Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls
Gala groaned. It was a bad combination, wanting to explore the woods but being an out-of-towner .
The woods had started to look the same, and she feared she was going in circles .
Great.
Pacific had been busy, leaving her with nothing but the journal to guide her .
She wasn't even sure if she could backtrack her steps by now .
" Gala Pines. Fancy meeting you -"
Gal squealed and began to beat the figure with her rather heavy backpack.
It took her several seconds to realize that the figure crouched on the ground, arms over head , was (surprise!) Abel Gleeful.
She was hesitant to stop beating him but eventually did .
" W-what are you doing here ?"
" Boy . " He got up and began to brush himself off . "You have quite the arm ."
" You were stalking me , weren't you ?"
He was about to reply that , no , of course he wasn't. That he was simply following her so he could approach her without her nanny Northwest.
Oh. He was stalking her , just like his creep of a sister. He had stooped that low .
" Merely taking advantage of Gravity Fall's attractiveness to the supernatural. You?"
That was a lie , one she didn't seem to believe .Dipper had dragged him around Gravity Falls in pursuit of supernatural discovery and whatever else the journal contained for years . Abel personally preferred more entertaining activities , like shopping or sharpening knives .
But here he can make an exception.
Gala still shakily held her backpack, ready to attack at any moment.
Abel was personally offended. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her ,no matter how much she frustrated him .
" You still didn't answer . If you don't mind me pointing this out , it seems that you're lost ."
" I'm not-"
" Gal , it's really not safe to wander these woods alone ."
" If you think you're going to stop me f-from exploring just to protect me -"
" I'm not saying that. It would be a shame to cage such an adventurous spirit ." He winked . " But what I said was true. Wandering in these woods alone can be suicide . Fortunately , I've walked these woods and encountered the supernatural multiple times . I want to come with you ."
She took a step back . Sure , right now he seemed to be a reasonable ,but several rumors surrounded him , ranging from being a player to a psychotic serial killer with supernatural powers.
" Just in case you didn't realize, I'm the only one who can lead you through and out these woods." He smirked slightly. While he would be far nicer to her than every other love interest of the day , that certainly didn't mean he would be any less cunning. That was a gift he wasn't going to waste.
She opened her mouth to argue but came up with nothing.
" I-if you pull something-"
" I won't ! " He rolled his eyes. " What are we looking for anyways?"
She hesitantly pulled out Journal Three , flipping the page to an illustration of a winged creature .
Half the time Pacific chose what they would investigate, and he wouldn't go after something like this.
" There's a couple of pages on fairies and fae in here . Pacific never would come with me . " She rubbed the back of her neck .
" Dipper never mentioned anything like this ." He inspected the page , noticing a series of scribbled warnings .
" Should we be concerned about this ?'
" They're just fairies . Besides , you promised."
He squinted harder , failing to make out the smaller print .
Fortunately for Gal , he wasn't a worrier .
" Come on then! We need to head East . " He grabbed her hand , forcing her to move quickly to keep up .
The sections of the woods they were entering was home to the gnomes , unicorns , the like . A good place if you wanted information, but dangerous if you weren't careful.
The silence grew awkward , especially after they began to walk at a normal pace .
" So why fairies ?"
He knew he asked the right question when she began to babble on about how cool and beautiful they were.
Her entire face had lit up and her eyes sparkled , just like when she saw their show .
He only half-listened , instead just watching her , a soft smile on his face . It was a shame she usually was only this bubbly when she wasn't with him . He had watched her before , noticing the contrast between her behavior around her friends and family compared to him . His smile weakened.
" According to the journal , it's this way ."
Abel snapped back into reality. It appeared they were walking towards the heart of the woods , a place that shouldn't be taken lightly. Harmless creatures definitely wouldn't be in that part of the forest.
Gal plunged forward . Abel weighed his options, should he keep his promise or possibly save themselves ?
He caught sight of her beaming face .
Risk our lives it is .
He made sure to keep close to Gal , going so far to cling on to her vest .
" Are you sure you want to go on ?"
The woods had only grown darker, and Abel could swear someone was watching them .
Gala looked up to him with concern.
" Are you... scared?"
Abel's eyes widened . Did she think he was trying to leave because he was ...scared ?
" Relax . It just feels scary . I felt the same way before Pacific calmed me down. "
Abel's dumbstruck expression didn't change.
Gal interpreted it as him still being uneasy.
" Everything's going to be fine. Umm… " Not knowing what else to do , Gal intertwined her fingers in his .
" It's okay , we're almost there. Look !"
She pointed towards the entry of a clearing . She began to drag him forward.
Say something you idiot !
He inwardly screamed at himself. They were going even deeper into the woods, yet all he could focus on was his hand in hers .
She obliviously bounced closer .
" Look , it's beautiful!"
Abel was temporarily blinded by the sunlight before he could make out his surroundings.
It was beautiful.
The figures appeared to be colorful auras at first glance, but upon closer inspection Abel saw tiny humanoid figures in dainty outfits. Tiny tinkling voices uttered musical nothings into the air .
The mesmerized couple stumbled to a log in the center of the the clearing . Abel barely even registered that they were still holding hands.
The glowing creatures glided through the air with grace , completely hypnotizing the two .
They didn't realize how long they had stayed until Gal began to shiver due to the sun lowering below the tree line .
They were both broken out of their trance .
" You okay ?" Abel eyed her it concern . " Fine ." The shivering girl withdrew her hand from his to remove her red hair band from her ponytail.
Abel froze at the sight of her hair down . He had the sudden urge to swing her in circles and gush about how cute she was .
He might have , if they hadn't both realized that the fairies had stopped floating without purpose and were glaring at the two of them .
Abel had to give her credit, Gal didn't freeze or panic . Without making sudden movements, she opened the journal to the dog eared page .
The fairies began to buzz and swarm closer .
" Abel!" Gal hissed . " Does your hair piece contain silver ?"
He gulped . " It does ." It was at moments like this that he envied his sister's powers .
" It says here that silver can be used to repel fairies ."
" What about you ?" He whispered.
" I don't know -"
Suddenly, a swarm of fairies dive-bombed for Gal .
Without thinking, Abel dove on top of her , effectively shielding her .
The fairies didn't come any closer , but they still circled them angrily.
" As much as I'm enjoying this , I really think we need to leave ." Abel's body was completely covering hers , so reading the journal was difficult.
" Hang on - it says here the Author was listening to " The Cool Guy's Guide to Getting Girls and other Social Rituals " on a walkman -"
" Paraphrase Gal !"
" All right! They discovered modern technology makes fairies extremely nauseated !"
Abel had to shift his body so Gal could grab the flip phone out of her short's pocket ( they could be flustered later ).
Not knowing what else to do , she began to play her ringtone, the main theme from Believe in yourself .
Within seconds, the fairies were on the ground, writhing in pain .
Seeing it as their chance , Abel rose , picking Gal off of the ground .
They sprinted away , Shimmery Twinkleheart's deep voice singing the optimistic lyrics all the way like a battle anthem .
Unfortunately, Gala's stout body wasn't built for endurance and she began to fall behind .
Abel stifled a groan before sweeping her off her feet bridal style.
The fairies had collected themselves and were now getting nearer , half of them bumping into trees in their daze .
Now that Abel was carrying Gal , his pace slowed . The glowing mob was just a few yards away by now , and they were growing nearer .
In one last desperate attempt, Gal turned up the volume and hurled her bubblegum pop playing phone at the droning monstrosities .
The baritone voice drowned out the world around the fae , causing them to collapse in an overstimulated heap .
Abel's breathing was beyond ragged by the time they left the deep part of the forest .
Once he deemed him themselves safe , he gently placed Gal down and collapsed in exhaustion . Gal stood by him , overcome with guilt . " Uhh...thanks . That was very brave ." She squatted beside him , patting his back awkwardly .
She really hoped he wouldn't die .
Abel's desperate breathing stopped for a moment , almost causing Gal to stop breathing herself . Then he burst out laughing . " Did you realize what we just did ?" He slammed his fist on the ground . " Your ringtone a-and -" He broke out laughing again .
Gal recalled the last few minutes of their lives . A snort broke out , then full blown laughter .
Then they remembered some of the other things they did .
Their laughter died down and awkwardness lay heavy in the air again .
Then Abel did what he should have done sooner .
" You look cold . Take my jacket ."
Gal uncrossed her arms to wave him off . " No thanks , I'm fine-"
His powder blue jacket landed on her head .
" You were pretty brave too . Now come on , it's going to get dark soon ."
Her wide icy blue eyes looked up from under his jacket , a grin spreading on her face to match his . They laughed together and began to walk home , leaving the swaying fir-trees behind .
" Gala , what the -"
Gala quickly tore off the jacket and discarded it on the Mystery Shack's front porch . " Pacific , I can explain !"
.
Abel tore towards his room , calling for Will to get some bandages for his multiple scratches and ignoring Dipper's questions . He dialed his phone at lightning speed . " Grendo , Candy , I can't wait to explain !
AN: Hey , bonding and actual action ! I used the original , non-Disney version of fairies, AKA absolute jerks . If you wear red , they can't sense you , though I'm not sure if it applies if you're holding the hand of the wearer.
The reason Gal had a flip phone is because Pacific and Gal keep the flip phone on hand when exploring the woods , especially when they go alone . Pacific pretended to hate Gal's choice of ringtone , but that movie is his secret guilty pleasure.
I struggled with this chapter at first , but writing about Shimmery Twinkleheart was the most fun writing experience I've ever had . I still have several chapters prepared and even more ideas ! Feedback is appreciated , and thanks for the support !