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Deafening silence pooled between when Dipper had launched himself over the couch and into the closet, and when he finally let out a shaky breath.
A loud, sudden banging had startled him onto his feet, disrupting the puzzle session he had set out to spend his Saturday doing. It had been going well. So well, in fact, that it had become dark outside. A five-thousand-piece puzzle sat nearly done on the coffee table, ready for the last few hundred pieces to be slotted together. It would never get done before midnight if he stayed bunched up against his coats any longer.
Still, he had no desire to peek out and see what had caused something in his kitchen to come out of the cupboard and fall onto the floor.
Logically, he had just put something in an unstable position, and it took its time falling. Thinking of realistic answers usually helped cut his anxiety down enough for him to settle his nerves. But this time it didn’t stop his brain from coming up with all sorts of other ideas.
How could something fall when he was always so careful to place things neatly? And when was the last time he had even done the dishes? Could something sit for over a day in an unstable position? What if some wild animal had gotten into the house, and he’d have to spend his night chasing it to either capture it or usher it out a window? Had some stranger gotten into his apartment through the back window, even though he lived on the second floor? There weren’t any weapons in the closet, he would have to find some way to get to either his room or the kitchen without being seen.
“Okay, okay, stop thinking yourself into a spiral, none of that is happening right now.” Dipper forced a gulp of air into his lungs and held it for two seconds before slowly letting it out. “Gotta bring back logic, Dipper. Now, think; Have I heard any new noise since the banging?” Carefully, he pressed his ear to the closet door. His rapid heartbeat nearly washed out everything else, but he managed to hear the usual nightlife of his neighbors and the birds outside. “No new noise. So then… Something just fell. Right. Nothing to worry about, just gravity doing its thing.”
He gulped and gripped the doorknob. It creaked and whined as he pried it open, making his face twist into a grimace. He’d have to find some oil for those hinges.
Dipper took several shaky steps out of the closet, his head whipping left and right. The soft yellow light coming from the lamp in the corner kept away just enough shadows for him to see the whole room. The coast was clear in the living room.
“Gotta check the kitchen now. Easy. Totally… Not scary.” With another deep breath, Dipper marched through the archway onto the cool tile, cursing his dislike of overhead lights. His curtains were at least pulled open, and the sun hadn’t gone down enough to make the place pitch black. It was still plenty dark, though.
Nothing out of the ordinary caught his eye, aside from the metal mixing bowl that had fallen from the cupboard next to the dishwasher.
“I guess… I guess it just fell on its own. Totally a normal thing to happen. Not spooky at all.” Dipper shuffled forward, hitting the light on his way over to pick up the bowl. “I should just be thankful it wasn’t anything glass. That would have been a nightmare to pick up.”
He gave the bowl a rinse in the sink, drying it carefully with a dishtowel before putting it back where it belonged. That time, he made sure it sat further back on the shelf.
“Right then. That’s dealt with,” Dipper said as he smacked his damp hands together. “There’s nothing to be scared of, and I can get back to my-”
Click.
Darkness fell over Dipper. If the light in the living room hadn’t still shined through the entryway, he would have thought the power went out. But no. Just the kitchen light had turned off. And he could see that a burnt-out bulb wasn’t the cause. The light switch had gone down. On its own.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he squeaked. Dipper’s mouth ran dry and his hand flew up to his chest as if it could still his pounding heart. “I must’ve flicked the switch too fast. It didn’t go up all the way and… Gravity is just really trying to get under my skin today. Nothing else.”
His weak knees were carried off by panicked feet, leaping and bounding to the switch to flip it back up. Light once more filled the room, and Dipper let out a relieved sigh.
Paranoia wouldn’t be getting the best of him that night.
Getting back into the puzzle would keep his mind busy enough to ignore any more strange coincidences, so that was what he set to do.
“No panic attacks tonight. Just me, my puzzle, and a lot more light than I was working with a minute ago. I’m totally fine.” As he sat down, Dipper let out another sigh, relaxing his shoulders and setting his eyes on the loose pieces.
The colorful garden image in front of him had been the reason he picked the puzzle. That and the piece count. Anything that posed a challenge was the perfect way to keep his brain working while he wasn’t busy with his job.
Minutes ticked by, pieces of the puzzle fell into place, and Dipper’s adrenaline had settled down enough to let him exist with his hobby peacefully. The awful, short string of events faded to the background of his mind, blocked by the red bushes of roses that all looked the same. Some would find looking at the same four, red pieces for twenty minutes boring. Dipper, however, happily hummed a random tune he had heard Mabel listening to the last time they hung out while his brain worked over where each of them went.
His intense stare-down broke when a gentle thumping noise broke its way into his thoughts.
Dipper froze, keeping his eyes down at the table. That came from the closet he had hidden in earlier. There were only coats and a few boxes filled with old books stored there. None of those could be the cause of a repetitive noise.
Goosebumps clawed their way over his back and down his arms, forcing every hair on his body to stand. His reinvigorated pulse sent a wave of heat up to his face, warming his ears and filling them with a rush of blood that thrummed in time with the mysterious noise.
With no logical explanation to fall back on, Dipper stayed motionless while his lungs went into overdrive and his vision blurred. His phone sat heavy in his pocket, reminding him that he could call Mabel at a moment’s notice to ask to go stay at her place for the night. But that would require grabbing shoes and his keys. Where even were his car keys? Probably next to his bed. Which meant he would have to get up and get closer to the closet.
Whatever had crept in there could pop out and grab him. Or it could get angry if he got too close. Dipper knew that there couldn’t actually be anything in there. Noise or not, nothing could have made its way in there since he had snuck out of it. His anxiety wasn’t about to let him chance it, though.
The neighbor right next to him had been nice the few times he met him. A single guy, around his age, that had been living there for a few years. Would it be weird if he asked to hang out so late? Dipper remembered that the man mentioned being a night owl, saying that he often stayed up to watch movies or do some sort of arts and crafts. Maybe he would have some better insight into the old building and could help calm Dipper down with some explanations for the noises and faulty light switches.
Dipper swallowed the lump that had settled in his throat and then quietly sucked in a deep breath. His slippers were next to the door, ready for him to jam his feet into them and bolt outside to his neighbor’s. The guy—Bill, he was pretty sure had been his name—did say that he could come to him if he needed anything when they first met. Surely he wouldn’t mind a bit of company? Maybe they could share a good laugh over Dipper’s panic.
It took a few moments to work up the courage to move, but when Dipper finally got his muscles fired up, he got up so fast that it made his head spin. That didn’t stop him from hurrying over to the front door and working his slippers on, though.
“Just gotta get some fresh air and laugh this off,” he chuckled nervously to himself as his shaking hands fiddled with the handle.
Despite not wanting to look at the closet, Dipper’s terrified mind forced him to make sure nothing was about to come charging at him from it.
The handle jostled slightly in time with the thumping. Something had to be right behind the flimsy wood, building the tension like some sick predator wanting to scare its meal before hunting it down. Dipper watched in horror as the banging slowed, and the door popped open just enough for him to see inside of it.
Pure, inky blackness stared back at him, and for a moment, he could have sworn he saw the shadows bleed onto the wall next to it.
Dipper didn’t give it a chance to get any closer. He took his rush of adrenaline and used it to throw open the front door and bolt out of there, slamming it shut behind him. His journey to the neighbor’s took him no more than ten seconds, and yet when he stopped on the welcome mat, Dipper had to catch his breath.
Not wanting to alarm the man, Dipper knocked as casually as possible, hoping that he wasn’t waking him up.
It didn’t take long before the blond answered the door with a raised eyebrow.
“Hey there. A bit late for a visit, don’t you think? Are you alright?”
Dipper let out an awkward laugh, trying not to let his eyes dart back to his front door. “Totally fine. I mean, y’know, still getting used to this place and all, but totally fine. Just thought that maybe, uh, maybe you’d like to… Catch up? I know you said you’re usually up late, and I was too, so I thought maybe we could sit and talk and get to like, know each other a bit better?”
His unsure words did Dipper no favors as he tried to pretend not to be terrified of his own shadow that the hallway light cast.
Bill laughed and opened his door more, showing Dipper inside. “Now is as good as ever, I suppose. You’re more than welcome to come in and chat. Actually, this is perfect timing. I just made snacks for a movie marathon. There’s hot popcorn, some mini sandwiches, and lots of different chips set out in front of the couch. Help yourself.”
Dipper wanted to hide the relief on his face, but he couldn’t manage to do it as he stepped into the other apartment. “Thanks. I don’t know how snacky I feel right now, but I appreciate it.” He walked over to the couch with Bill, settling in against the black leather with a content sigh.
“So, four months hasn’t been enough for you to feel at home yet? It only took me one, since I got all of my things put away so fast.” Bill dropped himself onto the spot next to Dipper. “Have you not finished getting all of your stuff unpacked yet?”
The walls could hardly be seen through all the strange, intricate tapestries and knick-knacks pinned and hung in the place. Every inch of the place had some black, gold, or bits of red covering it. Dipper’s eyes strained if he looked at any of it for too long, almost as though his mind couldn’t comprehend the specifics of the designs or symbols.
“Uh, n--no. I mean, yes, I got it all unpacked. It’s just… New.” He looked down at his hands in his lap. “I’ve been so used to living with family, it’s been weird living on my own. That and this place seems…” Dipper bit his lip, wondering if his new friend would make fun of him for thinking there was some sort of ghost or ghoul haunting the place.
“Haunted as fuck?” Bill snorted. “Yeah, I had a feeling you would ask about that.” He grabbed a soda from the table, ignoring the other snacks. “It’s just old as fuck. I think these apartments were built in the fifties? They’ve been a bit upgraded since then, of course, but I’ve heard enough creaks, moans, groans, and whiney pipes to know that it should probably be torn down and rebuilt from the ground up. Not that these people would ever pay for that, but it would be smart.”
Dipper laughed, the heated weight on his shoulders sliding off in an instant. Right. An old building and his mind playing tricks on him. That was all that scared him out of his apartment, because what else could it be? Some angry spirit? A demon? He nearly laughed again at the very idea.
“Ah, that’s honestly a relief to hear. I won’t lie, I maybe sorta got a little spooked tonight while working on my puzzle.” He caught himself a second too late, cringing at the mention of his boring hobby. “I-I just noticed a few weird things happen in a row. And I could’ve sworn that something…”
“Something…?” Bill prompted, seeming as if he was fine with ignoring the mention of Dipper doing a puzzle.
“I dunno,” Dipper shrugged. “I guess I got too in my head from it all. I like to think there’s stuff out there that science can’t explain, but knowing that this building is just old makes me realize I probably should get out a little more if my brain is going to make up a bunch of spooky stuff.” Another awkward laugh forced its way out. The more he calmed down, the more silly he realized he must’ve looked to Bill. The man would probably think he was some crazy neighbor that he’d have to learn to avoid.
A wide, dazzling smile spread on the blond’s lips as he casually threw his arm up on the back of the couch. “Well, I’m always around if you ever want to step away from your puzzles and biting your nails to say hello. Or, you can watch a few movies with me. I work from home, so it’s no bother to me if you wanna stop in randomly.” He handed Dipper the drink he had yet to open, wiggling a little closer. “You’re the most interesting person to move into this place in a long time. It’s mostly just old people and angry women with little dogs that never shut up.”
Dipper couldn’t help but smile as well as Bill spoke. Their close proximity didn’t bother him, though he did begin to wonder if Bill realized just how suggestive he had become.
“I’ll have to take you up on that sometime. I do like watching movies.” The drink in his hand fizzled, and he blinked at the open tab. Had he done that without thinking? Or did Bill open it for him and he somehow missed it?
His head must’ve been really shaken up to completely miss something like that.
“Perfect! I was about to binge some Disney classics. That should help get your mind off of all the spooky stuff pretty quickly.” Bill grabbed another drink for himself, setting the bowl of popcorn in the small space left between them. “There’s plenty, so don’t be afraid to dig in.”
Dipper hummed, taking a sip of the soda and trying to let himself fully relax into the couch. “Thanks. You’re sweet to let me join in on your movie night.”
Bill waved his free hand at him. “Think nothing of it. Movie nights are always more fun with someone else.”
As the first movie started to play, Dipper’s eyes wandered down to the snacks on the table. There were a lot for just one person. Maybe Bill had been planning to stay up all night. Or he didn’t like the idea of running out of snacks and having to get up to make more.
Whatever the logical cause of the abundant snacks was, Dipper didn’t want to let any more thought-spirals keep him from enjoying his night. He and Bill would get to know each other while watching fun, cute movies, and he would have a nice neighbor to go to whenever he needed time away from his thoughts. Mabel had always told him to make friends who weren’t just on the computer, so hanging out with Bill would be a good thing.
Dipper just hoped that his mind would stop playing tricks on him so that he didn’t always run to Bill out of fear. The other would no doubt get sick of babying him whenever something went bump in the night. However, knowing weird noises were common in that place would make it a bit easier to not be so jumpy. And buying more lights wouldn’t hurt, either.