Join us again in the quaint little town of Gravity Falls, where Weirdness Is In The Woodwork! We join our friends, Dipper and Mabel Pines, as they encounter summer friends, hatch a plan for the most epic Summerween event ever, and perhaps get into a little bit of much-needed trouble! Who knows where the night will take us...
Please enjoy and remember - this story is rated M for language, shenanigans, and you know- hot, sweaty romance. ;)
The town of Gravity Falls was as authentic as could be, as long as your definition of authentic included fantasy creatures, legends, lore, and a general assortment of weirdness. And yet good ol' Gravity Falls had it all- the dusty facades of well-loved businesses, a main street which bustled with all manner of folks, and even it's very own 'historic town' designation from the state, which allowed the rustic, pioneering vibe of the place to continue its slow ooze of western theming to lure visitors in. The weirdness factor was just an added bonus, and if Dipper wore that weirdness like a badge of honor, then that was nobody's business but his own.
He smirked to himself, vivid images of horrid things - flying eyeballs, the town in ruins, and yet, after years of therapy- both via journal and via counselors- he smirked with pride that he had helped to defeat these horrors. He smirked with the satisfaction of a seasoned warrior, confident in his successes and he smirked with the secret knowledge that the town was now safe from the weirdness that once threatened it. It hadn't been a picnic, far from it, but the progress he had made in processing the events of that summer had left Dipper mature and well-rounded, something he hoped would one day impress a certain fellow warrior, that was, if he could locate her before she left Gravity Falls.
Rounding the final turn of the dirt path that led up the mountain to the shack, he and Mabel meandered towards town, making sure that the rocky section of road didn't trip one another as it had habit of doing. She grabbed for his arm suddenly, and almost as if the action had been summoned by thought alone, she lurched forward, having stumbled over a small branch that had disguised itself under the dust and fallen pebbles of the path. "Woah, be careful, Mabel!" She glared up at him before righting herself, "I was being careful! You know this road hates me…" He braced her arm for a moment before she tugged out of his grip, annoyed at his overly cautious action. "You don't have to protect me, Dipper," she hissed. "I know you like to try and protect everyone, but I'm not a kid anymore."
"I never said you were…" he mumbled. "You were the one who grabbed me, remember?" She stopped to wipe a small patch of dirt from her knee. "Dipper," he eyed her, quietly frustrated. "I know you feel responsible for me, but you won't always be there, you know? I'm headed to Naropa in September and you're off to Evergreen…" She shrugged and her expression grew dark once more, the thick veil of fogged melancholy bringing her brows together and creasing her forehead. "I'm just saying," she offered slowly as she fell into step with him again, "you gotta let go of this control issue. Wendy's not going to like you trying to dictate how she puts her axe down or how to fasten a seatbelt for maximum safety. Besides-" her face lit then and her eyes glittered with a pixie's devilry, "how will you control me when I move off to Australia to be with Kent?!"
He scoffed and pushed at her gently, but the humor did not reach his eyes, and she noted a vague sense of worry before his feature's relaxed into the casual contemplation which was his norm. At last the pair descended onto the main road, and with it, the heady, oppressive heat of the midday sun. It was only a matter of seconds before a slick shine of sweat seeped from their brows, and Dipper glanced up at the sky, a somber admission of regret forming as he noted that there wasn't a cloud to be seen. Perhaps walking into town that day had not been such a great idea. I seem to be full of those lately.
A cheery voice greeted them then and they both shifted their vision to a stocky, bucktoothed man who bounded towards them, waving and smiling as wide as possible. "Guys! Hello!" Soos had always been a friendly man, but for some reason, as they stood in the unchecked heat of the day, his friendship seemed as refreshing as a tall glass of lemonade. Oh, that reminds me, he realized, we need to get some lemons before we head back to the shack.
The memory of a recent bone crushing hug returned a little too late as Dipper was once again enveloped in a thick embrace and lifted off the ground briefly. Mabel took the opportunity to spin around with her hug, and the two looked like a mismatched folly of romantic partners for one brief minute before he placed her back on the gravel and moved back to chat with them.
"So guys, whatcha up to today?" He asked, absentmindedly scratching at an itch on his side. Mabel squealed and her customary smile radiated with fresh enthusiasm. "Soos! You have to help us! We're going to build a Summerween haunted house to help the Shack stay in business!" "Mabel!" Dipper grabbed her arm and slapped a long finger in front of his mouth. "You gotta be quiet with that, I don't want the whole town knowing!" She made a face and wriggled to be released, but was ignored while Dipper turned to Soos to explain, "I want to keep this quiet, but yes-" he conceded and freed her arm, "I'm worried that the Mystery Shack isn't making enough money to stay open."
Soos nodded. "The amount of tourists has gotten out of control. My business has gone through the roof! Well, not actually through the roof, that'd be hard to fix," he amended. Mabel giggled and let her eyes wander, but continued to nod as Soos spoke. "But tell me about this spooky Summerween haunted house! It sounds totally awesome! Whatcha got so far?" Dipper watched as Mabel's attention waned, and rolling his eyes, he crossed his arms, unintentionally defensive of the idea he had come up with.
"Well, so far I only have an idea, but I was hoping that's where you'd come in, Soos. We'll need someone to help us build and I know you used to do a lot of handyman stuff." Soos agreed enthusiastically. "Alright then! So-" Dipper continued, but paused for dramatic effect, hoping to extend the interest in the concept, both for Soos and for the now tuned out Mabel. "I want to build a haunted house next to the shack. I thought about turning the shack itself into the haunted house, but I feel like that'd be too much work in the what, three weeks we have to build this?" He considered the possibilites once more, determining that his original plan was still the most efficient and had the highest chance of success.
"I want to build a campsite with maybe a lean-to or some sort of cabin that we can turn into the scene of a gruesome cryptid attack. I feel like we should use one of the fake monsters Gruncle Stan has come up with, but we can figure that out later. I was thinking we'd have a destroyed campsite, a mutilated "body" here and there, and then in the cabin- which we'd lead people through- we'd have a series of horrors leading up to the monster chasing them towards and into the Mystery shack, where the guests can collect some candy, have some refreshments or something, and, hopefully, buy some merch." Dipper spoke with growing enthusiasm, his hands coming up to complete his thoughts with purposeful movements. "See, I want to create a story which people will be drawn to, and then, when they've had their scare, they'll come into the shack and say, 'hey! Let's buy a memento of this night! And let's tell our friends to come check this place out!' Doesn't that sound like it'll work?!"
Soos blinked and grinned, the genius of the plan dawning on him. "Heck yes, dude! That's awesome! What can I do?!" The two men then dropped into an easy discussion, the topic as heated as the afternoon sun and Mabel found herself eyeing business after business, hoping for a glimpse of her latest love conquest, Kent, the boy wonder. She smirked to herself, a vaguely predatory grin for someone who was supposed to be so innocent, and considered abandoning the dudes in search of her man, but she knew in her heart of hearts that leaving Dipper to ruminate on his projects often wound up with more stress and anxiety than she cared to put up with. He had a bad habit of letting his need for control get the better of him.
A glint of golden amber hair caught her attention and she chased her concerns away as her eyes focused on none other than Wendy Corduroy entering the hardware store down the road with what appeared to be the most buff man Mabel had ever seen. He was easily twice her size, and while Wendy wasn't exactly big, she wasn't tiny either. His broad shoulders and sleek, tanned muscles practically bulged out of the arms of his skin tight hunter green tee shirt and Mabel watched as they entered the store, noticing one hell of a well-toned ass in a set of faded, worn jeans. It was all she could do to keep her mouth from falling open and yet Mabel's eyes grew wide with astonishment and perhaps just a twinge of lust. Holy shit. Blinking hard she turned to glance at Dipper, hoping he hadn't noticed. I think I'll jusssssstttt….
Inching away, she slowly but surely unpinned herself from the conversation, and taking once last glance back to be sure she hadn't bee discovered trying to flee the scene, she darted across the road and beelined for the Gravity Awls Hardware Store. Dipper couldn't get too anxious while she gone, besides, she reasoned, I'll only be gone for a moment. Let them talk.
The store was a typical hardware store, lined with all manner of tools, belts, metals, timber, and toys, but as she crept up and peeked through the dirty window, she could only make out the very first aisle in front of her, the appliances. Great, her thoughts dripping with heavy sarcasm. I can't see anything but these damn microwaves! …I wonder if she's dating that guy. They certainly seemed close. Her attention was briefly captured by the door opening next to her and she had to scramble to look as if she hadn't just creeping on the store- as if she'd ever do a thing like that! She didn't even have time to turn her phone on, and yet she stared intently at its screen, pretending for her sake and the man's that she was heavily engrossed in a virtual conversation and therefore could not be judged for being the creep she actually knew she was. Whatever scenario she was entertaining in her head, the man seemed indifferent and merely walked towards his truck to leave. She watched over the edge of her sleeping phone as he peeled out of his parking spot and drove off, waiting only until his car took a sharp turn right to head out of town before her gaze snapped once more to the inside.
Behind one of the smaller microwave models she could just make out the figures of two people who appeared to be consulting on something. A minute or so passed before the figures moved and Mabel watched as they neared the doorway, where the checkout counter was. Though the dark mahogany stained wood panel walls made it difficult to see deep into the store, she could just make out the red glint of Wendy's hair as the pair paid for their small bag of items. Oh, shit. I can't just be standing here, she realized with a start.
Watching the two turn to exit the hardware store, Mabel rushed down the street half a block, and turned to pretend that she was simply strolling down the sidewalk in no particular hurry. As Wendy took a few steps out the door, she stopped and turned to wait for her rugged companion. He was even more impressive up close, and as Mabel approached she noticed what a strong jaw he had, how truly thick and meaty his, …uh, arms and neck were, and realized suddenly just how much he resembled Wendy. His green tee shirt did little to cover the masses of freckles, like drops of paint on his well seasoned skin, and his sharp jawline steered her gaze towards the decidedly strawberry blonde coloring of a soft bed of short curls which topped his head. Mabel shuddered unconsciously, and a ripple of chills ran down her back and through the tips of her fingers and toes. Wowza.
"Mabel! Hi!" Wendy's loud squeal pierced the hold the man seemed to have captured her with and Mabel fought to smile for a moment before the sensation faded and she was able to focus clearly once more. "Hi, Wendy! Oh, it's been too long!" Mabel made sure to speak her name loudly in an attempt to warn her clueless brother and save him the potential embarrassment she knew he was capable of. Turning to be sure it had worked wasn't an option, so she forced herself to relax into the conversation and hoped he had somehow heard her. "What are you doing here?! I didn't know you'd be in town this summer!" Wendy's excited tone sparked the excitement in her own and Mabel jumped in with her typical peppiness. "YES! We didn't tell you? I asked Dipper to text you about it - he must have forgotten…. That idiot." Wendy laughed, a genuine smile spreading across her face. "Dipper's here, too? Oh man! We have GOT to hang out!" The crinkle of a plastic bag caught Wendy's attention and she glanced back at the man beside her. "Oh, Mabel, you remember my brother, Kevin, right?" Hearing his name, the broad shouldered brute looked down and flashed a sickeningly coy grin which made Mabel's knees wobble together with unsure stability. She gulped quietly, trying to quell the series of chills that were running down her spine and into her very core.
"I'm not gonna say how much you've grown, but wow, Kevin! Oh-" she grimaced and reddened, "I've just said it. Shit." Wendy chortled quietly and made an effort to contain the giggle. She hurried on in an attempt to dismiss her embarrassment, "Well, anyways….. I really didn't recognize you. Hasn't it been like- what? Five years now?" He shifted, and when he settled his weight on the other leg, he hooked his thumb into lining of his jeans and unintentionally exposed just the faintest whisper of the white lining of his underwear. "Just enough time to get out of the awkward teen years, yeah." He grinned down at her and it was all she could do to not bite her lower lip in need. "R-rright, yeah!" Mabel nodded timidly.
"Well anyway, how long are you guys in town for?" Wendy's blessed comment ripped at the lining of the searing hot tension Mabel felt lost in, and she sighed with gratitude as the fog of confusion lifted. "Oh!," she grinned and turned her attention to Wendy once more, "Well Dipper and I are here helping out at the shack for the summer before we head off to college. Finally! The real world!" She squealed and they laughed. "That's awesome! Are you both going to the same school?" The innocent question tugged at her heartstrings a might too much. "No… I'm going to a school in Arizona and Dipper's is going some hippie school in Washington State." Wendy nodded, intrigued. "Is it Evergreen? I hear it's really experimental- no grades or something? A friend of mine went there, actually!"
As Wendy was explaining her connections to the school, Mabel stole an opportunity to glance back at Dipper to see if he had noticed the conversation she was involved in. She surmised that he certainly had, and as their eyes locked and his panicked face went ghost white she watched him pat Soos on the arm abruptly and hightail it towards the nearest storefront, the shoe store. "-But anyway!" Wendy stammered, "What were we talking about? Oh, right! Hey-" she said with a start, Mabel snapping her attention back to the excitement in Wendy's voice, "we all ought to get together for a barbecue!" Breaking into a genuine smile Mabel agreed and then paused. "You know… Dipper and I have something we want to chat with you about," she leaned in for secrecy's sake, "but he wants me to keep it hush hush. It's about the shack." Wendy's brows raised in fear and her brother curved his back to get closer. "Actually…" She turned her head in the direction of the shoe store hoping that Dipper had gathered enough courage to join them. No such luck, what a goober.
"You know…" she schemed, "we're just in town to get some lemons for fresh lemonade, Dipper must be getting them now. If you've got your truck and be willing to drive us back, we can tell you on the way and ply you with lemonade!" Kevin chuffed and righted himself, running a hand through his hair as he glanced over the lady's shoulders towards the old water tower. Mabel attempted to avoid gaping at him and nearly succeeded. Nearly. Wendy luckily didn't notice, "Oh yeah, that's great! Kevin, that's not a big deal, right? You're not in a hurry?" The man in question smiled casually, "Nah, no rush. Pops can wait for these nails a bit longer." The bag jangled as he brandished them. "Besides, it's not like that deck is going anywhere."