Mabel looked at herself in the mirror. She looked cute enough, right? Jeff was gonna love her "Meow Wow" sweater. It was perfect. And this date was gonna be perfect. Because her first date could not be less than perfect. She was adorable, and Jeff seemed like an alright guy. She hadn't really noticed him that much before. But he asked her out on her first date!

"Okay, what are you doing?" Dipper asked, walking into the attic. Grunkle Stan and Soos had put some mattresses in the attic as makeshift beds, at least until the bedframes were built. It was their room. Dipper had already put all his books in piles on the floor, and Mabel had stuck some of her favourite posters on the wall.

Mabel looked away from the mirror. "Dipper, I need a man's... boy's perspective."

Dipper rolled his eyes but gestured for Mabel to continue.

"What do you think?" She turned slowly so that Dipper could see her from all angles because Mabel needed to look perfect.

"I think... that Jeff Norman is undateable. Why did you agree again?"

Mabel groaned. "Come on, Dipper! It's a date! How many people, between the two of us, have we dated?"

Dipper looked at the floor. "Zero."

"And who got asked out first, considering where I'm going at 5?"

"You."

"So who has more experience in romance?"

Dipper raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure that's not how it works, Mabel. I'm telling you, from what I know about Norman, he's kind of a jerk to girls. Apparently, he even kidnapped Emma Sue to force her to go out with him!"

"Pfft! That's not true. He's gonna be dreamy, and I'm gonna be adorable. And this date is gonna be perfect!" At that moment, the owl clock hooted. 5 o'clock. The doorbell rang. "I'm coming!" Mabel ran down the steps, closely followed by her brother. At least Jeff was punctual.

Mabel opened the door, where Jeff was standing. He was wearing a black hoodie with a stick poking out of the top. It was fashionable, in a weird "I'm-a-zombie" sort of way.

"Hey, Jeff! What do you think of my sweater?"

Jeff looked at the sweater and blinked. "It's... shiny."

Mabel giggled. "You scallywag. You always know what to say!"

Dipper shook his head and went back up the stairs to help Stan and Soos figure out how the plumbing worked. "So," Jeff nodded awkwardly. "Do you want to, like, hold hands or whatever?"

"Oh, so forward! Let's go, Norman. We can't keep the table reserved forever."

"It's Greasy's Diner, I don't think they have a booking system."

Mabel laughed a little too hard. Uh oh. Luckily, Jeff didn't seem to mind. Instead, he gestured for Mabel to follow him to the town.

Mabel poked at her food as her date laughed at a joke he just made. She laughed half-heartedly. In the few minutes she had been around Jeff, he seemed to have changed completely. Instead of complimenting her and being kind, he forced her to listen to dumb jokes and stories about his extremely large family. It was as if she was dating two completely different people.

"Hey, what's the matter princess? Is the food not good? Is that it?"

Not wanting to make Jeff feel bad, she nodded in agreement. "Uh, yeah. I'm not really hungry right now."

"Yeah, the food here ain't perfect. But I bet you know how to cook real well, huh?"

"Um... no. I can make Mabel juice though! It has glitter and plastic dinosaurs in it." Jeff looked confused. Uh oh. Did she say something bad? What was he thinking? Maybe he didn't like the sweater anymore! That couldn't be it, the sweater was perfect. What else happened? Dipper did say Mabel Juice wasn't the most normal drink...

"You can't cook?" Jeff asked. "Well, didn't your mom teach ya, or something?" Mabel didn't say anything. Dipper and Mabel's parents were in California, working on a really important project. They couldn't take care of their kids, which was why they sent the twins to Gravity Falls. While Mabel loved her Mom and Dad, she didn't like to talk about them a lot, and neither did Dipper.

Jeff could probably tell Mabel was getting uncomfortable, so he tried to change the topic. However, he didn't exactly think before speaking. "Well, of course, you're gonna be a better wife and take care of our kids, huh?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well, that's the girl's job in a relationship." Mabel could not believe what she was hearing. This was her first date? He'd seemed nice enough at the start, acting like a gentleman, but then he goes on about these stereotypes and her mother? Dipper was right. He was a jerk. Mabel didn't reply. Instead, she stood up and, without looking at Jeff, walked out of the restaurant. She hoped the food was expensive.

Mabel walked down the main road in silence, the autumn wind starting to become stronger as the sky grew darker. She sighed. Her first date was a failure. Maybe it was better not to put this in the scrapbook so that she could forget it. Mabel felt tears forming in her eyes, but shook them away. She was just turning out of the main town towards the woods when she heard a honk. "Mabel, is that you?"

"Wendy?" A van pulled up beside Mabel and Wendy got off. She slammed the side of the van, which drove off. Wendy looked at Mabel and smiled sadly. She knew. "Bad date, huh?"

Mabel brushed the hair out of her face. "Yeah..."

The two walked in silence. After a while, Mabel felt that Wendy would probably give the best advice about what just happened. "Hey Wendy, what happens if you go on a date but the guy was a total jerk?"

"Oh. Um... I actually just broke up with Robbie. He seemed nice at first but he was actually kind of a douche."

"Almost as if you were dating two completely different people?"

"Well, I wouldn't put it that way. But I guess your date might be like that. Not all guys are the same, mostly. I just didn't see the red flags. Which are pretty obvious, now that it's over. But I guess it's good to know that we're doing the best thing for us, you know?"

"I guess so, yeah."

They walked in silence again.

"You know," Wendy began. "After I broke up with my first boyfriend, I was pretty bummed. I started taking part in my dad's lumberjack games to get my mind off it. Turns out I kinda ruled at it. Maybe you just need to find something you rule at. That could help."

"Yeah, but where would I find that?"

"I don't know. You could look at some school clubs or something. I know there are tons of people who would love to have your awesome personality around!"

Mabel smiled at Wendy. "Thanks, Wendy. You're right."

"Hey, no problem. Just try and make sure you don't date someone like that again, 'kay?"

"Yup."

"Anyway, this is your stop. I need to get some things to help with the toilet. Apparently, Mr Pines broke the flooring, so I suggest you stay out for a while."

"Okay. I'll see you around!"

"See ya." Wendy winked and walked back. Mabel looked at the house. Maybe there was something out there for her.

"Hey! Debate Club sounds nice," Dipper said, pointing at a flyer.

"Nah, that's more for you or Candy."

"What about the dance society?" Grenda tore a poster from the wall and showed it to Mabel.

"I think we'll put that in 'maybe'."

"There must be something that captures your talent and strong personality." Candy adjusted her glasses and looked back at the wall of flyers. The group had been looking at the wall for hours, trying to determine the best club for Mabel. She had already decided not to join more than a few so that she could always have time for Candy and Grenda. But choosing her first club was proving to be a challenge.

Then it caught her eye.

"Cheerleading."

The other three immediately shook their heads. "No, absolutely not. Pacifica bribed her way to head cheerleader! She'll make your life a living hell."

"Come on, Dipper! She apologised, remember? It'll be great!"

"Yeah, Dipper. It'll be great... to see Mabel try to do cheerleading." Pacifica Northwest stepped forward, flanked by two other girls. "I'm sorry to break it to you, Mabel, but cheerleading is serious. You need commitment, strength, skill... and cuteness."

"Hey, I can be serious! And I'm already cute! And I can do a cartwheel!"

"Ha! Okay then. I'll give you a fair shot. Impress me and you're in the team."

"Really?" Mabel asked.

Dipper took a step forward. "What are you playing at, Northwest?"

Pacifica raised an eyebrow. "Nothing, Pines. We have a truce, remember? I just don't think Mabel's ready. I'm doing her a favour by warning her not to try out."

Mabel looked away. "She's probably right, you guys. There's probably another club for me."

"Nuh-uh." Grenda and Candy stepped in front of Mabel. While Candy was the same height as Pacifica, Grenda was much taller, which made her seem intimidating. Many were afraid of her strength. Grenda stared at Pacifica. "Mabel is AMAZING at everything she does."

"She could cartwheel circles around you," Candy said, crossing her arms.

Pacifica looked past Grenda and Candy, at Mabel. "Looks like you're trying out for cheerleading." Pacifica snapped her fingers and she began walking back with her friends. "Just remember," she called back. "You're trying to impress me."

Well, that's it for this chapter. I was gonna add a part where Mabel tries out, but I'm no cheerleader, so I wasn't exactly sure what I would write. So I decided to leave it here. Do you think she'll make it?

And once again, I want to say thank you for all the support you guys have been giving! It's great to see that you guys are enjoying the story. If you guys want to message me or write a review or something, go ahead! Tell your friends about this story! I've also been playing with the idea of writing a season 3 for Gravity Falls. Just maybe something to expect once this story is over. Maybe.

Until next time!