The summer after

Chapter One - Summer Again

It had been only a year, but somehow it felt like a century had passed.

Dipper stood in front of Bill's moss covered statue, his lips pursing together to form a thin frown as he stared at the thing. The stone had cracked in some places, hell, even the eye itself had a crack now. Dipper wanted to believe Bill couldn't do anything in this form, but he found himself still holding his breath out of fear.

The fear that maybe, maybe he'd be back. That perhaps, at any given moment, Bill could break free and try to regain rule the world again.

That Bill was just biding his time.

Dipper shivered from the cool night air, and hugged his jacket closer around his body. "He's not coming back." Dipper said, but received no reply. Normally the silence would be suffocating, leaving Dipper paranoid, but.. This time, the silence was comforting. Comforting, in the sense that it confirmed his suspicions of Bill being gone.

"Hah- who knew your greatest weakness was cement?" Dipper weakly joked to the statue, and for a brief moment, chuckled to himself despite his nerves. Dipper wiped away a tear from his eye, and sighed. His phone suddenly quacked, and Dipper checked his texts.

From - Captain dork
DIPPER!!!! come back to the shack!!! It's late!!!! Grunkle Stan is gonna be SO peeved if he knows you're gone this late dude!!!!!

Dipper texted a quick reply of acknowledgement, and turned to begin the walk home. As he strolled, the area around him slowly melted into grayscale. He froze as sickeningly familiar laughter rang out from behind. Dipper felt his blood run cold, and suddenly felt like he couldn't breathe. He didn't move, so instead the ground moved for him. It swiveled rather unnaturally, making him face the sound.

The moss on Cipher's statue had burned off, and the statue glowed a pale yellow while Bill laughed in a maniacal manner. Dipper stood petrified, his eyes wide open.

"Well well well- if it isn't my favorite pawn! How's it hangin', Pinetree? You look different! Did you do something with your hair?"
Bill taunted as Dipper began to tremble. This time however, it wasn't from the cold. The statue itself stayed still, glowing whenever Bill would talk. This was most likely the only thing keeping Dipper from a panic attack.

"If your screams of undeniable terror were any indication, I'd say you missed me too!"
"What do you want?!" Dipper yelled, the terror in his tone unmistakable.

Bill's shadow extended beyond the statue, meeting the teenager's shadow. Bill's eye opened where their faces met, and Dipper let out a shriek.

"Hey Dipshit- you mind not screaming long enough for me to talk to ya? Sheesh, can't even have a moment to talk around here."
Bill said, and even though Dipper was terrified, he blinked in surprise at the new nickname.

"I, uh, thought you couldn't curse."
"This ain't some TV show kid, I can say- and DO -whatever the fuck I want! Like this!"
Bill's shadow snapped a finger, and above Bill's eye in the ground, Dipper's own eyes opened in his shadow. The shadow being clawed at itself, as if it was begging to be destroyed. Dipper yelled again, and stepped back.

"Ohoho man! It's been so long since I've heard human screams! Heck, too long if you ask me." Bill chuckled, and Dipper gritted his teeth. "What do you want with me, Bill?! You know you can't keep me trapped here forever! Y-you're not that stupid!" Dipper protested, and Bill's laughter ceased.

The area around them- greyscale and all, melted away.

"How right you are, Pinetree!"
Bill replied cheerfully, as Dipper's shadow peeled itself up from the ground, gaining physical form, to stand before the real Dipper.