Who's Dipper?

Mac & Cheese with Fried Chicken

It's been five years since we left Gravity Falls. Five years since we defeated Bill, and five years since I've felt home. That summer was the definition of chaotic. I spent just about every day either running for my life or chasing after an author who refused to pay attention to me until I proved to be of use to him; family or not, but it felt like home. I was at home in the days I would spend hours polishing windows at the mystery shack. That feeling bled into the hours of the night I would obsess over the oddities of Gravity Falls. For some reason, I even felt at home trying to regain my body from a mind stealing dream demon, but after that demon fell, after Bill was finally gone, I lost it.

Over these five years, these five summers, home feels farther and farther away.

While I am back "home" in California, it doesn't have the warmth I had fighting for my life. Even with mabel... We no longer feel like the mystery twins.

I think it started long before that summer. In our middle school years, we were a lot closer. We had each other's backs, and did everything together. She helped me through my bullying and was my safe space when our parents failed to see me as anything more than my test scores. However... Now that we're older, she's on the other side of that safety. Mabel has become more selfish and needy. More often than not, I'm cleaning up her messes and taking the blame. With absolutely no thank you, no gratitude, just more problems for me to fix. Even when she is sorry she says she will be better, then continues to do the same thing consistently.

All that said, I'm done with it. Recently I contacted Ford and Stan asking if I could still do the apprenticeship, I explained that I couldn't handle sitting down while there were mysteries to be solved, more or less that I couldn't stand being at home picking up after Mabel anymore. I feel like there is more to my story than community college and part time jobs. At first Ford was hesitant, but he understood my need to get away. He even agreed to help me get my bachelors in engineering so I could officially become his apprentice (I got my associates after I graduated early). Even Stan found her behavior abhorrent, and is happy to see me again. I fly out to Oregon after they both get back from their journey in a few days. We won't be in the mystery shack anymore, Soos and his family have grown and now run it better than Stan ever did, but we'll still be in Gravity Falls. Ford said it's still his home, even after all this time, and I can agree on the appeal. He bought a house around Fiddleford's mansion, and I'm renting out a room in the mansion. Well- more or less. Fiddleford won't accept the money I tried to send him, something about how he never uses the room anyway, but I'm going to at least pay for groceries when I get there.

Then comes the hard part, actually telling everyone. I've been packing secretly for the past week, and I plan on telling them tonight so I have time to maneuver based on their reactions. If they're happy for me, I'll spend my last 48 hours in California with them. If they freak out then I'll leave early and surprise Grunkle Ford and Stan. I mean- it's not like I haven't been spending the past 4 hours writing, and erasing exactly what I'm going to say or anything like that. I'm definitely not terrified that my suspicions are right and they actually don't like me. I'm 18 now, most people are out of their parents house by now, I shouldn't be freaking out. Fuck it, I should just tell them now.

"Mabel! Where are you? I gotta tell you somethin!" I yell from my desk chair in my room.

"In the living room Dip-shit! Where you should be, stop with the nerd stuff and come eat with Momma and Padre!"

Ah, so I'm actually about to do this... Holy shit I'm gonna throw up. I look over at my suitcases and empty room for possibly the last time. I don't think I'm gonna miss this room, it never felt like it fit me anyway.

"Coming! And don't call me Dip-shit!" Breathing to calm down my nerves, I stand and make my way through our small house to get to the living room. It's a simple room, a couch with two end tables and a small round glass table in front of it facing the flatscreen television. Ma and dad are on the couch and Mabel is on the recliner Adjacent to the kitchen area. Supper looks like macaroni with some Fried chicken. I suppose that's a fitting meal for what could be our last dinner as a family.