Dipper Pines carefully ducked out behind his sister, trusting her to distract the large group gathered around them with exaggerated tales of the past school year. Hopefully she wouldn't say anything too embarrassing. It was weird; he'd been waiting all year to get back to Gravity Falls while Mabel had thrived in school, but now that he was actually here he still felt out of place.

It wasn't that he wasn't glad to see everyone. He was excited to catch up with his friends from last summer, just in a less crowded setting. He wasn't used to being the center of attention. Back in California, he had a couple of people he hung out with occasionally, but he wouldn't really call them friends. Mostly, he just spent his time researching, at least when Mabel wasn't dragging him off somewhere.

He grabbed some punch and made his way over to the wall to take in the party. It was quite an event, the kind you'd only find in Gravity Falls. The Northwest's mansion, no, McGuckit's mansion, was filled with what must have been half the town, not to mention several of the creatures from the surrounding area.

"What's the matter, can't take the spotlight?" a caustic female voice said from his side.

Dipper jumped, having been too lost in thought to notice anyone approach. Looking to his left, he found himself involuntarily blushing. Puberty had been kind to Pacifica Northwest. Where he was just a gangly mess with curly hair who fought a daily battle with acne, she was a vision; trim and fit, with smooth golden hair and legs that seemed to go on forever. A simple knee length blue dress brought out the color of her eyes, and complimented her new figure.

"Do I need to repeat myself slower for you, Pines?" she asked in a mocking tone.

"No! I just, uh, needed a break, y'know?" Dipper answered, cursing the small crack in his voice.

"Sure," Pacifica said with a smirk, taking a sip of her drink.

"Well what are you doing hanging out in the corner?" Dipper accused, regaining his feet.

"I-I just didn't want to hang out with all those weirdos," Pacifica said, a barely perceptible blush coloring her cheeks. After a pause, she asked, "So, I guess I should ask how your year was?"

Dipper looked down at his drink, swirling it in his hand. "You know. School, homework; lather, rinse, repeat. I bet you had a great year. You were probably the queen of the school."

Pacifica looked away, glancing over the ballroom pensively. Turning back to Dipper, she asked, "Do you wanna get out of here?"

Dipper was surprised at the almost pleading look on Pacifica's face, and looked back over the crowd himself, still feeling uncomfortable with the number of people. "I guess. Where are we going?"

"Just follow me," Pacifica said, taking Dipper's hand and pulling him down one of the mansion's many winding hallways. After a number of twists and turns that he tried to memorize as best he could, they arrived at a secluded balcony patio with an amazing view overlooking a sea of trees. As they walked outside, a warm breeze caught Pacifica's hair, causing it to shimmer in the starlight.

"So why did you want to come out here? It's not like you to shy away from a crowd."

Pacifica walked out to the railing, a sad smile on her face. "I used to love this place. It was probably my favorite spot in the whole mansion." She turned her gaze down. "Mother and Father never came out here; I'm not even sure they knew about it. I don't think we ever used half this place."

Dipper walked out and stood next to her, leaning on the railing and looking out at the forest he'd spent the last summer exploring. "It's beautiful."

Still looking down, Pacifica said, "My school year hasn't exactly been the reign of popularity you're thinking it was."

Still looking over the trees, Dipper scoffed. "Come on, you're Pacifica Northwest. Popular is what you do."

"Not anymore," Pacifica said with a surprising amount of bitterness. She crushed the paper cup in her hand and threw it out over the balcony where it disappeared into the trees. "Apparently when the everyone finds out your father tried to make a deal with the evil triangle that turned the town into hell, no amount of money can make you popular. Not that we have that much left anyway."

Dipper turned to Pacifica in shock. "But you fought him! You were one of the last ones to not give up!"

Pacifica looked up, tears streaming down an anguished face. "How many people do you think know that? How many people were still there at the end, Dipper? Candy and Grenda are decent to me, but we'll never be friends, not after what a bitch I used to be."

"But... That's not..." Dipper stammered.

Pacifica wiped away her tears and put a hand on Dipper's arm. "It's alright. It's just how things are. I'm not even sure why I told you."

Before he even realized he was doing it, Dipper reached out and pulled Pacifica close against his chest, his long arms encircling her body. Mouth next to her ear, he firmly said, "It's not alright."

Pacifica's shoulders shook and she started to cry in earnest, her tears staining Dipper's shirt. He awkwardly held her and rubbed her back until she finished. In a choked voice, she whispered, "I think about it sometimes."

Dipper pulled back to see her face without letting go completely. "What?" he asked, concerned.

Pacifica smiled and blushed. "The last time you held me like this."

Dipper returned her smile, looking into her reddened eyes. "You paid me not to tell anyone."

"Not this time," Pacifica said, leaning her head against his chest.

Dipper tightened his grip on Pacifica and stroked her silky hair. "I'm gonna make this right. You're not going through another year of that."

"Dipper..." Pacifica said into his chest, the protest in her voice betrayed by hope.

With a laugh he said, "Hey, I needed a project for this summer anyway."

Pacifica pushed her way out of Dipper's embrace and sarcastically said, "Glad I could give you something to do this summer."

Dipper's face fell and he started to panic. "Wait, I didn't mean—"

Pacifica' face quickly shifted to a playful smile. "I was kidding you dork. Come on, let's get back to the party before your sister freaks out and sics her pig on us."

"Um, right," Dipper said, unsure of what he had just gotten himself into.

So,

This is just a weird little idea that popped into my head. Not sure where it came from, but I'm pretty sure it's not going anywhere. Consider it a one-shot I guess, regardless of what it might seem.

It's my first fic in a fandom outside of Daria, so comments would be appreciated. Thanks for reading.