It was 9:10 am and Gideon padded through the aisles of books in the Gravity Falls library. It was a Saturday, the sun was bright and the weather was warm so, naturally, Gideon decided that it would be a great idea to go spend it indoors so he could go over the Journal without distraction.

If he was perfectly honest, the Journal really irritated him at times. That wasn't to say that he hated it (he really was interested in what was written in it) but there were so many inscriptions and the main focus was on the creatures of Gravity Falls so it had next to no spells like what he really wanted to learn. If what Pacifica said was true then those were mainly in Journal 2. And there was no way Dipper would ever let him look at it.

He sighed and opened the Journal to a random page. There was no point in lamenting over it any longer; it had been more than a year since he had found it and he was truly grateful for the way it had changed his life, spells or not. He turned to a page on ghosts and began pouring over the Author's familiar cursive writing.

It was almost an hour later when Gideon was pulled away from the book by the sound of the wooden chair opposite scraping the floor. He looked up in time to see a somewhat irritated looking Dipper Gleeful lower himself onto the chair with a soft 'flomp'. Then again, Dipper always looked somewhat irritated when they were in the same room together. Which then posed the question of why the older teenager was sat in front of him.

Gideon glanced around the room quickly, hat slipping slightly out of place. As expected, there were lots of other empty tables (who really had any business in the library so early on a Saturday morning?) which meant that Dipper could only want to talk to him.

Oh joy.

"What do you want?" Dipper had a bad habit of rambling so it was always best to get to the point with him as soon as possible.

"Help." He didn't exactly sound happy about it.

Gideon closed Journal 3 and pulled it slightly closer to himself. "The last time we tried to help you and Mabel we got turned into trees." He stated matter-of-factly.

Dipper smiled, apparently amused by the memory. "You did, didn't you? What a lovely tree you made too, Gideon," the smile dropped and his fell into a stony seriousness, "But this time I only require your help. I take it that you're aware of my and Pacifica's trip to the forest tomorrow?"

Gideon frowned. "Paz hasn't stopped talking about it all week." He was sure he saw Dipper smile again, but he must have blinked because it was gone almost instantly.

"Well," Dipper continued, "Since they solidified their friendship, Mabel's made it her mission to spend as much time with Pacifica as possible."

"I'm aware of that too, Gleeful. Just whose house do you think she's been coming round?"

Dipper scowled at the interruption, his birthmark crinkling slightly. "Well then, long story short, since you apparently know everything: I don't want Mabel to follow us tomorrow. Her approach to the creatures in the forest is generally too... friendly."

"Is that rich boy talk to say that she treats the creatures the same way she used to treat me?"

"Basically."

Gideon sighed. Some of the creatures in the forest were complete jerks, but he would never wish that kind of Mabel behaviour on anyone. He was glad that she'd stopped trying to capture him and seemed more content with friendship at the moment.

'What do you want me to do?"

"Entertain her or something."

"And if I agree to do so, what do I get in return?"

Dipper looked perplexed. "I thought you two were on good enough terms that spending time with Mabel would be more fun than a chore."

Gideon smiled, his dimples showing proudly. "Oh, I don't mind spending time with Mabel these days; in fact I'd be fine with it if it was her asking and not you. What I want to know is how much it's worth to do you a favour, Gleeful."

"Seriously?" Dipper deadpanned.

Gideon didn't stop grinning.

"I take it I can't just give you money, huh?"

This was it, this was his chance! "I want Journal 2 for a day."

"An hour." Dipper immediately shot back.

"Six hours." He bargained.

"One and a half."

"Three, or you're going to have to work Mabel into your plans."

He was sure he felt the temperature actually drop a few degrees, and there was definitely a buzzing sound coming from the blue amulet round Dipper's neck.

"Deal." Dipper ground out after a moment of deliberation and inner conflict.

Gideon, pleased with the result, grabbed Journal 2 and left the table.

"Oh, and Dipper?" He couldn't help his triumphant grin as he looked at the sulking teen, "If it was anybody else I would have done everything I could, no payment needed."

As he walked away he was yet again grateful that Dipper's knives had been confiscated after the whole robot incident last summer.

oO-0-Oo

This was written for a friend's prompt (which this terribly fails to fulfil). It was actually meant to be longer with most of the focus on Mabel and Gideon, so maybe (and this is a slim possibility) I may continue it if I feel like it again. Reviews are nice (and if you think it's worth continuing you could follow).