A/N: Just another short chapter. Also, I am working on the other stories. Stop assuming I've abandoned them.
As the hours passed in the day, Maggie found herself feeling more and more calm. A tiny part of her was still tense about Zim, but not to the point that she wasn't enjoying being out with her best friend.
Now if only her friend wasn't such a celebrity.
Maggie watched with a small from her seat on a bench as Luan was surrounded by fans asking her to either sign autographs or tell a joke, which the funny Loud didn't mind at all.
"And I said, 'That's a great impression. Now watch me do an impression of someone who cares.'" Luan joked before making a bored look, causing the small crowd laugh while she took a bow. "Thank you, thank you. If you loved that, you'll love what I have in store at my show in a few days. Don't miss it!" she said before waving goodbye as the people dispersed, leaving her to join her friend. "Sorry about that."
"Stop saying that. I told you that I don't mind you stepping away to make people laugh." Maggie huffed as Luan sat next to her and drank some water from a bottle. "Besides, that last joke was a little funny."
"Only a little?" Luan asked with a smirk.
"You forget. I'm a tough audience." Maggie said, making them both chuckle as a little girl and her mother approached them.
"See, mommy? I told you it was her. It's really Luan Loud!" the little girl exclaimed as she pointed at Luan.
"I can see that." the mother said with a smile. "Hello. I'm sorry if we're bothering you, but my daughter and I are huge fans of yours."
"No worries. Luan Loud, ready to make 'em laugh!" Luan said with a smile. "Did you need something?"
"My daughter couldn't wait and was hoping for an autograph." the mother said while the daughter fidgeted in place, a photo of Luan in her hands.
"Sure thing." Luan said before she took the photo and signed it with a pen she had in her pocket. "Here you go." she said as she gave it back to the girl, making her squeal in delight and dance around with it.
"Thank you so much." the mother said with a smile.
"Of course. Don't forget to see my next show here in Gravity Falls!" Luan said with a grin.
"HEY! GIVE IT BACK!"
The mother, Luan and Maggie looked to see the little girl reaching for the autographed photo that was now in the hands of a stranger. He looked to be a middle-aged man with a comb over hairstyle and wearing a brown suit. He also had on black rimmed glasses and was smoking a cigarette.
"Oh no. Not him." Luan groaned.
"Hey!" the mother called as she approached the man with a frown. "That belongs to my little girl! Drop it before I drop you!" she warned before she started coughing when the man blew some smoke into her face.
"Donovan! Knock it off!" Luan yelled, earning the man's attention.
"You know that guy?" Maggie asked before they all saw the man take his cigarette and set the photo on fire with it, making the little girl cry.
"How many times do I have to tell you, Luan? No freebies." the man named Donovan said as he walked towards the two women, leaving the coughing mother to lead her crying daughter away.
"Ugh, not this again." Luan grumbled with a roll of her eyes. "It was one little autograph."
"According to the contract, any autographs you give out are five bucks a piece." the man stated as he flashed a contract in her face before putting it away. "And I didn't see that little brat give you one cent."
"That doesn't mean you had to take it and burn it. You made a little girl cry." Luan pointed out.
"And?" the man asked, making Luan growl before Maggie tapped her shoulder.
"Uh, Luan. Who is this guy?" Maggie asked, making the man look at her.
"The name's Donovan Dirk. I'm Miss Loud's manager." the man introduced. "And who are you supposed to be?"
"This is my best friend, Maggie." Luan answered. "She came with some of my sisters to this town to...see my show." Luan quickly said.
"Well they all have better have bought tickets. Otherwise, they don't get in." Donovan declared.
"Whatever." Luan huffed. "What are you even doing out here anyway?"
"I came because you're not practicing for the last show of your tour." he answered.
"I practiced enough and have the act down to a T. I don't need to practice anymore." Luan answered.
"Practice makes perfect. And when the show is perfect, the people love it more. And when they love it more, they buy more merch." Donovan explained with a smile. "But that can't happen if you don't practice. Now, when can I expect you at the Civic Center?"
"An hour before the show in a few days." Luan answered with a glare. "But until then, I'm going to enjoy my free time and hang with my friends and family." she declared, making him grunt in frustration.
"Very well. On your head be it if you flub up." Donovan said before turning and walking away, leaving the two women alone.
"Stupid douche." Luan cursed under her breath.
"You actually hired that guy as a manager?" Maggie asked.
"He wasn't like this when I signed the contract. He had a great nice guy act going." Luan answered. "Still, despite his attitude and greedy penny pinching, the man's an excellent manager. Got me a lot of good spots in a lot of great places."
"I don't think I could handle having a guy like that for a manager, no matter how good he is at his job." Maggie said.
"Well it's not like I'm not looking a new one." Luan said before placing his her finger to her lips. "Don't tell anyone I said that."
"My lips are sealed." Maggie said before making a zipping motion over her lips. Luan smiled before her phone went off. She checked her phone and saw a message was left, read it and put it away. "What was that?"
"Lynn sent me a text. Seems Gaz wants to have a meet and greet with some of the locals at the Mystery Shack at 7." Luan answered. "They want to know if we want to go."
"I...I don't know if I can." Maggie said as she looked at the ground. "If you-know-who is there, then I might freak out."
"You don't have to go if you don't want to." Luan stated.
"Will you be going?" Maggie asked with a concerned look.
"I won't deny that I'm curious. Plus, it would be nice to have a chat with some of my sisters after not seeing them for a while." Luan admitted with a small smile before gently gripping Maggie's shoulder. "If you don't want me to go, I won't."
"I won't stop you...but I don't want to be by myself." Maggie admitted.
"Hmm." Luan hummed before smiling. "How about we do this? We both go, but we have Zim stay away from you. And if you feel like you can't handle it, then we'll leave. Sound good?" Luan asked. Maggie looked up at Luan's smiling face before giving a weak smile back.
"Okay...I'll try." Maggie said with a nod. "And if it does go bad, I'll just wipe the memory away later."
"That's the spirit." Luan said as she helped Maggie off the bench. "We have some time before 7:00. Want to do a little more sightseeing before then?"
"Sure, but what else is there to see?" Maggie asked as they walked towards Luan's car.
"In a town that's supposed to be full of weird creatures and such, there's gotta be something out there." Luan answered as they drove off.
-10 minutes later-
"Not exactly weird, but I'll take it." Luan said as she and Maggie watched as a wrecking ball swung into the Northwest Mud flap factory. The sight caused the three men that were in a van parked next to them to cheer and hoot in enjoyment.
"You ladies having fun?" asked the brown skinned man with the small goatee.
"A little. Thanks for inviting us...Nate, right?" Maggie answered.
"Yep. And this is Lee and Thompson." Nate said as he reintroduced his friends. One had long blonde hair and the other was a little overweight.
"Hi." Thompson said with a wave.
"Sup." Lee said before the wrecking ball hit the factory again. "YEAH! SMASH IT ALL!"
"Speaking of smash." Nate said as he took a can from a cooler and opened it before drinking.
"Hey, toss me one!" said Lee. A moment later, a can was thrown into his waiting hand.
"None for me. I'm driving." Thompson declined.
"Suit yourself." Nate shrugged before holding one up towards Luan and Maggie. "You ladies want a cold one?"
"No thanks." Luan politely declined while Maggie shook her head no before looking back at the factory.
"So what's the story with this place? Why's it being torn down?" Maggie asked.
"The Mud flap factory was a factory owned by the head of the Northwest family, Preston Northwest. It was a source of income that added to their fortune before it was shut down months ago." Nate explained.
"Why was it shut down?" Luan asked.
"Lots of rumors about that one." Thompson answered. "Some say he lost it gambling, or a deal went bad."
"I still like the one that flies around the most. How it was shut down since he couldn't pay off someone to not report all the toxic runoff the factory was pouring into the river." Lee said with a chuckle.
"Toxic runoff?" Luan asked in surprise.
"Yeah. Made it so that anything that drank the water mutated in some way." Lee answered before grinning. "We even dared Thompson here to drink some a few years back."
"You're kidding." Maggie said with wide eyes. "Did you do it?"
"I would've, but I chickened out after I saw a little duckling drink some." Thompson admitted.
"I'm gonna regret asking, but...how bad?" Luan asked.
"See for yourself." Nate said as he pointed up into the sky. The others all did as well to see a duck with three heads and four wings flying through the air, fire spewing from it's three bills.
"We call him Cerberus. Awesome, isn't he?" Lee asked the two astonished women. "Uhh, you okay?"
"I'm okay. Just flashing back to Lisa's experiments with lab mice." Luan said, her eyes still on Cerberus.
"I think I'll take that beer now." Maggie said while holding her hand out. The moment she got the can, she chugged it before asking for another.