(Mabel's P.O.V.)

(Monday, June 15th, 2015)(Piedmont High, Piedmont, California)

"MMMMAAAABBBBEEEELLLL!!!"

I turned my head towards the sound of the noise. The hallway was jam-packed with people, and I couldn't see who had been calling me, but judging by the volume of the voice, they were pretty close. I had guessed it was my brother at first, but this person's tone was very high-pitched and squeaky, even for Dipper.

After a few seconds, a short, Japanese-American girl, around 4'11", with long, blue-black hair and blunt bangs, broke through the crowd. Her name was Ann Yamada, and she was a freshman, a year younger than Dipper and I.

"Mabel!" She squealed. "Have you seen Dipper anywhere? I have been looking all over for him."

I shook my head.

"Sorry, Ann. I haven't seen him since second period."

As if on cue, my brother began to nudge his way through the huge mob of people and walk over to us.

Dipper had grown in the past couple of years. Trust me, Grunkle Stan would be proud. He was almost 6' tall now, and he had a thin layer of stubble forming around his chin and jawbone. Aside from the height and facial hair, he basically looked like a guy version of me.

His chestnut-brown eyes were red and irritated.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah," he softly reassured me as he rubbed his eyes even more, "I'm f-"

"Hello Dipper," Ann creepily whispered as she nuzzled his shoulder.

As his eyes grew wide, he turned his head towards her and screeched, then moved backwards without warning and hurled himself into a locker. He clearly hadn't seen her there before.

"Hey Ann," he said between gulps of air. "Didn't see you there."

She snickered loudly.

"That's the point, silly!" She exclaimed.

Dipper leaned on the locker for support and gripped his chest.

"Is this what a heart attack feels like?"

Ann stopped giggling and grabbed Dipper from the side, yanking him into a hug.

"How was math class, my darling angel?"

"It was-wait, how do you know my schedule?"

She laughed.

"That's not important!"

He chuckled awkwardly, then desperately tried to free himself from her.

"Do you think you maybe want to let go?"

"Nope!"

I laughed and whispered, "Now you know how Wendy felt."

He glowered at me as his cheeks turned red.

"I wasn't like this!" He insisted, "I didn't cling to her like a parasite!"

"What does 'parasite' mean?" Ann asked.

He looked down at her uncomfortably.

"It's best if you don't know."

She squealed like a pig.

"You are so smart, Dipper!"

"Yeah, thanks," he said sarcastically.

It seemed like something was eating at him. Something big.

"Hey, Ann?" I asked. "Do you think you could give me a sec alone with Dipper? I need to talk to him."

She turned to face me.

"But I just got here!" she whined.

I began to speak again, but Dipper stopped me.

"I got this."

He broke away from her grip and placed both of his hands on her shoulders.

"Ann, there's something I need to tell you."

Her black eyes grew wide.

"Yes Dipper?"

He looked around at everyone in the hallway until he found someone he was satisfied with.

"Do you see that girl over there?"

He pointed to a short, curvy student with long, straight blonde hair. Ann nodded.

"Her name is..."

He thought about it for a moment.

"...Jessica."

"What does she have to do with anything?"

"She's in my history class."

That was a lie. I have history with Dipper and I've never seen this girl before in my life.

"And this morning..."

He leaned in close and whispered to her.

"...she was flirting with me."

Ann gasped and clenched her fists.

"HOW DARE SHE!"

"I know, right?!" Dipper agreed. "Now Ann, what are you going to do about it."

"I'm going to destroy her."

He nodded.

"Damn straight."

He removed his hands from her shoulders.

"Now go end that bitch."

She cracked her neck and began walking in the direction of Jessica and her friends.

"HEY JESSICA!" she screamed. "YOU BEEN FLIRTIN' WITH MY MAN?!"

"Did she actually flirt with you?" I asked Dipper.

"Nope."

He shook his head.

"I've never spoken to her before, and I'm not even sure if Jessica is her actual name."

He turned back to face me.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"You seem like you're bugged about something," I told him. "Are you sure you're okay?"

He looked around the hallway to see who else was there. It was pretty much bare now, since most of the students had already gone to the buses, except for a very angry Ann and a very confused "Jessica".

Dipper turned back to me, smiled weakly, and set his royal-blue backpack on the ground. He unzipped the front pocket and pulled out a little, pink piece of paper.

A detention slip.

"Oh my god Dipper."

"It's Van Buren!" He pleaded. "I swear to God, she's out to get me."

"You think everyone is out to get you," I told him.

I took the slip from him and carefully read it. Ms. Van Buren's handwriting was like chicken scratch.

"You fell asleep in class?!" I exclaimed. "Really, Dipper?!"

He tried not to look me in the eyes.

"I know. I'm a moron."

I sighed and handed the slip back to him.

"You're not a moron. You just act like a moron."

We stood in silence for a few moments.

"Dipper!"

Ann came sprinting back over to us.

"Jessica says she has no idea who you are."

He shook his head.

"That lying bitch."

She shrugged.

"Well, I'll harass her again tomorrow. My bus is going to be here soon."

She turned to Dipper.

"Until we meet again, my beloved."

She gave him one last squeeze before bouncing away.

"I love you!"

"Thanks."

"Now," I began, once she had left. "What's really bothering you?"

He looked around the hallway again. It was completely deserted now. He leaned forward slightly and began to whisper.

"What if-"

"No," I snapped. "I don't want any of these 'what if' scenarios. Please, just get to the point."

"I have a point!" He insisted. "Just listen to me."

"Fine."

He began again, "What if someone that I didn't like asked you out on a date? What would you do?"

"It depends," I answered.

"On what?"

"Do you have a real reason for not liking this person, or are they 'out to get you'?"

He didn't speak.

"Well?" I nagged.

"...It's Chad."

OH. MY. GOD. I actually felt sick. A guy cannot push my brother around for almost a year, and then expect me to want to go out with him. That's not how it works.

"Chad wants to ask me out?! Who does that..."

I halted, thinking of a fitting word to use.

"...nincompoop think he is?!"

Dipper put both of his hands on my shoulders.

"I'm so glad you feel that way."

"Of course," I assured him. "You're my brother. And no guy in my life could ever be more important than you."

He smiled.

"Thanks, Mabel."

I took my cell phone out of my backpack and opened up my messages.

"Mom and Dad are picking us up today. They're here now."

Dipper picked up his backpack and slung it over his left shoulder. He took his white and blue pine tree hat out of the front pocket and slipped it on.

"Great," he said. "Let's go."