After that long week of experimentation and praying that her idiot brother didn't kill himself through vehicular manslaughter, Mabel was ready to perform her own sort of experiment. Her twin would be out of the house the whole day, and it was Saturday so the Shack would have quite a few customers. The brunette would have to be strategic with her mystical alien hover technology! As soon as Dipper was gone, she had chugged some coffee she had found in the fridge. She thought it was hers, but the bitter taste made her realize that it was her brother's. Her second item of the day was to personalize the mugs. Things were way too confusing when they looked exactly the same.

But back to the first item. She glanced around the living room, looking for something specific. She moved her search to the upstairs rooms and found what she was looking for under Dipper's bed. The soft pink butt and curlicue tail that poked out from under his worn blue comforter were dead giveaways for the pig's presence. She smiled, sneaking up behind her pet. She scooped him up with a squeaky "whee!" noise. The pig joined her, less amused and more alarmed until she stopped spinning. After she had settled, Waddles did too, quietly gumming at her hair and snuffling through her sweater. She carried the heavy pig to her room, where the alien metal was. She had woven a ribbon through the shiny chunk until it resembled some sort of fancy necklace. Waddles continued to nibble on her fluffy hair as she gently tied it around his neck. The pig started to float, the hair he was eating being the only thing tethering him to Mabel. She giggled as his little legs wiggled in the air. He stayed about five and a half feet off the ground, bobbing a little as she dragged him from her bed towards the door. The pig made tiny chewing noises. A thought popped into her head. She dragged Waddles around the room, ignoring as his little pig teeth pulled at her hair. A few pipe cleaners, silver vinyl, and some glue later, Waddles looked like a martian that had just descended from outer space. She pressed her hands into her cheeks, smushing them against her lips and nose until her face resembled a blobfish.

"Waddles, you're so handsome and mysterious!" Saying the word 'mysterious' sent her brain into idealand. She grabbed her pet, then sprinted down the stairs and into the Mystery Shack. The taller twin let Waddles free to float about the gift shop, then opened up for the day. It was impossibly boring the whole morning. Exactly two customers had gone through the museum portion, and neither of them had noticed Waddles. She huffed, bangs flying out from her face only to settle back down directly in her eyeballs. She brushed them away as the gift shop door opened.

The most attractive boy she had ever seen walked in. The afternoon sun gleamed on his sea foam green hair, making some strands glint gold in the early morning light. He had piercings in his eyebrow, his nose, his ears, and his collarbones. Wherever he wasn't pierced was covered in tattoos. The ink flowed over his muscular arms, covered and obscured in places where the most intricate jewelry she had ever seen rested against his skin. She closed her mouth and straightened up, flashing her most attractive smile. The boy looked right at her, yellow eyes going from straight gold to butter with just a single step out from direct sunlight. She felt like she was melting.

"Welcome to the Mystery Shack, would you like a tour or are you just browsing?" She fluttered her eyelashes, clearly trying to flirt. The boy grinned, his front teeth slightly crooked. His nose looked like it had been broken and healed funny, as well. Could this Adonis be a bad boy? She wondered if her brother would murder her for making goo-goo eyes at someone so hardcore.

"I'm just browsing. I realized that I drive past here every few months when I go to conventions and things and I was curious." Mabel moved away from the register so he could see the cute outfit she had on. Her floral miniskirt and yellow sweater combo was killer. Her new vantage point gave her a better look at the guy, too. He was super casual, a simple white tank top and deep grey sweatpants covering as little skin as was possible without getting arrested for public indecency. He also had ratty converse sneakers on his feet, but they were bedecked with sharpie scribbles and duct tape patches, so she wasn't about to judge. She knew a favorite pair of shoes when she saw one.

"I mean, this is a gift shop. It's harder to appreciate all the finery when you don't know the lore behind it, don't you think? Come on, the tour's on me." She nudged one of his arms with her elbow, throwing in an eyebrow wiggle for good measure. He smiled at her, then his eyes locked onto something behind and slightly above her.

"Is that a floating pig?" She downright beamed. It was about time somebody had noticed Waddles!

"Yeah, he's my pet. He likes to…" She tried to think of a better joke than 'hang around,' but got nothing.

"Were you going to say 'hang around?'" She blushed, "I mean, yes, but now that I'm thinking it and hearing it out loud, it sounds kind of cheesy."

"Monterey or Pepper Jack?" His golden gaze stared through her eyes and straight into her brain as he spoke. Looking through his peripheral vision like that should have been illegal due to the effects it had on her face and heart. The organ was now skipping beats.

"I was thinking Parmesan, personally." She managed to say it without stuttering, but she was still so out of sorts. He chuckled and took the offered elbow and gestured towards the tour area. His hand was so warm, too warm considering the tanktop he was wearing in Oregon. Gravity Falls wasn't the coldest place on the map, but it had been a chilly morning and Mabel wasn't used to warm hands on chilly mornings. She figured she could get used to it, though. Not that she was imagining marrying a total stranger or anything. But she would want the table cloths to match his eyes. That pastel shade of yellow was to die for. She focused on where they were walking before she face-planted into the postcard display stand.

"So, what's your name?" His voice was deeper than the ocean, smooth as syrup and warm as lava. Mabel smiled as he spoke, unable to stop her blushing cheeks from deepening in color.

"Mabel Pines. And you, mysterious traveller?" Her voice cracked as she phrased the question. Which would have been embarrassing during a normal conversation, but in front of this smooth-talker she felt even more out of place. He smiled, casting that sideways glance over her again. She felt a chill go down her spine as they entered the tour area.

"Aric Whitmoore. So, Ms. Pines, what is it that I'm looking at?" If she wanted to be honest, which she didn't, they would be looking at random bird feathers glued to a rat's head that had been sewn onto the biggest tarantula she had ever seen. But, she was selling lies and false information, so she told the story her Grunkle Stan usually went with.

"Deep in the forest, so far in the underbrush that sunlight can't filter between the branches of the conifers and pines, this creature used to dwell." Her voice took on a mysterious tone, and she subtly pulled her guest forward, "The Ratticus Deathicus would lure mice and birds close with its extravagantly colorful feathers. Then, when it was too late for running, it would spray venom like a cobra, aiming for vital spots like the eyes and mouth. This vicious animal was said to be able to take down an elephant if it had to. It was a ground dweller, usually, although it excelled at tree climbing and egg stealing as well." Aric's eyes twinkled in the spotlight, and she could tell that he was looking the conglomeration over. His sharp gaze missed nothing.

"What an intriguing story. I have to hear more." Mabel smiled at him, nearly losing all of her brain cells when he smiled back. She was going to be a Humpty Dumpty mess if this kept up. They still had three more biggies to go, with about five littler exhibits in between. She walked towards the next piece.

"And here we have…" She wove the story like a true fairy tale, incorporating objects around the room to flesh it out. Her companion never seemed to stop smiling, and by the end of the tour she was so frazzled from his constant eye contact that she didn't even notice the other customers in the shop.

"Have you gotten a better appreciation for all of . . . this?" She waved a hand about the store. He gently squeezed her elbow before letting go. She was never washing that sweater again. Not when his warm hand hadn't even left a sweaty mark on the fabric but somehow made it smell like mulch after an evening rain. Which, she supposed, was a lot like dead earthworm mash and would turn off a lot of people. At least she knew nobody would want to steal the garment.

"You know, I do believe that I have." His playful grin spread over his face, highlighting his absolutely amazing cheekbones. His face was so unfairly attractive.

"Happy shopping, then." She wanted to get his number so bad. How was she supposed to ask, though? Oh, she had no idea what she was doing. Her legs jerkily brought her back to the register where Waddles was still floating. She rung out ten customers in a row, not noticing that Aric was the last one until her fingers brushed against his and all of the amazing jewelry and tattooing came into her view. He was getting some special rocks. And a snow globe. She flashed a brilliant smile as she rang him up, suave and smooth on the outside while her brain ran around like a metaphorical headless chicken on the inside. He was quiet throughout the whole thing, likely because the brunette had forgotten to speak to him when she recognized him. As his receipt printed, she grabbed a marker and quickly wrote her number at the bottom and left a smiley face next to it. She stuffed it into the bag with his cheap junk, and smiled again as he took the bag. Her hazel eyes locked with his vivid yellow ones one last time.

"Thank you very much, Ms. Mabel Pines. I had a great time today." Sultry was probably a good word to describe Aric's voice. Mabel felt her cheeks flush again and cursed the melanin that she didn't have. She didn't realize that she was leaning over the counter until her hip started to smart.

"I did, too. You ought to come back sometime." She glanced down at the bag, then back up at the green haired guy. She winked, and he smiled. They said their goodbyes, and Mabel was left with her floating pig and her head in the clouds. She wondered if her new crush would text or call.

At least until Dipper got back the next day. She hadn't been expecting to see Pacifica, and when Dipper mentioned why she had a bruise on her face, Mabel wanted to go get her grappling gun and grapple a specific someone's face with it.

"That's it, you're never allowed to go back there by yourself until they're dead." Dipper gasped a little at her words, but the brunette wasn't about to take it back. Pacifica tried to argue, but the taller twin just shoved Waddles into the blonde's arms and continued talking.

"Ciffy, be smart about this. Your dad is a big guy, and you are super tiny. If he gets violent enough to leave a bruise right on your face for the world to see, then he could be violent enough to just kill you. I'm not going to stand by and let that happen, and neither are you. When you go back to get your stuff, you are bringing both Dipper and Grunkle Stan with you. No exceptions!" Her friend hugged the pig, burying her face into the soft pink velvet. She mumbled something.

"Ciffy, louder please."

"I said okay, fine, I'll do it your way." Mabel relaxed. Dipper seemed to feel a little better, too.

"Now then, you need cookies, Dipper needs to take a picture of your face, and we are watching some crappy cartoons until everybody feels better!" With the green haired guy out of her mind and concern for her friend on top of her to do list, Mabel went to the kitchen to make her ultra-special-pick-me-up-quadruple-chocolate-chunk cookies. Otherwise known as the USPMUQCC cookies. She made them the most often. Maybe she was more stressed out than she liked to admit. But nobody cared when the result was cookies. She would have to personalize mugs another day.