Heartless, right?

Chapter Nine

Mabel knows something is off the moment she enters the Mystery Shack. She frowns at her brother as he prepares the cash register, headphones on full blast. The only time he ever wears his headphones is when he's having extreme anxiety. What is he hiding? The girl shakes her head and grabs his arm, leading the way to an empty room.

"Mabel, Grunkle Stan needs me at the cash register." He protests when she shuts the door.

"That can wait. What's going on, Dipper?" She demands, grabbing his phone and shutting the music off.

Her twin sighs and pulls the headphones off, "I'm just worried about you. And college, I guess."

"It's more than that, and you know it. What are you hiding? Why did I have to promise to stay away?" Mabel cries. "Dipper, please, you can't leave me in the dark."

Mabel holds back her tears as her brother desperately fights himself. Why can't he just tell her? Did she do something to upset him? No, something else is going on. She grabs Dipper's hand when he starts scratching his arm, a stupid, anxious habit she's tried multiple times to get him to stop.

"Dipper, please just tell me what's going on." She begs, watching her brother break.

"He's back." At those two simple words, Mabel's chest begins to feel heavy. Bill Cipher is back, and her brother didn't tell her?

"When were you planning on telling me?" She asks quietly, but by her brother's uneasy expression, she knows he can sense her anger.

"After you left." He replies guiltily. "Mabel, he's not after you yet. You're still safe. Just four more days, and he won't be able to get to you."

"Are you serious?" Mabel yells. "You were gonna let me be clueless and just leave? Why? So you can play the fucking hero? Was that really your plan? To stay here and let him get you?"

"Mabel, it's not that-"

"No! I don't want to hear your goddamn excuses! You may not care about yourself," she continues, jabbing her brother's chest, "but there are plenty of people who do. Mom, Dad, Grunkle Stan, Grunkle Ford, Wendy, Soos, Pacifica, me." Her voice breaks, but she adds, just above a whisper, "I can't live without you. You can't just die, Dipper."

As her tears begin to fall, she feels Dipper's arms wrap around her. Stroking her hair and whispering reassurances. She clings to her twin, begging him to go back to California with her. She can't lose him. But he just keeps saying everything will be fine.

Behind her, Stan and Ford are asking Dipper what's going on. The older Pines twins are beginning to argue, obviously Stan was left out too.

"So you two get to fight the asshole, but we can't?" Stan asks his brother in anger.

"It was my idea." Dipper states when Ford begins to respond. "The less people who know, the better."

Mabel pushes her brother away, "I'm one of the first people who should know."

"That's exactly what Bill would want." Ford states calmly.

"That shouldn't matter." She argues.

"But it does. The only reason he hasn't gone after you is because I wouldn't tell you anything." Dipper counters.

"How do you know that?"

"Because he told me."

AN: Life is going surprisingly well, so I decided the Mystery Twins needed the torture. Well, hope you enjoyed 😁