Not Exactly What They Seem

~~Chapter 5~~

"So, if you don't mind me asking, who were they and why were they beating you up?" I glance at Pacifica and hand her a small soda.

"Well, you see Ravan, they're the queen bees of the town. The small one was Candy, and the one beating Pacifica was Grenada. But they pale in comparison to their leader, Mabel." Gideon explains. "She's the one who hates us, and who orders the other two around. I guess you can consider them her henchmen." He shrugs, and I freeze.

"What's Mabel's last name..?" I ask hesitantly.

"Her last name is Pines! Mabel Pines." Pacifica exclaims. "She has a twin brother named Dipper, though I heard that isn't his real name." She lowers her voice at the last part, grinning slightly. "They live with their great uncle in the middle of the forest."

Gideon sighs and covers Pacifica's mouth. "Sorry. Pacifica used to be a major gossiper, and she's trying to get out of the habit." He yanks his hand away from her mouth and wipes it on his vest. "You bit me?!" He exclaims, and I laugh slightly.

"You guys don't have a thing against the Pines family, do you?" I ask, try to sound as casual as possible.

They both nod, to my dismay. "My dad used to run the original Mystery Shack, before the Pines moved here. But then Stanford swooped in and tricked him into signing the deed to the shack over to him. We lost our house and my dad's job." Pacifica sighs. "And then the twins came and started making our lives miserable."

"Oh, that's bad. Has your dad gotten a job?" I ask, and she nods. "That's good."

"So, Ravan, why did you move here? Gravity Falls really isn't that good a spot. There haven't been any new families since before I can remember." Gideon asks, as Pacifica runs over to a jewelry stand and starts messing around.

"Oh, my mom sent me here to live with some relatives for the summer. Things have been tight at home, and they offered." I shrug.

"What happened, if yo-" He suddenly stops, and I look at him, then gasp in suprise.

"Why is the world black and white? And frozen?" I ask, kinda freaking out. I look around, then a small sound comes from outside the window. I walk quickly over and look outside. Nothing in sight, but the sound grows louder. "Crying..?" I ask to myself, utterly confused. A bad feeling settles in my stomach, and I look around uneasily.

Muted yelling comes next, and the crying stops. Color starts to bleed back into the world, and I get back to my spot, standing next to Gideon. The color floods back, and everyone returns to their business.

"-u don't mind me asking." Gideon finishes his sentence.

"My dad got into an accident." I say quietly, and he reaches up and pats my shoulder.

"I'm sorry." I nod, then start walking towards Pacifica. Gideon follows, but trips on a random shoe that was left by someone. A dark red book slides out of his vest and hits the side of my foot. I reach down and pick it up. "What's this?"

"O-oh. Nothing!" He answers quickly. A bit too quickly. I narrow my eyes and open it up. "Woah! This is so cool!" I exclaim, smiling widely. I flip through the pages, skimming the entries. Gideon stands awkwardly in front of me, an uncomfortable look on his face.

I get to the end, and hand it back. "That's awesome! I love mythical and mysterious stuff. Did you write it?" He shakes his head, then sighs and starts to explain it.

*~*~*~[One long story later]~*~*~*

"And that's what's happened because of this book. You see why I don't really want people to know about this?" I nod, rather awestruck.

"So you and Pacifica survived a zombie attack? And gnomes?" I ask, and he nods. "Wooooow! That's awesome!" I exclaim, and he rubs his neck. "Don't deny it. All my life has been like so far is chores and studying. You got to train with Minotaurs!"

Pacifica jumps out of nowhere and glomps Gideon. "Hey, bro bro, it's time to go back home." She grins and gets off of him. "It was great to meet you Ravan! Thanks for helping us." They start heading outside, and I wave.

"Maybe I'll see you tomorrow?" I call out, and they nod.

"Definitely!" They yell back, then run out and down the street. I smile and drop my hand to my side. I walk outside, then head back to the Mystery Shack.

"Now to see why the world froze." I mutter.