"Uhh, Grunkle Stan?" I heard a confused female voice call. "There's some kid sleeping on our couch,"

"It's okay Mabel, I let him in last night, he needed a place to sleep," I heard a voice yell from the kitchen of the strange house.

I groaned and slowly opened my eyes. I saw a girl of about fifteen looking down on me. A boy, must've been her brother joined her, also looking down on me.

"Oh, hey! You're awake! My name's Mabel, and this is my brother Dipper. I'm not sure what your name is, but our Grunkle Stan let you in last night, so you must be nice. I have a pig named Waddles and two friends named Candy and Grenda. We have sleepovers sometime and I had too much sugar last night but now I'm okay!" She said this all very fast. I blinked, and before I could respond, her brother joined in.

"Hi, I'm Dipper. Sorry about Mabel. She discovered some Smile Dip yesterday, and now she's been bouncing off the walls. So, who are you?" He asked.

"My name's William, but everyone calls me Bill," I responded. "I was, uhh, running last night, and I had to stop somewhere, and this was the first place I came across," I said awkwardly.

"Why were you running?" Dipper asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I, umm, I love to run at night. It's much better than running in the morning!" I lied.

"Do your parents know you're here?" Mabel asked.

"No, I'm…. an orphan. I haven't seen my parents in years," I said. Mabel seemed to accept this, but Dipper narrowed his eyes at me, but decided to drop it. "So, umm, I guess I'll just be going. Thanks for letting me sleep here," I said, starting to walk towards the door.

"Hey, no way! You gotta at least stay for breakfast!" Mabel said, grabbing my arm and pulling me back. "Grunkle Stan's making Stan-Cakes. They're like pancakes, but they only taste good if you drown them in syrup! C'mon!" She cried, dragging me into the kitchen, against my protests, Dipper following.

I sat down awkwardly, looking at the man busying himself behind the stove, while lots of black smoke and the smell of burning pancakes filled the air.

"Done!" He exclaimed, turning around with a plate of slightly blackened pancakes. He placed them on the table, and sat down. "So, I let you sleep here last night, now you gotta tell me who you are and why you stopped here. Also, buy some merchandise," He proclaimed, holding up a bobble-head of himself. "First question. What's your name?"

"Umm, my name is William Cipher, but everybody calls me Bill," I repeated for the second time that day. "I was running last night, and I tripped and twisted my ankle. I couldn't keep going, so I had to stop here. My ankle seems to have healed overnight, so, once I finish this fantastic breakfast, I can leave,"

"Woah, kid. You think staying at the Luxury Mystery Shack Hotel is free?" Stan asked me. I gulped. I didn't have any money. "No, today, you're going to be working at the shack with us to repay my gracious favor," He laughed.

"Oh, okay," I said relieved. "Uhm, do you have a bathroom?" I asked.

"There's one right around the corner," Dipper replied, pointing with his thumb.

"Thanks," I said, and walked to it.

"So, what do you think of this William guy?" Stan asked Dipper and Mabel.

"He seems like a nice guy!" Mabel said. "Maybe I can introduce him to my friends and we can give him a makeover next time they sleep over!"

"I'm not really sure what to think," Dipper said. "He seems to be hiding something, but I'm not sure what. What're you going to have him do, Grunkle Stan?"

"I don't know, actually. We have all the jobs covered. Wendy working the cash register, Soos fixing things and cleaning, I'm not sure what to have him do,"

"Ooh! Ooh! Grunkle Stan!" Mabel Yelled, raising her hand I the air. "He can hang out with Dipper and I! It'll be so much fun, we can take him along on our mystery hunts, and I can introduce him to my friends, and it'll be great!"

"Hmm, I dunno," Grunkle Stan replied, scratching his 5 o-clock shadow. "Oh, all right. You kids can tell him when he comes out of the bathroom," As if on que, I returned to the room the moment he said that.

"Tell me what?" I asked.

"Grunkle Stan said you can hang with Dipper and I today! It's gonna be a party, non-stop! C'mon!" Mabel grabbed my shirt, dragging me out the door.