Sixteenth Summer - A Dipcifica Story

Chapter Two: Alterations

Two Days Later...

The bus screeched to a stop. Dipper, who had been sleeping against the windowsill after the long bus ride, was elbowed awake by his sister Mabel. Her eyes glittered with excitement.  "Get up sleepyhead! Everyone's waiting for us at the stop!"

Dipper rubbed the sleep from his eyes, knocking his old hat off in the process. "Ack, wait a minute Mabel. There's no one out there."

"Of course not silly! I bet they're just waiting at the shack." As always, Mabel's positive personality shone through. She grabbed her brother's hat and stuck it back on his head. "Now are you ready to spend your sixteenth summer in Gravity Falls?"

"Mabel-"

"I said ARE YOU READY?!"

"I'm ready for you two to GET OFF MY BUS!" The bus driver yelled from the front. Mabel giggled and grabbed her luggage, hurrying to the front.

Dipper groaned. "Sorry!" He said to the bus driver as he got off the bus. The bulky bus driver only glared at him, slamming the doors as soon as Dipper touched the ground. Dipper sighed, staring at the tall pine trees rustling in the breeze. He frowned and bit his lip as anxiety clawed through him.

I shouldn't be back here. Not since last summer went so badly...

"Are you thinking of last summer?" Mabel asked with a small smile.

Dipper stared at her. "I swear you can read my mind." He looked down at his worn black shoes. "How...how'd you know?"

"Because I know you Dipper, and I know all about what happened with Wendy." Mabel's smile faded as she patted her brother's back. "She might not be working at the Mystery Shack anymore. Maybe you'll just see her once or twice-"

"Never again would be great," Dipper muttered, rubbing his shoulder.

"Hey, I know! Why don't you find something to take your mind off things. Focus on hanging out with our Grunkles and Soos, maybe having the odd misadventure just like old times!" Mabel grinned, her braces long gone at the age of sixteen. "And maybe finding some new summer love..."

Dipper smiled at his sister's attempts to make him feel better. "I'm a bit skeptical about the last suggestion. But thanks, Mabel."

"No problem bro-bro."

Dipper turned around, studying the area. "Looks like everyone's at the Mystery Shack. We should get going. It's not too far from here anyway."

Mabel nodded and began making plans on what they'd do and where they'd visit. Dipper listened, but his mind kept drifting off. Something didn't feel right. Grunkle Stan would have been waiting at the bus stop no matter what. He had done the same thing ever since the first summer when they visited. Why would this year be any different?

The thing was, in Gravity Falls, strange things happened all the time. There was no telling what could be around the corner.

~

"Pacifica, you better get back to work."

Pacifica hid her phone quickly, turning back to her boss Alesha. Alesha was a tall woman with lots of freckles, and even though she had hired Pacifica to work at the Gravity Falls grocery store, she still held the Northwest with a lot of contempt. 

"Sorry Alesha," Pacifica muttered, going back to stocking the shelves. Alesha harrumphed and went away, leaving Pacifica in the empty aisle again. Pacifica sighed, glancing at her phone once more. It was only 11:00 in the morning and she was working until 6:00. Great. This was going to be her life. All. Summer. Long.

Growing up was overrated.

Pacifica started stacking cans of tomato sauce while her teeth ground. Had her family not been so terrible, she wouldn't have had to work this job. It had been month after month dealing with them before they finally cut off her finances and were forced to work in Gravity Falls. The thing was, she was a Northwest, and after Weirdmaggedon, everyone seemed to hate her and her family.

That's probably why Alesha hated her. That's why everyone stayed away from her.

A tear began to slip down Pacifica's cheek but she wiped it away quickly at the sound of footsteps. It was Alesha, most likely. The grocery store was empty on Sundays, so there wasn't much for Pacifica to do.

Pacifica tucked her phone away. "Look, I'm sorry, but-"

She stopped. It wasn't Alesha after all. A man stood before her, dressed in an overly sketchy trench coat. Pacifica sniffed and gagged. Ugh, this guy stinks.

The man stared at her with beady eyes. Pacifica held his gaze. "Can I help you?"

"Alesha." The man said. "Alesha."

"Um, she's in the back room." Pacifica stiffened. "Do you-"

The man took off, and just like that, Pacifica was alone. A chill ran down her spine. "What the hell?" She whispered to herself. She peeked past the food aisle and into the back room. The door was closed, the EMPLOYEE'S ONLY sign a bright red across it. Pacifica crept towards the door just as a loud thud sounded behind it.

She rushed forward, pushing through the door. "Alesha!"

The room was dark, save for the flickering blue screens from the security cameras. The stranger from before was nowhere to be seen, but Alesha was still there, sitting in her chair and facing the screens. Pacifica stepped towards her cagily. "Alesha?"

No response.

Pacifica inhaled sharply before spinning the chair around. Alesha slumped forward, hitting the floor hard. Pacifica shrieked as her boss's head lolled to the side. "Oh my god, she's dead!"

The world turned blurry as Pacifica turned away, sprinting away from the scene. She had to call someone. 9-1-1. The police. The morgue. But most of all, she had to get away before she was next too-

Pacifica paused at the store entrance, her blood turning cold. The man from before stood outside, staring at the dark clouds above. As the automatic doors slid open, the man turned around and met Pacifica's gaze. Then he smiled, revealing row upon row of jagged teeth.

Pacifica stumbled back as the man was swept up in a blinding light. When the light faded, he was gone.

~~~

Hope you all enjoyed! If you want to see more of this, vote, comment, or follow! It means a lot that you're reading this, and I thank you for giving this story a chance!

Also, none of the Dipcifica art being used is mine so far, unless I have the will to sketch something half decent who knows!