"I can't believe we're back." I said, looking around the dusty town. It hadn't changed at all since the last time we were here.
"Was it always so old?" Mabel asked. I grinned fondly at my sister.
"Yeah, Mabel, it is an old town."
Mabel chuckled. "Old just like our grunkle."
My smile slipped. Even though I had finally agreed to return to Gravity Falls after dealing with my sister's begging for the past five years, I was still reluctant to see my great uncle Stan. After the incident with the portal that happened the last time we were here, I wanted to forget this small town even existed.
"He should be here by now? Should I call him?" Mabel asked, pulling out her phone, which had a bright pink case with a bedazzled star on the back. It reminded me of the sweaters she used to make when we were kids.
"He's probably so caught up ripping tourist off at the shack that he forgot about us." I muttered. Mabel frowned.
"Dipper, you promised to try this summer."
"I know, I know." I held my hand up defensively. "I will. But if he does one thing to give me a reason to not trust him-"
"He won't!" Mabel snapped, using a defensive but obviously upset tone I only heard when we started arguing over Stan. "He did what he did to get his brother back! That's it! Stanley is back now, so Stan won't do anything else!" She hesitated. "Well, at least on that scale."
"He better not, or we're leaving."
Just then, a familiar car pulled around the corner. I couldn't help but scowl as our uncle stopped in front of us and got out along with another older man that I had only met for a short time before: mine and Mabel's grandfather, who we were led to believe was dead for our entire lives until his dangerous return, Stanley Pines.
"Grunkle Stan!" Mabel yelled, rushing forward to hug him. Stan greeted her enthusiastically, squeezing her tight, before turning his gaze to me. I turned away, scowling hard. Mabel, not noticing the tension between her uncle and brother, greeted Stanley with almost the amount of energy that she greeted Stan with. I watched the scene before me coldly.
"We should, uh, probably get you kids back to the shack then." Stan said, realizing there was no hope of getting a greeting out of me.
"I missed the shack so much!" Mabel shouted. She grabbed my hand and pulled me into the car. Before the door shut behind us, I heard Stanley mutter something to Stan.
"Yeah, and I miss the way is used to look thirty-five years ago before some idiot took over."
I couldn't hide a grin at Stanley's remark. It was good to know I wasn't the only one who had issues with Stan.
"What are you grinning at?" Mabel asked, prodding my ribs, so hard it kind of hurt. I flinched and rubbed my side.
"Nothing." I told her. "It's nothing."
Her lips spread into a broad smile. "You missed it here."
"I really didn't." I told her, monotone.
"You did!" She threw her arms around me and squished me against the door. The air was crushed out of me, and I gasped.
"Mabel, stop!"
With good timing, Stan and Stanley got in the car and saw her crushing me. "Mabel, stop abusing your brother." Stan ordered.
"Oh, he was asking for it." Mabel grinned, letting me go and ruffling my hair. I glared at her but made sure she knew I wasn't actually mad. She and I had gone through a long enough period of not talking when I forced her to go home with me after the incident with the portal. That time had been a dark time in my life. Yeah, we had had our issues before our first trip to Gravity Falls, but after we got home, we didn't talk for months. I was mad at her for trusting Stan over me. She was upset that I was mad. I had missed her so much during that time, but I wasn't sure how to make it up to her. I didn't want to apologize; I was right in the fact that Stan could have destroyed the world, and Mabel had no reason to trust him after finding out he had lied to us much that summer. I still hadn't apologized. She had come to me, crying, and told me she wanted us to be friends again. Of course, I had hugged her and told her there was no way I wasn't cut her out of my life forever. After that, things had been shaky but better. And they only improved as time went on.
The ride to the Mystery Shack was long. Mabel spent the entire time trying to catch the two men up on our lives for the past five years. I didn't understand why; she called them at least once a week to talk to them. I tuned them out, wondering about what must have changed since the last time I was here. The town itself didn't look much different, just slightly more rundown. The people, though, could have changed.
Finally, we pulled up to the Mystery Shack. Surprising, this place actually looked better than it had five years ago. Any damage we had accidently made while we were here last was fixed up as well as any additional damage that had been there before.
"Oh, it looks so nice!" Mabel gasped.
"Of course it was." Stanley said. His voice was rough like Stan's. "There was no way I was letting the mess my brother let the place become continue."
"It wasn't that bad." Stan argued.
"Stan, I got splinters just by looking at the place." I said dryly. Mabel giggled beside me, and Stanley snorted in amusement. Stan glared at me using the rearview mirror.
"Watch it, kid."
Annoyance pricked at me, and I stubbornly held his gaze in the mirror. After about a minute, he looked away. I smirked, feeling satisfied.
"Come on, Dipper!" Mabel grabbed my hand and pulled me out of her side of the car. "I want to see Waddles!"
"Mabel, our bags!" I protested. I tried to pull myself out of her grasp, but she was much stronger than me and held on tight.
"Stan's got them!" she yelled, pulling me up the steps and through the doors of the house. As my sister threw her arms around her pig, which was relaxing in the middle of the room, I looked around at the familiar features of the shack. We were finally back in Gravity Falls.