Chapter 27: Dimension 52
The two humans took Rick's advice and went to the bad part of the city of the dimension they were in, the city looked like it was deteriorating from the inside out, the streets probably dangerous, but the two humans walked along the streets confidently because they knew their way around a fight.
Layla walked into a few shops and walked out with items hidden in her coat. Of course many of it was alcohol. How many could she even fit in there? Her coat seemed limitless!
Ford snagged food and something drinkable other than alcohol, finding out that they had water, something he felt was beginning to become a foreign concept to him. He hides it in his trench coat along with a few papers that resembled the news.
Once Ford was out of sight with his stolen goods he hands the papers to Layla. She could read them better than he, so it made sense to give them to her to be deciphered quickly. Layla mumbles to herself in the language, Ford practically seeing the gears turn in her head as she translated.
"Looks like there is a lot of gang war in this city," she remarked. "The papers are basically saying don't walk around at night." She then rolls her eyes dramatically. "Oh, thank heavens we found that!"
Ford rolls his eyes as well, a smile on his face. "I figured we needed some information," he tells her with a sly smile.
The raven-haired woman then hooks her arm around his. "My hero, the nerd," she laughs. "But yes, that is important information, we don't want to get caught in the crossfire."
Overhead the sky was beginning to dark into a deep indigo, the sky getting streaks of yellow from the lights of the city. The two humans were walking down the streets, Ford keeping a lookout around their surroundings as Layla read the papers to see if there was any place for them to sleep for the night. A few patrons of the streets did try to mug them, unknown to Layla as she was reading, so Ford had to shoot them in their kneecaps for them to get away.
"What was that sound?" Layla absently would say, not even bothering to look up from her papers.
"Nothing, Layla," Ford would reply drily, often glaring at the patrons that were trying to mug them.
Finally it seemed that they had found a place to crash for the night, it being a rundown old building with stones sticking out randomly, threatening to fall. The two humans looked at each other with a sigh and go on through the door. The inside was just as bad, if even worse, than that outside.
Inside the carpets and tiles were ripped and cracked, various liquids dripped from the ceiling. There wasn't anyone in the lobby, just a very bored, green-skinned, reptilian concierge at the main desk. The sign said that he was on break and would be back never, at least that's what Layla told Ford the sign said.
"So very friendly…" Ford muttered sarcastically.
Layla then approaches the desk and speaks in the same language that was written on the sign. Her voice was a thick layer of fake flattery, her voice sickening sweet sounding. The concierge rolls its neon purple colored eyes and holds out a scaly hand. Suddenly a bottle was in it and in Layla's was now a key.
"What did you even say?" Ford asked when Layla returned, twirling the key in the fingers of her right hand.
"Eh, nothing much." Layla shrugged. She then grabs Ford's hand and the two began walking to the staircase. Ford looks down from the stairs to see the concierge popping open the bottle that he noticed was one of Layla's bottles of alcohol and started drinking from it.
"You bribed him!?" Ford cried out, appalled.
"Not the first time I've done something like that," Layla admits nonchalantly. The two were finally up on the floor that they had to be on, Layla looking around for the room.
"I swear, I think you and my brother could be friends…" Ford told her with a bored tone.
Layla finally finds the room and uses the key to get in. Inside the room was no better than the lobby when they first entered the building. The carpet was a disgusting blue color, all torn up and the bare concrete shown underneath it. The pale, green wallpaper was peeling.
"I think I rather sleep in a trashcan…" Ford mutters, him eyeing around.
"C'mon, it's for one night," Layla insists. She then begins to unpack her small pack, putting the blankets on top of the only bed in the room.
Ford just noticed that. "Wait… w-w-w-why is there one bed?" he asked her nervously.
"Hm?" Layla murmured, barely looking up. "I have no idea… maybe the guy just assumed. It's not like we haven't slept in the same bed before."
Ford's face blushes pink as he glances away. It was true, but that was a totally different circumstance, she was hurt and… but he did kiss her during that.
Layla then takes off her trench coat, her navy blue sweater tight around her. As Ford just stared for a moment the woman emptied the coat and took out the various bottles of alcohol and a few small glasses. She then holds up a bottle of a clear liquid and gives smile.
"Care to have a drink with me?" she asked casually, she had a sly smile on her face as if she was expecting him to say something sarcastic.
Ford puts a hand behind his head and gives a nervous chuckle. "I don't know…" he says slowly, almost jokingly. "I think at least one of us should be sober…" he then takes one of the glasses from the tables and hands it outward, waiting for a drink. Layla complies and pours the liquid into the glass and then pours herself one. "But… a few drinks couldn't hurt right?" he smiled at her.
Layla then picks up her glass and clinks it to Ford's, the two downing the shot like it was nothing. It did burn Ford's throat terribly, and he recognized the taste. Although Ford wasn't floored by the taste, he could tell it was Layla's favorite and he pours himself another glass. The two kept taking on shots, them telling stories from their pasts.
One story Ford told was on how Stanley became afraid of heights. Layla tells a story on how she became highly afraid of spiders. Ford when then tell about his family's pawn shop in New Jersey, how his father wouldn't give a refund no matter what, something Ford thinks Stanley had copied for himself.
"You rarely talk about your parents…" Layla recalled, her words slurred slightly.
Ford glances away. "Dad was a strict man, was a real money pincher you know? I guess it made sense, as he had extra expenses…" Ford told her, then he immediately regretted it. The extra expense was the unknown twin… Stanley. "I didn't… mean that…"
"Your dad took a lot out on Stanley, didn't he?" Layla asked gently.
"That's probably why Ma doted on him a little more than myself…" Ford then admits. "Whenever he felt bad about himself she would perk him back up, and he did inherit her sly tongue. She was the best liar in New Jersey, but when she told us that she loved us… sometimes I thought she was only being truthful to Stanley…" he then hung his head low, now feeling guilty about that statement.
"Hey! You know that's not true!" Layla snapped at him.
"I know it's not true… it just felt like it at times." Ford stated, a sad look taking on his features. He pours himself another drink, although clumsily, and downs the shot. His face grimaces at the taste.
"At least your mom was around…" Layla then bitterly says to him, her voice dripping with venom. "I wish I would've known years ago…"
Ford gives her a look of pity. He had almost forgotten that Dr. Bartek had killed her mother during his experimentations. That and the man had lied to the girl her entire life, her thinking that her mother truly didn't care for her. No wonder why it made her mad when Ford admitted to thinking that his mother favored Stanley over him.
"I shouldn't have mentioned it…" Ford sighs. "That was selfish of me…"
You think you got problems!? … Meanwhile, where have you been? Livin' it up in your fancy house in the woods! Selfishly hoarding your college money, because you only care about yourself!
I'm selfish? I'm selfish, Stanley? … I'm giving you a chance to do the first worthwhile thing in your life and you won't even listen!
That argument echoed in Ford's head, over and over. It could have been handled so much differently. Hell, that night back over ten years ago could've been handled differently.
"Have… have I told you why Stanley and I had fought…?" Ford asked Layla suddenly, who was taking a shot of her own drink, his voice slurred from his drinking. She looks at him with curious, electric blue eyes. She shakes her head. "It's because… back in our senior year of high school… we both… made mistakes.
"I did an amazing science fair project, won the fair too. My teachers were so impressed that they invited a prestige college, West Coast Tech, to come to the school and see if I could get in. Stanley… didn't handle it very well. He was always proud of me being smart, beat up any bullies that said otherwise about it and my polydactyl… but I guess he really wanted to go sailing with me around the world…
"Out of anger, and possible fear for the future and sadness, he ruined my project. I didn't get into the school I wanted… I got so mad at him, it was the first time I ever felt like I truly hated him. And at seventeen years old our father kicked him out of the house and gave him the impossible task of making millions on his own before even coming back home. All I did was stand and watch…
"There were so many things that could've been done that night… He could've called home and said he accidently broke my project. I could've tried to have a clearer head and thought rationally. I could've stopped our father from throwing him out on the streets. Maybe… maybe if I would've just talked to Stanley more about that school… maybe he could've went out west with me, have an odd job out there while I got my education so we could still be together…
"And that night I came through the portal didn't go any better…
"I was going insane because of Bill… I kept hearing his laugh. I couldn't sleep, I kept trying to stay awake, and that made me begin to hallucinate. It felt like everywhere I turned I saw Bill. My journal entries were becoming more maddening, I was writing in some code that I never seen before… I hid my most recent journal in the woods, I buried my second one, and the first one… I wanted Stanley to take it as far away as possible…"
That's it!? You finally wanna see me after ten years, and it's to tell me to get as far away from you as possible!?
"We fought… he wanted to burn my journal, but I was so caught up that it was my research of Gravity Falls that I attacked him to get it back. During our fight we hit my machinery and the portal got reactivated…"
You left me behind, you jerk! It was supposed to be us forever, you ruined my life!
You ruined your own life!
AH!
Ford remembers kicking his twin brother away from him to try to get his journal back. However the burning hot symbol on the side of the console was there and branded Stanley on his right scapula area. Stanley had screamed in pain from the branding, making Ford feel so guilty that he hurt him. And Ford got a well-deserved punch to his face, nearly braking his glasses.
Some brother you turned out to be! You care more about your dumb mysteries than your family? Well then… YOU CAN HAVE 'EM!
"I hurt him… I kicked him into a scolding hot piece of metal on the side of the console… the symbol there branding into him. I tried to apologize, but he punched me. He told me… he told me that I cared more about mysteries than my family… and now that I really think about it, he was right. He pushed me… and I fell into the gravitational pull of the portal… and I ended up in a different dimension."
Ford finished his story and took the bottle on the side and downed the rest of it without even pouring himself a glass. He wipes his mouth as his face twisted up in a grimace. With his brown eyes he glances at Layla, seeing her expression looking like a mixture of sadness and anger.
Suddenly, Layla stood up, although highly wobbly from her drinking. "THAT'S WHY YOU TWO FOUGHT!?" she demands, her voice thick with alcohol. "T-T-THAT'S THE STUPIDEST THING I H-H-H-HAVE EVER HEARD!"
Ford flinches from her words. She was right, it was stupid.
"I know it's stupid…" Ford admits drunkenly. "That's why…" he then sighs. "That's why I'm really hoping he doesn't mess with the portal… because I am a terrible brother who put his own, selfish needs above my family. I haven't even spoken to my parents in about six years… and right now they could have died from a car crash or a sickness or something and I would have no idea! My brother is better off without me…"
Layla's face softens as she slides down next to him, putting a hand on his leg. "If he didn't care… then why did he come to Gravity Falls for you?" she asks him.
Stanley! Stanley, help me!
Oh, no, what do I do!?
Ford remembered Stanley's face, the man scared out of his mind. He could see instant regret, his face going through so many emotions.
"I just hope… he'll give up… it's too dangerous." Ford then finally says, him getting up, causing Layla's hand to fall off his leg.
She stands up and pops open another one of her bottles and takes a swig from it. The raven-haired woman then hands out the bottle in offering. Ford takes it gladly and takes a long drink from it. The taste was a lot sweeter, which made him crave for more, which could be dangerous as he is already drunk, drinking a lot of this would make him piss drunk.
"I-I-I'm glad you told me, Stanford…" Layla finally says, gently taking the bottle back. "It… must've n-n-n-not been easy to talk about it." She takes a drink from it again then sets it on the nightstand next to the bed.
Ford's vision was extremely blurry, and he felt like that the room was spinning. Normally he wouldn't talk about the past that bothered him so much. He glares at the empty bottles that used to hold the alcohol.
They don't call it "Liquid Courage" for nothing… Ford thought bitterly to himself.
He then glares at Layla, thinking that she must've done this on purpose to get him to talk. She notices the glare and gives him a sheepish smile and a small wave. That little smile made his heart skip a beat, him thinking that he couldn't really be mad at her for only being curious about his past.
Layla laughs at Ford's expression, her laugh sounding much more natural and higher than her usual lower tone. She tried talking a little lower most of the time, as if trying to sound intimidating, but when she was drunk or really happy she'd talk in her natural tone.
"You're cute when you're confused, you know that?" she tells him.
He had admitted that he had loved her, but she hadn't said anything back to him about that subject. But her saying that he was "cute" made his face go beet red.
"Um… I-I'm not really sure about that…" he chuckles.
She then walks up to him, her electric blue eyes shining. He really liked those eyes…
"You have the prettiest eyes I've ever seen." Ford couldn't stop it from coming out of his mouth. It was already said and done before he realized what he said.
It was Layla's turn to have her face turn beet red. "Oh… really…? I don't like my eyes very much… I really like your brown… they look like melted chocolate, especially when you smile nicely…" she admits lightly, her tone wavering from her being drunk.
"And I like your black hair too…" Ford continues, him feeling slightly more confident with his words. Maybe it was the last swig of alcohol hitting his system.
"Really…?" Layla asked in shock. "I don't like it much… I'm already pale and this makes me look dead…"
"More like an angel in my opinion."
Before she could reply to that, Ford goes and kisses her, causing her to make a small sound. Layla wraps her hands around Ford's neck, tangling her fingers in his brown hair, and she deepens the kiss. The two pull apart for a moment to catch their breath, but as soon as they did they went back to kissing.
"I… I love you too, Stanford," Layla whispers against his lips, finally saying what she felt about him.
And that was all he needed to hear as he gently lowered her onto the bed. Automatically he glances around and saw the position he was in and nearly jumps away from her, causing her to giggle and laugh at him.
"You are too adorable when you don't know what you're doing…" she tells him as she pulls him back into their kiss, her mouth moving against his rhythmically.
That was when Ford blacked out, the full on effects of the alcohol hitting his bloodstream.
A/N: Sorry this took a couple of days! I was trying to write this while having "Gravity Falls" on in the background. I got distracted to say the lease. I finished re-watching Season 1 in a day and got through almost half of Season 2 in the day... UM... this show has consumed me!
-POSSIBLE JOURNAL 3 SPOILERS DOWN BELOW!-
For those who have read "Journal 3" we know Ford's journey in the portal, the dimensions he has seen and the beings he has met. So, obviously none of this story has fallen into that because of course this an AU story, a fanfiction.
- SPOILERS END-
We are getting close to the end of this... probably another five to ten chapters in all honesty, since I do want to get to how Stan deals with the 90's and how Ford became much more bitter like we see him in "A Tale of Two Stans" in the beginning of the episode.
Thanks for reading as always!
~Skye Hendersen~
