Chapter 5: Party Problems

Dipper walked in the Mystery shack, Mabel was bedazzling the counter with waddles nearby, Grunkle stan was gluing feathers on a fake Moose for a new attraction.

"Woah, what happened to you kid."

Dipper had a smile on his face, a new cut on his eyebrow, leaves, dirt, and sticks hanging off him- some scratches clearly visible through his clothes.

"Sorry haha, got a little preoccupied on my way over here. This pack of pegasus's…pegasuseses? Pegasi?" Dipper said as he wiped some sweat off his forehead. "Turns out trying to ride one is not as easy as it looks. And then one of them hurt themselves."

Grunkle Ford had come up for food and stopped to listen to the tale. "Incredible Dipper, I've only seen them through binoculars, you say you actually rode one."

Dipper laughed nervously, "Rode one, fell off, chased, and…uh some other stuff."

Mabel was a little upset though, "You said one of them got hurt, are they gonna be ok?"

Dipper held up a hand as he reached into his backpack and pulled out a jar. Inside, a jet black pegasus was floating around and flying in circles. "I went and hiked till I found those size-changing gems and went back for the pegasus. I figured we could help him get better….cuz it was kinda my fault. Also, I thought you could study him a bit, Grunkle Ford. I never really saw anything about pegasus' really in the journals."

"Haha, great job Dipper, I couldn't have done a finer job myself." Grunkle Ford said as he took the jar and examined the tiny flying equestrian. "They were on my list of things I wanted to learn more about."

The young boy blushed at the praise, proud to be recognized by his Grunkle Ford. "So what are we doing tonight? Any projects I can help out on…"

"NONONONONONONONO." Mabel yelled as she ran over and grabbed Dipper's face, shaking it as she squished his face. "The first highschool party of the year is tonight! You have to come with me, it's gonna be so much fun!"

Dipper blinked, "Umm…I don't know, I'm kinda tired no…OW!"

Mabel flicked Dipper but then put on her best puppy dog face, not relenting till her brother finally sighed and agreed, "Fine, I'll come with yo…."

His words were cut short as Mabel started dragging him out the door, "We have to get ready, bye GRUNKLES!"

"AHHH Mabel! Take care of the Pegasusssss…"

Stan and Ford just looked at each other and laughed, "They're really growing up huh?" Stan said.

"I know, so different, but still fundamentally the same."

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An hour later Dipper was a little more cleaned up. He had showered, switched into some shorts, sneakers, a Mystery Shack tank top, and a light blue hoodie that was perfect for this time of the year, when summer was winding down its heat in the evening. The hoodie matched his new pine tree hat and he was glad the pegasus had only given him a small cut in his eyebrow, and not any serious bruises or black eyes.

"Ta-Da!" Mabel jumped into his room, startling her twin, she was outfitted in a pair of high waisted shorts, a pink t-shirt that had a star theme on it, and had styled her hair down.

"Agh, oh don't startle me like that…are you sure this is a good idea Mabel, I'd rather help our grunkles out."

Mabel just scowled, "Ugh yes! People already asked if you'd be there and I said YES. So you're going." as she finished hounding him about it she punched him in the arm.

"Who asked about me?" Dipper said with a raised eyebrow.

Mabel played it off, "A few of our new friends….andItoldPacificayou'dbethere."

"What?"

"Nothing, now let's go Bro-bro." Mabel gestured with her hand and a small amount of confetti shot out, "Damn it, my confetti thingy is sensitive."

Dipper laughed and punched his sister playfully, "Lol fine, let's go. But you owe me a weirdness adventure."

"Deal Drip."

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The party was only a few streets over, in a bit nicer neighborhood, and it seemed like almost the whole school had shown up. A mansion was lit up, music could be heard from outside, and cars were lined up in the driveway and along the streets. It looked like something out of a Hollywood movie party, except for the gnome throwing up a rainbow in the trash can outside. Typical Gravity Falls.

The insides had multiple strobe lights and LED color strips lining the walls and enough speakers blasting music to make it seem like some European dance club.

As soon as they walked into the doors, Mabel screamed, "Candy!" from spotting her friend, quickly disappearing in the sea of bodies.

"Mabel!" Dipper yelled, but it was no use, he was on his own.

Oh well, he thought. Time to play the social game. He had learned over the last few years how to really work conversations and social events. No longer as awkward as before.

Eventually he found himself with a drink in his hand, playing a round of beer pong with a girl who had grabbed him saying she needed a teammate. Her name was Emily? Emma? Dipper wasn't that invested but everytime he got another ball in a cup she'd "Woo!" and hug him or press up against him. She was a woo girl. Cute, but not Dipper's cup of tea. But he was a good teammate though, they were winning, and he was talking to a dude by the table, his name was Pat, about the universe, Pat may have smoked something, Dipper wasn't sure.

"…Yeah man, the universe is just ever expanding…Crazy…"

"Oh for sure, but what if it someday shrinks again, what then?"

"Yo! What dude! That's even crazier!"

That's how most of the dialog was going for Dipper. He couldn't help but laugh a bit though and have fun at it all. He barely knew anyone around him, but he was chatting like they were lifelong friends, already had like five new followers for pinstagram and plans to hang with them sometime after school in the coming weeks.

That's when he saw her. A head of blonde that he'd recognize from a mile away. She was wearing a summer blue blouse that showed enough skin while still keeping classy, showed off her tan, and seemed perfect for her.

Dipper debated in his head what to do, Ok, she said hi today. She made a move, does that mean it's kind of like my turn. Should I wait and see what happens, what if she's bitchy to me like she was with Mabel?

Suddenly, one of Grunkle Ford's sayings came into his head, "Fortune Favors the Bold Dipper!"

Dipper clenched his jaw as he made his decision, turning to his new friend Pat and tagging him into the next game of beer pong, much to the dismay of his teammate.

As he started to walk over to her he saw another guy had started talking to her, he stopped and second guessed himself. The guy had one hand against the wall and Dipper watched as Pacifica tried to leave the guy grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to the conversation. That was all the motivation Dipper needed.

He quickly went up to them, interrupting whatever the guy was trying to tell her, an obvious scowl on Pacifica's face, "Hey Dude!"

The guy looked up at the words, he was definitely taller, and more muscular. Dipper recognized him as one of the football players, one of those linebackers. Dipper had taken MMA classes, but he still knew his brains were his best tool.

"Bryan's looking for you man!"

The dude seemed ready to fight at first but then confused at his words, "Bryan…?"

"Yeah! Your car man, oh your car! You drove it here right?"

He seemed a bit more worried now. "Uh…Yeah?"

Dipper clapped him on his shoulder, "BRo…You won't believe this, Bryan said they hit your car, damage...uh somewhere, they said you probs wouldn't notice, but Damn, I'd be pissed!"

The worry in the boy's eyes was instant, and with a "Shit!" He was gone.

Dipper sighed in relief as the guy was quickly out of sight. Then he heard a voice to his left, "I could've handled it myself."

Dipper turned to an annoyed eye roll from the blonde. They used to be roughly the same size, now, Dipper was looking down at her. He smirked, "Oh, I'm so sorry princess, it looked like you needed saving." He said teasingly.

Pacifica didn't answer but a slight blush was definitely visible at the princess. "Whatevs," she said as she turned to the party, "So what do you think of your first high school Gravity Falls party, no ghouls or monsters following you tonight?"

Dipper couldn't help but chuckle, "Not tonight unfortunately, the last party at the mystery shack, I summoned the dead, so definitely not trying to repeat that."

The blonde laughed and faced him again, getting a bit closer so they could hear each other a bit better over the music, "Honestly, might lead to some better company than the people here now."

Her face was closer now and Dipper couldn't believe how different she looked, so much less makeup than before. Not the overdone, pre-teen who's just found out how to use the stuff. From all of it, Dipper could only notice a bit of mascara and foundation, and a light lipstick. Her eyes were the exact same though, blue and piercing like the ocean.

He was spacing out as he looked at her and finally she raised an eyebrow and cocked her head to the side, "Earth to Dipper, or are you one of those zombies yourself now?"

It was Dipper's turn to blush a bit, realizing his awkward staring. Before he responded though another voice took over.

"There you are Dipper!" Mabel was waving at him as she moved through the crowd, "We've got next game at Pong dork come on! I'm with Grenda, get a partner!"

Dipper saw Mabel exaggerate a wink to Pacifica before turning back to the pong table. When he looked back, the usual look on Pacifica's face was replaced with another red blush.

Dipper shook his head from Mabel but decided it would only be more awkward if he made the situation weird, "So, Northwest? We gonna let them win, or do you also have a Sergei beer pong coach as well as the mini golf one?"

The joke definitely helped as Pacifica feigned offense, "I do NOT have a coach for that! But we're still going to WIN!" She gripped his hoodie and pulled him toward the table.

"Woah…!" Dipper said as he was pulled by the blonde. He could see an angry look on his previous beer pong's partner's face from across the floor, sorry Emily, or Emma, Dipper thought.

As Pacifica pulled him to the table, Dipper couldn't help but slip a bit on the beer-stained floor. Luckily though, Pacifica still had a grip on him and she pulled him back up straight while laughing, "Don't tell me you just look grown up, but still have the coordination of my old Dipper hmm? Hahaha"

Dipper set his mouth in a scowl before laughing too, "Wouldn't you like to know Pacifica."

"Oh would I?"

"Mmmm, Maybe."

As they looked at each other smiling and laughing they heard Grenda interrupt them, "HEY! STOP FLIRTING," causing the two to separate as Grenda's words could be heard clearly even over all the speakers, "IT'S TIME TO PUT BALLS IN HOLES!"

Dipper and Pacifica's eyes widened but Mabel didn't let the words linger too long, "That's what SHE said HAHAHAHA!"

The timing was perfect and Dipper and Pacifica and Grenda also started laughing their asses off at Mabel's joke.

As good as Dipper was before, it seemed his skills were always inferior to Mabel's at beer pong, she was just a natural. Eventually, it got down to each side with one cup, Dipper went for it and watched as the ball landed right in the cup.

"YESSS! Dipper said, much more into this game then the previous ones. "Suck it Sweaters!"

Mabel groaned, "NOoooooOOOoo," she set her face in a determined look though, "REBUTTAL time bro-bro!"

Dipper interrupted though, 'Ah, not yet, Paz still has to go."

He was right, she still had her ball, if she sunk it, they would take the automatic win. She had the same look Dipper had seen during mini golf, and he watched as she confidently sunk the last cup as well.

"Yesss!" Dipper said, picking up Pacifica in a hug, "Haha Mabel always beats me at this stupid game!"

Pacifica had gone a little stiff as she felt herself being picked up, her heart beating a lot faster for some reason. As Dipper put her down he could see the heat rising to her face again. The room felt suddenly a lot warmer. It also didn't help that Mabel had the dumbest smirk on her face watching it all transpire.

Dipper was also feeling a little warm, "Hey, I'm gonna get some air!" he told Pacifica over the speakers.

As Dipper started walking out towards the back deck he was surprised to see her coming with him.

"I could use a bit of air too."

Dipper nodded, not thinking anything of it, it was getting hot in the house with so many people partying.

Eventually they found themselves on some lawn chairs, a fire pit and going in the middle of the deck and a few other straggler party goers outside.

Dipper was pretty content with the night and even more so with Pacifica seated next to him, they didn't speak for a few moments, just enjoying the night air, Dipper could see Mabel shoving her face against the window inside to try and get a look. He rolled his eyes but figured he should probably talk.

"So he…"

"How's the…"

Both of them stumbled over their words as they started speaking at the same time.

"Oh you…"

"Sorry you fir…"

They paused again, before busting out laughing again, it seemed both of them were tripping up over each other.

Dipper smiled at her though, How you doing Paz?"

Pacifica made a face before slapping his arm lightly, "Really? First at school and now here, I haven't seen you in years and you act like it was just last week you got on that bus and left."

Dipper rubbed the back of his neck, now a sheepish smile on his face, that was definitely a Dipper that Pacifica knew.

"Sorry, you're right"

"I didn't even know you were coming back here you dork, you completely threw off my week…both of you, I mean."

Dipper couldn't help having a raised brow at her words, "I didn't realize I was so important I could mess you up like that."

Pacifica turned away, a bit embarrassed with her words, she played with her hair as she looked into the fire, "Not like that Dip, I just was surprised, you know?"

The young man nodded, "Mabel and I decided we wanted to surprise everyone, you weren't left out of the loop or anything."

The blonde girl next to him started to get a far off look, "No Dip, you're wrong, I am out of the loop. These last three years…they haven't been easy.

Dipper was silent and she looked like she was going to continue but a scream pierced through the air from the forest. Pacifica jumped, hugging close to Dipper, "What was that? She asked, before quickly pulling away from Dipper.

"I don't know…let's go check it out." Dipper said, getting off the log and walking to the forest.

"Dipper? What do you think you're doing?" Pacifica said.

"C'mon, you know me Northwest, I can't pass up a good mystery. You don't have to come." He said, smiling deviously as he entered the woods.

"Dipper! DIPPER!" Pacifica whispered furiously, "Ugh, I hate you Dipper Pines." She whispered to herself before following him into the forest.

Been a long time since I've updated this story. I hope anyone who's been waiting for this enjoys it. Reviews are always welcome.