Tales Of The Flame & The Ax: A Shooting Star Falls Story
Part Eighteen: How To Befriend, Love & Freefall
Pacifica continued to search for the boy she harbored feelings for as the sun set on yet another summer evening. She had almost given up hope when she spied one of his good friends standing beside the pool. "Cool party, huh?" the brown and silver haired girl remarked as she tried to break the ice with the somewhat shorter teenage boy. "It's alright…" he replied before taking a swig of whatever elixir resided in his red plastic cup. "Look, I'll just cut to the chase. Have you seen Trey anywhere?" Pacifica asked; hopeful that this would be the lead she needed to locate the sandy haired fifteen year old. "Yeah. He was here just a second ago…" the boy said. "Any idea where he went?" she continued. "He went to take a leak. Beer… You only rent it… Am I right?!" he said with a chuckle. "Ha, Ha… Yeah..." she begrudgingly agreed. Heading back towards the house, she caught a glimpse of Grendy and Courtney dancing to an upbeat pop song. She felt happy that the couple could cut loose and have a bit of fun. Grendy had forgone wearing her protective mask for the night, as she thought the risk of re-injuring her nose was pretty low and didn't want to have to explain it every five minutes. She recalled how her sister had offered to decorate it for the party and how Grendy had politely declined the kind gesture.
A few moments later, the hazel and sapphire eyed girl had made it to the kitchen, where a few girls were hanging out around a keg. "Hey Pacifica!" a petite blonde shouted in a somewhat slurred voice. She gave her a shy wave and a small smile to the group of girls. The upperclassmen motioned for her to come over and join them. She was shocked that they knew her name and could only wonder what they wanted. "So… You're gonna be, like, a sophomore this year, right?" a taller brunette said; her breath reeking of bottom shelf rum. "Uh… Yeah" Pacifica replied. "You got a boyfriend yet?" the blonde inquired with a slight chuckle. "Nah… Maybe by the end of the summer though…" the younger girl answered in an optimistic tone. "Cool, cool… Trying something new with your hair?" another girl asked. "Yeah. I felt like just having plain brown hair was kinda boring… Ya know?" the young woman fibbed. "Here! Drink this!" another girl chimed in as she practically shoved a shot glass in the face of the fifteen year old. "Oh… I really don't drink liquor…" Pacifica said in a hesitant voice. "You'll love it! Just throw it back!" the brunette said with a sly smile. Letting out a sigh, the sapphire and hazel eyed girl grabbed the miniature glass and took the shot. She wasn't quite sure what it was, but felt the burning sensation right away. "Ugh! You're right! I love it!" Pacifica struggled to say as she fought back the urge to vomit. "So, have you asked him yet?" the blonde asked the younger girl. "Asked who?" Pacifica shot back. "Uh, duh… Trey" the upperclassman quickly replied. The noise, crowd and pretty much the entire world faded into the background as Pacifica wondered how they had known about her crush.
"H-How do you know?" Pacifica inquired; her cheeks beginning to turn a bright pink as embarrassment came over her. "It's pretty obvious… We've all seen the way you look at him" the blonde remarked. "Yeah… And you turn into a total klutz anytime you're breathing the same air as him. No offense…" the dark haired junior added. Pacifica had no idea that she had been so closely watched by the group of upperclassmen. She wondered why they would even pay her the least bit of attention. In her mind, she wasn't anything special; just a girl with a prosthetic arm who was on the track and field team. That was when it clicked. She and the girls had ridden the late bus home from school practically every single day, as did Trey. He was on the wrestling team and the girls were varsity cheerleaders. They had to have seen her cringe-worthy attempts to get to know the dirty blonde haired boy. She only wondered why they had taken an interest in her personal affairs all of a sudden. "You should just walk right up to him and tell him how you feel. Life is short…" the blonde sixteen year old girl remarked. "You really think so?" a skeptical Pacifica replied. "Oh yeah… Totally! My cousin had this gigantic crush on this guy in her world history class. I told her to do the same thing…" the junior began. "And how'd it turn out?" the hazel and sapphire eyed girl asked. "Well… She kept putting it off. Then, while on her way over to his house, she was killed in a freak accident" the young woman said as a somewhat sullen look came over her. "Oh my… I-I'm so sorry…" Pacifica said in a shocked tone. "It was one of those things that nobody could have seen coming. This guy was mowing his yard, ran over some beer cans that someone had thrown onto it the night before and the pieces flew out and hit her. The doctors say it was like she was hit point blank with a shotgun. My point is that life is short and you should go tell him before something like that happens to you" the blonde finished as she have the younger girl a hug.
Pacifica thought about what the cheerleader had told her. She was right. Life was indeed short. "Here… Take another shot and go find him!" the brunette said. "I love this hoe!" the dark haired girl shouted in a slurred voice. Pacifica could tell that she had crossed the line from being buzzed like the rest of her friends to being flat out drunk. The fifteen year old downed the shot and looked at the trio of girls. "GO! GO!" the blonde said in cheery tone. "Yes, honey! Get it!" the dark haired girl shouted as Pacifica walked away; the young woman looking over her shoulder to see that the girls were watching very intently. Suddenly she felt herself collide with something and was knocked to the hardwood floor below; her head bouncing off the unforgiving surface like a basketball. Pacifica Pines was knocked out instantly by the blow. An audible gasp came from the trio of tipsy teen girls who had just talked to her and soon a crowd formed around the young woman. Mabel and Shaun had been out on the deck when they heard a commotion come from inside the home. "Ugh, let me guess… A fight?" the redhead said before taking one final swig of from the slim white can she held in her hand. "Nah… Too calm for that. Maybe somebody passed out or something…" the laid back teenager replied. "Welp, as long as it's not in the way of me getting another drink, then it's all good…" Mabel remarked. "Yeah, I could use another as well…" Shaun agreed as the pair made their way back into the kitchen.
Pacifica's eyes fluttered open and she noticed a crowd had formed around her. "Ugh… W-What happened?" the confused young woman asked groggily. "Shh… Just relax. It's gonna be alright…" a familiar male voice said in a soothing tone. It belonged to Trey. "PAZ!" the voice of her twin sister called out as she spied her twin lying on the wooden floor. Pacifica opened her eyes once again to see that both Trey and Mabel had knelt beside her. "What happened?!" her sister asked the student athlete in a worried tone. "We bumped into each other and she fell down. She hit her head pretty bad…" he answered while applying a cool hand towel to the forehead of the injured teen girl. "How long was she out?" Mabel inquired while taking hold of Pacifica's hand. "Only a few moments, but it's not good anytime you lose consciousness… Trust me, I speak from experience…" the dirty blonde haired boy added. "Okay… So we should probably call an ambulance or something, right?" Mabel asked. "Normally, I'd say yeah, but if the EMT's come out here, then the police won't be far behind. I don't know about you, but I'd rather keep everyone here where they're safe than have them drunkenly scurry off in a thousand different directions…" Trey pointed out. "So… What about Paz then?" the ginger teenager thought aloud. "I'll take her to one of the bedrooms and keep an eye on her. If anything changes for the worse, I'll call for help" he replied. "Keep having fun, sis… I promise I'll be okay. I've got Dr. Trey to look out for me…" Pacifica said with a smirk as she realized that she'd get exactly what she had wanted all along. Sure, she had wanted to go about it a different way, but it was still time alone with the boy she harbored a gigantic crush on. "Fine… But I'm still gonna worry about you a little bit. You're my sis after all…" Mabel relented. "And Trey?" the young woman continued as she looked the blonde haired boy in the eye. "Yeah?" he replied. "Don't you dare try and take advantage of her. If you do, I swear to whatever deity you pray to that you'll regret it" the redhead said in a serious tone. "I promise. I'm only taking her to a room so that the bright lights and loud noises don't bother her. I'll even leave the door cracked" he vowed to Mabel. She knew all about her sibling's feeling towards the wrestler and hoped she wasn't setting herself up for a disappointment.
Trey carefully picked the woozy fifteen year old girl off the floor and put her into a bridal carry position. Mabel was impressed by how easily he had managed to do so. Sure, he was in great shape and was used to picking up people much heavier than her, but the feat left her at a loss for words. Either that or it was a combination of the booze and the head injury she had just suffered. Regardless, she loved every second of it as he carried her up the stairs and headed towards a bedroom that was unoccupied by hormonal teenagers that were making questionable life choices. Placing her down on the bed, he made every effort to make sure she was comfortable. After being reassured for what seemed like the tenth time that she was, he pulled a desk chair from across the room and placed it next to the bed. A single lamp on a side table provided the only light in the otherwise dark room. Pacifica appreciated the lack of light, as it had made her head hurt immensely downstairs. "Look… I'm sorry that I hurt you. I feel really, really bad about the fact that I ruined your night…" the much larger boy said in a relatively soft voice. "Hey, it takes two. Besides, it was an accident. I should have been paying more attention to where I was going…" Pacifica replied. "Yeah, where were you heading to in such a rush? Wherever it was, it must have been important for you to not see somebody my size…" Trey asked the teen girl. "Honestly… I was looking for you" she admitted while her cheeks began to take on a more rosy hue. "Me?" was all that Trey could say in response to her comment. "Y-Yeah… I wanted to talk about something…" the brunette and silver haired girl explained. "Well… What was it?" he inquired. It was time to do or die for Pacifica Kathleen Pines.
"I… Uh… I-I wanted to ask you if you'd like to go out sometime" the young woman said as she felt the weight of the world lift off of her. Whether or not he responded favorably to her request, she was still glad that it was at least out in the open. "I'd think I would like that" Trey simply replied. Pacifica had braced herself for the worst and had almost dismissed the fact that he would accept her offer of a date. Needless to say, she was surprised that he had agreed. "Really?!" the brown and silver haired girl replied. "Yeah… If we're being honest here… I kinda wanted to ask you the same thing. I just was working up the guts to ask you tonight" the athletic teen boy responded. He was popular, attractive and socially active. She wondered what he had seen in her when practically every other girl at Gravity Falls High had been throwing herself at him. She was damaged. Her demeanor was less than cheery most of the time. What could she have to offer to him? "No way…" Pacifica said in disbelief. "I don't know what it is, but I really want to get to know you better. I mean, sure, you're the smart girl who has a prosthetic arm and all, but I can't help but feel that you're so much more than that. Call it a curiosity, but I want to see who Pacifica Pines really is" Trey explained. Pacific melted as she heard her crush shower her with complements.
Pacifica's head was swimming in a cocktail of alcohol, head trauma and hormones. The boy she had pined over for more than a year had just agreed to go out on a date with her. Not only that, but he had revealed that he harbored feelings for her as well. It all felt like a dream to Pacifica Kathleen Pines. Surely she'd wake up from it at any moment. Perhaps the fall to the floor had killed her instantly and she was simply in heaven. Regardless, she hoped that it was in fact reality; that Trey Paulson had reciprocated her feelings. She closed her eyes for just a moment, but awoke to a frightened teen boy sitting in a chair beside her. "Pacifica! You're not supposed to fall asleep after getting knocked out!" he said to her in a concerned tone. "Wha? Oh!? Sorry…" she replied; her voice full of confusion. "It's alright" Trey said with a chuckle. She liked how he was trying his best to take care of her. She was sure that it wasn't his first time he had helped take care of someone who was unwell. "I take it that you've seen somebody else get knocked out before…" Pacifica said as she tried to stay awake. "Yeah… My Mom…" Trey replied as he sighed. The fifteen year old girl was certain that he had misspoken or confused who he was talking about. "Y-Your Mom?" she asked in an unsure tone. "Yeah… Let's just say that there's a reason we moved halfway across the continent before I started high school" he said. Part of Trey wondered if he had messed up by revealing his less than stellar home life to the girl he had feelings for. He wanted her to like him for who he was, not pity him for his situation.
The young woman sat still in the bed as she thought of how to respond to such a shocking revelation. He had just revealed something to her that she doubted he had ever shared before. If she had any doubts about his intentions before, they had been erased by the comment. Surely someone wouldn't just bring up something like that unless they trusted the other person in the conversation. "Trey… I-I…" she began while still forming a reply in her head. "Pacifica… I-It's fine. It was a long time ago. She's much better now. We're much better now. It was dumb of me to bring up" he responded. The hazel and sapphire eyed girl wondered what he had meant by stating that they both were better. Her mind immediately began to think of the worst and she could only hope that it wasn't the case. If it were, she felt even worse for her crush; perhaps even a bit guilty. While her parents had disagreements from time to time, they had never escalated beyond them raising their voices. Even then, they were careful not to do it in front of their daughters. She couldn't contemplate her parents getting physical with one another. She fought back the urge to cry at such a troubling thought. Trey had noticed the sudden change in the demeanor of Pacifica and sought to steer the conversation back in a more positive direction. "So… About this date…" he said. The fifteen year old's eyes went wide as she wondered where he was going with his thought. "What about it?" Pacifica replied in a flirtatious tone. "What were you thinking? I'm down for just about anything…" he said as she noticed a blush form on his cheeks. "What about… Hmmm… Oh! I know! We can grab a bite to eat at Greasy's!" she said. Pacifica hoped he would be receptive to her offer to dine at one of the oldest establishments in Gravity Falls. 'YEAH! I LOVE THAT PLACE!" he replied enthusiastically. Part of Pacifica wanted to ask him what else he loved, but she thought better of it. Perhaps it was a bit too early to start throwing out the "L" word. They hadn't even gone out on their first date yet for crying out loud! The two teens continued to converse in the bedroom as night fell on Gravity Falls, Oregon.
Author's Note: So, this chapter focused a bit more on Pacifica. I felt like she needed a bit of a win here, so I gave it to her. What else will she learn about Trey? What will he learn about Pacifica? How does Ariel play into all of this? Answers to all of these questions and more in the next installment of Tales Of The Flame & The Ax: A Shooting Star Falls Story. -iKLOT
My Playlist For This Chapter:
Marshmello / Kane Brown – "One Thing Right"
A Great Big World – "Younger"
The Chainsmokers / Emily Warren – "Side Effects" (A song that I pictured playing as Pacifica walked across the room to speak to Trey)
Halsey – "Nightmare"
Jonas Brothers – "Only Human" (Seemed like a song that would play at the party)
The Him / Maria Hazell – "Found Me"
Above & Beyond, Seven Lions & Opposite The Other – "See The End"
Herve Pagez & Diplo / Charli XCX – "Spicy"
Lil Peep & iLoveMakonnen / Fall Out Boy – "I've Been Waiting" (The song I'd play when Pacifica has her eyes shut after the whole admission of feelings between her and Trey)
The Official Shooting Star Falls AU Reading Order:
P1). Underage Discoveries On A Reckless Night: A Shooting Star Falls Prequel
1). A Shooting Star Falls
2). Echoes Of A Nearby Future: A Shooting Star Falls Story
3). Scarred Summer: A Shooting Star Falls Story
4). The Dark Days Of Candy Chiu: A Shooting Star Falls Story
5). Forever Memories: A Shooting Star Falls Story
6). Stable Times Or A Wild Ride?: A Shooting Star Falls Story
7). Grenda's Confession: A Shooting Star Falls Story
8). Birthday Weirdness In The Rose City: A Shooting Star Falls Story
9). The Gift Of Forever: A Shooting Star Falls Story
10). Life In Transit: A Shooting Star Falls Story
11). The Moment: A Shooting Star Falls Story
12). Tales Of The Flame & The Ax: A Shooting Star Falls Story