AVAVA
( Author's Note )
VAVAV
For now, this is the end. I might pick it back up. Actually, I'm sure I'll pick it back up. But for now, this is the end. There will be Dipfica in the next one. But I really need to get other stories started/finished.
AVAVA
( Daphne/Dipper Pines )
VAVAV
Daphne had been released from the hospital a week before, and she had spent most of her time resting in her and Mabel's room. It turned out, after they had stopped the bleeding inside of her, they had found that a couple of her ribs had been fractured, though thankfully, not completely broken. Luckily, nothing more than bruises otherwise.
Today had actually been the first day that she had gotten up, and hadn't been yelled at, lovingly, by her sister, to get back into bed. Yeah it was frustrating, but she could hardly blame Mabel. Daphne was sure id the shoe was on the other foot, she'd keep Mabel in bed as well. For her own health. Which was the only reason she hadn't tried to strangle her sister.
She looked around the attic that had been her and Mabel's room for three summers. She hadn't been up here since the move to the downstairs room, but right now she was hiding. Not that she was in trouble, and not that she didn't want to see her family. But the fact that Mabel's friend Candy was coming over today, Grenda had moved out of the area a year before. Mabel had planned to tell Candy about Daphne, so she could actually have her first girl sleepover thing.
Yeah, she had always wanted to go to one. However, she wasn't entirely sure what she was supposed to do at them
On television it seemed that;
They would eat junk food, which Daphne was completely down for.
Makeovers, which Daphne was not into at all.
Games, which might be fun, depending on the game.
Talking about boys, could she get a makeover instead?
So in short; The more she thought about it, the more she actually wondered if this was for her. Maybe she hadn't missed out on anything.
The nights that Mabel had her sleep overs, Daphne had snacks, had the television, and the living room all her herself. Maybe she didn't want to do this.
'Maybe I should just tell Mabel, that I'm not ready for this.' Daphne thought to her self as she stared towards their shared room.. More people in Gravity Falls knew that she was a girl than she had originally planned knowing. One person in Gravity Falls was more than she ever planned on knowing, but Mabel had intervened.
Daphne didn't resent it. She was still surprised that she was accepted so easily.
Maybe it was because Gravity Falls was home to the weird, that she fit in so easily... or at least she seemed to.
And Candy... well, Daphne hadn't had any major interaction with her, not really. There was that one time when they took a road trip, but that had just made things more awkward.
"Hey Mabes? I was thinking... that... may..." She started as she walked into their room and caught sight of Mabel's friends. "Oh... uh Candy. So... uh, Maybe I should... Mabes?"
"I just finished telling Candy, great timing, Daph. We were just going to come find you." Mabel bounced off the bed, and towards her. And Daphne sighed a little. So much for skipping over all this. "Oh and Pacifica is coming, and gonna bring over some of her friends. Won't that be fun?"
More people?
Daphne really didn't know about this. It was all happening way way too fast.
"Mabel I..."
"You'll see, Daph. It's gonna be fun!" Mabel seemed so happy, how could she crush her sister's plans? Even if it was at her expense... then again, maybe it wouldn't be so horrible.
"Yes. Mabel is correct, Dip... uh... Daphne. It will be loads of fun." Candy said, obviously confused with the sudden change.
"Alright... I'll be... uh... getting some fresh air, outside. Come get me when Pacifica and her friends show up."
"Sure thing, Daph." Mabel called as Daph made her way out the room.
"I cannot believe that he was a girl this entire time! It is very shocking..." Daphne over heard part of what Candy had been saying before moving too far away from the room.
AVAVA
Daphne found herself sitting in the dark on the edge of the porch, fifteen minutes later. She had hoped coming outside would help calm her down, but the only thing it did was make her more nervous. And really, what did she have to be nervous about? Pacifica was already accepting of her. So, that didn't matter anymore.
"So, tell us again, why we have to come over to this... runned down house?" A voice came from the driveway. Sounded like Tiffany girl that hung around with Pacifica.
"I told you, a sleep over. Daphne's first one. C'mon, it should be fun." Pacifica's voice sounded encouraging.
"I thought it was a boy and a girl. So, what is he one of those transgenders now?" Daphne couldn't recall what that one's name was.
"No, Amanda, Daphne's always been a girl. She just pretended to be a boy." Pacifica said.
"So, like, we're supposed to care about some lezbo's first sleep over? What are we doing? Giving her a groping buffet or something?" Tiffany snickered.
'Lezbo?' She felt the tears start to well up, before spilling down her cheeks. She should have known it was too good to be true.
"Eww... no way am I gonna let it touch me. That's gross." Amanda whined.
'I'm Gross.' Daphne thought to herself, as she felt more tears run down her cheeks. 'An 'it'?'
"Gotta agree with Ams on this one. Seriously, she's some freak. Why are we encouraging her?" Tiffany asked snottily. "Don't tell me you actually like these... no class people. Well..."
'Freak... Freak... Freak...' her mind repeated as tears stained her cheeks, and dripped down to soak into her shirt.
"Well... I mean... No of course not... I mean. I'm a Northwest. And uh..." Pacifica stopped talking when Daphne stood up, and wiped the tear from her eyes.
Daphne wanted to confront her and her friends.
Wanted to yell at her for lying to her. Pretending to be accepting. She only agreed to tell Wendy, and Soos, and Stan, because of Pacifica's words. Telling her there was nothing wrong with her...
"Daphne..." Pacifica started before Daphne took off running towards the woods.
AVAVA
Daphne sat by a tree her knees drawn up to her chest, and her arms around her knees as she cried.
She was so close.
'That's what you get for thinking you can fit in.' Her mind spat at her.
She was a freak.
She always knew that she was. Her sister, and family? They hadn't done her any favors by lying to her. Only made it harder to be normal.
Maybe it was time to be normal.
AVAVA
( Mabel Pines )
VAVAV
It had been three weeks since Daphne had ran off into the woods the night of the sleep over, when she had returned that night, she had locked herself in the bathroom and refused to come out. Hadn't come out since the next morning. Then after grabbing clothes, she had run upstairs to the attic and was locked in there most of the day.
Only around dinner time did she even answer the door when someone knocked on it, and came out. Though, Daphne was not the same as when she had entered,
Daphne had spent her time up in the attic with one of Mabel's sewing machines it seemed, and had worked desperately to alter her clothing.
When Daphne walked out in a red skirt, and a black tank top. Her hair pulled back into a pony tail, that exited the back of the hat. It surprised everyone. Considering Daphne hadn't worn a skirt or dress since they were nine. Though maybe it was a sight lipstick that had thrown Mabel off the most. Clothing... alright. She got that. But Make-up? That was not her sister's thing.
If that hadn't been strange enough, it had continued every day. Though Daphne hadn't made them, had only borrowed outfits from Mabel, until Stan took her out for more clothes.
"Hey, Daph?" Mabel asked while Daphne was applying nail polish, her books seemed to be collecting dust, since Mabel hadn't seen her so much as crack one open, much less read one.
"Yeah?" Daphne answered while still working on her nails.
"Whatcha getting all dolled up for?" Mabel asked, curious, since Daphne was spending extra attention today on her looks.
"Gotta date tonight." Daphne answered in a kind of weird sounding way.
"Pacifica? Wendy? Or you find someone else?" Mabel asked, curious about her sister's date.
"Those are girls, Mabel. I'm not a freak. I'm normal..." That strange strangled sounding voice again. "Alex is a boy that asked me out at the shack yesterday. I said yes."
"But... You like girls, Daph." Mabel just stared at her sister. People didn't just change all of a sudden. They didn't. Something happened. "What happened?"
"Nothing happened, Mabel. I'm just... normal now."
AVAVA
"Dude, did I just walk past Daphne with some dude's tongue down her throat?" Wendy asked her as she entered the shack.
"Yeah." Mabel sighed. She could tell it was a big act.
She could tell Daphne was almost gagging after the kisses. Could see her eyes shine a little less each time she did it.
"I thought she was into girls." Wendy asked taking up her spot on the stool behind the counter.
"She is." Mabel muttered, "Something happened a few weeks ago, and boom. She changed. Started saying she wasn't a freak anymore. That she was normal. Whatever normal is, that isn't normal. Daph like girls, darn it!"
AVAVA
( Daphne/Dipper Pines )
VAVAV
Each time she touches him she wants to cry.
Every time he kisses her, she wants to gag.
He doesn't smell right.
But she isn't a freak anymore.
Is she?
No!
She's normal now. And normal girls like boys.
Right?
Is she normal?
Is she accepted now?
Can't she relax now, and just be normal?
Is anything normal?
Could she be?
Maybe.
Maybe she'll learn to enjoy it. Learn to like it.
Maybe it's an acquired taste.
AVAVA
( Pacifica Northwest )
VAVAV
Pacifica had barely left her room since the night she was supposed to have slumber party with Mabel, and Daphne. The night she ruined everything.
Why did she agree with Tiff? She liked Mabel and Daphne. And really liked Daph... like, more than she should. Maybe she was embarrassed to admit it to Tiffany... or her parents... alright, so she could barely even admit it to herself.
'I'm the worst person on Earth.' She thought to herself as she turned on her phone, which hadn't been on since she had left that night.
Many text messages from Mabel. All leaning towards the same thing.
Something was wrong with Daphne.
However, it wasn't the same as what she had imagined.
She had expected damning words. Curses about how she should be ashamed of herself. Mabel asking, what kind of friend would say that. But no. It was all about how concerned Mabel was about Daphne, and how Daphne was now pretending to like boys.
Worried about how Daph was saying she wasn't a freak anymore. How she wasn't gross...
All of this was her fault... she had to fix it, she thought as she got out of bed, hoping she could find Daphne. She needed to talk to her...
AVAVA
( Daphne/Dipper Pines )
VAVAV
She was alone, sitting on the couch outside the shack. Her stomach was still turning from the make-out session an hour ago, Luckily Alex had to go, before she threw up in his mouth.
"Yo, Dip." Wendy called, pulling Daphne's attention from the wooden planks on the pouch.
"Daphne." Daphne responded. "I'm a girl. Just a... normal girl."
"Don't give us that crap girl." Tambry came around the corner, where Wendy had come from. "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing's wrong." Daphne muttered, thought inside she screamed that everything was wrong. Nothing was right! She wanted to just be herself.
"The hell it isn't. What's with this 'freak' crap? We told you, being a lesbian is alright..."
"It's gross! Freakish! I'm not an 'it'! I'm a girl! A girl! And girls are supposed to like boys. Right?" She was breathing faster. She was conflicted. She wanted to be normal. She wanted to be accepted. But she didn't want to live a lie. She'd lived a lie. Pretending to be a boy make things bad. Being a girl make things worse. Pretending to like boys... made her sick. "I'm... I just want... I'm a girl." She sobbed out.
"Daphne..." Another voice cut in. A voice she hadn't heard in weeks. The voice that finally broke her. After years of people trying to break her down. Trying to make her completely ashamed of what she was, and failing. This person finally broke her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean... Tiffany and Amanda shouldn't have said anything like that. I should... you weren't meant to hear that."
"Whoa, Blondie. Are you saying that you messed up Daphne? Called her a freak. Said she was gross?" Tambry looked over to Wendy. "Didn't you say this Northwest chick was the one that got Daph outta her bubble?"
"It's alright to like girls Daphne. It is. I just got scared that night... cause... I like you, and it's confusing. And I just panicked." Pacifica blurted out, then stared down at the ground.
"Whoa, Blondie Northwest is into girls? Who next?" Tambry looked over to Wendy.
"Hush. Look, there is nothing wrong with being gay. Nothing at all." Wendy said.
"I'm not gay. I'm normal." Daphne muttered. She had to be normal.
Had to be accepted.
It was the only way she could live a normal life.
The only way Mabel could have normal friends.
Only if she were normal.
"Daphne. You're not normal. And you've never been a freak, until these past few days." Mabel had finally come out... and now even she was calling her a freak. "Daphne. Going against who you are is freaky. You like girls. I know. I see it in your eyes. I FEEL it Daph. It hurts you to try to be 'normal' Know why?"
'Yes!' She screamed in her head. She wanted to know so badly why it hurt to be normal. Why it made her sick. Made her want to cry.
"Because, being normal, for you, is to be gay. Is to like girls. Is to drool over Wendy, and Pacifica, and maybe Tambry too... I dunno what runs through your mind all the time. Normal for you, is to be who you are. Normal is... Dipper." Mabel sat next to her, "If you have to go back to being my Broseph to be normal, so be it. But I'd rather you stay as my sister."
"I'm normal?" She felt relief spread through out her entire body. Maybe she was normal. Maybe she was supposed to like girls... She looked over to Wendy and Tambry who nodded to her. Then her eyes moved over to Pacifica.
"You're normal too." She heard Tambry whisper to Pacifica.
Not a freak?
"I'm not a freak?" Daphne asked.
"No!" Pacifica was the first to yell it out, followed by the rest. "And I'm not either."
"No, neither of you are. Just normal, healthy, beautiful girls, who happens to like girls.