Everybody either loved or hated Mabel's sweaters. There was no in between. And because her sweaters were always colorful, happy, and fun looking, they assumed she was like that. If she were really happy, why would she be sitting alone in her and Dipper's room (A.K.A. The Attic), picking out all of her flaws?
Same ugly braces. Same frizzy brown hair. Same pale skin. Same flat chest. I don't even look twelve, I look six!
Mabel sighed, banging her head against the wall lightly. She took another quick glance at the mirror, only to be disappointed. She hated how she looked, she hated how she acted, she hated everything about herself.
Same annoying, silly little girl who can't stand up for herself. Ha. If only they knew it was all just an act.
Mabel let out another sigh, slowly making her way over to her bed and laying down on it.
"Mabel?" Dipper knocked on the attic door quietly. "Are you in there?"
Mabel shot up from the bed, wiping her puffy, red eyes and fixing her loose sweater, before stalking over to the door and opening it.
"Hey bro-bro, how's it going?" Mabel asked hyperly, hoping Dipper wouldn't notice she'd been upset.
Dipper stared at Mabel, emotionless. "You were supposed to come and help me put these up around town!" The boy held up a stack of Mystery Shack posters. With that ugly, old Cosmic Sans font and that terribly cropped picture of the shack, there was no doubt that Stan made these for his niece and nephew to plaster around the town.
"Oh, was I? I totally forgot, ha ha ha..." Mabel kept the same big smile plastered on her face, never blinking.
"Mabel, how could you forget again?" Dipper muttered to himself. Mabel heard, oh yes, she heard.
"Sorry..." She said slowly, negativity filling her mind.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. Can't you just remember one simple thing, instead of being a baby and crying to yourself up here all alone?
Mabel snapped out of her thoughts quickly. "But, I can help now!"
"It's too late now," Dipper sighed, taking one of the posters in his hand and crumbling it up. "It's already dark, and I am not in the mood to go out this late today."
"You mean tonight," Mabel corrected.
"Right, whatever," Dipper replied, glaring playfully.
Mabel got lost in her thoughts. Maybe this would be a good time to tell him? She wanted to tell Dipper how she really felt. Unhappy. Alone. But she didn't, because she knew he wouldn't understand. She knew it'd be a complete waste of time. So Mabel just kept up with that happy act that nobody could see through; She had gotten pretty good at acting. Sometimes, she didn't even have to try and act anymore. She learned to do it on her own.
"Pass the syrup?" Grunkle Stan asked Mabel, for literally no reason as he reached around the young girl and grabbed the syrup bottle, pouring it on his 1/3 of the pancake he bought. What a cheap man.
Mabel picked at her pancake, the soft, cakey, breakfast dessert didn't look the slightest bit appealing at that moment. All she wanted was to go back to the shack and cry. Her arms itched and she was unbearably hot under that heavy sweater. But she knew she couldn't take it off. It would be a disaster.
"Hey kid, you gonna eat that?" Grunkle Stan asked, eyeing Mabel's portion of the pancake.
The girl slowly shook her head no, and Stan immediately swiped the pancake, placing it on his own plate with his fork. Dipper tapped on Mabel's plate with his fork to get her attention.
"Aren't you hungry?" He asked in concern.
Mabel shrugged absentmindedly, resting her arms on the table and shoving her head into them. She wasn't in the mood to act today. And it's not like they'd think anything of it. A really loud, annoying bell chimed as the door to the restaurant swung open. They really needed to fix that. Pacifca walked in, her parents following behind her. They went to sit in a booth just behind the Pines' while Pacifica went over to their table.
"Oh look. Mabel already finished her food, what a fat pig. It's no wonder she has a pet pig!" Pacifica sneered, looking down at the girl.
Mabel pressed her head deeper into her arms, wanting to immediately disappear right exactly now. Dipper glared at Pacifica in annoyance. Stan didn't seem that affected.
"Go away, Pacifica..." Mabel muttered under her breath.
"What was that?"
"I said go away," She said louder, raising her head to look at her rival.
"Gladly. I wouldn't want to catch any of your germs, after all," Pacifica replied snootily, turning on her heel and walking back to her family who seemed pleased with her.
I wish I could be like her. Pretty, loved... She actually looks twelve, maybe even a bit older.
"Mabel, are you okay?" Dipper poked his twin's arm. She looked up glumly, before looking back down, tracing shapes on the table.
"Man, I hate that kid," grumbled Stan, placing his fork and knife down. His plate was clear, only a few drops of syrup remaining.
Mabel felt sick.
"Oh, you're so beautiful!" exclaimed Grenda, smashing the Sev'ral Timez doll against Candy's doll's face, forming a plastic kiss.
"As are you!" Candy said, just as dramatically, forcing the doll back against Grenda's.
Mabel made the plastic toy "step" near them. "I now pronounce you married!" She yelled in a deeper voice.
Mabel honestly felt left out. Yes, Candy and Grenda did call firsties for doing the dating parts in their little roleplay, but she couldn't help the negative thoughts forming in her poor, little head. Nobody would ever love me, anyway. She had a bitter taste in her mouth, and the plastic felt exceptionally cold in her small hand. Candy and Grenda's laughter was soon blocked out by the terrible thoughts creeping into her mind, eating her alive. Why her, though? She didn't deserve it. Mabel tried to convince herself that she didn't deserve any of this, but those negative feelings pushed back harder whenever she tried to be positive. It was no use.
"Mabel!" Grenda smacked the girl lightly, getting her attention. "Do you wanna take turns reading first?" Grenda held up a typical looking teenage romance novel, something the girls' had read a thousand times and more.
Mabel eagerly took the book in her hands, reading the cover. "Dream Boy." Well, she had been wanting to distract herself from all of this mental negativity, and a good romance novel seemed like the right way to go.
"Go on!" Candy urged her to open the book.
Mabel ignored her friend, flipping over to the back to read what it was about. "A girl named Stacy keeps having dreams about a strange boy. One day, she meets him in real life, and everything goes downhill from there." It seemed like another cliche story, to Mabel. But she needed a distraction, and to avoid giving out any information about her feelings, she turned to the girls, smiling largely. "Let's begin then!" She raised a fist in the air, slamming it back down into the book, before finally opening the first page, and she began to read.