Love, Hate, It's All The Same

Chapter 21: My Treat

Oh no. Ohhh no no no. Why is that British buffoon speaking with Dipper? Honestly. Pacifica left for, like, 2 seconds to use the restroom. And suddenly he's here, terrorizing her fake boyfriend? Absolutely unreal.

An exasperated sigh escaped her lips. She approached the two boys, ready to commit verbal murder, but before she had reached them, Lucas had gone.

Dipper, however, had turned pale. He didn't seem to notice Pacifica as she came closer, not until she tapped him on the arm.

"Are you okay?" She asked him. She sounded more suspicious than concerned.

"Oh, yeah, I'm great!" Dipper's voice sounded an octave higher than normal. He cleared his throat, hoping to return his voice to normal. "Should we, um, should we go get lunch now?"

"Sure." Pacifica answered, though she remained suspicious of him. He seemed fine this morning, relaxed even. Why, suddenly, did he seem so on-edge? After speaking to Lucas...

"Hey, Dipper?"

"Hm?"

"You spoke with Lucas, right?"

More color seemed to drain from Dipper's face, which Pacifica didn't think was possible. "Um, yeah..."

"What did he say?"

"Oh, just, you know, this and that."

"Dipper." Pacifica stopped walking. She levelled him with a look enough to send full grown men running in the opppsite direction. "What did he say?"

Dipper swallowed. He felt like running away, arms flailing wildy, like one of those wacky waving tube things you see in front of stores. He opened his mouth but no words came.

Pacifica cocked a single eyebrow: Well?

"Alright," Dipper caved. "Just get it over with. Say it. Go on."

"Excuse me?"

"I mean," Dipper continued. "I figured we'd do it at some point... And I'll admit, at first, I couldn't wait for this day, you know? I wanted my life to just go back to normal."

"But somewhere along the way, this whole fake relationship thing? It-it started feeling... real. At least to me." Dipper added quickly. He chuckled humourlessly. "It's dumb. But I get it. Do what you have to."

His gaze dropped to his shoes, awaiting the words that would carry emotions he wasn't sure he could face. He had never found himself hating words so much.

"Dipper, I'm not gonna fake break up with you."

Dipper snapped his head up so fast, he nearly got a spinal injury. "What?"

"I'm not going to break up with you." Pacifica repeated.

"Wait, is this related to that thing you were trying to tell me this morning?"

"I told you it wasn't important."

"So, then," Dipper scoffed. "The whole speech thing I just did...?"

Pacifica laughed lightly, placing her hands on either of Dipper's shoulders. "Don't worry, Pines. It totally worked."

"Oh," Dipper felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "In that case..."

He took a deep breath, nearly choking on air as he breathed out. "Gum?"

Pacifica looked taken aback by the question, but she chuckled lightheartedly none-the-less.

She released Dipper's shoulders. "Sure, I could use some gum. Maybe after lunch though?"

"No, no." Dipper wanted to slap himself. "I meant-" deep breath "-do you wanna go to prom? Like, with me?"

"Well, yeah. It kind of comes with the whole fake relationship thing, you know?" Pacifica replied matter-of-factly. "Now come on. At this rate, we might not be able to get lunch at all."

She started walking again, but before she could get any farther, Dipper grabbed her hand, pulling her back to face him.

"I-I mean go with me, Pacifica. Just me."

"I know." Pacifica said slowly. "In case you haven't noticed, you're the only fake boyfriend I have."

"No, Pacifica, listen to me." Dipper said patiently, practically pleading with her now. "I meant with me, not your fake boyfriend."

His brown eyes bore into Pacifica's blue ones. For the first time, she was at a loss for words.

"O-okay." She managed eventually. Thankfully, it only took her a second to get her bearings back. "But only if you promise me a dance, Pinetree."

"Of course." Dipper let go of her hand, a smile dancing along his lips. "Let's get lunch, then. My treat."

Her throat suddenly felt dry, her face hot. Pacifica wasn't quite used to Dipper taking the reigns. That was her job.

"I still want that gum, Pines."

* * *

Was this short? Yes. Yes it was. But did I like it better than how I first made Dipper confess feelings? 100 percent.

But worry not, I will make it up to you in the next chapter.

tell me what you thought abt this :>

also!! when I finish this book, I will be taking requests because i dunno, that seems like a fun thing to do for my one shot book.

thats all from me. see u next chapter!