Chapter 2

The sun was low in the sky as Dipper and Mabel rode their bikes down the road towards Pacifica's house. Senior year had been a gauntlet, but now, the Pines twins were ready for one more summer before college. They could still remember when they first arrived in Gravity Falls six years ago, back when they were twelve. Back then, it was a bizarre, weird town filled with secrets.

Now, it was like a second home.

It had been months since they last saw Pacifica, and honestly, the two of them were a little nervous. She hadn't called or e-mailed them all year, not even a single text. It was strange. In the past, even when the twins were back with their parents in Piedmont, they would still keep in touch with their friends in Gravity Falls; keep up to date with what was going on in their lives, so when they came back in the summer, they wouldn't miss a beat, but it seemed as if Pacifica simply dropped off the face of the Earth. Soos and Wendy rarely saw her around town anymore, and Candy and Brenda heard a rumor that she stopped hanging out with her school friends. She even stopped going to the big events her parents sponsored, like the Gravity Falls Thanksgiving parade, or the town Christmas party. It seemed as though Pacifica Northwest had completely shut herself off from the outside world. However, no more than an hour after arriving in Gravity Falls, Dipper and Mabel received a call.

"You got Mabel!" The Pines sister exclaimed as she answered her cell.

"Um . . . Hey Mabel. It's me . . . Pacifica." The girl on the phone sounded nothing like the fabulously overconfident young woman who Mabel said goodbye to last fall. Sure, it was the same voice, but she seemed . . . off.

"Oh" Mabel responded, looking across the room to her brother "Hey Pacifica, what's up? We haven't heard from you in a while."

"Well . . ." Pacifica paused. "You know me; the life of a Northwest is always so busy. What with all the parties and social events I go to, sometimes I just lose track of time, ha ha!" She chuckled nervously as she lied to her friend. Mabel wasn't fooled. She'd known something was wrong for a while now.

"Right, well it's good to hear from you now." Mabel responded. "Me and Dipper just got back into town, and-"

"Oh, that's great!" Pacifica shouted a little bit louder than she intended. "We really should get together sometime. Why don't you and your brother come stay over my house tonight? We can catch up on things, swap stories. I bet you've been dying to know what's been going on in this town since you've been gone. I've got TONS of juicy gossip!"

"You want to hang out tonight?" Mabel shouted loud enough for her brother to hear. Dipper stared back at her, shaking his head "no."

"I'm sorry, Pacifica. We already promised Soos and Wendy we'd hang out with them tonight. You understand, right?"

"Oh. . . yeah. Sure, I understand." Pacifica sighed quietly. Mabel had never heard Pacifica like this before. It was like she was on the verge of tears. "Maybe next time, then. I guess I'll just let you go. Say hi to your brother for-"

"We're free on Friday!" Mabel exclaimed, unable to bear making her friend cry, even if she hadn't bothered to call them in over nine months. "If you want, we can come over Friday night and hang out. It'll be like a sleepover."

"Really!?" Pacifica shouted, her mood turning on a dime. "Great! I can't wait to see you both again; and you're sure Dipper is alright with this?"

"Dipper?" Mabel looked over at her brother, who was now not only shaking his head no, but also waving his hands back and forth and mouthing "No" over and over again. "Of course! He can't wait to see you again!"

"That's good to hear. I was worried he might be mad at me for not calling these past months."

"What? No! Dipper isn't like that." said Mabel, looking back at her brother. "He isn't the type to hold a grudge. He's much too mature for that kind of nonsense." She said with emphasis on the last part.

"So, I'll see you guys on Friday?"

"Yep, Friday night at 8. We'll be all yours for the night."

"That's what I'm hoping." Pacifica said before hanging up. Mabel stuffed her phone back into the pocket of her jeans. Across the room, Dipper scowled at his twin sister.

"I can't believe you didn't even bother to ask me for my opinion!" said Dipper.

"I think you made your opinion pretty clear," Mabel rolled her eyes, "but you didn't hear her on the phone. She sounded like she was going to burst into tears. I couldn't just say no! Pacifica is our friend. Even if she has been ignoring us, that doesn't mean we should just turn our backs on her!"

Dipper looked down at his feet, unsure of how to respond.

"I guess you're right, but I'm still not sure about this." Dipper began to rub his chin. "Don't you think it's a little weird that she'd wait until we came back to town before trying to call us?"

"Relax, Dipper. This is Pacifica we're talking about, not some monster from those old journals." Mabel laughed. "We've known her for years!"

"It's not like she has some evil plan in store for us!"