A/N: Sorry it took so long for this to come out! I had a bit of writer's block, but it's a bit longer than last chap.
Also, we see more development on both sides. I have so much fun writing this AU. Anyways, Enjoy!
**Also, there's a song I had in mind when it came to the performance scene. It's called Wicked Blood by Sea Wolf and whenever I thought of them rehearsing it was just this haha. So you can imagine them singing to the intro beat of when the dude starts singing or whatever floats your boat. /watch?v=bIDl89y7xiI
Chapter 3: No Time to Hide
The basement was dark. The only light came from the gaps in the curtained windows and the faint glow of candles arranged in a circle on the floor.
Dipper looked around the room and frowned. He had visited the basement earlier that day to retrieve his prized knives from their chest. Though it seemed to him that all of the furniture was now pressed against the wall.
Teal eyes stared down at the circle of candles and Dipper froze. Immediately his eyes shot up only to see a younger version of himself and Mabel file into the room. Young Dipper had his head buried in his book and was animatedly chatting while Mabel used a file to sharpen the blade in her hands.
A weak smile crossed his face at the sight, even at age twelve the two had been dedicated to their art.
"I'm telling you, Mabel! With this incantation everything is going to get a lot better!" He excitedly chirped, his sister rolled her eyes.
"I just need to set up the last few things and we're good to go!" The young version of himself continued though his sister had lost interest and was balancing her blade on the tip of her finger.
Dipper's smile faltered when he remembered the reason why the two kids had even painted out the circle on the floor. Why exactly they were in the basement at that moment.
His blood ran cold and he tried to warn his younger self, but no words came out.
His teal eyes widened in horror as the twins knelt down in the circle and young Dipper began chanting.
"Triangulum, entangulum."
The real Dipper scrambled over to the twins and tried to shake his younger self. To his horror, his hands just went through the boy.
"Veneforis dominus ventium."
"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING!"He shouted at him, but the boy seemed to not hear him.
" Veneforis venetasarium."
Dipper watched in horror as the room was engulfed by a blinding gold light. He covered his eyes, but the sudden change in the atmosphere indicated that the deed had been done.
The teal-eyed boy straightened himself and watched as the rest of the memory began to unfold. The twins, in all their naive delight of successfully summoning a demon, ignored the jests and riddles that were now clear to him.
"So for what reason have you unlocked the realm of your world to me?" Bill asked, his voice booming and somehow sounding as if there was a speaker blasting it.
Dipper saw his younger self look at his sister, Mabel frowned and spoke up.
"My brother and I were wondering if there was any way you could help us enhance our powers. We know that these amulets-" she gestured to the jewel dangling from her neck and continued, "-Give us powers, but how are they useful if you're limited to contact?"
The dream demon laughed, Dipper tried to fight the urge to cringe at the sound of it.
"Well, you already have power, Shooting Star! Everything comes with a price! Otherwise you'd be like an overpowered boss in a video game!"
"Shooting Star? What the hell kinda name is that?"
"It's what has been designated to you. I believe that you'll find that it'll impact you more in the future! You and Pine Tree are such riots!" Bill said, his voice failed to hide his excitement.
Mabel frowned, the pre-teen folded her arms tightly across her chest and glared at him. Older Dipper was surprised at her ferocity.
"See brother, I told you this was a stupid idea. If you just practice throwing knives or working with illusion skills, you'd see you don't need magic," she growled.
The Twelve year old version of himself looked torn. While Mabel was correct, Dipper recalled that back then he hadn't been as capable. He had always stood behind sister as others praised her achievements, he'd always felt like the lesser twin.
"Well, since you two freed me and allowed me access into this world, I guess Icanbendsomerules and make a deal!"
The twins along with Dipper observed the yellow demon. The well-dressed triangle eyed them gleefully.
"In the other world, I recently made a deal with the other Pine Tree! Though that Shooting Star foiled me... That's not important though! I sense something in you two that they lacked!"
"And what would that be?" Younger Dipper asked.
The demon smiled, or at least it gave off the vibe that it was smiling, because he had no mouth. With a snap of his fingers, the four of them found themselves in what seemed to be a stage.
Up on the bridge, a young girl wearing an oversized sweater wrestled with a boy wearing a reverend outfit. Dipper narrowed his eyes, he recognized them as the Pines Twins. Theotherversions of themselves, the ones his sister was infatuated with.
"Up there is where I almost completed my plans and stopped Pine Tree from ruining me. In this world, the two of you go by the last name Pines. While you're fun to play with... This version is more dull."
The scene shifted again and it showed the two lounging in a wooden room camped out in front of an ancient television set.
"What am Iwearing?" Mabel asked, her voice was dripping with horror.
"This is horrible. Why would I ever think that the vest is fashionable at all?" The other Dipper proclaimed.
"Wow, you two really interesting if you care more about clothes then the fact that they live in theMysteryShack!" Bill half-shouted.
The twins looked at each other in confusion and basked in their surroundings. Lying beside the male Pines twin was a journal that Dipper recognized. He had Journal number 2 in his possession, but it was at this moment they'd realized that the other could be found in the shack.
"All the power you seek is in that shack! The knowledge is within your grasp! Are you sure you still don't want to make that deal? It'll help you in the long run." Bill asked.
The room flashed once more and they were all back in the basement. Dipper watched his younger self stand off to the side and talk to Mabel. His stomach churned, he knew what was coming and he didn't want to see it again. He shut his eyes tightly in hopes of trying to wake himself up.
"Fine, I'll do it, brother." Mabel said.
Dipper opened up his teal eyes and watched his sister walk up to Bill. The demon had his arm outstretched, it was covered in blue flames. Had Mabel not hesitated and taken his arm then perhaps he would have been spared. Unfortunately, the twelve year old version of him had been hungry for power and wanted to one-up his sister so he had lunged and taken Bill's hand instead.
Dipper backed himself away from the circle of candles. He didn't want to see this. Not again.
Bill's maniacal laugh filled the room as Mabel started to panic and shout his name. Dipper closed his eyes again, not wanting to see what was waiting for him. The room grew eerily silent and even with his eyes closed he could tell it had gotten darker.
One peek won't hurt, right?he thought to himself.
His right eye opened and immediately adjusted to the scene. The candles were blown out and except for a lone figure standing in the center of the room, it was empty.
"You're still afraid, Pine Tree. You put up a facade of bravery, but yet you cower."
Dipper's eyes flew open, anger replacing any fear he had. He opened his mouth to retort, but the figure lifted its hand and made a slashing motion. Dipper felt as if his mouth had been sewn shut and he tried to keep from whimpering.
"Shh, let me finish!" The figure laughed and took a step closer. "How does it feel to be not good enough for the one you love? What's the point of being intelligent if you can't put it to use?"
Dipper looked down at the ground and at his feet, he tried to ignore the figure's nearing footsteps.
"Your sister has more talent in her pinky finger than you do in your entire body. Face it, eventually people will be coming to see her and then you'll be the sideshow!"
Dipper tore his eyes from the ground and looked up to see his younger self. His fists tightened as he lunged at the boy. Golden eyes bore into teal.
"Get out of my dreams,demon," he sneered and since he couldn't speak he used the amulet to force the thought into the boy's mind.
Bipper let out a chuckle before he burst into crazed laughter.
"That's the psychotic Pine Tree I know and love!" He chortled.
Dipper noticed that he had regained control over his jaw and growled.
"Get. Out. Cipher."
Bipper's eyes narrowed into slits, without trying he shoved Dipper away, it his hard enough to send him flying off.
"Remember, Pine Tree! In the mindscape, I have all the power," he said, his voice dripping with venom at each word. Bipper gave him a cheery smile, "I'll let you off with a riddle though."
Bipper launched himself at Dipper and wrapped his hands tightly around his neck.
"Be careful what you wish for and do it while the star is shining bright in the sky. You never know what will finally make it to fall and you'll have to wait until then for it to come true. HAHAHAHAHA!"
Dipper woke with a start.
His heart was pounding so hard he feared it would burst out of his chest and he was trembling. He picked up his phone and saw that it was 3 AM.
His heart sank.
It was also Friday.
Dipper placed his phone back down on his bedside table and collapsed onto his pillow. He brought his arm up and rested it on his forehead. The dream was starting to fragment, but the pieces that mattered were sticking.
He grimaced and sat up. "There's no way, I'm becoming the sideshow. I'm better than than."
The brunet fastened his amulet around his wrist and grabbed his journal.
"Never again, Cipher. Never again." He mumbled to himself.
And for the third time that week there was a light lit in the Gleeful Estate until the wee hours of the morning.
o~ The World We're From ~o
"Gideoooooon, where are youuu!"
The white-haired boy looked up from the book that he was reading and called out. "I'm in the living room, Pazzy!"
Mere seconds later, his blonde friend stumbled into the room. Pacifica excitedly waved hello and plopped down next to him on the dusty carpet. "So you've still got your nose buried in that book, huh?"
Gideon excitedly nodded his head, he jabbed a finger at the page that he was currently skimming.
"It's so interesting, Pazzy! I feel so enlightened and more prepared for anything to come. Who knew that unicorns actually exist?!"
The blonde stretched her arms out before folding them behind her head. As Gideon continued to read, he heard her adjust herself so she could watch the television in front of them better.
He could faintly hear the show that he'd been using for background noise fade into commercials. It would have remained background noise if Pacifica didn't suddenly gasp and began to violently shake him.
"GIDDY, GIDDY ISN'T THAT THEM?!"
Gideon felt Pacifica's hands adjust his face so he was looking up. He glared at her momentarily before looking at the screen.
His jaw slackened when he saw that the two teenagers on the screen did look familiar. He then focused on the upbeat music of the commercial in hopes of finding out what it was about.
"The Tent of Telepathy. Full of wonders and mysteries galore." A male voice said before being replaced by a higher pitched one."Will you change your fate and take the leap into a new world?"
"A Dark one, full of adventure and mystery."
"Magic and spiritual enlightenment."
The screen momentarily faded to black before it showed the music grew quick and intense. With each drop of the beat, a new scene flickered onto the screen.
The male twin making a person disappear, the girl sharply tossing a blade at a rotating dummy, members of the audience levitating and joining the twins in flight.
The screen flashed over to the twins, looking smug and dressed in matching teal outfits.
"Will you be brave enough to join us?"The boy asked.
"Or will you back out before you have a chance?"
"The choice is yours."
A croaky male voiced over the final scene which showed a teal tent with a multi-colored star at the top.
["Come on down to the Tent of Telepathy! Weekly shows being held starting Friday June 24." ]
"Holy moley, that was those two!" Gideon yelled.
"See, I told you! Ohmygosh, I've heard of them! Apparently they're like really popular and everyone in town loves them," Pacifica added.
"Well, I think they're full of themselves and two spoiled brats."
Gideon and Pacifica turned to look at the newcomer. His father was leaning against the doorway, his eyes were narrowed in anger.
"What makes you say that, Pa' ?" he asked.
"Those two have been trying to buy the shack from me since I came here. You could say that we have a bit of a...rivalry," Bud scowled.
Pacifica snickered, but paused when Bud turned his eyes on her. "Sorry, I'm just curious as to why you're squabbling with two teenagers."
"Bah, they look like teens, but those two are far from harmless. It'd be better for you two to stay away from them," Bud barked.
Gideon fiddled with his fingers and returned his gaze back to the screen. The commercial had been pretty interesting and he didn't want to disobey his father, but he kind of wanted to thank the two people who had save their butts the other day.
"Don't worry, Mr. Pines, I'll make sure Giddy stays out of trouble," Pacifica laughed and hooked her arm around his shoulders.
Bud nodded and left the room. Gideon immediately pulled away and frowned.
"Hey, I kinda wanna go see that show," he said in a hushed whisper. "I've been to a gazillion shows with my dad, I don't get what makes this one any different."
Pacifica's smile seemed to widen. "Yeah, same here, but obviously we can't let your dad know. Jeez, Giddy get with the program."
"OH, right, right!" He said with dawning realization. "Should we go to the forest and see what can find though? The show probably isn't until later."
Pacifica nodded and stood up. She fished out her phone and began to rapidly type away. "Mmk, just let me tell Tiffany and Annie to see if they want to go that way you can finally meet them."
"Oh, right, right. Your friends that you seem sodesperate to introduce me to," Gideon commented.
Pacifica snorted and lightly elbowed him in the ribs. She flashed him a metallic grin and put her phone away. "They're good people. If they're friends with me then they're bound to be."
Gideon smiled to himself before reaching over to grab his knapsack from the couch. He placed the journal into it before zipping it shut. He tugged his brand-new blue cap over his head and angled himself so his friend could see it.
"Ah, you got rid of that ratty brown thing?" Pacifica pointed out.
Gideon nodded and brightly smiled. "After that whole gnome fiasco, Pa' was so proud that we'd 'put up all the posters' and 'fixed' the shack, that he decided to gift me it."
Pacifica's smile dropped, she rubbed her arm nervously and glanced outside the window. Gideon placed his hand on her arm and spoke sympathetically. "Hey, it's not your fault. It can't be helped that we got trapped by psycho gnomes. We just gotta fix the shack before Pa' notices."
The two of them made their way to the front of the shack. They waved Robbie goodbye and exited the building.
It was typical Gravity Falls weather. Muggy and hot, but at least the shade provided some respite from the sun's harsh rays. The two teens stumbled their way through the vast expanse that was the forest that encompassed at least half of Gravity Falls before they reached a small river.
"Okay, If I'm right then we should be somewhere near the broken shack," Gideon said.
Mere seconds later, the two discovered it looking pretty much the same as they had left it, save for the few flyers that were scattered about. As Gideon examined the area where Pacifica had almost been forced to become a gnome queen, the blonde sat down on a nearby rock.
"Huh," Gideon murmured to himself. His blue eyes jumping from the journal and then to the rock.
"What?" Pacifica asked, she got up from her spot and wandered over to him.
"There's like a whole bunch of 'Wonders of Gravity Fall's in here. Apparently the area we are at is called 'The Fairy Ring', interesting," he said.
Pacifica took the book from his hands and examined the page. He watched her look at the journal and then lift her head to scan the surroundings. She let out a soft gasp, her blue eye widened, before all of a sudden she took off into the woods.
"What the, Pazzy, wait up!" Gideon called out and chased after her.
The two continued running until they reached a giant cliff. Gideon stared up, he adjusted his cap so it would allow him to see better and turned to the taller girl.
"What happened?" He asked, he tried not to let the panic seep into his voice.
Pacifica scrunched up her face and handed the book back to him. She let out a groan and stretched her arms out. "Nothing, I just saw that this place was called the Centaur Valley, but it doesn't look like anything's here."
Gideon opened his mouth to tell her not to feel bad and that not everything in this book had to be real when he spotted a white blur in the distance. His jaw dropped and he tugged on the sleeve of her sweater.
"Pazzy, is that?"
The blonde turned, her entire face lit up, as she began to bounce in place.
"It's a Centaur!"
o~ The World We're From ~o
Mabel adjusted her vest.
It was approximately an hour and thirty minutes until the show started and she and her brother were running through the routine. Well, they'd be running through it if Dipper didn't keep stopping a quarterway in and grumbling to himself about how it wasn't right.
They were currently on break, her brother poring over that stupid book like he had been ever since they'd obtained it when they were twelve. Mabel frowned, her brother had an addictive type of personality, once he got hooked on something, he was hooked.
Unfortunately, it seemed that his obsession with the journal would never die down.
"Dipper, are we ready to try again?" She asked, she tried to hide the exasperation from her tone, but knew it failed when he sharply glared at her.
"I told you already, Mabel. I need to fix up something, it's not right," he said almost mechanically and turned away from her.
The elder twin rolled her teal eyes and walked over to the seat of knives situated nearby. She grabbed one of the nearest ones as an idea sparked in her mind. Back when they'd been in Hawaii, she'd seen some of the workers manipulating fire. Of course, they way they'ddone it had been a trick, but what if they could incorporate fire into the show?
Mabel stuck out her tongue and focused her energy on the tip of the blade. She pictured it engulfed with flames that wouldn't extinguish unless she wanted them to. She was about to give up and relax the muscles of her face when the knife caught fire.
The brunette let out a gasp and dropped it only to watch the flames go out the moment it hit the ground.
"Mabel, I said be quiet," Dipper hissed, his back was still turned to her, but at this point she didn't care.
The elder twin held out her hand and imagined a ball of fire appearing in it. In mere seconds, a small flame appeared and grew to the size of a tennis ball. Mabel internally applauded herself and juggled the fireball between her hands.
A pearly laugh escaped her lips as she tossed it into the air and created another one. She played a game of catch with herself, twirling around occasionally to catch a difficult toss or making sure she didn't drop it. She was too busy enjoying herself that she didn't notice her brother had turned to speak to her.
It wasn't until she decided to try a trick that she saw him watching and she stumbled causing the balls of flame to immediately dissipate.
A pregnant pause loomed between the twins as they regarded the other. Dipper finally broke it when he approached her, Mabel noticed that he was gripping the journal so tight that his knuckles were white. "How did you do that?"
She shrugged and allowed another flame to appear at her fingertips. "I don't know, but I saw these people in Hawaii doing some dancing with fire at the luau we went to."
Mabel turned to her brother, her eyes wide with excitement. She felt like she could finally contribute to the show and not stand off to the side as an assistant or just a helper. "Do you think this could be that thing you're missing? I mean, I know I'm new at it, but if I learn I'm sure I'll-"
"Teach me how to do it," Dipper curtly interrupted.
Mabel felt her smile slide from her face, a sheepish look crept onto her face and she placed her hand over her arm. "Okay...'
The brunette walked over to her brother and outstretched her hands. "Well, what I did was imagine a sphere of energy in my hands. Once you feel that connection with yourself, it's going to be a bit warm, but then you have to release that burst and then it should manifest into fire."
Dipper nodded, he ran a hand through his slicked hair and rolled his shoulders back. Mabel watched him stretch his hands out and glare at his hands. His teal eyes narrowed to slits as he focused all of his might into the palm of his hand.
Whether he realized it or not, her brother had started a telepathic link between the two of them and she could hear his thoughts.
Why can't I do this? Mabel did it just like THAT. Her brother's face contorted with slight anger, his hands had begun to shake. What the hell. It. Shouldn't. Be. This. Hard.
Mabel frowned and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You okay, brother?"
Dipper shrugged it off violently and scowled. What if he was right? What if I'm not good enough? Is this my fault for being too weak?
"Dipper…?" Mabel weakly asked, her stomach tightened with slight fear.
"I said shut up, Mabel!" Her brother snapped, he growled and retracted his arms. "We're not doing this stupid routine. Just go polish the knives or something, I'm going to go release some steam."
Mabel watched her brother storm off and felt her heart sink. She lit another small flame on her index finger before she sighed and extinguished it.
It seemed that she'd always be the assistant.
o~ The World We're From ~o
The cheery environment that waited for the outside of the curtains was one that exhilarated Mabel every time.
The female twin was the party type and she went to whatever fest or party was being held so she was used to excitement and crowds; however, the adrenaline that came with performing made those instances seem like nothing. When she was up on stage with her brother, it was as if they were different people.
Mabel turned and stared at the mirror off to the side. She adjusted her headband before reaching over and tightening the straps of the bow around her neck. Behind her, she could see Dipper flirting with Wendy, he wasn't as tense as he had been an hour ago after the whole pyro fiasco, but he was definitely tense.
It was at times like these that Mabel really admired Wendy for her patience. Her brother was difficult to deal with when he got moody and performing always seemed to do that to him.
"You okay there, Ms. Gleeful? Do you want water?"
Mabel turned to Soos and flashed him a dazzling smile before she shook her head. The handy man nodded, he immediately turned away and began to speak into his headset.
The brunette tapped her foot in time with the music that was playing in the distance. Any minute now, Stan would go out there to start it all off. While he did that, she and Dipper would have to go around to the front and make their way through.
Mabel looked over at her brother, who was wearing a full on suit and then down at her ensemble. She fiddled with the buttons of her teal vest and tugged her skintight leggings down to smooth them out. She definitely felt more… exposed than her brother, but he had told her that people would be too busy focusing on the show than on her.
That didn't help ease Mabel's nerves though, she knew that a majority of the young male audience was there to gawk at her. While she felt flattered that she was garnering so much attention, she wasn't sure she was comfortable with the fanclub she'd stumbled upon weeks prior titled 'Star Gleeful's Hot-Ass Legs'.
Right, Star. Out there you're Star, you're not Mabel. You don't have to be held down by all the standards your family's set for you. You just have to be yourself. She vehemently thought to herself.
A bell chimed in the distance and Mabel tightened her grip on her vest. She closed her eyes, how could she have forgotten? It was seven o'clock, this was normal. There was a church nearby and the bells were there to people know that an hour had passed.
"Ready to go, Star?" She heard her brother call out.
Mabel hesitantly nodded, her head seemed to ring as the bell chimed again before it broke into a twinkling tune. The brunette reached over to grab a pair of gloves and quickly slipped them on. She shuffled over to her spot near the entrance of the tent where the bells rang louder and immediately covered her ears.
Her heart seemed to slow at the bell's dulled song. She let out a sigh of relief before she felt her brother tug her hands away.
"I know it bothers you, but don't mess up your hair. We don't have time to fix it," he scolded.
Mabel stared ahead, her eyes blankly focusing on a spot in the curtain. Though they weren't there, she could feel her parent's disapproving presence bearing down on her. They wanted her to attend high maintenance tea parties with them, not "waste her time playing with her brother."
Even allowing her to perform was an act of defiance, it was one that the elder twin definitely prided herself in.
["Evening citizens of Gravity Falls and visitors! Welcome to the Tent of Telepathy!"]
Stan's hoarse voice boomed through the speakers as he broke into some tale regarding the tent and its founding as the twins turned to each other. Dipper had a smug smirk on his lips, Mabel felt like she wanted to throw up. She shuddered and straightened her back.
The sound is gone, Mabel. You're Star now and Star isn't afraid of anything. With that thought in the mind, she reached her hand out and took her brother's in her own.
["I won't hold you back any longer, so for now, I'll allow you to delve into the magic and mystery and allow you to meet your guides for the night! My own flesh and blood, the mysterious and charming Dipper and his counterpart, the ever so wily and beautiful Star.']
There was a loud crack before their great-uncle burst into raucous laughter, the hissing sound of smoke being released cued them in to the fact that their intro tune would begin in mere seconds.
Mabel swallowed the lump she had in her throat and squeezed her brother's hand. Dipper gave her an encouraging smile and she felt the butterflies in her stomach ease up.
The upbeat tune** started up and she felt her brother drop her hand. Luckily for her, Dipper was the one to start off.
o~ The World We're From ~o
Gideon kicked his feet, since they were dangling from the chair (curse his short height!) as the tune began to filter through the speakers.
Beside him was Pacifica and her two friends. They'd been whispering things to Pacifica like how the twins were extremely attractive when Stan had started talking and they'd finally shut up once. The thirteen year old was happy to note that they were still silent and listening to the song.
A male voice echoed through the tent as he sang along to the song. "Oh, we can see, what others don't. Believe me when I say it's not a joke."
"Where others are blind, we're futurely inclined. But you'd see it too if you had the sight!" A female's dulcet tones filled in when he stopped.
Two spotlights flashed on to opposite sides of the room. To his left, stood the young man from the forest, so that meant that if he looked to the right …
Gideon tensed up when he got a direct view of the girl. She looked fifty times prettier than he had remembered her.
"Now stand and rise-"The twins said together and their unnaturally bright green-blue eyes seemed to glow as the audience slowly got on their feet. Gideon also couldn't fight the urge to copy everyone else."And let us read your minds."
Dipper walked over to an older woman and placed a hand on his chin, his voice going along with the song's rhythm. "You miss your son, you wish he'd call." The woman gasped and dabbed at her eyes.
Star bounded over to a boy that looked a bit older than him and pouted. "I can see you're desperate to find your love." She jumped back when the boy reached out to her and when she did, Gideon stifled a snort.
Maybe dad was right, these twins probably planted these people. Gideon thought to himself and rolled his eyes.
The twins made their way back to the top of the stage, Dipper ran up the left and Star the right. They did a little shuffle before they spun and clasped a hand between them.
"So thank you all for coming in to see us today! Welcome to the tent of Tele-Pathy!"
The audience burst into applause, a rowdy group of teens in the corner much louder than the others. The twins let go of their hands and took a step apart.
"Good evening everyone, my name is Dipper." Applause rang again and the boy seemed into bask in it. Gideon fought the urge to roll his eyes again since his friends were clapping just as hard as the rest. Dipper raised his hand to stop them and then gestured to his sister. "And this is my esteemed counterpart, Star."
If possible, the audience hollered even louder and for a fraction of a second Gideon watched the male twin's eyes darken. Dipper stretched his hand out and pointed to a giant box behind them.
"We're doing something different today, Star, would you like to explain?"
The brunette flipped her hair over her shoulder and if a smile could kill, Gideon felt like he would have died ten times.
"Well, today we're spicing things up a bit! To begin, we need an audience volunteer!"
In an instant, Gideon saw hands go flying throughout the audience. He heard Pacifica chuckle beside him as she leaned toward him, "This is crazy, Giddy. These people are so tense, haha, look at Annie and Tiff!"
Gideon poked his head out a bit and saw that the two girls were waving their hands high in the air.
"Who to pick, who to pick," Star chimed.
His blue eyes looked up and his heart nearly stopped when he saw that she was right in front of them. While her mouth was a straight line, her eyes glinted with amusement.
The brunette's eyes seemed to rove over the audience before they landed on their group. Star's lips quirked upward into a smile as she reached over. Gideon felt his heart pound loudly in his chest, he just couldn't believe it so he had to shut his eyes. Out of all the people, she could have picked, she'd chosen-
"Well, you're an adorableone, aren't you?" The older girl's voice was husky and just sounded so close.
When he opened them up, he almost fainted at the proximity.
"Come on now, don't be shy," Star laughed.
Gideon shrugged uncomfortably, he stared down at the ground, he knew his cheeks were flushed and he didn't want anyone to see. He could hear Tiffany and Annie whispering encouragingly.
"Come on, 'Cifica, you heard her!"
"Yeah, 'Cif, go on!"
Gideon mustered up the courage to look again, but stopped himself.
Wait, 'Cifica? I'm not- The teenager looked at Star and he saw that she was reaching out a hand to Pacifica who was staring at her with her eyes wide in shock.
When the blonde didn't move, Gideon nudged her encouragingly, "Go on, Pazzy."
Pacifica took the brunette's hand and Gideon watched as the girl's face lit up triumphantly. He heard some of the people jealously grumbling in the distance, but he couldn't help but squee with glee along with Pacifica's friends.
Star led her onto the stage and they stopped when they reached Dipper.
"Hello, young lady. What's your name?" He asked and offered her a mic.
"P-Pacifica." Gideon snickered, he had never heard his normally overconfident friend sound so nervous before.
"Are you recording this, Tiff?" He heard the redhead beside him ask.
"Yes, now shush, Annie, this is pure gold," the curly-haired brunette giggled.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Pah-Cih-Fi-Cah,"Star enunciated every syllable and tightly wound herself against the blonde's arm.
Pacifica's face was as a red as a tomato and Gideon was so glad that her friends were recording this.
"What we need you to do is go into that box over there. We promise that no harm will come to you," Dipper stated. "Star, if you may?"
The brunette tugged Pacifica toward the box. She beamed at her encouragingly and Gideon couldn't help, but feel a bit jealous that it wasn't him on the receiving end. He could see that she and Pacifica were chatting and at one point, Star had stumbled, her own face extremely red as Pacifica's had been earlier.
I wonder what they're talking about. Gideon thought.
Once Pacifica was in the box and Star had locked it up. Dipper turned back to the audience.
"What you're about to see here, folks is something that shouldn't be tried at home!" He shouted.
The male twin walked over to a table in the back and brought out a set of swords. He seemed to examine it momentarily before stabbing it into the side of the box. Gideon, along with the rest of the audience, let out horrified gasps.
"How about we just finish the job all at once, hmm?" He asked and his eyes glowed brighter under the fluorescent lighting of the stage.
Gideon watched at least ten blades rise into the air, they were all covered with a faint teal aura. Dipper lifted his hand and the blades arranged themselves around the box.
"Now, let it go." He smiled and swung his arm downwards.
The thirteen year old watched in horror as all the blades jammed themselves into different spots on the box. Tiffany and Annie were watching with a mix of fear and amusement on their faces. Gideon bit his lip, Pacifica was definitely fine. There was no way they'd actually kill her, right?
"I do wonder what has happened to our dear guest, Star," Dipper stated, he eyed the box expectantly.
"I am quite curious as well, brother, we should find out."
Dipper snapped his finger and the box burst into flames. The look of utter delight on the twin's faces as the box began to burn made Gideon's stomach squeeze uncomfortably. He gripped the armrest tightly and frowned.
When there was nothing left of the box and the blades had clattered to the ground, he saw that it was empty. Instead of commenting on it, the twins continued on with the show leaving Gideon along with the two girls to look at each other.
Where was Pacifica?
Gideon felt his heart begin to race at the thought of his now missing friend. The twins had performed another routine where Dipper had thrown a dagger at an apple on top of Star's head.
"For our final trick of the night, we're going to change gears a little. Give us just a moment as we prepare for it."
Dipper and Star walked over to the large metallic frame and he immediately began to strap her into it. Once he was done, Dipper gave the audience a thumbs-up and grabbed a curtain that was near him. He began to tug it around his sister until he had fully circled around her.
Oh, they're doing the Assistant's Revenge trick!Gideon sat up in his seat and leaned in closer. He'd seen it done various times at other magic shows he'd been to and he had never quite figured out the mechanism.
Once Dipper had made his way around, he frowned. Wait isn't he supposed to be gone?
The male twin tugged the curtain back to its origin and instead of Star being there like she had been before, the audience found themselves facing Pacifica.
"Oh, that's where she went! Now where did my dear sister go?" Dipper asked in a voice that almost seemed genuinely surprised.
A spotlight roamed over the audience before Gideon caught a flash of teal off to his side. He glanced to his left and almost fell out of his seat when he saw the female twin leaning against a pillar beside them.
"Ta-dah," Star grinned and made her way back to the stage to help Dipper in freeing their volunteer. The brunette put her arm around the blonde's waist and smirked. "And thanks to our audience volunteer for having such auniquefashion sense and being so helpful."
Pacifica seemed to fidget under the girl's grip as the twins let out bows. The blonde bowed along with them the second time before Star dropped her arm from around her waist. Loud music filled the tent once more as a majority of the audience started to file out. Gideon glanced back at the stage momentarily just in time to see Star pull away from the side of Pacifica's face.
He wasn't sure exactly what had happened, but the blonde had gone horribly red in the face and wouldn't say a word as to what happened when she rejoined them.
Gideon knew a few things for sure though.
One, was that he was definitely crushing on Star Gleeful.
Two, the twins were definitely hiding something. There was just no way that they'd be able to do all their tricks without some sort of knowledge.
With that in mind, Gideon enjoyed his ride to the shack home. He didn't even care that Pacifica and her friends were teasing him about how flustered he'd gotten when Star hadn't even approached him.
A/N: Thanks again guys! Reviews and thoughts appreciated. Anyways, it's late (3 AM to be precise) and I'm tired. G'night : [2/21/15]