It had been three years since she had first laid her eyes on Dipper Pines. What a cute, adorable little dork he was. Of course, she didn't say it to his face, or to anyone; the Northwests had a reputation to uphold. Reluctantly, she dismissed him, although she had rather wished that she had not.

It seemed that by the time that summer was over, she'd made up for that. They were friends, and she was actually sad that he was leaving. Of course, things had changed for everyone. Her family had lost almost everything, but she didn't really care. She was too preoccupied with her thoughts about the Pines boy who had made her summer actually fun, for once. She'd made real friends, people who liked her for who she was, rather than her birth status. Maybe not the way she had wanted him to like her, but it was a nice feeling anyway.

Pacifica never really recaptured the feeling she felt that summer. Of course, she tried to keep in touch with the twins, and she started to hang out with Wendy and her friends; but there was always an emptiness tugging at her. Dipper was a state away, and always busy with work. Mabel was studying or up to some other activities. And Wendy, well, she didn't really fit in with a lumberjack's daughter three years older than her. Let alone her friends. She'd lost the two leeches, but her parents maintained their iron fist of control around her. The hauntingly soft ringing of that bell, and the ever-watching eyes of the butler, even the eyes of the paintings followed her throughout the haunting halls of the residence her parents had acquired after the manor fell. She had found that she was spending more time away than she used to, despite spending barely any time at home originally. She wanted to escape, but Pacifica Northwest was always going to be missing one thing - Dipper Pines.

Pine Tree slung his backpack over his shoulder. He adjusted the old, worn hat he'd been wearing ever since Wendy gave it to him. They'd written emails, but there was always an awkward gap between responses. It had seemed to fall apart, with the two friends losing the glue of daily contact that had kept their complicated relationship as tight-knit as it had been that first summer.

"Hey bro-bro, you ready to go?"

"Just a sec, Mabel."

Mabel's bright pink sweater came skipping into the corner of his eye. Despite his thoughts, Dipper couldn't resist cracking at least a smirk. It had always been like that, Mabel making him laugh even when he felt it wasn't in him any more. Unfortunately for him, she knew the look he wore on his face.

"Uh-uh, someone's having girl trouble!"

She grinned, and pinched his cheek. "Who is it this time?

"It's, it's nobody."

"It isn't Wendy again, is it?"

Dipper glanced nervously at his case, and scratched the back of his head.

"Come on, Dip. It's been three years now. She's too old for you, remember?"

"But I'm older now, I can-"

"Dipper, look." Mabel sat down on the bed beside him. "Wait another three years. The gap won't be a problem when you're older, but now…"

She trailed off. Dipper had got the message, though. He looked down, and Mabel knew he'd not been happy about it.

"Hey, remember, you've got a lot of friends in Gravity Falls."

The bus ride had been almost exactly as last time. Just the two of them, and the bus driver, for a few hours. Mabel, sleeping on Dipper's shoulder, snoring just a little bit; Dipper, thinking about what would happen when they arrived. He'd messaged that he was back in town, but he hadn't got a reply. He sighed, but he knew inside. It had been ages since he had last spoken to Wendy face to face.

He remembered one person he'd not spoken to for a while. Maybe something had clicked, maybe he had just been delusional. But, since they'd got to know each other, she'd seemed different to how he first saw her. Nice, maybe. She had reached out, but always at the wrong time. He'd always been busy.

Well, now he had all summer. He was going to have to find a way to fill the time.

He took his phone out of his pocket and texted -

Hey Paz - it's Dipper. Arriving in town in a few hours - hope to see you there!