TWISTED

Chapter 2

"The author of the journals…My brother."

"I FUCKING KNEW IT!" Jocelyn screeched, springing from her spot on Hazelle's bed and knocking over a bowl of popcorn.

Hazelle sat motionless, her mouth hanging open. The newest episode of Gravity Falls, "Not What He Seems," had just concluded, and the last moment had confirmed a popular fan theory that had been floating around Tumblr since the year before. We were right, she thought blankly.

"I KNEW IT!" Jocelyn yelled again. "THAT EPISODE WAS SO GOOD!"

"Jocelyn, you can dial it down a bit," Hazelle intoned. While she could absolutely understand her friend's excitement, Hazelle's parents were right downstairs and could probably hear Jocelyn screaming bloody murder.

Hazelle mused over the nerve wracking episode while Jocelyn continued to babble. Pulling up Tumblr, she discovered that the entire fandom was freaking out just as much as they were. She relished in it, her fellow code breakers proud that they had cracked one of Gravity Falls's biggest secrets so long ago. There were still a lot of questions to be answered about the revealed Author of the journals, but for the moment, Hazelle was happy to bask in the craziness of the twist.

We were right, she thought with a goofy grin. This is AMAZING!

She had to admit, she'd been anxious for several reasons going into "Not What He Seems." Something Bill had said earlier that day during his "visit" had rubbed her the wrong way.

"Things are not always what they seem!"

It normally could have been a coincidence, but coincidences didn't exist when it came to Bill Cipher. His reappearance was unsettling enough, especially with the way he'd spoken about Lucy, but what had he meant when he said he was bringing the party to them? Obviously, they were going to be dealing with him some more—something, Hazelle griped, that was very low on her things to look forward to in the near future.

Her anxiety had even almost kept her away from watching "Not What He Seems." Lord knew she wouldn't have been able to stop Jocelyn from tuning in, but there was a deadly possibility that Bill had been planning something around the most anticipated episode of Gravity Falls since "Scaryoke," and Hazelle suspected he'd given them a hint with his choice of words. But curiosity had gotten the best of her and they'd watched live anyway. After watching the episode and noting that nothing bad had happened, Hazelle had to admit it had been worth it to take the risk.

Hazelle glanced up at Jocelyn, who was still pacing around Hazelle's bedroom, mulling over the shock that Stan actually had a twin.

"I can't wait to see what Marco thought!" Jocelyn exclaimed, her eyes bright. Her younger brother, Marco, was also a huge Gravity Falls fan. The two of them shared many fan theories, and speculated over plot points together.

Hazelle's wide smile was cut short as a glowing blue light began to form right next to her bed. A vortex whirred to life, rustling the things in Hazelle's room and shaking the bed.

"What the—!" Hazelle had just enough time to jump for cover as the vortex ruptured, showering the room in light.

"What the fuck?" Jocelyn yelled from the other side of the room, where she had been blasted after failing to duck and cover.

There a deadly beat of silence as Hazelle rose from cowering behind her bed, blinking the black spots away. There were smudgy figures scattered about her room, and Hazelle's mind raced as she realized what had happened. "Portal," she managed. "Joss, that was a portal!"

"What?" Jocelyn asked, sending a confused look at her friend. The two were immediately startled by a yell from one of the figures on the other end of the room.

"YOU TWO!"

Jocelyn looked back at Hazelle before squinting at the other end of the room. "What the—STAN?"

"Hey guys," came Dipper's uncomfortable stammer. "Sorry to keep dropping in on you like this."

"Dudes!" Soos yelled, ecstatic. "We're getting the gang back together!"

Hazelle couldn't believe her eyes. Once again, Stan, Dipper, Mabel, and Soos had been supernaturally deposited in her house.

But there was one more person this time around.

"Stanley!" came another shout. A man made his way to the front of the group, insistent to see what he was up against. He was clad in thick, heavy clothing, like his red turtleneck and tan trenchcoat. The corner of his glasses was cracked, and his eyes were stern and intelligent, running over Hazelle and Jocelyn like they were tricky equations.

Jocelyn's jaw dropped open. "THE AUTHOR?!" She turned to Hazelle, eyes wide. "Hazelle. The author of the fucking journals is in your room. Your ROOM! In our DIMENSION!"

Hazelle couldn't believe it either. All she could muster was a shaky, "Watch your language."

There was a moment of silence as each party took the other in. Hazelle watched the Author scrutinize her room, memorizing every detail: her organized desk, her pile of textbooks, her collection of body sprays, and her replica Journal #3 that she had been working hard on for months. She flushed as he noted her teddy bear, Sebastian, where he sat dutifully on her bed with a frown.

"So…" Jocelyn began slowly, "it's nice to see you guys again…"

The author stepped forward. "Again?! Stanley, who are these people? And how did we get here?!"

Stanley, Hazelle mentally noted. So I guess we were both wrong and right about some things? She cleared her throat and decided to speak up for the good of the order—and also, secretly, to present herself as more of an ally than a high school senior. First impressions were everything, after all. "A portal. That was a portal." She turned to Jocelyn, who was, for the first time in her life, speechless. "That was a portal, Joss. I know you were excited, but you've gotta keep yourself in check!"

Jocelyn's demeanor quickly turned to one of indignation. "Woah, woah, woah. You think I did this?"

"Well yeah! You were at an emotional peak, and in the mindset of the place where they came from!"

Jocelyn frowned. "Hazelle, you know what it looks like when I make a portal. Even by accident! And that wasn't it." Jocelyn crossed her arms. "It wasn't me."

Stanford spoke up again. "I hate to keep interrupting here, but where are we? And what is all of this talk about opening portals?"

"Oh, Jocelyn's a portal jumper," Mabel commented nonchalantly. She was busy taking in Hazelle's room, with the same Disney princess wallpaper that she'd had since she was seven.

"A what?" Stanford yelled.

Everyone in the room froze, not quite sure how to react to the newcomer of their situation.

Jocelyn broke the silence, true to form. "Portal…jumper." She said slowly, as if she was talking to a child. "I can open portals to alternate realities."

Stanford waved his hands, frustrated. "I know what they are, I wrote about them, for heaven's sake. But I thought they had all died out! How is this possible?" Taking Journal #1 from his coat pocket, he began to scribble furiously. "This is incredible! And she's not even from the same dimension! Could it be others have the power, and that it isn't extinct…?"

Stan spoke up, breaking Hazelle's silent awe of the Author with a gruff, "So if Portal Girl didn't bring us here, who did?"

Dipper whipped out Journal #3, probably out of habit at that point, and flipped through it. "There's nothing in here about alternate realities," he said, somewhat dejected. "Trust me, I checked."

"There should be," Stanford commented noncommittally, still buried in his own journal. "Try somewhere after the Gremloblin."

Just then, there was a knock at Hazelle's bedroom door. "Hazelle?" came Mrs. Krimms's concerned call. "Is everything alright in there? I heard some screaming."

"Shit," Jocelyn whispered.

"Language," Hazelle hissed, before composing herself. "Not. One. Word," she ordered through her teeth to the Pines and Soos.

Hazelle cracked open her bedroom door to see her mom standing in the hallway, dressed in pajamas. "Hi, Mom," she said cautiously, trying to sound chipper. "Sorry about the noise, we're fine. This was just a really good episode."

Hazelle's mom didn't sound convinced. "What about the screaming?"

"Oh, that was just Jocelyn."

Jocelyn popped her head out from behind Hazelle and waved. "Hi, Mrs. Krimms!"

Mrs. Krimms became stern. "Hazelle Elizabeth, are you sure everything is alright?"

"Yeah, Mom, don't worry about us!"

"Okay then...don't stay up too late, hun."

"Yeah, okay Mom! Thanks! Love you!" Hazelle shut the door as soon as her mom left, perhaps a little too forcefully.

Turning back to the group assembled in her room, Hazelle gulped. How on Earth was she supposed to house five fictional guests without her parents finding out?

The situation, in it of itself, was comical. Mabel was still marveling at the pink color scheme of Hazelle's bedroom while checking out her closet, Stan was scowling (nothing new there), Jocelyn was being loud with Soos about a joke she'd made, and Dipper was practically orgasmic with the thought of the Author of the journals being in close proximity to him. The gang was really back together.

The only wild card was the Author. The real Stanford Pines, apparently.

I wonder how Tumblr will feel about that one, she mused. The person the fandom had only hoped existed. Standing right in front of her. Hazelle had the sudden urge to clean up her already-spotless room and change into something more professional, rather than her oversized T-shirt and Mickey Mouse pajama shorts. This was the character—person?—that had chronicled so much of Gravity Falls's weirdness and had vanished so suddenly, leaving behind his genius journals. She could tell from one glance over that the guy had some major history to him—every squint, every twist of his mouth, every eyebrow furrow reminded him of some crazy, otherworldly concept she couldn't begin to dream up. She'd seen some insane stuff in her year and a half of portal jumping, but he'd probably seen stuff that would knock her greatest adventures out of the water. He'd probably seen all that she had ever wanted to see.

Hazelle realized, in that instant, that she wanted to know everything he knew. Every square inch of his brain, stuffed into hers. This was the guy she had to impress and befriend.

Dipper's watch beeped, jolting Hazelle out of her reverie.

"Well, this has been fun," Jocelyn began, glancing at her phone, "but I told my mom I'd be home soon. So I'll leave you to…this."

Hazelle's mouth dropped open. "You're gonna leave me to house five people that my parents don't know are able to exist in this reality?!" Her voice had taken on a shrill quality, and she had to check herself before her mom came running again.

Jocelyn shrugged. "I need to get the car home. Besides, it's late anyway. We should all go to bed and reconvene tomorrow morning." She slung her purse over her shoulder and paused in the doorway. "Maybe when we wake up this will all have been a dream, amiright?" And with a flip of her long dark braid, Jocelyn was gone, leaving Hazelle to her guests.

Stanford looked up from analyzing one of her snowglobes. "There's something about her," he said slowly, "that I don't like very much."

Hazelle sighed. So much for first impressions.