The Simple Things (BillDip)

Chapter 1: Mysterious Encounters

Dipper wiped his brow with the back of his hand, brushing away sweat. He let out a heavy sigh and rested his head against the glass of the bus window. He watched the trees fly past him, simply a green and brown blur. Mabel sat across the aisle, leaning her own face against the glass. "Hey Dipper?" She groaned. "How long until we get there?"
"Only a few more hours Mabel, you can make it." He replied.
"But I have to pee..." She whined.
Dipper ignored his sister and glanced out the window once again. Less and less trees fell into his field of view, so he knew they'd be stopping at a rest stop soon. Dipper gave out a heavy sigh, and folded his hands across his chest. Slumped in his seat, he slowly started to doze off.

Mabel watched the trees slow down as they reached the rest stop. Her hands getting fairly clammy after pressing them together over her thighs, squirming about. As the bus lurched to a stop, a crackling voice was heard. "Alright passengers, this is our fourth stop today, we will be staying for no longer than 15 minutes, before we continue on our way to Gravity Falls. Mabel stood up and walked across to where her brother sat. She separated her hands and violently shook him awake. "Dipper! Come on! I have to pee! I can't go in there alone..." She winced. Dipper rubbed his eyes before responding in a groggy voice. "Yeah, yeah okay. I'll be there in a second just shut up." Mabel stood up quickly, and filed out of the bus along with the other passengers. Dipper glanced out his window and watched her sprint into the gas station bathrooms. He looked down at his bag, and slowly unzipped it, removing a large plastic bag, filled with a fifty dollar bill, two water bottles, and the wrappers left over from the granola bars they ate earlier. Dipper removed the cash from the bag, and put it back in his knapsack. He then stood up, and made his way to the concession stand.

Dipper selected two energy bars, and a bag of potato chips for himself. Then grabbed a coke for Mabel, and a pack of gum for them to share later on. Dipper brought the products to the counter, and waited patiently in line. He casually glanced at the cashier to see a familiar face. He wasn't sure where he knew this man from, but he knew that he had seen him before. The man had scruffy blond hair, that looked like it hadn't been washed in days. He had a slender face and build, with a pointed chin that was coated in thin stubble. The man's nose and cheeks were painted with small freckles, and he wore a triangular black eye patch over his right eye. A small eye pattern was lazily doodled in what appeared to be white pen over the eyepatch, but Dipper decided that wasn't important. As the customer in front of him grabbed their purchases and left, Dipper piled the items over the countertop. "Pay by bill, please." He said.
"Bill, huh?" The man responded with a chuckle. "Alright kid."
He grabbed the cash out of Dipper's hands, pressing against his fingertips for a few seconds too long. Dipper retracted his hand quickly, cradling it with his other hand. He stared at the floor and waited for his change. The man piled the purchases in a plastic bag, and handed Dipper his change. "I'll see you soon, kid." The man whispered.
Dipper's eyes widened as he processed the sentence. He shook his head, grabbed the bag, and ran out to wait for Mabel.

Dipper twisted the handles of the plastic bag through his fingers, while kicking the bathroom door. "Mabel! Come on! The bus is going to leave without us!"

"Just a sec, Dip!" Mabel replied angrily, from inside the stall.

Dipper turned around and pressed his back against the wall. He glanced over at the cashier again, just to see if he was still there. To his surprise, the man's eyes were locked onto Dipper. "Mabel! Mabel! Come on! Mabel!" He said, while bashing his fist against the door.

Finally, she emerged from the stall, wiping her just washed hands on her pale pink sweater. "Chill, they're not going to leave without us. Let's just go." She said, brushing her hair out of her face.

As the twins walked out the door, Dipper noticed the man eye's, still locked onto his face. A smile crept across the man's face, revealing a row of pristine white, well kept teeth, a few of them sharpened to a point. Dipper's eyes widened, but he whipped back to face the door and left.

As the twins sat back on the bus, Dipper felt a wave of relief to be away from the cashier. He popped a piece of gum in his mouth, and took journal 3 out of his knapsack. As other people began filing into the bus, Dipper casually glanced up, watching them as they strolled by. He glanced 2 rows in front of him to the front of the bus, seeing another man boarding the bus, wrapped in a puffy black and yellow coat, the hood completely covering his face. The man reached his gloved hand out to the driver, tossing change into his hand. The man picked up a small black suitcase, and walked down the strip of the bus. When the man reached Dipper, he stopped in his tracks, and sat down next to him, despite there being many other completely empty seats on the bus. The man dropped his suitcase at Dipper's feet, and unzipped his puffy coat. The man wore a yellow suit jacket overtop of a tight, black dress shirt, and a small black bow tie. He then removed his jacket completely to reveal his face. The man looked at Dipper, dead on. Dipper's mouth cracked open as he saw the man's face. The cashier sat before him.