Chapter Eleven: Clarity

"Hey, Dipper." Wendy called, having just climbed the stairs and heading towards the kids' room. He'd disappeared after dinner, and she was getting worried. She didn't get an answer as she got to the door so she knocked gently. "Dipper?" Still nothing, so she opened the door, seeing him laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. "You okay?"

Dipper seemed startled to see her but flung himself up none the less. He moved to sit on the side of the bed as Wendy sat beside him. "No one's seen you since dinner. What's up with that?"

"Hey Wendy." Dipper said, sounding a bit sad. "It's nothing."

"Doesn't sound like nothing." Wendy said. "C'mon, Diphead, we've never had secrets before. What's goin' on with you?"

"Well, it's...it's about my, uh, crush on you." Dipper stuttered. At his nervous tone, Wendy resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"We already talked about that, remember?" Wendy said, giving him the same look she'd given him during their talk a few weeks ago.

"I know, I know." Dipper sighed, clearly embarrassed of himself. "Look, I spent the rest of the summer after that telling myself it wouldn't work. I mean, I even used that road-trip Stan took us on to try to meet other girls."

Wendy gave a small laugh, trying to imagine shy, awkward Dipper trying to flirt with a bunch of random girls on the road. "How'd that go?"

"It was fun at first, but than all the girls found out and I got in trouble." Dipper grinned and scratched the back of his head nervously. "It almost cost me Candy's friendship, too."

"Candy?" Wendy asked.

"Long story." Dipper said. "Anyway, uh, I think I finally got over you back there."

"So what's the problem?" Wendy asked.

"Well, back in the bubble, there was this fake you." Dipper explained. Wendy raised an intrigued eyebrow at him. "She said that if I were older, I'd be your...well, her dream guy."

"Hm." Wendy hummed and let herself lay on the bed. "Maybe."

Dipper's heart leaped into his throat. "W-what?"

"Calm down, Casanova." Wendy said. "I'm just saying...it's not like I've never thought about it. You're one of the smartest, sweetest, most determined guys I know. You'd probably make a great boyfriend, but...I just don't feel that way about you. Maybe that'll change someday, maybe not, but in the meantime, you're still a pretty awesome friend."

"Yeah." Dipper groaned. "Thanks though."

"Anytime." Wendy smiled. "Besides, why would you keep chasing me when there's someone else right under your nose?"

"What?" Dipper's eyes widened. Oops. "W-well, who is she? What do I say to her?"

"I don't think she'd like it if I told you." Wendy told him, giving him a teasing look. "That's for you to find out."

"But there's a living, breathing girl who likes me!" Dipper said. "This might never happen again!"

"Hey, Dipstick," Wendy said, now looking annoyed at him. "Did you just forget what I told you, like, five seconds ago? Smart, sweet and determined? Make a great boyfriend? Dipper, all you need to do is drop the shy guy act and wash your cloths every once in a while, and the girls would probably swarm all over you. And I promise, whoever does get you's gonna be a very lucky girl."

"O-okay. Start...washing cloths, that's a good start." Dipper said, now a bit red. He'd only half listened to her rant, part of his mind still racing about who was the girl who actually had feelings for him.

Wendy smiled and pulled him into a one-armed hug. "Atta boy."

As I said, the friendship between Dipper and Wendy is super sweet, but the talk they had about Dipper's crush on her felt a little incomplete. I think this is how things would go if he did tell her about the fake her. Review.