My Venom, Chapter 2
Mabel isn't an idiot. She knows better than anyone that messing with demon magic can end badly. But all alone in Piedmont, with no one else to watch her brother's back… maybe this is just what she needs.
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Mabel didn’t know what happened after they tessered away. Maybe they talked for a bit in their room, maybe they hugged, or maybe they simply collapsed into bed, absolutely exhausted. That’s all Mabel remembered - sleeping.
Sleeping, with the fang clutched close to her side. She dreamt of odd things that night, of angry whispers in the dark, of coils tightening and tightening and choking her, of death, of death… and she awoke, groaning, to the sound of her alarm.
Everything hurt, and she really meant everything. It was an effort to roll over and hit snooze, but to sink back into her bed, to close her eyes once again…
“Mabel?”
“Mph, Dipper…” She waved at him. “Noo…”
“Mabel, sweetie? It’s time to get up.”
Sweetie. That wasn’t Dipper.
“You’ve got to get ready for school.” Her mother gently brushed the hair out of her eyes. “Your father’s making breakfast downstairs - if you get ready fast, you can still have a bit before the bus comes!”
Mabel made a face, and then heaved herself up. She realised she still had something in her hands - the fang. Quickly she stashed it under the covers, and got to her feet.
“Doesn’t that sound, uh, nice?” There was something in Anna’s smile. “You look tired, sweetie. Did you stay out late last night?”
Mabel rubbed her eyes. “No,” she lied, and could almost feel her mother’s smile stretch.
“Well, we didn’t see you come home last night. And, heh, we were waiting until way past your curfew!” She gave a wooden laugh. “So that’s… you know, I wanted to-”
“Fine. We went to a party or whatever. We’re back now, aren’t we… Where’s Dipper?” She looked around, and spotted him in the corner. “Oh, there you are! Morning.”
He gave an awkward wave, and Mabel turned back to her.
“See Mom? We’re both fine, so it’s none of your business.”
“I-”
“I’m gonna get changed now! You know, ‘cause I can’t wait to have breakfast with you two and all. So bye.”
Her mother lingered there for a second, mouth open like she wanted to protest… but after a moment, she sighed and made for the door. Mabel closed the door hard behind her, then grimaced and touched her shoulder.
“Ow. I’m sore in places I didn’t even know I could be.” She chuckled at Dipper. “Some night last night, huh?”
He blinked at her. “Yeah… some night. Are you okay?”
“I’ll be okay, don’t worry about me.”
“Mabel…”
“I’ll be fine.” She sank back into the covers, yawning. “Jus’ tired, I… ow.”
“You okay?”
“There’s something in my bed-” She felt the fang, and immediately snorted. “Welp, I nearly stabbed myself just now.”
“What?”
She drew it out, and watched a strange expression flicker across her brother’s face. He looked sort of tense, sort of angry, and she had to call his name before he’d reply.
“Dipper. Dipper. Bro.” She chuckled when he blinked and looked over at her. “What, you don’t like it?”
“Don’t like it?” Dipper curled his lip. “Mabel, it’s a demon.”
“Ohhh nooo, how terrible.”
“That’s- you know what I mean. It’s not like me. It’s dangerous, and we’re gonna get rid of it.” His eyes met hers, and frowned. “Mabel, we’re gonna get rid of it, aren’t we?”
Mabel clutched the fang a little closer to her chest. She opened her mouth, but there was a knock on their bedroom.
“Sweetie?” Anna’s voice again. “Breakfast is-”
“I know! I said we’re getting changed, mom!”
“Okay, I trust you. Just don’t take too long, we-”
“Yeah, yeah, we’re coming!” Mabel snapped. She glanced back at Dipper, and rolled her eyes. “I guess we gotta talk about this later,” she said, and stuffed the fang into her backpack. “Okay, we’re coming down in a second! Let me find a sweater…”
She walked past Dipper to her drawers, and felt his eyes on her as she picked something out. They didn’t talk again; a coming argument hung over them like a storm cloud, waiting to break.
Once Mabel got changed, she hefted her bag and sped down the stairs to the kitchen. The smell of bacon made her stomach rumble; the news channel her parents were scrambling to turn off made it twist.
“-details are constantly emerging of the demonic massacre in Piedmont last night. Strangely, the first 911 calls only reported the incident as a shootout, but the terrible truth emerged when-”
“Mabel!” Mark stabbed the remote and shot up with a wide smile. “You ready for breakfast?”
“Not hungry.”
“Wh- Mabel!” Anna watched her walk past them to the door. “Come back! Can we ask-”
“Sorry, gotta catch the bus! School is important or whatever, you know how it is.”
“Mabel-”
Mabel slammed the front door behind her, and rolled her eyes at Dipper. He made a face.
“You saw the-”
“The TV, yeah.” She took a left - not the way to the bus stop. “Whatever, it’s not like they’re not gonna do anything about it. They don’t even have the guts to ask us about it.”
“Yeah…”
“Don’t worry about it, bro.” Mabel gave a smile. “We got the whole day to ourselves. Wanna go to the park? I think we’ve earned a park day.”