A/N: Hello, again! I finished this chapter at around, like, midnight or something like that this morning. And now's the time to update! SO, before that, I would like to thank 919mouse for both favoriting and following this story. I'm so glad you like it! now, I'll leave you to reading the latest!
The Property of Falls
Chapter Three: Distrust
It had been thirty minutes since Hero and RGB had gotten settled into the Mystery Shack, and Dipper and Mabel were currently upstairs cleaning the guest room hurriedly. The child dashed about the attic space, captivated by everything in it, especially Dipper's books and Mabel's fabrics.
Meanwhile RGB seemed to stare lifelessly into space, thinking as he sat leaning against the window. He couldn't take his mind off the twins and what they said their great uncles, or.. Grunkles.. might do. He was, well, worried, gripping at his hand. The television had seen how Dipper stared at him, at both of them, and it just made him feel.. something, some type of way.
And it frustrated him.
Hero noticed, and burst through his thoughts with, "RGB?"
He jolted, and turned his head to look at her. She was lying on the male twin's bed, having looked up from a book that she hadn't opened yet. "You seem tense…" she continued.
And that's when he noticed, and visibly relaxed, frowning. His colors were dripping down from his test bars still, all except green and magenta. "I.. Hero, do you feel.. safe here?"
The child thought on this, and frowned slightly as well. She wasn't sure, so she just shrugged.
"I thought as much.." he clenched at his gloves again, his bending and curving antennae showcasing his agitation. "You.. noticed the way Dipper was looking at you, did you not? your hands in particular?"
Hero looked down at them, and her frown deepened. She used to look normal, now she had cartoony looking hands. Worst part is, she'd be okay with it, were it not for his studying stare.
"I suggest we get out of dodge before it's too late," RGB put forth, but still Hero shook her head.
"It's too early to tell," was her reason. "We are still strangers."
Well, that was a thing that happened. But he found himself agreeing with her. Maybe things would get better.
However, Mabel and Dipper were having their own conversation upstairs after the excess dust had been cleared away.
"I don't entirely trust RGB…" was what Dipper had said, followed with shock from his sister.
"Why not?" she replied as she was making touches to different items in the room. "We all as a family discussed this when we tossed the Journals into the Bottomless Pit, Dipper." And she was about to go into it when he interrupted with,
"Yeah.. yeah, I know, it's just…" he plopped down on one of the beds, releasing some dust. "Something seems off about him, Mabel… I don't know what, but.."
"Oh, come on!" she threw up her hands, facing him irritably. "I thought you were over this!"
"I was, but, Mabel, just listen!"
"What is there to listen to?" she fired back, furrowing her brow. "Is it because he doesn't have eyes? you can't read him?"
"I just said I didn't know!" he hissed, trying to keep it down. He took a deep breath through his nose, only to regret it as dust tickled his nostrils and he sneezed a huge one.
Rubbing at his nose, he could feel Mabel's anger fading. She chuckled, "You still sneeze like a kitten."
"Stop," he took a pillow and threw it at her playfully, and she caught it effortlessly. He rolled his eyes, shaking his head.
"Anyways, you should give them a chance," she walked to sit next to her brother on the bed. Dipper shot her a surprised look, and she continued to answer, "I saw how you were looking at Hero and I don't appreciate it. She's just like you and me, even with white hands."
Dipper blinked, and sighed, nodding. Maybe it was just a condition and he made her feel bad staring at them like that. He supposed he could apologize for that. He shoved a hand into his face. "Now that you say it like that, I feel like a huge jerk.."
"Well, you can head downstairs and apologize. I'll take care of the rest," she got up, heading to the other bed to straighten it out and dust it off.
He would have interjected, since he still didn't trust RGB and thus didn't want to be alone with him, but he knew Mabel wouldn't have that. Hero was there, after all. And he felt like he had to make it up to both her and the television. "Okay," he replied, and hopped off the bed, heading downstairs.
He was met with a pair of eyes, their owner lying on his bed with a book in hand. There was a hum of static coming from the man in the room, as Hero had convinced him to sleep it off. Now, though, she started to regret it.
Dipper Pines approached her, hoping he looked friendly enough. Her ever widening eyes though. Was he? he couldn't tell what emotion it was.
After a few moments of silence and standing around, he finally broke the silence, "Hey."
"..hi," Hero kept her eyes on him, not wanting to look away for even a second. Not even to blink.
"Uh," he pulled at his collar, trying to think of how best to do this. That stare was making him nervous though. He took a deep breath, and outstretched a hand for hers. "I want to apologize for how I looked at you."
She initially looked at it as if it was a dead rat, before she slowly reached for his hand and grabbed it. "I forgive you."
Wow.. that easy, huh? he was expecting to be rejected or thrown for a loop in all honesty. They shook hands then, the boy smiling, and eventually Hero smiled too. She was right. Wait until I tell RGB!
She glanced over at the sleeping television, and moped a bit, while Dipper let go and approached him too. He stared at the staticy screen, noticing the color bars were gone. Raising an eyebrow, he looked to Hero. "What's happening?"
"He's sleeping," she responded, drawing a line and circle in his bed.
The young man blinked. "Oh…" and then turned to face the television again. "How do you wake him up?"
The noisy shrug told Dipper all he needed to know. Shame. He wanted to apologize to RGB too. The brunet let loose a sad sigh, and turned around, before he heard a voice. His eyes widened, and he spun on his heels to face RGB.
He could hear the man saying something, but he couldn't quite hear it. Hero tilted her head, furrowing her brow. Maybe telling him to sleep now wasn't a good idea…
The teenager kept staring, waving a hand in front of the TV Head's face, when suddenly the voice issued forth again. Quiet, casual, a bit unnerved. "This isn't how I died…"
Dipper jumped back and away from RGB, eyes wide. DIED? AS IN, DEATH? AS IN, HE ISN'T ALIVE?!
He scrambled away from the man, scooting as he'd landed on his behind. Hero rushed to his side, attempting to explain. "He's having a dream! it's okay!"
"No no no, it can't just be a dream, Hero," he was hyperventilating at this point. Just what had they brought into this Shack, their home?
Hero began pleading with Dipper using her eyes. He looked at her, and crumbled. "It's okay," she placed her hands on his arm.
"A..are you sure?" he pinned her with a wide, questioning stare.
She nodded with no hesitation. In truth, she herself had no idea. What it all entailed, what it meant, if it was actually hunky-dory. But she had to calm Dipper down, even if it meant lying.
Hopefully it wouldn't come back to bite her later.
The boy pinched the bridge of his nose, shutting his eyes as he cooled off. Hero helped stand him up, and he sighed. "Thanks. I gotta go back and help my sister. Tell him I apologized, won't ya?"
Hero smiled and nodded. Smiles were infectious, Dipper learned that day. He then walked back upstairs, just as RGB spluttered awake.
"Th..that wasn't how I died!" he stammered, clenching his fists with fear. The dreams were getting worse. Hero could tell. She got closer to him, and hugged the man. He stiffened like a cat, antennae shooting straight up. "I... " and then he looked around. Back in the Shack, just as it should be. And all senses came back to him, including the sensation of the human hugging him. "Hero..?"
"Mhm…" she closed her eyes, still hugging him.
Instead of peeling her off, RGB simply smiled and gave her a quick pat on the back. He still wasn't partial to physical affection, but.. Hero seemed to be breaking through that ice. He wasn't sure whether to be grateful or not.
"Dipper came down."
"Did he now?" his test bars went flat, as if he were annoyed. And he was.
Hero nodded, and then let go of the hug. She smiled then. "He apologized to me, and told me he said sorry to you too."
"..huh.." RGB brushed himself off, and then smiled, adjusting his bowtie. "Well, that's quite the change of pace."
"Yeah. I think we'll get along here just fine," Hero added with a grin.
Not a minute later, downstairs in the register area, the door burst open to reveal two old men who looked very identical, carrying bags, and the one whose glasses weren't cracked announced, "Dipper! Mabel! your Grunkles are home!"
"And we brought, uh, food and other materials!" the other raised a bag and offered a large grin.
And the air upstairs suddenly twisted to terror, as all four people stopped everything they were doing to stare at their respective doors with worry.
A/N: WELL, ISN'T THAT A CRUMMY JUNCTURE? HAHA! YEAH, I LEFT YOU ALL ON A CLIFFHANGER. And you'll have to wait till I finish Chapter Four, and a week if I finish it before that, to know what happens. Hehe. Anyway, I hope you liked this! leave a review! and I'll see you next time!
