After a relaxing holiday, the three kids are separately preparing for the first day of school of January. Dipper's outfit switches to a warm dark blue coat and grey pants, while Mabel... she had no issue since she loves to wear sweaters all the time, although she starts wearing leggings over her skirts and ear muffs instead of her usual headbands.
Samuel grabs a dark yellow puffy jacket to leave for school, but as he's alone around his closet.
"Oooh, I see you're wanting to match me, Fuzzball... How flattering!", claims a taunting Bill.
The kid answers fairly bothered. "It's not that! I had this jacket before meeting you, you know?"
"Sure sure..." Bill giggles.
Samuel groans a bit, which only makes Bill more amused. "Fine, I won't wear it, then! I'll pick another one, but you better not make me late because of that."
The demon crosses his arms as he watches him pick a purple jacket. "Can't take an innocent observation, eh...?" He then disappears to follow him as a shadow on his way to school.
Dipper and Mabel arrived a little early at school and went inside quickly enough, with Dipper rubbing his hands for some heat.
"Man, winter really started to hit us hard..." He says that, sounding a little bit distraught.
Mabel, meanwhile, is just as positive as always. "Oh come on, Bro-bro, cold weather isn't that bad! Plus it might snow soon, you know how beautiful that is, right?"
"Oh, I actually agree... It's just... Let's just say it's requiring some getting used to every year, that's all." Answers her brother.
"I can keep you warm with hugs! Or make you some sweaters!" She teases him a little while saying that, even if there is some genuineness to these proposals.
"Please don't hug me at school..." He frowns a little bit. "But I appreciate the concern!"
Samuel arrives, entering the building as well, and he manages to spot his friends quickly enough. "Dipper! Mabel!" He walks closer to them with a smile. "Happy new year, guys!"
Mabel answers first as one might expect. "Sammy! Happy new year!"
"Happy new year, buddy!" Dipper smiles.
"How was your vacation?", asks their friend.
He answers. "It was normal. Just some nice family time, you know! "
"Ah, well, same for me... It was a good rest " Samuel says.
"What about being with...? Um..." Mabel tries to think of a codename for Bill when they're within earsight of other people.
But it turns out just looking for one got the point across, as Samuel answers. "Oh, it was... actually very good!" He sees them looking a little surprised. "I'm not exactly sure why that is, but he..." suddenly, he stops speaking, thinking about how Bill is more than likely listening to them right now. He also worries about what he might think of his choice of words, so instead, he reaches for his backpack. "Here, I wrote quite a bit since last time..." He hands his notebook to Dipper. "Do what you must, okay?"
Dipper nods, putting the notebook on his backpack just before the bell rings.
Mabel is ready to go already. "Gotta go to class, guys! See you soon!"
"See you soon, Sis!" Dipper says, just a little worried about her predicament in class, before entering the classroom with Samuel.
That evening, one of the first things Dipper did after coming home was take the notebook to read the newest pages at the light of their desk lamps, while Mabel is just laying around on her bed playfully.
"Uh..."
That single sound made his sister curious. "What's up, Bro-bro?"
He tries to answer simply. "Sammy says here that he felt like Bill changed something big in his behavior since the last time we saw him. But he's not sure why."
"Didn't he just, you know... asked?" Mabel shrugs.
"I'm pretty sure you already know that having him open up isn't the easiest thing to do..." Her brother answers.
"Worth a try, right?" She shrugs again.
Just moments later, they get a video call on the computer from Ford, to which they answer quickly.
"Hey kids! Happy new year!"
The kids smile and reciprocate the wishes.
"How are you doing, Grunkle Ford?" Mabel asks cheerfully.
"Pretty good, thanks! Stan and I have done some travels away from the town from time to time. With Soos taking care of the shack nowadays, we're trying to make up for lost time together."
Mabel finds the news very heartwarming. "Aww, that's so great!"
He adds. "I also wanted to let you know that the majority of the Gravity Falls folks we've talked to recently have asked me to send you their wishes as well!"
"Oh man..." Dipper suddenly feels more emotive than usual. "I didn't think we left such an impression... Hopefully, it'll be all good for us to return for the next summer break."
"You two will always be welcomed by everyone!" With a slightly more serious tone, Ford adds. "I also wanted to thank you for continuing to provide me with these reports about... Bill..."
"Oh right, I'm gonna send you the latest ones as soon as I can!" Dipper realises. "It's getting a little late today, though..."
"No rush, boy!" He tries to be reassuring. "I also wanted to ask you... what do you think of him now...?"
Mabel answers without hesitation. "He's been a delight! I know it's surprising, but he's being quite gentle with us... I was a little worried when I heard about his deal with Sammy, but that feeling was quickly gone."
"I've grown to trust him too... With more unease than Mabel, but... I'm really starting to think that we don't have to fear him anymore. And Samuel's observations help me with that."
Ford asks out of cautiousness. "You two really do trust this Samuel kid, right? You wouldn't think he'd make things nicer than they sound...?"
Mabel answers with a defensive stance. "Sammy would never lie to us!"
Dipper adds. "Yeah, he wouldn't... Plus everything I've seen written has either happened in front of our eyes, or is something about him that we've seen showcased..."
Then he looks away, a little worried. "Although..."
His grand uncle gets worried. "Although... what?"
His nephew answers quickly. "It's not that I don't fully trust him, but there are things we don't know... For instance, Bill did something with some pages of that notebook back in September... Something he really didn't want us to see... And there are some areas where we're not too sure what to think. Like, Samuel observed that his behavior became less since the last time we saw him, but we're not sure what that is..." After a pause, he adds. "If, and I mean if I was to let my worries be true, I could think... He's got a long term plan that requires him gaining our trust first."
Mabel reacts a little defensively. "Oh come on, Bro-bro... Look at everything Bill has done and said... You really think that's an act?"
"I don't think so, I just have... a small sinking feeling, that's all..."
Ford gets worried and decides to state the most obvious solution. "I think the best thing to do is try to ask what he thinks of his relationship with you two and your friend..."
Mabel teasingly nudges at her brother.
Dipper then concludes with... "I'll try that without pushing either Samuel or Bill too much..."
"Anyway, that'll do it for the subject! Thank your friend for me, okay?"
"Will do!" Mabel nods.
"Send our wishes back to everyone in Gravity Falls, please!" Dipper says excitedly.
"Count on me, kid!" Ford answers with a smile.
Quickly enough after that, the call ends, leaving the twins to discuss between them.
Mabel says: "I highly doubt Bill is pulling an act by that point. What would he even have to win by pretending to turn good?"
Dipper wants to agree with her. "I doubt it, and I don't want to think he's pulling an act... But we'll require some clearer answers on a couple of things, just to be safe..."
His sister gets a little worried. "Just don't stress yourself too much, okay...? I'm sure it'll be fine..."
"Yeah... It'll be fine, I'm confident enough!" Dipper shows a small hopeful smile shortly before the day's fatigue hits them.
Author notes: Really nothing much to say here, just some mostly down to earth scenes and discussions in between heavier chapters.
Although since I fittingly happen to post this chapter on December 31st, happy new year to those who read this chapter early!
Thanks for reading!