You and Me

one. six junes

When a bus pulls up into Gravity Falls, all chances of peace are well and truly shattered.

The sleepy Oregon town rarely got visitors and, if it did, they were usually tourists who probably had either never heard of Disneyland or had been there enough times already to the point they were sick of it.

The bus doors open with a creak. It's eerily quiet; the only passengers are two young adults and the bus driver. The first young adult bounces up out of her seat and cheers when she realises the bus has reached its destination. She begins to walk down the passageway before noticing there are no footsteps behind her. Turning around, she instantly sees that the other has his head tilted back, eyes covered by a trucker cap and a little drool threatening to spill down his chin.

Rolling her eyes, she begins to walk back to their seats right at the back of the bus. She shakes him awake and he stirs, mumbling something.

'Come on, Dipper!' she says sternly yet with a smile on her face – although, it's safe to assume that a smile is permanently tattooed on her face. 'We're here! We're finally here!'

Dipper pushes his cap up, only one eye open. 'You serious?'

'I'm serious!' she shouts, reaching out her hand for him. Now with both eyes open, Dipper's attention is all on the bus driver growing more and more aggravated at the two not getting off the bus. He groans before standing up, declining her offer to take his hand. As he walks off in front of her, the girl follows him and questions, 'Hey, what's up?'

He doesn't reply, but she catches up with him and once they're off the bus she rests her hands on his shoulders, stopping him in his tracks. 'We're back in Gravity Falls for the summer, Dipper. After six years! You can't be coming down with the grumpy grumps. This is not the time!'

Dipper chuckles softly, before responding matter-of-factly, 'That's not entirely true, Mabel. We came here last year.'

'Not for the summer!' Mabel exclaims. 'This is for the summer again! Aren't you excited?'

Dipper nods half-heartedly. 'Of course I am, it's just…'

'It's just what?' Mabel interrupts, but Dipper just lowers his head and sighs.

'Nothing. Let's just get our bags and head to the shack, alright?'

'Kids!' a gruff voice greets the two at the front door.

'Grunkle Stan!' they greet in unison. Dipper shuffles forward, while Mabel runs towards her great uncle. To his dismay, she wraps her arms around his waist and gives him a tight hug. After a few seconds, he grumbles, 'Alright, alright, that's enough affection for one day. Now get off me.'

Mabel simply laughs it off and untangles herself, stepping back to be in line with Dipper. She smiles at Stan, a big toothy smile that is braces-free.

'It's been so long! We haven't seen you in forever!' Mabel excitedly tells Stan, who's amazed that even now as a young adult she is able to be so full of life at ten in the morning. 'You haven't changed!' She looked Stan up and down, noticing how he still walked around in his boxer shorts, slippers and a plain vest. A few wrinkles had made themselves known across his face but, other than that, he was still the same Grunkle Stan Mabel had known all her life. No matter how old they got, Stan was never their great uncle – he was always her great uncle.

'You have,' Stan notices, pointing out how her braces were removed when she was fourteen. 'You've gotten taller.'

Dipper adjusts his hat and steps forward, finally speaking after staying mute. 'Yeah, people do that.'

'Ah, Dip,' Stan laughs, patting the now eighteen year old Dipper on the head. 'You definitely haven't changed.'

Dipper tilts his head to the side, closing one eye as his great uncle pats his head. In truth, Dipper felt he had changed far too much. Though he was glad to have finally had his growth spurt and now stood at an impressive 6'0 (not to mention the facial hair he'd sprouted), mentally he still felt like the same awkward twelve year old he was over the summer six Junes ago. Girls still weren't his forte, even now he had graduated from high school.

The twins had always wanted to go back to Gravity Falls ever since their first summer there when they were twelve, but never had the chance. Something always happened until eventually they realised it was unlikely they'd be heading back any time soon. It was a miracle that they even had the privilege of a short visit the year before.

But now, the two had turned adults in mid-June and here they were in the late June days, living their new life as adults.

Mabel hadn't changed much, other than growing taller and having her braces removed. She was still as outgoing as ever and boys were still her favourite thing in the whole world, despite having the nightmare that is a teenage twin brother sharing a bedroom with her to deal with. She'd had a few boyfriends throughout middle and high school, which made Dipper feel…oddly jealous. Not only in the way that he would often get protective of his sister and hurt any boy who broke her heart, but also in the sense that he wished he could have been as great with the ladies.

It was hard because, not only was he awkward still, he'd given his heart to somebody else. Whether he'd see her again he never knew, but deep down he was desperate to just see her one last time.

Mabel has long disappeared, taking her bags (but not Dipper's) up into their old bedroom in the shack's attic. The place hadn't changed either; a few cobwebs decorated the corners, but everything else seemed the same. Mucus still covered the poles on the ceiling, and it still had the musky smell of wood Mabel liked.

Dipper sits on the front porch, head in his hands. He feels a big hand resembling somewhat of a bear's paw touch his shoulder. Whipping his head around, he instantly recognises the face.

'Soos?' he blinks, totally amazed at the sight before him. While Stan had changed appearance-wise just a tiny bit by showing details of his age, Soos had literally not changed one bit. Not a pound on his body had been shifted or gained, and not a whisker on his chin had been plucked out. He was still the same Soos Dipper met when he was twelve and visiting Gravity Falls for the first summer.

'Yeah, hey, dude,' Soos greets in his usual manner. 'Man, you've really grown, huh.'

Dipper sighs and repeats what he said to Stan. 'Yeah. People do that…'

Soos looks at Dipper quizzically for a moment before sensing the atmosphere. 'Hey, what's up with you?'

'It's just…' Dipper's voice trails off and he keeps his eyes on the distance. 'All through middle school and all through high school I've only had one girl on my mind, and it's stupid. Now I'm here and…all I wanna do is go back home, because what if I see her again and…'

'And what?' Soos urges Dipper to continue when he pauses.

'…And, well, what if she's moved on? Does she even still live here?' though Dipper speaks cryptically, never referring to the girl by name, Soos knows exactly who she's talking about.

'Told me she goes to college upstate,' he informs the younger boy. 'But she always returns here over the summer.' Dipper's ears perk up.

'Woa, really?' his tone does a total 360 and he stares at Soos.

'Yeah, really, dude,' Soos nods with a smile.

He leans in close to Dipper's ear before whispering, 'Go find her, child.'

A/N: I have had this idea in mind for a while, but never was too sure on how to start it. So, I guess you could say I kind of rushed this first chapter, and so I am hoping the next few will get better (especially once I really get into it).