightly blank look on their face, lost in thought.
Dipper's eyes didn't shine.
Mabel didn't smile.
Neither were touching or joshing with the other, completely encompassed by the world they each create in their minds.
This time, Stan bit his lip. Sure, it was weird that they got along as well as they do but this? This was unnatural.
Or was it?
Stan blinked hard.
In the past few months, he hadn't seen the two hang around one another. No messes, no pranks. No...nothing.
Mabel always went out with her friends and Dipper...
Dipper had been hanging with Bill.
Stan's knuckles tightened on the steering wheel, pale skin blanching at the force.
That god was trying to pull his family apart. Again.
Trying to pull another pair of twins apart.
His heart ached. It seemed like he never learned from his mistakes, did he? If only he had been able to lock up the journal better, or maybe make it less of a curiosity to Dipper...
He should've done something to keep Dipper from stealing it. This- This was his fault.
Just like Mabel's attack.
Just like Lee's death.
Just like Fiddleford's abandonment.
Everything...it was all him. He could've done more to save Lee. To help Fiddleford.
He could've done a lot more. But the past was in the past. There's no use in dwelling on old memories and events that can't change.
No matter how much you wished they could.
Stan pulled up to the school, wrinkling his nose at the building.
School. Quite possibly the most evil and terrible place ever conceived by human minds.
"Well, here you go kids. School. I'll be here to pick you up when you're done or whatever. Wait right out here and nowhere else."
The older man fixed Dipper a look, one not returned.
"You are not to go into the forest nor tell anyone that you have been in there. Is that clear?"
Dipper gave a small nod.
"Is that clear?" Stan reiterated.
Dipper sighed softly. "Yes, you're clear."
Stan snorted at the slight snark in the boy's tone. "Good. Now get going and don't start any fires. We don't have money to pay for that."
With a few nods and whispered goodbye's, the two left, walking side by side, but not really in one another's presence, gone in the wake of what they lost.
Stan sighed again and pulled out.
He just knew something was going to go wrong.
He could feel it.
~~0~~0~~0~~
Though Dipper didn't lay his head on his desk, he did stare blankly at the wall, looking but not really seeing the poster of the cartoon gryphon.
Licking his lips, he slipped his hand into his pocket once again, lightly running the pads of his fingers over his deer teeth necklace. Clean as glass. Smooth as stone.
Something Bill gave him as a gift. A courting gift.
Dipper fought the blush and returned his eyes to his work.
What was he going to do about Bill? What can be done in the first place?
Bill wanted to destroy the world. At least, in the past he did. That was a pretty evil thing to try and do, to be honest.
But...But Bill still cared about him. Still sung off-key to 80's hits. Still joked around and adventured around.
And though Dipper knew he was wrong on every account; intelligently, mentally, and definitely morally, he couldn't deny his emotions.
He cared about Bill too. Heck, just thinking about the god made his heart beat faster and sent waves of heat to his cheeks. He couldn't help it.
He cared about Bill and though that may be wrong and terrible on all accounts, couldn't stop caring. He wished he could though, in a way. He wished he could turn his heart off and power-down the chemicals in his brain dictating what he felt, but he couldn't.
He wished he didn't let down Grunkle Stan.
He wished he could talk to Mabel.
Dipper wished for a lot of things and despite his wishes for things to be normal in his family, he couldn't bring himself to regret meeting Bill. Regret caring about him or even all the adventures.
No, he regret being caught. He regret his callousness. He regret Stan finding out and he wished he never dragged Mabel into any of this, but he could never wish that he didn't meet Bill Cipher.
Dipper stared down at his rune work, trying his best to remember what Bill told him about Dalecarlian Runes and how they worked. Flipping over to the translation page, he translated and copied the runes needed and wrote a brief description of what each one could do.
Summon water to drink.
Make paper harder to tear.
Summon a little light.
Like what Bill helped him to do, only with a spoken spell...
Dipper shook his thoughts away.
Summon a small flame.
Like the one Bill summoned using the English language instead. Like his powerful blue flames that were surprisingly warm and nice, like being wrapped in a soft blanket...
Dipper shook his thoughts away again. He really needed to focus.
Seriously.
Way across the room, Mabel sat near the front, chatting lightly with others around her, but still looking a little lost, with her eyes too cloudy with thought and smile a little to big and stretched to be real.
Mabel hadn't sat next to him.
Mabel always sat next to him. In every class they shared. Everyday.
Until now.
The pressure between them was too much, too tense and filled with too many disagreements. Of course, the dam would break eventually. After all, these things have happened before and always led to cold shoulders and hurt feelings, but always ended at the start; an awkward sibling hug and a prank on either Soos or Stan.
But this...this wasn't like all those other times. This wasn't Mabel throwing out one of his mystery novels or him ruining her yarn. This was big.
This was, as cliched as it sounds, life changing.
And Dipper simply didn't know how to fix any of it and something told him Mabel didn't either, for once.
So what was there to do?
He turned and stared out the window instead, watching the swirling clouds, which were much greener than before.
Dipper bit his lip. More green clouds? Someone must be doing a lot of magic. That was the only way to get such sickly looking clouds. It was a bit weird.
Dipper turned back to his work for what was probably the seventh time that period. It was just so hard to focus right now and he was sure he was doing his work all wrong. Runes were the worst. He never understood what Madam Feylie was trying to convey.
Bill was a much better teacher.
Dipper bit his lip. No matter what he was doing, where he was, his thoughts always returned to the god, which of course led to what Stan had told him of Bill's past and the cycle of his thoughts continued.
He tried to go back to his work, shaking his head to try and get his mind back on school, but no matter what couldn't focus.
He had to see Bill. There was no other option.
Tomorrow...He...he could leave at lunch. That would give him a good while to run to the forest and tell the god what happened and-
Dipper blanched.
Bill was going to be mad. No, livid when he hears that he can't visit.
Would that violate the deal? Would...Would Bill kill him?
No. No, Bill wouldn't hurt him. He cared for him. He wouldn't hurt him.
Even if he tried to destroy the world at one point.
Even if he did have anger issues.
Bill wouldn't hurt him.
Right?
The bell rang loudly, it's obnoxious and high pitched sound bouncing off the walls and assaulting his ears, signaling the end of class and, at least for him, the beginning of lunch.
Not today. No, Stan would be watching today for any little slip up or mistake. Dipper needed answers, but he also needed to wait for a proper time to ditch.
Tomorrow. Tomorrow was the best time for this.
Seeing how most students, including his sister, have already left, Dipper hurried up and tried to shove his work and books back into his bag, dropping them over and over while doing so.
"Mister Pines? Are you okay?" Madam Feylie, the only other person in the room asked. Her shapely eyebrows were arched with uncertainty and her eyes were gentle.
Dipper jumped at the sound of her voice. "Y-Yeah. Just fine." He stuttered some.
She didn't look like she believed him. "Are you sure? I mean, I couldn't help but notice that your sister didn't sit next to you today, which is very unusual. Are you two having a fight."
Dipper looked away to zip up his backpack. "...You could say that..." He trailed off.
Madam Feylie's lips twitched slightly in a small smile. "You know, if you need any help at all, my door is always open, Mister Pines."
Dipper hesitated some as he stood up, having an inner debate on whether or not he could...
He sighed.
"Well...I am having this...well, it's not a fight really?" He posed it as a question.
The elven teacher gave him a soothing smile, gesturing him to sit back down in his desk. She carefully sat sideways in the desk in front of his. "No? Then what's the matter? Is is about Mabel?"
Dipper shook his head. "Not...Not exactly."
Madam Feylie cocked her head to the side, yet stayed patient, waiting for Dipper to explain the problem he was having at his own time.
"Well...I- I have this friend and yesterday I learned he did some...bad things in the past. Um, Bullying? The thing is is that I don't know whether I can still be friends or not. I- I mean he still might bully other people behind my back, but he's always nice to me and...I just don't know what to do?"
Dipper bit his lip and looked away. Comparing the destruction of the world to playground bullying was probably offensive in some fundamental way, but Dipper wasn't so sure what else he could do.
He had no clue on how to deal with Bill in this situation.
Madam Feylie frowned. "If he's been bullying other people, you need to report him Mis-"
"He doesn't go to this school. He's, um, home schooled?" Dipper interrupted.
She cocked an eyebrow at that. "Well, then you need to tell his parents or an adult figure first."
Dipper huffed a little. "I know, but should I stay friends with him?"
"Is he a good friend to you?"
Dipper nodded his head and tried his best not to blush. "Yeah, he's a great friend."
Madam Feylie gave him another one of her gentle smiles. "Then talk to him. Ask him if he still bullies others and try to civilly and discuss your problems out to one another. If he doesn't know how you feel about this situation, or if this situation even exist, then he can't help you to fix it. Just come clean to your friend and he honest."
Dipper gave her a small, but tired smile. "Thank you, Madam Feylie. That...That's really helpful."
She stood up slowly, still grinning. "Glad I could help."
Giving her one last stuttered and awkward thanks, the boy hurried from the room, wanting to get lunch before he ran out of time.
However, as Dipper slipped past the teacher and into the hallway, Madam Feylie once more got a whiff of the boy's scent, and stiffened immediately.
She just thought he smelled of sweat and dirt, not to weird for Gravity Falls.
But no, there was a distinct scent on him, one she recognized and one she feared.
She stepped forward to stop him- because there was only one place he could go, a place no thirteen-year-old should be or even think about going.
However, just as she was opening her mouth to say something, Dipper dodged out into the hallway, disappearing into the dispersing crowds of students.
Rushing to the door, Madam Feylie stared out and down the hallways, hunting for a blue and white cap.
However, Dipper was already gone.
Distressed, she slowly slunk back into her room, shutting and locking the door, trying to get her worry and flash of panic under control.
Dipper had not only smelt sweaty, but earthy. Like pine needles. Like rotting leaves.
Like something sickly sweet. Poisoned honey.
Like the infamous Gravity Falls forest.
~~0~~0~~0~~
Things are on the move again~
Ah, what great fun! Only four chapters to go and this is merely the calm before the storm ;)
I know you all have theories. Let's hear some of them!
JackieLanternXOXO- Haha, all this did was pad out the end and of course, lots of character development! Looks like Dip ain't afraid of no teachers...
familiar fan- Hmm, hmm! Only time will tell~
The Raccoon- ;)
.47- Thank you! I'm not very good at writing suspense but I'm glad it read okay!
- Haha, thank you so much! I'm glad you're enjoying it!
MindfulThoughtlessness- Aw 3 that means a lot! Bill and Dipper are meant to be...they're like star-crossed lovers, aren't they? Let's hope this doesn't end like Romeo and Juliet tho...
WH- Just add two more O's. Shh, I won't tell anyone ;) No school is BEST SCHOOL!
The Keeper of Worlds- Haha, it's fine! Glad you liked them tho!
Wildtail of Wind- Think this chapter answered your questions pretty well, right? Aw, favorite author? I'm really flattered! That means SO much to me, you have no idea. I practically cried tears of joy reading that~
Just-Gold- Ah, thank you! And things are simply getting tenser and tenser, aren't they?
LuminousMoonRay- Haha, waking up to a new chapter for a fic is the best feeling in the world in my opinion!
random name- It's fine! Real life trumps fan fiction for whatever reason...glad you're liking it!
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this short chapter!
As always, thanks for reading!