HAT: Yay! Another chapter! This one's longer than the rest. I had a good number of chapters written out... then I trashed it and rewrote everything after chapter 3 and started to write an actual plot in one of my spirals sonow I have a decent idea where I'm going with this story... why do I even bother none of you even read what I have to say before the story and some of you only after... *sighs* Enjoy the story. *emo corner*
Disclaimer: Gravity Falls and its characters belongs to Alex Hirsch while this plot and my OC (and others if I choose to throw them in there) belong to me.
It was difficult adjusting to living at the junkyard. She'd gone form this clean, large home where food was easy to come by to a cramped living environment where she shares the space with a weird old man and a raccoon. At first she refused to touch anything and eyed what she was eating a drinking and would deny the food, but after two weeks of practically starving from eating so little she learned to eat what she could. After about a week he had begun to guilt her into eating by saying with a stern, fatherly look that doesn't look quite right on his face, "yer bein' ungrateful" and it's worked to the point all he has to do is give her that look. Along with this there were other things he did to correct her behavior when she started behaving like the Northwest and what he said most often was, "yer bein' a brat" and she would correct herself immediately. He also scolded her near constantly over walking around barefoot in the junkyard because there was glass and when she argued that he did he replied that he had callouses on his feet and had been doing it for decades, but that didm't detour her from doing this.
She's taken wearing her most comfortable clothes which consists of sweats and an older purple t-shirt or pink or one grey one and a purple bandana to keep her hair out of her face. McGucket taught her how to hand wash her clothes since she has a limited amount and she changes her clothes every few days, but her underwear every day (for health reasons). She doesn't know how long she's been in the junkyard anymore. All she knows is that it's been over a month- she stopped counting at five and a half weeks and who knows how much time has passed since then. For all she knows the school year just started- that'd mean she was out there for about two and a half months- but she doesn't really care.
(A/N: Alright, so the longest most schools will allow summer vacation is about 14 weeks with is about 3 1/2 months (keep in mind there are 4 weeks in 1 month) and about the time the Northwest Mansion part came along they were about half-way through the summer which then makes their stay there about 1 1/4 months which leaves 2 3/4 months for her to have lived on the streets if she's gonna be put back in school on time and- let's face it- about 3 months is a long time... alright, I'm done.)
Currently she's fighting one of McGucket's raccoons for her meal... again.
"Let go! It's mine!" She grunts as she tries to yank her bread form the grasp of the small and determined creature. This bout of tug-of-war lasts for several more seconds before she kicks the raccoon and clutches the bread to her chest. "Ha! Take that you oversized rat!"
The raccoon doesn't seem to like that and runs forward with claws ready to scratch her. She gets up and runs the opposite direction, shoving the bread into her mouth and chewing as she goes and breathing heavily through her nose. She crosses off climbing things because raccoons are faster and more experienced with that so her only choice is to outrun it until she manages to swallow the bread.
How did my life get to running from a raccoon to keep my food? She wonders as she rounds another junk pile. Despite this thought she doesn't dare go back to that night and- instead- continues to run and chew. When she swallows the last of her food and skids to a stop and realizes that she's ventured outside of the junkyard and is in a nearby alley. Great. The stupid raccoon chased me all the way out here.
She pats her bandana down and stuffs a hand in her pants pockets as she tries to casually make her way back to the junkyard without being noticed. She wants to look like any other pedestrian on the street so she walks casually, glancing around to see if her to see if there is anyone that can recognize her. As soon as she's sure that she isn't being watched she ducks down into the hole in the fence and immediately runs deeper into the junkyard.
About halfway to the shelter she hears Old Man McGucket nearby and follows the noises to her somewhat guardian and finds him talking to his raccoon wife. Pacifica can't help the small smile of fondness that makes its way into her features. She doesn't know why she ever thought bad about this man when he's so intelligent and caring. She'd much rather had been raised by him than by her parents- the people who gave her their genes.
"Hey, McGucket," she calls as she walks over.
He frowns at her feet. "Ya know, you should really wear some shoes 'round here. There's glass everywhere."
She resists the urge to roll her eyes good-naturedly and instead crouches down beside him and pets the raccoon. "What're you two arguing about this time?"
The old man frowns and crosses his arms. "She refuses to put on that pretty bow that I got fer her an' now she's throwin' a hissy fit!"
"I think you're going about it all wrong," she says, picking up the raccoon and holding her hand out for the bow. "May I?"
"Sure."
Once she has the item in her hand she gently uses one arm to tie it around the animal's neck (loose enough that she won't choke, but tight enough it won't fall off easily) while she coos at her in hopes of keeping the cute, clawed animal calm. "Aaaand... there. Aren't you pretty?"
"Thank ya, P'cifica," he says with a grin and holds his arms out for his "wife."
She hands over the raccoon and- for about the billionth time- does everything in her power not to delve into the thoughts about what he means by "wife" and what that entails for the raccoon (A/N: I just realized that they're somewhat implying bestiality... You know what? McGucket's just gave the raccoon that title since that's the raccoon around most and it "nags" him all the time "like a normal" wife just to save my sanity and (maybe if it hasn't been lost already) yours).
He turns to go to where the tub is so she guesses that he's going to give her a bath- which is a good thing because she stinks to high heaven.
What to do? I already ran from a raccoon- I think it was Dan... or maybe Chris?- for lunch and helped McGucket with his wife... Now what to do? Perhaps go watch people from the top of one of the junk piles? No, did that yesterday... Oh, maybe play with the piano? Yeah, that sounds fun!
She rushes to the piano that she found on her third day here. It's legs are broken and the top's torn off, but it's still in good condition. She had pressed each and every key and adjusted it and fixed it as best as she could over the next several days until she was satisfied, but she hadn't actually played anything on it yet. Today feels like a good day to do it so I kneel in front of it and hit one key to get a good idea where the rest are. Kind of like brushing your fingers against the "F" and J" keys to be sure where you are on the keyboard.
Let's see how I can do, she thinks and then begins to play (A/N: I can be anything you want, but in my mind it's River Flows In You by Yiruma (despite how complicated it probably is)).
Her fingers fly across the keys with a precision that she can't believe that she still has after not practicing for so long. She can't help but smile as she plays- a simple joy that her parents had ripped away from her after about two years of lessons and practice- and feels her insides writhe with happiness.
When she presses the last key she feels calm and at peace, but it's disrupted when she hears clapping and she whirls around, startled, to see McGucket standing there with his raccoon wife nibbling on some food next to him.
"That there was the best playin' I've ever heard!"
She blushes and rubs the back of her neck. "Really?"
"Course I'm sure! I never heard of ya play b'fore," he says, a flash of intelligence in his eyes that seeps out past the madness.
"My parents didn't approve so they had me quit, but I always loved to play anyway... the stopped a lot of fun things," she murmurs, staring at the yellowed keys as she remembers everything that had something positive for her was ripped away from her. "Probably because it allowed me a bit of freedom and independence..."
There are a few more seconds that seem to take forever before McGucket awkwardly tries to break it. "Ahhh... hows about I rustle us up some grub?"
Pacfica smiles "Sure. "
"Wanna help? I'm thinkin' we could find us a hotdog cart and take somethin' from there."
"I don't see why not. Let's go!" She says excitedly, getting up and dusting her knees off and following him out of the junkyard.
They make it a few blocks before ducking into an alley after finding a hotdog cart.
How long has it been since I've had hotdogs? She wonders, but discards that thought immediately and tries not to jump out and steal the entire cart when the wind shifts and the smell hits her.
"Alright, what I'm thinkin' is I'll distract the man and you take as many hotdogs as you can carry and take them back to the junkyard. Got that?"
"Yes, sir," she says with a firm nod.
"Wait here while I go distract him."
"Okay," she murmurs and crouches down behind the wall and watching as he walks out and wonders what he'll do.
"Distraction!" he shouts as he shoves the hotdog vendor, making her shoulders slump at the anticlimactic display.
Surprisingly it works because the man chases McGucket.
This is my chance! She thinks and rushes over with her bandana ripped off to allow her to carry more hotdogs. She puts a few in buns and when she hears the chase making its way full circle she grabs a few more with haste and throws them into her bandana and makes a break for it. She ducks into a few alleys that have no dead ends and makes her way to the junkyard with haste, but makes sure that she doesn't drop any hotdogs. When she finally stops she's in the middle of the junkyard panting and hunched over her prize. That was fun.
She goes into the shelter where the raccoons will be less likely to sniff out the meat and leaves a few out for them to get. After she's done setting up the table she hears McGucket come in and turns to see a few bruises forming on him- probably from getting hit by a broom.
"Are you okay, McGucket?" Pacifica asks as she goes over to check on him.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. How much- holy crackermole! You got that much?" (A/N: ... Don't judge me for "crackermole")
She glances at the table and sees one of the slightly larger bowls filled with hot dogs and the smaller bowl next to it filled with hardening hotdog buns. "Yes."
"What'd you do?"
"I used my bandana," she answers, holding it up. "I'll wash it later, for now let's eat."
They say their grace- something that McGucket insisted they do and Pacifica found calming- and eat, McGucket telling her of a contraption that he built a while back. She smiles at his story and laughs at a few parts. She's grateful to this man. He could have left her for dead and instead took her in and showed her kindness he'd never showed him in the past. It's something that she's determined to do as well in the future because she wants to be like this man- intelligent, kind-hearted, and crazy enough to find fun in everything and never get bored- or at least be able to find something creative to do whenever boredom hits.
"You go ta bed while I clean up," McGucket says at the end of the meal.
"But-" Pacifica stutters to a stop when he gives her a stern, fatherly look that says that he won't hear anything she has to say- something that she hadn't thought his face was capable of. "Goodnight."
"G'night," he replies as he walks out with the dishes to get washed.
(A/N: Everything has to stop right now! Because I Love You by Lenny Williams came on. *Hiatus*... *7 Mins. Later* Okay, continuing with the story (Literally... I stopped a full 7 minutes just for that song... that is an amazing song!))
She splays herself out on the couch and looks up at the stars as they twinkle. She's never before felt so at ease and carefree as she does here in the junkyard with McGucket. I wish that I could have this moment for life.
HAT: This is basically showing how life in the junkyard is going for her. Seems to be going well.
Preston: My daughter would never live in a junkyard!
HAT: Can it Northwest! You're not even liked!
Preston: *stutters* I have you know I'm very loved. All of my fans please clap your hands politely!
*silence*
HAT: Uh-huh... That's a lot of fans... are you gonna say it or aren't you.
Preston: *turns red* None of you review this abomination of a story! *storms out like a child*
HAT: *sighs* Well... he's a nut case... probably went to his nanny or something. For those of you that don't like him (or have no care for him... or both) DEFY HIM!... *pouts* He called my story an abomination... *goes to emo corner and wonders if the story's an abomination*
