Chapter Text
You moved to Gravity Falls just last year after getting a job at the car garage there in town. They were rebuilding out here and they had some nice places for a low price, you didn’t know the reason as to why but nothing was falling apart and that was good enough for you. Plus the town was nice, small, and no one knew you, it made it easier and far more peaceful. (even if the townspeople were a little strange.)
Moving out here was a big step of independence for you. You moved states away from your family and friends suddenly and many were still confused as to why, but when you lived in the city your work took up a lot of your time and you hardly went out. just stuck in this limbo between work and your bed. So just when you had enough you sold your home and moved as far as you could. It was the biggest impulsive decision you’d ever made but you regretted not a second of it. You wanted to start a new chapter and to get into your art side more, let yourself be creative again without feeling so confined.
Here in Gravity Falls It was the beginning of a summer, the birds chirped their morning songs and the cicadas buzzed from outside while people started their day, you included.
Soon to wake you up from your blissful slumber was your alarm. The annoying beeping sound makes you groan and roll over to immediately turn it off. You sat up slowly rubbing the drowsiness from your face before getting up for the bed. Lazily you walk over to the bathroom to freshen up.
It was your day off today and you’d planned to spend it out in the woods. You put on a plain black tee and some baggy jeans with paint stains on them. You briefly fix your hair with a bit of water before returning to your room, gathering your art supplies in a pre-prepared bag with snacks and water already inside. With your morning taking no less than 20 minutes you set off to your destination.
The mud squished under your boots as you walked through the dense woods, you wandered deeper into the foliage when you came to a stop at a fallen log “this should do.” you spoke to yourself quietly before taking a seat. You stop and take a second to breathe in the air and take in the greenery around you. It was summer and it was hot but the trees provided all the shade you’d ever need.
With the perfect spot secured you take your bookbag from off your back and set in infront of you, reaching in and taking out the tattered sketchbook from the pack. You then take out your pencil and eraser, simple yet it’s your comfort medium.
You stayed outside for hours as you sketched the scene around you. You are more used to drawing people and smaller things, but you decided to try something new to work your mind aside from your work and other people.
You were so invested in what you were drawing and the nature around you didn’t realize the sun had started to set. You traced along the features of the trees to define your lines, you nose almost pressed against the page when suddenly you hear a shift of leaves in front of you. you look up from your sketchbook to see a dark figure standing in front of you.
“oh shit!” you yelled in shock jumping back and falling, tripping over the log you had been sitting on.
“Are you alright kid?” the figure asked as he rushed over to help you up. You groan, rubbing the back of your head up to see an older man in glasses, and a turtle neck. The older man reaches his hand out to you for you to take.
“yeah i’m fine.” you grunt as you take his hand and get back up “just a little startled is all.” you clear your throat and look over to him, he looked worried as he scanned you for a second
“Is your head okay?” he asked as he saw that you were still messing with it.
“It’s fine, the most I'll get is a goose egg.” you reassured him once more. As you look at him now you can make out more of his features. He stood at your height maybe a slight bit taller, he had thickly framed glasses and what looked to be gray hair. It was hard to tell for sure since it was getting darker out.
“I’m sorry for sneaking up on you like that, I didn’t expect another human out here so late in the evening.” he said as if it were a completely normal thing to say.
You gave the man a confused glance, when he caught on and cleared his throat. “uh- don’t mind that-.”
“I’m Stanford Pines, but you can refer to me as Ford.” he said politely when he extended his hand to shake yours.
You looked at him and his hand suspiciously when you noticed something about him, his hands, he had six fingers? He noticed you staring and shifted awkwardly. “oh!” Not wanting to be rude and just stare at the man you looked back up to him and took his hand in yours “I’m ____, sorry I didn’t mean to-”
“It’s fine, I'm used to it.” he interjected.
“Nice to meet you,____” he repeated your name back to you as to remember it for later. the two of you exchanged a firm shake of the hand before letting go.
“What are you doing out here so late?” Ford asked quizzically, quickly moving away from the topic of his hand.
When you let go of his hand you turned back to pick up your fallen supplies and sketchbook. “Well…I was drawing, but I guess the day slipped away from me.” you glance back to the strange older man. “What about you, what are you doing out here?” you questioned
He was taken aback by your equal curiosity and he adjusted himself slightly to put his hands behind his back. “I was out seeing whether I could spot some of the local bats that have been hanging around here.” he explained not getting into the fact they weren't exactly bats, but it was close enough. ‘bats?’ you wondered to yourself, not remembering seeing any bats.
“I haven't seen you around before, are you new to Gravity Falls?” Ford questioned you further and this started to feel like some sort of interrogation.
Was he trying to play twenty questions with you? And bat watching? This man was definitely strange.
“I um- I moved here just last month. I work at the auto repair shop.” You tell him truthfully. Even if he was a bit odd he didn’t seem threatening, Plus you’d probably never see him again so it wouldn’t hurt.
“I see…” he thought to himself for a moment before speaking again. “well I should be headed back on my expedition now, stay safe Mr. ____” he said finally when giving you a small wave goodbye.
And just like that he was gone? going on to do whatever strange thing he was doing before. You continued to pack your things away and head out of the woods to go home. “Stanford” you say under your breath. The name seemed somewhat familiar to you, you just didn’t know why.
-
The next few days came and went with just a few cars to repair at the auto shop.
With one last crank of the wrench you wipe the sweat from your forehead. “There we go Miss Suzan. That should be it.” you said to the older women as you wiped your hands with a grease rag.
“Oh thank you so much dear.” she smiled, handing over your payment for the tune up before getting into her vehicle. She had been the last scheduled repair of the day so you decided to keep busy on something else.
With slow days like this you spent your down time working on your own truck, an old beat up chevrolet truck that definitely needed some TLC. It was your dad’s old truck and it had been through its own dings and damages but you were determined to get it back in its former glory.
While working on the car you turn on the radio and turn on the music on your phone to enjoy some time alone. This was your passion outside of drawing, but to you it was just another form of art. Something to keep your hands busy and let your mind drift.
As you let your mind wander you can’t help but think about that strange man from the other day, which had been rather frequent since your encounter with him.
He seemed familiar but you still couldn’t put your finger on it. Why would he seem familiar, you knew you'd never met him before…maybe you saw him at the store or a park, you tell yourself. And almost as if you summoned the man you heard someone clear their throat.
You turn behind to see the older man and the round frames of his glasses “Oh, heya Ford.” you stood up from the stool and wiped your hands back into the grease rag before offering it to Ford to shake.
“Good evening Mr ____.” he greeted you politely when he approached you and shook your hand.
“Just ____ is fine Ford, no need for the formalities.” you pardon him, not wanting to feel any older than what you were.
“Alright then, ‘just ____’.” he said in an attempt to make a joke.
You couldn’t help but chuckle at the attempt. “So what brings you here?” you’d asked, finding it odd that he’d show up after just meeting in the woods just a few days before. ‘shit maybe I shouldn’t have told him where I worked.’ You worry to yourself afraid you’ve made yourself a stalker… although he didn’t seem the type- he seemed witty, confident, and polite, perhaps a little strange but that wasn’t uncommon in this town.
Ford took his hand back and adjusted his hands back behind himself. “ Well, I remembered that you had told me you worked at the automotive repair shop and I had an engine that I can’t quite figure out how to fix.” he answered earnestly.
You look over his shoulder to see the car but it seemed to be working fine since he drove in that car. “What kind of engine are we talking about?” you asked.
“Funny you should ask,” he started when he headed to the trunk and pulled out the rather small engine. “I kept going over it but I can’t find out why it won’t start.”
“Is this for a moped?” you wondered, taking the engine from Ford and carrying it over to your work table before taking a seat at the workbench.
“Not quite, it’s for a project I am working on and I couldn’t fit the whole thing in the trunk.” he replied vaguely.
If it wasn’t a moped it had to be some kind of go kart. You try to reason with yourself as to why he brought only the mother and not the thing it’s meant to be running. You look over it carefully to see if anything was out of place when you’d seen the loosely connected cable and the damaged cylinder.
“Mmm, I see what’s happening here.” you said sitting back in your chair to look at the man to realize he was already looking at you. “You're gonna need a new cylinder and the ignition coil here is loose, so it’s not connecting properly.” you pointed out to him and looked back at the hunk of metal to show him the damages while he followed along with small nods.
“I should be able to get this back to you by tomorrow, I’ll have to get the cylinder but if I order it tonight it should be here pretty quick.” you stood up from your work bench “ I can give you my number so I can contact you when it’s all fixed up, or if you’d like I can bring it to your house to make things easier on you.” you offered the older man.
“I may be a bit busy tomorrow, if you could just bring it to my house. Stan or one the kids should be there if I am not able to come meet with you.” he said as he pulled out a small note pad and a pen from his coat pocket when he scribbled on the small paper before handing it over.
‘Stan… stan…’ you thought to yourself. You haven't been here for long but you definitely have heard the name a few times.
You took the small note and looked to see it was Ford's number, “Alrighty then. I will make sure to keep you updated on its progress and when I will be bringing it back to you.” you informed him while you stuff the paper in your back pocket for safe keeping.
“Thank you ___. I will see you tomorrow.” he gave a brief nod and a slight wave as a goodbye before going back to the red car and leaving you in the shop by yourself.
You look back to the small engine once more, ‘he did mention there were kids, so this could very well be a go kart engine.’ you continued to wonder about Ford even as he left.
‘Why do I care so much, I can just fix it, it’s not like it’s a bomb.’ you tell yourself to ease your mind yet your curiosity still lingered when you return to your work to begin fixing the small engine.