"Annie told me you were on the phone with someone the other day."

Lydia froze, her hand jolted to a stop over her cereal bowl, splashing a few pieces on her spoon back into the bowl. She slowly shoveled the spoon into her mouth, ignoring her mother. She was thankful her back was turned- she was too busy brewing her coffee to notice Lydia's hiccup. But Lydia could only get away with silence for so long. Her mom turned around and looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"And she said you were laughing."

"Is it a crime to laugh?" Lydia mused, then glared at her sister. "Are you ease dropping?"

"I was legitimately concerned, Lyds!" Annie exclaimed. "You're usually quiet in there. I heard laughter and thought someone broke in and was getting their jollies slicing you up or something."

Lydia rolled her eyes, but her mother nodded in agreement, saying, "You haven't exactly been social since…"

"To answer your question, yes, I was on the phone with someone," Lydia injected after toying with her words for a second. She didn't particularly want to tell them about Dipper, especially only a few days after meeting him, but it would be hard to keep whatever it is they had going without her family's knowledge. "I met someone at the coffee shop the other day."

Okay, not a total lie.

"Someone… like a boy?" Her mom said, eyes flickering. She leaned in closer like a young girl.

"Like a boy," Lydia mocked. She couldn't help but let the corner of her mouth curl into a smile.

"Is he from Astoria? Did he go to your school? What is his name?" Her mom was back in parent mode; her questions seemed to be never ending.

"He's from out of town… way out of town. He was travelling," Lydia had to be quick on her feet to create a story. "And he stopped for some coffee. I don't know, he just introduced himself, and he ended up staying in town longer than he had planned."

Her mother gushed, "Oh, how cute!"

"Is he hot?" Annie questioned with a wicked smile.

Simultaneously, their mother shouted "Annie!" and Lydia shrugged, "Yup."

She reached for her phone, which was dangerously close to falling off the island counter, and with a few taps pulled up a picture of Dipper from her photo album. She had begged him to send a picture for her to look at, since he was notoriously absent from all his videos. He responded with a string of pictures of him making ridiculous faces before finally sending a decent one. It was a mirror shot; he wasn't wearing a hat over his brown shaggy hair, and his mouth was curved into an adorable smile that was reflected in his eyes. She laid the phone on the table between the three of them to proudly show him off.

"He has beautiful eyes," Her mom mused.

Annie's lips were pursed and she nodded, "He's alright."

"Who is 'he' anyway?" Her mom pressed. "He doesn't even look like he's legal, actually…"

Lydia rolled her eyes, "His name is Dipper, and he's almost 20."

"What kind of name is Dipper?" Annie questioned.

Lydia smiled, thinking back to the car ride where she asked him that exact question. He had sighed in frustration. Everyone asked him at some point where his name came from, he had told her, then pushed his hair back exposing his forehead. Or rather, exposing the birth mark on his forehead in the shape of the big dipper. She was so amazed she nearly ran off the road. He followed the reveal with a story about how he hated the name growing up, but came to embrace it. Besides, he said, he had a sweet ass birth mark.

She told her family the quick story of his name. While she didn't like the never-ending string of questions, she enjoyed talking about Dipper. So when her mom asked about where he lived and what he did and his family, Lydia was happy to oblige. She told the truth about how far away he was and what he did, and yes, they did start talking because they both were into weird things (Annie was a stickler for the hard questions). For a few minutes, Lydia forgot about all the apprehension. She felt giddy. Her family wasn't the closest, but she didn't have anyone else to talk to about Dipper. It felt good to smile.

Until her mom asked, "So… do you see this going anywhere?"

Lydia's smile fell and she looked at the counter, "I don't know."

"You can't just push it out of your mind, Lydia," She continued. "You're getting older now. You're going to school in the fall- out of state, none the less. I just don't want you to get hurt any more than you already have."

"U of W is actually an hour's less of a drive for him," Lydia offered. "It's just nice having a friend."

"Friends don't make you blush for 15 minutes straight," Annie cracked with a smile. "Hey! Speaking of friends, mom-"

"Nope," She said, cutting Annie off.

"Danielle, Thomas, Tori, and I need a ride to the movies tonight… also, hey; can I go to the movies?"

"I'm going in for a 4 hour shift- we had a nurse aid call off. Maybe Lydia can take you?"

"Sorry," Lydia said, sliding out of her seat and backing up out of the kitchen. "I've got stuff… and things to do…"

She hustled up the stairs to her room, diving back into her bed. It was only 10:30 in the morning, and she'd been awake for less than an hour, but she was exhausted from her conversation with her family. It was Saturday, and she was anxious. Dipper had told her Saturday's were his busiest day, and he probably couldn't text her often throughout the day. The two had begun Skype calling one another the previous night, and she loved getting to see him as well as talking to him. She was almost addicted to talking to him. After going almost a year with basically no interaction with anyone but her family, she craved discussion with someone new. When they weren't talking, she thought about him.

With her lights off and her blinds drawn, Lydia nestled deep into her bed. She turned on her TV and flipped on HGTV. Within a few minutes, she had drifted back to sleep.

An obnoxious buzz shook the bed next to Lydia's head. After a few long vibrations, Lydia groggily rolled over and grabbed the phone. Without opening her eyes or even looking at the screen, she answered. Still half asleep she mumbled,

"Hello?"

"You're kidding me!" Dipper exclaimed with an astonished laugh on the other end of the phone. "How are you still sleeping? It's like 2 in the afternoon."

Lydia sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes, "I was awake earlier!"

"You sound really cute when you're still half asleep," Dipper wistfully blushed.

"Whatever," Lydia smiled. "Hey… shouldn't you be working?"

"I took a lunch break to talk to my girl."

Both of their faces turned red and their stomach's fluttered. Lydia's heart warmed and she wanted to pinch herself to see if she was still sleeping… nope… awake. Dipper made her feel like she was in a dream world constantly.

"You're sweet," She finally smiled.

"I actually wanted to talk to you about something."

Her stomach dropped. That was not a good thing to hear in any circumstance. She could barely muster up a mutter of a response.

"Don't worry- it's nothing bad… I hope. I just wanted to see if… um… you'd want to see me this weekend?"

"What!" Lydia nearly screamed. "But, I though Mabel was coming? And the shop?"

"The shop is closed on Sunday's. Remember?" He laughed. "And Mabel suggested it to me. She told me she'll come during the week. Actually, my parents want to visit… so I'm sure I'll get roped into having them over too. But whatever, I don't care. So?"

"Of course I want to see you, butthead."

"I know you said your whole family has dinner on Sunday nights, but Sunday is the closest day I can see you… and I really want to see you."

"I'll talk to my parents," Lydia said. "But if you're coming on a Sunday, you'll get roped into dinner."

"Perfect," He smiled.

The Haddleback household was busy, despite it being 9 PM. In the living room, Annie and her friends were preparing to head to the movies after rehearsing (to the despair of everyone else in the house) for two hours. Lydia's mother was preparing for her quick shift at the hospital, while her father was in the kitchen making a sandwich before he had to drive a car full of teenagers to the movies. And Lydia herself was pacing in her bedroom, building the courage to enter her parent's bedroom and talk to her mom.

Finally, she padded out of her room and down the hall. She knocked briefly before swinging the door open. Her mom was standing in front of her dresser, pinning her hair back into a French twist. She peeked over at her daughter.

"Uh oh," She said. "What do you need?"

"Can't I offer my love and affection?" Lydia grinned.

"Always- but what do you need?"

Lydia's fingers clasped the door frame. She finally asked:

"Is Dipper allowed to come over on Sunday?"

Her mother paused and looked over at Lydia, who was unintentionally swaying in the doorframe. She was visibly nervous. It wasn't like she'd never asked her parents to have a friend, or a boy, over. But there was something entirely different about a boy driving 6 hours to visit you- and meet your family. But her mom could tell that Lydia really liked this boy. Not that she didn't have doubts, but she knew Lydia was growing up.

She turned back to the mirror and continued fixing her hair, "I don't see why not… just as long as he stays for dinner."

"Really?" Lydia questioned with big eyes.

"Really," Her mom laughed. "We're all excited to meet him."

"Thank you!" Lydia squealed with excitement before bouncing out of her mom's room and back into her room, excited to text Dipper and let him know.