Gravity Fall: Cryptid Chaos

Summer: Start

Dipper's eyes slowly opened due to the beam of sunlight that was pouring in from the triangular window, bathing his slumbering eyes in it's warmth. He grabbed his phone from his nightstand while rubbing the crusty sleep from his tired eyes. 9:24 AM. It was Summer, and yet he still felt like he overslept. To say Dipper had grown would be a slight understatement. The scrawny, noddle-armed boy had transformed into a broad shouldered young man with arms that, while not huge, were nicely defined from his adventures from past summers. He had grown to a respectable 5'9 for his age, but still had a couple years and inches to go before he hit his full height. He had grown past Mabel in the middle of their 8th Grade School Year and she hadn't exactly been a good sport about it. It bothered her to no end despite Dipper never rubbing it in her face, which was rare for him considering the Crystal Flashlight incident. Mabel currently stood at 5'6 with a slender frame. She no longer had braces and thus her infectious smile became even more lovely. The former twig of a boy looked over his sleeping sister and smiled. She had had a full day yesterday and was definitely sleeping it off. It had been their first official day back in Gravity Falls for the Summer and she had gone all out, inviting Candy, Grenda, and Pacifica (who had become incredibly close with the twins in their 2nd Summer in the Falls) to a "Super Summer Shindig", as Mabel put it, where the 4 of them ate junk food, did crafts, played random games they had concocted, and gossiped. It didn't seem like a lot, but it put Mabel down for the count once bedtime came. Dipper hadn't joined in as he and Ford were studying some strange new readings on his Great Uncle's "Weird-O-Meter". (The name was defintely a work-in-progress.) Something was making the device go off, but the signal wasn't the same as Gravity Falls' natural weirdness. They had stayed in Ford's Lab most of the day theorizing and studying just what made those readings different. Eventually Ford had decided that was enough for the day and told Dipper they would continue tomorrow, which was now today. Dipper walked down the stairs, and into the kitchen and saw no one. He turned around and walked through the living room and into the Gift Shop of the Shack. Nobody was awake yet. Suddenly, the teenager's stomach growled. A growing boy being hungry is a constant, but he was at the stage in his life where it was worse than ever. 'Greasy's.', he simply thought to himself. He searched behind the Gift Shop counter for the keys to the golf cart. "Bingo." Dipper found them partialy hidden by a stash of snacks Wendy keeps there. He quickly looked down at his outfit. A wrinkly red t-shirt and black gym shorts wouldn't exactly be the go-to outfit for a public appearance. Especially because Dipper knew what awaited him at Greasy's. Or rather, who. He swiftly went back upstairs to his and Mabel's shared attack bedroom. He quietly changed from his sleepware to blue jeans, a light gray t-shirt, blue converse-style shoes (they were the same shade of blue as his Pine Tree hat), and an unbuttoned red flannel with the sleeves rolled up to just below the elbow. He grabbed his smart watch that earlier in the morning had laid next to his phone. He was ready.

As far as restaurants go, Greasy's isn't exactly the greatest in the world, but it more than made up for it's shortcomings in customer service and charm. A hollowed out log of a massive redwood tree that had been felled many years ago when Gravity Falls was settled and laid upon a railroad car. Yeah. Charm was a good word for it. As soon as Dipper opened the door, the smell of bacon hit his nose. He looked around inside to see Lazy Susan taking Tad Strange's order. The diner was surprisingly vacant, save for a few patrons finishing their meal. Dipper quickly found a seat at the end of the bar and checked his phone 9:57 AM. He was kicking himself for the late start to his day. He wasn't sure why. It was summer after all, so he didn't have any reason to wake up early. The male Pines Twin was so deep in his self-irritation that he didn't hear the kitchen door open and close. "What's up, dork?", Pacifica asked as she lightly swatted the top of his head with the notepad she used to take orders to get his attention. Startled, Dipper looked up. A short, beautiful girl stood infront of him. She stood 5'4 and while definitely more curvacious than his sister, she was still thin. She had immaculate, long blonde hair that was currently tied into a ponytail. Her bangs cast a slight shadow over her crystal blue eyes, causing them to stand out even more than usual. Dipper's eyes quckly scanned Pacifica up and down. She was wearing her pink waitress outfit and the apron that went with it. The friendly smile on her face made Dipper turn slightly pink. To put it simply; The dude was in trouble, and boy did he know it. "Hey!", he managed to choke out. "I didn't know you were working today." "I work every Wednesday. So, you ready to order yet, or should I give you more time?" "Um, oh, uh, can I get the Breakfast Platter with 2 Waffles, Bacon, and can I get my eggs scrambled?" Pacifica diligently scribbled down Dipper's order. She wasn't sure why she even asked. It was the same everytime he got breakfast. "Mhmmm. And what would you like to drink?" "Orange Juice, please." "Got it. I'll have that out soon for you." Pacifica turned to take Dipper's order to the kitchen, but her stare lingered on him a little longer than necessary, a flirtatious glint in her eye. Dipper's pink coloration returned as he quickly pulled out his phone to distract himself while he waited for his food.

As soon as Dipper heard the kitchen door open, his head quickly shot up to see Pacifica coming towards him, his meal in-hand. He put his phone back in his pocket and slid his orange juice over to make room for his plate. "You're awesome, Pacifica.", Dipper gushed, practically drooling over his breakfast. "Of course I am." She sarcasticlly jabbed. "I mean, have you met me?" Dipper immediately jumped into the banter she was setting up. "Unfortunately." "Oh, ha-ha.", Pacifica snarked, rolling her eyes playfully. "So..." Pacifica began quietly. "Where'd you disappear to yesterday? You were there long enough to say 'Hi' and the next thing I know, you vanished." Dipper noted that she sounded kind of disappointed. "You know how I've told you about Gravity Falls' Law of Weirdness Magnetism? Well, Ford was getting readings on his Weird-O-Meter and they weren't like the readings he already gets, so we spent most of the day studying them and theorizing on what they could be. Something about them was just, I don't know... off?" Pacifica listened intently while looking at the slightly revealed birthmark under Dipper's bangs. Since he didn't wear a hat anymore, his Big Dipper birthmark was easier to see without his hair being pushed down over it. During the twins' second summer in Gravity Falls, Dipper had revealed his birthmark and real name to Pacifica. She surprisingly thought his birthmark was cool and she lightly traced it with the nail of her index finger. Dipper shuddered ever so slightly when she did it. Thinking back, that was probably around the time his crush on Pacifica entered full-swing. "Ah, nerd stuff. Got it." Pacifica said, replying to the reason why Dipper had been gone from Mabel's party the day prior. She was smart as a whip, sure, but she wasn't Dipper smart. Pacifica couldn't keep up with the nerd talk, but if she was being honest, she could listen to Dipper go on and on about his nerdy interests all day. She loved to hear him talk about the things he loved. If only they knew how bad they had it for eachother. "I wish you would've hung out with us a little, though.", she pouted. Dipper took notice and acted fast. "I'll make it up to you, I promise." Pacifica smirked, knowing the massive dork had fallen right into her trap. "Yes, you are, because you are going with me to my parents' Beginning of Summer Gala this Saturday night. Mr. McGucket was kind enough to let us use the Manor for the Gala so long as we don't disturb his work." Dipper looked like a deer in headlights. "No. Not that. Please pick literally anything else.", he whined. "I either go with you, Gideon," she fake gagged at the mention of the Gleeful boy's name. "Or one of the son's of one of my parents' business partners, and I am not going to be attached at the hip all night to some loser with a trust fund." "Don't you have a trust fund?", Dipper interjected. "I said 'loser with a trust fund', not 'cool and interesting girl with a trust fund.'" "Touché." Pacifica knew if she really wanted convince him, she had to pull out her A-Game. "It's only for one night and my parents said I'm required to have a date. I know our Pompous Parties aren't your speed, but I really need you, Mason. Please?" 'Wow.', Dipper thought to himself. 'Going for the kill shot, I see.' "Ugh, okay fine.", Dipper relented. "But I don't have a suit. Or anything fancy for that matter." Pacifica almost jumped over the table to hug him, but controlled herself. "Don't worry. Come by my house tomorrow at 10 and we'll get that taken care off. I'll text you when I get off work so we can talk about it more." "Sounds great.", Dipper muttered, clearly unamused.

Once he was done eating, he said his goodbyes and waved to Pacifica and Lazy Susan. 'Man, that hit the spot. Might as well head back and see what everyone else is up to.' As he approached the Mystery Shack, the thought of the party crossed his mind. The last time he was at a party at the Northwest Manor, a Lumberjack Ghost tried to kill Pacfica and her family, alongside turning himself and everyone else in attendance into wood until Pacifica saved the day by opening the gates to let the townsfolk in. He shuddered at the memory. He parked the golf cart and entered the Shack through the Gift Shop. He was surprised to see Melody working the counter. "Hey, Dipper!", the older woman greeted cheerfully. "Hey, Melody! Sorry I left without telling anyone. I was hoping to get back before anyone woke up.", Dipper said, tossing her the keys to the golf cart. "Don't worry. We saw that the cart was gone and figured you had taken off somewhere." "Yeah, I really got myself into it big time." "What did you do?", Melody eyed him. "Pacifica asked me to be her date to the Northwest's Snob Party and of course, I couldn't say no." Melody couldn't help but giggle. "That girl has you wrapped around her finger and she doesn't even know it." The teenager rolled his eyes, and yet, he knew she was right. He knew tomorrow was going to be a long day.