Reverse Falls: Welcome to the Show

5] Breakfast at Greasy's

Gideon pushed open the door to the diner. A bell chimed loudly when he stepped inside. The strong scent of coffee mixed with sizzling bacon filled his nostrils. It almost reminded him of home when he'd wake up to the smell of his mom's cooking on Saturday mornings. Following breakfast, his usual ritual of watching morning cartoons would take place.

But instead today was a dreary Monday morning. The rain had finally stopped, or was at least replaced by a thin fog with just enough break in the clouds to see a little bit of sunlight.
Gideon began to wonder just how long it would take for him to adjust to his new Oregon surroundings.

Gideon took a seat in a booth next to the jukebox and pulled out his phone to check his messages. He had missed a phone call from his mom. Gideon didn't really want to call her back, but felt like he had no choice considering that it would be a while before Pacifica would arrive.

He pressed call and lifted the phone to his ear. It only rang twice before his mom picked up.

"Gideon! How's Oregon treating you?" she immediately asked. Her voice was loud from excitement so Gideon had to hold his phone an inch or two away from his face.

"It's great. . . the weather's, um. . . okay I guess."

"Is your dad doing okay? What's he been up to?"

Gideon wasn't exactly sure how to respond to this question. He and his dad hadn't exactly had any father-son bonding time yet. Last night Bud had taken him straight home where they ordered Pizza and watched an old horror movie. (The movie was honestly way more stupid than it was scary.)

"Well, I found out that he's working as a pianist. That's cool."

"Interesting. . . he never told me he had any interest in music. . ." his mom sounded slightly hurt. Gideon decided to change the subject.

"And guess who's here? Pacifica SouthEast!"

"Seriously? That's amazing! I didn't know she moved to Gravity Falls!"

"Yeah, I'm at this diner waiting for her. We planned on having breakfast together," he added.

"Wait a second. . . this isn't a date, is it?" she asked playfully. Gideon could picture her smirking and tousling his hair.

"She's just a friend!"

"I understand. . . but are you sure?"

"Mom!"

"Okay, okay, I'll leave you alone to enjoy your breakfast with your friend."

She immediately hung up and Gideon was alone again.

He turned his phone off and shoved it back into his pocket.

After a minute or two of watching waiters and waitresses pass by, he finally heard the bell chime.

Pacifica appeared in the doorway. She looked exactly like Gideon had recalled from the night before at the Mystery Fair. Only today she wore a neon windbreaker, colorful sneakers, and denim shorts. As he watched her walk (which was more of a skip) Gideon noticed that she had an assortment of smiley face, kitten, and heart-printed band-aids covering her knees. They may have been more for decoration than to cover any actual cuts and scrapes.

"Hey," Gideon called out. His voice was small and timid so Pacifica didn't hear him at first. He cleared his throat and called out louder this time. "Hey, Paz."

Pacifica turned around, her face lighting up when she finally recognized him. Gideon decided that she looked a million times better wearing a smile instead of the tears streaming down her face from the previous night.