Chapter 4: The Feeling Inside
Mabel hated hiking and her brother did too, which confounded her as to why he'd woken her up at nine in the morning even though he knew she'd be suffering from a killer hangover.
The elder twin groaned, her backpack was weighing her down and the sun was way too bright for her liking. Even her sunglasses couldn't do anything about the exceedingly bright rays at their high altitude.
"So tell me again why we're out in the middle of nowhere?" She hissed.
Dipper looked up from his book, he seemed to scan his surroundings. His teal eyes paused momentarily on her and he continued to walk again. The brunet remained silent as he continued flipping through pages of the journal.
"Okay, don't answer me. That works too," Mabel grumbled, she reached around the side of her bag and pulled out a water bottle. She took a few sips and returned it to its original place.
"You're slowing us down," Dipper commented.
Mabel looked up at him, he had somehow gotten at least a good eight feet away. The teen rolled her eyes and sulked after him.
Their hike had been a repeated cycle of this. Her brother was moody again and she had no idea why. He hadn't made a peep or hinted at a possible cause.
Their silent trek continued until they made their way to the top of the hill. Mabel craned her neck and adjusted her shades. All there was to see was trees and distant clearings. Still no clues as to why they were out in the woods.
The brunette pursed her lips, she removed the hair tie she had on her wrist and placed it between her lips. As she adjusted her hair so she could place it into a ponytail, she tried to reflect on things that would make her brother act like this.
Okay, he was acting strange the moment I show him I could summon fire. Mabel rolled her eyes, she tightened her lips around the elastic and pushed her memory as far as she could. Then we had the show and-
The brunette winced in pain as her head throbbed, the elastic slid from her lips landed on the dirt before her. Mabel silently cursed and reached down to grab it.
Her eyes widened with realization.
Wait, a ponytail. Blue eyes... blonde hair? Mabel pressed her left hand against her head and pushed past the throbbing to think more.
The after party following the show had been a bit wild. Wendy knew how to throw them perfectly and she'd invited at least half the town. Even the town's two useless police officers had shown up, but they'd gotten wasted before anything was serious.
Mabel tugged her hair into a low ponytail and wiped the sweat that was dripping down her brow.
The memory of a flushed blonde was prominent in her mind, but the girl hadn't been at the party. Mabel scowled and kicked a pebble on the ground in frustration. It's not like the girl was important anyway. She had managed to fluster her once and that was because she'd just looked so adorable and frightened that it'd caught her off guard.
"If you keep frowning like that, you'll get unwanted wrinkles."
Dipper's voice was blunt and she immediately felt his hands on her face. His teal eyes were narrowed in anger before he harshly pressed her cheeks together. "Come on, don't ruin your face too young or you'll have to cake on makeup like mom."
Her brother dropped his hands and Mabel pressed her own against her now stinging cheeks. When he turned around, she pulled out her phone and aimed the frontal camera at herself to see why he'd gotten worked up. She saw nothing out of the ordinary and scowled.
I'll never be like the woman who spawned me. Never. She bitterly thought, her eyebrows furrowing as she glared into her phone.
Her parents were superficial and being descended from the town's founders only inflated their ego. If anything they spent the tons of money she and Dipper earned from their shows to go on trips around the world and meet with other celebrities.
The only thing their parents had done was train them to act in public. Well, specifically her, Dipper was the perfect little boy in their eyes. It was Mabel who had been the problem child.
"Mabel, I already told you to stop frowning."
Her brother's voice snapped her out of her reverie, he sounded disgruntled. His back was to her, but he continued walking so she followed.
"You know you're the real face of the show. Without you we wouldn't have half our fans. That means we can't have the sex appeal looking out of sorts, can we?" Dipper offhandedly stated, though his sarcasm was not missed. He briefly faced her with a smug smirk on his face and missed her death glare. "Not only would mom probably make you join her for Botox appointments, but Wendy would-"
Her brother's voice seemed to catch in his throat, his eyes took on a childlike sadness and he rapidly stalked away.
A memory jumped out at Mabel from the previous night. At the party, she'd been too busy lounging with Candy and Grenda to pay too much attention to her surroundings, but she'd definitely noticed their manager hanging out with the greasy nerd from the Mystery Shack.
Realization sparked behind her teal eyes and Mabel felt herself frown again. Dipper knew that Wendy was older than him and she wasn't fully comfortable with dating a seventeen year old.
Mabel felt her anger at him falter, but only momentarily.
His crush is cute and all, but if he's going to act like a spoiled brat, then he deserves it. Mabel bitterly thought. She glared at her brother's back and could almost imagine her sight boring a hole into it. So strong that even the air itself was starting to smell like burnt fabric-
"Mabel, what the hell!"
The brunette blinked twice and stared at her brother in mortification. His backpack had combusted and he was fumbling with the straps to take it off. Once he finally did, he tossed it the ground and furiously stomped on it.
"D-dipper, I'm sorry, I-" Mabel stammered out an apology, but the venomous glare in her brother's eyes made her words catch in her throat.
Dipper immediately unzipped his bag and pulled at the contents. He was angrily muttering to himself and Mabel felt her stomach sink knowing that she was to blame. It wasn't fully her fault though, pyrokinesis was new to her and it's not like she'd wanted to set him on fire...well, she'd been upset, but it had been a complete accident.
When her brother finished assessing the damage, he stood up and put his backpack back on.
Neither of the twins spoke and it bothered Mabel that her brother wouldn't meet her eyes. The only time the tension between them had been this thick had been when that stupid demon had possessed her brother all those years ago, but Dipper had gotten over that, right?
"Brother...?" Mabel asked, her question lingered in the air, unable to cut through the tension that had formed.
Dipper walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. His bangs were covering his eyes, but she could already feel how upset he was, he didn't even have to say a word to make her feel guilty.
Mabel was so focused on her brother's tightening grip on her shoulder that she barely felt the telepathic link between them connect. She didn't have time to question it.
In mere seconds all she could hear was the deafening ringing of bells. The elder twin tore from her brother's gasp and immediately covered her ears. Her eyes were wide and her fingernails desperately bore into her hair. Her attempt to quiet the noise was for naught, it was all in her mind.
"You will not do that to me ever again," Dipper hissed, his voice barely audible over the dissonant chimes.
Mabel dropped to her knees, her hands using her hair as a muffle, but that only seemed to make the sound worse. Her brother was implementing the sound directly in her mind.
"I won't, I'm sorry. It was an accident," she cried, her eyes shutting tight to keep her embarrassed tears from flowing.
"Accident or not we can't have it happen again. You need to learn to control yourself," he barked and then it hit Mabel how hard her brother was hurting.
The brunette realized why exactly she'd been brought along on this trip. Dipper was upset because he thought he'd been one-upped by the nerd from the Shack so he was projecting all his anger on her. It wasn't fucking fair.
Though loose tears had started to stream down her cheeks, she forced herself to sneer. She wasn't going to let her brother have the satisfaction of winning.
"Am I the one who needs to control myself? Look at you, you're exploiting other's weaknesses. You're becoming just. like. our. parents," Mabel growled, using what power she could she forced an image of her brother looming over her with a bell in his hands into his mind.
Dipper's face softened, his eyes widened in mortification. "I- I."
The brunet seemed to do a double take. Dipper took a step back and covered his eyes with his hands. "NO. I'm not like them. I'll never be like them." He tore a hand away from his face and jabbed a finger in her directions. "YOU'LL BE LIKE THEM BEFORE ME."
Mabel's momentary control of the situation seemed to lapse, along with the bells, her brother flooded her with her disciplinary lessons of the past.
Why, why, is he - doing this?! She thought, her eyes scrunched up tightly. Her headache had returned and the pain was unbearable. What did I do?
Nothing. A voice in the back of her head told her. You did nothing wrong. Your brother is exerting control over you because he lacks courage. He cannot face Wendy himself so he's taking it out on you.
Mabel's eyes flickered to the dirt beneath her, the few tears that had rolled down her cheeks had colored it. Without thinking, she grasped at her headband and tore it off.
Just a throw and it'll be over. I can be normal. I don't need this. She felt her heart hammer against her chest and raised her hand. Mabel had been about to throw her amulet into the ground when she felt her arm stiffen. The cacophony of bells ceased to play and she saw Dipper eyeing her in shock.
"You- You're willing to give it all up just like that?" He asked in bewilderment. Dipper returned her sneer and kneeled down in front of her, "See, no wonder you're just the sideshow. You've never made a sacrifice for the good of the 'll never be as good as me."
Mabel scowled at him. "At least I'm sure I can impress Wendy more than some greasy nerd. You really are losing your touch, dear brother. Maybe I should hook you up with Candy if you're desperate."
Dipper's face went as red as tomato. If this was a cartoon, Mabel figured he'd have steam pouring from his ears. "Y-you take that back! Wendy isn't going to be with t-that...that plebeian. I won't allow it!"
Her brother took a step away from her. He pinched the bridge of his nose like he usually did to recompose himself. Mabel tore her gaze away from him and stared up at the sky. The ringing had died down with her brother's anger, but she still felt cold and empty.
"Go home, Mabel. I don't know why you came along today, but you're just wasting my time," her brother said after some silence.
At that, the elder twin couldn't control her pent-up anger.
"Excuse you? You practically forced me to come with you," she hissed. Mabel shakily stood up and stormed toward her brother, she jabbed a finger into his chest and glared. "I honestly can't believe you're trying to pull a victim card after what you just did to me."
Her brother's eyes were wide with surprise, he took a step back, but when she did she stepped forward.
"I get it, you're upset that Wendy is getting along well with someone, but you can't take it out on me!" She half-shrieked. "I'm your sister!"
Watching Dipper continue shrinking down further egged her on. Mabel scowled and turned away from.
"Whatever, I don't want to be here anyways. Talk to me when you've actually slept. You look like a fucking zombie," she told him.
Mabel placed her headband back on and walked toward the edge of the hill. Dipper remained silent behind her and it only solidified her reasoning for heading out.
It wasn't until Mabel had started sliding down the hillside with the power of her amulet that her brother had taken her seriously. But by then it was already too late.
~The World We're From~
"Dipper's been known to be melodramatic, it shouldn't be bothering you this much."
Candy plopped down onto the bed and collapsed onto Mabel's back so her head was resting on it. They were currently in Grenda's house, the elder twin had shown up near tears while her friends tried to get her out her funk.
"Yeah, he can be emotional, but this was ...different," Mabel replied.
The brunette eyed Grenda who was pacing in front of the bed. The taller girl seemed to be deep in thought. Her brown eyes flickered over to them and she spoke, "I've told you this once before, Mabel. As your bodyguard, I will not allow harm to come to you. Even if it is your brother."
Grenda caught her fist with her free hand and frowned to show that she meant business. Mabel offered her a weak smile before burrowing her face in the bed's blanket.
Candy had begun to hum and the vibrations of her shuffling around felt soothing on Mabel's back. Even if her childhood friends didn't know all her secrets, she was glad she could come to them forsomething.
"How did the show go by the way? Due to prior arrangements, I couldn't make it," Candy asked, though Mabel knew her eyes were most likely glued to her phone screen.
The Korean teen ran a popular blog and if anything it was through cooperating with the tech genius that Wendy helped advertise them so much.
"It wasn't bad. People seemed to like the audience interaction," Mabel mumbled.
Now that her head was clearer, she could picture the blonde girl she'd brought up. She'd been so... nervous and while usually that was a characteristic that Mabel saw as weakness, she'd found it rather endearing.
The brunette could have easily chosen her friend. The young boy had looked like he was about to pass out when she approached them. Mabel wrapped her arms tight around the pillow she was lying on.
Pacifica, huh? She thought. Mabel bit her lip and let out a quiet groan. I flirted waay too much with her. If that wasn't part of 'Star's' character, Dipper would probably have run for the hills and told our parents.
"Oh, you two have started recording the shows right? Maybe you can base your report off of that, Cands!"
Grenda's low voice interrupted Mabel's thoughts. She felt Candy shift as the teen spoke up.
"You're right, Grenda! I'll ask Wendy and review the tapes then so I can write up my review," Candy stated and Mabel stilled.
Her friends had known her long enough to know when she was acting up. What had happened last night, when she'd stumbled on stage, was something Candy would definitely notice.
Most people would overlook it, the audience and her brother certainly did, but Candy was meticulous, especially when it came to her blog. If for some reason, the video had captured the final seconds of the show when she'd actually kissed the blonde's cheek…
Mabel shuddered.
"Are you okay Mabel? I can turn the heat up if you wa-" Grenda started, but the brunette quickly cut in.
"YUP! I'm great!" She answered a bit too quickly, she propped herself up on her elbows and turned to look back at Candy. "I'll let her know for you, you should get it tomorrow."
The dark-haired teen peered up at her, her contacts made her eyes seem unnaturally blue and brighter. "Why tomorrow? I can just ask her today, she's probably going to be at that party tonight."
Mabel frowned. "What party?"
Grenda took a seat by the foot of her bed and grinned. "The party at the Shack! We know you don't like that place much, but it's a party!"
"Why's the Mystery Shack having a party?"
"Old man Pine's kid came to visit so he's throwing a bash. Should be pretty great," Candy casually stated. She quickly rifled through her phone and showed it to her. "Most social media in our area is talking about it and a party isn't a party without Mabel Gleeful."
The brunette took her friend's phone in her hands and examined the various tabs she had open. Candy was correct, the town was buzzing about it. She'd almost dropped the phone when she read a YikYakregarding her.
"So people are hoping my 'fine ass' is showing to the party?" She added with disgust and handed Candy her phone back.
The conversation with Dipper rang through her head. She was not the sex appeal. That would mean that she was just there for her looks. People appreciated her more than that, right?
Candy resumed her scrolling
"Fine ass or not-"
"Hey," Mabel interrupted and Candy rolled her eyes before gently patting her on the head. The brunette pouted as she pressed her face into her pillow.
"Anyways, I think we should go. Your brother hates the Shack more than you do, so why not get back at him by going to the one place he hates the most?"
"That's a great idea, Cands! I think you should do it, Mabel. You'll def feel better," Grenda pointed out.
"Whether you decide to go or not, we're watching that video. Wendy just emailed it to me and it shouldn't be more than an hour long."
Mabel turned to Candy who was reaching over for her bag to dig out her laptop. She was honestly impressed with her friend's dexterity, but that also meant that there would be no avoiding the scrutiny.
"Haha, yeah. Let's definitely do that," Mabel nervously chimed.
The amplified buzzing of her own phone caught the trio's attention. Candy removed her head from her back and allowed her to sit up. Mabel pulled out her phone and looked at the caller.
It was her brother.
She glared down at the picture she had of him before pressing the power button. The screen faded into black and she placed it back into her pocket.
"Alright, you've convinced me. Looks like we're going to the Shack tonight."
~The World We're From~
Obnoxiously loud and upbeat music could be heard from outside of the shack.
Mabel and her friends had arrived fashionably late, but even that hadn't stopped people from approaching them. It had taken Grenda's glares and Candy's veiled threats to get them to back off enough to approach the door.
"Ten dollars for a ticket? I thought you said this was free?" Mabel asked Candy.
"Hey, that's like nothing for you anyway, isn't it? A party is a party," she replied.
The brunette rolled her eyes and flipped her hair. She was wearing her usual shades of teal, but instead of a fancy outfit similar to her performing ensemble, she settled for a teal cardigan with a black undershirt and white short shorts. It was a rather simple outfit, but she wasn't shooting for extravagant anyway. Candy and Grenda wore accessory green and purple outfits, respectively.
"Whatever, here have a hundred and keep the change," Mabel told the person at the counter, she hadn't even bothered looking at them until she heard a familiar voice.
"Mabel? I never expected you to attend one of these parties."
The brunette turned and found her meeting the green eyes of her manager. Aka, the person who had initiated the mess of a situation that had essentially ruined her day. Beside Wendy was the dark-haired nerd she always found her associating with.
"I wanted a change of pace. Can't always be hitting up high-class parties, have to mingle with the lower classes now and then," Mabel stated, keeping her voice as level as possible.
"Well, normal people don't carry around hundreds in their pockets," the man said.
Just what was his name again? Dipper had mentioned it, but she'd been too annoyed to really pay attention.
Ralph?
Wendy playfully slapped him on his arm and shyly smiled. It would be cute if the redhead wasn't her brother's source of obsession.
Ravi*? Definitely something like that.
"What? I'm serious, Wendy. What if this is counterfeit? I already have Bud running an illegal side business, I can't have more of this crap flowing in the system," he complained.
"Trust me, Robbie, Mabel's a Gleeful. Also, I'm her manager. A hundred dollars is like pocket change for them," Wendy stated and Mabel had to keep from glaring at her for acting like she wasn't there.
Maybe I can do Dipper a favor and ruin their friendship. That would prevent any development of feelings and get me back in his favor. She thought, but dismissed the thought when she felt Candy nudge her.
"He said we can go in, do you want to stand in the cold all night or party?"
Mabel scowled and pushed past her friends. The inside of the shack seemed to have been mostly cleared. Furniture had been hastily pushed to the side and the room was covered in scintillating colorful lights. A DJ stand was set up in the corner of the crowded room, a purple-haired woman who she recognized as the manager of the Shack stood behind it.
From the corner of her eyes, Mabel saw her friends aching to go out. She sighed and gestured ahead of her so they could walk on.
The brunette observed the people in the crowd. There were a bunch of teens grinding up against each other and others dancing in small groups. She recognized most through school, but there were also some unfamiliar faces.
Mabel strode over to the punch table, she had placed a small bottle of vodka in her purse just in case things had gotten boring, but so far watching the room of hormone ridden teens proved to be fairly amusing. After she'd poured herself a ladle of what she was sure was going to be sickeningly sweet flavored water, she scanned the room for her friends.
Candy and Grenda were teasing a small white-haired boy. It seemed that Grenda had taken his hat and was dangling it far above her head using the height difference to her advantage.
Mabel smirked and sipped at her drink. She almost immediately regretted the decision, the drink was far too sugary for her tastes and she could still feel its sticky residue even after she'd downed the rest of it.
"Yeah, I think that Giddy slipped too much sugar in when we made it."
At the sudden melodic voice, Mabel's head turned to the right and she felt her stomach leap. The blonde, Pacifica, from the show was there and she actually looked kind of cute wearing that multi-colored windbreaker.
Wait What?Mabel, this isn't you. That's Star. Control yourself.
"Yeah, it's really disgusting," Mabel curtly replied and gave her cup to a passing boy. "Throw it out for me?"
The boy's expression changed from anger to awe as he quickly realized who she was. He then happily took the cup and ran away. Mabel hoped to dear god that he wasn't some creep, though with the YikYakshe'd read earlier and the ones that had flowed after, she wouldn't be surprised.
"Sooooo… um, Star, what brings you to the shack?" Pacifica asked.
"Parties aren't parties unless a Gleeful is there," she nonchalantly answered, not even bothering to look over at her, she could picture that awestruck look that most people gave her and her smirk grew wider.
The incoming reply wiped the smile from her lips.
"That's a bit narcissistic, don't you think?"
Mabel turned to the blonde and glared at her. Over Pacifica's shoulders, she could see Candy and Grenda approaching her. Her heart sank as she realized that Candy would quickly connect the dots and see who exactly she was talking to.
"I'm a Gleeful, narcissistic or not, it is true," she bitterly said.
"Everything alright here, Mabel?" Grenda's gruff voice asked.
Mabel looked at her friends and saw the taller girl looking like she was ready to pummel someone. She raised her hand in a 'stop' motion and turned back to Pacifica who was eyeing her curiously.
"Wait, your name's Mabel?"
"Yeah, what did you think it was?" Candy cut in before she could speak.
The blonde turned to look at the Korean girl and smiled. The twinkle in her eyes made something inside Mabel's stomach churn. The brunette swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and maneuvered herself so she was closer to the other two girls.
"I guess it is a bit silly now that I think about it. Star being a real name?" Pacifica laughed, but it began to die down when she saw no one was laughing along with her.
Mabel could feel Candy's eyes on her. She spared her a quick look and watched a mischievous grin form on her face.
"So Pacifica, how is it that you know Mabel?"
The elder twin's stomach clenched and she shot her friend a death glare. Candy was going to try to weed information out of the blonde and if Mabel didn't stop her, then she'd be spreading gossip about her.
Friend or not, Candy can be vicious. She thought.
"Well, last night at the tent she and her brother were performing. They did some audience choosing thing and I got picked," Pacifica innocently piped, she eyed Mabel excitedly, but she returned her attention back to Candy.
"Oh, interesting. You moved into town this year, right?" A nod. "If you had the chance, do you think you'd go on a date with Mabel?"
Either it was by pure chance that Pacifica had decided to take a sip of her drink at that moment, but her reaction ended up in one of the most fortunately unfortunate things that Mabel Gleeful had ever experienced.
After being sprayed in the face with the sugary unnaturally scarlet liquid, Mabel's friends took over the situation for her.
"How dare you," Grenda growled and Mabel froze.
Oh no, if I don't stop her, she could actually do some damage.
"Wait, Grenda-" Mabel started, but Candy interrupted once more.
"Ah, that was a horrible mistake, Ms. Southwest. You have made one horrible enemy."
"I-I'm sorry, it wasn't on purpose!" Pacifica apologized, the slight tremble in her voice showed how scared she was.
Mabel peered at Grenda's face and saw the girl giving the blonde one of her most menacing glares. By the look of the terrified expression on Pacifica's voice Mabel had realized was right.
The brunette took off her cardigan and wiped her face. Distant voices sounded clearer and she found herself extremely annoyed to see that people had taken notice of the drama and were recording it.
To cement any more thoughts Candy could have of her liking Pacifica, the brunette jabbed a finger into the blonde's chest and frowned.
"You're lucky that I don't sue you and ruin your family," Mabel told her, she pushed her dirtied cardigan into the blonde's hands and turned away. "You can keep that."
Teal eyes noted two figures rushing over from the other side of the room and toward the blonde. The curly-haired brunette and redhead started a yelling match with Grenda and Candy.
"It's not worth it, you two. This party was lame anyway," Mabel told her friends in a controlled tone.
Candy tugged a furious Grenda away from the two shouting girls and Mabel looked between them only to see that Pacifica was gone. She felt her stomach tighten as she stormed toward the door.
On her way out of the shack, she saw Robbie making out with the purple-haired DJ.
Mabel turned her phone back on. When it finally loaded up, she dialed up Dipper's number.
~The World We're From~
Had she misunderstood something?
Pacifica sat on the fallen tree where she and Gideon had discovered the journal. She looked down at the dirtied cardigan in her hands and frowned.
"Stupid Star," she shouted in frustration. The blonde made the cardigan into a ball and chucked it on the ground. "No wait, stupid Mabel and her perfect hair. No, screw her perfect face and those pretty eyes, and UGH."
The teal cardigan seemed to glow in the moonlight. Pacifica wiped a frustrated tear away and stood up. Before the two other girls, she'd heard Mabel call them Candy and Grenda, had arrived, the brunette had seemed tame.
People always show their true colors eventually though. Pacifica bitterly thought and kicked the rolled up garment on the ground.
"G-gee, you s-seem really upset," a timid, barely audible voice said.
Pacifica whirled around and examined her surroundings. She had been sure when she'd entered the woods she was alone. The blonde brought her hands up in a fighting stance, her blue eyes scoured the area for the other person.
"W-who are you?!" She asked, her voice seemed to bounce off the trees and the emptiness of the area brought a chill up her spine.
"Don't be afraid, I-I won't hurt you!" The timid voice called out again.
Pacifica backed up, her eyes darting about in search of whoever was with her. When she turned her head to the left, she found an eye peering back at her.
"AH!" She screamed and stumbled backwards, only to have her legs catch on the fallen tree and for her to fall over. She jutted out her arm to soften her fall, but slipped and her back hit the dirt.
"A-Are you alright?"
Pacifica rubbed her aching arm and peered up only to find herself staring back at a glowing blue triangle whose eye was eyeing her worriedly.
The blonde let out another scream before the triangle raised its hands, the environment seemed to drain of color as everything went a dull shade of gray. Pacifica raised her head and saw an owl frozen in mid-flight. The more she examined her surroundings, the more she noted that everything around them had gone still.
"W-what the heck are you?" She asked.
The triangle clapped its hands excitedly and held one out to her as if he was trying to help her up. "My name is Llib! Llib Rehpic!"
"Yib…?" Pacifica questioned and the triangle bounced in place. She hesitantly reached out and took his hand and stood up.
"Y-yes, well, no, it's L-l-i-b," the triangle said and slashed his arm, azure flames appearing to spell out each letter.
"Ookay, Llib, um, what are you?"
The blue triangle removed his top hat and it was just then that Pacifica noticed that he was also wearing a bowtie.
"I'm what you'd call a dream guardian!" He excitedly said. Llib gestured to the grey landscape around them and continued, "What you're in right now is called the mindscape."
"The...mindscape?"
"Yup! It's my realm of being and you're one of the lucky few that'll ever get to see it!" Llib quietly laughed.
"Are you going to steal my soul now?" Pacifica nervously asked, she plopped down onto the fallen tree again and stared at the fallen cardigan.
Was it possible that Mabel had sent him to finish her off? Looking at how her friends had treated her, she wouldn't be surprised.
"No, dear Llama! On the contrary, I-I'm here to help you!" Llib excitedly said.
The triangle floated over to the fallen cardigan, he raised his arm and Pacifica watched it begin to glow before it rose into the air beside him.
"Those twins are mean!" Llib pouted, or at least Pacifica thought he was from his tone of voice.
Suddenly, the floating cardigan burst into blue flames and Pacifica had to keep herself from jumping and falling over again. The smell of burning fabric filled the area, the once beautiful garment reduced to ashes in mere seconds.
"W-why did you do that?" Pacifica looked back over at the pile of ashes and frowned. She'd hoped that maybe one day she could return it to Mabel as a peace offering.
"Oh, d-do you want it back?"
Llib snapped his fingers. The blonde watched in awe as the ashes floated up into the air and began to rearrange themselves. The cardigan reformed and hovered over. Pacifica took it into her hands, her eyes returning back to the triangle.
"Why did you call me Llama? My name's Pacifica."
"Oh, it's just that in my wheel that's what you are!" Llib explained, he crossed his arms as a look of fear presented itself in his eye. "I'm here in your world t-to make friends! I have a feeling that Pine Tree and Shooting Star will start looking for me soon and I'm scared."
"Pine Tree and… Shooting Star?"
"Oh, yes, it's what the twins are on my wheel… t-they're kind of scary."
Pacifica frowned. If Llib was able to manipulate reality like he had just now, just how dangerous were the Gleefuls?
Pacifica felt queasy at the thought of someone like Mabel harming such an innocent being like Llib. The triangle seemed to mean well and there was no way she was going to let harm come to him.
"Well, if you do need a friend, then I'll be yours!"
"R-really?" Llib peered back at her, she watched a lone tear stream down his body.
"Of course! You can bet on it!"
The dream guardian rubbed at his eye and Pacifica could the excited warmth he was emanating.
"T-thanks! Now I'm sure you want to head back, huh?"
The blonde bit her lip, if she was going to head back that might mean she'd risk running into Mabel again. She tightened her grip on the cardigan. Well, it's not like she could leave Gideon to fend with the twins on his own.
"Yeah, I'm good to go."
The grey around them immediately evaporated. The owl began to move again, a gentle breeze fluttered the leaves of a nearby tree, and Pacifica hugged the cardigan for warmth.
"Well, we'll see each other again soon, I-I'm sure!"
Pacifica smiled at the triangle and nodded back. "I'll see you around, Llib."
The dream guardian bowed a little and took off his hat again. His squeaky voice stammered out his farewell. "Keep it in mind, Pacifica. R-reality is an illusion, the universe is a h-hologram, b-buy gold, bye!"
As the triangle began to glow, Pacifica caught a glimpse of a wheel appearing behind him, a white marker circled it once before there was a flash of light and Llib disappeared.
Pacifica stared at the air where the dream guardian had been moments prior. She stood there in the forest until she heard her name being called.
"Pacificaaa, are you okay?" Came Tiffany and Annie's voices.
The blonde turned back to the area of the fallen tree before pressing the cardigan up to her nose. The unmistakable smoky smell that still lingered proved she hadn't been hallucinating. The realization brought a small smile on her face.
Pacifica took off toward the shack and found her friends, surprisingly Gideon was with them.
"What? There's no way Star Gleeful did that!" Gideon pouted.
Tiffany rolled her eyes and tugged down his cap. "You don't know her like we do, kiddo."
"Yeah, Mabel's a vindictive little bitc- Oh, Pacifica!" Annie cut herself off and launched herself at her.
Pacifica returned the hug with one arm as the other was still cradling the cardigan. After assuring her friends that everything was alright, the quartet made their way into the Shack.
To her relief, it appeared that the Gleeful twin along with her lackeys had departed.
Pacifica looked back down at the cardigan in her hands before walking over to the redhead she'd seen last night.
"This is Mabel's, can you give it back to her?" She asked.
Green eyes scrutinized her momentarily before a soft smile graced her lips. The short-haired woman took the cardigan and thanked her.
Pacifica trudged back over to her friends, the party was still going on, but she had a sinking feeling deep in her stomach.
The blonde raised her hand and tenderly placed it against her cheek. Her fingers traced the spot where Star's, no wait, Mabel's lips had pressed the night before. She let out a low sigh, she had to admit the brunette was attractive and she had approached her in hopes of finding out why she'd done it.
However, any trace of feelings Pacifica could possibly develop for her had been stomped on by her friends. Grenda and Candy seemed like horrible people and for Mabel to willingly surround herself with them?
Pacifica shuddered.
It was a wonder that Gideon was still defending her.
His crush is cute, but maybe I should let him know the truth about her. Pacifica thought, she peered over at her friends. Gideon had his arms crossed and face shaped in a stubborn pout. The blonde didn't even have to be near the group to know that her friends were still trying to dissuade him from getting near Mabel Gleeful.
Pacifica let out a low sigh as she walked over to aid Tiffany and Annie in their cause.
Unfortunately, pretty faces usually didn't reflect what was hidden inside.
A/N: *Ravi, the reason this asterisk is there is because when I first started watching Gravity Falls (specifically The Inconveniencing) I honestly thought that this was Robbie's name, I was horribly confused for the longest time, so it's a cute little reference for me.
Also, this chapter took a much darker turn than originally intended. I wanted to try to rewrite it, but I feel like this is showing the twin's progression more. Thanks for reading! I'll try to update again soon. :
P.S. Reviews are appreciated! Your input/feedback means a lot. :')