Author's Note : Finally, we've been able to meet! The Unnamed Gnome and I have been exchanging information throughout the day, but learning "Gnome the Language" is a lot harder than one thinks. Luckily, I've scrapped some more information for today's chapter; enjoy!
Chapter 2
"Oh, calm down, Waddles!" Mabel Pines cooed at her pig.
"Mabel, I don't think normal people speak to pigs," Dipper Pines looked around nervously.
"Well, we're not normal, are we?" Stanley chuckled. "Nope; we're-"
"Pines, Pines, Pines, Pines!"
Oh, how Pacifica loathed that chant. As far as she knew, who didn't? To shout one's last name ( not to mention, also a type of cone and tree ) was ignorant and unrefined, correct, but it was the Pines, wasn't it? In fact, after the four had chanted "Pines" over and over again, everyone outside tried to run into the diner.
"It's the Mystery Twins!"
"Hooray for the Pines family!"
"Quick-bar the door!" Stanford cried, and the children did so. Of course, Stanley took a seat in a nearby chair and kept patting a bell.
"Service! Service!" he cried.
"Stanley, why aren't you doing something?" Stanford asked.
"Because I'm too busy noticing the waiters/waitresses that are staring at us."
As Stanford barred the door, and as citizens of Gravity Falls tried to run into the diner, Dipper and Mabel turned to acknowledge Lazy Susan and the diner's coffee-like, woodsy smell.
"Lazy Susan!" Mabel yipped. "Howdy!"
"Well, if isn't the Pines family!" Lazy Susan gave the fourteen-year-olds hugs. "My, my, do we miss you! I was just telling Pacifica here about your great uncle." She pulled one of her eyelids down to wink at Stanley, and he gagged. Dipper and Mabel sniggered.
"It's nice to see you, Lazy Susan," Dipper smiled. But then his eyes widened and he broke into a sweat. For some reason, he could smell champagne and flowers.
"Did you say, 'Pacifica'?"
Pacifica, right next to the Manliest Man Tester, dashed from the room and ran into the empty storage room. There, she clasped her hands together and began to shake her head.
The Pines are here, the Pines are here, she kept thinking, staring at the clock. "Only five more minutes left and your shift is over. Then you can go home and re-lax."
"PACIFICA!"
Ugh; there went Lazy Susan again.
"PACIFICA NORTHWEST!"
That one was a cheery Mabel.
Pacifica, honestly, had not been only thinking of Dipper, but Mabel. In fact, she and Dipper only met because her hatred towards Mabel, and how envious the heiress was when everyone was cheering her on at that party her great uncle threw. When she was twelve, everything she hated was Mabel, but now, the person she loved-er, liked-was because of Mabel.
Tears stung Pacifica's eyes. I have to apologize.
"Pacifica?"
The heiress looked up to see Dipper Pines, smiling nervously down at her. In his hands was his backpack, probably filled with nerd books or whatever.
Hastily, Pacifica wiped her eyes and tried to glare. "How do you do, Pine Tree?"
"Well, thank you," Dipper rolled his eyes playfully. He took a seat on one of the box crates and smiled. "It's nice to see you, Pacifica. You know, after all these years."
"It's only been two."
"Well, it feels like more when you don't live in Gravity Falls."
Pacifica, in spite of herself, laughed. Dipper smiled, happy to see he had made someone smile. Honestly, he had missed the blonde … even if he still thought the blonde in her hair was dyed.
"So," she finished, "you still have that hat?"
Dipper looked up. "Oh, no. You see, Wendy took my other hat. Dad ordered one for me, but Mabel dropped it some carrot juice-"
"Carrot juice?" Pacifica mouthed.
"-And it, somehow, turned mahogany … or maroon," Dipper cocked his head, tipping his hat. "Well, no one really knows the difference."
"That's tragic," Pacifica said, trying to find something to say. For a while, it was quiet and awkward, much like the time when she had hugged him for capturing the Lumberjack Ghost.
"Soo …," Dipper awkwardly coughed.
"So …," Pacifica thought, but then punched his shoulder.
"Ouch!" Dipper rubbed his arm, dropping his backpack. "What was that for?"
"For being a nerd," Pacifica stood up and crossed her arms. She then added quietly, "And for saving Gravity Falls … and my parents … and me."
Dipper blushed, chuckling. "Aww, shucks. It wasn't just me, Northwest."
"Yeah, but it took grit to take down an interdimensional demon," Pacifica crossed her arms. She then smiled. "And even more grit to, A, dress up as a lamb to tame some ghosts, B, to give up 'manliness' for someone else to live, and, C, sing 'Taking Over Midnight' off-key with your weird uncle and bubbly twin sister."
Dipper blushed even more. "Who told you that?" he quietly hissed, his voice rising with his anger.
Pacifica nearly laughed at his high-pitched voice. "I texted Mabel over the summer."
"MaBeL?"Dipper cocked his head in confusion. It didn't take long for him to catch on. "Ooohhh. Yeah, Mabel told me once that you were talking about a"-here, he rose an eyebrow-"hug."
"Oh, right," Pacifica blushed madly. She then scowled. "I was only 'hugging' you so I could rub some saliva on your sleeve. Or, to be honest, your abnormally-sized head."
"Gee, thanks."
"You're welcome."
Dipper reached down for his backpack, smiling, and was ready to ask the heiress about her summer. Why does she work here? he asked, thinking to himself.
"Hey, Pacifica-"
"Dipper, come quick!"
Dipper ignored his question, heard the urgency in Mabel's voice, and shrugged out of the storage room to see the problem. On the floor he saw a snoring Stanley Pines, mumbling words in his sleep.
Dipper frowned. "How is this new?"
"No, Dipper," Stanford shook his head. "It's what he's saying in his sleep."
Dipper neared Grunkle Stan, his ear next to his mouth, and heard, "U'y nmow."
"Whaaaa?" Dipper and Mabel asked, confused. They turned to Stanford, who was scribbling on a napkin with a pen. Pacifica saw this.
"Um, Stan 2.0? That's a napki-"
"Oh. My. Goodness." Stanford looked up from the napkin and stared at the twins with wide, concerned eyes. "Kids, grab your uncle and meet me at the car."
"What? Why?" Mabel asked, pouting. "We just got here-and Waddles hasn't said hi to Pacifica yet!"
Waddles squealed at Pacifica, who shuddered beneath her uniform.
"That's okay, Mabel," Pacifica said, trying to smile. "Stan looks pretty ill; you should take care of him."
As Dipper's eyes widened, Mabel stopped pouting. "Gee, thanks, Paz." Then the Alpha Twin-
"Don't call her that," Dipper frowned.
Then Mabel smiled. "To the Mystery Shack!"
"Don't worry, Stanley; you'll be alright," Stanford said quietly, as the twins assisted their uncle to bring his brother to the packard. Before they had left the door ( only to see a crowd-full of fans ), Dipper turned to wink playfully at Pacifica. She giggled, but then turned to the storage room's door to see a brand-new journal. The journal was metallic blue, good as new, and had a golden pine tree in the middle.*
"Pine tree," Pacifica hummed to herself. She slipped the journal into her drawstring bag, hoping to return it to its owner later that night.
"So that's who you were talking about."
Pacifica turned to a smirking Lazy Susan.
"Oh, quiet, you!" Pacifica retorted.
Tubo ibt b ifbebdif; jo ju jt b "tobmf".
And that's it for today, folks! I'm actually really proud of myself, because I've written two chapters in a day and was able to study for an upcoming U.S. History test! Thanks for the reviews, God bless everyone, and have a lovely day!
* This is another reference to Lost Legends, when Mabel goes into the Nightmare Realm and meets other Mabels. The Dipper version of Mabel gave Original Mabel a journal with a pine tree, and I believe Dipper's been carrying it with him since.
Please write feedback!
~ RomanionWarrior783