Caught in the Stars: Chapter X

A Gravity Falls Fanfic

If you like someone, and they like you back, the logical thing to do is ask them on a date. Dipper knew this, and since he liked Pacifica, and she seemed to like him (he didn’t think she would have kissed him if she didn’t), that seemed the obvious next step.

There were several problems with this. First of all, he needed a place to take her. Having grown up with more money than her parents knew what to do with, Pacifica’s idea of a good time was vastly different from his. Then again, she didn’t seem to mind hanging out with him and Mabel in the cheap coffee shops and libraries they frequented, so maybe she wouldn’t mind going somewhere that better fit his budget.

The harder question was how to ask. Every time he managed to get up the courage, Mabel showed up, or Eli had a question about their game, or Christy had something to say to him. If he asked Mabel for help, he was sure she could keep everyone away, but she would also find some way to spy on them, and that would only make him more nervous.

He knew he shouldn’t be nervous at all. He was fairly sure Pacifica would say yes if he asked her, but he didn’t have a good track record with asking girls out.

And there was another problem: every time he tried and failed, he wondered if he should stop trying altogether. And so he found himself studying alone more and more, trying to work himself out of his dilemma.

One day when he was flipping through books in the library, he heard someone come up behind him. He didn’t think anything of it, until Pacifica spoke from behind him.

“You’ve been acting weird lately,” she said. “And it kind of feels like you’re avoiding me.”

He winced and turned around. “Sorry. I wasn’t trying to avoid you, but I’ve just been thinking, and also Mabel is always there, and Eli and Christy have been coming around–” Pacifica’s face darkened at that. “Sorry,” he finished lamely.

“You know why she’s always around, don’t you?”

“Who, Mabel?”

Pacifica rolled her eyes. “Christy. She likes you. That’s why she’s been hanging around so much.”

Dipper frowned. “No, she’s friends with Mabel.”

Pacifica shook her head and jabbed her finger at his chest. “She likes you. She likes you cause you’re an adorable, clueless dork.” Her shoulders sagged. “And I like you too, which is why I came to talk to you, because I don’t know what we’re doing, if we’re doing anything! And I know you said Mabel is always around, but she was always around before, so I don’t see what that has to do with–”

Dipper swallowed and squeezed his eyes shut. “I’ve-been-trying-to-ask-you-out.” The words came out in a rush, but it didn’t matter. He opened one eye to peek at her.

Pacifica’s lips formed a silent “oh”, and her face lit up. “Really?”

Dipper looked away, wishing he didn’t have to go on. “Yeah, but I didn’t know if that was a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“I didn’t want to make things harder on you. With your parents.”

Her face fell, then she raised her chin with fire in her eyes. “I don’t care if–”

“I do,” he interrupted. “You’re about to go home for Christmas, and if they somehow find out we’re dating . . . I don’t want you to be alone, and what if they don’t let you come back to school here?” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I told you Mabel and I are going to Gravity Falls this summer. What if we waited until then?”

Pacifica studied his face, then stepped back. “You’re right. That’s probably the best idea.” She shook her head. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I guess I just thought, now that I’m finally out of their house . . .” she sighed. “But it doesn’t matter.” She turned on her heel and ran away.

“Wait! Wait, Pacifica!” She shoved the book back onto the shelf and ran after her, out of the library, but she had disappeared. He spun around and kicked the brick wall. “Ow! Ow, stupid, rotten, greedy, cruel–”

“Gee, Dipper, what’s that wall ever done to you?” He whirled around and found Mabel with her arms crossed, watching him from the library stairs.

He sighed. “It’s not the wall. It’s Pacifica’s parents.” They sat on the steps, and he explained the whole situation. “I was just worried. It’s going to be hard enough for her to go back for break, but if we were dating, and her dad found out–heck, even if he finds out she’s been hanging out with us here . . .” He put his head in his hands. “I really want to help her, but I don’t know how.”

Mabel grinned and nudged him with her shoulder. “I have an idea! Let’s call Mom!”

The next day, Mabel and Dipper snatched up their breakfasts and raced to the table where Pacifica was already sitting. Dipper slid in beside her, and Mabel dropped into the seat across from her.

“We had an idea,” Mabel said.

“Mabel had an idea,” Dipper corrected. “I just went along with it.”

“You can come home with us for Christmas!” Mabel leapt up, raising her hands. “Ta da! Brilliant, isn’t it?”

Pacifica frowned, looking from one to the other. “Um, what?”

“It’s the perfect solution,” Mabel said. “You get to have a fun holiday season away from home, we get to hang out with you the whole break, you and Dipper could maybe even sneak in a date . . .” She waggled her eyebrows.

“Mabel!” Dipper complained.

Mabel rolled her eyes and heaved a dramatic sigh. “Anyway, it would be perfect! And the best part is, our parents already said you could come!”

“You–you really want me to–but this is your break! Your time to spend with your family!” Pacifica protested.

“Holidays are times to spend with all the people you care about,” Mabel said. “And it will be so much fun! We can decorate the tree together, make hot chocolate, watch Christmas movies–”

Dipper groaned. “I’m sure she doesn’t want to watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”

“But it’s a timeless Christmas classic, one that everyone has to experience at least once.” Mabel turned to Pacifica. “You’ve never seen it, have you?”

Pacifica blinked. “Uh, no, I’ve never seen, um, what did you call it?”

Mable gave her brother a pointed smile. Dipper shook his head at her, but he couldn’t cover up his own grin. “So, will you come?” he asked.

Pacifica smiled down at the table. “I’ll have to ask my parents, but as long as I don’t mention which friends, I think they’ll agree.”

“Yes!” Mabel cheered, pumping her fist in the air.

It was still over a month before Christmas break, but that didn’t stop the teens from discussing the coming vacation every chance they got. Pacifica managed to get her parents' permission, and they celebrated the next day. It gave them something to look forward to as they finished up their first semester and made their way through exams.

Then, finally, school was over. They packed their bags and headed off to Piedmont. It was Mabel’s turn to drive, and, as the driver chose the music, she blasted her 80’s pop songs, pestering the other two to sing along with her. Dipper gave in after minimal protests, but it took their combined forces to convince Pacifica to join in as well. After they got tired of singing, they turned down the music and played a variety of road trip games.

The closer they got to Piedmont, the quieter Pacifica grew, until she sat silently, staring out the passenger window.

Dipper, sitting in the back seat, leaned forward and tapped the back of her shoulder. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” He frowned but didn’t argue.

Eventually they made it home. Mabel parked, and all three teens grabbed their bags. Pacifica studied the house. Structurally, it looked exactly like every other house in the neighborhood, but paint, plants, and children’s lawn toys served to differentiate each one and make it unique. The front door of the big, white house with green shutters opened before they reached the house, and Mr. and Mrs. Pines ran out.

“You’re home! We missed you!” Mrs. Pines said as they hugged both their children.

“We missed you too!” Mabel said, then she grabbed Pacifica’s shoulder and pushed her forward. “And this is Pacifica!”

Mr. Pines shook her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“We’re excited to have you stay,” Mrs. Pines said.

Pacifica forced a brighter smile than she felt. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

“Is there anything else to bring in?” Mr. Pines asked.

“I don’t think so,” Mabel said. “Come on, Pacifica. I’ll show you where you’ll be staying!” She led her upstairs to her bedroom with its pale yellow walls and hot pink bedspread. Pacifica laughed when she saw it.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing. It’s just . . . very you.”

Mabel grinned. “I’ll go get the air mattress. I’ll be right back.” She shoved the clothes in her closet to one side. “You can hang your stuff up here.”

She ran downstairs and soon came back up with the mattress, pump, and extra bedding. She had finished making the bed by the time Pacifica had put away all her clothes.

“Supper’s almost ready,” Mr. Pines called. “Come set the table, kids!”

“Coming!” Mabel called. The girls ran downstairs and found Dipper already there.

“I hope you like pasta, Pacifica,” Mr. Pines said.

Startled, she blurted out, “Sure.”

He turned around and grinned at her. “You don’t know if you like pasta?”

“No, I meant–”

“Give her a few minutes before you start poking fun, Oliver,” Mrs. Pines said as she came in the room. She turned to Pacifica. “Don’t worry too much about him, sweetheart. He just likes to mess around.”

“Oh.”

Dipper and Mabel set the table, and everyone took their seats as Mr. Pines carried the food over. Pacifica leaned over and whispered to Dipper, “I thought your name was Oliver.”

“It is,” he whispered back. “Mabel and I have our parents' names as middle names.”

“What are you whispering about,” Mabel whispered loudly.

“Middle names,” Dipper said at a normal volume.

“Cool. Mine is Stella,” Mabel said. “What’s yours, Pacifica?”

“Elise.”

“Oh, that’s pretty,” Mrs. Pines said. “Where does it come from?”

Pacifica dropped her eyes to her plate. “It’s, uh, a family name. My great-grandmother’s, I think? My mom only mentioned it once.”

Mrs. Pines nodded. “Family names are always special.” Pacifica said nothing.

“So how did you meet Mabel?” Mrs. Pines continued. “Do you share a class or something?”

“Actually we met in Gravity Falls.”

Mrs. Pines raised her eyebrows. “Oh, do you live there?” Pacifica nodded.

“Remember the girl I told you about going golfing with?” Mabel asked. “That’s Pacifica. She also invited us to that really fancy party I showed you pictures of.”

“Oh, yes, I remember that. Well, Pacifica, it’s nice to finally put a face with the name. Or with the stories, I suppose.” Pacifica ducked her head and wondered how much of the stories their parents knew.

Dipper tapped her foot with his, and when she looked up, he grinned at her. She gave a nervous grin back.

“So what are you studying, Pacifica?” Mr. Pines asked.

“I haven’t decided yet. I’m studying history right now, but I’m probably going to change it.”

“There’s no harm in that,” Mr. Pines said quickly. “I changed my major three times before I settled on what I wanted to do.”

“How did you decide?”

“Well, mostly I realized that I hated all the science classes I had to take for a physics degree, and how much I enjoyed the math classes and the one programming one I took as an elective.” He smiled in a way that looked exactly like Dipper when he started talking about his journal. “My degree is in computer science, as you might have guessed.

“Are you in any clubs or anything?” Mrs. Pines asked.

“No.”

“What do you do for fun?”

“Um . . .” Pacifica glanced at Mabel and Dipper, guessing she wasn’t supposed to mention their monster hunts.

“She comes exploring with us sometimes,” Mabel said.

“And she likes to sing,” Dipper said before taking a large bite.”

“Dipper!” Pacifica glared, and he grinned.

“Have you ever thought about joining the choir?” Mrs. Pines asked.

Pacifica looked down at her plate. “Um, not really.”

The conversation shifted form her after that, moving on to the twins' studies and extracurricular activities. When they finished supper, Mabel leapt up. “Dipper, it’s your turn to do the dishes. Pacifica and I will go upstairs to finish packing.”

Dipper gaped at her. “We haven’t been home in months. How on earth do you remember whose turn it is?”

“I have a good memory.” Mabel snatched up Pacifica’s hand and dragged her upstairs. “Come on!”

As Dipper began carrying the dirty dishes to the sink, Mrs. Pines put her hand on his shoulder. “Are you friends with Pacifica too?”

He kept his eyes on the sink as he grabbed a plate, rinsed it off, and put it in the dishwasher. “Uh, yeah, I am.” He wondered if having Mabel call to ask if Pacifica could stay instead of him had been a bad idea.

“Do you think she’s okay?”

He chuckled. “She’s fine. She’s just nervous. It’s funny, I’ve never seen her get shy around anyone before.” He looked up at his mom. “It’s going to take her a while to get comfortable, but I know she’s glad to be here.”

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