Dipcifica- You Can't Pay Me (DISCONTINUED)

2: Past Time

Pacifica felt so guilty. What if Dipper never woke up? Well, there wasn't anything else that she could do for him... She had stopped the bleeding, tried to put him in a comfortable position, and even shook him multiple times. Dipper was out cold. There was only one thing to do... Wait.

Pacifica yawned. Wow, she was exhausted. It had been a long day, getting ready for the party, and it was already past 10:00 PM. Maybe a little nap wouldn't hurt... Pacifica laid down on the ground, not caring how dirty it was. But... it wasn't very comfortable... She snuck a glance at unconscious Dipper, leaning against the wall. Hmm... He'd make a nice pillow... And he'd never have to know, Pacifica told herself. She laid down, put her head on his lap, and fell right asleep.

In her dream, Pacifica was going through her past. She didn't know if her past counted as  a dream or a nightmare, but right then, it was neither. It was real. It was an experience.

Pacifica was running as fast as she could through the woods, laughing and whooping. She was chasing something: a unicorn. She was fixated on its beauty. Caught up in the chase, she didn't realize that it wasn't her the unicorn was running from... but a Mantaur. Pacifica tripped on a root, tumbling. She sighed when she lost sight of the unicorn, but really, that was okay. It was getting kind of dark; her parents were probably wondering where she was.

"Little girl!" Pacifica jumped as a huge Mantaur appeared in front of her. "What are you doing out here? Something as big as me could KILL you, you know!"

Far from frightened, Pacifica's eyes lit up. "Whoa! You're way cooler than the gnome! What's your name?"

"Um," The Mantaur looked confused. "Shouldn't you, uh, be running away now?" When Pacifica shook her head, he continued, "Well, I'm Manzar. I'm very, er, manly."

"I know!" Pacifica exclaimed, grinning. "That's so cool! Manzar, I don't exactly know where I am. Could you help me home?" This was true. Pacifica had never ventured this far into the woods before; even at six, she knew she wasn't allowed to go anywhere dirty. "Please?"

"Well, uh..." Manzar was confused. Why wasn't this little girl scared? He was one of the biggest, manliest  Mantaurs of them all. "Sure. What's your name, little brave one?"

"I'm Pacifica," she stated, grinning. "Pacifica Northwest."

"A Northwest?" Manzar couldn't help laughing. "That spoiled rich family that's scared of dirt?"

Pacifica huffed, crossing her arms. "I'M not scared of dirt. I'M not scared of the woods."

"Seems that way," Manzar grinned. "You're a special little Northwest, Pacifica. You're not like the others." He bent down, allowing Pacifica to climb onto his back. "I'll take you back to your mansion, little brave one. Then I must return to my brethren. But maybe I'll see you again in this stretch of the woods, huh?"

"Maybe!" Pacifica laughed, climbing aboard. With Manzar's long legs, it was a fairly short run to the mansion. "Bye-bye!" She called, seeing her new friend dash off back into the woods. Then she rushed inside, yelling, "Mom, Dad, I met a Mantaur!"

When her family came to find her, however, words that Pacifica didn't remember happening in the actual memory came out of her mother's mouth, in a strange voice...

"Pacifica, why are you laying on my lap?"

"Gah!" Pacifica jolted awake, blushing. Dipper was leaning down towards her, his eyes an inch from her own. "I- I wasn't... um... Sorry?"

Dipper was using every ounce of strength he had to hold back his laughter. He couldn't stop himself from grinning, though. "Pacifica Northwest fell ASLEEP on me. Wow, wait 'til I tell Mabel..."

"No, no, no!" Pacifica gasped, clutching Dipper's arm. "I'll pay you handsomely to pretend that never happened!"

"Nope," Dipper laughed, "you can't pay me, actually. Here's the thing about being twins: you tell each other everything. No matter how embarrassing it is. Sorry." He was grinning. Then he winced. "Ow... Why does my head hurt so much?"

"You got knocked out. Cut your head, too," Pacifica added, as Dipper raised his hand to her homemade bandage. "I was kind of scared you wouldn't wake up."

Feeling the silkiness of the cloth that was tied around his head, Dipper's eyes drifted towards Pacifica's dress. It was torn. She- she tore her dress. Dipper looked at her in wonder as she grinned. "Pacifica, you-"

"Well, that cloth's soaked through," Pacifica interrupted him, examining Dipper's head. "We'll need another one." She tore off some more of her dress. "Okay. Now to take off the old bandages..."

Dipper winced as Pacifica unwound the cloth from his head. It stuck to his wound, hurting like crazy, but he didn't make a sound. He'd been beat up by video game ninjas, punched in the face repeatedly by Gideon, had his body endlessly injured by Bill... This little cut was nothing.

As soon as the old cloth was off, Pacifica found her gaze resting on Dipper's forehead. Even when he was unconscious, she never took the liberty of seeing what the mark was. It felt too invasive.

Seeing her curious gaze, Dipper smiled. "You really want to know what this mark is, don't you?" At Pacifica's nod, he pulled his hair back, giving her a clear view. "Just a birth mark. People used to make fun of me for it."

Pacifica stared at Dipper's forehead. Smack in the middle was a birthmark in the shape of a constellation... The Big Dipper. "Oh!" She laughed. "That's how you got your nickname! And it's so cool!"

"R-really?" Dipper was surprised. No one had called it cool before. Not even Wendy or Mabel.

"Yeah!" Pacifica exclaimed, grinning. "How could anyone make fun of you for that? The Big Dipper is my favorite constellation!" She blushed, noticing the way Dipper was staring at her in wonder. "W-what? Does liking stars make me weird or something?"

"No, no," Dipper said hurriedly. "It's just... you're being so NICE to me about it. I thought a Northwest would scoff at me more..." He raised his eyes to meet Pacifica's, blushing a little. "You're not like the other Northwests."

Pacifica blinked. There was that line again. Not like the other Northwests. Was she really so unlike her parents? Braver, a voice inside her head said. More fun-loving. Nicer. She stared at Dipper, grinning a little. "I guess I am. Now, do we have a ghost to catch or what?"