Dipper got very little sleep the rest of the night. Every time he closed his eyes, the dream demon was there, mocking and taunting him. He was up well before sunrise and before anyone else in the house was awake.

The following few nights passed similarly- he'd fall asleep, only to be waken up a few hours later because of his dreams. Nothing would make them go away, and the same dream demon was always there. Dipper and Mabel were both sure it wasn't Bill who was Dipper's soulmate, although the former was starting to believe it.

One day, just after sunrise, Dipper decided to go for a walk in the woods to clear his mind. He had the presence of mind to grab his journal with him, just in case, before leaving the Mystery Shack. He started off in a random direction, hoping he could remember his way back. He looked around him at the beautiful colors he could finally see. He saw a purple butterfly land on a yellow wildflower, and a bluejay land on a branch above him. A smile graced his face, looking at every insect and flower he could see, basking in their warm glow and-

"Watch out, PineTree!"

"Huh?" Dipper was suddenly pulled back by a pair of strong arms wrapped around his stomach. His back hit someone's chest, and he looked in front of him. If it hadn't been for whoever stopped him, he would've fallen into a huge ditch.

"You're lucky I was here, PineTree, or else you would've fell and cracked your head open."

Dipper quickly pushed himself out of the person's grasp and spun to see Bill in his human form, grinning at him. "What are you doing here, Bill?"

Bill shrugged. "I like to take a walk in this part of the forest in the morning. It's peaceful and... beautiful."

"I didn't know someone like you could register something as 'beautiful'."

"What do you mean?"

"Whatever you touch turns into chaos."

"Fair enough. But I don't think I could ever touch this part of the forest. It deserves to stay like this." Bill looked at Dipper, who was giving him a weird look. "Strange, I know. But you find it beautiful, too, don't you?"

Dipper sighed. "You're right."

Bill put his hands behind his back and turned to walk away. "Walk with me?"

"W-what?"

"Walk with me."

Dipper stared at the back of Bill's head. "Can I trust you?"

Bill spun time look at him. "Look, kid, it'd just be nice to have someone to talk to. Walk with me."

Dipper thought for a moment before joining Bill at his side. The pair walked in silence for a long moment, looking at the many colors around them, before Dipper spoke up.

"Bill?"

"Hm?" Bill looked at Dipper with a smile.

"So, you go into people's dreams, right?"

"Of course. I wouldn't be a 'dream demon' if I couldn't."

"You can go into anyone's dreams, though."

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

Dipper blushed. "These... these past few nights. Why... why have you been coming into my dreams?"

Bill stared at him. "What are you talking about? I haven't been going into your dreams. I didn't even know you've been having dreams."

"Don't lie to me. Since the day I fought you in Stan's mind, I've been having dreams, and you've been in them."

Bill had wide eyes. "I swear that I never entered your dreams."

A look of shock appeared on Dipper's face. "Then... that means..." He muttered the rest to himself.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" Dipper squeaked. Bill chuckled at Dipper's voice crack as he cleared his throat. "Nothing. It was nothing."

"Okay, then." Bill thought for a moment. "You know, I never wanted to be mean to you kids."

Dipper looked at Bill. "You didn't?"

Bill shook his head. "No. But, a deal is a deal, and I have to fulfill it no matter what. If I had any other choice, I would've left you out of it."

Dipper smiled. "You know, you don't give yourself much credit- you're really nice."

Bill scoffed. "That's one way to put it."

"No. I mean it. You can do anything in the Mindscape. And your goal was to get rid of us. You had every chance to just kill us outright, but... you didn't. You even have a chance right now to attack me, but you're walking with me. Just talking." He grinned at Bill. "You're really nice."

A smile slowly appeared on Bill's face. "...thank you, Dipper. Thank you for saying that. It means a lot, coming from you."

Dipper was about to say something, but was interrupted by a female yell. "Dipper! Breakfast!"

Bill's smile fell. "Looks like you need to get back."

Dipper took notice of Bill's sad expression. "Hey. If you want, I'll be happy to do this again tomorrow morning."

That brightened Bill back up. "Okay. I'll be here."

Dipper waved somewhat awkwardly. "Bye, Bill."

Bill waved back, his smile back on his face. "Bye, PineTree."