Mabel Pines pulled on her green sweater. She let out a sigh into the humidity rich summer air. Dipper Pines, of whom currently had his nose shoved into a book, sat on the bench next to his sister. One of his latest mystery novels, Mabel was sure. She smiled sadly at her brother's literature addiction. She couldn't say anything bad about it; she seemed to have had her own addiction to it lately. The pure unknown, the vast universe, existence in and of itself. Things we don't understand yet.
Mabel wanted to understand them.
She wanted to understand everything, and help it. That was just Mabel's personality. If something was hurt or damaged, but was a weird in-describable creature they had found out in the woods, Mabel wanted to help it. No matter what it was, no matter what had caused it to get hurt in the first place, if it even was "evil or good", as Dipper puts it. Whatever it was, it was in pain, hurt and in need of help. And that's just Mabel. The helping hand, you sometimes don't want. Dipper knew this oh too well, and tried to get her out of that mindset at a young age, but proved that telling Mabel "Stop helping everything." was utterly futile, and got you nowhere. He loved that she was so caring, but she was…too caring and could fall for a sob-story in two seconds flat. He knew that one day it would get her in trouble. She would care for an alcoholic bastard or some junky, and not break up with them because she "needed to fix them". But things like that were far in the future for the twin fourteen year olds.
Dipper hoped, at least. Mabel had a knack for falling in love with people way too old for her. He heard a soft cough, and turned to look at said sister. She was staring off into nothing, as they both waited for the bus to pull up. Mabel was lost in her own thoughts, kicking her legs absent mindedly. Dipper closed his book and shoved it into his backpack, the sound of it waking Mabel up. She blinked and looked at her twin, lips pursed in curiosity and boredom. Dipper just shrugged, letting out a soft sigh of his own, as the bus to Gravity Falls slowly pulled up.
Each sibling cracked a large grin.
•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•
"Ow, ow ouch!" Mabel complained, rubbing her butt, sore from the metal bus seats. It was a long ride to Gravity falls, Oregon, and the bus seats were not nearly as comfortable as they should be for a ride that long. Dipper heaved, as he dragged both his and Mabel's suitcases away from the now leaving bus. "Ugh, Mabel!" he groaned, standing her suit case up right and leaning on his. She turned with a pout, and then smiled softly walking to grab her own suit case. They clicked the handles out, rolling the cases as they walked up to the Mystery Shack, feeling a large sense of happiness wash over them. They realized they liked spending time here better than they did at their own home. And they were fine with that.
"Grunkle Stan!" Dipper called out, as they reached the front door of the gift shop. Mabel had knocked too, for good measure. They heard the shuffling and fast footsteps of their near-ancient Great Uncle. He flung the door open, dressed in his usual business suit and red fez hat. He smiled down at the teens, and scooped them up into a great big hug. "Ha Ha, there are my only favorite kids in the world!" he laughed out in his scruffy voice as Mabel giggled and Dipper chuckled. Stan was always grateful to see them at the beginning of the summer, and quickly turned to his old crabby self they learned to love, as soon as the initial reunion was over. He dropped them and motioned for them to walk inside, and they did happily so.
"Dips! Mabes!" Wendy had called out to them from behind the counter at her usual spot. She was officially an adult now, the twins being fourteen and her being eighteen. That didn't stop her from running the cash register as a part-time job. She had nothing better to do in this quiet town, anyhow. Mabel and Dipper waved at her, both saying a soft hello. She grinned at the two, more in a sympathy manner. The twins looked exhausted. "'sup dudes- Whoa, you guys look like crap!" Soos had managed to point out the obvious as usual. They both smiled sadly. "Gee, thanks Soos." Dipper mumbled, and Soos earned a smack upside the head from Stan. "Get on out of here, it's late anyways." Stan spoke, pointing behind him with his thumb, to the living part of the shack. They nodded and made their way across the gift shop floor.
They were more than happy to oblige to an early bedtime, just for today. They hadn't even bothered to un-pack, Dipper sliding his suit case under his bed and Mabel tossing hers at her dresser, to be dealt with tomorrow morning. They both flopped onto their beds, and Dipper kicked off his shoes, passing out just like that. No covers or anything. Mabel on the other hand had kicked off her sneakers, and slipped off her shorts, all under the blanket of course. She had gotten into the habit of sleeping in her underwear out of the blue. It was just more comfortable for her, especially in the summer. She snuggled up against her pillow, and let the sleep take her.
•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•
It was beautiful; so beautiful, wherever she was. She didn't really know. Only that it had called to her, almost like it was breathing with her.
There was a figure, a person sitting on a chair. Mabel attempted to speak, but she couldn't. Literally, she couldn't even feel her mouth move. As soon as the vision of the man had started, it faded into an inky black. Mabel was scared; she felt the slimy, sticky black substance crawl all over her body. She couldn't see a damn thing, and she felt like she was hyperventilating.
Mabel woke up; choking on her own saliva and threw herself into a coughing fit. By the time she calmed down, her eyes were burning and Dipper was already at her side. Eyes closed, and half-awake, but he was there sitting next to her and rubbing her back. Mabel smiled and gave her brother a soft side hug, to which he opened his eyes and smiled at her. "Well good morning to you, too." Dipper commented, smirking at his twin. She simply scoffed and shoved him playfully. Morning? She had glanced to the clock beside her bed. Yup, as plain as the day light leaking into the room, it was 7:00 in the morning. Ugh, too early for the first day of summer in Gravity Falls. Dipper yawned and stretched, and was already heading for the door, most likely to go to the bathroom. Mabel had balled the edge of her blanket into her fists and threw herself back onto the bed, wanting a few more minutes of blissful laziness. Dipper was worried, she knew that. But He also knew that if he asked about it, she'd brush him off and give some lame excuse. It didn't seem too bad, so he decided to leave it at a coughing fit. Mabel sighed to herself as she snuggled into the oddly comfortable bed, considering the rest of the shack. She stared out the window; the oddly triangle shaped window…had it always been shaped like that? It was a tad creepy, considering what they had been through just because of a three sided shape.
Hearing Dipper come back into the room, Mabel had decided enough was enough, and she tossed the blanket off of her, swinging her legs to the side of her bed sitting up. She stretched, hearing her back crack a few times. Dipper was throwing on his shoes when she had realized she wasn't wearing her pants and quickly covered herself, searching for the shorts she had previously discarded. She put them on and sighed as Dipper had obviously not noticed her predicament. She then began sifting through her suit case for clothes. Dipper, barely remembering to shower, had no problem wearing the same clothes from home. Mabel had made a "Gravity Falls" outfit. She owned two of each piece of clothing in said outfit, so if she was wearing the clean pair, she was washing the dirty. She wanted to have it like a uniform, sort of.
He finished tying his shoes by the time Mabel had found the outfit. He walked out the door for breakfast while she was getting dressed. She picked a dark purple cardigan with black buttons, black shorts, purple and black sneakers with yellow stars painted on them and a bright yellow t-shirt with a pink star on it. She also managed to throw her hair up in a ponytail, her poofy bangs still hanging over her forehead and side bangs framing her face perfectly. She clipped in pink star earrings, and threw on as many yellow rubber and metal bracelets as she could find in her suitcase. She walked down stairs, yawning. She was tired, yes, but she wasn't going to let herself look tired. Mabel was too fashion oriented to let that happen.
•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•
Mabel huffed as she finished stocking the shelves of the Mystery Shack. Day One: Work, Work, Work. Mabel sighed; she really should have seen it coming. She always has her hopes up, though. She jumps playfully on the cardboard box, flattening it so it could fit in the dumpster better. She smiles at her work, before picking up the flat cardboard and carrying it outside the front door. She glanced at Wendy, of who was leaned back, legs kicked up reading a magazine. Mabel wondered if she'd ever become one of those types of teenagers. She rounds the back of the Mystery Shack where the old dumpster lay, and she tosses the cardboard in with a gleeful "Wee!" giggling at her own antics. Nah, she probably won't ever be that type of teenager. She's just too…bright.
Looking around, Mabel noticed it was actually getting dark. That fast? How long had she been working inside? Not cool, Grunkle. Not cool at all. She walked back inside to see Dipper lounging on Stan's favorite chair, flicking through the channels. "Bored too, Dips?" Mabel asked, pouting at her younger twin. Dipper glanced at her, and nodded, before looking back at the TV. He had been cleaning and helping Soo's repair things all day. All in all, in was an un-eventful first day in Gravity Falls. And both twins were pissed about it.
•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•
A week; a whole week had passed and nothing has happened. The twins were losing it. Dipper especially, Mabel had just had her cool down from the slumber party she just came back from two days ago. Dipper had absolutely nothing to do, and Mabel was actually starting to get annoyed with the complaining.
"Let's just go mess around in the woods!" Mabel suggested, sad to admit she just wanted her brother to shut up for a few good hours. "The woods…?" Dipper questioned, picking his face up from his pillow. Mabel was reading yes reading, one of Dippers old mystery novels on her own bed, curled up against her stack of pillows. She simply nodded and flipped a page of the crisp book. Dipper kept them well managed, she noticed. "Stan will kill us." Dipper retorted, shoving his face back in the pillow. Mabel huffed, bending the top corner of the page and closing the book with a dramatic slam. Dipper jumped at this and tilted his head to look at his distressed sister. "It's not like we're going hunting for stuff! We're just…exploring! Doing normal things kids do during summer." She explained, swinging her legs off the bed. Dipper frowned at his older sister. She had definitely gotten smarter over the past two years. Well, not necessarily smarter, but she's just been more thoughtful of things, rather than distracted in her crazy glittery unicorn lands, or whatever it was that normally ran through twelve year old Mabel's mind. Fourteen year old Mabel on the other hand, acted like Dipper had rubbed off on her. Which in all honesty he probably did, he had changed a lot during their first year at Gravity Falls. His new, curious, thoughtful persona had to have latched onto her. As her large courage and confidence has latched onto him, which he was never going to complain about. God knew he needed more confidence. "Eh…okay, okay, fine." Dipper smiled at Mabel, and she grinned, her perfectly straight teeth being amazingly shown off by her cute smile and dimples. Those braces did wonders, didn't they?
It took just a few minutes for Dipper to get ready. Mabel had grabbed her grappling hook, tying it around her waist with a leather holster and belt she made for it back home in art class. The leather was weathered and dark brown, almost black. It fit with her outfit. Dipper had slipped on black gloves and grabbed his jacket. He preferred it now over his vest, as it still had the same inside pocket space, but was a nice change from the typical vest he always used to wear. He fixed the cap on his head, and the twins skillfully snuck out of the shack, having done this plenty of times before.
•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•
It was dusk, as they walked around the forest floor. It had been about two hours inside of the large Gravity Falls forest. Dipper held a flashlight in his hand; Mabel had her arms crossed over her chest, admiring the atmosphere. Dipper was obviously looking for monsters or any creatures. Mabel was more or so just enjoying the nature around them. There was barely any back in the city they came from, and she missed out on exploring like crazy such as Dipper had when they were younger. This year she was going to be glued to Dippers side, experiencing all of the crazy things together with him, instead of being locked out until the last minute, or the one always in trouble. She was tired of all of that. "Look!" came from Dipper and Mabel whipped her head in his direction. He was pointing to a large clearing in the forest, and there was an old, old looking wooden house there. "Wow, talk about spooky forest clichés!" Mabel commented, grinning and running towards the house. Dipper flinched at his sister, reaching out for her. "Wait, Mabel! I- Gah!" he gave up, and followed her to the house. She slowed down, walking and spinning as she checked out the whole scenery surrounding it. Dipper did this as well, after catching up with her.
It seemed to be just one big circle, peculiarly clean cut in the middle of the forest. They had been walking for a long, long time, in a direction they had never walked to before. So this was new, every last bit of it. "This is so weird…" Dipper thought out loud, narrowing his eyes as he surveyed the land. Mabel just simply nodded, turning around at looking at the house. Dipper walked up next to her and frowned at said house. It looked old, rickety and dusty, like it had been there longer than Grunkle Stan has been alive. And that's a lot, to the fourteen year olds. "Let's check it out!" Mabel cooed, fast walking up to the house. Dipper snagged the back of her cardigan, scowling. "No, Mabel! It could be cursed or something…" he started, pulling her back as she frowned at him stretching out the fabric. She slapped his hand away.
"Chill it, bro-bro! We'll prop the door open, if anything craze goes down, we slip out of there! Easy-peasy." She smiled at her own clever plan, and Dipper simply slouched. It sounded like it could work, sure but…he just didn't have a good feeling about it. He felt sick, like something was telling him to run, take Mabel and run as far away from the house as possible and never look back.
Mabel, on the other hand, had an odd attraction to the house. The more she looked at it, the more she longed to see what was inside, step on the wooden floorboards, explore it and simply understand it; and she started walking towards it as Dipper was lost in thought. If he didn't want to see it, fine. Mabel would just have to do it alone.
"M-Mabel!" Dipper called, running after his sister. If she wasn't going to listen to him then fine, he was just going to protect her from…whatever it is. They had just simply stepped on the front porch when each twin's body practically jolted with a large wave of emotions.
Close your eyes. Don't give in. Run. Get away from there!
Dippers eyes widened with fear.
Open your eyes. Accept who you are. Give in to it. Come closer!
Mabel's eyes widened with fascination.
"No!" Dipper yelled gripping onto his sister's arm and running, running as fast as his noodle legs could take him. He was scared, scared out of his mind. That house gave him the fucking creeps and sent horror down his spine.
Mabel was scared, scared at how Dipper was acting. He looked…like he had seen a ghost. He was holding onto her arm painfully, and was running so fast she could barely keep up. What did he see or feel that she hadn't? There was nothing wrong with that place…was there? Now she was curious, just plain curious. And it ate at her like guilt. She had to know what was inside that house that made Dipper react that way! She let her legs carry herself behind Dipper, as she heard shaky breaths coming from the boy.
•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•
"We're never going back there." Dipper commanded, laying himself down in bed, pulling the blanket up to his chin. He was in a fetal position, the uncomfortable aura from that house still tingling at his very essence. "Mhm." Was her only reply, as Mabel combed through her loose hair with her fingers. She was lying on her side, body fully relaxed, she couldn't help but wonder why she and Dipper had such different reactions? They had talked about them, as soon as they reached the house. Dipper hadn't stopped running until they did, the poor boy tired and legs like jelly. At that moment Mabel knew they had different experiences with it. It was only until Dipper told her what it felt like that not only was it confirmed, but was she not going to tell him she didn't feel it at all. She just simply agreed that the house had….a "feeling". Whether it is good or bad, she didn't let it be known. Dipper automatically assumed it was as bad as his own experience was.
Dipper sighed softly, turning and facing the wall, relaxing slightly, and shoulders dropping to try and fall asleep. Mabel blinked, and reached for the lamp on her nightstand. She clicked it off, and couldn't help but stare at the only current light source as her mind raced. She blinked once more, drinking in the moonlight coming from the window; the oddly triangle shaped window…the house had one just like it. Only, the glass was a stained, pretty, crystal yellow.
She just had to get inside that house. Its mystery was calling to her. She just has to figure out how to do it without Dipper knowing…
•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•
He chuckled, playing with his new hair. The body could definitely work for now. It wasn't even half bad looking, if he said so himself. He put a gloved hand to his chin, turning his head and admiring himself one last time before turning around and staring down at the lowly shape beneath him. Poor thing hurt and trembling in her lowest form; serves her right, for trying to mess with his plans. He had been working at this for too long for her to come in and try and stop him. He wasn't necessarily doing anything bad, anything that she had to be angry for, oh no. She was just for humans whereas…well, he looked out for Number One. That was just how they were born, though.
He picked up the star at the top point and held it in front of his face. "Next time you warn the Pine Twins to stay away from me…I'm sending you back." He spoke, the echo in his voice dropping to a deathly deep tone.
"Bite me, William. I won't let you hurt the Saplings." She spoke, and Bill frowned.
"No one said I was going to hurt them…physically." He grinned, far too wide and devious for a human. It made Jill cringe at the sight of her brother's human form. These children were in for hell, and she wasn't too sure she could protect the both of them.