Love, Hate, It's All The Same

Chapter 7: You're An Idiot

The party was going well.

Yep. Pacifica predicted things pretty accurately. Mabel was engaged in a conversation with Vince (who seemed to actually be enjoying himself),  Leo was entertaining the guests with what he referred to as his "rich people jokes", and Dipper was alone in a room with her dad.

Ok, that last bit was not part of her plan. But what could she do? Preston took Dipper away the minute that they got to the place. Plus, Dad wasn't really the giving type. On the contrary, he'd probably eat the butler if it meant he gets to save his own butt.

Since Pacifica probably wasn't getting Dipper back from her dad anytime soon, she figured she would just talk to the guests until he got released by the devil- err, Dad. Until he got released by Dad.

After way too many excruciating minutes of talking about real estate prices and "how much of the world I've traveled" and which restaurant has the best service, Pacifica decided she needed a break from all the arrogance and inflated egos and headed for the food table, where she found Dipper.

"I need a drink." He muttered when he saw Pacifica.

"Have you ever even drank before?"

"No, but now feels like a good time to start."

Pacifica let out a small laugh. "That bad?"

She plucked a wine glass from the tray of a server who passed by. She took  sip from the glass.

"It's like glorified grape juice." She commented. "Hey!"

She began protesting as Dipper yanked the glass out of her grip and began to chug the contents, a bit dribbling down his chin.

"Whoa, slow down." Pacifica eyed him. "That's still wine, Dipstick."

"Have you seen Mabel?" Dipper asked as he wiped some wine of off his chin with the back of his hand.

"She's talking to Vince somewhere. Why?"

"I need her to get rid of all the formal stuff your dad just whipped into me."

"He never listens to me." Pacifica shook her head. She had asked Preston to go easy on Dipper when he came to take the boy.

"Yeah, well, that's fine as long as you get me some stronger stuff." Dipper grinned, waving the empty wine glass.

Pacifica rolled her eyes. "C'mon."

She grabbed his hand and began to lead him to somewhere, but Dipper never found out where their destination was, since someone had stepped in front of her. He recognized him to be that man who was with Vince when he came to Pacifica's place.

"Good evening, Mr. Langston. I hope you're enjoying the party." Pacifica greeted smartly. A scowl flashed through her face, as though the greeting left a bitter taste in her mouth, but she quickly masked it with a warm smile. 

"Yes, I'm having a wonderful time. The cider is to die for, but I am yet enjoy your company so far."

Though the man was talking to Pacifica, he kept his eyes trained on the squirming brunet who held hands with his supposed-to-be-future-step-daughter.

"Oh, well, I'd love to stay and chat but I promised Dippy a good time." She nodded towards Dipper, who grinned and waved awkwardly at the man. 

Mr. Langston glowered in Dipper's direction. When he spoke, there was an air of malice laced in his voice. "Ah, the boyfriend."

"Yes, we were about to get drinks so he can let loose a little." Pacifica continued. "He's not much of a party person."

"I bet, I bet." Mr. Langston tore his gaze away from Dipper and turned to Pacifica. He plastered on a warm smile. "Well, don't let me keep you!"

Pacifica returned his fake smile and plowed onward. Dipper suddenly leaned in.

"Did you see the way he was looking at me?" He whispered frantically. "That guy's out to get me! That's it! He's going to hire a hitman and I'll die in my sleep! All because I had to play boyfriend with you!"

Pacifica paused in front of another passing waiter and grabbed a glass from the tray. She shoved the glass into Dipper's hand. "No, you're not. Stop being so paranoid. And keep your voice down!"

"It is down!"

Pacifica continued leading him through the crowd. They passed a doorway and Dipper found himself gawking at a massive garden. Pacifica dropped Dipper's hand and went down the small flight of stairs in front of them. Midway down, she stopped and sat down.

She sighed. "I'm exhausted."

Dipper looked at the now empty wineglass in his hand and sat down next to the blonde.

"What's this?" he teased. "Pacifica the Perfect is haggard?"

"Shut up." Pacifica half said, half laughed. "You don't know what I've been doing."

Suddenly, a loud popping sound echoed through the garden. Pacifica flinched and smacked Dipper on the shoulder.

"Where did you get that?!" she exclaimed in disbelief, pointing at the freshly uncorked bottle of wine in Dipper's hand.

"There was a rack next to the door. What? This stuff is good!" He added when Pacifica continued to look at him scathingly.

Pacifica shook her head. "You're an idiot." 

"That may be so, but at least this idiot's having a good time." 

Pacifica watched as Dipper poured the crimson liquid into his glass. 

"You kept talking about me letting loose, but I think you're the one who's uptight and stuff."

Pacifica raised an eyebrow. "I think the wine's going to your head instead of your stomach."

"I'm just saying, you should drink some happy juice."

"You're never gonna see me drunk, Pines."

"Ah, well, worth a shot." Dipper murmured groggily as he drained the last contents of his cup. "You know," he poured some more wine. "You are pretty perfect, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not."

"It's okay, you can admit it."

"How much have you had to drink?" Pacifica tried to grab the bottle but Dipper quickly pulled it out of her reach.

"N-not much." 

"Dipper, give me the bottle."

"I told you, I haven't drunk much."

"Give it." Pacifica commanded firmly, her hand held out.

Dipper looked back and forth between Pacifica's outstretched hand and her stern look. Looking defeated, he took the bottle from behind him and handed it to Pacifica.

"Oh my God, there's, like, a fourth left in here!" Pacifica muttered incredulously.

"I could've sworn I've only had a couple sips."

"Oh, so the bottle just drained itself?"

"...Yes?"

"No." Pacifica shook her head. "Ok, that's enough drinking for you. Let's get you back inside."

Pacifica stood up and began dusting herself off. Dipper tried to follow suit but he stumbled when he tried to stand. Fortunately, Pacifica was able to help him balance before he went rolling down the stairs. Once Dipper had confirmed that his head had stopped spinning, they headed back into the mansion.

Note: I'll be moving the schedule times from Monday 9pm to Monday 9am. Where I am, Monday 9pm is actually Tuesday 9 AM and I'm usually not up by 9am, especially since our classes ended last week and now mom doesn't wake me up at 8am. So yeah. Sorry for late update. I slept through my lunch.