Apprentice {Gravity Falls}

Clothes Shopping

Again, thank you Willowiplier for the request!

The sound of a closet door opening was followed by a frustrated sigh. "Nothing, nothing, nothing," Dipper mumbled to himself. Though it was full of clothes, he knew he'd outgrown the majority of them. Finally, he spotted his signature t-shirt and vest.

Dipper let out another frustrated grown when he noticed the items didn't fit as well as they used to. Sure, they fit, but they weren't comfortable anymore.

He walked downstairs to see Ford sipping on some coffee. The man looked up and glanced over him before speaking, "Morning Dipper!" He smiled, "Uhhh, I know you like your shirt and vest, but I think that's starting to get a little too small on you, my boy."

"I know," Dipper replied, "I think I need new clothes. Everything's starting to get too small to wear."

"Alright," Ford nodded, "We'll leave in a couple hours."

*   *   *

The mall was slower than normal. Only a few kiosks here and there, many of which were closed. A "Going Out of Business," sign stood at the entrance of a shoe store, "It's like a ghost town,"

"Probably not enough customers," Ford suggested and Dipper nodded in agreement. Unreasonable prices and online shopping were two factors that caused many shopping districts to falter in recent years.

"Alright, my boy," Ford began, handing Dipper some money, "You get what you need to, and we'll meet back here in an hour or so."

"Okay," he replied as he began to wander off. It wasn't the worst mall he had seen. Two floors and a water fountain was much better than the so called "mall" back in Piedmont. The building in his hometown contained maybe two stores and a restaurant. He was surprised it hasn't closed yet.

Soon enough, Dipper came across a store selling clothes for teenagers. He entered the store and began to search through the racks to find something he would like. Nothing caught his attention enough to look at the price tag.

Dipper walked towards the clearance section to see if anything there would pique his interest. To his delight, it was exactly what he was looking for. A couple of plain t-shirts, some shorts, even a pair of shoes. Perfect!

As he was about to pay, one last item caught his eye. Located on the very back of the clearance rack was a trench coat. It was navy blue in color - much like his vest and similar to the one Ford liked to wear. It was in his size too.

His face dropped when he read the price tag. It would be too much with the other apparel and it wasn't a priority. Dipper paid for the clothes, leaving the coat behind.

As Dipper was walking back to their meeting spot, he noticed Ford in one of the stores, "Hi Grunkle Ford,"

"Greetings my boy," the elder replied and glanced at the shopping bags in Dipper's hands, "Buy everything you needed?"

"Yep!"

"I'm still looking around," Ford admitted, "Why don't you wait in the car for me? I won't be long!" He exclaimed, handing Dipper the keys. The boy nodded and headed to the parking lot as Ford continued.

Before Ford exited, he noticed a navy blue trench coat in one of the store's windows. It looked exactly like his but smaller and the color matched Dipper's vest. He began to form an idea.

*   *   *

"Dipper!"

Ford's voice caused Dipper to flinch and look up to face the elder. He was writing in the journal, and had become so enhanced in his work he didn't realize how late it was let alone hear Ford walk in. The man let out a small chuckle, "I didn't mean to scare you, son. It's just getting kind of late,"

"It's fine," Dipper stretched out. He was about to exit the lab when Ford's voice stopped him, "Wait a minute!"

"While we were at the mall today, I bought you something," Ford explained, handing him a bag. Dipper looked inside to see-

The navy blue trench coat he was looking at earlier. The boy gave a small smile and placed it on. Ford ruffled Dipper's hair, "You kind of look like me,"

Dipper smiled even wider.