I don't own the fanart in any way.
"Look, Mabel...I'm sorry that I yelled and called you weird, and your friends too. I was just angry at the whole Pacifica thing. I hope you find it in yourself to forgive me."
Mabel shook her head.
" Nope, still not good enough."
Dipper sighed.
"Oh Mabel, queen of the awesome unicorn lands and alfa twin, I seriously hope that you find forgiveness in your humble heart to pardon your silly brother, that is a nerd, and that is also getting really tired of coming up with another apology speech for the twelveth time."
Mabel seemed to ponder for a while, as she stood sitting on her bed, both her legs and arms crossed to show her previous annoyance for Dipper's behaviour.
We were hopping she would accept the apolagy. But then, our hopes sank faster than a rock in a well.
"Still seems forced to me."
Dipper, who sat on his bed, me sitting besides him, groaned, and let himself fall backwards on the soft covers.
"Of course it will sound forced! I already apologized, what else do you want?"
Mabel smirked, and then looked at the girls sitting besides her in her bed.
"Girls, what should we do?"
Their smiles seemed malevolent in our eyes.
"Dipper Pines: you are now condemned to play whatever game Mabel sees fit, for you have upset her and her friends. Does anybody have anything to protest?" Candy proclaimed.
Dipper's face fell.
"Oh god, yes I do!"
"Sh! You are the subject in question, you do not have a say in this!" Grenda shushed.
"Well...it is decided. Unless...Norman?" Candy looked at me.
I looked at Dipper, his eyes pleading for me to do something about it.
I smirked playfully.
"You did call me weird."
Dipper opened his mouth in surprise.
"What! I already apolagized for that!"
I kept my smug look on.
"Alright." I said, still looking at Dipper, and then turning to them. "We can play whatever you want, as long as it isn't a girly game."
They gasped.
"Spin the bottle?!" Candy covered her mouth.
"7 minutes in heaven!" Grenda brought her hands to her cheeks.
"Truth or dare?" Mabel went stiff.
"No. You cannot play any of those. Maybe truth or dare, but only if you don't make it too uncomfortable." I responded, looking at them with a serious look.
"Pfffff, why do boys think romance is uncomfortable?" Mabel asked her girlfriends, nudging Grenda with her elbow and making them both giggle.
Dipper rolled his eyes, and I chose to not say or do anything about it.
"Well...then how about...Hide and Seek?" Mabel suggested, her eyes sparkling.
I looked over at Dipper, hoping to find any response from him, and he just shrugged his shoulders.
I took this as acceptance, so I smiled and turned to them.
"Hide and Seek it is." I exclaimed.
The girls giggled, happy to play, and jumped out of the bed.
"Alright! Dipper's it! You gotta count to 30, and we go hide. No peeking! And we can't leave the house." Mabel stared at her brother.
Dipper, still somewhat bothered, didn't said anything.
"1...2...3..." he closed his eyes, and started counting.
The girls immediately scattered through the door. I wanted find a place to hide in an easy, calm pace, but my plans are often ran over by other things such as other's wishes.
So, it was only a matter of seconds until Mabel decided to grab my wrist and drag me with her and her friends, our four pairs of feet stomping loudly in the wooden floor as we rushed to hide in time.
Grenda and Candy decided to stay on the upper floor, while Mabel dragged me with her downstairs.
"Come on! I know of a place we can hide, Dipper hates going there." She whispered-yelled at me.
We ran along the hallway after we were done going down the stairs, and she turned around a corner, making me almost lose my footing.
"We can hide in Gruncle Stan's office. Dipper doesn't like it very much, since Stan sometimes brings him into his office to give him pep talks when he messes up somehow." She explained, slowing down considerably, and letting go of my wrist.
I had to give it to her, she was stronger than she looked, my wrist was hurting a little from the pressure she had applied to it.
We reached a darker area of the corridor, and she pointed to a brown, old-looking door.
"There! Let's go." Se smiled, opening the door, the wood letting out a small cry.
We both walked in, and she shut the door as quietly as possible, though such thing was slightly impossible, seeing as the door couldn't stop making noise.
Our only wish was that Dipper had not heard any of it from upstairs.
"Hm. That should do the trick." She said.
I looked around the room. It was dark, since the blinds on the window were closed and there was almost no sunlight at all, but I could see a fancy looking chair, a large desk and a lot of drawers and shelves scattered on the walls across the room, as well as some cupboards. There was a deer head mounted on the wall, which was a little morbid.
Mabel walked over to the desk, and sat on the chair.
"It's slightly creepy, isn't it?" She commented, looking around.
I didn't want to be blunt, but it was definitely creepy.
"Yeah, a little. Reminds me of my great uncle's house."
Having nowhere to sit, I hoisted myself up the desk with my arms, my legs dangling a little, my back turned to the girl.
"Really? That's cool. Was his house always creepy or just partially creepy?" She asked.
"It was...messy. I don't like it a lot, I rarely go there anyway." I blinked, staring at the door.
I turned around to adress her properly.
"If I actually think about it, I only started to go there after he died."
"Oh! Sorry, I didn't know that." She apolagized.
I waved my hands in front of me.
"Oh, no, it's okay, we weren't close. He wasn't close with anybody, really..."
"Stil, you're here because of him, right?"
I nodded, turning nack around to gaze at the door.
"Well, yes...but that's because of a family thing, so...I just wish it could be over soon."
It was true.
I was loving Gravity Falls, but the anticipation of knowing that I could find an answer seemed to block everything else out a little.
And then there was also that weird yellow triangle ghost...
"Aw, don't say that! We just met each other! And are you seriously saying that you don't like to hang out with us?" Mabel replied.
"O-Of course not! T-That wasn't it at all!" I stuttered, looking at the ground and feeling a little angry.
I wasn't angry at myself for saying that. I was simply angry at the fact that she thought that was what I meant by it.
Damn, I hate adolescence, it seems that everything comes out wrong.
Mabel laughed, making me turn my head in confusion.
"I'm joking! You need to have more trust in yourself, Norman."
The moment I saw her laughing, my ears got slightly red with embarrassment for how easy she had managed to get me.
I rubbed the back of my neck.
"Well...easier said than done..."
"Don't worry about it! Mabel here will get you covered!" She pointed at herself.
I chuckled.
"By the way, you have been hanging out a lot with Dipper haven't you?" She asked.
I didn't understand the sudden change, but I didn't question it.
I tried to look behind me without actually moving, which only made it possible for me to look through the corner of my eyes.
"A little, yeah."
"Are you two getting close?" I couldn't really see her since I was facing the other way, but I could feel the smile in her voice, which only made it worse.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Like, are you becoming friends?" She asked innocently and with a smile.
I felt a little awkward, and tried to turn to her to ease it.
"W-Why?"
She kept smiled innocently.
"Oh, nothing. I just think he should have some friends to talk to once in a while. Especially now after Pacifica."
I blinked.
"Oh."
"Also, you are his type of people." She said in a cheerful way.
"His type of people? What does that mean?"
"Oh, you know...the type of people that you like to hang out with." She explained.
"Okay...what's your type of people then?"
She thought for a while.
"Depends. I have two categories. Either 'mysterious and with a deep backstory' or 'cool but underrated'."
I nodded, unsure, and returned to my primary position.
"In which category do I fit in for you?"
"Well...you fit in both of them, so that's good, since I consider them for both boyfriends and friends."
That caught me off guard, my feet stopping balancing almost immediately, my back going stiff and my eyes got slightly wider.
I delt my ears get redder.
"Are you saying you consider me as a friend but also as a potential boyfriend?" I asked, feeling pretty sure that I heard something wrong or that I jumped to the wrong conclusion.
Why was this girl forcing me to feel awkward by having conversations about this right now?
Me? Being considered someone's love interest?
"Well, at first, yes, but then something made me change my mind."
" I see." I nodded, not feeling very surprised. Perhaps just a little disappointed.
She stirred a little in the chair.
"Oh, but it wasn't you, so don't worry! I have nothing against you, you are adorable, and cute, and clumsy. I just...there's something that I have to make sure of first. It might take me a while, though." Explained Mabel.
I moved my head a little in confusion.
"What thing?" I wasn't trying to sound aggressive, nor was I trying too interested. I liked Mabel but I barely knew her since I hadn't talked much with her on these three days.
"Hum...family opinions?" Was all she said.
I didn't get what she was implying. Why should her family change an opinion of her's about me? Was it because of her great uncle? Because of Dipper? Because he said he thought I was weird? Because I knew that he didn't, since he made sure to apolagize.
Perhaps he didn't tell her...
"Is it because Dipper called me weird? He actually apologized and said he didn't think I was. Well, sorta..."
Funny enough, she smirked.
"Do you think he really meant it to call you that?"
I shrugged.
"No...yes...both. I mean"
I sighed, thinking about what I wanted to say "he said I was 'weird in my own way'..." I gave off a little smile "I think he meant it as a compliment, but I'm not sure."
Mabel's eyes lit up.
"Hm, did he..."
She didn't hold onto the expression for too long.
She streched her arms above her head.
"He probably did. Oh well, thanks for letting me know."
We remained in silence for a while. The conversation seemed to die, and there weren't just any other topics in mind other than weather talk.
"So, how are you enjoying the sleepover? Are you planning on staying here tomorrow too? Not sleeping, but spending the day with us as well, I mean..."
Mabel asked, setting it straight that silence wasn't on her 'to do' list.
But still...weather talk.
"Well, I climbed up a roof, sprained my back and had a conversation with Dipper, chased after you, fought three girls, was used as a gossip spy, was dragged into a game of hide and seek and also into an office, had a conversation with you...pretty good, I think." I smiled jokingly.
"Of course it would be good. I'm like the queen of sleepovers!" Mabel replied, dismissing me with a hand.
She pondered over something though.
"Hey, you said this was your first sleepover, didn't you?"
I nodded.
She grinned.
"We must make it the best slumber party ever, then!" She rose from the chair, and lifted a victorious fist to her eye level. " It will be so great that it will go down in history!" She walked in my direction, placed a cheering hand in my shoulder " fear not, Norman, the gravity defier, me and my friends, together, will tame the beast of boredom! We will fight for our rights, our rights to have fun!" She violently pushed me towards her side, and waved a hand in front of us like she was seeing something that I wasn't "think about it, Norman. All of us, hands joined in hapiness, as we all jump in a sea of pillows, as if it was a trampoline...white, pure, innocent feathers float around us as we smile and laugh with joy when our pillows meet eachother in a fierce, but delightful battle, to the death, to our dreams that shall come true, and the four of us-"
"...we are five, actual-"
"FIVE OF US, will be so tired at the end of the night... because of all the fun, that we will sleep for two days straight." Her eyes sparkled. "It will be a dream come true."
I chuckled.
"Alright. Thanks then."
She nodded with a serious face.
"It shall be my duty."
The room fell into a comfortable silence after that.
Mabel went back to the chair, where she stood, playing with some pen that was on one of the drawers.
I kept my position, my ears wide to hear any sign that Dipper was near, but there was nothing. I started to wonder if he even was playing. All I heard was Mabel fidgeting with the pen.
A funny feeling made the hair on my neck rise, like if somebody had breathed in it's direction, and a cold shiver run down my spine.
Feeling slightly disturbed, I turned around to see if it was Mabel playing some joke, but she was in her own world.
Another cold wave made me shiver harder.
There was definitely something in there.
"Did you just feel like...a cold wave or something like that?" I asked, just to check that I wasn't being paranoid.
"Hum, no, not really." She chuckled "maybe you're just getting scared by the deer." She pointed at the deer head
This made me feel even more uncomfortable, as I was reminded of the dead creature that was making us company in the room.
It could be it's fault, but I didn't see any spirit nor ghost of the animal when I entered the division.
I shook my head.
"No, I don't think it's that...it was real cold, not like fright shivers."
She shrugged her shoulders.
"Maybe the window is open?"
She hopped off the chair, and went near the window, inspectioning it for breaches.
"No, it is not, look."
She pulled the blinds abruptly, and I jolted at the sigh.
There was a dark spirit staring right into the window, what I presumed were it's hands were cupping its eyes to block the smallest amount of sunlight that still lingered outside, as it had its face plastered on the glass. I couldn't even tell if it was male or female, the only thing that I could see clearly was its greyish and purple skin and two yellowish white eyes with small black dotts for pupils. It was hideous.
I hadn't noticed it before, but now that I could see the being, a strong scent of rot hanged around the room.
It wasn't moving at all, its eyes were stuck in one position, and it wouldn't move them, not even to look at me.
"Jesus!" I yelped, backing away from the desk in fright.
"Huh? What is it?" Mabel asked, confused.
"I-I...Nothing, I-I think I saw a spider..."
Mabel then turned her attention back to the window, she clearly couldn't see the creature.
My blood ran cold.
The creature's eyes moved a little.
Oh god, it is looking at her...
She looked right through the thing without any problem.
"Spider? I don't see any spider...oh, it is really windy outside, I think it is gonna rain..."
"Mabel...please...get away from the glass..." I raised a hand in her direction, trying to rationalize with her.
"Calm down, there's no spider, you probably saw some leaf in the wind outside." She laughed, and sniffed the air. "Hm, but there is a strange smell here... I don't even know what Gruncle Stan brings down here."
With that said, she got away from the glass.
I kept staring at the window, hoping that the creature would go away as well.
When it became apparent that it wasn't going to happen, I didn't knew what to do. I wanted to get away, but we were still playing the game.
"D-do you think that Dipper will find us soon?"
"If we keep making noise, yes, so lets not do that!" She shushed me.
She went back to her chair and to her pen, and I was left to suffer on my own. I decided to turn my back to the dark mass, hoping that I would forget about it.
But I didn't. The longer I stood without looking, the more uncomfortable I'd get.
What is up with the ghosts in this town? Why do they all look so...gloomy? They all seem mad. The ghosts in the town, the ones near the road, these dark figures...there are no such spirits like these in Blithe Hollow.
I kept turning around. The creature was still there.
It was making me scared, but at least it couldn't get in.
"Norman, I already told you that there is no spider, calm down!" Mabel rolled her eyes.
"Yes, yes...I just..." I was too worried to come up with excuses.
I was still looking at the window when it seemed that the spirit began to disappear, dissipating in a cloud of black smoke.
Mabel, who had been watching my actions closely, took a peek at the window, asking herself why was I was so tense.
"Nevermind, I'm just over thinking it..." I sighed in relief.
She didn't looked bothered.
But now I was starting to feel calmer without that static stare on my back. I just hoped that it was gone for good.
But then again, reality hit me harder.
There was a loud bang on the window that caused us both to jolt in surprise.
I only had time to look and spot a ghostly hand disappearing out of the window's sight.
"W-what was that?!" Mabel shrieked, twisting her neck to look at the window.
"I-I don't know!" I lied.
I didn't had time to do anything, and if I had, I wish that I could have done something about it.
But before I could warn her about something, she rushed to the window and decided to open it.
"Mabel, no!" I shouted.
"WE KNOW YOU ARE OUT THERE, YOU EVIL SONS OF SANTA!" She yelled, closing the window right after.
Unfortunately, I was too busy staring at the shadowy figure that had slowly sunken to the floor through the window to process any of what she was saying.
My mind was blank with shock.
The figure didn't have any distinct form, but it was definitely the same identity as before.
I watched as it started to rise behind Mabel, and I grabbed her wrist and yanked her out the thing's way.
She was confused, even a little angry.
"Woah! Norman, what's that for? I almost fell!"
"I...I think I heard Dipper come this way!" I remembered.
She immediately pushed me aside, and pressed her ear to the door, turning her back to me in the process.
I took this opportunity to stare at the ghost, gulping down in distress.
We had to get out of there before it did anything.
"M-Mabel, what if we went and looked for another hiding spot-"
She turned around and clamped her hand on my mouth.
"Shh! I heard Dipper just outside! Hide!"
She hurried to the desk, ducking under it in a flash.
I stood still, noticing the close proximity between the desk and the evil identity that was standing in the corner, unmoved.
After a few seconds of nothing, Mabel's head popped up from under the desk.
"Come on! Quick!" She whispered.
I looked at her with pained eyes.
What were my choices, really? I definitely didn't want to go near the thing, nor did I want to let Mabel near it either. However, if I stood still, she would get mad at me, and I didn't want to cause any suspicion.
Very reluctantly, I stepped towards the desk, my eyes never leaving the corner and the creature.
I knelt down carefully, my attention still fixated in the corner, and I backed away until I was under the desk as well.
The creature moved slightly to the left a little, thankfully away from us, but that only made me more worried.
It was clearly aware of our position.
Suddenly, I felt a hand grab my left wrist, and I jolted in fear, snapping my head to look at it.
Mabel giggled softly at my actions, shaking my arm in comfort.
"Oh my god, you are so tense! It's just a game!" She looked at the door "oh! He is right outside! I can see his shadow under the door! Wait, he left!"
I didn't reply, instead I just tried to hide the stress in my eyes.
I looked at my hands, seeing how much they were trembling.
Whatever that thing was, it was taking its toll on me.
I slowly peeked at the corner again, and my heart sank.
The thing was gone.
Before I had time to ask myself where it was, I felt a really cold temperature hit the right side of my body. I didn't need to look.
Mabel squirmed in joy right beside me, her head still turned to the door, and unaware of my problem.
"Oh! Oh! I think he's coming back.
I didn't dare to move.
That thing was right by my side.
My breathing was going out of control.
Freezing chills ran down my right arm constantly, it seemed that it was going numb.
I could hear a mix of faint whispers that seemed to come from nowhere, a bunch of different voices saying a lot of different words that slowly echoed in my head, clawing their way inside my mind. I couldn't even think.
But the worst part was the smell. It was a putrid, rotten and disgusting smell, like...a dead body.
Go away, go away, go away, please, please!, go away!
The voices grew louder and in number, but I still couldn't figure them out.
I pressed my ears with both my hands, gasping for sanity.
I opened my mouth, looking for shelter in whispered words, but nothing came out.
The cold was torturing me, and darkness was starting to cloud my eyes, turning everything into shadows.
Mabel kept smiling and giggling, shaking her legs with the thrill of the game.
I couldn't do it anymore.
I had to leave her.
With a bolt of fear and adrenaline, I crawled out of the desk and ran to the door, opening it. I heard a bang as something hit the desk when I got up.
The moment I was out of the room, I fell on my knees, coughing and wheezing, breathing in hard and gathering as much air as I could. I placed a hand in my neck, feeling like a huge weight had been lifted.
I didn't ear anything at first, I was too usy focusing on getting my breath back to normal.
I could feel my head pounding, and I seriously wondered at how close I was at passing out.
"Norman! Norman!" Mabel shouted, rushing to my side, kneeling besides me and putting a hand on my back. "Are you ok?! What happened?"
I didn't answer at first, just kept breathing in and out, feeling both mentaly and physically exhausted. I didn't have an excuse again.
It was really starting to become annoying at this point, the excuses. I couldn't come up with explanations for everything, and it was a pain to try to make something out of it when things like these happened.
If not even I was sure about what happened, how could I explain it to others? Much less inventing a plausible reason.
"I couldn't breathe." I mumbled, passing a hand through my throat.
"Huh? Really? So what was it? Claustrophobia? Was that why you were so tense?" She sounded genuinely concerned.
I could roll with it.
I coughed again.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have pressured you. Why didn't you said anything?"
"I just...didn't want to spoil the game..."
Another pair of feet echoed in the hallway, making me afraid that it was another one of those things.
But ghosts don't make a sound when they move, I was being silly.
"You know the purpose of this game, right? Gosh, at least you are making it easier for me." An annoyed voice said.
"This is important, Dipper! Norman just had an attack or something!" Mabel explained, her hand still touching my back for comfort.
"Guys, I-I'm fine, really." I said, still looking st the ground and breathing deeply, trying to think about all of it.
Dipper kneeled in front of me, peeking at my face, seeing as I wouldn't look at neither of them.
"Are you sure?" Mabel asked, kneeling as well "you look a little pale..."
I lifted my head and my gaze off the ground to stare at their unconvinced eyes.
"Yeah" I whipped my eyes in the sleeve of my jacket "I'm fine...I just...need some time, excuse me." I got up, stumbling a step to the left, but I quickly brushed it off and headed for the stairs at the end of the hallway.
I hugged my arms, feeling freezing on the inside. Shivers were tunning down my spine like crazy, and I could feel a small pain in my chest.
"What happened?" I heard Dipper ask Mabel as I walked away.
"We were hiding under the desk, and he just bolted out of the room. Then he just collapsed and started coughing, said he couldn't breathe..."
"You sure?" He replied.
I didn't hear a reply from Mabel, so I couldn't be sure of what she had done afterwards.
"Norman, wait!" She shouted, her voice in my direction.
I turned around, looking at them.
"You should go and eat something, or drink a glass of water. We ordered pizza for the sleepover, but I don't know when it is gonna arrive for sure, so..." she explained.
I looked at the ground.
The last thing I wanted to do was to eat anything, but she could be right.
"Okay. If you say so..." I quietly answered.
She nodded, turning her head to face her brother for two seconds, before giving me the same sad look again.
I didn't like that look. It just made me realise that I was messing her slumber party up.
She sighed.
"I'll go look for Grenda and Candy, tell the game is over..."
"You don't have to do that." Dipper told her. "We can keep playing, if you want. Just..."
He looked over at me.
"...alright, nevermind. Go gather them, I'll see what I can do for Norman."
He walked in my direction, settled a hand in my back and led me towards the kitchen.
I felt awful and dreadful. Whatever that thing was, it drained me like I was just some pesky bug in a windshield.
I sat in one of the chairs by the table, covering my eyes with both my hands.
"For real, are you okay, man?" Dipper glanced at me.
"I... I don't know."
I should text somebody that I knew, tell them what happened. I knew that it wasn't going to change a thing if I did, if I didn't know what had happened, they would know much less, but it still made me feel better.
Besides, my mom would definitely know how to calm me down.
Dipper set the glass of water on top of the table, and sat in front of me, eyeing me with a concerned look. He crossed his arms and leaned his back on the chair.
"Thanks, Dipper. I'm really sorry for ruining your party, though."
I grabbed the glass between my hands, but made no effort to drink it whatsoever.
I doubted that a few drops of water would make the fear go away.
"Don't say that." He told me.
I didn't say anything against it.
I reached my back pocket, where my phone usually was, only to find it missing.
I searched in the other one, but then I remembered something.
The bang that I heard when I ran for the door must have been my phone hitting the desk.
I felt two times worse now.
My phone was in that room.
"Is there anything else you need?" He asked.
"N-no, I d-don't think so..." I quietly mumbled.
How was I going to gather the courage to face that thing? I didn't want to enter that room ever again.
I stared at the glass of water. The line where the liquid hit the glass was still, as opposite to my trembling and rather pale hands.
Is all of this just a joke of bad taste? Is the universe just toying with me? Well, one thing is for certain: I never asked for any of this.
"You sure?"
It took me two seconds before I looked up at him. Honestly, I wasn't really sure of anything at the moment, but I said yes anyway. Slowly, while looking down at the table, I nodded, the glass of water still untouched between my fingers.
Happy Valentine's Day! You got a date? Me neither :D
But just go home, stuff some chocolate in your mouth, wrap yourself in a warm and cosy blanket and hug your pet as you watch something calm on the TV!
(Lol I don't do calm, I watched the third movie of Maze Runner yesterday, I'm still not over Newt nor will I ever be, I'm dying ):'D )
(Also yes, I've had a crush on Thomas Broddie-Sangster, don't blame me, he's british)
Sheesh, it's been a while! And I'm sorry for that, and I know that you are probably getting tired of my excuses, but you know, I'm proud of this story.
Wanna know why? Two reasons:
First, this is the longest that I've been writing a story. It's been almost one year and a half since I started writing this, and it amazes me that I'm still writing it and still enjoying it. This has never happened to me before, ever!
I thought I would have given up by now, but here I am, still having ideas and giving it development in my head! So yes, I'm proud for that :D
Second, I'm also proud of this because for the first time as well, I have people that comment and seem to like my story, and that makes me so happy, you have no idea. I've said it before, I'd rather have feedback than votes xD
So yeah, I'm proud. You should be proud too. Being proud of yourself is good, it makes you feel good about yourself and your accomplishments, and most people forget that they matter, even if just a bit.
Happy readings and I'll see you next time!