Chapter Text
The water from the sink hit her face as her breathing slowed, the panic somewhat died down. Looking in the mirror as she readjusted her glasses, Selene wiped the water from her face, hoping it wasn't obvious she’d been crying just moments before. ‘I can’t believe they just left me here. This has to be some sick joke, right?’ She thought to herself, feeling more tears threatening to spill. How did everything go downhill so fast?
Just moments ago, she had been on a road trip with her parents. While she would have much rather just stayed home, she wasn’t about to pass up an opportunity for her parents to notice her. Throughout Selene’s life, her parents had only been there for the bare minimum. Doctors appointments, parent-teacher conferences, anything that was mandatory, they would show up. If it wasn’t required, such as spending even an hour of their evening with her, they’d find some excuse about how busy they were. So, a road-trip where they’d all be out for hours in a car, with only each other for company? It sounded like the perfect chance to get the attention she so desperately craved. It even seemed like it was working at first! She talked, and even if she only received a few hums of acknowledgement, she was thrilled.
When they had pulled into a small town, one that seemed like a place made for tourists, her parents sent her to go see the local diner’s menu. And so, she did. A few people glanced at her as she had walked through, but didn’t seem to be particularly curious, reinforcing her belief that tourism was common. Selene had taken note of anything that seemed good, and gone back out to where her parents had been. Instead of them, all she found was empty space. At first, she assumed they saw something that caught their eye, but after a few minutes of looking around, she found no trace of them, and decided to send a text asking where they were. Unfortunately for her, she got no reply.
And so, Selene, as the smart, resourceful, problem-solving kid she is, did the only thing she could do in the moment. Go into the diner’s bathroom and start to cry. And she did, for a while. Which brings us to now. ‘Okay. Okay. This is okay. They’ll realize I’m not with them soon, and so I might as well go and explore the town. Waiting here will just make me bored. Yeah. Just… go explore, take your mind off the fact they just left you here- don’t cry. They’ll be back soon! Just… just go.’ She told herself, before leaving the diner. Now, to find something to do.
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Throughout her search for anything to do, Selene found a couple spots of interest. The first place was a small arcade, where some kids around her age played some popular games, such as Frog-Time, Ho-down Hero, and Ghost Maze. Unfortunately, they didn’t have her favorite arcade game, Block Stacker. Even worse, there were a lot of people. Selene would be the first to call herself a loner, but not in the cool way people usually think of ‘Lone wolves’. Which, to be honest, is a dumb term. Wolves live in packs, and they hunt better because of it. Selene just didn’t understand other people at all; the unspoken rules of communication, hidden meanings in words, and small changes in facial expressions went over her head most of the time, so ‘friends’ were a rare occurrence. With all of that in mind, she quickly turned and walked out. It was too bright there anyway.
And so, with the realization that most places would be packed with people she didn’t know and would be expected to interact with, she decided to see if the town had a library. To her delight, it did! Of course, she couldn’t check anything out without a library card (not to mention the fact she’d be going home soon), but it was somewhere she could relax. Just… pick a book, and read. While browsing through, she overheard an argument from 2 kids who sounded around her age, if not younger.
“No, I am not going to listen to you fangirl over vampires all summer. Besides, those books are poorly written-”
“You take that back! All the girls at school are talking about it, so it must be decent. Plus, it's a vampire romance! I love both those things!”
She listened in, groaning internally. She knew exactly what book they were talking about. Before she could stop herself, Selene walked over. The person (rightfully, in her opinion) bashing the book was a boy with a red shirt, navy vest, and a cap. The one trying to check the book out was a girl wearing a bright sweater and headband, and also had braces on her teeth. Ignoring the outfits, the two looked extremely similar.
“He’s right, you know. They made a movie for it, I couldn’t even sit through it. It was so boring… but- uh, to each their own, I shouldn’t have interrupted!”
Selene mentally cringed. These people were just minding their own business, and she just came over and joined them without even asking. Plus, who is she to tell someone not to read it? Just because she didn’t like the movie doesn’t make it bad. Just as she was about to apologise, the boy spoke up again.
“See Mabel? Even a complete stranger agrees-”
“I’m sure the book is better! Besides, it still has vampires in it!”
The girl, who’s name was apparently Mabel, interrupted him. Selene stood there silently for a moment. Were they… not upset? The kids at school typically shut her down when she tried to join a conversation, especially if she didn’t ask. She gave a small smile before continuing.
“I doubt it. Anyway, I’m Selene.” she said with more confidence than she had.
“I’m Mabel, and this is my brother Dipper! We’re here in town for the summer.”
“I’m new here too! Where are you staying?” She asked. Dipper was the one to answer this time.
“At our great-uncle’s house. You’ve probably seen signs for it, it’s that tourist trap called ‘The Mystery Shack’.” He finished the statement with air quotes. “It’s just a lot of fake paranormal stuff, don’t waste your money on anything that says it’s ‘100% genuine’. I’d know; he had me putting those stickers on pouches of ‘fairy dust’.”
Selene had to stop herself from letting out a laugh. How would anyone fall for that? Fairies aren’t even real. “Anyway, we’ll be here all summer, so if you want to find us, just visit the shack.” He continued. Mabel suddenly let out a gasp, and bounced in place excitedly.
“Or you could get a summer job! If you’re staying the summer, obviously- but it would be so cool to have someone our age- you’re our age, right?” She asked, talking almost too quickly to keep up with.
“Uh- I’ll think about it! How old are you both?” Selene asked, trying to process everything.
“We’re both 12! Dipper and I are twins, actually!”
“Oh, that’s cool! I’m 13, so close.” She paused, realizing something. “Wait, isn’t 13 a little young to get a job? That doesn’t sound legal.”
Mabel just shrugged. “That probably won’t be a problem. I mean, we’re 12 and working!”
Dipper just put his face into his hands. “Mabel, one, it’s probably not legal, and two we just met her. You can’t just try and get her a job before we even know anything about her! Like, what if she’s just a tourist who’s leaving today?” He pointed out.
Selene thought for a moment. A job… couldn’t hurt. After all, it’s been a few hours, and so the likelihood of her parents coming back today was dwindling. She wasn’t giving up hope yet, though. She made up her mind immediately. If they weren’t back in 2 days, which they definitely would be, she’d apply for a job. 2 days is about how long her money and snacks would last anyway. “I’m not leaving anytime soon, so maybe I’ll take you up on that offer. I could use something to do!” Not the complete truth, she could theoretically be leaving tomorrow, but she didn’t want to turn the offer down in case she needed it.
“Yay! Well, we have to head back now. You know where to find us!” Mabel exclaimed, before turning to run out. Before she did, she walked back and smiled. “Oh yeah! I think your eyes are cool! Are those contacts?” She asked, seemingly genuine. Selene paused.
Something else you should know about Selene is that she’s very normal, on the outside. Very normal except for one thing; ever since she was born, her eyes were a seemingly unnatural shade of purple. It was a mutation. A disorder. Something she wasn’t used to hearing anything nice about. It wasn’t like everyone would bully her about it, but when people did, it hit hard. Comments from her time in 7th grade included being called a witch, hearing whispers about having been cursed at birth, and more cruel comments. “...N-no. I have ocular albinism.”
Mabel blinked, the smile never faltering. “Cool! What’s that mean?”
“My eyes don’t produce the right amount of melanin.” She paused. That was probably too advanced. “My- my, uh, eyes don’t have enough color.” She stuttered. ‘Here come the comments about being a witch, or a vampire, or cursed-’ she began to think, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath to prepare herself.
“That’s so cool! You don’t even need to buy contacts, you just have purple eyes! Alright, bye!”
…Out of everything, that was the last thing Selene expected. Maybe all 12 year olds weren’t bad. ‘I guess those kids at school were just jerks.’ she contemplated, eyes open and watching Mabel leave. Dipper sighed, before running out after her. “Mabel! Wait up!”
With that, Selene was left alone. As she walked out of the romance section and back into the sci-fi section she had been looking at before, she couldn’t help but smile to herself from the interaction. Maybe this was a chance to make some friends, for once.