If a Pine Tree Falls in a Forest...

Rising Heat

   Dipper sat beneath the tree, contemplating his options. He could turn down Bill's offer, and feel terrible whenever he was around Mabel. (Which was more often than not. Damn shared attic.) Or, he could accept Bill's... offer? Favor? What was that anyway, if not a deal? Last Dipper had known, the dream demon did absolutely nothing for free. So why was he offering this to Dipper? And why now?

   "Dipper!" He heard a familiar female voice call from nearby.

   "Dude! Where are you?" Came another familiar voice, though slightly farther away this time. Soos and Wendy. Dipper scoffed at this; even when he runs off into the woods, neither of his uncles, nor Mabel bother to come look for him. Typical.

   "Dipper!" Looks like they found him. "Dude! We've been looking everywhere for you, man!" Wendy exclaimed. Dipper just looked up at the two of them. "Dipper, it's nearly dark, why're you still in the woods?" Only then did Dipper realize that the sun was well below the horizon.

   "Stan send you?" Dipper asked bitterly, hauling himself to his feet. He stretched backwards, hearing a satisfying crack! When he glanced at Soos and Wendy, he saw them share a look, though he pretended otherwise.

   "Yeah dude. You totally ran out!" Soos said, slouching slightly and rubbing his hands together in nervous habit.

   "Yeah man," Wendy joined in, "Soos caught me up about Ford. Why'd you run out, man? Twice?" Dipper clenched his teeth, wanting to growl at the redhead. He refused to think about how feral the act was. Wendy, oblivious to his anger, continued. "I mean, Mabel brought back your uncle! The friggin' author! You should be excited! So what if she didn't listen to you? Things worked out."

   This time, Dipper did growl, baring his teeth in a vicious way. "I. Don't. Care." He grit out, punctuating each word. They took a step back, shocked at Dipper's behavior. Since when had the shy teenager been so... so aggressive? They didn't think the scrawny teen had it in him. And, they were concerned. Maybe he'd been upset by what happened with the portal, but to say that he wasn't Mabel's brother? It was just so... unlike the teen.

   "Well, might as well get this over with." Dipper muttered, though it was loud enough for both Wendy and Soos to hear. After walking several steps forward, he realized that he wasn't being followed. "Well? Are you guys coming, or what?" He called out behind him, a frown on his face.

~~~~~~~~~Line~Break~~~~~~~~~

   "Oh my god, Dipper! Where have you been?" Mabel yelled, coming over to yank her brother into a hug. Dipper, however, was having none of it. He shoved her back roughly, an intense glare being directed at her.

   "Get off me." Dipper growled at her. Her eyes almost immediately filled with tears. Dipper started forward, intent on locking himself in the attic, but was stopped by a rough hand on his shoulders. He tensed, refusing to look at what he assumed was Stanley. The thought of his uncle's lies made him grit his teeth.

"Kid-" He started, his voice gruff and angry. Stan had always been protective of Mabel. Even (the real) Stanford had taken an almost immediate liking to the energetic twin. At least, from what Dipper could gather from the few times he actually left his lab.

"Shut it old man." He growled, once again baring his teeth over his shoulder. Ignoring the astonished, and even fearful looks on the faces of his friends and family, he stormed his way through the shack.

Climbing the stairs to the attic that his uncle called a bedroom, Dipper felt his anger rise. So much for how 'worried' his supposed family was. Dipper was well aware of how aggressive he had been since the portal had opened, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Maybe it was about time he stood up for himself, instead of lying down like a damn dog. He was done. He was fucking done being a punching bag for them. Dipper refused to take it anymore.

Though Dipper didn't know it, he had finally come to the conclusion he'd been nudged towards since Bill had taken an interest in him. And, in the dream demon's not so humble opinion, giving this kid confidence was long overdue. Bill knew that Shooting Star would choose Fez over Pine Tree; it was obvious to the dream demon. He just had to make Pine Tree see what was painfully obvious to him. And, now that Pine Tree knew, he was only a few steps away from being exactly where Bill wanted him to be. But Pine Tree didn't need to know that.