Gravity Falls: Battle of the Pines

~3~ Parental Persuasion

I don't think we've ever been rushed from one house to another so fast. Dad wasn't wasting any time today, and for once, he didn't seem as upset as usual, even though he had to drive us all the way to Mom's. The ride was practically silent, except for Dad blaring his music so loud that it wouldn't have mattered if we talked or not—we could hardly hear our own thoughts.

As soon as we got to Mom's, Mabel was out of the car, running to see Waddles. Before I could even say hi to him, she was off again, heading out to meet her friends. That left me at home with nothing to do but binge-watch a bunch of shows I've seen too many times. The weekend flew by, and before I knew it, Monday morning had arrived. I was almost excited about the day, but then Mabel came in and rained on my parade.

"Ugh, Dipper! This isn't fair. I'm going to fail my test, and they're going to hold me back, and you'll always be the smarter twin," she whined, waving her homework in front of me.

I scanned my eyes over it and shook my head, handing her my bag. She sat down and started copying my notes like usual while I tried to keep her spirits up. "Don't worry, Mabel. You'll do great on these tests. Just try not to get distracted drawing again," I chuckled, reminding her of that one time two years ago when she only answered a handful of questions because she was too busy sketching unicorns. Her face turned a little red at the memory.

"C'mon, you guys, we need to go now," Mom called as she walked into the kitchen, her thin high heels clicking against the floor.

Mabel and I exchanged a look before getting up to follow her out the door. Today seemed like it was going to be any other normal day—until we got to school, of course. As soon as everyone remembered there was major testing today, things started to get chaotic. Some kids were crying in the hallways, others were getting angry, and a few were frantically trying to cram before the bell rang.

Mabel and I made our way to the cafeteria, enjoying the school's almost horrible breakfast pizza. It sounds good in theory, but in mass production, it's really not. After breakfast, we headed to our locker to grab our stuff for the day and made our way to the gym to get separated for testing.

It wasn't long before we were assigned to different classrooms for the first two tests, and I could feel the worry creeping in. Mabel never did well under pressure, and I was usually there to have her back, even if it was just a reassuring gesture from across the room. But this was high school, and they made it clear from day one that they weren't going to keep us together just because we were "weird twins." We didn't fight it—we were too exhausted from everything else going on to make a fuss this year.

As the day drew closer to an end, we were all shuffled into a big study hall with the other students, since there weren't any more tests to take. I realized I hadn't seen much of Mabel all day. When I finally found her, she was sitting alone, totally by herself. It took everything in me not to lose it right there in the cafeteria when she told me why.

Something had happened during the test. Her friends, or at least the girls she thought were her friends, had joined in with the mean girls. They started picking on Mabel, who was one of the last kids still working on the test. The girls began throwing things at her and whispering cruel things as they walked past. By the end of it, they'd even roped in Mabel's friends, so now she felt like she didn't have anyone left.

We were the first ones out of the cafeteria that day. I got into the car, fuming mad—not at the girls, but at my parents. If they had worked out their petty issues while we were away that summer like they were supposed to, Mabel would still be her bubbly self, the kind of person who wouldn't let bullying get to her. But because of the divorce, she wasn't able to handle it the same way anymore.

"Mom, can we go back to Dad's tonight? I forgot something I need for class tomorrow," I said, trying to sound casual. Mom muttered an "uh-huh," and instead of turning right to head home, she took a left out of the school parking lot, heading toward Dad's.

"Dipper, what are you doing? We don't even have classes tomorrow," Mabel whispered, confused.

"Don't worry, Mabel. I have a plan," I reassured her, and with that, the car ride to Dad's was silent—almost pin-drop quiet, except for Mom mumbling about work as she drove.

When we got to Dad's, I asked Mom if she could come in and help us grab our stuff. She was hesitant at first but must have decided that not helping would only make it take longer. We all walked inside and were surprised to see Dad sitting upright on the couch, watching TV.

"Mom, Dad, I'm glad you're both here," I said, feeling like I was addressing Congress or something. "I'm not sure if you've noticed, but our world has gone to shit." I raised my hand to silence them as they opened their mouths to scold me for cussing. "I'm not done," I said, stopping them in their tracks. Their faces contorted, clearly not expecting this from me.

"You've upset me and Mabel, and you don't even seem to care. Mom, you didn't even ask how our day was—you didn't even know we had tests today," I said, watching as her expression shifted, maybe starting to understand why I was acting like this. "Anyway, long story short, Mabel and I are tired of it, and we're not doing this anymore. We want to go back to Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford. And just so you know, if you don't let us go, we're going to run away there when summer ends." I crossed my arms, feeling a surge of pride as I stood my ground. Mabel looked at me with that old sparkle in her eye, like I was some kind of superhero.

"Dipper, all you had to do was ask," Dad said, his tone flat. When I opened my smugly shut eyes, I saw both of them staring at me with upset faces.

"But since you had to be dramatic and swear as well, you're grounded," Mom added.

Dammit... At least we're going back to Gravity Falls.

~~Yay, chapter 3 is out and not too long—about 1.1k (Wattpad) words! With this one being published, I'm becoming obsessed with writing this story. I hope everyone enjoys reading it and likes my idea because I'm really loving this story and can't wait to take it in the direction I have planned. After this chapter is published on both Wattpad and Inkitt, I'll be making a chapter in the book for updates, as I think it will be easier to find than a post. Hope you enjoyed reading! The next part will most likely be out later today!~~