Pacifica apologized multiple times for getting angry and not listening to them. Then Gideon and Kathy apologized for tricking Pacifica and for not telling her sooner. Eventually, they stopped apologized for everything, and tried to move on with their lives. However, after a few days of being friends again, they realized it was not going to be easy.
Things with the trio were still very delicate and they knew it. So they began to walk around eggshells with each other and tried to avoid conflicts as much as possible. Which wasn't easy, especially for Kathy, who was known for having some pretty strong opinions. Opinions that were very different from Gideon or Pacifica's.
Now whenever they said something Kathy didn't agree with, she would open her mouth to argue. Then she'd remember who she was talking to and promptly closed her mouth.
Although that didn't mean that she was hiding her true feelings. Every time she had to hold her tongue she got this look on her face like she was constipated or in pain. It was not a sight that Gideon or Pacifica enjoyed.
They hoped that whatever was going on with them was just a phase and that they would grow out of it. However, this phase had been going for almost a month. They feared that they would forever stay in this state and have to walk on eggshells for the rest of their lives.
That is until Kathy had enough.
It was a day like any other. Gideon woke up dreading the day, Pacifica had high hopes for something different, and Kathy looked all sorts of uncomfortable. They went to breakfast and class that morning like they had every day before. Everything seemed as normal as could be.
Then, for no apparent reason, Kathy stood up during lunch and grabbed her friends. Unfortunately, she had grabbed them by the hood of their robes so, as a result, she choked them a little. Thankfully, she loosened her grip and started walking very slowly. This gave them a chance to compose themselves and straighten themselves out. Now instead of being dragged by Kathy, they walked alongside her. Yet she still clutched their hoods as if they were going to make a run for it. Gideon didn't know why she thought they would do anything like that. They were friends and had no reason to run from her. Besides, she knew Hogwarts pretty well. Even if they did run she would find them no matter where they hid.
So running was pointless.
Gideon didn't know how long they walked and he didn't pay attention to their surroundings. He was lost in his thoughts trying to figure out what was going on that he didn't even notice that they stopped. He didn't even realize that Kathy and Pacifica were staring at him until one of them cleared their throat. It was Pacifica.
He wondered why they were looking at him with such expectant faces. Then he figured it out. Kathy had just asked him a question and he was too caught up with his thoughts to even hear or answer.
So he gave Kathy an apologetic look and said, "Sorry I was thinking a little too hard."
Kathy nodded, understanding. "Well, at least you're not dead. For a second there I thought we were going to have to rush you to the Hospital Wing. It would have given me the perfect excuse to act like a soap actress. You know, crying and talking about how it should have been me? That kinda stuff."
Pacifica raised her eyebrows. "I hope you would act that way whether you had the opportunity or not. I mean, our good friend is over there with his life in the balance. If you didn't start talking about how it should have been you or crying furiously I'd be a little concerned."
Kathy playfully glared at her. "Yes, of course, I would. I'm not soulless. Besides, I think I would be too worried to even think about it. I'd probably just act as a soap actress because that's what my natural response would be."
Gideon smirked. "I don't doubt it would. After all, you are a bit of a drama queen. No offense." He added quickly, hoping he didn't offend her.
Kathy gave him a reassuring smile. "None taken."
For once in a long time, the tension between the trio became nonexistent. They felt comfortable saying whatever they wanted even if it caused an argument. It was just like old times
Then they remembered how their friendship almost ended not too long ago. And they didn't want that to happen again.
So, as soon as it disappeared, the tension returned, stronger than ever. The trio could feel the change in the atmosphere as soon as it happened. It made them sad to see how bad things got.
But Kathy had enough of it. Instead of moping around hoping for things to change, she would be the change. She didn't know if it would work or not, but she had to try. She couldn't keep living like this.
"Guys we need to talk." She said.
Gideon shifted uncomfortably. "We are talking."
Kathy glared. "I mean about the elephant in the room. You know, the one that's been making us walk on eggshells around each other? Sound familiar?"
Pacifica crossed her arms and avoided looking at her. "I guess."
Kathy's glared grew angrier. "You guess."
Gideon sighed. "Ok, ok. We know, but are you sure you want to open that can of worms?"
"We don't have much of a choice now do we?" Kathy gave them an apologetic look.
Pacifica and Gideon sighed simultaneously. They knew she was right. Yet they could help thinking the worst was to come.
"Ok, where do you want to start?" Gideon asked.
Kathy, now more confident, stood taller. "I guess we should start from the beginning. Ever since we became friends again things haven't been like they were before."
"Well, can you blame us? That was the first obstacle in our friendship and we almost didn't survive." Gideon said.
Pacifica flinched as if she had been struck across the face. She knew Gideon didn't mean to but she felt he was a little too blunt.
Kathy however stayed calm and stoic. "Yes, it was. And we need to talk about it. If we want to be friends and stay friends we're going to need to be better. We can't just stop being friends every time there's a bump in the road."
Gideon coughed. "I'm sorry, I must she misheard you. For a second there I thought you just called the incident a bump in the road."
Kathy rolled her eyes. "Because that's all it was. A little bump in the road."
Pacifica scoffed and spoke up. "Yeah, if you mean little like huge or gigantic. We had a fight that almost finished us off."
"Oh, c'mon you're making it sound like this fight was going to kill us."
"Maybe not, but it almost ended us and our friendship. Is it our fault that we're trying to be more careful?"
Kathy crossed her arms and leaned on a desk. "I'm not saying we shouldn't be more careful. I'm just saying we shouldn't have to hide or change who we are just to avoid conflict. That's not how real friends act."
"Please! The only reason you're even talking about this is that you miss expressing your opinions!"
The words flew out of Pacifica's mouth before she even knew what she was saying. As a result, Gideon gave her a look of surprise. Even she looked a little shocked herself. Not too long after, the shock turned into fear and regret. She thought that this wasn't going to help their situation or end well. She expected Kathy to yell at her right there and then.
Instead, Kathy just sighed and said, "I'll admit that's part of the reason. But, I do believe that's not a good basis for a good friendship. Or relationship for that matter."
Pacifica and Gideon both looked at her dumbfounded. They couldn't believe that she admitted it. They knew that what Pacifica said was true but they never actually expected Kathy to admit it.
Kathy saw these looks on her friends and squinted her eyes at them.
"You're still getting over the fact that I said you were right aren't you?"
Pagoda and Gideon, unable to speak, nodded.
"I don't know why you're so surprised. Has no one ever told you that you were right before?"
Gideon was the first to snap out of his trance-like state.
"Yeah, they have," he said, "but it's completely different when it's you. I mean, have you openly admitted that we were right before?"
Kathy took the time to think about it. It wasn't until that moment that she realized she hadn't which made her guilty. Rather than tell them flat out that they were right, she simply alluded to it. It made her feel like an even worse friend than she already was.
"I'm sorry." She said. "I guess, I never really do tell you that you're right, do I?"
They nodded and Kathy threw them a small apologetic smile.
"Well, I'll try to work on that. However, that's not why we're here." She turned serious again. "We need to figure out a way to be ourselves and still be friends. Or else what are we doing?"
Gideon and Pacifica both agreed with Kathy. This wasn't friendship as far as they were concerned. Friends didn't worry about hurting each other's feelings and starting arguments.
"Ok, so you got any ideas?" Pacifica asked.
Kathy smirked. "A few." Then she pulled out a piece of paper that was almost two feet long.
Gideon gave her a look. "A few?" He said doubtingly.
Kathy gave him a sheepish grin and pulled out her reading glasses. "First suggestion is to be sensitive about other people's current situation."
Gideon turned his attention to Pacifica. "Gee, I wonder what inspired that." He said sarcastically. Pacifica rolled her eyes.
"Yeah sure, you do. By the way, " her expression softened into one of regret and apology. "I'm sorry about all the things I said before. Again."
Kathy shook her head. "That was the fiftieth time you've apologized. Like I said before I forgive you, but don't do that again."
Pacifica nodded.
"Moving on, whenever someone says something that bothers you, you talk to the person."
Gideon smiled. "Seems simple enough."
Kathy snorted. "You'd think, wouldn't you. Yet it's surprising how many marriages end because the people aren't communicating. So remember, communication is important."
The list went on for a while but not as long as they thought it would. The paper was very misleading. There were only five or so ideas Kathy had written down. And after talking about them the trio figured out the ins and outs of every rule. They began to understand that they had to set boundaries and, as long as they followed them, they would be fine. After everything was said and done Kathy packed up the list. Everyone began to make their way out of the abandoned classroom.
"Do you think that we're the only eleven-year-olds who are taking the time to set boundaries? Or is this just a normal pastime that's not normalized?"
Kathy and Pacifica looked thoughtful at the question. A couple of seconds later Pacifica answered.
"We probably are. I mean it could be a normal pastime that no one knows about. But who knows? It's not like we're going to go around the world and ask every kid, 'hey do you do this?' That would be insane."
Kathy laughed. "Definitely. Besides, who cares? You two should have known that you weren't in for a normal friendship when you met me!"
Pacifica chuckled. "Oh, we knew. How could we not? You told us about how easy it was for people to not notice anything weird and that's why the entrance was in Kings Cross."
"I'll never forget how freaked out I felt when you told us how easy it was to kidnap something in a crowd. I'm not going to lie, at first I thought you were a kidnapper." Gideon said.
Kathy smiled. "Nah, just a sociopath or psychopath of some kind. Probably the ones who aren't dangerous, just creepy."
Gideon let out a snort that turned into a laughing fit. Soon Kathy and Pacifica joined him.
For the first time in a while, the friends thought everything was going to be ok.
That didn't last long.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Things had finally gone back to normal. Or at least normal as things got when you were a descendant of Morgan Le Fay, the current owner of the third book of Merlin, and the people that a pair of twins hated (and also had a crush on). However, they didn't mind it at all. They had long accepted that this was their new normal. And, as Kathy once pointed out, there wasn't such a thing as normal.
It didn't matter. All that mattered was that the trio were all finally happy and healthy and nothing was going to change that.
Or so they thought.
One day, when they were walking together to the class they shared, they bumped into their least favorite people. The Gleeful twins. As a result, the twins stopped walking and turned around to look at them. The trio already knew exactly what was going to happen before it happened. So when the twins began to shoot insult after insult at them, they didn't even flinch. They didn't even stop walking. They continued with their lives as nothing happened.
To any outsider or really anyone who didn't know the twins, it would have seemed like the trio was being very rude. Why didn't they bother to apologize?
However, anyone who had seen this before knew that apologizing did nothing. It didn't matter if the friends gave the twins all the riches in the world. It didn't matter if the school was destroyed by a meteor. The twins would keep on yelling at the group and there was nothing anyone could do about it.
Gideon, Kathy, and Pacifica were at the door of the classroom when Dipper said something that made them freeze.
"You know it's no wonder you've got the third-rate journal! I mean, that has to be the worst journal of them all! Or else how else could someone as dumb as you have found it? I mean Rollins didn't even have to find her journal! Her rotten ancestor stole it! Oh, is that how you got it? Rollins stole it for you?! Tell me, are sticky fingers genetic, or it is taught to generation after generation?"
The friends turned around so fast that anyone passing by could've sworn that they got whiplash. Even if they did, they wouldn't notice as they were too caught up on what Dipper just said. While he hadn't said it directly he had just heavily implied that he had the second journal. The one that Kathy said was lost. One of the Journals of Merlin was the in hands of their worst enemies.
They were so focused on that one part that they didn't even notice Dipper called Kathy a thief.
Mabel, as Pacifica noticed, didn't look too happy. She looked downright furious, but not at her friends, Pacifica noted with surprise. Mabel was glaring at Dipper.
Before anyone could question, this Mabel grabbed her brother's arm and steered him away.
The trio still stood there frozen in shock. They probably would have stayed there if their teacher hadn't called to them, telling them they were going to be late. They quickly rushed to their desks and tried to put the whole thing out of their mind. They were unsuccessful.
Gideon and Pacifica turned to look at Kathy who looked up when she felt their stares. With one look she told them Later and that satisfied them enough to turn back to their studies. However, no matter how hard they tried they could stop thinking about Dipper's words.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When the school day finally ended and they were done with their schoolwork they met in the room of requirement. This time it had become similar to the common rooms in their dormitories. There was a fireplace with a big fire blazing, a big long soft couch, and other seating. It would have been nice if they were so stressed.
Without looking much at their surroundings, they sat on the couch. They all looked at each other and seemed to be waiting for someone to start. They didn't want to talk about what happened, but they knew they had to. They would have stayed there all night if Pacifica hadn't spoken first.
"What was Dipper talking about today?" She asked softly.
Kathy sighed. "I think you know Paz. I think we all know."
Gideon nodded. "The journals of Merlin. He knows we have one."
"And even worse he has one too. The second journal, the one that was lost to history. Or so we thought." Kathy said bitterly.
"But how did he get one and why did he call Morgan Le Fay a thief?" Gideon asked.
"No offense Gideon, but I think we've got some more pressing problems. I mean, these are great questions and all but we don't have the time to answer them. Dipper and Mabel know that Kathy and you have the other two journals. Remember, you're in danger. Who knows what they'll do just to get their hands on those journals." Pacifica stated, worried.
"How do we know that they even want the journals?" Gideon questioned, feebly.
"The Gleeful family is obsessed with power. If someone got possession of the three journals of Merlin, they'd be the most powerful witch or wizard in the world. And do you not remember what Linus told us. These journals will attract witches and wizards from all over seeking their power. Of course, the twins will want these journals." Kathy deadpanned.
"Oh man, we are so screwed!" Gideon cried, hanging his head in defeat.
Pacifica smiled a secret little smile. "Not quite."
Kathy gave her an incredulous look. "Please take no offense to this Pacifica, but what the heck are you talking about?"
Pacifica grinned even bigger. "Don't you see? We have the upper hand. We know that they know. That means we can prepare and keep the journal away from them. Kathy," she turned to the girl. "Where is the first journal?"
Kathy, glad to have some good news, happily answered. "At my house with my parents being unknowingly guarded by Aurors. In other words, safe."
Pacifica nodded. "Good." She turned to Gideon. "That means all we have to do is keep your journal away from the twins. Do you guys have any idea where we could hide it?"
They all thought for a while and then Kathy snapped her fingers. "The room of requirement!"
They stared at her. "Really? You mean, the room we're in right now? Where there aren't many places to hide a journal?" Pacifica asked.
Kathy rolled her eyes. "No, not this room. If we need a place to hide something, the room of requirement can provide it."
"Like the room with the piles of different objects!" Gideon cried. "It'd be pretty hard to find a journal in a place like that!"
"Exactly!" Kathy smiled.
Pacific grinned. "This could work!"
They left that room feeling better than they had before. Things were looking up for them. There was absolutely no way anything could go wrong.
Then things went wrong because of course, they did. What else did you expect?