The Colors of the Summoning Wheel

11

The light died down, and Dipper rubbed his eyes. He was sitting against Bill's chest on the floor. Soos and Stan were next to him, and Mabel was in the center of the room. Dipper felt Bill's arms squeeze around his chest, and Dipper looked up in Bill's eyes. He stood up and held out his hands to Bill, who took them before standing up, as well. Dipper looked around at Soos, Stan, and Mabel, who had gotten up as well, before spotting another man in a trench coat and goggles with a gun strapped to his back.

"Who's that?" Dipper asked. Everyone turned toward the man, who pulled down his hood and took off his goggles.

"The author of the journals." Stan stated. "My brother."

Dipper, Mabel, Soos, and Bill stared with wide eyes. "Is this the part where one of us faints?" Mabel asked.

"I'm so on it, dudes." Soos said before promptly falling to the ground.

"Brother!" Stan exclaimed, holding his arms out and approaching the male. The male stared at Stan for a brief moment before punching him in the jaw. Stan fell to the ground. "What was that for?"

"It's your fault I was in that portal in the first place!" The man yelled at him.

Stan rubbed his jaw. "A simple 'thank you' would be nice." He muttered.

"Thank you? You expect me to thank you after what you did?"

The two began to bicker and fight with each other as the other three watched. Dipper sniffed. Then he noticed the tears falling down his face. Then he started trembling. His legs gave out, and he fell to his knees, pressing his hands over his ears to attempt to block out the sound.

Bill noticed this and kneeled down next to him, placing a hand gently on Dipper's head. "Mason? Are you alright?" Dipper couldn't find his voice, so he simply shook his head as he forced a sob down his throat. Bill turned to Mabel. "Is he okay?"

Mabel shrugged with wide eyes. "This never happened before. I don't know what's going on."

Bill picked up Dipper, who's breathing began to grow faster and heavier. "I'm going to take him into the other room. Try to calm things down in here."

Mabel nodded. "Will do. Take care of him, Bill."

Bill nodded back. "I will." He took Dipper into the other room and set him down gently on the floor. He took Dipper's hands and squeezed them. "Mason, can you hear me?" Dipper nodded. "It's alright. It'll be okay."

Memories flooded into Dipper's mind. Memories of him getting pushed around, picked on, and bullied at school. Memories of him getting into physical fights. He shuddered, sobbing as he remembered. Mabel wasn't always there to protect him from bullies at school. He would always get picked on for being different. For being a nerd. For being smart.

Suddenly, it clicked. Dipper realized why he couldn't sleep at night. Why he was always paranoid. Why he hated people complimenting him. Why it never really hurt when he got a cut or a bruise.

It was because he had depression.

Intrusive thoughts quickly entered Dipper's mind, like a dam being broke. They were voices in his head, telling him he was worthless and he should harm himself. Dipper shook his head as he wiped his cheeks. He opened his eyes to look at Bill, who was crying himself as he read Dipper's thoughts.

"Mason... why didn't you tell me?" Bill whispered.

"I... I didn't want you to be sad..." Dipper forced out.

"Mason, you have to tell me these things." Bill took Dipper's hands in his. "You'll only make me worry more."

"I don't need you to worry about me. I can take care of myself."

"Obviously not, if you're getting bullied in school."

"It's fine. I can deal with it."

"Mason, listen to me!" Bill placed his hands at Dipper's jaw. "It hurts me that you've been getting bullied. It hurts me that nothing has stopped it, and you've never asked for help. I hate seeing you upset, or in pain. I only want to see you happy. I want you to be happy, with me."

"I am happy with you." Dipper reassured him. "I promise."

"Then why? Why didn't you stop it?" Dipper fell silent. "Mason, you have to protect yourself. You have to fight back. You can't rely on me or Mabel to come help you."

Dipper began to cry again. "Please stop..."

Bill took a deep breath and attempted to calm down. "Sorry. I shouldn't be freaking out like this. I'm sorry." Bill eyed him. "But I'm not going to let this go. We'll talk about it later." He began to stand up.

Dipper quickly took Bill's hands and pulled him down. "Stay with me. Stay with me tonight."

"Mason, I don't think I can-"

"Please. Just for tonight. Stay with me. Or let me stay with you. Or something. Just don't leave me alone tonight."

Bill sighed. "Okay. We can go to my house. I promise I won't leave you tonight."

"Thank you." Dipper smiled softly at Bill.

Bill ruffled Dipper's hair. "You're welcome, my little PineTree."