Chapter Text
Dipper tipped his head back, balancing his eraser on his nose, listening idly to the professor droning on in the background about quizzes and the dress code... it was massively dull. He had to take this class to get his degree, sure... but he wished he didn't have to.
“... psst,” someone hissed softly in his direction. He tipped his eyes back behind him to look at the person calling to him. The guy in question looked like a seriously over-professional mess... He'd been through something tragic at some point in his life, if the eyepatch was real -Dipper had his doubts after seeing his Grunkle's fake eyepatch- and he had on a formal pair of black pants, held up with suspenders over a pure white shirt, and there was a formal black hat resting on the desk, which Dipper could easily see on the guy's blonde hair, which was brushed down and styled formally. “... wanna see something cool?” the guy whispered.
“A hairbrush would be cooler than this class,” Dipper whispered back. “... sure. Show me.”
“Great!” the guy whispered back, grinning. “Alright, just watch the professor, you'll see it probably pretty soon.”
Dipper looked back down at the professor, picking up his eraser, wondering what there was to see down there. The professor continued going on about the dress code, before pausing to unscrew his waterbottle. “If you value your limbs and skin in general, make sure you are wearing clothes to cover all of it, some of the chemicals we're working with can eat right through skin.” He took a drink of his liquid before spitting it out in a violent burst, all over his table. “WHAT?” he growled, looking down into his cup. “What is in here?!” He slammed the waterbottle down, turning to face the students. “Which one of you put this slime into my drink?”
The students were laughing, surprised by their teacher's violent reaction. Dipper was among them, highly amused by the prank the guy behind him had pulled... he hadn't expected it at all. The professor was clearly furious, but any attempt he made to calm the students resulted in louder laughter, and finally he slammed his hand down on the table.
“If no one will fess up, you will get your first exam on Friday, and I don't mean a little pop quiz. I mean a hundred point exam,” the professor said, irritated. “... We're going to finish up today's class the way I'd planned to. So you'll only get one class of me teaching you before you've got to take the exam. It's over the first two chapters of your textbook. Every single one of these little pranks will lead to greater punishments, so consider that before you pull another one.”
“Enevitable,” he smirked behind Dipper, and Dipper softly chuckled. What a real surprise. The rest of the class was a barely held-together lesson, before they were dismissed.
Dipper walked next to the guy out of the classroom, glancing over at him. “That was something... Like, I didn't expect that to happen at all.”
“My specialty,” the guy winked back, amused. “By the by, I'm Bill Cipher! Nice ta meetcha!”
“What an odd name,” Dipper chuckled. “I'm Dipper Pines, nice to meet you.”
“While we're talking about odd names,” Bill responded, grinning from ear to ear.
“Ah... yeah. It's not my birthname,” Dipper shrugged.
“Bill's not my birthname either,” Bill answered, entertained.
“William?” Dipper questioned, glancing ahead to spot his next classroom.
“Ugh, no, definitely not!” Bill wrinkled his nose. “... That name is my brother's name... I have no desire to claim it. Ooh, you see that guy there?”
“Umm... the one with his hands full?” Dipper questioned, glancing at the guy Bill was pointing out.
“Yes!” Bill went off to go up to the guy. He slipped something from his bag onto the guy's pile in his hands, before rushing off to stand next to Dipper. “Alright! Let's get going!”
“Uh... sure, but what did you do?” Bill grabbed him by the arm, leading him away from the guy who was standing with his arms full.
“Well, I think you'll-”
The startled scream from behind them got Dipper to skid to a stop, looking over his shoulder. “What was that?”
Bill kept pulling him, walking away from it. “Hehe! Not a problem, not a problem! He was just really really startled! I mean, you don't expect to get THAT in your arms out of the blue, for sure!”
“What- what was it?” Dipper wrinkled his nose, baffled by Bill's actions in his pranking.
“I don't know,” Bill answered, brightly. “I wasn't there to see it, right?”
Once they were out of the school, Bill was laughing as he sunk down on a bench. “Oh, man, that was amazing, his scream! Premium!”
“What do you think was in his hands?” Dipper winced, looking around.
“Hehehe!” Bill rocked forward and back, rubbing his legs. “It was a thing I found at the bottom of my brother's hamper! It's pretty moldy, so it's no wonder he was freaked out!”
“Uh... Your brother has a moldy /something/ at the bottom of his hamper? Where his clothes go?” Dipper asked, startled. “... Why?”
“Eh...” Bill wrinkled his nose. “... The last person he dated, they were gross. Himself, he's super super clean... but this guy, he was a disaster. I tried to do away with him several times but every time I got caught and got in a lot of trouble.”
“Oh, that's good, you care a lot about him, huh?” Dipper asked, brightly.
“Absolutely not!” Bill returned, irritated. “I hate him, almost as much as I do the ex... Believe me, Will is not anyone I want to know or be seen with.”
“Oh...” Dipper looked away. “Um, I got really distracted, I meant to go to my next class now and know where it is when it starts.”
“Mmm.” Bill tipped his head back. “Alright. I'm gonna go walk around the school and see what else I can do to keep me entertained. Enjoy your other classes, or... you know, enjoy your eraser time. Whichever.”
Dipper chuckled, nodding. “Will do.” He went off to go to his next class. He finally found it, nodding in satisfaction. Perfect. He went to the cafeteria and took a seat, settling with his drink he'd bought, reflecting on the guy he'd met. What a weird sort of guy...
Dipper choked when arms were flung around his neck, hugging him tightly. “Dip-dip! How's class?” Mabel beamed, snuggling against him.
“Mabel!” Dipper managed, startled. “... Geez, I didn't hear you coming! Man!”
Mabel giggled. “How is class for you? It's great for me!”
“Ah...” Dipper smiled. “It's pretty good. Classes are good so far, but you know, they haven't really started yet! These are just prelim classes, like, here's all the things you should know about classes... and goodbye.”
“I suppose!” Mabel took a seat next to him, kicking her feet. “So, what're you doing in here? I've been looking all over for you.”
“Oh... I'm just thinking,” Dipper chuckled. “I met a super weird guy in my first class.”
“Good weird or creepy weird? Was he the kind of weird that means I'd have to be afraid of him maybe touching me?” Mabel tapped her chin, thinking.
“Hmm...” Dipper took a drink of his soda, mulling over her question. “To be honest... I'm not sure? I think I'll find out, since we've got that class together.”
“Well, why is he weird? Maybe I can help,” Mabel nodded.
“He is weird because...” Dipper paused. “... well, it's like... okay. I was sitting in class and my attention wandered super hard. So I was playing with my eraser and I heard someone whisper to me. I turned around and he asked if I wanted to see something really cool. I said yes, and he said to look at the professor, and I'd see it.”
Mabel was already grinning, wondering what Dipper saw. “Oh, he sounds fun!”
“He is, but I looked and I didn't see anything. The professor talked for another couple minutes, and then he went to take a drink from his bottle and spit it all over his desk and whirled on us like a fury. He demanded to know who'd put slime in his waterbottle. The whole class erupted, in a hilarious fit... the professor ended up giving us our first exam on Friday since no one confessed to who'd done the slime thing... I don't think any of us minded too much, it was really hilarious,” Dipper chuckled.
Mabel was doubled over, laughing in surprise at the super unusual prank Bill had pulled. “Slime? I hope it was a safe slime like... like jello... but that is hilarious!”
“It was!” Dipper chuckled. “After that, we were walking to look for my next class, and Bill was like, ah, that guy, and he strolled up to this guy who had his arms full of stuff, and he put something on top of the stuff and he hustled us out of there. As we left, I heard the guy's unbridled scream from behind us and we kept walking. Bill laughed as he told me it was something moldy he'd found in his brother's hamper... and we talked a couple more minutes and then I told him I wanted to look for my next class and off I went. He was really unusual, but a lot of fun. I dread the day I get one of those pulled on me.”
“... uh, he found something moldy in his brother's clothing hamper?” Mabel wrinkled her nose. “... like, a clothing item?”
“I guess. It was from Will's ex-boyfriend, not Will himself...” Dipper shrugged. “Bill had a lot to say.”
“Hmm,” Mabel crossed her arms. “He sounds really interesting. I'd like to meet him. If you get along with him, introduce me.”
“Look who it is!” Bill flung himself down next to Dipper, grinning from ear to ear. “Hiya, Pine Tree! What's up? You have a female clone!”
“Oh, uh, no. This is my twin sister, Mabel,” Dipper gestured to her, awkwardly. “What're you doing here, Bill?”
“Ahh...” Bill made a face.
“Woah! Dip! You didn't tell me-” Mabel paused. “You didn't tell me what he looked like...”
“Right, yeah... I don't think it really was something I should talk about?” Dipper ruffled his hair. “ mean, he really does have a nice look, but...”
“Yeah, but the eye! That's so cool! I mean, it's possible it's like our Grunkle's, but I don't think Bill is the same as Grunkle Stan,” Mabel said, admiring him.
“Oh... yeah,” Bill crossed his arms. “This is real. I was born without it, but it's a real scene under here, so I keep the patch on... not really something I want to talk about, female Pine Tree.”
“Right, I'm so sorry. It's not my place to talk about it, I just am really fascinated!” Mabel winced. “Sorry, Bill.”
“Yeah... Well, what I'm doing here... I pulled a couple more of my genius schemes, and one of the teachers caught me... kicked me out of that building for the day. So... I went to wandering. Happened to catch sight of you and female you, so I came right over! Hiya, female Pine Tree... uh, Heart, I guess,” Bill gestured to her shirt. “... Something like that!”
“Uh, yeah, no, not my jam,” Mabel wrinkled her nose. “I'm not a Heart kind of girl. I'm more one of a kind than that.”
“Exploding Planet kind of one of a kind?” Bill laughed, amused. “Or like, ooh, like Exploding Heart! That's even rarer than-”
Mabel coughed, shaking her head. “No, no, neither of those. Like, Rainbows or... Heavenly Choruses, or...”
“Shooting stars,” Dipper muttered, taking a sip of his drink.
“Hey, yeah, I do really like those!” Mabel beamed.
“Uh, yeah, I know, your room is covered in them,” Dipper shook his head.
“Shooting Star works for me,” Bill winked. “Shooting Star and Pine Tree, it's perfect, a real duo there!”
“Why're you calling us that and not our real names?” Mabel questioned, curiously.
“Ah, well, Pine Tree and I here, we don't even use our real names so, there's no point in that, you, I think you probably do, who'd choose your name as an alias?” Bill gestured at her. “But this way, we all kind of fit together, and none of us use our real names!”
“Oh, yeah... I get it,” Mabel said. She glanced around the cafeteria. “... Oh, Dipper, Dipper, look! Look at him!” Mabel pointed, eyes wide.
Dipper followed her point, spotting a guy sitting toward the front of the cafeteria, bright blue hair glowing as he read through a book. “Oh, yeah. Blue haired one? It's really nice, I wouldn't do it to my hair, but it looks great.”
“I would completely go pink, but then, you know, I couldn't go back,” Mabel tugged at her hair, looking at it. “... Oh! I could bring you in and then they'd know my color!”
“Uh, yeah, that's true,” Dipper nodded.
“Still though, that's really brave,” Mabel looked back at the blue hair, admiration in her voice. “I wish I were that brave.”
“Brave?” Bill cut across them, irritated. “If you think that prissy failure is anything admirable, than it's pretty obvious you don't know him!”
“Oh, you know him?” Mabel looked over at him, surprised. “How's he a failure? I mean, what's not admirable about him?”
“Everything!” Bill frowned. “Yeah, he loves the blue hair, it's super easy to put into his stupid blonde hair... Ugh. Look, you can like him as much as you want, but don't try to talk positively about that worthless crybaby around me, I won't sit here and let you guys enjoy him while I'm here.”
“Um, so... he's- he's your brother, Will?” Dipper asked, quietly.
Bill visually pouted, pursing his lips. “Very, very, very, very, very unfortunately! I wish he wasn't here! I guess he isn't competent enough to get in anywhere else, the crybaby!”
“Oh, he's the one with the moldy hamper!” Mabel nodded her head. “Got it! I should go over and say hi, he seems like we'd be pretty good friends! The blue hair, and just everything I've heard so far...”
Bill scratched his nails on the table, looking agitated. “That's fine, go see Crybaby if you want. I'm gonna go back to my dorm, I don't even want to see people giving him the kindness he doesn't deserve.”
“See you, Bill,” Dipper chuckled, waving goodbye.
Mabel went off to go speak with Will, and Dipper glanced up at the clock. He supposed he needed to go to class, fifteen minutes early was likely fine... He headed off.
That evening, Dipper was lying on his bed, reading through the second chapter of his textbook, intending to study his way through until Friday. He sighed, turning a page. How irritating... His phone rang and Dipper answered it, glancing up. “Hi, Mabel, what's up?”
“Dip, do you ever have times where you see someone saying bad things and you try to disbelieve them, after all, you don't know the person they're talking about, but when you meet that person, they sort of confirm what that one person was saying? It's like,” Mabel paused. “I don't want to dislike Will, he seems like he'd be a great guy, I mean, he's gay, that whole LGBT vibe is my thing I get along so well with all of them I've met, he's got blue hair, we'd be so close! But when I went up to him to talk to him, he gave me a doubletake and packed up, and disappeared!”
Dipper frowned to himself, thinking. “He just took off?”
“Yeah! When I tried to catch him to talk to him about why he left, he just gave me this cold sort of look, and shook his head. He said that he didn't want to talk to me. I flinched and grabbed at him begging him to stay and talk to me. I said it seemed like we'd be great friends... he looked around before looking right at me, and he said that he didn't trust me, and please leave him alone, and he just left. I don't get it, Dip, I didn't even talk to him!”
“... We were right next to his brother. It's possible he saw that and that's why he doubted you,” Dipper drummed his fingers on his arm. “I mean, those two really don't get along. Maybe he thinks you're some kind of trap set up by Bill?”
“I sure don't know,” Mabel sighed. “I”m going to keep trying, though... It's just tough.”
“Hmm. Yeah, I don't know, Mabel. I'm not sure how to help with that,” Dipper sighed. “I wish you luck though.”
“Thanks.”
Dipper didn't see another sign of Bill until their next class, spotting Bill settling in next to him, grinning from ear to ear. “Hiya, Pine Tree! You look more interested so far, let's see if it holds in through the class!”
“It should, I don't want to fail the exam,” Dipper answered, smiling. “How've you been, Bill?”
“Pretty good!” Bill chuckled. “I had a really fun time talking with Crybaby about Mabel's attempt to talk to him!”
“Oh... yeah, he really didn't want to talk to her, huh? I don't know what got into him,” Dipper sighed. “Did she do something wrong?”
“Not at all,” Bill said, amused. “He refused to talk to her because she was with me, it was really quite simple!”
“Oh... How come he did that?” Dipper asked, puzzled.
“Weeeeeelllll...” Bill grinned from ear to ear. “When we were in K-12...”
“... oh,” Dipper winced, looking down at the ground.
“Yes! I was quite dedicated to making sure his life was as ruined as he makes mine, and so now, he really avoids me or anything to do with me as much as possible!” Bill answered, amused. “Want to hear my favorite story?”
Dipper was silent, trying to process the whole tale, feeling bad for Will.
“Alright, alright, so... I was walking past his room to my own... and I heard him up to something fun in there,” Bill smirked, winking. “A real good time. So, I decided I should embarrass the stuff out of him, I slipped in and-”
“Oh... Uh, Bill, isn't that kind of... I mean, he's your brother...” Dipper wrinkled his nose. “I mean, you're not implying something like...”
Bill laughed, tossing his head. “Brother, yes, but not biological, that makes it more tolerable! Right, right?”
“Uh... I guess?” Dipper rubbed his arm. “... I just, I can't see it...”
“Well, it was what it was,” Bill shrugged. “It was super humiliating for him, and afterwards, he was just covered in his own stuff and he was just crying and I loved it! I'd do it again any day to see him crying like that. I enjoyed it too, but obviously not the same way he did. I just enjoyed seeing him crying and humiliated and I didn't see even a breath of him for a full week after that!”
“Uh... I got it...” Dipper held back his shudder. “I, look, I trust Mabel like I trust myself to keep breathing, but I would actually murder her if... if she did what I feel like I'm getting from what you're saying.”
“Oh... yeah, he tried to, but... he's really weak, and he was so busy crying and shooting ropes, he really couldn't manage to hurt me,” Bill chuckled.
“Uh... yeah...” Dipper looked away. “Well... um. I'm not sure if not biological overwrites the brother thing.”
“... So, wait, are you implying either that I molested my brother, or that I sexually assaulted my roommate?” Bill wrinkled his nose. “I mean, which is it? What are you saying? I mean, I'm kind of pissed off on either one.”
“Uh, well, it means that you, basically sexually assalted your roommate, and you took pleasure in his crying and sadness,” Dipper thought to himself. “It seems kind of odd, Bill.”
“Ugh,” Bill muttered, irritated. “Well, I wouldn't do it for any kind of... ugh, it didn't please me for... for those kind of... forget it! He's back in here.”
Dipper and Bill fell silent, focusing on the class. Afterwards, Bill followed along with Dipper, too bothered to really talk to him. “Want to come with me to the cafeteria?” Dipper gestured that way.
“... Yeah, I guess,” Bill frowned. “... I just, I'm uncomfortable thinking that you seem to think that I... ugh... I do not like him.”
“I got it, I just think you're lucky that he didn't, like, report that,” Dipper winced.
'“... You are making me angry, quit talking about it,” Bill waved his hand, ignoring Dipper.
“Uh, got it,” Dipper looked around. “Cafeteria... hey, maybe Mabel will show up again. We can say hi.”
Bill was silent, following behind Dipper. Dipper got breakfast, munching on it idly. Dipper noticed Bill was focused on something across the room and he glanced at it.
Will was reading another book, deeply focused on it. Bill growled softly, getting to his feet.
“Damn it. I'll be back!” Bill went off to go speak to Will, Will fleeing the moment he detected Bill anywhere near him. Bill snatched up the backpack Will had against his chair, saying something dark and cruel to Will, getting him to freeze, and finally, tears to flow down one side of his face.
They talked a minute before heading out, leaving the cafeteria. Dipper watched them go, curious.
He spotted them talking heatedly, Will looking fearful, looking as far away from Bill as possible. Bill took a step towards him and Will flinched, backing away. Mabel popped up out of nowhere, throwing her arms around Will's shoulders from behind, cheerfully joining into their conversation.
Bill threw his hands up before leaving them, going back inside. He slumped down onto his chair next to Dipper, arms crossed. “Shooting Star is a gigantic pain, you know... she is the same as Crybaby at heart.”
“Oh? What did- what did she do?” Dipper flinched.
“Ugh. I was talking to him, and he said the dumbest thing ever... I went to punish him... but Shooting Star popped up. She threw her arms around his shoulders and seemed extremely eager to ruin our conversation so I left them,” Bill frowned, resting his elbow on the table. “They're still out there talking, look at them.”
Dipper looked back over out there. “That's good, he wouldn't talk to Mabel last time.”
“Crybaby doesn't really talk,” Bill muttered, sulkily. “So, she won't get much out of him.”
“She wants to be his friend, so, I think anything she gets out of him makes her happy,” Dipper shrugged, continuing to eat. He pushed his tray away, crossing his arms. “Ah... It looks like twenty more minutes until class. I had better clean up and get ready to go.”
“... I can't stand that they're out there talking!” Bill said, irritated. “I want her to let him go and leave him to the life he deserves.”
“Oh, Bill, I think everyone deserves friends,” Dipper wrinkled his nose. “I mean, I guess there's a few people I don't think do or did... but since I don't think he's as bad as like, Hitler... I think he does deserve them.”
“... He'll date her, you know? I don't want to hurt her to get her away from him,” Bill's tone was ominous. “I have done some truly unbelievable things to get them away from him.”
“Date her? So he's bi?” Dipper asked, impressed. “That's cool, I think some things take a lot of bravery, like, being bi and pan and stuff...”
Bill was silent a moment, irritated. “Pan.”
“Oh, that's neat,” Dipper nodded, picking up his tray. “Be right back.” He went to dump his tray, putting it up, going back to Bill. “Back.”
“...If you don't want me to hurt your sister, make sure you warn her not to date him,” Bill muttered. “... What are you?”
“Uh, I'll warn her, and I'm, uh, I'm straight,” Dipper pointed at himself. “I mean, I don't have any kind of problem with other sexualities, I've just never had an attraction to them. You?”
“I'm pan too,” Bill answered, his voice caged. “I just, you know, we're weird people, grew up in a really unusual home... We don't use our real names, even, why would I judge someone for what parts they have?”
“I got it,” Dipper nodded. “I guess I'm kind of... uh, what's the... the word for it? Shallow? I do take notice of the things that I probably shouldn't... I mean, I don't just off the cuff exclude girls who don't have the things I mentioned, but...I do notice girls who have them.”
“... I think everyone has... that, on some level. I think we're all attracted to things specifically...” Bill sat up. “I'm going back out there. If I leave them, I will have to-”
“Wait, wait, hold on,” Dipper winced. He pulled out his phone, shooting Mabel a text. He spotted Mabel laughing and then she looked down. She said something to Will, before checking her phone. She said something softly to Will, before patting his shoulder, before going back inside to talk to Dipper.
“Dipper, what was that?” Mabel asked, leaning on the table. “I was talking to Will, finally, and you told me to come back in here!”
“I'm sorry,” Dipper made a face. “I just-”
“Don't...” Bill pointed at her, anger in his eye, an odd sort of anger that made both Dipper and Mabel chilled. “Don't date him. If you date him, I will have to really drive you away, and make you wish you hadn't.”
“I, uh... Isn't he, uh, isn't he gay?” Mabel wrinkled her nose, looking toward Bill a little fearfully. “... I mean, if he's gay, then you don't have to-”
“Pan,” Bill let out an irritated huff. “Pan, he's pan, and don't date him. I will actually cause you harm to keep you away from him. He doesn't deserve it, and I will make you regret dating him, if you do.”
“Oh, he's pan? Geez, now I feel like I was teasing him out there. It was very friendly, we did a lot of fun conversation that could have looked like flirting...” Mabel paused. “I thought he was gay.”
“To you, he is, understand?” Bill focused on her, his nails digging into the table.
“I... I got it, I won't date him,” Mabel sighed, crossing her arms. “Can I go back to keep talking to him now? Was this the reason I got pulled away, to be bothered not to date someone I was sure was just gay?”
“It was, sorry, Mabel. He said he'd actually hurt you if you dated him, I wanted to make sure you knew,” Dipper nodded. “Alright, I'm gonna head to class. Have fun chatting with him.”
“I will, if I can catch him again!” Mabel nodded, heading off. Dipper went off as well, heading to class.
Bill continued to sit, irritated, looking off toward where Mabel went. Finally, he got to his feet, heading off. He knew where Will had went, and he wanted to burst with how angry he was.
He stalked off to go find Will, spotting Will sitting comfortably under the far left tree on the campus, reading his book with focus. When he spotted Bill, he flinched again, stiffening. “... yes? W-what? Haven't... haven't you already... What can I do?” He pressed his hair to his face, hiding behind it, praying that Bill would just leave. “I won't do anything... anything that you would need to... to punish me for...”
“Don't ask her out. And don't agree to date her if she asks you out,” Bill pointed at him, his voice full of ice and fury. “You've tried to hide it before and you remember what happened, don't you, Crybaby?”
Will whimpered, ducking his head. “I- I won't. As long as you're... as long as you're here, I won't do anything to make myself happy... I know what will happen. I... I know.”
Bill strolled up to him, grabbing him by the hair, yanking his head back. “You're absolutely right, you blue snake,” Bill hissed in his face. “I don't want you to be happy, I don't want to see or even imagine you intimate with her, and if you know what's good for her, you'll stay away from her.”
Will shuddered, closing his eye, sobbing silently. “I- I will... I'll stay away from her.”
“... Are you into her?” Bill demanded, his voice ice cold. “Does she do it for you? Push your buttons? Is she the kind of girl you'd do dirty things with and enjoy?”
“N-no,” Will silently cried, afraid of what Bill might do if he confirmed it. “No, I... I'm not attracted to her. Pyramid, please, leave me alone...”
Bill snarled, before falling silent, looking into Will's face. “I hate that your face looks so clean, you're missing the eye too, but you don't look mangled! You're the one who deserves to look like this, not me!” He flipped his eyepatch up, growling. “Why do you look so clean when you've got the same thing I do, and I have this mangled mess and you don't look like there's a thing wrong with you? You don't know how many times I've wanted to mangle that side of your face so you're ugly too!”
Will silently sobbed, sinking down to the ground, the tears flowing down his cheek, Bill still holding his hair in a vice-like grip. Bill stared at him, irritated.
“You're such a coward Crybaby... every time you get in this kind of position, you cry endlessly to see yourself out of it. Has it ever worked?”
Will was silent, before opening his eye slowly, looking up at Bill. “I, ah- no... I- I don't do it for... I just can't control my... I don't do it on purpose...”
Bill stared into Will's face, before yanking him back up by the hair, pulling him into a deep, brutal kiss, before releasing him, letting Will slump against the ground. “If you do something that makes me angry... I will punish you, and it will be in the worst way you can ever remember, except even worse than the last time.”
Will nodded, tearfully, pressing his face against the grass, to hide it. “I- I won't... I won't. I won't, I promise...”
“Great,” Bill glanced at him before strolling off, leaving Will to cower on the ground behind him.
On Friday, Dipper settled down in the classroom, sighing. What a tough thing. Now Mabel couldn't get Will to answer her back, and she was stressing out about it. Dipper figured that Bill had something to do with it. But he wasn't positive... When Bill settled in next to him, Dipper looked over at him. “Mornin' Bill...”
“Morning, Pine Tree!” Bill grinned, settling down in his seat. “How're you doing? Ready for the exam?”
“Best I can be,” Dipper sighed. “You...?”
“Of course!” Bill waved him off. “Of course I am.”
“Uh, Bill? Mabel says that Will won't text her back... is that... uh, did you say something to him?” Dipper made a face.
“I did what I needed to do,” Bill shrugged. “He should be keeping his distance from her now. If he doesn't, I'll find out...”
“Ah... how did... I just can't even imagine you guys talking!” Dipper shook his head.
“I went to where he usually sits on the grounds and I punished and threatened him,” Bill shrugged.
“Ah,” Dipper muttered, looking away from him. “... When you say punished, I get the vibe that I don't want to know what... what that means...”
“Heh, I added a fun little punishment for him on top of the other things... He really doesn't like it when I do intimate kinds of things with him...” Bill grinned from ear to ear, amused. “So I punished him with a really hard kiss, and he promised he wouldn't date her, he promised after that, I can assure you...”
“Umm...” Dipper wrinkled his nose. “How can you... I mean... Look, I think you're a super cool guy-”
“Thank you!” Bill grinned.
“But I just don't see how you can do that stuff and you don't... you don't even think about it...” Dipper paused a moment. “Doesn't- don't your punishments... Aren't they really unusually intimate for, for punishments? Are you sure you're actually punishing him because of all the stuff you've said, or is it... is it an intimate thing? Do you... can you be sure that it's not... like, an attraction kind of thing?”
Bill's face crumbled for a moment and Dipper found himself looking at a Bill who didn't have a face. Metaphorically, he supposed, Bill still had a face, but there was no expression at all on it. Finally, Bill shuddered and crossed his arms. His face looked... it was odd and uncomfortable, and he sighed, ducking his head.
“Why are you saying this kind of trash to me? Have I done something personally to you, Pine Tree?”
“Uh, no, I-”
“... look, I don't think that I have any kind of weird... thing for him. I really don't. I really hate him, and if you think it's some kind of... thing, you're wrong,” Bill frowned. “I didn't kiss him out of pleasure, I didn't torment him because I get boners from it... I don't like seeing him cry for some sexual thing... I just... I don't know... hell, now I feel like I have to justify what I do to him... I...” he glanced up. “... Professor is here.”
“Oh, so he is. We can talk more about this later!” Dipper assured, turning forward, getting his pencil ready.
Bill struggled through the exam, finally finishing it among the last in the class. He turned it in, taking a seat outside the classroom. Dipper's vile comments were still jammed in his head and he didn't know what to make of them. Of course, well, of course not... Bill wasn't attracted to Will. Definitely not.
When Dipper came out, he spotted Bill and waved at him, walking over. “How'd you do?”
“... I don't know,” Bill answered, brow knit. “... I couldn't focus. Not well? Probably? That Crybaby shot at me really wrecked my focus...”
“No, it wasn't a shot at you, I think maybe you actually do like him and you don't want to come to terms with that...” Dipper took a seat next to him. “Have you been considering it that way since I asked? I mean, you don't want people to date him-”
“I don't,” Bill huffed.
“You also force kisses and sexual punishments on him if he breaks your rules... and it seems like that's all kind of romantic-ish stuff for you,” Dipper shrugged. “I mean, if he can't date anyone, he can't fall in love with them or have sex with them... if he doesn't break your rules, then he can't ever be with anyone else. I think that's maybe because you want him with you-”
Bill growled, a low, inhuman noise, digging his nails into his pants. “I just- I don't...”
Those words were over the top of what Bill didn't want to hear. It was like having a nail pounded into his head and Bill couldn't really refute entirely what Dipper was saying. He was right, he couldn't stand the idea of Will dating anyone, or kissing them, or having sex with them... and he never really had pinpointed why, maybe it was jealousy that Will was dating and he wasn't, but Bill never really knew.
“No, it's not that!” Bill finally lied, irritated. “It's that that damn Crybaby doesn't have this same mutilation on his face that I do... I'm jealous of him, not that I want to...”
“Well, maybe so,” Dipper winced. “Sorry to throw all this at you, it just really seems like it could be the case.”
“Well, it isn't,” Bill got to his feet. “Don't ever say anything like this to me again.”
With that, he left Dipper to sit in the hallway, ambling angry and embittered through the college grounds. When he spotted Will ahead, moving toward the cafeteria, it felt like something snapped in his brain.
He lunged forward, grabbing Will's bag, yanking it back, sending Will sprawled out on the concrete, looking startled up at Bill. Will immediately began crying, rolling away from him. “I- I don't... I haven't done anything! Please... please, Pyramid, I haven't talked to her or anything! What have I done?”
In that moment, Bill's brain felt like it opened up to what he was actually looking at. Will was crying and upset and... he was deeply afraid of Bill, right there, in that moment, and... Bill wanted to stab himself in the gut when he realized these feelings were not hate at all.
“I... no. No, you- you haven't done anything!” Bill tightened his grip on the bag. “Let's go to that stupid tree, I need to talk to you!”
Crying, Will got up, walking with Bill toward his tree, ignoring his scraped elbows and the pain in his hip from landing so badly. When they got there, Will sunk down against the tree, wiping his eye. “... If I haven't done anything, why are we here?” Will asked, his voice shaking, studying the dirt in front of him. “... Are you going to punish me now for something else? I really haven't done anything, Pyramid... I made sure to abide all your laws and I wouldn't even text her back... I-”
Bill crouched down, gripping his hair. “Just- just shut up, alright? I need a minute!”
“You need a minute?” Will snapped back, angry. “You do? Don't you think I've needed a whole life? A whole life away from you, away from what you've done? I don't even know why we're here!”
Bill looked up at him, fury in his eye, but after a moment, it faded. He sighed, ducking his head. “... You, you- ugh! Alright. You did- you did deserve a life away from... from me and what I've done... I-”
Will's eye widened and he looked alarmed by Bill's words. “I- what?”
“I said you did deserve a life away from me, I've done things that are super bad to you, I get it!” Bill yanked on his own hair, trying to steel his focus. “I... ugh! Alright, look, I was talking to... I hate this conversation! I hate it!”
“... then why are we having it?” Will crossed his arms over his body. “What is happening? Who are you?”
“You know who I am!” Bill yelled, looking up at him. “Ugh! Alright, I was talking to that girl's brother, and he sort of said something incredibly stupid. He said that my punishments are weirdly intimate, and my rules are sort of weird like, don't let him date or touch or kiss people... and he accused me of maybe actually really liking you, that it's not hate, it's... the opposite, basically, and... I was furious. What a serious lie, there's no way... and... and I couldn't get it out of my head and the more I had that poisonous idea in here, the more... the more it seems to make some kind of sense and I hate it. You don't believe that garbage, do you? He's corrupted my thoughts, Will!”
“... I've always thought... I've always thought that your punishments were really weird, Pyramid...” Will's voice was so soft, that Bill could barely hear it. “I... they were always intimate or sexual, and your rules were basically don't date or kiss or love anyone else... they seemed so... unusually focused on keeping me away from everyone, I did think they were weird. … But you know, if this is what they said... I... I don't think I can bear to... I think I'd rather die than date you, Pyramid...” Will looked up at him, meeting his eye dead on. “We have had this for years, this thing, between us... This violent and brutal, sexual thing where anything sexual or intimate with you came with these terrible feelings and memories. Any imagining of something intimate with you where I have to be willing... it seems like I'd rather die.”
Bill stood, stalking toward Will, sinking down to his knees around Will, trapping him against the tree. “Would you? You'd rather die than let me give you pure pleasure?”
“I don't think you've ever given anything that isn't yourself pure pleasure,” Will answered, looking away.
Bill put his hand on Will's jaw, forcing Will into another kiss, this one not brutal or violent, but slow and gentle, a hungry, heat seeking kiss that made both of their guts roll, even Will's. Against his own judgment.
“Damn you, Pyramid...” Will answered, huffing against Bill's mouth. “You've taken so much from me... why are you going to do it again... If I actually fell for you, do you know how sick that would make me? It'd be Stockholm's but in the worst way possible...”
“But that Stockholm's would lead to the brilliant side effect of I'd never hurt you again,” Bill answered, brightly.
Will pushed him back and Bill fell, surprised, looking up at Will, who was now towering over him. “It isn't that easy, Pyramid! Years and years and years of this can't be resolved with a kiss and your attempt to tell me you love me. I've wanted to die more times than I can count. You can't fix this like that. I've let you have everything you wanted, and gave up everything... but I can't give you my heart when I've given up everything else. You can't have all of me. Even if I die from this, I would rather die. I mean it! I would rather die than give up the last thing I have left! Last night I held a kitchen knife to my wrist and spent over an hour debating if it would have been worth it... This is over! Kill me if you won't stop, I would rather you do that!” He stormed off, getting as far away from Bill as his legs would let him.