Fallen Gods

The Problem with Demons

Bill grinned as he shook hands with Dipper, thrilled. Finally! He thought back to his plan and felt a pang of misgiving. What was wrong with him? Sure, if things didn't work out with Mabel, it seemed like Dipper was falling for all of his tricks again. This was going great... right?

But at the same time, his stomach squirmed uncomfortably. "Bill?" Dipper asked, confused.

"Whazat?" Bill blurted out.

"You er, forgot to let go of my hand." Bill realized he was still shaking the boy's hand. He blushed, taking it back quickly and shoving it in his pocket, before composing himself. He smirked.

"I didn't see you trying to take it away, Pine Tree. Not to mention you seemed very concerned when I fell," he teased with a laugh.

Dipper tried to hide his blush. "Shut up," he said, but his eyes glimmered good-naturedly.

"C'mon kid, let's go back downstairs and tell everyone you made the deal," the dream demon said.

For some reason, Dipper didn't like it when Bill called him a kid. I mean, he didn't mind it before, because usually, he was trying not to die around Bill, so he didn't really care. But now that he had to work closely with him, he didn't like it. It was like he was talking down to him.

The two boys tromped down the stairs, looking around the empty kitchen. Walking into the living room, Mabel, who had been sitting watching T.V, jumped up.

"Bro-bro!" Mabel said happily, hugging him. "You ok?" She whispered in his ear. "I'm sorry if I put too much pressure on you." 

Dipper nodded, smiling. He was lucky to have such a supportive sister. But his stomach still clenched when thinking about telling the family he had made a deal with a chaos god.

Dipper pulled out of the hug, taking a breath. "In fact, I've decided to make the deal. I've shaken his hand. It's done." Mabel looked worried, but she nodded her head, unsurprised. She wanted to keep her brother safe, but it wasn't her decision, and she had suspected that Dipper would take the deal, unable to refuse help to anyone, even if it was Bill. 

Mabel opened her mouth to say she supported him, knowing that Dipper would want confirmation that this was the right thing to do, but Dipper had already walked away with Bill, talking about unstable molecules or something. She stared, shocked, as she watched her brother disappear upstairs. Dipper seemed to have hit it off with the demon. But what about Mabel?

Dipper looked at the time and groaned. "One twenty-six!? Geez, it's late. I'd better get to bed." He yawned, pulling off his socks and shoes.

"Hey Dipper?" Bill asked suddenly.

"Y- yes?" Dipper asked, shocked that he'd used his real name.

"Do you like stars?"

"Umm, I guess so. I don't know any of the constellations..." Dipper stared at him, confused. "What are you getting at, Bill?"

Bill shrugged, his cheeks turning a little pink. "Maybe I'll show you the constellations sometime." Bill waved good-bye, clearly done with the conversation, tipping his hat. With a snap of his fingers, Dipper's window slid up with a bang, and Bill climbed out, still grinning at Dipper. Dipper heard a startled, "eep!" and then a thud.

Dipper raced over to the window. "Bill!? Bill, are you ok!?" 

Bill got up off the ground, brushing mud off his tailcoat. "Yeah. Magic takes a lot out of you, you know?"

"No," the brunette said truthfully.

Bill laughed. "I'm going home more beat up than I've ever been."