After the twins put their stuff away in their respective rooms (Dipper let Mabel have the room with the weird rug, he took the one upstairs), they followed Soos to the gift shop. It had been redone. Somene had put up wallpaper with different color question marks on it. A lot of the knickknacks were gone, replaced with a large kiosk in the center of the room that allowed you to download pictures and video. The snack and drink machines were still in working order though. Dipper and Mabel both got some chips and a soda, and found somewhere to sit. Soos was tending to the register, fixing the mechanism that opened the cash drawer. They were chatting aimlessly, talking about what Dipper and Mabel had done for the past five years.

"Does Wendy still work here?" asked Mabel. Dipper suddenly felt very strange. Uncomfortable, disappointed. It hit him like an invisible train.

"No," said Soos. "She left a few years ago. She's going to the community college right now. Doing pretty well, from what I hear." Dipper was slowly starting to remember her. Long red hair. Pale, covered in freckles. A contagious laugh, always wearing flannel. Dipper had a crush on her, but it was nothing more than that. He had been twelve, not old enough to really appreciate love. He had just been starting puberty, and she became the focus of his confused and frustrated affections. There was something else, something really deep in the back of his mind. No matter how hard he thought, he just couldn't reach it. "Someone else took her place though."

"Who?" asked Mabel.

"Me." Both Dipper and Mabel spun around. Both of their jaws dropped. He was tall, six-foot and a half. He had long, but well combed black hair. His once pimply face was now smooth. He had become ruggedly handsome. He had bulked up, still very lean but muscular. He had carefully maintained sideburns, and a goatee. He wore khakis and a green button up. His piercings were gone, long healed. He smiled, and his teeth were straight and white. In five years, Robbie had gone from an unattractive goth kid to a young adult heartthrob. "How you guys doing?" The twins were too stunned to answer for a few seconds. Soos fidgeted uncomfortably. Mabel finally snapped out of her stupor.

"We've been good. How have you been handsome?" Mabel's cheeks turned scarlet, and she cleared her throat. "I mean Robbie. How have you been Robbie?"

"Good. I guess I finally got over all that teenage awkwardness," Robbie said. "I realized the whole goth thing was kind of overplayed, so I cleaned up and started acted like a normal person." He sighed, and scratched the back of his head. "I did it a little late, though. Me and my idiot friends got kicked out of high school, so I had to get a GED. I was really struggling there for a while, but when Wendy quit Stan gave me a chance. It was really nice of him, so I've been working my butt off."

"He really has," said Soos. "He was the one who helped modernize the shack. This wallpaper was his idea. He also put up a live video feed. We have a ton of hits on youtube."

"I wouldn't say a ton," Robbie said, "but it's more than a few."

"That's really cool," said Mabel. She was leaning forward, straightening her hair. She had a mild blush going, and would occasionally give a little contented sigh.

"If you say so," said Robbie. He turned towards Dipper, and frowned. "Hey dude. You mind talking to me outside for a second?" Dipper frowned, and shrugged.

"I guess," Dipper said.

"Cool," said Robbie. He walked out, and Dipper followed him.

"Bye handsome Robbie," said Mabel. Dipper rolled his eyes, and the two marched outside. Robbie leaned up against a railing. He gave Dipper a serious look.

"I owe you an apology," said Robbie. "I was a real asshole to you all those summers ago." Dipper was taken aback.

"No man, it's cool," said Dipper. "I guess I was a little aggressive with Wendy. You were her boyfriend."

"I was a shitty boyfriend," said Robbie. "And just a shitty kid in general. You were new here, and you were really struggling. Instead of helping you, I just made fun of you and tried to pick fights all the time. It really wasn't cool. And I don't want that this time around." Robbie walked over to Dipper, and put his hands on Dipper's shoulders. "If you need anything, just tell me." Dipper nodded.

"Thanks Robbie. I appreciate it," Dipper said. This new Robbie was kinda cool. Robbie smiled, and let go of Dipper.

"Great. I gotta go look over some new inventory, so I'll catch you later." Robbie walked away, waving to Dipper as he went. Dipper returned the wave, feeling dumbstruck. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all. He felt something hot and wet on the nape of his neck. He whirled around, and saw Mabel only inches behind him.

"What a hunk," she said.

"Oh please. Maybe he's changed a little, but he's still Robbie," said Dipper. "Well I want some fries with my Robbie shake," growled Mabel. Dipper stuck out his tongue.

"Oh eww, please, I don't want to hear that," said Dipper.

"I want him to grab me, and-"

"La la la la I can't hear you!" shouted Dipper, putting his fingers in his ears. He scrambled away from his love-struck sister, and went back into the gift shop. Soos was still fooling around with the register. "I can't believe that was Robbie," said Dipper. "I guess things really have changed around here."

"Yeah, they have," said Soos. "Things have changed a lot since you guys left. It's kind of funny, actually. People just started getting better."

"When we left?" asked Dipper. "Great, turns out we were dragging down the whole town."

"That's not what I meant," said Soos. "I'm just saying Gravity Falls is on kind of an upswing. You guys picked a great time to come back."

"Good," said Dipper. "This summer is gonna be awesome." And for the first time since the trip began, Dipper actually meant that.