Darker Perspective

Chapter 1

"Grunkle Stan...I trust you."

Dipper narrowed his eyes in the darkness, his head still pounding from the day prior. Mabel's quiet voice still echoed in his mind, her teary face imprinted in his eyes as she broke the bond that he thought was unbreakable.

"I trust you."

Not him. Stan.

Dipper wasn't usually the one to hold grudges; in fact, he found them annoying and pointless. But the way Mabel was now acting as if nothing had happened was frustrating to say in the least. Someone who he would trust with his life never trusted him back as much as a man they had only met a few months ago.

Dipper sighed, tearing his gaze away from the dark ceiling to look at the stars. They calmed his racing heart a little, slowed his churning thoughts. He always had liked stars, ironically matching his namesake. He closed his eyes for a while, relishing in the sweet silence of the night. He wondered how big the universe was – after all, Grunkle Ford has been to many places he never knew existed. He reminded himself to ask his relative tomorrow, amongst all the other questions he had carefully written down for that moment.

Despite his sinking mood, he felt himself lighten up at the thought of finally meeting the author in person. Ford hadn't spoken much throughout the rest of the evening, but Dipper figured that it was because he was so tired. He had talked about this meeting over and over with Mabel –

And just as quickly as it began, his slightly more optimistic mood faded at the mention of his twin. Dipper looked away from the stars, twisting the hem of his shirt.

Mabel gave a small snort in her sleep, breaking the silence that Dipper was relaxing in. He glared over at her, hurt and betrayal still glistening from his eyes in the darkness. His sister wasn't even having trouble sleeping like him. Did she know what she had done? Does she realise how much she hurt Dipper?

Of course she does, Dipper thought guiltily, shifting in his bed. His sister knew him too well to know that (he hoped). But then, why hadn't she brung it up? Why wasn't she staying up, like Dipper, and thinking about what had happened?

The thoughts hurt Dipper's head, so he quickly tried to remove them. He stared up into the darkness again, eventually falling asleep to the steady ticking of the clock.

~

Dipper knew he was in the mindscape as soon as he opened his eyes. He cursed under his breath, kicking the greyscale ground. He hoped that the demon wouldn't show up as the time dragged on, but a loud shout echoed through the room from behind him.

"Pine Tree! Long time no see!"

Dipper jumped, stumbling backwards as Bill rose from the ground. The triangle was twisting his cane, which was ignited with blue fire.

"Get away from me Bill!" Dipper shouted. He aimed to sound braver, but he even knew that he failed miserably. Bill laughed, the ground trembling with the noise.

"That's funny! It almost sounded as if you were in control there! Ha!" Bill flipped in the air and hovered over to Dipper. The brunette tripped on his own feet, falling onto the ground as Bill floated above him. The demon was giving him a strange look, as if he was being x-rayed. Dipper felt his arms begin to tremble.

"I don't want anything to do with you!" Dipper yelled. Bill only laughed louder.

"Come on! I'm giving you the deal of a lifetime!"

"I don't want any deals Bill! You always trick me!" Dipper spat, getting to his feet.

"This is a good deal, I promise." Bill tried to persuade. "Just hear me out."