Trapped in Stone

Chapter One

Minou looked around the strange town of Gravity Falls. It looked normal, just a small town with a small population. But the stories she had heard from her father's friends told her something was going on here- something was always going on here. A hand reached out and grabbed her shoulder, making her jump away and break out of her thoughts. She glanced around before looking at her cousin. "What is it, Riddle? Is something wrong?"

"No, I was just worried. You're staring all thoughtfully at your shoes again," Riddle said, chuckling a bit.

Minou's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "I'm sorry I have a brain." It was easier to insult him than explain her worries. Riddle just nodded and rolled his eyes, continuing to walk. After a few minutes of silence, Minou pointed to an arrow shaped sign. "It's a tourist attraction. The Mystery Shack."

He shook his head. "Sounds like a scam. Want to go check it out?" He wanted to laugh at her sudden enthusiasm at the idea, but watching the girl's brown hair bounce with the rest of her body made him excited about the attraction too.

"Yes, let's go!" She said, grabbing his hand and half leading, half dragging him into the woods. They soon came upon a cabin looking place, with large letters spelling out "Mys ery Shac".

"I think they need a new sign." Riddle walked up to the door and went inside, coughing at the sudden smell of mildew. "Do they not clean in here?" He said, covering his nose and mouth with his arm. He slowly adjusted to the stench and looked at Minou. Her eyes were watering from the thick air. "You okay, cuz?"

"I'm fine, just dying of suffocation," she joked. She wiped her eyes with her palms and began to explore the gift shop. "Twelve dollars for a bag of candy?!" She shook her head. "Whoever owns this place needs to think with their head and not their wallet."

While the pair kept exploring, another set of kids watched them from behind a shirt rack. "Dipper, look at him! He's so attractive! So blonde, and tall. And he's got blue eyes; I love blue eyes!"

"Calm down, Mabel. I can't believe you're still going through your boy crazy phase after a year," Dipper rolled his eyes. "I think you should talk to him if you like him so-"

"Are you crazy?! That's a terrible way to get a boyfriend! I have to have a plan." Mabel rubbed her chin thoughtfully and suddenly snapped. "I've got it! We'll go out there and you'll shove me into him. He'll catch me, feel like a hero, and we'll fall in love. We'll stare into each other's eyes while soft music plays in the background. Yes! It's perfect!"

"Or, just think about this, I could go talk to him and introduce you guys. Then you'll actually know him before getting your magical movie moment." Dipper rolled his eyes and walked out of the shirts. He tapped Riddle's shoulder. "Hey, do you need any help? My great uncles own this place, so I'm an honorary employee. You can call me Dipper."

"No, I'm okay," Riddle said. He kept looking through the jewelry. "I'm Riddle." He turned and nodded to his cousin. "That's Minou. We're visiting for the summer."

"Oh! So are my twin and I." Dipper motioned Mabel over. "Meet Mabel, my sister. Mabel, meet Riddle. He's living here for the summer."

"Hi! I'm Mabel!" She grinned at the attractive boy. "I'm thirteen, a Virgo, absolutely adorable, and single."

"That's nice?" Riddle smiled awkwardly, unsure how to respond to her. He glanced at Dipper, realizing he had only spoken to Riddle to introduce him to Mabel. "I'm Riddle, as Dipper said, I'm fourteen, and I'm not sure what my zodiac is."

Mabel grabbed his arm. "I can find out! Come on!" She dragged the poor boy away, perhaps never to be seen again. Dipper shook his head and looked around. He saw Minou and walked over. He had grown more confident with girls over the last year, so approaching her was easy.

"Hey, I'm Dipper. Need any help here?" He asked happily.

"I'm just looking, thanks, and I'm Minou. Have you seen my cousin, Riddle?" She raised her hand above her head. "He's this tall, blue eyes, and blonde hair. Y'know, a perfect California dream boy?"

Dipper smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I've seen him. My sister, Mabel, is figuring out his zodiac sign to see if they're compatible." He looked at what she was holding in her hands. "Heh, you like snow globes?"

"No, I actually have a psychological fear of snow globes." She rolled her eyes and laughed softly. Dipper joined in on the laughter and grabbed a different globe.

"This one is pretty neat! Bigfoot in a Christmas sweater, who thinks this stuff up?"

Minou shrugged and set the item in her hands back in its spot before continuing to look at the Mystery Shack's merchandise. "So, you work here?"

"Yeah, my great uncle Stan runs this place. He and my other great uncle were supposed to be exploring the world, but they missed this place too much so they came back for the summer so Mabel and I could visit," Dipper said as he set his own snow globe down.

"So where do you live if you don't live in Gravity Falls?" She found something interesting, examining it. She ran her fingers over the stuffed yeti toy's soft fur. She checked the price and scoffed. "Eighteen dollars for this?!"

"My sister and I live in southern Oregon." He looked at the toy and sighed. "My great uncle is a scammer. All of these attractions are super fake. Gravity Falls is full of fascinating things and yet he glues a squirrel head to a duck's body and calls it a Suck."

"What do you mean that this town has 'facinating things'?" She eyed him, starting to get nervous about the near stranger.

Dipper broke into a nerdy grin. "Well..." He gave her a full explanation about his Great Uncle Ford's investigation in Gravity Fall's mysteries, the journals, his own experiences with mystical creatures, and finished up with explaining the Weirdmageddon along with the demon Bill Cipher.

By the end, Minou was shocked into complete silence. She had a million questions but wasn't sure she wanted answers. She stepped back, slowly narrowing her eyes at Dipper. "You're nuts. You expect me to believe that gnomes kidnapped your twin sister, or that you raised the dead, or even that a demon took over the world? Don't even get me started on the fact your great uncle got sucked into a portal!

"I'm not some stupid five year old who'll believe anything you say. Leave me alone, you psycho." She turned away to find Riddle and bumped into a red headed teen. The girl smiled down at her.

"Hey, Dip, this your girlfriend?" The red head laughed.

"No, this is Minou. Mabel's obsessing over her cousin so I told her all about Bill and the weird stuff here," Dipper said.

"Dang, those zombies freaked me out." She shivered. "And the ghosts at the store. You were amazing that night!" She got a text and checked it. "Anyway, I have to go. If Stan asks where I am, I died." She winked and waved, leaving.

Minou was like a fish out of water, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to grasp at her thoughts. She finally got out a sentence: "Wendy- hot- you're not a liar!"

Dipper laughed and nodded. "Yeah, Wendy's really pretty. I've liked her for a really long time." He blushed, embarrassed.

"I can tell why!" She sat with him behind the counter and listened to more stories about his adventures with Mabel and his great uncles.