Chapter Text
A Fortuitous Encounter
Chapter 1:
Today was the day the twelve year old Pines twins were dreading all summer; the last real day of the summer vacation. Today their parents were coming to take them back home. Neither of them wanted to leave. Mabel stayed up most of the night crying whilst Dipper tried to comfort her, though it must be said he was close to tears himself. Since the day they came to Gravity Falls, they grew to love it. They loved the adventures, the mysteries, the sights, and the people. Summer came and went too quickly for them.
Sitting out on the front porch surrounded by their things, Mabel and Dipper heavily sighed. Leaning on their hands they both had long unhappy faces. Mabel's two best friends, Candy and Grenada, were sat on the other side of her holding each other and silently weeping. Their Grunkle Stan was stood in front of them looking out for his nephew and niece-in-law. Soos and Wendy were slanted on the side of the mystery shack looking disappointedly at each other.
"Come on, kids!" Grunkle Stan tried to cheer them up. "You'll finally be going home! I thought you'd be happy to get away from this place." Even though he tried to put on a hard exterior, he was just as heartbroken that they were leaving. For years he only had himself to fend for. He only ever cared about the Mystery Shack and the money it made him; but since the day his great niece and nephew came into his life he found a new reason to live. Not that he would ever admit that, of course.
Mabel sighed again. "This is so unfair! We want to stay here with you guys!"
"Yeah! We were better here." Dipper solemnly declared. Mabel and he shared a melancholy stare between each other for a second, and then harmoniously stared back down to the floor.
"Aww, come on dudes." Soos spoke, wrapping his arms around the twins’ shoulders. Soos was the mystery shacks engineer, janitor, and all around go to guy. In everyone's eyes he was pretty much a part of their family even if Stan Pines would make him feel useless. Truth be told, they wouldn’t be anyway without him. "Summer doesn't last forever, but it'll soon be next summer!" He unenthusiastically cheered. The twins sighed in unison again, avoiding eye contact with anyone.
Suddenly, a car began to honk down the road towards the shack and slowed down to a holt in front of them. Everyone stopped and looked up. Both of the front doors opened. Out of the driver’s side a tall, beautiful woman climbed out. She had long chestnut hair and sparkling brown eyes. She wore a vintage orange summer dress and matching shoes. Out of the passenger’s side, a slim shorter but ruggedly handsome man hidden beneath a mop of brunette messy hair (that resembled Dipper's), wearing ripped baggy jeans and a "Queen" t-shirt jumped out.
"I guess this is see-you-next-summer then, Dip, Hambone." Wendy, a tall, ginger haired girl nodded appearing indifferent. She was older than they twins by four years. Dipper was crazily in love with her; she would be the one he missed the most.
"Maby! Dippy!" The woman cheered, running over and bending down to embrace her children.
"Hey mum ..." Dipper groaned. Pulling back slightly, she glared at her twins.
"Sweet heart, what's wrong?" She asked neither of them in particular.
"Mum," Mabel began, "we don't want to leave. We want to stay here." Taken a back, their mother swung her head around to face their father who stood a few steps behind them, looking just as shocked.
"Maby, what's all this about?" Her father asked.
"It's just, we love it here! We want to stay in Gravity Falls!" She cried. Dipper nodded.
"We want to live here all year round not just for a few months!" Dipper contributed.
"Can't we all move up here?" They begged. Their mother rose to her feet and struggled to reply.
"Sweet hearts, I ... I don't think … well, we can’t just up and move." She softly spoke. “It takes a lot of time and preparation to do something like that. It could take up to 18months to move to a new town!”
"Well, we could live with Grunkle Stan!" Dipper cheered. Mabel grabbed a hold of Stan's hand bringing tears to their Grunkle's eyes.
"Couldn't we, Grunkle Stan?" Mabel pleaded desperately as her eyes began to quiver.
"Maby, I don't think Uncle Stan would want you two to stay here, would you Uncle Stan?" Their father asked in a beseeching tone. Stan shook his head very slightly.
"No ... 'course I wouldn’t want you two rascals to stay here, you've been pains since day one, go on with you two now." He tried forcefully to snap. Mabel, who still had a tight hold of his hand, stared at him deeper making him uncomfortable.
"Please, Grunkle Stan?" Dipper grabbed a hold of his other hand and stared at him just as intently making Stan doubly uncomfortable. "We promise we'll be good!" Heavily sighing, he took a knee.
"Listen kids, we had a great summer but now it's time to go back with your folks. You can always come and visit in holidays but your folks can't just move and you guys can't just leave them. They'll miss you." He grieved.
"But ... won't you miss us Grunkle Stan?" Mabel breathed. Sighing again, he nodded.
"Course I will, you little syrup you. But you got to go home now."
Both of the twins buried their heads in their Grunkle's shoulders and shared a three-way embrace. An exchanged of sad look's between their parents was shared. When they sent the twins off to their Grunkle’s at the beginning of the summer it was to let them learn something new; to learn about a different culture, to help their Grunkle out, to meet new people, and to just have fun without having the materialistic things in life holding them back. It should have been a blessing for them to go home; never did they imagine that their children would really want to stay.
"Go on then." Stan muttered, pulling away from the twins and standing up. "See you next year." He turned and shuffled back towards the Mystery Shack door. Soos and Wendy could have sworn they saw Stan crying slightly but they dared mention it.
In a foul mood, Dipper grabbed Mabel and his belongings from the porch, stormed off to the side of the car, flung open the boot and began throwing it all in higgledy piggledy. Mabel ran to cuddle her two best friends for the last time and shared a small cry. Sighing, their parents held each other’s hand.
"Kids, I think maybe we need to have a talk before we set off." Dipper and Mabel turned to face their parents with hopeful expressions, as did Stan. "Uncle, is it okay if we come in?" Stan nodded and held the door open for them. Joyfully, Dipper grabbed Mabel's hand and ran into the shack closely followed by their parents. Soos and the others were about to pile in too until Stan stopped them.
"Whoa! Guys, family stuff, get out." He snapped, slamming the door shut behind him. All of them stared at each other. In unity, they all slammed their ears against the door to eavesdrop on the Pines' family's conversation.
***
"But why do we even have to move?!" A tall, blonde teenage girl named Courtney Babcock screamed at her mother.
"We've talked about this, Courtney" her mother replied packing a box marked 'Kitchen', uninterested at her daughters whining. "It's for Norman's best interest."
"But, how is it? He's the town freaking hero now!" She yelled, pointing at her brother who was sitting sheepishly in the corner of the kitchen. As he looked down at his red jumper he began to tug on his sleeve. He knew it'd be for the best to leave Blithe Hollow, but he didn't want to leave his friend Neil behind. Sandra, their mother, sighed.
"Courtney, don't swear. After everything that's happened, people won't leave Norman alone. They keep begging him to talk to someone they lost and calling at all hours of the night and soon someone's going to hurt him! So that's why we are leaving. Okay, young lady?" She snapped. She was near the end of her tether. Courtney slumped down in the chair next to her brother. Her pink track suit rose up to reveal a small part of her waist.
"But why do I have to go? I mean, I'm going to college next year! I might as well spend my last year in my high school with my friends! I could stay with ..."
"No!" Perry, their father, bellowed walking into the room. "We're going as a family, so suck it up, Courtney! We all have to." In frustration, she crossed her arms and glared at Norman, who sunk lower in his sit.
"S-sorry" he guiltily whisper to her. Growling out loud, she stormed out of the room.
"I hate my stupid life!" She shrieked hurling the door shut. Sandra placed her finger tips on her temples lightly rubbing them and exhaled. Perry wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
"It's for the best." He reminded her. Nodding, she turned to face Norman who couldn't look at any of them.
"Are you alright, Norman?" She asked. Barely nodding, he continued to stare at the floor. "Are you going to say bye to Neil today?" She asked. He looked over towards the back door and started to twiddle his fingers around each other.
"H-he said he'll come see me off ... He's going to come up to visit a lot. His mum said he can." He stuttered. Sandra's lips curved warmly.
"Well, that's good isn't it? You can see him during the holidays." Norman unhappily nodded. "Have you packed everything?" He nodded again with even less enthusiasm than before.
"I'm ... I'm going to go talk to Grandma." Perry looked over to him but held his tongue. Excusing himself, Norman went to his room.
Heavily he ascended the stairs until he reached his bedroom. Sighing gloomily, he pushed through the door and flung himself face-down onto the bed.
“What's wrong with your sorry face?” A green head popped up through his duvet next to him.
"Nothing, Grandma" Norman wheezed. Rising from his bed, he straggled over to his desk chair and fell onto it. The ghost of his dead Grandma floated through the bed and attempted to sit upon it.
“Doesn't look like nothing to me.” She stated, magically pulling a ball of yarn and knitting needles out of the air. “Want to talk about it?” She asked, casting on a row. Norman shook his head and collapsed over his desk bashing his forehead and causing the objects he had yet to pack to fall. “Really? Now, why would you tell your father you were coming to talk to me, then?”
"I don't know ..." Norman shrugged, grabbing a hold and mindlessly playing with a zombie figure that had fallen. "Courtney hates me all over again." He rolled off of his tongue without meaning too. His Grandma gazed at him.
“Don't be daft. She's just being a drama queen; she'll like it when you get to wherever the place is you're going.” She waffled.
"Oregon," he sighed.
“Yeah, that place. I bet you'll like it too.” Norman slightly nodded.
"Maybe"
“Maybe nothing! This place has done nothing for you, Norman.” Throwing her knitting into the air, it disappeared. Floating over to her Grandson, she hovered her hands over his. “You'll be better there. I have a good feeling. Remember what I said about being scared? You know, the night you ended up chasing zombies around and stopped that ghost girl from destoring the town?”
“Un-dead people, Grandma. We don’t use the Z word unless it’s a film.” Norman sighed, not paying much attention to her.
“Well, do you remember what I said?” He nodded gently. “Norman, look at me.” As he sat up straight in his seat, he turned to face her. “What did I say?”
"It's okay to be scared ..." He genuinely began to feel a little better.
“... As long as you don't let it change who you are.” She finished. Attempting to stroke his hair, she contiuned. "Moving to a new town is nothing compared to that night, Norman. You're my brave grandson, and don't you ever forget it."
"Grandma ..." Norman felt uneasy. "You are coming with us right?" Smiling sweetly, she floated back to the bed.
“Don't be silly, Normy. Of course I'm coming! I need to keep an eye on you.” Norman smirked “Now, you need to hurry up and finish packing, since you told your mother you already had! You'll be leaving soon.”
"Okay grandma." Letting his zombie figure slip from his grasp and fall to the floor, he leaped from his chair and over to his suitcase by the door.