I stood in the kitchen for a while after Stan left; dumbfounded.

"What just happened?" I asked aloud to no one in particular.

It all seemed surreal.

Wendy was fired, and I wouldn't see her behind the counter anymore. The thought didn't sit well with me.

Finally getting a grip on myself, I turned to head out into the gift shop.

"Hey, Dip, can you take over my shift tomorrow?" Mabel asked upon my entrance. "I invited Candy and Grenda to come over for a sleepover before," she paused, as if searching for the right words.

"Before this happened."

"Yeah, sure," I mumbled, heading for the door outside.

Mabel didn't inquire as to where I was going or why I was leaving, but I felt her concerned gaze follow me to the door.

0o0

I walked along the sidewalks of the town, going nowhere in particular.

Maybe Mabel and Stan were right. Maybe I had to get friends of my own that were my age. I mean, the only real friends I had were Mabel's two girlfriends Candy and Grenda, Wendy, and Soos. The only guy on that list was Soos, and I was still trying to figure out his age.

I walked past Lazy Susan's diner, kicking rocks as I went.

Making friends couldn't be that hard. I mean, Mabel seemed to make friends pretty easily, maybe I should try her tactic.

"Come on, Tyron, just do it."

I looked up instinctively to see a group of three boys around my age standing beside the diner.

Tyron?

This was my kind of group.

"Lick the wall, lick the wall!" they chanted to the brown-haired boy-Tyron, I assumed.

What would Mabel do? I wondered, staring at them. Join them?

I stared at them a bit longer as Tyron kept glancing at the wall, then his friends.

Why not?

"Lick the wall, lick the wall!" I joined in, walking up to them.

They turned as one, each wearing a blank stare.

"Um, let's go back to my house guys," one of the other boys, a blond haired one, said awkwardly.

They began to walk away, leaving me in the dust.

"Who was that boy?"

"I don't know, but he looked weird, didn't he?"

"And lonely. I wonder where his friends are?"

Their whispering died off as they walked out of earshot.

I turned away, my face turning a light shade of red.

Okay, wrong approach. I guess making friends is a trial and error process.

I walked further into town, passing laser tag and the biker hangout.

"There you are!" I looked up to see a random red haired boy running up to me.

"I've been looking all over for you!"

I half raised my hand with no clue as to who the person in front of me was.

He ran past me, and I turned to see a brown haired girl behind me.

"Sorry," she apologized. "Let's go."

I turned away.

Of course he wasn't talking to me. How stupid could I have been to think a random stranger would just call me and say he'd been looking for me.

Then again, stranger things had happened this summer.

I glanced at my wrist watch.

11:30

I'd better head back.

My shift started at twelve, and with Grunkle Stan already pissed off, I didn't want to be late and see what would happen.

I jogged back to the diner, still pondering my friend problem. I had completely embarrassed myself trying to make friends, and now that I thought about it, why did I even need friends? I was going back to Piedmont at the end of summer anyways, so it wasn't like I'd actually spend that much time with them.

I was so lost in thought that I crashed into someone.

"I'm so sorry," I started, lifting up my head.

I was greeted with the familiar sight of red hair.

"Wendy!"

The fifteen year old shook out her hat and got up.

"Hey, Dipper," she greeted, offering me a hand.

I gratefully accepted, and the air became tense as I was suddenly reminded of the fact that my own great uncle had just fired her yesterday.

"So," I continued. "How are you doing?"

"Good," she replied, a hint of sadness in her voice. "How's Stan?"

"Oh, he's um, he's fine," I assured. "Meet the new part time cashier of the Mystery Shack."

"Really?" Wendy narrowed her eyes. "So I guess you won't be getting out that much, huh?"

"Something tells me Grunkle Stan won't be as laid back when it comes to working anymore, so probably not."

There was silence.

"So, um, how's your dad taking this?" I asked, knowing the extent of Manly Dan's anger.

"I haven't told him yet," Wendy admitted.

"Why not?" After the way Stan had treated Wendy yesterday, I was surprised she hadn't told her dad.

"Are you kidding? My dad would skin your Uncle and sell him on Ebay."

Glancing at me, Wendy added,

"Even though your Uncle fired me, I'm not going to get my dad to hurt him."

Wow.

"That's really cool of you," I murmured, wishing I could feel the same.

I glanced down and noticed my watch.

11:50

"Crap," I muttered under my breath. Glancing back up at Wendy, I said a loud;

"I've gotta go, Grunkle Stan'll kill me if I'm late for my shift."

Wendy nodded and as I turned away.

"I'll see you around!" I heard her shout after me.

0o0

I arrived at the Shack just in time.

Mabel was still there, but luckily, Grunkle Stan wasn't.

"Where have you been?" Mabel whispered. "You're lucky Stan gives tours every half an hour."

I quickly placed myself behind the counter and grabbed my name tag.

"You've seen Wendy today," she murmured.

I met her eye as I sat down.

"How do you know?" I asked, just as Grunkle Stan walked into the gift shop.

"And remember; we put the 'fun' in 'no refunds'," he called over his shoulder, shutting the door behind him.

His eyes stopped on me as he faced the cashier counter.

"Well look who finally showed up," he muttered. "Where were you this morning?"

"Out."

Stan studied me harder. "You better not have been off seeing Wendy, Dipper."

"Of course not," Mabel quickly replied. "I asked him to go and walk Waddles for me while I did my shift."

Stan looked from me, to Mabel, back to me, then he turned away.

"The next tour is at twelve thirty; take care of the gift shop until then," he ordered, leaving.

I glanced around, noticing maybe ten costumers in the gift shop.

This should be pretty easy.

Hey guys! So I finally updated. I don't really have an excuse for not updating, other then the fact that I experienced a lot of writer's block while trying to write this chapter, so it might not be one of the best or longest chapters I've written in this story. Also, let me know if you guys want me to finish posting "Night Of The Living Yippie". My friend wrote a bit more of it, but I'm not sure if you guys want to read the rest. Anyways, until next time,

-Mallowbloom