Chapter Text
"I can't believe you’re dragging me to another one of these," Dipper whined, staring at his reflection in the bathroom mirror pitifully. He was wearing his only suit, the one that Paz actually given to him for graduation ("I find your lack of formal clothing to be absolutely horrendous. I felt sorry for you, so I bought you a suit. And don't you dare get it messed up or covered in dirt or whatever."). It was a simple black suit, and he had it paired with his white button up and a cream tie that Mabel had given him to wear. He looked over to the bathroom door just in time to see Mabel herself walk in. Her long yellow sundress flowed about her as she fixed the large daisy flower crown that adorned her head. "I can't believe you aren't ready yet," she prodded, her eyes zooming in on Dipper's undone tie. Once her crown was adjusted just so, she made quick work of Dipper's tie. "The ceremony starts in like 30 minutes and you don't even have your shoes on."
Dipper glared at his sister halfhearted as she flipped the tie about, the soft material hitting him in the face. "Thank goodness the venue is only five minutes away then," he muttered, straightening his shirt a bit. Mabel cinched up the tie into it's knot, and she patted it down to get rid of some of the wrinkles. She spun herself around so that she too was now facing the mirror, and her eyes darted between her mirrored image and Dipper's. "We're gonna steal the show!" Mabel said confidently, raising a fist in the air with a humph. Dipper rolled his eyes, "Mabel, we aren't supposed to be stealing the show. It's a wedding. That's the bride and groom to be's job."
Mabel lowered her hand, pouting. "We still look good though. We even match the whole spring wedding theme."
"No doubt about that. I'm just surprised this suit still fits me."
Mabel turned to Dipper. "Flex for me."
"What?"
"Flex! Flex your arm."
Dipper raised up his arm and flexed. Mabel took hold of his arm, squeezing the sleeve hidden muscle, and promptly pretended to swoon. "Oh Dipper! You're sooo strong! Stronger than...than Hercules!"
Dipper brushed her off, a light blush creeping along his cheeks. Years spent endlessly wandering and exploring the forest behind their family's house during his spare time in high school had sort of...bulked Dipper up. In his junior and senior year, Dipper had joined the swim team to get his P.E. credits he had been procrastinating on, which resulted in Dipper not only getting a lean, firm body, but also a full ride scholarship to college for swimming. To say he was surprised would be an understatement, and so the next four years he swam competitively as he studied. His last swim meet was...lord a year ago now, but the training regime he endured stuck with him afterwards. On late nights when his mind wouldn't shut off, Dipper found himself in his apartment complex's fitness gym, running on the treadmill, pretending to run away from his thoughts and worries. It was oddly comforting in a way, even if it did leave him all gross and sweaty.
Mabel laughed, poking Dipper in the arm. "C'mon tough guy, we gotta leave here soon. I'm pretty sure your shoes are in the living room." And with that, Mabel left the bathroom with a cheeky grin on her face. Dipper watched her go, then turned back to the mirror. He ran his fingers through his hair, feeling some of the strands untangle themselves. He couldn't help but wonder when Mabel would get married. So far this was the sixth (Seventh? Definitely seventh.) wedding she had dragged him to since their graduation. It seemed like all of Mabel's college buddies were either about to be engaged, engaged, or married. This time it was her friend Ashter, a redheaded girl Dipper had only seen a handful of times that reminded him of their friend Wendy. But, from what he could remember, Ashter was really sweet and nice. As for the groom however, Mabel didn't know much about him. She had seen him only once, and the only thing she really could recall was that he was tall and a couple years older than Ashter. It didn't give Dipper much to go on, but he figured he might as well just wait to see the guy himself at the wedding.
Dipper shut off the bathroom lights and headed toward the living room. Mabel was standing next to the front door, texting someone on her phone. She had a worried look on her face. "What's the matter?" Dipper asked, sitting down on the couch and pulling his shoes on. "Megan just texted me saying that what's-his-face might be sick," she said, her eyes not looking up from her phone.
"What's-his-face? You mean the groom?"
"Yeah. Apparently he's been locked up in his dressing room all morning and hasn't come out once, not even when they tried telling him it's almost time."
"That's...a little odd."
"No kidding."
Dipper finished lacing up his shoes, and grabbed his keys from the coffee table. "Let's go."
The two made their way out of Dipper's apartment and to the parking lot behind the complex. The drive was a quick and quiet one, Mabel on her phone the entire ride and Dipper focused on the road. They pulled up to the venue, a small little chapel where the outside that was decorated in various flowers and lacy streamers. He insisted Mabel to go ahead and help coax the groom out of his room while he parked the car. Once Mabel was out and going up the flight of stairs, Dipper turned the corner and drove into the chapel's parking lot. To his surprise, not many cars were actually parked here. Must be a small wedding he thought, choosing a spot right beside the chapel. Above him he could see a window, but the curtains were pulled closed. Dipper shut off the engine and hopped out of the car, stuffing the keys into his pocket as he briskly walked to the front doors.
The inside of the chapel was decorated just like the outside. Flowers and rice were strewn about, and ornate glass pieces were set up on different tables around. There was a small hallway leading into the church, and another hallway that seemed to lead to various rooms. Dipper peaked down that hallway and found a crowd of people dressed to the nines standing outside one of the doors. They all talked in hushed whispers, and Dipper spotted Mabel speaking to some of the bridesmaids. That must be where the groom is hiding out Dipper observed. Not wanting to draw more attention to the scene, Dipper backed away from the hallway and into the church. Dipper glanced around at all the attendees, all of them sitting in pristine white pews and talking among themselves. Seems like they had no idea as to the situation. Dipper turned a bit to the right, and was surprised momentarily.
It was Ashter, who looked to be talking to an older woman, perhaps her mother? Ashter was wearing her bridal dress, a classic and simple white dress that trailed behind her. There was a jacket that was draped over her shoulders, protecting her from the slight chill inside the chapel. Her long hair was pinned up with various curled strands falling around her face. She looked worried, and Dipper reminded himself that she had every reason to be so as he made his way over to her. “Hey,” he greeted her, smiling. Ashter stopped mid sentence and looked over to him with watery eyes. “Dipper!”
She embraced him in a warm hug, and Dipper chuckled lightly. “I’m surprised you still remember me, it’s been awhile since I’ve last seen you.”
Ashter let him go, playfully hitting him on the shoulder. “How could I forget Mabel’s dorky brother? It’s good to see you! Is Mabel around with you?”
Dipper nodded. “She’s with the bridesmaids and groomsmen right now.”
“Ah, helping with my finance?” she said, little gloomy.
Dipper panicked a little, and quickly tried to cheer her up. “D-don’t worry! I’m sure he’s just a little nervous or something!”
Ashter chuckled. “He’s a lot of things, but I wouldn’t say nervous is one of them. Have you met him before?”
Dipper shook his head. “Mabel doesn’t remember much about him either.”
“He’s...interesting. If you didn’t know him, you’d think he were kind of insane honestly but…” she trailed off, a wistful look in her eyes. “That’s what I love about him.”
Dipper gave her another hug, assuring her everything would be alright. He nodded once to Ashter’s mother, and with that left to go find a seat. He ended up sitting towards the back in an empty pew, not minding how far away he was. He checked the time on his phone. The ceremony should be starting any moment now. He heard someone sliding into the pew beside him, and looked up to find Mabel patting down her dress as she sat. “Any luck?” he asked, to which she shrugged. “Ashter is going to walk down the aisle first to buy some more time, but I have no idea what’s going to happen when she gets down there,” she told him.
And then, the pianist began to play the telltale song, and everyone turned to the chapel entrance. Dipper and Mabel watched as people began the procession down the aisle, first being the older lady Dipper had seen earlier, Ashter’s mother. The groomsmen followed right after her, and Dipper couldn’t help notice the worried looks that they all shared as they walked. Mabel nudged her brother, “This is where the best man would walk in, but he stayed behind to help get the groom out of his room.” Dipper nodded slowly, watching as the officiant walked down next. Then it was the bridesmaids turns, who also equally worked just as worried as the groomsmen. Dipper wondered if anyone else noticed besides him, and he glanced at Mabel. Turns out he wasn’t, the same worried look was adopted onto her face as well.
Dipper had to admit, the flower girl and ring bearer were adorable in their matching blue outfits. The little girl threw the flowers about happily with reckless abandon, not really caring if one of the flowers somehow got into her hair or on one of the attendees. The ring bearer was a bit more on the shyer side, walking closely behind the flower girl despite getting some of the flowers in his face. “That’s the groom’s younger brother,” Mabel informed Dipper. “Ashter told me the two look almost like twins even though there’s a huge age difference between them.” Dipper’s eyes trailed after the younger boy. He probably wasn’t more than 6 or 7 years old he figured. The boy was tiny and chubby, with a mass of blond curls on his head and strikingly blue eyes. Dipper could see he had freckles that ran along the bridge of his button like nose. He watched as the groom’s younger brother stumbled along, and Dipper laughed softly with the rest of the wedding goers.
There was a dramatic shift in the piano tune, and everyone rose from their seats, albeit a little confused since the groom wasn’t present yet. And there was Ashter, her very image alone in that moment the embodiment of beauty, holding the arm of her father. The two slowly walked down the aisle together, soaking in the attention they were receiving. Dipper could hear some of the guests speak quietly.
“Ashter was always so nontraditional,” one person said to another, “I’m not surprised in the slightest that she’s walking down the aisle first.”
Dipper could feel his chest tighten. If only you knew the situation he thought solemnly, watching Ashter with sad eyes. The pair finally made it to the end, and the father reluctantly let go of his daughter with tears in his eyes. Ashter also had tears in her eyes, but Dipper couldn’t discern if it was because of a whole different reason entirely. The piano music slowed, but never stopped as everyone waited expectantly for the groom to appear.
They waited a whole 3 minutes, the longest 3 minutes Dipper had felt in a very long time.
Suddenly, a man rushed from the hallway. Is that him? Dipper wondered. He didn’t look anything like the ring bearer. This man was tall and fair skinned. His jet black hair was slicked back nicely, and Dipper could imagine on any other day that this man would be jolly and happy. But now, his face was nothing short of unhappy, upset, and irritated.
“He’s gone!” he shouted into the room, his voice rough. The room went shockingly still, and the pianist stopped abruptly, his fingers twitching and hitting the wrong notes. There was a moment of complete, utter silence.
And then chaos ensued.
V^
Dipper watched on helplessly as Mabel comforted a sobbing Ashter. People had slowly been filing out one by one, each of them muttering curses towards the disappearing groom. The few people that remained now were the bridesmaids, the parents, and some of the groomsmen. Dipper himself was standing next to the one that had made the shocking announcement, his face unreadable as he looked about. His name, Dipper caught, was Tad something. Tad had told the small group that he managed to get the room’s door open finally, but once inside he couldn’t find the groom anywhere.
“The window was wide open,” was the last thing Dipper heard Tad say, which made Ashter fall more into despair. Dipper gave the man a side glance. Something about the man was kinda strange, and Dipper couldn’t put his finger on it, but he said nothing.
“Are you going to say something or are you just going to keep staring at me?”
Dipper startled, realizing that he actually was staring, and blushed a little. “I-I’m sorry!”
Tad smirked at that. “Don’t worry about it.”
The silence that followed was awkward, so Dipper decided to ask Tad a question.
“How do you know the groom?” Dipper inquired, hoping he wasn’t overstepping his boundaries.
Tad seemed to dwell on the question for a moment before answering. “We met...in grade school I think? Or at least I’m pretty sure it was grade school. I’ve known the man for all my life.”
“Why do you think he left his own wedding?”
There was another pause before Tad’s answer. “He’s the kind of guy who doesn’t really like to settle down. I was surprised when the two of them announced their engagement because of his commitment issues, and among other things. But...he has a weird way of going about things. I’m pretty sure something happened when we all got to the chapel, but I honestly don’t know what. I’m sure he had his reasons though.”
Their conversation was put on hold when Mabel made her way over to Dipper, pulling him aside. “I’m really sorry about all of this,” she said, rubbing her eyes.
“I don’t know why you’re apologizing. Wasn’t your fault the guy up and left.”
“I know,” Mabel sighed. “I think I’m going to hang back here for a little while, Ashter needs me here.”
“Will you have a ride back to your place?”
“Yeah, if anything I’ll just spend the night at Ashter’s and just meet back up with you tomorrow morning.”
“Alright, I’ll just be at home.”
And with a final nod, Mabel gave his a quick hug before going back over to the sobbing girl. Dipper’s heart went out to her. Who would just leave the bride at the altar like that? Even if he had his reasons like Tad said, the guy should still have the decency to at least confront the situation and not be a coward. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He could feel a headache coming on.
Quietly he excused himself from the scene, making his way back to his car. As he approached the car, he didn’t notice the window that he was parked to was wide open, too preoccupied with fishing out his keys. When he pushed the key into the door’s lock and turned, he was surprised to find that the car was already unlocked. That’s...weird, did I forget to lock it? he asked himself as he slid into the driver’s seat and pulling on the seat belt. He started the car without further thought and pulled out of the parking lot.
Man I’m hungry he thought idly. Maybe I should go grab something to eat before heading home. He checked the time on the dash. It was already 5:38, and Dipper felt his stomach growl. Food it is he decided.
He didn’t hear the slight rustling in the backseat, but what he did hear was,
“Can you stop by Taco Bell? I’m fucking starving!”
Dipper screamed, and the car veered dangerously to the left, going into the other lane. Something in the back seat toppled over with a loud grunt. Thankfully the roads were clear, and Dipper quickly corrected himself, but his heart was racing and he felt like he just had a minor heart attack. He pulled over to the side of the road and parked haphazardly. Dipper whipped around in his seat, and he came face to face with a man he had never seen before.
The man was lying down in the backseat, cradling his head. “You’re more of a horrible driver than I am!” he cried out, and Dipper’s eye twitched.
“Well excuse me for freaking out when some hitchhiker decided to scare the ever living shit out of me!” Dipper said angrily.
“I’m not a hitchhiker! Well, that isn’t entirely true,” the stranger trailed off, and that was when Dipper actually got a good look at the guy.
He wore a fancy white jacket that had black detailing on the lapels and black dress pants. His tie was cream colored like Dipper’s own, but the knot was pulled loose. When the man moved his arms, Dipper was greeted with the sight of short wavy blond hair. He had a few freckles along his nose, and when his eyes opened Dipper found those green orbs boring into his own. He looked an awful lot like…
It suddenly clicked in Dipper’s head.
“You’re the runaway groom!” he cried, pointing at the man’s face. Said runaway groom laughed at that, pushing the hand away.
“Indeed I am!” he confirmed a little too cheerfully. “Bill Cipher, the one and only!”
Dipper was lost for words as Bill scrambled up from the seat. “Shotgun!” Bill called, crawling his way into the passenger seat. He buckled himself in, and turned to his new chauffeur. Dipper looked at Bill as if the man had just eaten someone.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Dipper accused, his eyes glaring.
“What’s wrong with me?” Bill repeated, mocking offense. “What the hell is wrong with you? Can't you hear my stomach growling?”
“W-what?!"
And sure enough, as if on cue, Bill's stomach growled loudly, and Dipper looked at the man in disbelief.
"Why did you ditch your own wedding?!”
Bill laughed, and Dipper wanted to punch the guy. “Well you see, Mr Chauffeur,” Bill explained, “I left because I couldn’t go through with it. When it comes down to it, I didn’t love the girl. So I left.”
Dipper looked at Bill duly. “Through the window?”
“Through the window.”
“How the hell did you get in my car?”
“Well some idiot left it unlocked, not my fault! I merely decided to hide out there and wait.”
Again, Dipper was lost for words. The man’s insane, there’s no way around it. Suddenly, Bill patted Dipper’s face. “¡Vamonos! ¡Llévame a Taco Bell o yo te maldigo con mil soles!” Bill cheered happily, and Dipper looked at him confused.
“Did you just speak Spanish?”
“We are wasting precious time, kid! Hurry to Taco Bell before my stomach gives way!”
“I highly doubt your stomach will give way,” Dipper grumbled, finally putting the car in drive. Dipper's stomach turned whenever he glanced over at Bill, who was now idly humming along to whatever song was on the radio. He couldn't shake the feeling that this was a horrible idea.