In the Scheme of Things (Discontinued)

Chapter 21

Though Bill had been quite brave upon leaving, he was now starting to get scared. Though, it wasn't for himself. Not mostly, anyway. No, he was mostly worried about Dipper being out alone in the forest. And now with it getting dark, that fear was becoming greater.

He knew Dipper could look after himself. And if he was just sitting with no intent to move at the moment, then Bill should be able to easily find him and help him back to the shack. And he for sure wasn't going to give his parents a chance to speak with him.

It was only after tripping on a root that he learned that he was having a harder time seeing in the dark than before. Cursing to himself, he snapped his fingers to give himself some light.

Now being able to see what was ahead of him, he began to walk again. He knew he had to find Dipper, or Ford would have his head. Though, that wasn't the only reason. He was worried about Dipper. He couldn't think of what would cause the teen to walk out into the forest so late at night.

As he reached the clearing, he saw the flickering of light that would only be from a fire. Moving fast to enter it, he was glad to see his Sapling sitting on an old falling tree log with a small fire for warm sitting in front of him.

"Pine Tree...?" Bill's voice was soft, not wanting to scare the teen. Dipper, however, didn't move.

Bill walked closer to the teen, placing a hand on his shoulder. He knelt down to look at him. Upon seeing the look on the teen's face, Bill's face changed from that of worry to a soft smile.

Bill stomped out the fire before turning his attention back to the teen. He knelt down, picking him up easily. He wasn't too worried about how light the teen was since he knew how well ate and exercised he was. However, it did still worry him, just not as much as it once had.

As he entered the clearing for the shack, he saw Ford, Stan and Mabel running out to meet up with them. Bill could tell they were just as worried as he had been. Even so, he kept a tight hold on the teen, not allowing anyone to take Dipper from him.

"Where was he? Is he alright?" Ford asked, looking Dipper over.

"He seems fine. I think he went for a walk and ended up falling asleep. I was going to take him to his room to let him sleep." Bill replied, once again pulling Dipper close to him.

"Well, I don't see any problem with that. I just hope nothing serious happened to him while he was out. You were gone for a while, and he had been gone even longer than you."

Bill understood what Ford was getting at. There were creatures in the forest that weren't as nice as he was. Or pretended to be at times. It was that very reason that he had been so worried about him.

Shifting Dipper slightly, Bill lead the way back into the shack. He walked past Mr. and Mrs. Pines without a glance their way. He wouldn't know for sure until the morning but he was still sure it was their fault Dipper had disappeared without a word. And even if it wasn't, he still disliked them.

Reaching their room, Bill resting Dipper on their bed. He would've preferred if the teen wore his pyjamas, though knew that waking him up now might result in him not sleeping at all that night. Instead, he pulled off Dipper's shoes and jeans, leaving him in just an oversized shirt that Bill realized was actually his and his boxers.

Bill tucked in the teen before going to his dresser to change. He was just pulling on his pyjama shirt when there was a knock on the door. Bill was about to ignore it when he heard the voice of someone he knew could be somewhat trusted.

"Bill, it's Mabel. Can I come in...?"

"Yeah, come on in. Just be quiet."

Mabel poked her head in, her eyes glancing over to her sleeping twin before turning back to Bill. Bill had thought she had come to check on Dipper, though he knew by the look in her eyes that she had something else to say.