Y/n stared at the virtual graph inside the monitor, the ling going up before descending slightly, and then it's getting high again, but it completely dropped very low.

"So the kid has powers. No big deal."

"I just have no idea how he got a hold of it," she replied.

"Maybe he just found it on a random spot of dirt or something," Stan said, swigging the last gulp of his one bottle of beer, which he shouldn't do because he still have work tomorrow, and not only that, but the kids can find out, but he's Stan and he can do whatever he wants.

"Ford said he buried it where nobody can find it."

Stan chuckled. "Well, my brother's either-" he presented his digits. "-suck at hiding, a terrible liar, or... yeah that's it."

Y/n laughed with him before trailing off, a far look on her face. "I'm kinda worried, though."

He made a dismissive tone, waving his hand. "Eh, don't worry about that rapscallion Gideon. What's he gonna do; nibble on my ankles? His hair is bigger than his entire body!"

It made her smile a bit, but she couldn't help but wonder. Is it possible that Gideon has the second Journal?

"Hey, quit it with the silence.. I swear, you look like you're about to explode with your thinking gears smoking. Tell me about what happened today while I was out."

"Well," she began. She was slightly annoyed when Stan interrupted her train of thought. She doesn't like it when she's disrupted whenever she thinks. "The moment you left, Wendy invited the twins to the roof and tried to hit the attached target on the totem with pinecones. Dipper hit a van, though."

"And did you compensate for the damage?"

"Of course I didn't. Owner didn't hear it anyway. And even if he did complain, I would insist that it was a wild animal or something,"

Stan grinned proudly. "Ah, I taught you well." He stood up and messed with her hair a bit before slowly making his exit. "Well, I'm off to bed. I'm drunk."

"What, you only had like- one beer. Not that I'm encouraging you to drink more because then you'd smell like a drunk."

"Okay, maybe I'm just sleepy. Good night, kid."

"Good night."

***

https://youtu.be/X2DUpDxFJyg

***

The next day, Y/n was outside tending to Gompers, the Shack's pet goat. It was now part of the ambience ever since it showed up and ate most of the grass from around the Shack. Stan thought that it would be a good idea to keep it so that he wouldn't do any more mowing.

Now, Y/n is treating its wounds after she found a red spot on one of its knees. He was whimpering like crazy, trying to lick it. She got to the bathroom and grabbed the gauzes before sprinting outside before the goat could escape.

She already got it cleaned from the blood and was now wrapping bandages around its ankle. It calmed down, basically just staring right at her, or was it behind her? She wasn't sure. Its pupils were lopsided, after all.

Y/n crumpled a handful of weed growing near her and fed it to Gompers which he happily munched on. She petted its head, thinking deeply.

She could really see herself building a clinic in the middle of the forest, catered specifically for the creatures and monsters of Gravity Falls. She's invulnerable and has fast healing (meaning any effect marks would disappear immediately), but not everyone in Gravity Falls does.

She already knows how to clean a wound, she'd read enough books about mythical creatures- even got to observe them closer with Ford- so she knows how to be delicate.

Her train of thought was cut off by a sudden horn and tires screeching against the dirt.

Wendy's friends poured out of the blue van. She knew all of them as she was with them once only because Stan wanted her to inspect them if they were secretly agents who were after the portal- which was dang impossible.

Thompson was being made fun of again by Nate and Lee, and honestly, poor guy. Y/n didn't have to check her watch to know that Wendy's shift will soon end and she'd go hang out with her friends doing who knows what in a place of who knows where.

Out of all the activities, of course it's the one where Thompson is getting tortured. He was held upside down by Lee and Nate– shirtless– as Robbie stood a few meters from him, holding a bag of candy pebbles.

Tambry began recording as Robbie started throwing them. Nate and Lee were chanting "IN THE BELLY".

Y/n stood there, unimpressed yet slightly confused. Is this supposed to be fun?

"Me-e-e!"

"Oh," she mumbled, turning around. It seemed that Gompers wanted more grass to eat. "You lazy goat, it's right beside you."

"Me-e-e."

"Okay, I'll do it. Not because you're cute... but because I'm a good person." She crouched down and pulled apart a patch of grass. Gompers happily– or not, she couldn't tell– chewed.

"OHHH!" The group cheered. A green jelly bean was inside the belly button, accurately shot by none other than Wendy.

Y/n saw the twins walking beside Wendy. What were they doing?

Wendy introduced the two to her friends, giving them all brief introductions. Robbie asked if she was supposed to babysit the twins, only for Wendy to playfully berate him.

And that's when Y/n made the mistake of watching them for too long. She didn't look away quick enough for Nate to catch her gaze.

"Hey, Wendy, ain't that one of your co-workers?" he asked as he pointed at her.

Wendy glanced at her friend and smiled. "Oh, yeah! Y/n! You've hung out with us before, right?"

Suddenly having many eyes on her, she tried to make a move to leave, but Mabel stopped her.

"Wait, Y/n! Aren't you coming?"

"Uhm..." she trailed off. "I'm sorta busy."

"We're gonna go to this abandoned store and have some fun!" Mabel pleaded, "Please go!"

Y/n hummed hesitantly. If she leaves, Stan's going to be alone, stuck watching TV with the Black and White Period Piece Old Lady Boring Movie channel because he's too lazy to get up and find the remote.

Which he should do since she's been wanting to watch the show with him.

With a small smile at her set-up, Y/n walked closer to the gang. "Alright, I'll join. I'm sure it will be fun."

Dipper's smile widened, Mabel's eyes sparkled, while half of the gang cheered. Everyone got inside Thompson's van as he started the ignition. Y/n and the twins were situated at the very back. They all wore their seatbelts and punched the roof while everyone chanted Thompson's name.

On the way there, Dipper was hyping himself up to be the coolest kid in the group. Mabel just vandalized the car with bright red marker, feeling silly, while Y/n was looking outside the window and watching the trees run past them and finally, they were out of the forest.

After what seemingly was a long ride, when it was actually rather short, everyone got out of the vehicle and gazed through the chain fence. Most of the group were wearing excited grins and mischievous smirks. "There it is, fellas. The condemned Dusk 2 Dawn," Wendy spoke.

The crowd gasped and let out amazed sounds. Dipper asked for the reason why it was shut down, and Nate said that the owners were murdered. Y/n wracked her brain for any news of the closing of the shop. She didn't hear anything from Stan. Were the couple really killed?

"A-are you serious?" Dipper nervously asked.

"Yeah! We're all gonna die!" Wendy mocked. "Chill out, man" she playfully punched him in the shoulder, "It's not as bad as it looks."

The twins glanced at the boarded sign which read, "NO TRESPASSING VIOLATORS WILL BE DEAD!" and from that moment, it was now or never. They should just suck it up and join their shenanigans so that they can be cool.

Everyone proceeded to jump over the fence– with a little bit of struggling from Dipper– but eventually, they were all heading towards the entrance of the store.

"Aren't you a bit creeped out about this, Y/n?" he elbowed her a bit, and she paused for a moment, "I mean, an abandoned building, the owners being murdered. Isn't this all one big trap?"

"I'm not sure," was her only reply to that. She wasn't really sure, although she had to admit, she felt a little excited for what's to come. "Do you believe in ghosts?" she said with a small grin.

Dipper was caught a bit flustered at the question. "Wh-why, are there ghosts? I- I don't know. I've read about it in the journal, but I've never seen one before."

She kept a chuckle inside and kept walking. The two saw Robbie grappling to force the door open, but it just wouldn't budge. "I think it's stuck."

"Let me take a crack at it," Dipper suddenly said, walking confidently ahead of Y/n. He pulled his sleeve up as if he's preparing.

Robbie glared. "Oh, yeah, I can't get in, but I'm sure uh- junior here is gonna break it down like Hercules."

"Come on, leave him alone!" Wendy chided, "He's just a little kid."

Dipper frowned at the word, but with a new surge of courage, he was determined to debunk Robbie's words. He marched towards the side of the building where there was a dumpster and he jumped on it before climbing onto the roof. Dipper wasn't fazed at all as he easily hoisted himself up and walked through the shingles.

Sounds of protests were heard from the crowd, but Y/n was looking confused and impressed at the same time.

He found a vent but the cover was screwed closed, but he was still not giving up. He pulled on it, pushed it with his body until finally, he punched it with all his might. The case was destroyed and he eventually got inside the duct.

Everyone looked concerned, but Y/n had to laugh. All this just to prove someone wrong. It was really admirable.

"Who wants to bet he doesn't make it?" Robbie crossed his arms with a smirk.

But Dipper walked out of the door, unharmed and gestured to everyone to go inside.

Everyone left comments as they entered the store. Y/n and Dipper exchanged smiles as they walked in last.

"Do you guys really think it's haunted?"

"Psh, nah! Thompson, are you kidding me?"

"Woah, man, it's even creepier than I imagined!"

The group walked around the dim room. It was dark, but the moon and the outside posts provided a bit of light. They were blindly looking for the power switch until Wendy had found it.

Miraculously, there was still enough power to light up the entire store. The freezers were still working smoothly.

"So, what do we do now?"

"Anything we want."

And anything they wanted, they did. From food fights to food experiments, it was guaranteed a great night. Y/n haven't felt this fun in decades.

She found herself sitting on one of the aisles with Dipper and Wendy, eating ice cream. She was sure that every food in this store expired since the owners died in 1995 (she saw the newspapers), but what does she know about the effects of expired food anyways? She doesn't get sick.

Dipper and Wendy sat upright, talking about how fun this night is going so far, while Y/n was laying on the aisle. She raised her ice cream above her face and watched as it melted and dripped on her tongue. She was only half listening to the conversation until she heard someone shouting, "Hey, guys! We need more ice!"

"I'm on it!" Dipper announced, jumping off the aisle and running off.

Y/n finally sat upright and faced Wendy who was clearly enjoying her ice cream.

"You know, Y/n, I've been working on the Mystery Shack for like a year now, but I know nothing about you."

"Well, I don't think there's anything cool for you to know about."

"Oh, come on. Any scars? Tattoos? Stitches?"

"Wha- Wendy? How old do you think I am?"

Wendy laughed. "I'm just kidding." She glanced to the side. "Dipper's a cool kid."

"Yeah?"

"I mean, he's really trying to be a part of this crew. Do you think he's actually thirteen?"

Y/n didn't say anything else before looking down. No, in fact, he and his twin aren't thirteen. They just lied to get to hang out around them.

Their attention was caught by a scream coming from the freezers. Everyone was slightly alarmed and weirded out by the sound so they huddled up and investigated. The group found Dipper with a bag of ice spread out by his feet.

"What was that?" Lee asked, approaching closer. "Thought I heard some lady screaming back here."

"You freaking out, kid?" Nate teased.

Dipper stammered, "Uh, no! No, I'm cool! Everything's cool!"

"Then, what's all this about?" Robbie pointed to the spilled ice.

"That's uh, um, huh... hey, look! Dancy Pants Revolution! The game that tricks people into exercising!"

Everyone sprinted to the arcade with mumbles of agreement. Dipper voiced his own weak cheers and thought he could feel relieved, until he realized that Y/n was left standing there with her eyebrow raised. "Y/n!"

"What's wrong?"

"Um, it was nothing!"

"What did you see in the cooler?"

Dipper looked back and eventually, he sighed in defeat. "I might be feeling delusional, but I swear I saw this floating ghost brain. It had eyes and a mouth, and it was staring at me, Y/n. Creepily staring."

She hummed in response. She tried to recall encountering that kind of creature, but her brain didn't supply much. "It does sound creepy," was what she only said before someone from the group called them over. Probably Wendy.

"Coming!" Dipper enthusiastically replied, before dropping his voice into a whisper. "But when I opened the fridge again, it was gone! Do I look crazy? I feel like I'm losing my mind the longer we're in this place."

"I believe you, Dipper, you don't have to convince me," Y/n reassured. "I know you don't want me to tell them, so we can just keep this between us, okay?"

He gratefully smiled. "Thank you, Y/n. It really means a lot."

She could tell that he was beginning to get nervous, and when she tried to touch his hand, it was cold. Where did she have the gut to hold his hand? "Don't worry, Dipper, as much as I believe in the supernatural, I don't think this building is haunted. And if it was, wouldn't it be cool to show these suckers that the ghosts are real?"

Dipper chuckled. "Oh, that would be priceless."

The two laughed among themselves as they walked to where Thompson was currently trying to beat the high score, but with his unathletic body, he was struggling to keep up with the pace.

Nate and Lee were cheering him on, while Wendy, Robbie, and Tambry, Dipper, and Y/n were behind. "Woah!" Wendy spoke, elbowing Dipper. "He's really terrible at this."

He chuckled nervously. "Heh, yeah, that's – that's great." His words died in his throat as he looked at the glass door, seeing their reflections. Their skin, however, is replaced by bones. Dipper frantically rubbed his eyes and everything went back to normal.

"Hey," Y/n bumped her shoulder against his, "you okay? What happened?"

"Uh..." he began. "I'll be right back."

Her eyes didn't leave his figure as he made his way to the wall telephone. She made an educated guess that he was probably trying to call Stan, and that made her stifle a chuckle. She doesn't think Stan would pick up any moment as he's busy crying to the telenovelas.

She couldn't watch Thompson be horrible at DPR anymore so she wandered around the store with her hand against the pockets of her jacket. Her feet lead her to the corner of the store by the window and that's where she discovered traces of two bodies that belonged to Ma and Pa Duskerton.

Y/n's brow furrowed. She couldn't believe that they actually died. They seemed to be a lovely couple based on Stan's gossip. She guessed the good thing was that they died side by side.

"Awesome, Y/n, you found the jackpot!" Robbie was thrilled behind her. "Hey, guys, take a look at this."

Everyone gathered together closer, and Y/n stepped back, slightly annoyed.

"Then the rumors are true..." Lee commented. Dipper gulped.

"Dude, I dare you to lie down in it," Robbie taunted.

"Good idea!" Lee said, before turning to Nate. "Go lie down in it!"

"Heh, I'm a dead body, look!" He walked over to the marking, about to step on the lines, until Dipper intervened.

"Wait!" He turned to the group. "Maybe let's not do that."

"This guy's scared!" Lee said in a sing-song way.

"All I'm saying is, why tempt the fates? I mean... What if this place really is... haunted?"

Everyone shouted 'boo's at him as Y/n rolled her eyes. "Come on, guys, I think Dipper has a point," she said. "We were already having fun without any of this. We can just go and play on a different spot and leave this couple alone. In peace."

Robbie groaned. "Ugh, I knew we shouldn't have brought these kids. They're acting like a major buzzkill right now, right?"

The group nodded in unison. Wendy was hesitant, but it was clear that she was upset. "Yeah. Little bit."

Dipper frowned while Y/n felt a little bit annoyed. Why does she need approval from them?

Tambry sighed, typing on her phone. "Status update; trapped in store with insane 9-year old."

"I'm not a 9-year old!" Dipper protested, angrily laying on the tape markings. Y/n gasped softly, trying to stop him. "I'm thirteen! Technically a teen!"

The traced figure surrounding him lit up and the lights went off. Everybody looked around in worry, until Tambry dissolved right in front of them, leaving her cellphone. Dipper picked up the phone and read aloud, "Status update; AAAAAHHH!!" Suddenly the security camera screen switched on and Tambry stood there, trapped. She banged on the screen but she couldn't get out.

"Tambry! Tambry!" Wendy screamed.

"Can you hear us?!" Dipper followed with his own shouts, but Tambry didn't respond, still looking lost.

Nate panicked. "What are we supposed to do?!"

"I don't know, man," Lee answered. "I don't know!"

"Let's just go already!"

Wendy tried to call for Thompson, but he was still adamant about beating the high score. He was dancing, until he, too, dissolved and was transferred inside the video game itself. The game began attacking him with the arrows. Robbie wanted to flee for his life before the door got shut and locked. Wendy tried pushing and pulling, but it wouldn't budge. Robbie tried destroying it with the cash register, but it only vanished and a green light erupted.

"Guys!" Y/n called for their attention. "Haven't you watched enough ghost movies? Ghosts don't just haunt because they want to."

"Yeah, whatever's doing this has to have some kind of reason," Dipper chimed in, taking out the journal. "Maybe if we could just figure out what it is, then they'll let us out of here!"

But Robbie wasn't listening, not believing a word from two children younger than him. Wendy wanted to give it a chance and sided Dipper this time, and when Lee mocked the ghost, the next thing he knew was that he was floating and appeared on the cover a cereal box.

"Welcome."

"AHH!" Everybody screamed.

"They got Mabel!" Dipper screeched. Mabel was floating in the air with her hand raised to the side and her eyes were glowing blue with no pupils. She had a deep and menacing voice.

Ghost Mabel cackled as she introduced them to their deaths. They began apologizing and begging for the ghost to let them go, and at first, she complied. But before they completely left, it offered hotdogs, but Nate was stubborn and didn't like hotdogs so Ghost Mabel became enraged once more. Nate dematerialized, and this time, he turned into a hotdog.

"It begins."

The room turned upside down and the objects that were on the ground were now on the ceiling. "Quick! In there!" Wendy pointed at the nearby soda machine and the three wasted no time hopping inside and closing the hatch.

"What could be the reason the ghost is doing this?" Y/n asked once they fit inside.

"Okay, let's try to figure out the pattern here; Tambry was texting, Thompson was playing a video game, and Lee is being sarcastic, it doesn't make any sense!"

I think it makes perfect sense.

"Yeah! I mean, those are just normal teenage things!" Wendy responded, making Dipper's eyes light up in realization.

"Wendy, say that last part again."

"'Normal teenage things'?"

"Of course!" He turned to Y/n, who was already looking at him. "I know what I'm gonna do."

"I'll cover you," she replied, nodding.

He nodded back. "We go in three. One, two, three!" On cue, the two jumped out before Wendy could have stopped them.

"Wait! Guys, what are you doing?!" She called out, but was too afraid to follow.

Y/n watched out for the floating chips and appliances that might terrorize them. The two marched towards Ghost Mabel with a stern look on his face. "Hey, ghost!" Dipper shouted, catching their attention. "I've got something to tell you!" they grinned maliciously as they let out an ecstatic sound.

Dipper and Y/n were now floating, surrounded by blue auras. Talk about deja vu. Dipper swallowed nervously, hoping it would work. It's now or never. "I'm not a teenager!"

Mabel's eyes stopped glowing and everything stopped floating. Even Y/n and Dipper fell to the ground with a thud, but Mabel stayed afloat with her hair pulled up by the spirit of Pa Duskerton. Ma Duskerton was beside him, and it was the first time that Y/n saw them again.

They were smiling. "Oh, why didn't you say so?" Pa chuckled, letting Mabel fall into a pile of junk. "How old did you say you were?"

"I'm..." Dipper paused, looking over at Wendy who was listening. With a hesitant stance, he finally told them the truth. "I'm twelve... technically not a teen."

The couple turned their heads to Y/n, who was standing there a bit awkwardly. She felt a bit nervous as their eyes sparked with curiosity. "How long have we been dead, dear?" Ma asked.

"Must have not been long if..."

Ma looked at her. "How old are you?"

"I'm thirteen..." she hesitantly answered, her brows furrowed in confusion and slight fright. Ma narrowed her eyes as it shifted into disdain. Y/n guessed that the hint of familiarity was gone now as the couple remembered a horrifying reminder.

The ghosts began telling them about their loathing for stubborn teenagers. Teens have caused them their double heart attacks. That's how they died.

"That's why we hate teenagers so much!" Ma said rather enthusiastically, bumping her nose against Pa.

"But they're my friends, isn't there anything I can do to help them?" Dipper reasoned.

Pa grinned playfully. "There is one thing. Do you know any funny little dances?" He wiggled his fingers.

"Uhhhh. Is there anything else I can do-?"

"NOOOO!" Pa screeched, his pupils rolling to the back of his head, fire surrounding him.

Dipper nervously shook his hands. "Okay, okay, okay!" He looked to the side. "Um, well. I do know the... Lamby Lamby Dance, but, uh- I can't really do it without a lamb costume!" He thought he had found a loophole, but the ghost had better ideas, and with a snap of his fingers, Dipper was dressed in a cute lamb onesie.

"Oh. Well. There it is." Dipper awkwardly stood, taking a deep breath to conjure up enough confidence to perform.

Well, who wants a lamby, lamby, lamby?

I do! I do!

So go up and greet your mammy, mammy, mammy

Hi there! Hi there!

So march, march, march around the daisies!

Don't, don't, don't you forget about the baby!

Dipper ended with a finger to his cheek and a wide, humiliated smile.

Y/n was blushing from the second-hand embarrassment, yet at the same time, she found it excessively adorable. She didn't know he had it in him, and her heart was beating crazier. Was it because she witnessed the cute performance right in front of her?

Rest in peace to Dipper's dignity and self-respect.

Of course, the ghosts have let them go and immediately disappeared without another word. The store turned right side up again, and everyone came back. Everything was a mess.

"What happened after everything went crazy?" Lee asked.

Wendy was excited as her friends crowded around her. "You are not going to believe it! The ghost appeared and Dipper had to-" she stopped when she noticed his nervous state. "Uh, Dipper just grabbed the bat and beat ghosts down, left and right! Then the ghosts got all scared and ran away like a couple of little girls. It was insane!"

Dipper sent an appreciative smile in her way, and Wendy had her thumbs up.

Everyone tiredly walked to the van like a group of zombies. Y/n supported Mabel on her way back as she clutched her sick stomach. Dipper climbed in first before Y/n and Mabel followed, Y/n sitting in between the twins.

She had her arm wrapped around Mabel who was leaning on her. She groaned in despair. "Ugh... I'm never gonna eat or do anything ever again."

The van drove off, until they dropped off the three in the Shack. Walking closer, the window was suddenly shattered by the TV.

Stan popped his head out of the window. "Uh. Couldn't find the remote."

Y/n chuckled, walking inside the gift shop and heading to the living room where Stan was cleaning the ice cream tubs. "What episode?"

"I don't know, I lost count," he said, sounding seriously upset. "The wedding could have been so great if it wasn't for-"

"Uhp!" she berated. "I'm not on that episode yet!"

"Yeah, well. You'll have to fix the TV before watching. Looks like it's broken."

"What?! Why me! You're the one who threw it out of the window!"

Stan left without another word, grumbling about how Count Lionel had his chance. Out of all the days, why on the day of the wedding? Y/n grunted, annoyed at Stan. She glanced at the broken glass with a piece still hanging on its frame. "Soos will fix it," she said before retreating to her bedroom to get some rest.

***

"Disco girl, so wild and true, that girl is you~ ooh, ooh-ooh! Ooh, ooh-ooh!"

"Ugh, can you stop that? I'm so tired of hearing that song the whole day," Stan complained, banging his head against the control panel.

Y/n raised an eyebrow. "I've only been singing this tonight." She continued typing on the built-in keyboard. She rolled her eyes. He shouldn't really be whining when she's heard of the same sailor song that he's been singing.

"Yeah, well guess who else is singing that earworm song?"

"Who?"

Stan grunted. "I heard him screaming the lyrics and checked out if it's true. Sounded like the entire 70s was happening there."

"...So you walked in on Dipper singing BABBA?" She shouldn't even be smiling. He just happened to like the same group as her. And listen to the song almost daily. "Wait. Why did you even walk in the bathroom when you know it's occupied?"

"Don't make it weird."

He was always so confusing to Y/n. But as the night turned into day, she still couldn't get the thought out of her mind, as well as the song. It kept looping in her mind, from the woahs to the oohs. She even mumbled the lyrics without knowing. Her obsession with the Icelandic pop sensation had ignited more when she found out that she was not alone.

The next week, it was a normal day at the Shack. Stan was managing the register, while Y/n was reading from the counter. Tyler Cutebiker was wandering around the gift shop, analyzing everything with enthusiasm, when all of a sudden, the twins entered. "Grunkle Stan?"

"Can we go to the diner?" Mabel asked. "We're hungryyyyy."

"Hungryyy." The two began hitting their stomachs against each other.

"Yeah sure. As soon as this yahoo makes up his mind." Stan pointed to Tyler who kept asking questions.

Y/n stood up and stopped her reading. "You know what? You guys can go. I'll stay and help this poor man out. If he doesn't make up his mind, I'll just lock him inside."

The Pines chuckled. "Alright." Stan grinned. "Come on, kids. To the diner!" They made their escape, their footsteps slowly deafening as they made their way to the car and drove off.

She stared at Tyler holding up two hangers of clothes. "Puma shirt, Panther shirt? Puma shirt? Panther shirt? Puma shirt... Panther shirt?"

"Dude, make up your mind already."

Tyler turned to her. "Do you have this shirt in my size?"

"That's the only size left," she replied, placing her head against her palm.

"I just can't pick! Tyler exclaimed, holding the shirts close to him. "I want to wear both at the same time!"

Y/n narrowed her eyes as an idea came to her mind. "We can make an adjustment."

Half an hour later, Tyler was clapping with joy as he gazed at the sewn clothing. The half was a puma shirt, while the other half was a panther shirt. "Amazing work, dear!" He said, "I didn't know this shop offers extra services!"

"Well, it also comes with extra charges," she said without missing a beat. The sewing doesn't come free considering she's never sewn clothes before. She figured it was going to be the same as sewing Ford's wounds, so she just guessed and went with it as it goes.

"How much?"

Even with additional pay, Tyler paid just as happily and went his merry way. More people came into the gift shop and looked around, bought something, and left. Not another hour later when Stan's car pulled up in the parking lot.

"Back so early?" Y/n asked once Mabel and Stan entered, but Dipper was nowhere to be found. "And where's Dipper?"

"Can't talk right now, Y/n! We have a love emergency!" Mabel pushed Stan towards the Employees Only door, opening it before closing. Wendy and Soos followed inside.

"Aren't you guys supposed to be working here instead of me?" Y/n said.

"Mabel needs some help." Wendy replied, walking forward.

Soos nodded, "And Mabel wanted me to act as Lazy Susan."

Question marks sprouted on Y/n's head. What the heck is happening?

Knowing that there weren't any customers right now, she figured she'd take a little peek inside the living room. She heard Mabel's voice and knew that they were in there, so she stood up and walked out of the counter and into the door.

Soos was wearing thick make-up and a uniform that looked exactly like Susan's. It was surreal. Does her eyes deceive her? Is Mabel actually teaching Stan how to flirt with a woman? She just had to laugh.

For the whole day, it was Mabel exercising Stan to basically become a better person, but Y/n knew that it just would not ever work. He doesn't try when it comes to romance. Clearly, he's stressing too much about the portal to care about love.

He has gone through extensive training, mastering the art of not slouching your back, or not scratching your body so indecently, yet he had just become worse. The before and after are vastly different from each other. Y/n entered the room, laughing uncontrollably. She dramatically wiped a tear under her eye as Stan gave her an unimpressed look. "Face it, Mabel, your uncle's unfixable!"

No one told her otherwise because it was true.

"Yeah," Wendy said, placing a hand on Mabel's shoulder. "Just like that spinning pie trolley thing at the diner."

At that, Mabel's face glowed like the sun. "Grunkle Stan, come with me! And leave your pants at home."

"With pleasure!" Stan immediately followed.

Before Mabel completely left, she returned. "Y/n, you're coming too!"

"I'd rather not-"

"You have to because I said so. Come on!"

Y/n let out a huff of air. Wendy and Soos were now left in charge of the Shack or they would be fired. The three headed to the diner as Mabel now had her hand on Stan's wrist. Y/n looked up at the big sign that said 'Greasy's Diner'. Boy, did she miss the food. Was there still a delivery service? She clutched her daisy necklace as another memory came to her. She had never worn the accessory off, nor forgotten who gave it to her.

The three entered and saw Lazy Susan punching the pie machine. Mabel tried all her might to convince the woman to accept Stan for who he really is, flaws and all. And after she was done, Stan stepped forward and gave out his hand. "So, uh, Lazy Susan. What do you say?"

Did he really forget he's the reason she got the lazy eye in the first place? Now he has some sort of a crush on her. Stan must've just wanted free food.

But Lazy Susan just spectated him up and down before turning around and leaving, making Stan frown. He let out a sigh in defeat, making his exit, not until someone shouted, "Hey!" Susan returned with a slip of paper. "Here's my number. Why don't you give me a call sometime?"

"Really?"

"Really!" Susan chuckled. "Also, here's some pie. On the house. For you!"

Y/n was sure that her mind was boggled from what just happened. Mabel squealed in excitement, scooting inside the booth, with Stan sitting beside her, looking hungrily at the scrumptious pie. Y/n sat across from them.

With a smile, Stan devoured the pie as Mabel rambled about getting a phone to call with Lazy Susan. Y/n had her head in her hands, contemplating about life... contemplating about how Stan scored a date with Susan.

"Dipper!" Mabel suddenly exclaimed, jumping up to the window and banging her fist against it. "It's me, Mabel! I'm looking at you through the glass! Right here! This is my voice! I'm talking to you from inside!" Dipper was weirded out by her sister's shenanigan and calmed her down before going inside the diner and sitting next to Y/n, who was looking at him in slight concern. "Did you see me through the-"

"Yes," he said rather glumly.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't wanna talk about it," he said.

"Good." Stan raised his fork.

"It's just these half man, half bull humanoids were hanging out with me-"

Stan deadpanned. "Here we go."

"-but then they wanted me to do this... really tough, horrible thing but it just wasn't right. So I said no."

"You were your own man and you stood up for yourself," Stan said with his mouth still full.

"Huh?"

"Well, you did what was right even though no one agreed with ya. Sounds pretty manly to me, but what do I know?"

Dipper smiled. Y/n couldn't help but appreciate Stan's words. He was right. Doing the right thing makes you strong.

"Wait a minute, do my eyes deceive me?" Mabel leaned forward to have a closer inspection. " You have chest hair!"

He checked his chest and gasped. "You're right! I do! Ha ha, this is amazing! I really do! Take that, man tester! Take that, Pituitor!"

"Pituitor?"

"This guy has chest hair!" Dipper celebrated, but it was finished too soon as Mabel plucked it out and put it in her journal.

"Scrap-bookortunity!"

He looked devastated as he looked at his now bare chest.

Stan grinned. "Don't worry, kid, if you're anything like me, there's more where that came from!" He ripped open his shirt, cackling like a maniac. Y/n looked away in disgust as everyone laughed.

The four eventually went home on foot (since the Stanmobile was left at home). Stan went and 'cleaned himself up' or whatever that means, while Mabel straightforwardly went upstairs to add more designs to her scrapbook. While waiting for Dipper's turn in the bathroom, Y/n interrogated him a bit. "What did you say you encountered?"

"Manotaurs. Basically half man, half... minotaur– bull? They have a group where they test how manly they are. I wanted to join just to prove that I'm manly enough, but I guess I was out of their league.They wanted me to kill the multi-bear."

"The multi-bear?" Y/n hummed. She had never heard of such a creature before. Maybe it coincides somewhere they haven't explored before. She's guessing that the multi-bear has multiple heads. "What did the multi-bear do?"

Dipper blushed, too shy to answer the question. He knew where the question leads. "Promise me you won't laugh?"

"I promise," she said without missing a beat. She probably had all her laughter out anyway, so the possibility of laughing right now is slim.

"Well, the manotaurs didn't like the multi-bear because... he knew all the words to... Disco Girl."

"By Icelandic pop group BABBA?" Y/n couldn't keep the smile off her face.

"Wait," Dipper said, his face enlightening. "You know them?"

She scoffed. "Duh? I have been a fan since..." Oh no, you can't say 20 years ago. "Since... since the day I was born!"

"No way!" he let out a laugh in disbelief. "So you must have listened to their albums, right?"

"Every. Single. One. What's your favorite?"

Dipper gazed in the distance as he thought. "Honestly... it might just be Emergence since Disco Girl is there."

"Disco Girl is one of my favorites," she said with a smile.

It became silent. The two avoided eye-contact, wondering who gets to say the next word or rather, the next lyric. Y/n pursed her lips before singing very quietly, fiddling with her fingers. "Saturday night is a night alright~"

Dipper slowly smiled. "Time to groove till the morning light."

"Your bell bottoms on!"

"Your hair unfurls!"

"Youuuu are the Disco Girl~"

They kept singing until they were standing up and grabbing the nearest microphone. Y/n had a brush, while Dipper got the broom. They were freely dancing around the living room, singing their hearts out until Dipper had the last note. "The girl is youuuuu~!"

The two high-fived. "You have a nice singing voice!" Y/n commented once they were relaxed from the rush.

"So do you?!" Dipper said, smiling widely. "That was so much fun!"

Stan got out of the bathroom. "Will it kill you guys to not talk about that song, ever?"

Y/n rolled her eyes as Stan began complaining about his old ears. He's so dramatic.

"I guess that's my cue," Dipper said, walking backwards towards the bathroom.

"I'll go to bed now, too. Good night, Dipper."

"Good night!"

Dipper spent his time singing in the shower. It was one of his favorite times of the week– day. Because he totally showers daily. He's been singing a different BABBA song this time, and this time, he locked the door in case someone enters his private space again.

After drying his hair, he went and wore his classic orange shirt and gray shorts. He discarded his navy blue vest and hat. He refused to wash his hat for some time now since it was supposed to be a symbol for all the adventures he'd been through.

He went upstairs and straight to the attic where his room was. Of course, it was being shared with his twin sister, and there she was on the floor with stickers and glitter surrounding her. Marker caps were open and the toxic smell lingered around the room.

Clearly, she was busy with the scrapbook to make conversations. She really tends to focus on the task so passionately that she disregards everything else. Much like him, he supposed.

Dipper was about to hop onto his bed, when he just noticed an old shoebox. He opened it and all he saw were cassette tapes, and on top of the pile was a tape player. He was confused at first when he picked up the cassette, but a surge of happiness washed over him when he realized that these are all BABBA's albums! He had a feeling who gave it.

On one of the tapes, there was a note attached to it.

Play this album first!

He chose the specific album and placed the cassette inside the cartridge, pushing it close, and pressing the play button. He wore the headphones that came with the tapes. A smile appeared on his lips as he knew the song. Of all the songs, she just had to pick this one. He carried the box to the floor and let himself lay on the bed. He stared at the ceiling as he mumbled the lyrics. Listening to this song made him feel like a winner.

Y/n was down in the basement. Instead of shouting the lyrics out loud, she was whispering the words she knew that Dipper was listening to. She was smiling as she took down the notes of the results from the tests. Stan was looking at her weirdly.

That girl is you~

***

CONTINUES IN CHAPTER 11!

kimmiepines
originally published: october 29, 2022
6767 words

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