Turning the tables

Chapter 13 - Will, you sly motherfucker...

I groaned, opening my eyes and looking around. I was still in bed, practically half on top of Bill.  My head and entire right side of my body were on top of him, my right leg slotted in-between his. I winced as some of my bruises were poked, noticing that my scratches were now bandaged. Regardless, I sat up, looking around a little. "Well, good afternoon to you too, pine tree." Bill greeted, laughing when I groaned. "Jeez, okay... you're not gonna cuddle me anymore? You've been practically glued to me all night." He teased. "No, Bill... Friends don't cuddle together, especially ones that used to be enemies just a few days ago..." I said, rolling my eyes as I lay back down. Bill gasped, "How rude! Friends do cuddle, especially ones that used to be enemies." He huffed dramatically, making me chuckle as I wrapped my arms around my knees and lay my head on my knees, looking at him. "But, seriously... where did they take your clothes?" He asked, raising a brow. I looked down at the cloth I was still wearing, shrugging my shoulders. "I honestly have no idea, I woke up with only the cloth and jewellery on. Now let me rest." I huffed, closing my eyes again as I lay my head back on my knees. "Alright, I'll be quiet, but just a heads up Mable is on her way over," he informed me. I sighed at the thought of my sister visiting, "Why? The last time she was here she-" "I know what she did, Dipper, but you have to make up eventually." he said. He wasn't wrong, so I didn't argue and just relaxed as he scrolled through his phone.

About half an hour later Mable arrived and knocked on the door. "Come in!" Bill called, not bothering to move me to go downstairs. Somehow, Mable heard him and walked into the house and then up the stairs. I heard her walk somewhere else, presumably Bill's room, and then she came up to my room. "Hey, guys..." She said, scratching the back of her head nervously. "Hi, Mable." Bill greeted. "Is Dipper asleep?" I hear her ask. "Nah, he's just being a baby." Bill chuckled, making me whine. "I'm not a baby! 'M just tired... plus, this would be a really weird position for me to fall asleep in..." I mumbled. Mable walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. "Okay, you're right... but, listen, Dipper? I'm sorry about last time, I shouldn't have-" "Don't worry about it, Mable. Now hush, I have a headache." I said, sighing softly as I lay back down, Bill moving his free hand to play with my hair, which I didn't protest as I shifted my head so it was onto his chest again. Mable smiled softly, "Well, I'm glad you and Bill can get along now." She hummed, "Also, you did a beautiful job on that mural, Dipper." She commented, and I nodded. "Yeah, thanks..." I mumbled. Mable looked at us a little. "Alright, well, I'll let you two relax while I go make some dinner. I'm sure neither of you has eaten for a while. Plus, I need to call Pacifica and Perseus. They're worried about you." Mabel said, patting my back before leaving the room, closing the door and heading downstairs. Bill and I lay in comfortable silence for a while, simply recharging after our fright of last night. Sure, I had only been in his dimension for just over a day or so, but the horrors were still fresh in my mind. I whimpered, cuddling closer to Bill at the thought of all those monsters.

Bill looked up from his phone, setting it aside in favour of wrapping both his arms around me. "Dipper, what's wrong?" He asked. I started to breathe quickly so he sat up, still keeping his arms around me tightly. "Shhh... It's okay, pine tree. I've got you." Bill whispered. I sniffled, starting to sob as I clung to him. He held me close, rocking me gently as I cried into his chest. I hadn't cried last night, but at this point, it was too much for me to repress. "I know, let it out, Pine tree... I've got you, you're safe now." He spoke calmly, his voice sweet and smooth like honey as he tried to keep me calm. He looked around, then wrapped me in a blanket, looking up as Mabel walked in. "What happened?" She asked, shocked. "The fright finally caught up to sapling," Bill explained, gently shushing me as he ran his fingers through my hair. 

That's when I couldn't take it anymore. I screamed. I screamed to the point it didn't sound like me anymore; Until my throat was raw and until all the pain was released into this one guttural scream. I couldn't see Bill, since I had my eyes closed, but I could feel how he gently covered my ear with one of his hand's and pressed my head to his chest, his arm pressing against mine gentle as his second wrapped around the bottom half of my curled up body. I clung to him, gripping at his shirt as though it was the only thing tethering me to this world. I could feel Bill gently rocking me, holding me close as I sobbed over the past, and over how I had just been kidnapped. After what seemed like hours, my screaming and sobbing reduced to hiccups and gentle sniffles. Bill gently took his hand off my ear, lifting my head up gently so that I was looking at him; "Feel any better, my dear pine tree?" He asked gently, almost reducing me to tears once again. I hugged him, breathing shakily as he held me. He continued to gently rock me until I pulled away, whipping my eyes and sniffling. He cupped my cheeks with his hands, wiping away any stray tears with his thumbs. "There, see? You're okay, Dipper." He reassured, hesitantly pressing a kiss to my forehead. I laughed lightly, "Why'd you do that, Dorito?" I asked, raising a brow. His cheeks became a light pink as he shrugged, his freckles becoming more prominent against the pink of his cheeks. "You needed it." He justified, smiling a little as I laughed. I lay my head back on his shoulder, too tired to really move at this point.