"Dipper! You can't just barge into our room like that. I could've been plucking my nose hairs for all you know!" A young girl with brown wavy hair yelled out while crouching below a window. The boy in the door frame just giggled to himself, pretending to give a puzzled look.
"Pretty sure you don't pluck your nose hairs, Mabel. I've seen them wisping around while you snore. " A breathy laugh escaped him as he held up a fully decorated chocolate cake. "To ask your forgiveness, I offer a delectable slice of the cake I just made." He swears seeing his sister's face light up just made the rain stop pouring.
As the sun emerged behind shady clouds, the duo sat on their bed delicately cutting up slices of the dessert. They sat calmly, enjoying how quiet the whole house seemed when no one was around. Almost as if this was their own private isolation, where none can enter or leave. Just the two of them against the world. But there was no need to draw bloody swords preparing for battle with the war outside. For now, all they needed to do was enjoy the cake and each others company. So much has changed within the past couple years, lives full of spirit and adventure were nothing but shaky prisoners waiting for parole. What's the plan after freedom?
With Mabel's stomach clenching in anxiety, she swallowed. She needed to ask him.
"Technically, this is supposed to be our birthday cake. However, I don't think we are going to have time that day to sit and eat. The Headmistress will be too busy shoving her foot up our ass, sending us on the street before we can blow our candles out." He paused shaking his head amused. "Oh, I meant to ask; why were you hiding under the window? You looked like you saw a ghost." Dipper questioned casually, shoving another bite in his mouth.
Giving the best smile she could, she giggled with lies seeping through her teeth. "Oh, it was nothing. Saw a really big spider outside the window. Scared the life out of me! Dipper, I swear it was bigger than those hobo spiders that would be at the Mystery Shack!"
"Wow, sounds crazy." The boy's voice was flat, barely believing her words. Moments of silence past between them; both of them refusing to look each other in the eyes. Small talk wasn't their expertise and both were failing miserably at keeping conversation. It's like they haven't been able to talk to each other ever since...well it doesn't matter. Dipper cleared his throat looking up solemnly. The twins knew that they needed to discuss what the plan is after Gravity Falls ships them off. No home to go to, no job to get, no friendly neighbors offering to help. They should leave town and never return, maybe burn it all to ashes.
But a Pines always lives in Gravity Falls.
"Speaking of the Mystery Shack...did you see today's newspaper? They are going to be tearing down the building. Turning it into a shopping center, or something like that. I didn't get to read the full article, for some reason the paper was in the fireplace."
"I know, I'm the one who put it there." Her brother nodded in understanding, looking away at the window. An odd chill ran a course down his back, stomach churned as if someone was watching him. Staring outside he could faintly see a blond man locking eyes with him. Dipper couldn't make out much of the figure except an odd glint of amber near his eyes. The stranger gave a ghost of a grin and walked away. Well, that was weird. He wondered if his sister had seen him too; before words could come out he heard her exhale deeply.
"We both know we have to discuss what we're doing after all this shit is over with. Dipper, please tell me you have a plan."
"I have no clue what to do once we leave." He was embarrassed to admit there was no plan. Normally, life always worked out for them, but where are you supposed to go when there is nowhere to go?
"What? Are you serious? Dipper, you always think of a plan! Your kind of the brains between the two of us." The girl groaned in frustration, she was counting on him to get them out of Gravity Falls. Then again, he couldn't keep them out of the orphanage, so what's the point. Her words pinched a nerve in her twin. She could read it all over his face, between the squinted eyes and clenched fist.
"Well, you know what Mabel? Even if I had a plan, its not like you would actually listen to me. You tend to have a habit of ignoring instructions. Hell, I assumed that you'd up and run out of Gravity Falls leaving me behind, just like your plan was last time. Leaving me to die!"
That struck a cord in her heart; brown watery eyes turned to stare at her little golden flower on the windowsill instead of the judgment in front of her. Mabel didn't plan on leaving him behind; she could never do that to him. Truthfully, she can't fully explain what happened that night to her brother, he wouldn't understand. Probably would scold her for acting like a scared child.
"You know I would never leave you behind!" I thought I was going to die that night Dipper! Please believe me. I didn't know what they did to you. Biting her tongue, she refused to speak out loud.
"Really? Because all I saw was you running down the street without me. And to think that I almost died going after you." Getting off the bed, Dipper stormed out leaving a slammed door behind. Mabel eyed the cake he made with tears falling down.
I wonder if he hates me.
XxX FLASHBACK XxX
One can only imagine having to pack your entire life into a small trash bag in less than 10 minutes. What do you take? Of course, the essentials such as clothes and a tooth brush. But what of the puzzle pieces placed around your life? The books that sat on the shelf that you swore you'd read eventually; or the sweaters you spend hours designing. The photographs and artwork that hung on the walls in simple cheap frames. A bike that was worn down from all the adventure that pumped through your blood, giving the drive you needed to move on. Or the warm blankets that were used as shields during thunderstorms...or the occasional pillow fight. We try to believe we are not materialistic until forced to pick the things you'll think you must keep for the rest of your life. Scrambling around trying to collect all papers that define your existence, but just keep getting caught in the wind. You're leaving all the creaks in the floors and cracks making veins on the walls. How can you pack up the memories of all the dents and scrapes at home, that years down the line you'll only be able to remember it if you see it?
As the 13 year olds rush internally choosing few small items to take in the world's tiniest bag. A tall, dark man in a suit with sunglasses, who wore a scowl as an accessory stands in the door frame, quickly squashing the children's spark of an idea to run. The twins felt like they were given barely 10 minutes to fill the small bag. Tears strung down Mabel's face as she saw Dipper's hand shaking to grab items. Walking away from the guard at the door, Mabel whispered.
"Dipper, what do we do? What should I grab?"
"I grabbed some of our clothes already. Go upstairs and grab your knitting supplies. I'm going in the back to lock up the lab, I'm not letting these bastards find the Grunkle's work." Suddenly, her brother grabbed her roughly by the arm, forcing her to look him in the eye. "Listen to me, go upstairs and grab what you can, I'm going to cause a distraction. Mabel you need to run as fast as you can out the shack."
"Dipper, what the hell are you talking about?"
"Run to the woods, hide there and I will meet you later tonight. Once I find you, we'll grab everything and leave town forever. Go upstairs, now!" He whispered harshly, pushing her away. Legs shaking the young girl made her way to their room upstairs, praying the man didn't follow her up. Unfortunately, whoever she was praying too didn't listen and the guard walked up with her. He chuckled darkly to her, smirking evilly.
"Nice try, little miss. I'm not letting you out of my sight. It's always the girls that try to cry their way to escape."
Mabel looked at him with disgust, she didn't want to understand what he was implying. Slowly, the girl grabbed her sweaters, journals of all the boys she liked, photos of the family and the small golden flower pendant Grunkle Ford gave her. As she gathered certain belongings into a bag she caught a glimpse of her knitting supplies. An intrusive thought passed by. Heart pumping like a drum, sweat running down her brow she reached for the sharp knitting needle. What if Dipper's plan didn't work? How would they escape? Would she need to defend herself? Would she be forced to kill? Her eyes carefully met with the dark man's sunglasses, he looked like he worked for the FBI. Maybe he did and this was a test to see if the kids could make it as federal agents.
Before she made the biggest mistake of her life, a crash came from below. The large man ran downstairs and Mabel knew it was her time to shine. She always was a good runner, she even joined track at her school. She assumed her talent came to be when her legs got longer during puberty. With the bag of memories in her hands, Mabel raced down the stairs and out the house. In the corner of her eye, the guard's back turned walking towards the kitchen. With sunlight hitting her eyes, the girl flew past the Grunkle's old cars and rusty trashcans in the yard. Freedom was in the forest, she just had to run. Sadly, the finish line disappeared when an arm wrapped around her waist pulling her back. It was the FBI look-alike guard chuckling in her ear.
"Dipper! He's outside! RUN NOW!" She screamed at the top of her lungs causing her voice to crack. She struggled and screech to no end, letting everyone know she had fight in her. But the fire died when she saw another well dressed man dragging Dipper out by the collar of his shirt. The small cut on his lip left droplet of blood fall down.
"Don't hurt him, please! Stop, please let us go. We won't run, just please don't hurt him." Mabel begged with rivers leaking from her brown orbs. The dark man simply chuckled at her again.
"I told you the girls always cry to escape."
A.N.- Hello everyone! It's been a while. I hope you all are doing well during the pandemic. I got so busy with life that I never finished this story (again lol). Anyway, I injured my knee a bit and now I'm stuck being bored. So I decided to write Chapter 4. I think about this story all the time and I know I will finish...eventually. Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know thoughts and theories of what will happen next. I love you all and hope you have a great day! BUH-BYEEE!
*Explodes into a pile a delicious Alfredo Noodles*