The pebble soared through the air before hitting the window with a soft dink. I waited for a bit, watching the window intently. When nothing happened, I threw another rock. I repeated this process for a bit until finally, he appeared. A young boy, my age, squinting at me through the window. He was missing his signature cap and vest, wearing only his red shirt and shorts. He stared at me for a while before disappearing from view.

As I walked towards the cabin's entrance, I wondered whether he was actually coming down to see me or if he'd just gone back to sleep. My question was answered when the front door creaked opened to reveal Dipper Pines. "You'd think with the whole being rich thing, you'd be able to afford a watch."

"Listen, I just- I need your help."

He sighed. "Again?"

"Again."

He sighed a second time before surprising me. "Fine. Come in."

I stared at him wide-eyed and shocked. "Really? Just like that? You don't want anything?"

"Well, actually, I'd like you to leave. But I also know you wouldn't be here at two in the morning unless it were important. Plus, it's not like I'm going back to sleep, so…" He held the door open, inviting me into the shack's gift shop. Souvenirs covered every inch of the store. Bumper stickers, shirts, and they even had Mystery Shack closed the door and met me in the middle of the shop. "So, why are you here? Is that ghost back?"

"No. The ghost is still gone." I paused for a minute, trying to find the best way to phrase my next statement. I decided on just saying it outright. "I'm running away. From my parents. From my life."

He looked at me with a confused expression. "Well, that explains the suitcase. So what do you need me for?"

Now it was my turn to surprise him. I looked him straight in the eye. "I want you to come with me."

He confused expression turned into a shocked one. "Come with you?! You can't be serious!"

"Of course I'm serious."

He started to get frustrated. "Pacifica, you can't just ask someone to root up their entire lives and come with you on your little adventure." He began pacing around the room. "How can you even ask me that?!"

"So… I'm guessing that's a 'no'?"

"Yeah. I'm not going with you." He stopped pacing and thought for a minute. "But, if you want, you can stay here."

"No, I can't. I have to this..." I debated swearing in front of him, but decided against it. "place. My entire life here was built on lies, and I can't be around that anymore."

"Well, at least stay the night. Where are you gonna go anyway?"

I had thought about my destination extensively. I thought about going to Portland, or Seattle. Maybe Sacramento. Though I ended up deciding on a much larger city. "Los Angeles."

His wide-eyed face returned. "Los Angeles?! That's hundreds of miles away!"

"I know." I had done my research.

"How are you even gonna get there?"

"Buses mostly. And walking. Lots of walking. And maybe some hitchhiking. I don't know."

His gaze moved to the suitcase sitting next to me. "Move," He said, walking towards my luggage. I stepped aside. He zipped it open and rummaged through the contents. I could tell he was looking for something, and that he wasn't finding it. "Where are your water bottles? Your flashlight? Your first-aid kit?" I pulled out my phone and showed him the flashlight function. "Well that's nice, but you're not gonna survive out there unless you're prepared, and you quite obviously are not."

I got frustrated with him. "Not prepared? I brought clothes and hand sanitizer. I even packed my computer. And I have half a thousand dollars cash."

"Well great, you can use the bills as a bandage when you inevitably get hurt. Have you ever been camping before?"

"Sleeping in the dirt and getting bit by mosquitos? Of course not."

"Well, that's what you're gonna have to do if you're going to LA. You can't exactly walk across the interstate. Come with me."

I followed him to his room in the attic. We woke his sister up as soon as we entered, though she just seemed confused to see me. "Pacifica?"

"Uh… Hi."

"Dipper, why is Pacifica in our room at two in the morning?"

Dipper was too busy looking through his closet to get into the details. "I'll explain later. Do you know where my camping bag is?" Mabel was about to respond, but her twin interrupted her. "Never mind, I found it." He pulled out a rather large, light blue backpack. It had small two pockets on the back, with one large one above those. He threw the bag at me. I caught it with both hands but staggered backward at the bag's weight.

"What's this?"

"Your survival kit. Flashlight, batteries, two water bottles, a lighter, a pocketknife, an umbrella, the works. Oh, and a first aid kit."

"Do I really need all this?"

"Do you want to make it to LA in one piece?"

"LA?" Mabel asked, still tired and confused.

We paid her no attention. "Yes."

"Then yes." He grabbed the bag from me and dumped the contents out onto his bed. He sorted them out so that I could see them. He explained how to use everything. He showed me how to use the lighter to start a fire, how to use the pocket knife's many functions. He taught me how to defend myself, and how to use the first aid kit, should I ever get hurt. There was also a guide showing which berries were poisonous. I didn't think I needed that, seeing as I didn't plan to spend much time in the wilderness, but he insisted. "Are you still sure you want to do this?"

"I'm sure. I can't stay here."

He started packing up the backpack. "Do you have somewhere you can stay in LA? Friends?"

I sat down on the bed. "If you hadn't noticed, I'm not exactly the best at making friends. The only reason I had friends was because I was rich. And now that I'm not, I have a feeling they won't be too helpful. You two are my only real friends." He sat down next to me and looked at me for a few seconds. Then, he did something completely unexpected. He hugged me. I wanted to struggle out of it at first, but I found myself enjoying his embrace. After a minute, he let go and looked me in the eye. "I never thought I'd say this, but I think I'm actually gonna miss you."

"Yeah, well, I guess I'll miss you too."

Mabel spoke up. "I still have no idea what's going on."

We explained the situation to Mabel. As soon as we had finished, she too hugged me, though only for a second. Dipper continued to interrogate me about my plan. "Well, if you don't have anywhere to stay, where are you gonna, well, stay?"

"I hadn't really worked that out."

"Did you actually think about this at all?"

"I figure I'll sort that out when I need to."

"Fine, just promise me you'll stay in contact with me."

I was amazed that he actually wanted to stay in touch. "Really? Okay, I guess."

"Good. I'll set up a place for you to sleep, and then we'll go over more details in the morning."

I hesitated for a minute before saying "Actually, there's one last thing I need your help with."

He looked straight at me and seemed reluctant to ask. "What?"