Of course I had to get up from my comfy hour-long nap.

I was waiting impatiently for the digital clock on my laptop monitor to hit 4:00 P.M. A feeling of euphoria rushed through me as I read through files and files of research saved in a single folder.  The window blocking a quarter of the screen displayed lots of online conversations between friends, co-workers, family, job offers from various colleges and all that.

Although, I was waiting for one specific message.

The three remaining minutes seemed to drag on forever. My eyes were getting droopy, my typing slowed, and I almost hit my head on the keyboard.

"Why do I have to wait so long?!" I moaned, dragging on the last word. I ignored my coffee mug knocked over by my hand. It doesn't have any sort of liquid in it, anyway. Though it almost shattered to pieces when my laptop gave a beep.

I was up in almost a milisecond, my words all jumbled by my still groggy mood. I clicked away hastily at my screen, somehow not knowing where the browser window is. "Wha? What?! Whereeiit? Where isshit?"

When I finally found it, however, I found myself leaning closer to the monitor. Her message definitely spoke the truth.

She's here. She's coming home.

▪▪▪▪

My sister, Mabel, is renowned worldwide for a video project she made when we were twelve years old, now made a TV series. Little girls usually watch her, but I know of one exception, and that is my mom. It came to me as no surprise. She loves Mabel as much as I do.

I had a small bag slung over my right shoulder. I still wish I just carried a backpack, since it's hard and annoying and just plain torture when your bag gets caught literally everywhere in a sea of people. And worst of all, the setting sun is too blinding. It reflected off the towering glass buildings and overall gave this part of the city a yellow-orange wash.

Am I even near the airport? Bus stop? Mabel never really specified where we'd meet--she just said she'll see me at the station where we first--and always--caught a bus there to Gravity Falls. It's pretty much the only station in the whole wide world that acknowledged its existence.

I took some time to observe the seemingly-overflowing stream of people I was caught in. There were some in business suits, carrying some sort of briefcase at their side. There were a couple people in house clothes. I even spotted students wearing the same college uniform as me, though I didn't recognize them that much. I was about to turn a corner when I spotted a woman in a black hoodie suddenly stop, exclaim something, and run to an empty bench just outside of a bus terminal.

I stopped dead in my tracks. She looks kinda familiar--

Wait.

"Mabel! Mabel!" I started yelling, calling for my sister. I tore through the remainder of the crowd, some shooting dirty looks at me as I accidentally shoved them to the side. "Sorry! I-I'll be more careful next time!"

Mabel jerked her head in my direction with startled eyes. I noticed she had wore her hair up in a ponytail.

Then she mumbled something, turned back, and ran to the bench.

"Hey, wait!"

After what seemed like an eternity, I had caught up to her and collapsed beside her in a daze. I laid my bag beside Mabel's left arm and awkwardly rubbed my shoulder.

"Yeah, it kinda hurts," I breathed.

My moment of silence was quickly interrupted when I was brought down to her lap in a bone-crushing hug. It took me some time to process what happened--it all went by too fast.

"DIPPER!BROBRO!DIPPINGSAUCE!ImissedyousomuchohmYGOSH! My life in all this showbusinesswashecticasheckand-"

I cut in the middle of her garbled sentence. "You look different."

"And I can't recognize your voice, either! You sound like those hunky guys in vampire movies!" she joked back, pulling away from the hug and pointing at my throat.

Good to know she's still Mabel. I smiled, partly relieved.

She rambled on and on about Mabel's Guide To Life and how she can't believe that it actually is now known all over the world. I didn't pay much attention. I was lost in thought, wondering if she did enjoy her career that much if she had--

Shoot. She caught me staring.

"Oh--look at me! You're not the only one with eyebags now!" Mabel grinned, though it faded away as quick as the wind blowing dust off the bench. She looked at the tiled floor with knitted eyebrows and a sad smile. "And that-that's part of the reason why I said I didn't wanna grow up once."

I didn't get to reply to her statement when she started speaking again.

"I expected a lot of fans--come on, I have one of the most viewed programs on the block! But I didn't expect them to be this many! I actually thought you were another one--even though you're a boy--so that's why I--"

"Why I. . .?" I pressed.

Mabel sighed and continued. "No, that's not even what I worry about the most."

I blinked. "Then what?"

"The world feels so huge without you beside me, Dipper! I don't even know what to do when I reached the counter where you hand in your passport and stuff, heck I was almost running late all because of not knowing where the exit is! Ugh." She visibly cringed at the memory, shaking her head. "Definitely not the fantasy I created in that prison bubble."

Then there was silence. The wind blew. The trees rustled. Leaves flew in all directions. My eyes traveled to a small group of students mingling with each other. Mabel took in the changes the bus station underwent. She let out a long sigh.

"I snap my fingers, and poof, they pop up instantly. In just a short while it all happens! Xyler and Craz, a giant Waddles, Mayor Mabel--gah! It's so tempting! But it's all. . .too. . .bright and stuff. . .What do I do? Why do I feel sad all of a sudden? You're here, and. . .and. . ."

I didn't know how to respond to that. I suddenly didn't know how to comfort my sister. This conversation had gone from my voice to her show business to eyebags to Mabel's dependency on me and finally to that prison bubble she was formerly in.

"Hey, can-can I tell you something?"

"Hm?" she hummed in response.

I sucked in a deep breath, closed my eyes, and began.

"When I walk to college every morning, I either walk on foot, accept Mom's offer to drive me there, or just ride the bus home. And yes," I huffed, "it's gonna take a long time. This is sort of a city now, you know?

"It's tiring. But as much as I want it to be possible, teleportation isn't, and it never may be in the near future. You. . .probably know that by now."

Mabel just hummed.

"While I was waiting for your message, I was repeatedly complaining about how three minutes are so slow and long and hard and a million other adjectives I can use to describe those three darn minutes. Guess it's worth it."

Everything went silent again.

"You said a lot of kids are all over you, right?"

No answer, except for another "mm."

"Well, I do admit I wanted that kind of attention, Mabel. I want to prove myself. Come on, you're already out there shaping your image!" I saw a smile slowly creeping onto her previously distressed face. "While I'm here, trying to major in engineering. Mom's proud of you. Dad's. . .probably swooning over you now. Heck, we're all proud of you!"

Stifling a laugh, I handed her a tissue.

"So hang in there, you've still got a long way to go."

I found myself in her signature bone-crushing hug. A barrage of thank-yous erupted from her mouth, though I couldn't nitpick what she said, one by one.

"I really needed it." I could make out that one.

"And we of course can still go to that one ice cream parlor two blocks down the road. What do you say? We can get ourselves together and tell stories and junk." I grinned.

▪▪▪▪

Night had fallen.

As Mabel chatted away, I couldn't help but go over the conversation we had earlier on that bench. She seemed stressed. She is definitely stressed.

"But you came along and cheered me up. That's all that matters!" she suddenly exclaimed, as if on cue with my thoughts. "And you're staring into space again!"

end.

▪▪▪▪

[A.N.]

WHERE I LAY MY HEAD IS HOME YEAH YEAH-

Phowkxszz, we have:
• an impatient college-student Dipper
• a TV Star Mabel
• existentialism, all for the GF Wattys which I may not catch up with sooner or later
• Pep Talks with Dipper Pines

Nothing to say about this y'all. Just a long oneshot that's an attempt at using a 2017 InkTober prompt.

yep.