Pointdexter: A Swooning Over Stan-fiction

Chapter Twenty

Alice didn't think she'd been so nervous in her life when Mabel joined her on a trip to the local mall. Since Stan's mechanic skills left her car still being 'worked on' and Alice realized that she'd need more clothes than she'd packed. And why not admit it? She wanted to get out and do something she would have done back home.

The only issue was, that Mabel managed to sneak in a relatively fancy set of clothes to the pile of summer-appropriate attire, flourishing them in Alice's direction with a brace-faced grin.

"Ta-dah!" She singsonged, shaking the dress in her hands. "For tonight!"

"What's tonight?" Alice asked, her brow raised at the clothes as if they were going to jump out and attack her. "Mabel, I- Are you sure Ford agreed to this?"

"Of course he did!" Mabel looked almost offended by the question. "I asked him and everything. He dropped whatever he was working on instantly! And it hit the other stuff on his desk, which fell on the floor, and then he said 'I'd love to but I'll need a fashion makeover, please help me, Mabel. Your' my favorite great-niece!'"

Alice had her doubts, but she shook her head and kept shopping, Mabel trailing along behind her. They paid and started the long walk back to the shack, burdened by heavy shopping bags and the knowledge that this would be the day. By the time they reached the Shack, Alice was sweating and panting, somehow managing to lose her breath on the simple trip to the storage room. Mabel deposited her bags on the air mattress, sending the blankets and pillows flying into the air, and grinned at Alice.

"Now-" She stated as if Alice had missed the obvious, though she wasn't sure what she missed. "I have to put some finishing touches on the perfect date. Get dressed, then come to the living room."

Alice was suddenly aware of how nervous she was. While the idea had been... Slightly annoying, the annoyance had settled into a bundle of nerves. She changed, the shimmery red dress was something that Alice would have thought was out of a teen magazine, but she added her touches to the getup. She dug through her bags and pulled out a white faux fur shoulder throw, angling over her shoulders and letting her hair flow over it.

Better-

When she made her way into the living room, adjusting the last-second earrings she'd chosen, she found Dipper guarding the way into the kitchen.

"Mabel wants me to keep you here until Great Uncle Ford is ready," Dipper explained, though he didn't sound too convinced.

"Alright then," Alice tried to sound as calm and collected as she could manage. She took a seat in Stan's recliner, her shaking hands giving her away. "I'll stay here."

"Y-you look nice," Dipper threw out, looking over his book. "I know Mabel picked it- I kinda helped- But it's- It's nice."

Alice smiled, almost comforted by the boy's nervous energy, and he smiled back before returning to his book, The Field Guide to Bigfoot. Gaining her composure, and making sure that everything was in place before she heard Mabel calling out from the kitchen.

"Alice!! You can come in now!"

Alice jumped to her feet, heart in her throat. Dipper closed his book and stood, watching as Alice tried to compose herself into the adult she was.

"Just be yourself, Alice," Dipper smiled at her, patting her hand. "Great Uncle Ford likes you, I can tell. Trust me."

He gave her a gentle push toward the kitchen door, looming ominously in front of Alice.

"Now- Go get 'em, tiger," Dipper tried, though his voice wasn't as convincing as it had been before. "Was that weird to say? Good luck out there. Dating my great-uncle. Gross... Uh, anyway-"

With shocking strength from such a small boy, Dipper pushed Alice through the door, just as Mabel opened it. Alice stumbled into the kitchen, her lips pressed tight together as she glanced up.

Oh god- Standing in front of her, looking nicer than she'd ever seen him, was Ford. His three-piece suit was pulled together by a maroon necktie, Alice couldn't help wondering how Mabel got that little weakness from her, and a bouquet in his hand.

Alice straightened, letting her gaze flicker to Ford as her face flushed as red as his. He hadn't even said a word and she was already on fire.

"Yay!" Mabel added as if she'd been waiting for Alice and Ford to respond that way. "Now it's the moment we've all been waiting for... The Mabel-Certified Dinner Date of Dreams! I knew Grunkle Ford would be hopeless on a romantic dinner date on his own-" Ford gave his niece a distressed look. "- So I'm here to make this one perfect!"

Alice glanced at Mabel, noticing her bright pink apron, and the sudden smell of something burning. Alice wasn't the only one who noticed the smell, but neither of them got the chance to express it.

"Mabel?" Ford questioned, a hint of panic in his voice as Mabel shoved him forward. Alice felt her face heat as Dipper pushed her farther into the kitchen. Alice stumbled, nearly colliding with Ford. He straightened, clearing his throat, face as red as his tie. He stared down at her, his jaw moving as he held out the flowers. "Well, um. These- These are for you, Alice."

Alice took the bouquet, her fingers brushing against his. As she looked at the flowers, she noticed that a third of them were real (probably picked from outside the shack) and the rest were made of paper and pipe-cleaners. She smiled at the glittery petals, tipping the bouquet in her hands and noticing the origami lilies. Judging from the paper cuts on Ford and Dipper's hands, and Mabel's sparkly, sticky fingers, they had to have made it themselves.

It's the sweetest thing I've ever gotten.

"How many paper cuts did you three get from these?" She asked, tucking the bouquet in her arms.

"Quite a lot, unfortunately," Ford laughed, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. "Mabel found a tutorial on the line-"

"Online, Grunkle Ford, Online-" Mabel corrected him.

"Isn't that what I said?" Ford asked his niece, his brow raised, before he returned his attention to Alice. "- And Dipper and I worked on them yesterday."

"They're beautiful, Ford," Alice smiled at him, holding the bouquet tighter to her side and Ford blushed, grinning bashfully. "Thank you. And you too, Dipper."

Dipper smiled, letting out an awkward laugh, as he took the flowers from Alice and managed to shove them into an empty bottle of Pitt-Cola. He stuck it in the center of the table, Alice couldn't see Ford anymore once she sat down. She carefully pushed the vase to the side until she could see his pink cheeks and nervous expression. Alice smiled, feeling her face heat as she averted her eyes.

"Well, I'll- I'll leave you guys to it then-" Dipper said, clapping his hands together and turning to face his sister. "Chef Mabel, you ready?"

"Sure am, bro-bro!" Mabel grinned back at him. "So ready."

Oh boy...