AVAVA

( Author's Note )

VAVAV

This was a challenge issued by Burke23.

The challenge was inspired by these two songs, The Times They Are A-Changin' and Like A Rolling Stone, both by Bob Dylan.

THis is the first chapter of the challenge. Let me know what you think.

AVAVA

( Pacifica Northwest )

VAVAV

Stores upon stores, of clothing, shoes, make-up, electronics... anything her heart desired. That was the best thing about the mall. Anything she could ever want, was at her fingertips. What made it even better, was that she could have anything she wanted... anything she didn't want. It was almost like a game to her.

If she knew someone else wanted it, and couldn't afford it. She got it, simply because she could. What was the point in having all that money from her mother and father, if she wasn't going to use it? If she wasn't going to show the town, that she could? There wouldn't be a point, none at all.

Shopping out with her friends, should have been a fun outing for any teenaged girl. There was nothing in the mall, well, not anything that she would be interested in. It wasn't her fault, that she lived in a small, weird little town, that was basically broke. If they wanted more money and nicer things, they should get better jobs. Maybe then, the stores could sell better stuff.

"So, did you find anything good?" Tiffany asked, looking through the clothing on the rack.

"Yeah right, like I'd find anything I'd want here." She scoffed at her friend, who laughed. It was painfully obvious that the girl hung around her, solely for her parents money. Not that she really minded, since Tiffany was the only person, close enough to her social class, that her parents approved of, and saying she was close in social class, was a major over statement. Tiffany was the same as everyone else in Gravity Falls. But Pacifica liked her, for some reason. "Maybe I should just stick to shopping online. At least I can find something there. Remind me why we even bother coming here again?"

"We come to hang out, get food, shop, and boys of course." Tiffany said distractedly, the girl was busy looking as something that seemed to have caught her eye. But was too embarrassed to admit it. Back to why they were there. The hanging out, could be done anywhere. Food, if you could call most of what was sold in this mall, food, could be found in better places. Shopping, well she already established that online shopping would be more functional. Then to boys, she had to roll her eyes.

Boys... the boys in Gravity Falls were grubby, dirty, poor creatures. Like she'd really be interested in any of the boys... other than if she needed anything moved, or built, or repainted. Or some other form of manual labor.

"If we are supposed to be hanging out, and looking for food, shopping, and boys... then why in the Hell, did we come to the mall?" Pacifica rolled her eyes again. "Seriously, we'd stand a better chance a the local, department store... wait... that's right, this town doesn't have one, just a knock off mall, with knock off stores.

"Yeah... we should go." Tiffany mumbled as she took another look at the item she had been admiring.

"Yeah lets go." Pacifica snapped her fingers, knowing that her 'friend' would surely follow.

AVAVA

"Butler should be here in a few minutes." Pacifica said as she looked at the pillars at the front of the mall. Much to dirty to lean on. Especially since her outfit probably cost more than the pillar. Then muttered, "They should really clean this place up."

She turned her attention to the parking lot. People coming and going, always coming and going. She couldn't see the appeal of this place... then again, she came here, weekend after weekend, during the school year. Then she would hang around most of the time during the Summer. Maybe that's why the others came and went. Because it was pretty much the only place to go.

"Excuse me, Miss." Pacifica turned to look at an elderly women, dressed in a dirty black dress. She looked completely dirty, even had dirt on her wrinkled face. Why was someone like this even talking to her? She was Pacifica Northwest. "Could I trouble you for cab fair. See I lost my wallet, and I promise to repay you, if you give me an address to send it too."

"Um... let me think about it... No. Just keep moving grandma." Pacifica scoffed, and turned away from the lady."

"Miss, Please. It's important that I get back home. I've had a rough..."

"Listen, I said, no. N. O. No." Pacifica huffed in annoyance. Really why did this lady have to bother her, of all the people in the parking lot.

"If the shoe were on the other foot, I wouldn't treat you like this." The old women said in a stern voice.

"Well the shoe isn't on the other foot. Not even close, and it'll never be. So leave me alone! Oh good, there's Butler. Later grandma." Pacifica said as she got into the back of her limo, with Tiffany close behind.

"The shoe might not be on the other foot now... but tomorrow? The next day? No one knows." The lady said before the Pacifica slammed the door shut.

"Back to the Manor, Butler." Pacifica huffed.

"Was it really necessary to..."

"Yes Tiffany. Yes! She shouldn't go around panhandling. It's a scam, you know. She'll give that same excuse to everyone she comes across. It's pathetic." Pacifica just looked out the window.

She felt a little odd.

Might have been the food they ate.

Maybe she just wasn't feeling good.

But she knew one thing.

She didn't feel guilty. Not in the least bit.

AVAVA

Pacifica took a deep breath as she sat up in her nice warm bed. Such a wonderful life, she thought to herself, as she stretched. No one else in town could even understand the joys of her life. She pitied them for that, though not enough to actually do anything about it. Even if she wanted to, what could she do?

Nothing, which is what she did.

She cast her gaze around the room, trying to figure out what she was going to do today. Her eyes went from item to item, picture to picture. Then fell on the elderly lady sitting at her desk, calmly looking as if she was supposed to be there. Her eyes continued on, at least until her still, partially asleep brain, realied what was wrong with the picture.

"Ahh," She squealed, as her eyes went back to the older women that had, somehow, managed to break into her house.

"Why there you are, my dear young friend." The Elderly women looked at her, as if she hadn't been staring at her.

"What... what in the Hell are you doing in my room, in my house for that matter?" She felt strangely calm, even though she knew that she should be afraid of this stranger... why wasn't she afraid?

"My dear dear young friend. All your misgivings will soon come to an end. See you like to play, and you like to spend. Though when it comes to beggers, you sure dislike to lend." The lady seemed to look through her, and not at her. "Beware Friend, your skating by in life is about to end."

"What in the Hell are you talking about?" Pacifica asked, still feeling strangely calm about this entire encounter.

"Well my dear, you need to learn a lesson, I fear. So for now, I'll take what you hold dear." She said, just as cryptically, without even answering her questions. Just like the first time.

"I'm pretty sick, of these sad attempts at rhyming." Pacifica shouted, "Just tell me what the Hell you want. You seriously broke in here, because I didn't give you cab fare, or whatever it was that you wanted?"

"Plainly, young Miss?" Finally the lady seemed to actually respond to her, "I'll tell you plainly, since you don't seem to understand. You have it all, and want for nothing. But still you are so spoiled, you can't even help anyone, but yourself. So, soon you'll see what it's like to have nothing. And for things to return to normal, you must learn a lesson. A real lesson."

One by one, things in her room seemed to vanish. That caught her attention. Her bed, her dresser, her shelves and pictures. Her clothing that she had shredded the night before, that had laid strewn around the place, vanished as well. Everything was vanishing, now that got her attention as she tossed off her comforter, and sheets, and squealed in frustration as they to vanished, before they even hit the ground.

"Listen. I don't know what you are doing! Or what you ar-ahhh." She screamed out as her bottom made contact with the hard wooden floor of her room. Even her bed disappeared! "Stop it! STOP!"

"STOP!" Pacficia yelled as she sat up in bed. Everything was just where it was supposed to be. What a horrible nightmare.

AVAVA

An odd morning to say the least, Pacifica thought as she at her breakfast, three days after her visit to the mall. Breakfast was normal, the manor seemed normal, even Butler acted normal. What was different, were her parents. They had actually communicated with her this morning. Talked to her, told her they were going away on a vacation. 'They' meaning her parents. At least she didn't have that dream again. It had been plaguing her since... maybe she was over it.

Not very odd that they were going. Na, it was odd that they had bother telling her they were going. Normally she found out from Butler, or one of the other staff. She hadn't actually seen any of the other staff that day. Maybe they finally got the lead out, and finished doing... whatever they had been supposed to be doing. Who knows? Who cared?

Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!

She checked her phone...

Ugh! Who gave him her number, she thought as she read the text.

'Hey Pacifica, it's Dipper. Just got into Gravity Falls, for the Summer. Thought that we might be able to hang out or something.' What a loser, like she would ever... ever want to hang around with him.

Why would she want to?

He was nobody, he was nothing. I bet Mabel gave him the number, smiling, because she truly believed her brother had a chance. She should have never given her number to Mabel. Then again, Mabel was the only other girl that she knew, that was good at mini golf. Even then, she had only given the number to Mabel, so Mabel could text her, if she was going to the mini golf course... that was it.

But Mabel Pine... She was so upbeat, and optimistic, that she couldn't believe that her brother, didn't have a chance. Honestly, the girl was hard to even be around. How could anyone handle that insanely, upbeat, attitude all the time?

Maybe she should just go to that new fast-food place with Tiffany. Neither of them had been there yet, and it was supposed to be really good. But she didn't know if it was really good, or just good by Gravity Fall's standards.

AVAVA

She finished walking up the long driveway up to her house. She had been pretty full when she started walking, but now that she had reached her destination, she was hungry again. And not just hungry. She was sweaty, smelly, and dirty.

It had started off rough. They had went to the fast-food place, and ordered their food. Pacifica slid her card, only for it to be declined. Insane, her cards were never declined. She could literally buy a house, and it wouldn't be declined, so a freaking burger, should be no issue. After several swipes, Tiffany paid for it, that her father had gotten an unexpected promotion and she had extra. And Pacifica, begrudging laid she would pay her back

Not that money was an issue, no. But it was the embarrassment that made her peeved.

It wasn't just the burger joint, other stores declined her card. Maybe the strip was going bad...

After finally giving up, she went to call Butler to pick them up, only he never answered. She had been mad. To say the very least. At least she had in the beginning of her journey. Now that she had reached her destination, nearly four hours after leaving her house, she walked through the gates. To find...

Trucks in her driveway, though that wasn't normally unusual, her parents bought things all the time, and had them shipped in. Only this time, things were not going out of the trucks, they were going into them.

"What the hell are you all doing?" Pacifica just looked at the men, who had stopped when she yelled. Flashes of her dreams came back to her. It couldn't be... it just couldn't.

"Miss Pacifica." Butler's voice called from behind her. "Your parents has seemed to have emptied their bank accounts. And left the country. It seems that they owed a large, very large sum of money to the Government, which are now... seizing your parents assets.

"That's impossible! Daddy has a lot of money! There's no way he could owe someone money! People owe money to him." She just looked at Butler. This had to be some kind of joke... all of this. The card not working, having to walk up here, these movers... None of this was real. "I'm going inside."

AVAVA

An hour later, she sat outside the gates to her manor. Or former manor. With a couple of suitcases, and a carry bag, the the repo-men, said they would pretend never existed, nor the stuff she packed into them.

They pitied her. That was wrong!

That was disgusting!

She pitied other people, they didn't pity her.

Butler had left. She didn't know where he was going. Didn't really care. She tried calling her parents cell phones, but neither of them answered. There was a mistake. Had to be a mistake. But until the mistake was fixed, where was she going to go? Everything was changing, and she didn't like change... not like this. She had no money. She had no home. And it felt horrible.

Tiffany didn't answer her phone.

Amanda didn't either.

Where was she going to stay?

"Miss?" She turned and looked at the truck that was now stopped next to her.

"What?" She said, trying to keep her voice from cracking.

"Wanted to know if you wanted a ride down, it's a pretty far walk with all that." The driver said, looking at her. She turned to looked at the three suitcases, and carry bag. There was no way she could carry it all by herself, it had taken her two trips to carry the stuff here.

"If... if you d-don't mind." She muttered softly, and she grabbed her bag, and one of the suitcases.

"Let me get the other two for you." He said, as he got out the truck, picked up the other two, and put them into the cab of the truck.

"Thanks." The word seemed foreign to her... mainly because she couldn't remember a time where she had actually thanked anyone before.

AVAVA

( Dipper Pines )

VAVAV

"Dipper! Come look at the TV. Hurry!" Mabel called from the living room, of the Shack. Not one to keep his sister waiting, since she tended to get pretty grumpy if he did, he hurried into the living room. "Look!"

"What am I supposed to be lookin..." He looked at the TV, which happened to be on the news... no telling why his sister was watching the news. But it was Priscilla, and Preston Northwest, on the television. "The hell?"

"The Northwests went bankrupt! Can you believe that? Oh and they up and vanished." Mabel said looking back at her brother. Can you believe that? This happened like last week, even."

"Last week? Can't be. I saw Pacifica, yesterday. Didn't talk to her of course, but I did see her." Dipper insisted.

Now that he though about it, she had looked a little odd. Even now he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Something had been wrong with the girl. What was it?

She was in her normal clothing. A little wrinkled, but that could have been from anything. She wasn't dirty... she just looked... less shiny? Na, that couldn't be it. See, Dipper had a crush on Pacifica, and she always looked good to him. So that couldn't be it. She had been walking out of a store... no, a Pawn Shop. Not a place that Pacifica would go.

"The news doesn't lie, Dipster... well not the Gravity Falls news, nothing that exciting happens here... well that they know about." Mabel said, changing the channel.

"Hey, isn't there a motel, near Greasy's?"

"Uh-yup. It should be like right across the street, next to that pawn place." Her attention never left the television. "You know, the one you like to look in?"

"Thanks Mabel." He never noticed a motel next to the pawnshop that he went to, then again, he never bothered looking. He have never needed a motel. Didn't matter. He had other things to do.

'You there Pacifica?' He typed and sent the message into his phone, to Pacifica. While he looked for his shoes.

Why is it, your shoes are never where you remember leaving them? And when you find them, you don't remember taking them off there, even though, they look like they were taken off there. Either that, or when you find them, they look as if you did the splits to take them off, considering how far apart they are.

If Pacifica's parents skipped town, but Pacifica was still here, did that mean she was abandoned? Okay so their daughter was mean spirited, and snotty, and sometimes rude... wait... what was his point? Oh yeah, she was still their daughter, and there was good inside her... somewhere, he just knew it.

Yeah, so that seemed like something Mabel would say, and not him. But then again, he did have a crush on her, and love... it works in mysterious ways. And Mysterious, was the way of life in Gravity Falls.

"I'm heading out, you want anything, Mabs" He asked, knowing that he shouldn't have.

"Yep, gummy bears. Chips, salt and vinegar, not sour cream and onion. Soda. And... a candy bar, doesn't matter what kind, as long as it doesn't have nuts." She called from the living room."

"Alright! Tell Paz I said hi!" She called right before the door closed. While it wasn't a secret, and he had been pretty obvious where he was going. He hadn't thought she was paying enough attention to know he was going to see Pacifica.

AVAVA

"Excuse me." Dipper said, standing at the counter, of the motel. The reason he hadn't noticed it before, was because, it looked like it used to be some kind of apartment building... or something that had been converted into a hotel style, motel. Without all the niceties of a hotel.

"Another kid needing a room? What in the Hell are wrong with these parents?" The middle aged lady mumbled to herself.

"Ma'am, that other kid... It wouldn't be a girl, with blonde hair, and blue eyes, would it?" Dipper asked, ignoring the fact that at fifteen, he was still called a kid.

"Why yes. She sure it. Sad to see her go, she said something about having to leave in a few days or something." The lady just straightened up. "So, you need a room?"

"No... I don't need a room, so much as a room number. Which one is her's? Pacifica's?" Dipper asked.

"Oh, are you her little boyfriend?" Dipper ignored the 'little' comment, and stuffed it back with the 'kid' comment.

"No... I'm a friend, and she's friends with my sister."

"Ahh, well she's in room 12, right down the hall, sixth door on the right. She just got back not long before you got here. She looked kind of down."

"Thanks!" He started down the hallway, counting the rooms on the right. "Six, eight, ten, and twelve." He knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Pacifica's voice came from the other side of the door.

"It's Dipper."

"Go away."

"I'm not going anywhere until you open up." Dipper said.

"I'm not coming out." Pacifica muttered. "So get comfortable, dork."

"Fine." He sat down, and pulled one of the soda's that he had bought for Mabel out of the bag he held, and opened it. "I got all day..."

He pulled out his cellphone, looking through his contacts, until he found his sister's name.

'Mabel, I'm gonna be here a while, she'd being stubborn.'

'No prob, gonna be out all night?'

'Depends on if she opens the door or not.'

'If your not back, I'll cover for you Bro-Bro'

"...and all night." He muttered after getting confirmation that his sister would cover for him, he could be there all night, and the next day, if he needed to. Actually he planned to be there, for as long as it took to get the stubborn girl to open the door. He didn't actually know why he cared if she did or not.

The girl was mean.

She was hateful, and spiteful.

Not to mention that she looked down on just about everyone she ever met.

Even so, she still didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve to be left by her family.

AVAVA

The battery to his phone had died an hour ago, and the snacks and stuff that Mabel had asked for had been all but consumed. And he wondered, if Mabel requested them, knowing that he would be here for a while. Or if he had just been lucky like that. Then again luck had never really been on his side... luck normally hated him.

He stood up, and stretched, trying to get the blood circulating back to his legs again.

Four hours. He'd been sitting here for, four hours. That girl was as stubborn as Mabel, Wendy, Soos, and his Gruncle Stan, combined.

He sighed standing up.

"You win. I'm going home, for now, I'll be back." Dipper said to the door, and left.