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Mabel gazed up at the blazing yellow light in front of her. It was just her and this… Dipper wasn’t here. Not anymore.
He’d left her alone for the illusions of adult life. He made it clear the things he felt so strongly about would never include her. Their last fight weighs on her mind. How he’d yelled at her to leave. She wants to cry just thinking about it. Burning tears bubble at the corners of her eyes, blurring her vision.
She scrubs tears from her dirty face with the itchy sleeve of her sweater. It had a fluffy kitten tangled in a ball of yarn today. It was something she thought would be nice. She laughed when she first put it on. Dipper only scoffed when he caught sight of it and had looked the other way. Nothing. No comment about it. Not even a negative one. He just went back to scribbling in his worn leather backed journal. Probably about another mystery. Without her. She expected that, but it didn’t hurt less.
The blaze of yellow energy pierces her with its burning gaze, the one eye in front of it reminds Mabel of something…she can’t remember. It looks familiar. It blinks blankly at her. It looks so mystical. Mabel can’t stop herself from staring up at it.
“HEY THERE SHOOTING STAR! WHAT BRINGS YOU ALL THE WAY OUT HERE?! WHY SO SAD AND TEARY?! THIS MIGHT JUST BE A LUCKY GUESS OR SOMETHING, BUT IT WOULDN'T HAPPEN TO BE ABOUT A NASTY ARGUMENT WITH YOUR SIBLING, WOULD IT?”
Mabel sniffles as she wipes the dripping of tears from her flushed cheeks. She stares up at the glowing shape.
“How’d you know?” Mabel blubbers into her sweater sleeve, she narrows her eyes. “Also this might be a personal question but, why’re you a talking triangle?”
The shape floats closer and presses a finger over Mabel’s mouth to silence her. Mabel squints up at it.
“AH, AH, AH! WELL, HERE YOU’RE ASKING THE REAL QUESTIONS! WHAT A SMARTY PANTS HERE! OR SHOULD I SAY SMARTY SWEATERS! WHAT’S THAT ONE OF!? A DOG TANGELED IN WIRE?”
Mabel gazes at the Triangle with misty wide eyes.
“A kitten, actually.” She mutters, twisting her hands into the fabric of the front of the sweater.
The triangle lights up and makes noise akin to laughter.
“OH! WELL, WE CAN’T ALL BE AS SMART AS YOU NOW CAN WE, SHOOTING STAR?”
Mabel hesitantly wipes the rough fabric of her sweater at the corners of her eyes again. A vaguely proud feeling flares in her chest. She blinks up at the glowing light emitting from the shape.
“I g-guess, I just- no one ever asks about my sweaters. They think they're weird.”
Mabel’s face falls, and her eyes lock on the forest floor. She spots a small snail slithering across the ground leaving a slimy trail behind. It moves slowly across the decomposing ground. A few orange leaves litter the forest floor around it. Some shine with a sheening slime. They are speckled and smell earthy, a reminder of the dying summer. This was her last year. Her last summer in Gravity Falls. Her last year of being a kid.
“AW! NOW, WHY’S THAT, SHOOTING STAR? I THINK YOUR SWEATERS ARE VERY CHARMING IN A RANDOM HUMAN-LIKE WAY. LIKE YOU. YOU’RE STRANGE. THAT’S WHAT MAKES YOU INTERESTING.”
The large eye blinks at her, the sharp pupil dilating in the crisp breeze, like the eye of a focused beast. Mabel shivers against the chill that suddenly drifts into the air.
“IS SHOOTING STAR FEELING A BITING CHILL?! NOW, I THINK I MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP WITH THAT.”
Mabel blinks startling back at the shimmering gleam that covers a bubble of grass around the triangle and her as it springs up from the forest floor. It makes the grass inside flourish a warm green colour. The leaves littering the ground suddenly disappear, returning somewhere. Presumingly, back on the trees they fell from. Mabel gasps under her breath.
“How- what did you do? What was that?”
The triangle snaps his fingers, causing a warmth that feels like a sunbeam to shine on her. She shivers gratefully at the warmth, her eyes screwing shut to savour the feeling.
“I CAN’T GIVE AWAY ALL MY SECRETS, SHOOTING STAR. THEN THEY WOULDN’T BE USEFUL ANYMORE. I JUST WANT TO LEND YOU A HAND. YOU LOOKED VERY DISTRESSED AND I COULDN'T JUST LURK NEARBY AND WATCH WHEN I KNEW SOMETHING WAS WRONG!”
Mabel blinks an eye open to see the triangle floating a few feet above her.
“Were- were you watching me?”
The shape pulses a shimmering glow before dimming. It turns to stare at her. It’s gaze is locked rigid. Mabel feels small under the sharpness of the shape’s eyes.
“HECK YEAH, I WAS WATCHING YOU. I CAN’T HELP TO STEP IN WHEN SOMEONE'S FEELING DOWN. YOU CAN TELL ME ABOUT IT. THAT SIBLING OF YOURS, HE SOUNDS NO GOOD.”
Mabel fiddles with the hem of her sweater. She brings the turtleneck up over her face, her hair falls around, concealing her features, it's a burnt amber that catches the artificial rays beautifully. Her eyes are dazed, staring at the ground like she’s remembering a freshly bleeding memory.
“He-he just- it’s- just- Dipper doesn’t seem to want to be around me anymore. Nothing I do helps. He just looks at me like- like I’m-”
“LIKE YOU’RE AN ANNOYANCE?”
Mabel glances up at the triangle. A surprised expression bleeds into her features.
“Yeah, like that.” Mabel mumbles, nervously pressing the itchy fabric of her sweater cuffs to her cheeks. The bubble’s warmth seemed to grow hotter by the minute.
The triangle floats down enough to be level with her eyes. Mabel thinks she can see holographic textures in the yellow glowing bricks that make up his body. He looks like a pyramid, strangely enough.
“WELL, TELL YOU WHAT, SHOOTING STAR, I DON’T THINK YOU’RE AN ANNOYANCE. YOU’RE JUST NOT NORMAL.”
Mabel scrunches up her nose.
“What do you mean?”
The triangle moves closer, leaving small particles of yellow dust behind it. Mabel thinks it looks a bit like stardust. Funny that he was calling her the star when he did stuff like that.
“WHAT I MEAN IS, YOU DON’T ACT LIKE OTHER PEOPLE. YOU'RE WHAT OTHERS WOULD CALL, ‘DIFFERENT’. IN MY HUMBLE OPINION, YOU’RE BETTER. HECK, YOU COULD BE WHAT I AM, KID! WHO WOULDN’T WANT COOL POWERS LIKE THIS?!”
The triangle demonstrates as he lifts his hand to reveal a blazing blue flame. Mabel shrinks back, startled.
“WHOA THERE, SHOOTING STAR! I’M NOT GONNA HURT YA! HAHAHA! IF I WAS GONNA DO THAT I’D ALREADY DONE IT ALREADY!”
Mabel laughs nervously. The warmth of the magic bubble wasn’t as pleasant as it was a second ago; it somehow felt more like a searing, stifling heat.
“O-oh, Ok.”
The Triangle pins her down with his gaze.
“AW, NOW SHOOTING STAR, DON’T BE SO DOWN AND BLUE. IT’S NOT A GOOD LOOK FOR YOU. i ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT PINK SUITED YOU BETTER.”
The triangle’s glow brightens as it moves closer, and it’s almost touching the sleeve of Mabel’s sweater.
Mabel wipes at her face again, embarrassed. She sniffles wetly.
“I-I know. Dipper always tells me crying about things is stupid.”
The triangle blazes a darker yellow, gesturing with its silhouetted hands.
“CHIN UP BUTTERCUP! THAT SELFISH BROTHER OF YOURS DOESN’T SEE WHAT I SEE IN YOU.”
Mabel feels her cheeks burn as she forces herself to look at the ground. The snail is still making it’s steady pace over the forest floor. What a pointless journey. If Mabel were the snail she thinks she wouldn’t go anywhere at all. Yet, she was out here. The forest seemed like the only place she could go to after Dipper yelled at her. She doesn’t think she’ll be able to go back to the Mystery Shack for a while. Not with the possibility of running into Dipper almost guaranteed.
“What- what do you see in me, uh… triangle guy?”
The triangle brushes off his top hat and places it back on his head with a theatrical spin.
“PLEASE, SHOOTING STAR, DON’T BE SO DISTANT, CALL ME BILL. BILL CIPHER AT YOUR SERVICE.”
Bill outstretches his long arms, his hand open. It reminds Mabel of those rubberhose cartoon characters that she’d used to see when she’d watch Saturday morning cartoons with Dipper back when they were younger. They were so close then.
Mabel watches Bill with inquisitive eyes. She hesitantly takes Bill’s hand into hers, loosely shaking Bill’s coal-black hand.. Bill’s movements feel so mechanical, something about it feels wrong. Mabel can’t place what it is. She doesn’t even know what this thing is yet.
“WHAT I SEE IS A VERY UNIQUE AND DAZZLING YOUNG WOMAN. ISN’T THAT WHAT YOU SEE WHEN YOU ADMIRE YOURSELF IN THE MIRROR?”
Mabel meets Bill’s sharp gaze, a sad smile spreads across her face. Her eyes flicker back to the forest floor.
“N-no. Dipper always says..”
Mabel can’t help how she flinches back when Bill grabs her. His fingers dig into the sleeve of her sweater, gripping rouhgly in like she might run away.
“BAH, WHAT DOES THAT SAD SACK OF BORINGNESS KNOW, RIGHT?! YOU KNOW WHAT? I THINK YOU OUGHTA STOP LISTENING TO PEOPLE WHO DON’T HAVE YOUR BEST INTRESTS IN MIND. ME ON THE OTHER HAND, i PROMISE i’LL BE BY YOUR SIDE LIKE A GOOD BESTIE EVERY STEP OF THE WAY! YOU CAN TRUST ME, SHOOTING STAR! I MEAN WHO ELSE’LL HAVE YOUR BACK?”
Mabel smiles up at Bill’s glowing form nervously. His eyes look different now. More meneching. She giggles apprehensively before attempting to step backwards. Bill’s grip on her sweater increases in pressure, his fingers feel like their morphing into claws. Mabel feels her stomach drop. Her head feels dizzy.
“I-i D-dipper has-”
“HE JUST WANTS YOU TO THINK HE’S THERE FOR YOU. ONCE A BETTER OPPORTUNITY REARS IT’S HEAD HE’LL BE OUT OF YOUR LIFE FASTER THAN YOU CAN BLINK. THE ONLY REASON HE’S PUT UP WITH YOU FOR THIS LONG IS BECAUSE HE’S OBLIGATED TO. YOUR HIS SISTER. DO YOU REALLY THINK HE’D CARE ABOUT YOU IF THAT WEREN’T THE CASE? DON’T RELY ON PEOPLE WHO DON’T HAVE YOUR BEST INTERESTS AT MIND. I KNOW YOU’RE SMART, SHOOTING STAR. MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE.”
Bill brings an open hand up to brush the falling hair out of Mabel’s face. Her eyes shimmer against the fading light of the afternoon, tears budding at the corners of her eyes. She blushes with embarrassment at gentlemanly gesture. She kicks at the dirt to mask her embarrassment.
“I-i what should I do.” Mabel chokes the words out with effort.
Bill’s eyes blaze with a blue light, the flame in his hand matching the color of his eyes.
“YOU CAN BE MYYYY FRIEND. WHAT’A YOU SAY SHOOTING STAR? DO YA’ WANNA BE BESTIES! I PROMISE I WON’T TELL ANYONE ABOUT IT IF YOU PROMISE THE SAME!”
Bill’s eyes squint for a moment, his face taking on an almost amused look. Mabel stares at the hand in front of her. The offer was appealing. She hadn’t made any friends since coming to Gravity Falls. Grunkle Stan didn’t want them to hold any parties at the Mystery Shack, often grumbling that they would find his ‘secret’ whatever that was. That left Mabel’s chances of meeting any potential friends as basically useless. Not a lot of kids vacationed or even lived in Gravity Falls to begin with. When Mabel did try, the kids would snicker or act like they didn’t want anything to do with her. Any kids who did live here were too rich to want to play with Mabel. Mabel always thought she had Dipper to hang out with. They’d been best friends and close siblings since before she could remember.
At the start of the summer, she thought being in Gravity Falls would be no different. They could have countless adventures together just like when they were younger. The new location would be amazing for exciting discoveries. It would help stop Mabel from thinking about what would probably happen when the summer was over. That was the plan at least She’d caught herself doing that too much the days leading up to summer vacation.
It was only the start of summer and nothing went the way Mabel expected it to. Dipper hadn’t as much as humoured her since their first week in Gravity Falls. He was too enthralled with a dusty, old book he’d found in a tree. He hadn’t talked to her for just about a week before she couldn’t take it anymore. She’d hugged him and asked him to pay attention to her. Dipper spun around and completely lost his cool at that. Mabel could only stand and watch in shock as Dipper yelled and screamed at her. He’d screamed so loud that his voice sounded scratchy and raw. All the words seetheing in boiling haterd spilled out of his mouth in a frenized rage. All of them precisely intended for her, like he’d been bottling up all of these feelings for a long time. He’d thought about all this before. Realizing that while she ran through the forest hurt more than the whole thing.
Bill’s eyes blink down at her expectantly. They blend well against the blazing of the scorching sun that silhouettes his angular shape. It appears as almost black in the shadow of the sun. Mabel wipes her eyes. She doesn’t want to be alone anymore. Nothing matters if Dipper doesn’t even care about her anymore. Bill said he’d have her best interests at mind, and he seemed sincere about it. Mabel sighs at the ground. The snail is still inching along despite its circumstances. Mabel wishes she could be more like that.
With one last rub of her eyes, Mabel takes Bill's hand and shakes it. Something about it feels absolute like a cementing promise. Mabel thinks she would’ve preferred a pinky swear.
The bubble sheltering the two blows away in the slight summer breeze. The magic disappearing softly in a glittering of dust. The snail melts soundlessly into the littering leaves of the forest floor, leaving nothing but a puddle that could easily have been mistaken for mud. Mabel doesn’t even notice it. All she sees is the bright glow encompassing her vision. She had a new best friend now. Nothing else mattered. Bill believes in her, and that’s all that she needs.
The sounds of the forest echo as the two walk deeper into the forest.