It was a normal day in Gravity Falls. Well, this day was especially normal. It was grocery day; mainly because there was a ten percent discount on everything at the local grocery store on Wednesdays between 1pm and 3pm. So of course every cheapskate in town flooded the store for a quick discount.
Especially the number one cheapskate Stanford Pines, who had dragged his niece and nephew Dipper and Mabel along with him.
"Alright, I think we can cover the most ground if we split up." Grunkle Stan said as he pulled up to the store. The clock on his car read 12:55. "Except for Dipper; he's a bit of a weakling, so the mob of people would crush him like a pancake."
"Hey!" Dipper said with slight offense in his voice. "That's not...fully true."
Mabel chuckled as Grunkle Stan went on.
"I'll take the left side of the store, you kids take the right side." Grunkle Stan said, opening his wallet. He pulled out a twenty-dollar bill and was about ready to hand it to them, before looking fiercely at Mabel. "And none of those five-dollar clearance-bin direct-to-video hunky teen boy drama dribble DVDs."
Mabel began to protest. "But the third movie of Dream Boy Musical just came out and it's only..."
Grunkle Stan simply put his hand up. "My answer's still no."
Dipper spoke up. "What about those dollar-bin Detective Holmes books they sell at the checkout? Can I get one of those? I've read the two I have countless times."
"No! Kids, look. We're only getting the necessities."
Dipper and Mabel both sighed. "Alright."
Stan handed the kids the twenty. "Now let's get in and there and save!"
"Mabel, you heard Stan. We're only getting the necessities." Dipper moaned, dragging his sister away from the candy aisle.
"Gummy bears are a necessity!" Mabel whined, still trying to pull herself towards the aisle.
"No, Mabel. Let's see...what else is a necessity? Waffles. Yeah, waffles."
"Waffles? Those aren't any better then gummy bears!"
"Are so! Waffles are a breakfast food we can all enjoy, gummy bears are a snack you, Soos, and Waddles will devour in ten minutes!"
"Will not!"
"Will too!"
"Yoohoo! Bickering children over there!"
Dipper and Mabel finally stopped arguing over there and saw a man frantically waving at them from the end of the candy aisle, with a sign reading "FREE SAMPLES". Mabel was instantly attracted to the sign and charged full-speed towards it.
"Candy?" Mabel asked the man, her eyes wide. Dipper began to chase after her.
"Close." The man said. "It's the new...Flavor Xtreme!"
The man said the last two words with such excitement you'd think he'd be announcing the new president of the United States.
"So...uh, what is it?" Mabel asked.
"I'll explain." The man said.
Dipper noticed that the man had a strange expression on his face as he said this. Not necessarily a negative or even an up-to-no-good expression, it just made Dipper feel...weird.
The man continued. "Think of any flavor in the world, your favorite flavor, perhaps."
Mabel suddenly gasped in delight. "SMILE DIP!"
"Alrighty, now keep that in your mind. Now take a drink of this."
The man handed Mabel a small cup of the drink, which she eagerly chugged. Her eyes went wide for a second and her jaw dropped.
"Oh my gosh." Mabel said. "How did you..."
"Tastes exactly like that Smile Dip, doesn't it?" The man asked Mabel with a smile.
"That's...amazing." Mabel stated, almost ready to bow down and worship the man.
The man turned towards Dipper, filling another cup. "How about you, boy? What flavor's your favorite?"
Well, I'm craving waffles at the moment, Dipper thought to himself. But he didn't say it out loud, because he had his suspicions over this whole thing.
Sure, it was just a drink...but the effects it had seemed almost paranormal. And anything paranormal in this town, even if it started out good at first, always ended up turning out bad in the end for him.
"No, thanks." Dipper stated.
"Oh? You don't want it?" The man asked, with a slightly puzzled expression on his face "That's the first today."
"Don't worry about my brother." Mabel said. "He's paranoid over everything. This one time he didn't let Mom wash his clothes for a month after one of his shirts shrank in the wash. He thought the washing machine would come to life and eat him."
Mabel and the man both laughed, which made Dipper's face red with embarrassment and a bit of anger. He was seven when that happened!
"Well, if you change your mind..." The man said with a wink. "This stuff could really change your life."
Again with the expressions. Dipper really didn't like the guy's wording, too; he was seriously getting creeped out. Luckily, at that time Grunkle Stan also approached the free sample stand behind them.
"I read free and couldn't resist!" Grunkle Stan said eagerly. "So, what's the free thing?"
"I'll tell you." The man said to Grunkle Stan, taking the cup that was supposed to for Dipper and pushing it towards Stan. "What flavor are you craving right now?"
"Oh, potato chips for sure." Grunkle Stan stated. "We've been out for three days."
"Okay, now keep that image in your mind. Now drink from the cup."
Grunkle Stan drank from the cup, and just like Mabel, his jaw dropped practically to the floor. "This has gotta be a trick."
"No, I assure you, sir, no tricks." The man said. "The power of your mind is more amazing than you could ever imagine. Plus, these are way more healthy then actually consuming the food, as it all originates from your mind. The liquid itself has no calories, no carbs, no nothing. Would be helpful in losing that extra pounds."
The man winked at Stan. "Trust me, I've been there."
"So, how much?" Grunkle Stan asked the man eagerly.
"What?" Dipper interrupted. "That's not a necessity!"
"Hush it, Dipper. You don't understand until you've had a cup of one of these. For some reason I just want to drink ten more of them immediately."
"Same here." Mabel said.
"Two bucks for a twelve-pack." The man stated. "Or five packs for ten bucks."
"Five packs." Grunkle Stan said, handing the man a ten-dollar bill.
This made Dipper's jaw drop even further then Stan and Mabel's did when they drank the liquid. Grunkle Stan willing paying more for something? Were these things some sort of liquid crack?
The man pulled out five twelve-pack containers from underneath his stand. "Enjoy."
Dipper sighed, muttering to himself. "I guess I'm not having waffles."
As Dipper went on throughout his day, he couldn't help but notice that everyone around him seem to be straight-up addicted to the beverage. Soos and Wendy both had gotten hooked on drinking them, and already between the four of them they had gone through two twelve-packs.
Everyone outside, from cops to old ladies was drinking them as well. Almost made Dipper wish he had thought of the idea.
He briefly thought about getting a can to see what it was that made people so crazy for them, but he decided against it. Something about them wasn't rubbing him right. He just wasn't sure what yet.
Everything, however, would be much more clear in the morning when...certain changes started to occur.
A/N: Alrighty, first chapter of first Gravity Falls fic done! I hope I did well. And just so you're all aware, the supernatural changes in this story will mainly be involving slow metamorphosis and changing of species. Sorry if you're hoping for vampires, zombies, or anything like that; just wanted to be upfront with that.
If you liked this chapter, or if you've got a comment or some constructive criticism, please favorite, follow, or review. It'd really make my day! See you all next time!