Chapter 10 – Distrust

A/N: Hey everyone! I'm really sorry for the wait, but my computer crashed recently so I had to wait until it's fixed so I could post this chapter. I made it longer to make up for my absence.

I hope you enjoy it!

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Mabel was lying on the attic floor, drawing. She frowned when she made a mistake and flipped her pencil to erase it. Just then, she noticed movement at the corner of her eye and looked over to see her brother shifting in his sleep. He had been doing that a lot lately which she took as a good sign.

Mabel smiled and returned her attention to her drawing. There was a knock on the door and Wendy walked in.

"There you are Mabel, I haven't seen you all day," Wendy stated.

"Well, I have to watch over Dipper in case something happens to him," Mabel replied and Wendy frowned with concern.

"Hey, uh, why don't go do something else. You've been here for hours. I'll stay with your brother."

Mabel looked up at her. "But don't you have work to do?"

Wendy shrugged. "Nah, I'm not needed down there right now so don't worry about that."

Mabel bit her lips and glanced at her brother before sighing. "Fine."

Wendy smiled and watched her leave the room. She then pulled out her phone and sat on a chair, glancing at the boy every now and then.

Mabel meanwhile was on her way downstairs to watch TV when she suddenly heard a loud crash and a yelp coming from the shack closet. Startled, Mabel rushed inside to find Soos coughing loudly.

"Soos, what are you doing here?" she asked confused.

"Oh nothing dude, just doing some cleaning for Mr. Pines. This place is just a little…dusty." His face scrunched up and he started coughing again.

Mabel wandered inside the closet and looked around curiously. Everything was covered in dust and looked like it hadn't been touched in years.

She peered inside a box to find it was filled with old clothes. Her face immediately lit up when she saw there were also some knitting needles and a ball of red yarn inside.

"Soos, do you think I could take these?" Mabel asked, showing him the items she found.

Soos rubbed his chin and shrugged. "I don't know dude. You should ask Mr. Pines. He was outside the last time I saw him."

"Okay, thanks Soos!" Mabel said excitedly and hurried out of the room. She made her way through the gift shop and went through the exit door only to stop in her tracks when she saw Stan talking to some tourists.

Even after meeting Stan and his employees and befriending them she still didn't like being around strangers and preferred to stay away from them. Sighing, she sat down in the porch and waited patiently for them to leave. It wasn't so bad since she enjoyed listening to the stories the conman told, not caring if they were real or not.

Once she was sure that everyone was gone, she ran to Stan who was counting the money he made. "Stan, look what I found!"

Stan raised an eyes brow and knelt in front of her. "Where did you get these?" he asked.

"Uh….they were in a box in the shack's closet," she answered and lowered her head, worried that he'd be upset with her. "I-Is it okay if I keep them?"

"Wait, you know how to knit?" Stan asked in surprise.

This made Mabel grin proudly. "Yeah, I used to make all my sweater by myself before…..you know," her voice trailed off and her smile vanished.

Stan nodded understandingly. "Hey it's okay. You don't have to talk about it sweetie. Keep the stuff you found. It don't really need them," he smiled and ruffled her hair making her giggle.

"Thanks Stan!"

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"This way, c'mon," Dipper said as he led his sister through the dark corridor, moving as quietly as possible.

As they began walking down the stairs the boy winced when they creaked under his footsteps, but he was relieved when he didn't hear anyone coming their way. They continued their trek until they reached the end of the stairs and hurried to the door.

Once they were outside, Dipper led his sister to the gate, but bit back a groan when he saw it was locked.

"What now?" Mabel asked anxiously.

Dipper frowned and looked around for another way out, but saw none. "We're gonna have to climb the fence," he said finally. Wasting no time, the twins hurried towards it.

"Alright, I'll go first." Mabel rubbed her hands together and began climbing.

"Be careful," Dipper said nervously, glancing behind him every now and then to make sure they weren't seen.

Once she reached the top, Mabel jumped down and landed on the side safely. She dusted her clothes and gave him a thumbs up.

Taking a deep breath, Dipper went next, but when he reached the top he hesitated to jump. He never liked heights and seeing how far down his sister was made him shudder.

"It's alright, it's not as high as it looks. You can do it," Mabel said, giving him the assurance he needed.

Dipper gulped and nodded. "Okay, here it goes," he muttered and then jumped down, landing on the other side with a grunt.

"See, I told you." Mabel stated, smiling at him.

Dipper smiled back and then pulled out a flashlight from his backpack. "Let's get out of here before someone notices we're gone."

With that, the two made their way to the forest. It was really dark and they had a hard time seeing their way even with the flashlight. Mabel clung to Dipper's shirt tightly and despite his own fear, Dipper tried to stay brave for her.

"Dipper look!" Mabel suddenly gasped.

Dipper looked back and paled when saw light coming from the windows of the mansion.

They were found out.

"Run!" Dipper shouted as he grabbed his sister's hand and sprinted down the forest path.

Dipper slowly opened his eyes, letting out a soft groan at the pain he felt in his limps. It took him a moment to realize he was lying on a bed, covered in bandages.

"Oh, you're awake!"

Dipper froze at the unfamiliar voice and looked over to see a girl with red hair staring at him in surprise.

"W-Who are you? Where am I?" Dipper asked nervously.

Wendy smiled reassuringly. "It's okay, you're not in danger. My name is Wendy and right now you're in my boss' house."

Boss.

Dipper's eyes widen and Wendy realized what she just said. "Wait no, I didn't mean-"

But Dipper heard enough. Seeing the door was left open, he threw away the blanket and dashed towards it.

"Wait, come back!" Wendy called out, but he didn't listen. Dipper tried to ignore the pain shooting his legs as he looked around for a way out of the house. He took a left turn and crashed into Soos, making him drop the boxes he was carrying.

"Ow," Soos rubbed his sore head and then gasped when he saw the boy. "Whoa, when did you wake up?"

Dread and panic filling him, Dipper turned around and ran the other way. He could hear someone coming after him and tried to run as fast as he could.

Soon enough, he reached a staircase and quickly ran down them. He sprinted to the nearest door and opened it, feeling slightly relieved when it led him outside.

Stumbling through the porch in his panic, the boy made it to an old totem pole when heard someone gasp.

"Dipper?"

He stopped running and looked over to see his sister. She quickly dropped what she was holding and came to hug him.

"You're awake!" Mabel said with relief, but then frowned in confusion. "How did you get here?" she asked.

The girl then saw Wendy come out of shack looking breathless and her brother panicked. "Mabel hurry, we need to get out of here now!" he exclaimed.

"What? Dipper stop!" Mabel muttered when he tried to pull her away.

"But she-"

"That's my friend Wendy. She works in the Mystery Shack. I told you we'll bring you here remember?"

Dipper blinked in confusion and placed a hand on his forehead, trying to remember. Everything that happened before he collapsed was foggy and it took him a moment until it all came back to him. He could remember his sister telling him that in the woods after she found him.

Dipper groaned, realizing the scene he had just made. "I'm sorry Mabel." He said ashamed.

"Hey kid, why did you run off like that-Whoa, he's awake!?" Stan muttered in shock and then gave the girls a look. "Why is he out of bed?"

"It's my fault Mr. Pines. I said the wrong things and scared him off," Wendy said guiltily.

Stan sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Let's just get the kid back to the attic. All that moving around can't be good for him."

Now that the adrenaline wore off, Dipper could feel all his limps ache so he didn't protest and let them take him back inside.

Stan had send Wendy to the gift shop and led the two kids back their room, gently helping Dipper settle back into his bed.

"Well, I should get you something to eat. You're probably hungry, right?" Stan asked.

Well, it's been a while since Dipper ate anything so he simply nodded.

Mabel watched Stan leave the room and noticed her brother was staring at the door even after he left. "Is something wrong?" she asked in concern.

Dipper turned to her. "Mabel, can I talk to you about something?"

Mabel tilted her head in confusion. "What is it?"

"It's about that guy, Stan. I think you should stay away from him," he said seriously.

"What!?" Mabel muttered in disbelieve. "But why?"

"Because we don't know if we could trust him. How do you know he's not gonna turn us in to those thugs?"

"Stan would never do that!" Mabel exclaimed.

"Even if they paid him?" Dipper challenged, crossing his arms.

Mabel opened her mount to retort, but then closed it. Actually, she did notice especially this morning how happy Stan gets whenever he made profits and-

No, no, Stan wouldn't do that. He cares about us! Mabel thought, berating herself for almost doubting the man after everything he did for her. Stan would never abandon them like that.

"Yes," she said with a look of finality in her eyes.

Dipper groaned and buried his face in his hands. "Look Mabel, I'm not saying this to upset you. I'm just trying to look out for us. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know," Mabel sighed.

"We can't stay in one place for too long, it's not safe. We should just take everything we need and leave as soon as possible," Dipper stated.

Mabel looked downcast. "But Dipper, if we're not safe here in the shack then we're not safe anywhere. If Stan hadn't took me in that night then I would have been caught and what do you think would've happened if we didn't find you in the woods?"

Dipper already knew and he shuddered at the thought. He probably would've passed out somewhere in the forest and no one would be there to help him.

"I know you're worried Dipper, but you should give Stan and the others a chance." Mabel said.

Dipper thought about it for a moment and then sighed. "Alright, fine."

"Yes! Thank you, thank you!" Mabel cheered and pulled him into a hug. "You won't regret it!"

Dipper laughed at this, but deep down he couldn't help the uneasiness growing inside him.

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A/N: Thanks for reading and please review!