Chapter Text
The train went past loud and obnoxious. Its lights glided into the windows of Stan’s car, reaching in and pulling his eyelids open, as if to say “Wake up, you don’t deserve to sleep yet.”
He rolled over anyways, not ready to wake up quite yet. Just five more minutes. Five more minutes and then he’ll remember his crippling shame. But by then it was too late. His eyes opened one by two, blinking the crusties out each time. He was staring at the top of his convertible. His seat was pulled back and an unused trash bag was his makeshift blanket; his bed for the foreseeable future. His heart sank, and he took a deep breath to yawn, interrupted by the stench. The smell of empty beer cans and unwashed clothes permeated the automobile. It almost made him gag, but he had gotten pretty used to it by now.
He started to lean up and- crack, his back popped unnaturally causing him to clutch it and wince. Too fast did he lean up and whack, went his head to the roof of his car.
“Ughh. Of course.” He mumbled, cradling his forehead in his hands.
He leaned onto the steering wheel and rubbed his eyes with his other hand, careful around his temples. He looked around, remembering his location.
After another failed attempt at a product, another town mob and police chase, he had whipped his car into the cover of the pine trees by the tracks, the sound of the whistling rails covering his location.
He popped open his glove compartment and pulled out a wrinkled map, unfolding it carefully. There were crossed out states and towns reminding him of past misdeeds, well, call them what they were. Scams.
He sighed. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. He just needed the green to get by. But he wasn’t…
He couldn’t make things, not the way they were supposed to be. Not like Ford could.
He took his pen and crossed out one more location, aggressively.
Another sigh.
He leaned into the crook of his arms.
“What… What am I going to do? I have nothing. No one. No ‘get out of jail’ free card… if I did, I probably wouldn’t be wanted in Costa rica.” He lamented.
He raised his head a bit to look out his window at the dark night. The sun would be rising soon he guessed. There were flickering lamp posts where he saw a pay phone in the distance, closer to the rest stop he was avoiding (cops last known whereabouts). All he wanted to do was call…
He scrunched his eyebrows.
“I don’t need him or his stupid… ideas. I got myself into this… I’ve gotten out before. No thanks to him.” He grouched.
He impulsively twisted his keys into the ignition and grabbed his gearshift. He took one more glance at the map he’d thrown to the passenger seat. A corner of the paper folded up showing Oregon unmarked.
Stan scowled. Pushed his gear shift to drive, and slammed the pedal to go. Turning the wheel as fast and hard as he could.
FLASH
A large ball of what he could only assume was lightning came out of nowhere blinded him temporarily. The electricity stretched and reached, hitting the ground with a burst.
“Argh!” He threw his hands up to shield his face and slammed on the brakes.
Bang, a smaller noise went and his car shook. He felt his hood hit something heavy. Something recognizable… like a person.
His eyes started to readjust and the weird electricity disappeared. He swung open his car door and went to check the hood… and also the potential dead guy he may or may not have just hit.
He ran out the car, tripping over himself a bit, and squinted hard at the ground. It might have been dark but he could make out the hot pink sweater and tangled long brown hair of a little girl.
Oh No.
He shut his eyes tight and leaned over the side of his car. Oh god, I think I’m gonna hurl, he thought to himself. This was it. The straw to break the camel’s back. He could handle the IRS. He could handle angry hoards of people. He even handled prison! THRICE! But… killing a kid? He gulped down his overwhelming guilt and carefully opened one eye to look over at the poor soul-
But- WHERE DID THE BODY GO???
He pushed his fear aside (as much as possible) and adrenaline stepped in. He looked around the woods frantically. It was still dark out and there was no familiar red and blue light to shed on the situation.
He breathed a slight sigh of relief. She must be alive…
Crunch!
He heard something like a stick move to the left of him, and then what sounded like a worried whimper or grunt.
“ come on… come on!” someone said.
Stan thought he was hearing things… but it sounded like a high pitched voice. Possibly the voice of a young girl!
He tiptoed around his car, leaning down so as to not be seen, and took a glance at the passenger side of the car. A small girl was huddled down staring at a small broken looking…. Tape. Measure?
It was dark out, give him a break.
He cleared his throat and spoke as carefully as he could, to not scare her.
“Hey… Hey, uh you....” He cringed at his own awkwardness.
The girl jolted up and turned to face him. Her eyes widened and eyebrows flipped upward, scared. She was shaking a bit and her shocked face turned into something of a recognition.
“Oh it’s… you. Heh.. heh.” She awkwardly whispered. She smiled but her eyebrows stayed upturned in a way that made her still look a bit worried. It was the face his brother used to make when he lied… he almost smiled at the memory before it turned sour like they always did.
“You… know me?” He frowned. “If this is some ploy from your parents to get a refund for a sham towel you should know I’m not very liquid right now.”
The girl relaxed a bit and giggled a small, tired laugh. She looked down at her feet a bit, still smiling.
The sky was turning a muddled purple as the sun started to rise and he could get a better look of her. She had brown hair and a hot pink headband. For the first time in the last 15 years, when he breathed in he smelt something that wasn’t B.O. and alcohol. It was a sweet scent with a hint of… was that unicorn marshmallow dreams? Ew. She wore a pink sweater and black shoes with white socks.
She looked… strange to say the least. Where were her parents?
“Hey… are you okay? I didn’t see you there ‘cause of that, uh, ball of electricity? You saw that too right, wasn’t just me?”
She nodded. At which part, didn’t matter.
“Ok so uh. Imma get out of here. You’re good. So. Uh, bye.” He awkwardly slid over the hood of his car and got into the driver seat, holding the wheel tightly with both hands.
The girl stood up quickly and turned back to him, “Wait! I uh…” she stared at him through the passenger window. She gulped a bit, but looked determined. “I’ve… lost my parents. I don’t know where I am.”
She looked deep into my eyes and I tried to look away. She met them again.
“Can you stay with me till they find me?” She said sweetly.
“Uhhh…”, I looked at the map again. All those X’s. “I don’t know, kiddo. Your parents probably wouldn’t like me all that much. Plus I got things to do… important things!”
Yeah right you do.
“Um… but. They’ll pay you. A lot of money! And I get a strong trustworthy vibe from you!! You wouldn’t hurt a fly.” She gave him puppy dog eyes.
Ha. I like this kid.
She knows how to put on airs.
“Hm. How much we talkin’?” He bartered. He wasn’t really considering it… well. He’d do anything for money… and this kid looked like she was struggling.
“I don’t know… you’ll have to ask them. They’re super rich and stuff.” She smiled with her eyes. She blinked her puppy dog eyes while her hands clasped against her cheek. She ain’t slick.
Ughhh, why not? He did hit her with his car. It’s the least he could do. A couple minutes couldn’t do that much harm, could it?
“Fine. Five minutes only.” He reached across and unlocked the passenger door, quickly leaning back into his seat, uncomfortably.
The little girl slided comfortably into the front seat and buckled in.
“You know, you don’t have to buckle up. I’m not moving this car.”
“But… How will my parents see me in these woods? Could at least park at a rest stop or something?” Even though she looked unsure of herself, she ended the sentence confidently.
“No.”
She didn’t say anything after that. Just looked out the window while her hand held her head up.
She was quiet. Eerily so. She didn’t seem to dress like someone who’d be shy. In fact… she didn’t really dress like anyone he’d ever met before. She was out of place and not just in personality.
He looked outside. What else could he do? This was incredibly awkward. The sky was turning to more of a tangerine and there was a thick fog over the moor.
A minute of silence passes.
“So… you on vacation or something?” He clears his throat a bit.
She turned her head quickly to him. She wasn’t startled necessarily but was caught off guard for sure. Her eyes blinked a bit and she shook a desperately worried sadness off her face.
“I am. Was.” She looked down a bit, obviously disappointed.
Dang. This kid must really miss her parents. But she’s trying to put on a brave face. Let me try lightening the mood.
“Where were you headed to? Before your parents left you at the rest stop.”
“What??” She was visibly confused, before relaxing, “Oh, yeah. Um… Oregon. A place called Gravity falls?”
Huh. Sounded familiar. Oregon… Ford’s place.
He sighed, rubbing the tired off his face.
“Never heard of it.”
She scrunched her eyebrows but said nothing.
Another pause.
She looked increasingly stressed as her 5 minutes were almost up.
“What do your parents, or siblings look like?” Stan asked, carefully.
“Oh… Um, well, my mom has brown hair… my dad does too,” she quiets, then says, “Really, I’m just looking for my brother. We’re twins actually.” She admits.
“Oh, really?” Stan started, excitedly. “I als-… hm.” He trailed off.
The last minute passes silently. He scrunches his eyebrows and sighs. I’m not really going to leave this kid in the middle of nowhere, am I?
She looks sad.
He doesn’t make her leave. In fact, they waited two hours for her parents and to no avail. He pulls into the rest stop, despite the warrants out for his arrest. They wait longer. Nothing.
He kicked some empty cans out of the car and decided something then and there. I don’t care who her parents are or what she did to maybe deserve this, I am taking her home to her brother. And giving her parents a talking to, at that.
“Where are your parents again?” He asks, annoyed.
She looked at him, slowly she was gaining back her confidence. “They should be in Gravity Falls, Oregon.”
He sighed, about to play the ‘guess i have to’ card, but really, Stan did want to help this kid. Something about helping a family reconnect perhaps? …Nah.
“I guess it’s not too far from Salt lake city.” He lied.
“That's an 8 hour drive.”
He blushed a bit, “Well, I was going that direction anyways- the point is, I’ll drive you where you need to go. And if we pass your parents on the way, then great. But only if you’re okay with it.”
She made a pondering look but then smiled brightly, “Yes! Yes… this will be perfect. I’ll navigate.” She reaches quickly for the map of many X’es and a shot of adrenaline down Stan’s spine causes him to grab it out of her hands.
“Uh, No.”
“Why?” She looks up at him with uncertainty.
Admission of guilt? Never.
“I don’t trust the younger generation.”
“Oh come on, just because we know our way around an Iphone, doesn’t mean I still can’t read a map!” She pouted, but her expression quickly turned strange.
“An I-Whatty? What are you talking about?” Stan was rightly confused, “Does your head hurt at all? Because you’re talking like someone with brain damage.”
She laughed a little, “Well, you did hit me with your car, heh…”
She was joking, but it didn’t stop the hot dripping shame from finding its way back up Stan's throat.
He cleared it,
“What should I call you, kid?”
She frowned and something indescribable flashed through her eyes, only for a second. Then her happy facade clicked back in.
“Mabel.”
“Well, I’m Stan… Stanley Pines.” Crap… I gave her my real name.
She smiled, her eyes becoming pure, crescent shapes.
Her stomach interrupted in a loud growl. She frowned, looking down, then away at the window, saying nothing.
He sighed, “I’m getting pretty hungry. I think I saw a diner on the way.”
She looked up happily, “I- I wouldn’t mind breakfast..”
Stan’s eyes softened, “Okay then.”
That was the beginning of their great journey home.