Hi quick shameless mention to my new revamped version of The Ghost Trap!
You should totally give it a read✨
Okay bai❤️

~~~~~~~~~Dipper's POV~~~~~~~~~

I bit the end of my thumb as I sat behind the gift shop counter, feeling nothing but worry and anxiety rising inside with every second that passed. (y/n) hadn't been out of his room in days, not since he came home from our trip to the museum. I had tried to talk to him several times, offer him food, or a shoulder to cry on, or an ear to vent to, but he just insisted he was fine and needed some time alone.

Any time the door opened, any door, I'd look over, excited to see my boyfriend out of his room, but to no avail. Stan even started to find it funny every time it happened.

I had my head down as I rubbed my temples when Mabel suddenly came running in, waving some pieces of paper over her head, "Dipper, guess what?! Guess what?!"

"You got Waddles a legal birth certificate?"

"No, that's still a work in progress! Gotta call up Quentin for that!!" She slammed the papers on the counter in front of me, "I found Stan's employee sheets! They say everything about Soos, Wendy, and (y/n)!"

I took one of the papers, eyeing them suspiciously, "Isn't this kinda stalker-y?"

"C'mon, Dip! Aren't you curious about some friendly friend's secrets?!"

"What secrets would Stan possible keep as-" Then a piece of information on (y/n)'s paper made me laugh, "Check this out! (y/n)'s got a lifetime 50% off special at the Laser Tag place! I didn't know he loved laser tag so much!"

Mabel's smile grew, "Whoa!! I didn't know there was a laser tag place on the first place!"

"Full name, (y/n) (m/n) (l/n). Birthdate, July 13th." My eyes widened as the realization struck, "Wait a minute.. That's today!"

"Whoa!!"

"That's weird, I wonder why he never told me.."

"Uh, duh!! It's probably because he wants someone to throw him a surprise party!! That's probably why he's been in his room this whole time!! I can relate! I've been waiting for a surprise party my whole life!"

"Surprise!!" Candy yelled as she threw confetti over Mabel.

In return, Mabel glared back at her, "Too little too late, Chiu.."

"Aww..."

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

(y/n) never seemed to be the type to like surprises. If anything, he was someone who probably got anxious at big surprises like that. So keeping that in mind, we planned to decorate the outside of the shack for a birthday party and lead him out later without the big surprise jump scare; if he was even up to leaving his room for it.

Once things were ready, I was naturally tasked with bringing him, so I went to his room and knocked softly. "(y/n)? It's me, again.."

When there was no response, I nervously continued, "I wanted to ask if you could join me outside for a moment? There's something I wanna show you."

"Show me?" I heard him ask from the other side of the door, "Show me what exactly?"

"It's a surprise. Nothing big, but we think it's special, if you're okay with coming out.."

There was a moment of silence, and for a moment, I thought that was the end of the conversation and I'd have to go back without our guest of honor. But my hopes rose back up when I heard the door's lock change and the door open, revealing a slightly tired (y/n), "I can spare a while.."

With a smile, I led him outside. Normally the person is blindfolded when taken to their surprise party, or led to a closed door. But knowing how anxious (y/n) was as a person, and how bad he had been feeling about it, I decided against it.

He followed willingly, a little paranoid, but didn't complain. He seemed a little confused when we stepped outside, and already startled when all the decorations came into view, "Uh, Maze, what's.."

"SURPRISE," yelled everyone as they came out of their hiding spots. (y/n) didn't flinch, but he did grip my hand all the tighter.

Mabel was the first to run over, a bright smile on her face, "Happy birthday, (y/n)!! We got everything you love!! (f/toping) pizza, (f/flavor) cake-!!"

"We even got all your favorite video games set up for you," Candy added as Grenda threw a few discs in the air, which ended up shattering a few.

I was already worried about (y/n)'s reaction, and the breaking of discs solidified it. Instead though, his voice sounded shaky, as if he was about to cry, "You.. all did this..? For me..?"

"Well, of course!! You're our friend, after all!"

For a moment, a smile formed on his face at Mabel's statement, but it faded away just as quickly, pulling his hand away from mine as he took a step back, "W-wow, I.. this is.. Thank you for all this, but.. I'm just.. it's not.. ... I need a moment.." And with that, he rushed away.

I was about to chase after him, when Wendy and Stan both turned the corner to us. "Whoa, did you guys see (y/n)? What happened to-?" Wendy cut herself off, her eyes widening at the decorations, "Oh no, oh no no..! Okay, you guys didn't know so it's totally not your fault, but (y/n) hates his birthday!"

"What?!"

"It's a total mystery! People around town never even knew he had a birthday until he got his job here at the shack! Guess he's just always felt that way."

Mabel turned to me, "There's gotta be something we can do!"

"We've tried everything!"

Stan stepped in after Wendy, "I even petitioned the government to have this day removed from calendars. Now I'm not allowed on airplanes."

"But.. no one deserves to be alone on their birthday!"

At Mabel's statement, I looked down in thought, "Maybe instead of a birthday, we can just take him out like a normal day, do something we know he likes. Something like..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Laser Tag?" (y/n) looked around the dark and purple building with neon lights, his smile a bit shy, "How'd you guys know I liked Laser Tag..?"

"Um, we definitely didn't read Grunkle Stan's employee files," Mabel said with an awkward chuckle.

He was about to answer, when a voice spoke through from the speakers, "Welcome to the year 8000!! Society collapsed, fog machines everywhere,-!!"

Wendy ignored it, touching the walls, "Are these walls just mattresses spray painted purple?"

"I think this place used to be a mattress store," Stan explained.

Part of (y/n) seemed excited for the experience, especially as the gear was placed on him, but another said was cautious, looking at me in worry, "I-I dunno, guys, I'm not sure I'm up to this today.."

I leaned up, pecking his cheek, "Don't worry, (y/n), as soon as you start playing with us, you're gonna have a great time!"

Mabel lightly punched his arm, "We promise, no matter what happens, we won't leave your side!"

He smiled at that, nodding, "I guess I can give it a shot.."

We shared a smile and faced ahead, running inside a white room as the gates opened. It wasn't what I had pictured considering the aesthetic of the lobby, but it still fit the Laser Tag vibe.

Mabel thought the same as she looked around, "Whoa, this is even cooler than I imagined!!"

That's when two men in futuristic policemen attire appeared in front of us, glares on their faces. "Look how real these laser guys are," Mabel pointed out as she walked over, kicking one of the guys' crotch area.

What I didn't expect was for the area to talk back, "Kick deflected! Thank you for buying Digi-cod: the smart codpiece!"

"Wait, what?"

It all hit me like a bus. I instantly turned around to see (y/n) still at the other side of the gate, tying his shoes, "Oh no!! (y/n)!!"

We both tried to ran out, but the gates closed on our faces as Mabel tried to kick it down.

"Nice try," one of the guards started, "but that's solid time-tanium, kid! There's only one way out of here!"

"Through me!!" Beside them was a bald man with goggles and a see-through suit. See through as in we could see the wall behind him, not his underwear, thankfully. That didn't seem to be the initial plan though, for he started stumbling on his words and fiddling with his watch, changing his suit to look like different sceneries, then finally a plain gray suit, "Through me! And that's what it would've been like if I just gotten it right the very first chance, but it still as affective!"

We both gasped, Mabel pointing him out, "The time traveler guy!! What did you say your name was again? Blendo? Blondin?"

I snapped my fingers as I remembered, "Blar-Blar!"

"There it is!!"

"It's Blendin," he yelled in anger, "Blendin Blenjamin Blandin!! How could you not know my name after you ruined my life?!" Confused about what he meant, Mabel and I shared a glanced, to which he continued to explain, "Initiate flashback!! It was after you stole my time device to win your stupid pig! I was cast out of the time anomaly removal crew, my whole life's purpose!! Then I was given ten squared life sentences in time prison! I spend everyday since then planning my vengeance! And now finally, it has come!!"

But we really didn't have time for all this exposition. "Look, we're sorry about all that, but we're in the middle of something really important right now!"

Mabel nodded, continuing for me, "It's Dipper's boyfriend's birthday today, and we promised we wouldn't leave his side!"

"What?!" He laughed in our faces, "You think some dumb birthday matters right now?! Do you know where you are?! Welcome... to Globnar!!"

The wall behind the guards opened up, revealing an arena coded in pink neon lights with several warriors with matching weapons fought around.

Mabel looked around, "Is this a reality show? Are we in Japan?"

"It's gladiatorial time combat," Blending continued to explain, "The winner gets a precious time wish, and then decides the loser's fate!! And the two of you are officially challenged!! Dundgren, get me my war-paint!!"

As one of the guards started painting his face with neon grewn paint, Mabel pulled me aside, "Dipper, we need a way out of here, but how?!"

I looked around, noticing the other guard had the same time device we had used months ago, "I have an idea."

Mabel nodded, "Hang in there, (y/n), we're coming for you."

So we came up with a plan. There wasn't much we could do with our limited resources, so we relied on the small pieces of information we had gathered.

Mabel was first, walking over to one of the guards with a caring expression, "Oh my stars! Could it be? My little, um.." She glanced at his name tag, then smiled, "Lolphie! It's me, your great, great, great," she looked at me as I snuck behind the same guard, signaling her how much to add, "great, great, great, great grandmother! From the past times..!"

The guard glared at her for a while, and I got nervous about whether or not it would work. But then he smiled, like a child who just found his favorite toy after so long, "Gam Gam..?"

She continued to distract him, and I took the opportunity to snatch the time measure back, cautiously so he wouldn't notice. Unfortunately, Blendin noticed, yelling out what I was doing, No, you can't let them escape!! Stop them!!" He leaped at us, but we ran for the other side, letting him fall on his face.

The guard Mabel had spoken you looked heartbroken, "Gam Gam, how could you?!"

"I ain't no one's Gan Gam, sucka," Mabel yelled back, "You just got time tricked!!" Then she turned to me in a panic, "Hurry, to (y/n)'s birthdate!"

"Okay, I think.. I've... got it!!" Once I let go of the tape, the world was too bright to see for a while, the same feeling we'd get back when we used it for the first time. Thankfully, it didn't last long, and we quickly felt a softness underneath us.

Mabel began to look around, raising an eyebrow, "Uh.. are we back?"

"Oh no, look!" I pointed forward, "Mabel, the laser place is a mattress store! We went to far in the past!"

"Time travel!! Man, why you gotta be so complicated?!"

We both panicked when Blendin and the two guards formed in front of us, quickly hiding under the bed we landed on as we tried to be as quiet as possible.

One of the guards looked around, his expression serious as always, "Looks like they overshot their destination by two years."

"I don't see them! You better find those kids!!" Blendin yelled back.

The other guard replied this time, "You'll get your justice, Blendin."

"I'm gonna keep stammering until you find them!!! I-I-I- I-I- I- I-I-," then he walked away.

The guard we tricked earlier turned to the other, "I hate that guy."

"Let's move," the other ordered, the two doing some parkour as they went to the exit, fist bumping, and leaving.

Once we made sure they wouldn't come back, we crawled out from our hiding place as I let out a sigh of relief, "Okay, we've just got to go forward two years, we can be back before (y/n) even realizes we were gone."

That's when Mabel gasped, lifting up our time tape, "The timey thing! It's busted!"

I took it in my hands, seeing it buzz out as sparks flew out of it, thinking for a while. "I think I can fix it, but I'll need some tools." Looking outside, I noticed a sign that pointed right back home, a smile growing on my face, "And I think I know where to get some."

It didn't take us long for us to get to the Mystery Shack since by now we knew this place like the back of our hands, and a two year difference doesn't often change much anyway. It was weird to see everyone we knew younger, even if ever so slightly different.

Once we got there, I quickly went to get some tools while Mabel went off on her own, starting to work on the time tape in my own little bubble. For futuristic technology, it was a surprisingly easy fix, and I had it good as new in no time!

I think.

But I didn't have time to test it out when Mabel rushed over to me screaming, "Dipper, Dipper!! Look!!"

When I looked over, my eyes widened at the sight. He hasn't change too much, so he was easy to recognize; it was (y/n)!

A younger version, two years younger, so eleven years old. He was shorter in height, shorter than me, and he styled his hair differently than what I was used to. Same for his outfit; the leather jacket was nowhere in sight, just a t-shirt with the logo of a show I knew he liked, and no piercings had been made yet.

He was working at the cash register here in the gift shop, minding his own business until someone came to make a purchase, where he'd great them with the smile I had grown so used to, though a more childlike and naive version.

Mabel gasped, smiling at me, "Maybe we can find out why he hates his birthday!!"

"But we have to go back now," I argued back.

Mabel pouted, "But this might be our only chance!!"

I thought about it for a while. I already had a pretty good guess as to why he hated his birthday, but maybe this way, I could really make sure. So I let out a sigh, "Alright, but we need to be quick."

Younger (y/n) looked at the wall, then began to gather his things before clocking out. He waved at us, blissfully unaware of the situation we were in as he left. As soon as he did though, those that remained in the store stifled in a giggle, and I began to grow worried.

We waited a minute or two to follow, seeing the sun starting to set from a far. I remember the way to (y/n)'s old shack, you had to cross a the town in order to reach the other end of the forest; along the way, he waved at everyone he knew, which was almost everyone that passed by. Just as he told me once in the past, everyone seemed to address him by Pip rather than his name, and he smiled whenever they did.

Now we were close to the edge of the forest, close to the tiny shack he called him for a long time, when a few of the townsfolk blocked our path. Lazy Susan spoke first, "Well, aren't you in a rush! You know, a little birdie told me it was someone's birthday today!"

(y/n) smiled kindly, but I noticed his eyes glance up to the falling sun for just a moment, "Really? Didn't know birds were such gossips!"

"How about you come with us to the town square?!" Manly Dan put on his nicest smile, though it still gave me chills, "You might like what you see!!"

"Thanks, guys, I'm sure it is, but," another glance at the sun, this time looking more panicked, "I really need to get home, it's was a long day, I could really use a shower and some sleep!"

"Nonsense!!" He let out a scream of surprise as Manly Dan picked him up and rested him on his shoulder, the group starting to walk back to the town square, "You can do your girly hygiene stuff later!!"

(y/n) laughed, a forced laugh, though whether it was because the comment made him uncomfortable or his time was running out, I didn't know. Probably both. He kept glancing at the sun, which sunk more and more into the ground, his skin growing pale. Still, he couldn't be honest, no one would believe him.

Mabel and I hid just outside the town square, where we heard the entire town scream "Surprise, happy birthday!!" Everyone we knew was there, and the town had been decorated with balloons and confetti and even a cake had been made for the occasion.

For a moment, he was happy, I could see it in his face that he wanted to stay and enjoy the festivities. But as what was left of the sunlight disappeared, and the full moon began to shine, his eyes widen as they flickered to (f/c) for a split second, backing away from everyone. "This- this is all really kind, it's amazing! But I- I really need to go!"

"But you just got here," someone from the crowd said, followed by many starting to beg him to stay and celebrate.

But it was getting painful. He was starting to hyperventilate, gripping his head, trying to keep it together. He couldn't take it anymore, and he ran into the forest as fast as we could, leaving the people in the square confused and disappointed. Mabel and I were about to run after him; we couldn't stop things from happening, not when we already knew the laws of time by now, but we needed to see what happened.

But we didn't have to.

Not a minute later, a loud roar came out of the forest, followed by trees in the distance starting to fall one by one. The people in the town started to scream, running the opposite way while others ran the nearest weapon.

Mabel turned to me, panic on her face, "Dipper, what do we do?!"

I didn't know what to answer, not until I heard the familiar whiny voice of Blendin, spotting him with the guards. "Man, the sooner I defeat those kids in Globnar, the sooner I can win my time wish!"

"Tell you what I'd do if I had a time wish," one of the guards explained with a warm smile, "Retire early, spend more time with the kids.."

"Nya nya nya nya nya with the kids!!" Blendin mocked, glaring at the two. "Don't you know a time wish can do literally anything? Any impossible problem solved, just like that?! I mean, imagine the possibilities!!"

My eyes widened at the realization, "Wait! Mabel, that's it, the time wish!! If we defeat Blendin in that space battle-"

"Then we can wish (y/n)'s monster to disappear, and he won't have to worry about going all.." She waved her arms like claws and roared herself. Then she looked at me again, a little worried, "But do you really think we can win Globnar?"

"It's the only chance we have. Besides, it's for (y/n).." We both turned to wear the roaring was coming from, "He would do the same for us.."

We nodded to each other, determined to win whatever Globnar, walking out of our hiding place with our hands raised in surrender as I spoke, "Here we are, Blendin. We surrender."

"It's them!!"

"Freeze!!" one of the guards yelled, pointing their guns at us.

"Careful," the other warned. "They're from the past! They might have powder muskets or slap bracelet!"

"Look, guys, no tricks this time," I assured, "We're ready to challenge you, okay?"

"Yes!! Let the Globnar begin!! Prepare.. for... GLOBNAAA-" Blendin had raised his arms as he yelled, when his voice suddenly cut off. Even he was confused by this.

That's when one of the guards smiled at their coworker, "Hey, turns out I can mute him!"

"Man, I wish we'd known that earlier."

In the next second, we were sent to the place we had been lost in before, the dark arena accented by glowing neon pink, with many different kinds of warriors fighting against each other.

That's when a large hole opened up in the other side of the arena, where a giant baby floating in a just as big baby case appeared. And I mean giant as in the side of a building!

"Silence," its voice boomed powerfully. Someone from the audience didn't get the memo and continued to cheer, instantly getting obliterated by the baby's laser vision.

Mabel and I stared in shock, with her going, "That is one big baby..!"

"Welcome, Globnar tributes! I have a very important nap to get to so let's make this quick. You each have a chance to settle your time-feud through gladiatorial combat."

A robot came flying in front another direction, carrying an hourglass-shaped bottle fit for a giant baby, "You will have until Time Baby finishes drinking the cosmic sand in this hourglass!"

The baby pushed the bottle away in complaint, "No!"

"Come on!"

"Ow!"

"It's good for you!"

"Wah!!"

"Get ready, kids," Blendin smirked as he turned to us. "When I get that time wish, you'll wish you were never born! Or rather, you'll wish you were born, because I'm gonna wish you were never born!!"

"Dream on," I yelled. "There's two of us!"

"And we have hair!" Mabel added.

"Oh! Oh yeah?! Well I have training!!" He swung and twirled his spear at high speeds, his smirk only growing, "What do you think I did in prison all that time?!"

"Uh oh," Mabel said what we both thought.

"Let the Globnar... BEGIN!!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It took us hours, many long, hard hours of brutal work for us to get through the many rounds of fighting, racing, dodging, and more. We were tired and sweaty, weak and aching, but so close to the win; we were tied.

"Very good," the time baby spoke as we finished the latest round, "You have escaped the Cyclocks."

"Yes!!" Blendin looked at the score, "Blendin for the almost-win!!"

"There is only one final challenge for Globnar. An ancient game, thousands of years old, chosen for its exemplification of pure strategy! The ancient art... of Laser Tag!!" A course rose from the ground, as well as a number of laser guns. "The one who touches the victory orb first will win!!"

Mabel and I turned to each other, confusion in my tone as I spoke, "Laser tag? Seriously?"

"Oh, I know it doesn't seem that challenging now, but just wait till they turn on that fog machine! You'll be done for!! You just wait until ya-!!" He paused when I shot his chest piece, multiple times, actually. Then he slouched forward in defeat, "Aw, man..!"

"MABEL, GRAB THE ORB!" I yelled.

She ran over as fast as she could, climbing the pyramid in the middle of the arena and touching the floating orb, "GOT IT!"

Almost instantly, everything turned white, and the baby finished its sandy drink. "It is finished!" The robot from before floated over, burning the baby.

Our score went up by an extra set of hundreds, the crowd cheering for us as Blendin screamed in panic, "NOOOO!"

"YES!" Mabel and I yelled as we high fived.

The time baby then floated closer to us, the orb with him, "You have made victory in Globnar. Before I give you your time wish, tell us; what fate do you decide for the loser?"

Blendin shrunk in place, "Oh, jeez.."

"DEATH!!"

"Mabel!!" I quickly scolded.

"Sorry! Got carried away."

The two of us turned around, and I began to put things into perspective. "So Blendin did try to wish us out of existence, but it was kind of our fault for ruining his life."

"Yeah, and he's kind of too sad to be a real bad guy," Mabel agreed with me.

I thought for a moment. "Maybe if we treat him right in the present, he'll turn out better in the future!" She nodded at my idea, and we turned back to Time Baby, "Okay, as long as you keep an eye on him, we'd like to set Blendin free, and restore his position at the Time Anomaly Correction Unit."

"And give him pretty hair!" Mabel added.

"So be it."

As his handcuffs fell off, Blendin looked at us with shocked, "Wh- what? You'd do that for me?!" A small little mustache hair grew on his head, making him smile, "I got my job back!!" He turned to the guard we had tricked earlier, "I feel like hugging somebody!"

"I can kill you in eight different ways."

He quickly pulled away, "Yes, sir!"

Time Baby turned back to us, rubbing its own cheeks, "Now, children. What is it that you want for your time wish?"

The orb, glowing and golden, slowly floated over to hover in between us. Mabel smiled at the sight of it, but not out of greed or pride, out of warmth for what we planned to do with it. "Thank you," she started, "but the wish.. isn't for us."

"Not you? But then who? Who is worthy to receive such power?!"

~~~~~~~~~Your POV~~~~~~~~~

It had been about an hour since I last saw the twins. An hour of mindlessly walking around in hopes of letting this day finally pass by, hoping, praying I wasn't recognized.

Did they ditch me? No, they wouldn't do that. Are they in danger?! I couldn't catch their scents either, it was as if they vanished from the Earth.

Finally, I caved and headed for the exit; maybe I'd have more luck finding them outside. But as the thought crossed my mind, a white glow appeared from behind, followed by an in-synch yell of two familiar brunettes, "(y/n)!!"

"Guys?!" My eyes widened at the sight of them. They were dirty and bruised, like they had just left a fight. I rushed over, cupping Mason's cheek, "What happened to you two?! Why are you so-?!"

Mason cut me off, "We're so sorry we left you hanging!! We got caught up in this time travel junk-"

"And there was a time cyclops-"

"And don't forget about the-"

"Time race!!" Both of them laughed as they mentioned it together, then Mabel smiled at me, "But, the point is, (y/n), we think we know how to fix your birthday!"

I had to blink several times, trying to understand what they meant, "Fix my- h-huh?!"

"And that's not all." A guy with goggles and a gray jumpsuit walked over, standing behind the twins as he pressed a button on his watch. "Behold your time wish! The power to alter time paradox free in any way you choose!"

"(y/n)", Mason began again, this time with a kind smile on his face, "I know how much you hate your.. your other side, the full moon side. With this, you can wish to get rid of it, once and for all."

"But the choice is yours," Mabel added, to which Mason added.

"You mean... you went through all that, just for me..? So that I could complete my wish..?" They both nodded at my question, and I turned to the orb. Many ideas and possibilities went through my head, ideas of a life without having to hide away every full moon to protect those I cared about.

At least... that's what I used to think.

Making up my mind, I grabbed the orb and closed my eyes, repeating the wish in my head. As I did, the orb disintegrated into dust, falling over the twins and healing their cuts and bruises, leaving them as if nothing ever happened. They were both confused, looking at me in question, to which I simply smiled. "There, helped you two out.."

Mason blinked, trying to process, "But- (y/n), you've told me so many times how you want to get rid of this side of you..!"

"I know, I do- or, did, it's.." I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to figure out the right words to explain. Finally, I let out a sigh, "There's something I need to tell you once we're back home, but I've.. recently had a revelation of sorts, and I've been thinking about it a lot lately." I smiled again, trying to ease their confusion, "Besides, knowing how far you two will go just to make me happy makes this the most amazing birthday I've ever had.."

They both smiled, and I think Mason was gonna try to do some romantic gesture, when the man behind them suddenly yelled in anger, "Are you kidding me?! Do you have any idea what you've just wasted?! Do you how many have died to get the time wish; the wars that were started?!"

"Well, if it makes things any better," I raised up a slice of pizza that had materialized in my hand, "I also wished for this slice of infinite pizza. Watch!" I took a bite, the rest of the pizza materializing again. "And it can do that forever!"

They all nodded in agreement, even the guy in the back, so I guess his priorities are in order.

Mason wiped some sweat off his forehead, letting out a sigh, "You uh.. you probably wanna head back home, huh..? We kinda messed up your party.."

"Actually.." I grabbed his hand, tangling our fingers together, "There's still ten minutes before Laser Tag closes.. Wanna go for one round..?"

"Race ya to the arena!!" Mabel yelled as she ran off, leaving Mason and I alone to laugh before racing after her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fixing my bedsheets, I let out a sigh, more than ready to let the dark of sleep claim me whole. Still, I made a promise, and I've never been someone to go back on my word. So when Mason knocked on my door, awaiting my story, I gladly let him inside.

"You're sure it's not too late?" he asked, nervously rubbing the back of his neck, "We can leave this for tomorrow if you're too tired.."

"I said I'd tell you today, you deserve to know." I sat on my bed crisscrossed style, patting the area in front of me, "C'mon."

He hesitated a bit, but did as told, sitting in front of me. "Is this.. about your memories..?"

"You've been waiting for me to tell you what I saw, huh..?"

He grew red at that, looking down, "N-no!"

I couldn't help but snicker, "It's okay, Maze, I know how your mind works by now. And yeah, you'd be correct, this is about my memories. About what I lost, and.. what I saw.."

He looked up at me, gripping the end of his shirt, "You really don't have to tell me if you don't want to.."

"I know.." I grabbed his hands in my own, smiling down at him, "But I want to.." He smiled back, and I took a deep breath, organizing the words in my head. "Remember that incident I've told you about..? Where I thought I.. I a-ate someone..?"

"Yeah..?"

"That incident took place on this same day, two years ago.. It was my birthday, and the town planned a surprise party for me, but they revealed the surprise at sunset, before the night of the full moon.. I tried to leave before transforming, but I wasn't able to make it back home, and then the next thing I knew, I woke up in the forest covered in blood, my clothes scratched up, and a photo of a beast captured in the papers with the tagline someone had been killed.. And I had no memory about any of it.."

"But.. you do now..?"

"It's been coming back to me, little by little.."

"Then.." He tightened his grip on my hands, nervous to ask, "What happened..?"

I thought about it for a while, retracing my memories before meeting his eyes, "I.. protected everyone.."

His eyes widened for a moment, "From what..?"

"A dinosaur, one from the mines we found, it had escaped from the amber because of the summer heat just like the pterodactyl from months ago.. That's the blood I had, that's the beast that killed, while I.." I had to look down, a weird feeling filling my chest, "I did everything I could to keep everyone safe even in my distorted state.. y-yet I couldn't save everyone.."

"But you tried.." He cupped my cheek, letting me meet his eyes again, "All this time, you saw yourself as a monster, but now you have confirmation that none of it was true..! That's good, right..?"

"Yeah, I guess it was all in my head after all.." I leaned into his touch, letting myself relax, "I'm.. still scared though.. I don't know what I'm fully capable of, but at least I now know I still keep some form of sanity in my other form, I smiled up at him, "And if things take a turn for the worse, I know you'll be there to help.."

He grew red, but smiled back, "Always.."

And then, I did something stupid. Like, really stupid. Maybe it was in the heat of the moment, maybe it was because of all the emotions rushing through me right now, or my weird preteen hormones.

But I leaned over and placed a kiss right on his lips.

He seemed startled at first, his face red as he realized what I had done. I wasn't any better, for I immediately was burning hot in the face, pulling away, "O- oh my god, I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me!!"

"No no no, it's okay!! It's fine, I- I don't mind- it-"

"I should've asked first," I murmured to myself, covering my face with myself hands, "I'm so sorry..!!"

But to my surprised, he took my hands in his and pecked my lips just as quickly as I had. I instantly perked up, eyes wide as he looked away, just as embarrassed as I was. Still, he smiled sheepishly, giving me a shrug, "C-call it even..?"

I stared at him for a while, and I couldn't stop myself from becoming a mess of giggles and laughter, "Even!"

He ended up saying in my room that night, cuddling into sleep as he we had done in the past. And for once...

I didn't feel guilty about being happy.

Thanks for reading!!! 'Till next time!!!

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