A/N:
Credit to CraveFanArt for the cover art.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls. Gravity Falls was created by Alex Hirsch and Disney owns it.
Episode 2: The Lesser Evil.
Important: I'm doing a complete rewrite/revision before uploading the last chapter.
This chapter is: [Rewrite finished for all chapters 08/03]
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[Chapter 4: A question of price]
[Wednesday]
Preston was as usual in his pajamas going to the kitchen where the servants were preparing breakfast. However, halfway through the hall he saw something odd, something that shouldn't be there.
There was a trail of dirt on the carpet. By following the trail of dirt, he saw that one of the windows was wide open and someone had dragged dirt into the manor. Preston's eyes widened and the first thing that came into his mind was that someone had robbed the manor during the night. He quickly scanned the room for any valuables that were missing. However, everything was on their place. The vases worth several thousand dollars were there, the unique paintings, the ancient muskets, everything. Preston wondered what would the thief had stolen then, considering that all the valuables in the room were worth a lot of money and easy to carry. Preston gasped and turned on his heels.
There was only one thing in the manor that was way more valuable than any of those trinkets, and she was supposed to be upstairs.
The Northwest patriarch hurried upstairs and got into Pacifica's room. He sighed in relief when he found her peacefully asleep on her bed, but then he frowned when he realized that she was wearing her trademark outfit instead of her sleepwear, and that her shoes were soiled. Preston pinched the bridge of his nose and grumbled. He closed the door went downstairs to have breakfast.
Preston had already decided that he would have to fix everything today.
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:: ::
The sunlight coming through the windows didn't stop shining on Pacifica's face. She frowned and rolled onto her other side, wondering why she didn't draw the curtains yesterday night. Pacifica sat up on her bed and rubbed her eyes while yawning. Then, all the memories of the previous night came to her mind and a smile crept onto her face.
"Dipper almost kissed me yesterday!" She giggled and then quickly covered her mouth in case someone heard her. Pacifica would've never expected a month ago to act so girly about a boy, let alone about Dipper Pines, but she was in love and love is often very dumb.
Pacifica jumped up from her bed and ran into her bathroom. Her dress was dirty from the previous night adventure, and full of creases from sleeping with it. The heiress shrugged and decided to simply toss it into the trash can. She had plenty of those dresses after all. Meanwhile she was having a quick shower in her private bathroom to get all the dirt off her long blonde hair, Pacifica pondered what to do today. She really wanted to go to the Shack today too, but her father couldn't know about it. She considered lying to him and saying she was going to Tiffany's house, but he might call her just to be sure. Pacifica shook her head a reached a very different conclusion.
The heiress got out of her bathroom in her purple bathrobe and went into her closet. She came out dressed in a purple tracksuit and purple trainers. Pacifica had a quick look outside her balcony. It was around noon and everything was practically burning outside under the summer heat. Without thinking it twice, she applied some sunscreen to her face and arms. Her complexion was too delicate to be under that sun without any protection. She had a final look at herself in the mirror and groomed her eyebrows and bangs. Pacifica was adamant to have the kiss she had missed yesterday, and that meant she had to be flawless.
Once she was done having breakfast, Pacifica took two energetic bars in her pockets and headed outside the manor. However, she bumped into her father on the way out of the building. He was carrying the newspaper.
"Are you going somewhere, Pacifica?" Preston unfolded the newspaper and sat in an armchair.
"Yes, I um…" The heiress facepalmed inwardly. Her father always picked up the newspaper at the same hour and she should know better than trying to sneak out at the same time. "I was gonna do some jogging now that we have this fantastic weather." She shrugged impassively.
Preston raised an eyebrow and stared at her for so long that Pacifica thought he wasn't going to agree. However, he simply hid himself behind the newspaper again.
"Alright, have fun. And be here by lunch time."
Pacifica inwardly pumped her fist as her mind yelled a jubilant 'Yes!'. She quickly hurried her way out of the manor before her father changed her mind. Once she was gone, Preston beckoned a butler closer.
"Send a limousine to the Mystery Shack and tell the driver this." He gave the butler a paper. "Take the long way there and come back through the same road."
The Northwest patriarch gestured the butler to leave and then he frowned. Pacifica had never lied to him before, but she had just done it without hesitation, and he had read it in her face like an open book.
"If I can't reason with her, I'd reason with the boy."
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Pacifica had always enjoyed jogging. She often went early in the morning when the sun wasn't yet too high in the sky to burn her sensitive complexion. What she loved the most was the feeling of freedom running through the forest gave her. Out there, she didn't have to worry about whether her parents approved what she was doing or about damaging her social status, or about anything in general. It was her hour of privacy and, since she did it every second day, her parents had no reason to be suspicious at all. The heiress began to run a little faster. She had to be back at home by lunch, and that meant the sooner she got to the Shack the better.
Meanwhile she was running, Pacifica distracted her mind with the most trivial of topics. First, she thought what color she would paint her house when she moved out of the manor. The heiress had no intention at all to live in such a huge building when she was older. She would be happy with a two story house in town. The idea of wishing that came into her mind, and that led her to idea of wishing that Dipper kissed her today instead. Pacifica continued running thoughtfully as she considered the latter idea. After some pondering, she discarded it and decided it wouldn't be fair. She wanted her first kiss to be natural, so she kept the wish as a fail-safe.
"Hey, Pacifica!" A voice came from behind her. It was that redhead lumberjack riding a bike. The heiress searched her mind for a few seconds until she remembered her name.
"Hi, Wendy." Pacifica replied without slowing her pace, considering the teen wouldn't have much trouble keeping up with her on the bike.
"Nice outfit." Wendy smiled mockingly and adjusted her bike speed to Pacifica's pace. "You look like a modern mob boss with that tracksuit. Where are you going like that?"
Pacifica raised an eyebrow and glared at the teen.
"This is a designer's tracksuit. And I'm going to the Shack." She replied as spitefully as she could.
"Alright, alright. You don't have to bite me." Wendy raised her hands defensively, riding the bike only with her feet. "If it's any consolation, what I'm wearing now are boy's clothes. My dad buys only boy's clothes." She rolled her eyes.
Pacifica had a look at Wendy's green flannel shirt. She had no idea what the teen was talking about, since her outfit was pretty much unisex. Then, she realized for the first time that the buttons were on the right side.
"Your father can't difference boy and girl shirts or—"
"Oh, he definitely can." Wendy waved her hand dismissively. "He just says that buying girl clothes isn't 'manly' and he won't do that."
The heiress stifled her laugher terribly and ended up laughing to the point she had to stop and lean on a tree.
"S-sorry." Pacifica quickly apologized. "Your father sounds fun."
"Relax, dude. I told you about it so that you laughed." Wendy reassured. "Mabel called this morning saying Dipper and you had heck of an adventure last night. Wanna share the details?"
Pacifica's eyes widened and her jaw fell open. If Mabel knew about last night, it was because Dipper had told her and Pacifica had a feeling that Mabel had probably squeezed all the details out of Dipper by either teasing or some other method.
"N-nothing happened." She quickly replied and blushed.
"Right." Wendy raised an eyebrow at the preteen and she didn't insist anymore.
Pacifica stood silent for a few seconds while she fiddled with the drawcords of her tracksuit pants. The heiress had so many doubts and nobody to share them with that she ended up gulping and asking in a small voice.
"Wendy, have you ever… kissed a boy before?"
"So that happened." Wendy chuckled.
"No, but…" Pacifica blushed. "I would've liked that it happened."
The heiress sighed and leaned her back against the tree. She fished out the two energetic bars and handled one to Wendy. Pacifica was still unsure of how that whole 'sharing' thing worked, but by the redhead's smile she guessed she had done right. Wendy gave a bite to the bar and listened.
"So…" Pacifica began. "we were waiting last night for this Lunathingy monster to make an appearance to get a picture of it and Dipper… almost kissed me." She whispered the last part.
"Wait. How do you 'almost kiss' someone exactly?" Wendy asked in amusement.
"Dipper got distracted by a noise in the last second and moved his head away." Pacifica clarified and frowned, upset about the outcome of that night.
"He's such a dork." Wendy laughed heartily.
It took Pacifica a few seconds, but she smiled warmly and nodded.
"It was Dipper who tried to kiss you and not the other way around, wasn't it?" Wendy asked.
"Yeah."
"I don't see what you are worrying about then. Dipper will probably try again." Wendy shrugged. "And if you can't wait, you could always be who delivers the kiss."
"But it has to be he who kisses me." Pacifica murmured. "I want it to be special and romantic, with a full moon, stars and we have to be alone and—"
"Whoa, stop right there, dude." Wendy raised her palms to get the heiress' attention. "You're making up some high expectations for just a kiss. Trust me, I've been there and that always leads to disappointment."
"It's my first kiss." Pacifica confessed in a whisper as her cheeks blushed.
"Wanna know how my first kiss was?" Wendy raised an eyebrow and Pacifica nodded. "I was playing spin the bottle with a few friends and I kissed a boy. Just like that."
Pacifica looked at the redhead in disappointment.
"Later in the logging camp," Wendy continued. "there was this guy I liked and we kissed behind the cabins. There was also a guy in the school playground—"
"That's more than one kiss." Pacifica interrupted, completely puzzled.
"I know." Wendy leaned on the handlebars of her bike. "There's no such thing as a 'single first kiss'. Boys come and go and you'll end up kissing for the first time many different people in your life. Now, if you want your first kiss ever to be special, that's your thing and I won't get there. I'm just giving you some perspective." The laid-back teen shrugged again.
Pacifica tapped her chin thoughtfully and glanced at the redhead. Wendy raised an eyebrow at her and Pacifica sighed.
"I guess it doesn't have to be a perfect scenario… but I'd like something romantic still." The heiress gave her a lopsided smile.
"Fair enough." The teen straightened up on the bike and patted the backside of it. "Hop up, I'll ride you to the Shack."
"I can jog the rest of the way, you know?" Pacifica declined smugly.
"We'll get there faster this way." Wendy countered and waggled her eyebrows.
"Ugh, fine. But if I fall off I'll sue you." The heiress reluctantly stood on the rear wheel cassettes and placed her hands on Wendy's shoulders to keep her balance.
A few seconds after Wendy began rolling towards the Shack, she made a wheelie and Pacifica yelped in fright. Wendy glanced mockingly at her over her shoulder and Pacifica glared at her, which made Wendy chuckle. Pacifica grumbled at first, but then she couldn't help but smile. The heiress realized she had just made a new friend.
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"You did what?!" Mabel exclaimed in both surprise and awe.
"I tried to… kiss Pacifica last night?" Dipper repeated slowly.
"Hah! Oh, bro-bro! Kissing the girl before the first date has even started. You're such a womanizer!" Mabel teased and giggled.
"So… did I do the right thing? I mean, I still barely know her and you told me—"
"I told you to know Pacifica better because I didn't want you to end up with a broken heart again." Mabel interrupted him. "Now, tell me, tell me! How does Pacifica kiss? Does she tilt the head to the side? Does she do tongue-play?" The chirpy brunette asked excitedly.
"Um… I don't know." Dipper rubbed his arm and blushed.
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"I sort of got… distracted right before landing the kiss." He finished in a small voice.
"Oh my gosh." Mabel facepalmed soundly. "So let me get this straight: You had the perfect romantic scenario with full moon, stars and everything and you got distracted in the last second?"
"Yeah, that's pretty much what happened." Dipper nodded and earned a groan from his sister. "Hey, the Lunafright was a completely undocumented creature and now there's a picture of it in the Journal where—"
"My dating tests were so right." Mabel muttered shaking her head. "Dipper, you really need to learn when it's the time for romance and when it's the time for mysteries."
"You think Pacifica is mad at me?" Dipper asked worriedly.
"I don't know. Giving her a gift wouldn't hurt, though." The cheerful brunette tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"What could I gift to the richest girl of Oregon she doesn't have already?" Dipper sighed, disheartened.
"That's easy, be original. Make something for her!" Mabel chirped happily. "Like a sweater! Or macaroni art!"
"I can't knit and the macaroni would make me look like a five year old." He countered. "But you gave me an idea… Yeah, I think there's something I can do."
Grunkle Stan's voice came from the gift door and startled the twins.
"Dipper! Your girlfriend is here!"
"So much for keeping it a secret." He commented and Mabel giggled.
Dipper walked to the backdoor with Mabel and found a limousine parked in the yard. When the driver spotted them, he addressed him.
"Dipper Pines?" The driver asked and Dipper nodded. "Miss Pacifica is waiting for you at the manor." The driver concluded as he opened the backseat door.
"Uuuh! Fancy car!" Mabel exclaimed from behind him. "When you come back I wanna now all the details. Now go, don't keep her waiting!" She shoved him.
Dipper stumbled forwards and sent a glare to his sister over his shoulder. He glanced suspiciously at the driver and got into the car. He felt something was off about this.
Once the car drove off, Mabel fished out her phone and texted Wendy about all the new gossiping material she had learned. Then, she took her knitting needles and sat on the couch in the porch to knit a new sweater as she happily hummed a song. The cheerful brunette had in mind a purple design Dipper could gift to Pacifica. Approximately an hour later, the sweater was almost ready and Mabel caught the sight of a biker coming to the Shack.
"Wendy!" Mabel chirped happily. She saw Pacifica too when Wendy got closer and parked her bike. "Whoa, Paz-Paz! You look like—"
"—Like a mob boss, yeah. I've been told already." The heiress rolled her eyes. "Where's Dipper?" She glanced around, trying to find the reason she had come to the Shack.
"I thought he was with you." Mabel tilted her head to the side in confusion. "He got into a limo and left half an hour ago."
"A limousine? But I can't send limousines, only my father—" Pacifica's eyes bulged out in shock. "Wendy, you have to take me to the manor in your bike!"
"What? Why?" Wendy asked, completely puzzled.
"My father knows!" Pacifica exclaimed in complete distress. "I have to get to the manor now!"
"I'll drive you there in the golf cart." Mabel quickly intervened and went for the keys.
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A butler led Dipper to a hall and asked him to sit on a couch. Dipper was completely certain now about the feeling of something off he got earlier in the limousine. Pacifica was nowhere to be seen.
"Greetings." A voice said from the door.
Dipper turned around and saw how Preston Northwest entered the room and sat in the armchair right in front of him. He was, as usual, in a three piece suit and holding an apple cider glass in his hand.
"Do you know why you are here?" He asked with an impassive face.
"You brought me here passing off as Pacifica." Dipper fixed his eyes on Preston's, unwilling to break the eye contact. He didn't like that man at all.
"You are smart, but that is how I got you here, not why you are here." Preston leaned back in the armchair. "I have a proposal for you."
"I'm not interested." Dipper shook his head.
"You did not even listen to what I have to offer." Mr. Northwest narrowed his eyes and glared at the boy.
"Let me guess, since I'm smart." Dipper raised an eyebrow. "You're going to offer me something in exchange of not seeing Pacifica again?"
"That is a very simple way of putting it, but it is not all. I am also going to explain you my perspective."
"I'm still not interested." Dipper attempted to stand up.
"Do. Not. Stand up, boy." Preston boomed. Dipper remained sat up in the couch. "You are putting my daughter against me. At least have the decency of listening to what I have to say and then you can leave."
Dipper smiled and nodded. In the dialectic battle that was taking place, Preston had been the first to lose his temper, and that meant a point in Dipper's favor.
"You are not from Gravity Falls." Preston started. "I presume you don't know the role the Northwest name has always had in this town."
"You mean cheating and lying to everyone to increase your social position?" Dipper interrupted him.
"The Northwest family goes back to the funding days of Gravity Falls." He ignored the comment and drummed his fingers on the armrest. "Ever since Nathaniel was made the founder due to a political issue you are apparently aware of, we have sought to keep a position of respect within the city. We made use of our increasing fortune to build most the public buildings, sawmills, roads and even one of our mudflap factories to give the townsfolk jobs. This city has our name on every corner." Preston smiled proudly. "Thanks to our influence, dedication and money, Gravity Falls is what it is today, instead of another ghost town."
"Funny you mention all that, since certain ghost told me otherwise." Dipper shrugged. "He said your family tricked the townsfolk into building this manor and then you didn't fulfill your promise of inviting them to the parties. That sounds like cheating and lying to increase your social position and, you know what? I think I'll take the word of a ghost who has nothing to lose over yours." He smiled smugly.
"You shouldn't." Preston played with the glass in his hand. "The Corduroy ghost told you nothing but half-truths and lies. We, the Northwests, are the core of Gravity Falls. Do you think that keeping a town afloat is as easy as snapping your fingers? Of course not. It requires many contracts from external companies and we needed a proper building to take care of that. Back then, that was usually done in a manor instead of in an office or through the internet like it's done nowadays. Thanks to those parties this town got communication systems, pipe system, electricity, sewers…" Preston listed with his fingers until he ran out of them. "So what if the townsfolk weren't invited to the parties where the future of their town was decided? We needed to look convincing so that the representatives of the companies that would provide Gravity Falls of those services signed the contracts. We couldn't just make them rub elbows with the townsfolk."
"You're just saying the end justifies the means." Dipper raised both eyebrows and stared at him scornfully. "What if someone offered you now to build a highway through the Gravity Falls forest? Would you chop down half the forest and kick all the lumberjacks to increase the tourism and communication of the town and your own income?" He asked bitterly.
"No, boy. What I'm saying is that sometimes one has to choose the lesser evil. That's why I brought you here." Preston leaned forward for the first time. "For reasons I fail to understand, my Pacifica has her eyes on you. I, however, don't like you one bit."
"I don't like you either." Dipper grumbled and then sighed. That had been a mistake. He didn't want to make things worse. He shook his head and tried not to fall in Preston's game again. "But if you think I'm a bad influence for Pacifica, you're downright wrong there."
"It is not a matter of influences. Pacifica simply can't afford a distraction such as yourself at the moment. She has to focus on her studies. Pacifica will have time for boys or friends later when she's older. Aside from that, yes, I think you're a bad influence." Preston glared at the boy. "You're disrespectful, you talk back and you stick your nose into other people's business. Pacifica shouldn't have learned about the old paintings or the town founder hoax."
"It's better to let her believe a lie for the rest of her life then?" Dipper asked sarcastically.
"I would have told her. In time." He leaned back into the armchair and glanced at the paintings in the room. "What our ancestors did or didn't do shouldn't be her burden."
There was a moment of silence between them during which Dipper wondered whether the talk was over or not. Preston then sighed and began talking again.
"As you have probably noticed, Pacifica is my only child and I don't think I will have anymore." He stared thoughtfully at his apple cider glass and inhaled deeply. "There will come a day when she will inherit most of this town and people will try to take advantage of her just because of her fortune and her gender. Pacifica needs to be smarter, more cunning and more ruthless than any of those people if she wants to succeed in the life that awaits her."
"Or she could just be normal." Dipper interrupted him. "She could even hire a CEO for your company and that way she would do whatever she wanted in life." He stared at Preston, but the Northwest Patriarch shook his head as if Dipper were talking nonsense. "Have you asked her opinion on this? Do you know what Pacifica wants to be when she grows up?"
"She's obviously going to follow in my footsteps and—"
"Has she told you that?" Dipper interrupted him again and Preston was left with a hanging open mouth. "I don't think so. I don't think you have even bothered to know what your own daughter wants to be in the future." Dipper smirked. "But I'm sure you know better. You're her father after all."
Preston tightened his grip on the glass.
"Pacifica has told me enough to see where the problem is." Mr. Northwest growled. "She has lied to me twice this week and both times it was about you. I don't recall her ever lying to me before." He rubbed the glass with his thumb. "Pacifica is somehow fascinated by you. So fascinated she's willing to lie and disobey her own parents. You still think you are a good influence for her?"
"I didn't tell her to do anything." Dipper excused himself. "She can make her own decisions."
"Yes, she can. That is why I'm talking to you." Preston leaned back and toyed with the glass. "You see, we the higher class divide people into two categories: Those we order around and those we buy." Preston gestured with his hands to aid his explanation. "Everybody eventually falls into these two categories, because everybody can be bought. In the end, it's just a question of price, don't you agree?" He smiled at the boy.
Dipper was about to disagree when Preston continued talking.
"Look at yourself for example." Mr. Northwest looked thoughtful for a second and then he continued. "You came to the annual feast reluctantly. My daughter had to give you three tickets to the Northwest Annual Fest so that got rid of our ghost problem."
"The tickets were for my sister." Dipper grumbled.
"Yes, and that proves my point: You were either bought by my daughter, or ordered by your sister to be bought by my daughter." Preston smirked.
Dipper opened his mouth and was about to lose his temper when an idea crossed his mind. He smirked and leaned back in the couch.
"How would I know? I am simply a lower class kid." Dipper feigned to ponder. "I'm curious, though. Have you heard of Pavlov's experiment?"
Preston raised an eyebrow.
"What happens," Dipper continued. "when a high class orders another high class around? Nothing, right? It's just, as you said, a question of price after all. The thing is that instead of paying with money, you paid with your own dignity by treating your daughter like a trained dog with a bell." Dipper finished as bitterly as he could.
Preston was clearly scowling now at the boy, tightening the grip on the apple cider glass so much his knuckles were white.
"Let me tell you," Dipper added. "I can't contain my pride to be sitting in front of you, someone of such high class, Mr. Northwest."
There was a cracking noise. The glass Preston was holding had cracked and broken under his tight grip. Mr. Northwest did a gesture and a butler quickly cleaned the apple cider mess.
"It's interesting that you mention the family. My proposal is exactly about that." Preston interlaced his fingers and stared at the boy. "But first, I'll present you a choice: Either you accept what I will offer and stop seeing my daughter, or you will be forced to stop seeing her. Note that I didn't say 'I can buy you' to avoid offending again your… lower class pride." He smirked.
"I'm afraid I can't see the difference in that choice." Dipper said sarcastically. "The ending is always the same."
"The difference is that you can get something out of this. You see, one of the perks of being in the high class is that you're powerful enough to find out some things." Preston explained. "I have heard that there is certain family in Piedmont who is going through some economic issues."
Dipper's face paled.
"I have also heard," Preston continued. "that the parents had to send the kids with their shady great uncle for the summer because they couldn't afford taking them on a summer vacation."
Dipper lowered his gaze and grasped the fabric of his shorts tightly in his hands.
"My proposal goes as follows." Preston was grinning by now. "You stop seeing my daughter, and I will give your father a job in one of my industries. He works with computers, I'm sure there won't be a problem locating him in a company near Piedmont. If you however refuse to take my offer, you will neither see my daughter again nor get anything in return." He leaned back victoriously in the armchair.
Dipper didn't say anything.
"Consider accepting my offer." Preston added. "You will leave when the summer is over and won't see Pacifica again anyway. Accepting my offer would be choosing the lesser evil."
Dipper raised an eyebrow and pondered. 'The lesser evil, the lesser evil. Why am I hearing those words again?'
"What makes you think that Pacifica will agree to stop seeing me?" Dipper asked.
"I will get in the way. I am a very powerful and influential person." Preston shrugged and relaxed. "There is simply nothing you can do. Nothing is more powerful than money and influences."
"Fate." Dipper murmured after a long silence.
"What did you just say?"
"Nothing." Dipper shook his head and smiled. "No deal, Mr. Northwest. Thanks for the chat." He stood up and left the room.
Preston was completely dumbfounded. He had been certain to convince the boy by bringing up the matter of his parents. Preston sighed tiredly and accompanied the boy to the gate.
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Dipper crossed the gardens and left the manor through the gate. Just that very moment, he saw Pacifica and Mabel parking the golf cart. Pacifica had her anxiety written all over her face, her eyes widened as saucers and her jaw trembling.
When Pacifica saw him, however, she smiled. Pacifica had come to the manor fearing the worst. She knew how cold and calculating her father was, and if he had dared facing Dipper that was because he was certain he would convince the boy. Dipper, however, hadn't come out of the manor disheartened, shameful or sad. He only looked thoughtful. The heiress knew then that her father had failed to convince Dipper to accept whatever he had offered him. She ran to the boy and hugged him.
The hug took Dipper completely by surprise.
'What if I'm wrong? What if fate doesn't exist, and I should have chosen the lesser evil?' Dipper pondered for a second. He was confused, angry and a little hopeless after his conversation with her father. Pacifica tightened the hug and snapped Dipper out of his train of thought. 'No… Lesser or greater, evil is evil. I won't choose it.' He concluded and hugged her back. Her clothes were silky and her hair smelled of lilacs. Dipper sighed happily and hugged her back. He felt good now. 'Just in case this is the last chance I have to hug her…' Dipper thought as he tightened the hug and pecked her cheek.
Pacifica felt her ears burning and her cheeks flushing red. She saw her father staring at them in horror from the fence gate. The heiress parted the hug reflexively and stared at Dipper sadly.
"Your dad doesn't seem to like me very much." Dipper gave her an apologetic smile.
"Pacifica!" Preston shouted from the manor entrance. "Get in the manor this very instant!"
"I-I'm sorry." Pacifica quickly whispered to Dipper with a sad smile. "Give him some time. Pick me up this Friday as planned."
Dipper nodded. He watched her as she got into the manor, and his heart ached. He was wondering whether that would be the last time he would see her. He shook his head when the gate closed, got into the golf car and sighed heavily.
Mabel smiled kindly towards her brother.
"So… how was it?" She nudged his shoulder and joked. "Did he put you in his dungeon and scared you with torture stuff, like these swinging blades that lower with time?"
"It's a manor, not a castle. They don't have dungeons" Dipper chuckled. "But I worried for a second that he was going to lock me up in his cellar."
Mabel giggled. She launched the golf cart engine and began driving towards the Shack.
"What did you talk about?" Mabel asked with equal amounts of worry, curiosity and eagerness.
"Preston asked me to stop seeing Pacifica and he would give dad a job in return." Dipper lowered his gaze. "He also said it would be choosing the lesser evil since we're leaving when the summer is over and I'm not seeing her again anyway."
"And you believe him?" She hissed.
Dipper raised his gaze and saw, much to his surprise, how Mabel wasn't smiling as she always did. The cheerful brunette was angry.
"That guy is a poophead." Mabel continued. "And I don't want dad to work for a poophead. Not even if he pays him millions."
"Yeah." Dipper smiled broadly at his sister. "I turned him down, but I can't stop thinking about what he said. What will happen to Pacifica and I when we leave once the summer is over?"
"That's not the question, silly." Mabel snickered at the obvious mistake. "The question is: Do you love her?"
"Hm." Dipper pondered about it for a second. "I think I do."
"Then you'll figure something out." She cheered. "You're smart, bro-bro! And love is the strongest of things." Mabel said very seriously.
"Mabel," Dipper said after a pause. "you said during the sleepover… that it could be destiny what linked us."
"Uh-huh. That's why I am so sure!" She chirped happily. "You of all people should know a thing or two about destiny. Remember that day in the Mystery Fair, and what happened with Waddles? I was fated to win Waddles, just like you were fated to give Wendy a black eye." She giggled.
"Yes, but we managed to change that several times, remember?"
"No, no-no." Mabel shook her head and smiled broadly. This was one of the few times where she was being smarter than her brother in a paranormal topic and she was rejoicing in the situation. "We tried to change it several times, but in the end it happened what was destined to happen."
"Maybe you're right." Dipper smiled after a second. "I was fated to find the Journal, which made me the only person that could help Pacifica with the ghost. We also found that crystal with the dream about ourselves. Maybe… maybe we're fated to be together after all. Maybe this will end well."
"I'm sure it'll end well." Mabel cheered.
"Thanks, sis. I feel better now." Dipper smiled. "And I have the perfect idea for a gift."
"I'm here to help bro-bro. And if destiny doesn't work, we can always ask Stan to give that poophead a wallop."
:: ::
:: ::
Back at the manor, Preston was having an argument with Pacifica.
"What did you think you were doing hugging that kid? What if someone had seen you?" Preston yelled in astonishment. "I thought we had settled this matter already."
"No! You said I didn't have any reasons to see them again, but I do have a reason now!"
"And what reason is that?" Preston folded his arms across his chest.
"Father," Pacifica said firmly. "I'm in love with Dipper Pines."
Preston kept a stern face for a second. Then, his lips began trembling and his eyebrow rose on his forehead.
"You… That boy is practically a peasant!" He blurted out. "Pacifica! You could get anybody, literally anybody, and you choose someone like him? He chases ghosts for a living, for goodness sake!"
"I don't care!" She yelled back.
The Northwest patriarch paced in circles in the room with a hand on his chin. After a few minutes, he stopped in front of Pacifica.
"Fine. This is all my fault, since I wasn't clear enough the last time, but I'll be crystal clear now." Preston looked sternly at his daughter. "Mark my words: You're forbidden from seeing that boy again. If you disobey, I'm sending you to a boarding school overseas for the rest of the summer."
"B-but… why!?" She yelled, her face completely flushed red in anger. "You just said I could get anybody I wanted, and I want him! I love him! You can't do this to me, I'm your daughter!"
"Exactly. I'm your father and I know what is best for you. I'm choosing the lesser evil, Pacifica." He sighed heavily. "When you are older you will understand this and you will thank me."
"You can't choose my friends." She hissed. "You can't choose who I fall in love with."
"I just did." Preston replied plainly.
"You mark my words now: I am never forgiving you for this." Pacifica kept the glare for a few more seconds and stormed off to her room.
Preston covered his face in his hands and sat into the armchair. He was exhausted.
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[She had a final look at her closet and all her favorite dresses inside. She grabbed her favorite pillow without which she couldn't sleep and hugged it. To conclude, she ran her hand along her desk. The heiress was saying goodbye to everything because she didn't intend to come back.]
Pacifica slumped onto her bed, face down, and screamed into the mattress. Rage was palpable on her. She couldn't stop thinking it was unfair. The heiress clenched her fists and teeth until it hurt. She was angry, but she preferred to be angry rather than to give in to despair. Despair would lead to tears, and a Northwest never cries.
After half an hour, Pacifica calmed herself enough to think properly. She grabbed a piece of paper and a pen, and began measuring her options. She soon reached two conclusions. The more she thought about them, the less she liked them, but they were the only way.
Pacifica crumpled up the piece of paper into a ball and tossed it into the paper bin. She then went into her closet and smiled faintly. The heiress liked each and every single dress there. She took her time to stroke their sleeves and appreciate their designs as she remembered the first time she wore each of them. She then moved to her four poster bed and rested her hands on the silky bed sheets. She liked those. Pacifica grabbed her memory foam pillow and hugged it. She couldn't sleep with out. The heiress had one final look at the rest of her bedroom and sighed sadly.
She was saying goodbye to her most prized possessions because she was considering not coming back.
The heiress rubbed her eyes and considered her two conclusions. They were both evils, but she couldn't bring herself to pick between two evils. She loved Dipper, but she also loved her current lifestyle. The heiress rubbed her eyes and decided that Dipper would have to choose the lesser evil for her.
:: ::
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[Thursday]
Dipper was adamant to get a gift for Pacifica. It wouldn't solve the situation but he would like her to at least have something to remember him by. Dipper had pondered about what to gift her for hours and, in the end, he had decided on what he considered the perfect gift. To obtain it, however, he had to venture deep into one of the most dangerous parts of the forests, and that was the gnome territory. He eventually reached the clearing where the Journal said they hanged out, and there they were. The gnomes were playing cards using rocks as benches and tables.
When they saw him, Jeff was the first to react.
"Get him!"
"Wait, wait!" Dipper raised his hands as a calming gesture. "I'm here just to talk, but we can fight if you want." He reached into his pocket and pulled a whistle.
Jeff hesitated at the sight of the noisy item, and commanded the gnomes into a halt.
"Fine. Talk, but stay there. Don't get any closer with that… that thing!"
Dipper took a deep breath as he thought 'Here goes nothing'.
"I've come to do business." His voice cracked and he cleared his throat to hide it.
"Business, huh? Shmebulock!" Jeff snapped his fingers. "My business outfit!"
Shmebulock came from the gnome crowd and put a tie around Jeff's forehead like a bandana.
"Ah, I feel so much better already." Jeff sighed in relief. "What did you want to talk about?"
Dipper decided not to make any comments about the fact that ties aren't worn around the forehead.
"Do you gnomes know of metalworking?" The boy asked.
"Maybe." Jeff folded his arms across his chest. "What makes you think we know of that?"
"Oh, uh… well," Dipper was caught off-guard by the question. "In fairytales gnomes usually know of metalworking so I thought…"
"…that just because we're gnomes we have to know that?" Jeff finished the sentence for him. "That's specist, kid. Do all humans know how to cook?"
"So you don't know anything about metalworking." Dipper sighed in disappointment.
"I didn't say that." Jeff tossed his head to the side, his pride hurt. "What do you want to know?"
"Can you do jewelry?" Dipper asked doubtful. He had just realized how to handle the gnome. "What I need is veeeery hard. I don't know if you'll be up to it."
"Jewelry?" Jeff scoffed. "Please, that's a piece of cake. Even the dumbest of us knows how to do earrings, pendants, rings…"
"What about medallions?" Dipper asked excitedly.
"Those too." Jeff replied after staring at the boy for a second with a sly smile.
"Can you make a silver medallion with this crystal?" He pulled out the dream crystal. "It's for a girl so if you can shape it like a heart it would be great."
"By a heart you mean a metaphorical heart or a human heart?" Jeff raised an eyebrow.
"Um…" Dipper scratched his cheek at the obvious question. "Metaphorical heart."
"Okay then. First off, we'll reshape that crystal of yours into a small heart. Nobody would want to wear that boulder around the neck. Then we'll put that heart into a silver figure to protect it." Jeff explained, proud of his knowledge on the field of jewelry-making. "How will you pay us?"
"I…" Dipper facepalmed inwardly. He had never thought he would get this far. "I don't have any money."
"And I don't have any use for it." Jeff shrugged. "How many times have you seen a gnome in a store?"
"What do you want then?"
Jeff beckoned a few gnomes and they talked in whispers for a while. When they parted, Jeff took a step forward.
"We want… three pictures of your sister!" He announced, much to Dipper's surprise.
"Like… normal pictures?" Dipper asked warily.
"Full body pictures. We need front, side and back." He explained. "We're going to build a thatch statue of her!"
"And then we're going to burn it!" Another gnome exclaimed excitedly.
"Yeah!" All gnomes cheered at unison.
"Ooookay." Dipper scratched his cheek as he wondered whether dealing with the gnomes was a good idea. "Three pictures then?"
"Yeah, leave us the crystal and—" Jeff was saying when a deer approached and bleated. "Yes, Steve. I know what time it is." The deer bleated louder. "Look, I'll play cards with you later. Give me a minute to finish this." He pushed the deer away.
"So…" Dipper cleared his throat to catch the gnomes' attention as he left the crystal on the ground. "This is the crystal. Don't touch it with your hands, it's magical."
"Sure, don't worry about that. We never touch anything." Jeff waved one hand dismissively as he kept dealing with the deer with the other. "Nowadays you don't know what kind of curse you can get by touching one of those things. You'll have it ready in two days. Drop by here with the pictures and we'll give you the medallion."
"Wanna stay to play cards?" A rather friendly gnome asked excitedly and earned a glare from both Jeff and the deer.
"Uh… No, thanks." Dipper thought he had had enough gnome weirdness for a day.
As Dipper walked back to the Shack he couldn't help but smile. A medallion made of silver with a crystal core. Dipper thought the blue of the crystal would go great with her eyes, and the silver color would complement the blonde of her hair. He decided it was the perfect gift for Pacifica, and that took a weight off his chest. A weight that was soon replaced by a new one. Dipper had no idea how he was going to get three pictures of his sister. He was certain Mabel wouldn't like the idea of the gnomes having pictures of her.
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,detaler era tfig eht dna hsiw ehT
.detarrednu reven si ssik a tub
A/N:
In case it wasn't clear, these coded messages are just flipped text.
FYI:
· Pacifica is slowly realizing that she can't have everything and she will have to eventually give up on something.
· The little we know of Dipper's parents is that the father works with computers. Alex Hirsch (Show's creator) revealed in an AMA that Mabel's floppy disk nightshirt is a wink to it. Regarding their economic situation, that's completely made up.
copy&paste:
Feel free to leave me some feedback.