Spoilers for the what is, as of my writing this, the latest episode, Roadside Attraction

ALWAYS THERE FOR YOU

Mabel stared into the stolen face of her brother, his eyes yellow, with slits for pupils, a sadistic grin plastered on. She was holding Dipper's journal in her outstretched hands.

"That's right, Shooting Star, hand it over", that monstrous voice said.

Against her will, Mabel's hands began to stretch toward the demon.

"No", she said, pleading her arms not to do it. "Please stop".

Bill grabbed the journal, and she held on as tight as she could.

"Please don't let go", she begged her hands.

"Too late", Bill said mockingly, and with one simple jerk of his hands, he yanked the journal away and exploded into cruel laughter. Without saying another word, he ran away from her across the catwalk, cackling victoriously as he stole away with the journal and her brother's body.

"NO", Mabel shrieked.

The prop she stood in gave way and fell, collapsing to the stage bellow. Suddenly, all fell silent. The stage and the audiene melted away, leaving nothing but mist and darkness.

"I'm sorry", Mabel said. "I'm so sorry".

For a few moments, there was nothing but more silence; then, to Mabel's horror, the ghostly form of Dipper materialised from the mist. The look of deepest hurt and betrayal that he wore on his ethereal face broke Mabel's soul.

"Dipper", she said pleadingly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I… I couldn't stop my arms, they wouldn't stop Dipper".

Dipper said nothing, turning his back on her and drifting away into the darkness.

"NO", Mabel cried, running after him. "Don't leave me".

She burst into tears as Dipper grew ever further away.

"I'm sorry Dipper", she pleaded. "I'm so, so sorry. Don't leave me. PLEASE!"

It was too late; Dipper was gone, vanished into the nothingness before her. Mabel collapsed to the ground and sobbed painfully, her heart shattering.

Mabel awoke with a start, her heart racing, her breathing panicked, tears streaming down her face. Slowly she adjusted to her surroundings, realizing she was in her and Dipper's room. She slowly pulled herself into a sitting position, fighting back sobs as she wiped away her tears.

"Stupid nightmares", she whimpered.

Her eyes fell upon the bed across from her, where Dipper was still asleep. She stared long and hard at him, taking comfort from his presence.

"He's still here", she whispered. "He's still here".

Slowly, she felt herself calming down, and she leaned against the wall. The nightmare was over now, but she didn't think she'd go back to sleep for a while yet. She had been troubled by these nightmares for a while now, and they were always about if things had turned out differently in certain situations.

She had come so close that time to giving the journal to Bill, she had actually stretched her hands out, he had taken a hold of it. If she hadn't taken action at that exact moment, Bill would have stolen the journal and Dipper's body forever. The thought stabbed at her heart. I nearly betrayed Dipper, and for what, so I could date some stupid boy, Mabel thought. The words of Celestabellebethabelle rang in her head.

"I'm sorry Mabel, it's not my fault you're a bad person".

The words echoed in her mind, and Mabel felt guilt and pain rise in her chest.

"Stupid unicorn", Mabel said.

Even though the unicorn had been lying, the words still stung Mabel when she thought of them. Had there been truth to those words, even if that vile unicorn was simply lying? Slowly, Mabel lowered her head to her pillow and closed her eyes. She was still hurting, but it would do her no good to stay up all night worrying about it. She wanted to go talk to Dipper, to hug him and be consoled about her nightmares and worries, but she didn't want to wake him up. He's put up with enough of my junk, Mabel thought, I should at least let him sleep. Sighing, she rolled over onto her side.

It was then, however, that a series of moans and mumbles drifted over from the other side of the room. Mabel looked over to see her brother tossing and turning, his groaning and muttering getting steadily worse. It looked like he was having nightmares too. Slowly, Mabel climbed out of bed and made her way to Dipper's side of the room.

Dipper stood in a nightmarish hell-scape, nothing but fire and cracked stone to be seen in every direction. He stood barefoot on the hot earth, the soles of his feet burning. His throat was dry, his eyes sore. He walked onwards through the barren wasteland, looking up at the red sky in the hopes of seeing the sun, but see it he could not. He tried to call out, for Mabel, for Stan, for Ford, but his voice would not come.

Then, nightmarish laughter swept in from the wind. Dipper's stomach clenched. He knew that laugh all too well. His fears were realized moments later as an enormous yellow triangle rose up from the horizon. He stared upwards as the gigantic form of Bill Cipher conquered the entire skyline. Fear took hold of him as he gazed into that single, evil eye.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my favourite Pine Tree", the enormous Bill said, his booming voice hurting Dipper's ears.

Dipper tried to respond, but still his parched throat would not allow for speech.

"Look around you, Pine Tree", Bill said. "This is all that's waiting for you and the rest of the meatbags on earth. You can try and stop me, but you know I'll get that rift eventually".

Bill cackled once again. Dipper dropped to his knees as exhaustion took over.

"And don't forget what happens to you and your family once I do", Bill mocked.

He raised an enormous hand into the air, and three holes burst open in the ground. The unconscious forms of Mabel, Stan and Ford levitated out of the holes and hung in the air. Dipper would have cried out if he could, tears forming in his eyes as he gazed in horror at the three of them. All of them were battered, bruised and bloodied. Dipper gazed back up at Bill, realizing that something awful was about to happen. He shook his head vigorously, begging Bill not to do it. The demon burst out laughing once again as his entire form turned black and red, his eye bulging. As he raised both of his arms into the air, Mabel, Stan and Ford burst into flames. Dipper could only stare in abject horror as Bill's laughter penetrated deeper and deeper into his soul.

Dipper suddenly snapped into consciousness, sitting bolt upright as he barely held back a scream. He kept his eyes closed for a few moments, then slowly opened them. This time, he really did let out a brief scream as he was met with the sight of Mabel a mere few feet from his face, startling him. Mabel had also jumped at Dipper's sudden rise, but otherwise she seemed fine.

"Mabel", he gasped. "W-what are you…"

"Are you okay?" Mabel said worriedly, concern etched on her face.

"Yeah", Dipper said as he leaned against the wall, placing his face in his hands.

"Sorry if I scared you bro-bro", Mabel said apologetically. "I just saw you over here having a nightmare, so I came to check on you".

"Thanks", Dipper said as his breathing slowly calmed down. He wiped the sweat from his brow.

"You look awful", Mabel said. "Was it a bad one?"

Dipper nodded, not saying anything. He was so relieved to be back to consciousness and to see that Mabel was fine. That hadn't been the real Bill in his nightmare, he could tell the difference, but it didn't make it any less harrowing. Mabel edged closer to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Dipper suddenly pulled her into a tight hug. Mabel was glad for it herself, and happily reciprocated it.

"What happened in it?" Mabel said.

"Bill", Dipper answered simply as they pulled away.

She stared at him sympathetically, then let her head droop.

"Same", she said.

Dipper looked up and glanced at his twin.

"You were having nightmares too?" he said

"uh-huh", Mabel said.

"Put that up to twin synchronisation again I suppose", Dipper said.

Both of them chuckled, bringing some much needed levity. Finally, Dipper was feeling himself relax. Taking several deep breaths, he propped up his pillows and leaned against them, Mabel now sitting opposite him.

"So, you wanna go first?" Mabel said.

The horrific things Dipper had witnessed flashed through his mind, sending a shiver down his spine. He didn't want to bring back those images just yet.

"No", he said. "You go first".

She nodded.

"Okay then".

She took a few soothing breaths before she began.

"It was… about that time Bill stole your body", she said.

Dipper felt a pang of guilt. Mabel had had a few nightmares about that time, and he was sorry that his own stupidity in making a deal with Bill had resulted in the suffering of his twin.

"Sorry", Dipper mumbled.

"Don't be", Mabel said. "It's just… Dipper, I... I nearly gave him the journal. He came so close to taking it from me, and I actually held out my arms. I was all reluctant and stuff, but still, how could I even consider it for a second. I nearly gave that evil jerk your journal, then he would have stolen it and your body forever, and… and I just… I'm sorry Dipper".

She was getting progressively more distressed, tears welling up in her eyes again. Dipper placed an arm around her shoulders.

"Mabel, it's okay", he said soothingly. "You didn't give him the journal, and don't you remember, you saved me. I wouldn't have got my body back if it weren't for you".

"I know that", Mabel said. "But that's not the point. How could I even consider giving him the journal? I nearly gave it to him, and for what? So I could date some stupid puppet jerk? How could I even have considered caring more about some random guy than my own brother?"

The tears broke free and fell from her eyes.

"Mabel…"

"And in this stupid nightmare, my body just didn't do what I wanted it to, I tried to stop it, but I still gave Bill the journal, and then he… he stole your body forever".

"Mabel…" Dipper tried to interject again.

"And then the worst part of the whole thing is when I saw you. You were just a ghost, and you looked so betrayed, and then you just… drifted away and left me forever".

"MABEL", Dipper snapped.

She jerked her head up, taken aback by his tone.

"Don't ever think that I would leave you", Dipper said. "If you had given Bill the journal, we would have figured something out, we always do. But the fact is, you didn't. The only reason you nearly gave it to him is because Bill is a manipulative, lying piece of scum. Don't you remember how he stole my body in the first place?"

"I know that, but I…"

"Nope, no buts", Dipper said. "It's just the way it is sis. I won't ever leave you behind, I promise you that. I'm your brother, and I'm here to stay".

Mabel grinned broadly and wiped away her tears.

"Thanks", she said. "You always know what to say, bro-bro".

"That's because I mean every word of it", Dipper said, smiling back.

She hugged him again, feeling her worries ebb away. Lying down on the bed, she nestled herself against her twin.

"Dipper", she said.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think I'm a bad person?"

Dipper nearly choked.

"WHAT?" he gasped.

"It's just… I know that unicorn was just a big old liar, but what if what she said is still true?"

"Why would you think that?"

"Blaarg", she groaned. "I don't know, it's just stuck with me ever since she said all those things".

"Well, like you said, she was just a nasty liar", Dipper said. "Mabel, you are the single most wonderful human being that I know. When other people are upset, who's the first to sympathize with them? You. Who's the one that can always put a smile on other people's faces, no matter what? You. Who's the person that won't rest until everyone's happy? You, it's always you Mabel. You care so much about everyone, and it shows how much of a good person you are, the best I've ever known".

Mabel lit up once again, another toothy grin spreading across her face.

"Thanks Dip", she said, closing her eyes as she nestled closer against her brother.

"Don't mention it".

There were a few moments of silence, when Mabel's eyes suddenly shot open.

"Oh wait", she said, sitting up once more. "You were having a nightmare too".

Dipper's mind wandered to the image of the burning bodies, and he shuddered.

"I'd rather not talk about it", Dipper said.

"Oh, come on, you can tell me", Mabel reassured. "You made me feel better, now it's Mabel's turn to make you feel better", she said, poking the end of his nose.

Dipper sighed.

"Alright", he said.

Dipper explained the details of his nightmare, the enormous Bill, the hellish landscape, and the horrific sight of Mabel, Stan and Ford burning. The only thing he left out was Bill's mention of the rift. He was still forbidden from mentioning that to anyone by Ford. After he had finished, Mabel had a mixed expression of horror and deep sympathy.

"Oh, Dipper", she said. "That sounds even worse than mine. Way worse".

"Well, it definitely sucked", Dipper said. "But I'm okay now. I'm just glad to see that you're okay".

"Good, I'm glad you're okay now. That whole thing sounds pretty nasty. Bap", she added as she affectionately prodded her fist into Dipper's cheek. "But try not to worry too much, bro. Remember, we've got a super special barrier to keep that flying Dorito jerk out. He can't get to me, or Grunkle Stan, or Grunkle Ford, we're all safe in here now".

"I know that, but still…"Dipper said. His mind wandered to the rift. Ford had said that Bill would possess anyone to get it. Just because they were safe from him in the shack didn't mean he couldn't use others on the outside. Dipper shoved this worry out of his mind. For now, he just allowed himself to be comforted by Mabel's presence. Worrying about that stuff could wait.

"I know", Mabel said. "It's hard thinking about that creepy stalker demon. I mean look at me, I was nightmaring about him too".

"And it's not just Bill", Dipper said. "It's just… Everything lately has been getting to me more and more".

"What do you mean Dippingsauce?"

"I mean that…" Dipper looked away. "I feel like a miserable failure lately".

"What?" Mabel said incredulously. "Why would you feel like that?"

"Because, well, look at me. I'm just a sweaty, socially awkward mess. I always seem to screw everything up. Just a few days ago I tried talking to girls, but everything backfired, and I ended up really upsetting Candy".

"Dipper, everyone makes mistakes", Mabel said.

"I know that, but all I seem to make are mistakes", Dipper said. "Look, I'm just… I'm really sorry for hurting your friend Mabel. Even you were really mad at me too, and that was probably the worst part about it".

Mabel tugged awkwardly at her sleeve.

"Dipper, just because I was a little mad at you then doesn't mean I hate you for it or something dumb like that", she said. "Candy forgave you, didn't she?"

"Yeah, but still, it just proves it, doesn't it. I'm socially inept. I always have been. I don't make friends easily, and talking to girls just ends in disaster, no matter how I approach it".

"Dipper, I..." Mabel said. "We weren't fair to you. I'm really sorry Dipper, I shouldn't have forced you into a date with Candy without even asking you if you wanted to".

"I still messed up", Dipper said. "And I still feel terrible about the whole thing, Candy and all the other girls too. I just wanna get something right for once".

Mabel placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't let your insecurities get you down, bro-bro", she said. "You have to look past them and know that they're all just dumb worries made up by your brain".

"Sure", Dipper said, turning away.

"I mean it broseph", she said. "Just because you have a hard time with these things doesn't make you hopeless".

"But it does, doesn't it", Dipper said. "Let's face it Mabel, I'm a wreck. I still held onto my crush for Wendy even after it was clear that she wasn't interested. How creepy is that? I held onto a bunch of old junk because I couldn't just move on. When you and Soos saw all that stuff, you both just sounded so exhausted with me, and I can't blame you. You must think I'm pathetic".

"DIPPER", Mabel said. Now it was her turn to snap.

Dipper jumped.

"Look, I wasn't exhausted with you", Mabel said, "I just want you to move on and be happy bro. So you may not be the smoothest girl talker, so what? You'll find someone someday".

"You're just saying that", Dipper mumbled.

"Nuh-uh, am not", Mabel said, sticking her tongue out. "You're the best brother in the world, and a great person, any girl out there would be lucky to have you, you big sweaty dork".

"Thanks, Mabel", Dipper said, cracking a small but genuine smile.

"And besides, it's not like I've handled romance particularly well myself. I tried to erase the failed romances out of my head, remember?"

"Yeah", he chuckled.

"So yeah, we all make mistakes", Mabel said. "I know it's hard to move on sometimes, and you were crazy about Wendy, so that makes it extra hard. But you did make an effort, remember? I know your attempts didn't work out, but you learned from your mistakes at least, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so", Dipper said. "I mean, at least I've become more confident with girls now".

"Yeah, see, there's always a silver lining", Mabel said. "It might not have worked this time, but you totally learned some new stuff, useful stuff. And you say you don't make friends easy, but that doesn't mean you don't make friends at all, you totally do. And at the end of the day, who's your bestest, closest friend in the whole entire world? This girl", she said, poking herself in the chest to emphasise the point.

"Yeah", Dipper said, grinning. "You are".

"So there, I won't stand for my favourite person kicking himself because of his mistakes".

"Thanks Mabes", Dipper said. "That's a real load off, I have to admit. But still, I feel like such a coward sometimes".

"Nuh-uh, we're not sinking back into sad town", Mabel said. "Dipper Pines, you are the single bravest person I know. You may not be super strong, or have big muscles, but none of that matters at all, because you're braver than anyone I know. You're a hero".

"I think hero is pushing it a little", Dipper said awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.

"Nope, you're wrong", Mabel said. "Need I remind you that you leapt like a bajillion feet off a cliff, smashed through a giant robot's eye, then beat that creep Gideon with your own bare hands. POW, POW", she added, punching the air for dramatic effect. "You got rid of my doubts just now Dipper, so now I'm gonna get rid of yours. You're a hero, and I won't hear any objections to that, got it?"

"Okay, got it", Dipper said, playfully rolling his eyes. "Thanks, Mabel", he said.

"Don't sweat it broseph".

She lay down again, nestling up to her brother once more.

"That's what I'm here for", she said sleepily.

Dipper gazed down at her as she closed her eyes. He smiled, the weight that had been dragging him down having now been lifted. Even in the darkest of times, they could always count on each other to cheer one another up.

"Yeah", Dipper said. "We're always there for each other".

When he gained no response, he saw that Mabel had fallen asleep. Dipper readjusted himself to lie back down, careful not to wake his sister. Dipper smiled broadly. He could always count on Mabel to be there for him when he descended into worry and anxiety, just like she knew he would always be there for her. Though worries about Bill tried to invade his mind again, Dipper shoved them away. Tonight he was going to allow himself to relax and be happy.

"Thanks for everything, sis", he mumbled tiredly as he closed his eyes.

Dipper wrapped an arm around Mabel, glad for her closeness, and slowly, he drifted away into the first truly peaceful sleep he'd had in days.