Moonlight Stroll
Two sets of footsteps crunched along the leaf strewn path that wound its way between the trees of the forest which surrounded Gravity Falls, one brisk and confident and the other with a stumbling hesitant gait. Two flashlight beams pierced the dark night air, one held steady along the path and the other sweeping in wide somewhat shaky arcs around the trees casting weird shadows in the bushes that danced and flickered oddly. Two voices were raised in conversation that cut through the utter stillness of the forest night, seeming as loud as gunshots - one bright and cheerful and the other petulant but with a note of unaccustomed worry running through it.
"I still don't see why you needed me to walk you home - you've lived in this town all your life," Mabel said teasingly.
"No, I've lived in a nice mansion on the good side of town all my life - not around this weird creepy forest that your crazy uncle lives in. I wouldn't even need to be walking anywhere if my parents hadn't had some stupid fund-raiser to go to tonight that they hadn't told me about and taken the limo with them." Pacifica griped, her wide blue eyes darting along the edges of the trail trying to spot any hint of movement there.
"Is the great Pacifica Northwest admitting that she needs help with finding her way back through the big scary trees?" Mabel asked with a wide grin.
"Dream on- you're just here in case I need something to distract the wolves," Pacifica shot back, the unfamiliar darkness of the forest making her edgy and harsh.
"Don't worry, I've been out here with my brother plenty of times before and I haven't seen a single wolf yet," Mabel reassured her with a friendly pat on the shoulder. "I was almost eaten by a dinosaur once though," she added almost as an afterthought.
"A dinosaur?" Pacifica scoffed.
"After almost being killed by little golf-ball people you're going to tell me that a dinosaur is really that unbelievable?" Mabel asked.
"I should have just asked if I could have borrowed your weird manservant to walk me home, he probably wouldn't have talked as much." Pacifica said, ignoring the truth of Mabel's statement.
"Clearly you don't know Soos too well," Mabel replied dryly.
"Thanks for coming along with me though," Pacifica said, her tone casual but with a hint of friendliness underneath.
"It's no big deal - I wouldn't have actually let you walk all alone through this freaky place even if you wanted to. Actually scratch the 'no big deal part'- I'll have to bust out my extra special markers when I write in my diary tonight since I just got my first ever 'Thanks' from you." Mabel said with a grin.
"I didn't even know it was possible for you to be this sarcastic," Pacifica said sounding grudgingly impressed.
"Really? I didn't even know that you knew the word 'Thanks' till today." Mabel teased.
"Of course I knew the word thanks!" Pacifica snipped back.
"Oh yeah, I'm sure you did – just like you we're an expert at the 'shaw-ring'," Mabel said with a giggle, her flashlight beam briefly leaving the trail as she finger-quoted the last word.
"Oh bite me you fluffy little princess," Pacifica growled, her burst of anger at Mabel temporarily helping her to forget her fear of the claustrophobic crush of trees choking the dirt trail around her.
"Hah! I knew that you were starting to warm up to me - even your insults aren't as mean anymore!" Mabel laughed.
Pacifica felt her cheeks flush slightly, but thankfully it was too dark for Mabel to have noticed. It was true that she hadn't felt like being particularly mean to Mabel lately, though even those times when she had been condescending Mabel had taken it all with the same infuriating mix of obliviousness and optimism that Pacifica found so… interesting. Ever since their weird ill-fated contest at the mini-golf course they'd been running into one another around town more often and exchanging friendly words instead of insults, and that had lead up to today where Pacifica had decided to finally accept Mabel's constant offers to hang out - mostly out of boredom. Despite all of her expectations to the contrary the day hadn't turned out to be a complete disaster, and she'd actually found herself really enjoying Mabel's company.
"Well, I'm willing to admit that you aren't as much of a dork as I first thought," Pacifica said indifferently as she thought back on the day's events. Mabel was definitely quirky, but Pacifica couldn't deny that she knew how to have a good time.
"All joking aside, I'm really glad you came over to visit today," Mabel offered, her tone apologetic for her earlier teasing.
Pacifica's expression softened and she gave Mabel a small friendly smile in return.
"I actually had a lot of fun today, so I'm glad I did too… even if it means that we have to walk all night through this awful mosquito choked hell of a forest." Pacifica said.
"You could have just spent the night over with me at the Shack - we've never gotten to have a sleepover together before." Mabel said.
"We literally just hung out as not-enemies for the first time today and you already want me to stay at your house?" Pacifica asked in confusion.
"Well yeah, sleepovers are awesome! You've had to have one of those before, right?" Mabel asked.
Not really, Pacifica thought to herself. Growing up, Pacifica hadn't really gotten to do much that would have been "too messy" or "too noisy" anywhere near her parents belongings, and sleepovers had been up there on the list along with 'eating in the car' or 'finger painting' in the long list of things that she had never done.
"I thought you guys had golf carts and stuff that we could have used instead of walking?" Pacifica said quickly to deflect the whole sleepover idea from Mabel's mind.
"Had is the key word there - Soos kind of accidentally totaled the cart a week ago and he's still working on getting it fixed up. He's almost done though, all he needs is to replace the cup holder & then put all the wheels back on." Mabel explained.
A branch snapped loudly somewhere off in the darkness and the girls froze in their tracks, their flashlights sweeping out through the treeline in frantic arcs. Pacifica noted the look of fear that had come over Mabel's face at the sudden noise.
"You look awfully scared for someone who was just teasing me about not wanting to walk alone in the dark a few minutes ago," she said, half playful and half trying to conceal her own growing feeling of worry at Mabel's reaction.
"Well Pacifica, that's just because unlike you I do know a bit about the weird junk that lives out in this part of the woods," Mabel said quietly, edging slowly toward her companion and taking her free hand into a tight grip.
"Are you sure you aren't overreacting a little?" Pacifica asked hopefully as her wide blue eyes darted out into the shadows all around her, ears straining for just the slightest hint of noise.
For a few minutes everything seemed perfectly peaceful despite Mabel's sudden burst of paranoia and Pacifica was about to sarcastically ask Mabel to release her death-grip on her hand when a branch snapped suddenly behind them on the trail. Pacifica's fingers clamped as tight as a well-manicured bear trap in Mabel's hand and she shot her a worried glance.
"You had been joking before about the dinosaur, right?" Pacifica asked in a hushed voice.
"How fast can you run in those fuzzy boots of yours?" Mabel said, equally quietly.
"I don't know - I don't really run that often." Pacifica replied shakily.
A loud inhuman noise split the air from somewhere in the shadowy maze of trees, sounding halfway between a snakes hiss and a bears throaty growl. All at once the chirping insects and the quiet songs of the night birds fell into dead silence and the sound of branches snapping grew closer.
"We're about to find out!" Mabel squeaked before she took off in a run, practically yanking Pacifica's arm out of her socket as she tugged the blonde girl along with her.
Pacifica turned her head and caught sight of something bulky, hairy and with way too many legs smashing out of the treeline and onto the leaf-strewn trail behind them before she turned back and concentrated solely on running, putting every ounce of energy she had into her strides.
"Do you have any idea what's chasing us?" Pacifica screamed in panic.
"Nope, I just know that I don't want to get caught!" Mabel replied grimly, her grip on Pacifica's hand never slipping as they ducked and scrambled together over the branch choked path.
Pacifica had never been as scared in her entire life as she was at this moment. Every beat of her heart felt like it was going to send the organ rocketing out of her chest and her lungs burned with each breath she took, but sheer terror kept her feet pumping furiously to try and keep up with Mabel who was surging ahead and tugging her along.
"Move those fancy shoes of yours faster! Do you want to be monster food or something?" Mabel shouted encouragingly
"No one had ever tried to kill me before I met you and now I've been attacked twice in two weeks!" Pacifica shouted back angrily.
"You can thank me later if we survive the night!" Mabel replied, suddenly bursting into wild panicky laughter.
Oh my god, she's literally insane, Pacifica thought to herself before she got too busy concentrating on running to think at all.
The loud shrieking call of the whatever that was chasing them echoed again through the damp night air and the sound of it turned the blood in Pacifica's veins to ice. She had to clench her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering in panic, but she felt Mabel's hand squeeze hers reassuringly and the gesture helped pull her back from the fear that was starting to overtake her mind. Pacifica turned and saw Mabel's face reflected in the dim light of the wavering flashlight beam and the moonglow filtering through the leaves and was surprised to see her expression… she was definitely scared too, but there was a stubborn set to her lips that showed that she was fighting it and the sight was enough to force Pacifica to do the same. There was no way she was going let Mabel Pines think that she was a wimp - she would never be able to live it down otherwise.
Mabel jerked her arm roughly as she jabbed her flashlight down a fork in the path ahead.
"I think I recognize this spot - I've got a plan!" Mabel panted at her, tugging Pacifica along the curve of the trail that lead up a steep incline off the main road.
The muscles in Pacifica's legs burned as she struggled up the hill, her gorgeously done nails scrabbling in the dirt for any hand-hold that would help her speed up the climb. The footsteps of their pursuer had fallen behind them in the distance but she could still hear them faintly and it gave her all the encouragement she needed to climb faster. The path suddenly came to a sharp end and Pacifica saw with an ugly sinking feeling in her chest that the hill ended in a steep cliff. Two weathered wooden posts and some rotted tangles of cord showed where an old fashioned rope bridge had once connected the cliff to the rest of the path which continued on along another hill ahead. Unfortunately since the bridge had collapsed some time ago there was now a thirty foot gap of open space between those two hills with absolutely nothing walkable between them… and the thumping, scrabble of strange footsteps could be heard slowly making their way up the hill behind them.
"Was your plan to die here? Because that seems to be what's happening!" Pacifica snapped at Mabel.
Mabel ignored the question, being too busy staring out at the trees on the other hill. She licked one finger and held it up to the wind, muttering quietly to herself before she turned back to Pacifica and grabbed her by the hand once more, pulling her close and then wrapping one of her own arms tight around Pacifica's slim waist.
"Hug me really tight, okay?" Mabel said as she reached into the baggy pocket at the front of her sweater and pulled out a chunky black gun with a wickedly sharp looking hook glittering at the end of it.
Pacifica stared at Mabel in surprised confusion.
"Is that a-"she began to ask before the brunette aimed the odd machine at a tall tree across the gap and fired, sending the two of them flying across the distance through the air.
"GRAPPLING HOOK!" Mabel shouted triumphantly as Pacifica clung onto her for dear life, her heart slamming like a runaway jackhammer in her chest as the ground dropped away beneath her feet.
The whole incident probably took five seconds, but it felt like a lifetime and Pacifica hadn't realized that she'd been holding her breath until her feet were once again on solid ground. She could hear the rustling of leaves in the distance and saw the lurching form of the creature that had been chasing them stop short on the edge of the cliff, its body still mostly concealed by shadows. It glared across the gap with a single glittering eye before it gave a final hissing scream and turned back along the path and shuffled off the way it came.
"Yeah, you better run ugly," Mabel said cockily, though she said it extra quietly just in case the monster was close enough to still be able to hear her.
For a second there was just something about Mabel's pose and the look of exhilaration on her face that sent a weird awkward current through Pacifica's chest which she'd never felt before, and it set her heart to beating hard for reasons that had nothing to do with her earlier panic.
"You just saved my life," Pacifica whispered in a daze as her brain struggled to catch up with the bizarre turn that the night had taken.
"All in a day's work," Mabel replied cheerfully. She twirled the grapple gun in her hand with a flourish and then slipped it back into the mysterious depths of her sweater.
"That was just… that…I mean… thank you," Pacifica said, stumbling over the words and feeling flustered beyond belief.
"Two thanks in one day? I may have to bust out the glitter along with the markers for that diary entry," Mabel said in a friendly teasing tone.
"Oh shut up," Pacifica replied quietly, but without anger.
For a few moments there was a peaceful silence over the forest, broken only by the sounds of the girls' quiet breathing.
"Heh… you know you don't have to keep hugging me right? We're already back on the ground," Mabel said with a nervous chuckle as she gently patted her hand on Pacifica's back.
Pacifica felt her face flush sunset red and she reluctantly released her grip on Mabel. Her brain hadn't even registered the idea of letting go as an option before.
"Right, yeah… I was just… anyway, let's keep going. I don't want to run into any of that things friends or whatever," Pacifica muttered coolly as she tried to sort out the new tangle of thoughts that had snarled their way into her mind.
Mabel Pines, of all people, had just saved her life. She'd swept her up and swung her across a cliff with a grappling hook that she got from god knows where, and she'd actually looked incredibly cool doing it.
Not just cool though… actually kind of-
Pacifica felt her heart catch in her throat when she completed the thought.
-kind of hot.
Did I really just think that?
As they started their way back along the path Pacifica felt Mabel's hand reach out and find her own and Pacifica automatically wrapped her own fingers into Mabels warm grip
"Hope you don't mind the hand holding," Mabel said quietly, "now that the adrenaline's wearing off I'm starting to freak out a little," she added with a nervous chuckle.
Pacifica gave Mabel's hand a reassuring squeeze and felt a nervous little smile start to tug at the corner of her mouth.
"I don't mind," she said honestly, and then added after a moment's pause, "but if you tell anyone about this I'll ruin you."
"My lips are sealed," Mabel replied, "just as long as you promise not to tell Dipper that I saved you from getting eaten by a monster. He might never forgive me if he finds out,"
"Deal," Pacifica said.
The rest of the walk was thankfully uneventful and Pacifica reluctantly released her grip on Mabel's hand when she spotted the high iron gates of her family's mansion ahead.
"Well, guess this is your stop," Mabel said once they'd arrived.
"Hey… um… would you want to maybe spend the night here at my place? I don't really like the idea of you going back out there and getting eaten," Pacifica volunteered hesitantly.
"Awww – you really do care!" Mabel said playfully.
"At least enough to not let you get eaten by monsters anyway," Pacifica said snidely.
"Well, it's a good start anyway." Mabel said with a smile.
"Are you staying or not?" Pacifica snapped, partly regretting the decision to ask her but also hoping that she would agree.
"Heck yeah! Who would ever turn down a sleepover?" Mabel asked cheerfully.
"Alright, just keep quiet – we're going to sneak you in through the backdoor." Pacifica said once she'd keyed in the code to open up the gates.
"A stealth sleepover? Twice as cool!" Mabel stage-whispered with a grin.
Pacifica felt a smile make its way across her face despite her misgivings– she'd work out whatever that weird feeling she had back in the woods was later, but for now she was just looking forward to seeing what all the fuss over sleepovers was about.