A Whole New Story

Chapter 4

Dipper sat in bed the next day, contemplating what to do with his future. He looked through his sketchbook, thinking of how much joy it brought him to sketch and observe the mystical creatures. Being Ford's intern certainly would bring him joy... but wouldn't his parents prefer if he used the scholarship for the university? Then again, what did his parents ever do for him? They caused his self-esteem to drop drastically due to all of his father's criticism. They made him more socially awkward because they thought he shouldn't be on social media and restricted his phone usage. They ignored the bullying he endured at school because the bullies were from rich families. They always gave him the bare minimum. They even made him get a job while in high school to help pay for Mabel's future university, which he didn't mind but he despised that they demanded it rather than asked. So why should he even consider them in this decision?

Mabel should be fine with him being Ford's intern now. After all, they had drifted apart over the last 4 years after she managed to make herself believe that Bill was just a bad dream. Even if he chose the university, she still wouldn't see him often due to her going off to a different school. So, he made his decision, he'd stay in Gravity Falls after summer and intern with Ford.

Dipper asked Mabel after breakfast if she's okay with it. She simply responded, saying that he should do whatever makes him happy and that she didn't really care which of the two he picked. Dipper thanked her and went to the lab to inform Ford, who was very happy with his decision, and told him to enjoy the summer since he'd be very busy when the internship began. Dipper simply nodded before leaving for the forest.

He made his way back to the clearing with the statue. However, unlike the previous day, he didn't go near it, nor did he speak to it. He simply sat on the other side of the clearing and observed how the animals and insects interacted with the statue. After a few hours of observing and sleeping, he came to the conclusion that no animal nor insect would touch the statue, but they didn't mind going near it. He found it weird but shrugged it off as not even animals wanted to come in contact with anything to do with the dream demon. He wrote his discovery at the back of the sketch from the previous day before returning to the shack.

Upon arrival to the shack, he heard loud music and saw flashing lights. Clearly, Mabel had thrown one of her infamous parties, but what was the occasion? He made his way closer to the shack to maybe figure out the reason for such an event. Mabel saw him coming and waved to him as she rushed over. "Bro-bro! Guess what!" Dipper tilted his head in confusion as he asked her what happened. Mabel giggled excitedly. "This is for you! Since you chose to stay here with Grunkle Ford, I decided that you might want to socialize with your future people!" She giggled again and dragged Dipper over to the party. "Isn't this great, Dipper? Aren't I the best? Have fun, alright!" She smiled and waved bye as she returned to talking with Wendy. Ford was talking with Stanley, and everyone else seemed busy socializing with someone, so Dipper sat in a corner and observed. He smiled as everyone crowded around Mabel as she told one of her stories. He was glad she was happy, but he still felt... lonely.

After a few hours, Ford returned to the lab, and Dipper got bored of just watching. So he excused himself and thanked Mabel for the party before heading to his room to sleep.

The next morning, he made his way downstairs to see a mess from the party. Stanley was still asleep, and Ford was probably still in the lab, so Dipper made himself and Ford some coffee and headed to the lab. There, he found Ford asleep at his desk. Dipper chuckled softly and neatened the lab for Ford since it was in a mess. He left the coffee with a sticky note on a shelf for when Ford woke up, then made his way back upstairs while sipping his own coffee.

As soon as he made it out of the elevator, Mabel rushed to him and hugged him. "Morning bro-bro! You don't mind cleaning up from last night for me, right? Good! Thanks, I owe you one!" Mabel quickly let go of Dipper and rushed out the door, not even waiting for Dipper to respond. He sighed and called Pacifica. After a few rings, the blonde picked up. "Pacifica, sorry if I woke you. Do you know where Mabel is going today?" Dipper asked as he clutched the phone between his shoulder and ear. "Yeah... she's coming by me for the day..." The blonde sounded like she had just woken up, making Dipper feel guilty. "Alright, thanks. Sorry again for waking you." Dipper heard Pacifica hum in response, so he hung up the phone and continued cleaning the room.

It took him about an hour or two to finish cleaning the room, but he managed. Afterward, he helped Soos with opening the tourist trap and worked his morning shift, along with Mabel's afternoon shift. When Soos locked up the shack, Dipper got a text from Mabel stating that she'll be having a sleepover by Pacifica and that he should take her morning shift the next day since she won't return home until the next night. He sighed but sent a thumbs up.

Dipper prepared dinner that night and carried a plate down to the lab for Ford. He also informed both his Grunkles of Mabel's text before he headed to bed.

The next morning, he took Mabel's shift at the cash register. In the afternoon, he hung out with Wendy and finally got to return her hat from 6 years ago. She was surprised that he still had it and in such good condition since she had thrown his away two years ago since it had ripped. He reassured her that it was alright and he could always get another. After a few hours of hanging out with Wendy, they parted ways. Dipper went to Greasy's Diner on his way to the shack and bought some dinner for his grunkles and sister.

When he arrived home, he placed the food in plates and delivered it to each person before eating his own portion. Afterward, he made his way back to the attic to listen to Mabel talk about her stay at the Northwest's Manor before he tucked her and Waddles in and made his way to his own room to sleep.