"Guess what, we're broke."

"What?!" Y/n stood, flabbergasted at the way Stan casually dropped the information. She began thinking about the effects of being financially unstable. "What are we gonna do?"

Stan hummed inquisitively. "I have a business proposal."

"Go on."

"I'm thinking of catering to the kids. What do they like? Socializing and friendships. So the Shack is throwing a...?"

Y/n raised an eyebrow. "A party?"

"Yes, a party!" He exclaimed. "Thought it might be a good way for kids to spend money at the Shack."

Stan had already gathered his employees and assisted in converting the parlor area into a party area without even consulting with her. The twins had already purchased the decorations, Soos had acquired inexpensive cups and plates, and Wendy had obtained food. Perhaps it was the first time they complied with Stan's orders.

Y/n helped with setting up the chairs and the stage, while the twins and Wendy were goofing off. She was so busy adjusting a spotlight that she didn't hear Stan instructing the kids to use the copier machine in his office to copy the fliers.

Stan meant well, but he should have been communicating with Y/n about the Shack's items since she was the one who lived here first. He may have repaired the machine, but this was no ordinary copy machine. It's only a matter of time before the twins realize it's a cloning experiment.

Ford had tested it on Y/n because the machine could only copy that size, and it had worked. They'd taken advantage of it, using copies of Y/n as they helped around the house, whether cleaning, researching, or going to the store. Although it was painful to watch them disintegrate after the job was completed.

The twins came back with multiple copies of the fliers, making Y/n hum. Maybe it didn't work this time because it was so busted and broken? Maybe it worked as a normal copier machine now.

Stan had everyone lined up to assign them their duties. He held a clipboard as he read the names and their responsibilities for the party tonight. He let Soos be the DJ and the guy was ecstatic because it had been his dream to be the DJ.

"Wendy, you and Mabel are working on the ticket stand."

"What?" Mabel objected. "But Grunkle Stan, this party is my chance to make new friends!"

"I... I can work with Wendy," Dipper spoke, raising his hand.

Everyone went silent as they stared at him. Stan rolled his eyes. "You realize if you do, you gotta commit to staying at the ticket stand with Wendy. No getting out of it, just the two of you, alone, all night."

Dipper watched Wendy, Soos, and Mabel goofing off as they laughed without a care in the world, making him blush. "I promise."

Stan turned to Y/n. "How about you, you wanna work?"

"Is this a rhetorical question?" She replied with a small smirk.

"I'm letting you be the supervisor, I guess. Be the all-around person." Stan glanced at his clipboard again before walking off.

***

https://youtu.be/X2DUpDxFJyg

***

The night had finally arrived. Stan came out of the room, dressed differently from his work clothes. "Woah, you're really looking forward to this," Y/n noted once they met at the hallway. She was wearing a jean jacket with a graphic shirt underneath.

"Of course. I haven't been partying since I met Carla! This is the Shack's first party, and uh-" he shoved her shoulder playfully, "why don't you loosen up a bit?"

"I think I'm pretty relaxed," she retorted, stretching her arms a bit. "This party would benefit us. What a good idea, Stan."

"Oh, I'm full of good ideas, sweetheart," he replied without missing a beat. "Now why don't we go out there and let's have some fun for once, huh?"

Leading themselves to the party area, Soos was playing energizing music. Many people were already here, some were chilling around, some were already eating, and some were actually dancing. The two of them met Mabel at the top landing of the staircase where she was gazing at the crowd. She was wearing a loose hot pink shirt with an orange skirt, complemented by an orange bowtie on top of her hair.

"Can your uncle throw a party or what?" Stan said to Mabel. She smiled at him. "And if anyone wants to leave, I'm charging an exit fee for 15 bucks!"

Y/n chuckled. "Nice."

The music picked up its pace, and Mabel excitedly let out a squeal. "I gotta get myself on there! Come on, Y/n! Join me!" She grabbed her wrist without hesitation and they sprinted to the dance floor.

People should really start conferring to her first.

She did not, in fact, dance with Mabel. She only knows how to stomp her feet and bop her head to the music. Is that considered dancing? Just as the Northwest kin made her entrance and strutted up to the stage the moment Soos announced a party crown, Y/n decided to go to the refreshments table and get a cup of punch.

The Northwest family wields tremendous power in this town, owning nearly everything. Their power is undeniable, but they have a deeper history that no one knows about except Y/n and Ford. They discovered an enclosed document containing a code that they have yet to crack during their investigations.

She had two other girls on her tail, both wearing the same amount of make-up that was clearly illegal to put on a child's face.

Mabel walked up to the stage, too, and it looked like she made new friends. At least Mabel had that kind of power. She was so easygoing. It appeared that the competition was between Mabel and Pacifica and Y/n knew that this is where their rivalry would begin.

Soos announced the beginning of the party contest, playing a very lively song. Everybody hollered as the two dance-battled to the death. Pacifica looked practiced, scripted, as if she trained her whole life for this while Mabel's dance was spontaneous and carefree.

Y/n sipped from her paper cup, amused at the dances. So interesting that people can express their feelings through dancing. Stan's words echoed in her mind, "loosen up". She shook her head. She can loosen up in other ways than partying.

She scanned the crowd and noticed that Wendy was jumping up and down, dancing. Y/n tilted her head as she wondered who was with Dipper in the ticket stand since she was here. She walked outside after getting another fill of cranberry juice just as Stan reprimanded Dipper for trying to escape.

Dipper glumly walked back to the table, looking like he didn't wanna be there. She watched as he handled the tickets one by one, and as much as she wanted to help, she just didn't want to, seeing the line of people.

But alas, she can't get anything she wants, does she? Dipper noticed her and his eyes lit up. "Y/n! I need your help. Can you cover for me? I have to do something important real fast. I'll be back before you know it!"

He sprinted inside the Mystery Shack without saying another word. Y/n wanted to call him but her words died in her mouth. He left her with this line of kids. "Hey, you! Let us in!"

With a grumble, Y/n obliged albeit grimly, and began taking their money and putting it into the box. The kids were happy as they were being let in. The group walked inside, excited to party all night.

Meanwhile, Dipper stared at an entirely new clone of himself. "I have a really big head."

He climbed down from the copier machine, and his clone gazed back at him. "So... uh-" the two said in unison, making them laugh at the same time. "Sorry, you first." They echoed again. "Stop copying me!" They both burst in laughter at the cliche line. Original Dipper slapped his knee, and Dipper 2 wanted to follow until his elbow hit the corner of the box.

"AH! Ow, ow, funny bone." He hissed in pain just as Dipper wrote number 2 on his hat.

"I will call you Number 2!"

"Definitely not," Number 2 opposed, placing his fingers on his chin. "You know the name I've always wanted."

The two Dippers crossed their arms and smirked at one another. "Tyrone?"

With an enthusiastic smile, Classic Dipper began, "Okay, Tyrone, let's get down to business. You cover me at the ticket stand, while I ask Wendy to dance."

"I know the plan, buddy!" Tyrone said, just as spirited as Classic Dipper. Both at the same time, the two pulled out their long list of steps in order to spend the night with Wendy.

But as they were reading the plan, Dipper narrowed his eyes as he stepped back a bit. "Hey, we're not gonna get jealous and turn on each other like the clones in the movies, are we?" he asked, feeling slightly nervous.

"Dipper, please," Tyrone assured, smug, "this is you you're talking about. Plus, hey," he snapped his fingers, "you can always just disintegrate me with water." The two let out impressed sounds, tapping their temples.

Before the two could make their leave and go to their respective places, Classic Dipper pulled Tyrone back. "Oh, by the way, if Y/n is still there, she can help you with the ticket stand."

"Okay," Tyrone replied, feeling slightly worrisome. "But what if she gets suspicious of me?"

"Then, you can tell her. She's one of the few people who we can trust."

Tyrone strode out of the Shack and Dipper proceeded towards Wendy. He found Y/n accepting cash now that the line has calmed down a bit. There were still people, and she was ripping off a ticket just as Tyrone walked up to her. He cleared his throat and Y/n smiled up to him.

"You're back!" she smiled. "So what important stuff did you do?"

"Um, I just had to go to the bathroom, that's all," he replied, taking over the ticket ripping and handing it to her.

She took a good look at him. He was paler than usual, and instead of a pinetree on his hat, it was the number two. Inquisitively raising an eyebrow, she smiled. "Dipper, are you okay? You seem paler than when I last saw you."

He stuttered out a reply. "Uh, I just ran all the way here. I guess this is a sign that I'm... dehydrated?"

Y/n took another kid's money and placed it inside the box. Tyrone tore apart the next ticket and handed it to him. He glanced behind him to see Classic Dipper on the dancefloor, heading his way towards Wendy. He subtly gave him a thumbs up to which Dipper replicated the pose.

"So," Y/n spoke slowly, "what should I call you?"

Tyrone snapped his head towards her in shock. "I... what do you mean?"

"You don't think I'm that dumb to believe you're Dipper, are you?" she said, grinning. He was tripping over his words. "So, is it Clone Dipper? Dipper 2? Double Dipper?"

He chuckled, "No, Classic Dipper and I had this name that we always wanted. Call me Tyrone."

"Tyrone," she nodded as she smiled. "Nice name."

Suddenly, Tyrone's walkie-talkie rang and he picked up the call. Dipper was talking in the other line. "Tyrone! Robbie is here. We gotta get rid of him if I ever want to dance with Wendy!"

Y/n continued giving out the tickets while Tyrone was spacing out. "Hey," she bumped her elbow against his to wake him up. "Tyrone, you okay?"

He shook his head awake. "I just got a jealousy fantasy." He stood and faced the stained window where he got a glimpse of inside.

"I know-! Wait, did she just call you Tyrone-?"

"Do you have a plan?"

Dipper looked around the party until he saw Robbie's dirt bike on a kickstand. "I have an idea."

"I have the same one," Tyrone said, "but we're gonna need some help."

Y/n watched Tyrone as he dropped the device. "Are you gonna leave again?"

"Yeah, we have a plan to get rid of Robbie so he won't get in the way of Dipper wanting to dance with Wendy."

"What an elaborate plan for a sure-fire goal you got there, Tyrone."

He smiled, before taking off. He walked back inside while Y/n tended to the remaining customers. The last bunch of tickets were sold and the metal case sure was full of money. She held it up by its handle and decided to bring it to Stan's office since the boss himself was busy clapping for his great-niece.

Just as she opened the door, Dipper 3 and 4, along with the Original Dipper stood there. Tyrone was still sitting on Stan's desk.

The two of them shared eye-contact. "I can explain," Dipper said.

"I already know. Tyrone told me."

Her gaze averted to the second Dipper who was suddenly caught off-guard that he almost slipped.

Classic Dipper was slightly flustered. "Oh, so... are you not weirded out by any of this?"

"I've seen weirder stuff every day. Anyway, I just came here to drop this box of cash here in Stan's office," Y/n said, walking inside and placing the box beside Tyrone. "And I promise not to tell anyone."

Dipper smiled. "Thanks, Y/n. We're off to do the plan!" He, 3, and 4 all sprinted out of the office.

Y/n was standing there idly when she spoke, "Are you and Dipper any different? Like, do you share the same IQ, same EQ, same memories?"

He stared at her, speechless at first. "Um. Well, I don't know. We share the same hopes and dreams– and nightmares. I am literally a copy of him from this machine. I don't know how to figure out the difference."

"Your names are different."

Tyrone laughed, before it died down. He fiddled with his fingers as he remained seated. "Why aren't you out there, you know, partying?"

"Growing up, I was never really used to large crowds," Y/n replied, walking towards the copier machine, examining it. It looked so busted, but apparently it still worked. She turned to Tyrone. "Bright lights and slow dances with people... I just never got to experience it all my life. I have never been asked by anyone to go and dance."

Tyrone looked at her somberly. "Well, there's a first time for everything," he saw the way her lips pursed in hesitance, and her distant gaze was very prominent in her look. "Wait, I see what's happening here."

"What?" She was confused at his sudden inspection. "What's happening?'

He narrowed his eyes, and a grin slowly erupted. He pointed at her. "You want Dipper to ask you to dance!"

"What?! NO!" Flabbergasted, she stepped back. "I mean, getting asked to dance is an honor and all, but why specifically Dipper?"

Tyrone smiled widely. "I don't know, it's the way you got sad whenever Dipper and I talked about Wendy." He still had that smirk plastered on his paper face.

Y/n deadpanned. "So you and Dipper do have a difference," she said, deciding to leave the room.

"No, wait, wait!" Tyrone was giggling as he chased after her. He grabbed her shoulder. "You gotta help me first."

She turned around, raising an eyebrow. "With what?"

"You need to help me find more paper just in case we need more back-up..."

"Well, if you just used your eyes, you would have found them in a box here, Tyrone," Y/n chided playfully, going over to Stan's older desks. The box was beside the drawer. She lifted the lid and sarcastically presented him with a stack of old papers dusted with soot and cinders.

Tyrone rolled his eyes. "Okay, smartypants, I get it. Now, I need some assistance in loading the machine up with these papers...," he said slowly, probably feeling a bit bad about asking her too many favors.

But Y/n obliged. She collected half a stack of papers, went over to the copier and arranged them neatly inside the canister, but as she let go, her finger got caught by the sharp corners of the paper.

She pulled back to see that it was quickly spurting blood. "Hm," she hummed briefly.

"Oh no! Papercut!" Tyrone exclaimed and hurried beside her. "I gotta go get a med kit!"

"No need," she told him before he could leave. Tyrone couldn't stay still, watching her neutral expression. How is she so calm? Papercuts really sting! "Look," she said, and he gazed back at her bloodied finger. With a quick swipe on her denim jacket, she showed the finger again, and it was... "See? Nothing to worry about."

"It's... it's clean. H-how?"

Y/n looked at him seriously. "Promise not to tell anyone this?" Tyrone nodded. "Not even Dipper?" He nodded. "Well, I happen to not feel pain and have quick healing. That's it."

"That's it?!" He dared to mock. "Seriously, invulnerability? So you don't feel pain and can heal quickly?! That's so cool! But why are you keeping it a secret?"

"I..." how is she supposed to tell him without possibly hurting him? It's quite difficult spelling the words, 'she doesn't trust them... yet.' "I have to leave."

"Wait, don't go yet!"

Y/n shrugged. "I've made a mistake in telling you this, and now I'm disappointed."

"Don't leave! You haven't met my favorite Dipper yet!" Tyrone said.

"Huh?"

An unusual-looking paper Dipper crawled into the scene as Tyrone introduced him, "This is Paper Jam Dipper. The paper got jammed when trying to create Quattro, but I'm slowly growing on him."

Y/n stared at Paper Jam Dipper before he charged towards her. "NYANYANYANYA!" his voice was scratchy and screechy. He was clinging onto her, wrapping his arms around. "NYAAAA!"

Tyrone chuckled, crossing his arms. "Seems that he likes you."

Y/n wobbled, trying to carry around Paper-Jam Dipper. She grabbed its waist and pulled it off of her. This version of Dipper was very disoriented and discolored, and some parts were wrinkled and creased. It truly captured the look of a paper jam.

"Yeah, well, I like him too."

"Aw, but what about Dipper?" Tyrone teased, his hands held together as he pouted.

Y/n glared although there was a glint of playfulness in them. "You're seriously getting on my nerves, Tyrone."

"Oh yeah? What are you gonna do about it?"

"Nothing," she said, "which is why I'm walking out on you."

Tyrone laughed. "Hey, I still wanna see you later!" He promised. "Y/n, wait." his smile disappeared a bit. Y/n waited for what he wanted to say. "I'm not going to tell anyone. I'll take your secret to my grave."

"Thank you," she said. It was genuine gratitude.

"And," he followed, "if Dipper's plan to ask Wendy to dance is a success, we can show up as, you know, back-up. Just- just in case anything goes wrong."

Smooth.

Y/n was left speechless. Where did this sudden boost of confidence come from? Tyrone is truly different from Dipper. "But I can't dance."

"I don't know anything about dancing either, but can we still try?" Tyrone smiled.

She stared up at him. Why is her heart suddenly reeling? Why is her mind going bonkers over this boy? Yet despite her mind telling her that she would just embarrass herself, her heart compelled her to say- "Okay."

"Okay? Woo! I never thought it would work. I didn't need that stupid overcomplicated list after all!"

She raised an eyebrow. "Stupid overcomplicated list?"

"Yeah. Classic Dipper has this elaborate plan to impress Wendy. Honestly hope it's going well for him."

As if on cue, Dipper slammed open the door. "Tyrone! Where were you, man? I need some help!"

Y/n decided to leave the room without even saying a word. He looked pretty out of his mind, so Y/n figured that she shouldn't even bother and let Tyrone console him. After all, the only person who can understand you is yourself.

Y/n realized that all those talking and giving out tickets had her thirsty therefore eyeing the punch bowl and getting herself another cup.

Meanwhile, Dipper stared at 7 mirror images of himself. Tracey and Quattro have yet to return. He was relieved to have so much assistance from people who shared his viewpoint. Of course, dancing with Wendy will necessitate careful consideration of the circumstances. There were numerous factors to consider, but thanks to the swarm of Dippers, everything had been taken care of.

"Now is the time," Classic Dipper said once they were all gathered. "Y'all are clear on what to do?"

They all nodded in unison. Everyone except for Classic Dipper and Tyrone marched out of the room and proceeded to the party area to do their roles.

Y/n watched from her chair as Dipper 10 flashed a dot on the wall, making Soos distracted. Then, her gaze shifted to numerous other Dippers around the room. She was confused, wondering if she was the only one seeing this.

The scene was set, the only thing missing were the dancers. Wendy was nowhere to be found, and Dipper has yet to make his entrance. When was his cue?

It had been a few minutes, and she could tell Dipper 10 was getting impatient. Soos was still having a good time, proclaiming that he will never get tired of dot, until Dipper 10 picked up his walkie-talkie and responded before returning upstairs.

Is Dipper going to be okay?

Yet instead of following him upstairs, Y/n averted her stare as she sipped from her drink albeit gloomily. Let him handle his own problems this time. She decided to just look forward to the dance that Tyrone promised her.

After being confronted by the clones and imprisoning him inside the closet, Dipper already wanted to escape and get to Wendy. The clones were arguing about who gets to dance with Wendy, and Classic Dipper took his chance and broke out silently until he was in the hall towards the party area where Wendy was standing.

"Wend-!" His words were cut off when pairs of hands covered his mouth and pulled him back inside where the clones were looking unimpressed.

"Come on, man. Give it up. You're overpowered," Tyrone said, crossing his arms.

Dipper flailed his arms frantically. "Hold on, guys, think about it. We're exact equals mentally and physically. If we start fighting, it'll just go on for infinity!"

As the clones agreed amongst each other, Dipper suddenly punched Tyrone in the face. Everyone stared at him in awkward silence.

Until someone from the crowd burst out, "CLONE FIGHT!" And they commenced, proceeding to brawl with each other. As the fighting lingered, Dipper crawled through the swarm and nearly got away. Unfortunately for him, someone noticed. "Hey! Classic Dipper's getting away!"

With a faux gentle aura surrounding him, he faced them as they saw the number 7 on his hat. Dipper softly reassured them. "No, friends. It's me, number 7."

They narrowed their eyes at him before reverting to the real number 7 who was pinned on the ground. He was thrashing around when he said, "That's not me, guys! That's not me!"

Another misfortune befell Dipper when the hat's plastered number 7 became unstuck, revealing the iconic blue pinetree. His pupils dilated as number 9 pointed at him. "Go get him!"

One by one, they all marched towards him. Dipper retreated further away. "Stay back," he said, rummaging through his pockets. He felt the party poppers inside and pulled it out. The clones had no signs of stopping so he figured he'd just scared them with the loud noises.

"Stay back!" He said it once more before pulling the string on the party poppers. It exploded with a loud POP and confetti fell out. The small explosion sent a waft of smoke up to the ceiling, setting off the smoke alarms, which led to the clones' demise.

The alarm rang loudly, triggering the sprinklers to release water hysterically. The Dipper copies expressed noises of disgruntlement and annoyance at this turn of events. Dipper watched as everyone– including Paper Jam Dipper– melted and died in front of him in relief.

"Huh, how about that." He casually placed his hands on his waist.

It wasn't over though when Tyrone was behind him all this time. "You!"

"Uh-oh."

The two went and engaged into a fight, determining who gets to dance with Wendy. But all their efforts seemed to be fruitless when they heard Wendy laughing loudly from across the room. Dipper and Tyrone stopped fighting and walked out to see what was going on. "Wendy?" they said in unison.

On the side of the dance floor, Wendy and Robbie were talking very discreetly, exchanging jokes that few shouldn't hear, but it made her laugh anyway.

Seeing as they will never have a slight probability now, the two Dippers let out a beaten sigh. "We blew it, man." They turned around and slid towards the floor.

They let a couple of silence pass, until Tyrone broke it. "I don't know, you wanna go grab a couple sodas or something?"

Dipper smiled, because that's exactly what he needed right now.

And ironically so, he knew the perfect spot.

Tyrone and Dipper were sitting on the edge of the roof, probably at the precise moment of realization. Wendy was a cool girl, and the way he was doing the overcomplicated list didn't help him make any progress with her.

Knowing that this is the only chance he can talk to himself without looking weird, he voiced out his thoughts. "Do you really think we'd have a chance on Wendy?"

"I don't know, man," Tyrone replied truthfully.. "Honestly the only time you didn't trip up over Wendy was when you didn't do anything in those list stuff."

"I know," Classic Dipper agreed. "Mabel was right, I do get in my own way."

"Literally!"

With that lesson learned, the two celebrated it over a sip of cola.

"Oh, boy," Tyrone said as he just realized. It was such an idiotic and depressing death as his body slowly melted from his stomach. "Don't look now..."

"Tyrone!" Dipper exclaimed, standing up.

"It's okay, dude. I had a good run," he replied rather somberly. He was looking forward to seeing her again, but it looked like he wouldn't have another chance. He's just going to leave it all to Dipper. "Hey, Dipper..." he called as his lower body disintegrated into liquid. "Y/n is a really cool person. I... I promised her... I promised her a dance..." His chin was now on the roof's shingles as his speech patterns sounded more slow and lazy. "Keep my promise, Dipper! For my sake..."

Tyrone completely perished, the only remains were liquid as it fell from the roof. The author felt a little bit of deja vu from this.

"Tyrone!" Dipper shouted again. With furrowed brows, he raised his own can. "You were the only one who understood."

***

Going down from the roof, he stood in front of the door. He peeked inside of the window, and there were Soos, Stan, Mabel dancing with her two new friends, Wendy, and Y/n. It seemed that Robbie the pest had finally flown away.

Dipper reached for the doorknob, but before he could grab it, he remembered the list from his pockets. He stared at it, with the huge text of Wendy Plan B in it. Finally, Dipper tore it apart and let it fall to the ground, dusting his hands. And all of a sudden, his pocket didn't feel as heavy anymore.

He opened the door, and was immediately greeted by his sister. "Dipper! Where have you been?! Meet my girlfriends!" She screamed on top of her lungs and she was surely louder than the music.

The two introduced themselves as Candy and Grenda, and only from that moment and his observation, Dipper already knew that they're a perfect trio.

He walked away and let them continue with the obnoxious dancing. He ventured to the side of the dance floor and glanced at Wendy who was just vibing with the music. Y/n was laying very comfortably on the couch, reading, and Dipper had to smile. How could she even concentrate with the loudspeakers?

She was very good at multitasking, he already knew that. While the music was blaring, she was comfortably reading with a bowl of marshmallows on her lap. Yet instead of using her fingers, she was using a fork to eat. What an etiquette.

Dipper cleared his throat loudly for her to hear. Y/n glanced up and scooted a space even before he got to ask if the seat beside him was taken.

He smiled a bit, eyes scanning throughout the parlor. Not even five minutes have passed and he already missed Tyrone.

The boy glanced to his left to see that Wendy was already gone from beside him. Did she go to the bathroom? Meanwhile, glancing to his right, Y/n was silently reading.

He really didn't want to disturb her. If it were him, he would be annoyed too if someone interrupted his summer reading. He cleared his throat again, and this time his voice cracked. "Uhm..." why does everything feel so itchy now? Did Tyrone unintentionally make things awkward? Or was it Dipper?

"Want a marsh?" His thoughts were awoken by Y/n's voice. It was a simple offer. A yes or no question.

"S-sometimes," Dipper wanted to smack himself in the head. "I mean, no thank you."

She shrugged, flipping a page and continued reading.

"What's that book you're reading?"

"Huh? Oh, just this random mystery book I picked from the local library," she replied, showing the cover. The Sunken Secret of the Spherical Spiral Staircase. "Have you read this before?"

"I... actually haven't," Dipper answered honestly. "

"Where did Tyrone go?" Y/n asked, her brows slightly furrowed. She thought he might've been hiding since clearly Dipper was here

He looked down on the ground. "He's..." he sighed. "He's gone."

"Oh," she muttered, mumbling. She adjusted her position so she was sitting more upright as she closed the book. "That's... very sad."

"Yeah," he sighed again. Suddenly he remembered Tyrone's last words. "You know, he said something before he- you know."

Y/n's eyes widened. "He didn't tell you about-?"

"He promised to dance with you?"

She wanted to smack herself right in the face (which was useless) for almost forgetting the promise. She completely thought that Tyrone spilled her secret about being invulnerable. Her cheeks suddenly flushed in embarrassment. "We're dancing now?"

"If you're okay with it."

Y/n looked at everything else except for Dipper. She then realized that they were being watched by Mabel, who was squealing with joy around her newfound friends.

"But I can't dance."

"Me neither, but we can try?" As he smiled at her, she couldn't help but smile back. Tyrone and Dipper were alike after all.

So she took his offered hand and they strutted to the dancefloor albeit awkwardly. Dipper pursed his lips and took her hand, just as everybody around them gasped, including Stan. Soos quickly changed the music into a slow-paced one.

Y/n literally have never danced with anyone before. This activity was foreign to her that she didn't know where to start. She might have seen glimpses of dancing when Stan was switching between channels on his TV, but she has never experienced it first-hand.

Yet, here she is.

She was a fast learner, that was one of her quirks. So when Dipper stepped forward, she stepped back, and vice versa. All the time, they were looking at their feet and how they moved in sync. They were unaware of the huge smiles growing on their faces.

"Woo! Go Dipper!" Wendy cheered from the side.

"You're such a natural, Y/n!" Mabel followed.

Somewhere up in paper heaven, Tyrone was proud.. Because not only did Dipper keep his promise to dance with Y/n, he also managed to do it without the help from his list. If he was still alive, he would tell him, "I told you so," with a huge grin.

***

"Dang, Y/n. Didn't know you had it in ya," Stan remarked, grinning.

"Please stop talking about it," Y/n deadpanned, slouching over the control board. "I don't wanna hear about it."

He sang a tune, dancing around like a madman. "Lalalala~" he spun throughout the room, eyes closed as he imitated the steps, until-

"OW!"

Stan rubbed the spot in his head where it was hit by a metal bolt. "Oops," Y/n chuckled. "Forgot you're not as invulnerable as me." She turned back to her desk. "Now can we please just focus? It was just a dance. Nothing else."

He didn't say anything else, but he knew. He recognized the expression and was at a loss for words. He had no idea what would happen, which made him nervous. "If you say so."

***

CONTINUES IN CHAPTER 12!

kimmiepines
originally published: november 23, 2022
5398 words

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