Dipper felt conflicted. He had discovered that his own grandfather was the author of the Journals, which made him happy beyond belief. But, he was also angry. So very angry.

Mabel had not listened to him in a matter that could've been life or death. She had trusted their Grunkle Stan, a professional con artist and convicted felon, over her own twin brother. And that hurt a lot as he thought that there was no way she would ever betray him like that. Then again, he was also angry at himself. For not trusting Stan.

Stan was doing what he had to do for his family, something he deemed was right. And yet, Dipper refused to believe him. And it almost cost his great uncle his one shot at his brother returning home.

It didn't help that as soon as he returned, Stanley Pines confiscated the Journals for "revisions", meaning he took Journal 3 from Dipper. He had also told his grandson to steer clear of the supernatural, unless he was around to protect Dipper. That made Dipper feel depressed somewhat, as he had proven time and again that he could not only protect himself but the whole of Gravity Falls. He knew that Grandpa Stan was just looking out for him but it was still an insult to his time spent looking for answers and hunting the paranormal in this town.

He had decided to go for a walk some time ago, but he was still not entirely certain where he was going. It didn't really matter, he wasn't going to sleep tonight anyway. Mabel would probably worry, and maybe the Stan's might be concerned slightly, but it didn't matter to him right now. Soos had offered him the keys to the cart, but he had refused. It was a walk he needed, not a drive.

How he ended at that spot he didn't really know. He could see Northwest Manor from where he sat on the tree stump, the candles surrounding him from his failed exorcism had burned down to the wick. The rain fell down heavily, making his body shiver slightly as he brought his knees up to his chest, turning towards the forest. He sighed, trying his hardest not to cry as his back faced the Manor.

"Dipper?"

He jumped in surprise, but couldn't turn to look at her. "Not now, Northwest."

He could almost hear her sadness at the cold greeting. "What's wrong?" He sighed. Of course she could tell. He still refused to turn towards her, especially now he had a tear slowly streaking down his face. "I walked all this way down here because I thought I recognized you, and –"

"Please, Pacifica. I'm really not in the mood right now. Just leave me alone, okay?" His voice broke a few times as he said this, more tears forming in his eyes as he heard her approach him.

He felt her hand on his right shoulder. "What happened, Dipper?" He turned his head left, and sobbed. "Don't tell me to leave, or that you're okay. I'm not going to go anywhere until you tell me why you're crying. You don't strike me as the crying type."

He chuckled once, still crying. "I guess you're right. Still, I don't want to talk about it."

"Tough." She sat down beside him, her hand leaving his shoulder as she scooted closer to him. "You didn't leave me two nights ago. You sat down and told me what I needed to hear. So, I'm repaying the favor."

He turned to her, eyes now red from crying. He saw her sad smile and he couldn't hold back anymore. He started to weep openly, and leapt into Pacifica, hugging her tighter than she thought a human could, let alone Dipper Pines' gangly figure. "I don't know who to trust anymore."

She sat there in shock for a moment, not entirely sure what he meant, but eventually she hugged Dipper back. "It's okay," she told him, rubbing his back awkwardly, "you can trust me."

As Dipper sat there, holding a girl he used to hate as he wept on her shoulder, he realized he could indeed trust Pacifica Northwest. It wasn't every day that he helped a young girl when she was at her weakest moment. And two days later, here he was, doing the exact same thing to her.

Dipper told her everything. The Journals, the paranormal activities, his great uncle's secrets and his grandfather's return from an alternate dimension. He told her of his insecurities about his family and trusting them, even trusting himself. And she listened. Truth be told, a week ago should would have never believed him. After a ghost tries to kill everyone in your house, however, you start to believe pretty much anything is possible.

Not once did either of them break their embrace. Dipper, who was still softly crying onto the shoulder of her jacket, had just revealed every secret he had to a girl he only just really had gotten to know. But somehow, he knew it would be okay.

"Do you want to know what I think, Dipper?"

Dipper lifted his head to look at Pacifica, only just now realizing how close they really were. "Sure."

Pacifica pulled back from the hug, to Dipper's slight annoyance, only to put her hands on his shoulders and look him dead in the eye. "Mabel is your sister. Your twin. Should she have listened to you? Probably, yeah. But she didn't and everything is okay now. So forgive her."

Dipper nodded. She was right, it really wasn't Mabel's fault anyway. No one but Stan knew exactly what was going on, so it made sense to trust him. He was family, after all.

"Secondly, Mister Pines – I mean, your great uncle, seemed to know what he was doing. If he had torn the universe apart, well, who would know? But he didn't. Besides, how many universes would you destroy for your sister?" Pacifica asked as Dipper laughed, wiping his eyes.

"A few, three at least," he replied, attempting to lighted the mood. It seemed to work, as it got his companion to giggle a little.

"Exactly! See, it's only natural. Speaking of which," she had returned to her calming voice, which made him blush as she stared into his eyes. "You had every right not to trust him! He had lied to you before, and he is a convicted criminal. So what if you feel like you betrayed him? Given his history, you had every right to!" She patted his hat. "Apologize to him, but tell him he deserved the reaction you gave him. Despite everything, I know he cares for you."

Dipper looked into her eyes. "Why do you say that?"

She smiled. "Because I've been here with you for over an hour, and he's just been standing there waiting."

Dipper turned to see his Grunkle Stan standing in the rain, soaking wet. "Hey kiddo. We were all worried sick about ya back at the Shack so, uh… I came lookin' for ya. Saw you and Miss Perfect were having a heart-to-heart so I left ya alone but uh, now you're done can we get goin'? Kinda need a change of clothes and all…"

Dipper ran to his great uncle, and wrapped his arms around Stan's waist. "I'm so sorry I doubted you Grunkle Stan, but really, you didn't do much to gain my trust."

Stan just laughed. "I hear ya, kid. You're forgiven if I am?"

Dipper nodded. "Of course." Stan chuckled, then made a kind of guttural groan.

"Listen Dip, ease up on the hug. I'm gonna need a new hip if you keep this up," he said, only partly joking. As Dipper released his grip, mumbling an apology, Stan smiled at him, a true smile which his great nephew knew was rare for him. "I'll be in the car, say goodbye to your girlfriend. And thank her for me, okay?"

Dipper blushed. "She's not my-"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." As Stan walked slowly back towards his car, Dipper walked back over to Pacifica.

"Well, I gotta go back to the Shack now. So, um…" He was suddenly nervous. Why was he like this now? He had just spent over an hour holding her while he cried openly, but now that she was standing in front of him, he was almost shaking he was that nervous. "I guess I'll see you around? If you're not too busy, uh…" He scratched the back of his head. "Maybe we could like, uh, catch a movie or whatever? I dunno, if you wanna…"

She walked up to him. Every step she took seemed to last an eternity, until finally she was directly in front of him, her nose inches from his. "Oh, that's just what I need!" she said, sarcastically. "Dipper Pines, asking me, a Northwest out on a date!" She smirked as he flustered, scrambling to ensure her it wasn't a date, just two friends hanging out. She then kissed his cheek. "You idiot. I'll pick you up tomorrow, sound good?"

Dipper was momentarily dumbfounded. He recovered enough to kiss her cheek in return, smile shyly, and reply. "S-sounds amazing, Pacifica. But are you allowed to? You know, after the whole party thing?"

Pacifica's smile faltered. "Dipper Pines. I may be grounded for two weeks, but nothing will stop me from seeing a movie with you tomorrow. Understood?" At his gulp and nervous nod, she smiled. "Good. Now, I'll choose the movie, you pay for tickets and food. Also, Mabel is not allowed to tag along. Okay? Fantastic. See you tomorrow."

Dipper stumbled his way to the car, half from sleep deprivation and half from euphoria. Stan looked at him, smirking. "So, not your girlfriend huh? I saw you two bein' all lovey-dovey over there, with the kisses. Made me wanna puke!" And with that, he drove back to the Mystery Shack, cracking up at his own joke as his great nephew just blushed and smiled in silence.

Dipper was asleep when he hit the bed, a good hour after returning back from his late night walk. Mabel had hugged him, hit him, and then hugged him again. Grandpa Stan was happy to see him alive, worrying that he was in some sort of supernatural danger. Soos felt like it was his fault Dipper was lost, and was very happy to see him safe and sound. Of course, Dipper wanted to leave the moment Grunkle Stan had started to talk about Dipper and Pacifica flirting. Mabel seemed to be over the moon, and Stanley was just smiling knowingly at the blushing pre-teen.

Dipper probably shouldn't have chosen that moment to mention the date that he and Pacifica were going on the next day. All four of the people in the room with him were excited for him, too excited really. It was kind of creepy, if he was going to be honest. That's when he had run to his room, laid on his bed and promptly fallen asleep.

Mabel rushed up after him. "Dipper! What are you going to wear? Are you gonna kiss her? When's the wedding? Ooh! You have to name your firstborn child together after me!" She then looked confused. "Unless it's a boy… Oh! Call him 'Manbel!'" She laughed at her joke, then looked at the sleeping form of her twin brother. "Aw. He's tired." Mabel realized as she yawned that, being awake most of the night worried about Dipper, she was tired too.

As she flopped down on her bed in the attic, she looked groggily at her brother. "I'm happy for you, bro-bro."

XS KLJK LQ D WUHH LV ZKHUH WKHB QHVW,

WKH KXPEOH SLQHV EHORQJ QRUWKZHVW.