50
Pacifica

Guests flooded the ballroom of Gleeful Manor. I stood on the balcony, the elegant staircase laid dramatically in front of me. Mabel had suggested I make an entrance, so knowing she was right with everything that had happened this summer, I agreed.

Mabel stood at my side, watching Dipper mingle with the guests like a hawk. "He looks nervous."

I snorted. "What are you talking about? He looks fine."

Mabel rolled her eyes, which really stood out with her beautiful blue gown. "That's one of his nervous ticks. He appears fine, yes, but call it twin intuition, something's happened. Look at his body language; up close he appears relaxed, but from a distance, he's more stiff and rigid. His facial expression too; hardened, even his smile seems forced."

After hearing Mabel's explanation, I began to notice such things as well. "What do you mean something's happened?"

"That."

I followed Mabel's gaze to a man and Mrs. Gleeful. It took me a second to put two and two together (coming to a very unpleasant four) and I realized that that man must've been Dipper's father.

"Your father." I finished. "Did he just arrive?"

Mabel shook her head. "He isn't that set on making an entrance to arrive just as the ball itself begins. No, he must've been here for at least a hour, maybe more. He must've spoken to Dipper."

I felt the overwhelming urge to throw-up. Dipper's father. From the tone Mabel was using he just had to be worse than their mother. I didn't even consider he could be worse. With all the things Mrs. Gleeful had said in front of me and to me, I thought she was the worst.

Now I had to deal with Mr. Gleeful himself.

"If he says something to you, I swear." Mabel crossed her arms, brow furrowed. "He will not get away with it. Hell hath no fury like a Mabel Ariel Gleeful."

"Your middle name is Ariel?" I looked over at Mabel. "Cute."

"It means I'm a princess and I have an underwater army at my command."

"Uh, I think we watched different versions of The Little Mermaid as kids." In looking at Mabel, I realized that I had lost Dipper. Now, when I looked at the room laid out before me, he was nowhere in sight. "Um, Mabel? Where's--"

"Yeah, I noticed, too." Mabel murmured. "Well, dramatic entrance is paused, let's go find my brother."

The two of us walked down the stairs, knowing that eyes were on us regardless of intention or not, at a quickened pace. Once at the bottom, Mabel scanned the crowd. "I'm going to entertain my parents, you're going to have to find Dipper on your own. If my parents even assume that Dipper isn't here there is going to be a big issue."

"Okay, good luck." I gave her a quick hug then went back to the matter at hand.

Even as I walked through the sea of people I could feel eyes burning into me. It made me severely uncomfortable. I wanted to spend this night at Dipper's side the entire time, because I knew how stressed he was about this event.

But now that I couldn't find him, I felt uneasy. It wasn't that I suspected he was being secretive, but damnit, that boy was almost taken away from me twice, and I wasn't going to let that happen again.

"Paz?"

I'd hoped it was Dipper, I really did, but I was momentarily let-down when I found myself face-to-face with Gideon.

"Gideon, great, have you seen Dipper?" I asked.

He looked momentarily confused. "Uhm, no, I haven't. Sorry. Is he missing?"

"I think." I mused, eyes still watching the crowd in case he happened to pop back up from wherever he was hiding.

"Shoot, well, I'll help you look. If we split up, we'll have a better chance of finding him." Gideon nodded. "I'll let you know if I see him."

"Thanks, Gideon." I went back off on my search.

I walked through people, excusing myself as I did so, and found myself at the exit of the room. If I hadn't seen Dipper here yet, there was a big chance he wasn't in the ballroom anymore.

I left the ballroom, the string instruments fading into white noise as I came farther and farther away. Where the hell could Dipper be?

The hallways had servants running up and down the halls, probably stressed over the event as much as Dipper was, if not more. It wasn't like it was Dipper's job on the line if the event went wrong. Although, I couldn't imagine what, exactly, was on the line for Dipper if the event went wrong.

His reputation?

I didn't even know where I was going. I didn't know where Dipper would be. I found myself checking all the usual places I'd found him before; the speakeasy, the library, his bedroom, the study- --nothing.

I searched everywhere until I found myself at the doors to the backyard. Pushing them open, I took a few steps outside and my heart hammered in my chest.

He was there, thank heavens.

"Dipper?"

He whirled around, surprised. Surprised that I was there?

"Pazzie," he took in my appearance after a second of recognition passed through him. "Wow, uhm," he stammered for a few seconds. "You look stunning."

I did a twirl and couldn't stop smiling. Knowing that I was able to reduce Dipper Gleeful --the man notorious for his ability to verbally disable anyone he spoke to-- to a stammering mess of inarticulate syllables.

"What are you doing out here?" I took a few more steps toward him, by all means invading his personal space. "You wouldn't want to miss everything you worked so hard to set up."

"I. . .I dunno, Pacifica." Dipper closed his eyes briefly, taking in a quick inhale. "Everything isn't going right."

"What do you mean? It's only just started." I wrinkled my nose in mock confusion.

Dipper nodded, looking back to the massive extents of the yard. "You're right. However, I cannot help but believe something isn't right."

"What do you mean?" I couldn't help but ask. I knew that Dipper was nearly terrible at expressing what he felt so asking him questions in a calm manner helped bring things out.

"Call it a psychic's intuition." He murmured lowly.

I laughed lightly, amused at the turn of phrase. He'd been saying that since I'd known him, it was almost like an endearment for the two of us. "Well, you're not a psychic anymore. Magic isn't a part of who you are."

I expected him to at least chuckle, give me a kiss and then walk us back to the ball. But what greeted me instead was utter silence. Despite the fact that it was mid-July, I felt a shiver run up through my body.

"Dipper? Your amulet is gone. Right?"

"Amulet --gone." Dipper confirmed. "But, something happened."

I remembered instantly. "The glass. You didn't even touch it."

"Exactly." Dipper nodded. "I dunno what to think of it, but it's something I can't just ignore." He stepped closer to me, enveloping me in his arms as he did. He rested his chin on the top of my head and I melted into his touch. "However, I think I cannot deal with that right now. I have more important things to think about."

"Right, the ball." I nodded.

"I was thinking of you, actually." Dipper admitted. "Let's get back to the festivities, shall we? I believe I owe you a dance."

"What about your parents?" I couldn't help but look up at him.

"Truly, I couldn't care less." Dipper kissed me quickly. "They've already expressed what they think and I've, in turn, told them how I feel. I don't think there is anything I could do to shock or freak them out anymore than I have already."

"You could pretend-propose to me." I laughed, jokingly of course.

"My my, so devious. I would've expected that behavior from my sister, hardly from you." Dipper murmured, shaking his head while chuckling.

"I have been hanging out with her more." I suggested.

"I'll save the proposal for another time." Dipper turned us toward the door and we both started walking back inside to face the music, so to speak. "Besides, I'd rather have it be real than pretend."

My legs stuttered to a halt, and I watched as Dipper turned back to gaze at me.

   "Come on, sweetheart." Dipper smiled, looking absolutely handsome. "Let's have that dance of ours, shall we?"

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Hi all! Hefty, but sweet chapter! I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this book is nearly over! There are a few chapters left and I can't believe it's almost over.

Anyways, I wanted to show you the outfits some of the characters are styling.

Paz's:

Mabel:

Dipper:

And, although she hasn't appeared yet, Scarlett's:

Next update within the next few days. Projected update is Friday, but it may be later or earlier depending on how much time I can find :)