Hey guys! Sorry this update is a bit late(I meant to post it this morning but I've got a bad cold and I didn't even remember) but hopefully you'll like it... It's fluffy, especially at the end, so...
Pacifica grunted as she tripped over her own feet, falling face first to the ground. Bright lights popped in front of her face, and she cringed.
Dipper fell next, landing on top of Pacifica in a very uncomfortable position indeed. They stared at each other for a second, blushing, until Mabel fell on top of them, crushing them both.
"W-What happened?" Mabel asked, rolling off of them and rubbing her eyes. "It was so bright..."
"I don't know." Dipper said, standing up and helping Pacifica to her feet. "I think we might've gone back in time."
"But where are we?" Pacifica asked, looking around at the beach that they sat on. "This definitely isn't Gravity Falls..."
"Glass Shard Beach..." Dipper muttered, reading the sign that was a few feet away from them. "That's in New Jersey! How did we get all the way there?" Dipper crossed his arms. "This is weird..."
"There's no town in sight..." Pacifica said. "Where's the nearest road?"
Mabel pulled off her sweater, revealing the black tank top underneath. "It's hot here." She said, tying her sweater around her waist.
"So, anyway, she poured her soda all down my shirt, and I couldn't tell if it was on accident or not, so I tried to make a joke about it, and she walked away!"
Dipper gasped, pushing the girls down behind a rock as two people walked towards them, talking animatedly.
"Obviously it was on purpose. We're you being obnoxious?" A softer voice asked. Dipper peeked up over the rock, and then gasped, recognizing the two people immediately.
"Who is it?" Mabel tried to peek over too, but Dipper pushed her down.
"It's..." He hesitated. "The Grunkles." He said finally. "Younger versions, though. It's weird..."
Mabel gasped. "So we really are in the past!" She breathed.
"Yeah. This isn't good. How are we going to get out of here without them noticing us?" He replied over his shoulder as he watched the Grunkles pull out a slightly broken boat from behind a rock and begin painting it.
"Easily." Pacifica said. "Just follow my lead." She glanced around, and then, once she was sure the coast was clear, shot forward, crawling towards the next rock. Mabel followed immediately, and, after a moments hesitation, Dipper followed her.
Pacifica shot from rock to rock, and, after they were a good distance away, stood up and motioned for the twins to do the same.
Dipper stood and wiped the sand off of his jeans, sure that they were in the clear now that they were so far away.
"Hey!" Or not...
Pacifica jumped at the yell, and turned to see Grunkle Stan running towards them, brandishing a paintbrush like a sword. She composed herself quickly, putting one hand on her hip and morphing her face into a perfect look of confusion.
"Is there a problem, mister?" She asked, batting her eyelashes in the way that she knew would melt any man's heart and turn them into putty in her hands.
"Yeah, there's a problem!" Any man, except Stan, apparently. "This entire cove belongs to me and my brother."
"Does it?" Pacifica smiled apologetically, her teeth brilliantly white. Her attempts to woo Stan went right over his head, but, unfortunately for Dipper, they didn't go over his. He felt his face heat up, and he was fairly certain it wasn't because of the blazing sun.
"I'm terribly sorry, sir. Me and my friends here were just wandering the beach and we found this place. We're a bit lost, actually..." She bit her lip and looked down, her blue eyes filling with worry. Dipper felt his knees go weak.
"Oh..." Stan crossed his arms, completely unaware of the fact that the paintbrush that he was holding was covering his shirt with blue paint. "The town's back that way." He pointed over his shoulder, past where the boat was. "I guess I can walk you, if you're really that lost."
"Oh, that's not necessary!" Pacifica beamed. "Thanks for the offer! We just got a bit turned around, but I think we can manage on our own." She grinned blindingly. "Thanks for the help!"
She strode confidently in the direction Stan had indicated, and, after glancing at each other, the twins followed her.
Dipper tried not to look at Ford as he walked past, but he couldn't help but glance in his direction. He had seen pictures of 17 year old Ford, but he never thought he'd see him in real life. It was weird.
Mabel managed to bring his attention back to her as she poked him in the side, a sly smile on her face. "So." She said, raising her eyebrows.
"So... What?" He asked, crossing his arms. She rolled her eyes.
"You know what! I saw how you looked at Pacifica..." She nudged him gently with her shoulder. "You liiiiiike her, don't you?"
Dipper blushed dark red, and began spluttering. "W-What? No! N-No!" He pushed Mabel away.
"Don't deny it, bro-bro. You're in love!" She clapped her hands together, her face lighting up. "Ah, young love..."
"You're the same age as me!" He protested. "And I'm not in love!"
"Yeah, yeah." She grinned. "Brother, you're swimming down the river of Denial!" She burst out laughing at her own joke. "Boosh!"
"Quit goofing around back there!" Pacifica called sharply, turning towards them and crossing her arms. "We're in a really bad situation here!"
"I-I wasn't goofing around!" Dipper protested. "It was Mabel! She was teasing me!"
"No I wasn't!" Mabel cried. In an undertone, she added, "Way to sell me out, bro."
"You two are acting like little kids!" Pacifica rolled her eyes. "The town's right over there. You can be idiots there." She turned on her heel and began walking again, and the twins jogged to keep up.
They made it to the town a few minutes after them, and they ducked inside of an empty ice cream parlor to talk.
"So. We're in the past." Dipper stated. "What do we do now?"
Mabel was staring at the menu with stars in her eyes. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm ordering a sundae." She pulled a few bills out of her purse and walked up to the counter, leaving Pacifica and Dipper alone at the table.
"You're absolutely positive that those were your great-uncles?" Pacifica asked, propping her head up with her hand. Dipper nodded.
"I'm sure. There was no one else it could be." He crossed his arms. "At least we have a vague idea of what time we're in, though. It must have been before their falling out, because they were hanging out, so it must be sometime in the seventies..."
"Which got me thinking," Mabel said, returning to the table with a bowl of ice cream the size of her head. "why don't we use this opportunity to our advantage?"
"How?" Dipper asked, taking a spoonful of her ice cream and ignoring her protests.
She glared as she sat down. "First of all, mine. Get your own if you want some." She crossed her arms and licked the entire bowl to keep him away. "Second of all, what if we tried to prevent Grunkle Stan from breaking Grunkle Ford's thingy?" She suggested, taking a huge spoonful of chocolate ice cream and covering her face with chocolate sauce.
Dipper sighed as he handed her a napkin. "Changing the past wouldn't be a good idea, Mabel. You never know what future we might return to."
Mabel rolled her eyes. "Says the guy who went back in time, like, fifteen times just to impress a girl."
"I'm with Dipper." Pacifica said. "What if we change something, and it ends up allowing Bill to win? Or one of us dies? It's not a good idea." She leaned back in the chair and crossed her arms.
"But we could fix their horrible lives! Don't you remember how sad Grunkle Stan looked after Grunkle Ford was mean to him?" Mabel insisted. "Wouldn't you want to make it so that they were happy?"
"I... I don't know. I want them to be happy, but what if Pacifica's right? What if we return to a future where Bill won, or something like that? You could end up in Mabel-land forever!"
Mabel shuddered, remembering the fantasy world she had been stuck in. "That place was creepy. I sometimes still get that horrible music stuck in my head." She grimaced. "That could happen, but isn't it worth the risk? It could prevent so many bad things!" Like Ford thinking twins were bad and trying to recruit Dipper, She added silently.
"For now, we should try to figure out what we're going to do right now. We have no house, no clothes, no friends, nothing." Pacifica said. "I have, like, fifteen bucks on me."
"That's true... That would never get a house, or even an apartment." Dipper said, digging around in his wallet. "I have thirty."
"I've got fifty!" Mabel grinned. "I came prepared."
"Prepared for this?" Pacifica raised an eyebrow. "I doubt it."
Dipper chuckled. "She's always prepared for everything. I'm surprised she didn't bring her grappling hook."
"Oh, didn't I?" Mabel said, making Dipper look at her with wide eyes. "Nah, I'm just kidding. I wish I had, though."
"So, we have 95 bucks, no clothes, and nowhere to stay." Pacifica sighed. "Do we have to be homeless now?"
"Excuse me." They looked up. A girl, maybe a little older than they were, with long, brown hair and bright green eyes, stood at their table, twisting her skirt between her hands. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. I... I have a spare room, if you need a place to stay."
"Really?" Mabel grinned at the girl. "Thanks! My name's Mabel!" She held out her hand, and the girl shook it.
"I'm Carla. Carla Mccorkle." The girl introduced herself. Dipper froze.
:Uh, Mabel, can I, uh, talk to you for a moment?" He asked, grabbing her arm. "Excuse us."
"Um, sure." Carla blinked.
Dipper led Mabel into the hallway near the bathrooms and started pacing, his arms crossed.
"Do you know who that is?" Dipper asked. Mabel shrugged.
"Yeah... She told us her name. Carla Mccorkle, remember?" Mabel looked at Dipper funny. "Is there a problem with her or something?"
"She's going to be Stan's girlfriend! If we get involved with her, we get involved with Stan, and either him or Ford are bound to notice the similarities between us and them!" He cried, albeit quietly.
Mabel's eyes widened. "That's right!" She frowned. "But, Dipper, we need a place to stay. I doubt 95 bucks would get us an apartment." She pointed out. Dipper sighed.
"It could get a hotel room!" He protested. "What if Stan comes over one day while we're there and realizes that I look like Ford?" He asked. "What do we do then?"
"It's actually been scientifically proven that everyone has 7 people on Earth who look like them." Mabel recited. It was one of her favorite facts ever. "I'm sure it'll be fine. Besides, we've already accepted!"
"You've already accepted."
Mabel ignored the interruption. "It would be rude to say no now." She finished. "I'm going to go make small talk."
She walked away, leaving Dipper alone in the hallway. He took a few deeps breaths and told himself that it would be fine, but he didn't believe it.
"Sorry about that. My brother gets a bit nervous around strangers." Mabel apologized to Carla.
She shook her head. "Oh, don't worry, it's no trouble!" She smiled. "If you don't mind me asking, how come you don't have a place to live?"
"Oh!" Mabel fidgeted. "I... We... We moved here from California and we got an apartment but they kicked us out!" She lied.
"Oh, that's not good." Carla seemed to believe the lie. "But, don't worry! My roommate just moved out, so I've been looking for a new one."
"Well, thank you." Dipper said, suddenly reappearing behind Pacifica and looking much calmer. "We really appreciate it."
Carla's cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "No problem." She said. "Wait around here for a while. My shift ends in a little while." She smiled. "In the meantime, I suggest you try the Milky-Way shake. It's far out." She walked away.
Mabel grinned. "I'll go get us some. They're, like, fifty cents each."
Dipper handed her two dollars, and she bounced off to the counter to order.
"Well, now we have a place to stay, at least. How come you got so worked up about it?" Pacifica asked Dipper, looking at him. He leaned in closer so Carla wouldn't hear.
"That's Stan's future girlfriend. Or maybe they're dating now. I dunno." He whispered, then leaned back again. Pacifica nodded.
"Alright, now I get it. Isn't it a bit dangerous to be staying with her, then?" She asked. Dipper laughed.
"That's what I said! Unfortunately, Mabel isn't about to be swayed." He sighed and shook his head.
"It'll be fine, Dip-Dop." Mabel said, returning to the table with a tray of pink and brown milkshakes and a plate of fries. "Have a little faith."
"How'd you get the fries?" Pacifica asked, taking a milkshake and sipping. "Mmm... That's good." She moaned happily.
"They came free if you buy three!" Mabel grinned, sitting down and grabbing a cup.
Dipper took a sip, and smiled. It tasted like chocolate strawberries, with whipped cream on top. "This is pretty good." He admitted.
"Old-timey food is always the best." Mabel agreed. "So, now we wait?"
"I guess." Dipper nodded.
Later that day, Carla came from the back of the shop to pick them up. She had changed out of her uniform and into a plaid shirt and a pair of pink shorts, and her hair was up in a ponytail.
"I'm going out to the movies later, so I'll drop you guys off and then I'll head out, okay?" Carla said, fishing around in her purse for her keys.
She led them up a driveway, towards a light lavender apartment complex, and opened the door. "Home sweet home." She said softly.
Dipper looked around. The apartment was small, but in a good, cozy way, with light blue walls and purple furnishings. A single lava lamp stood on the table, casting red and orange light against the walls.
"The spare room is through that way. See you guys later." Carla said, then left, locking the door behind her.
"She's nice." Mabel said kindly, looking around eagerly. "And this place is awesome! A lava lamp! I haven't seen one of these... Ever!" She cried.
Pacifica rolled her eyes and yawned. "Point me to the nearest bed." She said, looking really tired. "I need to sleep off the weirdness."
Mabel opened the door that Carla had indicated, and led them into a small room. It was simply furnished, with a single bed and a couch in the corner. An empty desk sat next to the bed, and a lamp with a blue shade lit the room.
Pacifica slumped down onto the bed, and sighed in relief, closing her eyes and turning over until she was laying on her stomach.
Dipper sat down on the desk chair and took off his hat to run a hand through his hair. "This is too weird for words..." He muttered.
"Yeah..." Mabel agreed, laying down on the couch and pulling off her headband. "Maybe it's all a dream?" She yawned.
Dipper looked out the window at the setting sun, and shrugged. "Yeah, maybe. Go to sleep, Mab. G'night." He said.
Mabel nodded. "Night, Dipper." She turned over.
Dipper stood up and grabbed a blanket out of the closet to drape over her sleeping figure, and then leaned back in the chair and put his hat over his eyes to block out the light from the window.
"Get over here." A voice came out of the darkness, startling Dipper. He looked around.
"Huh?"
"Look, I know neither of us wants to do this, but you can't sleep in a chair, and there's no more room in the couch, so we'll share." He recognized Pacifica's voice, and he blushed. He was suddenly very thankful that the lights were out.
"Y-You mean share the bed?" He asked incredulously. He heard her sigh.
"No, I mean share clothes." He couldn't see her, but he could practically hear her rolling her eyes. "Come on. You'll die if you don't sleep."
"I've pulled all-nighters before." He protested. Pacifica chuckled softly.
"Yeah, I saw the bags under your eyes from miles away. I doubt anyone wants to see you like that. Don't make it awkward and just get in here."
"I..." He sighed. "Okay. Thanks." He stood up and stretched out his back, and then climbed slowly into the bed, feeling around for Pacifica to make sure he wouldn't accidentally step on her or something.
He climbed under the covers, careful not to let any part of his body touch hers, and closed his eyes. "Night." He said.
"Night." She replied.
Dipper closed his eyes and slowed his breathing, and he fell asleep within minutes, hoping against hope to be in the Mystery Shack's attic when he woke up.
So... Again, I'm super sorry for the slightly late update... Hopefully I'll be better by next week so I can post it in the morning like I wanted to. Anyway, hope you enjoyed!