Hahahahaha it's like 2:00 in the morning but I had to finish this! Hello peoples, I present to you some serious angst, some serious comfort, and some serious Dipper and Mabel bonding. Why do I like making these two pour their hearts out so much? The world may never know...

Enjoy!

Mabel pulled the sweater over her head, only pausing briefly to look at the stitched butterfly on it before throwing it on her bedroom floor. She flopped onto her bed, sighing.

"Why did she have to ruin everything? Stupid jerk-face," she muttered to herself.

"Who's a stupid jerk-face?"

Mabel gasped and jerked upright to see Dipper standing in her doorway. Oops... she didn't think he'd follow her up here.

"Oh, uh, no one, Dipper," she lied. "What're you doing here?"

"You got back from Lilly's and came straight upstairs. I'm not gonna go check on you?"

Mabel smiled slightly at that, but her smile quickly faded as she remembered why she'd ran upstairs.

"Did something happen at Lilly's?"

"No," Mabel said. "It was what happened after."

-0-

Mabel was halfway back to her house, humming her favorite tune from Dream Boy High 2, when suddenly, she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Mabel..."

Mabel turned to see Jessica Stewart, the most popular girl at school, walking behind her. The two of them had never been on the best terms, but Mabel was never one to give up on trying to make friends.

"Oh, hey Jess!" she chirped.

Jessica cringed a little. "Mabel, I told you not to call me that. That's a friends only name, you know."

"Oh I know, but you know me! Always up for making new friends! Actually, you're one of those few tough nuts I have yet to crack!" Mabel said with a laugh.

"Too bad it's futile then, huh?"

Mabel's smile dropped. "What?"

"Look, I just don't think it's worth all the effort. You're just too... Mabel."

"What's that suppose'ta mean?"

"It's just.. we're in seventh grade, and you still think unicorns and fairies are real. It's like... talking to a little kid. One who doesn't understand how kids her age are supposed to act. Heck, your brother has it figured out, and he's not exactly the role model seventh grader either. But you... it's like you think it's normal or something. To think that the world is all rainbows and happiness and no one else matters." She shook her head. "Oh well. I guess I shouldn't expect everyone to be like the rest of us, huh?" With that, Jessica continued on her way, leaving behind a very, very confused Mabel.

-0-

"Aw, Mabel..." Dipper started, but didn't know what to say. He had never seen Mabel with that look on her face before. She just looked so... lost. Like everything she thought she understood had come crashing down on top of her.

"I just don't get it," she said, leaning her head against the headboard of her bed. "Everything she said... the more I think about it, the more I realize it's true. We're gonna be thirteen in a few months, but I still act like I'm six or something. That's not normal. And I..." Mabel's lip quivered. "I've never even questioned it. I've just gone about living in some fantasy world while everyone around me actually has the common sense to just grow up." Mabel looked at her brother. "I mean, look at you! You're so much more mature and considerate and intelligent... while I'm just there, acting like there's no one else in the world, no worries, no cares. What is wrong with me, Dipper?" Finally, Mabel squeezed her eyes shut, forcing out the tears that had been building up.

"Nothing."

The surprise of what Dipper had said startled Mabel out of her crying. "What?"

"Nothing is wrong with you," he reiterated.

"Ha, look Dipper, I appreciate it, but you don't need to lie to me."

"I'm not lying, Mabel!" Dipper said in a tone forceful enough to stop her from saying anything else. She met his deep brown eyes, locked on hers. He wasn't lying.

"All those things Jessica said... they may be true on a basic level, but there's so much more to you. Yeah, you're silly and energetic and positive, but you're like that because you want everyone else to be happy. You care so much about everyone you meet, from the people you've known your entire life to those you've known for five minutes. That kind of compassion is something I could only dream of possessing. Yet you give it out with such earnestness, and never expect anything in return. That's what makes you who you are," Dipper took his sister's hands. "And if Jessica is too shallow to look beyond your outward actions and see that, then it's her loss because she's missing out on being friends with someone as amazing as you." He opened his eyes, throat tight with emotion, and looked at Mabel. She was still crying, but she was also smiling. It was small, but genuine.

Mabel sniffed. "Thanks, bro-bro."

"Anytime. But Mabel?" Mabel gave him a questioning look. "I need you to promise me something."

"Anything," she said without hesitation.

"Never, ever, stop being who you are. I wouldn't be nearly the person I am if I didn't have you. You can make anyone forget their worries and remember the best part of life just by being in their presence. I don't know what I, or heck, anyone, would do if you stopped being yourself. Mabel Pines is perfect the way she is, and there's no one she needs to be other than herself."

"I promise," Mabel's eyes had their familiar spark back. "From now till infinity! If I can live that long... which of course by the time we're old there will be technology to make that possible!" Mabel laughed, the sweetest sound Dipper could hear after everything they'd just been through.

"Obviously." He laughed along.

"Oh! Which reminds me!" Mabel began as she picked her sweater off the floor and slipped it back on. "Mom said that I totally should start helping her with her textiles. Y'know, since I wanna take over when I'm old enough? But I think she also said that since we both know I can totally take her in knitting now. And she's the original knitting master! Ooh, do you think that I could knit a blanket so big that when the next ice age hits, it can just cover the Earth and warm it up? Because that'd be awesome. Maybe I can do it when they finally invent that infinity life thingy. I can..."

Dipper smiled as his sister went on and on. There truly was no one else like her.