Bill Cipher X Dipper Pines

Part 19: Missing Him

(1 year later)
Dipper's POV:

I woke up early today. I don't really know why. I think I expected to wake up, finding him there next to me, his icy blue eyes piercing the darkness, his beautiful blonde hair tickling my face, and his warmth engulfing me.

But he wasn't there.

I stood up slowly, and walked down the hall to the bathroom. How many days has passed since he went missing? I looked at the tally chart hanging up on the wall. 345. I added one more tally. 346. Almost a year.

I combed my hair, brushed my teeth, and slowly walked back down the hall to my bedroom. I opened the closet door, and took out a shirt and jeans to wear. I tried not to look over at Bill's clothes hanging in there. I really did. But something inside me made me want to. I put back my plain red t-shirt and brought out one of Bill's shirts. It was yellow, of course. I slipped it over my head. It still smelled like him. Barely, but his scent still lingered on the soft fabric.

After I finished dressing, I walked downstairs to see everyone else in the kitchen. Stan and Ford were sitting at the table reading the news paper, and Mabel was at the stove making what looked like heart shaped pancakes.

"Morning, Dipper!" Mabel said cheerfully.
"Morning," I said back, but with much less enthusiasm.

She looked over at me, and the smile vanished from her face when she saw what I was wearing. Now Stan and Ford were looking at me too, both wearing concerned looks on their faces.

"What?" I asked. Nobody said anything. I sat down at the table across from Ford, who was still looking at me. I tried to avoid looking at him.

"Dipper?" Mabel quietly said. "Is that Bill's shirt?"

I didn't respond.

I got up, and went back up the stairs to my room.

Mabel knew better than to mention him around me. She barely had since he went missing.

I angrily sat down on my bed. Why was I so mad at her? She just asked a question. I grabbed the TV remote off my desk and turned on the TV.

The news was on. The woman on TV was talking about some bank robbery in a nearby city.

But what she said next made my heart shatter.

"Last year, a man named Bill Cipher went missing from the town of Gravity Falls. Police have been searching for nearly ten months, but have not had any luck. Today, they say that they are giving up on the search. But if anyone has any information on the whereabouts of Bill Cipher, the Police are kindly asking you to contact them as soon as possible."

I turned off the TV. I felt sick to my stomach. I got up, stormed down the stairs, and was about to open the door when Mabel stopped me.

"Dipper, wait! Look, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have said anything about the shirt, I wasn't thinking! Please-"

"Mabel! It's fine, just let me go!" I shouted pushing her away from me.

"What? Where are you going?"

"The Police station."

"What?! Why?? What's going on?!"

"They've given up, Mabel! They've stopped trying to find him!"

I didn't have to say any more for her to understand.

"I'm coming with you!" She said.

"Fine."