Just A Normal Summer (Dipper x OC)

24. Scary-oke

Dipper shot his uncle a questionable glance as I looked him up and down. Why was he hiding it under there? "Wait, you're just going to give it to me? Just like that?" Dipper asked.

"What else do you want? A kiss on the cheek?" Mr. Pines joked.

Dipper looked down at the Journal in his hands. "I... I gotta go!" Dipper announced and grabbed Mabel's arm, dragging her out of the room and leaving me behind.

"I wouldn't mind a kiss on the cheek," I heard someone say and looked over to see Soos had walked into the room.

"Not gonna happen," Mr. Pines instantly responded. I kept looking at him, trying to get a read as he sniffed and cleared his throat. What is this man hiding? He then turned to me and raised an eyebrow. "You good, kiddo? Don't you think you should go with them?"

I continued to look at him before fully registering what he said. I blinked and blushed out of embarrassment. "O—Oh! Right!" I stammered. "I probably should go with them, huh?" I laughed nervously and continued to laugh as I made my way out of the room. I sighed once out of sight and determinedly went up to the attic to meet with the twins.

When I walked in, I saw that all the blinds were closed, Mabel was sitting on her bed with all her stuffed animals facing away from the twins, and the only light source was Dipper's bedside lamp. Dipper noticed me, and I noticed a wave of relief washed over him. "Oh good, it's just you," he said. "I'm sorry I left you back there."

I waved him off. "Oh, no worries. I didn't think you did it on purpose—"

"Make sure you lock the door behind you," Dipper demanded, cutting me off. I was taken aback by his sudden switch in tone but ultimately followed through with his injunction. I then joined Mabel on her bed; she shot me a comforting smile. "Guys, we've gotta talk," Dipper said, returning our attention to him. "Almost losing the Journal made me realize that I'm halfway through the summer, and still no closer to figuring out the big mysteries of Gravity Falls. Gideon almost destroyed the town to get his hands on this Journal. But why?" He then began pacing back and forth. "Who wrote it? Where are all the other Journals? What was Bill talking about when he said 'everything was going to change'?" The mention of Bill sent a huge shiver down my spine. "There's something HUGE going on right under our noses. And it's time we stop goofing around and get to the bottom of it."

Mabel sighed. "Bro, you've looked at that thing like, a bazillion times. There's nothing left to discover!" she stated.

"Half the pages are blank, remember?" I added.

Dipper looked at me for a moment, his expression blank but I could tell he wasn't thrilled with my input. He shook his head and started flipping through the Journal. A slight pain ran through my heart. "I just feel like I'm one puzzle piece away from figuring out everything," Dipper said.

"Don't worry, Dipper!" Mabel chirped and lifted Waddles who was hiding under her bed. "Lord Mystery Ham is on the case!" She then talked in a fake British accent, pretending to be Waddles, "'I play by my own rules! Wot? Wot?'"

Dipper stared at her, unimpressed as I placed my hands on my hips, offended. "I don't know why I tell you things..." he said.

I shook my head, disappointed. "Oh, Mabel," I said but she just stuck her tongue out at me. Suddenly, I heard the sound of a loud car stopping out front. "Do you hear that?"

The twins and I shared looks, ran out the door, and made our way to the gift shop to see Mr. Pines ushering the crowd from earlier out of the Shack. "Grunkle Stan, what's happening?" Mabel asked.

"Yeah, you never shut down the gift shop," Dipper added, suspicious. I nodded in agreement.

We watched as Mr. Pines paced back and forth, twiddling his fingers nervously before stopping in his tracks once we heard a knock at the front door. His face went pale. He sucked in a deep breath and whipped the door open, a huge smile on his face. "Welcome to the Mystery Shack, gentlemen!" he greeted. "What can I get you?" He then pulled out a snow globe and a UFO keychain. "Key chains? Snow globes? These rare photos of American presidents?" He began to sweat as he revealed a five-dollar bill from his sleeve.