Seven Year Deal (BillDip)

I Just Wanted to Say Hello

Dipper Pines stared at the ruins that survived Weirdmaggedon. Just like that, in the blink of an eye, it was all gone. All of it. Bill and all of his demon's vanished. People were returned to their normal forms and the only sign of the demons ever being here were the destroyed buildings and roads. Part of the human couldn't believe that it could be over that quickly. That everything they fought long and hard for, could be diminished so quickly. Behind him he heard concerned voices as the town was doing a role call. Everyone was accounted for. As the local police force tried to work on getting some sort of organization, the twelve year old boy just stared at where the pyramid castle use to be. Off in the distance it sounded as if someone were calling his name, however it all sounded muffled. It just can't be over like that. There had to be more! The reason part of him refused to accept the fact that Bill was just gone was because the most intriguing and powerful creature that he had studied just vanished. Did that mean the end of all of his paranormal activities? Was this it for the young twin?

"C'mon kiddo, since the Mystery Shack has been designated as a shelter for the night we gotta take our group back," Stanley Pines placed his hand gently on his great grandnephew's shoulder.

The young boy peered over his shoulder and saw the Northwest family along with Soos and Wendy's family all standing together with sleeping bags and small overnight bags. In the very front he saw his twin, Mabel, standing there with a small smirk on her lips as Stanford Pines stood beside her. Their Gruncle's were happy, Mabel was happy, and all the town people were happy. Yet... Dipper wasn't. He felt his emptiness in his chest and dread sunk in.

"Yeah, I'll... I'll head down in a little bit. I just have to find my hat," he responded as he could feel the breeze through his hair. Before he headed off, Gruncle Stan squeezed Dipper's shoulder reassuringly. He then slowly dissipated with their group back to the Mystery Shack.

It didn't take the human boy long enough to discover his hat. He sat it on top of his head comfortably, but instead of heading straight back to the Mystery Shack, he took the long trail in the forest. Before the place was filled with mystery and magic. Now it felt dead and empty. Sure there was animals running around just behind his line of sight, but the paranormal aspect seemed to be missing. It was, as if, when Bill Cipher vanished all of the magic of Gravity Falls went with him.

The only sound that filled the forest was the sound of the leaves as they would crunch beneath his feet. He didn't walk along the path. He did, for awhile, then he veered off of it and began wandering around. The sunny sky was now fading into twilight as the crisp summer night air began to fill the atmosphere. As the human found a high enough spot, he collapsed back and stared up at the sky watching the colors that the fading sun illuminated. He could already spot the moon just waiting to outshine everything else in the night.

"Do you mind if a join you?" A soft voice whispered from behind the boy. Dipper glanced over his shoulder expecting someone from town. What he wasn't expected was another kid around his age with caramel tan skin, blond curls, and golden color eyes. He wore a simple pair of jeans and a black tee shirt. His feet were bare though and there was some dirt on his chin.

"Not particularly," the human boy responded as he slid over a bit to make room for the stranger. "Nothing exciting is going on anyways."

"Well, that's not true," the mysterious kid responded as he bounded closer to Dipper eagerly before he plopped down on the grass beside the hazel eyed stranger. "Up in the sky there are millions of stars that we get to witness despite them being gone for a long time now. And as the sun set it sends out its final rays over this part of the land creating a painting like any other in the sky."

The blond boy paused as he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. The scent of the forest filled his nose. It was an earthy sent mixed with the smell of grass and dampness from the night dew that would eventually settle in. When he opened up his eyes once more he glanced over at the stunned brunette next to him. With a wolfish grin he bumped his shoulder against the vested boy before he continued.

"Do you know that I once heard a story about why twilight is so beautiful and unique every day?" The blond picked out a long blade of wild grass and began fidgeting with it in his hand. "Legend says that every time an artist dies, they get to paint the sky as their one last piece. It shows off their talent to the world and helps their souls go to rest."

"I heard something similar, once," Dipper admitted as he shrugged slightly. "However, growing up my parents would never let me believe in that sort of stuff. My sister got to enjoy fairy tales while my parents had me focus on strict facts. I'm Dipper, by the way, Dipper Pines."

"Nice to meet you Dipper!" The blond exclaimed and instead of shaking the hand that Dipper extended to him, the boy wrapped his arms around his new friend's shoulder and gave him a hug. "I'm Benjamin Claufield. Just call me Benjy though."

Dipper let out a small laugh and the two of them continued to stare up at the sky and talk nonsense for hours. Benjy released the human boy's shoulders shortly after the hug. The two of them sat close enough though and would occasionally throw grass at one another. As the sky got darker, Dipper realized that his family must have been worrying about him. He told Benjy that he had to get going, but Benjy made him promise that he would visit him again tomorrow. The two of them pinkie promised on it and Dipper ran home through the forest. When he reached the Mystery Shack he stopped and stared at the building. It now reminded him of an empty shell, despite having it's lights on. It reminded him of something that use to be and something that no longer was.

When he entered the home the familiar scent of old man and old carpet filled his nose. In the living room was Wendy's family and Soos. The Northwest's must've locked themselves up in a different room to keep them separated from the rest.

"Dipper!" Soos exclaimed as he hurried over. "What's up little dude?"

"Nothing, is everyone settled okay?" The young twin focused on making sure everyone else was okay. However, inside of him his gut was turning over and he couldn't quite understand why. He fought back a dam of emotions and locked them all up deep inside of himself.

"Yeah, but- uh- the Mister Pines's went off with Mabel upstairs to speak with her in private. I was supposed to tell you when you arrived little dude," Soos explained just before one of Wendy's younger brother's pretended to chop Soos down like a tree. Soos complied and fell straight to the floor while chuckling.

Before Dipper became the first Pine in the room to be chopped down, he danced around sleeping bags and other items to get to the stairs. Once there he climbed them two at a time and peaked into the attic room that he shared with his twin. Both of his Gruncle's sat on the bed closest to the door. The two of them were comforting their greatneice. When the male twin stared at his sister, a  mixture of emotions fluttered through him. Part of him was furious at the fact that she made a deal with the stupid dream demon in the first place that caused all of Weirdmaggedon to end it all. The other part of him felt betrayed that when it came down to it, Mabel has more trust in their Gruncle than she does in her own twin brother. He released a silent sigh and entered the room loudly.

"Hey guys, Soos said that you wanted to see me?" He questioned while he did his best to sound exhausted. It was better to pretend to be exhausted than it was to sound depressed. 

"Dipper, we're glad to see that you found your hat," Stanford offered a soft smile as he adjusted his glasses slightly. "And we were just giving Mabel some support and she asked to see you."

"Yeah, the kid thinks that she's in trouble because of all of this," Stanley grumbled as he cracked his back slightly.

"Well Bill is gone for good, so harm no fowl," Dipper found himself saying. If anything he would be absolutely furious. On top of that, they only wanted to see him for her? Neither of them bothered to ask how he was doing or if he was alright. They didn't even ask why finding his hat took him nearly four hours!

"Really, Dipper?" Mabel sniffled as she stared up at her brother with hopeful eyes.

"Really, Mabel," the young boy responded just before his sister attacked him with a hug. He hugged her back and silenced the rage inside of himself. That could be dealt with when he was alone. After all, he's been expected to take care of himself for this long in life. Why would his Gruncle's treat him any differently than his parents did? They all held the same level of expectations from him. 

That was the moment that the male twin started to resent his sister. He began to resent how easy her life was and how everyone coddled her. He resented that she became the reason that he could no longer explore the secrets of the forest.