Gravity Falls High Returns

The Return of Bill

Dipper jumped back in surprise as yellow eyes stared straight at him, a smug grin on "Chase's" face.

"No...we got rid of you," he rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't just hallucinating.

"That's what you thought, but I'm a tough triangle, Pine Tree. It's quite difficult - if not impossible - to get rid of me," he laughed, stretching his arms and wiggling his fingers as if he was testing out the body. "However, I will say that you did weaken me. I can admit that one," he nodded to the teen.

Dipper only stared blankly at what was once his friend. Confusion, fear, and panic made up his expression, and Bill easily picked up on it.

"Oh, I get it. You don't understand how I'm here. Well, let me break it down for you, Pine Tree," his yellow eyes showed only amusement. "You see, that little party trick that you bunch cooked up was cute and all, but I'm older than time itself, I have some tricks in my bow tie too!" He scooted closer to Dipper on the seat, throwing his arm over the boy's shoulders. "Wanna know how I did it?"

Dipper sat frozen in fear, eyes wide as he stared, speechless, at Bill. The demon only smiled wider at the reaction and took a deep breath.

"You see, Stan's memory may have been wiped, but I sort of have what you humans like to call a 'hard drive' or something like that - Back up memory? - Whatever it is. Anyways, I basically had a copy of myself ready for these possible events and just...switched? That sounds about right," Bill said then, pulling at his blonde hair in a manner that would hurt others, but he seemed fascinated.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Dipper questioned, finally able to speak again.

"Because...I know you are curious, and it's not like you can do that thing again. Even if you could, I have other tricks for just these circumstances," he laughed a little. It was a laugh that made Dipper's skin crawl. The last time he heard it, Gravity Falls was going to hell.

"And, don't you know Pine Tree? The backstory is a pinnacle part of the storytelling. Just like getting readers hooked on a lighter, shorter story before hitting them hard with a long and dark one to follow it. Now, start telling me about this trouble that you're in," he leaned back in the bus seat and watched Dipper attentively.

And Dipper, really out of options, explained it to him. What was the worst that could happen?

Mass destruction, the death of everyone he loved, an apocalyptic world run by a psycho triangular dream demon...but he decided not to think about that.

"Well you sure are in somewhat of a predicament here. It's a good thing I'm a master of those!" Bill exclaimed, and by that time they had arrived at school. "We'll talk later, kid."

"Wait-" but Dipper was too late, and with a blink, the yellow had faded from his eyes and Chase remained there, blinking rapidly as he stared back at Dipper.

"Hey, wow I must've really zoned out, dude. I didn't even realize you got on the bus. Were you saying something?" Chase asked. Yep, definitely Chase.

"Er-Ah, no. Um...I wasn't," Dipper replied, coughing awkwardly in response.

"Hey, did you happen to get the homework done? I totally forgot!"

"Hah, yeah. I'm not sure if they're right though. I've been out of it lately," they got off the bus and caught up to Mabel.

"Yeah, we've all noticed. Anyways, I'm not basing off of accuracy. Mine would all be wrong anyways. I just need something reasonable to write down," Dipper couldn't look directly at Chase without remembering those yellow eyes. When Bill took over his own body, it was almost as if Dipper was a ghost. Able to see and hear everything, forced to see what was happening. Was it the same with Chase? Did he hear their whole conversation and is just lying, or was this something different? Bill did say things were different. That he was weakened.

No matter how Dipper looked at it, it wasn't looking good. So, he decided to avoid the thoughts of Bill/Chase. He went about his day. Went to classes, gathered any missed work, avoided Emma at all costs.

It's a good thing that Adeline hadn't shown up yet, but if Dipper were to guess, he would say that she's still playing games in Stan's recliner.

What threw Dipper off even more than the Bill thing, was the whole Mabel thing. She was acting weird all day. No smiles. The only one he saw was obviously fake and tight. Her answers were short and usually spoken in a monotonous tone. The whole air of it all was disturbing, and Dipper couldn't wait to get back on the bus.

That is...until Chase sat down next to him and, in one blink, the yellow returned to his eyes and that smile spread from ear to ear once again.