Gravity Rises (S1)

FE: Part Ten

Dipper glanced over his shoulder to see Gideon Northwest talking to his parents. What was his deal? His and Pacifica's. Turning apologies into games! Now Dipper could see why Mabel had reacted so strongly to Pacifica's attempt earlier. It wasn't fun to have your feelings dismissed so easily.

Jerk.

"Hey, Dipper!"

Dipper looked up at the sound of a deep voice. It was Greyson, skating towards them with Candy by his side. "Hi guys!" said Dipper. "C'mon, Amanda: Come meet my friends!" Putting Gideon out of his mind, Dipper picked up the pace and skated over to his friends. Amanda followed him.

"Woah, Dipper, you're a good skater," Greyson said when Dipper slid to a stop in front of him.

"Thanks! I just learned today. Hi, Candy!"

"Hi," Candy said. Dipper frowned at the lack-luster response. What was that look on her face?

"This is my friend Amanda," he said, gesturing to her. "She's staying with us for a while."

"I'm Greyson," Greyson told Amanda with a smile. He glanced at Candy, who looked away as her face reddened. "And this is Candy."

What was up with her? Candy wasn't one to get embarrassed, was she?

"Hi," Amanda said, smiling. She glanced past Greyson and Candy, and Dipper followed her gaze to see Mabel and Ford, skating out carefully with equipment in their arms. The hole that Dipper, Amanda, and Melody had made earlier was sectioned off by some brightly colored poles and tape, which showed people to avoid the area. Good, then Mabel and Ford should be left alone while they did their work.

"So, how do you know Dipper?" Candy asked Amanda. Her voice sounded forced. Was she angry about something?

Amanda blinked. "Um, we just met this morning," she said. "I'm passing through town, and Mr. Pines offered to let me stay at their house."

"Mr. Pines?" Greyson asked. "Isn't that your six-fingered uncle, Dip?"

"My great uncle, yeah," Dipper said.

"Wait!" Amanda cut in. "Six fingers? He has—" She paused to think. "He does! He has six fingers!" she said in awe.

"Yep. Mabel says it's called—" Dipper stopped. Uh-oh. What was the word? He'd better remember, or else he'd sound stupid. "Polydactyly! That's what it's called. When you have extra fingers or toes."

"That's a cool word," Greyson said.

Amanda giggled. "I wonder if he has six toes, too."

Dipper's face lit up. "That would be awesome!"

Candy muttered something under her breath.

"What's that, Candy?" Dipper asked.

Candy's eyes widened. "Oh, um, I said, yeah, that would be awesome."

Dipper grinned at her, then turned to say something to Amanda. He paused. Amanda looked uncomfortable. What was going on? Dipper was oblivious to something in this situation, and he did not like that feeling.

When Dipper was uncomfortable, he talked. "So guys, you won't believe what I found the other day. It was this stick that was as tall as me, but it was twisted, like, I dunno, a wizard's staff. It was awesome!"

"Did you keep it?" Greyson asked.

"No, Mabel said it wouldn't fit through the door. Wouldn't that be cool if it had magical powers? What kind of powers would you guys want?" He realized a split second later that Amanda did have powers, and he wondered if he should have asked a different question.