~~~~~~~~~Dipper's POV~~~~~~~~~

(y/n)'s face had been drained of any and all color, her eyes wide and gripping the box for dear life. She was trembling, I could see it, but she tried to keep it subtle as she stared at the person just a few feet away.

Melanie's father, who we saw leave about half an hour ago, was in the basement with us holding a potential weapon and a deadly scowl on his face.

"How did you find that...?" he asked, tightly gripping the half broken bottle in his hand.

I didn't know what to do, nor was there much I could do. But I stood in front of (y/n) as she was the only one in this situation that could get hurt, possibly worse, and I did have some powers to keep him away.

Behind me, I heard her swallow back her fear, "I found it. I was looking for the bathroom and took a wrong turn, then I saw a glow and got curious. I'm sorry."

"Sorry?!" His voice boomed through the room, loud and powerful. I was ready for him to run over and tackle her, using the bottle to give her the same fate I got. But to my surprise, he simply walked over to the faucet and washed the bottle, along with his hands. "I should be thanking you! I lost the thing years ago."

"Y-you- huh?" I could tell (y/n) was just as confused as I was. Was this not the possibly deadly situation we thought we were in?

The man turned back to her, "I'm sorry for startling you. I was on my way to work when someone cut me off in traffic, and my drink fell and broke, so I came back to throw it away and get myself clean."

"Oh, it's- it's okay..." (y/n) still kept the box close to her chest, unsure of whether or not to believe that story. Still, if he was willing to put up a friendly front, I figured this would be as good a time as any to ask questions, and she thought the same. "Actually, sir, may I ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"This box, my uh... my mom had something just like it, though with little changes. How'd you get it?"

His expression fell almost instantly, a sadness taking over his eyes. With a sigh, he walked closer to (y/n), but kept a few feet of distance as he offered his hand. (y/n) knew he was asking for the box back, and while she didn't want to let go of it, I could see the gears turning in her head about not giving it back to a possible killer, so she gave it back.

Opening the box, his face wrinkled as he smiled, "This box is quite old now, thirty long years since I gave it away as a gift?"

"To... your wife?"

He chuckled, "No... my first girlfriend, back in high school. Her name was Allison, everyone called her Ally. We were your stereotypical 80s power couple, the confident jock with a guaranteed scholarship, and the preppy cheerleader that always cheered for him. In truth though, she always wanted to be a vet, and even got accepted into an amazing university out of state."

As he spoke, Ally floated beside him, her expression a mix of blissful nostalgia and pain as she gripped her jacket sleeves, the tears hard to miss as they began to leave her eyes.

(y/n) saw it, too, but continued to press on, "If you were both so happy, what happened...?"

"I don't know," he replied. "One day she just... disappeared. Her parents spent a fortune trying to find her, but it was as if the ground just swallowed her up. Eventually, they lost so much money they had to sell the house."

"And you bought it?"

"I didn't want anyone else to taint Ally's memory. Don't tell my wife, but I do miss her, everyday." He picked up the prom photo we had seen earlier, a sad smile on his face, "People used to tell me my biggest worry back then should've been a messy breakup. Never did I imagine becoming a widow at eighteen..."

"You were married?!"

I nudged Andy's side, "He's being metaphorical!"

"And then," the man continued, "after the other tragedy, I honestly started to think this house was haunted."

"Haunted?" (y/n)'s eyes narrowed.

But the man simply waved her off, "Sorry, just ramblings of an old man."

"If I may ask, Mr. Jones-"

"Jordan is fine."

She nodded, "Jordan. The box, why do you have it if it's hers?"

"It was a Valentine's Day gift from me to her. After she disappeared, her parents gave it back to me so I'd have something to remember her by. They're good people, the Porters. We still keep in touch.

I noticed (y/n) glance over at Ally once again, who placed her hands over her heart at the mention of her parents. So she asked for her, "How are they doing now?"

"Retired in Montana, I payed for the house myself. They were never the same though, and I can't blame them..."

She then took a deep breath, preparing herself for the next question, "This... this may be an odd thing to ask, Jordan, but... could I have one of the jewelry pieces in there?"

Raising an eyebrow, his eyes narrowed in question, "Why?"

"I'm not sure how to explain myself, I can only say that I need it for a friend. They're going through a difficult time."

He thought about it for a moment, I could see his thoughts clicking into place. Finally, he leaned back, closing the box, "This is about that Pines kid, isn't it?"

We all tensed up, unsure about what conclusion he had come up with, and what that meant for us. Still, (y/n) nodded, "Y-yes, it is."

"I figured. With you snooping around and his sister upstairs with those explosive donuts, it kinda made sense."

"You'd be right. We're teaming up to find him."

"If that's the case," he opened the box, offering it to us, "then I really can't say no, can I?"

(y/n) stared at him for a while, then gave a nod, "Thank you."

"I know what it's like to lose someone important without any closure," he said with another sad smile. "It's the least I can do, even if I may not understand it."

That's when Allison floated over to peek inside, wiping away a few tears before pointing down, "That one, the charm bracelet with the bows."

(y/n) did as told, placing it in her pocket as Jordan closed the box. "You know, I may not have known Allison, but... she sounds like she was a wonderful person."

"She was," he replied. "I can only hope that wherever she is now, she's at peace..."

"I am," Allison replied, smiling back. "Though I miss what I used to have, I've found a new family."

"I'm sure she is," (y/n) replied for her. "And I bet she missed you, too."

Jordan smiled at that; it was kind, genuine. But he turned away when a new voice called out from above the stairs, "Honey! Are you down here?"

His wife had made her way down a few steps, but still high enough that we had to look up to meet her gaze. She looked confused, her eyes narrowed, when Jordan waved a hand in dismiss, "Sorry, the kid took a wrong turn to the bathroom. I was just gonna lead her outside."

She paused for a moment, eyes focused on (y/n), then at her husband, and then at the box. Finally, she let out a laugh, "Yeah, that happened to me when we first moved in, it's quite a big house. Didn't even have the basement back then!"

"That's true," Jordan confirmed. "But Carol here was insistent we built one. We don't use it much anymore though."

"How come?" (y/n) asked, but quickly added, "I-if I may ask."

But neither answered. Instead, they glanced at each other with a look of melancholy. It was Jordan that looked back over, forcing on a smile, "I think there's been enough story times for today. Do tell me how your search goes, okay?"

Her shoulders drooped a little, but she still nodded, "I will. Thanks, again."

We all headed back upstairs, with Mr. and Mrs. Jones following behind. Mabel and Pacifica were still talking to an angry Melanie, who grew red in the face as her eyes landed on (y/n). But before she could say anything, Mabel ran over, "There you are!! We were starting to think the toilet swallowed you into the sewers!"

"Yeah, sorry. I got a little lost."

"Well, Carol already bought a few donuts from us-"

"The ones that were left, anyway," Pacifica added for Mabel, who giggled before continuing.

"So we can move on to our next house!"

"Sounds like a plan," (y/n) replied as we all headed to the front door.

She glanced back at the family once more though, and I followed her gaze. The parents had their arms around each other now, smiles on their faces, though Jordan was the only one who waved politely. Melanie had her usual scowl on, arms crossed as she gripped them so hard her long nails were digging into them.

Lizzie was there, too, peeking out from the wall just above them. Jordan mentioned another tragedy happening in this house, didn't he? Was Lizzie involved? Is that why she stays in this house?

I let it be for now, but I made a mental note to discuss it later.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once parked in the forest, (y/n) told Mabel and Pacifica everything. The charm bracelet, Allison's past life and relationship with Jordan; it might've not been important for my case, but they deserved to know everything.

"What do you think the other incident was?" Mabel asked, asking the same questions I had.

It was Pacifica who let out a sigh of defeat, glancing away. "They probably meant the incident with their first daughter, Elizabeth Jones."

"Lizzie..."

Pacifica turned to (y/n), "You know about her?"

"I didn't before, but we met her in the house," she explained. "She didn't say much though, do you know what happened?"

"I've heard rumors. Apparently back in 1998, when the basement was being built, the Jones' five year old daughter wondered into the construction zone. She tripped and fell, hit her head, and that was that..."

"Poor kid..." Andy commented before saying a small prayer in Spanish.

"Hey, I've got a question!" We all turned to Mabel as she raised a hand, "Don't you think it's weird the basement was built later on, and you found the box buried under it?"

That shut everyone up really quickly, even me. Why hadn't I thought about that? But the implications of that were...

Ally figured the same, floating over to Mabel with a panicked expression, "What are you trying to say?!"

Mabel couldn't hear her, of course, so she simply kept her eyes on (y/n), who I could tell was trying to peace things together. "That is really weird, almost like the basement was deliberately built to hide it..."

"Maybe one of the Jones is the culprit," Pacifica pointed out. "I mean, buying your dead ex's house, building a whole new room under it, hiding her special box under the floor; not to mention, the parents married just five years after Allison's disappearance. It all seems really suspicious."

"I have to agree there." (y/n) then looked up at Ally, who was on the verge of breaking as Andy placed a hand on her shoulder. Her shoulders drooped, and her expression turned back to serious, "But we're not here to solve that mystery, we're here for Dipper. We're on a time limit, after all. Ally, can you show us what you found yesterday...?"

"I uh..." Ally nodded, "Yes, it's this way."

That seemed to help, keeping her mind on something else as she and Andy started flying away, with (y/n) leading Mabel and Pacifica to follow. I stayed behind, glancing at the forest entrance one last time.

Something moved, I know it did. Maybe the wind, maybe an animal, but something reacted to me turning.

I let it be for now though. Like (y/n) said, we had a time limit.

Let's not waste it.

Thanks for reading!!! 'Till next time!!!

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