How to Burn a Pine Tree (Discontinued)

Chapter 9

Dipper's POV

"Gosh Dip, you look awful! Did you get any sleep last night?"

I hardly heard Mabel fretting over me. I was completely exhausted. After Bill had plagued me with nightmares I hadn't gotten to sleep until five minutes before my alarm had gone off. It hadnt been my fault though. Every time I had tried to doze off I had images of blood and gore flash through my head and then I'd be wide awake again. It had been torture!

Kyle looked at me nervously. I knew Anthony would be freaking out as soon as we got to school.

"How many hours of sleep did you get?" He asked, concern evident in his voice.

I shrugged and rubbed my eyes absentmindedly.

"I dunno... Not a lot, I know that for sure." I said sleepily, yawning again.

Mabel looked extremely concerned and she leaned closer to me.

"Did you have any nightmares last night?" She asked softly.

I sighed and nodded weakly, looking at Kyle to make sure he wouldn't hear us. Thankfully he had taken a book out and was reading it casually. I sighed with relief then I turned back to Mabel.

"Yeah... Last night Bill Cipher visited me in a dream..." I said softly.

I saw Mabel's eyes widen in shock but she stayed silent to let me explain what he had told me in my dream. When I had finished I saw her cheeks flush slightly.

"I knew that kid was Bill Cipher, I just knew it!" She whispered furiously, shaking her head, "And I even let him use one of my pencils yesterday! Ugh, we have to warn everyone! Our friends could be in danger!"

I shook my head quickly.

"Mabel listen; if we start going around town shouting that there's a dream demon on the loose we could attract the wrong attention! Besides who'd believe us? Only Soos, Wendy, Ford, and Stan know the true dangers of Bill! No one here has come into contact with him... We have to be careful about this... He threatened to hurt Anthony and Kyle so we have to get rid of him quickly..." I said.

Mabel growled softly when I mentioned my friends being threatened but before she could reply the bus pulled up. Kyle stood up and I glanced at Mabel.

"We'll talk later." I whispered to her before I got on the bus.

Kyle and I sat by Anthony, as usual, and the bus began moving. Anthony turned to us, a grin on his face.

"Guess who's having an early birthday party? This guy!" He said, pointing to himself with his thumbs.

Kyle stared at him in shock.

"You're birthday isn't until November, and it's September!" He exclaimed.

Anthony leaned back and smirked.

"Mark pulled a few strings." He said happily, winking at us.

Kyle rolled his eyes and continued reading.

"You sure are something else..." He said.

Anthony winked at him and I looked around the bus. I didn't see Bill anywhere, and I couldn't help but feel a pang of relief at the thought.

One day without that demon... I thought happily, leaning back with a happy sigh.

Anthony looked at me and smiled.

"Hey do you think that Bill kid is free this weekend?" He asked, giving me a sly grin.

I stared at him, my heart sinking slightly. I knew what he was planning to do without him even telling me. I sighed then shrugged.

"I don't know, you'll have to ask him yourself." I said, trying to hint at him to change the subject.

Anthony leaned back, running a hand through his hair.

"I'll have to. I really want to invite him to my party." He said, which caused me to grimace slightly.

I felt really upset that Anthony was falling for Bill's tricks, but at the same time I didn't blame him. Bill was a master manipulator, and since neither Anthony or Kyle never came across him they didn't know the damage he could do. Besides Anthony always thought I was kidding when I mentioned demons.

"You sure you want to invite him?" I asked, choosing my words carefully, "I mean he is rather..." I searched for the right word desperately, "...Eccentric, you know."

Anthony shrugged and smiled.

"I like weird though! I'm weird, you're weird, we're all weird in our own way! Besides," he continued, his tone changing to a more motherly sounding one, "he's new here. I'm sure he'd love to meet new friends!"

I sighed but didn't press the subject. Anthony was pretty fun loving, yes, but if you continued to pester him about a subject then he'd eventually get angry and not be as fun loving as he normally was.

When we got to school I was almost shocked to not find Bill waiting for us in class. Anthony seemed extremely down, but I shot Mabel an excited look, only to have my hopes vanish when the blonde boy made his way into the room. I noticed twigs and leaves sticking out of his hair and some dirt on his clothing. I smirked slightly when people looked at him in shock.

What's wrong, Cipher? Can't use enough magic to make yourself look presentable? I thought.

Anthony instantly ran up to him, dragging Kyle and I along with him. He smiled at Bill.

"Hey, are you free this weekend?" He asked happily.

I noticed Bill glance at me before looking at my friends, a grin on his face. I could almost see the gears turning in his head and I clenched my fists, only imagining what he was thinking.

Don't you dare hurt my friends... I thought angrily.

Bill shrugged casually and pulled a twig out of his hair, as if it was normal.

"Hm... This weekend eh? I'm not sure, I think I am. Why?" He asked, looking at Anthony.

I knew Anthony was going to fall into his trap but I knew there was no stopping him from answering, and that's exactly what he did.

"I have a party this weekend! I know it's short notice but it'll be fun! There'll be games and food and it's gonna be so awesome!" Anthony said excitedly.

I rolled my eyes then looked at Bill. He smirked more then his eye rested on me.

"Yeah, I'll be there... Sounds... Fun." He said, putting slight emphasis on the word 'fun'.

Anthony squealed happily then walked off, Kyle following close behind. I went to go follow but suddenly Bill leaned in close to me.

"I'll see you there, Pine Tree..." He said softly.

I turned to snap at him but he was already walking to his seat. He passed Anthony and the two exchanged a few words, along with a laugh. I growled and clenched my fists tighter.

You might have fooled them, Cipher, but I'm not convinced... You can't hurt them as long as I'm around... I thought.

I sat in my desk then suddenly I had an idea.

I should contact Ford! Maybe he knows what I should do! I thought.

I grabbed some paper and a pencil and began writing a letter to my uncle. I could hardly contain my excitement.

Enjoy your fun while you can Bill because pretty soon you won't be able to torture me anymore!