The summer after

Chapter 3 - The Girl

"And I've just been trying to.. make my own path, you know? Not have anything I do be built on what everyone else has done for me. I mean- don't get me wrong, my family's been great, but.. I just need to make my own path." Steven finished, turning over a Pitt Cola can he held in his hands. The pit slid and rattled inside the hollow metal can, a sound that wasn't necessarily comforting, but the motion of turning the can over and over was.

"I hear ya." Stanley said simply, and there was a moment of silence between the two of them.

Steven looked over at the man who held a rather faraway look in his eyes. Steven had been about to ask if Stanley was okay when the man broke out of it, and turned to look at him.

"Well hey, your secret's safe with me kiddo. Welcome to the mystery shack." Stanley put a hand on Steven's shoulder, who beamed in response.

"Wait, seriously?!"
"Yeah! Plus, someone has to make sure the kids don't burn the shack down while I'm busy." Stanley joked, giving a chuckle after. Steven laughed, but quickly began to mess with his jacket collar.

..

A warm breeze blew past, and for a moment, Steven let himself simply enjoy it.

I gotta tell Connie I got the job when I get back to the van.

Stanley cleared his throat and stood up, glancing back at Steven. "Cmon kid, let's get ya ready for tomorrow." Stanley told him, and Steven nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! I mean- yes sir!" Steven chirped, and Stanley patted the the teen's shoulder once more. "You don't have to call me sir, just.. Mr.Pines is fine." Stanley said, and the two headed inside.

In the background, Mabel had finally caught Waddles. She giggled at her victory and held her pig high in the air with an incredible amount of arm strength.

"Another victory for Mabel!" She cheered, but her victory dance was quickly interrupted by someone with a particularly deep voice clearing their throat in a loud manner. Mabel turned and saw Grenda, Candy- and a nervous looking Pacifica tagging behind the two. Mabel screamed and ran over, and Grenda rushed to meet her along with Candy.

"Mabel!" "MABEL!"
"GIRLS!" Mabel cried, the group meeting in the middle.

The three had a large group hug, all talking excitedly at once. Pacifica stood on the outside, her face a light red as she rubbed at her arm. Mabel poked her head out from the group hug, and blinked.

"Hey, aren't you gonna get in on this?" Mabel asked, and Pacifica laughed. "Um, I didn't wanna, like, make you uncomfortable." Pacifica sputtered, and Mabel made a loud 'PFT' sound.

"Come ON! Get over here! I haven't seen you since the end of last summer!" Mabel cheered, and let go of Candy and Grenda to give Pacifica her own hug. Candy elbowed Grenda with a tiny grin in the background, who giggled as they both looked back at Pacifica. Pacifica turned a dark red, and waved them off.

"Um, Mabel?"
"Mhm?"
"You're like, totally crushing me right now." Pacifica said weakly, and Mabel made a laugh before letting go. "It's called a hug, silly!" Mabel told her, and then it was Pacifica's turn to laugh.

"I know what a hug is, Mabel, you were just crushing me." She reassured the other, who sighed (and dramatically at that) in relief. "Well consider yourself spared this time!" Mabel grinned, and looked back at Candy and Grenda. The two had immediately stopped giggling, and instead appeared to look as innocent as could be.

"So how've you guys been?? Oh my gosh, we have SO much to catch up on! You know what this means?" Mabel asked, and the three screamed excitedly, scaring Pacifica.

"SLEEPOVERRRRRR!" The trio screamed, and Mabel looked back at Pacifica with a grin. "You- um, can sleep over right?" Mabel asked, watching as Pacifica bent down to pet Waddles- who had been silently begging for her attention.

"Totally! It's not like my parents care anyway." Pacifica grinned, and Grenda spoke up. "PERFECT. I MEAN, IT SUCKS THAT YOUR PARENTS ARE TERRIBLE, BUT AT LEAST YOU CAN SLEEP OVER." Grenda said, and Candy nodded.

"Yes, but on the bright side, we'll get to do all the things that girls in the movies do at sleepovers! We'll get to braid each other's hair, share secrets, even talk about.. boys!" Candy said, covering her mouth with a shy giggle. Mabel and Grenda did the same laugh, while Pacifica combed her fingers through her hair.

"Yeah, boys.." Pacifica repeated, while Grenda and Candy wiggled their eyebrows at her. She stuck her tongue out at them on impulse, making them laugh.

Ugh. They can totally see through me right now.

But as always, time passes.

The group had settled in Dipper and Mabel's room for the evening, and were excitedly chatting as they gave each other 'makeovers'. Dipper had volunteered to sleep downstairs so he wouldn't be bothered, which left the girls to do what they pleased.

Candy sat next to Pacifica as Grenda worked carefully on Mabel's eyeshadow. The two were chatting about their new favorite boy band, as Sev'ral Timez had to.. disband due to not having any more members. Pacifica still wondered what that was about. Their new favorite band was "Breakdown! At the Ballroom" or something along those lines. Pacifica had listened to it before, but it just.. really wasn't her type.

Her attention was then redirected as Candy made a soft huff. "Pacifica, I can't paint your nails if you don't hold still." She told her, and Pacifica blinked in slight surprise. "Oh! Sorry, I totally forgot." Pacifica then straightened on her spot, and held her hand out in an attempt to let Candy finish unbothered.

"Soo..." Candy began, and Pacifica tilted her head.

"So?"
"When are you going to tell her? Oh! You should tell her before Summerween- then you two could wear matching costumes!" Candy gasped, smiling brightly at Pacifica.

"M-matching costumes?"
"Would that not be the cutest thing ever in the history of ever?"
"Well.." Pacifica laughed, scratching at the back of her neck. "I-I have to think about how I'm going to tell her. Plus.. what if she doesn't like me that way? What if she-" Pacifica lowered her voice, "-what if thinks I'm a freak for- for having these feelings?" Pacifica asked, and Candy frowned.

"Do you really think she's that type of person, Pacifica?" She asked gently, and Pacifica glanced back at Mabel.

Mabel was wearing comically long eyelash extensions with bright pink eyeshadow and hoop earrings that Pacifica swore she could put her hand through. She giggled at a joke Grenda made, snorting in the middle of her laughter.

God she's ridiculous.
Pacifica sure knew how to pick them, huh?

But.. she's really pretty.

"..I'm just nervous."
"And.. it's okay to be nervous, but hold things in forever and you'll never be happy." Candy said, and worked on painting Pacifica's last finger.

"Even if she says no, wouldn't it be better to know how she feels than to worry about how she might?" Candy questioned softly, her eyes moving to meet Pacifica's.

At this, Pacifica paused.

"..yeah, you're right."
"Now come on, you promised you'd paint my nails. I would like green, I think it compliments my eyes." Candy grinned, and wiggled her fingers in front of Pacifica as a tease.

"Alright! Alright, sheesh.".