Opposites attract
Pacifica Northwest was laying on her bed staring up at the ceiling of her bedroom. Pale moonlight streaming in through her window, illuminating her long blonde hair. She glanced over at her clock. Rolling her eyes at how late it was she pulled the covers away and climbed into bed properly and tucked herself in closing her eyes and muttering "stupid boy" to herself before falling into a deep sleep.
Pacifica was stood in the middle of a large dance floor, surrounded by couples, with tears forming in her eyes she was about to walk off when she felt a soft hand on her shoulder
"Sorry I'm late" a male voice apologised. turning around to face her date, a smile replacing the tears that were ready to fall free
"Well it's better late then never" Pacifica teased. "You look so handsome tonight Mr Pines" she smiled, flicking the blue pine tree cap that adorned his head which clashed with the black tuxedo he was wearing
"And you look beautiful" he whispered, leaning in close to her, Pacifica blushed a deep crimson as the compliment left his lips "may I have this dance?"he asked as a new song began to play, a slow ballad. Pacifica held out her hand for her date to take, he took her hand in his and wrapped his other hand around her waist, they began to move their feet in time with the music that was playing.
The song ended as Pacifica and her date were staring into each other's eyes. Pacifica closed hers and leant in close
"I think I love you... Dipper" Pacifica confessed, Dipper pressed his lips against hers and cupped her face in his hands
"I think I love you too" he whispered back, breaking the kiss "and I guess it's true what they say... Opposites do attract" he added with a cheeky wink.
Dipper awoke with a start.
"Oh man, what a weird dream" he moaned, rubbing his eyes. Dipper scanned his attic bedroom to make sure that this wasn't still part of his nightmare. No sign of Bill or Gideon and the sound of Waddles snoring somewhere on the floor below him confirmed that he was indeed awake once again. He crept silently downstairs and made his way to the bathroom. He began to run the cold water and splashed his face "get a grip Dipper, it was only a dream" he scolded himself as he turned the tap off and left the bathroom to go back to bed. He climbed back into bed and rolled on to his side, looking over at his sister's bed where she was sleeping soundly. He picked up his phone from the bed side table and unlocked it to check the time he was greeted with a text message...
'I dunno if you're awake right now, but I can't sleep... If you are up, wanna meet up? Love Paci xx"
Now a few summers ago he'd never have imagined recieving a text like this at 5:15 in the morning from Pacifica Northwest. It was an understatment to say that Dipper and Mabel Pines didn't exactly see eye to eye with the daughter of the richest family in town, but after ridding her house of a ghost the following summer saw himself and Mabel become less hostile and more friendly with Pacifica and for her to be texting him so early in the morning something must be wrong
'I'm up, what's the matter? Dip xx'
'Don't wanna say by text. Meet me on top of the water tower?'
Dipper was seriously begining to worry now.
'I'm on my way now'
Locking his phone back again he quickly threw his pyjamas off and got dressed and making sure he didn't wake Mabel or Grunkle Stan up he left the Mystery Shack and headed towards Gravity Falls' water tower
'Where are you?' Dipper text as he arrived and noticed that he was there on his own.
'Look up!' Dipper did as he was instructed to do and saw Pacifica waving at him from atop the water tower, sat on the edge, legs dangling free overlooking the town of Gravity Falls.
Dipper sat down next to Pacifica and allowed her to rest her head on his shoulder
"Wanna tell me what's going on then?" Dipper whispered, concerned for his friend
"I dunno... I've just got so much on my mind right now" Pacifica sighed staring over to Northwest Mansion
"I'm not going anywhere, you know you can talk to me right?" Dipper encouraged, placing his hand on her shoulder
"I know, it's just you're part of the whole mess of what's wrong. You know my parent's now hate the fact that we're friends and they hate the fact that I..." Pacifica rambled
"And what do you think?"
"I don't care, it doesn't matter that my family come from large wealth... I don't agree with them that money is the be all and end all... I think that you... And Mabel have become two of my best friends and maybe I believe that opposites attract"
"Do you wanna go and get some breakfast?" Dipper asked suddenly, standing up and offering his hand to Pacifica to help her
"Sure" she smiled
"You can pay then... Miss my family comes from large wealth" Dipper poked his tongue out teasing his friend.
Dipper and Pacifica sat down in Lazy Susan's Diner and ordered two stacks of her special pancakes
"So you're between what you wanna do and who you wanna be against what your parents want and who they want you to be?" Dipper enquired, continuing their earlier conversation
"Pretty much yeah" Pacifica grimmiced, trying to work out what she was gonna do.
"Do you want my opinion on this?"
"Please Dipper"
"I think that you should forget about trying to always please your parents and keep them happy. Yes you do have the same name as them but you are NOT the same person as them. You are your own person and your happiness and your wellbeing comes before anything else. In short... Be who YOU wanna be, do what YOU wanna do, see who YOU wanna see and to hell with what your parents think!" Dipper explained. Lazy Susan reappeared with two plates stacked high with pancakes
"Here ya go kids, enjoy!" She smiled warmly placing the two plates in front of Dipper and Pacifica. Thanking her as she walked away Dipper and Pacifica returned to their discussion while savouring Lazy Susan's pancakes. When they were finished Dipper fished his wallet out from his pocket and pulled out a $10 bill and left it on the table
"I thought I was gonna be paying?" Pacifica questioned
"I was only teasing you" he giggled
Outside of the diner Dipper and Pacifica were ready to part ways and head back to their respective homes
"Umm Dipper... My parents are throwing a dance at the end of the week and I was wondering if you'd come with me?" Dipper began to blush and stammer at the question
"U-umm I er... I- I'd l-ove to" he finally managed, Pacifica threw her arms around him and planted a kiss on his cheek, allowing her lips to linger on his skin before pulling away again, her face now the colour of a stop sign with Dipper's an equally alarming shade of red.
"It's a date then" she smiled as she turned away from him and began to head in the direction of Northwest Mansion. 'A date' Dipper thought as he strode along the high street back towards the Mystery Shack 'A DATE!' he paniked inside his mind 'did she mean that in a jokey way or did she really mean this was gonna be a proper date, she said it was a dance... Will she expect me to dance? Will she be disappointed if I don't? Does she like me?'.
"Hey broseph, where ya been?" Mabel greeted as Dipper entered the Mystery Shack gift shop
"J-just out for a early morning walk, see if it could help me with some of the questions I've got about the journal" Dipper lied, hoping that mentioning the journal would throw Mabel off and stop her from prying further
"Hmm okay"
"Have you seen Wendy about anywhere?"
"Up on the roof" Mabel answered, indicating the ceiling where Wendy had made her secret hide out
"Cheer sis" Dipper called out as he began to climb the ladder up from the gift shop to the roof.
"Hey Wendy" Dipper greeted, as he stood up on the roof
"Hey Dip... What's up?" She asked, noticing the worried look on his face
"Umm can you keep a secret?" Wendy nodded and zipped her lips shut "I umm kinda have a date for this weekend but I dunno if it's gonna be a proper date or if she was just saying 'date' it's at a dance and I dunno, I like this girl but I'm not sure how she feels about me and ughh it's hard, I want her to like me but..." Dipper rambled
"Woah Dipper. Slow down" Wendy ordered "Firstly do you wanna tell me who this girl is?"
"It's... Pacifica Northwest" Dipper admitted with an unexpected ease. Ever since his crush on Wendy had run its course he was much more relaxed and open around her. Wendy smiled as he finally admitted this, she had a hunch whenever she saw them hang out, even with Mabel hanging out with them Dipper and Pacifica just seemed drawn to each other.
"So what do you need help with?"
"Can you... Can you teach me how to dance?" Dipper asked, going red. Wendy nodded
"How about after work though, Stan is probably going nuts down there" she smirked
"Good idea" Dipper nodded in agreement, climbing down from the roof back into the Mystery Shack gift shop.
At the end of the day Dipper had voulenteered to stay behind to lock the gift shop up alongside Wendy, Soos left shortly followed by Mabel leaving Dipper and Wendy on their own, after making sure the door was locked Wendy turned the radio on and tuned it to a slow classical piece
"Ready?" Wendy asked, Dipper nodded "Okay then, give me one hand and place the other on my waist" She instructed, Dipper doing as he was told followed her orders and placed one hand on Wendy's waist and took her hand in his, she placed her spare hand on his shoulder. With a lot of patience and determination that he would get this right Wendy began to walk Dipper through a basic waltz. After an hour and half of hard work and a few crushed toes Wendy decided to call it a night for their practise, leaving Dipper with a big well done on getting the waltz right three times on the trot towards the end and promising him that they can do some more practise tomorrow.
"Thanks Wendy" Dipper smiled, as he shut the door behind his older friend. Taking a deep breath he decided that he was gonna tell Mabel what was going on.
'It's only fair, she is my sister and Pacifica's friend, if things were to happen I wouldn't want her feeling awkward or left out or anything bad like that' He thought to himself while climbing the stairs towards his shared attic bedroom.
"Hey bro bro." Mabel greeted him in her usual cheerful way as he shuffled into their bedroom and made his way over to his bed.
"Hi Mabel." He sighed after a brief pause, not really listening to his sister. collapsing down onto the bed
"Dipper... What's wrong?" Mabel asked, concerned for her brother, Dipper sat up and looked across the room to his sister who was sat cuddling Waddles on the opposite bed
"Mabel... What you say if two of your good friends had started dating? Would it be awkward for you? At all?" Dipper enquired, stuttering and getting tripped up on his words, Mabel pondered the question for a moment, glancing up at Dipper's face, reading his expression, she twigged that this question involved him somehow.
"Is this about you and Pacifica?" She questioned him.
"H- How... How did you know about that?"
"Ha-ha so it is, Dipper you're my brother, I just wanna see you happy" Mabel stated
"Y-you wouldn't mind?"
"Nope, I think you two would make a cute pair and I should know... I AM THE LOVE GOD"! Mabel screamed the last part of that sentence causing a small chuckle to escape from Dipper.
"It won't make things odd?"
"Nuh uh"
"Thanks Mabel"
"So when are you asking? Where will you be going? What will you be wearing?" Mabel began to bombard him with questions
"Woah, slow down, we're going to this dance at her parent's manor, I'll ask her then and to be honest I thought just jeans and a shirt" Dipper answered her, trying to keep his answer in the order she had asked them
"DIPPER! You can't go to North West Manor in just 'jeans and a shirt!" Mabel scolded, mimicking Dipper, Dipper glared at her as she immitated his voice
"I'm taking you shopping! We'll find you something totally amazing to wear to wow Pacifica." Mabel stated
"Yeah?" Dipper asked
"Yep" Mabel confirmed
"Thank you Mabel" Dipper smiled gratefully.
The next few days were full of working shifts at the Mystery Shack, after work dance lessons with Wendy and evenings spent trying to calm Mabel down about the outfit he'd wear the night of his and Pacifica's 'date'
"How about this one Dipstick?" Mabel asked, shoving a quick drawing of Dipper in a white suit into his hands for him to consider
"No Mabel! If I wear this I'll look like that weird guy from that dancing film from ages ago" Dipper moaned
"Hmm, how about... "
"... Mabel do you just wanna come with me tomorrow when I go to Portland?" Dipper rolled his eyes, knowing that inviting Mabel along would be the only way he'd be able to get any rest, plus he couldn't really stay mad at her, she was only trying to help after all, anyway it might be a good idea to have another girls advice on what his attire for the evening should be.
"Eeeee! YES! YES! YES!" Mabel beamed, jumping across the room to throw her arms around Dipper, pulling away slightly she began to mock him
"Awww, my wittle bwother is gwowing up, going out on his first date."
"Shut up" Dipper smiled, throwing Mabel's arms from around his neck
It was the day before the dance at North West Manor and Wendy had driven Dipper and Mabel into Portland rather than trying to find something in the small town of Gravity Falls, Mabel had the good idea of trying the nearest big city.
"MOVE OUT THE WAY GRANNY!" Wendy yelled at the old lady who was trundling along slowly in front of her, blaring her horn trying to make the older driver hurry up
"Umm Wendy, maybe you wanna calm down a bit? She probably just wants to be safe" Mabel whispered meekly, hoping that Wendy's road rage now wouldn't be taken out on her, Wendy considered what her younger friend was saying and had to agree with her, slowing down and relaxing a bit. A short while later Wendy found a parking space on the upper level of the Lloyd centre car park.
"Ready?" She asked the twins as they all got out of the car.
"Yeah, let's go!" Mabel cheered, Dipper just nodded. Before he knew it Mabel had his hand in a vice like grip and began to drag him along towards the interior of the shopping centre, having done her research on the Lloyd centre she knew all the best shops to try to look for what Dipper needed
"Guys! Wait up! You're not getting lost on my watch, Stan will kill me!" Wendy called out, trying to catch up to the twins. The three of them stood in the middle of the Lloyd centre looking for the best direction to head in
"Over there" Dipper announced, pointing towards a store named 'Suits You.' Freeing his hand from Mabel's grip he began to lead the girls over to the store. Once inside they were greeted by a pretty blonde sales assistant
"Hello there and welcome to Suits You. My name is Nikita, if there's anything you guys need please don't hesitate to come and find me" Nikita greeted, flashing Wendy a small smile, not taking her eyes of the red headed girl who was begining to red in the face because of the attention she was getting
"Thank you Nikita" Dipper smiled as he began to walk over to a row of shirts and suit trousers with Mabel tagging along behind him, leaving Wendy behind as she was begining to strike up a conversation with Nikita
"Umm Mabel... You err, you wouldn't happen to know what Pacifica's favourite colour is would you?" Dipper asked,
"It's perriwinkle blue." Mabel told him
"You thinking of getting a shirt in her favourite colour? That's actually a really romantic idea" Mabel commented as she began to look along the section of blue shirts along side Dipper
"How about this one?" Dipper enquired, picking a shirt up and holding it up to his torso
"I like it, I think it really suits you" Mabel nodded her approval of his choice
"Now we just gotta get you trousers and a jacket" She added, they turned around to wander round looking at the jackets and trousers
"HEY! Mabel, am I gonna need a tie?" Dipper called out as he was distracted by a large display of different coloured ties
"It couldn't hurt to get one could it?" Mabel replied, making her way over to where he was stood with a pair of black trousers and a black jacket in hand, Dipper browsed over the ties for a moment, trying to decide what one would go best with the blue shirt. After a few minutes dileberation he decided on a slim white tie, taking the jacket and trousers from Mabel he walked into the nearest changing room.
The next afternoon Dipper was sat at the dining table, poking at the sandwich laid out in front of him, not feeling that hungry, instead he picked up his phone and re read the last text message he recieved
'Can't wait to see you tonight. Love Paci xxx'
Dipper looked up at the clock on the kitchen wall
"Ah. Only one PM, I got another few hours before I need to start getting ready. He decided to put his sandwich in the fridge for later on, walking through to the front room he thought he'd kill some time by watching some T.V with Mabel, sitting down next to her he began to watch 'Why you ackin' so cray cray' in silence, every so often, glancing down at his phone or up at the clock on the wall. As the time seemed to slow down, Dipper found himself becoming more and more restless. Mabel who had finally grown tired of his fidgeting placed a gentle hand on his knee
"Dipper. Stop worrying so much, this night is gonna be great. You both like each other, you both have a good time in each other's company. Bro bro you're an amazing guy and you're my best friend, Pacifica would be lucky to have you. There is so much about you to love. Just be yourself and keep in mind what I've just said okay?"
"Okay."
"You promise?"
"I promise Mabel"
Mabel leant forward and kissed Dipper's cheek
"Good! Now go up and get ready!" She ordered him. He nodded and ran off upstairs to start getting ready.
Two massive security guards towered over Dipper at the entrance of North West Manor
"Name?" One of the guards demanded in a gruff, surly tone
"D-Dipper Pines, I-I-I'm a g-guest of Pacifica's" Dipper stuttered nervously. The guard scanned the clipboard he held in his hands before stepping aside and ushering Dipper inside. Dipper quickly made his way across the courtyard and into the main hall. Approaching the edge of the dance floor Dipper began to scan the area for any sign of Pacifica. His heart dropping when he couldn't see any sign of her until he felt a light tap on his shoulder, spinning round to see his friend stood before him, he long blonde hair pulled back into an elegant ponytail, she was wearing a strapless, full length perriwinkle blue dress.
"Don't you look... Dapper" Pacifica smiled, extending her hand, Dipper placed his hand in hers. Dipper swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and took a step closer to her
"Pacifica. I-I've got something I want to say..." Dipper began, Pacifica held her tongue, allowing Dipper to continue
"I really care about you, I really love being around you and I want more than just being your friend. I want us to be more than friends" Dipper confessed, Pacifica pressed a finger to his lips to silence him
"Shut up and kiss me Dipper" She whispered, leaning in close to him, Dipper didn't need a second invitation as he closed the gap between them and pressed his lips against hers. Breaking the kiss with a smile Pacifica asked him why he liked her so much.
"I don't know, we come from such different backgrounds, I guess we prove the old saying that opposites attract" Dipper smirked.
"Care to dance?" He asked, indicating the dance floor behind them. She nodded and allowed herself to be led to the middle and pulled in close to Dipper as they began to slow dance.