~Chapter 3~
(Mabel's POV)
I kept turning over in my bed. I was only half awake, and still groggy, but I was also sleepy and restless. I didn't know how I got here. It could just be another weird happening inside the Land of Mabel, but it could also be real. Sometimes things in my head got so realistic that I couldn't tell the difference. Last thing I remember, I was in the woods enjoying myself. Now I was out of those woods and back at the Mystery Shack. To top that, my bed was soaked. I didn't know if I'd sweated that much or if there had been a storm last night, but either way, it wasn't very comfortable. And if it wasn't comfortable, it couldn't be in my head, which meant...it was real... So I was actually back here in Gravity Falls, the very place I'd escaped from. And I was awake even though I wanted to sleep. Although...I had to admit, I was a little curious as to what became of Dipper and everyone else. I wondered if I could even recognize them after I'd been gone so long.
I suddenly came to the realization that I'd zoned off again. I tended to do that pretty often. I didn't quite know why, because everything that went on in my head was let out into the real world, so zoning out and thinking about real-life matters was kind of weird, even though I'd been doing it for so long. I guess it was just one of those things you couldn't get used to, no matter how hard you tried. Kind of like how I had weird tremors. I didn't mean to be shaky, I just was. Only, after awhile, you got used to it. The sweating, though, wasn't something you could easily get used to. And then there was the paranoia, I was so paranoid about everything, and I had no idea why. Plus, I didn't have much of an appetite anymore. My mouth was always dry. It used to bug me, but it didn't anymore. One thing that kind of worried me was my heart. It always beat really fast for some reason. But the worst thing of all was my impaired judgement. I would bump into things sometimes without meaning to, trip over my own two feet, and sometimes even have trouble turning a doorknob.
I felt my eyes widen as I realized something. I was back in Gravity Falls, which meant people would know I was back, which meant they would see me sweating and and all, which meant they would want to know why! I knew why, except for some of the things that were going on with me, but I couldn't let them find out. I loved the Land of Mabel, I didn't want to leave just because people wanted to snoop around.
Oh no...Dipper must've found me in the woods and brought me back here. I didn't want to be here! Of all places, why had I chosen to go to the woods that surrounded the one place I didn't want to be? I probably didn't even know where I was going at the time. Still, it was a stupid idea... Of course, it was the psychosis. I didn't know what was real and what was unreal. But the point was, people would want to find out, and the longer I stayed here, the greater that chance would be...I think. I wasn't really sure... Actually, how could I really be sure I was back in Gravity Falls? Oh...I hated being so confused... Real life wasn't like the Land of Mabel, where everything was made easy and pleasant. No, real life sucked the fun out of everything! Except, there was a fifty-fifty chance I wasn't in Gravity Falls.
I felt my head. I was burning up. This wasn't good, I needed to get out of here now. If it was the Land of Mabel then it needed to change its scenery. I crawled out of bed and looked at my surroundings for a minute. Dipper was in his bed asleep, so he hadn't heard me get up. I didn't know where Uncle Stan was, but to my best guess, he was probably sleeping in front of the TV. I would have to be silent. If Uncle Stan was the way I remembered him to be, he wouldn't wake up that easily. Dipper, on the other hand, would wake up in an instant. I had to hope five years had changed that.
I tiptoed slowly across the room, until I reached the ladder that lead down to the first floor of the Mystery Shack. It was already dark, I couldn't see a thing, but I had to try to get down there. As I struggled to put my foot on the first step of the ladder, a tremor ran through my body. I lost my hold.
(Dipper's POV)
A huge thump startled me awake. I quickly sat up in my bed and looked around, wondering if what I heard was real or part of a dream. I heard a groan coming from right downstairs and made my way to the light switch. Before I could flip it on, the lights from downstairs glowed into the attic. I decided against turning the lights up here on since I could see in the room anyway. As I rushed over to the opening in the floor, I heard Uncle Stan's heavy footsteps. They were fast, as though he was running. I peered down to find Mabel pushing herself off the ground.
I hopped down the ladder, jumping off at the last three steps. she seemed to be okay, but she was sick. Weren't sick people supposed to want to sleep? Usually they slept all night, except maybe waking up to cough or throw up. Maybe that was why she tried to get downstairs, maybe she was feeling sick at her stomach.
I held out my hand and helped her up. Her eyes were closed. Strange...even for her.
"Are you alright, Mabel?" I asked.
She nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." Her voice hadn't changed very much. In fact, it sounded almost exactly like her voice back when she was twelve.
Uncle Stan pushed me out of the way and studied her face. "What's wrong with your eyes?"
I didn't know why it mattered so much, but it was kind of weird that she wouldn't open her eyes. You would think someone would want to see where they were going, especially if they were trying to climb down a ladder. Uncle Stan had a point there. I wondered if it was part of her sickness.
(Mabel's POV)
They were onto me, I just knew it! It would only be a matter of time before they would have questions. They would investigate, they would discover, they were going to find me out any minute now and I would never be able to leave! And my eyes would be a dead giveaway. I couldn't let them see my eyes, not until I came down. My pupils were still too big, they would know immediately if they saw them.
"Nothing!" I said, probably a little too loudly.
I heard some kind of movement. It was too risky, they couldn't know... It would be terrible, my life would never be the same again and the Land of Mabel would cease to exist! Messing with the Land of Mabel was not a wise thing to do. And it was my own little world, where everything was amazing and colorful and random. Actually, being in the Land of Mabel was exactly like that one time I ate too much of that Smile Dip. My world, my head, my rules. And in the Land of Mabel, there was only one rule: nobody takes it away. I was not going to leave all that behind just to return to some creepy town in Oregon. The unnatural life they called "reality" just wasn't for me. They could enjoy mosquito bites and monsters chasing them all they wanted, but I would much rather stay in my land where I could be happy.
I felt someone put a hand on my shoulder.
"Mabel, are you feeling okay?" Dipper asked.
I brushed his hand off. "I just need some air."
I didn't give him time to reply. I cracked my eyes open just enough to where I could see out, but my eyelashes shaded my eyes so no one could see them. The Mystery Shack was just how I'd left it, practically untouched. Looking back, I probably shouldn't have chosen to climb down a ladder when I was just coming down. I guess I kind of asked for this. Yet another mess that Mabel Pines had gotten herself into, and this time Dipper wasn't here to save her. Right now, in fact, Dipper was my enemy. Uncle Stan, Wendy, Soos, and everyone else.
I turned away from Dipper and Uncle Stan and made my way to the door. I didn't have any more problems with my coordination, and thankfully no one tried to stop me. I only needed to get away until my pupils shrunk back to their original size, then I could come back and try to get some sleep. After all, what good would running away do me if I was exhausted? Plus, I would probably be watched from now on. They were probably onto me already, plotting against the Land of Mabel, devising a way to remove it from existence. They were conspiring, I just knew it. I would have to lay low and avoid attracting attention to myself. Last thing I needed was for them to find out a way to keep me locked up, never again to see the wonders that lay behind the horizon of the Land of Mabel. I just couldn't lose that...
(Wendy's POV)
I'd been shocked to come to work to find none other than the long lost Mabel Pines herself, in the flesh. I thought for sure she was dead by now. Five years, she had been missing. Five years. That was a really long time. So long, in fact, that the police called off the search after the first four months. Dipper kept telling everyone she was alive, but no one believed him. He kept telling us that he had this weird twin sense, which he called the "sixth sense", and could tell when his sister was hurt or in trouble. We still thought she was dead, and that Dipper was in denial. But no, she was alive and even more surprisingly, she was back.
But I'd noticed that although she was alive, she wasn't well. Something about her was completely off. I knew all about being a teenager, and none of what she did made much sense. She would disappear for a few hours each day, sometimes up to three times a day. When she left, she was quiet and wary, but when she came back, she looked like she'd just crashed after too many energy drinks. Normally I wouldn't care much about what happened in Gravity Falls, but this was by far the strangest thing I'd ever seen. I'd seen a ton of mythical creatures and weird happenings, but one day Mabel went missing, five years later she was found, and now she was being so secretive about everything she did.
She was hiding something, no doubt. But what in the world could she possibly be hiding? I'd asked Dipper on multiple occasions, but he had absolutely no idea. Even I knew Mabel didn't keep secrets from anyone, especially her own brother. I'd never felt so curious in my life. Her secret must be big for her to be so paranoid about someone finding out. I wanted to know what was up with her. Gravity Falls was full of mystery and suspense, but Mabel kept sneaking off somewhere to do something. I had to know what she was hiding.
A/N
You might want to keep reading, the next chapter will be completely random. Readers have been warned...
