It's Where My Demons Hide

Chapter 6

Dipper needed a break.

When he awoke, he was covered in sweat. He would have blamed it on puberty, if he did not know of the events that have unfolded the night before.

Breathing heavily, Dipper sat there for a moment.

He has dreamt of Bill Cipher, the wretched demon. And he was offered the knowledge of a full-fledged demon. Dipper bet Great Uncle Ford was not offered this sweet deal. It was too nice of the demon to propose him this. Alas, morals and ethics. Dipper did not accept in the end, and when he thought his life was going to end right there, Bill stopped. And all he felt was pain.

Dipper shuddered and unconsciously rubbed his right arm at the sudden twinge of ghost pain. It was morning, but Dipper felt as if someone dosed him with ten cups of coffee without him knowing. Grudgingly, he brought himself up and walked down to the kitchen.

'Nothing happened' was his new mantra as Dipper sat down on the chair. Nothing happened. He did not meet any demon that is in need of serious psychiatric help and he definitely did not feel tempted to accept the said demon's deal.

Dipper grabbed a cup of orange juice and drank it down in large gulps. Beside him, Mabel was drinking her signature Mabel Juice, while Grunkle Stan was flipping several pancakes over the pan. Ford was buried in his thick journal of his, writing something down in gibberish. A typical day in the Gravity Falls household, yet the atmosphere was subtly different. The other members kept stealing glances at Dipper, and whenever Dipper tried to look into their eyes, they turned their heads and looked elsewhere. Subtle, hah! The Pines were anything but subtle.

Dipper frowned.

"Glad to see you're awake and about," said Stan, placing a pancake onto Dipper's plate. "To celebrate this moment, I made special Stan-cakes for you!"

Dipper inwardly gagged when he saw a hair sticking out from the "special" pancake. "Thanks?" Mabel looked at him with pity.

Ford help up his fork and took a bit of it. "Terrific, Stanley! Do tell me what secret ingredients you used for these pleasant pancakes!"

Stan grinned. "At least someone appreciates my cooking!"

Mabel laughed. She nudged Dipper and whispered, "What's that on your arm?"

"My arm?" Dipper repeated, confused. He raised his arm and realized that there were wheels, hieroglyphics, and various shapes around both of his arms. "Huh." These were not there when he woke up. The last thing he remembered before he woke up on his bed was Bill's visit and Mabel burning the journals. He could not recall how he came back to the shack.

As if she was disappointed at his short response, she stabbed her Stan-cake with her fork. Next to her, Ford narrowed his eyes at Dipper. Why so serious? Dipper rolled his eyes and continued eating, carefully avoiding the hairs on top of his pancake. 

Mabel stabbed her pancake again, "Dipper, why –"

"That's enough!" snapped Dipper, slamming the table. "I'm trying to eat!"

Mabel was taken aback and began to sob. Dipper could not stand the tense atmosphere any longer, so he stood up, thanked Stan for the breakfast, and marched straight to his room. He fell headfirst to the bed and groaned in frustration. His stomach growled in unison.

•••

After making sure Dipper was out of earshot, Ford turned to Mabel and asked quietly, "He was not always like this, was he?"

Mabel replied solemnly, "He never snapped at me before. He's ... different."

Something was definitely going on. According to Mabel, Dipper showed abnormal behavior after getting him out from the portal. Dipper showed less interest in hanging out with his family, and preferred reading his journal alone. Ford remembered how eager Dipper was to ask him questions until Ford had shooed him away. Now that he thought about it, he never really did cross path with Dipper after that. It was as if he completely cut his connection with Ford.