Norman
The ancient radio blares out some random song I don't care about. We've been on the road for the past day, stopping only at gas stations for food or at random spots by the road to rest for a couple of minutes. It's mostly boring, but better than another summer vacation at Blithe Hollow. I've gotten sick of walking through the halls with everyone's eyes on me, their expressions showing either admiration, weariness, or outright fear.
Despite how much I hate to admit it, I miss the times when I was just a freak. At least no one looked at me like I was some kind of hero or some kind of monster. I would walk home with Neil and talk to Grandma for the rest of the day. I would still have a zombie-themed room.
Now I'm Norman, the guy in the literal 'grey area' of school hierarchy; not a total freak, but nowhere near popular. It is dizzyingly confusing, and I hate it. Plus, after Aggie's attack, I tore down and threw away everything to do with the undead, and I have become insomnia's best friend.
Leaving Massachusetts brings both sadness and relief. I'm leaving Neil behind, and Grandma, though they both said it would be okay. I haven't really thought much about Mom and Dad; they're pretty much the same parents they were before Aggie, albeit nicer.
I sigh once I realize how many thoughts my brain is crammed with. I take a deep breath, trying to feel happy. This is my first trip out of Blithe Hollow, and my first solitary one.
Well, not completely solitary. Courtney's driving, which means a lot of phone calls, screams of "no fucking service!" and the obscene keening sound that Courtney makes whenever a song she likes comes on the radio.
She calls it singing. I call it torture.
But I need to think brightly. I'm going to have a normal, comfortable summer. No one will know about my ability, and I'm going to make sure it stays that way until I leave. I'm pretty sure that there won't be a lot of ghosts there, and I can avoid the ones that are there. Plus, if Courtney starts shrieking out lyrics to some terrible song again, all I need to do is fish my iPod out of my backpack and tune it out with one of the songs I like.
But now, it seems the universe has other plans.
"Oh. My. God." Courtney's mouth breaks into a wide grin as a tune I know all too well starts playing on the radio. I know what is coming, and I frantically rummage for my iPod. I already have my earphones in my ears before I remember that the device's battery died a few hours ago. My eyes widen as Courtney clears her throat.
"No, nonono..." I murmur frantically, hitting the side of the iPod as if that would resuscitate its battery. But it's too late, and I yank the earphones out of my ears, replacing them with my own hands.
"Makin' my way downtown, walking fast, faces pass and I'm home bound..." Courtney's voice is completely off-key, and I think my eardrums have been poisoned. I squeeze my eyes shut. "Staring blankly ahead just making my way, making a way through the crowd..."
"Oh my god, stop," I plead. She nods her head crazily in time with the song. I feel violated. Why is my iPod dead!?
"'Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles if I could just see you...tonight!" Her voice is ten times louder now, and even more horrendous. I know she's doing it to annoy me, and it is working very well.
"Courtney!" I shriek, and she bursts into fits of laughter. She actually has to pull the car over to calm herself down. The look of pure, unadulterated misery on my face does nothing to stop her laughing fit, so I just sit there and watch her laugh for the rest of the song.
When she finally stops, she looks up at me, wiping tears from her cheeks. "Wow. I have to do that more often," she chuckles.
"I think you've done enough for the rest of my life," I retort, and shudder.
"Oh, come on, Norm. It wasn't that bad."
I look at her pointedly. She gets the hint.
"Whatever. Maybe I should put in my CD and play all my favourite songs for the rest of the trip..."
My annoyed expression melts into one of horror. "Courtney...don't look now, but there's a ghost behind you...and his hands are about to wrap around your neck."
She screeches and jumps, letting out indecipherable pleas for me to save her, but stops abruptly when I snort with laughter and promptly stare out of my window. She punches me on the shoulder.
"OW!"
"Should've seen it coming," she says, and then she starts up the car again. I sullenly nurse my arm as she drives. Thankfully, some commercial is on the radio, so there isn't any more torture to my ears. After a while of silent driving, Courtney decides to curb any awkwardness before it starts.
"So, any plans?"
I look at her. "Plans for what?"
"For the town. Anything you wanna do? Places you want to see?"
"Nah, not really. I think I'll just stay at the cabin and sleep."
"Insomnia still a thing?"
"Yeah."
There is a pause, and then she looks directly at me. "Don't you want to meet people, Norm?"
"What?"
"I mean...you have to meet some people, Norm. I mean, your cousin's gonna be with us, but...you're socially awkward, Norm - no offence - but maybe you'll find your kind of people there."
"And what exactly are...'my kind of people'?" I ask.
"Maybe...you'll find people with...y'know."
"Wha-? No! Courtney, I'm not telling anyone about that. I want to have a normal summer for once, and that isn't going to help me with anything."
She takes the hint and falls quiet, turning her gaze back to the road. After a while, she smiles widely. I ignore it, until she turns to me again, the smile now a predatory grin.
"What about finding a girl?" she whispers, and I choke on my saliva, heat rushing to my face in an instant.
"Courtney, what the heck!?" I cough violently as she howls with laughter, oblivious to my mortification.
"Oh, c'mon, Norman! You've gotta get laid at some point! What better place than in some unknown town in Oregon where you'll probably never see your partner-in-crime ever again?"
"Stop talking."
She laughs again. "Alright, alright. I'll leave you alone." She heaves a contented sigh and focuses back on the road. I shudder again, and then wonder why. I'm sixteen already; all the horrors of puberty have already set in, except just the one. I haven't even so much as looked at a girl in a crush-y way, and the idea of sleeping with one just makes me all sorts of weirded-out. But it shouldn't.
I should be chasing after at least one girl by now, so why aren't I? The more I think about it, the more confused I get. Eventually my thoughts wander to more unholy scenarios that I prefer not to continue with, so I blot out every thought and stare out of the window. The endless expanse of green and nothingness fills me with boredom, but I can't bring myself to look away. The monotony of the view seems to amuse me. Mesmerize me, even.
God, I sound like Air Supply.
Eventually, the outside blurs into a blank slate; the visual equivalent of white noise that slowly lulls me to sleep.
In my dream, I see Aggie. She still looks the same; black hair, black dress, pale skin, thin lips she once smiled at me with.
Only now she isn't smiling at me. Her face is sad, and she looks paler than I had ever seen anyone. She looks unhealthy. Neglected. Not how I had imagined her to look from the other side. I call out to her, but she doesn't seem to hear me.
"Help them," she murmurs. I stare at her in confusion.
"Help who?" I ask. "Who are you talking ahout, Aggie?"
"Help...they need help...they're so close...they'll fade away if you don't help them soon."
"Who, Aggie?"
"Find them. They're close...follow the Gemini. The Gemini will help you. They need you..."
She begins to fade away. I gasp, and reach for her in a panic, but my hand passes right through her transparent body. She suddenly stares straight at me, eyes wide. And then her face crumples from exhaustion, and her body seems to sag and melt into a pile of papery, transparent flesh. I stare at it in horror, my body rooted to the spot. Suddenly, a voice whispers in my ear.
"Don't believe anything they say. If you do, they will destroy you."
I let out a scream as my legs erupt in searing pain that reaches right up to my waist. I fall to the ground, horrified shouts escaping me as I try and fail to move. My legs feel like they're being bitten by a thousand venomous snakes all at once. The pain flares throughout my entire body, and I writhe in terror and agony. Just before my vision fades to black, I hear a distant whisper.
Bit. By. Bit.
"Norman? Norman, wake up! Norman!"
I shot up, almost giving Courtney an epic head-butt. She backpedals, worry etched on her face. I'm breathing hard, groggy and disoriented from the dream. I immediately think that it was probably just a nightmare (god knows I've had way too many of those to count), but a dull pain in my legs makes me completely lucid in that one second.
This wasn't just a dream.
All I need is one look at Courtney to know that I can't tell her. She'll totally freak. I steady my breathing and give a nervous chuckle. "I had another nightmare," I say, rubbing at my eyes. "I'm really contemplating taking sleeping pills right now."
"Aggie again?" She asks, and I nod. At least that isn't a lie. It doesn't make me feel less guilty, though. I groan as I stretch out; sleeping in a car seat is never fun. She gives a breathy sigh. "Well, we got here a few minutes ago. I was about to wake you, but then you started screaming."
I give her a sheepish smile. "Sorry."
"What're you saying sorry for, you dweeb?" she ruffles my gravity-defying hair, and I chuckle. I turn to grab my backpack from the foot of the seat, sling it over my back, and then get up - only to tumble down and faceplant into the ground. "Whoa! Hey, are you okay?" Courtney gasps as I struggle to stand up. My legs feel like overcooked noodles.
"That dream must've really spooked me," I laugh nervously, and I avoid Courtney's narrowing eyes. Crap, she caught on. Now she knows something's up. I try to steer her off. "Uh, could you help me?"
"Oh." She helps me up, and then supports me as I try out a few steps. When I'm sure I can make it on my own, I give her a thumbs-up, which she returns warily. "Alright, you go into the cabin. I'll get all the bags inside."
"I'll help," I offer.
"No. Get inside." She's looking at me with a serious face, and I sigh. There's no deterring her now. I trudge away from the car, and only then do I look up at the cabin.
It's painted a homey shade of blue, and has a second floor. From the looks of it, it's made mostly of wood, which should look unstable, but doesn't. There aren't any neighbouring houses I can see, which means that we're probably on the outskirts of town. This realization makes me ecstatic, and then my excitement makes me realize how socially awkward I am.I ignore the feeling of idiocy that threatens to overcome me and continue on to the front door. The sun almost in the middle of the sky, and I have to squint against its brightness. I open the front door to reveal a small passageway. The passageway leads to a large room with a couch and a rickety old television. It looks older than my dad. The walls are painted purple, and I can make out a feel peeling areas. I walk over to the doorway on the other side of the room and peer through it. The kitchen is small, with a stove, oven, counter and a couple of other odds and ends, but I guess it's alright. We use it to cook, and nothing else, anyway.
I make my way upstairs and find a corridor with five doors; two on each side, and one at the very end. I walk up to the first one and find a note written by Courtney. Storage room, I read in my head. Nothing to see here.
I open the door. The storage room is so musty and dusty that I start coughing within three seconds of being inside. I close the door quickly and clear my throat. My nose tingles from the dust, and I sneeze twice before moving on the second door. This one is the bathroom. The walls are tiled, and a blue shower curtain conceals the bathtub. I shrug and close the door.
The next door has another sign by Courtney. Mine, it reads. Don't come in here unless you want to lose your innocence, Norman.
I recoil violently and hastily move on. I don't even want to think about whatever my twenty-one-year-old-sister has hidden behind that door. The next door has an 'n' written on it in Sharpie. Mine, I guess. I reach for the doorknob, but then my gaze drifts to the last door.
The sign reads, Attic. Nothing in here but dusty junk, but if you want to find anything, knock yourself out.
I decide against it. I don't have anything to look for, and the attic is probably just as dusty as the storage room. So I open the door of my room and walk inside. The room is reasonably large, with light blue walls, wooden floorboards, a bed in one corner beside a dresser, and a small wooden wardrobe in the other corner. I drop my backpack on the floor and slowly walk over to the bed. The floor groans with every step I take. I flop onto my back on the bed and stare at the cracked white ceiling.
The dream is still fresh in my mind, and Agatha's words play over and over in my head.
Help them. They'll fade away if you don't help them soon. Find them. Follow the Gemini. The Gemini will help you.
Who are the Gemini? Some sort of group in this town? And they are supposed to help me find someone, and help that person? And who would fade away? The Gemini, or the other person?
I groan and roll over until I fall off the bed, landing on the floor with a hard thud. I haven't even begun to understand Aggie's message, and my head is already hurting. How am I supposed to figure out what I'm supposed to do if I can't even figure out what she meant? So far, the only thing I can decipher is that the dream was no ordinary dream.
It was a vision. I haven't had any since Aggie, but I know one when I see one. And that only means one thing.
Gravity Falls isn't exactly the normal, peaceful town I had wanted to spend my summer in.
As I ponder this and keep trying to figure out Agatha's message, the door suddenly swings open and Courtney materializes, breathing hard. I sit up, guessing that she had heard the sound of my fall and came up to see if I was okay. Courtney isn't a paranoid person, but after my recent case of noodle-legs and my appalling attempt at lying, I can't really blame her for getting worried.
But the look on her face isn't one of worry; it's one of exasperation. And that is when I realize that she isn't alone. My pupils shrink to blots and my mouth drops open as I realize who the person is. I could recognize that curly ginger hair and those freckles within a crowd. My mouth opens and closes repeatedly like that of a dying fish for a couple of seconds before I finally find my voice.
"Neil!?"
My friend smiles sheepishly and waves at me. "Hi."
A/N: Hello. The name's Iminaloine, but you can call me Imin, and this is my first story on Fanfiction, so any kind of reviews are welcomed. This chapter leaves a lot of room for explanation, but I'd like to leave it here for now. This is a Mystery Kids story, so you can expect the others in future chapters that will come soon, I hope. This whole story will be told in points of view, which is the flow that I am most comfortable with, and I'll try and add another chapter as soon as I can.
Also, did anyone get the Air Supply reference? It's an Easter egg. (though the concept of Easter eggs still confuses me sometimes, someone please explain this stuff to me)
Uh...there shall be swearing, so I rated it T, for safety. So, yeah, I think that should be all, soo...thanks for reading this (if you even read this author's note at all) and...go back to reading more interesting things now.
Okay, bye.
Imin