Chapter 1: The Ride
"Dipper? Dippin'sauce? Are you awake?" Mabel whispered beside his head, which rested silently on her pillow.
"No, Dipper's not here, leave a message." He muttered half asleep.
"Oh, okay. Could you just tell him this for me then?" Mabel then leaned in and hit him with a pillow in the stomach. He sat bolt up and swung a pillow barely missing Mabel's head, as she ducked.
"Good, you're up! You almost ready to get going?" Mabel questioned, buzzing with anticipation.
"Does it look like I'm ready?" Dipper said sarcastically. His regularly messy hair, had outdone itself this morning sticking up at odd angles, and all he was wearing was his boxers. As usual, his twin contrast his disarray with long, neatly curled hair, a skirt and tank top that had her favorite shooting star logo on it.
"So you're saying if we stop for coffee and breakfast on the way you can be ready in say twenty minutes or less?" Dipper sighed.
"Sure Mabel. I'm excited too you know? Just not get up at 7am and run out the door for an eleven hour drive excited." Mabel then squaled excitedly and ran out of her brother's room. It was the first time the twins had been back to gravity falls since they were thirteen, four years ago. Though Grunkle Stan had occasionally visited them, the other worldly place had felt light-years away until right now. They would be going to University in the fall, but their Grunkle had asked if they wouldn't mind coming to help him run the shack for the summer. Dipper then got up and found a plain white tee-shirt and jeans to throw on with his favorite old cap, he figured it was sort of his identity in Gravity Falls and it would be easier to recognize the now tall, slightly most muscular Dipper with the blue pine tree placed on his head. He would never admit it to his sister but he had been packed for two weeks. From what their great uncle told them, Gravity Falls sounded much different from when they were there previously. After defeating Bill, there had been many odd, and unpredictable outcomes. Ranging from some the the creatures that resided there had mysteriously vanished, whereas other different ones would pop back up in there place. Dipper was ecstatic to begin his own journals, just as his Grunkle Ford had done before him, cataloging the strange new beasts.
Downstairs Mabel was packing her many suitcases in the twin's car. She too was extremely happy to be going back to Gravity Falls, Oregon. To see all her old friends, see all the new creatures Grunkle Stan had told her about. But mostly she had this odd urge pulling her there. This feeling in the pit of her stomach. No one knew what happened to him after they defeated Bill Cipher. Though the town's people assumed he died, including her family, she couldn't shake the feeling that the situation may be more like Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter than everyone else anticipated. Just then Dipper pounded down the stairs, holding two pairs of aviator sunglasses.
"Here, you almost forgot these." He said handing them to Mabel.
"Woah, that would have been tragic!" She acknowledged. "Maybe I should just run up and make sure I didn't forget anything else." As she turned Dipper grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
"Oh no, you had your chance, it's go time!" Dipper exclaimed.
Mabel paused then smiled wide.
"You're right Bro Bro. Nothing that I can't buy there, except for more time there." She laughs, and Dipper laughs too at his sister's strangeness. They went, said goodbye to their parents and headed out to their car.
"I'll drive first." Mabel offered as she clambered into the driver's side.
"Okay, so where do you want to stop for breakfast?" Dipper asked.
"I think just at Grind Bean. But I also feel it's a doughnuts for breakfast morning, a morning of celebration!" Mabel declared.
"I think you'll be hyper enough without it." Dipper reasoned. Mabel stuck her tongue out at him. And turned on the BABBA CD she brought in the car with them. And as Disco Girl started, Dipper caved, agreeing, this was a morning to celebrate.
"Dipper… I don't feel so good, can you take over?" Mabel pleaded. From the passenger seat, Dipper's head glanced up to his slightly green sister from his book.
"So, you're telling me buying a half dozen doughnuts was a bad idea? That's surprising." Dipper smirked.
"Really common, I just need to lay back a bit, would you just do it?" Mabel said.
"Well, actually at a really interesting point in this book about nerdy things and I just don't know if I really am feeling it right now. But if you want to just pull over and wait it out." he suggested, smiling devilishly. Mabel looking even worse slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road, parked and ran out of the car towards the forest they were driving beside. After two minutes, she came back up to the car and knocked on Dipper's passenger side window. Which he rolled down.
"Okay you were right, 'don't eat five doughnuts Mabel, that's too many sprinkles in the morning.' And they were definitely worse in reverse. Now, will you please drive?"
"Yes. And I'll go get you a blanket, water and pillow from the back, you've done a good four hours, I've got it from here." Dipper offered, slipping out of the seat, and walking to the trunk.
"Thank you." Mabel said as he got back in the car and handed her the sleeping supplies and started the car. They drove for next four hours in silence. Mabel consumed by sleep, and Dipper by his thoughts.
Mabel awoke surrounded by tall trees as they whizzed past the car. She looked at her phone which read 3:13pm. She stretched out and looked over at Dipper staring intently at the road, yet still lost in thought. He smiled at her.
"Feeling better?" He asked.
"Yeah, man Dipper, why do you always have to be right? So, do you want to stop for lunch?"
"Mabel, you were sick to your stomach just three hours ago. Do you really want to eat?" Dipper asked perplexed.
"Yeah! Now my tank is empty." She pouted rubbing her flat stomach. Dipper sighed.
"Okay, find the closest burger joint."
Mabel then searched Google Maps or the closest restaurant which was thirty minutes away.
"There's this place about half an hour from here if we say on route. Ugh that's so long to wait."
"What is it?" Dipper questioned.
"You know, MacDuff's. I'm so getting a Joyful meal, they have action figures from Pony Heist 4."
"Do you still watch those movies? I can't believe they even made sequels..." Dipper groaned.
"Uh, duh! If they keep exploding Ponies I keep coming back." Mabel ranted. Dipper ran a hand over his scruffy chin.
"I should have known." He admitted. "So, are you at all nervous about going back to the Shack?"
"What 'cause of all the monsters? Or is someone else nervous to see a certain lady?" Mabel hinted waggling her eyebrows.
"I am not Mabel! Pacifica probably doesn't even remember me. We were thirteen!" Dipper spluttered.
"Woah, Woah. Touchy subject. Plus Dip, I was talking about Wendy, you know the girl you had a thing for like all summer?" Mabel giggled.
"I-I'm. Yeah well, I guess I never told you that after I kind of starting getting over Wendy, I had a thing for Pacifica…" Dipper confessed. "But I've dated. I'm not hung up on her or anything"
"EEeeee! Well Dip-man you kinda saved her life so she'll remember you. And to be honest, you only dated one girl. And not from lack of worthwhile suitors." She implied. Dipper just looked at his sister and huffed, but barely contained his smile thinking about his old crush.