A/N: I'm sorry, it's a little short, but I really liked the ending as an ending rather than a transition.

I looked eagerly from tile to tile, trying to decipher the stories that they held. On one, a particularly well-made one, a beautiful smallish brass dragon stood proud with a knight on their back, both dressed in shiny plate armor. Behind them stood a tall woman with pointed ears and bright pink hair holding a bow that seemed to glow off the surface of the tile. The knight and the woman were holding hands, standing in a cavern of gems. They all looked so happy, with these big, but somehow genuine smiles on their faces. They looked like people from a fairytale my dad used to tell me when I was little.

"Miss Mabel! Your job has been completed!" I jump up at the sudden sound of Office Man's voice.

"Thank you, Mr. Office!" I say, taking the original and the bag he has put the prints in. I peek inside as I walk out, and smile. They look perfect. It's time to hand them out and tell everyone, because the whole town better come to this party. I feel the hope rise in the back of my heart that the person from the diner might be there, and while I am optimistic, I can't get my expectations high. I walk all around town, handing the invitations out to anyone and everyone, and telling them to give the invites around when they were done and for sure coming. I'm running again, of course, because who would Mabel be if she didn't run? Maybe herself, that's who. I guess I wasn't looking where I was going, though, because I run smack into something warm and soft. I should be thankful it wasn't a building.

"What are you doing?" A icy voice asks, and I look up. Oh my goodness... It's my- the woman from the diner. I feel roses bloom on my cheeks. "Seriously imp. What the Hell?"

"I- uh... I was running!" I say, and all of a sudden I wish I could be Mabel that everyone knows, the Mabel who never stops or stutters and is happy no matter what she's done. "I'm sorry," I say, looking at the ground. She sneers at me.

"Of course you are." She pushes past me and walks away, and I think I hear her laugh coldly once or twice. I don't mean to, but I find myself drawn to her somehow, and I run after her, my legs pumping.

"Wait!" I call after her, but she doesn't turn around. I catch up to her quickly, since she's walking at a lackadaisical pace, but she still doesn't acknowledge me. "I want to know your name!" I shout, blushing. I feel like a girl in one of the animes Dipper used to watch.

"I don't want to give it to you."

"Well," I start, trying to smile. "Can I at least give you an invitation to a party I'm hosting?"

"No, I don't like parties hosted by little girls."

"I'm very mature for my age!"

"I'm sure," she says, her voice dipped in poison.

"Sorry I can't make everyone happy, idiot." I say under my breath.

"Hmm?"

"I said, sorry I can't make everyone happy, idiot! Get your hearing checked!" I shout, then cover my mouth with my hand. She smirks, finally looking at me. "I'm sorry," I say, trying to smile again and failing this time.

"No, you're not," she says, then holds her hand out. "I'll take an invite." I hand her one silently and she walks away, almost laughing. I stand there for a minute, unsure of what my next move should be. I haven't been this embarrassed since the last day of school in fourth grade when me and Dipper did the school talent show and I sang the wrong song the whole time, somehow. At least that was fun. I decide to keep moving. I need to get these invites out before sunset, since it says our party's in a week.

After about five hours of smiling and talking and laughing and handing the invites out, I have no more left. It's up to the townspeople now to make sure not a single person is left out. I have faith that they will do the right thing. I walk back home, trying not to look as exhausted as I am, because that would be bad. If anyone saw me, you know they wouldn't give me a break because they don't think I need one, but sometimes I do. This is the sometimes.

I get back to the Mystery Shack and back to the room I share with Dipper, and flop down on my bed. I want to close my eyes and sleep like it's already nighttime. But Dipper comes in, so I guess I'll lose that daydream.

"Hey Mabes, you okay?" Sometimes I forget Dipper knows me.

"Yeah," I nod. "I just spent this whole day handing out invites to our party!" I smile, but it feels cheap, like a tin can.

"Okay," he says, looking at me with narrowed eyes. "You should tell me if you're having a bad day. It's important, as I'm sure you're aware of." I nod. "Okay, Mabel, well I've got to go man the gift shop until dinner. Make sure you eat." I nod again and he stands up and walks out of our room. I hear him clop down the stairs and I breath out heavily. I'm not having a bad day.

I guess I must've fallen asleep, because when I'm suddenly jolted back into reality, it's Dipper that I see, climbing into his bed across the room. He frowns at me, but doesn't say anything. I look at our clock. It's two in the morning. I groan softly and look back at Dip, but his either pretending to be asleep or actually asleep because his eyes are closed and his breathing's steady. I stare at the ceiling, wishing it away so maybe I could see the stars and moon and maybe they would give me some comfort. I close my eyes, but I can't go to sleep again. I guess that's what I get for disrupting my circadian rhythms. So I daydream, but it's at night. You think it'd just be regular dreaming, but it's not quite that either. I dream about flying. If I could grow sparrow-wings and touch the sky, then I could be free.

I find myself crying, but not the sobbing kind. The kind of sweet, unhappy ending to a romance movie kind. Thin trails of silent tears down my face, cleaning and purifying me. I cry until I can't anymore. And I lay there even longer, and eventually watching the amber-pink rays of sunrise light cast through the Bill-window in our room and I sit up, wipe the dried tears off my face, and begin again.