In the Scheme of Things (Discontinued)

Chapter 1

Dipper sighed as he sat in the kitchen. He was alone in the shack, as Stan and Ford had gone travelling, and Mabel was back home with their parents. He had only been living there for a few months, having been kicked out of the house by his parents, but he was already preferring the run-down shack over the overly prestigious house of his parents.

He finished his bowl of cereal, placing it in the sink before grabbing his bag and heading off to school. He wasn't in a rush to get there, though. As much as he liked school, he couldn't care less about some of the students there. He was disliked, though didn't really know why. He figured it was just cause he was an 'outsider'.

Ignoring the snide remarks from the jocks, Dipper made his way to his locker. Only to see someone using the locker under his. This confused him as, since arriving, not a single person had ever been in that locker.

He walked a little closer to the locker, not wanting to scare the person. Looking him over, he saw that the guy had blond hair with a black underside and tanned skin. He also noticed that the guy was wearing a bright yellow pullover with black jeans and black trainers.

"Um... Hello...?" He said softly, getting the guy's attention. He looked up, and Dipper had to use every ounce of control to not jump back. The guy's eyes were yellow with thin slits. "Bill...?" He smirked. "The one and only, Pine Tree."

Dipper stared at him confused before glaring at him. "What the hell are you doing here, Bill? How are you even here? I thought we destroyed you." Bill waved his hand as he moved away to let Dipper get to his locker. "Made a deal with someone just before my demon body was destroyed completely. Unfortunately, there are a few... Ah... Conditions..."

Dipper raised a brow at Bill as he pulled out the books he needed for his morning classes. "And the body? Who are you possessing this time?" Bill lend against the lockers, frowning. "No one... This was one of the conditions... I'm stuck in the stupid meat sack..." Dipper looked over at the demon, hearing a hint of sadness in his voice.

"It can be that bad. Come on, you're Bill Cipher. All powerful dream demon." Dipper joked, not looking at the demon as he grabbed his things. "I mean, you've been around for how many years? I'm sure being in a human body is child's play to you." Bill stared at the brunet for a moment before chuckling. "Are you trying to cheer me up, Pine Tree? I'm flattered."

Dipper was just finishing up when his locker was slammed shut, narrowly missing his hand. "Trying to make friends, Freak?" Dipper just sighed before turning around. "What do you want, Matt?" He asked, not in the mood to deal with the bully. "Oh, just trying to figure out why anyone would even want to talk to you." "You are. You talk to me every day."

That made Matt mad, causing him to forcefully slam Dipper into the locker units behind him. "Watch it, Freak..." Before Matt could continue, he was pulled off Dipper by a less than happy Bill. Bill didn't have to say anything, his yellow cat-like eyes were enough to scare the bully off. Dipper rubbed his shoulder, looking at Bill. "Ah... Thanks, Bill..."

Bill shrugged, pulling out his schedule to look at it. "Don't mention it. Ever." He held out the schedule. "Could you point me in the right direction?" Dipper blinked at the demon before taking the paper to look at it. "Why are you even in school? Don't you already... Bill, why do you have my schedule?" Again he just shrugged, causing Dipper to frown.

"Yeah... I figured you wouldn't answer... Anyway, might as well follow me around, seeing as we're in the same classes." Dipper said, handing the paper back to the demon. Bill just smiled at the brunet, picking up his bag. "After you then, Pine Tree." "Stop calling me that..." Dipper said, grabbing his own bag before heading to class.

***

The day seemed to go by faster than normal for Dipper. He figured that it was mostly due to having Bill around, but all-in-all, he was enjoying himself. Matt had left him alone for the rest of the day, which he was also glad about. Overall, he had had an amazing day, and, for once, wasn't in a rush to leave school.

As he packed his bag, he listened to Bill go off about one of their classes. "She had no idea what she was talking about. I mean, I should know. I was there." Dipper couldn't help but laugh at the comment. He finished up at his locker before turning to the demon. "I know I'll likely regret asking this, but do you want to come over? Stan and Ford are away, so you don't have to worry about them."

Bill studied Dipper for a moment before nodded. "Sure. Sounds nice." Bill said, giving Dipper a smirk. Dipper rolled his eyes at the demon before pulling his bag on to his shoulder and leaving the school. Bill walked next to the brunet, telling him all about the ancient worlds.

As they reached the shack, Bill began to notice just how quiet Dipper had been on their walk. "Something on your mind, Pine Tree?" Dipper looked up before looking ahead. "Nothing I really want to talk about right now..." He said, his voice clearly trying to hide how upset the topic made him.

Bill noticed this, of course, but didn't push the topic. Not right away anyway. Instead, he followed the teen into the shack. "Are you hungry? I was going to get myself a snack." Dipper asked, tossing his bag on the floor next to the couch. "Sure. Honestly, I'm still not used to caring for a human body..."

Dipper chuckled, grabbing a box of cookies from the kitchen. "I'm not surprised. If you have any questions, I can do my best to help..." Bill raised a brow at the boy, taking a cookie from the box. "You know, for someone who hates me, you're sure being friendly to me."

Dipper lend back on the couch, looking down. Bill looked him over, noticing how, once again, he seemed upset. "I've pretty much been on my own since I moved in here at the beginning of the year... Ford and Stan have been nice, but they've been busy due to multiple strong phenomena..." Dipper said, keeping his eyes on the floor. "And I don't really have any friends here..."

Bill looked the teen over. He frowned as he noticed just had worn down and dishevelled the brunet looked. "Dipper, you need to take better care of yourself..." Dipper rolled his eyes. "Like you care, Bill. I knew inviting you over was a bad idea..."

Dipper stood to leave but Bill grabbed his arm. "Dipper..." He pulled his arm free, opened his mouth to tell the demon off, only to close his mouth and sit back down. "What do you want, Bill...? Why are you acting like you care...?" Bill moved closer, placing a hand on the teen's shoulder. "Maybe cause I want a friend... And you're the first person to be friendly to me..."

Dipper looked up at the blond demon. Bill gave him a smirk, which caused the teen to smile. "Thanks, Bill... Do you... Do you want to stay over tonight...?" Bill raised a brow at the teen before shrugging. "Sure. Why not. Though I am going to insist that you start taking care of yourself. Can you cook?"

Dipper stared at the demon. Was he serious? Bill had tried to kill him, and now he was insisting that Dipper take proper care of himself. "Dipper?" Bill lend over, shaking the teen slightly. "Mm? Oh, no... I've just been getting microwavable meals..." Bill nodded. "Alright. I'll cook for you."

Dipper was beyond confused at this point. "What do you want in return?" Bill chuckled. "Was wondering when you'd ask that... To be honest, I don't have a place to stay... I have the money, but there's nothing for me to buy around here..." Dipper sighed, pulling his bangs back. "Yeah, fine... But only until you find your own place." Bill nodded. "Fair enough."

The two males were quiet for a little while before Bill felt a weight on his shoulder. He looked over to see that Dipper had fallen asleep. He gave the teen a soft smile, leaning back to get more comfortable as well as letting Dipper's head to lie on his lap.

He let out a soft sigh as he brushed back his hair. "Why can't I hate you, Dipper Pines...?" He said softly, looking at the sleeping teen before resting back against the couch. "What did you do to me...?"