Hi everybody! This chapter ties in with the previous chapter as part of the same mini-story. I probably could have made it one chapter, but hey, shorter chapters, more updates! :)
Thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate your feedback! Dipper and Mabel are 15 and sophomores in high school. I realized that the time frame was getting confusing. I mean, I was confusing myself, so I could only imagine what the readers were going through! I'll try to keep you updated on that.
"Could you believe that guy said aliens were a valid explanation for Stonehenge?" Alexis's face flushes with the madness of it all. "Let me tell you something, if I were making a historical documentary, it would be based on facts and not crazy hypotheses."
"Yeah, that was… kinda weird," Dipper agrees. They are walking out of the theater on their very first date, and how has the conversation already turned to this? There are a lot of things you don't discuss with a girl on a first date, and he's pretty sure the paranormal is one of them.
"That's what I like about math. And sciences that aren't hypothetical. You know what's true and what isn't and you don't have to waste your time on crazy ideas," she continues.
The stars are peeking out overhead, not quite blotted by the downtown lights. The weight of Journal # 3 swings in Dipper's backpack as he walks. The shadow of her skirt twirls under the streetlight. Under the dark eyeliner she's never worn to school, intelligence sparks in her eyes. He wants nothing more than to agree with her, on this and everything else. But if he keeps his mouth shut about some things from the beginning, he may have to keep it shut forever.
"I know what you mean. I really like things to make sense, too…" Dipper says slowly. "But… do you remember being a kid, and pretty much anything was possible?"
"Um, I guess?" Alexis fiddles with her necklace, smiling nervously.
"I don't want to lose that. Like, ever. I mean, I thought it would be impossible to get you to go out with me but… maybe impossible things are just mysteries we haven't solved yet."
Alexis's smile softens. "I've never met anybody like you," she says.
He reaches for her hand.
"Details! I need details! You kissed, didn't you? Oh my gosh, I can totally tell! Your face is all red."
Dipper sheds his jacket at the door and shakes his head, grinning.
"Did you make out?" Mabel squeals.
"I am not telling you about this," Dipper insists.
"Dipperrrrr," Mabel whines, tossing her knitting to the ground. "You have to tell somebody! You'll go mad with joy otherwise!"
"I think I'll be okay." Dipper smirks, hugs Mabel, and retreats down the hall to his room, where he paces until long after midnight. He finally plucks his phone off the nightstand and scrolls through his contacts until he reaches Soos's name.
I kissed her, he texts.
Dipper paces for another ten minutes. The phone dings, and he opens the new message, heart still pounding.
Way to go, Dude! :) :) :) :) :)
Dipper stares at those four words and five smiley faces for an hour and a half before his eyes finally drift shut.
At the beginning of winter, Dipper leans against Mabel's door frame and clears his throat not-so-casually until she turns down her deafening music.
"Alexis just texted me, so are we dating or not? And I'm really confused because we've been going on dates for two months. I think."
"Dates aren't the same thing as dating," Mabel says wisely. Dipper blinks, so she continues. "Did you ever ask her to be your girlfriend?"
"Not in those exact words…"
"Did you put it on Facebook?"
"Um…"
"She's at least in your profile picture, right?"
Dipper shakes his head. "Okay, I get the idea."
"You've been going on dates all summer, but you didn't get her anything for your one or two month anniversaries, therefore rendering that time invalid. BUT- you're gonna ask her out officially, right?"
"Yeah, I really like her."
"So now- hang with me- now you're gonna have to remember two anniversaries. The first time you went out and the day you officially asked her out. Quick, when's your first anniversary?"
"September… something?" Dipper waves his hands in front of his face, trying to block out Mabel's disapproving frown. "Just… give me a minute!"
"And don't forget her birthday. You need to make that at least a week-long affair." Mabel sighs deeply. "Do you need me to make you a color-coded calendar? Don't even answer that. I'm making you a color-coded calendar."
Dipper stares at the intricate chart, vaguely, dizzily aware that he now has an anniversary every other week.
He wonders if he is way in over his head.
