Hey everyone! Finally I got this chapter done! Sorry for the long wait! Enjoy!
-Piedmont California, 11:12 a.m.-
"Joshua, how much is that box of cereal?"
"Hmm…Initially it's four fifty but thankfully this one is on sale for one ninety nine.
"Perfect!"
It was a clear and warming late Wednesday morning in Piedmont, California and Mrs. Pines was at Ralphs, shopping for food for the household. Along with her was Joshua, who tagged along since he didn't have nothing else to do at home, with Mr. Pines at work and Dipper and Mabel were at school, leaving just him and Mrs. Pines by themselves. Not wanting to feel isolated from the rest of the family, Joshua accompanied Mrs. Pines with her errands, much to her initial shock, but ultimately welcomed him with open arms to come with her.
"Okay, let me check if we got everything," Mrs. Pines looked at her list and then the grocery cart.
Joshua nodded his head. "Alright."
"Alright then, I got everything we need," Mrs. Pines confirmed to Joshua and smiled. "Joshua, you can go ahead and get anything you would want to eat for lunch."
"Are you sure about that, Mrs. Pines?" Joshua shook his head in slight shock from her generosity. Mrs. Pines nodded her head.
"Of course, Joshua. Pick out any drink you might want and since I have some extra money on me, you can pick any kind of dessert you want." Joshua's usual mellow expression soon changed into a small smile.
"Well if you insist, Mrs. Pines. I'll be right back."
"Okay, I'll be at the checkout station," Mrs. Pines made her way to the checkout station, leaving Joshua on his own, as he made his way to the frozen products aisle.
"Ok then, let's see." Joshua scanned the numerous freezers before laying his eyes on chimichangas. "Jackpot."
With little time to spare, Joshua grabbed several steak and cheese chimichangas, a bag of pepperoni pizza pockets and a large bucket of neapolitan ice cream, before grabbing a can of whip cream, a bottle of caramel, hershey chocolate, strawberry sauce, a jar or fresh red cherries and finally a pack of peanuts, as he came up with the idea of making banana splits, recalling Mrs. Pines grabbing several bananas not so long ago.
Joshua hastily made his way to the drinks aisle and grabbed a two liter of ginger-ale, before making his way to the checkout section. However, Mrs, Pines never told him which checkout line she'll be in, forcing Joshua to look around for a few moments or so. As he looked around, he heard his name being called.
"Joshua! Over here!"
Joshua turned around and saw Mrs. Pines waving her hand at the fifth checkout, much to his relief, as he made his way to her, trying to balance all of the items in his hands.
"Oh my," Mrs. Pines gasped. "Do you need help with all that?"
Joshua nodded his head as he sat the items inside the grocery cart. "Naw, that won't be necessary ma'am."
"All right then," Mrs. Pines accepted Joshua's answer.
When they got to the front, both Joshua and Mrs. Pines upload the groceries for the cashier to scan them. Mrs. Pines paid the groceries, while another employee load them into the bags and put them into the grocery cart. After getting the changes back, Mrs. Pines and Joshua exited the store and headed to the family vehicle, which was a 2015 silver Buick Verano and put the groceries in the trunk, before closing it, got inside and drove towards home.
On their way home, Mrs. Pines decided to engage small talk with Joshua. "So Joshua, how are you feeling overall? Are you living comfortably?"
"Oh yeah, Mrs. Pines. It's been rather quiet and peaceful, which is very unusual for me," Joshua replied.
"Why is having peace and quiet became a rarity to you?" Mrs. Pines asked. Joshua bashfully scratch the back of his head.
"Well, let's just say that I don't have a great relationship with my family is all."
Mrs. Pines shook her head in shock; to think that Joshua's relationship with his family was being less than stellar. Despite what the agents informed them of the situation that Joshua was in, she did at least felt that the teenager did have some level of serenity with his family. To be told otherwise by Joshua himself, however, made Mrs. Pines to begin wondering just how bad things were, but for the sake of her guest's well being and emotional clarity, she'll leave it as it is for now.
Mrs. Pines and Joshua arrived at home driving inside the garage, both of them got out and carried the groceries inside the house and to the kitchen. Since the Pine's residence have a door inside their garage, both of them didn't have to worry about entering the house in the front, which made carrying the groceries more easily rather than going back and forth. Five minutes later, Joshua and Mrs. Pines finished putting up all the groceries.
"There! Done!" Mrs. Pines clapped her hands. "Thank you for helping me Joshua."
"Oh, you're quite welcome, Mrs. Pines," Joshua respond casually. "Anything else you need?"
"Actually…" Mrs. Pines began. "I've noticed that you got whip cream, a bottle of caramel, hershey chocolate, strawberry sauce, a jar or fresh red cherries and a pack of peanuts. Can you tell what is all of this is for?"
"I-I thought it would be a good idea to make banana splits." Joshua answered nervously, before letting out a sigh. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Pines. When I decided to get ice cream for dessert, an idea came up after recalling you getting several bananas earlier, so I thought we can make banana splits. I wanted to surprise you, but I should have asked you first beforehand."
Joshua looked away as he prepared for an expected scowling from Mrs. Pines. When he made eye contact to his caretaker, he was taken back by Mrs. Pines facial expression; expecting to see a glare from her, her eyes glowed brightly with her iris sparkled with approval and a smile that literally warmed up the whole kitchen. Joshua stared at Mrs. Pines, before speaking.
"Uh… Mrs. Pines, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Joshua," Mrs. Pines answered. "I'm just thinking whether you're psychic or not. Are you psychic?"
"I'm not psychic, ma'am," Joshua replied honestly. This caused Mrs. Pines to playfully huffed and rolling her eyes, clearly not buying Joshua's answer.
"You must be lying to me, Joshua," Mrs. Pines teased. "Otherwise, you would have never find out my favorite dessert is!"
"Mrs. Pines I can assure you that I'm not-" Joshua stopped as he recount his caretaker words. "Wait, banana splits happened to be your favorite dessert?"
"Of course," Mrs. Pines said with a smile. "While I have eaten a lot of sweets throughout my life, there's nothing that can beat a homemade banana split. It's been my favorite since childhood and it hasn't changed one bit since."
"I see," Joshua laughed, bashfully rubbing the back of his head, before sighing in relief. "But still, I should have asked you beforehand, so I'm sorry Mrs. Pines, for making you blow off extra cash like that where you could use that for something far more important."
Mrs. Pines went up to Joshua and gently patted his head. "Don't be Joshua, I always love to make my guests feel right at home in every way possible, so don't beat yourself up over something minor."
Joshua became completely flushed from the maternal affection that his caretaker was giving him, but it allow him to relaxed a bit more easily. Over the past few days, living with the Pines, Joshua made an self made vow to not cause trouble or do anything unnecessarily, big or small, mainly because he didn't want to be a nuisance. Despite Mrs. Pines insist that he could ask her anything, Joshua tried not to exploit his caretaker generosity as a way to restrained himself and the added fact that he would eventually leave the Pines family when things get under control back home.
"Anyway, I'll be in the guest room in case you need me again Mrs. Pines." Joshua said.
"Alright Joshua, I'll be here in the kitchen making lunch for you and the twins." Mrs. Pines answered.
Joshua nodded his head and made his way to the guest room, almost forgetting that Mabel and Dipper went to school today, since he was too busy helping Mrs. Pines around with her errands all morning long. While he was out with his caretaker, Joshua remembered asking what time do the twins usually come home, to which Mrs. Pines answered around between three twenty and four since both twins would sometimes stay at the campus for a bit. Joshua immediately understood and would have to wait a bit longer for them come home as he felt being here without the Pines Twins around is admittedly boring.
Upon arriving the guest room, Joshua began to brainstorm on what he can do to pass the time. He looked at the TV and came across a possible choice of watching some shows. A quick scroll through the channels and Joshua immediately decided to pass of watching television, since there was nothing interesting to watch and the shows that he liked only happened to be reruns, much to his annoyance.
Letting out a defeated sigh, Joshua sat down on his bed and then laid his whole body on the mattress. As he laid on his comfortable bed, the blonde haired teenager begin to think of other means to entertain himself. Joshua did considered reading one of his favorite action and adventure books, the Percy Jackson & The Olympians series, but he quickly realized that he wouldn't be able to read them, as he didn't bring any books with him, much to his frustration. He does have his New red colored Nintendo 3DS on him, but he shot it down almost immediately, as Joshua was frankly not in the mood to play video games, which only leave to one more option.
With another sigh, Joshua got out his cell phone, which is an LG G4 smartphone and clicked on the Youtube app conveniently located on the front page.
"I wonder if there are any new videos uploaded from any of my favorite channels?"
Meanwhile, at Millennium High School, lunch has begun and the students were in the cafeteria, with some of them lining up eating their meals, while others were already at the tables eating their food in socializing bliss. There were a few students, however, that decided to eat inside the buildings.
In the school library lies an exhausted Dipper Pines, his face laying on a table, due to skipping lunch and wanting to finish his homework early, so he can have the whole day free doing other things. He unzipped his back, got out his science book and opened it along with his notebook, as he took a sip of his small carton of milk. "Hmm…" Dipper scratched the top of his head with his pencil before jotting down answers and notes with breeze.
Dipper appreciate the peace and quiet that the library can provide him. His sister Mabel was at art class, working on what she considered "a special project" and she needed to be inside her elective class throughout her lunch period. Dipper immediately understood as she never questioned her activities when it comes to her school life despite her everyday antics get on his nerves to no end.
Dipper then began to think about Joshua and for good reason; Since he doesn't have to go school given his circumstances, Joshua was left to his own devices at the house. Even though his mother would be at home today, it didn't make it any less bothering for Dipper that a mere stranger was staying at his home. He quickly shook his head and focus on his homework assignment instead, clearing his thoughts and resume on his work. Normally, he wouldn't let such random thoughts distract his studies, there was always a sense of dread that he can't completely shake off. Perhaps maybe he should begin to speak up a bit more; that was one simple way to know more about Joshua and it would ease the stress and weariness he felt and it would be beneficial for him, but it was easier said than done.
Letting out another sigh, Dipper continued on his work, putting Joshua on the back of his mind for the moment. But despite this, he would inevitably have to come to terms with Joshua living with him and his family and he had to confront him sooner or later, hoping that doing so will become less stressful, with the tension between them dying down, as well as making things less awkward for them.
After much time has passed the bell rang marking the end of lunch and the begin of seventh period. With no time to waste, Dipper Pines put his textbook and notebook in his backpack, exited the library and made his way to the basketball court as he has P. E. for his last class period for the day with being the few classes that Mabel don't share the same class period.
'Okay, let's get PE over with,' Dipper thought, as he sat down and wait for the PE teacher to arrive.
It seemed like an eternity, but the school bell rang for the last time, officially ending school, as numerous teenagers barged through the entrance door to head home or in the mood to go and grab a bit to eat at the local fast food restaurants nearby. At the entrance stood Mabel Pines sitting on the concrete stairs waiting for her brother Dipper.
"Hmm, I wonder what's Dip-Dip taking so long," Just then the optimistic teenager heard her brother's voice.
"Hey Mabel."
"Dipper!" Mabel quickly turned around to greet her brother, only to be stopped upon seeing her brother's condition. His body, particularly his face, arms and some of his legs, were covered in mud and dirt. His knees were badly scraped, revealing dried up blood and cuts and his elbows were bruised up as well. Lastly, his left eye was bloodshot red as if someone doused his eye with salt and lemon juice.
Mabel ran towards her brother and gave him a huge bear hug. "Dipper, what happened to you?! Did you got into a fight?"
Dipper winched in pain. "Ow! Mabel I'm fine and no I didn't get int-"
"I'll hunt those bastards down and make them suffer!" Mabel declared.
"Mabel…" Dipper muttered annoyingly.
"They'll be sorry for pick on my little brother," Mabel continued on.
"Mabel!" Dipper shouted as loud as he could, trying to get his twin sister to hear him.
"They would soon see this adorable girl is a firecracker, one with a black belt in karate!" Mabel then posed an infamous amateurish karate stance.
"MABEL!" Dipper yelled, finally getting his sister's attention.
"Yes, Dipper?" she simply asked.
"First, there was no fight. Second, today's PE class was completely hectic! Lastly, you are not a black belt." Dipper point out.
Mabel waved a dismissive hand. "Nonsense! I happened to take on almost anything that threw our way! Don't you remember back in Gravity Falls four years ago?"
Dipper let out a sigh. Even though Mabel clearly wasn't martial arts material, there was no denying his sister can hold her own from the many adversaries that came in her way, even when she was twelve year old. After all, she handled herself well from a group of gnomes with a simple leaf blower and managed to rescued Pacifica at the mini golf course from the Lilitputtians, whom both twins made a deal of helping to defeat her rival prior to her change of heart, which ended up heading south as the Lilitputtians kidnapped the stuck up blonde and try to kill her, resulting both Mabel and Dipper himself turning their backs on them and ultimately escape with their lives.
"Yes, I remember Mabel." Dipper finally spoke, "Look, let's just walk home, so I can get in the shower and clean myself up."
"Wait!" Mabel ran after her brother as they walked towards home. "Tell me what happened at PE that made you look like that."
Dipper shook his head frantically. "No, I rather not talk about it." But Mabel would not take no for an answer.
"Come on bro-bro! It can't be that bad!"
"Fine!" Dipper groaned and offer Mabel his side of the story. "At PE today, I had to do the long jump in addition of running laps and doing push ups."
"Pfft! Anyone can do push ups with ease," Mabel said confidently, causing Dipper to give her an eerie glare.
"Really Mabel? Try doing one hundred push ups without stopping and see how far that gets you."
Mabel let out a nervous laugh. "Heh, what doesn't kill you make you stronger!"
Dipper only rolled his eyes and let out a grumble just before arriving at their home and opened the door with his house key, before Mabel hastily barred through the door.
"Ahh, home sweet home!" Mabel shouted as she breathe in and then out before she made her way upstairs with her brother right behind her. They passed the kitchen where they heard their mother's voice.
"Hey, you two!"
"Mom!" Mabel squealed in happiness as she ran towards her giving her mother a bear hug.
"OOF! Hey Mabel," Mrs. Pines smiled, before glancing at Dipper and gasped. "Dipper! What happened to you?!"
Ugh! I don't want to talk about it mom!" Dipper groaned. "If you need me, I'll be in the bathroom changing out of my dirty clothes!"
"Okay sweetie!" Mrs. Pines replied as she watched her son made her way to the bathroom.
"Hey mom, how's Joshua holding up?" Mabel asked. "I know staying home alone had to be very boring for him."
"Actually Mabel, Joshua didn't stay home today," Mrs. Pines points out. "In fact, Joshua decided to come with me on my errands and we went to the grocery store and he's been a nice little helper."
"Really now?" Mabel asked in slight shock.
"Oh yes Mabel. Joshua has slowly began to open up a bit as well." Mrs. Pines answered.
"That's great!" Mabel smiled. "Is Joshua inside his room?"
Mrs. Pines shook her head. "No, he's in the backyard since he wanted to get some fresh air."
"Okay thanks!" Mabel hugged her mom again and then walked out the kitchen, passed through the living room where she arrived at the backyard and instantly saw Joshua sitting on a chair playing on his phone what appears to be a puzzle game.
"Hey Joshua!" Mabel greeted.
"Gahh!" Joshua jumped out of his chair and landed on his back. "Ow…"
"Oops! Sorry I scared you." Mabel nervously chuckled. "How are you today?"
"Ugh! I was fine until you scared the living hell out of me!" Joshua yelled still reeling from being caught off guard from Mabel. "Anyway, how was school Mabel?"
"School was okay. I managed to work on my art project today." Mabel answered.
Joshua raised his eyebrow in slight shock. "You're an artist?"
"Oh Joshua," Mabel started with a confident grin on her face. "My teacher has stated that I'm her star pupil."
"That's impressive." Joshua shooked his head as he looked for Dipper. "Where is your brother?"
"Oh, he's inside taking a shower," Mabel replied.
"Alright," Joshua simply said. "Anyway, since your home do you want to head back inside?"
Mabel let out a happy smug. "Were you waiting for me, Joshua?"
"To be rather honest, yeah. I was waiting for you two to come home, since it can be boring being by myself. It doesn't help that I have to stay in a town I'm not familiar with," Joshua explained.
Mabel gave Joshua her sympathy, as she could imagine what it was like being lonely, recalling her lackluster thirteenth birthday since Dipper was with Stanford Pines all day, Candy Chui and Grenda couldn't celebrate with her, Wendy obvious wasn't able to be present since she was too occupied with the upcoming school year at the time since Summer was coming to a close and Soos was busy with his grandmother. Only Stanley Pines and her pet Waddles was there to comfort her. She mostly moved on since it was a few years but she can't never forget how lonely she was on her special day.
"Aww, I understand how lonely it can be here with no one to hang out with," Mabel comfort Joshua.
"You do?" a surprised Joshua asked.
Mabel nodded her head. "Yeah, I know it sucks to away from the people you care about. Like many of my friends and family are living in Gravity Falls."
"Gravity Falls?" Joshua was very confused that a place would have such an unusual name. "Uh, is that some find of hotel or something?"
"No silly! It's a awesome small town in another state." Mabel laughed.
"Ahh I see you have long distance friends." Joshua pointed out.
"Yep! Say, why don't we go somewhere after Dipper gets out of the shower?" Mabel suggested.
"On a weekday? Won't your mom disapprove going out?" Joshua asked worrying that all three of them might get into heat for being out on a school day.
"Oh nonsense! Our mom is very laid-back!" Mabel clarified. "Besides Dipper and I are never the misfits types of teenagers."
"If that's the case, sure I don't mind going somewhere and it beats being cooped up at the house." Joshua said.
Mabel happily clapped her hands together. "Oh, I got the perfect place we can go to."
"Come on, the book has to be around here somewhere."
"Ugh! Dipper come on, are you done yet?"
"SSSHHH!"
Mabel let out a grumble as she rolled her eyes. She, Dipper and Joshua were currently at the public library, which was only 3 blocks away from their home. Originally, Mabel had plans to take Joshua and Dipper to the mall again so that they can shop around, but since Dipper wasn't in the mood, due to his experience in PE, they should hang somewhere close and the library was the closest place to go. Mabel strongly objected to this, but ultimately gave in and let Dipper have his way for once.
As she watched Dipper scrolling over numerous books, Mabel walked over to Joshua and was surprise to see him reading a book; normally, it wouldn't be strange, be he had ten stack of books right next to him. If it was Dipper doing that, it would be fine, but from Joshua? Something tells Mabel that her new friend happened to be bookworm like her brother.
"Uh, Joshua?" Mabel asked.
Joshua raised his head and turned around. "Oh hey Mabel. Need something?"
"I just wanted to say I'm sorry we had to go to a boring place like this." Mabel said as she stood on a nearby chair on her knees moving it back and forth like a rocking chair.
"Don't worry about it, Mabel." Joshua said. "Besides, I'm having a good time here."
"What? Why?!" Mabel asked in shock. "Having fun in a library of all places? Pfft, please Joshua. Don't be afraid at being honest as we all know that you'll only saying that the library is fun where in reality that it's B-O-R-I-N-G."
"Mabel!" Dipper shouted as he walked towards them with a few checked out books stacked in his hands with an irritating glare which Mabel shrugged it off like it is no big deal.
"What? I'm just saying!" Mabel defended.
Dipper rolled his eyes before he noticed the ten bookstack next to Joshua. "Whoa, you're a bookworm yourself?"
Joshua bashfully scratched his head. "Yeah, I happened to read a lot."
"I can see that," Dipper set his books down before he grabbed a book from Joshua's stack. Upon seeing the title of the book he picked out Dipper eyes widen.
"Joshua," Dipper spoke, causing the blonde haired teenager to stop his reading progression and turn to him.
"Yes, Dipper?"
"You read the Percy Jackson & The Olympians books?"
"Read them?" Joshua asked before clearing his throat. "I'm a HUGE fan of the Percy Jackson series." Joshua's response caused Dipper to smile brightly.
"So am I!"
Joshua stared at Dipper intensely for a quick moment before his eyes sparkled. "Dude, I've read and own all of Rick Riordan's books like The Kane Chronicles Trilogy."
"I heard of that series but unfortunately I never brought myself to read them since I wasn't familiar with Egypt myths." Dipper admitted.
"I was on the same boat as well when all three books were released, but I gave them a try and it turned out to be a rather surprising well liked series despite The Kane Chronicles ended in a trilogy," Joshua said.
"I see then," Dipper scratched his chin. "I may looked into that."
Joshua nodded his head. "I think you should since it is from the same author who both wrote Percy Jackson & The Olympians and The Heroes Of Olympus as well."
Mabel looked on at the two boys happily talking for the first time. The optimistic teenager couldn't help but smile brightly seeing them finally bond with each other, but her smile soon turn into a frown as she had a feeling that this was going to take longer than she imagined.
"Looks like we're going to be here for quite a while," Mabel muttered, as she laid back on her chair.
"UGH!"
"Mabel, that's the sixth time you groaned. Are you sure nothing's bothering you?"
"I'm fine, Dipper."
Dipper shrugged and accepted his sister's answer, before resuming his conversation with Joshua. The trio were now walking home from the library, much to Mabel's relief, even though she was irritated that they didn't left much sooner than she had hoped. Both Dipper and Joshua were so caught up talking about their favorite books and they ended up forgetting the time they suppose to leave; as a result, Mabel, to her dismay was forced to stay in the library longer. She did surf on the internet, courtesy of her library card, but it didn't last long, as everyone have an hour time limit and once her time on the computer was used up, Mabel ended up reading teen girls magazine, while still listening to Dipper and Joshua's conversation from afar. The three of them only managed to leave because the library was closing their doors for the day. All the time on what the trio could be doing are now wasted, since it was now dark and it wouldn't be a good idea to stay out late, especially on a school night and she had Dipper and Joshua to thank for ruining her plans, mainly the former.
"Wow Joshua, I never thought that I would open up to you," Dipper said.
"It's okay if you didn't want to talk to me," Joshua let out a sigh. "I understand since I came here unannounced and with agents surrounding your house. And Frankly I don't blame you to feel that way, most people would feel the same should anyone would be in your family shoes."
"But still, I'm sorry that I gave you the cold shoulder treatment over the past several days," Dipper apologized.
"It's alright Dipper, it's all in the past. It's just move on, okay?" Joshua asked.
"Agreed!" Dipper answered with much approval. Mabel looked at the two boys and sighed. She was happy that Joshua and her brother are finally boning with each other but the optimistic teenager can't deny how disappointed she feels since it wasn't the direction Mabel wanted to go. In any case Dipper and Joshua are enjoying each other company now and that what really matters.
But unbeknownst to the trio, they were being followed by someone who has a few goons standing behind their ringleader's back hiding in a nearby alleyway, all of whom wearing long brown trench coats and brown hats to concealed their faces.
"Are you sure we are following the right person?" A male voice asked.
"Ugh, none of the three teenagers closely resembled our target," Another male voice spoke with impatience. "This is a complete waste of time!"
"Oh shut up with your complaining!" A female voice yelled with annoyance.
"Will you all be quiet?!" The ringleader ordered, to which all three of her goons complied, showing her authority over them "Now, I'm pretty sure that the kid with blonde hair is our target as according to my sources our intended target would most likely to be in disguise."
"Are you really sure?" The first male asked with doubt filling his tone.
"It's a no brainer! If anyone would be in a witness protection program, the person would do anything to keep their existence hidden and some would go the extra mile and alter their appearances." The first female explained in a matter of fact attitude.
"That's a very valid point," The second male pointed out with approval.
The second female only rolled his eyes. "Let's just get this over with."
"Alright let's move out," The ringleader female ordered. "And followed my lead."
Her goons nodded in unison and the gang marched into the night to get their prey.
"Mom! Dad! We're home!" Mabel called out as She, Dipper and Joshua arrived at the house.
"We're in the living room kids!" Mr. Pines shouted.
The trio went to the living room where they saw Mr and Mrs. Pines sitting in the living room watching TV together.
"Hey you kids, did you have fun?" Mrs. Pines asked.
"Absolutely not, mom," Mabel sighed. "We ended up going to the library because Dipper wanted to go there. I wanted to take them to the mall, but a certain little brother lost track of time."
Dipper groaned. "Ugh, Mabel I said I was sorry! We both lost track of time due to both Joshua and I were discussing our favorite books when I discovered that Joshua was into similar genres I liked."
"You and Joshua talked to each other? That's great!" Mrs. Pines smiled while her husband cocked his right eyebrow in disbelief.
"Yeah, Dipper and I bonded almost instantly upon finding out share one similar interest." Joshua said as he bashfully scratched the back of his head.
"Well that's good to hear," Mrs. Pines said with happiness. "Here, since I'm too exhausted to make dinner tonight you kids can go out and get something to eat."
"Sounds good to me!" Mabel happily cheered as she walked towards her mom and grabbed a twenty dollar bill.
"Thanks, Mrs. Pines," Joshua formally bow to show his gratitude. "We won't be gone long."
Mrs. Pines chuckled at Joshua's kindness. "No need to be so formal, sweetie. Now hurry on out and get your food before it gets too dark. You two have school tomorrow as well."
The trio of kids nodded and rushed towards the door and left leaving Mr. and Mrs. Pines alone.
"Ahh, I'm glad that Dipper opened up to Joshua." Mrs. Pines smiled.
"Dear, I dunno why you should be happy about this." Mr. Pines spoke with sternness. "Frankly I dunno why you accepted the daunting task of taking him in!"
"Come on now dear, It's been several days since Joshua stayed here and so far he's polite, well mannered and nice to everyone including you and you only rebuffed him. The very least you could do is try to civil with our guest!" Mrs. Pines explained calling out for her husband treatment towards Joshua.
"Honey, I'm only try to be cautious due to the fact I know almost next to nothing about him," Mr. Pines points out.
"And that's why you're always on edge! Maybe if you actually talk to him once in awhile you know more about him rather than being left in the dark and continue to be grumpy!" Mrs. Pines shot back.
Mr. Pines rolled shook his head in frustration as he got up and left the living room clearly in a sour mood don't feel like talking anymore on the subject leaving his wife alone in the living room.
Mrs. Pines let out a sad sigh. "Look like I made him mad. I'll let him cool off for the night."
"Ahhh, that was so good!" Mabel rubbed her stuffed belly, before letting out a loud belch.
"Seriously, Mabel?" Dipper became repulsed by his sister's lack of manners.
"What? I had to let it out!" Mabel defended her actions.
Dipper only face palmed before turning to Joshua who is currently munching on a chocolate chip cookie. The trio ended up eating and dining at Subway since all of them had a mood for sandwiches and chips. Mabel had a meatball marinara sandwich with sour cream and onions flavored chips, while Dipper had an Italian melt sandwich with cheddar flavored chips and lastly Joshua had a chicken teriyaki sandwich with salt and vinegar flavored chips. At the last minute Joshua decided to get three cookies to treat his friends with each getting one cookie. He decided to get raspberry cheesecake flavor for Mabel, oatmeal raisin for Dipper and chocolate chip for himself.
"Hey Joshua, how are you holding up?" Dipper asked. Joshua gulped down the last bits of his cookie before speaking.
"I'm holding up good now thanks to both of us getting along now."
"That's good to know and yeah, I'm also glad things are now no longer awkward between us." Dipper agreed.
"Yeah and I'm also can't wait for The Trails Of Apo-"
Joshua was cut off as he bumped into a large imposing figure. "Oh, I'm sorry that I bumped into you sir. Didn't noticed you."
"Ohh, it's quite alright young man." A female voice spoke in a soft tone.
"Thank you. If you excuse us, we'll be heading our way," Joshua said as he walked the other way.
"Wait!" The female woman called out. "I'm a little lost so can you show me the way?"
Joshua nodded his head "Uh sorry miss I can't help you. I'm new here as well so good day ma'am."
"Oh come on! You have to at least know some-" The female voice was cut off by Mabel.
"Um, I can help you miss." The optimistic teenager offered, only to see the female figure turned away.
"Uh, that won't be necessarily."
Dipper quickly felt suspicious upon getting a better look at the female figure and her behavior. Something was off about her, from the way she dressed and her current behavior was very bizarre and unusual. Just then, he noticed a few figures wearing similar trench coats as the one the female figure in front of them was wearing. Dipper could sense that something was way off and it was time for them to leave right now.
But before he could be given the chance to do so, Dipper then saw the female figure holding what appears to be a black object.
"Mabel! Joshua! Get out of there!" Dipper cried.
"Huh?" Joshua and Mabel turned around and faced Dipper before staring at back at the female figure who quickly made her move and hit Joshua with her weapon. The resulted action caused the blonde haired teenager to shake frantically and uncontrollably before collapsing on the ground much to the shock of the pine twins. They now realized that the female figure weapon is a taser.
"Joshua!" Mabel cried before she faced the female attacker. "What did you do that for?!"
"Nothing personal, brunette," The female figure spoke as she smug. "This kid here has been under our radar for days and now that we found him we're gonna take him off of your kid's hands."
"Oh no you don't! You're not taking Joshua!" Mabel declared as she launched a punch at the female figure only for her attack to be blocked and easily countered with a swift jab to her stomach.
"ARGH!" Mabel groaned in pain as she fell down on her butt causing Dipper to run towards his sister to cater to her.
"Mabel!" Dipper cried. "Who exactly are you guys?!"
Slowly but surely Dipper, Mabel and an unconscious Joshua found themselves surrounded with three other figures that Dipper himself quickly recognized the same figures he spotted on the corner moments ago. He instantly knew that something bad was happening now.
Before Dipper could try to plan a way out a male figure walked towards him. "Don't even think about planning anything funny or you'll regret it."
Dipper gritted his teeth in frustration, now knowing that the four figures are onto him resulting him to give in. For now that is.
"Good, glad we came with an agreement." The second male figure grinned.
The second female figure came up to Joshua to wake him up by slapping him numerous times across the face. "Wake up! Wake up!"
"Geez, exactly what cartridge did you use?" The male figure asked in wonder.
The female ringleader checked her taser. "It's a x26 level taser."
All of her goods eyes widened with shock.
"Are you mad woman?!" The second male figure asked his boss.
The first male figure agreed. "Don't you think that's a bit overkill?"
The ringleader only shrug off her goons concerns with cold indifference. "Who cares? The taser did the job like I expected to. That's all it matters."
Both Dipper and Mabel were completely taken back by the female ringleader coldness and cruelty and even the two male goons were deeply turned off by their bosses ruthlessness.
The second female shook Joshua's body before she got a response from him. "Hey, he's waking up!"
"Good work, now keep him pinned down so he won't try to get away," The ringleader ordered.
"Aye Aye, ma'am!" The second female ordered as she got behind Joshua's back and gripped his arms and hands together.
Joshua begin to wake up and upon opening his eyes he saw Dipper and Mabel on the ground being surrounded by the two male goons and discovered his arms and hands in a tight position.
"What the hell? Dipper! Mabel! what's going on?!" Joshua demanded.
"If I was you blondie, I would stand perfectly still that if you don't want your friends to stay intact." The second female warned.
"What in the, I can't move!" Joshua cried as he faced the ringleader who was standing in front of him. "Y-you!"
The ringleader evilly smiled. "Well well well, you gave us quite a headache looking for you. But that's all in the past. Now that I got you where you are it's time to for you be delivered to my boss."
"What?" Joshua asked in confusion before shaking his head. "I dunno who you guys are!"
"Oh do you think you could just run away and hide and everything will be all flowers and roses starting over with a clean plate?" The ringleader mocked the blonde haired teenager.
"What's she blabbering about, Joshua?" Mabel asked.
"Well life doesn't go that way kid." The ringleader sneered. "Now it's time for you to head back home Beckham."
"Beckham?" Both Dipper and Mabel spoke in confused unison and the ringleader along with her goons cursed themselves as they were ordered not to say certain words to avoid to be found out. Now that the ringleader made that tactical blonder it was gonna cost them big time.
"Wait, how did you know any of that?" Joshua asked suspiciously before realization dawned over him as he faced the ringleader with an intense glare. "You were sent to find me, huh?"
The ringleader shook her head dismissively. "N-no! We are from the human trafficking business!"
Joshua wasn't buying the ringleader's claim. "If that's the case you guys would knocked all three of us out and be on your merry way rather than stalling out here and being only interested in me particular."
The ringleader was sweating profusely now clearly being found out. "Uh…"
"Someone send you four after me! Admit it!" Joshua called out on them.
"Silence!" The ringleader shouted. "You're coming with us whether you like to or not!"
"I don't think so," Joshua back headbutted the second female figure to the mouth causing her to retreat and holding her mouth releasing Joshua's arms and hands.
"OW! My mouth!" The second female cried as she groaned in pain.
"Bastard!" The two male goons ran towards Joshua who was now free and they attempted to tackle and pinned him down only for Joshua jumped over them resulting the two goons to collide their heads with each other.
Dipper and Mabel quickly got up on their feet and Joshua grabbed both their hands and dragged them.
"RUN!" Joshua shouted as they ran as fast as they could to lose them and turned on a right corner.
"After them!" The ringleader shouted as she ordered her henchmen to follow the trio only to find them still reeling in pain, much to the ringleader's dismay. "Are you serious!?"
"Hey, we're in pain too, boss!" The second female complained.
"Fine! Have it your way!" The ringleader left her goons behind and followed the trio's trail. "Damn it, you're not getting away from me!"
A few minutes have passed for the ringleader to pass on by the donut shop where unknown to the female mob boss, Dipper, Mabel and Joshua was hiding having their face covered by the newspaper.
"Is she gone?" Mabel asked in slight fear.
"Yeah I think so." Joshua answered, but remained cautious. "But let's trend towards home carefully. Do you have any alternative routes to get home?"
Dipper nodded his head. "I know this one route we can take but…"
"But what?" Joshua asked.
Dipper sighed. "You'll see why."
"Come on we're almost there!" Mabel shouted to her brother, who was wheezing heavily from all the running he had to go through.
"I never imagined that part of the neighborhood we walked through would be this crazy!"
After much time has pass what feels like an eternity Dipper, Mabel and Joshua arrived at home. They were all sweating and huffing heavily from running and for good reason; wanting to avoid being caught by the female ringleader and her henchmen the trio took an alternative route to get home. But the route they took is rather infamous for being populated by pet owners with the majority being dog lovers which is wasn't the problem, but what was in that the fences were very old, worn out, rusty and very short making it easily for some dogs to jump over. And what also didn't help is how careless the dog owners are since most owners don't restrained them with a leash or anything.
Well such a simple oversight ended up becoming the trio worst part at getting back home. Several dogs managed to escape by jumping over the fence resulting Dipper, Mabel and Joshua to run for the lives and while they struggled to outrun them the trio ultimately managed to lose them only by hiding inside a trash can much to everyone's dismay and disgust. After losing the dogs the trio resumed heading home by running since they were still weary of the ringleader tracking them down.
After entering the house and locking the door the trio collapsed on the floor in relief.
"Ugh, so good to be back home." Mabel spoke in relief.
"No kidding," Joshua agreed. "That was a close call."
Dipper got on his feet with a stern expression. "Joshua, was the hell was that?!"
"I don't know any of those people, but I have a hunch that someone send those people after me," Joshua answered as he let out a sigh clearly realized how bad the situation escalated.
"What?!" Dipper shouted in shock.
"Joshua, what if the person who send those people after you is.. someone you personally know?" Mabel suggested.
Joshua scratched his chin. "That may be a possibility. Regardless I have to tell your parents about this."
Dipper nodded his head. "Okay, but let's tell the tomorrow since I'm tired and it's late as it is. Plus we have to get up early since Mabel and I have school. Also, I need to take a shower after hiding in that dumpster."
"You and me both bro." Mabel nodded her head.
"Agreed," Joshua said as he got up on his feet along with Mabel. "I'll see you guys later. Goodnight."
The trio bid each other goodnight and went to their respective rooms to turn in for the night wanting to put everything that happened to them behind.
Joshua entered his room and collapsed on the bed. He wanted to go to bed but he really need to take a shower to wash off the terrible stench after being inside a dumpster for several minutes. As he got undress he thought back at their encounters with the mysterious trench coats figures and begin to wonder how they have information only Joshua himself knows. Something told him that someone he knows send him but he can't say who though.
Letting out a sigh, Joshua shook his head, as he entered the bathroom to take a shower.
Dipper Pines sat on his chair, as he changed out of his clothes, but he couldn't get the frightening encounter out of his mind. It made him think about Joshua in particular since based on what they said, someone send them to retrieve the blonde teacher. All of this made numerous questions popped into his mind; from who's the instigator that send those people after him all the way to uncovered Joshua's background and to find out the real reason why he's staying here in the first place as what had transpired today made him think that Joshua's reasons of living here may be something far more serious.
Dipper Pines let out a defeated sigh and decided that he'll get to the bottom of his worries tomorrow since it is late and he need to hop into bed. He exited his bedroom and walked towards the bathroom in the hallway to he can take his shower and call it a night.
Meanwhile Mabel Pines were inside her bathroom taking a long bath since she wanted herself to get relaxed and wine down so she can go to sleep a bit easier and it also allow her to write in her diary.
Dear Diary,
Today has been a rather hectic day but to start off on a happy note are the good news, Dipper finally opened up to Joshua after it seems like an eternity! We were at the library when this happened and while I was less than receptive that the two boys bond in a library of all places (seriously, I wanted to go to the mall and take them to somewhere fun and not boring) aside from that I'm very happy that Dipper and Joshua are now friends.
Now for the bad news, a half hour earlier we had an bizarre (even for my standards) but frightening encounter with four weird looking figures wearing brown hats and long trench coats that made them look like bounty hunters or something. Aside from all three of us being held against our will what really caught both Dipper and I a curveball is that the ringleader called Joshua as Beckham. That really gave me a gut feeling that these people may know more about Joshua than we do. I know one thing though, we have to tell our parents about this although I'm very worried how our parents would take this news.
Mabel finished writing her diary entry and cleaning herself before getting out the bathtub before quickly got dressed into her pajamas, turned off her TV shutting off her bedroom lights and hoped into bed.
"ARGH! I can't believe that we failed to catch that boy! He was in our grasp!"
"Oh please you lucky the blonde kid didn't head-butt me in my nose! Ahh! I think he broke my nose!"
"You are so pathetic, it is rather funny to see you like this."
"Oh, I am so gonna make you eat those words!"
"Enough!" Everyone stopped on what they were doing and resumed their businesses. The four trench coat figures are now presently at a nearby gas station where they are getting a few snacks.
The female ringleader is standing near the door being grumpy, the second female figure is in the back trying to find bandages for her nose that is bleeding a bit and the two male figures are scrolling at the refrigerator for drinks. The cashier, who is a male was staring at the the four figures with suspicion as their presence and very little facial features made the cashier very uneasy.
"Okay, we need to form another plan to get the kid," The ringleader whispered.
"I agree but what can we do? It's not like we know where the kid lives," The first male figure points out.
"Well regardless we can't afford to fail next time," The ringleader warned.
"How much is this bottle of ginger-ale cost sir?" The second male figure asked.
"Um, two bucks sir," The cashier answered.
The second male figure nodded. "Okay thanks! I know what I'm getting!"
And that's a wrap for Chapter 2 ladies and gentleman! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I apologized for the long wait but I wanted to make chapters with the quality I wanted to be so that it would match each episode as for each chapter. So It took longer than I thought it would be.
I know the story is starting up slow but bear with me, it won't be long till things get exciting.
Till then I'll see you in the next chapter! Ciao!