Chapter 3

Pacifica threw open the door leading into the modest entrance hall of her family's estate. While not nearly as large or ostentatious as Northwest Manor, which her family was forced to sell due to her father's shortsighted business decisions, Pacifica enjoyed her new abode for it's contemporary style and modern amenities. It was a new home for a new life; a new start.

Dressed in a purple sleeveless top and matching white capris, Pacifica looked just as fashionable and stylish as ever. "Mabel! Dipper! It's so good to see you, again. Come in!" Pacifica grabbed the two siblings by the wrist, pulling them inside. "How have you been?"

"Good, good." said Dipper. His old, long sleeve orange t-shirt and cargo pants a sharp contrast to Pacifica's incomparable beauty. "Finals were a bit rough, especially the AP classes, but I think I did alright."

"There he goes being modest, again." Mabel laughed. Her bubble-gum pink, hand-knitted sweater read "Mabel," slightly off-center, across her chest; a clear symbol of the teenage girl's bubbly personality, unchanged since youth. "Dipper was the smartest kid in school. He made valedictorian and got a bunch scholarships and everything. I think he may have actually been smarter than some of the teachers!" She smiled, patting her brother hard on the back, causing him to blush.

"Well, yeah . . . but, you know . . . It's no big deal." Dipper stuttered, trying to find the right words to say. He looked over towards Pacifica. She was smiling, brighter than he had ever seen her smile. In the young man's eyes, she had never looked more beautiful. Dipper gazed at the blond-haired girl as the two girls continued to talk. He remembered how things were in the past, how things were just last summer. . .

. . . It hurt.

He and Pacifica hadn't always gotten along, but over the last few years, their friendship had grown considerably. So much so that Dipper began to look forward to his summers in Gravity Falls, not for the strange adventures and mind-bending weirdness, but for the chance to see Pacifica again. It wasn't until late last summer that Dipper finally put two and two together, and realized just what these feeling actually meant:

He was falling in love with Pacifica.

Before he could work up the nerve to tell her how he felt, the summer was over. Dipper and his sister found themselves heading back home for the year. At first, Dipper wasn't too concerned. He figured he and Pacifica would keep in-touch, just like always, and, when summer came around again, he would finally tell her how he felt. Except, this year . . . nothing. No calls, no e-mails, no text messages. Dipper messaged her a few times to see what was going on, but she never answered her back. Eventually, the message became clear: Pacifica Northwest didn't want anything to do with him anymore!

To say Dipper was heartbroken would be an understatement. At least, with Wendy, he had closure; he had a chance to tell her how he felt, even if she did end up rejecting him, but, with Pacifica, he felt like he had been rejected before he'd even gotten the chance. By the time summer rolled around again, Dipper had given up on Pacifica. He didn't want to tear open old wounds by seeing her again, much less spend the whole night at her house, but here he was; just him and Mabel, alone in a house with the girl he-

Wait a minute!

"Where is everyone?" Dipper asked, looking around the empty room, "Aren't your parents around somewhere, and what happened to your butler?"

"Oh . . . yeah, well I . . ." Pacifica stammered, scratching at her ear and avoiding eye-contact, "Mom and Dad are off on vacation, and I decided to give the staff the night off." Pacifica turned around, leading her guests through the hall and towards the stairs. "I thought it would be nice to get re-acquainted, just the three of us, you know?"

"Oooooo, so we have the whole place to ourselves? That's so cool!" Mabel exclaimed, thinking of all the things she could get away with without adult supervision, most of which would probably make Mr. Northwest's heads spin. "Who wants to make the worlds biggest mini-golf course?"

In spite of Mabel's cheerful nature, Dipper began to get a little worried. First, Pacifica just happens to call out of the blue after being M.I.A for almost a year. Then, when they get to her house, they find it completely abandoned. "Something's not right here," Dipper thought to himself as Pacifica and Mabel made their way up the stairs, "Pacifica's been acting odd ever since we got here, and I have to figure out why. . ."

"Dipper, are you coming?" Mabel called down to her brother, still lost in thought.

"Oh, yeah, right behind you." Dipper responded.

". . . before it's too late."