The golf cart bumped and shook with each roll it made over poorly-paved roads, my bangs bouncing in response. The streets were empty, still evacuated from this evening's 'bird epidemic', allowing for a care-free speed as I zipped along.

'Candy.'

My mind was pale, stationary and void as I thought of nothing but confronting her. My aching fingers cried in pain as I tightened around the wheel, my elbows turning outwards and shoulders bunching up.

I was going to give her a piece of my mind.

How could she do this to him..? How could she do this to anyone? It was one thing to manipulate someone with money and popularity. With beauty and love. With envy. With fear. With power. With whatever I thought Dipper hung around her for. But, I was wrong.

It was a secret.

My throat tightened, feeling the frustration build. I was a dummy. A complete dummy, thinking he'd be drawn to her otherwise. Thinking he loved her, or was using me, or trying to hurt me. For a moment. Yes. I thought that was the case.

I followed the mental map in my brain, now certain of her location, recalling my first time in her limo. A sharp turn before the diner. A stop light. Sixteen rows of driveways, as well as a moldy park and broken swing set. Past a strangely curved tree. Up a hill. Way, way up a hill, and stopping just in front of a golden gate.

I had never been so wrong in my life. Dipper hadn't been hurting me. Candy had been hurting him. Bad. Abusively, even. Convincing him to go along with her whims, whatever it was she wanted, without question or protest. Because, if he didn't, she would ruin his life. I couldn't believe I had been so blind.

I parked the golf cart by the gate's corner, walking over to what looked like a doorbell. It was a black, flat, rectangular slab of metal, housing a single button and a blank screen above. Taking a deep breath, I pressed it and stepped back.

There was a pause, a slight vibration as the action was processed. The machine, monitor buzzing white with static, quickly snapped to life. A woman appeared on the screen, looking back at me with lidded eyes.

"Who is this?" She asked, hands lying in her lap as she stared blankly. Her eyes were set low, brows pulled up with a plastic shine, and lips snagged in a perpetual grimace. I patted away bits of dirt from my jacket, hoping to meet whatever expectation she had set for me in that instance.

"Oh-! Uh, h-hello! I'm Pacifica. Pacifica Southeast? I'm here to see Candy. Is she in?" I pulled a smile, feeling the soft slide of lips over braces, watching the woman with false casualty. In all honesty, I had no idea what I was going to say to Candy. What I was going to do. Part of me wanted to talk it out, understand why she had done it, and find some middle ground for us two. A very, very small part of me.

The rest of me just wanted to scream my lungs out.

"Yes, she's in. How are you two affiliated?" The lady on the other end leaned in on her monitor, face growing larger as she moved. I instinctively stepped back, though the glass kept us apart just fine.

How were we affiliated? How did I know her? Why did I know her? We were enemies, right? Definitely. Absolutely, we hated each other. Perhaps she had hated me from the very beginning. That would explain a lot, actually. And now, the feeling was mutual. I hated Candy. I hated her more than anything.

"We're friends." I rushed out, eyes brightening with a flutter. I clasped my hands together in an endearing manner, as though to reminisce on my wonderfully rich friend. I felt my lips quiver at the corners, ready to give way and fall into a scowl.

The woman on the other end hummed my way, looking me up and down before nodding. Her hand moved out of view, leaning over to press at something. There was a soft 'beep' on her end, followed by metal doors sliding open.

"Have a nice day." She waved simply, allowing the screen to cut to black. I looked on for a moment, taking in the pompous display of ivory pillars and black tar driveways, only to scoff. The outright flexing of a luxurious lifestyle was suddenly disgusting. I almost cursed her, with her giant water fountain, strutting wild peacocks, and crystal steps.

It took a lot of willpower not to do a 'donut' in her rose garden, placed pleasantly below her bedroom window. So she'd wake up every morning to blooming, red flowers. To dew sliding along crimson petals. To the soft, sweet buzzing of hummingbird wings and tiny bees. To the hallucination of peace and tranquility, of believing she was as delicate and lovely as the roses just outside her window.

I marched up the steps, a single butler already there to greet me.

"Good evening, young miss." He bowed my way, stepping aside to let me pass. I walked ahead without acknowledging him, his expression mute and without offense. I was sure he had spent many years with that kind of treatment. Being walked all over. Not that I cared about making a good impressions, because I was sure they'd never let me come back after today.

I made my way to ivory banisters, twin steps riding upwards with little bends and curves, just to stick around longer and show off. My eyes rolled on their own, the open flashiness of it all almost too much for me to bare. Though they were similar in structure and style to Dipper's home, I couldn't help but be driven away by their design. Cocky. Cheesy. Tacky. Nothing like Dipper's charming interior. Not at all.

A maid spotted me, seeing the curtled expression across my face, only for clipping black shoes to make there way towards me.

"Is everything alright, sweety?"

Her shoulders were pulled back, breasts pulling at the straps of her dress. She was a large miss, with arms bloated to the point of sagging over her inverted elbows. The hem of her dress was unable to reach her knees due to her gurthy behind, exposing locked up flab just below her thighs. Her eye, thoughtlessly covered in purple eye shadow and lined with clumpy mascara, was closed on her right side. With grey hair pinned up and styled like a bus-girl's, she looked like someone's weird aunt.

"Hmm..? Oh! Yes, I'm fine. Just- just can't remember where Candy's room is." I quickly straightened up, smoothing over my grimace with something like apprehension as I faked confusion. 'Hmm. Now where on earth is that room of hers? I can't remember. I'm just a stupid little girl.'

The maid smiled gently, giving her hand to me.

"Oh~ Well, that's easy! I'll show you the way, honey!" She seemed nice enough, though her uniform smelled like cat furr. In fact, taking a closer look, I could make out little white hairs sticking to the edges of her black apron. Moving my eyes away, I focused my attention on climbing the stairs as she led me along. Her fat, soft arm was warm against my skin, entwined with my own arm, skin and bones compared to hers.

"So, you've come to see the young miss Chui, huh? That's nice of you. She hasn't been getting much company lately." The lady began. She smiled at me, a toothy grin often displayed by a waitress.

"Come to think of it... There was a young lady who came over a few hours ago. Real deep voice, though. It was funny!" Her head tilted to the side, viewing me in good humor. She may have been waiting for me to laugh as well, but I was far too anxious to respond. I simply stared at her blankly, wishing I could teleport to Candy's room. Her smile dimmed a bit, turning back to look at the steps ahead of her.

"She came over a lot, actually. But, today was odd... She seemed upset about something. Oh, Candy wasn't in a good mood this evening, so I'm sure they just got into a fight. Something about pictures and posts and what not. Mm-mm-mm." The maid shook her head.

"The girl was really mad at her, whatever Candy had done. She was all pointing fingers and yelling. All I could think was how loud she was. No, no. We made sure to escort her out of here, whoevershe was. I swear, I can never remember a name! Heck, I'd forget my own if they hadn't given me this dang name tag!"

Again she smiled, this time puffing out her chest and turning her body just slightly, allowing for a silver strip of metal clipped to her bosom to meet my gaze. 'L. Susan'

"Well, anyways, you won't have to worry about any of that. The girl's gone." L. Susan waved a hand, shooing the thought away, even though I hadn't been worried about it. If someone had given Candy a piece of their mind before me, I was at least a little less nervous. Someone else, somewhere, was on my side.

L. Susan stopped talking after that, sure she had dissolved whatever it was that nerved me. The rest of the journey was quiet, simple, and quick, leading me up to a green door with cute little garden snakes painted on the corners. I eyed them, almost smiling at this one thing that didn't absolutely scream 'rich.' It was clean. Calm. Human. Unlike the being beyond it.

"Oh, Miss Chui~ Someone's here to see you~!" She knocked at the door, nudging me with a smile as she waited for a response.

"Go away, Grenda! I don't forgive you!" Came a croaked voice, sapped in self-pity and a heavy grudge. One that could only be destroyed by a heartfelt apology, and open acknowledgement of how wrong the other party had been. I remained silent, hearing the maid clear her throat.

"It's not Grenda, honey-bunch! It's-" I cut her off, loosening my arm around hers. Slipping my hand away, I went to plant it above my hip, glaring at the door.

"It's Dipper's Girlfriend." I finished, smiling slightly at my own tone. Had I always been this cynical?

I stood for a moment, my arms crossing as I looked on with an unimpressed expression, only to hear a cold tone reach out for me.

"...Come in." L. Susan reacted, taking the door knob and twisting it, leaning on the door to let me pass. She was there for only a moment, grinning with ignorant eyes before closing the door behind her.

There I stood, feet planted over lime green carpets, looking at the girl that sat on the edge of her bed. Her chin rested in her palm, foot going to bounce as she watched me impatiently, phone flopping between her shaking fingers.

The screen had been shattered.

"...Girlfriend..? Is that what you're calling yourself now?" Her tone seethed with fury, pupils shrinking as a crazed whiteness planted itself in the center. My mood only darkened at the mockery in her voice.

"It's more than what you are." I spat back. There was a pause, Candy jolting slightly. Not at all in fear of me or my anger, but rather in realization. I had figured her out, no longer under her control. And, for a moment, I saw her face light up. Playfully, she tossed her phone on the bed, sighing to herself as she leaned back on her elbows.

"Oh~. Man, great come back. You got me, right in my cold, black heart... Hey! Since you're his 'girlfriend' and all, why don't you do me a favor?" I said nothing, only letting her taunt me with her empty words.

"Would you go to his room and look under his bed for me? Pretty please? It'll be easy to find. They're the only green things in his room."

"...What?" Against my better judgement, I reacted. I could see the corners of her mouth tug up in a grin, looking at me with such derision I almost attacked her. She sat up, leaning forward as her back arched whorishly.

"My lingerie~" She cooed, sending me a sharp look. I locked up momentarially, thrown off by her vulgar statement, only to steel myself.

"You perv." My eyes narrowed, taking a small step forward. Candy did the same, sliding off the bed to seem intimidating. I didn't want to fight. I wasn't going to fight. But, I was sure as hell going to look tough. Candy didn't back down, staring at me from the distance with unspoken nastiness.

"Oh, please! I'm a girl! Girls can't be pervs, you weird-o." She scoffed, rolling her eyes. I opened my mouth to rebuke her, only for her lips to keep moving.

"So, you saw them, I'm guessing?" I would have smacked the smile right off her face if she were within arm's reach. She knew exactly what I was here for.

"Yeah! I did! Who the Hell do you think you are, doing that to him-?!" She continued talking.

"Yeah, well... it's not like he was much entertainment before this whole thing started, anyways." My stunned expression said it all, blanching and shocked by her words. He was... entertaining? What? The pain? His pain?! What kind of sick freak would feel such a way?

"What... Is wrong with you?!" I shouted. She only chuckled in response, taking another step towards me. I did the same.

"Psh! Alright, yeah. Boo-hoo for the pretty-boy-millionaire. I felt bad when I found out about his little... problem. But, come on! You've gotta admit: The guy was a square before all of this!" She cut herself off with a laugh, clutching her stomach as she went.

"I mean- 'milady?!' What a clown! The guy was boring! Sure, he was hot, but there was no substance! No flare! No fire! He was flat, Pacifica! Flat! In all honesty, I had just planned on nailing him and dashing..." She paused, mulling over her statement with a wistful gleam.

"But then... Boom! The guy completely 180'd. I mean, he had depression! Hard, cold, pure depression! Talk about a guy with some dimension! I was thrilled when I found out! There was no way I was giving up on him after that! Dipper was such a rarity! He was actually able to keep my attention, and even make me chase! God! I almost feel bad for you, knowing it took you this long to get him~." Which she knew was a lie. She could see it written all over my face. In the way I walked. In the way I spoke. In every gesture I made around her.

I was still chasing.

"...You..." I began, eyes set on her. Candy only smirked in self-satisfaction, turning her head from me in an act of disinterest. Again, I repeated myself, this time with fire. She hummed, seemingly noting my voice with the weight of a feather. Her hands went to clasp behind her back innocently, now spinning her body to ignore me all together. Eyes trailed out the window, where just the tips of soft rose petals could be seen.

"You wanna know something else? You're pretty boring, too." Candy's feet shifted on the carpet, placing her just before her window. She peered down fondly at the flowers, continuing her statement.

"It takes more than just a nice face, Paz. It takes more than being super hot. It takes thorns. Something you'd never understand. No~. You don't like thorns. You like daisies, I'll bet. White, soft daisies with green stems and a big fat yellow dot in the middle. I'll bet you hate roses, in fact. So much so that you'd shave off the thorns if you could. Every last one of them... But, you can't. You can't get rid of them. Because, what's a rose without its thorns?"

"Stop talking." I felt a sharp pain at her words, knowing exactly what she meant to imply. She was accusing me. Like I couldn't do the same to her. Like I wouldn't. There was nothing holding me back from exposing her for what she'd done. Nothing. And yet, I remained planted behind her, only inching forward as her words reached me.

"You don't know anything." Candy remained motionless, cupping her cheek as the breeze rustled her rose bush just slightly.

"Oh, don't I? I'd say I know a lot more than you do." Her head turned to view me for an instance, smirking with such superiority, I almost charged at her. But, again, I only moved at a snail's pace.

"What do you think about him? Dipper, I mean. What words come to mind?" I contemplated silence. There was no reason to play her little game and respond. I stopped moving, only staring at her back as my lips parted.

"...Kind. He's kind. And sweet and sensitive. A-and he's always there to help. He wouldn't hurt a fly." My words were simple, just as the warm feeling I felt for him was. Simple. Nothing too complicated. Not anymore. Not since I found out what was going on. Not since I found out who was imprisoning him.

"Really?" Candy replied after a moment. "Kind..? God, you really are diluted!" All of the sudden, she was laughing. An abrupt, mocking laugh that lasted no more than a minute. But, within the confines of her tone, there was something eerie. Something dark. Something unknown.

"He is!" I protested. Candy just brushed me off, not even sparing a glance.

"Yeah, right. I'm sure he's nothing but cuddles and cupcakes, huh? Uh huh. I thought so. You came here, Pacifica. You came here expecting to defend him, I'll bet. Because you've got something to prove to me. That he didn't deserve what he got. That he's this wonderful, perfect guy that only wants what's best for you, right? That-"

"How could you say that?! No one deserves what you did to him-!"

"Don't interrupt me." I froze. She continued, now examining the slight browning around one of her rose's leaves. She'd have to pluck it soon.

"You see, I think you're in the wrong mindset about things, Paz." My face soured, hearing her use Dipper's nickname for me like that. My feet began to move again.

"Dipper was never a nice guy. Ask anyone in town. Sure, he's had a clean record for- like- the last year. But, he's got a reputation." I grew closer, my body advancing on instinct now. I was only vaguely aware of her words as my mind began to fuzz up. Nothing was registering.

"Putting it simply, he's a whore. No way around it. And a drunk. And sometimes a junky. At least, that's what I've heard." My arm came out in front of me, my eyes blank as I continued to stare ahead at straight black hair, wondering dreamily why my hand was lifting up.

"But, you- Ha! Somehow, you found a way of completely dodging all the rumors. All the gossip. The whispers and chatter. You think people looked at him just because he was cute? Easy on the eyes and shit? Not a chance. They were just waiting for him to slip up again."

My palm was just inches from her now, my shuffling minimalized as her back came within reach of me.

"And still... You fell for it, the fake Dipper. The 'milady' Dipper. The proper Dipper. The thing he pulled out when he felt like being a good boy, or thought he could wipe away the past. You fell for it. And now, you're mad at me, because the Dipper I exposed to you wasn't the one you loved. It was something real. Because, in reality, the Dipper you fell for didn't exist-"

My palm pressed against her back, and before I knew what I was doing, it was too late.

I had pushed her out the window.

Glass shattered, shards crashing outwards as her petite little form went stumbling beyond. Candy didn't make any final remarks, only letting out a peep of confusion as she lost her footing. Her eyes were blown wide in that instance, watching as her gorgeous rose bush, so fresh and lavish and thriving in thorns, came to kiss her.

She dove face-first into her prize-winning 'Rosa', a boldly red and wonderfully lush bit of shrubbery, one she always loved to show off. It split open her lip, forcing Candy's view up as her gums snagged, leaving a clean view of her throat to the rest. She fell through the thornery, cut and scarred without mercy, only to land, throat exposed and bare, against the base of interlaced spikes and needles, impaling her neck. The blood was oddly dark, not at all the brilliant shade of crimson expressed by a rose, and so seemed to scorn the flowers in tacky mismatching.

I called out to her. Once. Twice. She didn't respond. I cried out loudly for her, begging her to respond, please, take my hand, I'll pull you up! Nothing. Candy didn't move. She only dripped.

"What... w-hat di-did I do?" I looked at my hands, still clean and without stain. They were so white. So soft. So innocent. The act had been such a simple one, I didn't even get my hands dirty. The thought alone made me sick.

I hadn't even been thinking! It only happened, my mind working on primal instincts, telling me I had to get rid of her. That I hated her. That I wanted her dead! To go, go, go! Push her! Shove her! Kill her!

I clasped a hand over my mouth, viewing the scene before me in disbelief. She was dead. I was a murderer. My hands were dirty. My conscience was spotted. I had killed someone in cold blood. And, as my thoughts worsened, something came to mind.

Dipper could never love a murderer.

I stood a moment more, watching the body continue to drip, only to flee from the room. Down the stairs, out the door without saying 'goodbye' or 'thank you.' I buckled into the golf cart, sure to remain partially shielded as I drove out the gate. I...

I killed her.

She was out of the way.

And now... I had to go see him again.

And love him. Embrace him.

And never tell him what I had done.