Return to Falls

Chapter 03

A flurry of emotions overwhelmed Dipper as he tried to make sense of his situation. It had been so long since he'd seen or heard anything from the Northwest heir. Since losing their mansion after Weirdmageddon, he wondered where they moved to. If they moved anywhere. Money had become scarce as well.

Standing directly behind her were three friends—different than the ones Dipper was familiar with—each with their own looks of shock and disgust. None of them dared intervene.

He seriously hoped Pacifica wasn't anything like the entitled pre-teen he knew her as before, but wouldn't have been surprised if she was.

What Dipper found most shocking, though, was his inability to break eye-contact. He didn't want to stop looking into Pacifica's eyes. The moment he realized it was her he crashed into, time seemed to come to a standstill.

Whether or not she wanted to kill him for ruining her clothes or greet him similar to Wendy was up for question. And not knowing was killing him.

Before he could get in anything more than illogical sounds, Wendy stepped in and pulled him to his feet. Without regarding Pacifica's presence, she wiped away some of the food from Dipper's face and neck. Dipper mindlessly wiped loose food off his sleeves while continuing to stare at the blonde whose attention turned to Mabel.

"Hey. . ." She managed to get out.

Mabel took one massive step forward and pulled Pacifica into a hug, not giving a thought about how the food would ruin her current outfit. Pacifica tried her best to return the hug without sharing the mess. Mabel screamed, "Pacifica! It's so good to see you!"

"You too. I didn't know you were coming down this Summer."

"Believe me, I was worried we weren't going to. Dipping Sauce over here was back and forth about it. But, we decided since we're turning 18 by the end of the Summer, why not come back to the place where we were sort of forced to grow up. Nostalgia, you know?"

Pacifica smiled, "I understand. I think we all grew up a bit after everything." Her eyes shifted towards the young man who had yet to take his eyes off her, "You know, it's not polite and a bit creepy to stare."

Dipper quickly came to his senses. He made an impressive effort to look anywhere but the Northwest blonde, deciding the food all over his clothes was a good enough thing to focus on. Not raising his voice above a whisper, he said, "Ah, sorry."

Mabel put her hands on Pacifica's shoulders. She looked over her own and said, "Guys, Pac and I are gonna get cleaned up. Be right back!" Wendy silently nodded while Dipper tried to pretend he couldn't hear them.

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The teens made it to the bathroom after several questions from Pacifica's friends about what was going on, who was Mabel, and who was the spaz that crashed into her. They insisted that he be sued, or at the very least, forced to replace the outfit. Pacifica, harnessing her inner princess, told them to shut it and went with Mabel.

"Sorry about all that." Mabel said, while cleaning herself off. She removed the hand-made sweater she'd been sporting since her arrival. Much to her disappointment, nobody had commented on it despite it not resembling anything of the clothes she used to wear. Five years ago it was all sparkles, rainbows, and unicorns. As of recently, her clothes had taken on a much more sophisticated nature with softer colors and more age-appropriate designs.

Pacifica shook her head and smiled, "No, don't worry. I wasn't really looking either. Besides, I hate chili."

"Then why'd you get it?"

Pacifica didn't answer. The expression on her face went from joyous at the reunion of the only two people who ever treated her like a human to embarrassed. Mabel asked again, "Pacifica?"

No response.

Mabel took the hint and continued cleaning. She knew better than anyone that getting Pacifica to talk, especially if it was about something that could tarnish her carefully constructed reputation, was like running head first into a brick wall.

Instead, Mabel took a different route. "I'm sure he's happy to see you."

"Yeah, I could tell. He missed me so much he didn't even notice I was there. Not that I blame him — I gave you both a lot of crap last time you were here."

"Don't be silly, that's all in the past. He doesn't hold grudges. Plus, he's had a lot of other things to deal—" Mabel caught herself before the sentence's end. She mentally kicked herself for being so careless.

So much for growing up.

In truth, she knew about Dipper's problem. She was more than aware about the fact that Bill Cipher did much more damage to her brother than he liked to admit. He was in and out of therapy for five years. Nearly every night was met with a harsh awakening from a nightmare. Who couldn't have known about Dipper's position? Mabel was his twin, after all.

Regardless of whether or not Dipper wanted it, Mabel knew revealing the details about his condition would serve no purpose other than embarrassing him to death. She didn't want to risk driving him over the edge.

"Wait, what'd you mean?"

It was Mabel's turn to remain silent. Her mind went into a panicked frenzy. She was only brought back to reality when she felt Pacifica's hand on her shoulder.

"Mabel?"

Mabel flashed one of her signature smiles, "Sorry—lost in thought."

Pacifica scoffed, "Wow. Doesn't that normally happen to your brother? You two really are alike."

An ear-piercing squeal filled the silence of the bathroom. Pacifica said the magic words. And unfortunately for her, it was in front of the wrong person. Mabel took them and turned it into something it wasn't. With her words rambling together, Mabel said, "Yeah, just like him. I'm surprised you remembered that. You must reaallyy like him. Oh! Maybe you two could get to know each other over this summer! Last time there was a lot going on, but this time you two can—"

Pacifica placed both hands on the twin's shoulders. She lightly shook her and shouted, "Mabel!"

"Sorry, I got carried away again, huh? Listen Pac — Dip, Wendy, and I were supposed to get food together before getting stuff for our cookout tomorrow. I'd invite you to join, but I don't want to pull you from your. . .new friends? Anyway, you should come to the Shack tomorrow afternoon for the party."

"Oh", Pacifica thought for a moment, "No, it's okay. We were just hanging around, but I'm sure they won't mind." The girls finished cleaning up and left the bathroom. Their food-decorated sweaters in hand. Pacifica addressed her friends, "Hey guys, this is Mabel Pines, the one I told you about. And that guy who made me drop my food is her brother, Dipper. I'm gonna catch up with them for a bit, so I'll see you later. All right?

"All right, girl." One friend answered.

"Yeah, whatever." Another said.

"Have fun." The last said, not taking her eyes off her phone for even a moment to acknowledge her surroundings.

Pacifica rolled her eyes and went about her business with the Pines' twins. She didn't know what kind of gossip they would have or if there would be any underlying awkwardness. The only thing she was sure about was they would talk to her like a person; and that was something she missed dearly.