Holy crap, 24 followers in just the prologue? asdfghjkl
Another morning.
It all blended together for Pacifica.
She only told time by season change, after all, there was no summer vacation to look forward to, or any breaks, or weekends. She didn't care for the clock, sun up to sun down was all she needed to know. She didn't have strict schedule management anymore.
But that would change.
"Pacifica! Wake up!"
The former blonde sat up, rubbing her eyes. It was definitely later than usual, she could tell time from the sun like Ford had taught her. She slid off of the bed and was greeted by Stan running into the attic.
"Clean up the bed and stuff, we got an important visitor."
"Uh...alright."
Pacifica scrambled to cleaning all her papers off of Mabel's summer bed. She wondered who would be staying with her. Or maybe one of the Stans would move to her room and the guest would get the empty room. Pacifica stuffed the papers under her own bed, she would sort those later. She had been so neat before, but becoming Ford's assistant hadn't exactly helped her tidiness.
Pacifica cleaned up the clothes and accessories draped on the beds, and tidied up her books. She neatened up the closet, the dresser, etc. by stuffing anything unnecessary under her bed. Once she was satisfied, she got dressed and got ready for the day.
Finally, she went downstairs to see the Stans scrambling around and attempting to get ready.
"Who's visiting? What's the rush?"
Seeing Stan dump all the pine tree hats on a shelf out of a box gave her an idea of who it was, but she reminded herself not to have too much hope. That was bad. Still, if it was who she thought it was, then the cleaning was pointless. So it probably wasn't.
After everyone had tidied, eaten breakfast and later lunch, they all did one last spot check. Wendy and Soos had arrived as well, and though they didn't help clean, they kept Pacifica entertained while she swept the rooms.
"Pacifica, go pick up our guest from the bus station." Ford instructed her.
"Got it Ford." She slung her bag across her body and started walking. Soos and Wendy joined her, but the walk was entirely quiet.
Silence.
Pacifica waited on a bench, writing in her journal and fixing her illustrations. She heard a bus pull up, and she glanced.
"ARRIVING FROM: PIEDMONT, CALIFORNIA"
Piedmont?
It was...it was really...
It was her.
"MABEL!"
Pacifica rushed forward, right in front of the entrance of the bus, excited. Still, there was a touch of fear. How much had Mabel changed since...the incident?
The answer was not at all.
Mabel stepped off of the bus, a light blue Pine Tree sweater on her body, along with her skirt and headband. Her dark hair had grown longer, wavier. She wore the same black flats, but had exchanged the white socks for different colored tall ripped stockings in blue and pink.
She had grown of course, a little taller, but she still had the bright smile and shiny braces. She still had the suitcase covered with pretty stickers and she had a brand new scrapbook in her other hand.
Mabel tackled Pacifica in a hug.
"Mabel! It's so good to see you again!"
"You too!" Mabel took a step back to look at her friend.
"You're different."
"You too." Pacifica replied, blinking. She hadn't expected this response.
"We're growing up." Mabel said quietly. There was silence, until Wendy and Soos grabbed Mabel in a hug.
"Forget that. It's summer break for you, right?" Pacifica asked, tilting her head.
"Right! It's great to be in Gravity Falls! Where's Grunkle Stan and Ford?"
"At the shack. Let's go!" Pacifica and Mabel started running back to the shack, Wendy and Soos not far behind.
Mabel's arrival had somehow woken up the town, who had known all about the Mystery Twins. The town had silently mourned as a group about Dipper and now they welcomed Mabel back in a group. There was a celebration, cake and confetti all around, and Mabel had her sparkle gun firing off every few minutes.
Pacifica was happy, really happy. It was nice for a change. Most of the time, she wasn't really feeling anything in particular. Sure, there were times of happiness and fear and relief, but it was kind of dull. Mabel coming back had woken up her emotions too.
The people of the wheel, the others had welcomed her back happily. Pacifica could have sworn Robbie had brought every ghost he knew. Gideon wasn't fawning over Mabel and was instead very nice to her, McGucket was perfectly calm, and it was just so...nice.
When the sun was setting, and everyone was going home, Mabel and Pacifica had taken the last slices of cake to a very familiar spot in the woods.
"Hi Dipper, look who's back?" Pacifica greeted the stone with a sad smile on her face. The two girls sat by it, eating the last slices in a sort of pathetic picnic. The slice left by the stone was untouched, of course. The second they were done, Pacifica collected the plates and walked away.
Mabel needed some privacy.
Pacifica tried to ignore the tears pouring down her own face.
