Always (2/3)

55: solving one piece of this puzzle might be helpful

55
Pacifica

   My eyes strained to open. I almost couldn't remember where I was.

   But when I looked around the room, it all became clear to me about where I was; my bedroom.

   I stretched and yawned and looked to the left of me. There were definitely signs that someone had been there, but they were gone now.

   If I were Mabel, I'd be able to deduce how long ago it was.

   Compared to yesterday's hangover, I felt just mild discomfort. I made it a point not to drink too much, because as Dipper stated, I needed to keep my wits about me.

   Dipper! Where the heck was he?

   I groggily got out of bed, looking around the rest of my bedroom to see if he was anywhere in there. Once I was certain that he wasn't there, I made my way out of the room and down the stairs.

   It was dead quiet in the house, I assumed everyone was out cold after the events of the after party.

   The house was pretty messy. Sighing and pulling my hair into a bun, I began to just tidy things up, as well as look around for Dipper.

   I walked into the living room and saw that Gideon was crashed on the couch, remnants of whatever he drank the night before in cups littered around the couch.

   I frowned, but sympathized. He'd never drank before, so he didn't know his limit.

   I needed to focus. I needed to know where the hell Dipper was. I was feeling slightly worried that I hadn't seen him since the night before. Although it was only just nine in the morning, Dipper was notorious for getting up at at least seven.

   How he did it, I had no idea. The man could function on three hours of sleep consistently, and hungover.

   In the mean time, I decided to check the rest of the rooms to see if there were any, ehem, unwanted guests.

   I checked throughout the living room, the kitchen, and even in the gift shop; there was no one else. Which then brought me to the guest room.

   I opened it quietly and carefully, just in case there was someone else sleeping in there. Stepping quietly into the room, I frowned.

   Seeing Scarlett lying zonked out on the guest bed had freaked me out. What scared me even more was the fact that I saw a familiar brown head curled up next to her.

   My blood froze and my throat closed up quicker than the beat of a hummingbird's wings. I couldn't say a word, I couldn't believe it.

   I backed slowly out of the room, shutting the door as I did, but no tears fell down my face. I just couldn't do it.

   "Pazzie? What's wrong?"

   I felt myself freeze up again. What? No way. I turned away from the shut door to see Dipper standing in the hallway, looking at me with concern.

   What was also weird was the plate he held in his hand. It was a stack of the fluffiest waffles I had ever seen in my life.

   "Sorry, I didn't mean to rush out early this morning. I didn't want to wake you, but I also wanted to make you breakfast, and, well, the food in this house isn't well. . .what I had in mind." Balancing the plate on one hand, he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

   I only stared at him. What the hell? More like who the hell?

   "Paz? Are you okay?" He set the plate down on a table that had been placed in the hallway for the party guests of the night before. Without missing a beat, he came up closer to me and wrapped me in his arms. "What's going on?"