Chapter 1

Dipper slammed his bedroom door shut with a "DAMNIT MABEL!" and then kicked the tin wastebasket into the side of his desk, collapsing it into a non-round shape with loud and tinny percussion.

Looking up to the ceiling, arms raised with hands clutching air he continued ranting, short locks of wavy brown hair softening a contorted face furrowed with anger.

"Right in FRONT of Joanne, RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER and her friends too!" he spun around to look at the ground, and began marching in circles.

"What if I wanted to date one of her friends too someday, huh Mabel? HUH? SHIT!"

He sat on the edge of the bed and unlaced his sneakers; kicking each shoe off as hard as he could. He was somehow strangely satisfied that each one hit the ceiling with a loud WHAP!

He lay back on the bed with hands behind his head and closed his eyes. He began in a sarcastic falsetto "Dipper! DIPPER! Oh DIP-PER!".

He dropped an octave back to the normal timbre of his voice "TYRONE, MABEL! TY-RONE!" He slapped his arms down on either side and grabbed the bedspread and tried to wrap himself up in it.

Fucking high school and she has to call me Dipper in front of the whole fucking school like we're babies.

Knock-knock!

Only that knock could have silenced his rage, because he knew who it was. Twins were like that.

Knock-knock!

He rolled around in the bedspread, curling into it like a burrito and burying his head into the pillow.

Muffled through the door she called.

"Dipper? Dipper I'm sorry. May I come in?"

He yelled an unintelligible BLAAARGH into the pillow.

The door opened. "I think you said OK. Did you say OK?" And a pretty face, pretty even without her perennial smile, peeked around the edge of the door. Rich brown tresses of hair cascaded down over her shoulder to swing about by the edge of the door as she tilted her head further in. Misty eyes, beautiful and large with dewy lashes wet from tears only glorified her angelic face, even in sadness.

"Dipper, I am really sorry. I would call you Tyrone now but it's just you and me and no one else, so, it's OK right? That I call you Dipper when we're alone? 'Cause, you know, you're my Dipper and you'll always be Dipper to me. You know? I'm sorry Dip. Forgive me?"

A huge sigh blew out from the pillow. He turned around with eyes closed.

"You fuckin' owe me Mabel. You gotta fix it somehow. Talk to them and let 'em know that …oh shit, never mind, you'll only make it worse." And he turned his face back down to the pillow. He punched the headboard with the side of his fist. "Damnit."

Mabel noticed the collapsed wastebasket, speaking as she looked at it. "Dipper…you gotta believe me, they'll think it's cute. Really! It will only make you more attractive Dipper. Honest!" She slowly walked over to his bed and sat on the edge. She put a hand on top of the brother burrito. "I promise to call you Tyrone from now on, I just forgot, ok?"

Dipper's phone chimed. Text message. Dipper peeked out of the tubular womb and reached for the phone to read it.

"Hi Tyrone, its Joanne. Add my number to your contacts please . You mad?"

Dipper's mouth dropped open. How did she get my num…then he looked up at Mabel. She allowed one tiny corner of her lips to smile and submissively bowed her head while looking up at him.

"I'm fixing it, see? I gave her your number and asked her to let you know it's all cool." She raised her hand palms up.
"We're good. K?"

Dipper sat up and then began typing a reply. Then Joanne replied. And he replied again. And again. This back and forth seemed to be going well, Mabel could see the anger leave his face and he seemed totally absorbed. Mabel got up and left. Always leave 'em laughing. Or at least happy. Or at least not pissed off and homicidal.

Dipper didn't say a thing as she closed the door, but that's OK. Mabel exhaled with relief and left.