where'd you go? | Gravity Falls

4

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Mabel's P.O.V

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Dipper and I walk back to the Shack side by side. We've been walking for a pretty long time, and now I see why Dipper was having troubles finding me.

I try to spark up an exciting conversation to pass time. "Blue hair, blue eyes--"

"I know. I saw her." Dipper says in a bored tone.

"Lighten up, sweetheart," I coo. He rolls his eyes and smiles a little. I let out a small chuckle. "Hey. Why do you think she's that way though? Looks and action-wise. I want to hear it from you."

He whistles. "No idea. Probably is a scene wanna-be. Didn't you almost go through that phase in like, eighth grade?"

I smile at the memory. "Yeah. Good thing you stopped me. It would've been pretty cool if I went through that phase, though. More stories to tell my lovely future nieces and nephews."

"Ha," he scoffs. "And let my future kids follow in your footsteps? No thanks."

I smile.

Then I feel it fade away as the thought of someone very particular emerges my mind. "Hey."

"Yeah?"

I sigh. "Soos has been missing for months now, hasn't he?"

Just like how I reacted to the news, Dipper was surprised. "First of all, why? When? Why did this never show up on TV? The police, did they do anything to find him or--"

"I don't know." I say firmly. He shuts up.

"It makes no sense--Soos wouldn't have a relevant reason to go just like that. The town is his home. Unless..."

I look up from the ground. "Unless?"

"Unless he left Gravity Falls to wherever the hell his dad is, with the thought of where his dad stays is where he belongs, without telling anybody. Not even his grandma." He says.

All I do is shrug at the possible suggestion. But Soos loves his grandmother. He would ask permission from her grandmother first before doing anything, especially something as odd as that. "It makes no sense at all," I say.

The rest of the walk back is filled with uncomfortable silence.

From the corner of my eye, I notice that Dipper was looking at me. "What?" I ask him.

He opens his mouth to talk, but nothing comes out. Furrowing his eyebrows, he shakes his head and replies, "Nothing."

I know something's up. It's in these moments where he starts brainstorming. What is he thinking of?

Despite my curiosity of what's going on in his thoughts at the moment, I say nothing.

And it stays that way until we reach the Mystery Shack.

"Mind telling me where you've been?" Stan asks as he pours some milk into an empty bowl.

I raise an eyebrow at the bowl. "Why are you pouring milk in before the cereal?" I ask back.

Dipper enters the kitchen, throwing himself in one of the rusty old dining chairs. "And more importantly, why are you eating cereal for lunch?"

Stan half-smiles. "The answer to Mabel's question," he grabs a box of unopened cereal, "is because the way I think and the way you think is different. I don't like soggy cereal. The asnwer to Dipper's question, well, it's just because."

"Just because." Dipper mocks him. "Yeah, and we left the Shack just because, too."

I chuckle as Stan gives my brother 'the look'. Now that he looks older, it looks way funnier than it had years ago.

We don't talk for a moment. It's hard to find a topic to talk about. I would want to ask Stan about Soos, but--

"Hey, Grunkle Stan," Dipper says. "Can I ask you something?"

"Go for it, kiddo," Stan replies as he eats a spoonful of cereal.

Dipper gives me a small glance before he says his next sentence. Uh-oh.

"Where's Soos? We haven't seen him around. Usually he would have been--"

"We don't talk about Soos." Stan interrupts.

I feel my expression change. I mean, Stan would do this if Soos was around, but under these circumstances I thought he would've at least showed that he cared. I decide to speak. "Why don't we talk about him?"

Stan firmly loosely the spoon in his hand, waving it at me. "The town agreed to not mention him whatsoever. I'm simply just following the rules--"

"What rules? You don't follow rules!" Dipper blurts out. At this point I know his mind is buzzing. If he wants answers, he'll get them, one way or another.

All Stan does is sigh.

"Grunkle Stan, seriously? Where is Soos? What do you mean by rules? Just--"

Stan snaps at him. "Look, kid, all I'm trying to do is protect you! Do you think that I don't give a damn about him? Well guess what, I do. I really do. I'm just doing what's best for you guys. For us," he looks at me and Dipper with a stern face. "So please. Leave this man to eat his cereal in peace."

Dipper and I exchange glances, and he walks out the kitchen, clearly angry at the answer we were given. Stan just keeps eating.

Unsure of what to think about the situation, I stand there, frozen.