Chapter 6: Shooting Stars

He simply stood there and looked at me, unmoving and unblinking; it was actually very unsettling to see. He had a look on his face almost as if he were having trouble comprehending what had happened, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't just as confused as he was. His confusion, however, didn't last long, suddenly replacing itself with a look of absolute rage. "You little—!" I could tell that he was about to attack, but just then we heard footsteps coming up the stairs, making him reel back in frustration. "Dipper?" A knock came at the door, Mabel's voice sounding from the other side and bringing me probably one of the greatest moments of relief I'd ever felt in my entire life, "Ford sent me to come check on you, is everything alright?" I stared over at Bill, our eyes completely locked as I contemplated on whether or not to tell Mabel the truth. It was as if he knew what I was thinking though, and he slowly shook his head, his eyes flashing blue again as he gave me a warning look. "Y-yeah, everything's fine," I said reluctantly, trying to keep my voice calm as I answered her, "I just fell out of bed. I'll be down in a minute, okay?" And with that we heard her footsteps receding down the stairs, seemingly content with my response and obviously none the wiser of what was actually going on.

Bill and I just continued to look at one another, the room completely silent aside from our breathing. "You do realize they're going to figure you out, right?" I decided to speak up, but I didn't break eye contact even for a second, trying my best to stay collected. "I don't think so," He scoffed, shaking his head and chuckling as he started to move towards me again, "You're family isn't really that bright, Pine Tree. As long as I keep clear of Ford I should be fine." I panicked and put my arm back up to make him stop again, but this time he grabbed my wrist and slammed it back against the door before I got the chance. His eyes were filled with fury as he growled through his teeth again, "Don't you fucking dare." I immediately decided that trying to command him wasn't a good idea; but now that I knew I had the ability to, I could always keep it on the table as a last resort. Plus I now understood what he meant when he said he was stuck here. It wasn't as though he were just stuck in human form, or stuck in Gravity Falls or anything like that; no, he was stuck to me. A memory of the chain linking us flashed into my mind for a brief second, and I realized that it must have been literal. Reading the incantation backwards had bound him to me.

"Good job Pine Tree, you figured it out all on your own," He said sarcastically, rolling his eyes to make it very clear that he was annoyed, "You always were the smart one, like Fordsy. Not that that's saying much; it was still painfully easy to trick both of you into trusting me." With that he let go of me and pulled away, a smug and triumphant look on his face, "So no, I'm not worried about them finding me out. Besides, I think we both know why you recognized me so easily." His eyes met with mine as he gave me a knowing smirk, and I quickly looked to the side, not able to meet his gaze. Was he saying what I thought he was saying? No, no he couldn't be. I mustered up as much courage as I could to look back at him, steadying my voice again so that I wouldn't sound nearly as flustered as I actually was, "What is that supposed to mean?" I gave him the most annoyed look I could, turning and opening the door before he had the chance to respond. I crossed my arms and huffed as I made my way down the stairs, hearing him following closely behind. "Aw, what's the matter Pine Tree? Is someone embarrassed about—?"

"Dipper, there you are!" Mabel suddenly appeared from around the corner, causing both of us to come to a halt. She smiled brightly when she saw me, but I watched as her eyes traveled over to my "guest"; at first she seemed startled, not having expected anyone to be with me. Then her expression changed to one of confusion, and finally settled on a mischievous grin. "Dipper, I didn't realize you had company." She moved right past me before I was able to stop her, stepping right up to Bill and holding out her hand, "Hey there, I'm Mabel! Dipper's funnier and much more outgoing sister." I froze up and watched helplessly, praying to any beings that could hear me that Bill wouldn't do anything stupid. Luckily someone must have listened, because much to my surprise, he didn't. "Ah, Shoo—…I mean, Mabel!" He shook her hand, that signature smirk still plastered on his face, "I've heard so much about you. It's nice to finally meet face to face!"

Part of me really hoped that Mabel would recognize his voice like I had, but at the same time the other part really hoped she wouldn't. Not because I wanted to protect Bill or anything, but because I was afraid of what he'd do if she found out. Besides, as much as I hated to admit it, I knew that Bill was right about one thing: there was a very slim chance that anyone but Ford would realize it was him. "My name's Bill, I'm a…'friend' of Dipper's," My eyes widened slightly as I looked at him…was he actually going to use his real name? He must really be convinced that I come from a family of idiots; or maybe he was actually the stupid one. Plus, the way he'd said "friend" made me kind of uncomfortable, like he was plotting something. He flashed me a look, and at that moment I knew that he must have been able to hear what I was thinking. That thought made things even more unsettling.

"Bill, huh? Well any friend of Dipper's is a friend of mine!" With that Mabel turned and began to walk into the kitchen area, "So, how did you and Dipper meet? I've never heard him mention you before." I could see Bill pause for a moment, and I wondered if maybe he couldn't come up with a response or something. But, of course, he did. He gasped and turned to me, a clearly fake look of hurt on his face, "Dipper, how could you! You really haven't told your family about me? About us?" I stopped now too, my eyes going wide again as I stared at him in disbelief, mouth agape. Mabel turned now as well, a playful gleam in her eye and a smirk that read "Gotcha." I immediately put up my hands in defense, my desperate gaze darting back and forth between the two of them, "N-no, Mabel, it's not what you think! We're just friends!" Bill let out another appalled gasp, obviously enjoying the new-found way of tormenting me, "Just friends? Just friends! I'm hurt! First you don't tell your sister about me, then you go and lie right to her face. Shame on you, Dipper." Oh you've got to be kidding me. Was he actually going to do this? I opened my mouth to protest again, but Mabel cut me off, raising her hands and grinning triumphantly, "Oh don't worry bro, your secrets safe with me." I could feel my face heat up; here we were, my own sister taking Bill Cipher's side so that they could team up on me.

"So Mabel," Bill started up again, finally dropping the hurt act, "Dipper tells me you guys stay here with your Great Uncles, yes? Are either of them around right now?" The way he said the last part told me what he was trying to to: he was trying to gauge whether or not he had to worry about Ford. "Yeah, this is Stan and Ford's place!" She smiled, still oblivious to the truth of the situation, "They both just left for town though, but don't worry, if you stick around you can meet them later!" I could practically hear the relief in his voice, "Okay, great! Oh, and don't worry," He glanced back at me over his shoulder, a smirk that told me exactly what he was trying to imply, "I think I'll be hanging around for a while." Mabel clapped her hands together and smiled brightly, "Great, glad to hear it!"

The sound of a soft chiming caught our attention, and we both watched as she pulled out her cell phone and checked it. "Well, I hate to cut this short," She looked to Bill as she hastily shoved the phone back into her pocket, "But I have plans to go hang out in town today." She began to make her way over to the front door, that same mischievous tone in her voice as she stopped to wave back at us, "You two have fun!" And with that she was gone, leaving me alone. Again. Alone in the house with the dangerous Dream Demon known as Bill Cipher.

Helloooo my lovely readers! Have you all been enjoying the story so far? I sure hope so, I've been working pretty hard on it! Gotta feel bad for Dipper though, poor kid just can't catch a break! Also, I wanted to give a shout out to DJS for giving me my first review :D thanks so much, I really appreciate it!

I've also decided that since I have so much written out already, I'm probably just gonna keep updating nightly, unless I end up reaching a point where I need to slow down a bit. I'll inform you guys if and when that happens! Aaaanyways, I really hope you all love reading the story as much as I love writing it, and I hope you all decide to stick around for the ride :)

Haylii~