You're Human Now

Chapter 5

**Ford**

I cannot believe I left this place in such a mess last summer. Granted, with the way the summer ended, the condition of my lab was my least concern. Behind me I heard the elevator coming down, I wonder who it could be? Hopefully, it is not Dipper as my little surprise for him is not finished yet. Just in case, I should hide it for the time being. Even if it is not Dipper, why take the chance of someone spoiling it for him. I am really excited for this summer with Dipper back. He can finally be my apprentice and I can keep an eye on him and study his demon side. Being sucked into that portal 11 years ago really halted my research. I can now finally catch up, and with Bill being out of the picture, I do not have to worry about needing to protect him.

"Hey Grunkle Ford, you... um... got a minute" Dipper said behind me. I must have not heard the elevator reach the bottom, being too deep in thought.

"Oh! Uh... yea, just give me a second." I say over my shoulder as I drag my arm across the table, throwing everything into a box by my feet. I then pushed the box with my foot under the table, turning around blocking Dipper's sight of it with my body. Dipper gives me a confused glare. "So, what you want to talk about? Have you thought about being my apprentice this summer?"

"Um... yea... but I wanted to talk to you about something different, what's in that box you are hiding?" It is not ready yet, I can't tell him.

"Don't worry about it. What is it that you wanted to talk about?" Silence filled the room. Dipper has his mouth open like he was about to speak but he was having second thoughts. He finally spoke after a good 15 seconds of hesitation.

"Bill is back." My stomach sank. No this can't be, he has to be trying to pull a joke on me. I looked Dipper dead in the eye, I could tell he was not lying.

"How could he be back? He is dead, we erased him from Stan's mind. You sure he--"

"Yes I am sure! He came to me last night and it wasn't in a dream... I think." Dipper says, cutting me off.

"You think? Dipper this is a bid deal, you have to be absolute if you are going to tell me Bill is back." Maybe Dipper was dreaming. Bill is gone, Dipper just had a nightmare.

**Dipper**

He doesn't believe me. I know he is back, whether or not it was a dream. A part of me hopes it was a dream, it would better explain the flaming hand. Shivers ran down my spine just thinking about it. However, I did splash water in my face right after. If I was dreaming I should have woken up from that.

"Ford, you got to believe me. He is back, I am sure of it." I plea to my Grunkle. He places his hand on his chin standing still, continuing to block whatever he is hiding under the table. It is kind of a joke that he wants me to work with him and be his apprentice, but has to keep things a secret from me.

"I don't want to believe you, but if you are right we got to be prepared. So, tell me, what happened." Ford goes and pulls out a notepad to take notes. I suck in a huge breath as I start to tell him what happened.

"I was watching the stars, on the roof, and then he appeared out of thin air. He said I wasn't dreaming and that we were idiots for thinking he is dead. He then went on about how he is immortal but I kinda stopped paying attention since..." I froze. Should I tell him about my hand being on fire? I stammered, mumbling words, as I debated whether to tell Ford or not.

"Since what, Dipper?" Ford asks, making a worried expression on his face. I don't know what he will do if I tell him. Will he believe me? What if he thinks it was not Bill who made my hand light on fire? I can't tell him, not yet at least. I need to 100% know it was Bill and be able to prove it before I can tell Ford. Maybe if it happens again I will have to but he cannot tell me what he is hiding so I won't tell him.

"I uh... lost my train of thought, sorry. So, I was just listening to him explain that he can regenerate and bracing for any attack he would do but he just kept talking. He then said he now knows my secret and just left." Ford's eyes widen and he mumbles something. He looks downward and had a concerned looked on his face. Does he know what Bill is talking about? "Grunkle Ford, do you know what he means by 'my secret' is? Because I got no clue." A short pause followed.

"I am not sure what he means by it. However, whatever he is referring to cannot be good. Did you tell anyone else what happened last night yet?" He looked at me in the eyes again. He had fear in those irises.

"I didn't tell anyone else yet, I did not want to ruin everyone's summer before it started." I tell Ford, he is hiding something from me. He knows something but is not telling me, he wouldn't be as worried if he was really clueless.

"Alright, that is good. Let's keep this between you and me. Until we know more about what Bill is planning we shouldn't tell everyone. You are right, let them enjoy the summer." Ford says to me quickly. He's relieved I had not told anyone yet. He is hiding something from me and I need to know what.

"Ford what are hiding from me? I am not just talking about what you threw in that box but also about what ever secret I have." Ford's face gets paler. He is realizing I am not going to let this go. He releases a sigh of defeat and says, "I honestly don't know what secret you have that Bill knows and I was going to wait for you to accept being my apprentice but you are just going to find out before it is done anyway."

He picks up the box he was hiding, pulling out a book. "It is not finished yet, but I doubt you really care at this point." He gestures it to me. I walk over and take it from his hands. I glance down at it and my jaw drops.

"You... you made me a journal?" A smile touches ear to ear as I run my finger over the book. It was just like Ford's journals but this one had a golden pine tree enameled on the center of it instead. I can't believe he made this for me.

"I figured since you were going to work with me, you should start your own series of journals. Besides, by the entries you made in the 3rd one, you are much better at making observations and describing phenomena." My legs felt like jello. I never been so happy to receive a gift before. I flung myself at Ford and gave him a hug.

"Thank you." It was all I could murmur with my head buried in his abdomen. I pull away and looked up to him. Both of us were smiling at each other.

"I am glad you like it. Hey, why don't you go get started filling it out as I finish cleaning up this place, ok?" Ford says to me. I looked around the lab, it is quite a mess at the moment. I started to shake with excitement to get started on my new journal.

"Alright, see ya later Ford!" I shouted as I ran towards the elevator. On the way up I began to process what happened. I breathed a sigh of relief as I accomplished telling Ford what happened. It felt like a weight lifted off my shoulders. Something did not sit with me right though. I had lied to Ford about what happened. I should have told him that Bill ignited my hand. However, I felt torn, Ford lied to me too. He is not clueless what Bill meant by 'my secret'. He is hiding something from me, I know it!