Symbols ~A Gravity Falls Fanfic~

Follow the Blind Eye

Eliza POV

        My heart stopped. It was him. It was the Stephen from the Journals. If it wasn't him I'd be surprised; how many guys do you find in a rip in the space-time continuum? The real question here is how he got here and why.

        Journal One said that if Stephen and the author didn't back away from Gravity Falls' mysteries they'd regret it. It said they'd "drop," specifically.

        As I pondered a new theory, Stephen began working on the crate again. The theory was quick, and it went a little something like this: Maybe Stephen has already dropped by being in this place. That must mean that I dropped! This isn't good...

        As my brief thought came to an end, the wooden wall of the box splintered and cracked until it snapped. When it did so, Stephen rejoiced: "Yes! Finally!" He then uttered a small chuckle and an accomplished sigh. "Give me your hand. I'll help you out of this thing," he offered, probably with his hand outstretched towards me.

        "Um, long story short, I'm blind," I admitted, wringing my hands. For some reason, telling him I was blind made me feel embarrassed or, somehow, guilty. It was a feeling that fluttered in my stomach before quickly teleporting its way to the back of my head, gnawing at my brain.

        Stephen was quiet at my remark at first, most likely feeling embarrassed himself. He was completely unaware of that detail; I probably should've said something earlier, but it just didn't come up. After some awkward silence, Stephen just grabbed my right hand, his humongous hand practically devouring mine. "Come on now. Nice and easy." He gently guided me from my crate of capture. His other hand met with my back as I walked further out of the box.

        "Ah, freedom," I sarcastically muttered. My shoes crunched under what I assumed were fallen, dead leaves. The air instantly hit me, stale and bitter. A gentle, slow breeze blew, pulling the chilled air with it. It felt like I was in fall as it was steadily transitioning to winter. A small smile grew on my face, defying my every command not to show emotion.

        "So, what's a little kid like you doing here?" Stephen pondered aloud.

        "Uh...well...this creepy triangle guy banished me here because of...reasons?" My reply wasn't in the least helpful and I knew it, but I wasn't sure that explaining what happened to him would make any sense. But then again, if he's really the Stephen from the Journals, it might make perfect sense.

        "Uh... Does the name 'Bill Cipher' ring a bell?" I jumped at his words, shocked he had even mentioned that name. Now, there was no doubt this was Stephen from the Journals!

        "Y-yeah. H-how did you...?" I began to ask, only to end up trailing off in shock.

        "Just a hunch," Stephen sighed reluctantly. "I was banished here by him as well, but I doubt I'm here for the same reasons you are; my friend and I were researching the mysteries of Gravity Falls, Oregon. Bill didn't appreciate it for some reason... Ford and I were trying to figure out what made the place so special after Bill threatened us. We dug as deep as we could, unravelling each creature, place, and phenomena with a scientific approach.

        "We were warned and threatened time and time again to stop what we were doing. I knew we should have stopped after Bill's first threat... but, I decided otherwise and, unfortunately, Ford agreed with me. My brother always said, 'Steph, you gotta lighten up, you're too cautious. Live a little.' I thought that maybe then we were being too cautious and that was the time to 'live a little.' I never thought Bill would be such a big threat," Stephen explained, somehow sounding both paranoid and at peace with his situation. I suppose he had taken the situation onto his shoulders, taking the overall blame for what had happened.