What Is This Feeling? ~ BillDip

It Can't Be... (Part 2)

Dipper's POV

A tremendous crash was heard from downstairs. I jumped and quickly finished getting dressed to go see what had happened. To my surprise, Ford was on his way around the house to find me. "What is it? What happened?"

"Bill happened. Come look." He rushed me to the lab and pointed towards a large, shaking mass in the corner with inaudible words filling the room. "He pressured me for the truth, and I think I was a bit too blunt. He's been like that ever since. With what's going on between you two, I thought you'd be able to calm him down." He stepped out to give us privacy.

I stepped closer to Bill and was barely able to make out what he was saying. "em evas ltoloxa retsnom a ma I enod I evah tahw..." It sounded like. It was all gibberish, but it left a bad taste in my mouth when I remembered how the old Bill would speak in riddles as well. I cautiously stepped forward and knelt down to get a better look at him. I could see his eye patch had fallen off, but his hands were covering his face, so I couldn't see what was there. Should I try touching him or talking to him? I slowly reach out to touch his shoulder, and Bill jumps back in fear, one hand still over that second eye.

"It's all right, it's just me. Calm down. Breathe, everything is going to be just...fine..." I whispered as softly as I could. It seemed to comfort him because his breathing had slowed, and he stopped muttering gibberish. I rubbed his shoulder and slid over next to him, wrapping my arm around his shoulder the same way he did this morning. He snuggled his head into my chest and relaxed his hands off of his face. As curious as I was, I let him rest instead of questioning him.

But out of the corner of my eye, flashes of colors and images came in and out of focus. When I looked over, Bill seemed to be muttering something to himself again. I lifted his chin up to look into his eyes for the first time and comfort him, but what I saw terrified me.

That eye.

That unholy eye.

The last piece of his demon self.

Images of his own thoughts were portrayed onto that eye, just like how it was when I was a kid. "Bill?" He seemed to snap out of a trance. The images were replaced with a black eye and a red sliver of a pupil. He seemed to sense my fear because he reached for his eye patch to cover his eye. I grabbed his hand to stop him, "Can you see anything out of that eye?"

"No...I didn't even know about it at first, but the eye patch fell off that first night, and I saw it in the mirror. That's how I knew something more was up. Does this change anything? Do you not like it? Does it scare you?" He grew more nervous with each question. His hand slid out of my grasp, and he stumbled to put on his eye patch.

"I love all of you, every part of you. It may have brought a bit of a shock at first, but I think it's magical, in a way." I smiled and kissed him on the nose. He put the eye patch back on the ground and hugged me.

"Thank you..."

"I have an idea to help you feel better-"

"Cuddles?" He pulled me down onto his lap and held me tight. I couldn't help but laugh.

"No! I mean, I would very much love that, but I had something else in mind." I stood up and offered him my hand. "How about we go walk around Gravity Falls?"

He grabbed my hand and followed me to the front door of the Mystery Shack, "I don't think I've gone outside since coming here. What's all out there?"

"A lot of things, and I want you to see them all. What do you say?" I stood in the doorway, awaiting his answer. I could tell he wanted to but was nervous. "What's wrong?"

"You and Ford said that I was cruel to the entire town. I'm worried that everyone out there will hate me." He bit his lip and stepped back.

"I don't blame you for being scared, but it's been a long time since all of that. Most of the people here just kind of forgot about it all. Hell, there was even a law passed that said no one could talk about it!" I laughed at the absurdness of it and stepped outside into the fresh air. "You'll be just fine, really. And I'll be here with you every step of the way."

He slowly took a step outside and walked out onto the grass. He smelled the fresh air, and his face lit up so much, he was practically glowing. I giggled when he spotted a deer and tried to pet it, but it bleated and ran off. I started to jog away, "Come on, let's stretch those legs of yours!"

It didn't take long for him to catch up and even pass me, so I had to pick up my pace. He looked so happy this way. So free. It was refreshing to have such a joyous moment.

Before long, we were in town and coming up to Greasy's Diner. "Hey, slow down! This is one of the places I wanted to show you." I took a second to catch my breath, but it seemed as though he wanted to keep going. "First, let's get some of the best food here in Gravity Falls. You can't live here and not try our food, too."

"Sounds delicious!"

We stepped inside, and the much-too-spunky-for-her-age Lazy Susan greet us with a huge grin. "Dipper! Who's this young man? The usual for today? How about you sit right over here." She instantly guided us over to a table and whipped out a notepad to take our order.

"You're so sweet. Get Bill here some fries, and I'll have the usual." She wrote it down in a flash and walked off to tend to others.

"How old is she?" Bill said, completely surprised.

"Who knows." I laughed.

"Dipper, I just wanted to thank you-"

"Save it for the end, I have a surprise."

Lazy Susan slapped two plates down on the table between us, "Save it? Then it'll be cold. Better eat up now."

"Thanks." I smiled and motioned for Bill to eat, "Dig in!"

He gladly did so, but with the first bite, he spat it back out immediately, "Ugh, what did you say this was? Fries? Disgusting!"

I burst out laughing, "Yup! But then, try this." I slid over my plate of pancakes.

This one, he ate more reluctantly, and I don't blame him. But when he took a bite of this, he practically melted. "Oh Gob, bis is amabing!" He said with his mouth full.

"Do you see what I'm getting at?"

"Mo."

"...I'll wait until you're done." I chuckled softly and waited. When he finished, I spoke up. "So what I'm getting at is that everyone has flaws. This eatery has been open for years now, but that doesn't mean it's perfect. And you don't have to be perfect either. You have a past that's as disgusting as these fries, but I can see that you want to change. And you will, you can."

(Ehhh, I don't like writing cheesy stuff like this. The gist of it all is that Bill likes the sentiment. Fast forward through exploring Gravity Falls until they're at the top of the water tower, overlooking the town.)

Bill hung his feet off the edge of the Water Tower and just observed. He took in every tiny detail, cherishing every second. I kept my distance from the edge but still enjoyed the view. The sun crept along the sky until it was kissing the tops of the mountains. "Have you enjoyed your day out?"

"Ha! You know the answer to that one, Dipper! I have absolutely adored this whole day. I couldn't have asked for anything better." His voice changed ever so slightly. It sounded both confident and relaxed. It was good to hear him regain that part of himself. "But, you know who I want to talk to now?"

"Who?"

"Stan."