It was Dipper and Mabel's first day back to school, and though they mutually missed their summer in Gravity Falls, they hardly showed it with the hopeful smiles they wore that morning. Their first day of high school! They could hardly tell whether the movement in the bus was the road or everyone fidgeting. Older kids excitedly caught up with each other, and some kids put in their headphones. Dipper was gratified with the short opportunity of booting up his Monstermon game for the first time in months- though it was doubtful he could catch up to his friends who were allowed to play their game all summer, it didn't mean he couldn't at least try.
Mabel, on the other hand, lost no time introducing herself to the older girl sitting on the seat across from her. "Hi, I'm Mabel, and this my brother Dipper," she said. "I like your horns."
"Hiii, Mabel," the girl said, as if they were already friends. She extended the hand farthest from Mabel, craning across the middle of the bus to shake her hand. "I'm Star. I like your sweater."
Mabel grinned at the flattery, and shook the hand of the uncomfortably positioned girl. "This is our first day of high school. So, hey. On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your experience with this high school so far?"
"A... Scale?..." Star stared at the girl blankly. "Fishes have scales..."
"Oh, no, this has nothing to do with fishes," Mabel said, fairly used to people who struggled with the vernacular, having been acclimated to a sheltered clone boy band, a merman, and of course her Grunkle Ford, who was a couple generations behind on Earth lingo. "How would you rate your experience here?"
"Ohhh," Star said, suddenly understanding. "I'd give it a solid 8.75/10." She beamed as she credited herself yet again for keeping up with Earth culture. "I have tons of friends here. Like Marco, for example." She shook the arm of the boy next to her, who looked up from his phone for only a moment. He smiled and waved sheepishly before returning to his message. "And then of course there's Hope, Ferguson, Janna, Chelsea-" she continued to rattle off names as Mabel's mind started to wander to the wand. "And then," she said dreamily, "There's Oscar."
"Oscar?" Mabel repeated, sensing love afoot.
"Yeah," Star said, chewing on her wand. "Oscarrr..."
"Sounds like someone's got a crush," Mabel teased.
"Hoo boy," Marco mumbled.
"W-what are you talking about?" Star asked, feigning innocence. "I haven't crushed anyone recently," Star said defensively, eyes wild. "Besides that police car. But that was an accident, and no one got hurt- I DID MY TIME, SISTA!"
Dipper and Mabel exchanged glances, Mabel grinning and Dipper showing concern. Did the weirdness of Gravity Falls somehow follow them, or was this girl simply insane? Just as Dipper shut off his game and pulled out a hard-bound journal from his bag, the bus rolled to a stop, and the doors opened.
"What was your name again?" Dipper asked.
"Oh, Star. Star Butterfly."
They entered the building and enjoyed the cool rush of indoor air, contrasting the sweltering heat of the outside. "I have a good feeling about this year," Mabel said cheerfully, before they parted ways for their first class.
A/N: Mabel, Dipper, Gideon, Pacifica, Bill, Stan, and Ford are from Gravity Falls.
Zim, Dib, Tak, Tallest Red, Tallest Purple, Grechen, Chunk and Ms. Bitters are from Invader Zim.
Star, Marco, Ms. Skullnick and Principal Skeeves are from Star VS The Forces of Evil
Steven, Lapis, and Peridot are from Steven Universe.
Background characters may be cameos from other shows, but will not be important to the plot.
