+Gravity Falls: three months after Dipper left+

It had been a month and half already since Dipper left.

All the citizens of Gravity Falls have missed and cried for their friend. Everyone had responded to Dipper's leaving in some way.

Pacifica had taken a hard blow to losing the person that changed her, given her a second chance to different. Her emotional respond was burying herself in work and checking up on the brunette who lives in the Mystery Shack. Gideon never thought he would feel bad for losing someone who had also given him that second chance as well. So he avoided his jail mates for the time being while they constantly worried about him from afar.

Soos had become a little less of a cheerful man child than he used to be. He would hardly smile as he works or do anything fun in general. Wendy couldn't be considered chill anymore now that her little dude was gone. Her friends watched her work hard at her job, taking lumbering lessons with her dad and brothers too to keep herself busy.

It hit the Pines Family even worse.

Stanley Pines, better known as Stan, acted more like his life meant business. Wearing his mask like he did back when he was still trying to fix the portal to being his brother back, but only more secured and tightly glued to his face to hide his sorrowful expression underneath.

Stanford Pines, Ford better to be called, stayed in his lab all the time feeling depressed. The only time he came up and out was when he needed to eat with the rest of the family. His appearance looking the worse for wear every time. He didn't seem to be able to sleep or take a bath either. Eventually making his brother force him to bathe every once in awhile and sleep up in the living room to watch him just in case.

Mabel, oh the poor girl, couldn't even be described as her old self anymore. She was in sweater town often during the weeks, her bright smile completely gone and burned out. She made no move to love for romance. She didn't care for her appearance anymore. Mable wouldn't even touch or wear any of her sweaters anymore except for the one she currently wore.

The sweater she wore on her 13th birthday.

Her parents understood the situation once hey heard Dipper went back with his real parents. Of course they would know of Dipper's true origins, but it was lightly rephrased by Ford on where he actually came from. He didn't want them treating Dipper any differently if they knew he was actually a demon. So they let Mabel stay in Gravity Falls under guardianship of her Grunkles and continue school there.

Mabel, currently, took one step at a time going down the stairs. No smile present on her face. Pacifica was waiting for her at the end of the stairs to take her out took eat at Greasy's Diner.

"Hey Mabel." Pacifica greets when the brunette finally gets to the main floor.

Mabel kept her gaze trained to the floor. "Hi... Pacifica..." She replies slowly with no emotion present in her voice.

The blond takes her hand and leads her out of the door. "Come on, we're having lunch at Lazy Susan's diner."

Mabel just hums in response, letting her take the lead to pull her out of the Shack. They walk on the path to town. She never looked up from the ground to look around. Pacifica keeping a reassuring squeeze that she's still there with her every one in awhile.

They make it to the diner before the gloomy sky starts raining.

"Hey girls, the usual I suppose?" Lazy Susan says to them with a kind tone. She takes a sad glance at Mabel and looks back to the Northwest girl.

"Yes. We'll just take a seat in one of the booths." Pacifica answers while pulling Mabel along towards a booth.

Lazy Susan nods, "As always it on the house for the both of you. Just give me a few minutes to whip up you food." She disappears past the door leading into the kitchen. Ever since the event of the birthday party, Lazy Susan has been treating the Pines family with free food along with Pacifica, Gideon, Wendy, and Soos all the time they come over to eat at her diner. She felt bad for the group since they were all really close to Dipper. Trying her best to help them get better with her cooking.

Pacifica took a seat across from Mabel who immediately laid her head facedown on the table. She sighs, "Mabel."

"She's not here right now... She's in Sweater Town..." Mabel pulls up her sweater up to hide her head.

Pacifica didn't pester her after that. Once Mabel is in sweater town, she won't listen to a single word. She looks out the window as it gets pelted with drops of rain.

The door to the diner rings and a boy with white colored hair comes in shaking off some water that caught him from the rain. He sees notices Pacifica and Mabel sitting in one of the booth in silence.

"Hey hun, a table for one or the counter?" Lazy Susan asks from the back.

"Ah, I'll sit in the booth with them." He points over to the two and starts heading over to the girls once she nods at him. "Hey guys." He says to them.

Pacifica turns her head to find a slightly taller Gideon standing by their booth. A lot of his baby fat had skimmed down to give him a nice looking jaw line and a leaner appearance. "Whoa Gideon, What happened to you in the last three months?!" She says in surprise.

"You know... after what happened," He glanced at Mabel in sweater town, "I felt really bad. I couldn't look at myself in the mirror or keep an appetite anymore. So my weight went down, and I'm growing boy so the baby fat went down. My jail-mates made sure I was still okay emotionally and physically too." He give a small awkward laugh as his fingers fiddled with each other. "Mind if I join you guys to eat? I'd like to get reacquainted with everyone again."

"Please." Pacifica scoots over to give Gideon room to side on her side of the table. Gideon takes a seat and joins in on the silence.

Lazy Susan came over with Pacifica's and Mabel's orders. The blond's is a a waffle with butter, berries, and syrup. Mabel got a three stack pancake with Lazy Susan's light sprinkle of editable glitter she saves just for her. Gideon order his usual and receives it a few minutes later which is just a yogurt parfait with an assortment of berries and crushed natural bars.

"Oh, hello.... Gideon..." Mabel says plainly when she notices the boy across from her. She wasn't at all fazed by Gideon's new look.

Gideon pushes the thought of Mabel not noticing him before. He knew the young teen is still hurting from the event three moths back. "Hello Mabel. How are you?"

"I'm fine." The brunette sighs and takes a small bite of her pancakes. Her fork pokes at the rest of her food as she chews.

"Mabel." Pacifica says as she sets her fork down.

"Yes?"

The rich girl moves her hand across the table to hold Mabel's free hand. A gentle squeeze of the hand in attempts to get through the broken girl. "Mabel, I'll always be here for you. It hurts me, and not only me, but everyone who knows you in this town to see you like this."

Mabel's fork hits her plate making it clatter against it. She's frozen at the words. Pacifica and Gideon both new at this moment she needed this talk.

"Haha- V-very funny... I'm fine..." She says with a shaky voice.

Gideon copies Pacifica's action and holds Mabel's other hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze of reassurance. "You're not the only one hurting marshmallow. We all miss him."

"N-no I-I'm fine-... really..."

By now Mabel's form is shaking. Her hands squeeze their hands tightly while she slowly breaks. Her emotional walls crumbling.

"It's okay to cry Mabel." Her two friends say which let the dam to her tears open. Tears rush down her cheeks and cries stream from her mouth.

Not once had Mabel's let her tears fall since the birthday party. She locked herself away and kept her feeling bottled up. But now it was all open by a words she needed the most. She needed people to tell her it was or wasn't okay. She needed this.

Nearby Lazy Susan gave any customer who was from out of town a warning look not to interfere. The normal townsfolk let soft smile slip onto their face hearing the happy girl of the town finally let out her sadness. She needed this to fix herself. Now it was up for everyone to support her as she tries to fix herself back up.

+Later in the evening+

Mabel sits in her room after Pacifica and Gideon stayed with her for awhile to talk until she felt better to move on her own. She sits on her bed, looking around the room. She can visualize her young naive self running around the room with her 'twin'. Rushing around the room playing golf or trying to solve another one of the male twin's mysteries.

She got up from her bed and went down to the door on her knees. Her right arm stretches to reach something from under the bed.

Her finger tips feel the item she's looking for and she pulls it out.

The summer scrapbook.

A rush of emotions go through her just looking at the cover. Happiness, excitement, sadness, regret... She wished everything was just a bad dream, but everything is reality. Mabel opens the scrapbook and takes her time looking through the each picture with fond recollection.

Everything started making sense with every action Dipper had made in the past. No of her parents' personality traits made it passed Dipper's being. He was always curious and willing to learn with readiness, a trait which none of her parents possessed even when they were younger. He wasn't interested in the small thing her parents were into like crafts or engineering.

Mabel's stops to the last page where the last photo of them together is glued on. Both their smiling faces look back at her while they held hands. She sniffs up as she fought feel tears welling up again.

She brings up the scrapbook to her chest to hug it tightly.

"I'm sorry Dipper... I'm so sorry..."