A Code to DeCipher (BillDip)

Chapter 2

Dipper took the stairs two at a time, and he repositioned his hat as he walked into the gift shop. His Grunkle was holding three big boxes that he dropped to the floor.

"Uh...what's in the boxes?" Dipper questioned. Stanley stood up straight again, a hand on his back.

"Miscellaneous items that were way cheaper than what I'm going to sell them for." He replied. Dipper shrugged.

"Figured." The boy admitted with a small smirk.

"Unpack these, will you?" He instructed, beginning to leave.

"Grunkle Stan, wait! I have...stuff I need to do!" Dipper rubbed the back of his head, not meeting his uncle's gaze. Stanley looked at Dipper for a moment, scrutinizing.

"Fine." He said after a while. "Unpack one of them, then you can go do whatever nerdy crap it is you're doing." Then he left. Dipper put one of the boxes on the counter and reached into his pocket to grab his pocketknife. His fingers closed around nothing, and he realized that he must have dropped it when he attacked Bill. He was about to go retrieve the knife, when his uncle looked at him from the other room, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. Dipper waved at him slightly, then groaned and turned back to the box. He then unceremoniously pulled off the tape, opening the cardboard square. Carrying multiple items at once, Dipper began to unpack the box, very nearly throwing the items onto the shelves. When he finally emptied the box, Dipper tossed the flattened cardboard container to the side of the room and raced back upstairs.

(Trigger warning: self harm)

He opened the door to the attic and entered the room, closing the door behind him. It took him a moment to locate Bill. When he did, he found him hanging upside down off one of the banisters. He was doing something that Dipper couldn't quite make out, so he walked closer to see what it was. A drop of a crimson liquid dripped onto Dipper's cheek as he looked up at Bill. Dipper wiped it off, wondering if Bill's nose was still bleeding. Then he saw what was in Bill's hand. It was Dipper's pocket knife.

"Bill?! What are you doing?!" Dipper demanded. Bill looked down at him, which Dipper figured was actually looking up, but...whatever. The dream demon grinned.

"Hey there, Pine Tree!" He greeted, his voice still the same echoey nightmare that drifted through Dipper's darkest dreams. Bill showed Dipper his arm, which was covered in small but deep looking cuts, like Bill had been repeatedly poking himself with the knife. "This feels so weird!" He laughed, poking himself with sharp tip once more. Dipper's eyes widened and he made a swipe for the knife, but he missed. "Oops! You'll have to be faster than that!" Bill teased, flipping off the banister and landing on Dipper's bed. The yellow demon looked at his blood on the knife and whistled appreciatively.

"You humans've got it all! I mean, the sensory nerves in this thing sure are something!" He declared, pricking himself again, making Dipper cringe. "Ouch. See? That actually hurt!" Bill laughed. "Here, let me show you!" Bill grabbed Dipper by the wrist and yanked him forward.

"Bill, wait, I- gah! Quit it!" Dipper snarled, snatching the knife out of Bill's hand. Cipher just smirked and leaned back as Dipper clutched the wound the demon had caused. With a glare, Dipper pocketed his knife and pulled out Mabel's first aid kit. He grabbed a disinfectant wipe and some bandages, then sat down on the bed next to Bill. Dipper held out his hand and Bill, rather cautiously, gave Dipper his arm. He worked silently, his jaw clenched, as he cleaned Bill's self-inflicted wounds.

"Ooh, the silent treatment." Bill cooed. Dipper shot him a look, which only made Bill laugh. "Aw, lighten  up, Pine Tree! Have a little fun!" Dipper finished wrapping Bill's arm and jabbed him in the chest with his pointer finger.

"Cutting yourself like that just for the heck of it isn't fun, Cipher, it's..." he hesitated, unsure of whether or not he was ready to open that can of worms with the dream demon. Bill smirked.

"Insane?" he guessed, raising an eyebrow. "So am I, you know," he pointed out. Dipper sighed and sat back, rubbing his forehead. That wasn't necessarily what he was going to say, but...

"Yeah, I know," he replied anyway. The two were silent for a moment, and Bill brought his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them.

"It's sweet you care, though." Dipper looked up at Bill, his eyebrows furrowed.

"What did you say?" He questioned. Bill just looked at him, not saying anything. Dipper felt his cheeks getting red, so he huffed and put his chin on his knees, which were brought up to his chest like Bill's. Dipper winced slightly when he put pressure on the cut on his arm. He looked at it frowned. Bill had scratched a small triangle into his arm. Dipper raised his arm as well as an accusatory eyebrow at Bill, who shrugged.

"Gotta leave my mark, don't I?" He teased. Dipper rolled his eyes and began wrapping up his arm.

"Yeah, totally, go ahead and carve your face into my arm." He replied sarcastically. Bill frowned, crossing his arms. Then he smirked again, narrowing his eyes.

"Next time I'll just go ahead and carve my name in you, then. Whatdya think, Pine Tree? Property of Bill Cipher?" He suggested. Dipper glared at him and Bill laughed. "Sheesh, kid! Take a joke! It's a good thing your sister is such a ray of sunshine, or it'd always be cloudy over here." The demon teased. Dipper rolled his eyes, and he got to his feet. Suddenly, Bill's hands went to his stomach.

"What in the name of all things impossible is this?!" Bill demanded. Dipper frowned, confused at first. Then he heard Bill's stomach growl and he couldn't help himself. Dipper began to laugh. The sound burst from his lips and caused him to double over, clutching his side. "Dipper, this isn't funny! I could be dying!" Bill complained. This made Dipper laugh harder as Bill got his feet. Dipper put a hand on Bill's shoulder, trying to catch his breath. He wiped away the tears that had formed from laughing and looked at Bill.

"You're hungry, Bill. You aren't dying, you need food!" He explained. Bill rubbed the back of his head, not looking at Dipper.

"Oh, yeah." Dipper furrowed his eyebrows, confused. Why was Bill acting so strange all of a sudden. Then Dipper realized how close he and the demon were standing, and that Dipper's hand was still on Bill's shoulder. His face red, Dipper stepped back, removing his hand and turning around.

"Right. Well, I'll...I'll go get you some food. Just...stay here, and...try not to kill yourself." Then Dipper ran downstairs. When he got to the kitchen he leaned against the counter, a hand on his head. What had just happened? Bill was his enemy. He had nearly killed Mabel and the rest of Dipper's family multiple times, and had even possessed Dipper's body, at one point. Dipper despised him....right?

A/N: Aw, Bill is such a child in this! He has no clue how to be a human being! Haha!