There was absolutely nothing worse than the sound of an alarm going off. Having your peaceful slumber interrupted by a stupid annoying little ringing was just grating… to most people anyway. For this young man it was just another start to his daily routine.
Young Stanton Pines yawned and reached over, bringing his alarm to silence. The eleven year old stretched his arms as he rose out of bed to get dressed. His room was a cluttered mess. Littered with papers, books, and articles of clothing. Somehow he managed to know where everything he needed was thought.
He easily located his hat, a pair of clean underwear, his flannel jacket and one of the many black t-shirts he had. After taking a quick shower, brushing his teeth, and combing (running his hands over) his hair, he got dressed and then made his way towards the desk near his window. He grabbed a large journal with a pine tree shaped symbol on the front of it before making his way out of his room.
It was early, very early. He was sure nobody else in the house was awake. His dad used to be an early riser too, but now he always stayed in bed so he didn't wake up his new bride…
He grunted when he thought everything that had happened in the past few months. It was so… strange. It used to just be him and his father. It used to be routine. It used to be normal.
Then he met Ms. Pacifica and everything just got turned upside down. He understood wanting to help her deal with her situation, but he never expected it to turn into anything more. Now instead of it just being him and his dad they ended up having to squeeze two more people into his house. It wasn't too much of a bother. He had usually stayed in his room anyway.
But it was still odd running into two strangers when he had to come down to eat. His father had told him to try and open up to them. To be more social. But he just didn't see the need to. Why break from his normal routine? It would just make everything awkward for all of them. He thought it was best if he just stayed out of their way.
He made his way downstairs and started working on breakfast. Before they had moved in he used to just make it for him and his father, but after the first week his father pointed out that it would have been rude to keep making two plates for four people. In hindsight he probably should have figured that out on his own, but this was new to him.
The boy went to work making breakfast. Bacon first, pancakes second, eggs last. Nobody likes cold eggs. About halfway through the batch of pancakes, he heard footsteps coming. At first he thought it was his dad, but then realized they were too light.
"Hey there Stan."
He flinched slightly when he heard an all too familiar voice. What was she doing up so early? She usually didn't get up for another half hour. "Hey Renee…" he said, flipping over another pancake. He hadn't even bothered turning around to address her. "You're up early."
The blonde hummed. "Yeah. But I guess Antigone got hungry a bit early this morning. She came in and sat on my face. She can be so fussy. Then again I guess that's all cats," she said amused.
Stan frowned. He knew he had forgotten something. Even after all this time he would still forget to feed that dumb cat. He had never been a cat person, so that had by far been the worst part of this whole move in situation. "Finally caught you making breakfast. Did you need any help?" she asked, walking towards him.
He shook his head. "No, I'm fine. You don't have to bother." He wasn't sure if that sounded impolite or not. He didn't think it did, but he was told he'd never been all that expressive so it was hard for him to tell when he came off as rude or not.
"It's not a bother. Not like I'm going back to sleep anyway. And you make breakfast for everyone every morning. I can help out for one," she said making her way beside him. "You're almost done with the pancakes. You want me to start on the eggs?"
He looked down and bit back a sigh. Having his morning routine interrupted was just… annoying. But he was sure if he told her he didn't want her help it'd come off as rude. So he just nodded. "Remember. Dad likes scrambled, and Ms. Pacifica prefers-"
"Sunnyside up," Renee finished. "And you like yours runny, right?"
Stan nodded. "Yeah."
The two kept cooking in silence. He had noticed Renee shooting glances at him every now and then, but he kept his eyes focused on the task at hand. He had never been one for making small talk, and this was already awkward enough as it was.
Once they were finished, they set the table. Three plates. Only three. Because Stan had taken his and was about to head back up to his room. "Hey, wait." He stopped and looked back over his shoulder towards Renee. "I was thinking you could eat down here? Maybe we could chat or something. I haven't gotten to ask how you're liking town."
"It's fine," he said bluntly. "And I prefer to eat upstairs."
"Well maybe later we could-" He had already made his way back up before she could finish. It was sort of amazing how someone who was such a shut-in could move so fast. She sighed and shook her head.
Renee had been happy when her mother had gone to Dipper. He was kind. Much kinder than her father had ever been. He treated her like she was his own daughter. And even though he'd told her it would take a while for his son to adjust to having them in the house, it didn't seem like she or her mother were getting anywhere with him.
It wasn't like she expected them to instantly turn into some big happy family, but she thought he would at least open up a little by now. He seemed to avoid them at all cost. She wasn't sure if he didn't like them or just hated the change, but it was obvious he wanted nothing to do with them. She wondered if he would ever actually come around.
Meanwhile Stanton had made his way back up to his room and had begun digging into his breakfast. Once he scarfed down his food he grabbed his school bag and got ready to leave.
He opened his window and was about to make his way down the fire escape, but the door to his room opened. His father made his way inside, no doubt for another father-son talk. Not that he had minded them much. It just seemed like they were having a lot more of them lately. "Hey kiddo, I was just… really Stan? The fire escapes again? We talked about this didn't we?"
Stanton sighed before climbing back into his room. "Yeah. The fire escape is dangerous and I should use the front door…" he muttered.
Dipper ran a hand over his face and walked over before taking a seat on the bed. He patted the spot beside him. "C'mon kiddo. Take a seat, let's talk." Stanton walked over and took a seat beside his father. For a few seconds they just sat there in silence. "How are you adjusting?"
"I'm fine…"
Dipper raised his eyebrow at him. "Stanton, how are you adjusting?" he asked again, this time a bit more stern. He had never been good at lying to his father. Or lying at all really.
"This is strange… having other people in the house. I don't know how to deal with it… and the cat creeps me out. I never know where it is and it unnerves me."
Dipper reached up and patted him on the shoulder. Stanton hadn't said anything, but he knew all of this would get to him. He just wasn't sure how bad it was going to be. "Look, I know this is a big adjustment for you. Having other people living in the house. I'm not trying to push you into anything, but maybe… try and open up a bit?"
"I'm bothering them," Stanton said bluntly. It wasn't a question, it was a statement.
His father quickly shook his head. "No! No you aren't. Pacifica and Renee… they just want to try and get to know you. And I know you're not a people person but it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot and get to know them, you know?" he reasoned.
Stanton opened his mouth, but then quickly closed it. He was going to say there may not have been a point, since if this didn't work out they'd just leave and everything would be back to normal anyway. But he wasn't sure if something like that would be considered rude or not.
So instead he just gave a small nod. "I'll try…" he muttered.
Stanton had never liked the idea of school. He didn't really see it as necessary. His father had home schooled him for as long as he could remember, and academically he was already on a twelve grade level. But after Ms. Pacifica and Renee moved in, Dipper suggested he attend so he could gain some social skills.
He had a feeling that it was Ms. Pacifica's idea, though he was pretty sure it wasn't done out of malice or anything. She didn't strike him as that type of person. Besides, his dad must have agreed with her on some level, otherwise he wouldn't have gone along with it.
Still, he would have rather been at home.
At school he had to deal with teachers going over subjects he already knew, kids who all thought he was strange (he guessed they were right, but still), and bullies… god did he hate bullies. But there was one part of the day he always enjoyed.
Lunch.
It was the one time of day he could be left alone. He could read, scribble down in his journal, or just get lost in his thoughts. Nobody wanted to bother sitting with the new kid, and so he was allowed to have a bit of peace and quiet.
Or at least he was supposed to anyway.
"Hey there Stanny-boy."
Stanton looked up and saw his older cousin, Maggie. She was a young woman of fifteen, who had her dark brown curly hair styled into a bob cut. She had on a pink hairband, along with purple shoulder cut t-shirt, and red knee length shorts. The girl had always been a spitting image of her mother, save the almost hypnotic green eyes she had inherited from her father.
"What are you doing here?" Stanton asked bluntly. He didn't dislike his cousin, but he wasn't particularly close with her either. Because their parents were so close and always made sure to visit each other, they knew each other pretty well, but they just had different interests and personalities.
Stanton was reserved, blunt, straight faced and straight forward.
Maggie was expressive, playful, and more than a little mischievous.
"Wow, what a warm welcome. I'm really feeling the love there cousin," she said smirking before taking a seat beside him. "Here I am checking up on how you're doing and you couldn't even bother with a nice to see you."
"Did dad ask you?"
"Of course," Maggie answered. Her uncle has asked her to be discreet about it, but she knew that Stanton was too observant for that. "He said you were trying to take the fire escape this morning. What's that about?"
"It's quicker than the front door…" he lied. Maggie clicked her tongue and looked down at him with a raised eyebrow. He really wasn't good at lying. He grunted, decided to just tell her the truth. "I don't have to run into Ms. Pacifica and Renee."
Maggie nodded. "There it is. You know if you're going to be living in the same place you're going to have to get used to them eventually. You may as well start now."
Stanton reached down and took a bite of his lunch. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich cut into perfect squares. His dad knew exactly how he liked his lunch prepared. "It's strange having other people in the house…"
"It's not going to get any less strange if you keep avoiding them Stan. I know you have a whole routine you like to stick to, but you're going to have to make some changes to it. You're not moving around anymore. It's not just you and your dad anymore. What's the old saying? The only constant is change?"
Stanton grunted. "I know." He had known all of this the moment his dad told him he was proposing to Pacifica. But knowing something was coming and actually being able to deal with it was two different things.
Maggie sighed and reached forward, placing a hand on his shoulder. Something like that usually would have put him off, but Maggie was one of the people who got a pass on the physical contact rule. "I know you don't want to make your dad feel bad and you don't want to talk to him about it. So if you're stressing out you can talk to me. Just about this stuff. Okay?"
Stanton stared back at her in thought. He really didn't open up to anyone but his dad. Dipper was the one he always vented to or got answers from. But as his cousin had pointed out he didn't want to bring up this particular subject. Pacifica made his dad happy, and he didn't want to ruin it by whining to him about it.
"Okay…"
Maggie offered a small smile. This was about as much as she could have hoped for from him. Before she could say anymore, they heard a loud commotion coming from across the room. The cousins both looked up and saw a few of the students rushing towards the exit.
Stanton watched closely as the members of the Vanguard League sped out to presumably go handle some monster or emergency that was going on. It wasn't really strange for Stanton to see superheroes. He and his dad had run into a few on their travels. But he had taken a bit of an interest in their supernatural members.
A pair of magical siblings, a few half-ghost, a demon princess. He was sure there were more than a few things he could add to his journal if he could study and talk to them. But he knew a direct approach would be considered rude, and he was hardly one for subtly either.
So he just watched from afar and hoped he would pick up on something.
"You know, a few of them are around your age. You could try making friends with them," Maggie said, noticing her cousin's rather obvious interest in the group.
Stanton shook his head. "I'm not good at it…"
"You never will be if you don't start trying." Sometimes she really wished she could just make her cousin get out more. She knew her uncle said forcing him would just make things worse, but he was just so isolated. It was almost sad how content he was being alone.
She noticed his face start to form a frown and then sighed. "Okay look, I'm sorry. I just want you to try a bit more to open up you know? Townville is a weird place, and so are the people here. So I wouldn't worry about putting anyone off. Just give it a shot Stanton. Weirder things have happened than a quiet kid making friends."
Stanton took another bite of his food. "I'll try."
"That's all I'm asking cuz. Now I have to get back to class because my teacher is probably wondering where I ran off to. I'll catch you later stanny-boy. Mwah!" She learned over gave him a kiss on the cheek, making him scowl and reach up to wipe it off. "Catch you later!"
She got up and took her leave, leaving Stanton once again sitting on his own. He silently went back to eating his lunch, thinking about their conversation.
Stanton had accepted years ago that he just wasn't the social type. Trying to make friends just seemed like a waste of time to him. But if he didn't say he would try Maggie never would have left him alone. And while Stanton was many things, he was not a liar.
He could try and… talk more with people. He wouldn't try very hard mind you, but a minimum effort was better than nothing.
When the school bell had finally rung to let them out, Stanton had already had his things packed and ready to go. He rarely ever had to take out his materials during class. As long as he answered a question when he was called on, the teacher's tended to leave him alone… well, except his aunt anyway.
So the moment they were dismissed he'd headed straight for the door and down the hall. He didn't like spending any more time in this building than he absolutely had too. He had to hurry and get home so he could look up what had happened today. He was sure there was some footage someone must have taken of the monster attack, and there might have been something worth recording in the journal.
Not to mention he was going to have to move fast if he wanted to avoid Neville. He quickly made his way through the halls, only stopping at his locker to put his books away, and then headed out of the school. Unfortunately the moment he stepped outside of the door he saw a most unwelcoming face.
It was Neville and his goons.
The boy before him was a hulking figure. Someone who, Stanton's opinion, had to have been held back more than a few times. He had messy black hair covered by a blue bandana, blue eyes, and was fairly muscular. He wore a pair of baggy blue jeans, a black shirt, and a letterman jacket. Something he always wore just to remind everyone of his football star status.
Stanton couldn't for the life of him figure out why he seemed to like targeting him so much. It was like the moment he enrolled in this school Neville had made it his personal mission to make him miserable. He was usually able to get out fast enough to avoid the brute, but today he had obviously either left last period early or skipped it entirely to cut him off.
He sat at the bottom of the stairs, an evil smirk on his face. "Yo, what's up Stanton? You made it out of here awfully quick," he said before getting up to his feet. "Didn't even stop by my class to say bye for the day. If I didn't know any better I'd say you were trying to avoid me."
Stanton was ignoring him, looking around for an escape route. If he went back inside he was pretty sure they'd split up to cut him off. One of them was standing off to the side so he couldn't jump down from here. Maybe if he was quick enough he could slip past him and just run for it. He was pretty sure he could outrun them.
"Hey Pines, I'm talking to you man. Anyone in there?" Neville asked, tapping on his forehead.
Dang it, he'd spaced out and hadn't even noticed him make his way up to him. Stanton sighed before just trying to walk right past him, but unsurprisingly Neville stuck his elbow out cutting him off. "Oh c'mon man, what's the rush? You act like you have somewhere to be."
Stanton frowned. "Leave me alone Neville."
"I will buddy. Just as soon as you pay me the five bucks you owe me."
"I don't owe you any money…"
Neville hummed. "No, no I think you do. Don't you remember? From last week?"
"No…"
"That's funny. I remember as clear as day. I can't imagine why you would have forgotten it," he said putting an arm around his shoulder. "Maybe it's that goofy hat cutting off all the blood to your brain. I know how we could fix that though."
Before he could even flinch, the larger boy snatched his hat right off his head. Stanton's eyes widened as Neville stepped back and held his hat above his head. "Look at this dusty old thing. Damn things covered in patches. How hasn't it fallen apart already?"
Stanton narrowed his eyes before jumping up to try and grab it, but Neville quickly pulled it away. "Give it back!" he snapped. The only thing he had he considered as valuable as his journal was his hat. His dad had given it to him when he was small. It made him feel safe.
He rushed at him again, but it was yanked out of his reach once more. Neville then shoved him back, knocking him down to the ground. Stanton growled and quickly got up, tackling him. The larger boy didn't even budge.
"Oh! That's the first time I've seen any fire in your belly!" Neville said amused. He grabbed the back of his shirt and flung him down to the ground yet again. "But you're going to have to jump a little higher than that if you want- GAH!"
Neville stumbled off to the side, dropping the hat on the ground as he fell. His friends and Stanton both looked up and saw Renee and Cayenne standing where the bully once had. Neither of them looked happy. Cayenne had her hands held out, having slapped the bully upside the head. "What the fuck did I tell you about bullying kids Neville?" Cayenne growled.
The boy groaned as he sat up, and then smirked up at Cayenne. "Oh come on Cay. We were just playing around," he said rubbing his head. "And seriously? Knocking around kids ain't very hero like of you."
"First of all don't call me Cay. Second of all, I wasn't knocking around a kid. I was smacking up a bitch," she said glaring down at him. "And if I catch you doing shit like this again you're dead."
Neville ignored her and looked back towards Stanton, who was picking up his hat. "You need your fake sister and her friends to bail you out? That's sad man," he said chuckling.
Stanton dusted his hat off and began walking off, not even paying him a second thought. Before he could leave though he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Renee giving him a worried look. "Are you okay?" she asked, concerned.
"I'm fine. Thank you."
"Are you sure?" she asked looking over him. He did his best not to pull back as she checked over his face. "Stanton, you should have told someone about this. I could have-"
"It's fine," he repeated before he ran off. Renee was about to call after him, but then just sighed. She was going to offer him a ride home, but she was pretty sure he'd say no, so there was little point in trying to call him back down.
Cayenne whistled as she watched him run off. "Little guy's fast." For someone with such short legs he sure could move. Maybe she should tell Micah to try and recruit him for baseball or something. Then again, he didn't seem like the sports type. "So that's the new brother huh?"
Renee nodded. "Yeah. I had a feeling he was getting bullied but he never said anything. I might have to stop by to make sure he gets home okay before I head to HQ from now on."
Cayenne hummed. "You can look out for him all your want, but unless he learns how to throw a fucking punch the bullies won't stop coming," she said shaking her head. She knew exactly how bullies worked. She had been a bit of a bully herself when she was younger.
"He's… really not a fighter."
"Yeah, I can tell," Cayenne said. "But we'll have to worry about the runt later. For now we have to get to HQ and figure out what we're going to do about all these monster attacks."
Renee nodded. "Yeah. Let's get going." The two began making their way off. Renee wasn't sure if she should bring up what happened to Dipper. She was pretty sure he would want to know, but Stanton might not appreciate her involving herself in his problems.
She would just have to figure it out later…
Once Stanton had gotten home, he had stealthily made his way back up to his room through the fire escape. He knew he should have used the door, but he saw Pacifica's car out front and wanted to avoid the awkward conversation that always came with being the only two in the house. Since both his dad and Renee worked late, they were often the only ones home in the early evening.
And while he didn't think Pacifica was a bad person, it was clear that they had no common ground with one another. Every attempt at conversation always ended in awkward silence. He would rather steer clear of that if he could.
As he'd thought, the monster attack from earlier had been recorded and written about all over the news. This time it had been a swarm of bipedal aquatic monsters, and they'd been taken down by the League's speedster, the reptilian girl, and… Bianca? Huh, she was in his class. How hadn't he noticed she was part of the league before?
Then again he wasn't too fond of her, so it probably wasn't surprising that he'd blocked her out of his mind. He looked over the videos, jotting down things of interest. Mostly about the reptilian girl who seemed to have some healing factor. She didn't look like any of the lizard men he and his father had come across before. Was she an alien? Maybe an experiment?
It really would be easier if he could just ask… maybe Renee could tell him. His dad wanted him to try and bond with her. Asking her about the other Vanguard members would count right?
"Meow…"
Stanton's eyes widened and he whipped his head down to see a certain feline making itself comfortable on his bed. Renee's cat, Antigone, had jumped on his pillow and was curling up.
"How did you…?" He looked towards the still closed door and then back down at the cat. How had she managed to get in without… the window. He turned his head over and saw that the window was still open. That was weird. He usually always remembered to close it.
He got up from his desk and closed the window back before turning towards the cat. "Alright, you have your own bed. Get going before-" The cat swatted his hand away with it's paw as he reached down to move her. He glared. "I hate cats…"
Antigone rolled over again, and this time Stanton spotted something underneath the cat's side. He hummed curiously before reaching down and picking up the small little box. "Did you carry this in here...?" he muttered before looking over it. He knew cats would sometimes bring stuff in from the streets, but it was usually things like dead birds and mice. Not... a pack of cards?
He had opened the box up to find a deck of blank cards. They didn't have any numbers, designs, or anything. He rubbed his fingers across them, thinking may they were trick cards of some sort, but nothing happened. He had seen plenty of magicians and card tricks before, but as far as he could tell there wasn't anything up with these.
He kept looking over them trying to find any signs of something strange, but then let out a yawn. He glanced over at the clock and saw that it was starting to get close to midnight. Which was nothing new for him. But he probably should have gone to bed soon. He set the cards on his desk and then went over to his bed.
After scooting Anitgone over and covering himself, he set his hat on his bedpost and then closed his eyes. Only to feel a small weight press down on his chest. He opened his eyes back and saw Antigone had curled up on top of him. He grunted. "I'm too tired to kick you out right now..." he said before laying his head back down. He slowly began dozing off, unaware of the eyes watching him from afar.
A lone cloaked figure stood on the building across from his window, eyes locked onto the twelve year old. After a few moments, the figure turned around and began walking off. "Good luck Stanton..."