Across Dimensions //Will Cipher x Fem!Reader//

9// Secret Dreams

That night, you dream about triangle statues.

You creep through the forest, which is now dark. The cheerful dappled patterns from earlier are now sinister shadows cast by a full moon overhead. You move branches and sidestep around trees. And then you reach it.

A shaft of moonlight falls directly on the statue, making it look brighter than anything else. You step into the clearing with slow, careful footsteps, waiting for the pain of the force-field Dipper told you of but unable to stop yourself from moving toward the statue. The pain never comes. You make it to the statue with nothing to stop you.

You stand in front of it, watching it, waiting for it to make a move. It stares at you silently. Its hand, stretching out into the forest air, beckons you to take it.

You reach forward.

"Yasmin!"

The dark forest disappears, leaving nothing but white embellished with a few lines of grey. This time, you recognize your surroundings. You're in the room with Will, which means you must be dreaming.

You turn around to see him standing behind you, hands in his pockets and a small smile on his face.

"I did it!" Will says. "I tried to bring you here on purpose this time, and it worked."

"Really? How did you do it?"

His gaze flicks away. "I don't know how to explain it. I. . . felt your mind out there and pulled it over to me."

You can kind of grasp this concept.

"Listen," Will says, "I'm sorry you had to hear Dipper and me arguing today. What did he say to you after you left?"

You frown. Hadn't you and Dipper left the mindscape specifically so that Will wouldn't know what you were talking about? "Well," you say carefully, "he wouldn't tell me why you were arguing. And he basically told me not to trust you."

Will nodded, as if he expected that. "He's a smart man," he said. "He and his family have been manipulated by Bill before, so he's especially cautious around me."

"I didn't tell him we keep meeting in my dreams," you blurt out. Will watches you. "I-I thought he might put a stop to it, in case you. . . you are manipulating me. B-but you're not—right?" You look at him with pleading eyes, realizing fully how afraid you are that Will might be faking it. You need him to be sincere about wanting your company.

Will takes a step toward you. "I'm not manipulating you," he says. His eyes are soft as they gaze into yours. "I don't want to possess you or turn you against your friends. I don't want to start another Weirdmageddon. And you can trust me on that. A demon never lies outright. Ask Dipper if you don't believe me."

He wants you to believe him. You can see it in his tender blue eyes. "I believe you," you say. "I want to trust you."

He smiles softly. "Thank you, Yasmin. You don't know what that means to me."

"So should I tell Dipper about all this?" you ask.

Will thinks for a moment. "I think you're right," he says, "that he'll put a stop to it. And I wouldn't blame him if he did. It's your choice, but I want to keep seeing you. You're the only person that's been kind to me in a long time."

There's a part of you that wonders if he's just saying that so you won't tell Dipper. But he also said he wasn't manipulating you, and that it was your choice.

"I won't tell him," you say. "Not yet."

And you don't.

The summer weeks pass, the long days stretching and then yawning into short nights. Your days are long and full and fun, with Dipper teaching you things you never imagined, even after knowing about the creatures in Gravity Falls all your life. Your nights are fleeting, with you catching as much sleep as you can and hoping to see Will. You only meet with Will every few days, and he says he doesn't have the power to pull you to him every night.

Your dreams with Will are different than any other friendship you've had. Often you just sit and talk. Will asks you about your apprenticeship with Dipper, your family life, your likes and dislikes. You like talking, but rarely find people who will listen. So when you're with Will, everything just pours out. He's an amazing listener, smiling and laughing in the right places and seeming genuinely interested.

It takes a few weeks for you to realize that even though you've told him a lot about you, you don't know hardly anything about him. When you do ask questions, he answers them in a few words or sentences and then directs the conversation back to you.

"Why are you so interested in me, anyway?" you ask him one night, about halfway through the summer, after telling him a story about a stomach-faced duck pushing you into a stream. "I'm sure my human life isn't nearly as interesting as your demon one."

Will gives you the calculating stare he gets when he's thinking. "Your life is far more interesting than mine."

"Really? Why?"

He sighs. "Because I'm stuck. I'm stuck without a physical form. I can't go out and play in the woods or even fall into streams."

"How would you get a physical form?"

He stares at you again.

Then you remember. "Weirdmageddon started when Bill got a physical form, didn't it."

"That sounds accurate," Will replies. "If I had a physical form, I'd be able to escape."

"Escape?"

He immediately blushes. "I didn't mean to say that."

"Escape what? Are you captive somewhere? I guess you're in Dipper's lab, but you said you were a willing captive there—"

Will puts up a hand to cut you off. "I'm sorry I said anything. I. . . I don't want to talk about it."

You frown. You can feel him withdrawing, but you're so curious you can hardly stand it.

"Okay," you force yourself to say. "I get it. I want to know, though. Maybe some other time?"

"Maybe," Will says in a noncommittal tone.

He starts to flicker.

"I'm waking up," you say, standing. He stands too. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Okay," he says. He looks tired.

On a sudden instinct, you reach out and grab his hand in yours. He looks down at it and up at you in surprise. But he doesn't pull away.

You give him a reassuring smile as he fades away. He smiles back, though it takes effort.

You can still feel his hand in yours when you wake up.