Chapter Text
Winter stood there not knowing what to say as her eyes naturally watched Dipper climb over the fence of the abandoned building in their small city...at the very least, Winter was a bit concerned. Was this run-down building in the middle of two other perfectly fine that sandwiched it, she briefly wondered why they didn't just tear this eerie building down and how the people who come to the other normal buildings must feel at seeing it. Winter gulped down spit as she pointed one of the very few things she had with her--a flashlight--at the ground, she was clearly rethinking this agreement to come along. She didn't exactly believe in the supernatural but Dipper did.
Of course he did,
She knew how obsessed he was this this stuff but she didn't get it. Winter didn't get why he was but she y'know, as the supportive friend she was, always listened to him talk about it.
Who knew it would get her to not be able to turn down this little expedition of theirs.
Winter didn't want to just bolt either, that wouldn't be fair to him he's been planning this for weeks! Winter snapped out of it after the 4th time Dipper called her name.
"Earth to Winter! Are you going to climb over the fence yet or what?" Dipper asked, getting impatient at the fact Winter wasn't listening to him at first. He lightly tapped his foot on the ground as she waited for her to renotice him.
"Right, sorry, I've...y'know never climbed a fence before...." Winter finally said something as she looked at how high the fence seemed to be, now impressed that Dipper managed to climb it and jump off.
"Just put one foot into one hole and so forth, c'mon I rather not get caught" Dipper instructed as he guestured to come over the fence to her. Winter looked at the fence again before stepping closer and started to climb it, putting the base of the flashlight in her mouth to use her other hand to properly climb. She reached the top and sat there for a little bit, hesitating on jumping from the fence.
"C'mon you can do it, I'll catch you or something" Dipper slightly encouraged when he really just wanted her to hurry up as Winter look at him skeptically.
"Right like your skinny ass can hold my weight" Winter shot at him, it was slightly muffled from the flashlight being in her mouth. Dipper just glared at the response and muttered a 'suit yourself,' she looked around before taking a deep breath and jumping down, barley able to properly land on her feet as she wobbled heavily to stay upright. Winter took the flashlight out of her mouth as she shook her head from the plastic taste and smell.
"Blehhh gross" She thought out loud as she tried to shake off the flashlight to get her own spit off of it. Dipper was getting more and more impatient by the minute.
"C'mon, let's get inside before someone realizes we're on the other side of the fence." Dipper continued onward as he turned around and went to the entrance of the old building, one of the double doors creaking at his touch as he opened it. Winter followed behind him and entered into the building with him.
They had no clue how old this building must've been, older than them that was clear. The floorboards groaned in pain at the weight of the both of them as they tried to treat lightly, they didn't exactly feel like falling through the floor right now. Winter made sure to just stay close by to Dipper, Dipper went to go flick on a nearby lightswitch.
Nothing happened,
Figures, the building was too old to still have running electricity.
They kept walking the building as Winter tried to make small talk to lift the gloomy mood floating around this place, climbing stairs both of them weren't sure we're safe to climb.
"So, why this building besides it being creepy as hell?" Winter questioned, her hand purposely grazing the railing, touching the layered on dust that had to have been sitting there for decades.
"It used to be a fancy hotel appearantly, plenty of people that could've possibly does here and be permanent residents here" Dipper answered, but his tone was almost a deadpan one, like he wasn't just joking about possible people dying during their stay here years and years ago. Winter shuddered a little bit at the thought. Dipper saw this and smiled. "That shudder could've been a ghost phasing through you." He pointed out, now joking around with her.
"Haha very funny" Winter replied sarcastically. They reached a floor with just rooms on it, and a old and clearly broken ice machine greeted them at their finished ascent. Winter and Dipper continued to walk on the newly discovered floor, entering into different rooms as they walked down the hallway. The carpet felt squishy under their feet and there was a weird lingering smell through the building which probably meant a mold infestation had happened over the years. Both of them hated the smell as Dipper let out a small gag since he hated weird smells but he pushed through despite it, looking like he was trying his best to take as little breaths as possible. Winter was now in a room by herself as Dipper explored one that was across the hall from hers, all the rooms looked the same which made since because of it being a hotel and all. Despite that, Winter searched the drawers, shining the light of her flashlight into it to see if there was anything. Only some things left behind; a pen, a notepad that was branded by the hotel, and a Bible. Winter could only assume this hotel has been gone since at least the 2000s, most hotels at this point stopped carrying Bibles. Winter closed the draw and went to go search the other one.
Before she could, she heard a rustle coming from the sheets of the bed. Winter gulped down her own spit for the second time, shining her flashlight as the bed. She didn't see anything not even a lump that could indicate that something was there, she sighed and turned around before hearing the slam of something and whipping right back around to see nothing.
Her brain must be messing with her,
Yeah that must be it.
Winter stuck to that logic and got herself to leave the room and go to the one Dipper was in.
"Find anything?" Winter greeted him with a question, leaning on the doorway that was splitting apart.
"No, same old stuff, you?"
"No, just heard some weird noises that turned out to be nothing" Winter informed, Dipper hummed in response as she walked to her. His dark eyes meeting her blue ones before looking away.
"Let's keep going then, there's gotta be some type of ghost in here" Dipper lightly commanded while Winter obliged and followed him further in, going back to the stairs and walking another flight and repeating the cycle. Winter didn't want to admit it but everytime they heard a bang, a shift, a clink, well anything really was starting to get to her.
Was this ghost stuff really true?
No it couldn't be right?
Winter didn't feel like asking Dipper, Dipper would just make her more paranoid by trying to convince her this supernatural stuff was actually real. So she just kept walking and going through the rooms and reached the end of the hall again, for the second time.
"Well, they're should be one more floor, keep going?" Dipper suggested, still wanting to find something, anything, to prove once and for all that would show Winter ghost and other things were real.
"I guess so" Winter responded simply, before a crash was heard as both of them quickly turned around and saw a vase from a cabinet in the hallway was knocked down. Now smashed into several peices. Both of them paused for a minute, Dipper was now excited and anxious finally thinking they found something while Winter was more concerned and worried.
The scratching sound of claws hitting the wall came next, both of them backed up and now saw the wallpaper torn in a spot. The situation seeming to get more ominous by the second, Dipper stepped forward and slightly in front of Winter.
"Just stay behind me okay?" Dipper advised, Winter felt...something, seeing that small flare of determination and braveness in his eyes was pretty admireable in a situation like this where there may or may not be a ghost.
"Right what are you gonna do? Fight the ghost?" Winter said to him as she raised an eyebrow at him, her voice slightly wavering but she was trying to hide it by sassing him.
"Tch no I have the needed items no professional comes to these things with no defense, as long as it's not a high category ghost we're good," He answered, pulling out anointed water among other things. Winter just thought about how her literal only hope was her best friend; 14 year old boy that claimed he's faced the paranormal before.
And God did she hope that was true two seconds later once they heard more clanking and the ripping sound of maybe a sheet or a paper and things clashing into one another. Winter stepped a little bit closer to him, the possible ghost sounding like it was getting closer and closer, Dipper held the stuff he needed in his hands. He already put the flashlight down ahead of time.
The sounds got closer,
And closer,
And closer,
Until they heard the sound of the possibly ghost hopping onto the cabinet closest to them. In that moment, they both heard a screech as Winter jumped, Dipper tried to stay still but his eyes gave away more anxiety at the noise as his hands started shaking. Winter slowly put her flashlight, even though ghost probably weren't visible she was going to try to see anyway as she lifted her flashlight to where the cabinet was.
Both Dipper and Winter were jumpy now as Winter reached the tip of the top of the cabinet and lifted it an inch higher....
To only find a raccoon,
Yeah, a raccoon, it looked a little bit aggressive but besides that it wasn't any danger to them.
Winter let out a sigh of relief and laughed nervously to herself. "Oh my God, it's just a raccoon, thank God" She felt her heart rate slowly down as she kept the flashlight on the raccoon. The raccoon eventually noticed and hissed at the light before jumping off the cabinet and scurried off to go make chaos somewhere else. Both Dipper and Winter looked at each other and broke into a small fit of chuckles, laughing at their light fear a minute ago.
"So do you still want to keep going?" Dipper suggested again, referring to the fact that there was still a floor to go.
"Nah, I think that paranoia is enough for one night" Winter answered, smiling a little bit relief as Dipper groaned playfully.
"But we still didn't find a ghost" He complained even though he was already putting his materials back in his backpack.
"I know, but maybe we'll find one next time?" Winter offed, eluding to the fact she might do this again with him if he wanted to. His eyes lit up and it was almost visible in the dark.
"Next time? Seriously?" Dipper said excitedly, rocking back and forth on his heels.
"I mean yeah, sure why not?" Winter shrugged, finding it endearing inside on how happy he was at hearing she could be open to doing this again. "I just want to go home for now though."
"Yeah alright let's get out of here, the smell makes me want to puke anyway" Dipper half-joked, referring to the mold smell around them as Winter lightly laughed.
"Yeah c'mon let's head out" Winter said as they walked away and made their way out of the building together alive with no sightings of ghosts for Winter.....
Yet.