a redhead's dream | a.d

Chapter Ten

"Alright, so when William asks ya if ya feel comfortable wit him, what'd'ya say?"

"... Yes."

"No!" Albert exclaimed, pointing at her. "Ya tell him dat he's messed up in tha brain, 'n dat he needs ta quit it if he really wants ya ta like him!"

Dipper raised an eyebrow at him.

Albert huffed, lowering his arm. "Maybe not in those words."

"Albert, dis ain't somethin' I can't do," she insisted, looking up at him from the ground. "I know yer tryna help, but even if I was strong enough ta put him in his place, I don't got tha courage. It's hopeless. Ise bett-ah off jus... leavin' 'Hattan again once dis is all ov-ah wit."

Slowly, Albert approached her. "Dat's tha reason ya left in tha foist place... ain't it? Ta get away from him?"

She gave him a wry smile, hands clasped together on top of her crossed legs. "Luckily for me, he don't leave town often."

Albert grounded his teeth, wondering what got him to do all this in the first place. But then his eyes would drift over to the defeated looking girl sitting on the ground, and the answer would come to him. She'd changed everything, and he had yet to figure out if it was for the better or worse. "Get up."

Dipper slowly raised her eyes to his, looking lost. "Why?"

"C'mon, jus get up," he repeated. "I wanna try somethin'."

She hesitantly stood up, awaiting his next order.

"Go... stand by dat wall," Albert continued, gesturing to said one.

She nodded and strolled over, frowning at him once she'd arrived. "What's yer plan?"

He waved her question away, but approached her and crossed his arms. "I want ya ta pretend Ise William."

Her mouth fell open in shock. "But ya got brown eyes," she blurted, before quickly covering her mouth with her hand.

"Ise aware," he laughed. "But I want ya ta pretend I don't. I want ya ta pretend dey's like William's eyes. Tha eyes yer most scared 'a. 'Cause let's face it—we both know you is."

"I-I can't," she murmured. "I jus... I can't."

"Ya can," he pushed. "Now-" he moved so that his arms were entrapping her by the wall, shifting on his feet awkwardly. She was so close. So close. "Tell me, honestly, does dis make ya uncomfortable?"

She stared at him head on, although he might've said that there'd been a bit of a red hue to her cheeks if he wasn't so convinced it was a trick of the light. "No."

Albert pursed his lips and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. He hoped she would cave and tell him to shove off before he ran out of safe places to rest his hands—even her hair would suffice if it came down to it. He had no intentions of touching her elsewhere, and he was certain she felt the same. The thought of William overstepping his own unspoken rules set his blood boiling. "Does dis make ya uncomfortable?"

"No," she answered, quicker this time. And perhaps a little more fiercely, like she was getting frustrated with both the test and herself.

"I ain't Albert," he reminded her. "I ain't yer friend. Ise William, tha one who's gonna know how ta make ya do what he wants tha next time he sees ya. Think 'a his green eyes, 'n how ya have a hard time trustin' anyone else who has some 'cause 'a him."

Dipper's breath caught. "How d'ya even know dat?"

"Lane let it slip," he admitted sheepishly. "But c'mon—focus."