[🔶] Gravity Falls: Rewritten!

Chapter 35: Awkwardening

She wasn't exactly sure how the older twins had managed to convince her to tag along—but somehow, the next thing she knew, she was seated in the back of the car.

Stan tapped his fingers rhythmically on the steering wheel, not out of nerves like before, but out of pure anticipation. He'd missed those kids ever since they'd boarded that bus back to California. The occasional letters were nice, sure, but they didn't quite fill the gap.

In the passenger seat, Ford cast a sidelong glance at the girl staring silently out the window. Her stillness felt strange. Suspicious, even. He used to be able to read her like an open book when she was still his assistant—sharp, focused, always one step ahead. But now, with her eyes glazed and fixed on the passing scenery, he couldn't quite get a read on her.

There was only one real way to figure out what she was thinking.

Her head snapped up at the sound of his voice. "Yes." She blinked fast, like she was waking up from a dream. Her breath hitched a little.

"Are you alright?"

He watched her expression shift—first confusion, then a thoughtful pause, and finally... clarity.

"Yes."

So she was.

They continued driving in silence for a while until Stan pulled up and parked by the edge of the road. "Bus stop. Now we wait," he announced.

So they waited.

A lone bus crested over the horizon, rumbling closer with every second. It almost felt like this specific route only ever carried a pair of twins each summer—but Stan wouldn't have it any other way. The moment the vehicle came into full view, he threw open the car door with an excited grin and leapt out. Ford followed after him with a quiet chuckle, stepping out more calmly on his side.

But she didn't move.

She wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because they hadn't arrived yet... or maybe she just wasn't ready. Her eyes stayed fixed on the road.

Then the bus rolled past them.

Stan's grin fell. "Aw, come on," he muttered in disappointment, watching as the empty bus disappeared into the distance.

From inside the car, the girl let out a loud laugh, covering her mouth. She couldn't help it.

Stan turned with a deadpan expression. "Not funny!"

"It kinda is!" she shouted back through the open window.

"It kind of is," Ford quietly agreed from where he stood, hands in his coat pockets.

Stan waved them both off. "Can it! Now look alive—that's the bus right there!" He pointed with urgency as a second, more familiar-looking vehicle creaked into view over the next hill.

But then... the second bus drove right past them too.

Stan's excited expression dropped once again as the vehicle disappeared in a cloud of dust. From inside the car, another fit of laughter erupted—this time louder, more uncontained. Even Ford had a small, amused smirk tugging at his lips.

Stan sighed, hands on his hips, visibly deflating. "Okay, maybe we were too early."

"Too early for what?" came a voice—not from the car, not from Ford.

Stan blinked. That voice wasn't familiar because it was unexpected—it was familiar because it was expected.

Slowly, he turned around.

There they were. Standing just behind him, wearing matching grins and backpacks slung over their shoulders, were Dipper and Mabel Pines — and Waddles.