Prologue
Srehpic eht wollof
Llaf s'remmus tsrif eht fo
Ni dnats yeht swodahs eht era krad
Llac serutuf eht lilts rekrad
It started the summer we turned eleven.
Our parents started to fight.
At first it was just little things.
Until it wasn't anymore.
And by the time we were thirteen… they weren't together anymore…
And caught in the middle were my sister and I…
My uncle says our story is just like one that has happened before. He says is almost like our lives were theirs in reverse.
I'm not sure how a feel about that… I suppose I should explain.
It all started when our parents had decided to send away. They shipped us to the northwest to a sleepy town called Gravity Falls, Oregon, to stay at our great-uncle's place in the woods…
Two auburn haired twins sat at the back of a bus. They had each taken the window seat and ignored each other. One was typing away at her phone oblivious to the scenery flashing by her. Across the way the other would glance out the window before he buried how nose into a thick book and scribbled out what ever had come to his mind. There was silence save for the hum of the bus. After a while the girl groaned.
"Hashtag worst summer ever." she grumbled. The boy threw her a dirty look and scribbled in his book some more. "why do we have to go to some hick town anyways? Why can't we go to some resort or something? I mean come on! We're loaded! We shouldn't-"
"Are you going to complain all summer?" the boy asked angrily. The girl glared at him.
"Just scribble in your book ink nose!"
"At least my thumbs won't be crippled by the time I'm twenty." the boy mute red darkly.
"At least I'll have a life!" the girl shouted back.
"Why you!" the boy cried before he leapt across the bus and pulled on the girls hair. The pair wrestled for a few seconds before the bus driver shouted over the PA.
"Oh for! Will you two cut it out! That's the fourth time in ten minutes! Just sit in your seats and mind your own business!"
The two did move to the opposite end of the Benches but continued to glare at each other across the space. After a while the boy stuck his nose back into his book and the girl went back to her phone. Suddenly her phone blipped and the screen cut to an image of empty service bars. The girl tapped the screen in horror.
"No! No no no!" the screen did not change. "NOOOOOOOOOO!" she cried in pain. Her brother snickered at her from across the Bench. The girl glared at him like it was somehow his fault entirely.
"Snicker again and the next cliff we drive passed I'm tossing that out the window." she threatened. The boy clutched the book to his chest defensively and glared. The girl rolled her eyes. "Calm down nerd, I won't take your precious diary."
"It's a journal!" the boy said angrily. The girl snorted.
"If you care about it such maybe you should marry it." she offered with a smirk. The boy scowled.
"At least I'm smart enough to have one. You don't even have a brain of your own any more you care so much what Clarisse Tambron says." the boy snapped. The girl blushed angrily.
"Yes I do." she said angrily. The boy said nothing as he went back into his book. The pair continued to ignore each other as the bus drove down the road after a few minutes they drove passed a cliff and the boy looked up. There was the Gravity Falls water tower. He stared at it for a few seconds before he quickly sketched it into his journal. Slowly the pines rose until the towered above the buss. After a while the bus slowed to a halt. The girl dashed out of the bus, phone held in the air. She rushed outside passed the gray haired tall woman and jumped onto a stump holding her phone up. Finally the phone blipped again. The girl sighed.
"Thank god." She murmured in relief before she returned to tapping away. The woman stared before she turned to the boy as he stepped out of the bus with a pencil behind his ear. He pushed his glasses into place and surveyed her for a few seconds.
"Hey there." She said with a smile. The boy didn't respond but scribbled away in his journal. The girl walked over, not looking up from her phone screen.
"So who are you anyways?" she asked. The elderly woman frowned.
"I'm your great aunt… I saw you at the family reunion a few years ago… don't you remember me?"
"No." the girl said without a glance. The woman stared at them in shock.
"We tend to forget that whole disaster." The boy muttered, speaking for a first time. The woman thought back. She remembered the fight, the screaming and finally the storming off and reasoned perhaps that was a good thing.
"Well… your Grunkle asked me to pick you up. It's just a hike through the woods away…"
"Grunkle? What does that even mean?" the girl asked with a scoff.
"its short for great uncle." The woman said.
"Oh… its lame." The girl said snootily before she walked into the woods. The elderly woman made a face.
"Is she always likes that?" she asked no one in particular.
"Yes." The boy replied with an annoyed air as he still scribbled into his journal.
"Hey Tambry two! The Mystery Shack is this way!" the woman called after the oblivious child.
"Mystery Shack?" the boy asked looking up for the first time in minutes with a curious face.
"It's a tourist trap your Grunkle runs, it's a family business, your cousin works there. He lives with me… his parent died in a car accident when he was just a kid." The woman said to the two that once again were no longer paying attention. She sighed before she led the two through the tower pines. Finally the trio arrived at the tall building.
"This is where we're staying… it looks like it's gonna collapse… is it safe?" the girl asked with a snooty air
"Course it's safe! Oh hey! That old guy is the handyman. Just call him McGucket, everybody does." The woman said waving for the old man.
"Hey Wendy ! What brings ya here?" the tall grey haired bearded man asked with a smile and a wave.
"Just picking up the kids for Dipper." The woman said motioning to the two kids that once again here typing away and scribbling respectively. The old man chuckled.
"well howdy do there? Hadron McGucket! Pleasure to be meeting ya!" he cried holding out his hand. The girl shook it quickly still looking at her phone. The boy just nodded. The old man chuckled weakly before motioning to the building.
"Dipper's still guiding a tour; you should swing by the shop and introduce them to Benjamin. I'm sure they'd like ta talk to somebody their own age." The old man said before he walked away. The woman nodded.
"This way to the gift shop, it's connected to the house so well just walk through after you meet Ben." The woman said before she entered. She walked over to the counter and frowned, putting her hands on her hips. In the chair behind the counter was a lanky teen where a red button up shirt. He was leaning back in the chair fast asleep. "Ben…Ben!… BENJAMIN!"
"AH! I'M AWAKE!" he said slamming his hands down on the counter. The woman raised an eyebrow.
"I can see that… anyways, Ben! meet your cousins!" The woman said motioning to the two kids. Her raised arms dropped to her sides when she realized that once again the children weren't paying attention. The red head teen raised an eyebrow but looked at them with a smile.
"hey there little dudes!" he said with a grin.
"hey." The girl murmured.
"hello." The boy said absent mindedly. With that they left the gift shop much to the teen and woman astonishment. The teen looked after them for a bit before he shrugged ad leaned back into his seat. The woman just growled a bit and marched after them. She stood in the living room doorway in astonishment. The girl was lounging on the sofa, engrossed in her phone. The boy was sitting at the poker table scribbling away. She cleared her throat and still they did nothing. She threw her arms up in frustration and stomped through the living room to the kitchen with a harsh frown. The two were unfazed. They were oblivious to everything around them that was until a shadow loomed over the boy's journal. The boy looked up and jumped. From the position the tall man was standing in relative to the light over head only his silhouette was visible. The man took a step back and the boy surveyed him in full. He was tall with grey hair and brown tweed jacket with elbow pads. He looked a bit like their Gran-Gran actually.
"Hey there kids! Sorry I couldn't pick you up, busy with tours and such." He cried with a smile and deep baritone voice. The boy looked him up and down before he scribbled away.
"who are you?" the girl asked, not looking up from her phone. The man frowned.
"It's me! I met you a few years ago! Grunkle Dipper! Remember?" the man asked, looking at them in distress. The older woman from before spoke up from the other doorway.
"Don't take it personally Dipper, they didn't remember me either." The woman said. The man let out an uneasy laugh.
"oh well… its fine then… I guess." He said with a slight frown. "I'll show you to your room… it's just upstairs."
"Wait wait! Back it up a bit! Did you say room? as in just one?" the girl asked in horror. The man frowned.
"Yes… I don't have the space for you to have separate bedrooms." He admitted. The girl made a face of horror.
"I HAVE TO SHARE WITH THIS NERDY NIGHTMARE?! NO WAY!" she shouted angrily.
"PSH! MORE LIKE I HAVE TO SHARE WITH YOU!" the boy cried.
"He's all sweaty and gross!"
"You're gross! With your make up and your hair stuff!"
"At least I'm not a walking disease! I take care of myself!"
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
"That you're gross AND ugly!"
"ENOUGH!" the man cried harshly. Both the children fell silent. The man was staring between the two in shock. the pair looked furiously between each other. "you're just like them aren't you…" he said with a slight sigh."look, I don't have the space, you'll have to share, there's nothing I can do about it." The man insisted before he led the way up to the attic. Once at the top he led them across a wide room to the single door on the far wall. Inside the room were two beds opposite each other.
"Dibs!" the pair cried running to opposite sides of the room. the girl instantly started organizing her wardrobe. The boy simply dumped a large pile of pens on the bedside table. The man looked between the pair and smiled.
"Is everything alright then?"
"I want a sign!" the both cried. They glared at each other even as the man laughed. He disappeared for a few minutes as the pair continued to unpack their various articles. Suddenly there was a banging outside their door. The pair rushed out to see what was wrong. The man smiled before he motioned for them to step out of the room. he hung a sign on the nailed he'd just put on the door.
"and? What do you think?" he asked the pair. They both surveyed it. The girl rolled her eyes and scoff.
"it's fine… I guess." She said before returning to her phone. The boy shrugged.
"it'll work." He said before scribbling away in his journal. The man ruffled both their hair and disappeared downstairs.
"Dinner is in five!" he called.
"coming!" the twins cried simultaneously, glaring at each other after. With that they left their unpacking for later. There on the door sign read their names…
Ford + Patricia
...modeerf hcum oot mih evig I... tib a rof yadiloh no tnew meht rof retirw eht ,emit siht rehpic on yrroS
