Exonemesis

Chapter 37: Dipper is Popular

Enjoy this chapter because I'm probably not going to post next week since it's my cousin's wedding that Saturday and I'm going to be in another state. But there is a chance that I might just update early instead ;)

~Ms. Loba

~Paul's office back at the academy of Exonemesis was trashed and ruined, but his secret doorway remained undiscovered. Paul appeared from the hidden hallway, staring down at the mess in his office and stepping over scattered paperwork that was spread across the tile floors. Paul wasn't amused and just grabbed the file he was looking for and went back down the dark halls. Paul was back in his underground office; sitting in his seat he placed the file down on his desk. His eyes then fell upon the globe with darkness floating around inside it. The globe sat on a stand like some sort of trophy on his desk.

"It's been strangely quiet lately," Paul spoke in his usual old hushed tone. "Almost, too quiet." He rested his combined fingers on his desk as he thought to himself. "It's been a while since they found Exonemesis, and still Bill hasn't shown any movement or ordered every day searches for me. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing." Paul slowly opened the file that was retrieved, showing a student photo of Dipper Pines and background information about the young man. "How sad of me to lose such a smart and intelligent boy like Dipper. He could have done great things if only I had just advanced his education in magic, maybe then he would have had a better chance to escape Bill. Instead, now I'm stuck with his stupid sister."

Paul always spoke openly about his thoughts when he was alone, where no one could see his true nature. He truly thought he was alone since the underground world was a safe private little haven he built for himself that did have a 6th sense blocker, in case people who walked over him somehow sensed them or if the hellhounds somehow caught a whiff of his scent, he would still be safe. So, it was rather shocking that Mabel had been able to sneak into Paul's office when he went up to the surface but unlucky for her that she was now unable to escape before Paul returned. She had quickly sat on the floor, hiding behind a couch that was placed in the corner of the room. She placed her hand over her mouth to muffle the sound of her own breath but she couldn't stop her heart from beating so loudly.

Mabel was shocked to hear such words from Paul's mouth, she thought Paul cared about her. She thought he cared for her brother too, but all he wanted from Dipper was to be a part of his plan to become faster and stronger. She could feel the anger in her chest rise as she started to blame the cruel man for leaving her brother to die in the first place. Dipper stayed to save Paul's life, but Paul wasn't even in the damn building in the first place. Mabel gritted her jaws, furious.

"But," Paul spoke again out loud to himself, "For some reason, there's something in my gut telling me that I can't fully trust this boy. Perhaps that's what prevented me from just letting him become a full Exorcist? But the real question is, why do I have this feeling in the first place?"

Mabel could feel her heartbeat quiet as she heard Paul get up from his seat, making his way towards where Mabel was hiding. Paul reached to the shelf and picked out a book. As he flipped through it, Mabel made sure not to make a single movement. She watched from the small opening of the couch as he walked back to his desk and sat back down. Mabel felt relief but made the mistake of letting out a small sigh that immediately caught Paul's attention.

Paul frowned at where he thought he heard the sound coming from, he once again got up from his seat. Mabel stiffened, tightening her hold around her mouth to make sure her very heavy breathing didn't escape from her hand, she could feel her own fingernails digging into her cheek. She completely stopped breathing once Paul was about to look over the couch but was stopped when there was a knock at the door, bringing Paul's attention away from Mabel's hiding spot.