PART EIGHT OF SECOND SUMMER

Wendy Corduroy sat outside the Mayor's office, drumming her fingers against the armrest as she heard her father and Preston Northwest yelling. She could make out most of Preston Northwest's insults through the door and could easily hear every one of her father's. Every now and then there was a muffled voice which she assumed meant Mayor Tyler Cutebiker or Sheriff Blubs was talking.

She looked over at the other women in the room; Tyler's secretary and Pacifica Northwest. The secretary was a woman she'd seen around town a few times but never learned the name of. Even now, she didn't think to ask for it, knowing she'd never remember. And, judging by the way the secretary kept wincing whenever Preston Northwest yelled, or put a hand to stop her pens rattling in her mug whenever Daniel Corduroy roared back, she doubted the woman would care if she did or didn't.

Pacifica Northwest didn't wince or flinch when she heard the words. She just sat and frowned as she listened. At first, Wendy had been puzzled about why exactly she had come. Then Phillip Pink, Pacifica's personal bodyguard and driver, had stepped into the room behind the young blonde, given Wendy a glare that could kill most small animals, and introduced himself to the secretary. At almost the same second she had finished saying his name in the intercom, the doors to the Mayor's office were flung open and Preston had tried to drag his newest employee into the room.

Which was practically impossible since the cyborg weighed about as much as a small car. So after a few seconds of stares, a thoroughly embarrassed Preston Northwest had ordered the Irishman in, his face glowing. Phil raised an eyebrow and did as he was told, Preston making sure that the large redhead could easily intervene if the even larger redhead known for punching things decided he couldn't take anymore criticisms about his daughter. After that, the businessman's shouts became noticeably louder and bolder.

"So," Pacifica said, drawing Wendy's attention back to the present. "Last time we spoke, you happened to ask about Dad's favourite car. I mentioned it was his Rolls Royce. And now some mysterious person's driven it off the pier."

"Coincidences can be freaky, huh?" Wendy asked, straight-faced.

"Hmm." Pacifica glanced at the secretary and decided the woman really couldn't be bothered with either of them so she got to her feet and sat down on the chair nearest the older teen. "Alright," she said quietly, though she suspected she could speak normally and the shouts from the other room would stop anyone overhearing. "Can I ask why?"

"Why what? I wasn't anywhere near the lake at the time and have several witnesses to prove it."

"Uh huh. And would those witnesses all happen to be your high school friends?"

"No. The Stans are witnesses too."

Pacifica's eyebrows shot up. "Even they're in on it? Now I know it wasn't a simple prank gone wrong. So, you going to let me in on it or do I have to hear it from Dipper and Mabel first?"

Wendy glanced at the younger teen, trying to decide whether she was trustworthy.

Pacifica rolled her eyes at the guarded expression. "Oh please! It's my Dad, like I'm going to take his side! Trust me, he deserves way more than just having his favourite car wrecked."

Wendy eyed her for a moment longer before shrugging. "Okay, you've got a point," she conceded. "Let's just say I wasn't happy with your dad's interview technique and figured he shouldn't get away scot free."

Pacifica winced. "Ah. That." She recalled Phil's angry rant about being shot in his glorious face - his words, not hers - and the way Dipper flinched when she apologised for her father's actions during a quiet moment in their game of minigolf. And she pondered what she would do if someone she already didn't like decided to hurt someone she cared for-

Someone she cared for...

"Yeah, it won't be as bad a blow now that his business is picking up again, but I figured it's better than nothing and - what?" Wendy paused as she saw the other girl's eyes narrow. "Do I have something on my face?"

"It seems to me that your response was rather excessive, even for a friend," Pacifica said slowly.

Wendy rolled her eyes. "Ugh, this again. Don't you ever lay off? Look, I once hotwired a cop car for fun, this wasn't much worse. 'Cept your dad totally deserved it and this time I decided to give his car an extra thorough wash."

"I can't help but wonder if you'd have done the same thing if it were Robbie or Thompson?" Pacifica continued. "Or even Mabel?"

"Robbie and Thompson - no. Mabel - yeah. You? Definitely not. Look, I've told you before and I'll tell you again: I'm not into Dipper. Though I doubt you'll listen any more than the last dozen times I've told you," she added under her breath.

"And yet you saw him in Jenna's pink love mist," Pacifica growled.

"That wasn't-!" Wendy took a sharp breath, glancing at the secretary before leaning closer to Pacifica. "That wasn't our Dipper!" she hissed. "Different universe, different history, different Dipper! Why can't you get that?"

"It still counts as seeing Dipper!"

"Does not!"

"Does!"

"Not!"

The secretary gave a despairing groan as she saw that the children of the raging redhead and the furious billionaire were copying their parents; standing and glaring at each other with fists clenched as they shouted back and forth. She was about to phone the sheriff's department to see if there was someone competent there who could save her from the madness, when the door beside her was literally punched off its hinges.

'Manly' Dan Corduroy, his face as red as his flaming beard and hair, lowered his fist and stomped over the door on his way out, grunting at his daughter as he passed, not even looking at her.

Wendy stuck a defiant tongue out at Pacifica as a final farewell before she followed her father.

"Pacifica?" Preston Northwest asked his daughter, stepping through the other door as Phil knelt beside the fallen one. "Is that girl one of those new friends of yours?"

Pacifica stared after the redhead, her jealousy like a viper in her stomach. "No," she stated firmly. "I don't' know what we are, but we definitely aren't friends."

"Good," Preston replied, fixing his tie. "That means I don't have to order you to find a better one."

"Aye, tell your teenage daughter who her friends should be," Phil quietly said to himself as Pacifica shot her father a look behind his back. He propped the fallen door back up, much to the gratitude of a weary Mayor Cutebiker as Sheriff Blubs wiped his forehead. "That'll really get her to listen to you."

They said nothing for the entire journey back home. At least, Wendy didn't. A river of insults about Preston Northwest, rich people, and several other things flowed from her father's mouth as he drove, his venting doing nothing to alleviate his anger. They were almost home when the threats came to a sudden halt in a deafening silence.

Wendy braced herself, knowing he was thinking about what her punishment should be.

"You're grounded," he stated as their shack appeared through the trees that kept them mostly hidden from the prying eyes of other townsfolk, most animals, and (hopefully) the government.

"Yep," Wendy sighed, expecting there was more to come.

"For three months."

"Three months!" she cried, turning to her father in a mixture of shock and outrage. "No way! You can't-"

"Want to make it four?" he growled, the look in his eyes making her jaw snap shut even as she glared.

When his truck ground to a halt she expressed her fury by slamming the door as she stepped out, marching to her room with clenched fists. She didn't even reach the porch before a massive pair of hands pinned her arms to her sides and lifted her into the air.

"Hey!" she yelled, kicking and squirming as her father held her at arm's length. "What the hell?"

"Boys," Manly Dan growled at his sons, his tone causing Marcus's throwing axe to land only a foot away from him while Kevin and Gus halted their wrestling to stare at their father holding their sister. "Take her phone. I'll hold her."

"Try it and I'll break your necks!" Wendy snarled as her younger brothers warily approached.

"Uh, I don't know if that's a good idea, Dad," Marcus, the oldest, said cautiously.

"Who you more afraid of?" Manly Dan countered. "Her or me?"

The Corduroy brothers went into a huddle to debate his question.

"He's bigger and way stronger. And he yells a lot!"

"Yeah, but that's all he does. When she threatens to beat us up, she usually means it."

"Plus she kicks! And bites!"

"But he controls our allowance and can ground us if we go too far."

"Well the other day she tried to make me smell her feet! That's way worse than anything he's threatened to do!"

Daniel Corduroy stared at his sons, feeling a strange bit of pride that his daughter was fearsome enough to make the boys so unsure of who scared them most. But now wasn't the time to be proud of her, so he pushed his pride aside and fell back to his standard method of parenting: yelling.

"GET YOUR BUTTS OVER HERE AND DO WHAT I TELL YOU!" he bellowed, Wendy wincing as she temporarily went deaf in one ear.

Marcus and Kevin jumped at their sister's legs, even their combined strength barely stopping her from kicking, though she still shook and tried to throw them off. While his older brothers held her, Gus jumped on their backs and rifled through her pockets, trying to avoid her snapping jaw.

"Got it!" he cried, leaning back to avoid a bite and toppling over, his brothers leaping out of the way of their big sister's savage kicks.

Dan dropped his daughter, who landed on her feet with feline grace, and took the phone from his youngest. "No phone, either," he told her as he pocketed the device.

"I figured," she sneered, straightening her cap angrily.

Dan rounded on her, directing his finger an inch away from her face. "Don't! Take that tone. With me," he warned her coldly. "I have put up with a lot from you, girl, more than most parents ever get from their kid. You've given me more trouble in the last five years than the boys in their whole lives. And I've had it up to here with it." He held a hand as high as he could, higher than most men could reach on ladders. "So you're grounded for three months, no phone, no nothing until I say so. Only time you're getting out of that house is for work and school and even then, I'm going to be the one dropping you off and picking you up. Got me?"

Wendy fumed. "I don't need you to-"

"I don't care, I'm doing it," Dan told her firmly. "At least this way, I'll know where you are and hopefully keep you out of trouble for once."

"Fine," she grumbled, crossing her arms with a scowl.

"And if you behave yourself, I might even let you attend your boss' wedding."

Wendy's arms dropped to her side and even her brothers shared her shock at what their father said.

"You - you're kidding, right?" she asked, shaking her head in disbelief. "You - you have to let me attend the wedding. It's - we've been planning it for months! I even bought a suit!"

"Hmph. A suit. Let's hope you ain't wasted your money, then. And do you know how much money I'll be wasting by taking time off work to take you to and from work and school every day? Well?"

Wendy rubbed her arm, her mouth twisting. "No," she admitted. "A lot?"

"A lot," he agreed with a scowl. "And me being a father with four kids. So who's had the biggest waste of money from the trouble you've caused? Me or you?"

"...You," Wendy growled.

Dan nodded. "That's right. And do you know why I'm doing this, even though it's costing me so much?"

Wendy sighed. "Because I did something bad and need to be punished."

Dan nodded alongside his sons. "That's right."

"But it was Preston Northwest!" she protested, turning his nod into a scowl. "He's scum! A total as-"

"And that gives you the right to break the law?" her father interrupted. "To wreck a man's car? Just because you don't like him? You are not above the law, girl, and I don't care what he's done, I don't want you breaking the law for a man like that. I don't care why you hate him, nothing he's done is worth you risking prison."

"You wouldn't say that if you knew what he did," Wendy muttered.

"And what did he do? Well?"

"He - I can't tell you," she admitted warily. "It's private."

"That's convenient," Marcus muttered. "Ow!"

"I'll give you worse later," Wendy promised as Marcus glared and rubbed his arm. "Look, Dad, just - trust me, okay? He totally deserved to have his car totalled! And way worse!"

"And what do I deserve?" Dan growled, his eyes flashing.

"Um," Wendy said slowly, glancing at her brothers to see if any of them knew what the question meant, but finding no answers. Which didn't surprise her in the least.

"Do I deserve to be called at work by the Mayor's office? Do I deserve the embarrassment of telling the boys I have to leave early 'cause my oldest is in trouble again?" he asked, his voice rising with every question. "Or to have to defend you when you'd have to be a blind idiot not to see that it really was you? If I wasn't such good friends with Tyler-"

"But he doesn't have any proof that'll stick!"

"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT PROOF!" he roared at her, his kids taking a step back from the force of his shout. "WHAT MATTERS IS YOU DONE IT!" He let out a growl and spun on his heels, sending a fist into a nearby tree, the bark buckling under his knuckles.

The Corduroy kids winced but were too used to their father's explosive temper and violent attitude towards nearby objects to react any further. In fact, the trees surrounding the Corduroy home were pock-marked from carvings, axe strikes, and target practice from a variety of weapons. But a tree-punch always set them on edge; it meant plenty more yelling was about to come.

"You are sixteen!" Dan yelled at his daughter. "That's too old to be acting like this! I am sick and tired of you hanging out with delinquents, getting in trouble, and doing stupid crap! You are better than this! I thought you getting a job would help you grow up but looks like I was wrong! I should have known better than to let you work for a criminal like Stanley Pines!"

"Stan's a good guy!" Wendy said defensively. "Mostly. Deep down. And anyway, I don't work for him anymore! And it doesn't matter how mad you are, there's no way you can say Soos is a bad influence on me," she added, her faith in her boss' benevolent nature unshakeable.

"Well he clearly ain't enough," Dan growled. "And I'll be letting him know that I'm going to be the one taking you to and from there until you're not grounded. AND I'll be letting him know that if you skip work or leave early then you're fired."

"But-!"

"And if that happens, I'll make damn sure next summer you'll be working at your cousin's."

"Dad, please!" Wendy cried, growing desperate. "I - I messed up! I get it! But you can't send me away! I've got friends here! And Dipper and Mabel are only here for the summer! I don't want to go a whole year without seeing them!"

"I wouldn't want that either," Gus said sadly.

"Dipper probably wouldn't come here if Wendy wasn't around for movie nights," Kevin agreed, sharing his little brother's fondness for the soon-to-be fourteen-year old.

Marcus let out a cynical snort. "Sure. 'Movie nights'. That's why he likes Wendy so much. OW!"

"No more warnings," Wendy told him sharply.

"That was a warning?" he muttered, holding his aching shoulder.

"Enough!" their father barked. And a dire wolf would be envious of Daniel Corduroy's bark. "You are going to your room," he told his scowling daughter. "You leave the house for work and school. Nothing else. No dates, no friends, no more of those little adventures you like, and if - IF! - you behave yourself...I might let you go to the wedding and be there when your little friends go home. Got me?"

Wendy opened her mouth but saw his eyebrows rise sharply, as if daring her to try and argue with him. And she almost did, thinking about Preston Northwest and the way he pushed so many people around, including his own daughter until last summer, acting not only as if he owned the town, but the people as well. But the thought of missing the wedding and not even being able to see Dipper and Mabel leave was enough to put a stopper on any argument.

"Yeah," she growled, grinding her teeth. "I get you."

But a part of her knew that, whatever happened, she would make sure she'd be saying goodbye at the bus stop at the end of summer.

When Dipper caught sight of the Corduroy cabin, he felt a sense of relief. Throughout the day, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched.

It was by no means an unfamiliar sensation to the admittedly paranoid boy. For as long as he could remember, he would have sudden, random suspicions that someone was somehow watching him. Eating breakfast, doing his homework, brushing his teeth, it didn't matter how dull the activity was, he'd all of a sudden get the idea that unseen eyes were on him. He'd tried to make a note of when and where these feelings occurred and after a year, had realised that there was no pattern to it. Which, annoyingly, made him all the more paranoid about it.

When he came to Gravity falls, these feelings only strengthened in frequency and intensity, especially in the forest. Oddly enough, after he found out that there was a real secret society in town watching from the shadows, and when Ford later told him Bill Cipher would often spy on their dimension with ease, especially through birch trees, he felt a great sense of relief. That his paranoia wasn't completely unfounded greatly lessened the impact and frequency of these suspicions . Except when they hit him when he was in the shower or on the toilet, but that was a whole other can of worms.

But over the last couple of days, he'd felt it more often than all of this summer combined. It was nearly constant, as if there was an invisible thing hovering over his shoulder. But he'd asked Ford and McGucket to check during their last D, D and More D session and they confirmed there was nothing floating nearby. He regretted even mentioning it to them, but they had both given him sympathetic looks and said they knew more about paranoia than most and they wouldn't judge him for having the odd bout now and then. Not after what they had been through, and what he had been through. He felt a little better after that.

But now the feeling was back and he couldn't shake it, not even when he thought of the older men's kind words. So he knocked on the large front door with just that little bit extra anticipation to be inside.

"Oh, hi, Mister Corduroy," Dipper greeted with obvious relief as the door opened and the bear of a man scowled at him. He wasn't the least bit wary of the scowl anymore, having eventually realised it was just his resting face. He was a bit puzzled when the man looked at him and deepened his scowl slightly. "Is Wendy in?" he offered, thinking it might be due to a confusion about the days. "I'm here for movie night?"

Manly Dan looked at the eager young boy and let out a sigh. He had...mixed feelings towards him. On one hand he was a short, scrawny twig of a boy who Dan himself had once seen utterly fail at a manliness tester, and then made matters worse by making the excuse that the machine was broken. It had even taken him a few months before he realised the boy even was a boy, he was so unmasculine! It just seemed unnatural to him that the sister had so much muscle and confidence while he didn't. At all.

On the other hand, Dan couldn't deny that the boy was very smart and apparently pretty brave (even if he did tend to scream more often and higher than a boy should), and had been vital in saving the town. More than once if what Wendy said was true. And Wendy was obviously fond of the kid, often talking about him and coming to his defence whenever he or Marcus pointed out his obvious shortcomings in general maleness. And Gus and Kevin liked him too, for whatever reason. Even Marcus seemed to have developed a grudging respect for the boy after he'd been the only one able to resist the enchantress that had controlled most of the men in town, including Dan's friends from the Skull Fracture, and he knew those were tough men.

And the kid was definitely better than the rest of Wendy's friends. He was polite and respectful whenever he came over, not being alarmed or looking down on the family in the same way Wendy's other friends or occasional boyfriend had. Sure, he'd reacted poorly the first time he'd seen Dan skin and prepare dinner, turning white and having to leave the room, but he did enjoy the meal and hadn't been scared off like the rest of them. And he didn't seem like the type to encourage his daughter to start trouble, something he definitely couldn't say about the others.

Sure, he'd asked Wendy to join him on several dangerous adventures that almost got them all killed, but Dan didn't have a problem with that. He had complete confidence that years of survival training had prepared his daughter for almost any life-threatening situations. And he'd rather know that she was out there battling demons and monsters than breaking the rules or - worse - staying out late with some boy.

"Uh, Mister Corduroy?" Dipper asked with a nervous swallow as the massive man started growling all of a sudden. "Can I come in now?"

"What?" Manly Dan shook his head and looked at the teen, blinking rapidly as he tried to remember what the boy was doing there. "Oh, right. Movie night. It's been cancelled."

"What? Why?"

"WENDY!" Manly Dan hollered, the boy wincing from the volume. "Get out here and tell your friend why he can't come in!"

Dipper craned his neck to try and peer round the father as he heard some muffled curses from inside the house.

"WENDY!"

"I heard you the first time!" Wendy yelled back as she came round the corner and stormed to the front door, shooting her father a venomous stare before turning to Dipper.

"Sorry, dude," she sighed, her voice layered with regret. "We can't do movie night tonight. I would've texted you but I don't have my phone. I've been grounded."

"Tell him why," Manly Dan instructed her.

Wendy threw him a look. "I might have...driven Preston Northwest's car into the lake."

"That was you?" Dipper asked, astounded. "But I thought no one knew who did it?"

"No, no one can prove she did it," Manly Dan corrected, folding his brawny arms. "We all know who did it, but if we prove it, she'll have worse things to worry about than being grounded. So I'm punishing her this way instead."

"I'm only allowed to leave for work," Wendy told her friend, squirming inwardly at how crestfallen he looked. "No movie nights or adventures or, well, anything until it's over."

"Oh," Dipper said, unhappy with the situation but unable to do anything about it. "So how long are you-?"

"Three months," Dan grunted.

"Th-three months!" Dipper sputtered. "But the wedding! And me and my sister are only here for-!"

"I'll let her go if she doesn't misbehave," Dan growled, switching his glare between his daughter and her friend. His daughter glared at him in expected defiance, but he was more than a little surprised that the tiny teen seemed more upset about the situation than intimidated by his fearsome expression. "But if she does then she won't be going anywhere. So you can just go home," he added, nodding towards the path that led back to town.

Dipper looked up at the large man, then looked at Wendy, then looked at the path, his brow furrowing as he thought hard.

"Well?" Manly Dan snapped.

Dipper looked up at him again, his cheeks turning red. "Can Wendy come with me?" he asked in a small voice. "It's getting dark and I'm too frightened to walk through the woods alone."

Manly Dan unfolded his arms as he stared at the teenage boy slowly turning scarlet in front of him. "Are you serious?" he demanded as Wendy also stared, but her look was one of curiosity, not disbelief.

Dipper cleared his throat, his eyes darting to the ground. "I'm a weak little boy and need someone strong to protect me in case the monsters come out," he said, cringing inwardly and outwardly at his own words.

Manly Dan looked down at him, then looked at the woods. There really were monsters living there, he knew that for a fact. And he was definitely a weak and small child, there was absolutely no denying that. But Wendy was grounded and he didn't want her spending any time with her friends, not even if it was just to town and back.

Dipper took a deep breath as he saw that the father was still hesitating. "I suppose you can come with me instead," he suggested quietly, unable to look at either of them now. "As long as you hold my hand?" He extended a pale, sweaty palm, his face glowing in the encroaching darkness.

Manly Dan's eye twitched as he looked at the offered hand, his daughter averting her eyes to avoid a snicker at his expression.

"She can take you," Manly Dan said through clenched teeth. He put a hand on Wendy's back and shoved her outside. "Be back in ten," he told her, his teeth still bared. "One minute longer and no wedding."

He slammed the door on the pair, Dipper breathing a sigh of relief as Wendy grinned at him.

Then the door opened again, and her expression instantly became solemn.

"But no hand-holding!" Manly Dan snapped before his head darted back inside and he slammed the door again, the entire house rattling from the force.

Dipper shifted the backpack on his shoulders in discomfort as he spun on his heels. "Don't say a word," he growled, scowling at the ground as he walked back the way he came.

"Why not?" Wendy grinned, clapping him on the shoulder. "Dude, that was awesome! Way to play my Dad! I'll have to try that next time."

"He wouldn't believe it coming from you," Dipper muttered bitterly. "He'd never think you're a weak little kid in need of protecting."

Wendy hesitated, sensing that her friend wasn't entirely happy her father had believed his lies. "Look, dude. Don't take it personally. Dad just doesn't know you like I do. Otherwise he'd know it was a load of crap. So why did you really want me to walk you back?"

Dipper stopped and looked around. "Do you feel that?" he asked her quietly. "It's like...someone's there. Watching us."

Wendy frowned at him, knowing very well how paranoid the younger teen could be at times. But this was Gravity Falls and Dipper hadn't been completely wrong the previous times he'd complained of unseen eyes. And there were several times when she'd felt the same, though she couldn't say for sure that hadn't been a lingering impact from Weirdmageddon. But as they stood and looked around them, she couldn't shake the suspicion that he was right.

"Now that you mention it…" she said slowly, her green eyes narrowing as she scanned the forest around them.

"You know Gravity Falls and the woods better than I do. Notice anything?"

"No," Wendy said after a long pause. "Which is either a relief or very worrying."

"Well, which is it?"

"I don't know yet," she admitted. "Ask me later. If we haven't been attacked by next week, I'll give you an answer then."

Dipper chuckled and shook his head. "Alright. Mabel thought I was getting worked up over nothing. Again. But if you feel it too then that's something, at least. So, why'd you wreck Northwest's car?"

"Eh, guy had it coming," Wendy said with a shrug as they continued walking. "Nobody shoots my pal and gets away with it."

"Oh," said Dipper, embarrassed that she would do something like that for him. "Um, thanks. But I think that might have been a tad extreme."

"I don't think so. And I can't be the only one or else the Stans wouldn't have helped," Wendy pointed out, reasonably.

Dipper blinked. "They did?"

"Yep. Stan dropped me off and gave me some advice. Ford was the one who suggested that having Stan and my friends as the only witnesses wouldn't make a reliable alibi, so he volunteered too."

"That's pretty smart," Dipper agreed. "So how did they realise it was you?"

"Well, I wore a mask and hood...but it got caught on their fence and the camera caught the flash of red. Not many redheads in town with my build so Northwest called Tyler and Blubs, then they called my Dad. But hair colour isn't enough to get me arrested and Dad doesn't want me in prison anyway, even if he isn't happy with it. So this is the result."

"And everybody loses," Dipper sighed, mourning the loss of a fun activity for the rest of summer.

"Yeah," Wendy said, adding her own sigh. "Sorry, dude. I'll have to be on my best behaviour if I want to go to the wedding or say goodbye."

"In that case, I'll tell the others you can't make it."

"Shut up!" she laughed, punching his shoulder. "But I will try to behave," she added in a far more serious tone. "I wouldn't have even risked it if I'd known Dad would threaten me with the wedding. And I'm definitely saying goodbye. No way even Dad can stop that."

"Good," said Dipper, giving her a hopeful and grateful smile, even as his mind immediately went to the worst-case scenario. "Let's hope we don't need an axe for the rest of the summer. Oh, take these." He slid the backpack off his shoulder and held it out to her. "Found some really awful looking movies. You'll need them more than I will."

"Thanks, man," she said, grateful for something to relieve her boredom. "I'm not allowed tv so I'll watch them while Dad and the boys are asleep. I'll have to ration them or else find some other ways of entertaining myself. At this rate I might even have to start - uch - reading."

"There's a book out there for everyone," said Dipper, the son of a bookworm substitute teacher. "Why not Game of Thrones since you like the show? Mom says the book's better. Of course, she'd adamant I can't start either until I'm at least fifteen, but she really enjoys both. Or Hunger Games? Or-"

"Tell you what," said Wendy, stopping as they came to the edge of town. "You know me pretty well and like to read. Why not make me a list? I'll probably be reading them out of desperation in a week's time. Sound like a plan?"

Dipper shook his head and rolled his eyes. For someone who often complained of being bored, Wendy could be very resistant to trying new things. "Deal."

"Awesome. We'll talk about it more at work, tomorrow."

They said their goodbyes and waved until they were out of sight, both regretting the loss of a fun activity. For Dipper, the one silver lining was that he no longer sensed the unseen presence as he made his way back home.

Wendy, however, had barely started the return journey when she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

She dropped the backpack and drew her axe, glaring at the shadows. "Who's out there?" she yelled, taking a ready stance. "You creeps better come out now because if you make me work for it, I'll go double-hard on you!"

But there was no response and try as she might, she couldn't see or hear anything. Cautious of her time since she knew her father would be waiting impatiently, she cursed under her breath and picked the backpack up, running back home with her axe still at the ready.

In the trees above her, two paper clones sat on a branch and watched in silence until she was gone from sight.

The clone with the number three on his white and blue cap turned to his clone brother. "Dude!" grinned Tracey, his eyes sparkling. "We're dating Wendy!"

"I know, right?" Quattro squeed, shaking with so much excitement the number four on his cap blurred to the point of being almost unreadable. "You know what this means?"

"We need to take over Dipper Classic's life so we can date her instead!"

The clones tapped their heads, the exact same confident smirk on their lips. "Yeeah…" They leaned forward and tapped each other's heads. "Yeeeah!"

And with that, they scurried down the tree to their camp, ready to make a plan and a list.

Author's Note: So, once again, this story might be a bit slower to update. This time of the year is always busy for me since I've got commitments, parties, and a few other things coming up. 'Tis the season and all that. Enjoy!