WARNING:
This story deals with some heavy topics i.e. mental health, depression, mentions of suicide, physical abuse, as well as eating disorders. Please read at your own risk.

When Dipper first mentioned the karaoke bar, he expected Paz to be super excited about that entire idea. However, when she looked at him, he saw something he wasn't sure he'd see in her eyes.

"Won't we get caught? I thought you had to be eighteen or something." Paz mumbled, fiddling with a piece of her hair and swaying back and forth on her heels.

Dipper stopped dead in his tracks. This girl was truly something else. She was all prepared to break into a music hall and some rich person's house, but a karaoke bar was where she drew the line. He couldn't help but let out a very unattractive snort.

"W-what?" Paz stammered, her face getting redder by the second.

"I do not wish to offend you, Paz, I am just surprised that this is where you draw the line." Dipper held his hands out in a surrendering gesture. "I know that we won't get caught."

"You promise?" Paz stuck out her pinky, a determined expression on her face.

Dipper sucked in a breath through his teeth. Hadn't he just declared that he wasn't about to go making promises especially the ones he didn't know he could keep?

What the hell, he'd already gotten himself in too deep. He stuck out his pinky and interlocked it with hers. "I promise." He declared, and for some reason it didn't feel as forced as he thought it would.

Paz jumped up and down in excitement before snatching his hand up and rushing out of Greasy's. "Okay okay okay!" She exclaimed, pushing past a few of scattering pedestrians who could see her hurry and were trying to move out of the way as fast as they possibly could. "So, how far away is it? If it's too far to walk, I'm sure that there's a bus that runs through here."

Dipper could barely process all the information she was throwing at him breathlessly as she raced out of the diner's slightly lopsided door. Finally, when all the information went through, Dipper scrunched up his nose and broke free of Paz's grip.

She turned back, halting in her steps and looking at him with such an expression that Dipper almost felt bad for letting go of her hand. Almost.

Digging through his pocket, Dipper pulled out his keys, realizing that he hadn't mentioned to her that he finally purchased a car. Holding them up to her eye level, Dipper smiled shyly. Whoa, what? Shyly? What the hell was going on here? Regaining his composure and trying to just smile as naturally as he could with her staring at him, Dipper cleared his throat. "We uh, we won't need a bus, Paz."

Her eyes darted from his and to the dangling car keys in front of her. "When did you get a car, Dipstick?!" She exclaimed, rushing forward and snatching the keys out of his hand.

"Only a few days ago." Dipper admitted. "It's a piece of work, but it gets me where I need to go."

Paz grinned and turned over the keys in her palm. "Well, I'm happy for you! I'm so happy I could hug you, y'know?" She rushed forward more, arms stretched out wide, to envelop Dipper into a tight embrace.

Dipper side-stepped her. "No thanks, I don't do hugs, Paz."

Paz almost seemed upset at that thought, but she shrugged it off. "So, where is your 'piece of work' automobile?"

"Car. It's a car, Paz." Dipper groaned and let his eyes scan the parking lot, pretending to look for it for the sake of Paz's amusement. He knew exactly where it was parked, but what was the harm in letting her think it was some big old mystery reveal of sorts. He'd already figured out that his reason for living, currently, was making sure she was happy, so this ought to help out a bit. "Let's see if you can guess which one it is."

Paz looked up at him, a huge grin splitting her face. "This is important." She declared, reaching into her purse for what Dipper could only assume was a hair-clip of sorts. It looked like a small claw, and Dipper was honestly impressed at how well it held up her hair with how small it was. Making sure her hair was secure, Paz finally adjusted her purse on her shoulder and tilted her head to the side.

It was only then that Dipper realized he was staring at her. "My apologies. Forgive my staring. I have just not seen anything like it."

Paz shrugged halfheartedly. "It's just a big ol' hair clip. It's pretty cool, isn't it? Despite how small it is, it really can hold up a lot of hair."

Dipper nodded, not really sure what he was staring at anymore. Not that he wanted that question answered anyway.

"Well, don't ya worry, I'll get you one for your floppy mess of hair." Paz promised, eyes scanning the bustling parking lot. "Now, where is—"

"Hold on, backtrack." Dipper held up his hands. "What could you possibly mean by 'floppy mess of hair'?"

Paz eyed him as if he was stupid, no doubt the expression he was making was something so very ridiculous, but that didn't matter. "Well, your hair is floppy and floofy. So, I bet there's a lot of it, so using one of these clips, I can clip it up for ya."

Dipper, not at all self-consciously, ran a hand through his, apparently, 'floofy' hair. "For your information, Paz, my hair is just fine as it is. Thank you very much." He walked off in the general direction of his car, just ready to call it all quits. Not because she insulted his hair, no, no not at all. And, actually, it was more of a compliment the more Dipper thought about it. But still. Floofy hair?

Paz laughed as she jogged to catch up to him. "Aw, are you embarrassed, Dipstick? That's adorable!"

Dipper froze right in his tracks, which caused a moving car to honk rather aggressively at him. When Paz tugged him off, away from the car's path, she stared at him expectantly.

"I am not embarrassed." Dipper stated in a tone that would hopefully convey how totally un-embarrassed he was. It didn't seem to get that reaction.

"I told you a few times by now, Dipper, I am more intuitive than you give me credit for." Paz placed a hand on his arm, which was enough to jolt him out of whatever stupor he'd locked himself in in hopes of trying to figure out how to show he wasn't embarrassed. "And you shouldn't be. . .eh, upset that you're embarrassed. Emotions are just a part of who we are."

If only she knew. He did his best to give her a smile, it came across as strained and weak, which caused both of them to grimace.

"Are you okay?" Paz pressed, moving a little closer in his personal space.

"I'm fine, you don't need to worry about me that much, Paz." I'm not worth the expression that's on your face.

Paz just shrugged. "Sorry, I can't help it. You said it yourself; we're friends now. This is how friends act. You shoulda read the agreement form that came with it before you signed it. Because this is how friends act. They do things for their friends without expecting anything in return, they care and worry about their friends despite what their friends tell them. I am going to worry about you and care about you. Whether you like it or not, you signed this slip and there is no receipt."

Dipper felt the ground sway beneath him for just a second. It wasn't enough to send him tumbling to the ground, but enough for him to break eye-contact with Paz for that short span of time. Everything she had said was so genuine, so real, it wasn't something Dipper would do just to get someone off his back —no—, she said it because she cared about him? Why?

Well, they were friends, right? Of course she would care about him, but Dipper didn't think he deserved it. But if he said that out loud, then Paz would frown and be upset and he couldn't let that happen to such a happy and care-free girl.

"I see." Dipper mumbled, shifting his weight onto his other leg. "Well, I appreciate your concern, however misplaced it may be. Well, what I guess I'm trying to say here is. . .thank you."

Paz knocked shoulders with his. "Of course, that's what friends are for, dummy! Now, as much as I'm enjoying this very real conversation we're having in the middle of a crowded parking lot, I'm pretty sure the people around us are not. Now, let's get going!"

When they finally got on the road, Dipper had kept the radio off. He never enjoyed listening to music while driving, it was mainly distracting, and he considered himself much happier when he got to have conversations with Paz. However, that lasted until Paz found the aux cord.

While Dipper kept his eyes on the road, trying to think about anything rather than the thoughts racing through his head, Paz had sneakily plugged her phone in and two songs played before Dipper realized something inside the car had changed.

"When did you start playing music?" Dipper asked offhandedly, still keeping his eyes on the road. Despite what anyone would tell you, Dipper was a cautious driver. He was less cautious when it was himself in the car, but right now he deemed he had precious cargo. And that cargo was sitting in the passenger seat, smiling cheekily at him.

"I was waiting to see how long it would take you to notice." Paz replied, turning up the volume a little bit. "You seemed really out of it, lost in thought I guess, and I didn't want to startle you, so I brought you back the only way I knew how; music. I mean, it usually works for me."

Had he been lost in thought? Well, the car was his place to sort out his issues and compose himself after the apartment. There truly was nothing better than just getting in a car and driving to who knows where. Although, getting lost in thought while driving sounded so terribly dangerous.

"I do apologize if you were trying to speak to me and I didn't respond." Dipper wasn't about to dive into why he was locked in his own head, not when they were only a few miles away from the karaoke bar. No need to have another very real conversation. One was quite enough for one evening.

By the time they arrived at the bar, the sun was already starting to set, streaking the clouds with light pink hues, stretching all across the sky. Paz, of course, demanded that she had to at least take three pictures before they could do anything else because she had never seen the sky that color before.

Another of her demands was that Dipper had to take one with her. "Why?" He asked as she snapped a picture of the pretty sky. "You have to post it on Instagram, or something?"

Paz shook her head. "Nah, I don't have Instagram. It's for my photo album. I like putting all the cool pictures I take in there. And, I make a page or two for each of my friends."

How sweet. The kind of sweet that usually made Dipper feel like hurling. Regardless, Dipper let her take a picture of him. After their mini photo shoot was wrapped up, Dipper had to physically drag Paz away from taking any more pictures.

"Now, let me do the talking, okay, Paz?" Dipper found himself pleading with her. He knew that he could pass for older, but he wasn't sure if she could. And, he personally knew the bouncer. After all, you don't tend to forget the first cop to drag you back to the orphanage after a rather disastrous attempt at an escape, now, do you?

Paz nodded and zipped her lips, smiling all the while.

Dipper sauntered up to the bouncer, letting a sly grin slip onto his lips. "Sheriff Blubs! Nice to see that you're still manning this gig!"

Sheriff Blubs took off his sunglasses and narrowed his eyes in suspicion, before they widened in recognition. "Is that you, Dipper?"

"Yes, sir, in the flesh." Dipper nodded, giving a salute that was totally mocking, but he doubted anyone would've picked up on that bit.

Sheriff Blubs laughed at the motion, putting his shades back on. "You look all grown up!"

"That's because I am all grown up," Dipper rolled his eyes. "Eighteen and everything. Isn't it amazing how fast time flies?"

Sheriff Blubs just nodded, the smile never leaving his face. "Chose the right place to celebrate."

"Indeed I did." Dipper cleared his throat. "Just planning on enjoying the atmosphere for a few hours. Great way to end the week."

"Enjoy the atmosphere you may." The sheriff/part-time-bouncer frowned. "If you even think about conning your way into getting a drink, I will personally take you down to the station, young man."

Dipper bit his lip and ran a hand through his hair. He hadn't even thought about that. Not that he would, in fact, Dipper truly didn't enjoy drinking. What he did enjoy was being in control of his mouth and his movements, so drinking to him, was far from a fun time. "Oh, well, you only drink when you're in bad company." He let his eyes drift over to where Paz was standing barely a foot away. "I happen to have lovely company, this evening."

Sheriff Blubs seemed to pick up on Dipper's tone, because he gave Dipper a look. "Just be careful, you two. Don't get into any trouble you can't fight off."

Dipper rolled his eyes, but agreed nonetheless. "No need to worry about us, sheriff, give my best regards to Durland, now, will you?"

A few more exchanges were made before Dipper finally dragged Paz into the dimly lit bar. The smell of smoke was heavy in the air, despite the place being popular with the younger audience. Contrary to popular clubs, the music was not pounding and thrumming, it was played softly, as not to diminish conversation.

The atmosphere itself was quite charming. Bubbling laughter, clinking glasses, the overwhelming sunny presence at his left.

"Wow." Paz whistled. "I've never been to one of these places before. Are they all like this?"

Dipper glanced to his left, eyes down to her. "What makes you think I have any more experience than you do?"

Paz flushed, her shoulders drawing into herself, as she played with a piece of her hair. "I didn't mean to assume, it's just. . .well, you seem like you always know what you're doing. Like, when we had to secret-mission-escape from Gadget's house, you were just so in control of everything, despite nothing going according to your plan. And here, you managed to get us in here, without even batting an eye. I just," she sighed once more, "I just wish I knew how to be like that."

That was not what Dipper was expecting. After all, he was certain he wanted their 'real' conversations to be, at maximum, one per evening. Yet, her she was; an utter contrast to himself. Able to express how she was feeling without much struggle. Her words echoed across his head, bubbling at his throat; I just wish I knew how to be like that.

What would that be like? What would it be like to just stand in front of somehow, afraid of how they will respond, but push forward nonetheless to tell them how you feel? Dipper knew, deep down, that was something he would never get to see.

"There's nothing wrong with not knowing what to do." Dipper began slowly, trying to find the right words to use to comfort her, like she had for him. Simple reciprocity, right? Only because he felt a certain obligation, right? Right. What else could it be? "You can't just expect to pop into existence with tons of knowledge under your belt —save for me, everyone knows that I just poofed into existence as a dashingly handsome, genius vagabond."

The last part was aimed to get a laugh out of her, because it physically hurt him to see her so lost and upset. It got what it was spoken for; Paz giggled and swatted at his arm.

"Don't compare yourself to me." Dipper took her hands in his, coercing her into finally making eye contact with him. "I'm afraid it won't do you much good." He finished his speech with a gentle squeeze of her hands.

Paz looked up at him through her eyelashes, a small smile taking hold of her face, the same sunset pink flashing across her cheeks. Dipper couldn't help but be baffled; she insisted that she hadn't seen that color before, yet she managed to be the embodiment of it.

I see it every second I spend with you. The words were on his tongue, yet he gulped them back down. That was too personal. That was him being too open. He couldn't let go of that just yet. He wasn't on solid ground yet. Just wait. Wait.

An abrupt music change —one with a little more kick and volume— broke the spell that had been cast upon them that moment, and the contact was lost. Dipper dropped his hands back down to his side as if he had been scalded and cleared his throat for good measure. "Let's go see if there's an open karaoke room. I don't think either of us are too keen on performing in front of the entire bar."

Paz nodded quickly. "Yeah, well, you better get used to it! You're going to be a magician one day."

Dipper groaned, letting his head droop slightly. "Are you ever going to let that go?"

"Never ever ever." Paz poked his arm before grabbing him and dragging him through the crowds, the tables, all the way back into the section titled 'karaoke'.

Various voices were overheard, all of which were muffled by the thick doors. It was nice to know that the people who owned the bar realized that most people didn't want to be overly embarrassed at their own voice.

When they finally found an open one, Paz was quick to jump up to the microphone, already trying to boot up the machine attached to it. "How does this thing. . ?"

Dipper chuckled to himself and shut the door behind them. "Unfortunately, I will not be of much assistance. I'm not too well-versed in electronics."

Paz whipped her head to the side and gaped at him. "You? You're kidding!"

"Serious as a heart attack." Dipper vowed.

Paz struggled for a solid minute before the screen suddenly blinked to life. Squealing with excitement, Paz gave a few jumps up and down, before hitting the search bar. "Do you wanna go first?"

Dipper paled. "Ah, well, no. Ladies first." Easier than saying 'no thanks, I have never sang before an audience and I'm not too keen on starting that now'.

Paz just stuck her tongue out at him. "Scaredy-cat. Fine, I'll go first. But! But you have to promise me that you will go next."

It would've been a waste of gas money if he declared that he wouldn't sing. What else could he have expected for suggesting a karaoke bar? Shaking his head, Dipper reluctantly agreed.

Another thirty seconds of Paz trying to find the song she was looking for, and Dipper couldn't help but just stare at her. Her lips were pouted off to the side of her mouth, showing how deeply concentrated she was, or perhaps how unsure she felt, strands of her hair kept falling in her face, and she just let them as she focused on the task at hand.

Dipper was only brought back by the sound of a distinctly old-timey country song starting to play through the room. He remembered her mentioning vaguely that she enjoyed some not all country music way back when they first met almost a month ago.

"That dancing moon is on the water." She leaned a little closer to the microphone, and Dipper could just tell that she was, at least, a little bit nervous, by the light tremor in her voice. "Do you feel inclined, romantically? If you do, I thought you oughta, love someone like me."

Star-struck; that was the phrase that had come to mind. Dipper could only watch with absolute interest as she went on, growing more confident as she did. The song seemed to be a slightly bittersweet one, with twinges of hopefulness of things to come. Dipper bit his lip; he just had to analyze every single thing he heard. Hell, maybe he'd made a better therapist than Dr. Southeast one day.

Paz was spontaneous, nothing about her was as easy as met the eye. She did things out of pure boredom, just feeling like doing it, nothing truly had a specific motive; which made her, at times, very difficult to analyze.

"Someone else might try and bind you, but my love will set you free! If your heart has got a mind, too; you could love someone like me."

Her hair shone with vibrant colors, that the ever-shifting lights hanging near the ceiling provided, and, at some moments, it gave her an ethereal glow. Like heaven had sent an angel down just for him. It was a ludicrous thought, but one he couldn't help but have.

Near the ending of the song —or what Dipper interpreted as the end of the song— her eyes met his. And while he half expected her to stumble over her words or look away, she just continued on singing, her eyes never leaving his.

An epic stare down, if it weren't so calming and enticing. No. There was a certain chemistry in that specific moment, a joyous spark ignited somewhere in his chest that he wouldn't dare give a name to. Once you gave something a name, you acknowledged its presence and became attached to it.

How on earth could he do that without damaging the walls he spent years carefully crafting?

- — - — -

The song ended with a flourish, and Pacifica was panting lightly. She was certain her face was flushed from the increasing temperature of the room. Dipper's expression hadn't changed much —save for the very blatant surprise on his face when she first started singing, and yes, she did notice that— but Pacifica had already figured out that Dipper wasn't a big expressionist.

Still clutching the microphone, Pacifica took a graceful bow. "Thank you, thank you. I will be here for the rest of the evening, and there is plenty of time for an encore, but there is someone else in this room who promised he'd sing for me." Her voice was amplified by the microphone, and she hoped that Dipper would realize that now was the time to stand up.

He did, thank goodness. "Yes, I get it. I have to sing now."

Pacifica grinned and offered him the microphone, her hand outstretched with it. "Well, what are you waiting for? A kiss on the cheek?"

Dipper nearly dropped the microphone and Pacifica let out a loud bubbly laugh. It was nice to know that she could catch him off guard with such flippant little comments. He shot her a light glare and Pacifica took this as her moment to go sit down.

Once she was seated, her legs kept bouncing. Pacifica was certain that he hadn't done it in front of other people before, like she hadn't, so it was lovely to know that he trusted her enough to do this. He might not see it that way, but for Pacifica, she took it as a huge sign that they were getting closer the more time they spent together.

As she twitched, Pacifica thought back to a pressing issue in the back of her mind; prom. It was next weekend, and she had signed up for two tickets; one for her and one for the man who was currently fumbling with the karaoke machine with fleeting patience.

Pacifica had heard that prom was more fun with a group of friends than it was with a date date, so why not invite her newest friend to join the fun along with her? And, she could prank everyone into thinking that he was actually her date. It would be funny. And, she could spend more time with him.

She really did enjoy the moments she got to hang out with Dipper. She got to let loose, do all the things she always wanted to but never had the guts to do alone, so who knew what would transpire at a school prom?

They could sneak off and do who knew what just for the heck of it. They could try and find a more secluded area just to talk and tease each other. Dipper always made things interesting, without much effort, and that was what enticed Pacifica from the get-go. He was an enigma; much like the ocean there was always something laying in wait, until it was discovered. Beautiful.

"Alright, this one goes out to the eccentric girl in the audience who practically forced me to do this tonight." Dipper tossed the microphone from one hand to the other with a praticed carelessness, and he did it with such ease. "For making me go out of my comfort zone."

Pacifica gave him a thumbs up, trying to break herself out of her thoughts. She wanted to hear him sing, the more pressing issues could wait until after they were done with karaoke.

The song that Dipper chose was what Pacifica would call an 'upbeat ditty'. When the first note came out of his mouth, Pacifica was trapped. His voice paired with the song he chose to sing in front of her —that he dedicated to her— complimented each other so terribly well that Pacifica was convinced that if the whole gypsy/magician thing didn't work out for him, he could go on Broadway.

"But this is what I come home to, thoughts that I might just lose you. And that just scared me more than anything I've been scared of before." He closed his eyes as he sang the second verse. "And it's affected me in ways nobody else can see. Not even the girl who I'm singing about."

Pacifica could practically feel the emotion ricocheting throughout the room, bouncing off the walls, coming off of him in waves. She had heard him sound genuine before, but this took it to a whole new level.

Dipper looked so comfortable, unlike the stiff version of himself that Pacifica often had to break down when they were around each other. The thought of trust came back into her head the more she watched him sing.

He let this happen because he trusted her enough to do this. He offered to take her here, and he must've known that Pacifica would do anything in her power to convince him to get on that tiny stage, so he had already trusted her then.

This version of the charismatic Dipper was the most gorgeous version of him that she had ever seen. It was him at his most genuine and him at his most vulnerable. And he allowed her to see that. He let down those walls just enough for her to catch a glimpse of what he was truly like inside.

It was undeniably lovely to have someone like him trust her that way.

Pacifica jolted back to prom. She had to steel her nerves enough to ask him to go with her, which would be a feat in itself. Pacifica considered herself a person of average confidence, and that confidence was often boosted when she was around people who made her feel good inside.

But now, staring at the —how had he phrased it?— devilishly handsome genius vagabond, Pacifica felt her mouth go dry. How on earth would she even will enough courage within herself to ask him that? The last time that she had teased him about a date, he had gone stone cold in two seconds flat. Pacifica wasn't sure she could deal with that again.

"The one I love, the one I hate, I guess I should have appreciated. Can you feel me reaching toward you in this song. . ."

Dipper suddenly startled her by laughing. Oh. The song had ended, hadn't it? Swinging the microphone with more carelessness, Dipper shook his head, obviously amused. "You know, that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."

Pacifica jumped up from her seat, rushing toward him. "That was amazing, Dipstick!" She reached out to give him a hug and instantly shot herself down. "Oops, sorry. I know you don't like hugs."

Dipper rolled his eyes and with a toss of his head, he wrapped one arm around her, pulling her a little closer to his chest.

Pacifica caught on that that hug was strictly supposed to be a one-armed hug; a bro hug, she called it. Wrapping one arm around him, she leaned into the comfort that his presence brought. With her face flush against his chest, Pacifica caught a whiff of whatever cologne he was sporting that evening and she made a mental note to ask him about it later because whatever it was, it smelled heavenly.

The hug itself didn't last long, maybe ten seconds tops, but it felt like she was wrapped up against him for at least an hour, feeling his accelerated heartbeat against her head, his breath ghosting over the top of her head. She felt safe in that embrace and did not want to break from it.

Now. She had to ask him now. It was just the two of them alone, there wasn't a better time than now. After they parted from the hug, Pacifica sucked in a deep breath and met Dipper's pale gaze. "Hey, um, Dipper?"

He stared back at her, unblinking, with his full attention on her. How long had it been since someone paid such close attention to her? "Yes, Paz?" His voice was what satin would sound like if it could talk, smooth, rich, and velvety.

Time stopped. The room was frozen and Pacifica was locked in Dipper's gaze, the small remnants of a smile on his face, his eyes burning into her own with such a gentle flame. Time may have stopped, but Pacifica's head was racing.

Reeling and tripping over itself as more thoughts clouded her mind. The last time she joked about a date with him he had shut down. He was such a doting and caring friend. Loyal to a fault, able to keep up with her enthusiasm, cheer her up whenever she needed it just because he cared.

You'll ruin everything, like you always do. Don't ask him. He'll say no. Everything will be ruined. It will be all your fault. You did it. You're to blame.

"Paz?"

Time resumed and Pacifica's thoughts lulled down until they were just white noise. It was over.

"Do you maybe wanna. . ." You'll ruin everything. "Maybe wanna," it will be all your fault.

Sighing in defeat, Pacifica blinked away from his gaze and stared dejectedly down at the floor. "Maybe wanna sing a few duets before we go?"

Dipper blinked a few times, as though he knew that that wasn't what she was going to ask, but he didn't press her any further. "Of course. What song did you have in mind?"

Pacifica shrugged, "nothing in particular. I figured we could just choose together! Y'know?" She tried her darnedest to keep any trace of sadness off her face, because she knew he would pick up on it instantly. It would be easier that way.

They each took turns choosing songs to sing together, with Pacifica choosing most of them because she had a long list, and Dipper allowed her to be selfish. Well, Dipper said he didn't have many ideas, but Pacifica knew that that wasn't the whole truth.

Several renditions of Lady Gaga songs, and a very lively performance of 'Rich Girl' by Gwen Stefani that they both got into later, Pacifica and Dipper both agreed it was time to call it a night. They had gotten some minor attention from a few other patrons who stopped by to give their compliments.

The night had ended so sweetly that Pacifica had thought she was dreaming. They stumbled out of the bar around nine-thirty that night, drunk on the giddy feelings that they fed each other. At one point, Dipper had his arm around her shoulders, to which she leaned into involuntarily.

Pacifica hopped into the passenger seat and shut the door, allowing herself a moment to sigh and drop her head into her hands before Dipper got around the car and into it. It was a brief moment of silence mixed with her own harsh breathing.

"Alright, it is way later than I thought it would be." Dipper exhaled as he turned the keys in the ignition. "Let's get you back home, okay?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah." Pacifica nodded, still trying to sound like herself, but that façade was crumbling through her fingers like sand.

Briefly she wondered what would've happened if she asked him. That thought was quickly pushed into the back of her mind as soon as Dipper started playing —what Pacifica had told him— was her favorite song.

He didn't know what was going on, but he could read her like a book. Nice to know that someone out there cared about her.

- — - — -

Around eight o'clock the same evening, the sun had set behind the remaining clouds and it was only then that Mabel decided to flick on a lamp. The old Reverse Falls library was just that; old. Musty but a comfortable musty, if you were in for that sort of thing.

Taking off her glasses and setting them onto the table, she rubbed her eyes and let out a small yawn, hoping her companion would be none the wiser.

"Mabes, you've been here for hours, maybe it's time you go home." Scarlett nudged her lightly, her concern showing prominently on her face. "I dunno what it is you're trying to find, but it can't be more important than your own health."

That. That was the wrong thing to say. Mabel whipped her head to the side, her anger getting the better of her. "My health doesn't matter until I get to the bottom of this!"

Scarlett jumped back slightly, leaning away from her, and Mabel put her glasses back on and heaved another sigh. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap. It's just. . .if I tell you what all this is, will you finally understand why I can't just stop?"

Scarlett cocked a brow, sparing a glance toward the files on the table. "Yeah, yeah, okay."

Mabel explained the situation to her, keeping it mainly vague not because she didn't trust Scarlett, it was more because the vaguer she kept it, the easier it was to say it all out loud. And, if she told Scarlett the whole thing, Mabel was certain that Scarlett would march all the way to Gleeful Estate and demand justice.

It was lovely to know how much Scarlett cared, even if she acted on impulse for Mabel's wellbeing.

Scarlett stared, wide-eyed, and let out a low whistle. "So, wait, you had a twin brother?"

"Have." Mabel amended. "I have a twin brother, Scarlett."

Scarlett sucked on her bottom lip, her face scrunching in an inquisitive expression. "So, you're saying that something happened between him and your parents and they, most likely, got rid of him? And he managed to survive for a decade simply because. . ?"

"You didn't know my brother." Mabel shook her head, pulling back age-old memories from the back of her mind of the better times. "He was a fighter."

"Okay, but what if he. . .what if he's gone? Like, gone gone?"

Mabel pursed her lips, glancing back down to one document in particular. Paper clipped to the top right corner was a picture of him at six years old, the calm before the storm. "If he's gone in the way that you're suggesting, then I have no doubt in my mind that my parents are the ones to blame."

Scarlett sat down next to Mabel, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, hey Mabes?"

Mabel felt herself turn toward Scarlett against her mind's wishes. "Yes?"

"I'll help with whatever you need me to do, I swear to you." Scarlett promised gruffly, clearly not happy to do the happy theatrics, but it only caused Mabel to smile. "I'm sure some of my buddies have connections out there that can give more information."

"Th. . .thank you, Scarlett!" Mabel exclaimed, tossing everything aside and wrapping Scarlett up in a bone-crushing embrace. "I just. . .I dunno if I can do this alone anymore. It hurts too much to keep this going, keep up the happy charade in front of my parents when I know they had a hand in this."

"Hey hey, of course." Scarlett murmured into the top of Mabel's head, her voice sounding more docile than it ever had before. "Now, I may not have as much information as some of my buddies's buddies have, but I do have a few tricks up my sleeve."

Mabel dropped the hug and watched as Scarlett fiddled with the computer for a minute or two. "Now, the only way this will work. . .do you have a picture of just. . .what's his name?"

"Mason." Mabel replied solemnly. "Mason Gleeful."

"Right," Scarlett murmured. "Well, this site is mainly used for parents who wanna see what their kid will look like when they grow up," she turned the computer screen toward Mabel to show her. "So, if we just insert his photo into the slot, we may get a relatively good look at what he looks like now, if he's still around."

Mabel deflated at Scarlett's words. She hadn't meant to, but she never wanted to accept the fact that Mason may be. . .

"Ah! What I mean by that," Scarlett hastily stammered, "is that if he's still around Reverse Falls, we'll have a better way of finding him."

Mabel nodded numbly, trying to ignore the feeling inside her that told her repeatedly that Scarlett was lying just now. Mabel knew better than anyone that when someone went missing, it was very unlikely that they were alive and well, she'd watched enough cold-case files to know that.

Scarlett uploaded the photo that Mabel had into the computer and after some work, fiddling with the files and the website, she got it working. To which Mabel was insanely grateful for; she'd never been super good at electronic appliances, just one of her faults.

"Alright, it should be loading now." Scarlett clapped her hands together, bumping Mabel's shoulder with her own. "Before we see it, I think that we should probably keep this to ourselves."

Mabel raised a brow. "What? What do you mean? Shouldn't we tell Paz?"

Scarlett sucked in a breath but shook her head. "No. Not that I don't trust her, but, she's got so much on her own plate. And you know her, if she thinks someone else is having a crisis, she'll immediately help them, but forget about herself. Sometimes, with health and everything, she's worse than you."

"Aw, look at you!" Mabel clasped her hands together. "You care so much, it's adorable!"

Scarlett flushed, much like her namesake. "I-It's not like that!" She grumbled and turned her gaze back to the computer screen. "Hey, look, it's ready!"

Mabel almost pushed Scarlett out of the way and onto the floor, she moved so quick. If she just got a screenshot of what the site thought her brother would look like when he was older, it would be enough to go off of. She could do some more work throughout the week and take the weekend mainly off to enjoy prom with her best friends.

The photo loaded and Mabel was taken aback. She could still see some semblance of the child that was her brother in the picture before her. Slightly darker hair than how it was when he was a child, but Mabel knew from experience that that had happened to her as well, and the site said that the length would wary.

Mabel took a screenshot and saved it into a file, which she needed Scarlett's help with. "Okay, I'll print this tomorrow, because I want to try other options to see if they all come up the same, draft up a sketch of what he could look like."

Scarlett nodded. "I see, so like, take all the dominant characteristics that pop up in each session you do to create the perfect image of who he could be?"

"Yup! That's correct." Mabel nodded enthusiastically.

Scarlett smiled and looked back to the computer, about to turn it off, but her finger hesitated. She seemed to be locked in a trance of some sort.

"Hey, Scarlett?" Mabel pressed. "Are you alright?"

Scarlett broke out of her trance easy enough and closed the site down before shutting down the computer for good. "Yeah, sorry, it's just. . ."

"It's just. . ?" Mabel coaxed a little more.

"Sorry, it's just, that guy looks familiar. Like I've seen him before." Scarlett murmured, her chin in her hand. "I can't place it, ugh, I'm sorry."

"Relax, Scarlett, you'll remember soon enough." Was what Mabel told her, but on the inside she was screaming. Did Scarlett know her brother? Would finding him be easier than she thought? Then, once she found him, she could figure out what her parents had done, and she could put them behind bars once and for all.

__________________________________
Wowzers! That was my longest chapter yet here! About 7k words! It was supposed to be much shorter, however, once you get Dipper and Paz talking, they don't stop! I wanted to break it off to make it shorter, but this works better with the flow of the story.

And the karaoke scene? I've had that planned out for a looooooooong time!

Yeah, it was nice to finally be able to write that. Half the time, I just want them to kiss and get together, but I know I can't do that yet, I have to go with the pacing of the story. The songs I used in this chapter are as follows;
Love Someone Like Me —New Grass Revival
The One —Air Traffic Controller
Rich Girl —Gwen Stefani

We're getting in deeper and deeper now! I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter chock-full of RevDipcifica content! Stay safe out there and keep smiling my lovelies!

-Kaori Miyazono <3