Mabel had nightmares.

This wasn't something unusual for her. She always had them, but nobody knew. Maybe Dipper knew, but if he did he never said a word about it.

Mabel didn't want anyone to know.

She was already a freak, there was no telling what would happen when her parents found out about what went on inside of her mind while she slept.

The nightmares started the night after Dipper died in the car accident. When she woke up the next morning and saw that Dipper was back, she couldn't believe it, and actually thought she was still having a nightmare.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Mabel had screamed and kicked in her bed sheets, hoping it would all go away. She prayed that when she opened her eyes Dipper would be gone.

Dipper had tried to calm her down, but failed.

Their parents soon found Mabel tangled in her bedsheets with bloodshot eyes and tears streaming down her face.

Even for a young girl who had just lost her sibling, this wasn't considered to be "normal"

                       .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

Mabel woke up with a gasp. She couldn't recollect her recent nightmare, but the heavy feeling in her chest still lingered.

She looked over to see Dipper once again quietly reading from the journal.

It was odd that Dipper hadn't noticed her short panic attack just seconds after she woke up. Mabel brushed this off and asked
"When did you come back last night?"

"I don't know...um, midnight maybe?" Dipper guessed, then snapped the journal shut just as he had the morning before and replaced it to its spot on the nightstand.

Mabel climbed out of bed and got dressed like usual. Just as she was almost finished putting on her shoes, she remembered that it was Saturday and she didn't have to work.

It felt weird not having to follow her usual schedule, so Mabel decided to head to breakfast followed by a visit to the gift shop anyways.

There was almost always something going on.

. . . . . . . .

Dipper decided to take the day to himself. While Mabel enjoyed her day off, Dipper took his time to explore the woods.

He'd read plenty from the journal to know that there were all sorts of dangers in the woods, but those dangers couldn't effect a ghost.

A sudden thought struck Dipper; he was basically immortal.

Dipper couldn't feel anything other than emotions. He couldn't feel pain, water, air, and neither could he smell anything. His legs never ached from long treks anymore, and now he hardly had to lift a finger if he even needed to lift anything at all.

None of this had ever really dawned on him just yet, so he wasn't sure exactly how to feel about all of it. All of these thoughts came crashing down on him and soon he was simply standing in the middle of the woods, staring into space while deeply lost in his own thoughts.

Dipper was drawn back to reality when he heard a twig snap and the crackling of pine nettles under someone's feet.

He dove behind a tree to hide, then felt like an idiot for feeling the need to hide at all. He poked his head out from behind the tree to see who the person was.

Of all people, it was Gideon Gleeful wearing a dark coat with its collar flipped and a puffy wool scarf wrapped loosely around his neck.
He kept his hands tucked in his pockets as he peered around the clearing. Gideon was facing the opposite direction of Dipper, so he had time to hide.

If Gideon could sense spirits, then this crossing of paths was no coincidence.

Before Dipper could even think about a place to hide, Gideon's voice rang softly through the clearing: "Dippeeeer...come out, come out wherever you are..."

Dipper gulped. He knew better than to actually show himself like Gideon wanted, but then again what could Gideon possibly do to him?

"Awe, don't be afraid! I don't bite!" Gideon's voice was dripping with sarcasm and he spoke as if he were talking to a pet.

Dipper reluctantly crept out from the underbrush and stood behind Gideon, who turned to greet him.

"Well if it isn't Dipper Pines!" Gideon exclaimed, his thin lips set in a slight curve that barely passed as a smile, and his icy stare was intense enough to make Dipper want to hide again.

"How do you know my name." Dipper said flatly. The way his words came out, it didn't even sound like it was a question. And of all the questions he could've asked, he chose this one.

"I never reveal my secrets." Gideon replied with a slight shrug.

"How can you see me? How can you talk to me?" Dipper asked. He didn't sound at all curious, he sounded more angry and demanding than anything else.

"I never reveal my secrets." Gideon repeated calmly, then leaned forward so his face was inches from Dipper's.

"Now enough with these juvenile questions- although it's been a pleasure meeting you, I need to see your sister."

Dipper kept his stoic expression as he asked "Why?"

Gideon straightened his posture and replaced his thin smile with a wide smirk, "She seems to be a lovely girl, with that bright smile of hers and those big, sparkling brown eyes..."

Dipper could see what was going on. Gideon had a crush on his sister. But that didn't seem to be all Gideon wanted from Mabel.

Dipper crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, "That'd be a no. You're not meeting my sister."

Gideon chuckled, "You say that like you could stop me from meeting her. I wasn't necessarily asking for your blessing, you know."

So basically, Gideon had only come to aggravate Dipper. And to Dipper's displeasure, it was working.

Dipper clenched his teeth. "You're not seeing Mabel."

Gideon's eyes glinted mischievously "What? Over your dead body?" he laughed mockingly.

That was the last straw, Dipper thought. Soon I'm not gonna be the only dead kid in Gravity Falls.

"You leave Mabel alone or I swear-" he began, his face glowing a deep red.

"What're you gonna do?" Gideon cut him off, "what could you possibly do to stop me?"

Gideon's expression suddenly turned dark as he leaned in closer "you listen up, Ghosty Boy, you should show some respect for me, being that I am the only person capable of making your afterlife a living nightmare."

"I'm not scared of you,"  Dipper breathed.

"And what does that do? Make you some hero?" Gideon snapped "there are no heroes in this world, so stop trying to be one before-"
he stopped himself and took a deep breath.

Something was obviously on Gideon's mind, something he wasn't going to let show.

"You should be scared, Dipper." Gideon said, finally breaking the short silence "you have no idea what I'm capable of."

Dipper stared intently at Gideon, trying to see behind his cold eyes, trying to figure him out.

"I don't know and I don't care what you're capable of." he spat, "now you better turn around, leave, and never bother my family again."

"You're not going to stop me." Gideon said simply, taking his hands from his pockets and straightening his scarf. And with that, he
disappeared into the woods the same way he came.

. . . . . . . .

Dipper was prepared to warn Mabel about Gideon. There was no way he was letting that creep anywhere near his sister.

When he arrived to the gift shop, Mabel wasn't there. Dipper tried to remain calm and searched around the rest of the Shack, but Mabel was no where to be found, not even the attic.

Dipper's paranoia got the best of him and he immediately imagined the worst case scenario.
What if Gideon had already found her and was holding her captive? What if Mabel was hurt?

A million other terrible ideas came to mind, making Dipper feel overwhelmed with panic.

Dipper frantically tore through the Shack once more in case he missed anything. There had to be some sign of Mabel, but once again he found nothing.

Moments later, Mabel walked right past a dazed Dipper and headed upstairs with a skip in her step. It took Dipper a minute to realize that she had just walked past him.

When Dipper found Mabel upstairs, she was laying on her bed staring dreamily at the ceiling.

"Where the heck have you been?!" Dipper exclaimed, sounding like an overprotective parent.

Mabel sat up and glared at him "Where the heck have I been? Where the heck have you been? I haven't seen you since breakfast!"

Dipper looked startled "I thought I told you I was gonna be gone?"

"No, actually you didn't." Mabel snapped, crossing her arms indignantly. "And I've been looking for you all day!"

"You have? I'm so sorry, Mabel." Dipper said apologetically, "I was just gonna tell you something about Gideon-"

Mabel sighed happily "Ahh, Gideon...isn't he the best?" the day-dreamy look crossed over her face again and she giddily fell back down on her duvet with a wide grin on her face.

Dipper squinted suspiciously at her "Anything you wanna tell me?"

Mabel sat back up clutching a pillow to her chest and kicking her feet back and forth against the side of the bed, "I saw Gideon just a while ago- you won't believe what happened!"

Mabel was beginning to sound like their mom whenever she was gossiping with someone on the phone.

"I was out in the woods looking for you and GNOMES ATTACKED ME!!!" She said, raising up her hands like claws and attempting to reenact the scene.

"They were trying to kidnap me or whatever, something about needing a new queen- when Gideon came from nowhere and fought them off!" 

For effect, Mabel struck a few karate-style poses and shouted "Hoy-yah!"

"He rescued me Dipper! Gideon Gleeful saved me!" she finished, a look of great awe left on her face.

"Wait wait wait," Dipper said, shaking his head in disbelief, "you don't actually like Gideon, do you?"

Mabel's smile faded and she blushed "Well..." she said reprehensibly.

"Mabel!"

"Okaaaay...so maaaybee I have a tiiiinyy crush on him...is that bad?" She squeaked.

"It...well, I-uh.." Dipper wasn't sure how to respond to this, "I don't know, it's just I'm gettin weird vibes from that guy, I wouldn't trust him."

"You don't trust anybody!" Mabel exclaimed hotly.

"Come on Mabel, just the other night you were crying, you were so scared after Gideon's act." Dipper pointed out.

"I was not!" Mabel burst out, "and I've gotten to know him, he's really a nice guy."

"Look, Mabel. I met Gideon in the woods today and he didn't exactly come across as "friendly" He said nothing was gonna stop him from seeing you an-"

"Awe!! He really said that?" Mabel cooed, completely ignoring what he had been trying to say.

"That is so sweet!"

"Gideon is not sweet!" Dipper exclaimed frustratedly "he's out to get us, or something...I don't know- but it's gonna be bad, Mabel you have to listen to me!"

"For the last time, stop being so paranoid!" Mabel exclaimed, jumping off her bed and walking across the room to leave.

"Gideon invited me on a date at five o'clock, I need to leave." she said dismissively.

Dipper wasn't ready to end the conversation. He appeared in front of her, blocking her from the exit.

"You're not going on that date."

Mabel narrowed her eyes and walked right through him, causing Dipper to appear in front of her once more, he looked even angrier. The door locked by itself with a small click.

"Unlock the door, Dipper."

"No."

Mabel bit her lip "Why can't you trust me to do something by myself for once?" she shouted, throwing her arms down to her sides in agitation. Dipper's expression softened, yet he still held his firm gaze.

"I do trust you, but right now you're making a big mistake."

"Please, Dip. Just for once, just trust me on this" Mabel pleaded. Dipper had never seen his sister so desperate to leave his side. They were usually glued together, side by side. That's what twins did. They always had each other's back. Dipper wasn't ready for Mabel to go on her own, he was supposed to be there for her. Always.

Dipper sighed and let his shoulders droop as he mumbled "Okay."

The door cracked open with a soft creak, Mabel looked surprised at first, then thankful.

"Thanks, Dipper." she said, beaming at him before rushing out of the room and down the stairs.

Dipper stared after her. He knew deep down that when he was gone forever, Mabel would eventually move on to live her life without him. The idea really bugged him. Of course he was way overprotective, but he was that way for a reason, to protect Mabel. Just a few weeks ago she would've been badly injured if he hadn't saved her from the broken sign on their first day in town.

No matter how badly he wanted to be there for his sister, Dipped had to face the facts: As life goes on, things change.