Chapter One


Dipper Pines pulled off the shoulder of the road, shut off and stepped out of the red 1986 Ford Bronco, walked over to the rail and looked out on the town that spanned out under and past the cliff. It had been five years since either of the Pines twins had set foot anywhere near Gravity Falls, and in Dipper's mind, it was five years too long.

The original plan was for no one outside of Gravity Falls to learn about what had happened during that fateful summer, but Mr. and Mrs. Pines had opened and read one of the letters from the Grunkles to Dipper and Mabel, and everything came out at once. The first idea the parents had was to never let the twins near the Grunkles again, the second was to get the kids counseling and start homeschooling them to keep them from telling anyone else. Eventually, Dipper and Mabel convinced the parents that the witch-hunt for anything Gravity Falls related was unnecessary as both of them were still alive, still sane and both the Grunkles were in the same condition. After some consideration, the parents decided to let the twins go back to Gravity Falls if they wished - but only once they were eighteen, legally able to make their own decisions anyway. Dipper and Mabel of course both decided to go back when the time came.

Between their parents' decision and coming back to Gravity Falls, the twins had grown up. Dipper had not only exceeded in high school, he graduated college early and had even begun building his own company centered on creating cell phone apps for companies that didn't have the resources or knowledge to build their own. In his free time, however, Dipper could be found out in the woods - whether looking at the stars, or cataloging things found in the woods, or discovering something new in his environment, the spirit of exploration never left Dipper's soul and he wasn't anywhere close to trying get it to leave.

Mabel had graduated highschool at the normal time, then toured just about every country on the planet including places in the U.S. she hadn't been to yet. Her routine was always the same; she would touchdown in one country or city, do typical tourist things for about a day, make a friend and stay with them, get herself an easily quittable job, save up money and tips for a bus/train ticket to the next city or plane ticket to the next country and then do it all again while staying penpals with and keeping up with texts and calls from friends in previous countries or cities including calls with Mr. and Mrs. Pines and Dipper.

The plan that Dipper and Mabel had made together was to come back to Gravity Falls this summer now that they were eighteen, and - after having already talked it over with their parents - possibly finding somewhere to stay in Gravity Falls permanently. Mabel had gotten into town somewhere in April, she had already gotten to work looking for somewhere to stay, but for now the room in the attic was open to the twins whenever they both came back. The Grunkles had come back from the boating trip, somewhere towards the end of May, and they had chosen to split the space in Ford's old underground study like the shared room from their teen years since Soos and Melody had taken the "master bedroom" and Soos's abuelita had taken Ford's old room. The only person left to get back into town was Dipper.

Dipper shook himself out of his thoughts and got back into his truck - a birthday gift from Mr. Pines, which was an eighteenth birthday gift from Grandad Pines - started up the truck and headed down the road into town.

As Dipper drove down Main Street, everything from memory hit him at once; Lazy Susan's diner still up and running, the Laser-Tag and Arcade running out of what used to be a mattress store, Bud Gleeful still running a somewhat suspicious used car dealership, and the occasional glimpse of the indigenous paranormal flora and fauna.

Before heading towards the Mystery Shack, Dipper pulled into a parking space along the sidewalk and decided to literally walk down memory lane. Stepping out of the truck, he noticed a small office building with a very familiar last name in big letters above the door. Dipper grabbed the hat he had held onto for five years and tucked it into his back pocket, did a once over in the side-view mirror, straightened his clothes - a blue flannel hoodie over a superhero tee-shirt, jeans, a pair of black Timberland boots - and straightened his posture, checked traffic before crossing the road and walked into the office building.

The "lobby" was small but comfortable; a plaid doormat, an old leather couch against one wall with a table flaunting hunting, fishing and logging magazines to the side of the couch, two desks brought together making one large corner of desk sat against the other wall with a door behind the occupant of the desk. The business cards in the holder on the desk read, "Corduroy Milling".

The occupant of the desk hadn't changed much; eyes as green and attentive as ever, a permanent look of determination mixed with curiosity on her face, a few more freckles had appeared across her face but not many, the most dramatic change was her naturally ginger hair - what was once down to her hips was now cut at just below her chin and kept up in a ponytail. She wore a red flannel, over a Corduroy Milling shirt, with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of jeans.

Dipper walked up to the desk and sat in the only chair in front of it.

"Hello sir, how can I help you?" The woman asked as she looked up from what she had been typing.

"Hi, I was wondering if you could direct me to someone who works here?" Dipper asked, unsure if she actually didn't recognize him yet.

"I might be able to." The woman replied as she moved over to the phone ready to dial the office extension for someone, "What's their name?"

"Wendy Corduroy." Dipper replied matter-of-factly with a bit of a smirk on his face.

The woman froze for a second and moved only her eyes to look at Dipper.

"May I ask who's looking for her?" The woman asked.

Dipper moved his eyes to his right and noticed a very familiar, beaten-up but still wearable hat sitting on a shelf above the desk along with a few framed pictures.

"Maybe this will help." Dipper started, now with a full smile as he reached up, took the hat and put it over his, "Hi, Wendy."

Dipper could actually see the gears turning in her head, then her eyes lit up and she let out a small scream of joy as she ran around the desk and practically tackled him with a hug - he was about a head taller than her now.

"How are you? When did you get here? Why'd you stop here?" Wendy started firing off a thousand questions as she pulled away from the hug.

"Easy, easy." Dipper laughed, "I just got into town, I was gonna head to the Shack but I thought I'd stop in and see an old friend."

"Well, not that I'm complaining," Wendy started as she gestured for Dipper to sit on the couch with her, "But shouldn't you tell Mabel or the Stans that you're in town?"

"I already told my parents that I made it," Dipper replied as they sat down, "They'll probably tell Mabel and the Grunkles for me. I just wanted some time to myself before I got swamped by Mabel and her friends, all of whom may or may not already be running on a gallon of Mabel-Juice each.".

"Well again, not that I'm complaining," Wendy chuckled as she brushed her hair behind her ear, "But shouldn't you get going? Soos was telling me the other day that he and the Grunkles have been dying to see you - and get your input on different projects."

"I got time before I absolutely have to be at the Shack," Dipper replied as he looked at his smartwatch, "I haven't had lunch yet, why don't you come with me?"

"You're asking me to lunch?" Wendy asked in reply, blushing a little.

"No, I'm taking you to lunch, your choice." Dipper stated as he stood and offered to help her up, "Just two friends, catching up."

"I'd be down for that." Wendy replied with a smile as she took Dipper's hand and he helped her off the couch.

After letting Manly Dan know she was taking her lunch break, and after Dipper swapped out Wendy's old bomber hat for the beaten pine-tree hat, Wendy chose a new Hibachi and sushi place that had opened down the street a few days ago. The two of them talked as they ate for a good three hours about everything that had happened and changed in the past five years: school, work, Dipper's goatee and height, Wendy's haircut, relationships and just reminiscing on that summer that seemed like a lifetime ago. They then walked back to the Milling office, laughing and reminiscing the whole way.

"That salmon was so good." Wendy started, "Thanks for lunch, Dipper."

Without thinking, she then moved forward - up on her toes - and kissed his cheek. She pulled back, eyes wide and blushing with Dipper in much the same state.

"Uh, well, I gotta get back to work." Wendy stated, suddenly unsure of what to say.

"Yeah, I gotta get over the Shack." Dipper chuckled as his hand suddenly found a familiar and recurrent itch behind his head.

An awkward silence passed between them as foot-traffic and the noise of the town continued around them.

"Dip," Wendy started drawing both of them to look into the other's eyes, "I'm glad you're back, it's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too, Wendy." Dipper replied as the two shared a smile before Wendy stepped into the office shutting the door behind her.

As Dipper turned around, he saw Mabel standing on the corner across the street with her arms crossed and a mischievous grin on her face. Now with butterflies and a pit of awkwardness wrestling in his stomach, Dipper knew that coming back to Gravity Falls might be a bit more complicated than he first thought.


END CHAPTER ONE