Here's Chapter 9, just as promised! Just a quick warning, Bill gets kind of violent and threatening in this one, but it all turns out okay! Also this part includes hinted StanXFord, or Stancest, just to let you know! Nothing much to say other than that, so enjoy!

Chapter 9: No Escape

Next thing I knew I was slammed back against the far wall with so much force that it knocked the wind out of me entirely, causing me to gasp and cough uncontrollably. He was up against me, his body pressed to mine and his fingers suddenly latching around my throat as he growled into my ear, slowly beginning to squeeze, "What was that? I could kill you right now, Pine Tree. Right. Fucking. Now. You know that, right?" I let out loud and raspy breaths, desperately trying to get more air as his grip around my neck tightened. My vision began to blur around the edges, my body going slightly numb; I reached my hand up to grasp his, my voice coming out broken and weak as I spoke, "B-Bill…please…s-stop…" It was odd, and part of me thought that I'd heard it wrong, but it sounded like his breath hitched in his throat, his grip suddenly loosening and allowing me to breathe again.

I gasped, my lungs burning as they once again filled with oxygen, thankful that I'd gotten him to stop before I passed out. I simply stood there, breathing in and out deeply as I waited for my body to feel normal again; Bill's hand slowly slid to the nape of my neck, slender fingers no longer wrapping around my throat, but other than that he didn't move either. I could feel his breath hot against my neck, his head suddenly moving so that his lips brushed against my skin and sent a shiver down my spine. His thumb began to rub softly back and forth on the sensitive skin, his other hand slowly trailing down my side and stopping at the small of my back. The way that he moved, the way that he touched me was oddly…sensual? My senses were seemingly running on 110% now, allowing me to feel everything, and it was then that I realized just how close we actually were. His body was pressed right up against mine. "B-Bill…?" I could feel my face beginning to heat up, his name coming out more breathy than I'd intended, but…being this close just felt…strange.

All of his movements suddenly ceased and he slowly began to pull back, but just enough so that we could see each other. And by that I mean his face was now mere inches from mine, his hands not straying from me as he looked into my eyes. His gaze was soft, something that I never thought I would ever see in him. Our noses brushed together lightly as he leaned in a little bit more, and he was so close…so close to me. "I'm sorry…" He said softly, and with that he pulled away and took a few steps back. I couldn't help but stare at him in shock, my eyes wide as I tried to comprehend what had just happened. Did Bill Cipher just…apologize? To me? And what was with that whole thing? The touching, and that look he'd given me. It all felt so…wait. Was…was he just fucking with me? Was that what this was? "No." His voice was stern, and I knew that he was telling the truth. Before I had the chance to ask him anything else, however, he turned and walked right out of the room, shutting the door behind him as he left and leaving me there to wonder what in the hell just happened. I let myself slowly slide down so that I was sitting against the wall, putting my hand on my forehead as I sighed and stared off at nothing in particular. If he wasn't just messing with me then…what exactly was all that?

I stayed up in my room for the next hour, simply sitting in that same spot as I let my mind wander. It wasn't until I glanced over at the clock that I realized how much time had passed again, and I quickly jumped up to head downstairs, realizing that Bill wasn't back yet. I rushed down the stairs, half of me afraid that he'd done something stupid, and the other half afraid that…my mind suddenly filled with panic at the realization that he could be gone. I wasn't sure why that thought scared me so much, but a feeling of dread came over me as I began to make my way around the house to look for him. But I couldn't find him anywhere. I came into the kitchen last, seeing that Stan, Ford, Mabel, and Wendy were all sitting at the table and talking with one another. "Hey," I said quietly as I leaned in the doorway, trying to hide the distress in my voice as they all turned to look at me. "Oh, hey Dipper! What's up, where've you been all day?" Ford chimed happily, standing up and coming over to see me. He tilted his head to the side and looked at me curiously, slight concern in his voice, "Is everything alright? You look kind of shaken up." Wait…what if Ford had seen him? No, no they were all acting pretty normal, so that couldn't've been it. "Have you uhm…did you see my friend leave earlier?" The confusion in his eyes told me the answer even before he did, "No, I just got back a few minutes ago. I didn't even realize you had a friend over."

Wendy suddenly joined him, a knowing smirk on her face as she crossed her arms and looked at me intently, "Oh, but I saw him." I gulped, immediately knowing where this was going but realizing that I was powerless to stop it. "Dipper, why didn't you tell me that you had a boyfriend?" Ford's eyes widened as he looked back and forth between us, obviously having no clue what was going on, "What? A boyfriend?" I hissed through my teeth, flashing Wendy a half-hearted yet clearly betrayed glare, which only made her start laughing. "Oh my god dude you're face! I'm sorry, but it's just so priceless right now!" Great. This is exactly what I wanted. Bill better hope that he was gone, because if he showed up again I was gonna kill him. That's when I realized that Ford was staring at me, and I was completely taken aback when I looked over at him. He had his hands together in front of his face, which had a huge, adorably goofy grin on it as he eyed me. "Uh…Ford—?"

"Dipper that's great news!" He suddenly threw his arms around me so tightly that he was practically squeezing the life out of me, "I'm so happy for you!" I coughed and wheezed slightly, trying my best to pry him off, "F-Ford, I can't breathe…" He quickly let go and put up his hands apologetically, obvious excitement in his eyes, "Sorry sorry, I just…" He trailed off and glanced to the side, rubbing the back of his neck as his smile turned to one of slight embarrassment, "I'm just surprised is all." My gaze moved past him to where Stan and Mabel still sat, Mabel nudging Stan with that same goofy smile as he chuckled and shook his head, his face slightly red. Wait…was Stan blushing? Oh. Oh wait. Realization suddenly hit me, hard, and I mentally slapped myself for not having noticed it sooner. "Th-thanks Ford," I smiled softly before suddenly remembering what Wendy had said. "Wait…boyfriend?!" She burst into laughter again, waving her hand up as I huffed in annoyance, "Oh come on Dipper, there's no point trying to hide it anymore. I talked to him earlier, he told me everything before he left." Oh yeah, I'd almost completely forgotten that I was supposed to be looking for him.

"Wait, he left?" I could hear the panic begin to seep into my voice again, "Where did he go?" She grinned and shook her head, finally managing to calm her laughter as she motioned in the direction of the front door, "Don't worry dude, he said he'd be back in a couple of hours. Seemed like something was bothering him, but I didn't really wanna pry. Maybe he just went on a walk to clear his head or somethin'?" I nodded and stared off as I thought. Something bothering him? Bill? I wondered if maybe it was about what had happened. I mean, he had left pretty suddenly, it was kind of weird. "Earth to Dipper?" I jumped as I noticed the hand waving in front of my face, snapping me out of my thoughts, "You gonna hang with us for a bit?" I nodded absentmindedly and made my way over to the table, taking up one of the empty seats as Wendy and Ford came back to sit, as well. We all sat there and talked for a while about various topics, just enjoying each other's company; I contributed to the conversation as well, but I couldn't help but space out several times, my mind preoccupied with other things.

After a couple more hours Wendy had to leave, and everyone else decided to go their separate ways, too. I once again stood at the bottom of the stairs and stared up into the darkness of the attic. Bill still hadn't come back yet, and it was getting really late. He told Wendy he'd be back in a few hours but…I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried. Worried that he wasn't actually coming back. I sighed, climbing the stairs slowly and dejectedly, stopping when I reached the top and sitting in the window like I always used to do. I stared out of the glass, which I now realized looked just like Bill…how did I not notice this before? Looking out into the night was oddly calming, and I wondered if it was warm outside. That's when I remember the roof. I got down and quietly headed back downstairs, making my way through the house until I got to the ladder that Stan always used to try and hide from us. I climbed up, carefully opening and closing the hatch as to not wake anybody, figuring they were all probably asleep by now. I crawled onto the small platform and sat down where I normally did, letting my legs dangle over the edge as I stared up into the night sky. The moon was full tonight and pretty close to the earth, making it seem 10x bigger as it bathed everything in a soft, white glow. There was a light breeze rustling through the trees, but other than that it was actually pretty warm out…a beautiful night. It was so peaceful. Just what I needed to relax and try to get my mind off of everything.

I was so entranced by the scenery, so lost in my own thoughts that I didn't even realize I was no longer alone. That was until a pair of arms slowly wrapped around me from behind. I jumped, gasping in shock as I looked over my shoulder to see who was there; I mean, it wasn't really much of a question, there was only one person that it could've been. And as my eyes met with gold and yellow, I knew that I was correct in my assumption. "Bill!" I had to admit, I was surprised to see him; surprised and oddly relieved. Maybe even happy? "Where'd you go? I thought…" His eyes widened curiously, his mouth slowly turning upwards into a smirk, "Were you actually worried that I wasn't coming back?" I immediately looked away, my face going red as I tried not to look at him, "N-no, I just…" He chuckled and shook his head, his hold on me tightening a bit and making my cheeks heat up even more, "I told you kid, I'm stuck here, whether I want to be or not. That doesn't mean I can't go off on my own from time to time, but I'll always come back. I have to."

Something about the way he said that last part was strange…like there was some sort of double meaning, but I couldn't figure out what it was. Part of me wanted to pull away from him, but I knew that it would probably be useless to try; that and the other part didn't want to, for some reason. It didn't feel uncomfortable at all…I hated to say it, but it actually felt kind of nice. Calming. But, I'd never admit that to him. The snicker that came from behind me suddenly reminded me that he could hear my thoughts, and I mentally cursed myself for forgetting again. "Don't even say anything…" I murmured, turning my face away in an attempt to hide the ever-growing blush that was overtaking it. He pressed his face down into my shoulder, and I could feel his body shaking as he tried to stifle his laughter. That's when I remembered what Wendy told me earlier, and I responded with a quick jab back into his ribs, half-heartedly trying to show him that I was pissed. That seemed to be the last straw, however, and he suddenly burst out into laughter. That, of course, only managed to piss me off even more. "It's not funny, Bill!"

"I can't help it, you're just so cute when you're mad!" He let go of me as I whirled around to face him, instead wrapping his arms around his own stomach as he laughed even more. "I-I'm not cute!" I shoved him in annoyance, resituating myself so that my knees were on either side of him, "I'm so gonna kill you." I didn't even realize I was straddling him until he wrapped his arms around me again, his hands stopping on the small of my back and pulling me closer. His smirk held a hint of seduction as he looked up at me with attentively, "You don't look like you want to kill me, my little Pine Tree." He reached up one of his hands, softly brushing some of the hair back from the side of my face; I gulped subconsciously as I stared down into those eyes, noticing that my own breath was coming out slower and deeper than normal. "Why do you call me that?" I asked, referring to the new version of the pet name he'd given me forever ago. "What, Pine Tree?" I shook my head, "No, you've always called me Pine Tree, but…recently you've been saying my little Pine Tree. Why?" He titled his head and grinned curiously, "Are you trying to say that you're not mine?" The statement completely caught me off guard, and I quickly tried to hide my face as I felt it heat up even more; this time, however, he didn't let me, instead resting his hand on my cheek so that I couldn't turn away. "Well," I decided to try and counter his statement instead, lifting up my arm so that he could see the symbol on my wrist, "Wouldn't you technically be mine?" Now it was my turn to smirk, watching as he scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Don't get too cocky, kid. Do you really want a repeat of earlier?" I knew that he was referring to the whole "I could kill you" thing, but all I could manage to think about was the feeling of his lips against my neck, the way he'd looked at me and how close he'd been…

I felt his hand move to the back of my head, and before I even had the chance to realize what was happening he pulled me down and smashed his lips to mine. My eyes went wide, my brain seeming to completely shut down…then it snapped back a moment latter. Reality hit me hard, my trembling hands darting up to his chest as I pushed him away and jumped off of him. "W-what the hell are you doing?!" I stared down at him in disbelief, the light breeze no longer enough to cool off my steadily rising temperature. He looked back up at me, and he almost seemed…confused? It didn't last long, however, his expression quickly changing to one of slight annoyance. He stood up now as well, moving so that he was uncomfortable close to me. "Why did you push me away?" At first I thought he was mocking me, but when I saw the look on his face I realized that he actually seemed to want an answer. "Wha…are you serious!? Why the hell do you think! Y-you can't just…why would you…?!"

"Are you really gonna keep denying this, Pine Tree?" My eyes widened even more, my face growing hotter. Part of me wanted to ask what the hell he was talking about, but something told me I didn't want to know the answer. Actually, something told me I already did. But if he was saying what I thought he was, there was no way in hell I'd answer him. I clenched my fists, my heart pounding as I tried my best to glare at him and mask how flustered I actually was. "I-I'm going to bed…" I finally spoke up, averting my gaze from him in embarrassment. I pushed past him, but before I did I could have sworn I caught of glimpse of a smirk. That bastard…he was enjoying this, wasn't he? As pissed as I was, I made my way quietly back to my room as to not wake anyone. I knew he was following me; I could hear his footsteps, feel his eyes on me. I just crossed my arms and tried to ignore him as best I could, but his words continued to repeat in my head as I climbed the stairs to the attic. I attempted to shut the door behind me as soon as I got in and lock him out, but of course it didn't work that way. He caught his foot in the door and pushed it open with so much force that it nearly knocked me off my feet. "Oh no no no, I don't think so. You're not escaping from this."

Hey, it's me again! Just another little author's note: to all of my Steven Universe fans out there, when writing the part where Ford finds out about Dipper's "boyfriend", I envisioned it like the scene where Garnet sees first sees Stevonnie. Not sure why, but that's just where I ended up getting my inspiration from xD