Chapter 21: Dancing Shadows

'While I can't say for sure if I'm right about what I'm going to say, it surely feels good to be home, especially in my loving boyfriend's arms.'

~(Dipper's P.O.V.)~

This place is big! I've never been inside Gravity Falls Junior High's gymnasium before, but I never imagined it'd be this big! The bleachers, the bathrooms, and even the classrooms are bigger than my school's gym, bathrooms, and classrooms back home in California. For such a small town, I guess there are some places here worth admiring.

With Pacifica holding cheerleading practice currently, I'm sitting on the gym's bleachers on the bottom row watching her as she instructs the girls on how to do the routine. I've never noticed it before, but she is very good at what she does and looks really good in her white and blue fierce wolves uniform. It compliments her long blonde hair and porcelain skin. I'm glad she can't hear me right now as I've already given her one fright since she's been back home and the last thing I want to do is give her another. I love that girl more than anyone will ever know, but I am willing to take it at the pace she is. I'm not one to rush things and I hope she knows that as well.

"Alright ladies, give me a herky!" I hear Pacifica instruct to the others, the girls immediately demonstrating the herky. "Ok, now give me a back hand spring and a herky in one!"

Starting from the front of the crowd to the back, all of the girls now perform several back flips while also doing a herky at the end, Pacifica included. Man, she has great flexibility! The incredible stretching man has nothing on her! Is it wrong to say that I'm getting hot just watching her? Ok, Dipper keep yourself under control now. You love Pacifica and you two are an item now, but cool your jets. However, that's going to be hard considering how hot she looks in that uniform. Ok, time to notice other things now…

Turning away from the girls and to the door of the gym, I see someone talking to an adult while waving their hands as they speak and looking at that someone from behind, that person looks awfully familiar. Blue suit, white hair, chubby body frame, wait Gideon?! What is Gideon doing here? He's nine years old and middle school age ranges from thirteen to maybe about sixteen years old. He's nowhere near that so what is he doing here? Well whatever he's here for, hopefully he leaves before spotting me. I'm in too good of mood to be bothered with him today! Turning away from the door, I turn my attention back to Pacifica and the girls, her now instructing them to do a routine drill. Man, she looks too good right now!

"My, my my, if it isn't Mabel's Pines brother, Dipper Pines." Just hearing those words and the voice they came from makes me cringe. I was hoping he'd leave before he saw me here. Turning back to the door, I see Gideon walking into the gym with something in his hands, they look to be tickets.

"What? No hello for lil' old me?" I hear Gideon ask as he walks closer to me. No, I'd like to say good-bye forever to you though!

"Hello Gideon." I say to him with next to no emotion in my voice as he sits down next to me on the bottom row of the bleachers. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh I'm here to pick up my tickets." Gideon replies, showing me his tickets. "I've been skipped a grade so I get to come here starting in the fall of this year."

"That's great Gideon." I reply, now turning back to the girls, my eyes landing on my girlfriend.

"So, what are you doing out this way?" Gideon questions. "You don't attend school here."

No duh genius! You got skipped a grade how again?

"I'm here with my girlfriend." I say to him, hearing him gasp in response. Seriously? Is it really that surprising?

"You have a girlfriend?" Gideon asks, now turning to the girls. "Oh, whose the lucky lady?"

As much as I want this conversation to end between us, I'll do anything to get him away from me at all costs. I now point out Pacifica, who is watching as the girls do laps around the gym while timing them on her stop watch.

"Just one more lap ladies!" Pacifica informs the girls. "Patrice, try to pick it up hun."

"Oh the blonde? She's quite the looker." Gideon speaks as he turns to me. "But I'd still take Mabel over her any day. Speaking of her, how is she doing?"

"So how'd you get skipped a grade?" I ask, deliberately avoiding answering his question. How Mabel is doing is no business of his!

"Oh, um, well I guess my teachers thought I was bored and needed to be challenged more." Gideon replies, now turning to his watch. "So here I am. Oh shoot, I didn't realize it was getting late already. I gotta run and get these tickets to my dad, but tell Mabel I said hi and that I'll visit with her soon."

Just watching the back of him leaving the gym is the highlight of that entire conversation and there is no way I'm going to interrupt Mabel and Mermando's date to deliver that message! She, just like me, would be overjoyed at hearing that he fell off the face of the planet never to return. Shaking my head, I turn back to Pacifica and her team to see them packing up to leave, which means practice is over. Aw, it was just getting good!

"Ok girls, practice tomorrow at 3:30pm." Pacifica happily replies to them. "Hope to see you all here."

Getting to my feet, I walk over to Pacifica and embrace her from behind as I pull her against me. She is sweating some, but I don't mind.

"I'm sorry if you had to sit through such a boring routine." Pacifica says to me as she turns to face me. "I hope you weren't too bored."

"Trust me, I didn't mind." I reply to her. I REALLY didn't mind. "I actually had fun watching the practice. You know, you're really good that. The way you gave the team instructions on the routines, it's like seeing the leader side to you I never knew existed."

"Thanks Dip." Pacifica replies, smiling that beautiful smile at me. Man, I am one lucky guy! "How about after we get out of here, we go grab a bite eat, my treat?"

"Sure." I reply to her, pecking her lips. "I could eat a little something and then maybe I'll try the food."

"You're so silly Dip." Pacifica replies with a giggle. "Let me grab my things first and we'll get going."

"Hurry back." I say to her, pecking her lips again.

I now release Pacifica with her running off towards the locker room to gather her things. Taking a seat back on the bleachers, I begin thinking of where Pacifica and I can go for our first official date, someplace nice, someplace we both can go that we can linger in each other's company without any interruptions from anyone. I'm wondering if such a place exists in this town….

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

That scream! That was Pacifica! Jumping to my feet, I dash into the locker room to see Pacifica standing at her locker holding a note between her hands, her eyes glued to it while her entire body is shaking which means whatever she is reading have scared the wits out of her! I should have come in here with her when she left due to her still recovering from everything that has happened to her recently. Rushing to her side, I embrace her in a hug as I begin consoling her.

"Pacifica, I heard you scream." I ask her gently. "What happened and are you ok?"

"I…I found….this in…there." Pacifica chokes out as she now hands me the note that she was holding. "I….I don't know what to say about it."

Gently releasing Pacifica, I take the note from her while also noticing a slew of things in her locker, the first being a horribly made cloth doll of her that has its neck completely sliced in half with the stuffing pouring out. I then notice a picture of Pacifica that has the eyes gouged out, the neck sliced in several areas, and the hair of the picture completely cut out of the shot. Turning to Pacifica briefly, I turn back to the note to begin to reading it.

~I hope you enjoyed the little GIFTS I left for you and hope you got a kick out of them just like you got a kick out of bullying Rian Brown to her death you witch! I just want you to know how much I HATE you! And I just knew you'd go for the cheerleading captain position as soon as you heard the spot was open, considering how much you love pushing others around! All your little friends did was lure you into it, placing you in the trap I set for you and you were none the wiser about it! I know you better than you know yourself NORTHWEST and if you think your nightmare with Johnathon Larson and Ryan Banes was scary, you're haven't seen ANYTHING yet because I have something far more interesting in store for you! Very interesting so brace yourself as the start of your nightmare is just beginning! You'll never know where I'll be so watch yourself Northwest because I'm coming for you!"

-Shannon B!

From reading the note, I feel my blood beginning to boil! Someone else is trying to hurt Pacifica and after what she just went through with Ryan and Johnathon, the last thing I'm going to do is let someone else hurt her! Whoever this Shannon girl is, she better watch herself because if she tries to hurt Pacifica, I'm going to rip her in half! While I'm not one to put a hand on a woman, in this case, I'd make an exception for Pacifica. I'd do anything to protect Pacifica and make sure she doesn't live though another nightmare considering what she has already gone through with those two idiots and her family, her family especially. My only question is, how does this girl know Pacifica?

~(Pacifica's P.O.V.)~

I can't believe this! I just can't believe it! It's happening again! My past is coming back to haunt me, something I've feared for the longest time! I thought everything was over the moment I came back to school and everyone said how happy they were that I was safe from my torment. Sure I'm not the person I use to be, but the person I am now is the person everyone will see and come to like, hopefully. Even my family life seems to be improving and now I have some girl named Shannon coming after me because she says I bullied someone she knew to her death? And what she left in my locker is just sick and doesn't prove the point she was trying to get across, whatever that was! A dismembered picture of me? A crude cloth doll of me with the head cut off, and a note stating how much she hates me? What was any of that suppose to prove?

While the name Rian Brown vaguely sounds familiar, I honestly have no idea who that is. However Shannon's name sounds familiar, but I have to search my memory for who that name belongs to because I honestly have no idea. Bottom line, I can't live through another nightmare and experience anymore pain! I just can't, but thankfully I have my Dipper by my side to help me solve this mystery. While I was able to put my past demons to rest with Dipper's help and survive through what can be considered the nightmare of a lifetime, there is one demon that got away and is silently lurking in the background , one that I call a dancing shadow.

TBC….

I would sincerely love to thank everyone who supported me and this story from beginning to end! :) Your support means everything to me with each and every review, follow, and fav you gave this story and myself! Thank you so much and I hope to receive the same amount, if not more, support for the second installment Dancing Shadows! coming very soon! :)

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