The most surprising thing about Dipper's morning was not that Mabel had managed to get up without disturbing her brother's reading time. It was not that Grunkle Stan seemed extremely positive even before he had had any coffee. It wasn't even that Grunkle Ford was still at home after 7 (usually he was at school by that time, marking the leftover papers that he didn't do the day before). The most shocking part of Dipper's morning was a small card that was placed in the middle of his desk. It was eggshell white, perfectly smooth, and had elegant handwriting on it.

Sorry - P

Dipper had an idea of who it might be, but it was impossible to conceive. Pacifica Northwest apologising? She was too stuck-up - she wouldn't even consider looking at anyone worth less than a million dollars. Dipper turned to look at Pacifica's desk. She sat at the front so that everyone could look at perfection and feel ashamed of themselves. Her hair was, admittedly, rather distracting. It glowed faintly in the light of the sun. Dipper looked away. He had a mystery to solve, he wasn't here to admire someone's hair.

Clearly, there was a sinister plan being calculated under that blonde head of hair. Dipper needed to figure it out.

Dipper waited until Pacifica was alone by her locker before he began making his way to her. Even though she was probably the worst person at the school, she was popular. If anything happened, Dipper didn't want any attention on him. Also, Pacifica probably didn't want to talk to him anyway, considering that she couldn't be bothered to talk to him.

Still, Dipper reasoned, she did at least try to apologise. Maybe she deserved a chance. Dipper agreed in his head to act kindly.

"What the hell is this?" Never mind, he thought. That was a bit aggressive.

Pacifica looked around to make sure he was talking to her. Or maybe she was making sure nobody saw them talking. She shoved Dipper to the side of the corridor. Then, making sure that nobody saw them, she leaned in closer to Dipper. "It's obviously an apology," she seethed. "Can't your nerdy little brain figure that out?"

Dipper was trying not to laugh. She was almost a head shorter than him, and she was trying to make up for it by standing on the tips of her toes. Still, she was strong enough to push him into a locker, so Dipper thought it best not to get on the wrong side of her. "Um, but why? What did you do?"

Pacifica narrowed her eyes. "Do you remember any of yesterday?"

"Um, yeah. But you insult me all the time. What's the difference?"

Pacifica stepped away from him. "I don't know. It just hit me that we always argue for no reason. It's just that you're poor and I'm rich-"

"-So?-"

"-and I'm hot and you're not-"

"-That's just mean-"

"-and I'm taken and you're obviously not-"

"-This is the worst apology ever-"

"-and you're super weak and-"

"Are you trying to apologise or not?" Dipper tried not to be offended by Pacifica's remarks. Pacifica looked away. "It's not an apology." Of course not, Dipper thought. She wouldn't apologise to anyone. "It's an olive branch."

Dipper wasn't sure what she meant. Was she planning on whacking him with a literal olive branch or something? Or was she actually offering a truce?

Pacifica held out her hand. A truce. Dipper hesitated. This seemed like some strange plan that would bite him back later. But Pacifica seemed to be sincere. Dipper tried to shake her hand but Pacifica whacked his away. "I was holding it out for the card. I can't have people knowing I talked to you." Dipper rolled his eyes and handed the card over.

Dipper turned around and walked away. He turned around to see Pacifica looking at him. She gave him a nod, then walked off. Maybe she was serious about that olive branch.

The rest of the school day was uneventful. Dipper finished his physics work in half an hour, worked on his design for a potential invention of Grunkle Ford's, stopped Mabel from flooding the corridor with glitter, and hid from Blendin Blandin, who was trying to flush him down the toilet again. Dipper was about to leave school when he felt a six-fingered hand on his shoulder. "Grunkle Ford? Is something wrong?"

"No, no, Dipper. Quite the opposite. Can you get your sister and bring her to the front of the school? There's something Stanley and I need to show you two."

Dipper nodded and left to find Mabel. She was probably hanging around with Candy and Grenda and might be throwing glitter on the floor. Dipper went to Mabel's locker. There he found Mabel, Candy, and Grenda... and Pacifica? He waited for them to finish their conversation, not really in the mood to confront Pacifica again. Pacifica turned and left the other three girls. Dipper made his way towards his sister who squealed when she saw him.

"Oh my gosh, Dipper! Guess what just happened!"

"Pacifica apologised to you for being a brat?"

"Yeah, sort of! How'd you know? Did she talk to you too?"

"Yeah, she did. Let's walk and talk." They began walking to the front of the school.

"I'm just glad I was close enough to her to smell her shampoo!" Grenda said.

"It smells like beautiful flowers," Candy added.

"In case you've already forgotten," Dipper said. "Pacifica Northwest is the worst."

"But you said she talked to you, Dipper. What do you mean?"

"That doesn't mean she never did all those terrible things to us." Dipper and the girls turned a corner.

"I think you need to open your heart more." Mabel poked his chest.

"Yeah! We open our hearts all the time!" Grenda and Candy hugged each other.

The group were about to turn left when they heard a rather weak voice. "There's gotta be some geek or nerd hiding in this school!" Blendin. "You know what?" Dipper looked at the girls. "Let's go the other way."

"You know, Dipper, you need to stand up to Blendin at some point."

"Punch him in the face!"

Dipper sighed. "Yeah, but I'm not charming like you, Mabel. And I don't have muscles like Grenda. And I'm not carefree like Candy. It's hard."

"Well," Candy said. "Maybe it is because you do not stand up to people that you are not like us. But you are a really nice person, Dipper Pines."

Dipper was about to respond when he heard his name. "Dipper, great job!" Grunkle Ford came into view, followed by Grunkle Stan wearing a suit and a fez. "Grunkle Stan? What are you doing here?"

"Wait a minute!" Mabel pointed her finger at Stan. "We're going on a family trip, aren't we?"

"Uh, sort of. But come on kids, I think I broke a few stop signs on the way here. Now put on some blindfolds and get into my car!"

The Pines family parted ways with Grenda and Candy, then got into Stan's car. They put on their blindfolds after Stan refused to start the car until the younger twins had covered their eyes. "Grunkle Stan, where are we going?"

"Ooh! Are we going fishing again?"

"It's a surprise, sweetheart. But you're gonna love it!"

"Oh my gosh, I love it!"

"I don't get it."

Grunkle Stan had stopped the car next to some abandoned house in the middle of the woods. It was quite large but seemed ruined and old. Grunkle Stan stepped forward. "Welcome to your new home!"

"What?" Dipper and Mabel screamed simultaneously.

"That's right," Grunkle Ford put his arm around his brother. "I found this house while doing some research with Professor McGucket. Turns out whoever owned this house previously had left the deed in there. And as part of the strange 'Finders Keepers' law of Gravity Falls, if you physically hold the deed, you own the property!"

Dipper was still confused. "Wait, so we got this for free? And why exactly are we moving?"

Grunkle Stan put his hands on the teenagers. "Look, kids. I've gotten through this life by riding on the coattails of my nerdy brother here. And I think it's time that I start making a name for myself. I've been a pest for long enough, I need to become a service to my family. And where better to do that than in a creepy house in the middle of the woods?"

"But what about the other house?" asked Mabel.

Grunkle Ford chuckled. "Oh, don't worry. Professor McGucket and I will be using it as a spot for our research. While I go get the furniture, I think you should all start cleaning the house."

As Ford drove off, Stan, Mabel and Dipper walked into the wooden house. As soon as he walked in, Dipper coughed out. It was extremely dirty. Mabel swiped her finger across the wall and licked it. "Yup." She nodded as if confirming some claim. "It's dust."

"It's gonna take weeks to finish cleaning this place up," Dipper groaned.

"You're right, kid. We're gonna need some help. You guys know anyone?"

"Grenda and Candy might be able to help," Mabel suggested. "Then again, Grenda needed to take Grenda Jr. to her grandma's house. I think Candy went with her."

"Well, that's just convenient. We need people who can be bribed easily and won't cost much."

"Wait!" Dipper fumbled through his phone. "I think I know just the people."

"Yo, Dipper! You called?" A redhead came into view as she stepped out of the shade of the trees.

"Wendy! How'd you make it so quickly?"

"My dad forced me to come with him to cut down some trees around here. Nice house, by the way." Dipper and Wendy walked back to the house, where Stan and Mabel were dusting the entrance.

"Hey Wendy! Look at all these cool bugs in the forest!" Mabel held out a caterpillar.

Wendy ruffled the girl's hair and turned to Grunkle Stan. "Mr Pines, Dipper said you had something for me?"

"Yeah, $10 if you help us clean this house. $15 if we finish by tonight."

Wendy grinned. "Deal."

The four worked for about five minutes in silence, occasionally asking for a cloth or the broom or a glass of water. Then a loud "Dudes! Where are you guys?"

Dipper and Mabel looked at each other. "Soos!"

The twins ran out of the house and began waving their arms in the air. "Soos! We're over here!"

"Yo dawgs, did you build this place? It looks so cool, dudes."

"Um, not quite, Soos," Dipper said. He explained how they needed help to clean up the house and that Stan was offering Soos $10. "Course dudes! I'll help you guys. Mr Pines, do you want me to bring my cleaning stuff from the pickup truck?"

"Bring whatever you need to, Soos." As Soos and Wendy walked back into the house, Grunkle Stan pulled Dipper and Mabel back. "You kids sure they can help? The girl maybe, but that man-child seems... relaxed." The three turned to look at Soos, who was picking up a chip he found on the floor. "Hey, dawgs, look! Would you pay me $10 if I ate this? Haha, I'm just kidding. Of course I'm gonna eat it!"

Dipper turned back to Stan. "Grunkle Stan, trust me. If there's any problem, Soos can fix it."

"Yeah," Mabel agreed. "He even made a mini TV show called 'Fixin' It With Soos'!"

Grunkle Stan looked at Wendy and Soos, then back at the two teenagers. "Alright then. I'm trusting you on this. Let's go, we've got a lot of cleaning up to do!"

Well, that's another chapter. I think you might be able to figure out what might become of this house in the woods. Thank you to everyone who has been messaging me about the story, and to those of you who like this story. It means a lot to me.

This was a fun chapter to write. I might have been able to throw in a bit more Dipper and Pacifica moments, but I thought that it would make more sense for the both of them if I kept it at a minimum for now. Don't worry, though! There's a lot more to come from this story!

Until next time!

And no, I still don't own the characters. Do I need to mention this every chapter? I don't think so. Well, just a note: if I ever do gain rights to the characters, I will inform you. Otherwise, assume that they don't belong to me.