AN: This was the first story I ever posted on this sight, and I pretty much abandoned it immediately. There was a variety of reasons for that. First, it has an OC for the main character, which nobody wants. Second, I wrote it in first person which, yet again, nobody wants. And third, I wasn't sure if I could pull it off. I'd never written a full story before, and i was nervous.
Now I have a bit more experience, and I've managed to finish quite a few stories, so I decided to come back to this one. I actually really like this story, and think it could be good. So I went back and edited the first three chapters (not much changed, I mostly just changed it to third person) and I'm going to repost them and than keep writing the story. It still has an OC as the main character, but sometimes that's just the way things have to go.
Anyway… hope you like this new and improved version of Lost in the Woods!
Disclaimer: I do not own Gravity Falls. Thank goodness. It would not be as cool.
Stacey stared out the window as her mom chattered endlessly at her. She loved her mom, she really did, but she just wasn't talkative in the mornings. It took awhile for her brain to wake up most days, and making small talk was usually just too much to ask of her foggy brain first thing in the morning. It was even worse today because she was about to start at a new school half-way through the year.
Stacey ran her eyes over the rundown town that would be her home until she graduated in a year and a half. Gravity Falls was not what anyone would call awe inspiring. From what Stacey could tell, it was a tiny town full of strange people and stranger stories. She had done some research on the place when she found out they were moving there, and the results were not exactly confidence inducing. 99% of the websites that came up were related to supernatural sightings.
Stacey had held the vague hope that it may just be a tourist thing, but apparently not. The only place that she had really seen in Gravity Falls was the Greasy Dinner. They had went gone there for dinner their first night in town since they were too tired from unpacking to bother with making dinner.
While waiting for their food, Stacey had listened in on the people around them. Most of their conversations seemed normal enough, but every now and then someone would mention gnomes or ghosts with a completely straight face, and everyone just accepted it. So the whole supernatural hotspot thing was probably not just a ploy to attract tourists. Stacey sighed against the car window. Of course, it was not enough that her mom had decided to uproot her in the middle of her junior year to move out into the middle of nowhere. No, they had to move to the town filled with crazy people!
Stacey blinked as she suddenly realized they had arrived. She only noticed because her mom had finally stopped talking. Luckily, she never really expected a response from Stacey in the mornings, so she wasn't offended that Stacey had no clue what she had been saying. She smiled when she realized that Stacey was finally paying attention to her.
"Are you ready?" She asked, doing her best to seem cheerful. "Do you want me to come in with you?"
Stacey smiled gently at her mom. She knew that the last year had been hard for her, and that she felt guilty about moving them out here with very little notice. While Stacey wouldn't pretend to like it, she understand why they were here, and she had no desire to make things harder for her mom.
"I'm fine Mom," She told her as she unbuckled her seatbelt (Disney approved XD) and slipped out of the car. "I'll see you after school, k?"
She could see her mom relax and her smile became more natural.
"Alright sweetie. See ya then!"
She blew Stacey a kiss as she drove away. Stacey made sure to keep smiling until her mom was out of sight, only then allowing the grin to slip off her face.
Stacey sighed, running a hand through her hair as she took in the Gravity Falls High School. It was kinda creepy, right on the edge of the forest that surrounds the whole town. Stacey rolled her eyes at the thought. Everything was on the edge of the forest in this town. Knowing that she had no choice, Stacey walked into the school, making her way through the crowds and entering the front office.
The receptionist lady looked up at her as she walked in.
"Hi! What can I do for you?" Stacey did her best to keep her face neutral, the urge to roll her eyes again very strong. This lady was way too perky for how early it was.
"Hi, I'm new. I was told to come here to get my schedule…" Stacey trailed off, feeling very tired and uncomfortable in front of the energetic and put together lady.
"Of course! The new student! How silly of me to forget." the lady chirped cheerfully. She rummaged through some papers on her desk before handing Stacey a schedule and a map.
"Here you go. If you need any help finding your classes, just ask a teacher." Stacey thanked the receptionist before escaping into the hallway. She took a deep breath and allowed the angst and apathy of her fellow teenagers to wipe away the perk and cheer that the receptionist lady had blasted at her. Feeling better, Stacey took a look at her schedule. First period was English. With a shrug, she headed off to find her class.
It wasn't that hard for Stacey to find where she was supposed to go. Gravity High was tiny compared to her last school, though it was designed in a really strange way. Still, despite all the dead ends and weird numbering conventions, Stacey managed to slip into her classroom right as the bell rang.
Stacey stood awkwardly near the door, not entirely sure what to do. She didn't have to worry long as the teacher noticed her. Stacey very quickly wished that she had not.
"Ahh! New student! Oh how exciting! And just in time for Romeo and Juliet as well. Oh this is perfect."
Stacey leaned back as the teacher ran up to her, afraid she was about to get hugged. And I thought receptionist lady was bad She thought to herself as the teacher continued to babble at her. Seriously, what is it about her that made middle aged women think that she wanted to talk in the mornings?
Stacey glanced at her classmates to see how they were handling their crazy teacher. To her surprise, none of them seem shocked at the teacher's behavior, and a couple were grinning at Stacey's obvious discomfort. She scowled at the grinners before turning her attention back to her new english teacher.
Luckily, she didn't seem to have missed anything important. It seemed as if her teacher had been telling some kind of story about unicorns or something. Story complete, the teacher focused the full force of her smile back on Stacey.
"Come now!" She said enthusiastically. "You must introduce yourself to everyone!" Stacey hid her grimace and turned to the class.
"Hi. My name is Stacey Ellerod. I'm from Piedmont, California." Before she could continue, she was cut off by a loud gasp.
"No way! I'm originally from Piedmont too! What are the odds?"
Stacey stared blankly at her teacher. She was from Piedmont? And she chose to stay here? Realizing that her teacher was expecting an answer, Stacey just shrugged.
"Well. I am sure that we are going to be very good friends. Why don't you go sit next to Ellie?" The teacher pointed toward an empty desk in the middle of the classroom. Grateful to be out of the limelight, Stacey nodded and made her way over to the empty desk.
"Oh! I almost forgot" the teacher cried out, stopping Stacey in her tracks. She looked at her nervously, wondering what it is now.
To Stacey's surprise, the teacher simply stuck out her hand. Stacey took it hesitantly and the teacher shook it cheerfully.
"Nice to meet you Stacey!" She said with a wide grin on her face. "I'm Mabel Pines."
Stacey staggered out of the classroom an hour latter, completely exhausted. Ms. Pines was a very enthusiastic teacher. Stacey groaned. She wasn't sure that she could handle that first thing in the morning everyday for the rest of the year.
Hearing a small giggle, Stacey turned around to see Ellie, the girl she sat next to in class, laughing. Stacey raised an eyebrow and gave her a look.
"Sorry," she giggled. "It was just so funny to see you next to Ms. Pines, looking so freaked out."
"Yeah…" Stacey muttered. "I just love me some enthusiasm in the morning."
"Yep! If you want enthusiasm, Ms. P is your gal." Ellie said with a grin. She claped her hands together and assumed a mock serious look. "So. How are you liking Gravity Falls so far?"
Stacey thought carefully. She didn't want to insult the only person who had talked to her that wasn't an adult.
"It is certainly… interesting." She finally settled on. Immediately she winced. Interesting? That's all she could come up with?
Apparently Ellie was thinking the same thing.
"That bad, huh?" she said with yet another laugh. "It's fine" she added when she saw how embarrassed Stacey looked. "I know what it looks like to outsiders. I mean, I'm from Gravity Falls and even I think the place is weird."
"Weird… like gnomes and ghosts weird?" Stacey asked casually. She kinda wanted to figure out if everyone in this town was crazy, or if it was an isolated thing.
"Hmmm… depends on who you ask." Stacey looked at Ellie is disbelief. She honestly wasn't expecting that answer.
Ellie flashed a grin at Stacey's stunned face.
"Hey, I never said that I was a believer. Still, the amount of stories that you hear, especially in Gravity Falls…well, it's hard not to wonder, you know?"
Stacey nodded. Reading between the lines of what Ellie said, it was pretty obvious that a lot of people in Gravity Falls believed in the supernatural. Ellie may not straight up believe, she was clearly open to the idea.
"Oh, hey." Stacey startled out of her thoughts, looking over at Ellie. For the first time since they had started talking, Ellie looked completely serious.
"The people of Gravity Falls may be divided on the supernatural, but there is one thing that everyone knows. The woods are dangerous." She looked Stacey dead in the eye, making sure that she got the message. "Most people who venture deep into the woods never come back. Don't go in unless you have a very good reason, and never alone."
Stacey stared into Ellie's eyes, seeing how deadly serious she was. She nodded slightly.
"Thanks for the tip."
Ellie immediately started smiling again, as if the last minute hadn't happened.
"Just thought you should know" she told Stacey as they came to a split in the hallway. Ellie walked off in the opposite direction, waving goodbye and promising to talk to Stacey again later. Stacey stared after her for a moment before heading off to her next class.
It wasn't as difficult for Stacey to find her next class, science, and sat down at a desk near a window with plenty of time to spare. Luckily, Mr. Kelver was not nearly as enthusiastic as Ms. Pines, and just told her to sit anywhere. Having a few minutes before class started, Stacey thought about what Ellie had told her. She looked out the window at the forest. It definitely looked dangerous. The trees were old and twisted, and she could tell that if a person ventured in, it would be very easy to get lost.
But somehow, despite her common sense and Ellie's warning, Stacey felt drawn to the woods. The realization shocks her. There was absolutely no reason for Stacey to want to enter the death woods. She had never been very outdoorsy back home. She prefered to sit inside with a nice book, or her computer. Still, now that she'd noticed it, she couldn't ignore the urge to explore the forest that surrounded Gravity Falls.
Stacey shook her head and turned away from the window, determined to focus on Mr. Kelver's lesson. As class started, she was slightly dismayed to realize that today's lesson was about how to calculate the average weight of a racoon. Maybe Mr. Kelver wasn't saner than Ms. Pines. Still, at least it was a distraction from the forest.
Or at least, she had hoped it would be. But through the whole class, and indeed the rest of the day, Stacey could feel the presence of the forest, lurking in the back of her mind. No matter what she did, she could not get it out of her head.
By the time school was over, Stacey was nearly frantic. Despite the very… unique lessons and teachers that had filled her day, the forest still managed to dominate her thoughts. She tried to ignore the trees as she waited for her mom to come get her, yet she was hyper aware of their presence despite her best efforts.
After fifteen minutes, Stacey started to get antsy. Her mom was never late. Pulling out her phone, she realized that her mom had texted her. Apparently, her new boss decided that she had to stay late on her very first day, so she wouldn't be able to come get Stacey. Great. Stacey groaned. She had a driver's license, but no car, so it looked like she would be walking.
Sighing for what seemed to be the umpteenth time that day, Stacey set off.. Everyone else had already cleared out, so Stacey was alone as she started walking along the road. She hadn't gotten far when she stopped.
Stacey thought carefully. If she knew her mom, she would know everything about this town by the end of the week, including the information about how dangerous the forest was. Once she found that out, she would definitely forbid Stacey from ever stepping foot there, and Stacey would obey. It wasn't really in her nature to rebel. Sure, she may be a little surly at times, but she didn't have any problem with following the rules.
Stacey knew that her mom would not want her in the forest. Stacey didn't want herself in the forest. But…
She stared into the darkness of the woods. This could be her only chance to find out what it was about the woods that attracted her so much. Mom wouldn't be home until late. She would never have to know. One quick trip to satisfy her curiosity, and she would never enter the woods again.
A small part of Stacey was screaming at herself to stop, to just go home, but she ignored that part. Before she was even aware of it, Stacey was leaving the road and walking towards the dark forest. She hesitated one last time at the edge of the trees, thinking about what a terrible idea this was.
Then, without a backward glance, she walked into the woods.