Meagan P.O.V.
"I'll go get Great Uncle Ford," Dipper muttered. The twins and I woke up to see the light in the kitchen burnt out and broken, making it hard to see. We would've had Soos fix it, but we were out of light bulbs.
"You just had to go and make Soos a planetarium costume, didn't you?" I grumbled, crossing my arms. Both Mabel and I gave Dipper a side look. Despite Mabel being a morning person, neither of us were happy at the lack of light bulbs.
"It was cool and you know it," Dipper fired back, not exactly in a happy mood either.
"No. It really wasn't," Mabel said, both of us shaking our heads.
"I can't hear you!" Dipper said dismissively over his shoulder as he headed toward the gift shop. Mabel and I turned toward each other and shook our heads at the boys' antics. Well before cowering behind the door frame when the light bulb started sparking again.
"Dipper!" Mabel shouted, running after her brother in a panic.
"Wait for me!"
~~~~~~~~~
"And...we're...done!"
We all gave a cheer and exclaimed happily when Ford finished screwing in his own light bulb. It had taken Ford maybe fifteen minutes or so to invent the light bulb, which was impressive since he built it from scratch. I hate to say it, but it was impressive.
"Does anyone see this? This is what a hero looks like right here," Mabel said, looking between Soos, Dipper and I.
Dipper and Soos nodded in appreciation to Ford, but I just shrug my shoulders. "I wouldn't say hero, it was just convenient," I muttered. I guess it makes me seem like a child, but I really don't want to give Ford credit for anything.
"I thought we were out of light bulbs." We all glanced at the door to look over Stan and he made the comment. I did a double take and saw that he was roughed up and had a pack of brand new light bulbs sitting in his hands. I'm guessing the security guards caught him trying to steal again. It occasionally happens.
"Oh we were," Ford confirmed, looking at his brother. He seemed to not have noticed the box of light bulbs in Stan's hands. "So I invented my own! It will last a thousand years and the light it emits makes your skin softer," he explained, petting his palm a little bit. Around me, Mabel, Soos and Dipper all started feeling their arms and faces, all amazed at how the light was working on their skin.
"Never have I known such softness!" Soos exclaimed. I just looked at them weirdly.
"Anyway, where were you?" Ford asked, an oblivious smile on his face.
Stan didn't reply. He just silently trashed the light bulb box, then turned around into the living room.
From the kitchen, I could hear Stan's muffled voice, but then I heard the TV loud and clear. "This just in, the mayor is dead."
"What?!" Stan shouted. The twins and I ran into the living room, looking at the TV in worry.
"Whoa, what's going on?" Dipper asked, confused at Stan's exclamation.
We watched as Shandra Jimenez narrated a few pictures on the mayor's life. "Raised by bears in the wilderness, Mayor Eustace Huckabone Befufftlefumpter was best known for raising the water tower, possibly starting World War I, and putting town menace Gideon Gleeful behind bars, in actual adult prison. A memorial statue is already being carved in the deceased mayor's honor."
The screen cut to the actual reporter as she burst into tears and cried into her hand. Her co-host came into shot and started rubbing her back in comfort. "I'm sorry. It's just been so long since we've had real news. I'm just so happy!"
"There will be a town hall meeting this afternoon to discuss replacing him," the co-host continued for Shandra.
"New mayor, huh? Wonder who it could be..." Stan muttered as he shut the TV off.
~~~~~~~~~~
The five of us gathered with the rest of the town in Town Hall, sitting in the rows waiting for the meeting to start. I was getting a bad feeling about this meeting in general, especially since the whole town is full of yahoo's who have no qualifications to lead the town.
"Alright. Order! Order everyone! Calm down now!" Sheriff Blubs called from the podium, laughing. At his voice, the chatter in the room quieted down and started paying attention to the man. "We're here to choose a mayor for the first time in almost a century. According to the town charter," Sheriff Blubs paused a moment to unroll an old scroll, in which a bat flew out of it, "a worthy candidate is defined as anyone who can cast a shadow, count to ten, and throw their hat into the provided ring." Wow, Trembley actually made a visual gag of the phrase "throw your hat into the ring."
At that point, Deputy Durland had brought out a big hoop and set it onto the stage in front of the podium. As soon as the hoop was set down, there was a hat thrown into it immediately. A straw hat. Bud Gleeful's straw hat. Dipper and I looked at each other with a look of unease as the man stood up. "Well now I do believe I fulfill all the requirements."
"Wait, Bud Gleeful?" Dipper asked skeptically as he walked up to the podium.
"He looks good! Considering we threw his son in jail," Mabel commented.
Stan sat back in the pew with a smug smile on his face. "That was a good day."
Our attention turned back to the stage as Bud began to speak. "Now folks, I know our family's had its shares of whoopsie daisies in the past, but I'd like to make up for it by formally announcing my candidacy for the mayor of Gravity Falls! Any questions?"
Down in the front, Toby Determined held up his turkey baster, "Yes, are you still in contact with Lil' Gideon?"
Bud looked a little uncomfortable with the question. "That's a great question, I'm giving you 50 percent off a used car!" he said, completely dodging the question.
Toby gasped. "Fifty percent?! FIFTY PERCENT?!!!" Toby ripped his notepad in half and pulled his hat over his head, completely in shock with excitement.
Bud turned his attention toward the entire hall. "In fact, everyone look under your seats!" As people started pulling out envelopes with coupons from under their seats, Bud started pointing at people saying, "You get half off a used car! You get half off a used car!"
The twins and I pulled out our coupons. Mabel looked happily at the piece of paper saying, "Wow, a colorful piece of paper? He's got my vote!"
I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "Who does he think he is, Oprah?" I balled up my coupon and tossed it over my shoulder.
"Guys, I've got a really bad feeling about Bud Gleeful as mayor," Dipper commented, myself nodding in agreement.
"I dunno, dude. It's not like we have a lot of good mayor options," Soos spoke up from my side.
"That is very true," I agreed.
"Everyone in this town is a tad strange," Soos continued, "Except, ironically, Tad Strange."
The five of us turned around in our seats to look at a guy in a clean cut shirt and tie. "Hi guys. Tad's the name, and being normal's my game," he said, a content smile on his face.
Mabel stood up on her seat, leaned over the back and said, "Loving you, Tad!"
Tad took out a piece of bread and replied, "And I love bread!"
We all turned back around as Dipper began to speak. "It's a shame Ford isn't here. He'd run. And win! And be a great mayor!" I could see Stan getting annoyed at Dipper's praise of his other uncle.
"So since everyone's happy, I'll just take the oath of office now, sound good, gavel up?" Bud said, raising the gavel in belief that no one would run against him.
But to everyone's surprise, another hat was thrown into the ring. Stan's fez. The crowd gasped as Stan stood up and pointed at Bud. "Hold it right there Bud! I'm taking you on!" he shouted, thus causing another gasp, especially one from the twins.
"Stanford?" Bud was very surprised, but he recovered quickly. "No o-ffence, but you're just some two-bit carnival barker. And your head is more ears than face!"
"How is he not supposed to take offence to that?" I whispered to Soos and he shrugged.
"Oh yeah? Well your face is more fat...than...not fat!" Stan floundered for an insult. But it still got a reaction from the crowd.
"Oh snap!" came from Tad.
"Ah politics, the age old art of people attacking each other and not issues," I muttered.
Stan came out from the pew and stood at the front of the stage and addressed the rest of the room. "Whaddya say folks? Are we just gonna let Bud win? How about a real election!"
In response to Stan's statement, Tyler Cutebiker stood up and shouted, "Get in there, cap!" and he threw his cap into the ring. The audience cheered and everyone who had a hat, aside from Soos, threw their hats into the ring.
From the podium, Bud started smiling, but it seemed a bit too forced. "Well, looks like we've got some competition here folks. Which I'm fine with, totally fine with!" he said, obviously not fine with it. The twins and I watched as Bud took Stan by the shoulder and turned him around forcefully. I strained to hear what Bud had to say to Stan, but I didn't like what I heard. "I was gonna let bygones be bygones Stan, but you just made a powerful enemy. I'll win either way, and when I do, you might not like the Gravity Falls you wake up in!" Then Bud punched the giant map on the wall where the Mystery Shack was. The twins gasped at the action. Though I know the twins didn't hear the threat, they could definitely feel it by that action alone.
Around us, the crowd started chanting "Election!" over and over again as they ran out of the building.
"Let the madness begin!" Blubs shouted from the stage and fired off a really old cannon.
I flinched as the cannonball broke through the ceiling and debris landed near me. "Grunkle Stan, what are you doing?" Mabel asked her uncle as the twins and I approached.
"Running for mayor!" Stan said, as if the obvious answer was what Mabel was looking for. "Did I...did I not make that clear?"
"Grunkle Stan, it's not that we think you can't do it, it's just-"
"No no, it's okay, Mabel," Dipper cut off his sister. I could tell that he was not in the mood to be gentle with his uncle. He turned to Stan and said flatly, "We don't think you can do it."
"Well that was a little harsh," I muttered, crossing my arms. Though, even I had my doubts about Stan running for mayor. But anyone was better than Bud.
Stan sat down at the foot of the stage, a pensive look on his face. Stan took a deep breath before addressing us. "Look, kids. The mayor kicking the bucket got me thinking. I'm an old man, and I'm not getting any younger. My dumb brother's research is probably gonna make him famous. And what do I have to show for my life? Do I really want 'crooked grifter' on my tombstone? How about, 'crooked mayor'!" Stan looked at the three of us with a smile on his face. Stan was being honest with us, but I could tell that this ran even deeper than just making something of himself. But the hope was there on his face.
Dipper took mine and his sister's shoulders saying, "Psst, Mabel, Meagan, let's talk. I know Stan isn't the best candidate."
"Ya think? He's committing voter fraud right now," I deadpanned, nodding my head at Stan. Said man was stuffing an armful of votes into his ballot box.
"But Bud's definitely up to something, and we're the only ones who can stop him."
"You're right Dipper. Besides, Stan has a kind-of charisma. How hard could getting him elected be?" Mabel said, always the optimist. We all smirked at each other before grabbing the classic voter hats and pins.
~~~~~~~~~~
We had all gathered in the living room after decorating the whole shack with "Vote Stan" signs, "Mayorly Shack" posters, and American flags everywhere.
I laughed as Wendy painted "SWINES 4 PINES" and "BUD'S A DUD" onto Waddles. "Spread the word pig!" she exclaimed as Waddles ran across the living room. Stan sat backwards on a chair with Soos massaging his shoulders as Candy, Grenda, Mabel, and I were making more signs and posters and monitoring the campaign. Every single one of us had at least one "Vote Stan" apparel on us.
"Alright, everybody, eyes up here," Dipper called for our attention. Dipper himself had opted for a "Stan" visor instead of his usual baseball cap. He unrolled a scroll in his hand which made him cough from the amount of dust it had collected over the years. He held it up for all of us to see the "Okay, Gravity Falls Elections are based on two events. The Wednesday Stump Speech, held on an actual...stump, and the Friday Debate, wherein townsfolk throw birdseed at the candidate they like most. At the end, they release a freedom eagle who will fly to the candidate covered in more seed and bestow a birdly kiss upon him anointing him mayor."
We all stared at him in a confused silence as he finished. "You've got to be joking," I asked, voicing everyone's thoughts.
Dipper rolled up the scroll as he replied, "I couldn't make this up if I wanted to."
One of the phones we had set up on the table started ringing and Mabel ran to answer it with a smile. She picked up the phone and turned to Stan. "Okay, Grunkle Stan, are you ready for your first radio interview?"
"I got my mouth, don't I?" Stan stood up from the chair to get the phone from Mabel.
"Okay, you're on with the candidate," Mabel spoke into the receiver before handing the phone off to her uncle.
I hit the speakerphone button on the phone just as the questions started. "Candidate Stan, first question: How do you feel about the American flag?" Toby Determined asked.
"Meh, I can take it or leave it, too many stripes. Next question."
"Uh oh," I said, Dipper nodding next to me. This cannot end well.
"What would you do to help educate our kids?" Toby continued.
"Ha, Simple. Put them on an island and make them fight for dominance," Stan said like it was the most simple thing in the world. So he wants to make every kid in town battle it out like in Lord of the Flies. Yikes. "Also teach kids swears. That'll bring them into the real world."
Dipper and Mabel shared uneasy glances while I face palmed. He can't be serious.
"What would you do about the crime in Gravity Falls?"
"Wait, do you mean crime in general, or just the specific crimes committed by m-" Stan was cut off by my nails cutting the cord for the phone.
"Okay, interview's over," Dipper said. "Candy, what's the damage?"
Candy stood with her laptop in her hands, a frown on her face. "Your approval ratings started at zero. Now it's a number less than zero." She turned the laptop around so we could see just how bad the damage was.
"You're memeing fast, and none of them are good," Wendy commented. She held up her phone and it showed a Stan version of the Lord of the Rings "One does not simply" meme saying "One does not simply teach kids swears."
"Look, Grunkle Stan," Mabel started, trying to choose her words carefully. "People are like smell markers, and you're black licorice! It's not that you're un-sniffable, you just need to learn when to keep the cap on."
"From now on, maybe you should read our prepared remarks," Dipper suggested, holding up a folded piece of paper.
Stan took the speech from Dipper and laughed a bit before tucking it into his suit jacket. "Sorry kids. I always say words that come out of my brain. If my head says, that lady's got an ugly baby, my mouth says, 'whoa, lady, you got one ugly baby.'"
Dipper and Mabel shared another uneasy look. "And you can't just, oh I don't know, lie like you usually do?" I asked.
Stan shrugged. "Hey, sometimes the truth hurts."
I was about to respond when Dipper tugged on my hand and lead me to the gift shop. "Hey!"
"I wanna see what Ford thinks of all this," he said, punching the code into the vending machine, not letting go of my hand. I shook my head but followed him downstairs anyway.
~~~~~~~~~
"And he's insisting on speaking his mind!" Dipper finished telling Ford what happened. I watched from the wall as Dipper paced back and forth behind Ford's chair.
Ford had been flipping through his journals as Dipper spoke. "So this is an emergency," he commented, probably knowing how much lack of a filter his brother has.
"The Stump Speech is in a couple of days, and if he continues like this, we'll lose to Bud for sure!"
Ford spun the chair around to face us as he put his hand on his chin. "Hmmm. It's a shame there isn't some device that will allow you to control someone else," he said thoughtfully. "Oh. Wait. Of course, yes. There is." Ford turned to his desk and started rummaging through a drawer before pulling out a red, white and blue striped tie. "A long time ago I designed a prototype for Ronald Reagan's masters. Just get Stan to wear this, and you can make him a literal talking head."
I looked over Dipper's shoulder as he peered inside the tie. Lining the inside was a small circuit board with slight flashing lights. "Whoa! This is amazing! And ethically ambiguous!"
"Wait, you used this on Ronald Reagan?" I asked. Somehow, that was the first thing bothering me about Ford's statement.
Ford pulled out another tie, but this tie was darker than the first. "As long as you wear the matching one, he'll say and do whatever you want him to," Ford explained.
Dipper held up both ties with a big smile on his face. I gave a fake smile with him, but was very uneased with the idea of mind controlling ties. "Thank you Great Uncle Ford!" Dipper shouted over his shoulder as he took off.
I ran after him, but could hear Ford saying, off-handedly, "Yes, yes. Use it responsibly and all."
Dipper stood excitedly in the elevator as he held the ties together. "Meagan isn't this great? Stan could win!"
"Dip, you know that when Stan finds out about this, he's going to kill you. Even more so for involving Ford in this," I told him my concerns.
"Meg, we're not going to tell Stan."
"I never assumed we were. But when he finds out, and he will one way or another, he is not going to be happy."
"Do you really think he can do this on his own though? After this morning's disaster?"
"I agree that his speaking skills need work, but controlling his mind? That's a little sick." The elevator dinged and I was about to head up the stairs when Dipper grabbed my hand.
"Look, I know you're not too happy about this, but how about this: we give Stan the tie, but don't use it unless absolutely necessary," Dipper bargained.
I sighed. "I guess that's fair," I conceded. Dipper sent me a smile and leaned in to give me a kiss on the cheek. Stan's going to be so mad.
~~~~~~~~~
"Whoa, thanks for the slamming tie, dudes! These stripes are so slimming!" We wanted to make sure the ties actually worked, so the twins and I gave one to Soos without telling him what the ties did.
Mabel turned to us and asked, "You really think this mind-controlling tie is gonna work?"
Dipper pulled out the dark blue tie and handed it to Mabel. "Flip the switch and test it out!" Mabel put the tie around her neck and turned the small gold dial at the top of the tie. Across the yard, Soos dropped his rake and stood straight up.
Mabel started singing and dancing, which made Soos do the same thing. "Oh-oh-oh! I'm a dancing dude! I got some fancy moves and a bad attitude!"
When Mabel turned the tie off, Soos gasped and started panting. Finally having control over his body, he sat down on the ground. "Ha! That's amazing!" Mabel laughed.
"At least we know it works," I remarked. Though, I was a bit more concerned about the reaction the recipient would have to the tie. Soos did not look well after that experience. Either it was due to the tie, or it was a bad body reaction to the fancy moves Mabel made him do.
"Guys! Something weird just happened. I'm really freaked out!" Soos exclaimed, completely scared out of his wits. So the wearer becomes aware that they lose control of their body?
Mabel cut Soos off by turning the tie back on again. "I am Soos-Tron! Watch me eat this pinecone!" She made Soos pick up a nearby pinecone and actually eat it. Mabel was elated as she turned the tie off. She held up her hands in victory and said, "Mind control is awesome!"
I looked uneasily at Soos, who had fallen to his knees, panting. "Oh my gosh! My life just flashed before my eyes! Aghh!" I had a really bad feeling about this.
~~~~~~~~~~
The Stump Speech came sooner than expected, and we were backstage getting Stan prepared. They had set up a curtain, speakers and a podium on a very large and old oak stump. Dipper and I peered through the curtain to watch Tyler Cutebiker finish up his speech. He was the only other person running against Stan and Bud.
"Education? Get it. Prosperity? Get it. A Gravity Falls we can be proud of? Get iiiiittt!" he finished up, causing the crowd to applaud.
"Gotta admit it, he's good," I told Dipper, who made a "meh" noise.
We turned around as Stan started to speak. "Ugh. Do I really have to wear this thing? It looks like a flag threw up on me," he complained, holding up the striped tie.
"Grunkle Stan, just trust your lucky tie," Mabel said from her stool behind him.
"And now, Stanford Pines!" Sheriff Blubs spoke through the microphone.
"You're on, Grunkle Stan!" Mabel roughly shoved her uncle toward the stage, hardly containing her excitement.
We all smiled as he walked through the curtain. I looked at the twins seriously. "Okay, we'll only jump in if he starts doing badly."
"Hiya there!" Stan greeted. "Stan Pines here. Let's get real. Do you think the women of Gravity Falls wear too much makeup?"
I face palmed as Dipper shouted at his sister frantically. "Jump in! Jump in!"
Mabel immediately switched the tie on and took control of Stan. I peered through the curtain as Stan twitched. "Uh, what I meant to say was: you ladies all look great. And have you done something with your hair? Girl, you are working it!" Mabel made Stan snap his fingers sassily as he pointed at a lady in the audience.
The women in the audience seemed to have a positive reaction to Mabel's statement as I heard a lot of "yes's" and a "That's exactly what I needed to hear right now."
Mabel wiped off her forehead with a "Whew!" before making Stan speak again. "I'm Stan Pines. You may know me as the guy who accidentally let all those bees loose in that elementary school a few years back."
Dipper quickly took the tie from Mabel, stopping anything worse she could say about Stan. "But I believe in things," Dipper picked up where his sister let off. "America. Freedom. Ameri-freedom!"
The one guy who's obsessed with America started crying tears of joy as he said, "Good! He's saying all the right things!" and pulled a few people in toward him.
I looked at Dipper and made a motion with my hands as if to say, "Keep going!"
"Like my opponent pointed out, I may not have a pretty face, but if you want a candidate that will listen to you, well, I'm proud to be all ears," 'Stan' joked, causing the crowd to laugh and cheer.
I raised my eyebrow as Mabel took the tie back from Dipper. "Now watch me break it down!" Mabel made Stan do quite a bit of break dancing before ending in a kneel. She panted as she turned the tie off and fell over.
I saw Stan shake his head and scratch his head in confusion at the applause he was getting from people. He walked off in as much confusion. "Grunkle Stan, that was amazing!" Mabel complimented him after she got up from the ground.
She hugged him as Soos asked, "Yeah! How'd you do it, Mr. Pines?"
"Ed, I don't know," Stan said honestly. "I just opened my mouth and spoke from the heart, or...gut, or something. And what is that sound? Why are people jamming their hands together?" Stan looked around in confusion at the sound.
"It's applause! Grunkle Stan, they love you!" Mabel explained.
"They...love...me?" Stan turned around to look through the curtain at the crowd chanting his name. He smiled fondly at the sound of it.
"There he is!" We all turned at the sound of Toby Determined's voice. He was pointing at Stan and started getting his camera ready. "Mr. Pines, can we get a picture?"
We all posed together with smiles on our faces as we shouted the campaign slogan, "Yes we Stan!"
Dipper kept his arm around me after the picture was taken. "See, Meg? I told you things would be alright."
"Don't get too cocky, Dipper. We haven't won this election yet," I told him. "But I gotta admit, the tie is working better than I thought." A bit too well actually.
~~~~~~~~~~
For the next day, Dipper and Mabel continued to control Stan with the tie, and it seemed to be working well. But I think it was filling Stan with false confidence. His ego started getting bigger over the past day. The twins and I were currently waiting in Greasy's Diner for Stan to show up for a pre-election day meeting. But Stan was late.
Mabel was about to ask "where is he?" for maybe the twentieth time when said man burst through the door shouting, "Heyo!" But he wasn't wearing his usual suit. He was wearing a sit that I think was popular in the 80s though no one here seemed to mind it.
"Stan!" the whole room shouted with joy.
"Now just the ladies!"
"Stan!"
"Now just the ladies my age!"
"Stan!" shouted just one old lady.
"Woof! Never mind." Stan sauntered over to our table and sat down proudly, but the twins and I just stared at him weirdly.
Lazy Susan came over and set a tall stack of pancakes with a tiny "Stan 4 Mayor" sign sticking out of it in front of Stan. "On the house, mister big shot!"
"Now this I could get used to!" Stan said excitedly as he dug into the pancakes.
"Grunkle Stan, what's with the outfit? You're missing your lucky tie," Mabel said earnestly.
"Power tie, gotta wear it," Dipper reiterated.
"Aw come on, have you seen the polls? I can debate naked and I can still win!" Stan brushed the twins off. He then got a thoughtful look on his face. "Huh, come to think of it..."
"Absolutely not," I told him. If he did that I would murder him.
Mabel laughed nervously at her uncle's response. "Seriously though, we need you to wear that suit and tie, Grunkle Stan."
"Suit and tie, gotta wear it."
Stan finally started to lose his patience with us as he set his knife and fork down. "Ugh! Why do you kids have to constantly tell me what to do? Everyone in this town is finally showing me respect! Maybe you kids should too."
I sighed. "Stan, it's not that we don't respect you-"
"Grunkle Stan, we'd respect you if you took things more seriously!" Dipper spoke through gritted teeth, cutting me off. Both Stan and Dipper were close to snapping and I put my head in my hands.
I jumped when Stan slammed his fist on the table. "I am taking this seriously! If you haven't noticed, everything that has come out of this golden mouth has put us on top! With or without your dumb advice!"
"Oh no..." I groaned.
"Dumb advice?!" Dipper growled.
"Yeah! Dumb advice!"
Dipper slammed his hands down on the table and stood up on the stool. "Dang it, Stan! Every one of those speeches we were controlling you!" he finally snapped.
"Dipper!" Mabel and I scolded.
I looked at Stan as he froze at Dipper's words. "What?"
"This tie is a mind control device invented by Ford! If it wasn't for this tie, you'd be losing!" Dipper held the striped tie up before pulling the front of it away to show Stan the circuit board.
Stan just sat there in a stunned silence for a moment. His face slowly formed into one of anger. He started shaking in extreme anger and started shouting at us, "Well, you can tell that know-it-all Ford that he can keep his fancy light bulbs and magic ties! I'm gonna win this debate on my own, without any of you!" Stan finished up by walking out of the diner.
Dipper pushed me out of the booth so he could call out to Stan. "Stan, wait! You can't-" Dipper was cut off by Stan slamming the door shut. Dipper groaned as he turned to Mabel, not even acknowledging that he pushed me to the floor. "Augh, this is bad. If we wanna beat Bud, we need another candidate, fast!"
"How about apologizing to Stan first, huh?" I snapped as I stood up.
"What?" Dipper finally turned to me.
"Yeah, that's right!" I brushed myself off before going off on Dipper again. "You're so caught up in beating Bud that you've hurt your uncle, AGAIN. This was really important to Stan! Yeah, he was pretty crap on his own, but you went straight to Ford instead of trying to help him! You didn't even talk to Stan! We just dove head first into controlling Stan! But all you care about is beating Bud. While I don't want Bud as our mayor, Stan doesn't have to win either! I would like for him to, but all we have to hope for was that Bud doesn't win! Stan's not the only candidate going against Bud, for the record."
"Meg please-"
"Don't 'please' me! Yet again, you chose Ford over Stan, and your own desires over his. I'm out of here!" I turned around and stormed out of the building. Again, Ford came between this family. He's going to get us all killed, I swear.
A/N - Uh, hi. Yeah, so, it's been a while. I've been gone for maybe, a year? Year and a half? Sorry about that. Thank you guys for being really patient with me. Things have just been a bit rough, but I really have no other excuse other than I had no motivation to write, and I have to focus on where my life is going. I'm graduating in 3 months, I can't just spend all my time writing. Hell, this is the first time I've had any drive to write in the past year. I just started reading again too. Things have not been easy, nor was this an easy episode to write for. Most of my at home time has just been spent either doing my homework, playing Kingdom Hearts 3 (which is amazing and made me cry) or just flat out lying in my bed and catching up on sleep. Hopefully I can start up writing again since I have 3 study halls this semester and my classes aren't too tough. Anyway, I hope you guys like the chapter and I haven't lost my touch too much. Again, thank you guys for being so patient with me. But I'll need more of that patience as I continue to write, and I don't want you guys to expect me to update regularly because it's just not going to happen.
Jess