Birthday Weirdness In The Rose City: A Shooting Star Falls Story

Part Eleven

Dipper took Wendy's hand and led her to the stage at the far end of the room. The auburn haired woman's eyes were filled with awe as she took in the somewhat unorthodox venue. The ballroom seemed to be more of a setting for a high society banquet than a rock concert. After a brief sound check, the first band took the stage. Although it wasn't the band that Wendy was excited for, she still dug their sound and gladly head banged to the trash sound of the band called 'Questioning Quinn'. After an energetic set, the band left the stage. "This is so fucking awesome Dip!" the redhead exclaimed as her emerald eyes met his hazel stare. "I know! We'll have to hit up shows more often!" he bellowed over the roar of the crowd. The next band to take the stage was a group called 'Give Me The Ends Of The Earth'. Once again, the pair worked up a sweat as they jumped up and down to the electronic and rock sound of the music that enveloped the room.

The night was so far a resounding success for Dipper Pines, as it appeared that his girlfriend was having the time of her life. All of the pain the young woman had felt over the past few months had melted away as she had lost herself in the music. It made all of the time and money that the eighteen year old had put into the trip well worth it. He enjoyed the intoxicating smile of the ginger woman. After a few more songs, it was time for the headlining band to take the stage. Paraless was by far the freckled young lady's favorite band. While she had tried to play it cool, Dipper could see the inner fangirl come to the surface of Wendy Corduroy. The lead singer sported a similar red mane of hair to his girlfriend. The couple jumped up and down to the pop-punk sound of the lead singer. After about an hour of performing their greatest hits, the band finished its set. The lead singer thanked the crowd for coming out and said she had one more thing to say. "I'd like to invite a very special woman up to the stage…" the orange haired singer spoke into the microphone. "This woman is a true hero, who in the face of danger, stepped up and put her life on the line to try and save her friends…" the thirtysomething artist continued. Wendy looked to Dipper as a large smile broke out on his face. "Sadly, this woman wasn't able to save them, but she still fought until the bitter end; getting shot five times before succumbing to her wounds…" the singer continued as the crowd gasped in amazement. "Please welcome to the stage, Officer of the Gravity Falls, Oregon police department, Wendy Corduroy…" the young woman finished as Wendy looked on with a confused expression on her face. Dipper gave the surprised woman a knowing nod and pushed her towards the stage.

Making her way through the crowd of slightly drunk music fans, the apprehensive young woman approached the steps that led up the stage. The lead singer extended her hand and Wendy gladly took it. Bailey Williamson handed the microphone to the auburn haired birthday girl. "Thank you for what you did. I'm sorry for your loss… Mason wrote me and said what a big fan you were. I figured this was the least I could do" the tattooed singer whispered in Wendy's ear as she took center stage. "Th-Thanks… I-I gotta say… I-I wasn't expecting this… I-I didn't do anything heroic… I just did my job… I do wanna say… If anyone should be getting a reaction from you guys, it's Mabel Pines and Pacifica Northwest. They were the victims of that senseless act of violence; I loved them like the little sisters I never had. I miss them every day…" the redhead said as her emotions overtook her. Bailey noticed that Wendy was breaking down and quickly joined the former officer on the stage. "This next one is for Mabel and Pacifica… Let's show those girls that they may be gone, but they will never… ever… be forgotten…" the orange haired woman said as she handed a microphone to Wendy and the crowd cheered. The opening riff from 'Melancholy Work' began and soon Bailey and Wendy began to perform the song. After the performance, the two women hugged and Wendy left the stage, where Dipper welcomed her with a loving embrace. "I love you Mason…" the young woman said as tears streamed down her face. "I love you too…" Dipper responded as the show came to a close.

Leaving the venue, Dipper reached for his phone and called Becca, who was on standby for when the concert let out. "Th-That was amazing…" the buzzing Wendy said as Dipper led her down the steps of the venue. Emerging to the cool November air, Wendy hung closely to her boyfriend, who was slightly larger than her. The pair walked to a nearby coffee shop, where they each bought a warm drink to face the chilly night. After once again entering into the cool air of the evening, the pair sat down at a table. After conversing for a few moments, a man came by and in a brazen act, reached over a small wall that separated the seating area of the coffee shop from the sidewalk, grabbed the Portland Pathfinders snapback hat from the head of Wendy and continued his walk down the street. "Ah! He just took my hat!" Wendy commented as Dipper shot up from his chair. "Dipper… Don't… It's not that big a deal…" the redhead pleaded with her boyfriend, to no avail. Jumping over the brick wall that was about three feet tall, the chestnut haired teen landed on the sidewalk and began his pursuit of the hat thief. "OH MY GOD! DIP! DIP! DIP!" Wendy yelled as grasped both her and Dipper's drinks and chased after her boyfriend; pedestrians and customers inside the shop looking on with interest. After less than a block, Dipper was able to run down the man, who had placed the hat upon his head. Seeing red, the eighteen year old grabbed the man by his black jacket covered shoulder and threw him against the brick wall of a building. Placing his hand around the throat of the offending man, Dipper lifted him up. "You're having a real fun night, aren't ya?…" he growled as the offending man grimaced; breath proving difficult for him to draw. "Real nice hat you have there…" the brown haired teen said as he grabbed it off the head of the man.

Wendy had arrived at the scene, where she observed her boyfriend holding the man up against the brick wall by his throat. Wendy wrapped her arms around his torso and tried to pull him back from the hat thief, but to no avail. "Y-You got the hat… Just let him go… He's not worth it…" Wendy pleaded with her boyfriend as the man gasped for breath. With a nod, Dipper let the man down and released his grip on his throat. "Here's what's gonna happen. Say 'I'm a drunk asshole and I apologize for taking your hat' to this young lady here" Dipper barked as he held a clenched fist, ready for the man not to comply with his request. "I-I'm sorry… I-I'm a drunk asshole and I apologize for taking your hat…" the man repeated in a bit of a desperate voice. "Alright, now get the fuck outta here…" Dipper said as he shoved the man to the concrete sidewalk below and grasped the hand of his lover. "Oh my god! You jumped over the thing with all those people sitting there" the redhead exclaimed. "You were just gonna let him take your hat?" Dipper shot back. "You made this whole big scene… People were talking…" the alabaster skinned woman explained. "Good… Let them talk…" Dipper shot back as he placed the hat back onto the head of its rightful owner. In the distance, Wendy was able to make out the familiar white Fjord sedan of Becca, which she was thankful to see as it served as a distraction from the impending argument. The car came to a stop in front of the coffee shop and the couple entered the warmth of the vehicle. "So… You guys have fun tonight?" asked a curious driver. "I-I had a fuckin' great time Becca!... Bailey Williamson invited me onstage and let me sing with her… I-I might have had bit to drink too…" the redhead said as she glanced towards the front of car. "Girl, it sounds like you had one hell of a time… Jealous much…" the driver commented as she headed towards the hotel. "Y-Yeah… A-And it's all thanks to Mason… H-He's a hell of a guy…" the freckled woman said as the alcohol continued to flow through her. "I-I just wanted to see you happy…" Dipper chimed in. "Y-You are so getting l-laid tonight…" the redhead said with a chuckle. "Just wait until I get y'all to the hotel… I-I gotta drive my kid in this thing, ya know…" Becca chimed in. "O-Of course… I… We would never do anything like that in here…" the twenty one year old quickly clarified to her driver. "Remember to be safe…" the sandy haired woman said in a somewhat sarcastic tone. "Y-Yeah… We always do…" Dipper chimed in, trying to save his girlfriend from embarrassment. "Well… That's good… I love my daughter and all, but I didn't expect to have her at seventeen…" the driver commented.

The rest of the ride went smoothly, as the couple recalled their evening. The drive was short, as the venue was only about ten minutes away from the hotel. Pulling up to the curb, Becca placed the car in park. "Well… Here we are. I just wanna say that it's been awesome to drive you this weekend and I hope that you guys had fun" the sandy haired woman said. "Thanks for being an awesome driver Becca! We'll miss you!" Dipper said as he opened his door and the chilly November air rushed in. "Let me get your name on FacePage, so we can friend each other" Wendy said as she pulled out her phone. After trading social media accounts, Wendy opened her door and exited the sedan. Walking around the back of the car, she grasped the hand of her lover as they stepped onto the concrete sidewalk. The front passenger window of the white sedan rolled down and Becca leaned over. "By the way! I want an invite to the wedding!" the woman shouted. "Of course!" Wendy bellowed back as a light blush came over her cheeks. The window rolled up and the car drove off into the night. The pair made their way into the warmth of the lobby of the hotel, where they noticed that the woman working the front desk had stepped out from behind it. "Mr. and Mrs. Pines! I just wanted to say that I hope you enjoyed your stay in the Hearthmen Hotel and that we hope to see you again!" the fortysomething woman shouted. "W-We did! Thank you very much for the excellent hospitality!" Dipper replied as they made their way to the elevator.

Arriving back in the penthouse suite, the couple began to pack up for the long trip home in the morning. "Th-This whole weekend has been just like a dream that I don't wanna wake up from… I-I know I sound like a broken record… But thank you Dipper… Thank you so much for everything…" the young woman said as she wrapped her arms around the waist of her lover. "I just want you to be happy… This weekend… This year… Always…" the brown haired eighteen year old said as he returned the hug that Wendy had given him. "I-If you wanna get everything together in the living room, I'll change for bed and pack up the bathroom" the redhead said as she shooed her boyfriend out of the large bedroom. "A-Alright…" Dipper said with a bit of curiosity in his voice. He knew that his girlfriend had no qualms about changing in front of him, so he thought it was a bit odd that she'd asked him to leave the room and closed the door behind him. Nevertheless, the teen boy began to pick up various items that the couple had left in the living quarters of the penthouse suite. Meanwhile, Wendy had walked over to her duffle bag. Unzipping it, her folding knife tumbled out and opened up. The redhead looked at the blade that rest on the tan carpet of the hotel room floor. The steel glistened as it caught the light of the chandelier that hung above the bed. Wendy bent over and picked up the knife. Instead of simply folding it up and placing it back into the green nylon sack, she stared at it. She could still observe a bit of the dried blood that resided on the blade from when she had attempted to end her life several months ago. Glancing down at the large scar that adorned her left forearm, she recalled the night where she had almost passed away. It was only thanks to Dipper that she had managed to pull through. That night was also the last time that she had talked to or seen Mabel. She knew that the young lady was gone forever, but she still longed to speak to her again. "Well… There is one way…" the twenty-one year old thought to herself.

After a short internal debate, the freckled woman folded the knife up and placed it back in the bag. Her eyes teared up and she was upset that she had even entertained the idea of hurting herself again, especially after the wonderful weekend that she had been given by her boyfriend. "I-I need to go see the doctor on Tuesday…" she whispered quietly to herself as she removed yet another item from the bag. A silk and lace pink negligée with a matching pair of panties were placed on the bed and the young woman began to disrobe. Dipper had managed to clean up the room when a troubling thought came over him. "What if she's hurting herself?!" he wondered as the teen boy rushed to the still closed door of the bedroom. "Wendy! You okay in there?" Dipper asked as he tried to turn the door knob, finding it to be locked. His fists balled up and he began to knock on the door. "Wendy! Wendy! Open up! I-I wanna know if you're alright!" the brown haired eighteen year old said in a more urgent tone. Suddenly, he heard the lock click and the door began to open. "Dipper… I-I'm fine…" she reassured her boyfriend as she took note of the tears in his eyes. "It's okay… It's okay… I'm fine…" the redhead said as she pulled the upset teen against her pink silk covered body and began to stroke his hair. A minute later, Dipper had finally managed to collect himself. "I-I'm sorry… I was just worried was all…" the teen said as he observed the sensual outfit that his lover had changed into. "Dude, it's fine… I like that you care… So… I figured that since you showed me such a fun night, that I should return the favor…" the auburn haired woman said with a salacious tone. Clothing and inhibitions were shed as the two began to make love in the large hotel bed. After a few goes, the young couple were worn out. Dipper glanced over and saw his lover passed out cold; a large smile on her freckled face. The brown haired eighteen year old formed a large grin as his exhaustion overcame him and he fell asleep as the birthday weekend in the Rose City of Portland, Oregon drew to its conclusion.

Author's Note: So, this is the end of this story. I thought about how I extended what was supposed to be a one shot into eleven chapters and realized that it was getting a bit too long. I hope that everyone has enjoyed this story. I'm going to take a short break, but I'm already writing my next story, 'Dipper & Wendy vs The Future', a story that takes place at Christmas. Any guesses on what's gonna happen? Thank you for reading and reviewing my stories, it really does mean a lot to me.

My Playlist for this chapter:

Downstait – "Redesign, Rebuild, Reclaim"

Papa Roach – "American Dreams"

Prophets of Rage – "Living On The 110"

Bullet For My Valentine – "Riot"

Bring Me The Horizon – "Throne"

Bring Me The Horizon – "Happy Song"

Lorde – "Perfect Places"

Borns – "American Money"

The Reconteurs – "Steady As She Goes"

Phantom Planet – "California"

Foster The People – "Doing It For The Money"

The Hunna – "You & Me"

The Aces - "Stuck"

Waxahatchee – "Coast To Coast"

Barns Courtney – "Golden Dandelions"

The Strokes – "OBLIVIUS"

Arkells – "Knocking At The Door"

The Killers – "The Man"

Phantogram – "You Don't Get Me High Enough"