Where The Darkness Lies (Reverse Falls Fanfic)

Chapter 4

Gideon

"Okay, whoever thought hanging up signs in the middle of a-probably haunted-forest was a good idea, was wrong." I grumbled to myself as I hammered another nail into a tall pine tree.

'Seriously.' I thought to myself as I hung up a sign that said Mystery Shack Up Ahead. 'No one will even see these.'

I bent down to gather up the signs that I'd left on the floor, and winced when a stray piece of wood stabbed me.

"Ow." I muttered as I picked them all up again and began venturing deeper into the trees.

After about two minutes of mindlessly wandering-and totally not jumping at every sound I heard-I dropped the signs and sunk to the forest floor.

I heaved a sign and rested my head against the trunk of a pine tree, only to hear a semi-loud clank followed my an echo.

I jumped back and shot into a standing position, staring at the tree like it was an alien.

Cautiously, I took a step towards it, and leaned my ear against the trunk only to feel not only a smooth and cool surface, but even some air coming from inside.

Then, just to be extra sure, I brought up a tentative hand and knocked twice.

The knock echoed, and I leaned back with my eyes widened.

I reached forward again and brushed off some dust before finding an opening. Holding my breath, I pulled it open.

Inside the tree sat a strange looking tan device, that almost looked like a receiver but not exactly. There were two small switches coming out of the top on the right, so, naturally, I reached forward and starting flipping them.

It wasn't until I moved the second switch that I heard something behind me open, followed by a startled goat.

I turned around and raised an eyebrow at the new found opening in the forest floor. Walking over, I cautiously bent down to see a book of some sort.

"Huh..." I reached in and brought it out, blowing on it.

It was a thick red covered journal with a gold six-fingered hand and the number 3 in the middle.

"Whatcha got there?" A sickly sweet voice asked from behind me.

Panicking, I shoved the book in my red vest's inside pocket and shot up straight, turning around to see a girl who was slightly taller than me with perfectly curled brown hair falling down her back-not a single strand out of place-and wide yet calculating blue eyes looking back at me.

I eyed the girl, wondering who she was and why she was here. She was wearing a dress that was all black except for a sky-blue strip down the middle with a few black buttons and a white rectangle at the top.

She was wearing black tights and sky-blue heels. Covering her hands were black gloves, and a star pendant poked out from underneath her dress's black collar. And the last thing I noticed was a blue and black striped headband with a blue oval gem attached to a black bow.

"I-I-"

"I-I, ahahaha!" The girl mocked me, laughing like it was the funniest thing in the world.

She placed a perfectly manicured hand on her hip and brushed back the invisible hair on her shoulder. 

"Well, aren't you just adorable?" She changed demeanor extremely quickly, smiling heavenly at me in a way that would make any guy-or possibly girl-fall for her.

But I saw the devious look in her practically glowing blue eyes, and I wasn't fooled.

"N-no, not really..." I spoke awkwardly, wanting more than anything to sprint out of here as fast as my legs would take me.

The girl walked up to me and placed a hand on my cheek, tilting her head a bit to the side.

"Are you sure, because you look pretty cute to me."

I blinked, trying not to glare at her for the unwanted attention. Sure, she was pretty, but she changed moods so fast and I've only just met her.

"Hey, Gids~" A playful, sing-song voice called happily from somewhere nearby, and I let out a breath of relief.

The girl, noticing my sudden comfort, sneered and lost her composure.

"You'll never guess who I just met today in the fore-oh, who's this?" I turned my head to the right to see Pacifica looking the brown haired girl up and down with a slight frown on her face.

The girl gave Pacifica a death glare and took her hand away from my face, stepping away from me.

Pacifica, however, refused to notice the extremely threatening look that this other girl was sending her way. It sent shivers down my spine and it wasn't even directed at me.

My best friend skipped up to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, a proud smile on her face.

"Ah, my little Giddy, did you finally find yourself a friend?" Pacifica clapped once. "Well, this is delightful! Oh, I know! We should-"

"Shut up, you little twat." The brown haired girl spat, placing both hands on her wait and jutting her hip out. "Couldn't you see we were talking?"

He words leaked venom, but Pacifica was either oblivious or chose to ignore it.

My blonde haired friend took her arm away from my shoulders and tapped her chin, as if in thought, before her ocean blue eyes lit up with recognition and she grinned happily.

"Oh my gosh, are you Mabel Gleeful?!" She asked excitedly, and the brown haired girl-apparently named Mabel-smirked.

Flipping her brown hair back-even though it wasn't even in the way-she stood up straighter and pushed her chin out with a look of pride across her features.

"Yes. I am." A look flashed in her eyes, something that told me she was evil, but then it vanished and I couldn't tell if I was imagining things. "And you're an annoying brat."

Pacifica, just now noticing how serious this was girl on insulting her, blinked. Her bright smile slipped away, tugging her lips into a straight line and she turned to me, tugging on my navy blue long sleeve shirt.

"Let's get back to the shack, Gids." She spoke, and I could tell by the slight tremble in her voice that she was trying her hide her nervousness. 

Pacifica has been dealing with a bullying problem for years now, and last year she had a major anxiety attack when she came over to my house balling her eyes out. 

But that's not even the scariest part. For me, it's that I couldn't even tell anything was wrong until that day. She's extremely good at hiding her feelings when she needs to, so when she finally told me everything I was shocked.

She also made me swear not to tell her parents, which I reluctantly agreed too. But Pacifica is stronger than other people think, so I have high hopes that she'll be able to get through it. Though a big reason why I invited her to come with me this summer was because I didn't want her to be stuck back at home with those jerks.

Anyway, my point, is that if this girl is intimidating Pacifica, then things are going to get rough unless we leave soon.

"Yeah." I nodded to her, grabbing her hand reassuringly. "You're right, Uncle Bud will wonder what's taking us so long."

Mabel, looking extremely infuriated, stomped her foot on the forest floor and straightened her arms at her sides, her hands curling into fists.

She gave Pacifica a pointed glare. "You'll regret this, you stupid girl. I promise you." 

And with that, Mabel turned her head, her perfect brown curls swishing back and forth as she stomped off into the forest.

A/N~ Hey everyone! Sorry it took me this long to get out a chapter, but here it is! I hope you enjoy it and don't be afraid to give me any tips or anything in the comments! :)

~Zee