"Almost…there…"
Dipper choked out the words; a self-reassurance that his agony would not be in vain. His body ached from being thrown around by Psyche Wirley and his supernatural gaming powers. His nerves remained on end from these random attacks from the strange boys; the idea that each had claimed to know Wendy rang like a silent alarm in the back of his mind.
The increasing snow fall had only worsened the circumstances, slowing his progress with every taken step. In his excitement to rejoin his beloved crush, the little sleuth hadn't properly prepared for the harsh Oregonian elements. A heavier coat and zipper-legged jeans could only provide so much protection from the cold.
He brushed the clinging white away from the top of Wendy's trapper hat, the closest thing to a symbol of her love he had, to preserve the little bit of warmth still left within.
As Dipper was distracted, placing the cleaned cap back onto of his dark-brown crown, he accidentally walked shoulder-first into a close-by redwood. Almost instantaneously, a gallon of liquid white poured down over him, coating him from top to bottom in liquid frost.
"BAAAH!"
He screamed aloud, his voice echoing throughout the hollow woods as Dipper leapt from the pile, like a little snowman springing to life, as he tried to rid himself of all excess snow.
*BZZT-BZZZT!* *BZZT-BZZZT!*
Dipper's coat pocket began to vibrate faster and faster. He wiggled about to clear off his arms and stick his numbed hand into the pouch, fumbling around as he opened the shaking phone. Dipper bought the cell to his ear, "Wendy? Wendy?!"
"Jeez!" a high-pitched voice answered. "Somebody's got "Wendy-on-the-brain!""
"What?!" Dipper responded in shock, "Mabel?!"
"The one and only!" The metal-mouthed pixie greeted her twin, "I'm just checking in to see how my favorite two lovebirds are holding up?"
"Mabel," Dipper pinched the space between his eyes, knowing that this was the very last thing he needed added to his plate of worries. "This really isn't a good – "
"Oh…" she playfully interrupted, "Am I stopping you guys from getting all "romantic-like?"
"Seriously, Mabel – "
"Hold the phone…" her tone changed as she realized something was amiss. "You thought I was Wendy? But…isn't Wendy with you?"
"Umm…"
"Dipper, what's going on?"
"Nothing!" He hastily replied. "Nothing is going on! Now, please, I have to go – "
"Dipper!" Mabel ordered. "Spill it, or I swear I'll go to Mom and Dad…"
"Okay! Okay!" Dipper finally relented as he continued his journey to the Gravity Falls Public Pool. "Wendy is…I can't find her…"
"What?!"
"Yeah…" He itched the back of his head with his free hand, "I know…"
"Well, wasn't she waiting for you at the bus stop?"
"Actually…" Dipper dodged around another tree, "It's like this. After I got off the bus, I waited for Wendy until everyone else left. That's when this weird jock-y guy came up to me and told me that Wendy sent him to come pick me up…"
"That's…so weird…"
"That's what I thought, too! You should have seen this guy, Mabel. He looked okay at first, but his eyes – "
Mabel gasped, "They weren't yellow and cat-y like "you-know-who's," right?"
"No, thank heaven for that. It was like he was calm one second, and the next, unhinged, like a broken robot or something. I started to walk away, but he grabbed me and tried to drag me along with him! It turns out that he sent that ticket back to Gravity Falls, not Wendy!"
The eldest Pines twin let out another heave, "I don't believe it! And then what happened?"
Dipper went on, "I was able to hide and trick him into leaving. Even worse, I went into town and ducked into the Arcade to get out of the snow. And guess what was waiting for me? Another weirdo in cahoots with the other guy!"
"And what was his story?"
"Nothing much," Dipper said with sarcastic wit, "You know, besides the ability to control virtual reality with his every will…"
"Whoa…"
"And the crazy thing is that both of these guys said that they used to date Wendy…"
"Really? What were their names?"
"Umm…the jock-strap was named Russ, and the gamer said his "handle" was Psyche."
"That sounds so familiar…" Mabel noted. "But anyways, Dipper, this whole thing sounds super-messed up. I mean, beyond Gravity Falls' levels of strange!"
"Preaching to the choir, Mabel…" Dipper climbed up a snowy hill bank. He could see the Pool over the next ridge.
"Maybe…" She hesitated for a moment, "Maybe we should tell Mom about this…"
"No!" Dipper shouted. "No way! Absolutely not!"
"But Dipper!"
"Think about it for a second, Mabel," Dipper elaborated. "Wendy isn't Mom's favorite person, and something like this would set her over the edge. She'd drag me home, lecturing me every second of the way, blaming Wendy for everything that happened, even though it's not her fault!"
"Dipper…"
"And the next thing you know, it'll be a cold day in "you-know-where" before I'll be able see Wendy or Gravity Falls again. And the same'll go for you, too…"
He could make out a brief silence, followed up a deep sigh on his sister's end.
"You're right…"
"I know this stinks, Mabel, but the only way I'm going to figure out what this is all about is by finding Wendy. I'm on my way to her right now, so hopefully, this whole thing will be over with soon."
"So, what am I supposed to do in the meantime?"
Dipper made it back to flat land, ending up at the gated entrance of the Gravity Falls Pool, "Just run interference for me. Keep Mom and Dad busy if you can. The more their minds are elsewhere, the better. I'll try to call when I can…"
"But, Dipper…"
His twin's voice faded away as Dipper's sights focused on something behind the iron-linked fence. In the distance, he could make out someone keeled over in the middle of the frozen water. He narrowed his eyes further to make out a flannelled shirt and a brown trapper hat – the exact same kind he wore.
"Oh no! WENDY!"
"What?!" Mabel questioned. "What's happening?!"
"It's Wendy! I think it's Wendy!" He removed the phone from his ear and yelled into the receiver, "Sorry, Mabel, but I gotta go!"
"Dipper, wait -!"
*CLICK!*
Closing his flip phone, Dipper went to scale the fence, only to be forced to a halt. The top of the gate had been laced with razor-sharp barbed wire. The spiked ends could easily slice his soft flesh into ribbons.
"Dammit, Mr. Poolcheck!" He let go of the fence and dropped back to the earth. "He probably added these things after Wendy broke into the pool that one time after we were banned…"
Taking another glance at the fallen body on the ice renewed Dipper's ambitions. He ran around the main building in hopes of finding another opened way in. After taking a lap around, the boy found that the only other way into the pool was through the main entrance.
Dipper turned the knob, finding that it was locked tight. He raised his head to see that a notice had been tacked onto the door:
"POOL CLOSED UNTIL BEGINNING OF SUMMER. TRY AGAIN LATER"
"I don't have until summer!" Dipper threw his shoulder into the door over and over in a futile effort to bust it open. "I have to get in there NOW!"
As his arm began to grow sore, the thirteen-year-old ceased his attempt; reality had made it clear that he wasn't going to get it by brute force alone.
"Okay, then," Dipper folded his arms against his chest, "How else can I get in there?" His thoughts moved again to his fallen sweetheart stranded on the other side, "How would Wendy get in there?"
An idea came to mind. Instead of using strength, Dipper would use tact to figure out how to get inside. He dug into his long-pants pocket and pulled out his wallet. He filled through its contents until he found his plastic Middle School ID. With new tool in hand, Dipper dropped one knee and shoved the card between the door's crack, hoping to find the space between the bolts. He threw his weight against the frame, stumbling over into his side as the door gave way.
"Wow…" Dipper picked himself back up, "I can't believe that actually worked…"
"Of course it worked," the nagging little voice at the back of his mind added, ""She" wouldn't have taught you that trick for nothing…"
Now inside, Dipper hurried though the corridor, running past the check-in-desk, and entering the locker room. To his surprise, the atmosphere inside of the building was even colder than it was outdoors. His teeth chattered without any sense of control, prompting him to wrap his arms around his shoulders for warmth. The relaxing cool that the damp room usually offered him in the summertime was now betraying him.
"W-W-Wendy…I-I-I'm c-c-coming! J-J-Just hang on!"
A few seconds later, Dipper was back outside, but on the other side of the fence. He looked ahead to see that the lumberjack-donning figure hadn't moved an inch from its spot on the ice.
"What if…those jerks did something to her? What if I'm too late?"
Dipper carefully approached the frozen water bank. He placed a sneaker down on the frost, only to have it slip out from under him. Luckily, he caught himself before he completely lost his balance.
"Have to take things slow…" the boy paced himself, switching his gaze between the fallen form and the icy flooring, "Who knows how solid this stuff is…"
He took off his backpack and left it at the front of the sheet, hoping to lessen some of his extra weight. Holding his arms outwards like an acrobat, Dipper walked towards the center of the pool, aligning each step from heel to toe. He froze every time the ice would quake and groan, in fear that he would fall beneath the clear sheet.
"Wendy?"
A hushed sobbing could be heard coming from the hunched person. Dipper's heart sunk, knowing that it was a rarity to see his sweetheart in such a state.
"Oh, man…"
He reached out for her shoulder, "Hey, it's okay…"
He wheezed aloud as the body moved just before his hand could meet its target. The soft, almost-feminine voice that called Dipper on the phone addressed him once more…
"So, you did come…"
The green-flannel figure started to turn in Dipper's direction, "But then again, you'd do any for her, wouldn't you? Believe me, I know that feeling…"
The pint-sized detective took a step back, causing more ice to shatter underfoot, "You're not Wendy!"
Instead of his cherished partner in crime, Dipper was now face to face with another boy roughly around his age. Dressed in nearly the same lumberjack outfit that Wendy wore, he stared at Dipper with large, watery brown eyes as tears flowed down his freckled cheeks. He sniffled, as his reddened nub of a nose became moist and runny. The teen took the ear of his own brown trapper cap and wiped away the slime, making Dipper cringe in disgust.
"No, I'm not…"
Figuring what was about to come next, Dipper put up his fists.
"So, are you going to try to beat me up, too?"
The equally-sized adolescent reached into his corner pocket, as Dipper positioned himself in reflex. Instead of a weapon, the kid took out a black flip phone and threw it onto the ice. It slid across the way, bumping into Dipper's feet.
Dipper bent down and picked it up, never daring to take his eyes out this newest stranger. He opened it, and immediately noticed the picture saved as its background. It was a photo of Wendy and him in each other's arms as they threw up the horns with their hands, alongside the rest of her gang and Mabel during the Woodstick Festival.
"What - ?" Dipper's face fell, "This is – This is Wendy's phone! How did you – "
"She left it behind while fighting one of those other idiots back at her school…" he explained.
"Other idiots? You mean they have – "
"Of course not!" The boy shook his head, "You know her as well as I do. Wendy is not someone to go down without a fight…"
"You're right on that end…" Dipper closed the phone and stuck it into his back pocket for safe keeping. "But – I don't understand. Who are you, and what do you want with me?"
The youth seemed to cease in his weeping, rising up to one knee. "My name is Danny Feldman, Dipper. And I'm not here to fight you. If anything, I wanted to warn you…"
"How did you know my name?"
"We all know who you are – "
"Who's "we?" And what do you want to warn about me about?!"
"About all of this…" Danny waved his arm around his surrounding area, "About what a life following Wendy Corduroy around will get you…"
Dipper shot back, "You don't know what you're talking about – "
Angered, the wannabe-lumberjack lunged forward and pounded the ground with his fist. A hair-line crack grew from Danny's spot towards Dipper, ending right before where Dipper stood.
"The hell I don't!"
Dipper held out his hands, knowing what would happen if the split would increase. "T-Take an easy, alright?"
"You don't get it, do you?!" Danny shrunk back down in a calmed position, "I'm not like the others! They are blinded by their egos to see what's happening! But I know the truth – after this whole thing blows over, nothing will really change."
Dipper was left dumbfounded by the claims; his silence encouraging Danny to go on with his point.
"Like I said before, Dipper. You hurried here, to what you thought was Wendy's rescue, right? But what then?"
"I don't get – What are you saying?"
"I mean, what happens afterwards? Would things get better between you two? Would she even be grateful for your help? I'd bet you wouldn't get as much as a thank you from her…"
Dipper came to her defense, "Wendy doesn't have to! That's what friends do!"
"But what kind of friend is Wendy?" Danny chuckled before letting out a half-sob, "Tell me – would Wendy do any of this for you?
"She – "
"Would Wendy travel across two states to see you?"
"She has – "
He pounded the frozen floor even harder, widening the fissure further, "I said you! Just you!"
With the threat growing worse with every tantrum, Dipper tried to calm his newest adversary, "Just calm down and –"
"Would she rush blindly though an incoming blizzard to find you, while fending off random strangers from your past at every turn?"
"She definitely – "
"SLAM!"
The split became even larger.
"Look, man," Dipper tried to reason with him, "I don't know what you want me to say, but if you keep going like this, and – "
Danny threw his arms into the air. "I want you to get out from under her ass and see what's happening around you before it's too late!"
"I don't kiss her – "
"Think about it, Dipper. Do you really think that a girl who has so many ex-boyfriends that resent her is a good person?"
"Just because – " Dipper stopped as he understood the implication. "Wait, are you saying that you and her – "
Danny nodded, "For a few months. That is, until she left for one of those older pretty-boys. But I'll be honest with you: those weeks with her were probably the best in my whole life. And yet…" Dipper noticed that his eyes began to drip again, "To her, it was nothing – a period in time she wishes she could forget…"
In spite of the situation, Dipper offered his condolences, "I'm sorry…"
"Are you?!" Danny gave him another daring look, "Do you know how it feels when your best friend – your only friend – tosses you away like unwanted garbage? Where the two of you used to laugh and talk and share everything, and now, you don't get as much as a "Happy Birthday" on your status page?"
A quiver flew down Dipper's spine; not due of the increasing cold, but because Danny was describing one of his greatest nightmares made reality.
"I could understand, but – "
"But what?!" The ice seemed to shake harder with his bellows.
"But…aren't you my age?"
Danny took a deep breath, "I just turned thirteen. When Wendy and I dated, there was a three-year difference between us…"
For the first time in the conversation, Dipper was taken aback, "What?!"
"It's true. When we first got together, a lot of people thought we were crazy – considering that Wendy was super-tall even back then. But she would tell me otherwise; how awesome she thought I was, or how it was nice to have someone always on her side that didn't judge or look down on her. And to me, it was great to not have to experience things all alone, and to have someone watching out for me, especially when concerning bullies…"
"Yeah," Dipper said under his breath, "I've definitely been there…"
"Things were great…" Danny made air quotes with his index fingers, "…until all of the baggage came…"
"Baggage?"
"When the outside world began to interfere and judge us by our "differences." The staring, the laughing behind our backs, the mocking. Oh, sure, at first, Wendy would get mad and threaten and fight, but after a while, it started to get to her. If you didn't know, she isn't exactly the best when it comes to peer pressure.
Without saying a word, Dipper recalled one of the first adventures he experienced with his favorite redhead, before their bond had formed, where she had originally sided with her friends concerning provoking the ghostly inhabitants of the Dusk2Dawn convenience store.
"Yeah, but every kid's like that…"
"Maybe," Danny agreed. "But one thing leads to another and then another. For some reason, Wendy seems to think she has to prove herself to those rejects she surrounds herself with. And with the age thing affecting a lot of things…"
"Like what?" Dipper asked.
Danny lowered his head in sadness, "Going to certain concerts or movies, being able to rent "Teen-rated" video games, and so on, it went from Wendy saying she'd never leave me behind to "just this once, okay?" After that, it became more and more frequent with Wendy spending every possible minute with those losers, while my invitations just stopped coming period. And one day, she had forgotten about me…"
He raised his sights to meet Dipper eye-to-eye, "…and eventually, the same thing will happen to you, too!"
"NO!" Dipper swiped the thought away, "That won't happen! I don't care what you say! Wendy isn't like that!"
Danny scoffed at his claims, "Oh, really, Dipper? There wasn't a time where Wendy left you behind?"
The stunned defender lowered his gaze, the breath taken out of his lungs.
A new scene flashed before his eyes. Wendy flicked his former Pine-Tree Cap playfully before leaving him to work the ticket stand for the dance at the Mystery Shack.
"Thanks, man!"
He shook his head clear. Danny could tell he was making an impact.
"I'm right, aren't I? I'll bet it even happened more than once, has it?"
Whisked away for a second time, Dipper re-opened his eyes, only to see Wendy and Robbie V. racing around the Mystery Fair's grounds hand-in-hand.
"No…" Dipper took a few steps back, "That's not – it's not the same – "
"Don't feel bad, Dipper." Danny warned. "It's not your fault – that's something I realized a long time ago. It's her. It's always been her. It could be the end of the world happening outside, and she'd still find a way to be selfish…"
A third flashback struck Dipper. This time, he stood helplessly and outnumbered as Wendy followed her friends into a gigantic monster truck, as they drove deep into Mabeland, planning countless pranks and misdeeds along the way.
"Sorry, guys. I've always wanted to do that. I'll be back in just a few minutes…"
Dipper blinked repeatedly to clear his sights. He wasn't sure what was causing this – was this person using a sort of magic, or was his mind simply playing tricks on him?
"What – What are you – "
"It's just the truth. Nothing more or else. And the sooner you see it, the better." Danny stood up. "It's better that you see this now – before you end up like me, left with nothing but a stupid trapper hat to "remember her by…"
Dipper placed a careful hand at the ridge of his own cap. The meaning left by the parting gift had lost some of its luster within mere seconds.
"Heck, man. I actually thought I was through with all of this, at least, until they came…"
"They?"
"People who've been hurt by Wendy as well. Although I don't agree with their methods, I do have to say that their ends will definitely justify the means…"
"Wait!" Dipper was brought out of his daze, "What do you mean?"
"That's what I meant before…" Danny held a hand against his chest, "I'm not going to try to fight you and drag you to this "get-together" of theirs. You're not like them! If anything, I'm giving you a chance to get out of here, go back to wherever it is you came from, and forget about this whole thing…"
He went to turn away from Dipper, only to have the fellow teenager speak out, "So wait! Can you tell me where they are?"
"Huh?!"
"That's what you said, right?" Dipper went on, "Maybe we can stop them before they can – "
Danny spun around and stomped on the icy ground, sending another crack in between Dipper's legs, "Are you kidding me, dude?! Haven't you been paying attention?!"
"I have been, but that doesn't mean – "
The spurned ex-boyfriend started to walk heavily towards Dipper, creating a series of shattered ice beneath his boots. "What? That you won't go play "hero" for her? Why can't you understand, Dipper? One way or another, there is no saving Wendy! She doesn't want to be "saved" because she doesn't think that there's a problem!"
"I don't – "
"She needs this!" Danny was now inches from him. "She needs to get exactly what she deserves! And they won't stop until they make it happen!"
"Then, help me!" Dipper offered. "You're not like those other guys, either. We can work together to stop them from hurting her – "
Danny's face twisted as he pushed Dipper with both arms, caught him off-guard. Dipper slid across the ice and crashed against the edge of the pool. Wendy's fluffy cap flew from the top of his head and onto the opposite side of the frozen water.
"And to think…" the fellow thirteen-year-old said as he came nearer, "…that I felt sorry for you…"
Dipper tried to make it back to his feet, only to fall back on his bottom. He held up his hands in defense, "You don't have to do this!"
"You're a hopeless fool, just like Wendy. In some cosmic sense, maybe you two deserve each other…"
Danny came to a stop and held his ground
"…but mark my words. One day, when she tires of you, Wendy will abandon and forget all about you, just like she did with the rest of us. It's a harsh lesson, but hey, I guess that's the only way you'll learn…"
He lifted his heel and paused for a second, before sending in deep into the now-fragile ice. Several splinters shot out through the pool as countless chunks of ice shifted from under Dipper's weight.
"At least you can't say I didn't warn you…"
Dipper's eyes moved back and forth between Danny and the ever-increasing breaks. They launched off in two different directions. One headed towards his left where his backpack laid, which contained not just his supplies and tools, but the gift for Wendy that he had slaved over…
And the other darted towards the right, where his treasured trapper hat from Wendy sat helplessly.
Dipper looked ahead to see that Danny had vanished without a trace. Wondering if the foolhardy boy had brought upon his own doom, he searched around to see if there if Danny had managed to fall between the ice. There weren't any visible breaks around to suggest so.
As his own support started to part, Dipper leapt back onto the solid cement foundation next to the pool. He repeatedly glanced left and right as both of his items juggled on the unsteady ice. The tiny rescuer knew that he'd probably have enough time to save one before the frigid waters would overtake everything on the ice's surface.
"But which one?!"
Without thinking, Dipper let his instincts take over. He bolted to his left, and swooped downwards, snagging the straps of his knapsack just before it touched the cold liquid. With a rare feat of strength, Dipper hurled the carry-on back to safety, pushed himself up with his hand, and raced towards the right end of the pool.
"Where is it? Where is it?!" His eyes darted around in search of any sign of his brown memento. After a moment of searching, he finally found it; the callous reality brought Dipper down to his knees.
"No…I'm too late…"
Dipper could do nothing but watch as Wendy's hat floated endlessly beneath the rigid lumps of hardened ice. He planned a mournful hand against the see-through barrier as the gift was carried down to the pool's bottom by the swift current, well far from his sights.
Defeated, he sat back on the poolside walkway as thought about everything that had just happened. This last enemy had successfully attacked him; not by physical attempts as did the last two exes, but through his mind and heart. No matter how much he tried, Dipper found himself unable to suppress all of the anxious thoughts rising up through his consciousness.
This boy was different from the others he had met. Russ and Eli seemed petty and ignorant at first glance. It wasn't that much of a stretch to see why Wendy would want to distance herself from such people.
But it was obvious to see that whatever happened with Danny had undoubtedly shattered his psyche, leaving him a sniveling, broken shell of his former self.
"If everything was reversed," Dipper asked himself, "Is that how I'd end up, too?"
Within the last year, he had managed to form a fine line in his mind when concerning his feelings towards his gingered crush; a golden rule that she had set down to clarify her thoughts and bring his uncertainties to a stop:
"I'm too old for you. I mean, you know that, right?"
But now, with the introduction of Danny, a new series of doubts flowed in his mind – a sort of never-ending styling of which-came-first-chicken-or-egg questions that made him doubt the foundation of the relationship he shared with Wendy.
"I – I don't get it. Wendy said that she was too old for me, but she didn't have a problem dating Danny, and he has the same age difference. Did she change her mind because of him, or – "
He gulped as another theory came to light, "Or because it's me. What if it's always been me?" Dipper remembered how good it felt to be talking with Wendy more frequently as of late – except for the fact it wasn't Wendy in the first place.
But why hadn't the real Wendy contacted him, especially if something was wrong? Maybe if they would have spoke on a regular basis, instead at total random, both sides would have realized things weren't right. Even their unseen enemy seemed to know this, and went as far to take advantage of such knowledge to lure them into a trap.
Danny's words came back to haunt Dipper, plaguing on his freshly-laid insecurities.
"What if I'm just some type of charity-case to her?" Dipper questioned. "Maybe that's why Wendy did things differently with me. Maybe she wanted to avoid having another little crybaby following her around like crazy…?"
He reflected on everything they had been through since they met, and how such things meant to the world to him. However, it had to work both ways for it to be real – as friends, as partners in crime, as whatever the future might bring, as anything – Wendy's thoughts and feelings had to be the same.
"But what if Danny was right? What if they all were right?" Dipper rubbed his face with his hands as the possibility was made crystal clear, "What if I don't really mean anything to Wendy?"
With another groan, Dipper made it back to a standing position. One thing was for sure – whatever the truth really was, he wasn't going to find it standing around here.
He reclaimed his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. Dipper took one last look down towards the spot where Wendy's gift had disappeared into the depths, its ultimate memory left soiled by this latest encounter.
Dipper paced towards the left-opened locker room door. He had run out of clues. There weren't any indications of where to turn next.
*AHH! AH-CHOO!*
The unforgiving wind attacked his now-bare head. Dipper shivered uncontrollably as the cold seemed to dig deeper into his insides. He knew that wandering around aimlessly would be pointless, and if he were to become ill, he would be of no help to anyone. The only clear option was to regroup.
*AHH! AH-CHOO!*
With nowhere else to turn, Dipper ran back into the woods and headed towards his last source of sanctuary in Gravity Falls.
"Maybe - AH-CHOO!* Maybe a little warmth can help me think straight and figure out where to go next…"
