I hope you're ready for my update streak next week! I'll be starting on Monday and there'll be a update each day till Sunday, so that's seven updates in one week. Also I reworked my plan for the author a bit after I got a lot of help from one of my loyal readers, LainaFantasyGirl. She helped me a lot with what to do for the authors entrance, so it will be a bit later on than I excepted, but it will be worth it. So I hope you enjoy this chapter. :)

Chapter 24

How She Feels

A few hours, that's how long he'd been walking. However, Dipper didn't know exactly. He had better things to worry about then the time, like how he was going to tell Mabel that she wasn't ever going to see him again.

He was going to see her, sure, but it wasn't going to work both ways. It was too dangerous for her to keep interacting with him all the time, who knows what more could happen to her? But Dipper knew she wasn't going to take it well. They'd never been apart before, sticking together since longer than he could remember. So even though he knew it was the right thing to do, he could feel himself getting torn up over it.

Dipper would occasionally look at the forest as he walked, noticing all of the carnage he'd caused. No tree seemed unburned, though some looked worse than others. His fire had spread pretty far by the time he'd extinguished it. Though strangely he didn't feel any guilt over destroying the area, and potentially putting lives at risk. In fact, he was actually kind of excited to see how the news would handle it. I wonder if they'll put it on to some environmental phenomenon or actually believe it was supernatural? Probably the latter.

He was walking into the town now, finally out of that maze of charred trees. He still decided to keep walking though, it helped him keep himself grounded in reality, plus the fact that it gave him more time to think, since walking wasn't nearly as fast as floating for him.

But soon Dipper realised a simple fact, he didn't even know where the hospital was. He'd never actually been to the one in Gravity Falls, he didn't even know if there was one, but there had to be, right? The ambulance had to come from somewhere, and it couldn't have gotten there that quickly if it came from out of town. He decided to himself, before starting to wander, it had to be around here somewhere.

Now that he had nothing on to focus but the fact that he was about to tell his sister that he was leaving her, he could actually feel what it was like to be completely invisible, figuratively and literally. Dipper watched as Toby Determined walked past him without a single glance, and he felt that twinge of sadness, even though he was sure he'd gotten use to the fact that he was completely unseeable to those around him now.

He let loose a single sigh before he continued on his journey, but luckily he spotted a building that looked like a hospital, but it wasn't very big compared to the ones he'd seen in California, but what did he expect for a small lumber town?

Dipper slowly walked up to it, but the automatic doors wouldn't work for him. Of course not, idiot. Why wouldn't they? He gritted his teeth slightly, before stepping straight through the doors, sending a shudder down his spine. He just hated that, it wasn't natural. Phasing through things like a ghost was like a big sign saying 'You Don't Exist' right at his face. But he ignored it anyway.

But now came an even bigger problem, actually finding Mabel. It wasn't like he could walk up to the desk and ask where she was, so all he could do was walk around the hospital and hope to find her. Well, it isn't that big. It won't take that long, plus, I guess it will give me more time to decide how to break it to her.

However, to his luck (or unluck), he found her room almost as soon as he started to search, as she was on the ground floor.

Dipper took a deep breath and looked at her, seeing how fragile she looked, but how peaceful she looked when she was asleep. Looking around, he could tell the doctors had treated her cuts and burns, and she had a cast on her leg to support the broken ankle, it being propped up by a few pillows. It was almost like what had happened hadn't even happened, almost. But that incredible guilt still welled up when he saw her, and he had to take a deep breath to stop himself from breaking down in front of her.

There were flowers on the table next to her, obviously someone had come to see her. Most likely Stan, but Wendy or Soos could have come too. Stan's probably still around here, he wouldn't leave Mabel all on her own.

Dipper watched Mabel for the longest time before he spoke. "You know, it's actually kind of funny..." He said quietly, a small laugh escaping his lips. "I... I don't think I'd be able to do this if you were awake, if you could hear me..." But even so, he felt himself breaking down, tears starting to drip down his cheeks. He had to cover his face with his hands to try and muffle his cries. "It's... all my fault! It's all my fault you're in hospital... It's my fault that the rest of your summer is going to be spent on crutches!"

He cried his heart out, finding no energy to stop it, until he heard a little voice coming from the bed. "Dipper...? Is that... you?"

Dipper's sobs hitched in his throat. She's awake... No... She can't see me like this, and I can't see her like this. This was a bad idea... I have to go. But before he could, he heard her talking.

"I'm so glad you came... Everyone else came to see me, Soos was crying for about an hour and only stopped when Grunkle Stan got him to calm down. I was waiting for you... But you didn't come. I was worried you weren't going to come. I know... I know you blame yourself for this."

He slowly removed his hands from his face, and confirmed that she was indeed awake, and talking. yet she wasn't looking at him. Mabel was looking straight up at the ceiling as she talked, like she didn't want to confirm it for herself if he was really there or if she'd been imagining it.

"Please... I don't want you to. This isn't your fault, so don't think it is. Don't blame yourself for what neither you or me were expecting. I don't know exactly what happened with you, but I know that you weren't the culprit, so please, for me, don't take this out on yourself."

Dipper's eyes were watering again, more tears trying to escape his eyelids, yet failed, his eyes getting blurry instead. "I... I hurt you." Was all he could think to say.

And Mabel slowly turned her head to look at him, the evidence of a smile on her lips, like always. "And yet again, I have to tell you that it wasn't your fault."

He just stared at her, a spike of anger evident in his voice. "But it was me that hurt you, nobody else! It wasn't some kind of ghost possessing me or something, it was none other than me! Even with all the knowledge that was trying to split my head in half, I should of been able to distinguish that that presence had been you, but I didn't. Like the coward I am I didn't bother to consider that whatever I felt could have been you! It's my fault that you ended up in a cast, so don't try to change that... And that's... why I need to let you go."

Mabel was going to say something, but he cut her off. "No, don't even dare to argue with me, there's nothing that can change my mind. I'm going to be leaving tomorrow, and I'll be staying in the Nightmare Realm for the inevitable future." I can't tell her that I'll watch over her, if I did that, she would be trying to find me all the time, and I can't let that put her in danger. He thought as he spoke.

"No." Now it was Mabel's time to show anger. "No, don't you dare leave me like this Dipper! Don't you dare take the easy way out just because it seems like the right thing to do, it's just selfish! Before you go about making decisions like this, think about how this effects me. How do you think I feel about this? I've been supportive and helped you as much as I can through all this, and yet you're going to leave me without a second thought? What would I tell mom and dad, that you died? Do you think I'll be able to cope without you, without my only brother? Once I go back to Piedmont, I'll have to leave Candy and Grenda behind, two of the only friends I've ever had. But I can't cope with leaving you behind too, so don't say that it's the right thing to do, because it's not. I'll still get myself into danger looking for you if you left, so it's not like it's protecting me from it." Mabel's face was bright red by the time she'd finished her rant, and after a long moment for her to calm down, she sighed. "But if none of this is going to sink into that thick head of yours then..." She closed her eyes to think.

Dipper was stunned. Did she really feel that strongly about it? And was he... really being selfish in his decision? I never really thought about it like that... But... If she right? Will things just get worse for her even if I left? I... I don't know what to think about this.

"You're going to be making deals, right? So why don't... Why don't you make one with me." Mabel was sniffling, tears evident in her eyes, though they didn't threaten to leave them.

And what she had just said jolted Dipper, causing him to show a look of surprise. "Wait... What?"

"Stay with me till the end of the summer. If we can't work this out before then, then I guess your right... I won't try to stop you from going. But if it works, please, stay with me and keep being my brother." She reached her hand out from the bed, as a mock impression of him when he made the deal with the society, and she gave a little smile.

Dipper looked at her smiling face, then at her hand. He bit his lip. This... It's too dangerous. What if this turns out worse than it... No... Mabel's right, I've been selfish. This is dangerous... But also... She doesn't have any friends at home, and neither did I. We were always there for each other, we didn't need anyone else. Without me... He reached over to her and shook her hand, sealing the deal. "Then it's a deal." He gave her a smile, but there was hesitation in his eyes. There was still the guilt he felt whenever he looked at her, and the hate he felt for himself. And he knew it would take a lot to get that to fade.

Mabel just smiled at him. "Deal." Before she closed her eyes again. "Now seems like as good a time as any to see if you can enter dreams." She gave out a big yawn. "Try and catch me in sleepsville!" And like that, she was out like a light again.

All Dipper could do was blink, trying to figure out if she had really just switched from yelling at him, to offering him a game of dream tag.