What If Dipper Stayed?

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Mabel grinned as her bus rolled into Gravity Falls, breathing in the fresh air. It was the summer after her senior year, and she was more excited than ever to see her brother Dipper. Dipper had decided to stay in Gravity Falls after the events of Weirdmageddon, to help Grunkle Ford study the strange creatures and rebuild the journals. Mabel had been hurt at first, but seeing how happy her brother was here made her happy. The last time Mabel saw him, Dipper was a full inch taller. He had been working out with Ford and Tats, and was filling out nicely. He wasn't as thin as a twig anymore, and could lift more than Mabel. But enough about him. Mabel's bus pulled to a stop, and she excitedly grabbed her bags. She could see Grunkle Stan waiting at the bus stop, as well as Wendy and Soos. She ran off the bus as soon as it stopped, nearly throwing herself into her Grunkle's arms. "Grunkle Stan! I'm so happy to be here!" Mabel exclaimed, watching her Grunkle laugh. "Good to see you too, sweetie. How was senior year?" "Amazing! I got accepted into a bunch of colleges." Mabel babbled as Soos grabbed her stuff, putting it in the trunk of Stan's car.

"Well, hop on in. I'm sure you're ready to get unpacked." Stan took his place behind the driver's wheel. "Yeah. By the way, where's Dipper and Grunkle Ford? I thought they'd want to be here when the superior Pines sibling arrived." Mabel asked. "They're in the woods near the shack. They were categorizing some gnomes, and must've lost track of time. It's not uncommon for those two to disappear for a bit." Wendy shrugged. She was going to a community college nearby, but still worked at the Mystery Shack during her breaks. "I wouldn't worry about it. They probably just got overwhelmed by the sheer number of gnomes. They'll be here soon." Stan grinned, pulling off to the town's main road. After Weirdmageddon, Officer Blubs usually left the Pines alone. Since they'd saved the town and everyone in it, they were usually pardoned unless it was something major. It was only a ten minute ride to the Mystery Shack, which still looked rundown. Just like Mabel had left it. There were several people there, all looking inside the gift shop. Melody was standing behind the register, taking money and returning change. "Wow. This place hasn't changed a bit." Mabel smiled, grabbing her stuff and running up to the attic. Dipper's half of the room was still covered in nerd stuff, but her side of the room was still clear. "Perfect. He doesn't know I'm here yet." She grinned, quickly pulling out her stuff. 

By the time she was done, the sun was starting to set. Soft light was cascading through the windows, reminding Mabel that Dipper still wasn't back yet. That was weird. Dipper hated being late to stuff. She could still remember him pushing her to certain events during their first summer here, which she teased him endlessly about. Even during summer, Dipper could be a stickler for the rules. She went down to the living room, where Stan was watching TV. "Grunkle Stan? Why aren't they back yet?" Mabel asked, sitting next to him on the floor. "I just called them a few minutes ago. Apparently, they got attacked by some living shadow thing, so they had to round up the Gnomes again. Don't worry, they're both fine, and they're heading back now." He ruffled her hair, laughing when she batted his hand away. "That's great! Hey, how's Dipper been? I haven't talked to him in a bit." That was true. During the end of the school year, things got hectic for Mabel, and Dipper's schedule was always changing. So they'd agreed to not talk until they reunited in Gravity Falls over the summer, since it was easier for both of them. The last time she saw him, Dipper had just got his left ear pierced. He was talking about getting a tattoo with Grunkle Ford, something that would apparently keep them from being possessed. Mabel had been shocked that her brother of all people would be getting a tattoo. She always imagined him as being the lonely guy who never dreamed of tattoos and piercings. 

Both fell silent when the back door opened, a couple of voices laughing at each other. Dipper and Grunkle Ford were walking in, carrying measuring instruments and a journal with the number 3 on it. So they'd reached the third journal. "Dipper!" Mabel shouted, leaping up and wrapping her arms around his neck. "Mabel! You're back! I thought your bus was supposed to be arriving later this afternoon." He grinned, wrapping his free arm around her back. "Nope. Whoa! Why are you so much taller?" Mabel asked, noticing that Dipper was almost a full head taller. "Growth spurts, not caused by crystal this time. Let me put this stuff up, then you can yak my ear off during dinner." Mabel let Dipper go, watching as he walked into Grunkle Ford's room. Dipper was definitely different. Besides just being taller, his left ear now had three piercings. His hair was longer than she remembered it, trailing down to his back. He'd traded his vest for a jacket, which had more pockets in it. He also had a scar down his cheek, which she could assume was from an attack. He even seemed calmer, which is not how she left him. He used to jump at loud noises, but now he seemed unbothered. Strange, but awesome. Maybe she could do his makeup one day. He used to throw a huge fuss about it.

When Dipper emerged from Grunkle Ford's room, Mabel immediately started talking. "So you remember Melissa and Gage? Well, Melissa got accepted into HTU, which she was really excited about, you know she's been working for that a long time. Greg also got into HTU, but he also got into AUM, which is way down south. His girlfriend wasn't super happy that he chose AUM, but they're going to try and make it work. I don't know how well that'll work out. I'm going to go to Stanford in the fall, which I think is funny, cause of Grunkle Ford's name. And Waddles is back home with Mom and Dad, since buses make him sick. Dad's going to bring him in a week, once the roads calm down some. I'm thinking of getting a tattoo on my back, but I'm not sure what I want, and I've knit seven new sweaters!" Mabel babbled on and on as Dipper walked to the dining room table, listening as Mabel talked. This was how their calls normally went. Mabel would talk about anything and everything first, then Dipper would talk about what he'd done with Ford. The best thing to do was let her talk, then he'd get his chance.

"Anyway, that's what's happened since we last talked. What about you? How have things been with Grunkle Ford?" Mabel asked, eyes shining wildly. Dipper just smiled. She was still the same Mabel, even after all these years. "Well, we've almost got the journals complete. We skipped the pages that used to have Ford's machine, so that nobody could try to reactivate or rebuild it. We've got a few more pages to go, but we're very close. I won my first axe-throwing contest, then my second and third a week ago. I earned my first PhD three days ago, so I'm technically Dr Pines." "How did you get a PhD already? You didn't go to high school!" "Grunkle Ford taught me everything about high school in two months, so I've been working on my degree for a few years now. Anyway, Robbie found a college a few states away and went to it. He's taking a summer semester, so no Robbie to deal with." "Hey, can I see your tattoo? You were talking about getting one with Ford a month ago, so can I see?" Dipper turned around, moving the hair on the back of his neck. There was a symbol there in black ink, like one of the symbols she saw when the shack had been Bill-proofed. "It prevents any weirdness from getting into my body." "Cool. Now all you need is a metal plate and glasses, and you'll be like Grunkle Ford." Dipper knocked on his head, where a metal sound resounded. "Turns out the woodland creatures got ahold of the memory guns. Nearly had my mind erased, so we decided to go ahead and implant a metal plate. So, all I need are glasses."

Throughout dinner, Mabel chatted about what she did throughout the year. Whether it was learning trigonometry(she saw Grunkle Ford wince at that one), or bedazzling the entire school as a prank, she had plenty to talk about. The rest of the family listened in silence, unless they had questions or comments. The food was low-key awful, but Mabel liked that. Awful food was a staple of Gravity Falls, so it was another reminder of her home away from home. She only finished talking once dinner was done, and she was upstairs in her room. Dipper was crawling into his bed, tucking the blanket around his body. "Hey, Dipper?" Mabel asked quietly. He cracked an eye open, looking over at her. "I'm going to find Candy and Grenda tomorrow. Do you want to come with me? It might be nice to have the gang back together?" Dipper chuckled. "Sure. My eardrums might blow because of your screams, but I should be fine otherwise." "Perfect! Now go to sleep. We've got a big day tomorrow. Good night, Dipper." "Good night, Mabel."