The hardest thing Wendy had done during the summer was burn the journal. The second hardest thing was to tell Dipper it was her who did it.

As she stood in front of the pile of flaming ashes that was once Journal 3, Dipper appeared in front of her, asleep. She ran over to him and checked to make sure he was alright. She picked Dipper up and carried him upstairs to his bed. "It's gonna be okay..." she said to him while tucking him in. Mostly, she was saying it to herself.

Wendy took Mabel's bed, since she wouldn't mind. But she couldn't sleep at all. The majority of the night, Wendy tossed and turned. She couldn't stop thinking about what she was going to have to tell Dipper in the morning.

―――

Wendy eventually fell sleep, and woke up to the smell of breakfast wafting up from the kitchen. She propped herself up into a sitting position, and rubbed her eyes. She could see Dipper raiding the room for something. "Good morning," she said through a yawn.

Dipper saw that Wendy was awake, and came and sat down beside her. "Morning, Wendy. Do you know where the journal is?"

Wendy tried her best to hide her guilt. She shook her head. "No, I just woke up here... Same for you?"

"Yeah," Dipper said. "I guess we can talk more about it later, though, and search for the journal."

"Yeah, sure."

After breakfast, Dipper stopped Wendy in the hall. "Hey... you okay?" He held onto the side of her arm, making sure she didn't leave before he knew what was going on; he was being a good friend. That just made Wendy feel guiltier than before.

She had to tell him, whether she wanted to or not. She could tell him it was Bill, but she knew it was better to own up to it. "Dipper, can we talk?"

"On the roof...?"

"Uh, here is fine." Wendy sucked in her breath. "Look, Dipper. I remember everything that happened last night. After you passed out, I had to do something. Bill made me..."

Dipper arched his eyebrows. "Bill made you what?"

Wendy took multiple breaths in, hesitating. "You won't be mad?"

A concerned look formed on Dipper's face. "Will I have a reason to?" When Wendy didn't say anything, Dipper only seemed more worried. "Tell me."

The words spilled from Wendy's mouth. "Bill made me... burn the... journal..." She averted her eyes from her friend.

Dipper was speechless in surprise. "I..."

"Dip... I..." Wendy took a few breaths before forcefully speaking again. "He was going to throw you into the portal if I didn't! I didn't have another choice!"

"Wendy, there had to have been another way... There had to!" Dipper's eyes were watery. "It's all gone... Everything..." He slumped up against the wall and slid down to the floor. Dipper put his head in his hands to hide his tears. "No... no, no, no..."

"Dipper, I'm so so sorry..." Wendy leaned down and patted him on the shoulder.

"Go away," Dipper told her, moving away.

Wendy felt a hurt as Dipper stood and slammed the door behind him, saying, "And don't come back."

Standing at the doorway for a minute, Wendy registered the event that had just unfolded. "Don't come back," Dipper had said. With faster, shortened breaths, Wendy turned and trotted down the stairs. She didn't stop walking until she sound of her best friend's crying went mute.