CHAPTER ONE: JUST A QUICK WALK ONLY
Saturday, February 8, 2014. 8:35 PM. Piedmont, California.
Dipper and Mabel – 14 years old and freshmen in high school – are relaxing on the couch, with the older twin busy texting on her phone while the younger one is re-reading one of his favorite mystery novels for the nth time.
Ms. Pines, a full-time illustrator and children's/preteen writer herself, came out from the "guest" room, which is actually her work station. She went into the kitchen in search for some coffee and milk, as she has a conference call she needs to make soon with an editor and needs to finish up illustrations for another author's work by Monday. It's going to be a long night for her.
The twins' mother rummaged through the kitchen for a few minutes. Afterwards, she let out a large groan.
"What is it, mom?" Mabel called out to her.
"We're out of both milk AND coffee! How is that possible?" Ms. Pines exclaimed. "I've been busy all day today and am on the verge of collapse now. I look terrible; the last thing I need is to fall asleep or at the very least act incoherently in front of my potential editor for my new book. I could lose her offer!"
"Hey, what about if I caught some of the needed groceries from the Mulberry's Market? They don't close until 10:30. I could go get them now. No biggie," Mabel suggested.
"Really, at this hour?" Dipper overheard the brief conversation between his sister and mom. "The sun has set long ago. Are you sure you want to go out?"
"Come on, Dipper, it's for mom," Mabel replied. "And she's got a lot to do tonight, not just this conference. She's been working real hard on her most recent preteen novel, and the last thing she needs is for the publisher that initially showed interest to, well, not, simply because she fell asleep or whatever. You know that about mom, she sleeps too easily. And dad won't come home from his business trip until tomorrow morning, so who else could run this errand?"
"That's very nice of you Mabel, but really, I think I'll be fine. I guess I was just exaggerating," Ms. Pines kindly refuted Mabel's offer.
"All the more you need the booster, mother!" Mabel argued. "Don't worry; I'll be out and back in just under half an hour, and you'll have a nice warm cup of coffee to keep you up and about!"
"Don't you exaggerate all the time, even when you aren't under stress?" Dipper raised his eyebrow.
"Irrelevant. I'm going to go get my purse and jacket, and I'll be off," Mabel hopped off the sofa and proceeded to head to her room.
"Wait!" Dipper stopped his sister. "If you are going out in the middle of the night, then I'm coming with you. I'm not going to let whatever darkness is lurking in the actual darkness get to you!"
"Jeez, Dip, it's just a quick walk to the local market," Mabel brushed Dipper's hand off of her shoulder. "Like what I said, this should take no more than half an hour. It's only a few items. I can handle myself."
"But it's dark out! What if you trip, accidentally wander onto the street – and who knows if some maniac may be driving without his headlights on! Not to mention robbers, kidnappers, stray dogs with rabies, and, and…"
"Since when did you become so worried about all this stuff?" Mabel questioned. "You've been out in the dark before. Alone. For only a short period of time. And you were fine. Also, it's far from dark outside; all the streets are lit and there are lights coming out from pretty much every house."
"Well, maybe I was lucky," Dipper passed off. "I just want to make sure you are safe and sound, and no one or nothing hurts you. Maybe you are right about the streetlights – okay, certainly right – but there are still dark spots that some psychopath can hide in and suddenly jump out of. And traffic…you can never be too safe with traffic!"
"Ugh, fine, if it makes you feel better, I'll let you come along. Call yourself my bodyguard or whatever, but trust me, I'll be fine. Now let's get going. The night will only get darker as you babble on."
In a few minutes, both the twins have their jackets and scarves on and are on their way to the center of the small suburban town, where the Mulberry's Market is located. They made their way along Highland Avenue, which, as Mabel said, is clearly lit by streetlamps and additionally illuminated by lights from other people's houses; it's almost impossible to NOT be able to see anything ahead or to the side.
Dipper, however, is still far from ease; he is constantly switching between Mabel's right and left side, and looking all around, seeing if there is anyone following or approaching them. Every time a car passes by, Dipper would yelp and try to shield Mabel, much to her annoyance.
"Okay, seriously, Dipper, you are getting way too carried away," Mabel huffed at one point.
"No I'm not. Just trying to protect my sister," Dipper defended. He hung onto Mabel's arm as they stepped onto a crosswalk. Mabel simply swung his grip off.
"We literally haven't met a single person since we left the house nearly ten minutes ago, let alone some random bad guy who wants to hurt me," Mabel grunted. "Now stop trying to be the overprotective daddy you see in those overrated sitcoms. You'd be embarrassing yourself, and me, if there really were other people on the street.
"Okay, okay, you're right," Dipper sighed. He relaxed his body somewhat, but in his mind, he is still alert for any possible harm that may suddenly pop out in the middle of the night.
The twins walked passed one more block containing the police station; they are now at another crosswalk. Just ahead is a Bank of America office, closed for the weekend, and the Mulberry's Market can be seen still opened and its lights on behind it.
Mabel looked left and right, and began to cross the road, with Dipper to her left. The two stepped onto the curb together.
DING-DING! DING-DING!
Before Mabel had a chance to respond, Dipper shoved her to the right just before a bicycle plowed into him from behind. Both Dipper and the rushing bicyclist collided with a bang and toppled down to the asphalt together. Mabel simply stood there, shocked, and trying to digest how a bike suddenly came up from behind them and slammed into her brother.
"Awww…," Dipper groaned in pain. Mabel got down next to him and helped him up.
"Are you all right?" Mabel asked with deep concern. "Did you scar your back? Let me see."
"No, no, it's fine, as long as my spine isn't broken," Dipper insisted. He brushed off Mabel's hand, who was about to life Dipper's shirt to see if his back had any bruises.
Mabel looked down at the bicyclist, who is still lying with stars circling above his stunned face. He is trapped underneath his bicycle, but isn't budging to push it off him.
"Hey you!" Mabel cried out to the young man. The bicyclist looked up at Mabel. He then proceeded to help himself back up.
"I'm very sorry, I didn't see you two in the dark," the bicyclist said. He bent down to put his bike upright.
Before Mabel had a chance to retort that the road is fully lit, Dipper intervened. "It's okay. People normally can't see anything at night, even with the help of streetlights."
"I ran into you pretty brutally. I hope you aren't hurt."
"Nah. I may have some bruises or cuts, but I've had worse. Just be more careful next time, especially at this hour."
"I will. Thanks," The bicyclist remounted his bike and continued on his way.
The twins quickly reached the other end of the crosswalk. Once they were on the sidewalk, Mabel expressed her confusion over what just happened.
"Okay, so you were reasonable and forgiving with that guy just then, but up until mere seconds before you were unreasonable," Mabel brought up. "What's up with that?"
"I was just protecting you, that's all," Dipper responded. "I pushed you out of harm's way, and the guy hit me. Yeah, it hurt, but at least you were spared. And there was no need to extend the conflict any more than it already was, so I just forgave the guy and moved on. Though admittedly I am kind of mad at him that he could have hit you, had I not noticed him coming. He did ring his bell; what if he hadn't?"
The two entered the Mulberry's Market and were met with a wave of heat. The two unzipped their jackets and untied their scarves as now their clothing is too warm for the new environment. They stuffed their scarves into the handbag that Mabel brought with her to contain their groceries.
"You know what, I probably should have thanked you for sacrificing yourself. So, yeah…thank you, Dipper," Mabel smiled at Dipper.
"Again, I'm only protecting my precious twin sister. I don't know what I would do if you ever got hurt. You mean a lot to me, a simple scratch will get me worried."
Dipper went up to the small frozen drinks section and opened up the milk section. He picked up two cartons and placed them into the shopping basket.
"Yeah, I know. It's really hard for me to grasp how your overprotective-ness ended up saving me after all," Mabel commented. "I guess maybe I shouldn't complain about you anymore. After all, who knows what could happen, even if it is only a one in a billion chance. Hey, since I have you, why not just be grateful?"
Mabel instinctively grabbed two boxes of her mom's favorite coffee brand from the shelf. "I guess what I'm saying is, Dipper…if you ever are worried for my safety whenever I want to go out, I won't stop you. You can tag along. I know you want me safe, so I'll try to make sure you have that reassurance."
"Sure. And I promise that I'll be a little less jumpy or defensive whenever a car drives by. That I'm sure is inexcusable," Dipper said as he placed several more items into the shopping basket. He and Mabel started heading over to the cashier zone.
"I guess there are lessons we both learned in this experience," Mabel pointed out. She placed each item from the shopping basket onto the counter. The lady scanned each one and spoke out the total price including tax. Mabel paid the fees and started packing the foodstuffs into the handbag.
"I need to learn how to be, well, less overprotective. Protective, yes, but not to the degree that I was," Dipper admitted. He put on his scarf and hoisted up the handbag containing the groceries. "And I'd be happy to accompany you to anywhere you go, even to a friends' house. Provided that friend is okay with it."
"As for me, I need to be more appreciative of you. You just want to protect me. Man, how many times have I said that already?" Mabel said as she and Dipper walked out of the store and into the cold.
"No need to be sorry over repeating that. As long as you know that I love you," Dipper smiled.
Mabel smiled as well. "I love you to, Broseph."
The two huddled together and continued their way home with their arms around each other, making sure their twin is warm and safe from the windy, cold atmosphere (and any other dangers that may be lurking in the brightly-lit streets).
…
Next chapter: He'll Find His Soul-Mate One Day, Trust Me.