HELLO! YES I'M STILL ALIVE! These past few weeks have been pretty stressful on my end, with exams and a couple of other things I'd rather not mention, but enough about me. I've made this chapter extra long, so I hope you guys like it (I need to make up after all)

Dipper stared into the fire. He watched from his perch on the log as the sparks sprung out from the blaze and ascended into the sky. The toungues of flame licked at his shoes, unable to break free of the coal and firewood. He held out his hands to warm them against the orange glow.

He decided that he liked Gravity Falls for the simple things – the small fires Stanley would light on chilly evenings because it got too cold down in the lab, the various sweaters Mabel would knit for herself, her friends and the occaisional one for Dipper, the stupid jokes that his great-uncle made and the horrible facade he put on whilst managing the gift shop, Soos and his handyman antics, Wendy and her laid-back attitude, Waddles and his adorable squeals.

And he couldn't forget Pacifica, his best friend – the way she tilted her head back when she laughed, her brilliant smile, her adorable pouting face, her playful aggressiveness and too many other aspects to describe.

It was really no wonder he was in love with her.

Lost in thought, Dipper stared at the flames. A fire is one of the only things in the world that is still enthralling no matter how long you look at it. Its infinite variety and complexity – the flames build, they die down, they build again, a piece of firewood cracks and splits into two, the coals light up and a blast of warmth radiates out to the arms and legs crowded around waiting to be heated up.

Until something touches you, that is.

Dipper felt something being pressed around his head. It instantly felt familiar and friendly.

'Your head looked cold,' said Pacifica from behind him. Dipper reached up and took the hat off of his head. Sure enough, it was the same hat he had chosen from the Gravity Falls gift shop a year ago. He was surprised it still fitted him.

'Where was it?' he asked. Pacifica vaulted herself over the log and sat next to him.

'Mabel found it in the attic. She was digging through a closet and chucked this at me, muttering something about an invisible wizard.'

'Classic Mabel,' Dipper replied. He put the beloved hat back on his head and returned his hands to the warmth.

'So, how was your year? You still haven't told me anything,' she said. Dipper shrugged.

'Same old same old, really,' he replied. Pacifica frowned at him.

'Really? No major life events, no holidays, no really good Christmas or birthday presents?'

'What can I say, Piedmont isn't nearly as exciting or as wacky as Gravity Falls. But, something happened with you, didn't it? You still haven't told me why you've been staying nights at the Mystery Shack the past few months.'

'Oh, right,' Pacifica said, shifting a little. She pulled her hair around and threw it over her shoulder, obscuring half her face from Dipper.

'So… you know how my parent's can't control me with that stupid bell anymore, right?'

Dipper nodded.

'Well, it was just after I got your birthday letter, actually. My parents had organised a snobby dinner with all the high-class snoots that they always invite to gatherings to celebrate my birthday, and I told them that I just wanted to go into town with some friends.'

'What happened?' asked Dipper, trying not to interrupt too much.

'They wouldn't let me. They told me that I was becoming a "proper young lady" now and I needed to show that I was as regal as they want me to be. Yeah, right.'

'So what'd you do?'

'I talked back. It was the first time since that night at the mansion that I'd retaliated to anything that they'd said.'

Dipper paused. He didn't know what Pacifica's parents had done, but it was bad. She turned away from him, pulling her hair around her neck like a scarf. He waited, not wanting to interrupt her. After what seemed like an age, she turned back to him.

Her eyes were red, hot tears heated by the fire running down her cheeks.

'Paz?'

Pacifica burst into tears. She threw herself at Dipper and cried into his shoulder. Dipper didn't know how to respond. He awkwardly put his arms around her.

'Shh… it's OK…' he said, trying to be soothing. Eventually she regained her composure and pulled back. She looked at the ground.

'They… they beat me, Dipper! They started attacking me! The… the butlers, they pulled them off me as soon as they could, but… but…'

She burst into tears again. Dipper knew what to do this time. He reached out and took her hand in his, gently caressing her palm with his thumb.

'I'm here Paz, it's OK.'

Another few minutes passed. Dipper had to wait once again for her crying to die down. She was lucky that she wasn't wearing much makeup – otherwise her face would've been a hundred times messier than it was.

'An… anyway, the butlers got them off of me in time to let me escape. I ran out the gates and down the road. I didn't know where to go or what to do, but I eventually stumbled across the Mystery Shack.'

'And Stan let you stay here once he saw the state of you,' Dipper finished. Pacifica nodded at him.

'I always thought Mr Pines hated me… I was expecting to sleep outside that night.' Dipper smiled at her.

'Stan's not such a hard guy. If you can break through his shell, he's really soft inside.'

Pacifica smiled back and put her head on his shoulder. Looking into the flames, Dipper noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

'Paz, what's that?' he asked, pointing at her neck. She blushed and pulled her hair around tighter.

'Um, it's… it's nothing. Don't worry about it,' she replied, her voice wavering. Dipper reached over and pulled her hair out of the way before she could react.

There was a massive bruise on the side of Pacifica's neck. Dipper felt himself seethe with hate for Pacifica's parents. How could they do this to their daughter? Their beautiful, perfect daughter, who any other parent with would be happy with in every way? It made Dipper sick. He wanted to keep Pacifica safe from them, away from them.

He stood up and locked eyes with her. Pacifica could see the anger welling up in them.

'Dip, please, don't,' she said, shaking her head at him, 'They will destroy you too. I know they will. Please, stay out of this.'

Dipper had to fight every inch of his consciousness to not scream out with rage. He wanted to go up to the mansion and he wanted her parents to feel what it was like to be on the receiving end of what they had done to their daughter. He gritted his teeth.

Pacifica stood up and put her hands on his shoulders. He looked at her with a mix of anger and concern. She looked at him with worry.

'Please, I don't want to see it happen to you too, Dipper,' she pleaded, getting up. She put a hand on his shoulder. Instantly, he felt the calm energy flowing back into his body. There was something about the tender touch of someone you loved that was so powerful. Just one hand could quell the mightiest of rages. Dipper stopped shaking and sat back down.

'You okay?' she asked. Dipper nodded, looking at the fire. Her hand moved from his shoulder into his hand.

'I'm alright. Maybe we should do something else for the time being.'

'Good idea,' she replied, smiling at him and squeezing his hand. They got up and headed inside to find something else to do. Mabel and Stan were out and Soos and Wendy had finished for the day, so they had the whole Shack to themselves.

o00o

Mabel came home late. She had been at Candy's place, and Grenda had been using her phone to try and get in touch with Marius. No such luck, international calls are pretty expensive. Eventually they had resigned to waiting until the Northwest Fest, and Mabel had headed back to the Mystery Shack.

'I'm back!' she called, closing the door behind her. Instantly she stopped as she saw the scene in front of her.

Her first reaction was to giggle.

In front of her, Dipper and Pacifica were huddled up together on the tiny armchair, asleep. The credits of some Western movie were playing. Pacifica had bunched her legs up to her chest and Dipper had his arm wrapped around her shoulder. Mabel had the brilliant idea that she should take photos, but she changed her mind when she saw Pacifica's face.

She had been crying. It didn't take a genius to figure that out. Her cheeks were red and she could see the remnants of the tears quivering on her eyelashes. This wasn't a romantic situation, but more of a hurt or comfort one. For once, Mabel found it in her best interest to leave them be. No cheeky photos, no scrapbook opportunities, no nothing. At the moment, the best thing they could do was sleep.

'Goodnight, bro,' she said, 'and good luck.'

Mabel giggled a little and tiptoed up the stairs to the attic.

Review time!

Fysical – I might add Mabel's friends at some point, I'm not really sure where I could fit them in, but I'll try. At this stage incorporating a CanDip element will be really tricky, so most likely it won't happen. Sorry. I've got so many suggestions it's hard for me to fit everything in, adding another pairing would make things over complicated. Thanks for your ongoing support though!

TheDarkMysteriousAuthor – Haha, glad to see you're hyped for my writing. I don't actually support any other Gravity Falls ships at the moment (not with any other characters either). In other fandoms I've got a few that I support, but Dipper x Pacifica is my OTP, and although I used to support WenDip, it won't be showing up in this story.

LimitlessHorizon – Wow another massive review. Keep that up and I'll need to hire you as an editor :p. You pretty much predicted what was going to happen in this chapter, and you are right, this is going to become a pretty big part of Pacifica's character arc. Thanks once again and hope you continue to enjoy the story.

lennoxmacduffes – Haha, thankyou. You'll need to wait 'til the end of this part to find out what Wendy thinks of Dipper and Pacifca. (Love your username by the way, I recently performed in a production of Macbeth for my school drama class)

TheSakuraHunter - *tfw another author who's writing you are enjoying reviews your story*. Ahaha, because I love your writing (should probably review Northwest Mansion Exploration at some point), I decided to bring back to hat in this chapter just for you (you're welcome). Glad you like the story! (also exams I know right what a pain in the neck ughhh)

Talons – PG13 bro, I'm not going anywhere near that stuff, let's tone it down a bit :p.

bull poli – Thanks! Also, yes, I have planned a sleepover chapter for a while now – it is coming.

overlordpringerx – Why? What happened? It didn't eat you did it? If you get eaten, I'll be sad cos you can't read my story :p

SecondBeat – Thanks! Don't have much time to write at the moment, but I'm trying my best.

Rorscarch – Ooh I don't know about that. I've got an idea for the last chapter (nothing too kinky – they're 13 remember), and I might be able to implement their parents. Thanks for your suggestion!