The lively dance music and sparkling disco ball contrasted harshly against Dipper's raging emotions. While everyone else was having the time of their lives downstairs, Dipper sat unhappily in a corner by the 2nd floor stairway where he couldn't see the dancers, but could still hear the upbeat music and feel the bass thumping like a heartbeat.

Dipper sighed heavily and peered around through the doorway again. He couldn't see either Wendy or Robbie from where he was sitting, so he turned back and leaned against the wall. Normally he would have come up with a million solutions for how to get Robbie to leave or to get Wendy to dance, but his mind felt as broken as his heart.

"Ugh! You too!" A voice broke Dipper's melancholy train of thought. Dipper wiped his eyes and turned his head to see Pacifica Northwest, minus her date, standing disapprovingly over him.

Dipper groaned and turned away. He knew he looked like a mess, and next to Robbie, Pacifica was the last person he wanted to see him like that.

"My gosh, you and your twin sister," Pacifica shook her head and didn't finish her thought.

"Mabel?" Dipper turned back to face her again, "What happened to Mabel?"

"How should I know?" Pacifica asked, fluffing her hair, "Perhaps the competition for the title of party queen got to her."

"Why would you say that?"

"Where have you been all day? Admissions duty?" Pacifica said with a sharp laugh before walking off and disappearing into the bathroom.

Dipper scrambled to his feet and stood on the edge of the stairway, looking over the dance floor. He could see the entire floor, minus the one corner to his right, but his sister was nowhere to be found.

Dipper stepped quietly down the stairs, then looked in the far corner he couldn't see from upstairs.

Mabel wasn't there either.

"Whoa dude, what happened to you?" Dipper went stiff when someone spoke from directly behind him.

"Wendy!" he gulped, turning to see the redhead standing behind him, holding a plastic cup full of punch.

"You look awful, are you feeling okay?" Wendy asked, with genuine concern written across her face.

"Uh, yeah... I just," Dipper paused and let out a sigh, relaxing his shoulders, "I've been having a rough day."

Wendy smiled, "I get ya. I've been having a pretty crazy day myself."

Dipper winced at the memory of what had happened earlier. Strangely, he didn't see the black sweatshirt that would indicate Robbie was around.

"You wanna talk about it?" Wendy asked, leaning up against the stair wall.

Dipper bit his lip and looked away. "Um... no, thanks," Dipper said after a moment's thought, "I should probably... get cleaned up and..." Dipper didn't finish his sentence, but just left off with a shrug.

"Okay man," the redhead said, giving a little shrug back, "But if you need someone to talk to, I'm here all night."

Wow. Dipper looked up at the taller girl and a smile crept at the corners of his lips. "Thanks Wendy," he said softly, "That really means a lot."

"Anytime, Dipper," Wendy said with a grin.

Dipper sighed gratefully and began to climb back up the stairs, but he caught himself and turned back. "Oh wait Wendy, I almost forgot," he said, stepping down a little, "I was looking for Mabel, have you seen her anywhere?"

"Ooh no, sorry dude," Wendy said with a slight wince, "I tried looking for her after she ran off, but I couldn't find her anywhere."

"After she ran off? What happened?" Dipper asked, stepping down further.

"I don't know, I missed whatever made her so upset, but I saw her running out that way about a half hour ago," Wendy explained, motioning up the stairs. "Do you have any idea where she is? I think you should talk to her if you can find her."

"Yeah, I will," Dipper said, turning back, "Thanks again."

***

"Mabel?" Dipper called. "Mabel, where are you?" He closed the door that lead into the old wax museum.

"Not in there," he muttered to himself. He ran through the checklist in his head: She wasn't in any of the downstairs closets, in the cupboards, under the stairs, or in the abandoned wax museum, which left only one place. Dipper walked back down the hallway and climbed up the stairs that lead into the attic.

"Mabel, you in here?" He called as he pushed the creaky door open.

"No," came a muffled reply from within the room.

Dipper smiled to himself and gently opened the closet door.

"Hey Mabel," he said softly.

Light streamed into the closet to reveal Mabel, curled up in the corner of the closet behind a pair of boots, still wearing her bright party dress, but with a faded pink sweater pulled up over her head, hiding her face.

"Go away," she muttered, curling up tighter in the sweater.

Dipper ignored his sister's complaint and set himself down opposite of her in the closet and closed the door, leaving it cracked just enough to let the light in to illuminate her figure.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" Dipper asked, moving around in the corner, trying to get comfortable.

"N-nn." Mabel shook her head, not looking from out of the sweater.

There was a moment of silence and Dipper could hear the upbeat music from the party, barely audible through the wooden floor.

"Where are Candy and Grenda?" Dipper asked. He looked out the opening in the door as if he expected them to be there, "I thought they'd be with you."

"They left," Mabel replied tiredly, "Their parents said they had to be home by 10."

There was a pause, then Dipper spoke up again. "Mabel, what's wrong?" He asked, leaning forward.

"Nothing." Mabel replied stoutly.

"C'mon Mabel, please?" Dipper pleaded.

"No."

Dipper stopped and thought for a moment.

"I've been having a rough day too," he confessed.

"Not as bad as mine," Mabel protested, still not looking out from her sweater.

"Yeah? You should take a look at me, I'll bet I look like a hobo or something."

A pair of soft brown eyes peeked over the neck of the sweater. Dipper smiled sympathetically.

Mabel sighed and pulled the neck of her sweater down under her chin, and Dipper's face fell when he saw what happened.

"Mabel... were you crying?"

Mabel's eyes were red and dark streaks of mascara trailed down her cheeks, making smudges where she had tried to wipe them away.

"I wasn't crying," Mabel protested, putting her arms through her sleeves, then crossing them.

"Oh my gosh, Mabel, what happened?"

"Nothing, I just... I just got some water on my face," Mabel grumbled, trying to wipe the streaks off.

"Don't lie to me Mabel," Dipper said, folding his arms, "I know you better than that."

Mabel sighed and hugged her legs.

"It's Pacifica," Mabel confessed angrily, looking at the floor, "She said some things and I was a baby and got offended, okay?"

"Come here," Dipper said, holding out his arm. Mabel sighed again and crawled over to her brother, who pulled her closer so that she was resting her head on his shoulder. "Tell me what she said."

Mabel sniffed and wiped her eyes. "She said I'm a loser and I hang out with loser people," Mabel's voice was breaking up, "I stood up for my friends; I said they are great because they accept me for who I am and I don't have to act like a bully to impress them."

Dipper raised his eyebrows, but didn't say anything.

"Then she got all mad and called me names, like... mean names, and I didn't like that... but I tried not to think about it... but after Candy and Grenda left... I went to refill the punch bowl, and Pacifica... she did this."

Mabel pulled up her sweater at the bottom.

"I can't see," Dipper whispered," What happened?"

"She tipped the bowl and I've got punch all over," Mabel answered, her breaths coming in light gasps as tears welled in her eyes, "Then everyone laughed at me, like a mean laugh." Mabel didn't go on as she was shaking with sobs.

Dipper wrapped both his arms around Mabel and held her tight. Neither of them said a word as Mabel's tears soaked Dipper's shirt and Dipper rocked gently to soothe her.

Gradually, Mabel's sobs lessened and became a little more controlled.

"What happened to you?" She whispered wrapping her arms around Dipper's body.

"Me?" Dipper asked, as if he was surprised, "It's nothing much, really."

"Don't lie to me, I know you better than that," Mabel said, not at all firmly.

"Heh," Dipper laughed, rubbing her shoulder, he thought for a moment, then began, "Well, I was on admittance duty with Wendy... and I gave her a nudge and told her to go inside and enjoy the party."

Mabel snuggled closer when he paused.

"Everything was going fine, and then Robbie showed up. He went inside, and when business died down, I looked in the window and he was dancing with Wendy."

Dipper cleared his throat, "I got all panicked, and then, then he leaned in close to Wendy, and..."

"They kissed?" Mabel finished.

Dipper nodded in reply, biting his lip.

"I'm sorry," Mabel whispered.

Dipper shrugged a little and didn't say anything.

Someone's laugh echoed from downstairs and the upbeat music once again crept up into the closet. Dipper reached up into one of the jackets on a hanger over his head and pulled out a watch, pressing a button on the side, so that the face lit up green.

"11:52," he read, "Almost closing time."

"Good," Mabel muttered, "I want to go to sleep."

"Do you want to go check on the party?" Dipper suggested, sitting up straight against the wall, "We could probably get away with it unnoticed, so we might as well."

"Okay," Mabel whispered, getting up off of her brother. Dipper pushed the door open and they headed out together.

Mabel and Dipper sat together on the balcony overlooking the dance floor, but in the corner in such a way that no one would see them unless they specifically looked up. There weren't too many people left on the floor, and those who still danced had exhaustion weighing down their moves. Dipper eyed all around the room, looking for familiar faces. He found Wendy on the couch, but there was no one with her, and he couldn't see Pacifica or Robbie anywhere, thank goodness.

The music slowly faded out and Soos' voice spoke out through the speakers.

"Alright dudes, grab a partner 'cuz were coming up to the last song of the night."

"Last song," Mabel muttered, wearily resting her head on Dipper's shoulder.

"Hey Dipper," He jumped when he heard his name. Dipper looked down to see Wendy waving up at him from the couch. "Last dance, need a partner?"

Dipper couldn't believe his ears. His eyes went wide and he looked from Wendy, down to his sister, who smiled back up at him.

"Go get 'em tiger," she said with a wink.

Dipper looked back over at Wendy, who was smiling up at him. It seemed like a dream come true, but there was something holding him back. When he looked back down at Mabel, he knew exactly what he needed to do.

"Uh, no thanks Wendy," Dipper forced himself to say. Mabel sat up with a jolt next to him. "I already have a partner."

"Okay, cool," Wendy said with a shrug.

"Dipper, what are you doing?" Mabel asked, her eyes wide, why aren't you going to dance with..."

She broke off when Dipper stood up and did a little bow, offering her his hand.

"My dear princess," he said formally, "Would you do this street hobo the honor of a dance?"

Mabel laughed, and pulled her sweater down at the hem, "What? No, I shouldn't. I look like a wreck."

"I think you look beautiful," Dipper said with a smile. Mabel looked up into his eyes and smiled back.

"Alright, my good hobo," Mabel said, playing along, "This beautiful train wreck agrees to dance." She took his hand and he helped her up.

At that moment, the lights went a dim purple and the music kicked in, slow and mellow.

"Oh no, this song is so sappy!" Mabel laughed as they descended the stairs.

Pairs of dancers were already moving fluidly around the floor and the twins slipped in and joined the flow. Mabel blushed and laughed embarrassed. "Oh my gosh, this is so weird," she said quietly.

"Do you want to stop?" Dipper asked, leading her through the movements.

"No," Mabel said, looking down with a smile, "No."

So they carried on. Mabel with black streaks going down her face, a horrid punch stain on her dress, and an mismatched sweater on top; and Dipper, wrinkled and messy without a tie and with a blue trucker's cap on his head, dancing along to the slow love song that streamed through the speakers.

Mabel looked around at the crowd of dancers holding each other close. The lights faded in and out in turn, changing the color of the room, and the disco ball sent little circles all over everyone and everything. With her head on her brother's shoulder, and his arm shamelessly around her waist, she felt strangely safe. Despite the fact she was blushing red, Mabel almost wished the moment would last forever.

"Thank you," Mabel whispered, not looking up at Dipper.

"Thank you," Dipper whispered back.

In that moment, both of them stopped dancing, and while holding each other's hands, they just looked into each other's tired eyes, then, with the dancers stepping around them like they were stones in a stream, the brother and sister wrapped each other in a hug, and in that moment, nothing else mattered in the world. This last dance would be forever theirs.

Once again, thank you to MadiYasha for the grammar check!