She Will Always Hate Me

xiv: happen to have lovely company

WARNING:
This story deals with some heavy topics i.e. mental health, depression, mentions of suicide, physical abuse, as well as eating disorders. Please read at your own risk.

When Dipper first mentioned the karaoke bar, he expected Paz to be super excited about that entire idea. However, when she looked at him, he saw something he wasn't sure he'd see in her eyes.

"Won't we get caught? I thought you had to be eighteen or something." Paz mumbled, fiddling with a piece of her hair and swaying back and forth on her heels.

Dipper stopped dead in his tracks. This girl was truly something else. She was all prepared to break into a music hall and some rich person's house, but a karaoke bar was where she drew the line. He couldn't help but let out a very unattractive snort.

"W-what?" Paz stammered, her face getting redder by the second.

"I do not wish to offend you, Paz, I am just surprised that this is where you draw the line." Dipper held his hands out in a surrendering gesture. "I know that we won't get caught."

"You promise?" Paz stuck out her pinky, a determined expression on her face.

Dipper sucked in a breath through his teeth. Hadn't he just declared that he wasn't about to go making promises especially the ones he didn't know he could keep?

What the hell, he'd already gotten himself in too deep. He stuck out his pinky and interlocked it with hers. "I promise." He declared, and for some reason it didn't feel as forced as he thought it would.

Paz jumped up and down in excitement before snatching his hand up and rushing out of Greasy's. "Okay okay okay!" She exclaimed, pushing past a few of scattering pedestrians who could see her hurry and were trying to move out of the way as fast as they possibly could. "So, how far away is it? If it's too far to walk, I'm sure that there's a bus that runs through here."

Dipper could barely process all the information she was throwing at him breathlessly as she raced out of the diner's slightly lopsided door. Finally, when all the information went through, Dipper scrunched up his nose and broke free of Paz's grip.

She turned back, halting in her steps and looking at him with such an expression that Dipper almost felt bad for letting go of her hand. Almost.

Digging through his pocket, Dipper pulled out his keys, realizing that he hadn't mentioned to her that he finally purchased a car. Holding them up to her eye level, Dipper smiled shyly. Whoa, what? Shyly? What the hell was going on here? Regaining his composure and trying to just smile as naturally as he could with her staring at him, Dipper cleared his throat. "We uh, we won't need a bus, Paz."

Her eyes darted from his and to the dangling car keys in front of her. "When did you get a car, Dipstick?!" She exclaimed, rushing forward and snatching the keys out of his hand.

"Only a few days ago." Dipper admitted. "It's a piece of work, but it gets me where I need to go."

Paz grinned and turned over the keys in her palm. "Well, I'm happy for you! I'm so happy I could hug you, y'know?" She rushed forward more, arms stretched out wide, to envelop Dipper into a tight embrace.

Dipper side-stepped her. "No thanks, I don't do hugs, Paz."

Paz almost seemed upset at that thought, but she shrugged it off. "So, where is your 'piece of work' automobile?"