Dipper, Can You Hear Me? Ch4

"So does anybody have any idea what we're looking for?" Pacifica asked as the group headed toward the path through the woods that Bill insisted on starting with "Or are we just going to blindly wander through the trees until something eats us?"

"Why are they coming?" Dipper asked the demon beside him, ignoring Pacifica's question in favour of raising a brow at Bill and asking his own

Bill blinked

"Shooting Star heard me teasing you last night and insisted that they come along" Bill shrugged "I don't really care. I got what I wanted"

"And what is it that you wanted?" he snorted, yelping as he caught his foot on a root and stumbled forward, throwing his hands up as he fell, stiffening when he felt Bill grab the back of his shirt, pulling him upwards and saving him from contact with the unforgiving ground

"The opportunity to keep you safe" he replied with a devious grin as he set the teenager down.

Dipper huffed and smoothed his shirt before storming ahead of his friends, cheeks burning a deep red as he went, his hand lifting to tug the visor of his hat so it sat lower and partially hid his face from view. Bill broke into a jog to catch up, but if he noticed Dipper's blush he didn't sat a word.

"So who are we looking for again?" Mabel asked

"Any supernatural creature we know, or even those that we don't know, that might be able to tell us something about the creature that made those tracks" Dipper replied

Pacifica snorted

"What, are we going to go ask unicorns if they've seen a werewolf?"

"If you see one" Bill replied

Pacifica blinked and turned her gaze on Mabel as the teenage girl let out a delighted squeal

"I hope we see one! The last one I met was so nice!"

Pacifica gave the woman a deadpan look

"I can't even be sarcastic around you people without you taking it literally" she huffed

Dipper and Bill snickered.

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"Hey, Pine Tree, what's wrong with you?" Bill asked after they had split off from the girls

Dipper kept his gaze on their surroundings as he pondered his response. He sighed heavily as he followed Bill, only glancing up at him when the demon held a branch aside and gestured for Dipper to walk in the area that had been cleared. He did as the demon wanted, and answered his question once the demon had caught up

"Nothing is wrong. Why do you think something is wrong?"

"You've been cold since our fight the other day" he replied, pushing his hands into his pockets

Dipper tried to ignore the hurt in the mans voice when he replied

"Well, you never said sorry" Dipper shrugged

Bill stared at him in silence for a moment, as if in complete disblief that such a tiny thing was Dipper's reasoning for being cold lately, and going so far as to smack him off his shoulder if he dared sit there. His brows furrowed and he stopped walking, prompting Dipper to stop as well.

"What?" Dipper prompted, and Bill's gaze met his evenly, a look of pure determination crossing his face. Dipper tensed when the demon began stepping toward him "Bill what are you doing?" he asked worriedly as the demon advanced on him, backing up with each step forward Bill took and effectively trapping himself between said demon and a tree

"I'm going to do something Mabel told me to do" Bill muttered, and Dipper's eyes widened at the burning look in the demons eyes.

Bill shifted forward and Dipper held his breath, fearing what the demon was going to do- fearing what crazy ideas his lovable but boundary-pushing sister had put into this already crazy mans head

"Bill what-" he was cut off when Bill's lips gently captured his

Dipper stiffened in shock, eyes flying open and fixing on the demon's face, noticing his eyes were closed and his brows were furrowed. Mabel!? What the hell, why would you tell him- his train of thought was interrupted when Bill's hand gently lifted to cup his cheek

"Come on, Pine Tree" he muttered and then their lips were together again

Dipper's mind was racing, heart pounding in his chest as he tentatively returned the pressure, hands lifting to land on Bill's shoulders. His first intention was to push him away, but he found his hands clutching at the fabric of the mans shirt and pulling him closer. The hand that wasn't cupping his cheek fell to his waist and pulled him closer, and Dipper felt Bill smile against his lips.

They parted so they could catch their breath, and Dipper froze when he spotted movement over Bill's shoulder. His eyes went wide in terror, and Bill's expression turned alarmed

"What? What's wrong? Did I-" Dipper's hand shot up and grabbed the mans face, turning it to look over his shoulder. Bill froze "What is that thing?"

"Run!" Mabel suddenly screamed, crashing through the brush with Pacifica hot on her heels

The creature let out a snarl and Dipper's blood ran cold. Bill jerked away from him and shoved him in the direction the girls had gone

"Run!" he screamed, pushing the teenager as Dipper dragged his feet across the ground, eyes glued to the creature as it came crashing through the brush toward them "Dipper, fucking RUN!" he roared, giving the teen another shove

Dipper launched into auto-pilot and took off as fast as his feet could carry him, glancing over his shoulder a few times to make sure Bill was still following him. Fear kept him moving even when his legs ached and his chest burned- fear kept him pushing himself, scrambling to keep his distance from the shape behind them.

"Climb a tree-" Bill couldn't even finish his sentence before Mabel was leaning out of her spot in a tree and grabbing Dipper. The demon let out a cry when he heard snarls behind him and leapt, transforming back into a triangle at the last possible moment and clinging to Dipper's leg as the women pulled the teen into the tree.

As soon as Dipper was in the tree he reached down and pulled Bill off his leg, instead placing him on his shoulder as the demon stared warily down at the ground, gaze scanning their surroundings.

"What the hell?" Pacifica muttered as she leaned over the branch and scanned the forest floor, frowning when there wasn't a single sound made below them

"It's gone" Dipper breathed

"Where the hecky-deck did it go!?" Mabel cried "It was right there, how does something that big just disappear!?"

"Maybe that's one of the things it can do?" Pacifica suggested, turning her gaze upon the triangle demon perched on Dipper's shoulder and clinging to his hair "Bill, did your informant say anything about them being able to disappear?"

"Mabye it teleported!" Mabel piped up "Or is invisible!"

"No" Bill replied "No there was definitely no mention of that"

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It took hours for any of them to work up the courage to leave the tree, fearing the beast would be waiting on the forest floor hidden in the shadows. When it began to get dark, however, Dipper decided it was better to not be marooned all night with a creature they already couldn't see in the daylight, and he took his leave from the tree. When they returned home they found Wendy on her way home, calling a farewell to them as they passed. Grunkle Stan was inside, asleep in his chair with a soap opera on.

Mabel headed straight upstairs with Pacifica, muttering that she was tired and needed to sleep for the rest of her life- Pacifica could only groan in agreement. Dipper turned the television off before making his way into the kitchen and grabbing a box of pizza-pockets from the freezer. He put them in the microwave and grabbed a Pitt Cola, tossing one to Bill before taking a seat at the table to wait.

Once the pizza was done they cleaned up their mess and wandered to Dipper's room, locking the door behind them as Dipper fell face-first into his bed. Bill sprawled himself across the teenagers couch and both sighed.

"Aren't you glad I didn't let you go alone?" Bill eventually asked, smirk evident in his tone

Dipper smiled into his pillow

"Yeah" he muttered "I..." the smile fell off his face and he sighed "I'm going to head to bed. Goodnight, Bill"

"Night, Pine Tree" he muttered

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Hours later Dipper pulled himself out of bed and grabbed his backpack from his closet, fishing out the flashlight before slinging the bag onto his shoulder. He slipped out of his room with ease and rushed down the hallway, bolting through the livingroom before he had time to wonder where his Grunkle was. The door creaked as he opened it and he willed nobody to hear it as he slipped out and closed it. He gazed determinedly at the forest for a moment before glancing over his shoulder at the house

"Sorry guys" he muttered as he took off across the lawn toward the trees, clicking his flashlight on to light his way "I have to do this. On my own"

Stan raised a brow as he entered the livingroom with a stack of papers in his hand, various notes and sketches he had been able to locate in the basement.

"Huh" he muttered to himself as he glanced around and realized he was alone "I thought I heard somebody"

Shrugging it off he set the papers on the floor and shone the blacklight over them, gaze flicking over them. He paused when he spotted something that caught his interest. The word 'were' was visible on a partially covered piece of paper. He knelt and grabbed it, lifting it to his eye level and flashing the blacklight over it. What he read made his stomach twist.

Werewolves: no two are exactly alike! Do not engage them, if you see one, RUN. They don't care who or what you are, they will attack you with intent to kill! Absolutely lethal- nobody stands a chance!