"The woods around here are, well, crazy. I'd love to just show you the beautiful... But weird stuff happens here, and it's not always safe. I can't really explain it, I mean, I wish I knew all of it, but I feel like I don't know the half of it. Like there's stuff I feel like I'm supposed to know, confirmations to these eery feelings, but they're just not there, you know? Like a math problem that you know, you learned how to do, but the information has just vanished away," Marcus explained as they walked through the woods. Lilo nodded, making a mental note.
"But do you remember what happened a few weeks ago?" She asked.
"Weirdmaggedon? Of course. We're just not supposed to talk about it."
"Wendy told me about it."
"Wendy doesn't follow the rules." He said, sounding a little disgruntled about that.
"So where are we going first?"
"I can't show you every twist and turn of the woods today, but I can show you the town."
"Sounds great."
"You'll want to know some of the people in town, too. If you're really researching the weird, then there are definitely people who can fill you in better than I can. Wendy knows a lot about it, and her old co-worker at the Mystery Shack, Soos Ramirez."
"What's the Mystery Shack?"
"It's this tourist trap, everything there is fake, but everyone who works there knows about the real stuff waiting in the woods. Soos could really fill you in more."
"I look forward to it."
"Then that's where we'll go first." They cut through another trail in the woods and arrived at the Mystery Shack."
"Can we look at the exhibits first?"
"Yeah, sure..." Her enthusiasm was impossible to say no to. He smiled and followed her in. There were no tours running right now because there weren't any tourists right now. Marcus had seen it all before, but it was new for Lilo, so he watched her take it in. By now, her features were etched into his memory. His visual memory was detailed, but facts and information escaped him. If everything was a painting, he would have gone to college.
After she'd explored the tacky assortment of gimmicks, he led her into the tackier gift shop, where Soos attended the counter.
"Hey dude, girl dude." Soos nodded at them.
"Soos, this is Lilo Pelekai, she's from Hawaii and she's here staying with us so she can study the paranormal."
"Cool, cool. Is your dog an alien?" Lilo glanced at Stitch, who was trying on one of those hats that Wendy had, with the pine tree on it.
"Uh, actually, yes," Lilo admitted, Marcus, gaping at her.
"That's awesome," Soos said with a knowing nod.
"You didn't tell me Stitch was an alien."
"To be fair, you didn't ask."
"Yeah, that's fair. Anyway, Soos, I was telling Lilo that you could tell her about all the weird stuff that happened around here since you and Wendy were at the heart of it."
"Hey, speak of the devil!" Soos said, pointing out the window.
"Huh?"
"There's Wendy and Tambry." Marcus's face turned bright, angry red and he stormed out of the gift shop, Lilo trailing behind.
"WENDY CORDUROY, YOU'RE GROUNDED!" He screamed, arms crossed.
"You're not dad," Wendy pointed out, remaining chill.
"You better believe I'm telling him. Go back to school. Go make the most of the chances you have, and stop breaking the rules. If I find out that you haven't returned, you're going to get it." Marcus seemed to cross his arms even tighter. Wendy glanced between Marcus to Lilo.
"Oh, I'm going to get it, huh?" And walked off, leaving Marcus steaming. Lilo quickly said goodbye to Soos, saying she'd be back some other time, and followed Marcus.
"You okay? You got pretty angry."
"She infuriates me," Marcus scoffed, arms still crossed and eyebrows furrowed.
"I can't believe she thinks she can get away with this! Her education is important! And she throws it away for those stupid friends of hers!"
"Is that a little harsh?" Lilo asked.
"No. Wendy would never do half the crap she tries to pull if she didn't have those bad influences. They're all punks. One of them is her ex and she just forgives him for trying to mind control her into dating him. That's crazy, right? I'm not the only one who thinks that's crazy, right? And Tambry has been her friend all her life but lately, that girl has gotten so broody, and Wendy copies. Thompson's a pushover and Lee and Nate are just, well, boys. They're not good influences. I'm worried about her."
"Well, you want her to leave the nest for better things, right? She's going to have to make her own decisions eventually."
"I just don't want her to screw up her ability to make decisions later because she made the wrong one now and never gets to leave Gravity Falls."
"Marcus, do you actually like it here?"
"You can call me Marc," He said, avoiding the question.
"Marc, do you like it here? Or... Does it feel like a maze you can't escape?" He bent down and tied his combat boots.
"It's dangerous here Lilo," was his answer.
"I don't remember what happened to my mom. It's one of those things I reach for that just isn't there. Sometimes I struggle to remember her face. But I know that we lost her is because it's dangerous here. Gravity Falls is the place I've always lived. But my dad and Wendy and Kevin and Gus, they're my home. And if Gravity Falls threatens my home, then sometimes I don't like it here." Lilo listened and then nodded.
"They're your Ohana."
"Ohana?"
"Ohana means family, and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten." Marc glanced at Lilo and smiled a small smile.
"I like that." He wasn't as angry anymore.
"Listen... You're going to spend a lot of time wandering Gravity Falls, and you and Stitch can probably handle yourselves, but my dad will let me off work, and... It would make me feel better if you were with someone who knew the area," He offered, his face reddening.
"I wouldn't mind some help, researching the unusual. But, as you said, there will be danger." Marc laughed sadly.
"I'm a Corduroy. We are, unfortunately, bred for danger."
"So, I guess you could show me the rest of the town any time then... What would you like to do now?" Maybe tomorrow she could dive into her research. Today, she would like to just get used to this town and this ohana.
"How about we get pancakes?"
Yeah, yeah, tour (ish) to be continued next chapter. This is taking longer than I expected it to. Some more familiar faces coming soon! Please review it is my livelihood.