I am soooooo sorry for the long wait but here's the third chapter! Enjoy!
-Piedmont California, 3:15 p.m.-
"Okay class, now that we're done reading chapter ten early, you all have free time for the rest of the period."
All the students nodded, as they relaxed and let out a sigh of relief that they managed to finished their classwork a lot sooner than everyone expected. Nonetheless, the students were now using the remaining time they still have to do whatever they please, so as long as they don't want to make too much noise.
In the back left of the classroom, Mabel Pines was laying her head down on top of her biology textbook, very tired from all that reading she was forced to do and she couldn't wait to get home to take a long nap, but for now, she can nonetheless took her free time by resting her eyes.
After much time have passed, the long awaited bell finally rang, causing all of the students to rush out off of campus, now that school was finally over. It was Friday and everyone were getting ready for the weekend, doing nothing but to rest, relaxed and have fun after a rather hard week at school. Some of the teachers were setting a handful of students for their midterms, much to the dismay to some of the unfortunate ones, but for the most, everyone else didn't have to worry about midterms till next year in the spring season.
Mabel Pines was currently sitting on a nearby rock, waiting for her twin brother to arrive and soon enough, she saw a very tired Dipper slowly walking downstairs. Mabel ran towards him, feeling very concerned for his well being.
"Dipper!" Mabel cried. "Are you okay? You look awful. So awful, in fact, that you look like a zombie."
"Gee, thanks for pointing that out!" Dipper snapped, before looking down regrettably. "I'm sorry Mabel, but my teacher has been hammering us down with studying for our midterms a bit early, even though we don't have midterms until next year."
"Ugh, I know, right? It's only like mid October!" Mabel pointed out.
"Yeah, but you also forget that there are some students like you and me who have teachers that not only are strict, but demand complete obedience and great expectations from us," Dipper stressed on the last part of his words.
Mabel let out a frustrating sigh, as she completely understood what Dipper was talking about; her biology class happened to be run by a teacher who have similar rules and philosophy when it comes to students and their classwork. In fact, she can recall back a month ago, where she was just starting the new school year, where her biology teacher made the students dive head first into their textbooks and classwork on the second day, whereas most teachers be rather lenient on the first week of school and start classwork on the second week of school. Eventually, Mabel got used to it by now, but it didn't make it any less frustrating to deal with it.
"I feel you Dipper, but school is over, so let's not mope about it and finally head on home!" Mabel smiled.
"Your right, Mabel. We shouldn't keep Joshua waiting, he's probably slowly dying from boredom," Dipper joked on the last part.
"That's the spirit!" Mabel cheered.
The Pine twins begin walking towards home, both breathing out a sigh of relief, now that school was now over. Plus, since it was Friday, they have the whole weekend to have fun and relaxation with their parents and Joshua. Speaking of which, Dipper and Joshua have slowly became friends over the past few days, much to Mabel and Mrs. Pines delight, as it spell the end of both boys being awkward with each other.
However, not everything was peaceful at home; both twins were very weary from their encounter with the brown trench coat figures and Joshua haven't informed their parents about it. Scratched that, he did try to tell their parent about the encounter at all. One way or another, however, Mabel would always changed the subject or by cutting him off whenever Joshua would bring it up.
It became quite evident that Mabel don't want their parents to know, because she was very afraid of how their parents would take the news well and she didn't want Joshua to suffer from her father's wrath. While Dipper was less enthusiastic about his sister hiding the encounter from their parents, especially since it would likely put all of their well being and safely in jeopardy, there was no denying that he too felt very nervous about telling their mother and father about it. Although their mother had been very loving and kind to Joshua, their father, however, was another story, as he was still being very distant and rather cold to him, even though the cause of his attitude was not without reason.
Regardless, both were very scared of telling their parents about it, unsure of what would happen. Their father would be completely upset and would likely want to call it quits, probably wanting Joshua to leave immediately and while their mother was rather nice and understanding, Dipper and Mabel were aware of how far her kindness can go and their mom was no exception. They have seen how fierce their mom can be when crossed, provoked or when her family's safety was compromised and she was the type of woman who doesn't back down from anything or anyone. With this knowledge in mind, the twins were afraid that their mom would side with their father and would want to kick Joshua out as well. The thought of their new friend being on the street homeless and to fend for himself send shivers down their spine.
But as much as the whole situation terrified them, both twins know that they would have to tell their parents the truth, if it meant everyone could relax again.
"Mom, Dad, Joshua we're home!" Mabel called out.
"We're in the living room kids!" Mrs. Pines answered back.
Dipper and Mabel walked towards the living room and upon entering, they saw Mr. and Mrs. Pines, as well as Joshua, watching television from the couch, much to the twins shock.
"Hey kids!" Mrs. Pines greeted them, "How was school, you two?"
"It was tiresome, but nothing overwhelming thankfully," Dipper replied. "What's going on here?"
"Your mom and I were discussing about a few places that we can go this weekend," Joshua replied.
This cause both twins to smile brightly. "Really?! That means we're going to go camping like you promised?" Mabel asked.
Mrs. Pines shook her head. "No sweetie, but I want to take you three kids somewhere to have fun, now that all three of you are getting along. Plus, it would make up the camping trip we had to cancel at the last minute."
"Oh, okay! Good enough for me," Mabel cheered with much happiness, with Dipper being excited of going out as well and Joshua had become more involved with the Pines family, becoming a bit more open. Mr. Pines, who was sitting on his large brown colored sofa chair, stared at his wife and two children in disbelief that his family are getting along with as he saw fit a mere stranger.
"I can't believe this is actually happen," Mr. Pines thought, as he watched everyone laughing.
"Anyway, since you guys are home how about we go out for a bit?" Mrs. Pines suggested.
Dipper, Mabel and Joshua all nodded, causing Mrs. Pines to smile. "Excellent we'll leave at seven thirty be ready by then."
The trio nodded their heads again and headed upstairs to the respective rooms to rest for a bit.
"Honey, I'm going to be somewhere, while you guys be out so have fun," Mr. Pines said, causing his wife to turn towards him and grabbed his hand.
"Oh no you don't," Mrs. Pines started. "You are coming with us, mister!"
Mr Pines glared at his wife. "Dear, I don't want to go out with a mere stranger accompanied with us!"
"Honey, don't be that way and by the way stop calling our guest a stranger! He has a name you know!" Mrs. Pines argued.
"Ugh, fine!" Mr. Pines flailed his arms in frustration. "I'll go with you guys."
Mrs. Pines smiled brightly, as she made her way upstairs wanting to to get a head start and to look for possible places that the family can go.
"Ugh! what did I got myself into?" Mr. Pines asked out loud, hoping something to give him an answer, only to received nothing but silence.
Mabel Pines was lying on her bed while she was watching TV. As she was watching, she thought about her friends and family back at Gravity Falls. Despite keeping in touch of everyone via long distance through her cellphone, internet and email, she hadn't been to the small town since defeating Bill from taking over Gravity Falls and she, Dipper, Wendy, Soos, Stan, Ford and all of the surviving residents were able to prevent Weirdmageddon from happening. Since returning home from their epic summer vacation, she and her brother have been occupied with school and when they start attending high school last year, they have been even busier than ever, getting through every schoolwork in their way, all jut to prepare them for adulthood and college.
Letting out a sigh, Mabel Pines laid back on her bed to rest for a bit.
Dipper Pines was surfing the television, trying to find some paranormal shows, with little to no avail, much to his frustration. He groaned to this, before putting the remote down and looked to the clear blue sky through his bedroom window. As he looked on, his friends and his two great uncles back at Gravity Falls crossed his mind. What an adventure he had on that fateful summer and even though it was a few years ago, he could never forget the times he had and discovering a lot of interesting creatures and supernatural events.
Since getting back home and starting school again, Dipper had been hitting the books and studied hard and ever since starting high a year ago, his academic demands made him ever more busy than ever before, trying his best to get into advanced classes, in hopes of getting as much college credit he needs to finish his education and fulfill out his passionate dreams. He even had to turn down Ford's offer to be his apprentice, as school and being with his sister's side was more important, though he hoped that some day, he can have more adventures with his uncle.
Sipping on a bottle of cold water, Dipper Pines resumed scrolling the channels hoping to find something he can watch.
Joshua, meanwhile, was currently in the bathroom, taking a long, hot shower cleaning himself after another day of helping around the house and accompanied Mrs. Pines with her errands. Granted, being with his caretaker had made him occupied and busy and he couldn't deny how restless he had become since living with the Pines residence; he wanted to be out of the house more often, but it was easier said than done coming from his situation that a person moving in a city that he hasn't seen or been before for the first time in his or her life. Hopefully, as he spend more time with the Pines family, maybe he can walked around to feel familiar to his surroundings and to start memorizing the streets and areas so he can go out on his own in due time.
Speaking of which, Joshua hadn't forgotten about the figures in their brown trench coats. Despite telling the twins that he would inform their parents about the dreadful encounter, Mr. and Mrs. Pines were oblivious about the incident, but it wasn't for lack of communication, however, as his friend Mabel was making efforts to keep silence about it clearly wanting to avoid her parents to panic and since they know their daughter so well, both parents passed off Mabel's actions as her usual bubbly and random antics.
Even though his friend's innocent antics ended up becoming annoying and very frustrating for him, Joshua completely can't blame Mabel for it; despite wanting to do the right thing and being honest and upfront anything amiss, he too had been very wary about telling them, clearly scared of their reactions. Every time he saw either Mr. or Mrs. Pines, his mind played his worst fear deep into his subconscious; should they find out the truth, both parents, especially Mr. Pines, would scold him for putting their lives in danger and wanting him gone. The last thing he wanted to do is for his presence to endangered a family.
Letting out a frustrated groan, he turn off the water and stepped out of the shower, drying his blonde hair off, before getting dressed into fresh clothes, which consisted of black jeans, white socks, blue short sleeve over his white t-shirt and blue jacket. His shoes is a Nike brand that is white with navy blue stripes on them. Since Mrs. Pines had informed him hours earlier that she planned to take the family out around seven in the evenings Joshua checked the clock on his cell phone to see what time it was. The phone currently reads four fifteen, recognizing that he has time on his hands, before he scrolled on his phone and watch some videos on Youtube.
'Why do this have to happen to me?' Joshua thought sadly.
It was now evening and the streets of Piedmont was very lively, with people having a good time, with some in groups of a few friends, while others were taking their boyfriend or girlfriend to a night out on a date, hoping that they would get their big moment and advance their relationship to the next level.
There were, however, a few people that were out in the evening for different reasons altogether and four strangers were sitting at a nearby bench at the park, focusing on planning their next move to capture a certain blond haired teenager.
"Okay, now that we had plenty of time to go over our plan, we can now expect success on capturing our target," The female ring leader spoke with new found confidence.
"Finally, I can get back at Blondie for ruining my beautiful nose!" The second female figure shouted with flames engulfed her eyes with vengeance on her mind.
"Pfft please, you weren't that beautiful to begin with ugly duckling," The male figure mocked.
The second female figure glare at him. "Oh, shut up, you!"
"Enough!" The female ringleader yelled, causing her henchmen to silence themselves. "You two are not going to fight! We need to be at our best performance if we want this plan to succeed. I don't want everyone to be punished by our boss just because we couldn't get along with each other. Now, I want you two stop arguing with each other and work together do I make myself clear?"
Both of her henchman looked at their boss before each other letting out a "HMPH!" sound and walked away to the other direction, much to the dismay and frustration of their boss whom face palmed out of annoyance.
"Ugh, why did I even bother bringing these two along."
Just then the second male figured showed up. "Hey boss, I managed to find out target is."
This cause everyone to stop on what they were doing and look at the second male figure.
"You did?!" The female ringleader asked in shock. "How?!"
"I saw our target inside a vehicle that I saw passed seconds ago from a corner," The second male figure answered.
"You could have called us while you were there!" The first male figure complained. "Now the car is likely long gone!"
"Not to worry, I managed to hook a small boomerang on by throwing it at the one of the tires and it has a small chip which acts as a tracking device," The second male figured showed the gang a small GPS that is the size of a pager showing a red dot and the numerous streets and addresses.
"Awesome work there!" The second female figure complemented.
"Beginner's luck," The first male figure dismissed. "I could have done that with ease."
The second female figure glared at him. "As if, you couldn't even find your boxers this morning where they were in the closest!"
"Too much info, guys!" The female ringleader blushed pink before shaking her head. "Anyway, nice work there."
"Welcome boss," The second male figure smug.
"Okay everyone, let's go!"
The gang nodded their heads and move out following the GPS.
Elsewhere in Piedmont, the Pines family were currently out for a drive around town. Originally, Mrs. Pines were going to drive towards the mall, since that was where all the restaurants were located, but upon hearing Joshua's request of wanting to see more of the town, Mrs Pines decided to show more of the city. Both Dipper and Mabel didn't mind the detour at all, but judging by the look he had upon Joshua's request, Mr Pines was seemly bothered by it, but never spoke a single word in response to it either.
"Wow, thank you for doing this for me Mrs. Pines," Joshua spoke with much appreciation.
"Oh you're quite welcome dear," Mrs. Pines smiled. "I know how being cooped up in the house can be very boring to you. In fact, I can tell that from all the hours you spent being inside made you think our house is becoming a prison to you."
"O-oh! Not at all, Mrs. Pines!" Joshua shook his head with his face begin to flush pink causing his caretaker to chuckle a bit.
"I'm kidding, Joshua," Mrs. Pines calmed the blonde haired boy down. "But that aside it's good that you want to explore around town and despite the situation you should have the right to go outside and enjoy being a normal teenager."
Joshua look down his face clearly flustered. "T-thank you, Mrs. Pines."
Mrs. Pines smiled. "Your welcome, Joshua."
"I know we haven't hung out often as we should have, but we promise that we'll do better to spend time with you," Mabel said patting her friend's shoulder. "Right, Dipper?"
"Of course," Dipper nodded his head. "School has been keeping us very busy, but still, that was a poor excuse to prevent us hanging out with you a bit more, Joshua."
Joshua looked at Mabel, who had a huge smile on her face, before looking at Dipper, who also had a smile on his face as well. Seeing his news friends by his side made him feel a bit happy and comfortable.
"Thank you, Dipper and Mabel," Joshua spoke with much appreciation.
Both twins nodded their heads to him, reciprocating his feelings in response. While the family were bonding with their guest well ,Mr. Pines interrupted them by rudely clearing his throat, much to his wife's annoyance.
"I know we're having a good time and all, but can we please go where we need to be?"
"Oh hush you!" Mrs. Pines scowled her husband. "We haven't even decided where we want to eat first!" Mrs. Pines turned to the teenagers. "Kids, where do you want to eat tonight?"
"Chili's!" The twins shouted in excitement leaving Joshua being the only person who haven't voiced his place of choice.
"Eh, I'm fine wherever we go. I'm not really picky when it comes to food," Joshua spoke with indifference.
"Chili's it is then!" Mrs. Pines declared and with that she floored the gas petal speeding off towards their destination completely oblivious that the Pines family are secretly being followed.
"Welcome to Chili's! Party of five?" A female staff greeted upon the Pines family entered the restaurant.
"Yeah, that's right." Mrs. Pines answered.
"Right, give me a sec," The female staff looked at the waiting list before looking back to the Pines family. "Okay, right this way, everyone."
The Pines family and Joshua followed the female staff to their table which is going to be on the second floor near the window allowing the Pines family and Joshua to have a great view of the entire area.
"Okay, here are you menus and a waiter or waitress would be here in a minute," The female staff said.
"Thank you, ma'am," Mrs. Pines nodded her head as she passed the menus to everyone as the female staff took her leave. Upon receiving their menus everyone looked to see what they want to eat, Dipper was looking at the sandwiches menu, Mabel was scrolling at the burgers menu while Mrs. Pines had her eyes on the soup and salad menu and Mr. Pines is looking at the steak menu.
Joshua would be looking at the menu like the rest of the family but his subconscious is busy taunting his worse fears should they found out he's being followed by the trench coat figures. Every time he look at either Mrs. or Mr. Pines, he would visualized them scowling and betraying him for putting their lives in danger and could hear the words showering down towards him.
"I can't believe you have these people following you! Thanks to you, my family are in danger!" Joshua could hear Mr. Pines shouted him in anger.
Joshua begin to give in to the harsh words where unbeknownst to him Mrs. Pines noticed Joshua' behavior.
"I'm sorry… I.. I didn't mean for this to happen…" Joshua can hear himself say before hearing Mrs. Pines voice.
"And here I thought that you were a well mannered young man but it turns out that you're nothing but a troublemaker!" Mrs. Pines roared.
"I'm so sorry Mrs. Pines! I really wanted make this work!"
"Well, it's not going to work out! I want you out of our lives!" Both Mr and Mrs. Pines shouted in unison as the visualization was coming to a close.
"Joshua, are you okay?" Mabel asked as she reached out her left hand toward her friend's shoulder only to be taken back by Joshua's sudden outburst.
"I'M SORRY!" Joshua shouted with the top of his lungs causing Dipper, Mabel, their parents and some of the customers and staff alike to look on their table with confusion. Upon realizing his sudden outburst has caused a scene, Joshua stormed off, trying to find the nearest bathroom; thankfully, he was able to locate it after some help from a waiter. Upon entering it, he made his way to the sink where he washed his face before looking at the mirror with he can see his faced being pale and crow marks under his eyes.
Letting out a sigh, Joshua glared at the sink sulking. "Ugh, what am I going to do?!"
Joshua was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't noticed that his friend Dipper entered the bathroom.
"Joshua!" Dipper called out. "Are you okay?"
"No, I'm not, Dipper. My mind is tormenting me with these scenarios of your parents should I tell them about that encounter," Joshua wearily answered. "Hearing their harsh and dreaded voices isn't making things any better for me."
Dipper looked at his friend with sympathy and concern; he himself have thought about the whole situation as well and it has made him being plagued with fear; recently, those fears began to appear in his dreams on a few occasions. Since then, Dipper became adamant of wanting to bring the encounter up to his parents, despite being aware of that his parents would be less than thrill should. Dipper can picture his mother's wrath and turning on Joshua and wanting him out of their house. The thought of the possibility of his mother and father kicking his new friend out, it honestly scared Dipper a lot and it was the sole reason of preventing him to come forward. But now with the dreadful encounter has made Dipper, Joshua and Mabel to look over their shoulder since then and seeing Joshua's mind plaguing him with these fear and eating him up like a cancer it became evident to both boys that they can't keep it hidden anymore.
With a clear answer now settled, Dipper walked towards Joshua and placed his hand on his right right shoulder. "Joshua, it'll be okay because once we leave we're going to tell them."
This caused Joshua to turn towards Dipper with a slight relief loo,k but still had his very weary expression. "That's good, but your parents would want me to leave, which is understandable and all, but I'll be on the streets."
Dipper shook his head. "That won't happen. Mabel and I will do our best to make sure you don't get toss aside."
Joshua could felt his friend's determination and as a result it made his anxiety dissipates a bit. "Thank you Dipper."
"Your welcome, Joshua," Dipper said. "Are you ready to go back?"
Joshua wiped the sweat off his face with his hand. "Ready."
Dipper and Joshua soon returned to the table where they reunited a concern Mabel and Mrs. Pines but a dismissive Mr. Pines. Dipper and Joshua decided not to tell the parents yet but instead came up with a lie and somehow Mrs. Pines bought into it while Mr. Pines was indifferent Joshua's reasons. Before long they ordered their food and after waiting for a half hour everyone got their food and drinks.
For the rest of the evening, things have became normal, or as close to it; While Joshua still felt dreadful about the situation, he somehow managed to breathe easy and have a good time with the Pines family. Mabel, being her usual optimistic self, had been the most talkative towards him, telling stories about her time at Gravity Falls along with Dipper, but leaving out anything supernatural activity around the small town. Mrs Pines talked for a few moments as well and Dipper was talking up a storm with numerous books and topic he likes to discuss, much to the dismay of Mabel.
After nearly two hours had passed, the Pines family and Joshua decided that it is time to wrap things up and try to get home for the night. Since Mrs. Pines and Mabel wasn't about to finish their foods, both of them requested takeout containers, to which their waiter managed to provided them to while giving them the bill. After putting up their foods in the takeout containers, Mrs. Pines paid the bill and gave the waiter a nice five six dollar tip, which the waiter thanked, as he took the money.
As they waited for the waiter to return with a receipt, Joshua viewed the shopping area and it was filled with lively people out having fun and lights brighten the entire area. It was a pretty good sight for the teenager and it really showed how a small town can have such beauty and life that most people take for granted, especially with his family back home.
Upon recovering from that quick second of fuming over his family ,Joshua noticed a few figures standing out in the crowd who is heading towards Chili's. Upon getting a closer look, he almost jumped and scream; they were the same trench coat figures from last night, no doubt looking for him. Joshua cursed as his bit his lip in frustration that these people were distance away from making an already tense situation to explode for everyone to see.
Joshua was so in shock and fear, that he didn't noticed the Pines family getting up from their seats to leave, causing Mrs. Pines to place her hand on Joshua's shoulder which resulted the blonde teenager to jump in surprise.
"Ahh!"
"Relax Joshua," Mrs. Pines calmed the blonde hair teenager down. "We're leaving right now."
"Oh, okay," Joshua let out a sigh of relief, despite the back of his mind is filled with nervousness and dread.
Letting out another sigh, Joshua got up and walked with the Pines family downstairs, before heading towards the exit, where Joshua saw the four trench coats figures sitting on a nearby bench in the waiting area, as if they are on a lookout for him.
"Crap, already they are on my ass like dog hounds picking up one's scent!" Joshua cursed as he and Pines family walked closer to the figures as they took their leave. It didn't take long for Dipper and Mabel to spot the trench coat figures from a distance as well causing both of them to panic.
"Oh no, those people are here!" Dipper whispered.
"Damn it all, why can't they just leave us alone?" Mabel asked in frustrated.
"Look, I'll give myself up so I can spare the drama that would and your parents would have to go through." Joshua suggested with a sad sigh.
Dipper quickly shook his head. "No way, we won't let that happen."
"Then how are you gonna get out of this sticky situation then?!" Joshua argued.
"How about we hide our faces with our hoods?" Dipper asked.
"That's obviously not going to work!" Joshua countered his friend's idea causing Dipper to glare at him.
"Do you have any better idea?"
Joshua thought up anything but to no avail leading him to groan in defeat. "I suppose your plan could work."
Without delay, the trio put on their hoods as they walked closer to the trench coats figures and by now they can only hope that the figures would oversight them. Thankfully with a huge crowd of college aged students making a lot of noises possibly coming from the bar area after having a few too many drinks then and there trio managed to blend into the crowd and passed them but just as about they were home free…
"Whoa!" A clumsy waiter, carrying a ton of dishes, lost balance and ended up tripping over a wet puddle that one of the janitor was mopping that particular spot, resulting the tower of dishes to fall on Joshua.
"Ahhh!" The dishes fell on top of the blonde hair teenager resulting him to fall down in pain with the sound of dishes being shattered filling the floor. Since some of the dishes had leftover food on them Joshua is covered in food resulting him to take off his hood to clean himself off. It was at this crucial mistake that the trench coat figures ultimately spotted Joshua.
"Ack! This is just great!" Joshua groaned in disgust.
"Joshua!" Mrs. Pines panicked. "Are you okay sweetie? You're not hurt, aren't you?"
Joshua let out a sigh. "I'm fine, Mrs. Pines. Just covered in food is all.
"YOU!" The female ringleader shouted as she and her goons headed towards the Pines family.
"Ah crap, not this," Joshua muttered in disbelief.
"Finally after hours of looking we finally found you!" The second female spoke with her cracking her knuckles. "Now it's time for payback for damaging my beautiful nose!"
The first male figure snickered. "Your nose wasn't pretty to begin with."
"Shut the hell up!" The second female snapped at him.
Mr. Pines gave the figures a look before facing Joshua with a demanding look. Joshua, Dipper and Mabel had a nervous look on their faces, while their mother was completely oblivious to the whole thing. Both Dipper and Joshua intended to tell the parents about them, but the boys didn't want this to be found out by the same people out in the open for everyone to see.
"Joshua, what did you do to these people?" Mr. Pines asked sternly.
"I.. I…" Joshua stuttered in panic and fear before Dipper came into the conversation.
"Dad, we can explain but first we need to get home now!" Dipper said.
"Dipper, we are not leaving until I find out what's going on here!" Mr. Pines shouted.
"They are after Joshua!" Mabel shouted. "I dunno what they want with him but they are after him!"
"What are you talking about?!" Mr. Pines asked, clearly not buying his daughter claims.
While Dipper and Mabel were trying to convince their father what was going on, Mrs. Pines looked at the trench coat figures and instantly got a gut wrenching feeling. Not seeing their faces is one thing, but upon catching a glimpse of the female ringleader's taser send a bunch of red flags to Mrs. Pines subconscious. It became very clear that these people wanted something and they would have no qualms using everything up their sleeves to accomplish what they came for, violence being included in them. In that instant, Mrs. Pines believed her children words and now sees the figures as people with ill will.
Now going into protective mode and her maternal instincts kicking in, Mrs. Pines begin to look at her surroundings while forming a plan to get out of the situation. Luckily, a rare chance of coincidence in a form a black and golden striped limousine driving through the area and upon seeing the name who owned it gave her the perfect idea.
With no time to waste Mrs. Pines begin to act. "Hey look everyone! There's Kim Kardashian's limo driving by!"
Most of the people, especially the guys, stopped eating or talking and look out the window. The moment that they caught the glimpse of the limousine, the people went crazy that a huge celebrity was near distance from them and wanting to see Kim Kardashian in person or at the very least, see her face. Everyone got up from their seat and hastily stormed towards the front doors, resulting in the a huge crowd colliding with the trench coat figures.
"Ahhhh! What the hell?!" The second female shrieked in panic.
"Get off of me!" The first male figure demanded one of the few people that was carrying him.
"Ugh! Damn it! We're stuck!" The second female figure complained.
"No! We were so close!" The female ringleader shouted in frustration as she too is carried away by the immense crowd.
By the time the crowd was outside and chasing the limousine the restaurant is mostly barren aside a handful of people on the second floor with staff being bewildered on what just happen and the restaurant being almost empty. Dipper, Mabel and Mr. Pines were left shocked and confused, Joshua looked up to Mrs. Pines with shock but admiration while Mrs. Pines herself smirked proudly.
"Yes, thank god that plan actually worked!" Mrs. Pines boasted in victorious.
"WHAT. DID. YOU. DO?" Mr. Pines slowly asked, more like ordered as he could barely contain his anger.
"We'll talk later but right now we have more bigger problems to deal with." Mrs. Pines pointed out as she turn her attention to Joshua. "Do you have anything to do with those strangers that came after you?"
Joshua let out a sigh as he nodded. "But let's not talk here."
"Good idea," Mrs. Pines agreed. "Come on everyone, let's get going."
The Pine twins didn't questioned nor objected their mother and followed her out of Chili's, while Mr. Pines wanted to objected, before ultimately dropping what he had on his mind and followed his family out the restaurant, leaving only Chili's employees with confused look on their faces.
"What just happen?" One of the waitress asked.
"Wait did that woman said that Kim Kardashian just past us?!" One male waiter asked before cursing. "Damn it! I should have join with the crowd!"
"WHAT?!" Mr. Pines shouted.
"Will you stop yelling, dear?" Mrs. Pines asked as she glared at her husband.
Mr. Pines rolled his eyes in response, as he sat down on his comfort chair. Everyone were currently in the living room, sitting down with tension filling the room. Joshua, Dipper and Mabel just finished telling their story about the four trench coat figures and how they came about. All three of them were nervous, as they told their story to Mr. and Pines due to how they would react from hearing this. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Pines was not pleased by this but surprisingly, but Mrs. Pines didn't react negativity at all, but was slightly disappointed look but remained calm for the most part.
"I'm so sorry that this happened," Joshua apologize.
"Sorry doesn't cut it!" Mr. Pines yelled, clearly infuriated. "Because of you, my children are now in danger!"
"It wasn't his fault Dad!" Mabel pleaded, only to be shot down by her father.
"Shut up, Mabel!" Mr. Pines ordered, causing his daughter to jump back a bit.
"Dad, that's going too far!" Dipper defended his sister, who was close to tears.
Mr. Pines was about to snap at his son, before Mrs. Pines cut in.
"Honey! That's far enough! It's not Joshua's fault that this happen!" Mrs. Pines defended.
"If it's not his fault, then do you have an idea on how we're gonna solve this little problem of yours?" Mr. Pines challenged.
Mrs. Pines looked away for a few moments to think. There's no denying the situation that everyone is in right now and the trench coat figures and given what the trio had informed her the figures would likely keep looking every corner and cranny of the whole city to look for Joshua since he is their main objective and they would use any tactic to get their mission done and wouldn't shy away using force at anything or anyone that come across in their path. Faced with such people who are violent as much they are ambiguous Mrs. Pines came up with only one solution despite knowing that her husband wouldn't like her suggestion.
Letting out a sigh Mrs. Pines faced towards her family with a serious but determined look. "We can take the children to Gravity Falls. That would be the perfect place to hide out there."
"WHAT?!" All four of them yelled in unison and in shock before Mr. Pines spoke out against his wife's decision.
"Absolutely not! They would miss out school and everything!"
"I can make the school gives me their homework and send it to them out to Gravity Falls." Mrs. Pines said.
"What about classwork?" Mr. Pines point out. "Won't they be confused and lost without classroom notes?"
"Dear, we live in an age where technology has come along way. The teachers can easily email their classwork or have them all them all inside a flash drive," Mrs. Pines stated factually.
"Mom has a good point there, dad." Mabel point out while Dipper nodded in agreement.
"You're not helping, Mabel!" Mr. Pines scowled his daughter only to be smacked in the back of the head by his wife.
"Enough, the kids are going to Gravity Falls and that's that." Mrs. Pines decided with sternness filling her voice.
Mr. Pines glared at his wife, who had a very determined look on her face, standing on her decision to the very end and wasn't going to let anything or anyone change or swayed her choice. Mr. Pines looked at the kids to see how they are taking such news of going to Gravity Falls; Mabel had a surprise but overall happy expression as going to Gravity Falls meant that it would allow to see her friends and her favorite Grunkle Stan again. Dipper's face overall mixed with anger and worry about missing school but a part of him was excited of meeting his great uncle Ford and go with him on new adventures to discover new creatures. As for Joshua, he was just bewildered and shock that he wasn't grilled enough as expected and being kicked out of their home but he was overall very unsure how all of this would take him to.
After a while of thinking, Mr. Pines gave in seeing that he doesn't have much options. "Fine, we'll send them to Gravity Falls then."
Mabel let out a youthful cheer while Dipper and Mrs. Pines smiled and Joshua stood there with a dumbfounded expression, as Mr. Pines shook his head he faced the children.
"You three, go to your rooms and begin to pack immediately." Mr. Pines ordered.
The trio nodded and each of them head towards upstairs to start packing.
After thirty minutes have passed, everyone met back in the living room, with Dipper and Mabel having their suitcase and backpacks in their hands, ready to go.
"Okay, looks like everyone is here," Mr. Pines spoke, as he sighed that this was happening.
"Wait, where's Joshua?" Mrs. Pines asked as he noticed Joshua is absent.
"Most likely still packing, I'll go get him," Mabel replied and left her luggage, walking upstairs to the guest room. Upon reaching the guest room, Mabel knocked on the door.
"Joshua, it's Mabel. Are you ready to go?" Mabel asked, but no reply from him.
Just then she noticed the door being slightly open and with curiosity got the better of her she opened the door expected to see Joshua sitting on his bed with his luggage ready, but instead found an completely empty room with the windows half way open.
"Joshua!" Mabel barged into room and look around until noticing a note laying on the bed. She picked up the note and slowly reads it:
"Dear the Pines Family,
I'm so sorry that my situation ended up escalated to a life threatening one that resulted endangered you all. You didn't deserved it; None of you deserved it… Now that the worst case scenario have become a reality, I have decided that I would take my leave and it is your best interest that you don't bother to find me. Thank you taking care of me up until then and I wish nothing but the best of you all."
Thank you for everything,
Sincerely, Joshua.
Upon reading the last bit of the letter, Mabel bolted out of the room and ran downstairs to inform her parents and her brother.
"Mom, Dad, Dipper! Joshua is gone!" Mabel shouted in panic.
Mrs. Pines eye widened. "W-what?!"
Mabel nodded. "He left a note!" She handed the note to her mother.
Mrs. Pines grabbed the note and starts reading it. After a few moments Mrs. Pines finished reading the letter and quickly got her keys and brown fur coat and made her way to the car in the garage.
"Honey, where are you going?!" Mr. Pines asked.
"Finding Joshua, he can't survive out being on the streets!" Mrs. Pines answered as she opened the garage door and started her car up."
"Let us go with you!" Dipper suggested only to be turn down by his mother.
"No, your father will take you two at the bus station. I'll be right back." Mrs. Pines replied. Both twins nodded as they watched their mother drive away.
"Come on, you two, get in the car." Mr. Pines somberly order the twins.
The twins complied to their father's demands and went back inside to gather their luggage, load them into the vehicle and got inside with their seat belts on. With everyone ready, Mr. Pines closed the garage door and drove away heading towards the bus station. As they head towards their destination Mabel gazed out the car window.
"I hope Joshua is okay…" Mabel muttered under her breath. She then felt Dipper's hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry, Joshua would come through in the end." Dipper whispered as he comforted his sister.
Mabel faced her brother and smiled. "Your right Dipper, thanks."
"Welcome Mabel." Dipper reassured his sister before gazing outside the car window looking at the passing traffic.
"I hope your okay Joshua," Dipper muttered.
In the outskirts of Piedmont, Joshua was walking among the small crowd, wanting to avoid being spotted by the Pines family, as well as keeping the trench coat figures in mind, no doubt that they would double their efforts to find him after failing their attempts to capture him twice.
Before long, he arrived at a nearby gas station and decided to stop there, seeing that there was a small McDonald's inside the gas station and he was starting to feel very thirsty again. Taking into account and it was very cloudy and looked like it was going to rain any second now the blonde teenager entered inside and made his way to the small fast food restaurant to find a seat to rest. After he set his luggage down he went up the counter and ordered a large drink and a caramel sundae since he had a sweet cravings he couldn't suppressed anymore. He paid the amount he needed to pay and went back to his seat to relax and think on what his next move.
First and foremost was that Joshua needed to find a nearby bus or train station that would take him out of the city, so he can disappear in the shadows. From there he'll call the RFPP and have them pick them up and take him to safety. Despite having a fairly solid plan, Joshua sighed sadly, as he knew that he would have to tell the agents that he was being in danger from only a mere week staying in the Pines residence, much to his dismay and embarrassment.
As he ate his sundae, the Pines family cross his mind; Mabel's optimistic and bubbly attitude, while did made him a bit uncomfortable, treated him with kindness, always being friendly and checking up on his well being making sure he was included in her and her brother's activities. His interaction Dipper had an awkward start at first, but their interests in books finally strike a bond between them and over the past week, he and Dipper would talk almost day and night of what kind of books they like to read and give out recommendations of different books series to check out. Mrs. Pines was arguably the best caretaker he ever had, always nurturing and accepting she made Joshua feel welcomed with open arms and made his stay feel like being at home, an ideal home feeling that Joshua never felt in a long time. Mr. Pines, despite not being on good terms to begin with, never held anything against him and wish him the best, now that Joshua himself is no longer staying with them and most likely think that with himself gone he'll be relieved and can finally have peace and quiet from the drama.
After finishing resting and enjoying his little dessert and beverage, Joshua gathered his luggage and head out before stopping in his tracks. He realized that he's still relatively new here and doesn't know where the nearest train or bus station was; luckily, his cellphone was an LG G4 that had a built-in map that provided and detected the surroundings roads and freeways every time he went, either another state or international and his map on his phone would always update and change to his current location.
Pressing the Google app, he studied the map layout and it gave him some nice information and even locate the nearest train and bus station. Unfortunately, despite getting the info he needs, Joshua was in for a rude awakening; The nearest train stop was located all the way back in the city and it was located several feet away from where the mall and restaurants were. Worse, the path that the map was informing he should take to get there is the path he just took walking a half hour to get to this gas station. So long story short that his he have to backtrack where we came from much to the blonde hair teenager's dismay.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" Joshua shouted in frustration, causing the cashier in the gas station to look at him.
After having to backtrack for another half hour to get to his destination Joshua finally arrived back at the area where the Pines Residence is. As much as he wanted to go back there, he pressed on as he recalled the possibility of them still looking for him. Plus, now that he's going back to where the trench coats figures last seen he will need to be careful and look over his shoulder. It wouldn't be easy since Joshua could feel his feet being sore from all that walking but he has to leave, for the Pines family to be safe again.
After walking for about another twenty minutes, Joshua arrived at the park. According to the Google map on his cellphone, he is only ten minutes away from from arrived his destination. Letting out a sigh of relief Joshua decided to take a small rest from all the walking he had to endure. He quickly spotted a nearby bench walked towards and sat down. As he relax his body on the bench he looked at the night sky; it was very clear barely any clouds spotting in the horizon and the stars were shining brightly giving it an overall beautiful sight for all to see.
"Man the sky is so beautiful it almost makes me forget all the stress I have inside myself," Joshua spoke with much softness in his tone. "I could stare at the night sky for the whole evening if I could."
"Then you should come with us if you want to have more peace and quiet." A familiar voice whispered in his ear causing Joshua to jump upward in shock and fell face first on the concrete sidewalk.
"OW!" Joshua groaned in pain from hitting his face on the ground before turning his head and faced his now former albeit short time caretaker. "Sigh, really Mrs. Pines? You had to creep up on me like that?"
A chuckling Mrs. Pines helped up Joshua. "Joshua, you didn't have to run off like that."
Joshua looked away as guilt began eating up. "I'm sorry Mrs. Pines, it's just I didn't want my presence to put your whole family in jeopardy as it already has."
"Joshua," Mrs. Pines started as she and Joshua sat down on the bench. "You're not the one who's at fault here; it's those strangers who's after you."
"I know, but still I should leave and find another place to stay." Joshua sulked. "All I need to do is call those agents again and they will take me to a another place far away and that should stop them."
Mrs. Pines nodded. "That's one way to solve your problem, but what if the trench coat figures becomes infuriated upon discovering that your gone? Based on what you have told me about the strangers thus far I could picture them getting frustrated and like any other person or animal who is filled with anger, they would become irrational likely would integrate all of us and even if any of us would be overall telling the truth they would mostly not believe us and worse case scenario, hurt or even kill us."
Joshua stared at his former caretaker. Despite his good intentions on leaving the Pines family, he never crossed the possibility of the strangers coming to the Pines residence and raided it. Given their motives in trying to capture him, Joshua slowly began to visualize and picture the trench cost figures bombarded Mr and Mrs. Pines with questions while Mabel and Dipper cowered in fear being held hostage. Knowing the ringleader has a taser and all made the blonde teenager theorized that the figures have other, far more lethal weapons up their disposal. Just getting the news of the Pines family getting hurt or even killed he would be devastated and wouldn't live with himself.
So after a long sigh and some thinking Joshua made his decision. "Okay, I'll go to Gravity Falls with Mabel and Dipper."
"Thank you!" Mrs. Pines smiled and embraced Joshua with a hug before getting up from her seat. "Come on, let's go Joshua. The twins are already at the bus station waiting."
"Okay." Joshua nodded, got up from his seat and followed his former caretaker with his luggage to the car.
After loading up the luggage Joshua entered the vehicle and Mrs. Pines drove away. As she drove towards the bus station Joshua began thinking on what's gonna happen now and still wonder if it was a good idea to still go with them.
'It doesn't matter now. I'm with Mrs. Pines now so there's no going back from this.'
After twenty minutes of driving Mrs. Pines and Joshua arrived at the bus station where they met Mr. Pines and the twins whom were sitting inside waiting for the bus.
"We're here!" Mrs. Pines announced as both she and Joshua entered the inside the building.
"Mom!" Both twins shouted as they ran and hugged their mom, before facing Joshua who had a somber and guilt look.
"Hey Joshua, glad you decided to join us," Mabel cheered her friend up as best she could.
"I'm sorry that I ran away like that." Joshua apologized. Dipper placed his hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry about it Joshua, we understand." Dipper reassure his new friend.
Joshua blinked before shaking his head clearly taken back from the twins understanding. "Thanks."
The trio then hear Mr. Pines clearing his throat, obviously trying to get his attention. The three teenagers turned around and faced him.
"I'm so sorry Mr. Pines," Joshua apologized. "For everything."
Mr. Pines looked at Joshua for a moment before shaking his head. "It's fine. Look, let's just try to put this whole incident aside and move on okay?"
Joshua didn't say anything and just nodded his head.
For the past half hour Joshua and the Pines family waited for the bus to be ready as the driver is taking a long break and rightfully so; the drive from Piedmont California to Gravity Falls Oregon by vehicle is roughly ten hours and thirty six minutes if Joshua didn't count rests or pit stops, but since most if not all bus traveling from state to state for hours on end would most likely stop for fuel and for the passengers to use the bathroom and what not, he estimated the time would be between ten to twelve hours at most to be at Gravity Falls.
Finally, the clerk from behind the desk turned on mic. "Bus four hundred and five bus four hundred and five, going from Piedmont California to Gravity Falls Oregon is ready to depart."
"Alright, that's us." Mrs. Pines spoke as she got up from her seat. "Come on let's go."
Mr. Pines along with Mabel, Dipper and Joshua got up from their seat and walked towards the bus each with their bags and luggage in hand. Upon arriving at their destined bus Mr and Mrs. Pines begin hugging the twins and saying their goodbyes.
"Bye Mabel, Bye Dipper," Mrs. Pines said as she began to tear up. "I'll miss you two."
"We'll miss you too, mom." Mabel replied.
"Now you two be careful, okay?" Mr. Pines asked in a slight worry tone.
"We will dad. Don't worry." Dipper reassured his father.
Joshua was sitting on on top of his suitcase watching the Pines family exchanging goodbyes and what not leaving him out in the cold. He isn't surprised by this at all as he still felt that it was Joshua himself is the cause of them leaving in the first place, plus he didn't felt the mood to interact with either Mr and Mrs. Pines out of guilt and shame.
"Joshua," Mrs. Pines called the blonde teenager as she walked towards him. "I wanted to say goodbye to you. Why are you down sweetie?"
"It's because I'm still feeling guilty about all of this." Joshua answered honestly.
Mrs. Pines hugged Joshua, much to his surprise. "Don't be, try letting go all of that negative feelings about yourself and try to be positive!"
"No offense Mrs. Pines, but how can I be positive about this?" Joshua objected.
"Well," Mrs. Pines began. "First off, you are going to Gravity Falls Oregon and from the twins perspective, it's a rather fun place, despite being a small and sleepy town and Mabel and Dipper have many friends living there, along with their great uncle. You would absolutely love it there!"
Joshua looked at his former caretaker. "Is that so?"
"Yeah, Stan doesn't mind another person to live under his roof." Mrs. Pines said in a confident tone.
"Well okay, I hope I can get along with their great uncle." Joshua hoped.
"I'm sure you'll get along just fine!" Mrs. Pines cooed.
Just then Joshua saw Mr. Pines heading towards him and he and Mrs. Pines of them disengaged from their hug.
"Yes, Mr. Pines?" Joshua spoke. "Is there something you wanted to say to me?" The blonde teenager expected another scowl from the father but instead he saw Mr. Pines shook his head and sigh.
"Yeah, just for your sake, my sake and everyone's wellbeing, please try not to cause much of a headache while you're at Gravity Falls…" Mr. Pines stressed.
Joshua quickly nodded before Mr. Pines continued on.
"I really mean it cause the LAST thing I want here great uncle Stan is that you causing much trouble and he just don't want you in his house anymore. If that happens then you will outta luck cause we can't get you given those strangers are still after you and likely after us so it wouldn't make sense to come get you and please just listen what great uncle Stan wants you to do and you'll be fine." Mr Pines stressed on the last part of his words, almost sounding he's pleading with Joshua.
"Seriously dad?" An irritated Dipper spoke at his dad.
"Come on dad!" Mabel complained. "Joshua wouldn't do that!"
"And dear, why are you addressing to Joshua like your still mad at him? We've been over this that Joshua isn't the one at fault here." Mrs. Pines joined in on the argument.
Mr. Pines realized that his entire family is against him and felt overwhelmed, seeing this made Joshua intervene on his behalf.
"Everyone, it's fine." Joshua managed to calm Mrs. Pines and the twins down much to the surprise of Mr. Pines. Afterwards the blonde teenager turned and faced Mr. Pines. "Don't worry Mr. Pines, I have no intentions of screwing things up at Gravity Falls."
Mr. Pines looked at Joshua and blinked for a bit taken back by Joshua's obedience. "Well okay, glad we can come with an agreement."
After Mrs. Pines and the twins glared at Mr. Pines for a moment or so Dipper, Mabel and Joshua got on the bus and set their luggage under their seats. The bus driver started the engine ready to take off.
"Bye mom and dad!" Both twins shouted as they waved at their parents as the bus took off on the open and begin heading towards their destination.
Mabel and Dipper sat onto their seats and relax as they look on at the night sky. Joshua, who was sitting across the twins was staring at his phone catering to himself. Noticing this, both twins went up to the blonde haired teenager.
"Hey Joshua!" Mabel spoke in her usual loud optimistic tone. "Are you excited going to Gravity Falls?"
"Okay, why would I be excited?" Joshua asked. "What good is there in such a small town like Gravity Falls?"
"Well…" Dipper started as he leaned closer towards his friend. "Believe it or not Gravity Falls is a place filled with strange creatures?"
Joshua raised his eyebrow in confusion. "Is that so? Like what?"
"There are so many that it's a bit overwhelming to name them all," Dipper bashfully scratched the back of his head. Mabel nodded her head.
"Yeah and plus, I want you be surprised of how awesome Gravity Falls truly can despite being a small town," Mabel stated.
"Well okay, I guess I am a bit excited now." Joshua admitted. "But seriously, I'm very sorry about me running and… well.. All of this have to happen really."
"Joshua, it's nothing to fuss over." Mabel smiled. "It's gonna be okay."
"You're sure?" Joshua asked as he stared at Mabel with uncertainty only to be playfully punched on his right shoulder by the brunette.
"Of course! We have tons of friends at Gravity Falls! I know you'll get along with almost everyone!"
Joshua slightly chuckled at his friend's enthusiasm and formed a small smile. After being too hard on himself all night long he finally eased himself and relaxed. Joshua glanced at his phone to see what time is was and to his surprise it is almost midnight. With each of the teenagers starting to feel sleepy the trio decided to go to bed with the twins falling asleep first in their wrong seats. Thankfully however, they were the only people on board so Mabel, Dipper and Joshua had the entire bus to themselves.
Joshua read an article on his phone before looking at the Pine twins who were sleeping together in each other arms and back to his phone before deciding to call it a night and put his phone into sleep mode. As he laid back and rested his head he glanced out the window and looked at the seamlessly clear night sky. It has been a long day and as much he want to go to sleep he's currently too preoccupied to rest as he begins to think what awaits him at Gravity Falls; the atmosphere, the residents and how he would fare well into another location that he completely new to him. Regardless of what he felt about the situation Joshua conclude that he will have to wait and see when he get's there as he no longer had the energy to keep his eyes open let alone think.
Letting out a long yawn Joshua laid his head on the window and fell asleep with the bus drove onward through the now large fields surrounding the long road ahead.
"ARGH! I can't believe we failed to capture him!" The ringleader groaned in frustration. "Twice!"
"Ahh! My beautiful face!" The second female figure moped as she touched her face which it had numerous shoe prints all over her face.
"OW… that was not pleasant at all…." The first male figure complained as he cater to his right arm which it was badly wounded.
"Ugh, looks like we have to go back to the drawing board," The second male figured sighed as he is sitting down on a nearby bench.
The trench coat figures were currently at sitting outside the mall in the shopping center where it is empty since it is closing hours after all.
"Come on, guys," The female ringleader sighed in defeat. "Let's head back and get some sleep."
Having little choice by now and completely exhausted from the tumultuous day they had the ringleader's henchman painfully got from their seat and followed their leader through town.
"We're gonna have to think of another plan., The second male figured spoke. "Cause from the looks of it earlier when we were at Chili's it appears to be the family that our target was staying and knowing them they would have already relocated him to another place far away from here."
"Your right," The female ringleader nodded. "As much I don't like to admit it as it would cause us to go back to square one in our search for him but that's a very likely result given what has transpired."
"What would we do?!" The first male figure asked clearly panicking.
"We're going to have to get some extra help." The female ringleader admitted.
The second male figure turn a bit pale. "Wait, you don't mean…"
"Yeah," The ringleader nodded her head. "We're going to have to call our master."
"Oh I was hoping we could have avoid this," The first male figure complained. "When our master hears how we failed to capture our target."
"Don't worry about it until that time comes," The female ringleader said sounding very irritated. "Right now let's just get back to the hotel and get some sleep."
"Agreed!" The female ringleader shouted followed by the two male figures nodded.
The group of figures disappeared into the night as a bright shooting star swiftly passed over Piedmont California.
And it's officially the last chapter would take place at the twins residence as the from here on out it's back at good old Gravity Falls!
Again very sorry for the long wait, life kinda got at me. Working two jobs isn't an easy feat in fact it gotten so bad that it resulting me working six days a week with barely any time for write let alone want time for myself doing other things. I ended being burned out by the work overload and I got the flu so that ended up writing near impossible.
But I'm back and I'm planning on forming a schedule so that can lessen the stress I have. But anyway, thank you for your understanding and I hope I can get done with future chapter a lot quicker this time around.
Until next time! Ciao!