Here we go again. The dance party… the cooler-than-ice get-together held once or twice every summer at the Mystery Shack was back, and once again, Dipper was on admittance duty. Every time the much anticipated event came around, he and Wendy were stationed behind a simple folding table with a cloth over it and a big, old-fashioned cash register. Their duties were simple, just take the wads of cash the all-too-eager party-goers handed them. Already, the two were stuffing the green bills into the metal compartments as a flood of kids and teens pushed and shoved their way into the Shack. Dipper felt that he could do this chore in his sleep. Grab, shove, grab, shove, grab, shove. Dipper stole a glance at his redhead companion. It had only been 14 months since he met that girl, and still, he had an inexplicable affection towards her. Even so, he had never confessed his feelings for her, mostly because of her relationship with Robbie. Mabel had said she was surprised Wendy stuck with him for so long, as Wendy had told her that she'd broken up with plenty of seemingly decent guys before. Whatever the case, the 13-year old did his best to shrug it off. Even if he had the chance to explain what Wendy meant to him, he was fairly certain he wouldn't have the words. Piles and piles of letters and poems were secretly stashed up in his room, bearing witness to all the failed attempts of the shy admirer to spill the overwhelming feelings in his heart in a way he could share with her.
No matter... Dipper turned away, pretending to focus on the swarm of eager citizens who were shoving loads of money in his direction. Of course, he'd far rather be inside enjoying the action on the dance floor, but somehow, even such a mundane task as piling stacks of dollars into a machine didn't seem so bad when Wendy was there. Dipper didn't know if it was just him, but whenever the redhead was around, everything almost seemed enjoyable. She always had something funny to say, or an interesting thought that kept him thinking all week. It was probably just because Dipper couldn't keep his eyes off her. She was beautiful, and it was as if she wasn't even trying. Not just outside, although her streaming red hair and her pretty freckles always made Dipper smile to think about, but whenever she laughed or even pulled his hat down over his eyes and said, "You're alright", Dipper felt indescribably good. She sort of made him feel good about himself in a way that no one else ever did, and he found he was constantly striving to do anything that would make her smile.
However, every Mystery Shack party, there was one thing in particular that would never fail to get the girl happy. She had so much to glance with her sparkling green eyes at the younger teen and he would know exactly what she wanted.
"Go ahead, Wendy, I got this covered," Dipper said softly, nudging her under the table with his knee.
"You're the best, dude," Wendy punched his arm before getting up and joining the traffic-like flow of teens into the Shack. Dipper watched her until she disappeared from his sight, then he continued receiving the handfuls of money spilling onto the table.
This was the story every time there was a party. Mabel would stay inside and periodically refill the punch bowl-although most of her time was spent with her two besties: Candy and Grenda-Soos would be the DJ, Stan would make sure everything ran smoothly, and Dipper and Wendy would take admissions, although Wendy would 'mysteriously' wind up on the dance floor every time. Dipper learned to grin and bear his duty. The way he looked at it, he got a few minutes time with Wendy, and once everyone had paid to get in, he was free for the rest of the evening, and, if he was lucky, maybe he'd finally have the guts to ask Wendy to dance.
Dipper laughed to himself. This was what-their fourth party now? And still he never quite brought himself to ask her for even one dance. Robbie was definitely part of the equation. He had only missed one party so far, and Dipper couldn't even begin to convince himself to risk the chance of being turned down in front of him. Ever since the incident with Rumble McSkirmish last summer, both of them were still careful in showing their dislike for the other. Although they would still glare daggers at each other whenever their paths crossed, both of them refused to cross any lines. Dipper knew that the glares would turn to mean smirks if Robbie saw him denied on the dance floor.
The brunette sighed and glanced through the window directly behind him. He could see the flashing lights of the disco ball and the colorful rainbow of party-goers dressed in their schnazzy attire. He couldn't make out the flash of red hair that would indicate Wendy's location, but he was pretty sure he could just see the glisten of the lights glittering off the sequins on Mabel's party dress. Dipper smiled and turned back when another dancer blocked what little glimpse he had of his sister. Mabel was so excited about tonight's party. Well, there wasn't a party in the world she wouldn't be excited about, but the way she'd skip around the house and flash her big, no longer braced smile in anticipation for the chance to hang out with her friends always made getting prepared more enjoyable. Now, he knew, she was probably in there with her brightly colored outfit impressing everyone with the showy dance moves she'd been practicing all winter. It was amazing how agile she was, and how quickly she picked up on the difficult maneuvers. When summer vacation came around again, she would practice down on the dance floor, and if she ever caught Dipper watching from the stairway, she would drag him down with her and try to teach him what she'd learned. Dipper went along, provided she only tried to show him the easy moves.
Dipper didn't think he'd do much dancing tonight. Despite all Mabel taught him, and what time he spent alone trying the moves himself, he could never get it to look quite like his sister did. His practice concentrated mostly on the slow dances though, in hopes that maybe, just maybe, the perfect opportunity would present itself. Dipper's smile quickly faded when an all to familiar face dropped two 1 dollar bills on the table in front of him.
"Robbie, admittance is 10 dollars, not 2," Dipper said slowly, trying to hide the unhappiness in his voice.
"What's it to you, dork?" the older teen growled, shoving his hands in his pockets. "You gonna sic your grandpa on me?"
Dipper didn't have time to reply before the darkly clad 18-year old slipped through the open doors of the Shack. Dipper clenched his jaw and shoved the two dollars into this pocket. While Robbie didn't try any extreme measures to annoy Dipper anymore, all the little things he did were beginning to get through.
"You gonna sic your grandpa on me?" Dipper mimicked in a low tone. He flipped the card on the table so that the side that read "closed" faced the awaiting crowd.
"Back in a few," he muttered before running off to the other side of the Mystery Shack.
...
Up in his room, Dipper paced back and forth in front of the mirror, angrily loosening his tie and undoing the top buttons on his shirt.
"What's it to you, dork?" he muttered to his reflection, "I'm cool, I'm eighteen, and I've got a girlfriend, what do you have? Oh that's right, you've got admissions duty." Dipper glared hard into his own eyes, then sighed and turned away.
"Crap," he said to himself. Dipper ran his fingers through his hair, mussing the work of a good hour getting it to look almost neat. "I've got admissions duty."
Dipper grabbed his pine tree cap on the way out and slammed the door shut.
It wasn't long before the swarm of teens wanting to get in slowed down as everyone got a chance to pay admissions. Dipper slumped back in his chair with the brim of his hat pulled down to his eyes. He tiredly played with his tie, twisting it around his finger and then uncurling it.
I don't even like ties.
Dipper sighed and pulled the solid blue article looser around his neck. Mabel said he looked great in a tie, but at this point, how he looked didn't really matter. Dipper muttered something inaudible, pulled himself straight in the chair, and turned back to look into the window again. Mellow music crept to his ears and he could see each boy and girl paired up and stepping slowly to the tune. Almost ironically, it was the same song that was playing at the first party when Dipper came so close to asking Wendy to dance. Dipper squinted as he tried to make out familiar faces in the crowd.
There was Pacifica. She hadn't missed a dance so far, nor had she left home without winning a party-hardy crown, or whatever it was called. She was dancing with a tall, tan boy who looked several years older than her. Pacifica probably bribed him into dancing, as she had done that with several boys of all ages. Dipper would never forget the day when, through clenched teeth, Pacifica asked him to go on a date with her in exchange for a fifty-dollar bill, but that was another story.
Moving on, Dipper saw a few more faces he recognized swaying to the soft beat, although most of the names he couldn't remember. To his surprise, he couldn't see the flowy brunette wave of hair or the sparking flash of sequins on a dress that would indicate where Mabel was. Come to think of it, he couldn't find Candy or Grenda either. Dipper didn't worry though, odds were that they moved on into another room to do girl stuff.
Then Dipper's heart caught in his throat when he saw Wendy resting her arm on Robbie's shoulder, laughing as she guided him through the simple dance. Dipper turned away quickly, going stiff. Robbie had showed up to the parties before, but he'd never danced at one. So what if he looked like a total doofus? He was dancing with Wendy.
Dipper dared another glance over his shoulder, and there they were, laughing as Robbie awkwardly tried to step in time with Wendy. Robbie laughed, but then he got that look in his eyes as he leaned closer to Wendy. Wendy blushed and turned her head away, but Robbie gently turned her chin towards his and... Dipper snapped back around, suddenly not feeling well. Sweaty fingerprints appeared on the 'closed' sign as he switched the sign around to close the booth.
Dipper found himself in the upstairs bathroom of the Mystery Shack, slumped down on the floor and gripping the sink with white knuckles. He was sweating all over and the unpleasant urge to vomit threatened to leap from his stomach.
"Get a grip, get a grip," Dipper told himself, taking shaky, but deep breaths in and out. He carefully relaxed his grip on the sink and pulled his tie completely off. Laughter flowed hauntingly from the floor downstairs, mocking Dipper's crushed feelings, and the sharp cold of the floor seemed to force him into accepting that this nightmare was his ugly reality. Dipper fought back the urge to cry as his heart beat fast and matched the throb in his head. He continued to inhale and exhale deeply in an attempt to calm his panicked breaths. Then the tears came. Slowly at first, until a river of the hot droplets ran down his face. Dipper drew his knees up to his chest and cried.
It was a rare occasion when Dipper would break down. Even when he was younger, Dipper felt that it was his duty to be strong, especially in front of Mabel. When he did wind up with tears on his face, he would never tell her about it, not so much because he was ashamed of himself, but because he wanted to be that tough big brother figure that Mabel could count on. Because of that, Dipper felt like a let down whenever she saw him in tears.
Now, alone in the bathroom with a sharp pain in his heart, Dipper let the tears flow. His emotions spilled out with his soft sobs: the heartbreak, the guilt, the shame, the hatred, it felt like it was all pouring down out of his system.
Gradually, the burning pain in his heart dulled to a point where he could regain control of his breathing and stop the tears that flowed from his eyes. Dipper blew out a breath and staggered to his feet, pulling himself up using the sink. Had he looked in his reflection, he would have seen the color was drained from his face, and the sweat was beginning to soak through his shirt, and that he had an all-around bedraggled look.
Dipper pulled off his hat and wiped his brow with the back of his hand.
"That's it, I'm done," he whispered numbly to himself, "No party tonight." Dipper pushed open the bathroom door and moved to go back to his room, but something stopped him. He wearily glanced back in the direction of the dance floor. The music had picked back up again and the dancers spaced out around the floor. He would have much rather gone and hid away in the attic, but his feet seemed to be leading him towards the energy in the other room, and before he knew it, he was standing in the doorway, watching the others dance. Dipper was almost relieved not to see either Robbie or Wendy on the floor, though he guessed they were on the couch on the floor below him.
Robbie... just... Dipper didn't want to think about him. Perhaps it was inevitable that the older teen would get the first dance. Wendy and Robbie were an item, after all-but still, Dipper had hoped that maybe he'd be able to get that one special moment with Wendy-even as 'just friends'. Now it was too late. Wendy and Robbie had kissed.
Part 1 of a 2 part story. Proofread by the wonderful MadiYasha on deviantArt!