YAY!
I'm surely going to get a beating now! This update is soooooooooooo late! But I continued to receive so much feedback and follows and favorites! How could I ignore?!
I swear, every time I had an opportunity, I would be thinking about the plot and everything so it'd be easier to write later.
But, anyway, I'm so, so sorry. Everything is just so busy and hectic right now. There are other things that overtake my mind and then I just don't have the right state of mind to start writing and thinking at the same time for my story.
P.S. I understand a lot of authors like to post a chapter that only states their absence and the reasoning. I don't like to do that.
lithium-powered-angst: Oh my goodness! You just blasted me with gratitude!
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anonymous(Guest): Yeeeep!
joseftanti: Oh, they will soon…. Soon… I think.
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Malezy: I knooooow! I think I'll have some more time to write from now on.
Midnight-Solace: Reading your reaction to the new chapter made my day. Thank you.
NickStriker: Thank you, and I'm glad to have stirred some questions from you!
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AWSR(Guest): *maniacally laughs, then clears throat* Thanks.
ssnnooppyy: I love Boku no Hero Academia, it's one of the Mangas I'm hyping over at the moment.
aerizel: Yes! Enjoy Soul Eater! I'm quite also very proud of Pacifica. Unfortunately, Dipper was forced to have a small part in the action. Thank you, I worked quite a bit on that fight scene. And yes, Bill is a dense dunce.
maranoismylife: ...help… I'm… drowning in… gratitude...
Draf(Guest): Oh my, my updates have taken quite long, haven't they? My deepest apologies!
KittyCat151: Now, if Alex Hirsch were to read some of this, I'd be greatly surprised and quite anxious. Also, I will let you in a lil' secret: Mabel's powers will be revealed soon. Explained? Hmm, no, not really. Presented officially and at a great extent? Heck yeah! Bill and Mabel… *inhales sharply and dies thinking* Anyway, Did you actually go to the hospital?! I'm just concerned xD and once again, thank you very much!
Trase: Awww, thank you! I appreciate the time you took to catch up once you were finished with school. And also, I try not to be THAT deadly with cliffhangers. I know how much they hurt. But, on the other hand, it's quite enjoyable as the author. xD
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Guest: After rereading it, I started to laugh a lot, too.
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Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls, Monopoly, or UNO.
Several weeks after the whole birthday incident, things seemed quite normal, except… it wasn't. There were a few things that changed, ever so slightly, yet it could still be noticed.
Dipper had fully recovered from the blow he received, and was working diligently as ever. After explaining what happened to Leaderaur, he made sure to stop by the manotaur tribe and give his awkward condolences. The manotaur tribe actually attempted to make him the new leader, yet the brunette furiously declined, and only offered to visit them once in awhile. The manotaurs, understanding, yet disappointed, agreed.
Mabel continued to hang around Bill, the shack and her great uncles, her friends when they were available, or maybe just by herself, with the exception of Waddles, from time to time.
When she chose to stick with the dream-demon, she was impossibly more inclined to physical contact. Despite his complaints, he allowed her to, seeing that she would not change, and he couldn't do much without hurting her or scaring her off permanently. So, what if he had grown a little bit fond of her? Not that he'll ever admit to anyone!
Mabel would always try to hold his hand, as usual, when they ventured throughout the forest. She poked his cheeks when he was annoying her, or on some occasions, tried to steal his hat to wear for no particular reason. Yet, her hugs seemed to have changed, but not much to consider. It only lasted about an extra second long, as if she was waiting for something, and when she received what she needed, she let him go.
Unbeknownst to Bill, she would always indulge in a few beats of his heart while pressing her ear against his chest. Call her a creep, for she surely knew that's what creeps would do, but it was strangely relaxing, and even more so, oddly reassuring.
Whereas Bill was observing her for a whole other reason, yet this was to go unnamed.
One of the more evident things was that Pacifica's parents had barely bothered their daughter from her thirteenth birthday and forth. The young mistress was indecisive as to whether this was a good or bad thing. There was this somber, uncomfortable silence that would take place, and a few times, Pacifica expected one of them to snap at her, yet they never did. They rarely met her gaze, and seemingly refused to inquire anymore about her duties as the headmistress or as a Northwest.
Because of how she was raised, she couldn't find it in herself to stopping her learning development as a Northwest heiress. However, it was less forced, and somewhat more for the sake of her sanity. She couldn't imagine handling beyond what was happening currently. For all her life up until her thirteenth birthday, she would begrudgingly follow her parents, either by force, spite, or indifference. Now, this was the most liberty she had ever felt, and she had no idea what to do with it.
Perhaps someone else did.
The constant sound of footsteps echoed in the empty halls. Hues of orange and red pierced the windows and painted the inside. Suddenly, a pair of feet halt in front of two ornate doors. A fist rose to knock, but a calm voice stopped it.
"Come in."
Dipper stole a breath, and then entered the vast room. Pacifica hadn't looked away from the large screen on the wall. He stalked closer to the end of the long table, patiently waiting for her to give him her full attention. After another moment, she pushed her running thoughts away for now and turned around to face him. Her expression was calm, collected, yet expectation twinkled in her eyes. This boy was always a bringer of a variety of things in her life.
His own somber expression broke as an awkward smile cracked onto his boyish face. So, she frowned slightly, now anticipating some sort of bad news. However, he happen to voice out his much awaited thoughts.
"Look, my family is going to go on a three-day road trip around Oregon for the fourth of July, and we decided to bring a few friends," Dipper averted his eyes multiple times, but they always traced back to her face, "You should come with us."
Pacifica blinked, glanced behind her, before responding, "Sure, I guess."
He exhaled with relief, "Oh, seriously? Nice! Nice, nice, nice… I'll, uh, see you there!"
She arched an eyebrow, "Where's there, exactly?"
"Our shack, tomorrow morning!" Dipper backpedaled out her door, "Okay, bye!"
A wave of silence came over the room as she was left in confusion at such an abrupt exit. No matter, she'd need to be prepared for the weirdness that was sure to come in the following days.
The next day, the sun was beaming brighter than ever, and the air was crisp and refreshing. The sky was cloudless and an endless sheet of blue. The signs of dog days were apparent. In no time at all, there would be scorching heat, burning their skin mercilessly. Mabel took the opportunity to enjoy the rather serene weather at the moment. She jumped up and down with excitement, "This'll be so much fun!"
Candy's eyes were sparkling, "I've never had much of an opportunity to leave Gravity Falls!"
Grenda punched the air, "This'll be sick!"
All three of the girls giggled and shook with eagerness, their voices blending together as they predicted what they'd find on their trip. Waddles was running around, following whoever was moving and moving along with the flow. Mabel and Candy made sure to take many, if not a little too much, pictures with their cameras of each other and themselves. Bill winced as he stood back under the shade, "I can't believe I'm here."
"I can't believe you're here, either," Dipper eyed him suspiciously, "So brings the question: why are you here?"
"You really wanna ask that, Pine Tree?" The blonde crossed his arms, scoffing, "Your sister needs to get her eyes checked because they are way bigger than a damn puppy's."
Dipper snorted while Bill sulked over being defeated by Mabel's adorable persuasion. Just then, Grunkle Stan stepped out from one of the RVs to announce, "Kids! We're about to leave!"
"It's awesome that we could borrow your grandpa's old RV, Melody," Soos grinned as he finished loading in the last of their snacks and drinks. She shrugged, "I barely get to spend time with you guys. May as well make it worthwhile."
They lovingly looked at each other, but Wendy was quick to disrupt, "Yeah, Soos! Get some of that!"
"Wendy!" Soos flushed as Melody only laughed into her hand. Fiddleford made his appearance, "I quite agree with that. I did always like children."
"Okay, let's just get on the RV," Soos hastily led Melody inside the vehicle, where McGucket and Wendy followed. Mabel glanced at her friends, before bursting off into their other RV, "Last one gets the seat with the stain on it!"
"Hey, wait up!" Candy ran after her, only to trip on Waddles. She pushed herself off and kept going, as Grenda did so as well, "I don't know, I think stains are kind of cool."
Dipper furrowed his eyebrows, prompting Bill to inquire, "What's wrong? Afraid you don't have enough female products to last you the trip?"
"I'm a guy!"
"Could've fooled me," Bill smirked, "Oh, wait. You did."
"Just get two eye patches already, you moronic, triangle-wannabe—"
Suddenly, another car pulled up from the depths of the forest. It was elongated, sleek, shiny, and blindingly white. The driver left the limousine to open the door of the passenger's seat, where Pacifica popped her head out, topped by a wide, pretty sun hat. She stepped out of the car, gesturing her driver to take off. The limousine left as quickly as it came. Pacifica held a duffel bag in front of her as she awaited further instruction. Everyone else was still staring, possessing different reactions. Waddles only oinked.
Dipper was the first to react as he stammered, "Y-You actually came!"
It was Bill's turn to snort as Grunkle Ford stepped out of the RV, "Don't be rude, my boy. I'll take your luggage, Pacifica, and you can hop onto our RV. We're about to leave."
Pacifica mustered up a smile, "Thanks."
As she boarded the large, significantly less sophisticated vehicle, Dipper was still in evident shock. Bill rolled his eye, "Three, two, one…"
The beautiful noise of choking brought a smile upon his lips. Dipper forced out the flying pest that invaded his throat, before shooting a well-deserved glare towards Bill. Just when it seemed another session of bickering would break loose, Grunkle Stan honked his horn obnoxiously. The pig squealed, and the blonde covered his ears, "Stupid human devices!"
"That horn is not even close to how annoying your voice is," Dipper quipped immediately. Stanley interjected, "Quit the yapping, and let's get a move on!"
The brunette quickly slipped into the vehicle. Bill was left in his wake, contemplating whether or not this was really worth his time. Eternity only lasts for so long, afterall.
"What the—Where's all the soda?!" Soos cried. Girly giggles erupted from the other RV at his distress.
Bill floated right into the RV with the Pines inside. Pitt Cola always was another one of those things he wanted to try. Eternity just had him have firsts for everything!
While the two vehicles began their long journey, Pacifica decided to awkwardly stand at the front. Her fingers fiddled with the curtain that separated the front from the living space. She didn't know how much time passed until Ford mentioned, "I decided to tinker with the recreational vehicle a little bit. Look, I even added the curtain you're playing with right now."
She let go instantly, "Oh, it's... neat."
"You wouldn't happen to have anyone surveilling you while you're on this trip with us," Stan cut in, "would you?"
"Uh, no," Pacifica arched an eyebrow. Stan let out a heavy breath of relief and relaxed into his seat, "Thank goodness; this trip won't be totally recreational, then."
Ford scoffed as Pacifica furrowed her brows. She inquired slowly, "What do you mean?"
"Don't get me wrong, but time is money, and wasting time means…" He cued her to finish his sentence, to which she did uncertainly, "Wasting money?"
"Exactly!" Stan nodded firmly, before grinning at her, "But I wouldn't mind if the future would be sealed with loads of money if, you know, you're my grandniece."
Ford only groaned as Pacifica went wide-eyed, "Are you saying you're adopting me?"
"In different terms, and hey, it'll be totally legal! I'm not paying for the whole ceremony, though. Better follow with the traditional way."
"Stanley!"
"Lighten up, Poindexter!"
Honestly, she had no idea what they were talking about. But she relished in the silence that followed.
She held onto the seat and observed their surroundings blending into blurs. They were entering a new area, going farther and farther away from her hometown. Pacifica let one more moment of silence pass, before asking the driver, "Is there a definite route that we are taking?"
Stan shrugged, "Oh, you know, that one path that leads me to sabotage and success."
"Come again?" Pacifica raised a brow. Ford piped up, "It's just Stanley going around, trying to ruin other attraction owners' business."
"Hey, you sound disappointed," Stan accused skeptically. His twin looked him straight into the eye, and deadpanned, "I am."
So, that's what he meant by wasting time and money… he was also going on this trip to put his business at an advantage. Or, at least, put other businesses at a disadvantage. Stan suggested, "Hey, think of it as us just going about and doing group pranks. It'll be, ehh... fun!"
Ford eyed him, "There's other—and not to mention better, morally good—ways to have fun."
"Well, at least we're taking a few stops in nature to stargaze or whatever; set off some illegal Chinese fireworks and grill meat with the manotaurs. I'm not doing this only for me!" Stan defended, occasionally glancing to his side, before pouting. Ford nodded with ironic sympathy, "Yes, yes. We all love you for your acts of subtle, rare kindness."
"Don't believe that I'm the only one who does it!" He started, "We're twins for a reason!"
"We're twins because we were born at the same time!"
Pacifica swiftly stepped out from the front and pulled the curtain to give them some privacy. Being a single child herself, she never experienced fights with anyone in a sibling-like manner. So, she had no idea how intense they could get, or if they were just kidding around. And she didn't want to stick around to find out.
Peeking over her shoulder, she saw the three other girls, plus Bill, heavily attentive with some board game. Waddles was resting underneath the table, chewing on some toy. The ones sitting at the table all had cans of Pitt Cola while shooting dubious looks at each other. The single male cupped his hands and shook them, before releasing a pair of dice. They tumbled momentarily, before pausing on top of the board. As Bill carefully moved his piece along the board, Pacifica noticed Mabel already had a wide grin. As he was finally placing his piece down, everything turned to slow motion.
His face became horrified, Mabel's face cracked into two, and both Grenda and Candy almost flew out of their seats.
"OOOOOH!"
The van swerved and shook, causing Pacifica to yelp, gripping onto the closest object next to her for stability. If anyone saw the expression she had on her face in that single second, she wished for a fast, painful death.
Ford yanked the curtains open, "Where's the fire?!"
Candy waved her hand, "There's no fire, Mr. Pines."
"Not yet…" Bill muttered as he begrudgingly gave Mabel the last of his money. The brunette grinned, "I just beat Bill out of Monopoly!"
"It was a warm up!" The dream-demon barked. Ford rubbed his temples, then retreated back to his seat. Pacifica was still trying to discreetly catch her breath at the sudden jerk from the vehicle.
"Yeah, yeah," Mabel rolled her eyes, before setting them on her two best friends, "It's your turn to lose."
"We'll see!" Grenda glared. All three of them were hurled back into an intense match as they focused on the game. Bill was lying back in his seat, arms crossed with a frown plastered onto his face. With a sigh, Pacifica wondered how she was convinced into this mess. For once in her life, she was in the hands of a nonprofessional driver. And this was definitely no limousine. There was this odd stench, random stains and molds, and the inside of the RV was just visibly worn. Her nose scrunched at the lack of class.
She then realized that the one who personally asked her to come was nowhere in sight. Her eyes caught onto a curtain at the far back of the vehicle. With hurried stride, she walked past the table and opened the curtain. Dipper lifted his head from his journal to see who had intruded so abruptly. Their eyes were locked onto each other in complete silence. Without thinking, the words tumbled out her mouth, "You're going to get car sick, idiot."
He raised an eyebrow, "And here I thought you had jumped out the RV."
"And you didn't bother to check?" She felt slightly offended. On the other hand, this was a perfect way for her to claim a seat on the far other side from where he was sitting. Closing the curtain behind her, she hastily claimed her chair and set her hat down beside her. They both had a window to look out of and a distance between them that was too weird to fill. Who even tries to sit in middle seats?
"I assumed you were fine," Dipper admitted, before saying, "Although, I thought you'd be here sooner. There's no more seats except back here."
"That would've been nice to know earlier," She mumbled. Her hands were resting atop her lap as her legs squeezed together in an attempt to keep any dignity she had left. Riding a zero-class vehicle, filled with gross bacteria and strange people, and she had to experience being completely out of her comfort zone for the first time. To which, she had failed miserably. Nevertheless, she still feels the rush of doing something like this for the first time. It was pretty addicting, and not to mention refreshing.
Her guard would still have to be up, however. This may not be all that she anticipated.
"So…" Dipper started again after a while, closing the book in his hands. The motion of the vehicle was finally starting to get to his head as he was reading the journal. Yelling had occurred every now and then from the main part of the vehicle, and it didn't help with his approaching nausea. He cleared his throat, "How were you able to leave Gravity Falls?"
She squinted her eyes, "What's that supposed to mean?"
He held his hands up in defense, "It's because you're basically the general of the town's primary protection system, so someone needs to keep an eye out for things, right?"
"Under normal circumstances, you'd be correct," She explained, "But you happen to ask me at a reasonable time. Monster activity is at quite a low point, for some reason. Low enough for me to leave the town for a few days without anything horrible happening. I was trying to figure out why. On a side note, there are other Soul Fighters that I trust to keep Gravity Falls safe."
"I don't wanna cause any more worries to rise here, but, isn't that risky? I thought these holes and breaches were erratic."
"I already thought so too," She affirmed, before casting her gaze downward, "But the data we have from the past years and this year are so unalike. This year, there was a spike, and now there's a sudden fall. These rifts are more… specific, periodic, and…"
"And…?" Dipper prompted. She folded her arms, draping one leg over the over, "I don't know what to think of it."
"You don't think someone's trying to manage them, do you?"
"It's a probability, honestly," Pacifica frowned at him, "Or it may be something entirely normal, like some natural stage of nature... or something to our advantage or benefit."
A tense, contemplative silence hung over their heads. Dipper before catching Pacifica's attention, "Hey, whatever it is, let's worry about it later. We're on vacation."
"Right…" She replied softly, reluctant to stop pondering over her work. Looking out the window, they were slowing to their first stop. A humongous ball of yarn with massive knitting needles to go with it had immediately snatched her interest.
Just as the vehicle came to a halt, a startling crash was heard, followed by the tinkling of presumably smaller objects and a couple of girlish yelps. Speedily, Dipper and Pacifica both went to check the same time the Grunkles had. The discovery was more or less surprising.
In his chair, Bill was angrily crossing his arms as he sunk farther down into his seat. He hissed, "This game is rigged!"
"He flipped the board, didn't he?" Ford was just genuinely curious. Stan climbed off the vehicle, "I'm not buying them another one!"
Pacifica snorted while Dipper facepalmed, wondering many things at the same time. Candy and Grenda brushed off their temporary fright and began their own cheers for their friend. As for Mabel, she was dancing on the table with hands full of fake money.
"What's going on in there?" Fiddleford inquired when Stan stepped down. Wendy, Soos, and Melody already ran ahead to begin messing around with the attraction. He only responded with much exhaustion, "I really, really wish I knew, sometimes."
He grabbed Fiddleford's shoulder, "But we're all just gonna have to accept this and move on."
The engineer shrugged, "Sounds good to me."
Everyone began stepping down with not-so good intentions in mind. Pacifica, however, was genuinely much more interested in the strange attraction. To anyone looking, she didn't appear like it, nor did she have any sign of beaming joy. Unlike the other girls that she was accompanying on this trip, her goal was to just stick back and observe.
As she was mildly amused by how they were trying to sabotage the attraction, she spotted Dipper in the corner of her eye, who was keeping lookout. A girl—around their age—walked up to him with a slightly sultry look on her face, holding an ice cream cone. Pacifica grimaced with disgust.
"Hey," Her tongue darted out as she licked the frozen, delicious cream slowly. Caught off guard, Dipper was wide-eyed as he faced her. He looked around briefly, then pointed to himself, "Uh, me?"
"Uh, yeah," She bit her lip, "I don't really see any other cute boys here."
His face colored slightly, until she mumbled, "Well, maybe except for the blonde boy."
Suddenly, Mabel had the strong urge to wrap her arms around Bill's. When she did, he only expressed a minimal amount of surprise. The question slipped from his tongue, "What's this for?"
"I don't know; I just gotta."
The other girl frowned, before returning her attention to the brunette in front of her. Her smile barely reached her eyes, "So, you got a cell I can call you on?"
Not really, is what he'd like to say, but seeing that his tongue was twisted in his throat, he couldn't. He gulped and shakily extended his hand, "I'm Pipper Dines."
Abruptly, her expression dropped into disappointment. She squished her ice cream onto his open palm while looking directly at him, "Cute; but cute isn't enough for this gal."
Dipper was still sweating bullets as she left him standing there with a cold dessert sticking to his hand. Stan popped up next to him, "Ouch. That was cold."
"I know it was!" The younger boy snapped. Stan recoiled, letting Dipper know of his accidental outburst. He buried his face in his free hand while Stan sighed and sympathetically rubbed his back. Dipper breathed, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell."
Pacifica casually strolled over, pretending not to have seen anything that had just occurred a few minutes ago. Unclenching her fist, she picked the ice cream off of Dipper's hand, and flicked it into the ground. She eyed him, "You know you don't hold ice cream like that."
"Save it, I already know."
"Oh," She blinked innocently, "what happened to the all-mighty and handsome Soul Fighter that has graced my existence?"
"...You don't really think that."
"No."
"He's trying," Stan shrugged, before kneeling down to whisper, "After all, he needs some help moving on when ginger head over there is taken now."
"Grunkle Stan!"
"She is? Well, doesn't that make this trip a little awkward?"
"Guys!" Dipper cried out, "Enough! Can we just go now?"
"Oh, yeah," Stan pointed, "We're already done with this place, anyway."
Looking behind him, Pacifica noticed how the world's largest ball of yarn, along with the largest knitting needles, were no longer where they were supposed to be. A notion popped in her head saying that she should've paid more close attention as to how there were able to pull that off. But they had better be on their way before the cops came. Stan was already shoving the two inside the RV, where the others were sitting and waiting. Buckling up, they were heading towards to their next destination.
Pacifica leaned her head against the window and stared beyond the glass. After a while, her focus shifted from the never-ending forest to the reflection of Dipper. He was sulking; it wasn't hard to tell at all. But she had a vague guess as to why. Things didn't get to him that easily unless it concerned him or his family.
Before she could start up a conversation, she flinched. Mabel had shrieked, "UNO!"
Her cackle, then another voice, "Shooting Star, I swear I will fill your dreams with losing at these games, you fucking—"
"LANGUAGE!" Ford yelled from the front. Bill wasn't eager to comply, "Eat my dream-demon ass, Sixer!"
"What? You mad?!" Mabel couldn't help but grow overly excited with another win as she continued to laugh maniacally. Dipper sighed, and Pacifica found this to be a chance to start conversing, "Aren't you gonna deal with her before she sets a fuse off of Cipher?"
"I think he's already set off; multiple times, actually," He remarked, before agreeing, "But, yes, I should probably take her down a notch before she rides off with her high horse."
The curtains flung open, with Dipper holding them open and Pacifica close behind. Suddenly, the atmosphere grew silent and eerie. The twins stared at each other intensely from their positions, daring the other to make the first move. The headmistress glanced between them, "Are you gonna play or not?"
"Is that why you've come?" Mabel questioned, before chuckling softly, mockingly, "Oh, brother, what a fatal mistake."
"The only mistake made here," He glared, "was when you doubted my UNO skills."
"Why don't you prove that theory?" Mabel gestured for her friends to stand up, to which they hurriedly obliged. Dipper slid into the seat skillfully. Pacifica still stood by the opening of the connector, holding a bored expression. He collected the cards and shuffled them faster than anyone could catch. His voice was smug and melodramatic, "It's not a theory, my dear sister."
He set down the deck and flicked his cards over to her. His own cards were fanned out in his hands, covering his smirk, "It's a fact."
"Aaaargh!" Her temper flared. She seized her cards and growled, "Brother, you have made a fool of me many times. These cards aren't that even good! But today is not your day!"
The blue five lying faceup was swiftly taken over by three sevens, with the first being the same blue. Dipper didn't falter, "Ah, so we're stacking, huh?"
He grinned wickedly, "That won't help you!"
His hand slammed down four twos, making Grenda and Candy gasp. Bill clicked his tongue, appearing perfectly calm now, "C'mon, Shooting Star. You beat me. Can't you beat this dweeb?"
"I resent to that."
"It's fine, Bill," Mabel held a single card in front of her face, "because this'll allow me to stay in for a little longer!"
She flipped it over and placed it down. The "plus two" card was displayed for everyone to see. Dipper hissed, "How treacherous."
"I don't know what that means, but thanks."
Candy held her chin, analyzing the current play, "A plus two, one of the special cards. It causes the opponent to draw the first two cards in the deck."
"It's deadly, but not as deadly as…" Grenda trailed off. She and Candy nodded in understanding. Bill had a small frown, while the twins were trying to psych each other out.
Pacifica looked between the two siblings, then at the rest of them. Everyone seemed so comfortable with each other. But where did she belong? Leaning against old wood and absent-mindedly staring at a match of cards?
Maybe her mother was right about hanging around people under her ranking. After her parents finally give her some freedom, she chooses now to mull over their strict teachings. Speaking of which, they seemed awfully secretive around her now. Hushed conversations would linger in the room whenever she stumbled inside. Knowing, melancholic glances and an air of regret hung over their heads, as if death amongst their family had just taken place. Yet, of course, the only Northwests were them.
She didn't know what to think of it. She believed she always knew what she was supposed to do, but without her parents' forceful persistence about her family responsibilities, now she wasn't so sure. It made her think and wonder for the first time in a long time. Why did her parents treat her like some kind of pet until up to this point? And all of that mental, emotional, and physical torture was supposed to be justified by them actually caring about her?
Such limitations to what she could do just made her want to do more. Their constant lack of love and approval of her existence made a small, covert part of her brain plot for something else. Something that would leave a definite mark on the world that she was more than some rich family's daughter. To prove to her parents, to other people, and to herself.
She was eight, about to be nine.
Her heavy breathing filled her ears and fogged her head. Despite being blurry, her vision was zoned on the wooden flooring underneath her feet. It was scratched up, only a little, but still very sleek and waxy.
"Do you need a break, young madam?" Sergei stood in his resting position, with his back straight, shoulders taut, and chest puffed out. She thought that was dumb and not very good for resting at all. Her current form was much more useful.
Maybe one minute, she wanted to say, but she didn't. If she really wanted to work for this occupation, she couldn't stop for a break. She needed more practice.
"Summon your weapon."
Sergei's stony expression only creased slightly, "Young mistress—"
"I did not tell you to put your sword away!" She reprimanded strongly. Raising her head, her body automatically molded into her regular stance, just like she rehearsed from day-to-day. Her eyes were clouded with exhaustion and fury, "Just because I am young, doesn't mean you choose what to do! I am higher than you! Remember that!"
Her cry tore through the room as she charged straight at her mentor.
The next thing she knew, he was on the ground. Bruises and scratches battered his body, but he was still breathing and conscious. She didn't know what made her stop, but she was glad. Whatever ripped away at her humanity had just caused her to senselessly beat up Sergei.
Her eyes searched his face. He wasn't looking at her. He was staring at the ceiling, indifferent look still worn on his face. She gritted her teeth, "Training is over."
"Yes," He breathed deeply, "young madam."
Pacifica intended to leave the room to clean herself up, but had stopped right when she stepped out. Her father was waiting outside the door, obviously expecting her. He nodded, "I believe you are ready for the contest."
She looked at him for a second, before walking past him.
"I know."
"UNO out!" Dipper yelled, shattering her distant daydream. His empty hands were mocking Mabel's hand that was holding two cards. He was just as his twin had been earlier, cheering and laughing. Candy and Grenda were only adding salt to the wound as they remarked points of the match that Pacifica had no recollection of. Bill shook his head in disappointment. And as for Mabel, she was too busy kissing the table with her forehead.
And then, they arrived at their next attraction. Oh, this would be a long trip.
The mission was complete. All the attractions had been successfully sabotaged, all in one day. Ah, the perks of having loyal family and friends.
They decided to park near a running river. Night stretched across the sky; it was like someone poked a million tiny holes to allow light to pass through. The stars reflected of the shadowy waters, creating mystical, eerie effect. The air was warm, but dry, like an invisible blanket. Once more, trees and more trees extended for miles, while the path to and from civilization was just a few yards away.
"Girls are weird," Dipper began.
Everyone had decided to split into male and female at the moment. It was best so that they could "talk things out." Whatever that means, Bill thought, irked, who believed I'd want to stick around with these goons?
A fire crackled in the midst as the six males encircled it with lounge chairs. They had a Pitt Cola in one hand and a marshmallow on a stick on the other.
"What brought this up?" Ford questioned. Stan exhaled, "He's been having some lady troubles—all day, too."
"Uh oh," Fiddleford whistled. Dipper frowned, "I don't know! Television and stuff always tell you 'just be yourself,' but is that what they really want?"
"I don't think any girl in the right mind would want you, regardless," Bill quipped. Dipper ignored him in favor of the relaxing atmosphere, "Who is media really helping? The guys, the girls? Because it can't be both; otherwise, they're doing their approach wrong. Girls seem to like a type of guy that doesn't even exist, and isn't the media just telling them to settle? But they don't like to settle, do they? And guys have the bar raised way too high. We are expected to do amazing things, I mean, why? Wouldn't having and showing love be enough?"
He had went from one more question to a full-blown rant. Using his fingers, Bill flicked a small flame at him to shut him up, and Dipper inwardly thanked him so that he could stop embarrassing himself.
Soos shook his head, "Don't over think it, dawg. Love comes naturally; it's like you don't have to try to be someone else, and at a same time, you're improving yourself for that person."
There was a beat of silence, until Dipper questioned, "What does that even mean?!"
Stan rolled his eyes, "This is why I'm not committed into any relationships. It's too much work."
"They left you," Ford pointed out. Stan glared at him, "Hey, we don't need the details."
"Love can be found in other things, even in something that can't love you back," Fiddleford shrugged, "I mean, I love science."
Ford pursed his lips, "That's… nice, Fiddleford."
"Shit, I think we need to get out more," Stanley grumbled. Subconsciously, Fiddleford and Stanford nodded. Bill groaned, "This talk about your human relations with the opposite gender is dumb. Just pick one and move on."
"Man," Dipper burst out laughing, "you are one to talk!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Bill was squinting at Dipper across the flames. The brunette shook his head, "I just find it funny, that, you know…"
He was narrowing his eyes at the blonde now, much to the dream-demon's confusion. Ford darted his eyes between them, "Dipper…"
"What?"
"Is this some kind of joke?" Bill accused, "Or you guys really think it's hilarious to hide some grand secret from me? I can figure it out if I wanted to."
"Sure..." Dipper drawled. He leaned in and held his chin up with his hands, digging his elbows into his thighs.
Soos tapped his armrest, "I'm lost too, actually."
Fiddleford lied against his chair, "I think I know what this is about."
"You do?" Stan asked. The older engineer shrugged, "It's not that hard for me to figure out."
Bill felt his eye twitch and his fingers itching to expand the fire, "I can't believe I stopped wondering why I even decided to stay here."
"Because it's interesting," Dipper observed, "Since you're such a lonely freak, you try to actually experience what it's like to hang out with some guys for once."
The air was suffocating and intense.
"Now, that's some wild guesses right there, Pine Tree," Bill bared his teeth as he smirked, but Dipper could see that he hit the nail on the head. The brunette didn't break eye contact, "You seem to forget that I'm smart."
"Oh, sure, lots of times. Especially when you're trying to flirt with random females you've met during the trip."
Dipper flushed as Soos snorted accidentally. Ford mumbled, "So that's what happened…"
"At least I'm actually trying to get with someone. You're still a blind jerk, both literally and figuratively," Dipper shot back. Bill glanced to the side, "Ha, if I wanted to get someone, I could. But there's no point."
Stan and Ford both crunched their cans unintentionally. Dipper felt a flare internally as he instantly imagined how heartbroken his sister would be to hear that. He growled, "Well, maybe you need to get your head out of your ass and look at what you have! Maybe you'll find a point then!"
"Dipper!" Ford reprimanded. Stan only grinned as Fiddleford awkwardly sipped his Pitt Cola. Soos munched on the marshmallow, intently listening. Bill smiled mockingly, "Your words are boring me, kid."
Dipper fumed, before standing up. Without a word, he left. Bill solemnly stared at his back, before pushing any consideration he had over his words in the back of his head. He pulled out a deck of cards from nowhere and waved them, "Let's play."
The male twin was already deep in the forest, angrily ranting to himself, "I can't believe the nerve of that guy! Why does Mabel even like him?!"
He paused to pant from his stomping and furious speaking. Cold sweat ran down his temple in an attempt to cool him down.
"I wonder that, too."
Dipper turned around to find Mabel leaning against one of the trees. She was holding herself by the arms, looking down at the ground. He sputtered, "W-What are you doing here?"
"Well…"
A group of girls lie on the soft grass on the riverbank, pointed up towards the sky. Waddles was running to and fro, also rubbing against the grass or bathing in the water. There was a chorus of girlish laughter, and then, "Okay, okay! Mabel, truth or dare!"
"Dare me!"
"Go to the boys area and smack all the food and drinks out of their hand!"
"You call that a dare?!" She shot up, "I'm no wuss! This'll be easy!"
Mabel ran towards the male camp, excitement creeping in her veins. Their faces would be hilarious; she might even have to take a picture! However, her footsteps came to a halt as she listened in on to their discussion by mistake.
"Ha, if I wanted to get someone, I could. But there's no point."
Then, she turn, and ran.
There was a deafening tranquility that engulfed them both. Her head was hung, and he felt useless.
Dipper choked out, "Mabel, I'm sorry."
The cicadas chirped and the leaves rustled and the running river in the distance tempted her to throw her thoughts away and let them wash up somewhere else. To let someone take them and keep them and hide them away forever where they didn't hurt her anymore.
"For what?" She slid down to sit on the base of the tree, "I'm the one responsible for my own feelings. I chose to like him, already knowing the pain I'd feel. I didn't expect anything different."
Her voice cracked near the end of it.
Dipper immediately rested on his knees next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. She didn't look up, "But I still hoped for something. I still wanted something more out of this. And I never thought it would hurt this much."
She started crying salty tears. They streamed down her face and dropped into the grass.
"I'm so stupid," Mabel scrunched her eyes shut and let the tears flow, "and even now, I don't want to let go."
"You could," Dipper admitted. He was no longer infuriated, but only sympathetic towards his conflicted sibling. He bit his cheek, "You could let go, Mabel, but that wouldn't be you."
She didn't look at him, but he didn't mind. Dipper continued, "Thinking about it, you seem to be the only one who's ever been this close to him. Even though you're weird and crazy, you aren't stupid. You like him and you've been liking him for a reason—a good reason, right? I hate to say it, but you just need to wait until this comes around."
Dipper patiently waited for her response. She sniffed again and wiped her eyes, before looking up at him. She was smiling.
"Since when did you become such an expert as this, Sir Dippingsauce?"
He smiled too, "I like to be modest."
They laughed wholeheartedly, then she pulled him into a hug. She released him and yawned, "I'm beat."
"I'll race you back to the RV."
"What about the others?"
Dipper shrugged, "I'm sure they're fine."
Before she could react, he broke off into a sprint towards their vehicle. Shocked, she cried out, then chased after him.
"Happy Fourth of July!" Mabel yelled in the early morning with Waddles hopping around. Pacifica groaned and threw a pillow at the brunette, having been groggy from staying up late with the rest of the girls out of sheer politeness and interest. The female twin glared at her, "Where's your Fourth of July spirit?!"
"In bed."
Candy stretched and yawned, while Grenda was already brushing her teeth at the bathroom. Her brother was already up and ready to go, only sitting down and reading Grunkle Ford's journal.
Last night, when she made it back to the RV, she slipped in easily to avoid any encounters with the guys. Once her friends had come back, she ended up venting to them, to which they reacted quite aggressively. But Mabel convinced them not to do anything to the dream-demon.
So much emotional strain exhausted her. She decided that she'd take a step out and breathe the fresh, natural air.
Mabel exited the cramped vehicle and relished the morning sunshine. Birds were chirping and the river was still running. There were always different things to experience in different parts of the forest.
Suddenly, a shadow stretched over her, and she turned around. Bill was resting on top of the RV, chin in his hands. He was staring down at her, making her feel very small again. Perhaps she needed a short, temporary break from him…
"Good morning, Bill," Her voice was feeble, lacking it's normal affection. He eyed her warily, "You're acting odd."
She felt herself shrunk even more at the claim. Was she really that much of an open book? Mabel frowned, "No, I'm not! You're just… just seeing things!"
Bill pressed, "You're right. I happen to see a lot of things. And right now, I see that you're acting odd."
"Shut up, Bill," Dipper had stepped down from the vehicle. His hands were shoved in his pockets, "What she's feeling right now doesn't concern you."
A beat.
"I'm starving, what's for—" Pacifica also appeared behind Dipper, but stopped speaking due to the heavy silence. Mabel scratched her cheek and evaded eye contact, "Can you guys go catch some fish in the river? We'll cook those for breakfast."
"You're saying you didn't bring anything to actually eat for a meal?" Pacifica wondered. Dipper shook his head, "We're saving it for tonight. Besides, this'll be funner. Come on, let's catch some fish."
"I advise you come along with us, Bill," Pacifica suggested while she picked up a small cooler, much to Dipper's displeasure. Bill took one more look at Mabel, who still refused to look at him, and turned to Pacifica, "Fine."
The three quietly treaded towards the river. Pacifica peeked at Dipper, noticing the creases in his forehead as he tried to repress his evident rage. Then, she glanced at Bill, who was uncharacteristically somber, like the personification of depression. Pacifica sighed mentally as they approached the upcoming river.
The rays of light bouncing off the river made it look like glistening liquid of silver and gold. It was wide, yet shallow, and it seemed to go on until it hit the horizon. Peering closer, there were fish visibly swimming along with the current. They showed up and vanished in a heartbeat.
"This is… pretty," Pacifica cleared her throat. Curse her and her inability to start small talk. The two males were still brooding, making it incredibly tense for her since she was standing there like an idiot. She clenched her fist, "How about we have a competition?"
"Huh?" Dipper seemed to snap out of it. Pacifica grinned, "Yeah, no weapons, or powers, just hands. We throw the fish onto the riverbank and at the end, we count who has the most."
"And the winner gets?" Bill actually inquired. Pacifica shrugged, "Bragging rights."
"Cool," Dipper said in a boring tone, until he stripped off his vest and darted into the river. Pacifica was taken aback, "H-Hey!"
Bill growled, "And you think I'm unfair!"
He slid his vest off his body and placed his hat and bow tie next to it. Suddenly, there were now two males frantically running around in the river, attempting to grab whatever fish they could get a hold on. Pacifica felt a fire light in her body as she tied her hair behind her head and jumped in with them.
Hands were flying faster than the bodies, but fish were being thrown out of the river like a fountain. They kept piling in heaps of squirming, flapping, wet bodies. Dipper had lost his footing and slipped, ramming into Bill. They both collapsed into the river with a big splash!
"Watch it, you idiot!" Bill barked as he held himself up on his knees. Dipper had his hands holding him from behind, "You got in my way!"
Pacifica paused to fold her arms at the fallen boys. She flashed a cocky smirk, "At this point, I think I'll be winning."
Both males turned their heads to see one of the areas on the riverbank covered with slightly more fish, compared to the other vast collections of flopping creatures. They turned back to look at her with devious glints in their eyes.
Pacifica squeaked and yelped at the assault of cold water. Dipper splashed it towards her while Bill was a bit more dramatic, spinning and sending it her way with the force of his hands. All of them ended up laughing as they seized a multitude of fish and attacked each other, too caught up in the moment to care. Dipper had his eyes open to take in the image of Pacifica, smiling against the radiance of the sun as crystals of water flew around her. She was beautiful.
"Hey, guys, I just wanted to see what was taking so… long…" Mabel trailed off. The three of them froze in their positions, abruptly realizing the moment they were in compared to the reality they had. She looked below her to see the abundant amount of fish that were twitching and bouncing against the grass. Her hands flew to her clutch her hair, "What are you doing to these poor things?!"
Her voice was law, "You better take these fish back into the river and only get a few! We're looking for breakfast, not to stop world hunger!"
When she left, Bill, Dipper, and Pacifica finally realized exactly how much fish they tore away from the river. Some were even wiggling in the trees. They sighed simultaneously, before beginning clean up.
It was already noon by the time they were finally finished with it. Still damp, Pacifica hurriedly carried the cooler full of fish and ran back to the camp site. Dipper and Bill were left to walk behind her hasty trail. The brunette claimed softly, "Well, that was fun."
The blonde begrudgingly revealed, "I guess."
Dipper let nature fill the silence for a few more seconds, until he confessed, "You know that she's upset with you, right?"
"Why?" Bill already knew they were talking about Mabel, "I didn't even hurt anyone… yet. I decided to tag along and stay on this trip, too."
"Maybe not physically," Dipper rolled his eyes, "But, anyway, you just suck at appreciating what she gives you. Like, this trip, some colas, her friendship?"
"I never asked for it."
"But you aren't throwing it away."
Bill went quiet, but his expression was contemplating. Dipper sighed and furrowed his brows, "It's really obvious that you care about Mabel more than you let on, but she doesn't see that. I'm not saying you need to buy her some present or whatever, but say something."
"Like what?" Bill seemed to not even be listening to himself. He was asking Pine Tree for help over this, meaning: he's completely lost it. Dipper snorted, "Uh, what else do you say when someone gives you something? Figure it out, it's not that hard."
They arrived back at the camp with Dipper feeling better and Bill feeling worse. On one side, the male twin was glad to know his sister's feelings wouldn't go to waste, even if it was toward an intolerable, arrogant, dangerous pest. He'd just need a lot of time getting used to Bill. And as for said dream-demon, he was hating himself for even holding an actual conversation with Dipper, let alone asking him for help. He shouldn't be caring so much over how Mabel feels towards him, especially if she was upset. But he did, and it was so damn annoying to feel guilty over something he wasn't even sure that he did!
The sun had seem to have been crossing the sky faster than normal. Night time popped up and out of the blue, greeting the world. Smoke rose to the sky as a pair of grills were set up and cooking something delicious. After dinner, they decided to take a few pictures before setting off the fireworks.
"You better get closer to each other or I'm gonna shoot you with one of these fireworks!"
Ford yelped and squeezed unbearably closer next to his twin. Mabel smiled and took the picture. The whole group, excluding her, were all gathered up in front of the RV. Most of them were holding strained smiles and a sparkler in one hand. With a single click, a flash burned their eyes and saved the memory. Mabel placed the camera down and smiled, "Let's shoot these things up in the air!"
There were continuous bangs reverberating through the sky and flares of color that were captured in their minds. Candy, Grenda, Mabel, and Wendy were going crazy with the sparklers and the smaller fireworks. Soos and Melody were firing one after the other. The older men were trying to see who could stand the closest to the firework as it launched off, with Bill occasionally trying to sabotage their little bet.
Dipper looked at Pacifica, who was uneasily standing at the side. He held a firework out for her, to which she declined weakly, "I can't…"
"Why?"
"I… I don't know how…" Pacifica conceded. Dipper only gave her a benign smile, "It's easy. Just position it on the ground and watch it fly off, like this."
He followed through his own instructions using another one that he was carrying. She made sure to watch him carefully so she wouldn't mess up as he handed her the firework. Even though her hands were a shaking mess, she couldn't wipe the smile off her face while she did exactly what he had done. She sent one off, for the first time ever in her life. The explosion resonated and painted the sky. Her mouth failed to close as her eyes never tore away from the sparkling flames.
There were only a few left. Fiddleford gestured to the Pines, "You guys should get the last ones."
Ford acknowledged him with gratitude, before going first, holding a launcher that was loaded with the firework. He shot it up into the air and everyone watched as it exploded in a blast of colorful lights. Mabel grinned maniacally as she took the launcher from him, "I AM THE GOD OF DESTRUCTION!"
She shot a larger firework into the sky, one that sent wind blowing into their hair and vibrated their eardrums. They all whooped and cheered and Waddles was jumping with joy. Mabel sat on the shoulders on her great uncle Stan, who lit up three rows of fireworks on the ground. They flew up high into the air and burst, sending streams of vibrant lights to dance across the dark sky. Grunkle Stan turned to his grandnephew, "Come on, kid."
Dipper held the launcher in his hands, and aimed it upwards. He shot five consecutive fireworks, with one exploding after the other. It created a constant illumination that filled their eyes and popped their ears. He beamed at his great uncles. Stan started chanting, to which the rest of his family joined him, "Pines! Pines! Pines! Pines!"
Their voices died away with the night.
"Today's the day," Mabel whispered to herself. Candy nudged her, "Good luck."
"Don't use tongue yet," Grenda mentioned. Mabel flushed as she pushed her friend, "Gross!"
Today was the last day that they were going to be on this trip. However, it was also the day that Mabel had decided was going to be Bill's birthday. It was a well-kept secret on her part. He always said how he never knew and how he didn't care, but she did care, so she made a birthday date for him. And since this would probably be the first time anyone noted the beginning of his existence, she wanted to make it memorable.
The day sped by fairly quickly once more, much to the chagrin of everyone. They had enjoyable moments with playing old games and games they had made up, talking about life and jokes, and watching the world tick by as they relaxed from their daily lives. Once the sun shone no longer, Mabel took this opportunity to pull Bill away from the group. He followed rather obediently, which confused her, but she was thankful. It was less awkward that way, anyway.
She was hugging a bag close to her chest, mind whirling as she walked and he floated to the riverbank. Her entire being was the epitome of nervous. He'd probably say how stupid it was that she made him a birthday, or he'd hate her present, or he'd swim away in the river and never return!
"If you take any more steps, you'll plunge into the river."
Mabel stopped where she was and twirled on her feet. Her face was already heated because she was alone with the object of her affections, but it became even hotter from embarrassing herself. She stepped closer to Bill, who was scrutinizing her. Mabel closed her eyes and took a deep breath; this was the moment of truth.
Forcefully thrusting her arms out, she accidentally punched Bill's abdomen. He crumpled onto his knees, and she dropped her gift, "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!"
"So, you pull me out here to torture me," His chuckle lacked mirth, "You really do hate me now."
"Wha—What?! I don't hate you!" Mabel was flabbergasted he'd even begin to think of something like that, "I was just—I was scared and I wasn't thinking. It was an accident!"
She picked up the present and yanked out the gift. Bill found himself staring at a yellow sweater with a brick pattern across it. It had no turtleneck, but instead a black bow tie was sewn to the collar to impersonate his own. There was a black triangle in the middle and an eye in the center of the triangle, a thin top hat atop the shape. The sleeves were puffy, and at the end of the sleeves and the sweater, they were elastic and tight enough to hug the body comfortably. Upon closer inspection, the knitting was sedulously done.
She spoke with a skittish tone, "Your birthday. It's today—I decided it was going to be today… without you knowing. Yeah, so, it's not, like, the smartest idea, but I had to give this to you somehow and I thought it would be better to give you a birthday while I was at it. So I said, 'Why not July 5th?' Because your name is Bill and I thought of America and it's money and—"
Bill took the sweater from her hand, disappeared, then reappeared without it. Her expression was crestfallen, "You didn't like it?"
"No, it's fine," He arched an eyebrow, "But I think it's way too hot to wear a sweater."
She tugged at her own clothing self-consciously. Suddenly, his hand was ruffling up the top of her head, causing her to whine. He ignored her complaints.
"Thank you, Shooting Star."
Her face lit up in flames, "Huh?"
"Without you…" Bill bit his tongue, keeping his hand on her head.
Without her, he'd be wandering Gravity Falls, doing what he used to always do. He'd be going back and forth between dimensions, getting beaten up, feeling hated by everyone he came across. He'd watch as humans lived and died until one day, the sun would explode and take the Earth with it. And even then, he wouldn't care as much as he did now. Right now, he didn't want the Earth to perish because he wasn't done experiencing what it had to offer. For all the years he had been living, he hasn't done any of it.
"...I wouldn't know what I was missing," He finished lamely. Mabel saw her vision blur as her eyes watered. He fretted, "Whoa, okay, no! No! Bad!"
"I can't help it," Mabel sniffed, before choking on a sob. Another onslaught of tears escaped her eyes as she tried to wipe them away. Yet, she was far from sad. She felt like what she had been doing up to this point was worth everything. His single line of appreciation made it worth it. She felt as though this was the moment where they could begin something new, something more.
But that's not what she worked so hard for. So, she leaned in and hugged him. Her arms wrapped arms around his waist and she cried into his vest.
She never desired to be solely romantic with him, or to focus on what his looks had to offer.
She just wanted to be close to him.
And they both knew that she was.
"We're home!" Mabel shouted excitedly, "I'm back, Gravity Falls!"
There were more cheers that came from the rest of the group. Everyone was saying their goodbyes as they unpacked the luggages and started their way home. The departure between Soos and Melody was the most bittersweet, however. She pinched his cheek, "I love you."
"I love you, too," Soos smiled, "I'll see you..."
"...behind the screen," They finished in sync. She gave him another kiss, before she began her drive back to Portland. Soos tapped his fingers against his thigh, before he rose his crystal communicator to his ear. He waved goodbye to his friends and began his way home again. His voice could be heard in the distance, "Melody? I forgot to tell you, I love you twice more…"
Mabel and the great uncles retreated back into the house as Dipper was left with Pacifica. He rolled the balls on his heels. She smirked, "That was quite a journey; I think I'm pretty grateful you invited me."
"Between the camping and the sabotage, it was," Dipper agreed. Pacifica puffed her cheeks as she exhaled, "You know, with everything that's going to be happening from now on, you may not have time to worry about getting a girlfriend."
"You're right," Dipper sighed and combed his hair using his fingers, "It just hurts my pride, really."
"You'll find one," She said earnestly, "and she'll be lucky."
They were suddenly staring at each other now, faces coloring for no explicit reason. He cleared his throat, "Was that a compliment?"
She didn't answer him. Instead, she looked up, then back at him, "I think it's time for me to go."
"Oh, yeah. See you soon," He observed her back as she was leaving. Groaning into his hands, he patted his face repetitively to bring the warmth down. Dipper entered the shack and kicked off his shoes, not surprised that both his great uncles were knocked out cold. They weren't very used to staying around and entertaining others. The young male crept upstairs and went inside the room.
Mabel was in the midst of gluing pictures to her scrapbook, yet she already had glitter stuck to her cheek. Dipper snorted, and she couldn't help but giggle as well.
He was feeling pretty tired himself, now that he thought about it. He collapsed onto his bed and instantly felt himself drifting to repose.
Mabel smiling as she continued her work was the last thing he saw before sleep took over.
*chokes on foreshadow*
Between you and me, the Mabel-crying scenes made me tear up.
Anyway, I feel like I should address this to all my lovely readers, but it was prompted by Andy1997.
Dipper's pretty much the main, main protagonist, along with Mabel, as you can see. I have quite a few plans coming up just to… display his growth in strength and character. I've been doing it with Pacifica lately because she's, well, the deuteragonist. And she will be quite very important, if not as important as she is now.
The future for them is… dramatic? Perhaps. Complicated? Most likely. Interesting? I'd hope so. Unknown? Only to you all!
I just hope that the most of you can stick around to enjoy this story I am uncovering gradually.
I'm quite content with the pace I am going at with the story, at the moment. I don't want to rush to all the super important bits because I'd like everyone to indulge more in the actual characters I'm setting up here in this alternate universe and the reality that they're in. Sometimes, things happen to them, and it's either serious, or it's just fun.
I owe a lot to all of you. I may or may not have continued this story if not for the constant appreciation I receive. I try to live up to your expectations, and comply to your criticism. But, with no intended insult, I also like to settle with what I can give out and what I'd like to give out, to the best of my ability.
With that, I bid you all adieu.