Ok, I know all you fans of this story are excited and happy that I updated early. I'm quite sure you'll be happier now, cuz the next chapter will be posted next week! Unless I have some freak accident or something. Anyways, you may think me posting the chapter after this one next weekend is awesome, but you'll learn why it's a blessing and curse all the same when you read it, then the A/N at the bottom. By "it" I mean the chapter after this one, just to clarify. Anyways, read on fellow Fallers!
It was Summer; late June to be exact.
The sun glowed warmly, heating up the ground where the children played, the adults grilled, and the teens sat around on their phones or computers, or possibly out by the pool.
But 17-year-old Dipper Pines sat in his dark blue pick-up truck, waiting outside the Gravity Falls courthouse for his cousin, Krystal, to call. Dipper hadn't changed much in appearance; he still had the same messy hair, slightly pale skin, and wiry frame. Mabel however, had started wearing a little make up and had cut her hair. It now only reached her mid-back.
But she wasn't here, she was back at the Mystery Shack helping Wendy -who had taken off the summer at college- and Soos get the shack ready for the party later on.
Dipper hadn't seen Krystal since she was 7, one summer when his parents had driven him and Mabel all the way to eastern Texas, where she lived in Dallas.
Now she was 13-years-old.
He hadn't seen many photos or recieved many calls, texts, or e-mails from her. It was beacause when she didn't have school, she had some other activity. She called, texted, or e-mailed them every now and then, but their schedules were pretty booked too.
He wasn't quite sure what she looked like now beacause the last picture he got of her was her 5th Grade yearbook picture.
He could still see it in his mind, too; her frizzy dark orange hair in a ponytail, her braces showing in her large, Mabel-ish smile, the freckles that were splayed across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose, her pale skin, and her stormy grey eyes. She was wearing a green, purple, black, and grey plaid top with elbow-length sleeves, and a pair of faded jeans along with her favorite cowboy boots and hat.
He knew that she participated in several rodeo events and trail rides, and she loved horses. She even had her own horse; a black stallion she had named Midnight. She was sad when she learned she'd have to leave him behind in Texas and move to Gravity Falls.
She was a lot like him and Mabel; she was smart, and loved to read and solve mysteries, but she was also very social and had a kind personality. And she was good at dancing, drawing, and, of course, horse-back riding. But she was also a bit mysterious and had grown a little rebelious over the years.
But today, she sat quietly in the courthouse as everything was sorted out before she was turned over to live with Stan Pines, her grandfather. Her mother had been killed and her father was nowhere to be found, presumably dead. The rest of her family on her mom's side was dead other than Stan, Dipper, Mabel, Mr. and Mrs. Pines, and her aunt Charlene who she lived with in Texas. But even if her father was there, the will stated that Krystal was to be put into Stan's care. No one knew why.
Dipper was jerked out of his memories when his phone buzzed.
"Dippingsauce, come on in. It's over." the messege read.
Dipper rolled his eyes at one of his many nicknames, and climed out of his truck.
He walked in the front door and heard something. It sounded like arguing. And Dipper couldn't help but look for the source. He walked to a door a little farther down the hallway and peeked inside. He saw who he presumed to be the judge, arguing with someone. As Dipper looked closer, he could see something strange about the man; he had grey eyes like Krystal. Dipper listened for only a moment.
"I'm sorry, sir, but there's nothing that can be done about it." the judge said.
Dipper slowly closed the door.
"Probably just some custody case over some stupid object." Dipper thought as he walked toward the courtroom.
When he opened the door, he didn't see anyone in the room. He walked down the aisle until he was at the front row, where he saw a girl laying down on the long bench-seat. She wore a black top, black jeans, and black combat boots. Her dark orange hair was loosely braided to the side and her stormy gray eyes were full of tears that threatend to spill over.
"Krystal?" he asked.
The girl sat up and wiped her eyes, smiling. "H-howdy, Dipper." she managed to weakly reply in her southern accent. The line sent a shiver down Dipper's spine as he remembered another southerner who had said that to him 5 years ago, back when he and Mabel had first visited Gravity Falls.
Dipper held his arms out and it took a moment for Krystal to recognize the gesture. She hugged Dipper and shuddered a couple times as if she was about to start crying again. He patted her back gently and said, "I know, I miss her too. But she's in a better place now, Krissy."
Krystal shuddered again and shakily replied, "I-I know, b-but I really m-m-miss he-her."
"Come on, let's go to the Mystery Shack." Dipper said as wrapped his arm around her shoulder. He led her to the truck, they climbed in, and Dipper drove them to the Mystery Shack.
When they got there, Mabel tackled Krystal with a hug and tried to lighten her spirits.
Soos and Wendy were setting up for a party to welcome her, and Stan was acting normal, but everyone knew he was upset over the death of his daughter.
When Krystal walked in and saw Stan, she ran up to him and hugged him. The old man stumbled back a bit, but hugged her.
"It's good to see ya, kiddo!" he exclaimed with a smile.
"It's great to see y'all too, grandpa." she replied, smiling back.
Stan put on a sireous face and told her, "Kid, I love ya, but you have to lose the accent." Seeing the confused expression on Krystal's face, he laughed.
"I'm just kidding!" He wiped a tear from his eye and continued, "You gotta stop taking things so sireously, Krystal."
"But I wasn't-"
"Shhh, just go with it, dude." Soos said, having silenced her with a finger to her lips.
Krystal raised an eyebrow and glanced at her cousins who just shook their heads and muttered, "Only in Gravity Falls."
Afterwards, Krystal was led upstairs to the attic where there were two beds. She and Mabel would share this room, and Dipper slept in another room. She unpacked her things and Mabel helped her get ready for the party.
"Oooh! You should wear this one! No, this one! No, no, no! You should wear this one!" Mabel squealed as she looked through the dresses in her closet.
"Um, Mabel? Can't I just wear somethin' simple, like a shirt and some jeans instead?" Krystal asked. Mabel only gasped.
"Krystal, it's a party for you! You have to wear a dress!" Mabel told her.
"There ain't a single rule that says I have to. Besides, if this is a welcome party for me, shouldn't I be in somethin' comfortable? I ain't goin' to some fancy party." she retorted.
Mabel sighed and replied, "Fine. But when we do go to a fancy party, you are going to wear a dress and I am going to help you pick it out. Ok?"
Krystal nodded. "Sure, why not? I'm gonna change in the bathroom, alright?" Krystal then picked out a few things from her closet and went into the bathroom to change.
She came out 10 minutes later with a blue and black plaid top with short sleeves, a pair of blue jeans, her cowboy boots, and a tan cowboy hat sitting atop her auburn hair which was braided over her shoulder. The front of the shirt was unbuttoned, showing the white t-shirt she wore under it. She also had on a bit of lip gloss.
"Y'all look like ya came out of an 80's disco movie." Krystal said once she caught sight of Mabel's clothes.
Mabel wore a hot pink 80's styled sweater with a turntable on it, with a light blue tank top under it. She had on an emerald green skirt, and a darker green headband with a bow on it. She wore her usual white socks and black flats, but with magenta leg warmers. Her hair was pulled back in a low ponytail.
"We look great! Now let's go, it's party time!" Mabel yelled happily.
Krystal smiled and rolled her eyes as her older cousin drug her downstairs to the party.
The party was well-decorated, with streamers hanging from the ceiling, balloons floating around, and neon confetti occassionally flying around. Krystal saw Soos at the turn-table controlling the music, which blared from the speakers. Stan sat outside, selling the tickets so that Dipper and Wendy could enjoy the party.
After about half an hour, everyone who was going to come had arrived, so Stan had come in to join the party, even though all he did was eat and try to con some people out of their money; just like he always does.
While Mabel was dancing with some guy and Dipper talked with Wendy and some of their friends, Krystal sat with two of Mabel's friends she'd just been introduced to, Candy and Grenda, and was trying to get to know them.
"So, Krystal, what brings you here to Gravity Falls?" asked Candy, as she adjusted her red-rimmed glasses.
"I would'a thought Mabel had told y'all already." said Krystal. "My mom died, so I'm gonna live with my grandpa Stan." she explained.
Seeing that Candy and Grenda were about to apologize for fear they'd upset her, she quickly added, "But it's ok, because she's in a better place now."
"But what about your dad? Shouldn't you be living with him?" Grenda asked her.
Krystal paused, and once again the two friends realized they'd brought up a touchy subject.
"I...I ain't never met him. I hope to though." she answered, a frown appearing.
"Hey, cheer up, it's not time to be sad." Candy told her.
"It's time to party!" Mabel exclaimed from behind them.
Krystal nodded. "I suppose y'all are right." she said, a smile starting to make its way onto her face. She finished what little food was left on her plate and joined her cousin and friends on the dance floor.
As they all danced, Mabel was the first of the group to realize the sudden change in music. It sounded dramatic, and a lot like the music you'd hear in a movie about a high school or something, during the scene where the popular girls come in.
"Popular girls..." Mabel thought. She heard people murmuring, and felt her cousin lightly nudge her in the ribcage. Mabel looked up and saw the crowd part to reveal Pacifica Northwest and the two other popular girls who followed her around all the time.
The rich blonde walked up to Mabel with a challenging smirked on her make-up covered face. "Hello Mabel, who's the new dork in your posse? Is she the new sheriff in town?" Pacifica said coldly, gesturing towards Krystal and refering to her choice of attire.
"Pacifica, this is my cousin, Krystal. And, come on, try to be nice for once." Mabel replied.
But Pacifica ignored her slight scolding and continued with her insults, saying, "I mean, I knew you and your friends were weirdos and all, but Cowgirl here takes your dorkiness to a whole new level."
Pacifica got closer to Krystal, her face mere inches away. "Sorry, hon, but this isn't a rodeo, it's a party. Or rather, a sorry excuse for one." Pacifica flicked Krystal's hat off her head. "Do you wear those rags 'cause your parents are losers just like that con-man relative of yours who owns this lousy shack?" Pacifica asked.
Pacifica could tell she struck a nerve by the way Krystal's eyes teared up. She expected her to run off crying, but instead she got right in her face.
"Look here you popular, rich, cold-hearted brat! Y'all got it easy, with life handed to ya on a silver platter, living all fancy with the best clothes! And you have all you need, all you want, as well as both your parents! My mother died fighting to protect this country, and I've never even met my father! I wear these clothes because I can and want to! I don't need some spoiled, rich, one-dimensional, valley girl stereotype to walk into my life and try to make me feel worse than I already feel! So if y'all are gonna be that way, then leave me alone!"
Tears spilled over Krystal's eyes and fell onto her shirt. She turned and walked away, grabbed a cup of Pitt Cola from the snack table, and walked into the gift shop, which was currently closed. She sat on the stool behind the cash register and stared out the window as the rain poured lightly outside.
Stan walked in the gift shop and spotted his granddaughter sitting at the counter.
"Kid, I-"
"I know the gift shop is closed and that y'all want me to enjoy the party, but I need some alone time for a minute." Krystal told him.
"Actually, I was going to tell you that I thought that was impressive. What you did back there, standing up to Pacifica, I've never seen anyone other than Mabel and Dipper even attempt to stand up to her. That was great!" Stan exclaimed, patting Krystal on the back.
"Really?" she asked, looking back at him with watery eyes.
He smiled warmly and nodded. "Really. Now clean yourself up and go have some fun!" he told her.
She hugged him for a moment and said, "Thanks, grandpa."
"No problem, Kiddo, no problem," he said, hugging her. He ruffled her hair a little and said, "Now get outta her you little rascal. I got a rep to keep up."
Krystal ran to the bathroom, washed her face, fixed her appearance a little, and went back to the party.
When she walked in the room, people applauded her and chanted her name for a few moments. She also noticed that Pacifica and her two friends were gone.
"Maybe that was pretty impressive..." she thought.
Before they all knew it, hours had passed and it was already 11:30. Everyone went home to go to bed, while Mabel, Dipper, and Krystal went upstairs. They all took showers, put on their pj's, and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
Well, almost dreamless...
A/N: Ok, here's the next chapter! I hope you guys liked the little part at the end with Krystal and Stan. It shows, despite how rough he is around the edges, Stan really cares about his family. I honestly didn't expect it to be this long when I put it on a document! The next chapter isn't as long, but it'll be pretty close, unless I post a super long A/N at the bottom.
By the way, I have a quick favor. It's your choice entirely, I'm just asking. For an upcoming chapter of this story (no, not the next chapter) I need a song to use. It can be a single song, or two songs crossed over (if they're crossed over, tell me how) for a duet between a guy and a girl. I want the song to be romantic or have the lyrics say something about the guy and girl liking each other. I'd also prefer the girl sing more than the guy, or half in half. If you have any ideas, please PM me or post it in the reviews. Any little bit can help. And here's a little persuasion, a little prize to this contest; the person who's song I choose will get a couple of little sneak peaks at the next chapter or two during the hiatus!
~Peace Out!
