Tales Of The Flame & The Ax: A Shooting Star Falls Story
Part Nineteen: The Secrets That We Keep
Mabel Pines found her crush standing near the fridge in the kitchen. "So… Your sis gonna be alright?" Shaun asked before taking yet another sip of his mixed drink. "Yeah… She hit her head pretty hard, but Trey promised to stay with her and make sure that she's alright…" the auburn haired girl replied. She was worried for the well-being of her sibling, but trusted Trey to let her know if things changed for the worse. "Yeah, I'm sure she'll be alright. Probably just trying to get his attention is all. You know how thirsty some girls can get" Shaun said as he handed Mabel red plastic cup that contained an unknown brew. "Excuse you?! Pacifica wouldn't just go and give herself a concussion in order to meet a guy… I mean, c'mon dude… Really?!" she replied in an irritated tone. "I-I… That's not what I meant at all!" Shaun stuttered as he tried to reign the young woman back in. "Well… It kinda came off that way" Mabel replied as she took a whiff of the drink he had offered her. "It's a rum and cola… Same as what I have. I-I'm sorry if I offended you…" the sandy haired boy interjected. Having figured out what he had made for her, she took a big swig of the mixed drink. "So, you wanna go find a place that's a little quieter?" Shaun asked the young woman. "I-I don- "the ginger girl began to reply before being cut off by her crush. "C'mon, Mabel… It'll be fun… I promise…" he said to the petite teenager as he grabbed her wrist and guided her hand to his washboard abs. She felt the intoxication of both the alcohol and raging hormones washing over her; absentmindedly nodding her head as she agreed to follow him down a hallway. Opening a white wooden door, the two found themselves in what appeared to be a guest bedroom. Mabel stumbled into it before she finally was able to catch herself against a wall as Shaun closed the door and the drone of the party faded away from both of them.
Ariel remained on the deck, where she slowly sipped on her drink. She didn't like the flavor, but felt obligated to consume it. "Go talk to a boy… Take some shots… C'mon, cut loose and act like a human for once in your life" the voice in her head told the white haired young woman. The fifteen year old still wondered where it had come from and why it was suggesting that she do things that were wildly out of character for her. Still, she enjoyed the opportunity to be her own person and relished the chance to be in control of her own destiny, even if it were only for a single night. She walked into the kitchen to find it full of teens that were all intoxicated to some extent. "HIM! KISS HIM NOW!" the voice commanded her. Almost as if her body were under someone else's control, her arms reached out to a slightly shorter boy and pulled him into a deep and passionate kiss. Ariel had no idea what she was doing, as she had never even held hands with a boy before, let alone French kissed one. At first he resisted, but soon accepted what was happening to him. The lip-lock seemed like it had lasted an eternity, but in reality lasted a few moments. Letting go of the random teenager, she took note of the dazed look on his face. She had rocked his world and the room full of high schoolers had watched it all go down. "WOO!" a girl exclaimed from the far side of the room. Ariel felt the world rush back to her and sprinted towards the restroom out of a mixture of both shock and embarrassment.
Slamming the wooden door shut, she dashed to the sink and grasped the marble countertop before gazing at herself in the large mirror that hung above it. Her cheeks had taken on a crimson hue as she felt the heat radiate off of them. Her heart felt as if it would leap out of her chest at any moment and her mind was awash in feelings she never knew she had. As much as she had felt embarrassed by the whole ordeal, part of her wished it had continued a little bit longer. "Well, that was fun, wasn't it?" the voice rhetorically asked the confused teen girl. "Yeah…" she admitted with a whimper; not quite sure of what was going on with her body at the present moment. "Who are you?! Why are you telling me to do all these crazy things?! Why me?!" Ariel asked in a desperate tone; although she felt that her query would likely go unanswered. "Am I going insane?" she asked aloud as tears began to fill her sapphire eyes. "Oh no, honey… You're perfectly sane. Well, maybe I should rephrase that… You're as sane as someone in your position could ever hope to be…" the voice replied. "Wait?! Y-You can hear me?!" the white haired girl exclaimed with shock, as she was certain that she was indeed losing her mental faculties. "Duh" it replied to her in a sarcastic tone. "I want to know why. Why me? Why now? Who are you?" Ariel said as she wiped the tears from her sapphire colored eyes. "All in due time... First though, I need you to do something for me…" the voice replied. "What? Go get blackout drunk and do God knows what with another boy?! What self-destructive thing are you going to make me do next?! Do I even have a choice in the matter?!" Ariel wondered aloud as she heard a knock on the door. "You okay in there?" a soft female voice asked with genuine concern. "Y-Yeah! Totally! Sorry! Be done in a sec!" the young woman replied. Turning on the faucet, Ariel cupped her hands and splashed her face with some cool water. "You sweet, sweet, innocent child. You have no idea, do you?" the voice added as it faded away. After drying her face, she opened the door and rejoined the party; a feeling of confusion consuming her as she wondered just what the voice had insinuated.
Grendy and Courtney had been dancing along to the music in the shallow end of the pool when a group of girls approached them. Courtney had been dreading this moment ever since she had been invited to the party, but knew it was going to happen eventually. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" a girl with dirty blonde hair asked as she waded over to the couple. "Ugh… Why now? Why tonight? I just wanted to have fun, damn it!" the ginger girl thought to herself as her former best friend continued. "So… Word on the street is that you two are a thing now…" the girl said as a look of shock came over Courtney's face. She wondered how they had found out, since the only people she had told were her cousins and close friends. She didn't know how to respond to the news that she had been outed. While she wasn't trying to hide her relationship with Grendy, she wanted to have some time to ease people into the idea of her being in a relationship with someone of the same sex; especially her parents, who she felt wouldn't take the news well. "Hannah, how did you know?" she replied in a soft tone. "The joys of living in a small town… Secrets don't stay secrets for very long…" Hannah replied as a sly smile formed on her face. "PLEASE… You HAVE to keep this to yourselves… I-If my parents find out, they'll throw me out on the street!" Courtney pleaded as the rest of the girls surrounded her and Grendy. "So… Which one do you figure is the man?" another girl chimed in. "I bet its 'Stretch' over there… After all, her parents are huge dykes…" Hannah said while pointing at Grendy. "We don't need to stand here and take this shit…" Courtney said as she took the hand of her crush and forced her way through the girls. Climbing out of the pool, the redhead thought that would be the end of it, but they were soon joined on the concrete deck that surrounded the pool. "Who the fuck do you think you are!? You can't just blow us off like that…" Hannah said furiously. Courtney continued to walk away before she felt a hand grab her shoulder, which spun her around. "Don't you turn your back on me when I'm talking to you!" Hannah shouted at the ginger teenager. Grendy saw her girlfriend ball up her fist and knew what was about to happen. No amount of pleading would change the mind of the fifteen year old. The Corduroy blood that pulsed through her veins had boiled over and the time for talking was over.
Courtney swung and hit Hannah right in the nose; knocking the girl out instantly. "K.O.!" a boy from the crowd shouted as the dirty blonde haired girl fell to the floor below. "Ugh! Shit!" Courtney groaned as she felt the pain radiate through the hand she had just struck the antagonistic teen with. "C'mon G, we're outta here!" the ginger girl said as she took the smaller digits of her crush and led her away. "You'll pay for this, Corduroy!" one of the girls screamed as the couple walked back towards the house. Once inside, she grabbed a dish towel and opened the freezer to retrieve some ice. Her swollen digits were coated in blood and a smile formed on her face. "OMG… Y-Your hand!" Grendy exclaimed as she caught sight of what was likely the broken hand of her girlfriend. "Yeah… I might feel that one in the morning…" the emerald eyed girl remarked in an indifferent tone as she grabbed a bottle of whiskey off the counter. She struggled to both keep the ice on her injured hand and remove the cap on the bottle. Grendy grabbed the glass container and screwed off the metal top before handing it back to Courtney. "Thanks, G… I'm sorry for what they said about you. You didn't deserve that. I can't believe I was ever friends with her or any of those douche canoes…" the young woman said while looking her girlfriend in the eyes. Putting the bottle up to her lips, she took a large swig of the amber liquor. "It's fine. Ignorant people tend to have nothing better to do than to pick on people they perceive as different or weak. It's a story as old as time unfortunately…" the gangly teen girl replied in a somewhat sullen tone. "How are you gonna explain this to your parents?" Grendy asked as Courtney handed her the bottle. "I'll just come up with some bullshit story about closing my hand in a door or something… I'm sure I can find someone to back up my story, right?" the teen said with a wink. "Don't worry… I got you, C…" Grendy reassured her before taking a swig of the whiskey herself.
Pacifica and Trey had been talking for the better part of an hour and a half as he tried to keep her awake. The two teens had really gotten to know one another and discussed everything from sports to their favorite movies. A knock on the bedroom door interrupted an intense debate as to which Star Battles move was the best. Pacifica was a fan of the original series of films, while Trey had liked the more recent ones. "I swear… If it's some more people trying to use this room to hook up…" the sandy haired boy remarked in an annoyed tone as he got up from his chair. Much to his relief, it was Courtney Corduroy and Grendy Grenderson, who he knew were friends with his crush. "H-Hey… W-We headin' out… You good to come back to Grendy's?" Courtney said as her speech had begun to slur from the alcohol she had consumed over the course of the evening. Pacifica noticed that her cousin's hand was wrapped up and wondered what kind of mess the young woman had gotten herself into this time. "I-I think so…" the silver and brown haired girl replied as she looked at Trey. "Try to stand up. If you can keep your balance, I'd say you're okay…" the teen boy advised her. She took her time getting up from the bed and slowly rose to her feet. The young woman was uneasy for a moment, but after taking a few steps, felt that she was alright to travel. "I'd still take it easy for the next few days. You're probably gonna feel like you got hit by a car in the morning, but that's pretty normal. Just avoid bright lights, loud noises and anything that can jostle your head around, okay?" Trey said as she shot her a smile. "Pacifica returned the grin and wrapped him up in a hug. "Thanks for taking care of me Trey. Greasy's can't come soon enough…" the fifteen year old said. "Definitely" he replied as he watched the trio exit the room. He couldn't believe how he had literally run into the girl that he held feelings for and how well he had gotten to know her. While he had wished it had happened another way, he was still glad that he had gone to the party.
"So… When's the wedding?" Courtney asked her relative in a playful manner. "W-Wedding?! W-We haven't even gone on a date yet!" Pacifica replied in a panicked tone. "Just kidding… Geez! But seriously… I totally caught this vibe going on between you two…" the auburn haired girl explained. "I felt it too! You guys seem perfect for each other!" Grendy chimed in. "Kay… So we just gotta grab Mabey-Baby and then we can go back to G's place" Courtney said as they made their way back downstairs. Walking through the house, the trio couldn't help but take in some of the drunken debauchery that was taking place. Mike, the superstar quarterback of the high school football team, was puking into a potted plant and Katie, a sophomore who played field hockey was knocking back shots like they were water. Making their way out to the deck, they spied Mabel, who was leaning over the wooden railing. "Hey Mabes… Ready to leave?" Pacifica asked her twin. "Yeah… Let's get the fuck outta here…" the usually cheery girl said in an agitated tone. "You alright there, cuz?" Courtney asked. "Everything's great" she snapped back. The trio of friends knew something was up, but decided that Mabel would fill them in when she was good and ready to. Until then, they would simply try to stay in her good graces. "So… Aren't your parents gonna wonder why we're coming home at such a late hour?" Pacifica asked Grendy. "Nah. Mom is in Vegas at a competition and Candy is in her lab, working on some important project for the government. She probably wouldn't have noticed if he hosted the party ourselves…" Grendy replied while her friends wondered where the animosity between she and her parent had come from. The girls were about halfway home when Mabel finally broke the silence of the night. "So, how'd you fuck up your hand?" the fifteen year old asked. It was extremely out of character for Mabel to curse, so it immediately piqued the interest of Pacifica, Courtney and Grendy. "You know Hannah?" she asked her cousin. Mabel nodded that she indeed did know the young woman. She and her group of friends had been the resident mean girls of Gravity Falls for the better part of their childhood. In fact, Hannah and Courtney had been as thick as thieves until Courtney began to change her ways. Perhaps that was why the dirty blonde haired girl had begun to pick on both her and Grendy. "Well… She and her group of bitches were trying to start shit with me. I really tried to be the bigger person and walk away, but she put her hands on me. Then, I broke her face… And possibly my hand" Courtney explained. "It's true… Hannah said that word was going around that we were dating…" Grendy added. "Speaking of which, I thought we decided to keep that between us" Grendy continued while giving Mabel and Pacifica a suspicious look. "Hey, don't look at me. I know how her folks are. My lips are sealed…" Pacifica said as she closed the imaginary zipper on her mouth. "I didn't say shit either…" Mabel grumbled as she looked at the ground and kicked a rock down the road with her tennis shoe. "Well, the only other person that knows is Mateo… Wait a minute… DAMN IT! It was him, wasn't it?!" Courtney said as it finally clicked in her head. The anger she had felt earlier was returning once more. "We'll have to talk to him about it tomorrow…" Grendy said in a serious tone as she put her hand on her girlfriend's shoulder in a feeble attempt to calm her down. "He better have one damn good explanation, or so help me God I'll break my other hand when I knock his fuckin' ass out!" the auburn haired fifteen year old remarked as she balled up her fists; the pain radiating from her right hand reminding her that it hadn't been the best idea to do so.
It was a little after one in the morning when the quartet of girls had arrived back at Grendy's house. Sure enough, it was almost as if nobody was home. The door to the basement was cracked open ever so slightly and a soft blue light emitted from it, as well as the voice of the petite Korean-American woman speaking in her native tongue. Grendy knew she only spoke Korean whenever she was angered, so she was fairly certain that the project wasn't going according to plan. They made their way up to the lanky fifteen year old girls' room and began to settle in for the evening. Pacifica was worried about how her sister had been acting on the walk home. Sure, she had been drinking, but they had done it a few times before and the auburn haired girl had never reacted to it in such a way. She knew that something was wrong, but didn't want to risk further irritating her sister. "You're sure that you're alright?" Courtney asked Pacifica as she was snapped away from her thoughts. "Y-Yeah… I feel a whole lot better than before" the sapphire and hazel eyed girl replied. "Good to hear, cuz…" Courtney replied before letting out a yawn. While the other girls quickly fell asleep, Mabel continued to stare at the ceiling of her good friend's room. For the fifteen year old girl, slumber would not come so easily. Not after what she had experienced at what was supposed to be nothing more than a fun summer party in Gravity Falls, Oregon.
Author's Note: So, I know my chapters are taking longer to come out, but I'm trying more of a quality over quantity approach. So, to address the elephant in the room, what do you think happened to Mabel? I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. Why does Grendy show a bit of animosity towards Candy? Will word of Courtney and Grendy's relationship make it back to Courtney's conservative family? If so, will they react as harshly as she anticipates? Will she get her broken hand checked out by a doctor? What will happen when she sees Mateo? Just what kind of fun did Dipper and Wendy get into with the house to themselves? Answers to all of these questions and more you didn't even know you had in the next installment of Tales Of The Flame & The Ax: A Shooting Star Falls Story. - iKLOT
My Playlist For This Chapter:
Camila Cabello – "Shameless"
Billie Eilish – "All The Good Girls Go To Hell" (This song made me think of Ariel)
Marshmello / Kane Brown – "One Right Thing"
Backstreet Boys – "Don't Go Breaking My Heart"
5 Seconds Of Summer – "Easier"
Delacey – "My Man"
Shura – "religion (u can lay your hands on me)"
PVRIS – "Hallucinations" (Made me think of what Ariel is going through with the voice in her head)
Young The Giant – "Heat Of The Summer" (If this were a TV show, I'd end the episode with this song)
The Official Shooting Star Falls AU Reading Order:
P1). Underage Discoveries On A Reckless Night: A Shooting Star Falls Prequel
1). A Shooting Star Falls
2). Echoes Of A Nearby Future: A Shooting Star Falls Story
3). Scarred Summer: A Shooting Star Falls Story
4). The Dark Days Of Candy Chiu: A Shooting Star Falls Story
5). Forever Memories: A Shooting Star Falls Story
6). Stable Times Or A Wild Ride?: A Shooting Star Falls Story
7). Grenda's Confession: A Shooting Star Falls Story
8). Birthday Weirdness In The Rose City: A Shooting Star Falls Story
9). The Gift Of Forever: A Shooting Star Falls Story
10). Life In Transit: A Shooting Star Falls Story
11). The Moment: A Shooting Star Falls Story
12). Tales Of The Flame & The Ax: A Shooting Star Falls Story