Love, Hate, It's All The Same

Chapter 17: I Don't Hate You

Pacifica could hear her pulse thumping in her ears. She had nothing to be nervous about, but with the way Dipper was fidgeting, she had a feeling she knew what he was about to say. Problem is, she's not sure if she's ready for that conversation yet.

Dipper set his mug on the table and took a deep breath in. " So, uh, I've been thinking-"

"Well that's not good." Pacifica cut in. 

Dipper chuckled nervously and went on. "-and umm, I just... Oh God, how do I say this? See, 'cause I just thought, um..."

He cleared his throat again and felt his grip on the mug tighten. This was not going too well. The way Pacifica stared at him wasn't helping either.

"Well," Dipper tried to continue. "We've been spending a -um- a lot of time together lately, you know, with you staying here and sleeping on my bed and-"

He clamped his hand over his mouth and covered his face. "-shit, I wasn't supposed to say that. Oh-my-God-you-totally-hate-me-for-this-and-I-understand-if-you-want-me-to-crawl-under-a-rock-and-die."

Dipper peeked between he's fingers and was baffled to see Pacifica struggling to keep a straight face. Pacifica was doing great at holding back her laughter. That is, up until this point. When a giggle managed to escape her lips, the rest just came flooding out.

"Okay, look," Pacifica put her mug down. "I don't hate you. You can get really annoying sometimes, but I don't hate you. Especially not after that adorable mess. You're cute when you're nervous."

Dipper stared at her with a funny look. "Are you dying? Is that why you're being nice?"

Pacifica ignored his questions. "How about this?: you finish your coffee," -she grabbed Dipper's mug and put it in his hand- "and I'm gonna shower. We'll talk about whatever it was that you're trying to say later."

Dipper continued to stare at her stupidly. "Am I dying?"

Pacifica smiled at him and pecked him on the cheek, ruffling his hair as she passed him. Dipper's eyes followed her and watched as she disappeared upstairs, then he stared at mug of coffee she had placed in his hand and dumped it down the sink, as though the strange events were caused by it.

* * *

Something was up with Pacifica. Dipper was sure of it.

She had been acting happier than usual since that morning, nothing at all like how she'd been the past week. 

If the way she acted that morning wasn't any indication that something happened last night, the walk to school was definitely a dead give away. He might've been overthinking it, but Dipper was sure Pacifica seemed more comfortable with holding his hand than two days ago. She even seemed to have a bit more spring to her step.

Of course, Dipper wasn't sure it that was good or not, since it could mean anything with that woman and at this point, he needed to find out before he passes out from the stress.

Strangely, Pacifica seemed to know about his desperation to talk to her as he was finding it impossible to take her aside for a conversation. She was either in a different class, surrounded by other girls or simply nowhere to be found.

Lunch time passed, and Dipper still hadn't had any luck. He wondered if this was how she felt yesterday and if this was just some kind of payback for it, 'cause it felt horrible. The suspense, the mystery, the hopeless feeling, just horrible. But then, he also couldn't help but feel guilty that she had to go through that.

"Alright, I get it." He muttered, even though no could hear him. "I'm sorry."

He didn't expect anything to happen when he said it, so he was surprised to see Pacifica actually alone at her locker. He saw an opportunity and you better bet that he was gonna take it.

He crept into an empty classroom near the cafeteria and waited for Pacifica to pass before he yanked the door open.

"HEY!" she yelped as she got pulled into the classroom. Dipper closed the door behind him and pressed his back against it, blocking access to the already closed door.

He wasted no time getting to the point. "Neither of us is leaving this room until you tell me what's wrong."

"What on Earth are you talking about?" Pacifica asked annoyedly.

"You! I'm talking about you!" Dipper gesticulated frantically. "You've been acting all nice and happy and likable all day! What's going on?"

Pacifica blinked. Then she started laughing, furthering Dipper's confusion.

"Is that it?" she asked when she could breathe normally.

"Well, yeah." Dipper pouted and slumped his shoulders. "I've been trying to talk to you all day about it."

"Alright, big boy." Pacifica quipped. She sauntered over to front of the classroom and sat on the teacher's desk. "Take a seat."

"What?"

"Take a seat." She repeated, gesturing at the seats on the front row.

"Why do I have to-" Dipper began to protest, but Pacifica raised an eyebrow at him, daring him to argue with her, and he fell silent. "Fine."

She watched him as he begrudgingly approached the seat in the middle of the front row and promptly plopped down on the chair.

"Are you gonna tell me or-?" Dipper inquired after a minute of waiting.

Pacifica stared pensively at the floor, pouting.

"No." She said plainly. "On second thought, I'll tell when you're ready."

She hopped off the table and started for the door.

"What's that supposed to-? What do you-?" Dipper stammered, feeling rather disoriented. He stood up from his seat and followed her to the door. "When I'm ready?"

"Yeah."

"And when would that be?" He asked through gritted teeth. He just wanted her to give him a straight answer for once. Is that too much to ask for?

Pacifica stopped just before turning the doorknob. Her hand rested on the doorknob as she turned back to him.

"When you can tell me what you were about to say this morning without stuttering so much." She smirked. 

Dipper bit his lip. "Well, what if you told me first, then I tell you after?"

He knew it was a long shot, but it was worth trying. Pacifica laughed light-heartedly.

"You're such an asshat, Dipper Pines." Grinning, she pulled the door open and left the room without another word.

"Fair enough." Dipper sighed as he wrenched the door open just before the school bell rang, indicating the start of his next class. "...aaaand I'm late."

~~~

This one's shorter than the previous one but I really wanted to upload something., sorry for that.

P.S. I'm really not a big fan of essays.