AN: Hi again! I am BACK BABY!
Thank you again for all the amazing support. It seriously inspires me to write! :3
This will be a little Brother Bond chapter, hope you enjoy!
…A-X-O-L-O-T-L…
Chapter Thirteen: Love Equals Beautiful Pain
Matthew clenched both sides of the toilet, waiting until the dizziness disappeared, sweat dripping from his forehead and into the toilet bowl. The unicorn hair around his neck dangling.
The teen then heaved a second time, his knees buckling. He didn't know how much for of this he could take.
Matthew stood up slowly on quivering legs and crashed against the bathroom wall. Come on, just walk back into the attic; you can do it, Matt.
As he walked slowly back to his attic bedroom, pain seized his chest, he felt bile rise in his throat again. Come on, come on! Stay down!
Matthew collapsed on his bed, clutching his burning chest. He then sighed in relief when the pain and the bile disappeared.
Why does everything I do turn out so wrong?
Weirdmaggedon? Ruined.
Trying to love his siblings? Leading to his death.
He should've known. The last time he tried to love—Don't think about that!
Matthew covered his face with his arm. He knew the consequences of loving again. He just shoved it in the back of his mind, almost forgetting. It took a little reminder from his darker half to remember that.
But he couldn't stop loving Dipper and Mabel. It was impossible. Even if Dipper hated him for an eternity plus one, Matthew couldn't bring himself to hate him. Never.
Love was weird that way. It was so good, yet so bad. Love was just a prettier, sugar coated word for pain.
He was living proof of that.
…A-X-O-L-O-T-L…
Matthew grinned as Mabel sang along to a popular pop song off-key, causing Dipper to cringe in annoyance as he read one of his summer reading books.
"…If I care for you there's nothing to gain,
Because Love equals beautiful pain!
Whoa-oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh,
Love equals beautiful PAIN!"
Matthew smirked to himself. How ironic.
Mabel sang the final verse so loudly that the coffee mug Stan was drinking from shattered. "Well, that's the last time I play the radio at breakfast," he grumbled. "This mug's coming off your pay-check, Mabel."
"You don't pay me, Grunkle Stan," Mabel said casually.
"I'll just rob some cash from Soos' pay-check then—don't tell him that."
"Because you said that, I will," Matthew called after Stan as he walked out of the kitchen. Matthew then turned when he heard his brother chuckle.
"Something funny?" Matthew asked.
"What? Oh! Um…something in my, uh, book," Dipper mumbled before going back to reading.
Mabel looked between her two brothers and frowned slightly. They really needed to make up and be friends again…
An idea sprang forth in the girl's head. Mabel, you are a genius! Thanks Mabel! You're welcome Mabel!
Mabel got up from the table and hummed as she went to find her Grunkle. "Oh, Grunkle Stan!" She said in a sing-song voice.
She found her great uncle watching TV. He grunted in response to his niece's voice.
"Guess what today is!"
"I dunno."
"Great Uncles Day!" Mabel cheered jumping on top of the chair arm.
"Is that…even a real holiday?" Stan asked.
"Sure, it is! We should totally close the Shack for the day and hang out! You know, the mall, the movies! Oh! There's this awesome movie coming out, we should totally watch that! It'll be just you and me! Without the boys, what do you say?"
"Eh, I need a break anyhow. Just as long as I'm not going anywhere high up."
"Promise! Wait what—?"
"I meant as long as we don't pay that much!"
…A-X-O-L-O-T-L…
Alright, concentrate…
The plant in front of Matthew began to wiggle around weirdly.
"Ha! I did it!" Matthew said proudly. "I actually made a life—OH GOD!"
The plant wrapped one of its stems around Matthew's waist and threw him around in the air, another stem wrapped around Dipper.
"Kill it! Kill it!" Dipper screeched hitting the stem with Journal 3.
Matthew tried burning it but the flames disappeared when the Plant Creature wrapped another one of its stems around his neck and squeezed, it did the same thing to Dipper.
Mabel then opened the attic door. "Hey, brothers! Me and Grunkle Stan are going out so you'll be left alone all by yourselves and you'll be forced to do things together and make up and have fun getting strangled by that plant thing, 'BYE!"
She said that so fast she didn't even process what was happening. The door then re-opened again. "Oh, my gosh! You're being strangled by a plant thing! This calls for my…GRAPPLING HOOK!"
Mabel shot the hook and it lodged itself in the plant's pot, dragging it to the floor, bringing its two victims down with it.
The stem around Matthew's neck loosened, he could feel his magic again. He squeezed the stem and it caught in electric blue flames.
The plant wiggled before withering and dying.
"Okay!" Mabel said cheerfully. "Now I'm leaving. 'BYE!"
Mabel closed the door for a final time.
"What the heck were you thinking?!" Dipper screeched at his brother.
"I was just practicing!" Matthew snapped.
"Yeah, a perfect excuse for trying to kill me—! Is something cooking?" Dipper said before looking down at his flaming butt. The boy screamed and patted himself down until the flame was extinguished, though he then screamed again, this time joined by his brother when the flames from the plant began burning the wooden floor.
Matthew quickly willed a fire extinguisher into existence and sprayed at the flames. The two boys sighed in relief when the fire went out.
"Well, I see I can't be anywhere near you when you're practicing," Dipper said glaring at Matthew.
"Yeah, maybe you shouldn't," Matthew growled back.
The two glared at each other for another second before Dipper stormed out of the attic and slammed the door shut. Matthew glared at the door before he felt bile rising in his throat.
He quickly produced a bucket and heaved the contents of his stomach into it, feeling the burning in his chest more painful than ever. He felt his head spinning, his arms shook. Sweat poured from his body.
Matthew fell on his back, panting with effort as the wooden beamed ceiling above him spun dizzyingly fast. He felt caterpillars dot his vision as the world spun faster, and faster, faster…
Then stopped.
Matthew rolled on to his stomach before making the vomit filled bucket disappear.
"I can't take this," He whispered. "I can't…"
…A-X-O-L-O-T-L…
Matthew walked downstairs to find his brother watching a movie.
"How was your day, Deric and Mark?" The woman on the screen said as two boys walked into the house laughing.
"It was awesome!" One of the boys said. "Me and Mark had an epic popcorn fight! It was cool being the only one at the party."
The woman frowned. "What about all the people you invited?"
"They didn't show up!" The other boy said. "But who needs friends? I got my brother with me!"
Matthew looked at the back of his brother's head and back at the movie before swallowing thickly.
"H-hey, Dipper?"
The boy screamed in surprise and spun around. "Oh, it's just you." Dipper turned back around and looked back at the movie, a faraway look in his eyes.
"Do you want to…um, do something?" Matthew asked slowly.
"No," Dipper replied.
Matthew tried to ignore the pang of hurt he felt. "Right. If you need anything…" Matthew turned to go back to the attic when Dipper said, "Why do you want to hang out with me suddenly?"
Because I'm going to die soon and I don't want to die knowing that you still don't trust me. "You're my brother, and even if you don't trust me, and you hate me, I still want to hang out with you."
Dipper gave his brother a suspicious look. "And you aren't trying to kill me?"
"Damnit, Dipper!" Matthew screamed causing the younger boy to jump. "If I hated you I wouldn't've played all those nerd games with you when nobody else would! If I wanted you dead, I would've left you in that river to drown! If I didn't care I wouldn't be dying right now!"
Dipper's eyes widened as he heard the last part. He looked at Matthew, tears lining his blue eyes.
"What…?" Dipper whispered.
"Bill Cipher can't love," Matthew said, his voice cracking, a tear sliding down his cheek. "Not since…h-he just can't love. Not now, not ever. My love for you and Mabel, it's killing me, Dipper. But I still care, because no matter how hard I try…I can't stop caring, I just can't."
"Matt…"
"I care, Dipper. I care. You have to believe me when I say that."
Dipper looked at down, biting his bottom lip. Was Matthew telling the truth?
On one hand, this was Bill Cipher. The journal said that he was a natural liar, a trickster. A phenomenal actor, a manipulator of emotions…
But on the other hand, this was Matthew Pines. His elder brother, the same person who made him feel good about himself, the same person who played games with him and Mabel, the same person who gave him that smile that made Dipper think that he meant more than the world to him.
But he was Bill Cipher.
"Dipper," Matthew said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I love you."
Dipper was now beyond shocked. Never in his twelve years of existence did his brother ever, ever say the word "love". He never once said that to his parents, or his sister, or him. But hear he was, saying the very three words he never thought existed in Matthew's vocabulary; I. Love. You.
"Matt," Dipper murmured looking up, only to see his brother gripping his chest and panting heavily.
"Matthew?" Dipper asked, the panic in his voice rising. "What's going on?"
The blonde puked all over the carpet before collapsing and gasping for breath.
"MATTHEW!" The pre-teen instantly dropped to his knees and shook his brother. "Come on, snap out of it!"
"I can't," Matthew wheezed. "I-I can't…"
"Yes, you can!" Dipper said firmly. "Just keep your eyes open!"
"I—Dipper…"
"Come on, Matt! Hold on!"
Matthew could feel his consciousness slipping, could hear the panicked cries of his brother fading away….
"Matthew, don't leave me! Stay awake!"
"I'm…sorry," was all Matthew could manage before his eyes closed.
"No…" Dipper whispered as his brother's breaths became slower. "No, no, no, no. Open your eyes, Matt!"
He shook him vigorously, but all Matthew's head did was loll uselessly to the side.
"Please, Matthew."
When his brother refused to respond, and the rise and fall of his chest subsided, Dipper felt his reality shatter just as much as it did when Matthew revealed himself to be Bill Cipher.
Probably even more.
"He's still alive," an unfamiliar voice drawled. "But barely."
Dipper turned to see a boy, about nine, with messy dark hair and brown eyes. He sat on the arm of the sofa and looked at the scene before him with a hint of amusement in his eyes.
"Wh-who are you?" Dipper asked, frowning suspiciously.
"That doesn't matter," The boy drawled.
"How'd you get in here?" Dipper asked, his qualms growing.
"That doesn't matter either," The boy said, looking at his nails as if they were long due for a pedicure.
"What do you want?" Dipper demanded. He already had red-flags going off in his head.
The boy smirked and harrumphed before looking Dipper straight in the eye, sliding off the chair and walking towards him and the limp Matthew. Dipper instinctively stood protectively in front of him.
The boy sneered as he continued to advance.
"There is two ways this conversation could end, Dipper Pines," The boy said. "One way—I'm sure the preferable way—Matthew Pines will live, the curse of love will no longer haunt him, and the only person who'll be in real danger is you."
The boy was now right in Dipper's face. "The other way…" The boy leaned forward and whispered in Dipper's ear, "You are perfectly fine, but your brother dies."
Dipper tensed at that. "What do you want?" Dipper repeated.
The boy pulled back, a sly smirk plastered on his face. "Tell me, Dipper. Tell me that you want your brother to live, and I'll leave it at that."
There were alarms blaring in Dipper's head like crazy. His conscious was repeating, don't do it, it'll ruin you! It's a trap!
But for once, he ignored it all. "I want my brother to live."
The boy grinned. "Good boy…" The boy's face switched to one of horror when and invisible force threw him back against the TV, causing the screen to crack. Well, Grunkle Stan was going to kill him now.
The boy got up, swearing so hard that if Dipper had dared say those words, his mother would force him to eat soap for an entire week.
"Wow, for a nine-year-old you know a lot of words," Dipper mumbled.
"I'm not nine!" The boy screeched, his face red with rage. His eyes then flew to Dipper's ankle and his face switched to surprise, then smugness.
Dipper looked down too, and frowned in bewilderment when the ankle bracelet Mabel had given him the day before glowed pink.
"Unicorn hair, of course," The boy mumbled. Dipper was surprised at how fast he regained his composure.
"Take it off."
"What? Why?"
"Do you want your brother to be saved, little boy?" The boy drawled with a quirked eyebrow.
"Sure, I do, little boy." Dipper smirked as the boy's face flushed red with anger again, but he quickly regained his composure once more.
"Then, take. It. Off." The boy said.
Again, the alarms went off, but they quieted when Dipper turned and saw the life slowly draining from his brother's face.
Dipper knelt and took the bracelet off, tossing it away.
"Good, now say it again, tell me you want your brother saved," The boy said, his smirk growing.
"I want my brother to be saved," Dipper said. As soon as the final word left his mouth, a searing pain went through his chest. Dipper screamed and clutched his stomach. Of course, he was going to die. Of course, he was!
It was too good to be true, Matthew was going to die and…
The pain stopped. Dipper looked around and the strange boy was nowhere in sight.
There was a groan behind him and Dipper turned around kneeling next to his brother. "Matthew?"
Matthew's eyes fluttered open, and he squinted as his brother's face came into focus. "Dipper? Whoa!"
Matthew blinked in surprise when Dipper wrapped his arms around his neck. "Dipper…"
"How many brushes with death are you going to have before you seriously kill me?" Dipper mumbled into Matthew's neck.
"A lot," Matthew said with a smirk. He hugged Dipper back before the two pulled away.
Matthew attempted to get up but he then quickly lay back down, wooziness threatening to take over.
"Hey, stay down," Dipper said. "I'll get you some water."
Matthew watched his brother disappear before coming back a minute later with a full glass of water.
The blonde drank it and sighed in content. "Thanks, and, what happened to the TV?"
"Uh…long story," Dipper mumbled rubbing the back of his head. "I don't think that love poisoning thing will bother you anymore."
"Why not?" Matthew asked.
"Just a hunch. Anyway, you once you feel a bit better, you want to do something?"
Matthew frowned suspiciously at first, but then his face broke into a smile at the last part. "I'm feeling better now," Matthew said, though he was still slightly dizzy, he got up and smirked.
"Wanna go vandalize Mr. Evergreen's place? I wanted to that for a long time now."
"Ha! You're speaking my language!" Dipper said with a grin. Matthew's smiled broadened as he tossed Dipper on top of his shoulders and walked outside, the two boys chanting, "Vandalize! Vandalize! Vandalize!"
Out of the corner of his eyes, Matthew thought he saw the boy from the cave, smirking from a distance. But when he blinked, he was gone.
Probably just my imagination.
…A-X-O-L-O-T-L…
"Um…have you ever made a pie before?" Dipper asked later that day as Matthew took out a bag of flour.
"Nope! But I know a bunch of recipes. This one person I had a contract with was a baker, it was all she ever talked, so, I learned a thing or two," Matthew said taking out the sugar and the olive oil. "I never really tried them though, never needed to eat as a—shit!"
Matthew's elbow had knocked over the bottle of olive oil, the oily liquid spilled on the floor.
"Mom would kill you if she heard you say that in front of me," Dipper teased.
"Oh, be quiet—ARGH!" Matthew slipped on the oil, trying to grip the counter to save himself but ended up grabbing the flour instead. The bag landed on top of him, covering him with fluffy whiteness.
Dipper exploded in laugher but stopped when Matthew tossed a ball of flour in the boy's face. "Look!" Dipper chuckled said. "Now we're twins!"
"Not quite," Matthew said smearing the flour all over Dipper's face. The boy collapsed to the floor, exploding in laughter as Matthew continued to bury him in flour.
"But really, though. We should get started on that pie," Matthew said getting up again, only to slip once more. "Ugh! Double shit!"
"You're having soap for desert, Matthew Pines!" Dipper said.
"You sound like Mom," Matthew said.
"Don't say that!"
And the two laughed all over again.
…A-X-O-L-O-T-L…
"That was one of the best things I have ever tasted," Dipper mumbled patting his full stomach. The two lay on Matthew's bed, a half-eaten pie on the nightstand next to them and two empty plates.
"This one of the best days of my life," Matthew smiled.
"Pies are better, they last longer," Dipper countered.
"But days are cooler."
"Got me there."
Matthew smiled and ruffled his brother's hair before turning off the life. Almost instantly as he lay his head down, Matthew felt sleep wash over him, Dipper, judging by the yawn, was feeling the same.
"Hey, Matt?" Dipper said quietly.
"Yeah?"
"I love you too."
…A-X-O-L-O-T-L…
"That movie was so amazing!" Mabel cheered as she opened the door to the shack, Stan in tow.
"The speakers were way too loud." Stan crabbed. "Also, that mall smelled like perfume."
"Oh, come on it wasn't that bad!" Mabel said.
She skipped into the attic. When she opened the door, she felt a grin tug at her face. Both of her beloved brothers were sleeping next to each other in a tiny embrace, smiles on their faces.
"Another job well down from Mabel Pines!" Mabel whispered to herself, doing a little victory dance.
"Hot Belgian Waffles! What happened to my TV?!"
…A-X-O-L-O-T-L…
AN: So, a Dipper and Matthew bonding chapter with a bit of mystery. Hope you enjoyed! I think I'll do canon episode five next chapter :)
Fantasy Freak OUT!