I do not own Gravity Falls.

Chapter One: Forced

The bus' wheels rattled on the road's pavement. Pine trees flashed by in a green haze as the vehicle drove by in a steady pace. It took a few turns on the road, swerving.

Mabel yawned, her eyes half-shut with boredom. She slumped backwards onto the seat, letting out a puff of breath. "Dip-Dop, are we almost there yet?" Mabel muttered, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand as she stared blankly at the seat in front of her.

"Only a few more minutes," Dipper reassured besides her. Mabel's eyes lit up with excitement, and her mouth parted in a large grin. She straightened her posture and turned to face Dipper with her eyes sparkling.

"We're almost there, then?" she asked in anticipation. Dipper nodded, a considerable amount more calm than she was, but she knew he was still excited. Mabel's grin grew wider, and she looked down at her pet pig, Waddles, who was curled up in her lap.

"Ya hear that, Waddles? We're almost to Gravity Falls!" she cheered. Waddles lifted his head to stare at her, releasing a tiny oink. Mabel stroked his back as he lowered his head again. "I can't wait to see Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford again," she continued, this time to Dipper. After hearing that the twins would be returning for the summer, Ford and Stan had, without any reluctance or hesitation, agreed to come back to the Mystery Shack for the younger twins' summer. Soos had been kind enough to let them stay, even now that he owned the shack.

Dipper nodded. "Yeah," he agreed. "Do you think we could convince Grunkle Ford to shave normally?"

"What do you mean?" Mabel questioned. Dipper shrugged.

"Well, he shaves by lighting his entire face in fire."

Mabel grimaced. "Yeah, let's try and change that." Dipper let out a small laugh at her statement. "We should also show him how to use a phone," she went on. "I tried to tell him that he had to unlock the phone, and he asked me where the keyhole was!"

Dipper snickered, adjusting his pine tree hat on his head. He and Wendy had mailed each other's hats back a few days before the twins had departed for Gravity Falls. "Did he get past the lock-screen?" Dipper asked Mabel, to which she shook her head.

"No, and I tried to explain to him what Bluetooth was, and he asked why anyone's teeth would be blue. I decided to stop trying at that point."

Dipper nodded. He opened his mouth to speak, but broke off into a yawn. At first, Mabel thought it was because of boredom like she had been suffering from before, but she finally noticed the bags under his eyes. They were hardly noticeable, but still there. She noted how his eyes were slightly glazed over and blurred.

Mabel tilted her head in concern. "Her bro-bro, did you sleep last night?"

She expected him to lie to her, or perhaps avoid the question entirely, so she was surprised when he let out a small sigh, and, after averting his gaze, he spoke.

"No," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "Not for a few days, actually..."

"Why?" Mabel asked, her worry growing. Last time he looked anywhere near this tired, it had been because of Bill's nightmares.

At her question, Dipper averted his gaze. "I... I don't know..." he muttered. "I just..." he trailed off, as if not sure what to say, or as if he didn't want to tell her why. Mabel frowned.

"Why didn't you tell me, Dip? You need to sleep."

Dipper shrugged half-heartedly. "It didn't seem important," he mumbled. "It's probably nothing."

Mabel wanted to argue, but she doubted that would help anything. With a small sigh, she turned her gaze to the window. The sun was high in the sky, and Mabel had to squint to look at the clouds. She dropped her gaze to stare again at the trees, before emitting a squeal of unbridled glee. The bus-stop was in sight.

"Dipper! We're here!"

-

After the twins had finished unpacking, Stan and Ford had suggested that all of them go for some food at Greasy's Diner. While Mabel had agreed joyously, Dipper was more reluctant. He would much rather face-plant onto the floor and stay there than go out at all.

"It's been so long since we've gone to Greasy's!" Mabel squeaked with a wide grin plastered onto her face when Stan and Ford had asked the twins if they wanted to go. Dipper tried to manage a smile of his own, but it faltered slightly and he had to force himself to look at least a little enthusiastic.

Stan and Mabel didn't seem to notice his lack of excitement or how forced his tone was when he had agreed to go. He did catch Ford casting a slightly concerned glance in his direction, however. Dipper frowned inwardly. Of course Ford would've noticed... Dipper released a quiet sigh.

Mabel and Stan both bolted out of the shack, Ford following soon after. Dipper winced and let out a half-stifled hiss as pain shot through him like burning fire from his head. He leaned on a nearby wall for a moment, his head pounding like a jackhammer to the skull. He shook his head, trying to banish the pain to no avail. After a second it disappeared in its own, though Dipper felt like his blood was boiling inside of his veins.

Honestly, though, it always felt like that nowadays. Dipper didn't remember exactly when it had started; about the same time that the pains in his head started, though. It seemed like everything he did caused the unwavering agony to spread further than it had been the day before. He didn't know what it was, and part of him felt like he didn't want to know. Slowly, through each passing day, he could feel his strength ebbing away as the pain spread further.

He refused to tell anyone. When anyone asked if he was okay, if he was hurting, he'd either avoid the question altogether or lie and say he was fine. But he wasn't fine. He knew that, but he didn't want anyone else to know that. He didn't want them to be worried or concerned... It wasn't just that he didn't want to tell anyone, though; there was something inside of him that told him that he couldn't let them know. That he literally could not let them know. He didn't know what it was, but despite that he still listened to that something inside of him. He couldn't explain it, but he believed that he shouldn't let them know.

Drawing in a deep breath, he pushed off the wall and followed the others outside, forcing himself to put on a calm demeanor, trying to bury the real pain and unease he felt building up inside of him.