A/N: When to Expect the Unexpected: Chapter 5:

Summary: Forget about an occurrence, and soon it fades from mind as though it never happened at all... Think on it for a while and- Then it grows strong enough to hurt you again.

Takes place right before 'Not What He Seems".

The sun- natures alarm-clock on a lazy summer day where time isn't even a consideration in your mind- Its bright, shining rays piercing your closed eyelids and awakening you in the gentlest way possible. Like a mother's soft voice beckoning you from sleep- Unless you were Dipper Pines and you woke naturally with the moon at random points in the night- like now. Based on how impossibly warm the room still was, he figured the sun had only set about an hour ago. Based on the emptiness of the bed next to him, he figured it had to be at least 8 in the evening, as Mable wouldn't even think about going to bed until at least 10.

"... Inopiatum..." He muttered, pulling his tangled sheets off of his legs and shimming his way off of the bed. He groaned softly when his feet hit the rough floor, and shuffled over to the top of the stairs. "Some dream I had..."

Pausing, he stared down the dark flight of stairs that lay before him- going so long without blinking that he almost began to see spots. Frowning, he decided to wait and see if those spots would turn grey... The dreamscape would drop around him any minute and the strange dream would begin again-

"Dipper! I've let you sleep long enough! Now get up and help me with these ille- I mean- These new fireworks from Mexico!" Grunkle Stan called so suddenly that Dipper nearly fell down the stairs in his surprise.

Grey hadn't met him, nor the familiar laughter of Bill Cipher, but rather the warm light from the downstairs landing and his Grunkle's gravely voice. It almost made his heart feel at ease in spite of the last few nights. With a soft chuckle, the young boy started down the stairs, feeling almost a skip in his step. A certain relief washed over him as he stepped into the well lit landing- A little too well lit for his liking. A pale blue light had begun to wash over Dipper, swallowing up the warmth he had expected-

For a moment his heart stilled in his chest until-

"Damn it, Rico! Shut those darn headlights off, will ya?" Stan hissed, stepping between Dipper and the light. "I thought I told Mable to shut this front door-"

"But Grunkle Stan!" Mable whined as she skipped through the house, instantly throwing herself on top of her dazed twin. "You said to watch the door for police!"

"Yeah yeah- Lets just hurry up and get these in." Stan muttered, nudging Dipper in the knee with his foot. "Get a move on, kid."

"G-Grunkle Stan- What are the illegal fireworks for?" Dipper asked, pulling himself from the floor.

Truly, he didn't care where they came from or what they were for, but the dream and his slowly fading fears made him interested. Anything to help get his mind off of Bill and whats her name.

"Celebrating something tomorrow." Stan shrugged. "Cept I need you two to pretend like you just 'found these' tomorrow. Just in case someone tries doing some poking around."

Dipper frowned and peaked out of the open door. Rico's truck was parked out front, headlights now dimmed. With all the boxes stacked in front of his face, Dipper couldn't make out any feature of his. That was another person Dipper would want to forget as soon as possible.

As quick as a bunny, Dipper and Mable stumbled out of the house and up to the truck. The side was still warm from the engine, making the still hot summer air almost feel suffocating. The rough fabric of Dipper's pajama shirt rubbed uncomfortably against his wet and sweaty skin.

Regardless though, it was more comforting than anything he had felt in a while.

"Hey, bro-bro!" Mabel giggled, poking his neck. "See you're feeling better!"

"H-huh? Oh... Yeah." Dipper chuckled nervously. "Guess I just needed some sleep is all."

"Bad tacos again?" Mable laughed, shaking her head.

"Yeah, probably." He lied, not wanting to worry his sister further.

"Ok, makes sense to me." She giggled, only to be cut off by Stan shoving a large box into her arms.

"Both of you better carry this." He huffed, holding the box until Dipper had both hands on it with Mable. "Don't want either of ya gettin' hurt by one of these accidentally going off."

"Thanks, Grunkle Stan." Dipper muttered, carefully beginning the trek back to the house with Mable, the heavy box causing every muscle in his body to seize.

"You're welcome, kid..." Dipper didn't know why, but he sensed a type of forloning in his Grunkle's voice-.

"We're waking up, kid. Don't worry, it's just a dream."

"... Hes lying..." Dipper whispered, gripping the side of the box tightly.

"What was that, Dip?" Mable asked.

"N-Nothing." Dipper laughed, shaking his head. "L-Lets just get these boxes in for Grunkle Stan, kay?"

"Okay then! If you say so!"

With that, the first box was delivered safely into the house- then the second and third and fourth. All of which were then shoved into the back closet where they would be 'forgotten' until the next day when the twins would be expected to 'find' it later. At least that was what the discussed cover story was planned to be. Stan and Rico spoke quietly while Dipper and Mable watched the house, and Rico soon drove off in his truck, leaving Grunkle Stan alone on the quiet dirt road before the house.

"I have to talk to him." Dipper thought, biting his lip as he waited for the man to return inside.

From besides him, he barely registered the phone ringing and Mable's excited call that she would go and get it- something about Candy and Grenda or the like. More pressing matters were weighing on Dipper's mind. Try as he might to forget- the happiness he felt when he first woke up was gone now. The more he saw his Grunkle, the worse it got.

He watched as Stan kicked the ground benethe him, before going over to the porch couch and settling into it. Stan looked more worn out than Dipper did, and the boy got the feeling that it wasn't from unloading the fireworks, but rather had everything to do with his odd dream the night before.

"Grunkle Stan." He said before he even opened the door.

The sudden chill of the night time air was a shock to Dipper's system, now used to the welcoming warmth. He still carried on as though all were normal, joining his uncle on the couch and taking the can of Pit Cola that had been offered to hi-

"I thought you'd come out here eventually." Stan muttered, cracking his own can open.

"We need to talk-" Dipper began, struggling to open his own can. His hands were shaking too much.

"A-About what?" Stan asked before taking the can from Dipper, drawing a thankful smile from the boy.

"I... I had a dream about you last night." Dipper sighed, "You helped me out- but you were lying to me... About how much you knew and- Who you were in all of this- And there-"

A wave of a strong hand, one that wasn't a strange to throwing punches, cut Dipper off quickly. A pair of stern but loving eyes set their sights on Dipper's worried ones, and for the first time in a while, Dipper felt his mind calm. It was almost like that sternness was calling back whatever demon was currently crawling around inside of Dipper's mind, metaphorical or otherwise, whichever.

"Kid, I already told you there would be no more secrets between us." Stan bit out, taking a quick swig of his soda. "What reason do I got to lie to ya?"

"I guess thats true..." The boy admitted.

"Look- I know I'm not the most honest person, but you and you sister know this old man inside and out- I don't think I could lie to you two, even if I truly and utterly wanted to. Got it?" Stan said, "I'm not going to waste my time lying to people who've already got me all figured out."

Any shakiness Dipper had felt quickly ceased too. He couldn't place what it was- but something about his Grunkle just made him feel safe.

"Y-you're sure about that?" Dipper asked, feeling slightly hopeful now.

"Kid, you have nothing to worry about. You're just paranoid is all- try to keep some of that doubt out of your mind." Stan scoffed. "Come on. How about I teach ya how to play pool or something."

Yeah, that sounded nice.

"I'd like that." Dipper laughed, dinking his can against his uncle's arm.

With that in mind, Dipper snuggled back into the rough fabric of the outdoor couch, letting in and readily accepting the night time chill as he waited for his Grunkle to finish his soda and head inside with him. The longer he could stay awake and not alone in his room, the better.