55
Pacifica

   My eyes strained to open. I almost couldn't remember where I was.

   But when I looked around the room, it all became clear to me about where I was; my bedroom.

   I stretched and yawned and looked to the left of me. There were definitely signs that someone had been there, but they were gone now.

   If I were Mabel, I'd be able to deduce how long ago it was.

   Compared to yesterday's hangover, I felt just mild discomfort. I made it a point not to drink too much, because as Dipper stated, I needed to keep my wits about me.

   Dipper! Where the heck was he?

   I groggily got out of bed, looking around the rest of my bedroom to see if he was anywhere in there. Once I was certain that he wasn't there, I made my way out of the room and down the stairs.

   It was dead quiet in the house, I assumed everyone was out cold after the events of the after party.

   The house was pretty messy. Sighing and pulling my hair into a bun, I began to just tidy things up, as well as look around for Dipper.

   I walked into the living room and saw that Gideon was crashed on the couch, remnants of whatever he drank the night before in cups littered around the couch.

   I frowned, but sympathized. He'd never drank before, so he didn't know his limit.

   I needed to focus. I needed to know where the hell Dipper was. I was feeling slightly worried that I hadn't seen him since the night before. Although it was only just nine in the morning, Dipper was notorious for getting up at at least seven.

   How he did it, I had no idea. The man could function on three hours of sleep consistently, and hungover.

   In the mean time, I decided to check the rest of the rooms to see if there were any, ehem, unwanted guests.

   I checked throughout the living room, the kitchen, and even in the gift shop; there was no one else. Which then brought me to the guest room.

   I opened it quietly and carefully, just in case there was someone else sleeping in there. Stepping quietly into the room, I frowned.

   Seeing Scarlett lying zonked out on the guest bed had freaked me out. What scared me even more was the fact that I saw a familiar brown head curled up next to her.

   My blood froze and my throat closed up quicker than the beat of a hummingbird's wings. I couldn't say a word, I couldn't believe it.

   I backed slowly out of the room, shutting the door as I did, but no tears fell down my face. I just couldn't do it.

   "Pazzie? What's wrong?"

   I felt myself freeze up again. What? No way. I turned away from the shut door to see Dipper standing in the hallway, looking at me with concern.

   What was also weird was the plate he held in his hand. It was a stack of the fluffiest waffles I had ever seen in my life.

   "Sorry, I didn't mean to rush out early this morning. I didn't want to wake you, but I also wanted to make you breakfast, and, well, the food in this house isn't well. . .what I had in mind." Balancing the plate on one hand, he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

   I only stared at him. What the hell? More like who the hell?

   "Paz? Are you okay?" He set the plate down on a table that had been placed in the hallway for the party guests of the night before. Without missing a beat, he came up closer to me and wrapped me in his arms. "What's going on?"

   I still couldn't speak. I felt bad for even thinking that Dipper had cheated. But that was the million dollar question; if it wasn't Dipper lying curled up next to Scarlett in the guest room, who the hell was it?

   "Pacifica?" He said once more, "what happened, are you hurt?"

   I shook my head. "S-sorry, no, I. . .I." I couldn't find a way to explain what I'd saw and what conclusion I'd come to. "I thought you were with Scarlett. . .in there." I jerked my thumb in the direction of the guest room.

   Dipper wrinkled his nose. "What? Scarlett's still here?"

   I nodded. "But there's someone with her, and well, I thought it was you."

   Dipper nodded. "What made you think it was me?"

   "I swear, I didn't have any ill feelings about where you were before I saw the other person in that room." I explained quickly. "But their hair looks to be the same color as yours. . .and, well, I just assumed."

Dipper simply nodded once more. "I see. Curious, no?"

"Well what do we do?" I asked. "I feel like waking them would be rude, y'know?"

"However, solving one piece of this puzzle might be helpful." Dipper strode past me, toward the door.

   "Wait!" I reached out and snatched Dipper's wrist, which I guess he wasn't expecting.

   I watched as he halted, then looked back at me. "What?"

   "I mean, should we really be in there?" I asked. "It is kinda private."

   "What we shouldn't do is leave that question unanswered." Dipper stated. "Aren't you curious to the fact that Scarlett is still here?"

   I let go of Dipper's wrist and crossed my arms. "It seems that you are more curious about who she is with."

   Dipper sighed, ran a hand through his hair, and I immediately felt bad for saying it.

   "I'm sorry." I shook my head. "Yes, I'll admit, I'm curious, too. But I don't think—"

   "Jesus, why are you two so loud?"

   Both Dipper and I froze like deer in headlights. Like two children getting their hands caught in the cookie jar.

   The door had opened while Dipper and I were discussing whether or not we should've entered, and now a messy-haired Scarlett was glaring at us.

   "Don't you know party culture?" Scarlett scoffed, clearing annoyed. "Pacifica, it makes sense that you don't, but Dipper, I'm disappointed. You know how it works."

   I felt kind of weird about her comment. It was almost like she was judging me simply based on her own opinions of me.

   Dipper recovered quickly and cleared his throat. "Terribly sorry, Scarlett," he seemed to be very careful with his words. I still had no idea where the two stood, and clearly, Dipper had no clue either. "I was simply shocked to see you still here. I assumed you left."

   Scarlett snorted. "Dipper, what did I tell you yesterday about assuming?"

  Before Dipper could even open his mouth, Scarlett cut him off again.

   "Oh well, it doesn't matter." Scarlett shrugged. "You guys have anything to eat?" She looked behind me and Dipper and saw the waffles. "Oh? Waffles? My favorite."

   "They aren't for you." I interjected.

   "Wow, I feel so welcome here." Scarlett rolled her eyes and tossed her messy hair over her shoulder. "Anyways, I'm gonna go get something to eat, you comin' along?" She looked over her shoulder, back to the room she exited.

   "Oh, absolutely! I'm starving."

   No. Way. There was absolutely no way. I immediately recognized that voice, and when I glanced at Dipper, I could see that he did as well.

When the person in question walked out of the room, eyeing the two of us up, frowning the entire time. "What?"

Dipper looked furious. "Are you kidding me, Scarlett? What kind of petty revenge is this? Are you that mad at me that you'd go that far?!"

Scarlett sighed, "Dipper, you need to calm down. It's not that big of a deal."

"How is this not a big deal?!" He exclaimed. "You slept with my sister!"

   The four of us went quiet and simply stared at each other.

   Finally, breaking the silence, came Gideon's voice, who must've heard the commotion. "Umm okay then. Let's talk about this."