Chapter 23: The Love War

(Emily's P.O.V)

I closed the cash register for the day and sighed to myself. I've been working at the Mystery Shack for two days and so far it was pretty good, though today felt slightly more draining. I scratched my mosquito bites through my pants. My first night I saw the bites had spelled 'Belcome'. So obviously I wasn't hated for being here.

"Hey Emily? You doing anything after work?" Wendy asked as she came over the front desk.

"Well, I was just going to..."

"Yeah, change of plans, come on." Wendy said and dragged my arm. Before I could ask what was going on we rushed out of the Shack.

"Everyone, this is Emily. She just moved to Gravity Falls." Wendy said, and gestured to me and my eyes widened. She was introducing me to her friends. Quick, say something!

"Um, hello. Nice to meet you." I waved awkwardly. Great job Emily, you look like a dork!

"Okay, that's Lee and Nate, Tambry, Thompson, and Robbie." Wendy said, pointing to her friends. I couldn't help but be reminded if the episode where Dipper and Mabel met them.

"So, are we going or what?" Robbie asked, strumming his guitar.

"Yeah, yeah. Come on Emily, you're gonna find out what Gravity Falls is all about!" Wendy exclaimed and grabbed my hand and we all got into Thompson's mom's van and drive off.

"So, where are we going?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, just a place where the cops can't find us, and no one can hear your screams." Wendy said dramatically.

"Uh..." I didn't know how to respond to that until Thompson stopped the van and I looked out the window.

"Oh, the graveyard." I said with realization. Why didn't I think of that?

"Well come on." Wendy gestured and we all got out of the van. Once we settled down we all got talking until finally...

"So Emily, tell us about yourself." Nate said and I hesitated for a moment and Wendy seemed to notice.

"Oh, Emily, you don't have to..."

"No it's fine, they might as well find out now." I assured her and took a breath.

"I don't have a family, I lived in an orphanage my whole life. There I met my sister, Georgia, and we helped each other get through our life together. One day she was diagnosed with a sickness...I don't even know what it was, but it was getting worse and she died. Later after her funeral...I...I was sent to Gravity Falls." I explained and started fiddling with my necklace.

"Oh man...that's so sad...come here!" Thompson cried through his tears and gave me a hug. I was caught of guard by smiled and returned the hug.

"Thanks, Thompson." I said simply and the rest of the day was spent playing games and having fun. It was one of the best days ever!

Though I suddenly got a strange feeling when I looked at Nate. It wasn't a bad feeling, just it was something I couldn't ignore. I walked over to Nate and my necklace started to glow brighter and brighter. When I placed my hand on his shoulder my necklace flowed so bright I was blinded and I shot up from my bed.

Yeah, it was a dream.

Strange thing was, everything in my dream besides the ending actually happened. I looked down at my necklace and sighed.

"Okay, I really need to figure out what this necklace means." I said determinedly and got out of bed. Once I was dressed I climbed down the ladder and headed towards the Shack.

"Morning Dipper." I said as I opened the door and saw the male twin on the couch and watching t.v with Waddles under his feet.

"Morning Emily." He responded and Waddles gave an oink. I walked in the kitchen, grabbed an apple and back came in the room and sat down on the floor next to Waddles and begun eating.

"Who wants Stan-cakes? They're like pancakes, but they probably have some of my hair in 'em." Stan asked as he entered.

"Pass." Dipper deadpanned.

"Hard pass." I grimaced, before taking another bite of my apple as Mabel burst through the door.

"It's here!" She exclaimed and rushed over to us squealing happily.

"Aaah! Oh, it's here! It's here, it's here! I've been waiting all morning and it's finally here! The Gravity Falls Gossiper accepted my article about summer fashion tips for squirrels. My picture is gonna be in the newspaper! Check it!" Mabel cried and showed us all the newspaper.

"'Pacifica Northwest declares v-neck the look of the season!' What am I looking at here?" Stan asked, after reading the newspaper.

"Disappointment." I deadpanned.

"Woah, woah, WHAT?!" Mabel exclaimed as she looked at the newspaper in devastation. I sighed to myself as I glanced at the picture. It seriously was a bummer the Gravity Falls Gossiper ditched Mabel's story without letting her know.

"Looks like someone bought their way to the front page." Dipper said.

"Is it legal for a child to wear that much make-up?" Stan asked.

"I doubt it would matter with that family." I muttered.

"Ugh, Pacifica! She always ruins everything!" Mabel groaned, crumpling up the newspaper.

"Aw, cheer up Mabel! I mean, no one even reads newspapers anymore." Dipper assured her, resting an arm on her shoulder. Then Soos burst in.

"Dudes! V-neck season is upon us! Who wants to help me get ahead of the fashion curve? I'm taking it one step further. With a w-neck." Soos exclaimed, holding up a pair of scissors and a marker.

"Not now Soos!" I yelled through gritted teeth as he drew a w on his shirt and begun cutting.

"Must...follow...newspaper..." He said with determination.

"What did I just say!?" I exclaimed, throwing my hands to the side causing Soos to yelp and drop the scissors. Meanwhile Mabel glumly went over to the table and poured herself some orange juice and chugged it down.

"Aack! I need something to get my mind off this." She sighed.

"Cue, all knowing t.v." I muttered, finished my apple, and tossing the core in a trash can.

"Looking for a distraction from your horrible life?" The announcer asked.

"Why yes!" Mabel said, perking up.

"Victory, honor, destiny, mutton! These old-timey sounding words are alive and well at the Gravity Falls Royal Discount Putt Hutt! No mutton available at the snack shop." The announcer explained.

"Hey, Mabel! You love mini-golf!" Dipper exclaimed and opened the scrapbook to a page with 9-year old Mabel and a trophy for the mini league gold competition.

"She's been amazing at it since we were kids!" Dipper explained.

"Wow. That's really cool." I commented as Dipper turned to his sister.

"What do you say, Mabel? We've had a stressful couple of days. How 'bout we take a break, huh?" Dipper suggested.

"Would kicking all our butts at mini-golf cheer you up?" Stan asked hopefully.

"Maybe a little." Mabel admitted and Dipper stood up.

"Come on, Mabel! Victory!"

"Honor!"

"Destiny!"

"Mutton!"

"Um...yeah! What they said!" I cheered and we all stared to leave the Shack.

"Victory, honor, destiny, mutton! Victory, honor, destiny, mutton!" That was fun to chant!

"And the pig can look after the house!" Soos added as the door to the Shack closed and I laughed. Cue theme song!

Once we got to the Putt Hutt I got a green golf club and a matching ball as the others got their stuff. I'll admit I'd never played mini golf, but this seemed like a lot of fun. Even thought Mabel wild kick all our butts. I was examining my club as my phone rang and I answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey girlfriend! How are you?" Nate asked jokingly and I laughed.

"I'm good boyfriend, how are you?" I asked.

"I'm good too thanks. Hey, wanna go out to dinner tonight? I know it's last minute, but I figured we should go on our first official date. Unless the bunker adventure counted." Nate explained and I laughed again.

"No, it didn't. And yes, I'd love to go out to dinner. I'm at the Putt Hutt now with the Pines. You could meet us later." I suggested.

"Sounds great! See you later!" Nate exclaimed happily and I smiled.

"Okay, I gotta go. I don't want to keep the others waiting!" I said and we said our goodbyes before hanging up and putting my phone in my purse. I saw Mabel giving me a playful grin and a wink but I rolled my eyes and we all entered the main area of the Putt Hutt.

"Woohoo,

"Woah!"

"Wow!"

"Woah"

"Well, this is nice." I commented after every gasped happily. They had every right too, the course was so bright and colorful. I'm surprised we haven't been here before. All of the holes looked amazing. The castle was very impressive.

"Ahh, mini-golf! The sport of mini champions!" Mabel exclaimed.

"The grass is fake, but the fun is real! There's something here for everyone!" Dipper gestured. I held in a laughed knowing Robbie was here spray painting the castle wall. Once we got the first hole Dipper was preparing to hit the ball.

"Focus! Focus!.. And, eh..." Dipper swung his club, but he missed the ball and it rolled into the pond.

"Don't worry, bro! You're still,..." Mabel slapped a sticker in his cheek. "Eh! Ext-roar-dinary!" She exclaimed.

"I'll take what I can get." Dipper deadpanned and I laughed.

"Okay, your turn Mabel. Show us what you got!" I urged and Mabel walked over to her ball.

"Do the hip wiggle, and eh!" Mabel hit her ball and it went into the...a wanna say sea creature's mouth and it bounced off a sleeping McGucket and into the hole.

"Wha? How'd I get here?" I heard McGucket exclaim in confusion.

"Yes!" Mabel cheered happily.

"Holy smokes! Someone in our family actually has talent!" Stan exclaimed.

"Dipper wasn't joking." I added, eyes wide, doing my best to look surprised.

"Grunkle Stan, you ain't seen nothing yet!" Dipper smirked.

Later, after Mabel acing all of the holes like a boss. We all made it to hole 18 and a crowd had gathered around us, watching intensely. Even thought the montage to me was longer, I didn't care. It was still really cool to watch in person without a song playing over it. (Though I swear I heard someone singing while we were watching Mabel.)

"Guys, this is amazing! If Mabel gets a hole in one here, she'll beat her all-time high score!" Dipper exclaimed happily.

"You got this Mabel!" I cheered and Mabel closed her yes for a moment.

"Eh!" She swung her club and the ball went into the windmill. We all ran to the other side and waited for the ball to come out. Once it did it went towards the hole, but it drifted aside and rolled into a puddle.

"Aw, nuts!" Mabel cried and threw down her club as the crowd got disappointed and left.

"Ah, don't worry about it kid! The thing's random!" Stan assured her as he picked up her ball.

"Yeah, besides the Bermuda triangle, how mini-golf works is our world's greatest mystery." Soos added.

"He has a point. It's pretty hard to get a hole in one for this one. That why it's the last hole, besides the bonus one." I explained.

"As far as I'm concerned, you're still better than anyone else in Gravity..." Stan got cut off by a purple ball going straight into the hole.

"Whoa!" We gasped and I clenched my fists and turned to see the worst person in Gravity Falls. And his wife and daughter.

"Oh, would you look at that? I didn't know it was 'hobos golf-free' day!" Pacifica sneered.

"Pacifica." Mabel glared.

"Well, if it isn't the Pines family! Fat, old, lame, braces! And look, you brought 'the help' with you! Does she always where those clothes to work?" Well that was unexpected, but I shrugged it off. Honestly I really didn't care about her insults.

"Soos, would it be wrong to punch a child?" Stan whispered, clenching his

"I got this." Dipper whispered back. "Hey, Pacifica! How's that whole 'your family being a frauds' thing working out for you?" Dipper smirked.

"Great, actually! That's the thing about money! It makes problems go away!" Pacifica said happily.

"Really? I don't see your dad leaving anytime soon." I glared and her parents gasped in horror. Pacifica just stared at me, probably wondering why I didn't insult her.

"Well, money sure can't buy you skill! You walked into the game of a mini-golf champion!" Mabel exclaimed boldly.

"Ha! Sergei!" Pacifica called and snapped her fingers as the tall man came up from behind. "This is Sergei, my trainer!" She introduced.

"The Sportylmpics had mini-golf once. I took gold!" Sergei exclaimed and showed us his medal.

"So if you don't mind moving out of the way of the professionals! Hmpf..." Pacifica then walked over the the bonus hole.

"So you have a fancy trainer big whoop! Mabel learned how to play all on her own!" I called after her.

"Hmm... hmm..." Pacifica simply hummed and whacked the ball with her club, scoring the ball into the volcano and it exploded. Wasn't this game for kids too?

"Enjoy second place. Give her a hand, folks!" Pacifica sassed and stared to walk off.

"Oh, yeah? Well... I want a rematch, you... you WALKING ONE-DIMENSIONAL BLEACHED BLONDE VALLEY GIRL STEREOTYPE!" Mabel exclaimed and everyone gasped dramatically as Pacifica glared and closed her compact mirror and walked over to Mabel.

"Like, let's do this!" She said sincerely. And cue dark clouds to set the mood.

"Hear ye! Hear ye! Honk honk!" We turned to see the Mattress King, dude.

"Ow!" I winced as he drove into a lamp post and continued to do so before backing up and turning the cart.

"Stop at once! The park is now closed due to weather! The King of Mini-golf has spoken!" He announced and the cart fell over. "Ahh! The king is down!" He exclaimed and I turned away to keep from cringing.

"This isn't over. You, me, midnight. We'll see who's best!" Pacifica challenged.

"I'll be here!" Mabel replied and lighting struck as it began to rain and the Northwest's took out their umbrellas and walked away as poor Sergei ran behind them.

"I'll be here." Mabel repeated, hands in her hips. "Puh! Puh! Hair in my mouth. Puh!" She spat her hair out and continued glaring.

"Okay, as fun as this is, can we please get somewhere dry?" I pleaded and everyone nodded in agreement. We ended up at Hermanos Brothers Diner and I texted Nate to meet me there. I waited for a few minutes and he ran in, wearing a lime green raincoat.

"Hey, crazy weather huh?" He asked as he took off his coat.

"I'm sure it'll clear up." I assured him and we walked over to the booth where Mabel was sitting glumly.

"What's up with Mabel? She okay?" He asked.

"It's a long story. Basically she's worried about beating her rival at mini golf." I explained as Dipper fed his twin some chips.

"Time to scratch mini-golf off my talents list." Mabel sighed.

"Aw, don't give up, Mabel." Soos said, coming over to the booth.

"Soos is right. So she got a lucky shot? You can still beat her at the other holes. We didn't see her play at those." I added.

"Yeah! If you beat her at this, she can never rag on you again. Imagine it!" Dipper said encouragingly. Imagine it Mabel did, we all know the whole Xyler and Craz with the burned pun, moving on. The point was Mabel was smile.

"You're right, guys. I just need to practice a little more before midnight." Mabel said, standing up on the table.

"Go to the golf course after dark, you say? I don't know, we'd have to break in and...Just kidding let's break in!" Stan exclaimed and I laughed.

"That's Stan in a nutshell for ya." I said to Nate who put his arm around me.

"Makes sense. Don't let him influence you too much." He teased and I laughed.

Later everyone was getting to leave. Nate said he wanted to head to Greasy's diner for dinner so that means I would miss the Golf War. Not that I minded, this was mainly for Mabel, Dipper and Pacifica anyway.

"Good luck Mabel! Remember to have fun!" I waved as Nate and I walked off.

"Thanks! And don't have too much fun!" Mabel called after us and gave a playful wink. I just rolled my eyes whole I think Nate blushed.

We went over to Greasy's diner and Lazy Susan took our orders quickly. We got our drinks, though the food seemed to be taking a while. I didn't mind, Nate and I were having a good time talking anyway.

"...and that's why Thompson ate the run over waffle. Yeah, that was a life changing day for all of us." Nate finished.

"Wow, sounds like it. It must have been a crazy day." I commented and we laughed. Then the headache came back. I tired to ignore it this time and push it back but it kept coming and it was stronger. I groaned and clutched my head, spilling my water as I did so.

"Whoa, Emily are you okay?" Nate asked and reached his hand towards me, but the headache then got stronger.

"Nate...I...I...I'll be right back!" I said quickly and ran out of the booth and to the bathroom.

Leaving Nate alone.

(Third Person)

Nate sighed as Emily ran into the bathroom. He really wanted to help her, just he had no idea what was going on. These 'small headaches' were getting way more frequent and it worried him. Now it seemed to be causing her a lot of pain.

"I don't get it, why won't she just tell me what's going on? I can take it...probably..." Nate trailed off and groaned to himself. Placing his head into his hands.

"What if the universe doesn't want us together...?" He questioned and rested his chin on a hand and noticed a hooded figure come in and walk straight to his booth and sat down in Emily's spot.

"Sorry, that's seat taken." Nate said.

"Don't worry, I won't be long." Came a feminine reply. Nate tried to see her face, but the hood covered it and I'll he could see was her mouth moving, and some brown hair that went past her shoulders. At least he thought it was brown.

"Uh...who are you?" Nate asked, suddenly feeling on edge.

"Not important, but I have a feeling your dealing with much more then a stranger." She said as she cleaned up the spilled water. Nate glanced around, hoping Emily would come out of the bathroom.

"Okay...look Emily is going to be back soon so..."

"I know Emily is going through a lot right now, and she may not be open to it yet, but really all you can do right now is be there for her when she is ready to talk about it. If you had something going on, wouldn't you want that?" She asked and Nate took a moment to process this.

"Yeah...I guess your right. I'm just worried about her..." Nate admitted.

"That's only natural, just keep being there for her, and don't back her into a corner. Okay?" The stranger said and Nate nodded silently. She quickly checked her watch and stood up.

"Goodbye." She then adjusted her hood and walked away.

"Wait, I didn't catch your name!" Nate called after her.

"That's cause I didn't throw it!" She called back and left the diner. Nate blinked and sat back down, processing what he just heard.

(Emily's P.O.V)

Bill, I swear if I get the chance to give you a headache for each time you gave me one, you better believe I'm gonna take it!

That was the thought running through my head as I splashed water on my face and sighed heavily to myself. My necklace has pulsed so my head ache was gone, but I'm starting to get worried that if the headaches keep getting worse then the necklace won't work anymore.

Or worse, it started harming Nate!

I groaned again and took a deep breath and looked in the mirror. I saw myself looking just fine and looked myself dead in the eye.

"Okay Emily, you are going to go out there, put a smile on your face, and have a great time with your boyfriend! Great? GREAT!" I exclaimed and brushed myself off and walked out of the bathroom and over to the booth and sat down to face Nate.

"Sorry I took so long. Did I miss anything?" I asked smiling happily, and Nate smiled back.

"No, still waiting for the food...hey look it's here!" Nate gasped and I turned and saw our food be delivered.

"Thanks Susan!" I said happily as I took my burger.

"Your welcome you two...adorable lovey...loveies." Susan gushed and left. Nate and I looked at each other, shrugged and laughed as we started to eat.

The rest of the meal was us talking again. I felt much better and no headaches were bothering me anymore! So that was cool. After we ate, Nate decided to go on a nice walk and I agreed. We somehow made our way to look-out-point and we stopped to admire the view. It was great and Nate put his arm around me and I felt another headache again. Nate noticed and gave me a concerned look.

"I'm fine." I assured him. He didn't seem so convinced and I looked down, ashamed.

"Nate, I'm sorry I haven't been open..."

"No, It's okay." I looked back up at Nate as he continued.

"I know you're going through something and it's okay of you don't want to talk about it, I get it. But I just want you to know, when you are ready to talk about it, I'll be here. So you can always come to me, okay?"

I stared up at Nate. I did not see that coming, but I could tell he meant every word and my heart skipped a beat when hearing that. My eyes started forming tears but I pushed them away and looked at Nate.

"Thank you. I didn't realize how much I needed to hear that." I said sincerely and Nate smiled at me and we held each other's hands.

"Emily, you mean a lot to me. Ever since we met and you became our friend, I just...I just knew you were special." Nate confessed and I felt my cheeks warm up.

"I'm glad we meet. You and everyone's friendship means so much to me." I said.

Nate and I then just stood there for a moment, staring at each other like a couple of idiots. I didn't care though. Right now it was just me and him. We looked at one another and o couldn't help but notice everything about him. His nice hair, caring smile, cute nose, the way the stars sparkled in his eyes. I then gripped his hands tighter and we suddenly started to lean in. I saw my necklace glow as I closed my eyes and my lips met his.

We kissed, an actual kiss!

I felt my world slow down as we simply held each other and kissed. Everything felt right and I was so happy! Nothing mattered, not the crazy headaches, the weird mysteries I still haven't solved, not even Bill himself. All that mattered was me and Nate. Finally after what seemed like years, we broke apart and stared at each other.

"Wow..." Nate gasped and I smiled.

"Wow indeed."

"Uh...Emily?" Nate gasped and I looked down to see that my necklace had not stopped glowing, and this was a REALLY bright glow, the only other time I saw it glow this bright was...in my dream...

"Um...I don't know...what's..." I was cut off by beams of light shoot out from the emerald and started to swirl around us. And I swear I heard a family voice speak:

"With this action he's no longer in control

Now a great power can take its toll

He will never cause you any more aches

With true loves kiss the spell shall break"

As soon as the chant ended the green swirls went back into my necklace and I felt it pulse again before it faded to normal.

"Are...are you okay." Nate asked, still not letting go of my hands.

"Yeah...yeah...I'm fine...I'm..." I stopped. I didn't feel the headaches, there was nothing there. No pain, no stress, nothing.

"I'm fine!" I gasped and started laughing. "I'm better then fine! I'm fantastic!" I cheered and kissed Nate on the lips again as I hugged him. He was caught off guard but returned the gesture.

And in that moment, I was perfectly happy.

After all that we just spent our time in each other's company. Our smiles never left our faces and...man I can't describe how I felt, it was just AMAZING! I've never been in a relationship like this before, so this is all new to me, but I don't care! It's an adventure I'm looking forward to.

"Thanks again for a wonderful night." I said as we made our way back to my treehouse.

"You're welcome. I had a great time to." Nate smiled and gripped my hands. We kissed again and I climbed up the ladder and stopped right before the hatch and turned back to Nate.

"See you later!" I waved and Nate playfully bowed.

"Until we meet again!" He proclaimed and we laughed as he walked off. I pretended no to see him raising his fists happily. I laughed again and went inside my treehouse before sighing dreamily.

"This is probably one of the best days of my life." I smiled and took off my purse and fell onto my mattress. I cuddled with Bear-Bear and before I knew it, I was asleep.

(Third Person)

A hooded figure stood on a cliff of the mountain and watched the small light where Emily's treehouse was go out and smiled.

Perfect.

The figure reached into its cloak and was about to pull something out when a flash of light came from behind.

"Young lady, you are in so much trouble." A strong male voice boomed.

"Oh come on! I was going to come back!" The hooded figure whined.

"I know you meant well, but going back in time? Really?"

"Hey, I did my research. I was supposed to go back. It was meant to be, and I'm not gonna apologize for helping the time stream." She huffed turning to face the man, who pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Okay, I'll give you that. But your parents got worried. So you're gonna have to answer to them." He said and took out a tape measure.

"I knew I would, maybe they'll see reason in my argument." She offered as the man extended it to 20 years.

"I hope so, and you owe me for leaving my pregnant wife." The man added.

"I'm sorry Uncle Dipper, I promise I'll babysit for free for the first ten times." She promised and he smiled, placing a hand in her shoulder.

"Thanks Celine, that means a lot." And with that he prodded the button and the two disappeared in a flash.

(Emily's P.O.V)

Everywhere I seemed to walk was glitching. Like the connection was failing or something. The only thing that seemed normal was Bear-Bear, who had appeared when I first started dreaming, and me.

"For dreams, this is way too weird." I said to my plush. He nodded and suddenly growled menacingly and I gasped as I saw a familiar figure in front of us.

Bill.

He seemed angry, but I couldn't make out what he was saying. His glitching kinda reminded me of the season finale. I simply crossed my arms.

"I'm guessing you saw what happened, but I didn't care what you have to say. Nate and I are dating now, so there." I said simply and I'm pretty sure Bill glared.

"You...him...won't...out...you...die...he...move..." That's all I heard Bill stuttered out between the glitches. I then glared and clenched my fists.

"News flash, you can't keep my from Nate. I love him! And nothing you throw at me will change that, so leave me ALONE!" I exclaimed and a green ripple of light burst out from my necklace and ripples through my minds-scape and I saw Bill seemingly being pushed back and the glitching continued and I smirked.

"And this time stay out." I deadpanned and with that Bill disappeared and my dream faded into a nice beach were a chair sat in the sand and I walked over with Bear-Bear who lay down at my feat as I relaxed in the lounge chair and relaxed.

I was free from Bill.

For now.

Author's Note:

Yes, it finally happened! You're welcome! Nate and Emily had their first kiss, which I've been planning for a LONG time. Same with the chant, go ahead and laugh at my amateur poetic skills.

Anyway, I hope you all had a great Easter. I know I did! Sorry I couldn't update sooner, I just had a lot to do and was busy. You know, classic stuff. As always I'd love to get reviews from all of you! They mean so much to me! And I'll, see you all in the next chapter.

Miss Mystery (Guest): Wow indeed, my friend. Wow indeed.

8-BitCookies: Awwwww, that was so sweet! I'm so glad you liked it so far! Welcome to the story! Hope you enjoyed this chapter too!