Writing is hard and I hate it.

Hi all. This chapter... well. This chapter. I don't like it. I hope it's not as bad as my perfectionist mind is insisting it is.

Regardless, this chapter is a lot more light-hearted than the last few. That might be my issue with it; I've never liked writing light-hearted things. They always come across as false and weird. There's still some angst, since I'm me and require a modicum of angst in order to feel content, but it's not as prevalent as it had been. Hope y'all like it.

Anyway... thanks for all the comments and kudos/favorites. It means a lot to me.

Enjoy.

Chapter Five: Shopping; Every Man's Curse

Dipper sat at the breakfast table the next morning, nibbling some bacon while he listened in bemused horror as Pacifica ranted on and on about something he thought had to do with fashion and the lack of it that the city dwellers had. The best he could figure, she appeared to be complaining about how the city was supposed to be the fashion capital of the kingdom and yet the citizens were all 'drab' or whatnot, but he was having a hard time following all the tangents the girl kept going on, at one point talking about her tenth birthday party and a runaway monkey. He just nodded along when she would direct a question at him, not wanting to deal with the consequences of not agreeing, even though he hadn't a clue what he was agreeing to.

Just as he was about to say something to stop the rambling fashion rant, the hotel staff made the announcement that breakfast was over and requested that they all leave the dining room. It was with a silent sigh of relief that Dipper stood, grimacing as he saw Mabel excitedly grab Pacifica's hand, grinning widely. He was starting to think that he might want to sit somewhere else in the mornings, so he didn't have to watch his twin get all chummy with his former enemy. That, however required him to make some friends, which seemed unlikely to happen considering who he was. Unless he wanted to sit alone in the corner like a sad loser who hadn't been Matched, he would have to suck it up and watch his sister fall hopelessly in love with Pacifica. After all, it was better to let everyone think he was in a polyamorous Match or something than to be alone and pitied. So the boy sighed, following the pair out of the dining hall and into the main lobby.

Just as the boy was about to head back upstairs, thinking he could maybe read more of his book (in the comfort of his own room, to avoid any more… incidents), Mabel grabbed his shoulder with the hand not holding Pacifica's and made a tutting sound.

"Where are you going, Dip-Dop? We're going into the city today! Pacifica wanted to go shopping!" Mabel enthused, bouncing up and down in her excitement.

Dipper, however, frowned, trying to remember when he had agreed to go 'shopping' with his sister- which, typically, consisted of less shopping and more carrying, on his part. Not that he minded tremendously that he didn't participate in the activity, since he hated shopping for himself, but it was not fun to carry dozens upon dozens of bags. While his arms had lost their noodle-iness of childhood and had gained some amount of muscles, it still hurt.

"Mabel, what? When did I agree to go shopping with you? What?"

It was when he saw Pacifica smirk that he realized what likely had happened and groaned with exasperation.

"I asked you during my rant and you had nodded agreement. Legally binding!" Pacifica declared, grinning almost as wide as her Match. Dipper glared at his sister, knowing it was her who had come up with the idea, since she had used to do it all the time when they were younger to get him to agree with something she wanted. She had only stopped when he started wising up to her schemes, but it seemed that she had decided to try and see if it worked when Pacifica did it, since the girl was someone he wouldn't expect it from. He was starting to wonder who would be a worse influence on who.

It was with a defeated sigh that he resigned himself to a day of being a professional bag holder, following the girls with a dejected look at the elevator. He briefly considered arguing, claiming that he hadn't known what he was agreeing to, but then he would have walked into the minefield that was 'so you weren't actually listening to me?!' It was better, all around, to just grin and bear it.

Plus, he thought as he looked at his sister and Pacifica, at least he wouldn't be alone the entire day. He had never done well, being alone with himself for too long a period of time. Sure, an hour or two now and then was fine. Appreciated, even. But anything longer than a day was too much. Hiding away in his room might seem like a good idea in theory, but he knew it wouldn't be one in practice. If it took being a glorified bag holder to starve off that all-encompassing loneliness, then he supposed he'd deal. Plus, he knew that if he stayed in his room alone, he'd begin to fret about the next day, which he was firmly trying to keep from thinking about for fear of throwing up. Or the thing (or rather person) that he had made a vow to not think of the night before, after an hour of fruitless tossing and turning while his mind filled with thoughts of a person he was not going to think of. All in all, being alone would not have been a good idea.

He reminded himself of this as they reached the bus stop, the two girls excitedly talking about what they wanted to get, what the new 'in' fashion item was (bow ties, apparently. Dipper tried not to cry when he heard that). The bus arrived fairly quickly, a fact the boy was grateful for. The sooner the day ended, the sooner he'd be able to go to his room and read his novel.

"Ooh! Dipper, look! It's the Majesty! Ooooh!" Mabel squealed as they as they exited the bus, looking wide eyed at the biggest mall that side of the kingdom. Dipper had to admit that it was a sight to behold, glittering glass covering an intricately designed building, giant crystal statues positioned on either side of the entryway. As the three entered, Dipper had a minute to think that maybe this wouldn't be so bad, smiling at the giant fountain that was in front of the entrance, phone out to snap a picture.

~XoX~

He had been wrong, he thought frantically as he watched his sister dart into yet another store, her Match dragging him in with her by the arm. It had only been an hour and yet it had felt like it had been years, his feet and arms so sore he wanted to cry. Sitting alone in his room, wallowing in his sorrow and fretting about the next day (and the person he wasn't thinking of) would have been better than this, he thought desperately as Mabel cooed over the most ridiculous dress he had seen in his life. Not that he'd mention that, though, smiling and saying it was great when she asked his opinion. He didn't have a death wish, after all.

It had been as bad as he had feared it would be that morning, all the bags dumped on him, containing all the numerous items the two girls purchased. Apparently Pacifica was footing the bill that day, allowing Mabel to go absolutely nuts with the frivolous things she bought. Clothes she'd never wear, knick-knacks that would sit on a shelf and collect dust. Even a gold-plated photograph of the prince, which had made Dipper grit his teeth and look quickly away.

"Mabel, are we done yet? We have enough things, I think," Dipper practically begged as they exited the shop, the ridiculous dress being added to one of the numerous bags in the boy's overly tired arms. He almost cried when his sister shook her head, happily bouncing over to another store that looked identical to the last.

"Nope! I still need to find something to wear to the Ceremony! You too, Dip-Dop!"

Heaving a large sigh, Dipper didn't even dispute the words, simply nodding tiredly and forcing his feet to move towards the shop. He could have argued that he didn't need an outfit, and that they had bought fifteen outfits already and that she could just wear one of them, but then he'd likely just get a lecture from both of the girls on how they were the wrong color, or the wrong cut, or some other ridiculous reason the two fashionistas would come up with. Fashion made no sense to him and he had long ago learned it was easier to just go along with it.

It didn't make it any less mind numbing, he brooded, watching as the two girls dug into a display of pink blouses that looked identical to a blouse they had already bought in blue.

It was another hour before the girls finally decided to take a break, chatting happily as they headed to the food court, Dipper following with intense relief. He was sure he let out an indecent sound when he finally set down the mountain of bags he had been carrying, but he didn't care. He rubbed his arms to try and get some feeling to return to them, glaring only slightly at his sister, who was steadfastly ignoring him in order to ask Pacifica what she wanted to eat. As the two girls wandered off to get them all a hamburger, the boy heaved a sigh of relief and sat back in his chair, eyes closing as he tried to pretend he was anywhere but at the mall, carrying a ridiculous amount of bags for only two girls.

For three wonderful, glorious minutes Dipper was able to sit and ignore the world, his mind blissfully blank as he sat and rested his beyond sore feet. Three minutes, so perfect that he would look back at that moment years in the future longingly, forever wanting to experience those minutes again. Three minutes, which were destroyed when he heard an amused voice call to him, forcing him out of that blissful experience and back into the real world. The real world, with all the issues that he had been hoping to forget.

"Geez, you sure you have enough things, Pine Tree? Or are you trying to buy out the entire mall? In which case, I think you might want to try hiring a bag carrier. They're very handy on such occasions!"

Issues like Prince William 'Bill' Cipher.

Dipper was positive someone up there hated him, in that moment. He usually wasn't sure if he believed in a higher power, but at that one moment in time, he knew, just knew that someone was up there, laughing at the pitiful life of Mason 'Dipper' Pines. For a minute, the boy contemplated leaving his eyes closed, ignoring the prince and remaining in that perfect moment that had already been shattered.

However, when he felt someone start poking his face, he knew the prince would not let himself be ignored, and so, shooting the strongest curse he could think of to those merciless gods, the boy opened his eyes and glared at the finger that was inches from his cheek. With one last poke, the finger retreated back to its owner, which was probably a good thing, since Dipper had been one poke away from biting that finger off.

Gritting his teeth, the boy looked up at the face of the man he was really starting to hate, a rude remark on the tip of his tongue. It froze, however, when he saw what the prince was wearing.

"Is… is that flannel?!"

He could only stare in horror at the sight in front of him, the man in question grinning widely. In place of the usual three piece suit and bow tie was an unbuttoned yellow flannel over shirt, opened slightly to show off the ripped white t-shirt underneath. Instead of the usual dress pants, the prince wore ripped skinny jeans, dark black in color. His chin length hair was loose and wild, with his bangs coming forward to cover the golden eye patch from sight. If Dipper hadn't known better, he'd have thought the man to be a retro hipster, not the prince of their kingdom, who was renowned for being insanely meticulous and absolutely NOT someone who wore flannel, of all things.

"Yep! Like it? My advisors told me it went well with my hair. Plus, it allows me to shop in peace, without all my adoring fans flocking me!"

The grin on the man's face, coupled with the voice that haunted Dipper's nightmares, forced the boy to believe what his eyes rejected. It was the prince. And he looked… well. Dipper had never much cared for the hipster look, thinking the prewar, early 2000's look to be outdated and ridiculous, but he found it hard to look away from the man in front of him, no matter how much he wanted to. And man would he want to, hating in retrospect the smug look Cipher had adopted after a full thirty second had passed and yet Dipper had still not said a word, his jaw open as he tried to think of anything to say. As it was, it was only when the prince reached over and gently closed the boy's mouth for him that Dipper realized he had been staring. It took another five seconds to get his brain back online, his face burning bright red the second he realized what he had implied with his silence, something the prince had obviously picked up on as he began to laugh uproariously, bending over onto the table he had taken a seat at, at some point while Dipper had been preoccupied.

"Oh! You are too adorable, Pine Tree! Absolutely adorable!" The prince exclaimed a full minute later, after he had managed to contain the laughter enough for him to breath. Dipper just burned brighter red, his heart thudding heavily with embarrassment. He suddenly felt small, like he had as a child, the bullies' words more biting than any knife could ever have been. But he wasn't about to let himself get pushed around, not like he had back then.

"I-I'm not adorable!" Dipper shouted, not caring as people from surrounding tables looked over, the boy too upset to even notice. Cipher just grinned lazily at him, a few more chuckles getting released.

"Yes you are, Pines. Utterly adorable. Like a puppy, or a misbehaving child. So cute," Cipher grinned, leaning forward to get into Dipper's face, his breath fanning warmly upon the boy's cheeks. Dipper ignored the twisting in his stomach at the proximity, putting all his effort into glaring at the prince.

"I'm not…" the boy began, before stopping, suddenly realizing that it wouldn't work. The prince's grin had grown, his eye alive with amusement as he watched him, waiting for him to continue, and all of a sudden Dipper felt too tired. It had been a long day, getting dragged all around the mall by his sister and the Love of Her Life, and he was just too tired to deal with this. He had tried to ignore his issues, had tried to move on with his life and move past the prince, but it seemed that the prince was determined to make a nuisance of himself. And Dipper… Dipper was just too tired to play along. Too tired and too spread thin to try and fight back. Not to mention he was still upset at the man, for the previous day, and knew that any words he said would come out wrong and make him feel even worse. So, he took one last look at the prince, before letting out a sigh and closing his eyes, leaning back in his chair.

"L-look. I'm not… I'm not feeling up to this today. I can't deal with you right now. So can you please… can you please just… leave me alone? Please?" Dipper begged, eyes closing tighter, a discontent frown stretching deep on his face. He didn't have any faith that the prince would listen, but he had to ask. Even if he got mocked, even if the prince got angry, he didn't have anything else to say. He couldn't fight back, as tired as he was, but he also couldn't just say nothing. The prince wouldn't allow that, he knew. So he asked an impossible question, vainly hoping the prince actually had an ounce of decency in him.

Silence reigned after that, even the noises from the crowded food court fading to the background as Dipper focussed on keeping himself from breaking down. He knew, though, that if the prince said one more word against him, he'd be unable to stop the tears. He hated himself for it, but he was just too tired. Mentally, physically, and especially emotionally. So many issues had been pressed upon him all at once and he had hoped that, for just this day, he could forget. Yes, he hated shopping. Yes, he hadn't wanted to become a third-wheel for his sister and her Match. But it had been better than this feeling. Even as he had felt exasperated at his twin's antics, he had secretly felt… relieved. It was normal. It was familiar. It wasn't the pain he had felt when speaking to the prince. It wasn't the panic he felt when thinking of his Match. It was… normal. And now that illusion of normalcy was broken and Dipper felt like he was falling apart at the seams.

The longer the silence stretched, though, the more anxious the boy got, his frown deepening by the second. Just as he was about to break, a desperate plea on the tip of his tongue, he heard the sound of a chair scrapping hurriedly against the ground, as well as the sound of someone clumsily getting up.

"I… yes. Yeah. I'll go," the prince faltered, his words for some reason sounding uncertain and slow, like he wasn't sure if he should be saying them or not. "I'll… see you around, Pine Tree. Later."

With that, the boy could hear the sound of a person retreating, the footsteps loud in Dipper's overly focussed ears. His heart frozen in his chest, Dipper dared not to open his eyes, certain he had imagined it, that Cipher was still there, that grin on his face as he mocked Dipper for actually believing he would listen to a request given by a peasant.

However, when the boy opened his eyes, minutes later, all he saw was an empty table, the prince nowhere in sight. He continued to stare at the empty seat for long minutes, mind blank, only stopping when his sister returned, Pacifica not far behind her.

"Ugh, the lines here are ridiculous! We're going to eat dinner at one of those restaurants we passed earlier, I swear," Pacifica promised, a grimace on her face as she set the tray full of greasy food down. Mabel just nodded, though she had a grin on her face as she took a seat.

"It wasn't that bad, Paz, but I agree with going to a restaurant! After all, we have to try Glimmer! I hear they have the best food, with edible glitter in everything! We have to go!"

After that the two girls began bickering good heartedly, Pacifica smiling fondly as Mabel demanded they go to Glimmer, while Pacifica claimed they should try a higher class establishment. Dipper felt relieved that they ignored him, as he was too drained and unfocussed to talk, his heart aching as he picked up his burger and took a bite. Had he felt better, he'd likely have enthused about the burger, claiming it was the best thing he had ever eaten. However, as upset and confused as he was, he couldn't help but think it tasted like ash.

He didn't know what to make of the prince. That much was clear. The same man who had cruelly teased and tricked him the other day was now listening to Dipper's desperate plea? After everything, he had actually listened? Why? Dipper didn't know. It wasn't like the prince could have felt bad or anything. The prince probably didn't even know that Dipper was hurt. Or if he did, it wasn't like he could have cared. Right? Cipher never cared when he hurt people with his comments or actions. It was just… a part of his personality. The prince didn't care enough about people to care if he hurt them. So it couldn't have been something about him caring that made the prince suddenly become self-aware of his actions.

And yet, even as he denied the prince's ability to care, Dipper couldn't help the small amount of gratitude he felt towards the man, taking a bite of his ashen burger. Regardless the reason, he had listened. It was… something. Maybe something small, maybe a trick, but something. And Dipper was willing to take anything he could get in this ever-changing world he had entered into ever since he had stepped off a train, out of his comfortable small-town life and into a city of uncertainty.

After a while Dipper realized that he had finished his burger and watched as his companions bounced up out of their seats, anxious to get back to shopping. Dipper, heart aching and mind tired, picked up the bags without a word, not even making a sound as the bags dug into his already sore shoulders, too tired to posture like normal. His behavior was so unusual, in fact, that Mabel took notice, frowning as she took in her brother's downcast eyes.

"Dipper? You okay there, bro-bro?" She questioned nervously, wondering if she had done something to make her brother upset. She had tried to include him in her and Pacifica's outing, knowing that if she hadn't he'd have just stayed in their room the whole day, moping about his Match and the Matching Ceremony that was taking place the next day (!). Had she been wrong in insisting he come along?

She felt relieved when Dipper looked up, a small smile on his lips as he claimed he was fine, just tired. Reassured, Mabel turned back to her Match and began talking about where to go next, all thoughts of her brother pushed out with the excitement of shopping. After all, it had been a while since she had last had a good shopping spree with someone she really cared about.

Dipper just watched as Mabel spoke to Pacifica, his smile dying when his heart twisted painfully at the sight. Gritting his teeth, he followed the two, barely noticing the pain in his arms as more and more bags got added, his heart hurting more than anything else. He didn't understand Cipher. He really, really didn't. But he didn't want to think any more on the man. He had wasted enough time thinking about him already.

It was after another half an hour had passed that the trio passed by a store that sold suits, Mabel letting out an audible gasp as she looked into the window.

"On! Dipper, Dipper, look! That suit would look perfect on you, bro-bro! Come on, we have to get it!" she insisted, darting inside, forcing the other two to follow after her. Dipper felt apprehensive as he entered the shop, knowing that he was not going to enjoy this experience, but also knowing that there was little he could do to stop her. Not when he was feeling so dejected, at least.

At Mabel's request, he set the bags down next to a chair out of the way next to the window and went over to the display that Mabel had seen through the window, full of suits of all colors. As he passed a yellow suit vest, Dipper felt his heart clench, which subsequently irritated him. It was just a stupid suit. There was no reason for his heart to be acting all stupid. A bit of anger at this whole thing filled him then, replacing his previous lethargy, making Dipper turn to his twin and frown.

"Why are we in here, Mabel? I don't need a suit!" Dipper demanded, arms crossing as he looked at the suits with distaste. He always hated dressing up, feeling ridiculous every time he had been forced to do it. Suits were for people much more dignified than he was. His protest was token at best, as he knew his sister wouldn't listen to him, but at least it kept his mind off a certain prince. For a second.

"Yes you do, bro-bro. You are not going to wear that horrid orange shirt, gray shorts combo at the Matching Ceremony. I refuse it."

Dipper just sighed, rolling his eyes at the girl's words. After all, it wasn't like they did anything at the Ceremony. They just listened to the King make a speech about the importance of finding your True Love, then another speech by the organizer of the event, then another by the person who made the matches, then another, then another, before the King finally officially granted them 'Matchhood'. Whatever that meant. Dipper always thought it was pretentious and overdone, but it was a regrettable consequence of being Matched; you had to go to the Matching Ceremony or else the Match wasn't 'official'. Not like it mattered, not really, but if you attended you got a plaque saying that you were official Matches and a lot of people thought they were cool, so Dipper didn't complain. However, that didn't mean he wanted to wear an uncomfortable suit, only to sit for four hours listening to people yammer about how Important their Match was.

Dipper watched as Mabel turned back to the display and went straight to the dark blue suits, briefly pausing at the baby blue ones, before passing them by. Good, Dipper thought with distaste, he absolutely would have refused a baby blue suit. It would have stood out way too much. Dark blue, though… that he could wear, if it wasn't too uncomfortable, if he was forced to. After a minute of digging through the rack, Mabel popped out, holding a suit that he assumed was his size.

"Aha! This is perfect! Don't you think, Paz?"

Pacifica looked at the suit critically, before nodding seriously.

"Yes, it should go nicely with his eyes. Bring out the gold from all the mucky brown."

Dipper would almost have felt insulted, but decided it just wasn't worth it. He watched as the two girls walked away, over to where a bunch of dress shirts laid, the two bickering over what would go best with the dark blue. With a sigh, Dipper walked over to the chair he had put the bags down next to and took a seat, closing his eyes to try and gather strength.

"You should try a three piece suit, you'd look nice in that."

Dipper let out a groan, opening his eyes angrily to glare at the man in front of him, whose head was tilted enough that the hair had fallen out of place, eye patch just barely visible. A flash of… something hit him as he looked at the man before him, which he dismissed almost immediately. He forced the anger to flare inside of him, a small sneer finding its way onto his lips.

"Are you following me or something?!" Dipper demanded, hands clenching as he glared. He was so tired of this, of bumping into the prince everywhere he went. Could he not have just five minutes of peace?!

To his annoyance, the prince just shrugged, before taking a seat at the boy's feet, long limbs awkwardly folded as he looked up. Dipper felt his anger calm a little as his heart flipped, something so innocent about the man when he wasn't actively posturing and mocking. Plus, he was still confused as to what the prince was doing. Why he had left earlier. Why he wasn't acting all… rude, now.

"Saw you from the window and thought I'd say hi. I did say I'd see you later."

The boy sighed at the words, running a hand through his hair, dislodging his hat from his head, causing it to fall to the ground next to the prince. Cipher picked the hat up and examined it carefully, turning it over and over in his hands before finally handing it back. Dipper bit his lip as he placed it back on his head, wondering what he could say to the man.

"What do you want, Cipher? I already told you, I'm not in the mood for these… these games," he claimed softly, hoping that he didn't offend the man since he didn't want to start a fight, but not knowing what else to say.

"I do have a name, you know."

Dipper blinked down at the man, who was looking up at him with a small frown, eye squinted minutely. Dipper opened his mouth to say something, but closed it quickly, stumped as to what he could say in reply to that non sequitur. After all, everyone knew you weren't supposed to call royalty by their first name. It was either by title or, if necessity required it, by their family name. Never by the first. The only exception was if you were close to the royal in question, but Dipper barely knew the prince, so why…?

"I-I know," was all Dipper was able to come up with, eyebrows furrowed as he looked into the man's eye.

"Say it," Cipher muttered, staring, "say my name."

"I… B-Bill. Your name… it's Bill."

Well, that seemed to have an effect on the prince, Dipper thought bewilderedly, watching as a smile bloomed on the man's previously serious face, his eye lighting up like a sunrise. It was so bizarre, looking at the honest smile. Not a smirk, not a grin, but a smile. It was utterly beautiful, and any anger Dipper felt evaporated at the sight of it. That something he had felt, however, grew, almost choking him as he stared.

"Yeah. It is! Good job, Pines!" Bill enthused, still smiling. Dipper had no words. The man had to be acting facetious… right? Dipper had no idea, anymore. However, one thing was clear; either this was an elaborate prank that the prince was pulling, or he actually thought that they were close enough that he thought Dipper could use his given name. Dipper was unsure which option he preferred.

"Anyway, as I said when I came over, I think you would look good in a three piece suit. I'd normally say yellow, as that is my favorite, but I think… blue, perhaps light blue, would look best on you," Cipher- or should he call him Bill? - claimed after a minute had passed, smile wide and eye honest. Dipper's lips formed words to say, but none of them left his mouth, his mind too confused.

"Huh?"

"Blue! You know, like your hat? I think you'd look dashing in a suit that color! And it'd look good with gold," the prince muttered, almost as an afterthought, though Dipper felt his heart pound. And, after a second, he decided to stop trying to understand this conversation, to give up and just go along with it, like he frequently did while talking with Mabel. After all, if Ciph-Bill wanted to pretend everything was right as rain, then fine. He'd bite. He was too tired and confused to fight anymore, anyway.

"I don't know, B-Bill. Wouldn't that be too… too bright?" He asked, eyeing the man on the ground, who frowned minutely in thought before replying.

"Nah, I think it'd look fine. On you, at least. It'd make your eyes pop, and you'd see the natural highlights in your hair."

Like that made any sense, the boy thought, but he nodded absently. It was easier than denying the claim, at any rate.

"I saw a couple suits, in fact, that would look great! I'll go and get them!" Bill exclaimed, eye bright as he stood, his long limbs making him tower over the sitting boy. Swallowing drily, Dipper shook his head in a negative, suddenly remembering his sister, not wanting her to know that he was aquatinted with the prince. Not only would she be upset that he hadn't introduced them, but she would never leave him alone after that, asking every detail that he could give her. Not to mention that, with her fanciful imagination, she might insinuate that the reason Bill was so interested in him was because… but, that was wrong, he mentally scolded his imaginary Mabel. So wrong.

"T-that's not necessary! I think I saw the display earlier, I can find them myself," Dipper claimed as he scrambled up quickly, not liking the feeling of being that much shorter than Bill. He was still a good four inches shorter than the man even while standing, but at least it wasn't as drastic as when he had been sitting. Bill frowned softly at the boy, but thankfully didn't make a fuss, just shrugging before looking out the window, wincing at whatever he saw there.

"Ah, time to go. After all, the King doesn't like to be kept waiting," Bill muttered, flicking his gaze back to Dipper, a soft smile on his face. Dipper smiled softly back before he could stop himself, his heart fluttering madly.

"R-right. I'll… I'll see you later, then," he stated, like it was a given at that point. Like he knew he'd see Bill again. Bill smirked, like he knew what the boy was thinking, but didn't comment on it and only nodded. He didn't move, though, just continued to stare at the boy until he began feeling subconscious. Before Dipper could start fidgeting, though, Bill leaned in, so swiftly Dipper barely saw him move, and gently left a kiss on the boy's cheek, his velvety soft lips lingering for a second before pulling back slightly.

"There, now you've been kissed," Bill muttered softly into his ear, the warm breath coupled with the words making the boy shiver.

With a smile, Bill pulled back completely and let out a soft, content hum.

"See you tomorrow, Dipper. I look forward to seeing you in that blue suit."

Bill gave the boy one last smile before he turned and left, humming a happier tune than the one he usually hummed.

Not that Dipper noticed, since he was positive he had broken, his mind frozen and his body stiff as a board. Had Bill- did he just- what was… Huh?!

Dipper didn't move for a solid minute, and even then it was only to shakily raise a hand to his cheek, where he could still feel the soft lips, the scent of cinnamon and cloves drowning him. He would have been content to stay like that for the rest of his life, but was pulled out of his trance a moment later when he heard Mabel call to him, dragging him back into the present. She was bounding over to him, holding the dark blue suit and a white dress shirt in one hand, and shiny black shoes and a black bow tie in the other (of course). Dipper stared at the suit, knowing that Mabel was still speaking to him, but not comprehending the words. After a minute, the girl forced the items into his hands, her meaning clear; try these on.

However, as he headed to the changing room, he passed the display with the light blue three piece suits he was sure Bill had been taking about and, with only a second hesitation, grabbed the first one he saw in his size, much to the surprise of his sister and her Match.

And as he headed home that day, after a bizarre dinner eating a steak made entirely out of glitter, bags spilled around him on the bus but only one containing a baby blue suit, he thought that maybe things wouldn't be so bad, the next day.

As long as he saw Bill, at least.

Hi. I hope things have been cleared up with this chapter. Bill doesn't explain himself, but I hope his actions spoke louder than words. I edited this chapter heavily today, so if you saw any mistakes, please tell me. I'm currently very tired, since I've not been sleeping well at all recently (not because of anything in particular, but mostly because my brain sucks) and I'm very out of sorts at the moment. I'm posting today mostly because I don't want to fall behind on posting.

Anyway, people seemed interested in my original story. That's great! Regrettably, since I've been feeling off recently, my writing has been put on the back-burner, and it might take a few weeks (or months) until I'm feeling right enough to write again. So, if y'all still want to read my story, I'll post the first few chapters that I've written on AO3 today (so if you're on FF . net, you might want to look me up on AO3, where I go by DracotheDeathEatingCupcake), but don't expect to get another post for a long while. Let me know if you'd be interested. If no one seems overly interested, I'll just not post and wait until it's mostly done to post.