Little Dipper

Noise

"Wendy! Wendy, Wendy, Wendy! Come out, girl!" The strums of an electric guitar accompanied the sing-song tone.

Dipper set down his fork and covered his ears. "What is that NOISE?!"

"Sounds like that annoying teenager attempting to serenade." Stan rolled his eyes.

"Well, Wendy's not here!" Dipper said, glaring at the noise. "Mabeeeeel, make him stop!"

Mabel sighed and got up, heading over to the window. "Robbie, Wendy isn't here today."

"She's not?" Robbie frowned.

"No, she's out of town with her family." Mabel explained.

"I didn't hear anything about this." Robbie huffed.

Dipper appeared at the window. "That's because when she was trying to tell you while we were at the arcade last week, you were trying to talk about yourself and your noisy music!"

"Hey, are you trying to start something?" Robbie lowered his guitar.

"Are YOU about to threaten a seven-year-old? I will pound you if you so much as swat him." Mabel said, aggressively pulling up her sleeve to show a bit of muscle to her arm.

"Guh! Anyway, you stay out of what we have! You're just a kid, you don't understand!" Robbie picked up his stuff and left.

"That was annoying." Mabel huffed.

"We got his horrible singing to stop, though." Dipper returned to his pancakes.

"We did, yeah. That's a plus." Mabel sat down at her own, then looked around before leaning in to whisper. "Hey, where's Bill?"

"He's upstairs napping. We're testing how far apart we can be." Dipper whispered back.

"What're you kids whispering about?" Stan asked.

"Oh, uh, just something secret-y." Dipper smiled.

"Hm." Stan folded his paper and sighed. "Look...I've been waiting for you to come forward yourselves, but I'm guessing that's not gonna happen. What were you trying to tell me on Pioneer Day?"

"Huh?" Dipper blinked. "Oh! Right, you didn't hear me." He shifted a bit in his seat. "Uhm...later, okay? Promise."

Stan sighed. "Alright, then." He finished his pancakes and got up, leaving the kitchen.

"Why didn't you tell him?" Mabel asked.

"I don't want to do it when Bill's not here." Dipper shook his head.

"I guess that makes sense." She nodded and gathered up the dirty dishes to clean them. Dipper headed up to wake Bill.

–

Bill was using his "naptime" to carefully take out any pictures Dipper had drawn of the men they'd met in the past and though he considered destroying them he decided to just stash him in the Mindscape. Who knows, maybe one day he'll remember what he was made to forget.

"Bill, you awake?" Dipper poked his head into the room. "Soos wanted to go to the arcade after breakfast."

"Mmmmm?" Bill made a show of uncurling from his sleeping position and then stretched and yawned. "Question Mark? Eh, sure, why not."

Dipper smiled. "Sooo, apparently we can now be rooms away from each other."

"Yep. A whole two floors. Wanna try going down to the basement while I stay in the attic next?" Bill grinned.

"Dipper? Hey, little dude, you coming?" Soos called.

"Coming~!" Dipper grabbed his shoes and bag and then waited for Bill to take his place in the bag before he ran down to join the man.