AUTHOR'S NOTE: Two things to say before we start this newest chapter. 1: for those of you who have been reading this from the start, changes have been made to our three heroes. From this point on, Jocelyn, Hazelle, and Lucy are all 15 years old. And 2: I wanted to give credit to my friend, with whom I am co-writing this story. These aren't just my words, they're hers, too!

Thanks,

TwistingMoonbeam

WARPED

Chapter 8

It had probably been the greatest day of Jocelyn's life, so far.

Sure, yeah, the whole "getting attacked by Bill at school" thing wasn't ideal, but it was all worth it to be where she was now: true blue Gravity Falls, Oregon! It kinda felt like a bad fanfic, but she wasn't complaining.

And now, instead of studying or dealing with chores, Jocelyn was helping Mabel pick out a nightgown for tonight's sleepover (or, as Mabel was dubbing it, the "Sleepover-a-Palooza).

"So, what do you think?" Mabel asked her, holding up two nightgowns, one purple and one pink. "Prism-thingy with rainbows or muffin?"

Jocelyn considered, humming and holding her chin. "Isn't that the explosion Robbie spray painted on the water tower?"

Mabel frowned. "No…no, it's a muffin."

"Oh. Then prism-thingy it is!"

"Do you wanna borrow one?" Mabel offered, sliding the nightgown on over her head.

Jocelyn's jaw dropped. "You want me…to wear…ONE OF YOUR NIGHTGOWNS?"

"Why not! It's Sleepover-a-Paolooza, isn't it? Plus I know you don't have any stuff because of the potato chip-continuum thingamabob."

"I WOULD BE HONORED," Jocelyn shouted. She could barely contain her excitement!

"This is gonna be so fun!" Mabel said.

As the two began to squeal, Dipper moaned into his pillow on the other side of the room. "Is she always this loud?"

Hazelle sat next to him on his bed. "Yup. Try spending twenty-six hours a week with her."

"Twenty-six hours a week?" Dipper asked, incredulous.

"Yeah. Marching band takes up a lot of time. You learn to block her out."

"You must have a superpower," he said, sitting up.

"Yeah, the power of being deaf. But you can't blame her; she's the oldest of five. How else is she gonna be heard?"

"Five? Jeez, that's a lot of kids."

"My parents need a hobby," Jocelyn called from Mabel's side of the room.

Dipper blushed, laughing uncomfortably. "Uh yeah, no, yeah, that's nice…" He turned back to Hazelle. "Are you gonna be a part of that?" he asked, gesturing to the slumber party preparations.

"Well, I mean, I guess so…" Hazelle scratched the back of her neck. "I'm not really a makeover girl, but when in Rome…"

"Soooo," Mabel said, plopping down on her bed. "Are there any booooys where you guys come from?"

"I'm out." Dipper grabbed a ballpoint pen and Journal #3 and left.

"Well, I mean, yeah," said Jocelyn. "Boys make up half the world's population!"

"No no no! I mean…" Mabel lowered her voice to just a whisper. "Boooooooooooys?"

"Well, Jocelyn's got herself a little somethin' somethin'," Hazelle dropped, smirking.

"AAAH!" Mabel grabbed Jocelyn's shoulders. "Tell me all about it! Every last juicy detail!"

"Well, his name's Noah," Jocelyn began, "he's a junior. And we're just talking."

"And by 'talking,' she means they're making out in the back of the band bus!" Hazelle added smugly.

"Whoa whoa whoa. Making out?" Mabel demanded, spellbound.

"Hey, no we're not!" Jocelyn protested, cheeks bright red.

"The rumors are truuuumors!" sang Mabel.

Just then, there was a light knock on the door.

"IT'S OPEN!" Mabel yelled. Lucy opened the door, and stuck in her head. It was obvious that she was very on edge.

"Hi."

"Oh, hey, what's up man?" called Jocelyn.

"Um, nothing. Mind if I come in?" Lucy asked tentatively. "I don't wanna intrude."

"Come on in!" chirped Mabel. "The more the merrier!"

"All right…" Lucy slowly made her way into the room, visibly uncomfortable. Her eyes were darting around the room as if she expected something to jump out at her, and her face was pale. Her hands were shaking, and she was wringing them as she asked, "So what are you guys up to?"

"Sleepover prep, remember?" piped Jocelyn. "Are you gonna get in on this? We're gonna do makeooooverrrrrs!"

"Um, maybe. We'll see." Lucy said, avoiding Jocelyn's animated gaze.

"Is everything okay, Lucy?" asked Hazelle.

"Well," began Lucy, perching on the edge of Mabel's bed, "we kinda have some stuff to talk about."

"Like what?" squawked Jocelyn cheerfully.

Lucy's shaking hands balled into fists. "While you're here having the time of your life, I've been miserable. How are we going to get home? We're trapped in a cartoon!"

Hazelle gave a pointed look at Mabel before answering Lucy. "You don't think we noticed? Yeah, it's unsettling, but there's really nothing we can do right now. We might as well make the best of it."

Lucy's eyes narrowed, and her tone had turned icy. "So let me get this straight. You'd rather have a sleepover than try and figure out how to get home? To our own world?"

Jocelyn had had enough.

"WHAT is your problem? The entire time we've been here, all you've done is complain. We're in Gravity Falls for God's sake! You don't think this is even the slightest bit cool?"

Lucy set her jaw. "No. As a matter of fact I don't."

"Then I'd really appreciate it if you'd keep it to yourself," Jocelyn replied, her tone frosty. Lucy opened her mouth to retort but Hazelle beat her to it.

"Can you guys stop it for one second? It's late and we can't do anything about it now. We can deal with it in the morning. For now we should all get a good night's sleep."

Lucy stood up and fixed Hazelle and Jocelyn with an icy stare. "Fine then. I'll see you in the morning." Lucy then turned on her heel and left the room, slamming the door behind her.

Mabel was the one to break the silence. "Well now that that's over, who's up for makeovers?"

Hazelle pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Why do you have to do that?"

"Hey!" Mabel protested. "Makeovers are fun!"

"No, sorry, makeovers are great. I meant Jocelyn."

"Me?" Jocelyn asked, indignant. "I literally did nothing. She's been a b- I mean female dog ever since we landed our butts here. I think she's forgetting I saved us from Bill."
Hazelle fixed her glasses. "While that's true, and it was great, you have to think of how she's feeling. You know Lucy. She doesn't like change."

"Thanks for those words of wisdom, Doctor Phil," replied Jocelyn dismissively.

"I think you should be less harsh with her, Joss," Hazelle pressed. "Not everyone's dreams involve touching down in Gravity Falls."

"Whatever," said Jocelyn, rolling her eyes. "Now who wants to start these makeovers?"

Mabel grinned. "I thought you'd never ask!"