Dipper leaned against the side of the tree. Lord knows how on earth he managed to climb up this high without pulling a stitch, but he did it. On one of the taller branches, he looked out to the blue sky. There weren't any clouds. 

The twins have been in Gravity Falls for about a month now, and have honestly enjoyed themselves. Sure, there was the forced weekly call, but apart from that, they were home free. Free to go outside and make friends and have fun without the worry of coming home. There were mysteries galore, to which Dipper and his sister would go and solve. Some in good fun, others in mortal danger. 

All without the danger of not telling their uncle. 

If you asked him, Dipper would mumble to you with a bit lip about it, but the salesman and him grew close. Distance was still there, though. Mabel trusted him on the spot, as predicted, but it took a long time for Dipper to turn his hatred for the man into a mutual respect. 

"Bro-bro! Get down from there!", Mabel shouted from the bottom. She was donning a look of concern that did not go well with her Skittles-themed sweater. Dipper looked down to call back, only to realise how high he was.

How, exactly, did I get up here?, he thought.

The boy shook his head and looked back down again. Instead of calling this time though, he simply gave a thumbs up. "Ok, I can do this.", he muttered, trying to encourage himself. It wasn't working.

He could feel the stretching of thread on his shoulder blade. Is it bad when you can tell when, where, and how an injury got there? Ah, he remembered it like it was yesterday. 

5 months ago, in the living room (most of them were there), he thought it would be a good idea to go try out for the robotics team without his father's complete and total approval. He got the football belt buckle, right on the edge. It hit that very spot 3 times. Miraculous. He learned he was double-jointed that day. Thanks, Dad. 

As he got to the bottom, he could almost see a shadow looming in between the trees. Gnomes?, he thought. Birds? Or... something more? Glancing at the journal he hid in his pocket, the boy grew a mischievous smile. Only one way to find out. 

When Dipper stopped about 5 branches down, Mabel shot him a confused look. What is he looking at?, she thought. She tried to follow his sight, but didn't see anything other than trees. The girl looked back at her brother, only to find something that, she wasn't going to deny, scared her a little. 

That smile. That look in his eyes. It reminded her of him so much she was fixing to burst into tears and run away screaming for her brother. Her lip was even beginning to tremble. It took seven gasps for air to realise it wasn't him, just Dipper. 

They were always told that Dipper and their father were spitting images. Looked the same, acted similar, although if Dipper or Mabel ever heard the phrase, "Just like your father,", that person would either be treated as the scum of the Earth, or the 2nd cruelest person they had ever met. First place is pretty hard to beat, after all.

Dipper snapped out of it, and with a newfound determination,  got to the bottom only to turn heels and run deeper into the forest. Mabel rolled her eyes. She was happy he was happy here, but he was going to be a freak if he spent any more time in the forest. "The rules are twelve hours a day, tops!", Mabel cried after her brother. 

She stood there for about five minutes, deciding what she should do. Mabel turned around and walked to the Mystery Shack they called home. Dipper can go on his mystery hunt, she thought. He knows how to get home.

Dipper ran through the forest with his shoes untied, chasing after the ominous shadow in the trees. He laughed. He huffed. It was awesome. He took the rope out of his pocket and caught the foul creature. It was a seven-headed snake, poisonous by the look of it. The boy gave a soft chuckle as he documented the rattle-hydra and set it free. 

It didn't do anything wrong, after all.