Apprentice {Gravity Falls}

Lenses

"Grunkle Ford, this doesn't make any sense!" Dipper exclaimed. Ford and himself were working on a project and Dipper was reading the directions. He must've been confused.

A bit odd for Dipper, but okay. Ford walked over to the boy, "What step are you on?"

"Uh... seven... it says add S ounces of water. Is S a variable or is there a specific amount I have to use?"

"Let me see the directions,"

Dipper handed the packet to Ford. The man quickly skimmed over it before finding Dipper's mistake, "That's a five, my boy. Add five ounces of water."

Dipper looked at the directions again, squinting, "Oh... it does say five... I guess I just read it wrong..."

"Most likely," Ford replied, "Try to slow down when reading. It might help a bit,"

Dipper nodded, "Okay, Grunkle Ford."

*   *   *

"Dipper?"

Dipper looked up from his phone.

"You're holding your phone kind of close to your face, don't you think?" Stan commented.

Dipper shrugged, "I mean, kinda. It's just easier to see it that way. I don't think I have the font on too small. I guess I could adjust the size a bit."

Ford snapped his head up, "It's easier to see that way?" He questioned.

"Mhm," Dipper nodded, "I mean, I know it's not good for my eyes, but I could always turn the brightness down too...."

Ford hummed in thought. It wouldn't be too out of the question for Dipper to need glasses. Then again, maybe the boy was just having an off day. He'd see if the problem persisted tomorrow.

*   *   *

"Hey Dipper, what does the caption on the TV say?"

Ford and Dipper were watching the weather on TV. There was a thunderstorm coming in and the bottom of the screen displayed the usual "Severe Thunderstorm Warnings." Ford knew this, but wanted to see if Dipper was able to read it from his spot on the couch.

"It says... uh... severe.... thunderstorm.... warning.... in affect, wait effect, wait is that an a or an e..." Dipper shook his head, "It says there's a servere thunderstorm warning for Gravity Falls from two to... or is it a three...uh..."

"Dipper, can you not see the caption?"

"Well, you have to admit it's kinda small," Dipper explained. Ford had to agree with him on that. "But... I guess some of the words are fuzzy... It is an older TV after all. Too much static..."

"I don't think that's the problem,"

Dipper look at him, "Then what is?"

"I suspect you need glasses."

Dipper shrugged, "Maybe," he replied. It was true he'd been struggling to read things such as directions or see his phone as well as he used to. However, he was hoping to avoid getting a pair for as long as possible. For personal reasons. Besides, he cringed at the idea of putting contacts in his eyes.

Ford caught onto Dipper's negative reaction, "It's nothing to be ashamed of! Stan and I wear glasses!"

Dipper nodded, "Yeah..." he mumbled out. Nothing to be ashamed of.

Of course, after a quick eye appointment it was revealed Dipper did in fact need to wear glasses. He chose a pair of lenses, but it'd take a week or two for the prescription to arrive. The Stans didn't notice, but the boy was secretly relieved when he saw the pair hadn't arrived yet. To Dipper's dismay, his glasses showed up a feel days later.

"How are they? Can you see better? Is it the right prescription?" Ford asked.

Dipper was silent. Everything looked so... clear. Was his eyesight really this bad? Slowly, a smiled formed on his face. He even started to forget why he was so reluctant to get glasses in the first place.

"It's... nice. Really nice."

Ford beamed, "I'm glad to hear that!"

Suddenly, Dipper's phone beeped. He looked at the message, "It's Mabel... she wants to call,"

Ford waved him off, "Go talk to your sister. I'll be working on our project if you'd like to join me after your done."

Dipper walked up to his room and answered her video call, "Hey Mabel!"

"Hey bro br-" Mabel paused suddenly and burst out laughing, "Oh my gosh! You got glasses? You look like a nerd!"

Dipper's shoulders sank. This was what he was worried about, "Uh... y-yeah I got glasses..."

"Wow! So now I'll have another nickname for you... four-eyes!" She chuckled.

Dipper sighed, "Yeah..." he swallowed thickly, "A-anyway, what's up?"

Dipper smiled as Mabel chatted about school, friends, and boys, while he responded with tales of adventures or science projects. Yet, he couldn't avoid the occasional jab or two about his new pair of specs. After a lengthy conversation, Mabel hung up. Dipper sighed, looking at himself in his phone's camera. Mabel was right. If he looked like a nerd before, there was no getting out of it now. The stupid glasses made him look so... stereotypical.

Dipper placed them in his pocket. He'd just... not wear them. Sure, everything was a bit blurry, but it was better than being mocked. Satisfied with his look, Dipper headed downstairs to see what Ford was working on.

"Greetings, my boy. I-" Ford looked up, but paused when he noticed Dipper. "You're not wearing your glasses?"

"I uh... lost them!"

"Dipper, they're in your pocket,"

"They... hurt my eyes?" Dipper tried. He didn't even sound sure of himself.

"You seemed to like them earlier. Did something happen?"

"No!" Dipper exclaimed, "I just... don't like how I look with them. I thought I'd look less... uh... like this..."

"Dipper, do you like your glasses?" Ford asked.

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Okay, then who cares about what others think? You can see better, and you like how they look. And for the record, I think you look amazing. They really bring out your eyes," Ford explained.

Dipper gave a small smile, "Thanks, Grunkle Ford."

"Of course, my boy. Now, are you going to help me with this project?"