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Mabel Pines was very pretty.
Gaz thought so, at least. She couldn't see who would think otherwise.
She had had thick curly hair and pretty brown eyes, a strong nose and a wide smile. Braces with rainbow bands. Multi colored bandages on her knees. There were freckles under Mabel's eyes from the sun,
not that Gaz would admit to noticing. And yeah, it was cool how strong she was, stronger than her twin and definitely stronger than Dib. She knew how to use a grappling hook. She was cool.
God she was cool.
And life was just never very fair to Gazline Membrane, now was it? Because she was spending the summer with this beautiful girl and looked like, well, Gaz. Not that she was ever someone to care about appearances because come on, what kind of lame bullshit was that? No one needs to be beautiful when they're busting nerd ass online. Hell, Gaz wasn't even ugly. She just looked like her family. Her dad was very handsome and she looked like her dad. She looked like Dib, gaunt angles and pasty skin (the summer sun had lent its hand, but she knew it would be gone come September).
Mabel liked plain looking boys who ran away and technicolor haired cartoon characters stuck behind a screen. She sent them love letters and handmade glove socks. She waved and smiled and invited them out to lunch.
If Gaz ever cried into her pillow at night or gave it a good scream, she never told anyone about it. Because life was never fair to Gaz. Because she was in a nowhere town with her dad at work and her stupid brother kept dragging her around with his new friends. Because there was no wi-fi and a single charger. Because Gaz had to go and get a crush on someone who wouldn't ever like her like that because Mabel was pretty and fun and nice and liked stupid ugly boys who didn't understand how lucky they were.
Nights sharing stale ice cream on Mabel's Great Uncle's roof were easier. When they would sit shoulder to shoulder in the muggy air and talk about nothing while Mabel played with Gaz's hair and tapped against her hands. When Gaz would explain how to use her Game Slave and Mabel would fail to convince her to that the switch she got for her 16th birthday was better. When Gaz would squint up at the
stars, looking for whatever her brother saw in that quiet danger, unknowing to Mabel's eyes on her.
Because Gaz Membrane was very pretty.
Mabel thought so at least, she couldn't see who would think otherwise.