A/N: Here's a quite long chapter for you guys! I'm glad you're enjoying this fic! I'm so excited about the next few chapters!
DIPPER POV
I probably stared at that picture for more minutes… or hours… than necessary. It was a picture of winter break from this year. Pacifica came to visit us for the week, having never been to Piedmont.
"You promise to call?" Perdita asked, her face close to mine and arms practically smothering me in her recently purchased holiday perfume, which she purchased herself; claiming it was a gift from me.
To be fair, I don't use cologne. Deodorant works fine with me and Perdita says I smell good. I've yet to figure if that's complementary or creepy. I'm assuming from her raised eyebrows and smirk from her lips, wearing her wretched red lip gloss that made my lips tacky whenever we kissed, that it was a mixture of both.
"Of course," I responded with a forced smile.
Her lips kissed mine, much to my dismay. She parted with a small smile and a nod.
"Bye, Dippy,"
I tried not to cringe.
"I'll see you soon," I assured.
She uncoiled her arms and walked through the sliding glass doors of the airport, dragging her suitcase behind her. As soon as she was out of sight, I turned and walked to my car in the wind. I turned my collar up to prevent windburn.
Why do I bother with Perdita? She's merrily just a distraction; it's not like I actually love her or anything. I guess I did feel bad for playing Perdita like that…
I reached my Volkswagen and opened the door, getting in. I couldn't be bothered with Perdita right now; Pacifica was visiting for the holidays. With a deep breath, I turned the ignition on and drove out of the parking lot. She didn't know about Perdita and me… in a way, I was upset because I was afraid of Paz finding out my intentions weren't in the right direction. She'd figure it out easily, she's smart: very smart. I never understood why she'd waste her intelligence with clothing design.
I've confronted her with it more than once; and each time she gets exasperated. In a way, it's kind of cute. Her blue eyes would intensify to a grey, her cheeks would blush; bringing out her freckles from the Oregon sun; she would huff blonde strands of loose hair out her face, her nose would crinkle. I couldn't help but chuckle at the image of her doing just that. She would burst into a loud fit, claiming not everyone wanted to go to Berkeley and study to be a physicist; not everyone had to do something intelligent just because they had the ability; not everyone should be put into one category. She'd say that clothes made her happy; art made her happy; and that was enough.
I brought my hand to my stubbly chin. During the winter I tended to grow out my facial hair. The stiff hairs itched my hand like a bristled hairbrush. Mabel swore it made me look sexier; and I knew she was referring to Pacifica.
All of a sudden, my family's two-story house was in view. Living in Piedmont, which is practically a part of Oakland, the residential area was primarily semi-suburban. I drove up the driveway and took a mental note of the silver Honda Accord that wasn't here earlier today; Pacifica has arrived. Taking a deep breath, I opened my car door, letting the Pacific winter breeze blast me on my way to the front door. Once I reached the white painted wooden door, I checked my reflection in the glass window insert. My cheeks, ears and nose were red from the cold and my hair was disheveled from the wind, my jaw covered with dark stubble. Firmly, I opened the door, careful to not swing it haphazardly open, to let the cold wind in. I entered the warm house that smelled of cinnamon and pine from the holiday candles my mom set on the wall table. Closing the door with an accidently loud thud, I looked around the open spaced home. I saw my mom across the room apparently chopping something on the granite counter that faced the living room. Her short auburn hair in a ponytail at the base of her neck as she kept her head down, focused on her chopping.
"Took you long enough. You missed Pacifica," she said disappointedly.
I nodded even though she didn't see it, awkwardly putting my hands in my pocket.
"Yeah, I saw her car outside,"
She momentarily glanced up at me and gave me a smirk, with a raised eyebrow.
"Mm-hmm…"
I felt my cheeks get redder despite the remaining windburn.
"Well, Dipper, she's upstairs in the game room with Mabel if you want to say hi. That girl sure does unpack fast," she added nonchalantly with a knowing smile.
I silently chuckled to myself and went off, upstairs.
As soon as I reached the second-floor, I could hear the girls' laughter. I wiped off any remnants of Perdita's lip-gloss from my mouth. Unzipping my jacket and draping it over my arm, I went down the hallway to the game room.
The game room wasn't necessarily a 'game room'. It was essentially a spare, rectangular room with a miniature fridge with a low, circular, clear coffee table with four beanbags seated around it with a small couch, in front of a TV. It's where we invite our friends for the occasional poker night or Mabel's favorite 'spin-the-bottle'. But overtime, with our allowance, Mabel and me were able to add in a pool table and foosball. I guess, over-all, it technically is a game room.
Once I reached the open doorway, I peered in. I saw Mabel and Pacifica sitting on the couch, facing each other. Both doubled in laughter. Pacifica had her eyes squeezed shut, and was hunched over with laughter. Her yellow blonde bangs nearly covering her entire face. She lifted her head and steadied herself with the back of the couch. After seemingly wiping away tears, she mellowed down her laughter and caught sight of me. My breathing stopped as her sapphire blue eyes met mine. Her face broke into a cheery smile as she left the couch.
"Dipper!" She exclaimed.
Before I could say hi back, she had already rushed into giving me a tight hug. I looked at Mabel wide-eyed, who only gave me a shrug and smile. Pacifica let go her smile still remaining. I shook my head in disbelief to what just happened.
"Well, hi to you too!"
She let out a breezy laugh and looked up at my face. Her eyes furrowed for a moment and her pink lips pouted, reaching her tan hand upward she gently stroked my cheek. Her soft skin was scratching against the coarse stubble.
"You, my friend, are rugged," she commented with a laugh.
I smiled at her sparkling eyes.
"A good rugged, though, right?" I asked, with a smug look.
She nodded.
"Absolutely. I bet you have girls trailing all over you,"
With an awkward laugh, I scratched my jaw.
"Not exactly,"
I couldn't help but think: "There's only one on my mind." There was, and she was standing in front of me; blond bangs, blue eyes, pink lips and all. I studied her and looked for any changes I should memorize so I could keep I perfect imprint I my mind of what she looked like. Her freckles and tan had faded slightly, but the small moles on her cheek, nose and jaw still remained. Her cheeks and nose were slightly pink, my guess from the cold. Her hair was longer, yet still yellow blonde as always. My eyes drifted downward, wanting to study more of her. Her collarbone was exposed due to an oversized sweatshirt that slipped off one shoulder. It was white and several sizes to big. It was a guy's. My head flooded with momentary panic, I stepped back to read the wording. "Piedmont High School" was spelled across her chest. My mind buffered and a feeling of warmth suddenly replaced the panic. I looked at Paz in the eyes and pointed to the sweatshirt.
"Is that… mine?"
My eyebrow raised and I'm sure a knowing smile came to my face.
Pacifica looked down at the shirt on her body and gave a sheepish smile.
"Yeah," Mabel answered.
I nearly forgot she's still there.
My head turned toward her, her head upside down, leaning on the arm of the couch.
"Paz and I were playing truth or dare and she spilled some hot cocoa on her shirt and she had to change. I gave her yours, because your room's across the hall…" she paused, "and your shirt was the most comfortable choice,"
She gave me a quick wink and sat up straight, grabbing her Polaroid camera on the table and waved us over.
"Now get your asses over here so we can take a Christmas photo," she demanded.
Immediately, Pacifica and I obeyed, striding over to the couch. I sat on the far end of the couch as Paz squeezed herself in between both Mabel and I.
After we got ourselves settled Mabel handed me the camera for the picture since my arms were the longest. I reached my arm outward enough to ensure that all three of us were in the frame. My arm was outstretched so far the cuff of my grey sweater revealed the tattooed pattern on my wrist. Pacifica leaned toward my shoulder enough so I could smell the familiar scent of the thick forest of Gravity Falls along with the familiarity of faint vanilla from Paz's shampoo. I was mildly surprised that she didn't wear any suffocating perfume like Perdita. I wondered if Paz though I smelled good. Eventually, Mabel was satisfied with the angle of the camera.
"Everyone say 'holidays!'" she ordered.
"Holidays!" We all said in unison.
In a click, the camera flashed catching all of us in mid-holler.
I studied the freckles on her face from that day and the way wisps of her hair perfectly framed her face. I studied how her face lingered so close to mine and how her shoulder was exposed because of how big my sweatshirt was on her. Did she still have that sweatshirt even though I gave I it to her? Did she still use that vanilla shampoo?
"Dipper! You'll be late for school! Just because you won't be learning doesn't mean you get to slack your perfect attendance, young man!" My dad bellowed from downstairs, interrupting my thoughts.
I rolled my eyes and sighed exasperatedly. I folded the picture and tucked it into my wallet that held my license. Tucking my wallet into my back pocket, I grabbed my car keys from my nightstand. Trotting downstairs, I found Mabel drinking a smoothie at the counter in her short overalls, while my dad read the paper on the couch. I walked in the open kitchen and poured the remaining smoothie contents out of the blender in an empty glass and opened the refrigerator to snatch a boiled egg. In a flash the egg was gone and the smoothie was halfway done. After grabbing a thermos from the cabinet I poured the rest of the freshly made coffee, not adding and sugar or cream, unlike Mabel. I turned toward Mabel who wrinkled her nose in disgust as I sipped my coffee.
"How can you drink that straight like that?" She asked with a final slurp of her smoothie.
I shrugged.
"I like my coffee how I like my soul… bitter" was my monotone response. She rolled her eyes as she grabbed her beaded book bag from the back of her chair.
"Come one, meme-ster, school's calling,"
I plopped our empty smoothie glasses in the sink and walked to the front door; my book bag was in my car because I thought ahead last Sunday night. I opened the door.
"Bye, kids!" our dad called after us.
With a quick returning goodbye, we walked over to my VW. Unlocking it, we piled in, buckled up and I drove us off to Piedmont High School.
"So… what're you gonna do when Per-diva confronts you, about breaking up with her, in front of the entire school?" Mabel pressed not after five minutes of a quiet car ride.
I puffed out my cheeks and let out a breath. Shaking my head I said:
"I don't know. Probably just tell her truth: 'Perdita, I never loved you. I'm sorry, but it's true. You were just a rebound, a distraction,'"
Mabel laughed.
"Yeah, I bet she'd love that,"
I shrugged.
"Well, what can you do?"
I glanced over to Mabel who nodded in agreement.
"What can you do?" she muttered.
There was a long silence as the car drove over the asphalt. The vehicle was humming from acceleration.
"Well, you can date Pacifica, now that Per-diva's out of the way," she said out of the blue.
I nearly swerved into the opposite lane, while Mabel shouted obscenities and clutched her seat belt from the sudden jerk.
"Are you kidding me?" I sputtered, returning to the proper side of the road. "I can barely stand a normal phone call with her, without getting horny, and you want me to date her?"
"If you date her, then getting horny shouldn't be an embarrassing issue. Both of you guys are passionate people, and I assure you, if you date, sex will occur. There's no reason to be embarrassed if you guys are already hooking up."
I gave Mabel an incredulous look, then faced back to the road. She shot me an expression that said 'I know what I'm talking about'.
She wasn't wrong… but she wasn't right either. I shook my head in disbelief.
"I can't tell if you're a genius or just bat-shit crazy."
I felt her hand pat my shoulder.
"Just be gentle; she's a virgin…like you." she said softly.
I swear she wore a smug look on her face as mine turned tomato red.
"Shut up," I muttered.
I ignored Mabel's snorting laughter as I focused on the winding road.
If it were to happen… I'd be her first. And that made me pleased enough to settle a side smile on my lips. She'd be mine too. And I could totally live with that.
Within seconds I caught sight of our red brick high school and it's American flag barely waving due to due the lack of wind from summer. I drove my car to the back of the school into the senior's parking lot. I parked the car in my assigned slot and Mabel and I hauled our things out. Walking side-by-side, we came up to the metallic double door with Plexiglas windows and metal push bar. I applied force to the bar, making it screech open and supply a rush of cool air that smelled faintly like floor wax; probably from Friday's cleaning. My eyes quickly adjusted to the bright florescent light and the sound of padding feet on tiled floor. I made my way to my locker, which was several hallways down. Immediately after reaching the black metal compartment, I turned the inserted lock and opened the latch. Inside revealed my organized stack of binders and notebooks for my classes. I snatched my dark blue binder for AP Physics C and red one for AP Calculus BC; the important classes. Each binder weighed a few pounds from the large stash of papers that included my notes and worked problems.
Stuffing them in my forest green canvas book bag, I realized how bland my locker door was compared to Mabel's. Hers was filled with pictures of Waddles before his death, me, Candy, Grenda, Paz, Stan and Ford and even some friends from Piedmont. Although, the majority of the pictures she had were of her, Paz and Candy altogether. I stared at the blank door, and a smile came to my lips. Placing my hand in my pocket, I took out my wallet. Fingering for the Christmas picture, I peeled a sticky note from my diminishing stack from my locker; tearing off the paper side so only the adhesive section remained. I stuck the picture off-center of my door and smiled. I briefly studied Pacifica's open toothed smile and the way her cheeks were still a little red from the wintery wind. Gently, I closed the door and let it lock. I placed my wallet back in my rear pocket and walked off to my first period, flinging my book bag on my back.
All the while, knowing my mind will be on her freckled cheeks; not the final review that covered electromagnetism.