06
Pacifica

Ten hours went by. Ten hours where they couldn't figure out a single letter in Dipper's code. Ten hours lunging at each other's throats over the stupid code. Ten hours where they had no idea how Dipper was doing. It was the most excruciating pain Pacifica had ever felt.

At around eight o'clock in the evening, Scarlett decided that they should call it quits for the night. After all, they still had Summit to search through. Scarlett demanded that they had to dress for the part; Pacifica was unsure of what that meant.

Gideon had asked if he could come along, but Scarlett declined him instantly, saying that someone had to stay behind in case Dipper reached out and for someone to continue looking through the coded message.

Pacifica knew she was lying. It was just because Scarlett thought that Gideon couldn't handle being inconspicuous at a nightclub. To be honest, Pacifica didn't think she could either, and Scarlett probably knew that as well. But, if she thought Pacifica wasn't going to follow a lead to her missing boyfriend's whereabouts then she was sorely mistaken.

"Okay, I know you guys have never been here, so I need you both to understand that you have to listen to every word I say, alright?" Scarlett turned to stare at Pacifica as she finally killed the ignition. "Trust me; I know what I'm doing, and the people who work here know me. Will you guys promise to listen to me?"

Mabel nodded very enthusiastically while Pacifica's nod was more solemn. Pacifica was still a little iffy on Scarlett taking charge on the 'Case of the Missing Gleeful' —as Gideon decided to call it—, but she wasn't in any position to make demands.

"Now, you guys may look the part," she gestured to Pacifica's and Mabel's outfits.

Pacifica was also a little iffy on wearing the outfit she was wearing. It wasn't super revealing or anything like that, but the style was a lot darker than what she was used to. Scarlett had given her a deep blue body-con dress that, to be fair, looked very nice on her, and she had insisted on doing her makeup and accessories because apparently Pacifica couldn't 'accessorise for shit'.

Mabel, on the other hand, already had a dress that fit the part. A crisp, tight, black little number that even made Pacifica's jaw drop. It was short, just barely making it past her thigh, with only one sleeve, and a circle cut out near her left hip.

Pacifica looked back at Scarlett who was just staring at Mabel, and maybe it was the lighting in the dimming car, but Pacifica swore she saw her blushing.

"I. . .ahem," Scarlett coughed and struggled to regain her composure. "Just you'll have to act the part as well. People like you guys don't really come here except for random posers we get on occasion. But since I'm bringing you guys, you can't be posers."

"I'll just be your clueless girlfriend." Mabel supplied, adjusting her lipstick in a tiny compact before sliding it back into her purse. "Paz can just be our mutual friend." She leaned over and gave Scarlett a quick peck on the lips. Pacifica opted to look away while they had a more intimate moment and realised that that was how everyone else must've felt when she and Dipper openly kissed each other.

"Paz," Scarlett said, for once using her nickname which shocked me a bit. "I can't make any promises about finding anything here, okay? So don't get your hopes up over nothing." She opened the car door and the rest of them followed suit.

An anxious feeling crawled its way up her throat as Pacifica followed Scarlett and Mabel up to the doors. She didn't want to get her hopes up that he was here, but she would rather find him here now then somewhere else later.

"I.Ds?" A buff bouncer blocked them from the door, who even wore sunglasses at night?

Scarlett scoffed and got up in the bouncer's personal space. "Aw, Max, you don't remember me? I haven't been gone that long, have I?"

Max pulled his shades from off his face, his eyes widening just a little in recognition. Pacifica wasn't sure what the three of them would do if he didn't recognise Scarlett. "No freaking way." He exhaled. "Crimsyn Idol, is that really you?"

Scarlett —or Crimsyn Idol— gave the man a wider grin. "In the flesh, Maxi-pad." She and Max shared in a loud boisterous laugh. "I figured I'd show my girls how to have a good time by introducing them to the wonders of Summit."

Max looked them over and Pacifica began to feel a little self-conscious. She silently prayed that he would allow them inside without the use of an I.D., and with the way he was familiar with Scarlett, it looked as though Pacifica's prayers would be answered tonight.

"Alright, but just this once, alright? I.Ds next time." Max sighed placing his shades over his eyes once again. "No drinks, ladies, please, for the sake of my old heart."

Pacifica nodded vigorously. "I'm not a drinker."

Mabel nodded in tow. "I am, but I won't."

Max laughed and looked at Mabel once again. "I appreciate it. Now, enjoy Summit, ladies." He backed away from the door, allowing Scarlett to open the door for them.

"Thanks, Max, you're a doll!" She called as the three of them walked into the dimly lit nightclub.

Now, Pacifica had never been inside a nightclub in her life, so her breath was taken right out of her body. When she expected there to be flashing lights so fast that you'd want to throw up, instead it was more calming and slow with a whole bunch of colors.

The pounding bass sound was something Pacifica would definitely have to get used to, not that she would want to go there again. Well, maybe she would want to go with Dipper after they found him. Walking around, especially near the dance floor felt sticky on her shoes, making a weird noise with each step. Pacifica had opted to wear flats, so it was more annoying to her.

Watching the lights reflected in Mabel's eyes was something spectacular, especially paired with her ecstatic expression. Pacifica realised that she needed this break, even if they didn't find anything about Dipper, she deserved this break. No doubt she was driving herself crazy with worry.

It was different from hers and Scarlett's; they were worrying over a friend/lover, whereas Mabel had to worry about losing the only family that cared about her. It was a sickening thought, but Pacifica couldn't push it away the more she looked at her face.

"Girls, stick with me." Scarlett pulled Pacifica out of her thoughts as she directed them toward the back room of the entire place. "If the owener here asks what your name is, give her a fake one."

"Yeah, I was gonna ask about that." Pacifica had to speak a little louder, to get Scarlett to hear her over the loud music. "What made you choose Idol?"

Scarlett just grinned. "Because they now think that I'm distantly related to Billy Idol. I got a lot of slack because of that. Now, Mabel, you're going with Maybelline. And Paz. . .figure something out."

"Gee, thanks for your help, Scarlett." Pacifica grumbled, mainly to herself, but Mabel must've heard her, because she elbowed her.

Once the three of them got into the back room, Scarlett told them once again to listen to everything she said, and that it would work best if she did all the talking. Knocking, rather harshly, on a big black door, Scarlett took the lead.

The door opened after a minute or two, revealing a woman who looked way too young to be running the place. She looked like she was certainly older than us, but not super old either. Interesting.

"Well, well, look who it is!" The woman exclaimed, rushing to wrap an arm around Scarlett. "I haven't see you in months, girl! Where have you been hiding away?" Her eyes moved to where Mabel stood, they narrowed, but then widened as if indicating realisation. "Oh I see."

She moved over to where Mabel stood, took her hand a placed a kiss on the back of her hand. "Enchanté."

"Back off, dickwad." Scarlett pushed her away from Mabel in a more playful manner than Pacifica had ever seen her use. "She's spoken for."

"I didn't doubt that." She chuckled. "You been takin' care of my girl, Crimsyn, here?"

"Of course, I have." Mabel replied, pulling her hand back to her chest, eyeing the woman suspiciously.

Pacifica eyed her suspiciously as well. Mainly for Mabel's sake, because she didn't doubt that the two had a closer history.

She seemed to catch onto our judgemental gazes —to be fair, Pacifica tried to keep hers as neutral as possible— and laughed aloud, clapping her hands together. "You needn't worry, miss. . .um?"

"Maybelline von Lügnerin." Mabel supplied, her hand finding Scarlett's, which Pacifica couldn't help but smile at.

"You needn't worry, Miss von Lügnerin," she continued, shuffling them into her office. "While Crimsyn is truly a beauty, I'm afraid she's not my type."

It took Pacifica a second to get what she was putting down. Oh. Now it made sense.

"Welcome to my fine establishment, I am Crystal Lizer —as in Crystal lies-her-ass-off." Crystal chuckled at her own joke. "Well, wouldn't you know all about that, Miss von Lügnerin?" She took a slow and controlled sip of the drink that she had left on her desk. "I took five years of German, you know."

Mabel flushed lightly, no doubt embarrassed that she was called out for giving a fake name.

"Do not worry, no one tells anyone who they really are here. It's a place of secrecy, where you can get away from your actually boring life and become someone different for just a few hours at night." Crystal continued, smiling the entire way. "Oh, speaking of alter identities, Crimsyn, when is McBitchie coming back?"

Scarlett crossed her arms. "Maybe you should—"

"Man, he was fun after a few drinks." Crystal nodded slowly and then she must've seen something flash across Pacifica's face, because her expression went from reminiscent to curious in a single second. "You." She pointed a finger at Pacifica. "Lemme guess, you're the girlfriend?"

Pacifica blanched. "Uh. . .well yeah." No point in lying to a woman who could clearly read facial expressions like you'd read a newspaper. "Yeah, I'm his girlfriend."

"Now, don't take it the wrong way," Crystal took another sip of her drink before offering some to Pacifica, which —even though Pacifica told Max she wouldn't drink, she felt bad not accepting it— she took. "what I meant by all of that was he was just a really stiff and formal person before he had a few drinks knocked back. Talking to him while he was sober was so boring." She faked a yawn. "Don't get me wrong, he's attractive—"

"FBI open up." Scarlett deadpanned. "I said you should stop talking unless you wanna get in trouble."

"Anyways," Mabel held up her hand, getting everyone in the room to focus on her. "The three of us should probably get going, we have a lot of things to try this evening and I want to get home before such an ungodly hour. Ladies, shall we?"

Pacifica looked at her in confusion but she knew better than to argue with Mabel on what she wanted to do. Handing Crystal back her drink, without even taking a sip, she smiled politely. "Thank you for welcoming us to this place, it's really cool, and everything."

"Yeah, no problem." Crystal gave the three of us a wave. "Don't be afraid to come back again, just tell Max you know me."

After the door was closed, Pacifica turned to Mabel. "What are you doing? We haven't even gotten any information outta that woman!"

Mabel fixed her with a single cold look. "We got enough information in one single sentence. He hasn't been here in months."

"How do you figure?" Scarlett grumbled.

"Because she asked you when 'McBitchie' was coming back." Mabel explained slowly as if she were explaining something very simple to a very simple child. "No offence to my brother, but who else could that nickname apply to? And the conversation afterward made it even clearer that it was Dipper."

Pacifica felt stupid for not realising that when the words had come out of her mouth. She was more focused on Crystal's relation to Dipper. No, she wasn't jealous. Not at all. Nope. Couldn't be her.

"Now, come on, let's go." Mabel murmured as she walked out of the back room and back into the bustling noisy place.

Sighing, Pacifica was about to follow her when a hand on her shoulder stopped her. Turning, she saw Scarlett with a plain expression on her face. "What?" Pacifica asked.

"Don't get jealous over Crys, okay?" Scarlett rolled her eyes. "She's not a bad person, she just likes to over-exaggerate things. Nothing ever happened between them."

Pacifica was taken aback by the fact that Scarlett was trying to comfort her. Sure, it came off a little stiff, but it was the gesture and thought that counted. "Thanks, now, we should probably go find Mabel."

"Oh shit, you're right." Scarlett pushed past her, somehow managing to move faster than her while she was wearing ridiculously high heels and Pacifica followed after her.

When they were back in the crowded room, Pacifica tried to look through the crowd to find Mabel. Maybe she just made her way back to Scarlett's car? Why didn't see wait for them? Her eyes finally landed on a familiar girl but she wasn't alone. There was a guy with her.

Pacifica tapped Scarlett on the shoulder, trying to get her attention. "Hey! I found her!" She jerked her finger in the direction that Mabel was in. Pacifica wasn't prepared for what she was about to see.

Scarlett's eyes lit up with relief for a moment before they settled on the guy standing next to her. Her eyes narrowed, like a snake, and Pacifica could almost feel the anger radiating from her. Wasn't she just telling Pacifica not to get jealous?

Without making a sound or warning at all, she stalked up to the two of them and what else could Pacifica do but follow? The closer they got, the more Pacifica heard Mabel's voice.

"I really said no thanks, I'm—"

"What's going on here?" Scarlett demanded, staring deadly daggers at the guy who had leaned a bit back from their entrance. Wrapping an arm around Mabel's waist, Scarlett pulled her in closer, still keeping her murderous gaze trained on the man.

Mabel seemed to snuggle against Scarlett's chest, turning her face toward Scarlett's neck. "I want to leave, Scarlett."

Pacifica was far from the aggressive person that Scarlett was, but she couldn't help but feel entirely pissed off at what was happening. The way Mabel sounded made her upset; clearly she was super uncomfortable and who knew what would've happened if we hadn't gotten to her. Pacifica knew Mabel could hold her own, but it still didn't make her feel any better.

"We we're just gettin' to know each other." The guy said, still staring creepily at Mabel. "No reason to get all upset."

That was the last straw. Walking a little closer to him, Pacifica reared back and kicked him in his delicates. The guy instantly dropped to the ground, yelling a string of curses, none that Pacifica really paid any mind to because she was already turning back to Scarlett and Mabel. "Let's get the hell outta here!"

Scarlett scooped Mabel up in her arms and they ran toward the exit. Once we were outside, Pacifica quickly informed Max about the creep inside who he should keep an eye on.

"I'll take care of him." Max cracked his knuckles and neck. "No doubt he'll be out any second."

"I swear this doesn't happen." Scarlett murmured in Mabel's hair. "If we ever come back here, I swear I will never let you out of my sight."

Mabel smiled up at Scarlett. "Thanks, sweetcheeks."

It was a sight to behold. Scarlett nearly dropped Mabel and began sputtering like a dying car engine, her face as red as her hair.

Pacifica couldn't help but laugh and it seemed Max was thinking the same thing. The two of them laughed as Mabel smiled innocently up at a sputtering and stuttering mess that was the fearsome Scarlett Valentino.

"Alright, ladies, drive safely, and I'll deal with that creep, okay?" Max said as soon as they made it back to the car. Scarlett had regained some of her composure but refused to let Mabel walk on her own.

Pacifica was so caught up in the moment that made her smile and laugh and just feel so good that she almost forgot that they were now back to square one with Dipper's case. It slowly but surely brought a frown back onto her face as they drove home with some soft music playing over the speakers.

Sighing, Pacifica rested her head against the window and watched the night sky; it had never seemed so lonely before.

____________
Apparently I cannot write short chapters anymore! There was just no good place to end it and I didn't want to leave you guys with a cliffhanger! So, enjoy the longer chapter and the mystery.

Also, the nickname 'sweetcheeks' was inspired by a conversation that Mabes and I had recently.

Well, another chapter down! Stay safe out there and keep smiling my lovelies!

-Kaori Miyazono <3