Chapter Twenty

"Pacifica! What happened to your hair?!" Mabel practically shrieked, pulling her friend into the Shack. The blonde smiled brokenly, but it was so clearly painful to do so. Dipper flinched just looking at the trembling girl staring through bleary eyes at his sister. Her hair had been chopped almost entirely off. Where it had once reached down to her hips and swayed smoothly as she walked, it was gone. It now hung evenly over her shoulders, still pretty, but not nearly the same. Pacifica had loved her hair. She never would have cut it like that.

She shook her head, bursting into tears and bringing up a hand to cover her face. "The pink faded out a wh-while ago, y-you know? And I was gonna re-dye it, but..." she explained through her sobbing, and Dipper stood up from where he'd been on the couch to approach her. Bill, on the other hand, stayed where he was. All he could do was stare at her in horror, mouth hung open incredulously. Pacifica sniffed, face red from her crying. "And my... fiance said it was unprofessional-looking and I wasn't fit to walk down the aisle b-because he'd be embarrassed if people saw me. S-so dad took his side and mom cut it all off." She was choking out her words by the end, but the hatred in the term fiance had been blatant.

Dipper gave her a sympathetic look, glancing at Mabel. His sister was forcing a smile, hands on Pacifica's shoulders. The corner of her mouth twitched, but she held her ground as she spoke. "He told you that you didn't look good enough for the wedding? Your wedding?" she asked, gaze steady on the blonde's. Mabel was furious, and it showed.

Pacifica nodded, rubbing one of her arms. She looked down, hiding her face behind her bangs, which had thankfully gone untouched. Her makeup was smeared in streaks down her face. Dipper placed a hand over hers, both saddened and enraged someone would treat his friend that way. He could have flipped a table if he weren't more concerned with Pacifica's feelings over his own. Mabel, though.

She was beyond reason.

"Well, what does he know?!" she snarled, raising her voice. Pacifica's eyes widened and Dipper flinched, shocked by her outburst. Bill finally stood up at the sound of her losing her temper, approaching the situation as delicately as he could considering the fact that he was right there with Mabel on this. "HE DOESN'T KNOW ANYTHING!" she roared, stepping back so her yelling didn't bust everyone's eardrums. It was the last thing she recalled doing logically that night.

Pacifica lifted a hand and Dipper let go of her other one. "Mabel, it's fi-"

But she was inconsolable. "It's not fine!" she snapped, stomping a foot on the ground. She'd had it up to here with a man she'd never even met. And frankly, if she never did, she'd die a happier person. "Does he even know your middle name? Or what your dreams are? Has he ever sat up with you at night just because he wanted to talk with you? Has he ever even cared to try? I'll bet you every penny I ever make he hasn't, and he never will. Because he's just some snobby rich idiot your parents called in because they're selfish! You deserve better than anything they have to offer you, and you deserve way better than some asshole that's gonna treat you like a prize. You are not an object, Pacifica Elise Northwest, and I'm not going to sit here and let them pawn you off like one."

Pacifica was stunned, and Dipper had backed away from them. He thought it'd be best to leave them be, as Soos had just peeked his head through a door in concern. But he quickly left upon realizing this was a private matter. Bill, however, stood in the back grinning and egging on more of Mabel's speech. Her eyes flicked towards his and he motioned for her to continue. Dipper shot him a glare and yanked at his arm, but Bill just grabbed the brunette's wrist and held onto it. He knew what he was doing.

"You are worth more than anything he could ever give you, and he must be blind if he thinks you don't look good enough for him." Her voice came out like a growl, and she narrowed her eyes into slits. "How dare he even imply you aren't pretty or amazing or worthy of his precious fucking time?! You are gorgeous and I swear if I catch you thinking any different because he said so, I'll smack you silly and then have him running back to his mommy and daddy faster than he can sign a check! Because I don't deal with that, and I won't let you deal with that either. Do you understand me? You are beautiful, with or without long hair. And you don't need to be good enough for him."

Mabel pointed a finger at the blonde, and Bill edged the situation a bit further with a couple gestures towards Pacifica. Dipper didn't know what his boyfriend was playing at, and he really wanted to get out of this. It didn't feel right to invade. Mabel grit her teeth and shook her head. "Because he doesn't care about you at all! He doesn't love you! I love you!" She stopped as soon as the words left her mouth, freezing in place. Bill let go of Dipper's arm and shot him a cocky glance. Dipper just stood there, awestruck his sister had confessed at all. Pacifica did as well.

Mabel laughed dryly, bottom lip quivering. "Ah... Pl-platonically, I mean," she whispered, looking down at her feet. Bill suppressed the urge to point out her bullshit, and placed a hand against Pacifica's shoulder blade, pushing her towards Mabel gently. He chuckled, lifting a hand for a high five, but Dipper was too stunned to even notice. The blonde shrugged, smacking his own hands together with a snicker, as if that made up for being left hanging somehow, and grabbed his boyfriend by the arm. He pulled him to the side, allowing the girls a bit more room.

"Give me a chance sometimes, I'm smarter than you give me credit for," he whispered to Dipper, who only nodded his head, snapping himself out of it.

Pacifica sniffed, taking a small step towards Mabel. "You... I... Mabel, I love you too," she murmured, closing her eyes. "Um.. More than platonically." The words were difficult for her to say. But once they'd left her mouth, she felt entirely liberated by them.

Mabel's eyes had stars in them, and she opened her mouth, only to close it again when nothing came out. A few seconds went by, and Pacifica feared she'd broken the poor girl. That is, until Mabel squealed like a little kid and practically jumped forward to hug the other tightly. "Why'd you never tell me?" she asked, elated. She used a hand to give Dipper and Bill a thumbs up, to which her brother just scoffed and Bill pressed his index to his thumb with a smirk.

Pacifica returned the hug. "I didn't want to ruin us, I guess..." she replied nervously, burying her nose into Mabel's shoulder. "What about you? Why didn't you tell me?"

Mabel pulled away to look her in the eyes. "Same reason, actually..." she admitted, smiling softly.

Bill had a triumphant look on his face. "This is cause for celebration, I think!" he exclaimed, looking all too giddy. He glanced at Dipper, who rolled his eyes in amusement. "And of course your birthday, too."

Dipper scoffed, nudging the blonde's side with his elbow. "You just want an excuse to break open those bottles in the freezer," he pointed out, and Bill shrugged, not even bothering to deny it. Pacifica gave a short laugh, wiping the tears from her eyes.

She cast Bill a look that only he seemed capable of reading, then pointed towards the bathroom. "Hey, I'll be right back. You guys can get started without me. I'm just gonna wash my face really quick," she said, walking off to do just that. Mabel watched her go with a goofy-looking grin. She was clearly on cloud nine. And as soon as Pacifica was out of sight, she was jumping excitedly and twirling around like it was all she knew how to do.

She clamped her hands down on Dipper's shoulders, bouncing cheerfully. "Oh my gosh broseph this is the best day of my life and we're gonna celebrate so Bill go get the alcohol this is gonna be great I might have a girlfriend holy fudge pops I'm so happy!" she whisper-shouted, her lips moving faster than the words seemed capable of leaving them. Somehow, though, Dipper got the gist of what she'd said. And Bill did too. Probably.

Maybe he'd just heard 'alcohol' and jumped at the opportunity.

Either way, he gave a salute and walked off to do as she'd asked. And once Pacifica returned, they cracked open the bottles, sitting down and wasting away the hours with increasingly intoxicated chatter. And eventually-

"Happy birthday to me!" Mabel cheered, a bright red hue overtaking her cheeks. She gave Pacifica a lopsided grin and downed the drink in her hand. It was midnight, therefore the thirty-first of August. And that meant one thing.

It was officially the Pines twins' birthday.

Dipper laughed, taking a swig of his own. "And mine," he added, giving the drink to Bill, who took it enthusiastically.

Mabel waved a hand dismissively, standing up. "Do you know what this means, bro-bro?" She was giddy, and didn't give him the opportunity to answer her question. "We're on top of the world! It's only uphill from here!" She fist bumped the air, doing a little twirl. She was drunk, clearly. But Dipper didn't mind it. Actually, his birthday was one of the only days a year he drank so much.

Hell, he and Bill alone had already gone through a bottle of gin and another of cinnamon flavored whiskey, which was certainly becoming a fast favorite of Bill's. He grinned ear to ear, sharp canines jutting out. Dipper was also admittedly pretty inebriated, but he was a bit more used to it than the blonde. "You say that every birthday," he pointed out, tipping his head to the side.

Pacifica snorted at the behavior of her friends, taking the bottle from Mabel's hand and holding it to her lips. She took a drink, enjoying the surprising sweetness of it on her tongue. "Keep it down, Mabel. Melody only let Bill stay here because she didn't want us driving anywhere like this," she said with a laugh, pointing towards the demon, who made a face at that. What was he, a dog? He'd done nothing wrong, and she still hadn't lightened up in his presence. Pacifica ignored his childishness though. "We wouldn't want her kicking us out anyway."

Mabel shook her head, sitting back down. "Melody wouldn't do that," she said almost thoughtfully, but the slur of her words threw that off. Pacifica made a skeptical sound, stirring the drink in her hand a little. The entire house smelled of alcohol, and it was a wonder nobody had complained yet. Soos wasn't exactly a drinker, and Melody didn't partake herself. Ford was downstairs avoiding the situation like the plague. He didn't want to tarnish his view of his great niece and nephew by witnessing them in some drunken stupor. And Stan frankly didn't give a damn. As long as they didn't drink what was his he was content.

Mabel sat back down, though she was bouncing excitedly. It was impossible for her to sit still, even when she had no real clue why. "So how was High Cipher?" she asked with a giggle, raising her brow at Dipper. She knew it had at least been somewhat eventful. Or at least, that's what she'd gleaned from the rather informative picture message she'd been sent the day before.

Dipper groaned, throwing his arms in the air. He glanced at Bill, whose stupid cloudy eyes were narrowed at him. "He was a pain in my ass all week," he puffed, looking down at the bottles they'd gone through.

For some reason, Pacifica scoffed and Mabel giggled, covering her mouth. "I'll bet," the bleached blonde chirped, lips pulled into a cattish smile.

Mabel seemed to be trying really hard not to laugh, her shoulders quivering from the effort. "I'd believe it, considering how funny you've been walking today," she added with an unsuppressed snort.

Dipper felt his face light up more than it already had from his alcohol-induced blush. "What?!" he yelled incredulously, eyes wide. At his reaction, Mabel burst into laughter and Pacifica was unable to hold it in. Bill was as well, his amusement entirely uncensored. Dipper just watched in mortification as their cackling slowly died down. He was silent, glaring at each of them before giving a chuckle, which thoroughly confused the others. "Heh, you're right. That's fucking hilarious," he hissed, narrowing his eyes into slits at his boyfriend. A sneer spread wide across his face. "But you wanna know what's even funnier?"

Mabel scooted the tinest bit closer, intrigued. Pacifica followed after her. Bill grew suspicious. "Kid-"

But Dipper hushed him, going on anyway. "The first time-"

Bill jolted in realization. "There's no reason to mention the first time!" he said in a slight panic, putting down the booze to place a hand on Dipper's shoulder. But his boyfriend shrugged him off, snickering.

Dipper usually didn't like talking about his sex life. But drunk Dipper didn't care much. Besides, they wouldn't remember it in the morning.

...Probably.

"You brought it on yourself. And anyway, if things I do in my bedroom are gonna be talked about, then so are things you do," he puffed, crossing his arms like he believed his logic was solid enough to argue with. "Bill is a total masochi-"

Bill's face was in his hands. "Stop," he pleaded loudly to drown out the rest of the word, unable to meet the girls' eyes as Mabel gasped and Pacifica giggled. They spent the next few minutes kinkshaming him, much to his dismay.

The night went on that way, with long drawn out wars between the boys to see who could embarrass the other more. Mabel passed out first, and Pacifica dragged her off to bed with Dipper's help, leaving just him and his boyfriend to choke down water until they stopped feeling quite so dizzy. Even when Dipper was at his most inebriated he remembered his ritual of hydrating himself, which Bill was grateful for. Had he forgotten, they would have woken up with killer hangovers.

Unluckily for the girls, they hadn't stayed up long enough to do the same.

Pacifica had her head down on the kitchen table, dark sunglasses covering her eyes. She groaned, a hand coming up to rub the back of her neck. Mabel looked equally as miserable, if not more so. Dipper felt bad for them both, as he and Bill were relatively headache free. Pacifica begrudgingly brought herself to her feet, staggering slightly. "I should probably get going," she grumbled, fingers pressed into her temples. "Mom and Dad set up some stupid wedding banquet for me." Mabel looked up at her through narrowed, tired eyes, disappointed she was still going at all.

The day Pacifica pushed herself from beneath her parents' thumb would be the day Mabel had her shot with the blonde.

Until then, she could at least rest a bit easier knowing Pacifica felt the same.

And surely she'd not go through with the wedding. Surely...

Dipper nodded at Pacifica, glancing at the saddened look on his sister's face. "Alright. We'll be see-" The sound of light knocking on the door interrupted him and he looked towards it. "I'll get it. See ya, Pacifica!" he called as he stepped into the living room and placed a hand on the doorknob. Pulling it open, he saw a face he hadn't expected to see before him.

Beth stood with her gloved fist raised as if to knock once more, a nervous expression on her face. Her cheeks turned pink after a few seconds spent gawking at him. She looked away, lowering her hand and shoving it into her pocket. "H-hey! You haven't b-been at the shop so much. I just wanted to ask the owner if you worked here anymore..." she choked out, seemingly on edge.

Dipper gave her a sympathetic look. He felt bad not saying anything, even if Bill wouldn't have liked it. Everyone around him still seemed convinced she had this huge crush on him, and maybe she did. But still, it looked to him like she didn't really talk to anyone else in town, and it wasn't her fault she was so shy. "Sorry about that," he said sincerely, smiling politely at her. "No, I don't. I just moved across town actually."

Beth nodded in understanding, and Pacifica's mouth hung open as she watched their little exchange. This was the girl that had been flirting with Dipper? She grabbed Bill by his arm and yanked him behind her as she darted across the room and into the hall, calling her goodbye to Mabel. Dipper nor Beth paid them any attention as she dragged Bill up the stairs. "What are you-" But she cut him off.

"You need to get Dipper away from that girl immediately," Pacifica hissed, as if forgetting about her hangover. "She's bad news."

Bill crossed his arms, looking annoyed. "You're telling me," he muttered, disdain apparent in his tone.

Pacifica sighed in exasperation, tapping her foot. "No, I mean bad news as in that girl shouldn't be alive." She paused to watch Bill's face go from puzzled to suspicious to disbelieving in only a matter of seconds. "She moved to town a few years ago, but died shortly after. It was reported she had a terminal illness, but people around town don't talk much about it. If I were you, I'd look into getting rid of her. Especially with your weird demonic drama going on." Pacifica looked down, and she seemed thoughtful, but it was hard to tell with those sunglasses on.

Bill was quiet for a few moments, giving the idea a bit of thought. It all started making sense in his mind. Her fascination with Dipper, her constant flirtation. Hell, even her name screamed obvious. How hadn't he seen it? "Thanks, Blondie. You should probably get going, though. Don't wanna hold up your parents," he replied blankly, his mind somewhere else entirely. Pacifica silently did as she'd been told, leaving him alone with his thoughts. After a minute or so he made his way back downstairs. Dipper had just closed the front door and was halfway into the kitchen.

Bill silently crept out the door, careful not to catch Dipper's attention. He didn't want nor would he need help. If Elizabeth was in that physical form, he could kill her. Or she could kill him.

Whichever came first.

Either way, he wouldn't put Dipper at risk. He followed after "Beth", keeping his distance. She seemed to lead him into the woods, which he thankfully knew well. Most people drove their car through them, but she was clearly a minority in that rule.

After a while, however, it became clear to him she wasn't on her way back into town. In fact, she stopped in a place Bill was all too familiar with. Beth stepped into a clearing and sat down on the ground in front of a stone statue that jut out of the ground. A triangular stone statue, in fact.

Well, if that wasn't damning.

Bill strode out into the clearing, and she seemed to notice his light footfalls approaching her. She tilted her head back to look at him, eyes going wide upon realizing she'd been followed. "What're you-"

Bill didn't allow her to finish, though. "Cut the act, Elizabeth" he snapped, something flashing in his eyes. Hatred blazed in their depths and she moved away from him a bit.

An anxious grin pulled her lips upwards. "A-act?" she questioned, and her mask was commendable.

Bill took a menacing step forwards, but froze. Not now, he thought when a sharp, excruciating pain touched his eyes. His heart was beating wildly and he staggered dizzily for a second. Beth watched him with her mouth hung agape, as if pondering the choice of either running away or helping him. She sighed, taking him by his arm and leading him forward. She let him sit down against the flat side of the statue, all the while he coughed up blood into his other hand. "I don't know what you're going on about," Beth said in slight worry, and Bill stared at her, confused, "but my name is Bethany. Who's Elizabeth?"

Realization was really difficult to convey when in pain, it seemed. Bill's ears were buzzing and he felt like he might throw up any given moment. He really wanted to avoid that, however, as it only caused him more anguish. "Wait... Bethany?" He hadn't given her much thought. Age changed appearance quite a bit, and he hadn't been as concerned with watching the town for the last ten years. But he was sure then that he knew her. "What's your full name?"

Beth rubbed her arm, awkward but not really afraid anymore. Frankly, Bill looked like he'd fall over any second. She didn't feel threatened knowing he'd sooner pass out than chase her if she darted off. "Bethany Donovan," she responded, kneeling down to his level and examining him. His skin had paled considerably and something about his eyes seemed different. Hadn't there been a small ring of yellow around his pupils?

Now that she really thought about it, they'd been an almost ethereal gold the first time she'd met him.

Something paranormal was going on, she was certain. Not that paranormal was anything less than the usual in Gravity Falls, but this interested her.

Bill grumbled angrily to himself, avoiding her strangely intense gaze on him as he mentally smacked himself in the face for nearly assaulting a girl he'd known as a normal resident of the town. Bethany Donovan. She'd lived here as a child, before Dipper or Mabel had ever even come to visit. But the summer they came along, she'd been absent, and as far as he'd known, she hadn't come back. He supposed he was wrong to assume that looking at her, but he was curious.

"What are you?" she asked, tilting her head to the side and sitting comfortably on the grass in front of him.

Bill tipped his head back against the stone of his statue, eyes narrowed. The pain was still horrific, and his hands were visibly shaking. The fact that he hadn't gone unconscious yet was a miracle, but maybe that was simply because Elizabeth wasn't trying to pull him into the mindscape this time. "I'm the guy that got turned to stone. Sort of," he said through ragged breaths, tapping the rock behind him with a hand. "And I'd be happy to explain, but first I wanna ask you a couple questions myself. Why'd you come back to town, and why'd you pick this of all places to be? You don't look like the kind of girl to wander around the woods staring at stones."

Bethany looked down a moment before giving a sigh. She began unbuttoning her coat and pulled it apart. Shrugging it off her shoulders, she held out her arms for him to see. Dark scars and burnmarks traveled up them, and seemingly continued on even further. Bill just stared at them in awe. "When I was little I really liked candles. And so did Mom. She'd light them all over the house at night. It was something we both just enjoyed, I guess. But we had this cat..." She stopped to laugh halfheartedly at her story.

Bill knew exactly what she was talking about. He recalled this event pretty well. It'd happened only a few months before Dipper and Mabel had arrived. He opened his mouth to stop her, but Beth shook her head and continued. "And one day he knocked a candle on the ground, which caught one of our rugs on fire. I woke up in the middle of the night to the smell of smoke. The entire first floor of our house was burning away, and trying to get to my parents downstairs I passed out. I guess I inhaled too much of it... But the next time I opened my eyes, they were gone and I was permanently marred. I guess that's life and all."

Bill nodded his head, the agony finally starting to ease, even if only a little. He still felt like parts of him were snapping in two, but that would feeling would leave him. Hopefully.

"I moved out of town - not that I had a choice - and was passed between family members until I was eighteen. After that, I lived on my own, but recently I decided to come back, and what a choice that was..." Beth sounded disappointed. "All of these crazy amazing things happened as soon as I was gone, and no one will talk about it. I guess the mayor enacted this 'Never Mind All That' thing everyone takes way too seriously. All I could get from anyone was that Dipper and Mabel Pines were the town heroes that changed everything. Then of course there's this new statue no one acknowledges or talks about, or even dares to go near. I wanted to find out its origin, but I always hit dead ends instead. And what's even more frustrating is the fact that after all this time people still knew me. So I'm just that burnt orphan girl everyone sees but tries to ignore around town now. No one ever smiles when I'm around anymore." She wrapped her dark, marked arms around her legs, a sad look on her face.

Her eyes trailed upwards to meet Bill's. "I know I've been invading, but all I ever heard about for so long was the town saviors. I wanted to meet them, especially because they wouldn't recognize me. I wanted to be friends with them and hear all their stories. I knew they'd tell me, too! But then Dipper kept smiling at me, and I felt like I belonged. I guess I became infatuated with him and lost track of my goal. Or maybe I became infatuated with the idea of being accepted, I don't know. I mean, I was aware of the fact that he was only being so nice out of common courtesy and even that I was pissing you off, but..." She seemed unable to come up with an excuse. Bill exhaled. He didn't have it in him to hate her, or even be all that angry with her.

But that still didn't answer his most important question. Why had Pacifica told him Beth was dead knowing all of this?

Eyes wide, Bill began forcing himself to his feet. "Shit," he growled through his teeth, the agonizing pang in his bones increasing as he stood. He could tell this would be his last time experiencing power drainage, and whether that was a good thing or a bad thing was irrelevant. All he knew was that he needed to get to Dipper as soon as possible. Beth looked up at him in confusion as he staggered, rising to help him.

"Woah, what are you doing? You don't look up to anything right now," she pointed out, a hand against his shoulder. "And you said you'd explain what you meant earlier."

Bill closed his eyes for a few moments to let them relax the tiniest bit before opening them again. "I will on the way. You're coming with me, or else that hero of yours won't live to tell you much," he coughed out, swallowing the blood that pooled in his throat and cringing. She gave him a strange look, but glanced down at the statue, then back up at him. Whatever he was up to, she'd trust, despite any reason she might've had not to.

Dipper narrowed his eyes at the road, annoyed Bill had run off without him. He supposed it probably had something to do with it being Dipper's birthday, but he really didn't want anything. And he especially didn't want anything big. He sighed once his house came into view ahead of him. He might have beaten Bill home, as the blonde had gone on foot, so maybe he could somehow stop whatever the surprise was from happening. But maybe there wasn't one anyway.

Though that seemed somewhat out of character for Bill.

Dipper pulled into the driveway and turned off the car. Stepping out of it, he yawned, tired. He hadn't slept much the night before, since he went to bed around four-thirty in the morning and woke up sometime before ten. In short, he was exhausted, and if the surprise involved anything along the lines of a nap, then he'd be content. Dipper didn't like treating his birthday like a special day much after turning thirteen. But drinking occasionally with his sister could be fun, so he just rolled with it.

Opening the door and stepping inside, he was met with silence. No lights were on and it was rather dark since Dipper insisted upon covering the windows. The only window he liked at all was the stained glass one in his old room, for whatever reason. He furrowed his brows, making his way across the room. Bill didn't seem to be here. Or maybe he was, and was trying to keep quiet.

Giving a thoughtful hum, Dipper pulled open his bedroom door, then stopped. Sitting in his desk chair was Pacifica, and she was flipping through the nearly finished novel he'd been writing. She scoffed, standing up. "This is pretty good," she mused, holding the notebook up. Dipper smiled nervously, taking a step back. That couldn't be Pacifica.

Not Pacifica just laughed, pulling the sunglasses off of her face to reveal the featureless white eyes Dipper was all too familiar with.

"How's it end?"