I'm back Ladies and Gents! (Not that I ever left). This is my first try at a stand-alone story. I'll let y'all get to it. Enjoy! - GrapplingHook!
Dipper and Mabel Pines walked alone in the magical woods by the Mystery Shack. The warm air told the kids that summer was almost over, but the cool breeze told them that they still had awhile before they went back to California. The reality was that this was their last weekend in Gravity Falls. They had fought so many battles and come so far. They didn't want to leave. Dipper hadn't gotten anywhere with Wendy and had the feeling that nothing would happen between them, at least for this summer. Hopefully, he would grow the few inches he needed to over the course of the school year, and then maybe Wendy would look at him differently. Mabel occasionally wrote to Mermando, but she knew a long distance relationship would never work and other than that she had no other love interests.
Dipper placed his foot on a log as he re-tied his shoe. "Why does summer have to end Mabel? It feels like we just got to Gravity Falls yesterday."
"I don't know, but it's making me depressed just thinking about going back home." Mabel said as she stopped and waited for her brother to finish tying his shoe.
"I can't believe that we didn't want to come here at first. I was so caught up in my video games..." Dipper said as he hopped over the log and joined Mabel in stride.
"At least we can both agree that this summer has been a lifetime of experience." Mabel said smiling. They were almost at their favorite spot in the woods. Just between where the gnomes lived and where the fairies called home. It was a quaint little clearing, a log in the middle where Dipper and Mabel would sit, a small stream ran by the log and the trees of the forest covered the clearing with plenty of shade, while still allowing the children to see the sky.
"It certainly was worth it." Dipper said smiling back to his sister. The two of them passed through a bush and reached their spot. It wasn't a particularly sunny day, but the sun was shining in a corner of the clearing they had deemed Pine Valley. Dipper and Mabel went over to the log and sat down, Dipper brushing off a small spider that had crawled onto the log next to him. The stream soothed the twins as the calm dripping of water made all the noise they needed to hear. They both yawned in unison and looked at each other.
"Do you think mom and dad will let us come back next summer?" Dipper asked his sister. He was mostly looking for a positive response than the truth. He really wasn't sure if his parents would let them come back to Gravity Falls. His chances would probably increase if he did well in school this year, but that wasn't so much of a problem for him than it would be for Mabel.
"I'm sure they would... I mean, why wouldn't they?" She paused and thought. "Maybe if we show them what we learned this summer, they would see that we're more responsible." She began chopping at the air with her hands. "Like how we defeated the gnomes and saved the shack on numerous occasions."
"They'd think we're crazy." Dipper said looking down at the stream as a brown leaf floated down it.
"I think you're just being a worry-wart." Mabel said playfully punched Dipper in the arm. Dipper blushed and rubbed his arm.
"You're right. I tend to do that a lot, don't I?" Dipper said as he looked back down at the rushing stream in front him. The water seemed to flow over the rocks like it wasn't even an obstacle in its way. Dipper wished he could do that about summer ending. Just flow over it and right into school and then right back to next summer.
"Yeah, you do." Mabel said, somewhat faintly as she looked up at the branch covered sky above.
"To think that we're going to be teens next year too. How crazy is that?" Dipper said, still looking down at the stream. He scratched his elbow and yawned as he awaited a response from Mabel.
"I guess it's good. I mean, there's nothing really that special about turning thirteen, other than being able to call yourself a teenager." Mabel said as she looked over at Dipper. The topic of teenagers reminded Mabel of Wendy. She spoke in a more serious and caring tone. "How are things going with Wendy? You haven't been talking about her much as of late." Mabel knew that she was entering sensitive territory with Dipper and was risking a dam burst behind Dipper's eyes any second now.
Surprisingly, Dipper didn't tear up. He just looked lower at the ground and spoke as if someone had just died. "I don't think anything is going to happen this summer... I'm not even sure..." He paused, the words hurt coming up and out of his throat. "... that she likes me." He turned away from Mabel.
Mabel scooted closer to her brother and put an arm around his shoulder. She brought him close to her, comforting him as she rubbed his back and patted him. "Don't fret... There's always next summer." She smiled. "At least she isn't dating Robbie."
Dipper scoffed, "Thank god." He looked over at Mabel. "Be honest with me. Do you really think I have a shot with her?" Dipper's eyes were twinkling. Mabel wasn't sure if this was due to tears about to pour out, or the reflection of the stream in his eyes.
Mabel answered, without hesitation. "Without a shadow of a doubt. Does that mean it will be this summer? Not necessarily. But I do think you have a good chance in the future." She looked at Dipper, hoping that he wouldn't cry at her honest answer. Instead, she got the reaction she was hoping for. A smile lit up Dipper's round face as he hugged Mabel.
The two let go of each other and continued to sit in the peaceful serenity of their own little spot in the forest. Well, at least what they thought was peaceful. A dark shadow lurked beyond the brush behind the twins. Before the twins knew it, the sky had grown dark and it was nearly nine at night. "We should probably get back to the Shack." Dipper said as he slowly got up from the log. His rear was sore, but he stretched and ignored the pain as best he could, he had suffered worse.
Mabel, who was minutes away from falling asleep, yawned as she stood up, stretching as her brother had done so moments ago. They both looked up at the small clearing in the trees and looked at the sky. The clouds had dissipated over the last few hours and now a full moon shined bright in the night sky, with the stars packed around it. The two began their trek back to the Mystery Shack, completely oblivious to the silent shadow that was watching them in the distance and following them with every step. They made it to the edge of the forest, the Mystery Shack's lights in sight when Dipper stuck his arm out in front of Mabel, cautioning her to stop.
"What was..." Mabel was cut off by Dipper's hand being placed on her mouth. Dipper placed his other hand and put a finger in front of his mouth, slightly puckering his lips, motioning for them to be quiet. He gently put his hand away from Mabel's mouth as they slowly turned around. They stared at the blackness before them as a small squirrel scurried across their path and jumped into a bush.
"Ha! You were scared of a squirrel!" Mabel teased Dipper as her metallic smile gaped open.
"I thought..." There was no use in trying to explain, so Dipper exhaled as they made their way to the front of the shack, Mabel teasing him constantly along the way.
The twins opened the door to the Mystery Shack gift shop. The lights were off. Dipper shut the door behind them and turned the lights on. Nearly simultaneously as the lights flickered on, Grenda, Candy, Soos, Grunkle Stan, and Wendy jumped out in unison from various places as they yelled, "Surprise!" Dipper, still startled from the woods, jumped backwards with his eyes wide open and let out a somewhat high pitched scream. Mabel just stood there giggling and smiling. Her friends ran up to Mabel and gave her a hug together.
Grunkle Stan walked up to the twins, Dipper now smiling at the pleasant surprise they had come home to. He held out a cake that had Dipper and Mabel's faces on it, a corner piece of the white frosted cake was missing. "We figured you two could use a little going away party." Stan looked down at the cake and saw that the corner piece was missing. "Okay, who ate the cake already?"
Soos quickly put the piece that was in his hands behind his back. With frosting on his mouth he looked at Stan. "I swear it wasn't me, dude."
Stan stared at Soos with squinted eyes. "We all know it was you Soos." He began laughing as everyone else joined in.
Soos shrugged as he pulled the piece out from behind him and continued chomping on it. Stan looked back at the twins. "Since tomorrow's your last day, we thought it'd be nice to do this for you two. Also..." He looked at Mabel. "Soos and I have decided that we can look after Waddles for you, until the next time you come back the Shack." Mabel, who had finished her hug with her friends ran up and hugged Grunkle Stan. Dipper smiled as he too went up and hugged Stan. The seven of them proceeded to the kitchen to eat the cake. The dark shadow peered through a window before quickly disappearing as Wendy came back into the gift shop to grab her magazine that she was reading before Dipper and Mabel arrived. Wendy thought she saw something move out of the corner of her eye as she bent down to reach for her magazine, but as she quickly looked at the window, nothing was there. Wendy shrugged and went back into the kitchen to continue the celebration.
The seven of them reminisced on the events that had happened the past summer. At least the ones that didn't involve monster hunting. Before they knew it, the clock struck midnight.
"Wow! It's midnight already?" Grenda asked Candy in her deep voice.
"Yes, I am afraid that it is. We need to get back home." Candy responded with her accented voice.
Mabel got up from the table. "I'll walk you guys out." So Mabel lead her two friends to the Mystery Shack gift shop. Leaving Soos, Wendy, Stan and Dipper in the kitchen. Dipper looked around at the hanging streamers, the different colored balloons sitting on the ground and the make shift sign that said We'll miss you! "Who's idea was all this?" Dipper said as he looked back at Grunkle Stan.
"As much as I'd love to take all the credit... It was Wendy and Soos' idea." Stan said looking at the two Shack employees. "And a good one it was." Stan got up and left the three of them as he went into the living room to turn on the television.
Soos stood up as well and excused himself to the bathroom; leaving Wendy and Dipper alone. Soos walked over to Stan and sat down next to the sofa on the floor.
"Let me ask you somethin' Soos." Grunkle Stan said, his tone of voice was calm and tiring. He was clearly exhausted and was up well past his bed time. "Does Dipper like the girl?"
Soos knew the answer to the question, but wasn't sure that Dipper would want the information revealed to his Great Uncle Stan. "I think so, but I'm not entirely sure. Why do ask dude?" Soos took off his hat and set it on his lap.
"I've noticed that he's a lot more..." Stan paused for a second, trying to come up with the most accurate word possible to describe Dipper's behavior when Wendy was around. "...Awkward." He said as he shut off the television and looked directly at Soos. "Do you think I should have a heart to heart talk with the kid before he leaves?"
Soos stood up and put his hat back on his head. "I think that's an excellent idea Mr. Pines." Soos yawned. "I think I'm going to bed now." Soos walked to the entryway and turned around as Stan called to him.
"Goodnight Soos..." Grunkle Stan said as he leaned back in his couch. Soos walked to his room where he went to sleep for the rest of the night.
Dipper looked at Wendy. "So this was your idea?" He said as he laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.
Wendy, who had rested her shoes on the table after Stan left the room, looked up from her magazine and leaned forward a little as she closed it shut. She let out a simple. "Yep."
Dipper responded quickly, "It was really nice of you and I appreciate it." He said. The nervousness clearly came out with the shakiness of his voice.
"Eh, It was nothing." Wendy said. "You and Mabel made my summer a lot more enjoyable than it could have been. It was the least I could do." She smiled towards Dipper. That smile, was worth a million dollars to him. He was certainly glad to be friends with Wendy, and as much as he wanted to call Wendy his own, he didn't want to ruin the friendship he had worked hard to build. Wendy brought her legs down from the table and stood up. She put the magazine down on the table and turned to Dipper. "I should probably head home before my dad freaks..." She paused. "...I have a question to ask."
Dipper became twenty times more attentive and looked at Wendy, making direct eye contact, almost too direct. "Yeah?"
"I know Stan has time planned for you to spend with him during the day..." She paused again. Dipper nodded to show that he was following along. "Would you want to chill for your last few hours in Gravity Falls?"
Dipper nearly freaked out. The fact that Wendy wanted to spend time with him really shocked him and made him extremely excited. Wearing a dorky smile Dipper cheerfully said "Yeah!" he coughed. "I mean... nothing would make me happier."
"Cool." Wendy said as she headed for the exit, popping a balloon as she stepped on it. She closed her eyes and grimaced. "Oops." She looked down at the broken pink balloon. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow." And with that Wendy made her way to the door of the Mystery Shack where Mabel was waving goodbye to her friends. "See ya Mabel." Wendy said as she passed her. But she suddenly stopped when she felt a tight squeeze around her waist and looked down to see Mabel hugging her. She returned the sign of affection and patted Mabel on the head before leaving without saying a word.
Mabel shut the door, locking it behind her and went to the living room to find Grunkle Stan asleep. She put a blanket over her sleeping relative and shut off the light in the living room as Stan started to snore like a bear. She made her way upstairs, where she found Dipper sitting up in his bed, clicking his pen and writing in the journal. Mabel shut the door, changed into her pajamas and hopped into her bed. She turned to Dipper, who was writing in a page about goblins. "I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep at all this weekend." She said while rubbing her eyes.
"You and I both." Dipper said smiling. "Wendy wants to chill later tomorrow." Dipper put air quotes around the word chill.
"Ooooh." Mabel said as she returned a smile to her brother. "What do you think is going to happen?"
Dipper thought for a second before closing the journal and placing it under his pillow. "I don't know, but I'm going to be up all night thinking about it."
The late August moonlight shined through the twins slightly opened triangle shaped window as a warm breeze drafted into the room. Mabel had fallen asleep quickly as Dipper remained wide awake, staring at the ceiling thinking about the next day, their last in Gravity Falls. He couldn't get his mind off Wendy, off the adventures he had been on with Mabel, how he stopped Gideon and saved the town. He wished that there was some way to keep this summer alive, just for a few more weeks. But school was on the horizon. He looked over at Waddles who was laying down on Mabel's bed. He remembered that summer afternoon at the Mystery Shack fair. Where he had sacrificed his assured happiness with Wendy for Mabel's happiness with Waddles. Maybe this summer could have ended differently. There were so many occasions where they could have died or at the very least vanished. They made friends along the way and Dipper didn't want to give that up. Mabel had gotten her first kiss, while Dipper sat in the dust, still waiting for his moment to shine. Would tomorrow be the day? Would it be a bitter-sweet ending to his summer? Or just another plain old day? Dipper's mind was racing with questions. But his mind eventually tired out, as he fell asleep about an hour later with the black shadow watching through the open window.
I hope you enjoyed this first chapter, things will certainly start coming into play in chapter 2. Please leave a review if you liked it/didn't like and make sure to fave/follow! Thanks! -GrapplingHook!