With his mind briefly clear of any thought of Wendy, Dipper crossed to the opposite side of his room to retrieve the book he had thrown. He picked it up and looked at the cover. Dipper stared almost transfixed at the six-fingered hand with the number 3 in the middle that adorned the cover. He never could figure out the meaning behind the odd hand. Dipper turned and made his way back to his bed and sat down on it.
I might as well get some reading done before bed.
But no sooner than when he opened the cover, the door to the room once again burst open. A young girl wearing an oversized sweater and braces barged right in, smiling gleefully.
"HI, DIPPER!" she yelled. "What's up, bro?"
"Hey, Mabel." Dipper replied slightly irritated, shutting the book as he spoke. "Nothing much. I was just trying to read."
"Bleh, sounds boring..." Mabel teased. "The concert, on the other hand, was actually pretty good."
And with those words, Dipper was reminded of what took place a short while ago. The sappy song. Wendy and Robbie talking. Them holding hands and walking away...
Mabel noticed the look on Dipper's face. She could sense when something was wrong or upsetting her brother. It was a sort of connection only twins can understand.
Hmm... he must be upset because of something Robbie did since I mentioned the concert Mable thought, trying to piece together what was bothering her brother. Then it finally came to her. What Robbie said before starting the last song at the concert...
"Wendy, babe. This song's for you."
She realized then that Robbie and Wendy must have made up after the show. And worst of all, Dipper had seen it happen. Mabel thought quickly about how she could cheer her brother up.
"Well, it wasn't all good... Whenever that jerk Robbie tried to sing a high note, his voice cracked! It was hilarious!" Mabel tried to coax a laugh from Dipper. It didn't work.
"Mabel, stop." Dipper said with exasperation. "I know what you're trying to do, and I'm just not in the mood."
Mabel was slightly hurt by that snap. "I was only trying to cheer you up." she replied hurt. "Only because I know something had to have happened between Wendy and Robbie."
Dipper looked up at her with utter confusion. "Mabel, how did you know?" he questioned incredulously. He was genuinely surprised that she figured it out.
She simply shrugged "We're twins, duh! We're supposed to know how to read each others minds and junk." Mabel replied, giggling at her absurd answer. She couldn't help but think that it would've made Dipper proud at how she pieced together all the little clues together to draw that conclusion.
"Okay, if you say so." Dipper said, he flashed a half-smile to Mabel just because she was trying so hard to make him feel better. But he still felt that inner sadness deep in the pit of his stomach.
Just then, a thought occurred to Dipper. Something that he would've never even thought about doing before. Something crazy.
"Mabel, if I sneak out of the Mystery Shack for a little while, do you promise not to tell Grunkle Stan?"
"Oooh, sneaking out! You're turning into a real rebel hahahaha!" she replied sarcastically. "What could possibly be going on that you would want to sneak out?"
"I want to see if I can find Robbie and dig up any information about him." Dipper told his twin. "Then if there's anything bad I can find out about him, I could use it as leverage to try and get Wendy to dump him."
"Okay, this is completely unlike you," Mabel said seriously, her eyebrow cocked suspiciously. She paused for a brief second, then that big goofy grin was back on her face. "But I like the new you! Go on, I won't say anything."
"Thanks, Mabel! You're the best!" Dipper said as he grabbed his flashlight and backpack.
"Just don't be out too long, it's already 11:00. You know how weird it gets out there at night." Mabel called out.
"Yeah, I just might run into some giant talking animals or something!" Dipper responded playfully. He then snuck as quietly as possible out of the Mystery Shack and into the night.
I should probably start off by checking Wendy's house. He'll probably still be there since he's usually skulking around Gravity Falls at night.
Dipper walked the familiar path to Wendy's house. He knew a shortcut that would get him there in no time. Slightly embarrassed, he remembered that he had calculated the quickest way to her house once before. I am such a dork... Dipper thought.
Just outside of Wendy's house, Dipper hid in a bush to scout out the house. He could see that a light was on inside. After a few minutes of waiting, he was just about to give up and move on. But then the door to Wendy's house swung open and out came Robbie.
Yes! I knew it!
Robbie shut the door, put his hood up over his head, and headed out into the forest. Dipper carefully followed him at a pretty good distance.
I can't let him see, me. Who knows what he'll do to me if he catches me Dipper thought with a slight shudder.
It felt like hours that he was tailing Robbie. The angsty teen was walking deeper and deeper into the forest. He didn't seem to be going anywhere in particular. In fact, it was as if he were wandering. After a few more minutes of walking, Robbie stopped in front of a large cave. The cave was carved into the base of one of the high mountains that surround the thick forests of Gravity Falls. Dipper stopped just a few feet away. He glanced at his watch to check the time. After all, he didn't want to be out too late. When he looked back up, he found Robbie standing menacingly in front of him. Dipper went white with fear.
"Alright, kid." he began threateningly "Why the hell are you following me?"
How could he have known? I was extra careful not to make any noise!
Getting no response from the frightened kid, Robbie reached out and grabbed Dipper by the collar.
"I'm not gonna ask again." Robbie raised a fist "You better tell me."
Thinking quickly, Dipper whipped up a faux story. "Well, I wasn't feeling so great... So, I decided to go out for a stroll."
Robbie kept his glare on Dipper. Dipper continued, "I just so happened to see you and decided to follow you to see if you wanted any company. I didn't want to outright say it because I know you don't like me."
Robbie wasn't falling for it. "Oh, so you just happened to be walking by Wendy's house on a midnight stroll? Is that it?" Robbie got closer to Dipper's face. "Or were you spying on me?"
He knew the whole time? How could he possibly know I followed him from Wendy's house? I was so careful!
"Okay, kid." Robbie began, he let go of Dipper's shirt and roughly shoved him to the ground. "You wanna play secret agent spy guy? Well, I'm gonna tell you everything you need to know."
Dipper could feel the malice in Robbie's voice.
Was he actually going to tell me anything or pummel my face in for following him?
Only time will tell...
"If you have to know my personal business, then Wendy is the only positive thing I have in my life right now." Robbie began, the biting tone in his voice suddenly began to trail off at the end of his sentence.
"See this cave?" he motioned toward the entrance of the dank, dark cave. "This is my home."
Dipper was quiet, staring at Robbie intently. Robbie continued "This is where I have to live because my parents don't give a crap about me. They're too busy getting drunk all the time." Robbie's voice began to break, tears welled up in his eyes.
Dipper's eyes widened; he was stunned at this admission from Robbie of all people.
"So before you try sabotaging me to get with Wendy, just remember that I have nobody but her to make me feel important in this world. At least you have a family that loves you." Robbie continued.
"Robbie, I..." Dipper began after his long silence "I'm really sorry man. I totally understand where you're coming from." He held out his hand and spoke once more. "From here on, I promise not to interfere with your's and Wendy's relationship."
Robbie looked at Dipper with sad eyes, took the kid's hand in a firm handshake, and spoke. "Thanks, kid. It took a lot of guts to say something like that, and I respect you for it."
With that, Dipper shot Robbie a smile and then made his way back to the Mystery Shack.
Robbie made sure Dipper was out of eyesight before he dropped his facade. He wiped the tears from his eyes and let out an obnoxious chuckle. "Ha, stupid kids these days will believe any old sob story." he spoke out to nobody in particular. "I can't believe that someone so smart would fall for such a stupid story as that." Robbie mocked. Robbie cackled loudly as he walked into the cave. He disappeared within the dark.
On Dipper's way back, he couldn't help but feel good at the kindness he showed his mortal enemy, Even though he was Dipper would be losing the girl of his dreams, he took comfort in the fact that she could hold Robbie's life together. Of course, he didn't know the truth behind Robbie's lie.
Just then, Dipper noticed a faint light on the trail he was walking on. It was getting closer and closer at a very fast pace. It was coming in way too fast, Dipper didn't have time to jump out of the way. So, he braced for impact. The bright object screeched to a halt in front of him.
Dipper looked up to see the strangest sight in awhile. It was a golf cart filled to the brim with an odd assortment of travellers. There was a giant blue jay and raccoon sitting in the passengers seat, with a living gumball machine behind the driver's wheel. In the backseat, there was an enormous yeti who was wearing jeans, an overweight green man with long shaggy hair, and a tall thin man with a head 100 times too big for his body. Right next to the green man floated a small ghost with a hand sticking out of the top of its head.
Dipper was speechless. He had never seen such a bizarre scene. It was about to get much weirder.
The blue jay got out of his seat, and approached Dipper.
Oh my God! What do I do?
Should I run?
What are they going to do to me?
A million thoughts and questions raced through Dipper's mind at that instant, But before he could react, he found that the blue jay had opened its mouth. And it started talking.
"Hey there little dude. We're looking for someplace and I think we're a little lost."
Dipper didn't reply, he was too stunned at the talking bird.
"Do you know where to find a place called Gravity Falls?"