Cataclysm -A Gravity Falls Fan Fic

Chapter Twenty- Appreciating the Pie

Dipper meets up with Mabel downstairs, who is talking to Stan.
"Dipper, join us!" Mabel chirps. "Stan told me we can choose a special place to eat at for a late lunch!"
"Uh...great," Dipper says, mustering a smile.
Mabel notices something is still wrong with Dipper, and frowns.
"So, where do you wanna go? Greasy's? That's...pretty much the only option," Stan grunts.
"Let's do it! Maybe it'll turn Dippy's frown upside down!" Mabel says, pointing to her smile, trying to cheer Dipper up.
"Haha...yeah," Dipper says with a sigh.
If there really are only three days left...I better make use of them as much as possible, Dipper thinks.
"To Greasy's, then," Dipper states as happily as he can, pointing.
     "Well...this is anticlimactic," Stan grunts.
"No it's not! Look, you have the...um, the...the manliness tester has been repaired! That's something!" Mabel says, pointing to it.
After that chat with Tilla, even the manliness tester seems sentimental and nostalgic to Dipper.
"Ah...I remember that. Good times," Dipper sighs, looking a bit sad.
"Really? Those were good times?" Stan asks. "Didn't ya lose every time?"
Just in time, Lazy Susan places down three pie slices in front of them.
"Enjoy, you trouble makers you!" she says, sashaying away.
Dipper takes a bite and for the first time ever, he really appreciates how delicious it is.
"Wow...this is actually really good," Dipper admits.
"Really? I mean, it's good, but not anything special," Stan says.
"Well...pretend it's your last day in Gravity Falls. You'd appreciate it more, right?" Dipper explains.
"Hey, don't mention leaving Gravity Falls! We've got plenty of time left, and I don't wanna think about it!" Mabel orders.
"Right, right...you've got plenty of--" Dipper starts, but his words get caught in his throat when out the window a short distance away, he sees Tilla peeking out from behind a tree, holding out the button.
Dipper's eyes widen and his face instantly goes pale again.
"Y-You're r-right, we've got plenty of time left," Dipper stutters, sweating.
Now Mabel knows Dipper is hiding something.
"You okay, kid? You've been acting weird lately," Stan points out, glancing at the bandages wrapped around his wrists.
"Yeah, I'm 100% fine," Dipper says, his voice nervously cracking.
"Will you excuse us for a sec, Grunk?" Mabel asks, grabbing Dipper by the arm and leading him outside near the front of the diner.
"Okay, what's going on, buster!? And don't you dare tell me 'nothing'. We're twins, I can tell something's wrong!" Mabel says, pointing an accusing finger at Dipper.
"W-What? Nothing's wrong, I swear!" Dipper says, but knows she can tell he's lying.
"Dipper," Mabel complains sadly. "Since when do you not tell me stuff?"
Dipper opens his mouth, but can't find the words to say. He wants to say something--anything--that could possibly warn her of the upcoming catastrophe; he wants to tell her "It'll be okay," or "It's for your own good," but he can't, so he stares at her silently, waiting for her to speak.
"Bro bro?" she prods.
"H-Hey, I tell you everything, remember?" Dipper says as casually as possible, playfully punching her on the shoulder. "We're...the Mystery Twins, you dum-dum,"
Mabel smiles and laughs, punching him back.
"Forever!" Mabel agrees.
"Now come on, before Stan eats all of the pie!" Dipper laughs, pushing her towards the door.
Once Mabel is facing away from him, he frowns, letting his sad, scared expression show, and glances behind him; Cataclysm is no longer peeking out from behind the tree, so Dipper breathes a sigh of relief and walks back inside the diner behind his sister.
     It's time for bed now, and Dipper is waiting in their room for Mabel to be done brushing her teeth in the bathroom.
Dipper nervously pulls out the black box from under his pillow and peeks inside, just to remind himself that it's not a dream; that this is a matter of Mabel's life or death. With a sigh, he hides it back under the pillow, and rests his head in his hands.
"Hey, Mr. Pines!" Dipper hears a familiar voice chirp behind him.
Dipper almost screams when he spins around, but Tilla covers his mouth with her hand.
"Shh," she says. "Or else your cover will be blown!"
Dipper closes his mouth, pushing her arm away.
"Why on earth are you here...!?" Dipper whisper-shouts.
"Listen, kid...there were several times today where you could've possibly hinted at hinting about what we talked about," Tilla explains, making hand motions.
"B-But Mabel only questioned me once...at most twice," Dipper argues. "Okay, maybe three times--!"
Tilla slaps him hard across the face, making Dipper widen his eyes in surprise again. Then Tilla giggles.
"Listen, I'm just reminding you to stay undercover!" Tilla laughs.
Dipper grumbles under his breath and rolls his eyes.
"Fine, y'know what? Do whatever the heck you want before the showdown!" Tilla says. "I'll just have to have this button ready to press at any moment you do or say something outta line!"
"Fine...whatever," Dipper sighs sadly.
"That's more like it!" Tilla laughs.
Suddenly, Mabel swings open the door, and Tilla transports away.
Dipper spins around to face her.
"Hey, bro bro!" Mabel chirps.
Dipper just waves hi, biting his lip.
"Dipper, you're acting all...weird again," Mabel says, walking towards him. "And you're face is all pale,"
"Goodnight," Dipper says quickly, laying down and pulling the covers over his head.
"Don't think you can escape the clutches of your supportive twin that easily!" Mabel laughs, throwing the covers off of him.
"Mabel--!" he stutters, grabbing the covers back.
"Awe, no pillow fight?" Mabel frowns sadly.
"Not...not tonight," Dipper sighs, placing a protective hand on his pillow. "Night,"
Dipper once again rolls away from her, pulling the covers up over his head.
"Night then, weirdy-pants," Mabel grumbles, climbing into her bed and turning off the lights.
Dipper doesn't reply, just lays down silently, holding back tears, unable to fall asleep.

(Note: So, do you guys have any ideas as to what Tilla's bargain with Dipper is?? Post your guesses in the comments! It will be revealed very soon! Goodbye, fellow fallers! Keep calm and Waddles on!! ❤️🐷❤️
-Mabelwaffles127)