CURRENT.ly - Mystery Kids AU

8 - This Is Awkward

What am I doing?

The thought had became permanent on his head, like an engraving on wood. Otherwisely, his mind was empty.
The town he had been eager to explore before seemed to pass by like a car trip, where nothing really was retained.

His hands were in his pockets, his legs moving on their own.

What am I DOING?

He should ask where they were going. He didn't.
Whatever was going to happen, he had entrusted the brunet with it.
Neither of them spoke, though Dipper would sometimes look to his side or over his shoulder and through the corner of his eyes to make sure the other hadn't fallen behind.

Norman held his phone tightly in his pocket out of nerves. He had pondered if he should tell his mom, but he staggered at the thought.
She would tell him to go home, wouldn't she? That this wasn't a very good idea.
He should go home.
Again, he didn't.

Looking back at his day so far, he had been stuck in a painfully boring museum, had watched a cabinet full of flies come alive, and had been jumped by an old man in a gift shop. If this turned out to be bad too, well, then he supposed it was fate.

He also supposed Dipper wasn't exactly a bad kind of stranger. He had helped him out the day before.
That had to count for something, right?

A choked up cough coming from his side had Norman slowing down a bit as they passed by an alley.
Looking at it, there was a sickly man in the ground, his face long, his skin a stranger shade. His bones seemed streched, somehow. Or maybe it was just the skin.

Norman swallowed at the sight and tore his attention from it. He picked up the pace, noticing that Dipper was already glancing again.

"What is it?" The boy asked this time, turning to face the dark haired kid.

Norman didn't look at him straight away. He scratched the side of his face, and answered cynically.
"It's nothing. I thought I saw something."

He should have been used to it by now. He did see them before too.
But new ghosts were harder to find back at his home town, and by then, he already knew them all. It was easy to turn a blind eye to the misfortune when he grew up with it always there.

And now, it seemed stupid that he hadn't stopped to ponder on what he could find at the new town.

They walked for a bit longer, until they were no longer in the middle of buildings, but once more near the edge of the forest. He hadn't realised how easy it was to cross the town from one side to the other.

His attention only returned once they were in front of a peculiar building - a log shapped diner, built on top of train rails. The parking lot in front of it was empty, but through it's square windows, Norman could spot a couple of people inside.

The brunet shared a look with Norman, reassuring him, his eyes twinkling in a way that left plenty of room for interpretation- like the one that, deep down, he also wasn't fully sure about the idea.
Norman didn't want to question him on it.

"Come on. It's warmer inside." He said, hurrying up the steps.
Doing a double take on wether or not he was really doing this, Norman followed suit.

Stepping inside, the world turned into something else.
The floor was made of wood, just like the walls, the windows, and the ceiling. The structure of the whole place was sturdy in a way that Norman hadn't expected.

Looking at his side, he saw a row of booths, separated by tables, encasing windows like paintings to the outside view. Light swooped in nicely from them.