Hey all! Instead of writing my five page Rhetoric paper, I decided to edit and post this! I'm a wonderful college student. :-)

Anyway, more Bill! I'm glad y'all liked Dipper and Bill's interactions in the last chapter; that's pretty much the norm, with these two.

I don't really have much more to say (shocking, I know), so I'll let you get on to the story now.

Enjoy!

Chapter Three: In Which Bill Acts like a Nice Guy; For About Five Minutes.

"Hey broski! Have fun on your walk last night?" He heard his sister call out to him as he got out of bed the next morning, groaning as his back clicked back into place. He rubbed his eyes and took a look at the clock, groaning again when he saw it read 8:00 AM. He had awoken to the sounds of loud boy band music, which had reminded him suddenly of why he and Mabel no longer shared a room together at the Shack. Well, that, amongst other things.

"Mabel, you're my sister and I love you, but if you plan on waking me up at eight in the morning every day, I will smash your phone," Dipper claimed sleepily, letting out a long yawn. If he was being honest, there was no real reason for him to be tired, not after having had that nap the day before and the fact he got to bed at a reasonable time (and, for him, one AM was definitely reasonable). However, he supposed that everything that had happened the day before had just left him drained. Especially the ending…

He was pulled out of his thoughts of the weird encounter the night before when he heard his sister let out a loud, somewhat melodramatic gasp.

"Dipper Pines, you wouldn't dare!" Mabel exclaimed, clutching her phone to her chest like it was a wounded animal, her brown eyes overly large. The boy let out a snort, walking over to his suitcase, which Mabel must have gotten for him, and took out a clean shirt and pair of shorts. Mabel had tried to get him to dress up, but he had reasoned that it wouldn't make sense to give his Match a false idea of who he was, now would it? She had let it slide, but he could feel her glare as he walked over to the minuscule bathroom.

"Try me, sis. Keep the music down until at least ten, alright?"

Mabel pouted, but nodded slowly.

"Oh, fine. Not my fault you're a grumpy night owl."

Sticking her tongue out at him, she waltzed out of the room, clearly having showered and gotten ready before he had even woken up. How she could be so awake in the mornings was beyond him; it usually took him at least two cups of coffee to feel human, and even then it was only a little.

With a shrug, Dipper went into the shower and did his business. After his stint of not showering for weeks at a time when he was twelve to thirteen, he had learned that it was better to smell nice when going places where he'd be meeting people. He had learned that lesson after a particularly embarrassing moment when his eighth grade science teacher had told him that she was uncertain if the skunk sample was the thing that smelled, or him. After that he took to showering at least once every other day.

Showering done, Dipper headed downstairs, his stomach grumbling as he wondered what was being served for breakfast. He entered the dining hall, a relatively decent sized cream colored room filled with young adults and rows upon rows of tables, and quickly found his sister, the liveliest of the milling adults, her arms waving back and forth as she enthused something to a familiar looking blonde. Sighing inwardly, Dipper walked over to Mabel, smiling politely at her companion.

"Hey, Pacifica," Dipper greeted, his teeth only slightly clenched. He may have forgiven her for her rudeness (and perhaps realized that she was quite a lovely girl, when one looked past her sometimes foul personality) but he still wasn't quite comfortable around her. After he had helped rid her mansion of the ghost, they never really spoke. Sure, they passed each other by every so often when in town, but there wasn't much they had to say to one another. However, he supposed he was going to have to make an effort, especially if Mabel was serious about her. And, judging by the heart eyes he could practically see his twin sporting, it looked like she really was.

"Hey, Dipper," Pacifica greeted back, equally as stiff. Mabel, however, beamed.

"Aw, look at you guys! Gettin' along. I wish Waddles was here to see this!" Mabel exclaimed, though her grin faded for a second as she thought of the pig she had been forced to leave behind at home. Rolling his eyes, he have his twin a tired look.

"Mabel, he wasn't allowed to come because we're staying at a hotel that doesn't allow pets."

"Waddles is more than just a pet, Dipper! He's my bestest friend!"

Mabel then went on to enthuse about her pig, Pacifica listening with a bemused smile on her face. Dipper, deciding he should perhaps leave them alone for a minute or two, went to the buffet table of breakfast goods and looked over the selection. It appeared like bacon, bacon, and, surprise surprise, more bacon. That must have been why she had been reminded of Waddles, he thought at he covered his plate with bacon, as well as the last pancake available on the table, getting a death glare from a small white girl who had been reaching for the same treat. Shooting her an apologetic smile, he rushed over to the coffee pot, which had a ten person long line. Groaning, Dipper contented himself to waiting, taking a bite of the bacon to curb his hunger.

Letting his mind wander, Dipper lost focus of the room, his eyes glazing as he recalled the dream he had the night before, his body shivering with the remembrance of the phantom touch. He tried not to think of the cause of said dream, knowing that it would just confuse, embarrass, and quite possibly anger him. After all, the prince had been very rude.

As lost in his thoughts as he was, Dipper didn't notice as a silence went over the room, hushed whispers replacing the steady sound of sleepy conversation. It wasn't until he heard a frighteningly familiar voice over the speakers, in fact, that he even looked up from his plate of nearly gone bacon, skin paling as his eyes found the source of the voice.

Standing on the little stage that Dipper had not noticed against the farthest wall from him was Prince Cipher, dressed as immaculately as ever. Still with the bow tie, Dipper thought absently, eyes roving the figure dressed in yellow. His bright blond hair was sleeked back, showing off his golden eyepatch, and atop his head was a top hat, like something seen in the Ancient Days. Dipper had to give the guy some credit; he really did know how to dress. Whether he was dressed handsomely or ridiculously, however, Dipper was uncertain. He realized then that Cipher had been speaking for the past minute, something he was reminded of when the room let out a collective, awkward titter, like the prince had said something that he had clearly meant as funny, but had fallen way flat.

Focussing on the man, Dipper ignored the coffee line he was nearing the front of and listened to what the man had to say.

"-so adorable how you all think this Match will work out. Precious, really."

Rolling his eyes, Dipper turned back to the line and found that he was finally at the front. Letting out a silent 'thank you' to the coffee gods, he got himself two cups of coffee, listening with one ear to what Cipher had to say. It was mostly just garbage about the Matching Ceremony, its history, etcetera, interwoven with Cipher's own commentary, which alternated between nonsense that either made everyone confused, or insults that made everyone offended. All in all, an average speech by the Crown Prince.

Dipper finally ended back at his table, taking his seat next to Mabel, who was staring wide eyed at the prince. Mabel had had a bit of a crush on the man when she had been younger, which never really faded, to Dipper's knowledge. He had never really understood it, himself, but he supposed he could kind of see the appeal? If, of course, you ignored the fact he had a few screws loose, that is. And that he was a complete jerk. Little trifles, really.

"He's staring at you," he heard Pacifica mumble a minute later, her voice sounding confused. Looking over at her, he raised an eyebrow in question, to which she responded with a head nod to the stage, which could be seen easily from their spot on the side of the room.

Sure enough, as soon as Dipper looked up at the prince, his eyes met a single golden one, filled with mirth. There was a smirk on the man's face, even as he spoke of the utterly fascinating process by which they select the Matches, in which they use the highest technology available to essentially read the minds of the participant and assign them to another individual whom was most compatible with their results, whether that meant they were similar or opposites. It was very dry and boring information that most everyone knew, but Cipher still smirked, eye glued on Dipper.

To Dipper's horror, other people had started to take notice, turning to see who the prince was staring at, which made Dipper want to sink into his chair and never come out. Just when he thought the man couldn't embarrass him anymore, he thought bitterly, sending a glare that just seemed to amuse the prince even more. Even Mabel was looking around for who the prince was staring at, eyes bright with curiosity. He was thankful that she hadn't realized that it was him.

Finally, after another five minutes of staring and pointless information interspersed with scathing or nonsense comments, Cipher finished, stepping down from the stage with not even a farewell and left the dining room altogether. Dipper let out a silent sigh of relief, clapping politely with the others only so he didn't stand out.

As soon as the noise picked up, Mabel started enthusing about the prince, talking to Pacifica about how hot he looked, and speculations about who his Match was this year and if they would finally be a Perfect Match.

"Whoever gets him, I kind of feel sorry for. I mean, I agree, he's hot and all, but he's… kind of an ass. You know?" Pacifica claimed, taking a forkful of the eggs she had been lucky enough to snag before they had run out.

"Pacifica, you shouldn't say that. I think he'd grow to be just fine, if only he met the right person! I wonder who it was he was staring at through his speech though… maybe it was his Match!" Mabel shouted, bouncing up and down as she talked about her favorite topic; boys. Even if she 'swung all ways,' it seemed some things never changed. Dipper, however, was too busy choking on his bacon to fully notice. He could feel Pacifica's stare on him, the little frown she wore practically tearing through his flesh. Mabel's words kept echoing through his head, making his stomach drop like led.

It couldn't have been true, he knew that much. Cipher never would have gotten /him/ as a Match; they were nothing alike! For one, Dipper wasn't a complete jerk. For another, Dipper wasn't aristocratic. Every other Match Cipher had gotten had been from the upper class. And for another… well, it just wouldn't have worked out. Cipher /never/ had a Full Match, so he couldn't be Dipper's. Even with the fact he had been Unclaimed, Dipper still held onto the hope that his Match was a Proper Match. And he never would have had that with one William "Bill" Cipher, so it was frankly ridiculous that he was even entertaining the thought at all.

With that, he carefully took a sip of his coffee, grimacing at the bitter flavor, pushing all thoughts of Prince Cipher's Match out of his mind. Mabel kept on talking to Pacifica, completely ignoring Dipper's mild crisis, which he was thankful for. He had enough to worry about; he didn't need Mabel's hounding on him to add to it. Don't get him wrong, he loved his sister; he just wished she'd be less overbearing at times.

Soon enough, breakfast ended, everyone getting kicked out so the hotel could get started on the complimentary lunch they served. While the breakfast wasn't the best food Dipper had ever eaten, it was alright. Better than Stan's breakfast, at least. Stan cakes had forever ruined him, he feared.

Saying goodbye to Mabel and Pacifica, letting them go off and figure out how their Match was going to work, Dipper went back up to his room and got one of the books he had packed for the trip. It was a sci-fi mystery novel, about a murder in space. He had just gotten to the good part, where they found the body, and he was anxious to see what happened. He took a look out the window and noticed that it was nice out, the sun shining and hardly a cloud in the sky. Biting his lip, he hesitated a moment before deciding, what the hell, he might as well read outside. Packing some sunscreen and a towel to lie on if he found a nice piece of grass into his backpack, he headed back to the elevator and out the automatic front doors.

In the sunshine, Dipper took a deep breath, smiling as he felt the fresh air. When he had been a little kid, he had never appreciated fresh air. Then he had spent time in Gravity Falls and had no idea how he had ever lived in a place that /didn't/ have fresh air. As it was, he was currently in a city, but they were far enough in the outskirts that the air wasn't completely clogged with smog.

Walking along the sidewalk, Dipper took his time to look around, making sure to familiarize himself with the surroundings. It was a nice little place, he supposed, with green grass beside the sidewalk, little cobblestone paths running across them. There was a little pond a ways away, complete with ducks. There were a lot of people crowded around there, though, so Dipper moved on, wanting to find a nice, quiet place to sit down and read his book.

After walking for ten minutes in the opposite direction of the city, enjoying the scattered bushes of roses, peonies, and hydrangeas, he finally found a nice, relatively out of the way spot. Laying his towel out in the middle of a grassy field full of daffodils and other flowers he didn't know the name of, he laid on his stomach and began to read, taking out his little notebook and pen so he could write down all the details of the murder, needing to figure out the murderer before the book told him.

After that, he pretty much zoned out, the rest of the world fading away as he focussed entirely on the words in front of him. After only thirty pages of the hundred page book, he was positive he had figured out the murder, his eyes alight with glee as he wrote down his evidence. He still didn't know the motive, other than greed, or what the stewardess did with the bag of diamonds, but he still felt proud. He returned to the book with a vigor, going over the last ten pages again, just to make sure he hadn't missed any important detail.

He was so absorbed in his book, in fact, that it took him over ten minutes to realize that he wasn't alone anymore. Even then, it took him another minute to realize that he probably should look up and see whoever it was that had joined him on the towel and was humming quietly to them self.

In retrospect, he found that he probably should have expected it when he looked up and was met with the breathtaking image of the Crown Prince leaning back on his hands on the towel, eye closed as he faced up towards the sky, his hat on his lap and his hair no longer neatly gelled back, but messy, like he had run his fingers through it a bunch of times. After all, it was beyond obvious that someone out there hated him, so of /course/ he'd be forced to spend more time around the confusing man. As it was, Dipper felt his breath hitch as he gazed at the stunning man, the sun making him shine as bright as any star he had ever seen. He looked so innocent, so… angelic, that Dipper's mind froze, wondering how this could be the same man who was so cruel, so vicious during speeches and addresses. The same man who would sooner rip a person to shreds than save them. Unfortunately, his gasp caught the attention of said man, the prince blinking open his eye and lazily turning his head towards the boy, a small, lazy smile blooming on his face.

"Heya, Pine Tree. Saw you here, sitting all by your lonesome, and thought I'd grace you with my presence," Cipher told, his eye lidded as he stared at Dipper, that soft half smile making the boy's insides flip. Maybe he wasn't… "Didn't seem like you cared much, but that's fine. Not like I'm the Prince or anything, or like you should be honored I'm gracing your dirty peasant self with my esteemed greatness."

And that just ruined it.

To think, Dipper had actually begun to think that maybe there was more to Cipher than just snark, rudeness, and madness. What a pity.

"Oh, I'm so sorry I'm not bowing down to your impeccable greatness, oh high and mighty one," Dipper spat, still feeling raw over what had happened the previous night, not to mention that morning, what with the staring. He was caught off guard, however, when Cipher beamed at him, the white smile nearly blinding in the before noon sun.

"Apology accepted! Now, tell me, what is it that you're reading?"

Cipher looked at Dipper with a wide eye, full of what seemed like honest curiosity. Dipper was floored. First, had… had the prince honestly thought he was apologizing? Or was he being facetious? And second, did he honestly care about what he was reading? It seemed like he might, but… what would a Prince care about what Dipper was reading? However, as he was the prince, Dipper knew that he had to answer, or else he could get in trouble. Clearing his throat, Dipper gave the title of the book, which he hoped had been enough for the man.

"Huh. So what's it about, Pine Tree? Sex? Murder? Devilishly handsome princes?"

Apparently not. Biting his lip, Dipper wondered if he should tell the prince the story he had uncovered so far. Taking a look at the honest curiosity in the man's eye, Dipper caved and began to tell him the basic plot, how a wealthy man had gone on an intergalactic space tour, but had tragically been murdered in his cabin, with no noticeable wound, yet he had been completely drained of his blood and had been robbed of his jewels.

Upon seeing the curiosity in the man's eyes, Dipper continued with his explanation of the plot, going more into the backstory of the detective, as well as the overlying plot of the whole series. Before he knew it, an hour had passed with him rambling on and on about ideas he had for who the big bad was, as well as who had killed the main detective's wife (the twist being that it had been the detective's best friend), referencing the past notes he had made in his notebook more often than not, barely pausing for breath. In fact, for the entirety of the hour, Dipper didn't look up from the notebook nor did he stop speaking, not once, too engrossed with his enthusiasm over being allowed to explain his theories without being interrupted.

Finally, Dipper wound down, looking up from his notebook at last and, upon seeing the prince, remembered suddenly with horror just who his companion was. It wasn't Ford- who always let Dipper talk through his theories, sometimes adding his own, but usually waiting until the end to put in his two cents- but the Prince. The Mad, Insane Prince Cipher, who was never known to be quiet for a long period of time without getting angry at being ignored. It was with bated breath that Dipper watched the man, who had shifted so he was lying on his back, staring at the few clouds that passed by.

"So… yeah. T-that's, um. The plot. Of the, uh. Story," Dipper finished lamely, his heart pounding as he waited to get yelled at, waited for the man to call him names like everyone else did.

"Huh," was all the prince said, continuing to look up at the sky.

Well, it was better than he had feared, at least. He felt a pang inside that he had, obviously, been ignored for the past hour, the prince not actually interested in what he had to say. Dipper didn't mind, though; he was used to it, by that point. Plus, what care did a Prince have about a stupid Sci-Fi Mystery series meant for kids? Cheeks red, as was becoming the usual around the prince, he was about to say something, anything, else, when the prince turned his head and looked over at him, eye still lidded.

"So the main villain was the Detective's best friend? Seems kind of cliché, if you asked me."

Dipper stared at the prince with an open mouth for five seconds, before registering that he was talking about the book, which made the boy, for some reason, inexcusably happy.

"W-well no! No, the best friend was just the person who had killed the Detective's wife. The actual villain was this character in book three, who had helped him solve a case. However…" Dipper continued, going over more details that he had noticed, eyes bright as he enthused. This time, however, he wasn't looking down at his notebook, but directly at the prince, so he didn't miss the soft smiles, or the curiosity in his eye as he, now allowed the opportunity to speak, asked questions. It was everything Dipper had ever wanted as a child, someone who was roughly his own age (give or take five years) who actually /cared/ about what he had to say, about what he was interested in. Amazing that he found that in the prince of their kingdom, where he hadn't found it in his middle or high school.

That being said, he still wasn't sure if this was a trick or not. If Cipher would come out and call him a loser, or make fun of his theories. But as the minutes passed, it didn't seem likely, and eventually Dipper ran out of things to say about the books. Well, not really, but there wasn't much more he could say when the recipient hadn't read a single one.

So he fell silent and contented himself to watching Cipher, who had turned back to the sky and was watching the clouds once again.

"Hey, look! It's a triangle with a hole in the middle!" He heard Cipher exclaim a few minutes later, shattering the silence that had descended. Blinking, Dipper looked up, squinting at the bright light, and saw the cloud that Cipher had been taking about.

"Oh yeah, it kind of is," Dipper replied, looking back down at the prince, who looked far too happy for someone who had simply spotted his family's symbol in the sky. The man continued to look up at the sky, humming that same tune, the slow, creepy, and almost sad one. It was oddly… peaceful, Dipper found.

Shifting in his spot a little, Dipper debated if he should lie down and cloud gaze as well or not. As kids, he and Mabel had loved cloud gazing, the thrill of spotting different images in the sky astronomical to the two imaginative children. He hadn't had a chance to cloud gaze in ages though, what with high school and what not. However, now that he had the chance… but, he thought, looking over at Cipher, it wasn't exactly Mabel he would be gazing with. Biting his lip, he looked out at the field of daffodils and thought.

After a minute, he decided to throw caution to the wind and laid down, so he was shoulder to shoulder with Cipher, but not quite touching. Still, the boy felt his heart racing as he stared up at the clouds, his breath quickening as his nerves took over. He was just lying down, he thought furiously, trying to ignore the fact that their hands were close to touching. It's ridiculous, he told himself, to feel nervous.

"So, how's the Match?" Cipher asked conversationally a few minutes later, like he was completely oblivious to Dipper's inner struggles. Though, he just might be, since it was a stupid thing to be worrying about anyway. With a quick inhale, Dipper shrugged, forgetting that the prince couldn't see him. He wasn't sure if he wanted to answer or not, but staring at the sky made him feel brave, so he decided to risk it and hoped that Cipher would continue being strangely nice and not mock him.

"I, uh. I was Unclaimed. I'm going to meet my Match on Monday, before the ceremony."

It made his palms sweat to say, as he recalled his nerves at meeting his Match right before the ceremony. As well as the hurt, especially since his Match hadn't tried to contact him at all, which had been another possibility. After all, Primary People were given a little slip of paper with the person's name, birthdate, eye color, height, weight, and their ID photo. So it was near impossible that his Match didn't know who he was, especially since they all were staying in the same hotel.

"Hmm, tough break, kid. Hear it's not fun, being Unclaimed. Wouldn't know, though, since I'm more the type who does the Unclaiming," Cipher muttered, a soft chuckle being released. Dipper blinked, looking over at the prince with a frown.

"You're right, it's not fun. Why… why don't you Claim your Matches? Is it because they're not Proper Matches?"

As soon as Dipper asked, he regretted it. In addition to not being polite, it wasn't advisable to mention to a man as unstable and unpredictable as Prince Cipher all of his failed Matches. Dipper waited with bated breath as he saw Cipher frown, before turning his head to face Dipper. The boy didn't even notice how close their faces were, with the fear he felt. Yet strangely, it wasn't just fear for his life or his feelings he was worried about. No, he… he felt afraid that he had offended the man, after he had been kind enough to listen to him ramble on and on about nonsense.

Then, Cipher looked back up the sky and shrugged, folding his arms across his belly.

"Nah. It's easier to meet the Matches at the ceremony, so that I get the two days to observe them without them acting all weird, like the first one did," a pause, "Not many people know this, Pine Tree, but that first Match was actually really close to being Perfect. Could have been with him and it would have been fine. But…" Cipher trailed off, before shrugging. "But he acted all weird. Told the advisors point blank I wouldn't marry him, so I might as well not even try. They made up that excuse that he wasn't a Perfect Match, so it didn't seem like I was being fickle or anything. After that, I observed my Matches, seeing if they'd actually be a good fit or not. None of them were. And it wasn't even a lie when they said they were partial Matches, so the King didn't even mind all that much."

Dipper mulled that over, looking back up at the sky, feeling a bit of warmth in his belly that the prince had confided in him that private information. It was like he actually mattered. It was getting harder for Dipper to remember why he had disliked the prince in the first place. He tried not to feel worried about that fact.

"And what about this Match? What do you think about them?"

He had asked it mostly without thinking, but found that he was honestly curious about the answer. A few moments passed in silence, which made the boy feel self-conscious. He turned his head and was about to apologize, when he came face to face with the prince, who was looking at Dipper with a considering expression. Dipper felt his heart stop as he finally realized just how close his face was to the prince's. His eye, Dipper realized absently, had flecks of green, blue, and red in it, which made it look like a crown. It was utterly beautiful and mesmerizing, and Dipper was having a hard time looking away.

"Tell me, Pine Tree," the man whispered, his two toned voice merging into one, silky tone, "have you ever kissed someone before?"

And at that, Dipper's heart stopped. He could feel his lips go dry, but he didn't dare dart his tongue out to wet them. Had he… had he heard that correctly?

"W-what?" He croaked, voice cracking. Cipher let out a small smile, eye alight with amusement.

"You heard me, Pines. Have you ever kissed someone before?"

Well, wasn't that a personal question. Dipper gently bit his lip as he thought, wondering how to answer. Because, quite frankly, the answer was no. Unless he counted that 'kiss' with Mermando, which he very much /did not, / no matter what Mabel said. He had gotten close, when he had been sixteen. He had asked this girl out and he had managed to build up the courage to kiss her across the table, but he had missed and accidentally kissed her cheek instead. He had tried again, to see if he could make it that time, but somehow his tie had managed to get into the candle, the whole thing setting ablaze, causing the sprinklers to come on, ruining his date's nice, new dress. He hadn't gotten a call for a second date, and after that he had kind of given up on dating, since he and Mabel had moved to Gravity Falls, so he could focus on the supernatural with Ford, and so Mabel could learn about being a business manager.

However, how exactly did he mention that to Cipher without sounding utterly pathetic? Eighteen years and not a single kiss. Though, maybe… maybe that would change, he thought as he looked Cipher in his golden eye, heart fluttering. With the thoughts of how close he was to the man, he completely forgot about the question he had asked the prince, the one that had prompted the question about him having been kissed.

"I-I… n-no, I-I've not. Not, not really," he stammered, his heart in his throat. The other man was so close… so close. All he had to do was lean in, just a little bit more and…

"Ha! I knew it!"

What?

Dipper stared, open mouthed, as Cipher leaned back and cackled- full on /cackled/. He was beginning to realize what had happened, and felt his heart tug painfully, though he almost didn't notice it with the rising anger he felt.

"Ahaha, it's funny, Pine Tree. 'Course you've never kissed someone, you're too shy. Unless someone else kissed you, you'd never strike up the courage. Ha!" Cipher was still chortling as he sat up, stretching his long limbs as he made to stand up. Dipper felt his lips curl into a sneer as he stared at the man, his heart clenching, but he refused to acknowledge it. To acknowledge it meant to admit that he had let Cipher get to him. And that would never happen. /Ever/.

"You are a complete and total asshole, Cipher," Dipper ground out, his hands clenching as he glared. Cipher stared back, eye cool and amused.

"Yeah, so? I also happen to be your Prince, Pine Tree, so I'd be a bit nicer if I were you, and not call me such hurtful names. Anyway, it was fun, listening to you prattle on about a stupid book, but if you'll excuse me, I've got some actually important things to do, back at the castle. Bye!"

And with that, he was gone, flouncing off towards where the castle presumably was.

Good riddance, Dipper thought, trying to hide the tears that were gathering unbidden in his eyes. It was so stupid, he thought angrily. Of /course/ Cipher hadn't wanted to kiss him. Of /course/ he hadn't actually cared about what he had to say. /Of freaking course/. So why did it hurt so bad to learn that he had been so utterly stupid to think otherwise?

Taking a deep breath, Dipper rolled onto his stomach and put his head in his arms, shutting out the world like he had once done as a child. He could feel his body shaking, but he wasn't going to let the tears spill. He refused. He was stronger than that.

However, he soon realized, he wasn't, actually, as fat, heavy tears began spilling from his eyes, his body shaking terribly from the sobs.

After a while the tears stopped and he felt like he could sort of breathe again. God, he hated that man. Hated him more than he hated anything. To think he thought that Cipher might have had some good in him. /No/. He was rotten, to the core.

With that thought, Dipper began packing up his things, rolling the towel up and putting it and his book and notebook away in his little backpack. With a sniff, he set off across the field, finding the sidewalk again and heading back to the hotel. Once there he went straight to bed, skipping lunch. Mabel came into the room later that day, asking what was wrong, but he just ignored her, even when she threatened to tickle him. Eventually she left him alone, but that just made things worse, in some regards, since he was alone with his thoughts again.

He hated it when people made a fool of him. He had gotten that enough in elementary through high school; he had thought it would have ended with his eighteenth birthday. But no. He was /still/ laughed at, /still/ made fun of. And to think he had actually let his guard down. Ugh, how stupid was he?!

Never again, he promised himself harshly. He'd never let this happen again. It hurt too much to fall for this trap. If Cipher ever tried to show himself as anything other than a jerk, well… Dipper would tell him where he could stick it!

Because Dipper was done being the butt of a joke.

Especially by someone he might actually have started to…

Dipper put his head down and started to cry again.

So, next chapter I go more into Dipper's past experiences with Bill, since of course Dipper grew up with Bill in his life; Bill's the prince of the kingdom. It's like how Americans hear about Malia and Sasha, or Brits hear about Prince George and Princess Charlotte. I'm mentioning this now so that y'all know that I will explain why Dipper kind of... flip-flops on his opinion of Bill.

See you next week, unless I'm too swamped with college to post. :-)