Come on in,
We Haven't slept for weeks,
Drink some of this,
It'll put color in your cheeks

-Color in your Cheeks by The Mountain Goats

Spending the school semester away from the town you really loved and could call home was tough but the reward of coming back every summer and every holiday break made the year seem bearable.

At the age of seventeen Dipper and Mabel were able to drive up to Gravity Falls rather than taking one of the decrepit transit busses or paying a fortune to fly up to Oregon from their sunny home in California. The drive could go anywhere from 5 hours to 8 depending on traffic, and Dipper prayed every trip for three things: That the coin flip deciding the driver would land in his favor, that Mabel might fall asleep to make the ride a bit more peaceful and that they would miss the exiting Portland traffic.

The most recent drive included none of those things.

Mabel chose Heads on the coin and sure enough it landed that way. Meaning she controlled the radio the whole way there. Also meaning that she would drive way too fast in her excitement to get home to Gravity Falls, and likely make them get to the exit just in time for the lunch break rush. Meaning more sitting, and therefore more listening to Sev'ral Timez way too loud, and not being able to complain with fear of his sister backlashing something about BABBA.

Needless to say, when they finally arrived at the shack 2 hours later than they should have, Dipper went straight to his room for peace away from his still energetic sibling. Spending time with her was great, truly! Mabel was the best, but sometimes she was a bit much for his more introverted ways. Down time after a car trip was always a necessity for him.

The room that would have been his way back when, was being used by his grandpa, so one of the many rooms in the house was cleared and given to him for use in the summers. It had a door on it that appeared to be like the rest of the walls, and the room itself still sort of smelled of a weird embalming fluid, but it was just the way he liked it. Twin bed in place, like it was at winter break and the Journals hidden beneath the floorboards in various spots, the room only had a bit of dust coating it. He was given permission to keep the journals by the senior about a year ago, but he had since moved on to writing his own discoveries down.

The journals were still used by him, but with less frequency after realizing he had memorized certain pages.

He flopped down onto his bed to stretch out after the long road trip and could feel his phone buzz from his back pocket. Mabel had already sent out some group messages about their arrival and had chosen to include him in the fact that a small party would soon be held in the shack; So much for his peace and quiet.

Turning the vibration off of his phone because of the sudden texts from everyone they knew in Gravity Falls, he looked on the screen to see a single message pop up in the mess of them saying simply " I can't."

It was Pacifica.

He had talked to her just the day before, Mabel in tow on the speaker phone conversation, explaining that they might have a party after a day or two of arriving. She said she would be there sleet or shine, so this sudden declaration without any explanation was fishy. Sure, maybe it was just inconvenient timing but his little conspiracy mind thought otherwise.

So he called her. And the phone rang, and rang, and rang until he was met with a voice mail.

"Hello, you've been fortunate enough to reach the number of Pacifica Northwest but unfortunate in that I either do not care or am not available at the moment. You can leave a message if it's dire. Chao."

Her voice was clear and confident in the message but obviously not changed from when she was younger because it was a bit higher in pitch than her tone now. That and she had stopped her Italian lessons and refused to speak it unless pressed upon by her parents.

"Uh, hey Paz. Its Dipper calling, we're having a get together or something tonight at the shack! You should stop by if you can, I mean I guess maybe you can't, I saw the group message, but-" and then the tone beeped and he was out of time. Crap.

So he called again. Left a message more informative and stated a lot faster.

And he called again. Wishing her to call back and stating that he was worried.

And again. Saying that a call back would really be appreciated.

He set down his phone after that. She probably couldn't go because her parents were having some bourgeoisie function. In which case she was likely getting ready for the function, getting dressed and make up slathered and all that.

So, giving up and deciding maybe he was paranoid, he went downstairs to be greeted by the already present Candy and Grenda, both standing in the kitchen with Mabel talking their ears off, though it was expected and enjoyed by them. He said his hellos and made small talk while he could get words in against his sisters loud mouth, and grabbed a soda from the fridge.

"So Dipper, Mabel has been telling us all about your new journal! Number two should be very fun to work on during your time here!" Candy tried pulling him into the conversation about their adventures for the summer, hoping he might have some already planned that they could tag along for.

"Oh yeah, I've been thinking of a few places to go or a few spells to try. You know how in our first summer and how two summers ago I was able to raise some zombies? Well I found a couple things and think they'd be cool to try out." Dipper was pretty pleased with this. Spells seemed like a good place to start with this new journal, and it would be a lot more elaborate than his grandpa's journal work. He wasn't going to lie, the idea of becoming a magic user was a bit appealing… but then Dipper came back to the reason for why he left his room in the first place.

Before they could respond to his first answer, he added in:

"By the way, have you guys seen or heard from Pacifica lately? She just messaged that she couldn't come over tonight and I have no idea why."

Grenda and Candy shared a look, before making eye contact with the twins. Mabel looking particularly surprised that one of her BFF's wasn't going to be there and that Dipper had heard about it first.

"Ohmygosh! What gives? Do you guys know anything?" Mabel quickly added to her brother's question.

Grenda was the first to reply, Candy began looking at her feet.

"Well guys, she hasn't really been around the town lately, except for when her parents are doing something to look better than the rest of us. We've tried to call her, but we keep getting her voicemail." She elaborated this in her deep voice and the two girls both showed a lot of concern for her. The girls had all became close a year or two after the twins first visited Gravity Falls, Mabel being their main glue.

"Oh that's awful! Maybe she needs help? I never liked Preston, and he's only gotten meaner!" Mabel was the first to speak, and was formulating a break-out prison escape plan in her head as she spoke. Grappling hook and explosions fully included.

Dipper was thinking similarly to his twin. Only she didn't quite know the extent of Preston's 'meanness'. In their first summer Dipper learned of the bell they used to control her, Mabel oblivious because she was either off with her friends or turned into wood. He asked her to explain it to him but she wouldn't budge until the next summer when she declared that never again would she shy from what her parents didn't want for her, but asked that he keep her home life a secret.

He had kept it a secret, and would do so now until she allowed him otherwise, because he had her back like any real friend would. The girls were all chatting about something still semi Pacifica related when Dipper asked about there being a function or something being run by the Northwest's that night.

"No, nothing I've heard of. And I work as an intern for the town paper!" Candy told the group in answer to Dippers question. The girls then squealed over Candy being the first of them to get a real job, and got a bit distracted on that.

But the thought lingered in Dippers mind. There wasn't a Northwest function tonight, she wasn't answering calls, and for a while now since Candy had told him of her attempts, and she was rarely seen except for when by the side of her father Preston. These were three points Dipper counted up and a plan was settled in his brain.

"Hey Mabel, I'm going to use the car tonight for a bit okay?"

"You're not going to miss our own party are you?" Of course that was her concern with him taking the car. It was his car, her own residing back in California, but while they were here they would have to share it.

"Wouldn't dream of it sis! I'm just planning my escape early is all; I'm going to go out with the telescope for a bit." And he tossed the line and bait…

"Okay they nerdlington! Have fun but make sure you stay for the most of it!"…And sinking she took it. Great now he had a majority of the night to work through his plan.

And so planning for the party commenced in the kitchen, a grocery run was made, a confetti run was made, and soon everyone was at the house partying at full blast.

It didn't take long for Mabel to get distracted with a braid-train with all her friends and the guys to all put bets on them with Cheetos and soda cans, so grabbing the keys Dipper left to find out more about the girl who normally became the star of these parties, well, alongside his sister.

The two seniors of the house were outside on the porch, each in respected rocking chairs talking over some sort of new deal or plan for scamming the people of the town.

"Where you off to Dip?" Grunkle Stan was the first to ask anything as he passed them.

"You sneaking off to go find your blonde lady friend?" Came from his Grandpa.

Dipper smiled and replied "Number one answers number two!" and unlocked his car.

"Well don't stalk her and don't do anything you don't want us to sell for money on the internet!" Oh lovable Grunkle Stan.

The old men cackled for a little and waved good bye to him as he left the shack. He was a weird kid, they knew it, but maybe he might be able to do something normal with his time.

It was maybe 11 o'clock when he left and getting to the manor didn't take too long despite being on a hill farther away from the town than any of the other houses. And rather than going through the overly inviting, read with sarcasm, he hid his car along the side of the manor gates surrounded by brush and a few briers. He'd done it many times in the past when he had to sneak over to her house.

Over the wall he climbed. His foot holes still seen from the last summers usage, he climbed with ease, got to the top, swung his legs over and climbed down. He tried to jump once, but he sprained his ankle and had to call maybe to sneak in and then help him drive home, which could most certainly not happen now.

Getting to her room was another climb, this time up ivy and latticing. He was a fit person generally, but with almost a year of no constant monster battles or life-or-death chases he could be doing better stamina wise. He took in a deep breath and began to go up the wall and to her window.

Last summer, she would always keep it open, always expecting him, or hoping he would come in the times other than when they planned adventures. This summer it appeared otherwise, because the window was shut and he could see she was in there lying on her bed.

He hoped up, sitting on the window sill rather than hanging from it and knocked gently to get her attention. One year he tried throwing a rock from the bottom before he had to climb, but the rock went through the window and the security alarms went off. Who knew they had Dobermans?

At his knock however, she startled, looked over to the window, her eyes wide and then calmer once she realized it was him. A small smile played on her lips and she rose from the bed and walked to the window where he presided.

Walking over swiftly, it was clear she hadn't left the room in a while, her clothes lacked their normal iron pressing and she had no makeup on. Neither of these being bad in Dipper's eyes but he knew her parents would never approve of 'such an appearance!' He could see her nails were chipped, chewed and broken when she pulled the lock on the window and opened it.

"Dipper! Come on in!" She whispered excitedly.

"Hey Paz! Long time no see!" He greeted, matching and over passing her enthusiasm a she stepped inside her room. As soon as he stood tall in the room her arms were around him in a hug, which was really appreciated but very unusual for the 'Ne touché pas' Pacifica.

"Hush! Please be a little quieter! They could hear you and think I'm talking again. I think they've wire tapped my room." She continued to whisper to him, her concern growing on her face but she tried to keep smiling at Dipper! He had come to visit her instead of hosting his party!

"Woah What? They're listening to you now? What the hell?" Dipper was baffled, what could she do to deserve this much distrust?

"Yes, and they only let me have my phone when it gets lots of messages at once, they're trying to erase me Dipper. They want me out of everyone's lives! I was only able to send one message and I chose 'I can't' because I could send for help! Thank god you noticed it was weird! Your paranoia never fails me Dip!" She was happy to talk to him, to talk at all, but her story was really freaking him out and she could tell.

"Paz, I know I said you needed to escape before, but you really need to. Like now! This is ludicrous! What are you proving by staying here? It's like you're a Rapunzel in a tower!" And by this point Dipper was pissed. She was so much stronger than this crap! What did Preston possibly have against her that would make this treatment permissible in her eyes?

"It's that to say you're the dashing prince here to save me? Get over yourself Dip! I have a plan! It's just, well, it's taking longer than it needs to."

"Hey I never said that! That's your own imagination!" Though he did like the idea a little.

"Whatever, you totally meant it that way! Like I'm trapped and need only you to escape! Oh my god Dipper! I'm practically swooning over here."

"Oh give it a rest; I know I'm not prince material. But really though, what's your plan? What could possibly be worth all this crap?" It hurt a little somewhere, knowing that she was so, so far out of his league so he switched over to a matter of business. At least that focused on her and not his own lack of traits.

"As a matter of fact, I'm going to con them! I'm going to take all their worth, leave them nothing and make sure they pay for what they've done to me and to the people of this town!" She realized they weren't whispering at this point and went back to her hushed tone when she announced her plan.

Dipper was impressed, it was ideal that she get all the glory and fame and leaves them with nothing. But as a skeptic, he was really unsure about how she could go about all of this.

"And the details of this plan?"

"Take me out to your favorite spot to stargaze and I'll tell you." She winked at this, another very surprising action by the girl this evening, and grabbed onto his arm as she walked towards the window. He didn't mind being pulled along, but she was just so out of sorts to him. The arguing was normal, the best even, but this new thing with hugs and touching and winking kept making him turn red.

"Um yeah, Sure Paz, just get on some shoes first."

"Getting shoes means going to my closet. That means going past the sensor to get into my closet, which notifies my parents that I'm moving around. I'll go barefoot until I can borrow a pair of Mabel's."

He nodded, still bewildered at her prisoner like treatment in her own home, but agreed with her judgement. And with that he began climbing down first, so as to catch her if she fell from above him, or at least break her fall with his organs.

It did however mean having to climb while looking to the side or down wards because looking up was not an option if he wanted to live; especially if she was wearing a skirt, which she was in this circumstance.

She spoke from above him, around halfway down, "Man, this could be a lot easier. I haven't slept in weeks."

He decided not to comment on this fact because he knew it would lead to her arguing back with the fact that he rarely slept in the summers because of his obsession with the supernatural. And it would be a down-hill battle from there.

She hoped down but was quickly enough going up the second wall and then down it, Dipper below her every turn. The final climb down she skipped away from and half ran to the passenger side of the car, knowing it would be in the same spot it always seemed to be.

He got in, and began to turn the car on when they heard a bark.

Quickly, he turned the car back off. He turned and made eye contact with Pacifica, who looked white as a sheet. But instead of being paralyzed with fear, she grabbed onto Dipper's right arm and whispered "Drive really quickly. Now."

He followed orders well, cranking the car to start and then getting up to 40 miles an hour in the bumpy forest terrain and speeding further to 65 until they got to the main road.

No one had followed them as far as her could tell. But he did a couple spins around town trying to tell for sure. Pacifica hadn't released her grip on his arm but had loosened it into a simple manner of holding it.

"You can put the radio on if you want, sitting in silence now that were not being followed is kind of weird."

"Oh yeah, sorry about that. Talking hasn't been my thing in a while so I guess it just became, a little natural. Which spot are you taking us too?"

"Yikes how long did you not talk for? And I'm taking us to the witch hill, its got a better incline. Oh and see if you can find any flip flops on the floor in the back once we get there. I think Mabel left some."

"It's been maybe 6 months? Maybe seven? I don't know, I just, I can't risk perjury in that house of all places. And will do."

"Yeah, you have to tell me all of this story. Really though, all of it."

"I know I promised to tell you my plan tonight, but could I do it another night? I really just want to be out of that mindset tonight, and just hang with you. It really sucks and I need some time to, to rejoin humanity for a little bit."

"That's fine Paz, just don't forget that you semi promised in your deal to mooch a ride for escape."

"Yeash, have some faith dork. I will! Just, tell me about your school year for right now, or just anything besides me and my parents."

And so he did. Talked about his teachers and friends. Which lead to him talking about Candy and Grenda being there for Mabel, which then turned into him talking about his plans for what Pacifica called "Dippers second diary". They climbed the steep hill as he retold his tails and brought forth his ideas, they didn't really stop at any point, but every now and then she would make him pause so she could make a comment or inference.

"I mean, I've already done a couple spells in the past, and some little ones around home and stuff. I really think it could become something."

"Hmm, well sure, but just remember that all those that get magic powers in movies turn evil. Well besides like Arthur in the old Mickey movie The Sword and the Bolder… And don't go comparing yourself to a prince again."

"Well out of my options of turning evil and becoming a king, I think I might risk your disapproval on this one."

They had reached the top of the hill at this point when he realized he was missing a key element of star gazing; the telescope.

"Wooow Dip. Bright one you are indeed Mister Ursa Major" Pacifica said mockingly to him, it was too good of an opportunity to waste.

"Well we could go back down, another thirty minute hike and come back up. Or I could go and you could stay here alone for an hour while I go get the stupid thing. What'll it be?"

"Would you carry me if we both went down?"

"No."

"Then we're going to sit here and look at them like our eyes were built to because you're not ditching me when I just got you back."

"Sure, that sounds fine." They both sat down at the top point of the hill, and then laid down side by side, chatting as time went on. Unbeknownst to them it was already 2 in the morning.

"So what you're telling me is, you can't remember if you're naturally blonde or not?" Dipper inquired at the surprising fact she had just ditched out, or well, implied.

"Yep, and all of my baby photos, toddler photos, portraits, every one of them, have me as the blonde you see today. And I go to the salon so regularly for them to touch it up, as my mother requires, I don't really know if my roots grow in dark or not."

"That's so crazy to think about!"

"Yep. That's why, as soon as I'm free of them, I'm not going to color my hair for a couple of months; just to know for sure."

He was sitting up on his elbow now, turning to his right side to look at her while they talked, and she was copying such a pose.

"Do you think you'd like me better as a brunette?" she asked, making direct eye contact with him.

He was taken aback by this statement. What did his opinion matter in how she appeared?

"More than I like you already? I doubt it would change anything, hair is hair, ya'know?"

"No I don't know, that's not a thing in the world I was raised in. in that bubble, hair is appearance and appearance means everything. If you don't look the part, you don't get the part."

"So what part are you looking for then?"

She paused and stared at him. She didn't look distant, like thinking elsewhere. She wasn't making eye contact with him, like she would be if she thought his question was dumb, though that stare would be accompanied by raised eyebrows. She was staring at his face and seemed to be making a decision.

Dipper was so focused in trying to figure out in his brain what she could be staring at or thinking about that he did realize how close they had gotten. Or how close she was getting until she was inches from his face.

He could feel her breath on his lips and cheek and his brain shut down.

She kissed him.

She was kissing him.

He kissed back.

And police sirens went off from the background, tearing the two apart. Looking over the hill to find the cars, he saw them chasing the Stanley Mobile at speed.

Though he doubted Mabel would have less of a story than he would later that night when they spoke, he was soon distracted by Pacifica cupping his face in her hand and bringing him back to her lips.

After all the touching she had done this evening, he decided maybe it was for the better. She had really soft lips.