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June 20, 15:17
A warm, summer afternoon. His favorite song, blasting from the radio. Summer solstice ritual magic, still hanging heavy in the air.
It was a good day.
"Heyyyy Dippin’ Dot!"
…It was a good day.
"What, Mabel?"
"Okay, so, you know how Summerween is coming up?"
"Of course?"
Honestly, he’s a bit worried where this is going…
"Okay, well, CandyGrendaandIarehopingyoucancometrickortreatingwithus?"
And there it is. He sighs, shuts off the music, and meets his sister’s eyes.
"No, Mabel, I’m not going trick or treating with you this year."
Immediately, she runs over and collapses on his bed, whining.
“
Whyyyy noooottt!!”
"Well, for starters,” he shoves her playfully off the bed, “we're fifteen . That’s too old to be trick or treating on an off-brand Halloween. Also, I'm going to a party with Wendy and her friends."
"Awwwww, but pleeeeeease?"
"No, Mabel."
"I'll give you... all my snickers bars."
“I will not be bribed.”
"...and all my milky ways."
"...deal."
"Haha, yes!"
Mabel prances out the room, giggling. She pauses at the door.
“Also, you have to dress up okay bye”
“...hey, hold on a seco nd Mabel?”
June 21, 18:49
“So, I’ve got to leave by 9:30 tomorrow night.”
"Awwww, but the best part of Summerween is after 10pm!"
His sister doesn’t even look up from her… whatever she’s doing.
"Exactly, that's why I'm leaving. The party starts at 10, and Wendy wants everyone there by 9:45."
"Awwwwwwait, wait!” She springs up, sending needles and thread and sparkles flying. She grabs his shoulders.
“Pleeeeeease wear a Marvel themed costume? Grenda's going as Thor, and Candy's going as Black Widow, and I'm going as Captain Marvel! Can you be... like, Hawkeye or something? Pleeeeease?"
"Nope."
"Oh cmon, why not? We’ve got a theme , Dipper, a theme ."
"I've already got a costume, Mabel."
She grabs his shoulders again . Seriously, personal space! (He doesn’t really mind, and he breaks into a grin at her excited face)
"Really? What is it? Is it Marvel related? Or is it some nerdy thing, like, an Albert Einstein costume?"
He laughs, shaking her off.
"Not telling…” she pouts at him, “buuut it's something I can wear both trick-or-treating with you and to the party."
"Oooo! Tell me tell me tell me!”
“I said I’m not telling, Mabel. You’ll find out tomorrow.”
“Fineeee,” she huffs, flopping back onto the floor. “At least make it somewhat matching with us, pleeeease?”
“I’ll see what I can do. Try not to stab yourself, ‘kay?” he winces as she grabs a fistful of fabric, uncaring of rogue sewing needles and pins.
June 22, 20:02
"DIPPER GET DOWN HERE LET'S GO C'MON THEY’RE ALREADY HERE LET’S GO!!!"
Dipper rolled his eyes, touching up his makeup in the mirror. He definitely didn’t need to spend this much time on it, as it was likely to get ruined at the party, but hey, he liked looking good, sue him.
He was a bit… apprehensive, to go trick or treating. The last Summerween he really participated in was back when he was twelve, when they were attacked by that candy monster. The summer after, he had spent almost all his time in the basement with Grunkle Ford, and the summer after that, he hadn't even gone to Gravity Falls, and had instead gone to three different summer camps. Now that he's back, it feels... strange. Like the air is charged, like the whole town was waiting for something.
He shakes off the feeling. Tonight was about him, partying and eating candy like a normal teenager.
"Dipper! Where's your costume?" Mabel asked. He paused for a moment - she had gone all out with her Captain Marvel costume.
"This is my costume," he said, giving a little twirl. "I'm a witch!"
Mabel looked him up and down, looking like she was debating between laughing and sighing in exasperation.
"Dipper... you're always a witch. This… it’s not a costume if you are a witch !"
"Oh come on, it’s the perfect costume! I had all the components ready to go, I know I look good in it, and it’s not like the whole town knows I’m a witch, right?" he laughed.
She sighed, but her smile never faltered. "You make a fair point, o’ brother of mine!” She spun on her heel, cape nearly hitting him in the face. “Now let's go grab the others and set off to raid the town of delicious sweets!"
June 22, 20:25
The sun was just starting to set as the four walked into Gravity Falls proper. The streets were alive with children dressed in costumes, parents running around with extra bags, and teenagers, just like them, prowling the sidewalks.
Summerween, and probably Halloween, was different in Gravity Falls.
In California, children dressed as pirates, and princesses, and fairies, and zombies. Here in Gravity Falls, Dipper saw a kid dressed as a demon queen, with fake blood dripping from her crown, and a dress made of fake human skin. He saw a kid dressed as an angel, with hundreds of oddly realistic eyes glued onto his suit. He saw what was very likely a real elven child dressed as a police officer, running around with a group of similarly dressed human kids. It warmed his heart, seeing the interspecies friendships of Gravity Falls.
"You look very nice, Dipper. What are you dressed as?" Candy asked, appearing beside him.
Dipper practically preened at the compliment. "I'm a witch! You look great too, Candy. Black Widow suits you, quiet and badass."
She flushed, smiling at him. "Is that one of your ritual costumes, then? It looks very… shiny, somehow."
Dipper actually preened this time. "It is! Litha was yesterday, so I figured I'd wear one of my more... witchy looking Solstice outfits. And the shine is from the Solstice magic. I’m surprised you noticed."
"It looks really good on you," she said.
"Your costume looks really good on you too!" he said. She gave him a small smile, but her eyes were practically glowing with joy.
Candy opened her mouth to reply, but Mabel cut her off.
"Stop flirttttinnggg, let's go! First house, that’a way!"
"Here." Grenda handed huge, customized candy bags to the others. Grenda's had hammer and lightning designs, Candy's had spiders and assorted weapons, and Mabel's had stars and blue cubes. Dipper had a pillowcase.
"Everybody ready? The sun’s setting, so the kids'll probably be going inside." Mabel was literally jumping up and down with excitement.
"I'm ready, you ready?" Grenda asked.
"I am ready to trick-or-treat. Dipper?" Candy asked.
"Yup! Oh, um, I don’t know if Mabel told you guys, but I've got to leave at around 9:30. I'm going to a party.”
"No worries man."
"Yes, no worries."
"OKAY! Now?" Mabel asked.
"Now," Dipper confirmed.
“Now!” Grenda yelled, sprinting off towards the first residential street
Laughing, the three remaining sped down the path, dodging dropped candies and small children.
June 22, 21:28
"Alright, alright, seriously, I've got to get going," Dipper said. He had thrown his pillowcase over his shoulder a while ago, and was seriously considering just casting a lightening charm on it.
"Awww, but we're having so much fun!" Mabel complained.
"Yeah, this is awesome!" Grenda was carrying all three bags, because none of them knew the meaning of moderation , or too much of a good thing .
"This is totally a lot of fun, guys, but I have a party to get to. You guys still have, like, half an hour of trick-or-treating to do, without even counting things like mini haunted houses or whatever." Dipper stopped walking.
"We're close to the forest, which means this is the perfect place for me to break away. Can I head out without you guys complaining too much?" he asked playfully.
"Nope.” Mabel stopped dead, and threw herself at her brother. “Don’t leave us!" Mabel hugged him awkwardly, both because of her costume and his candy bag. "We’ll miss you so much! You can’t go!"
Chuckling, he untangled himself.
“Have a good time, guys.”
“Have fun,” they chorused.
Dipper walked to the edge of the woods, took a deep breath, and stepped inside. Instantly, the latent magic of the forest surrounded him. The whole of Gravity Falls was a magical hotspot, but the forest was another thing altogether. Just a few feet past the tree line, and already, Dipper’s magic was sparking on his fingertips.
He held up his pillowcase of candy, pulled his bedroom into his Mind's Eye, and whispered, "mittere ad cubiculum." The pillowcase disappeared, transported to his bedroom floor. He found that latin spells worked best for him."Me adducere ad Wendy Corduroy."
The world turned into a swirl of colors, sounds, and smells. Everything was blurry, and looking too long tugged on his limbs. Then, he appeared next to Wendy, waiting on the sidewalk outside the house. The sound of laughter and loud music, as well as the strong smell of sugar and alcohol, came from inside.
"Dipper!" Wendy said, punching his arm in greeting. "How’ve you been?"
"Pretty great, you?" he rolled his shoulders, shaking the static from his hands.
"Awesome! Ready to party? We’re just waiting on Tambry and her neighbors now."
"Born ready. Nice costume. Very you."
Wendy was dressed as an Amazonian warrior, with elaborate armor and a sword hanging from her belt, hair done up in an elaborate braided bun. She grinned.
"Thanks man, you too. Is that one of your... uniforms? Costumes? Can I call it a costume? Is that disrespectful?"
Dipper laughed.
"You're good, you're good. You can totally call it a costume, it's cool. And thanks!"
"Good, okay. Ready?”
"Ready." They entered the house, ready to spend the next few hours drinking, dancing, and having the time of their lives.
June 22, 22:36
"Heyyyy, Pines! Happy Summerween, man!" One of the guys, tall, dressed as a vampire, raised his red cup in greeting. The house was full, and decorated to the high heavens. Everywhere you looked, there was a mel-o-lantern, or a string of neon lights, or fake spider webs. Lee had made Summerween punch, which consisted of "can't tell ya or it'll ruin the fun”. Whatever it was, it smelled slightly toxic.
Dipper wasn't the only witch in attendance, and he had tipped his hat at no fewer than three other witches, just in the last hour. The party had migrated into the backyard, where people were doing things like bobbing for plastic bags full of air, money, and candy, or telling scary stories, or just catching up with friends here for the summer.
Dipper was sitting on the grass with Wendy, Robbie, and six others. Four of them were Wendy and Robbie's ages, while the other two were closer to Dipper's age. They told stories about their least favorite classes, least favorite teachers, least favorite subjects. They ate spooky cupcakes and drank Lee's punch and laughed, and Dipper had never felt more like a normal teenager.
June 23, 11:46
"Get up, Dipper, or I'm knocking this door down!"
Dipper groaned, putting his pillow over his head.
“Dipper Pines get out of bed!”
He rolled over.
“Mabel I’ll curse you so that you never have a matching pair of socks.”
“Ha!” the door flew open. “Jokes on you, I don’t wear matching socks anyways!”
Mabel took in her brother’s form. He was still dressed, with smeared makeup and extreme bedhead. His outer robe was strewn across the floor, and it smelled… toxic
"Jeez, when did you get back last night!?"
"Like, sunrise, go away." He burrowed even deeper into his bed.
"Jeeeeez, someone's cranky. Make better decisions, Dipper!" She swatted him, but left the room. "By the way, pancakes are on the counter. Real pancakes, not Stancakes or Mabelcakes. I ordered them just for you, but they'll get stale if you don't come down soon! I'm not putting them in the fridge!"
Cursing and muttering, Dipper resigned himself to getting out of bed.
...in a few minutes. Just a few more minutes.