Hey guys! it's me, just wanna say thank you so much for reading my fic, credit inspiration to probably-fake-blonde on tumblr, as well as thank fandomsandflyingstingrays for letting me use their headcannons! just a fair warning, there is implied dipcifica in the main universe but that doesn't mean that it will be the same in every universe. Anyways, hope you like it, and please lmk what you think in the comments :D
Chapter 1: The Last 2-Years | Part I |
Saturday, August 25th, 2012-
It had been an exhausting and emotionally taxing day, after the Pines Twins had left the day prior, Pacifica felt like something she had just started, had left. Leaving her completely on her own, feeling dissatisfied and lonesome. Although she still had contact with Mabel via text, Pacifica had no one else to talk to that wasn't her family or employee, and those interactions left her lacking. After her family lost the mansion as well as a lot of money, her social status plummeted. The two girls that she usually hung out with iced her out, and they started being really mean to her.
How could they? I basically created them… These were her first thoughts, but then she really started to realize how terrible they were and how the things they said affected other people, as well as herself. Pacifica was already ashamed of her family but now she was feeling guilty for being so awful. It was what made her take Mabel aside before everyone celebrated their birthday, to genuinely apologize for how she had treated the other girl. She explained that her parents' approval had hinged on her being the best in everything, and she thought being the best meant putting everyone around her down. But, she says, Mabel has saved her life twice now without Pacifica doing anything to deserve it, and that probably makes Mabel the better person anyway. Mabel teared up a bit and told her it was all water under the bridge, then gave Pacifica a hug.
And when Pacifica thought about reaching out to the other members of the zodiac after only having a scarce amount of interaction with them didn't feel like it would be the appropriate course of action, on top of that she hadn't been the nicest person, and the lines of good and bad were still pretty blurry.
All of this and more flooded Pacifica's mind as she helped her family's only butler and maid unpack their belongings from boxes to put inside the Northwest's new house and get anything that couldn't fit inside to put in storage or sell. It was small compared to the mansion that now unbelievably belonged to the local hillbilly, and because of the family's new shortened income, Pacifica had gone from having over 20 beautiful stallions and mares to a 10-year-old horse that had been given to her when she was 5.
Her parents had said she had to choose just one which made sense, but it had been one of the hardest decisions she had to make.
Although it didn't compare to the decision she had to make during the Northwest Annual Grand Ball, where she had helped Dipper Pines get rid of the ghost that had been haunting the Manor. (and hugged him by accident too, not that it's important).
Only for Dipper to come back and point out that the ghost was only looking for revenge against the Northwests for backing out on a promise and inadvertently being the reason for the ghost's death.
Dipper also pointed out that it was very similar to what they had done with himself, by manipulating him into getting rid of the ghost instead of doing the right thing. He had called her another link in the world's worst chain for enabling his parents to do this. After he left Pacifica went back into the room they had been cornered in to hide and found a paper trail of all the bad things her ancestors had done and she realized he was right.
A bit later Dipper found her and said he needed her help because only a Northwest could open the gates to right the wrongs that had been done in the past. But she pushed away and showed him what she found, telling him that she was too afraid to disobey her parents and he was right about her being another link in the world's worst chain. But he apologized to her and said it wasn't too late for her to change. The ghost had other plans and bellowed from the main hall that it was in fact too late. Dipper tried to trap the ghost again but was turned into wood.
She didn't know what to do, but felt like the right thing was to let in the townspeople, her father disagreed and rang that stupid bell. But she didn't relent and let them into the party anyway. It was definitely the hardest decision but probably one of the best that she'd made in her life.
In terms of the new house though, Pacifica told herself she would adjust and be grateful. Yet when the word softly echoed in Pacifica's mind she could feel her teeth grinding, and subconscious ringing back with a saying her father would lecture her with as a little girl,
'A Northwest does not thank anyone, we are above that type of behavior.'
Even as the lecture came back, the Pines Twins thanked her for the gift she made them came back, why would they thank her if it was wrong?
The idea of sharing also came back to her, Pacifica remembered that when Mabel had tried to explain the concept to her briefly she said that
"sharing is when you spread your gratitude with the world around you! It's why I choose to share my beautiful smile with as many people as I can!"
Though she knew it was around the time they had their golf rematch, she could not for the life of her remember how that went. Not that it was important anymore.
Pacifica decided anyway that gratitude was something she would try out, even if it became hard.
It was getting late, and Pacifica could see the beginning of stars outside, as well as what looked like fairies and glowing rocks?
'Whatever, just another weird part of living in Gravity Falls. The literal freak magnet for paranormal activity
A couple of minutes later she was still trying to distract herself and could see the light of the fairy dimming out as if it was about to sleep. The glowing rock things seemed to be making some sort of humming noise… before she could wonder about them or start to think that it wasn't so bad, Matthew, (the butler) had collected them to throw into the forest, as they didn't match her parent's idea of perfect. Thus, were not at the top of her mind, she had more pressing matters at hand. She continued to ignore the elephant in the room, instead of distracting herself by immersing in finishing up a shower as well as her face routine before bed.
An hour later she still forced herself not to think about it. The school was starting on Monday, and Pacifica normally had no problem with school, this would be the first time she was going to public middle school.
In her mind she should already be in high school, with all the private tutors and everything that 'The Academy for Upcoming Members Of Society' had taught and offered, it just made sense. It was another downside of her current condition. Although the school was pretentious many of the classes pushed her to be ahead of her soon-to-be peers academically. She'd heard that they didn't have some of the classes that she normally liked, and wanted to start or continue, such as Leadership/Entrepreneurship, Psychology, Art, and Foreign Languages.
Horror stories that her 'friends' Tiffany and Brittany had told her one night during Weirdmaggedon are all that stuck out to her. The bathrooms not being clean, the teachers not allowing you to take important phone calls or texts, and a dress code? 'Fashion is the only dress code I should have to adhere to, of course, they wouldn't understand. She knew that they would at least have an art class and teach Spanish 101 once she got into high school.
Great now she was thinking about it.
Now that I don't have any friends, I'm going to be a social parish… Not to mention that her dad had been doing business with a demon… Pacifica shuddered, time stopped, and the room felt cold, she didn't even want to think about his name or the nightmare that had been Weirdmaggedon. It had been the reason she pushed to be in therapy, well that and the fact that her parents literally conditioned her to obey when they rang a bell. Though it was frustrating that she couldn't talk about it with anyone else, Mayor CuteBiker had been adamant about the "Nevermind All That" policy and it aggravated her. And it wasn't like she had any real friends besides the Pines Twins.
Whatever happened, Pacifica knew she would try her best to get through it. The image was still very important to her and since she had found her parents to be unreliable, it seemed like the Pines twins were the closest she had.
'Maybe I could try to make new friends…. Or not, but either way I'll stand strong. Not that she would ever say it out loud, but deep down Pacifica was insecure in herself and the shallow nature of the relationship she used to have with Tiff and Britt. It had also happened to be her Birthday when she met Mabel, on June 25th. Well, it had actually been the 23rd that she had met Mabel, Pacifica remembered because, on the 22nd, her parents planned to have a birthday party for her with all of their friends and business associates but allowed her to invite two people from her choice. It wasn't her idea of a fun party to stand around and network and she had ended up getting in a fight with them, not that she wanted to disappoint them but just thought that they'd be reasonable and respect what she wanted now that she was getting older. But just like any other time she tried to let herself out of their mold for her, the bell rang out. So the next day she decided to do what she wanted.
She hoped that this time she could right her wrongs by earning their forgiveness and being a good friend. Not that she knew how, Pacifica just knew that she would keep trying no matter what.
It'll be okay. Who knows? And whatever happens, I still have my pride.
On the first day of school, Tiffany and Brittany had made it their personal mission to get other people to either gossip or make fun of her, it didn't last very long since she made some threats towards her assailants, but at lunch, she went to sit by herself, trying her best to make it look like it was on purpose. To her surprise, Mabel's two friends came and sat next to her without any further discussion. Admittedly her first thought was I can't believe I've sunk this low…
But almost as a rebuttal, her second thought was
Wait, this isn't low, these people are kind, and if there's one thing that I've learned during Weirdmageddon, it's that kindness always overrules dignity when it counts.
After that day, the school year started to go by really quickly. When anyone made a joke about Grenda's voice or mocked Candy's latest invention, Pacifica was ready in a second with a retort that scalded their egos so badly they never so much as thought about making another comment, all her years of collecting social blackmail were finally being used for the greater good. Candy and Grenda started to see a side of Pacifica they never got a chance to before: that she was quick and clever, passionate, and fiercely loyal. It takes Pacifica a little bit to get used to her new friend group. After a lifetime of backhanded insults mixed in with a thousand false compliments, after a lifetime of friendship being nothing more than a game of strategy and status, being around people with such unbridled sincerity is new, but welcome. Pacifica realized that Candy and Grenda meant it when they complimented her, that they never judged or corrected her unless she was doing something worth correcting. She finally had friends that whom she can be entirely herself for the first time in her life, and the relief is almost overwhelming. Pacifica took them on shopping sprees and let them meet her pony. They spent their lunches poring over magazines and laughing hard enough to deafen the other students.
To her surprise, in November, Mabel put them in a group chat with herself, Wendy Corduroy, Candy, and Grenda. Not only so that they could all get closer as friends but also to help Mabel start planning what would be her next trip to Gravity Falls in the summer. Pacifica didn't really respond to most of the texts, and neither did Wendy. Because the conversation usually consisted of things that Mabel, Candy, and Grenda usually bonded over, such as boys they liked, knitting, past adventures, pop idols, and other things that neither Pacifica nor Wendy were usually drawn to. But there was the occasional meme or interest in what they were talking about that they all ended up chatting about, sometimes it was something small that happened in the day that they shared, and it was the things like that which made her world.
She had grown to appreciate the differences in her new friends' personalities, which happened to be a sharp contrast to who her parents tried to make her, a bully that dissected anything that made you weird or different and made it seem like the worst possible thing in the world. Wendy was very chill, adventurous, and spontaneous all things that she started to draw out of Pacifica when they got to talking. Their relationship actually started sometime in December when Pacifica felt the need to give Wendy something for Christmas, even if they didn't talk all the time, Pacifica appreciated the older girl and was glad to have a friend that wasn't ingenuine, so she had given her the Lumberjacks Axe, which was received with appreciation,
approval and slight confusion.
Grenda was enthusiastic, determined, and always up to entertain new and exciting things, due to her rough nature Pacifica had to get used to the way she expressed these traits and had a hard time getting used to it. They had butted heads a couple of times on the way to do things but grew to appreciate each other and love her for them, after hurting one another and having to add forgiveness on their to-do lists for how they handled things. Grenda was a good friend that had taught Pacifica that she isn't the only one growing up, other people had been in her place before.
Candy was complex and shy, tender-hearted, idealistic, gentle, and independent. She loved inventing. They usually bonded over how they loved to try new food, and invent, while Candy liked to invent new ways to make ordinary things easier, Pacifica was more of a trendsetter, they were also both resourceful, and plan things ahead of time. In fact, they had taken over planning Mabel's trip for her. Underneath the shy exterior, Pacifica had discovered that Candy was driven towards her goals, listened to her heart, and valued honesty above everything, just like the rest of the girls. But Pacifica had learned how much Candy valued honesty when she had let an old habit come back up.
Pacifica had finally gotten her parents to let her have a sleepover, while her parents are out of town at a meeting. Pacifica had begged them to leave no sign of their presence. Candy and Grenda assumed it was because she was still a bit ashamed of them and, with discretion not being part of their vocabulary, they absolutely trashed the place, Preston and Priscilla were livid when they came home and it's the first time Candy and Grenda really realize what Pacifica's childhood was like, they apologized sincerely and spent months trying to make it up to her. In the end, they all trusted each other more as a result of it, even though it was hard, it strengthened their friendship.
Candy and Pacifica were also excited that they were both skipping the 8th grade and going straight to high school together, Wendy seemed happy about it too and suggested that they could chill with her and hopefully, some of the other older kids as well until they graduated. Both of them were pretty happy to have a chance to hang out with the older redhead more often. Candy said that she might not be able to hang out as much as she would like with them because people tended to drain her energy. Though she would still love to sit with her new friends and talk when they were at school. Pacifica was excited about it, from what she could tell, Wendy's personality was something she admired. Besides not getting a majority of the time how the older girl seemed not to care about what other people thought, or said.
Yet after being excited about the new change, both Candy and Pacifica realized that they didn't consider how this would make Grenda feel. She would be all alone at the school without them. Pacifica said that Grenda should understand and be happy for them, and even though she was worried about how it would affect their relationship, she didn't know until after Candy explained the importance of the issue, how big of a deal it was. So, they decided to tell Grenda the news and that they had decided to stay back instead of going up because their friendship with Grenda meant more than that.
But Grenda was not having it and with much attitude, responded to their worries with,
"Guys, It means a lot to me that you would sacrifice that, but I'll be okay! It's not like we aren't going to hang out or anything, and I won't be alone here. I have other friends y'know."
"We know, we just wanted you to know how much you mean to us, and that we would never abandon you! Right, Paz?"
"No duh!" Pacifica responded, Wendy had coined the nickname and although she thought it sounded like Pez a little too much for her liking, she grew to appreciate it.
"Aww, thanks you guys! Hugs?"
"Hugs." They responded in unison. Pacifica could tell that it wasn't the same for them without Mabel, and she was still getting used to the physical contact which she had been told was a 'love language' not just another way to spread disease.
This friendship thing is getting easier, Paz thought to herself, although it wasn't the easiest to stay in contact with both Pines Twins since school and therapy had taken precedence over her life. Mabel was easier, she was not only more outgoing but very active in the group chat. And since she was already helping plan her summer activities it just became a part of her routine. Dipper, on the other hand, was more involved with school than Pacifica was, which is saying something. And she had found out the hard way that he didn't have a phone, the summer before.
A bit after what happened with the ghost in Northwest Manor, Pacifica had come to Dipper again for the help, this time it was because she had gotten her first wrinkle at the ripe age of 12, and thought that he could conjure something up that would help her with his dumb book because she had an important photo shoot with her parents and was worried since she was already on thin ice after what happened with the ghost. But Dipper had refused to use them on something that trivial.
She then went to use the journal anyway under the guise of needing to use their bathroom, ( it was hard to turn off the lying and had been told that if it benefited the 'grand scheme' of things, then it was okay.) after some consideration over the options presented that could help her with the problem, she summoned 'Mr. What's-His-Face' who promised a blemish-free face, but before anything can happen, Mabel and Dipper barged in causing Mabel's face to be stolen.
Mabel's face could see where he was headed so with directions from her face, Pacifica and Dipper headed toward Mr. What's His Face. With some back and forth on how appearances happen to actually matter to Pacifica, he wouldn't get it because he was kissing aliens or something with his dumb book. They ended up in an underground black market of sorts where the paranormal residents of gravity falls happened to reside during the day. Dipper had said they needed to cover themselves in the garbage in order to blend in and not get eaten by monsters, just for Pacifica to discover that he only said that to see if she would do it, which she had. To avoid being discovered as human, Pacifica takes on the guise of 'Jackie the Elf Bandit' with her slave 'Troll Boy'.
While initially, their disguise works, Pacifica had gotten sidetracked from their original assignment, and bought beauty pills from a crow vendor, leading to an argument with Dipper over her inability to accept that she has flaws because she's human. But when the other members of the market hear this, it led to them being captured and auctioned off to an unknown buyer who threw them in a burlap sack. While they were trapped in the sack, she had revealed that her parents taught her from a very young age that looks are everything and that you will always be judged by your cover. She hadn't been sure who she was without them. Dipper urged her to stop worrying about what other people think and assured her that she's more than just a pretty face, and she gave him a hug.
At that moment it was revealed that their buyer was Mr. What's-His-Face and they had been brought to his base. Dipper and Pacifica then confronted the monster and demanded Mabel's face back, but he took Dipper's face instead and gloated about having a complete set of twins. He then forced Pacifica to choose between having an everlasting beautiful face or fighting him to get back the twins' faces, and after some hesitation, she set Mr. What's-His-Face's head on fire by tossing the explosive beauty pills at him.
Mabel's face then guided Dipper and Pacifica to an exit at the Shack's outhouse, where Ford ( one of their Grunkles ) froze the pursuing monster. He congratulated them on finding the Crawlspace and said something about taking Mr. What's-His-Face back to the bunker as a new specimen to study. Although she had panicked for a brief second at only having five minutes to clean herself up, Pacifica decided not to care about looking perfect and attended the shoot covered in rubbish, much to her parents' disgust.
Before she left Pacifica had gotten a contact number for Dipper and decided to text him,
"Hey, Dipper…so about that hug. Don't
get the wrong idea or anything.
There was monster drool on my sleeve
and I was just wiping it off on you.
As if I'd actually hug you on
purpose!"
"Pacifica? This is Mabel! Dipper
doesn't have a cell phone.
What hug?"
"What?! Uh, nothing!
This was a prank text!"
"OMG DO YOU LIKE DIPPER?!"
"DELETE THIS NUMBER!"
"WHEN'S THE WEDDING LOLLLLLL"
"I'M SENDING MY
BUTLER TO BREAK
YOUR LEGS"
Pacifica was fine with only being able to keep in contact with Mabel, but anytime he was mentioned in their texts she would get this weird feeling in the pit of her stomach, probably just nerves from the ghost-related adventures we had, she did ask about him every so often.
And before she knew it, the school year was over. All she would have to wait for in order for her summer to be perfect was the Pines Twins, which didn't take long. She was overjoyed, not that she would ever admit that. When they came in town it was pretty late so neither could visit, Mabel had tried to get her Grunkles ( who had come in just to see and spend time with Dipper and Mabel for the summer, even though Stan insisted that he came because he needed to make sure that Wendy and Soos hadn't burned down the shack in the 9 months they had been gone ) to concede to a sleepover but had passed out before getting their answer.
The next morning, Mabel wanted to go on an adventure with everyone, Soos couldn't make it because he had to help Melody with something. Marius had come into town as a surprise for Grenda and although she was adamant with the 'sisters before misters' rule, Mabel threatened that if Grenda didn't spend time with her boyfriend she would ignore her when they hung out. Which worked out because Candy wasn't able to hang out because her parents wanted her to apply for a summer internship and would not have felt as comfortable being without her best friend. Mabel, Pacifica, and even Wendy were disappointed that they couldn't make it but very excited to finally hang out and see each other after so long.
Pacifica's parents hated the Pines Twins. All the more reason to go, but it was why she didn't ask for a ride. Originally Grenda's mom was going to pick her up and drive her back but had gotten distracted by company.
Maybe I should text Wendy…
BZZZZP!
Oh. Speak of the devil.
"I'm outside your house, and we won't hesitate to throw rocks at your window"
Who's we?
"Kk, omw"
Once Pacifica got outside, she saw that Wendy was not alone with the twins as she had suspected, but instead was Wendy's group of friends that Pacifica only knew through her description of them. If she remembered correctly -
Tambry was the only other girl in the group (not including Mabel from time to time and hopefully Paz), who liked texting, gossiping, parties, 'Pony Heist', and the color pink. Pacifica had been told that she looked a bit like her Aunt who was the news anchor Shandra Jiminez, but if she was a teenager with dyed hair and edgy makeup, Tambry was also dating Wendy's ex.
Nate was a high-energy older boy, that was carefree and laid back, with sarcastic tendencies, who had tattoos and wore a hat most of the time, he also loved to horse around and do stupid and crazy things with his friends.
Lee was a taller boy with blonde hair, who was very sarcastic and loyal. It was apparent that his best friend was Nate, he liked to do crazy and stupid things with his friends, and just hang out.
Thompson was an anxious kid who was like the glue of their whole group, he worked at the Royal Ragtime Theatre. This usually meant that they got to see them for free, or at least that's what they tried to convince him, Pacifica had been told that he could be pretty funny and was a bit of a pushover, he didn't mind driving them wherever the group was gonna go. A pretty fun-loving and friendly person.
Then there was Robbie.
He was a bit complex, Wendy gave Pacifica a watered-down version of everything that had happened with the group, and so had Mabel. This meant that Pacifica also knew that Robbie and Dipper hadn't gotten along last summer, and were almost considered rivals, not that she would bring this up to Wendy. It might embarrass her friend.
Wendy had told Paz that Robbie was a bit temperamental, if not moody. Very observant and artistic, he was also a natural problem solver, though he sees the world in black and white, he like Pacifica had been learning to better himself as a person. His relationship with Tambry and having a good friend in Mabel helped. He was starting to grow out of some angst, though the sarcasm and an often rude sense of humor stayed, and he was getting more comfortable expressing how much others' input meant to him.
Keeping what Wendy and Mabel had said in mind Pacifica got in Thompson's mom's van and happened to get seated in the back next to Nate and Wendy, Lee had to sit in front with Thompson after chugging so much chocolate milk from the gas station they stopped at on the way that he threw up.
It was the first time she had interacted with them and she was on her guard she could feel her breath begin to quicken, and she made herself draw slower breaths to calm her body down. And she relaxed her posture,
"What's the worst that could happen? I just need to let loose and have fun, if Wendy can trust them so can I"
"Who's that?"
"Pacifica, this is Tambry! Tambry this is Pacifica, you remember, she's the chick that I've been saying will be hanging out with us next year? Dipper and Mabel's friend."
"Oh yeah!" Chimed Thompson, "Nice to meet you!"
"You too, what happened to the roof of your… vehicle?"
To her left, Nate loudly took control of the conversation and answered for Thompson,
"Awesomeness! That's what happened, watch! Thompson! Thompson! Thompson!" He chanted as the other teenagers in the van mimicked his actions and punched the roof as well,
How barbaric….they're actually punching the roof of this unsanitary thing and chanting his name. I like it!
So, against poor Thompson's pleas, Pacifica joined the others in punching the roof of the vehicle and chanted his name.
"Thomps- BLEURGHHHHH!" moaned Lee as he threw up all over the dashboard of Thompson's moms van.
"I- agh, Lee? You could've at least tried to roll down the window or something"
"Cmon man it's not my fault"
"Yeah Thompson, last I checked you were the one who whined for Lee to be the one to chug the chocolate milk because you 'have vertigo' or something" sneered Robbie mockingly.
"….."
The exchange tickled Pacifica, she let out a small chortle, gaining a neutral look with a raised eyebrow from Robbie, as everyone else laughed as well. When he turned around, she could've sworn that she saw a slight curve in his lips.
I think I'm gonna like being a part of this group.
15 minutes later, the group arrived at the shack where Paz could see Dipper and Mabel on the porch talking to Soos who was fixing something. After Thompson pulled up and parked next to the picnic table, they all got out of the van in an organized fashion.
Mabel tackled Pacifica, as soon as she got out. Getting dirt and grass in her hair, leaving Paz slightly annoyed but her joy in seeing the Twins again outweighed the germaphobic concerns her parents pushed on her. Plus she could get it out in no time, squeezing Mabel back and letting her go hug everyone else
"Ahhhh! I missed you Pacifica, and I gotta admit I was surprised that you reached out after we left! I'm gonna miss Candy and Grenda today"
"Me too! Obviously, I was going to reach out. And we will totally still have our sleepover!"
"Good! I'm gonna go try to tackle Wendy, and then we'll go over what we're doing today, you're the best!"
"Uhm, no duh Mabel. I know that"
This elicited a lighthearted eye roll from Mabel, as she walked away Pacifica spotted Dipper in her Peripheral vision,
"Dipper!"
"Hey, Pacifica! It's good to see you. Man I never thought those words would come out of my mouth"
"Gee dork missed you too. Good to see you I guess." Paz replied playfully.
"You nervous?"
"I don't do nervous?"
"Suuuure, just wondering. I mean it's only the first time you've been on an adventure with us."
"Fourth if you count the apocalypse" she corrected, " And I handled myself pretty well last time"
"You got Mabel's face stolen."
"Whatever, I'm not nervous."
A couple of minutes later, their conversation was interrupted by Mabel, Soos, and Wendy standing up on the picnic table to announce the beginning of the trip.
"Dearly admired, we have gathered here today to tend to some unfinished business and go on a paranormal adventure!" Roared Mabel in a mocking and jovial tone.
"As a reminder, since we have all been on adventures involving the discovery of creatures whether accidental or purposeful, please try to stay aware of your immediate surroundings, make sure to bring a weapon, and have fun!"
"Where exactly are we going?" Nate questioned.
"What was that part about needing a weapon?"
"The Gravity Falls Museum of History!" Answered Mabel, ignoring Thompson's concern.