Stanley: 1981- California?

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Stan woke up on sand. Not completely unusual, he and Ford had fallen asleep near the Stan O' War plenty of times. But this wasn't Glass Shard Beach. It was bigger, cleaner, and there was no Stan O' War to be found. There was a boardwalk nearby, with what looked to be a little carnival. It was still open, despite it being near sunset.

"What happened?" Stan muttered, holding his head and looking around, "Where am I?"

All he could remember was that him, Ford, Bella, and Fiddleford were exploring the forest in Gravity Falls. There was also something about a big hole Ford said was actually a wormhole.

Then he remembered exactly what had happened.

"Ford? Bella! Fidds!" He called out, quickly becoming worried. If he was in another dimension, who knows what could happen to his friends? Why didn't they all end up together, anyway? "Where could they be...?"

"Oh, I'm gonna miss this beach."

Stan spun around at the familiar voice. It was a bit older, but there wasn't enough difference for him to not make the connection.

An older woman who looked just like Bella was standing a little bit aways, watching the ocean. She had her hands buried in her pants pockets, and had that little neutral smile Bella always had.

"Uh, hello?" Stan spoke, getting the lady's attention, "Hi, um... do you know where I am?"

"This is California," The woman answered, tilting her head in confusion, "Are you lost?"

"Sorta," Stan shrugged. Well, it was half true. He didn't know how to get home. That was lost, wasn't it?

"Where are you from?" The woman asked.

"Uh, New Jersey," Stan began, "But-"

"New Jersey!" The woman exclaimed, her eyes wide, "Ain't that like, on the other side of the country?"

"Yeah, it is," Stan nodded, smiling slightly. Bella had had the same reaction when they first met, "But I'm staying in Oregon for the summer."

"Well... that makes a little bit more sense," The lady mused, "I'm heading up there in a couple days. If you want, I could give you a ride."

"Really? That would be awesome!" Stan exclaimed happily, "What's your name?"

"Bella," The woman smiled, "And what's yours?"

"Stanley," Stan replied. So this was Bella! "But I go by Stan."

"Hm, I know a Stan," The older Bella said, "But he goes by Ford, cuz his name is Stanford."

"Cool," Stan grinned. So this Bella knew his brother! Stan wondered if she knew the this-dimension version of himself.

"C'mon, my apartment isn't far from here," Older Bella nodded towards the street, "You can spend the night. I'm leaving the day after tomorrow."

"Ok," Stan replied, moving to walk beside the older Bella. She was different; she didn't recognize him and she was less hyper and she didn't have breasts for some reason, but she was a lot like his Bella, and that was comforting.

Maybe the others will be in Gravity Falls, Stan thought to himself.

-----

"And this is my home," Older Bella said, letting the door swing open. Stan looked around the apartment. It was sorta small and it didn't have carpet, but it was cozy.

"Nice place," Stan said. He expected any home of Bella's to be a little more messy, but it actually looked pretty clean.

"Thanks," Older Bella replied, kicking the door shut with her foot, "It's usually more messy, but I was packing up. I think I might be moving soon."

"Oh?" Stan questioned, "Why?"

"Well, I'm heading up to Oregon to see my friend- Stanford, the guy I told you about earlier," Older Bella began, "He called me and my best friend up to help him with some sort of project."

"What is it?" Stan asked, frowning slightly. The story sounded awfully familiar.

"I'm not allowed to say," Older Bella replied, "But how about you say how you got here from Oregon? It's a long drive, isn't it?"

"I, uh... missed the bus," Stan lied, "And... my parents already left to... a work trip! Yeah!"

Older Bella raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Alrighty then," She said slowly, "Well, it's only seven, so there's still some time before normal people go to bed. I dunno when kids go to sleep, so if you wanna do anything until you do, I'm sure I can find something."

"Do you have a TV?" Stan asked, looking around.

"Nah," Older Bella shook her head, "I don't watch TV that much."

"Oh," Stan frowned, thinking, "How about any board games?"

"Well I've got Dungeons, Dungeons and More Dungeons, but- and no offence- you don't seem like the nerdy type," Older Bella chuckled.

"Nuh-uh," Stan grimaced and shook his head, "I don't like that game. So what do you have?"

"I have a few books still unpacked and a couple looms," Older Bella shrugged.

"Don't you have any coloring books or something?" Stan asked,

"Oh! I've got some colored pencils," Older Bella remembered, "No coloring books, though. I prefer to free-draw."

"That's good!" Stan grinned.

Stan spent the rest of the night drawing, switching quickly between multiple colors. The older Bella sat across from him at the table, slowly sketching out her own art.

"Whatcha drawing?" Older Bella asked after a while, looking up from her own paper. Stan grinned and showed off the drawing.

"It's me in a robot suit fighting a giant dinosaur!" He answered, "And my graunty and grunkle are helping! My graunty is punching it in the face."

"Ooh, nice," Older Bella smiled.

"What about you?" Stan asked, peeking over at her paper. Older Bella shrugged and turned the drawing around for him to see.

"Just me as a mermaid," She explained, "I've always liked the unconfirmed. Y'know, mermaids, unicorns, ghosts, stuff like that."

"Wow, pretty," Stan grinned, then frowned slightly, "But unicorns are jerks. Trust me."

Older Bella laughed, pulling her paper back towards her.

"And I suppose you've met a unicorn?" She asked jokingly. Stan realized his mistake and quickly tried to cover it up.

"I mean, they probably would be jerks, if they did exist," He said, "They're just horses that wear makeup, anyways."

The older Bella laughed again, looking to the side and covering her mouth with the back of her hand.

"You're funny," She grinned. She looked at the clock on the wall for a moment, "It's getting kinda late. I'm gonna get you some blankets and a pillow and then I'm gonna read in my room for a while, ok?"

"Sounds good," Stan nodded, returning to his drawing. Older Bella stood up, walking over to a box in her room.

"How many blankets do you want?" She called, "I've got a surplus."

"Uh, just one is ok," Stan replied.

"M'kay," Older Bella said. She brought out a pillow and blanket and laid them on the couch, "Go to sleep whenever. We're leaving the day after tomorrow, so there's nothing to do during the actual tomorrow."

"Alright," Stan laughed, "Night."

"Goodnight," Older Bella replied and disappeared into her room.

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