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Pacifica gave a tired stretch as the last customer of the day left the Greasy Diner. The diner usually closed up around 9 and her new house was nearby so it wasn't a problem with her parents.
"Another day, another dollar. Are you good to lock up, Sweetie?" asked Lazy Susan.
"Just leave it to me!"
Lazy Susan waved goodbye and Pacifica got to work on closing the diner. She switched the sign from Open to Closed, shut the blinds on all the windows, and scrubbed the tables.
She was just about ready to mop the floors which meant that it was time for her nightly ritual.
One quick look around to make sure that she was alone and then she put a quarter in the jukebox.
She took out a makeshift mannequin from the broom closet. It had a mop bucket for feet, a mop for a body, a yardstick tied to the mop at a horizontal angle with white gloves stuck on the ends, and a top hat sat on top of the mop body. The most eye catching thing about it though, was a picture of Dipper Pines glued to the mop where at the height where her eyes would meet it.
"Well hello there, Dipper Pines. I just had to tell you that every adventure we go on my life gets a little better. I believe I'm becoming a better person and part of that is because of the influence you've had on me. Dance? Why I would love to!"
Now given Pacifica's upbringing, one would expect the song she picked to dance with the Dipper mannequin would be a slow song.
"Do you LOOOOOOVE ME?" blared the jukebox.
One would also be completely wrong. The quicker songs were much more fun to her. Yes, Pacifica had developed a secret crush on Dipper but never confessed because she feared his rejection.
Of course, the Mystery Twins had been returning to Gravity Falls every school break they had. Pacifica had been grateful for it too; hanging around Dipper honestly made her feel like a better person.
Pacifica shimmied her shoulders at the mannequin. So instead of confessing and running the risk of rejection, she would dance with a Dipper mannequin after hours.
Was this emotionally healthy? Debatable. Was she having fun? Absolutely!
It wasn't until the third twirl around with the mop that she noticed she wasn't alone. Resting his head in his hand, stretched across a table, was Dipper Pines. Doing nothing but peacefully watching her.
She froze. And her 'dance partner' froze right along with her.
Pacifica had her eyes deadlocked with Dipper's. Then, without breaking her gaze, she punched the mannequin in the photo. It went reeling back to the closet it came from, making a loud noise upon its inevitable crash against the shelves on the wall.
All emotions were drained from her face. She watched him as if her blow against the mannequin erased her dancing with it from existence.
Dipper's smile, a smile which said that it was one step away from laughing, told her that no such reality bending would be available to her this night.
"How much did you see?" was her honest question. If she couldn't erase the moment then she needed to know exactly how much explaining she needed to do.
"I believe I came in on the second 'Mash the Tater'." answered Dipper.
Her breath was caught in her throat. "Oh. Well you see, the reason why I was-... Wait! No! What're you doing here? How'd you even get IN here?!"
"One, Soos ordered a curbside pickup. Two, I didn't see it outside waiting for pickup so I thought maybe it was inside. And finally three..... You didn't lock the doors."
Thinking back, he was right. She had done everything else but forgot to lock the stupid door! One little slip and now she was paying for it.
"I....."
She tried to think of a way to excuse her actions while keeping her dignity in tact but none came to mind. He had seen EVERYTHING!!! Certainly close enough to see who's picture was on the mop!
"I'll check the kitchen for you!"
Pacifica ran straight into the kitchen. Her face felt like it was about to burst into flames with how red she was. She ran straight pass a brown paper bag labeled "Soos" and stuck her head in the meat locker. There, she screamed out all of her feelings in the frozen metal room. The sound proof metal walls were her only comfort in this situation.
Seconds later, she emerged with regained composure. Taking only a moment to touch herself up with her compact mirror, she grabbed Soos' order and headed out into the dinning area.
There she found Dipper exactly where she had left him. He had been looking bored but certainly perked up when he saw her return.
"Okay Pines," she dropped the bag in front of him. "What's it going to take to keep you quiet about what you saw?"
"Just a simple Q&A. Answer three questions honestly and I won't breathe a word of this to anyone."
"Shoot."
"Where did you get that picture of me?"
"All your mystery hunting talk got me curious about my own abilities and I learned how to use a spy camera."
"That's actually kinda cool!" Dipper admitted.
Pacifica brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. She was flattered but she made certain her face never stopped being anything but all business.
"Next question!" she ordered.
"Those were actually some smooth moves out there. Why were you keeping them to yourself?"
"I'm self conscious about my dancing. I enjoy it but unless it's something sophisticated I feel like a fool when other people watch me."
Pacifica held her breath. This was it. His last question. He was about to know everything!
"You dance pretty well to that song, but how about this one?"
Dipper put a MP3 player on the table and pressed play. He got up and started to dance just as a song started to play.
"Disco Girl, coming through! That girl is you! Oo-oo! Oo-oo!"
His moves were just as bad as her own! (Or good. Tonight was the first time she got any feedback on them.)
"Oh my goodness!" Pacifica gaped in shock. "You're just as much of a freak as I am!"
"No I'm a bigger freak! Because unlike you I don't care who sees me dance!"
Pacifica opened her mouth but found she had no way to argue his logic so she closed it.
He held out his hand to her. "So dance with me!"
"W-What?"
"Come on! You know you'll never be as bad as me! And with it being just the two of us, there's no point in you being self conscious."
Once again, she found herself unable to argue his logic. Her face flared up again but there was a smile on it too this time. A smile which, despite her best efforts, refused to be put away. She nervously darted her eyes anywhere away from him but still found her hand reaching out for his.
"I..... Really shouldn't...."
These were the words she spoke but her actions were quite contradictory of them. She danced with Dipper, she was certain that they both looked like fools, but she didn't care.
It felt right! And it wasn't the only dance of the night either. They repeatedly went back and forth between the jukebox and the MP3 player for different songs.
Time slipped away from them. One song turned into a playlist, a minute into an hour, this kept going until....
*HONK!* *HONK!*
They both jumped at the sudden noise.
"That must be Soos. Probably wondering where his pickup is." deduced Dipper.
He walked back to the table and grabbed the bag Pacifica dropped for him. Pacifica was disappointed that their time had to end so soon but after looking at the clock she could see why. They had wasted two hours together and she didn't even notice it.
"Thanks for the dances, Pacifica. And don't worry, I promise I won't tell anyone about what I saw with you and the mop."
He walked out the door and it nearly broke Pacifica's heart.
She hesitated for a moment but then ran out the door. Dipper was already handing the bag to Soos in his pickup truck. Mabel was in there too, talking to Dipper about something Pacifica couldn't quite make out. Perhaps it was better to just let him go? End it on a high note? After all, what more could she ask for than this night she just experienced? Well.... there was ONE thing...
She didn't even realize it at first, her body must have been acting on instinct or something, but she was walking straight towards Dipper. And the worst thing was that she had a strong suspicion as to why. And unless she stopped herself, there was no turning back!
'Pacifica! No! Don't do it!' she mentally scolded herself. 'You do this and everything will change! Oh great! He's seen us and now he's patiently waiting for us to catch up! You can still turn around and do.... Anything! Just not this! And Mabel and the chauffeur are in the truck too!! Great!! Secrecy is going to be DEAD unless you turn around and DON'T do what you're thinking!!'
Pacifica caught up to Dipper, threw her arms around his neck, and kissed him on the lips.
'And just like that, he knows everything! So much for a reputation! Who needs it?!'
She broke the kiss and looked at him with an almost begging look in her eyes. "Don't let this be our last dance night."
A smile slowly grew on Dipper's face. "Same time tomorrow night then?"
"It's a date! And don't be late!"
Dipper's smile got bigger as he got into the passenger seat of Soos' truck. "I won't! I promise!!"
They waved goodbye to each other and Soos drove off.
"See Mabel? I told you that I didn't need your help."
"I guess you were right. You did get her to dance with you all by yourself." Mabel nodded.
"To be fair, she never should have left her negatives at our thirteenth birthday party."
End.