Little Dipper

Real

Naturally, the news that they were a couple was spreading like wildfire through the town. Dipper followed behind Mabel at Bill's suggestion to make sure that everything was okay, even though Bill insisted it was to see if they could find the Journal that Gideon kept. (He was SURE he had one!)

Stan, of course, didn't like the idea of Mabel and Gideon being together. "You said that you were just friends." He said to Mabel at breakfast one day.

"We are, Grunkle Stan." Mabel assured him. "It's just an act!"

"An act?" Stan blinked.

"Yeah, a show! Just until something interesting happens, Gideon said!" Mabel nodded.

"I dunno...I don't trust him. I think that I should talk to him and make sure he doesn't have ulterior motives!" Stan stood up from the table just as the doorbell rang.

"Oh, that's my date!" Mabel went to the door and opened it. "Hi, Gideon! Whoa." She looked up at the horse he was riding. "I didn't know you could ride a horse!"

"I could teach you." He said, offering her a hand up.

"Hey, wait! Take Dipper!" Stan walked over, carrying Dipper under his arm.

"Grunkle Stan, we can't always have Dipper with us on our dates!" Mabel laughed.

"I assure you, nothing is going to happen to Mabel." Gideon said, nodding.

"If she's back any later than eight o'clock, you and I are having a LONG talk!" Stan pointed up at him, still holding Dipper under his arm like a football.

"I'll have her back by then." Gideon promised, then looked at Mabel. "Hold on."

Mabel wrapped her arms around his waist and then Gideon went "Hyah!" to get the horse going down the road.

Stan glared at them as they went. Then he felt a wriggling under his arm and looked down. "Huh?"

"Grunkle Stan, please let me down." Dipper said, wriggling again.

"Oh, sorry." Stan set him on the ground and then looked towards the road again. "I don't trust him..."

"Neither does Bill." Dipper shrugged.

"Who?" Stan looked at him.

"Uh, my 'imaginary friend'." Dipper grinned up at him. "I'm sure she's okay, Grunkle Stan." He headed back inside.

Stan watched him go. "That kid needs some real friends."

–

"While he has a point, I don't think that a guy whose best friend is a wax copy of himself has room to say that you need 'real friends'." Bill huffed, watching Dipper coloring in a coloring book. "Why are you so laid back about them being alone together?"

"Because Gideon is a nice guy and you're both overreacting?" Dipper rolled his eyes, switching crayons. "It's not like she said 'don't wait up'. There's no reason to panic." He glanced at Bill. "Besides, it was your idea to get in the trailer."

"To find the second Journal, not to hook him up with your sister!" Bill floated over to him. "C'mon, let's go after them!"

"Even if I wanted to, I have no idea where they're going." Dipper looked up at him. "Mabel knows to call home if she runs into trouble."

"And what if they run into some other trouble?" Bill asked.

"Then I'm pretty sure that Gideon can protect her better than I can." Dipper sat up, frowning. "Why don't you like Gideon? He's a nice guy!"