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Dipper's been having nightmares.
"DID YA MISS ME, PINE TREE?" His voice rings in Dipper's head, taunting him as the boy wakes up in a cold sweat.
It's like this every night.
Absolute torture.
Tonight was no different, and as he turned his head towards the digital clock sitting next to him, he swore he saw Bill's shape there.
But when he looked again, it was the same red text.
4:13 AM 5/5 SUN
He sighed and grabbed his glasses from the bedside table, standing up and grabbing the baseball bat he keeps in his room - just in case.
"Dipper, it's been 4 years. I don't think you need to keep a BASEBALL BAT in your room. You're so paranoid!" Mabel had told him, laughing as she watched him prop it to the side of his bed.
"You never know," he cryptically replied.
He walked to the living room to grab some water - maybe that will help the nightmares?
As he filled his cup with water, he thought about how he got here.
What was meant to be a boring, normal summer in the middle of nowhere ended up being the best - and worst - summer of his life.
Every night he looks up at the full moon, he can't help but imagine Bill's slit pupil staring down at him. He hates it.
He hates Bill.
"Bill's gone, dude. We're safe. Back in California, far from danger. Plus, if anything happens, we're older, stronger. If we did all that at 12, imagine what we could do now!" Mabel had said, flexing her muscles.
After that summer had ended, she begged their mom to let her do martial arts classes, which, strangely enough, became her favorite sport. Every weekend she looked forward to going to the dojo, quickly rising up the ranks faster than anybody expected.
I mean, a cutesy animal loving, sweater wearing girl like her wasn't the type of person to end up being the strongest, most disciplined fighter out of her entire class, but Mabel never judged a book by its cover, so why should they?
Dipper, on the other hand, never joined her, even when his mom offered to sign him up too. It just wasn't his thing - he'd rather spend his weekends reading a good book.
It was nice to have a sister who would probably throw hands with a dream demon for you, though.
Dipper sighed as he pulled the cup towards his mouth, chugging the refreshing cold water and throwing the empty cup into the sink.
He walked back to his room, placing his glasses back on the nightstand, propping the baseball bat onto the side of his bed, and sliding into the sheets as he closed his eyes.
He thought about his parents, his sister, all his friends from Gravity Falls, drifting off into unconsciousness.
That night, instead of another Bill nightmare, he had dreamless sleep - and possibly the best sleep of his life.