Dipper parked the car, and took it all in. It had been so long since he had seen it. The massive trees that seemed to stretch out to infinity. The brown, dried grass that crunched under your feet as you walked. And of course the mystery shack.
"They finally fixed the S," noticed Mabel.
"Oh yeah," said Dipper. "I remember that. The damn thing was always falling down."
"Yeah," said Mabel. "It was always the Mystery Hack."
"That's probably a better name for it," said Dipper. "The whole thing was a scam."
"Maybe, but it was a fun scam," said Mabel. "People really enjoyed coming here. Almost everybody left with a smile."
"Unless we were doing something crazy," said Dipper. "Which we were on a pretty consistent basis. You remember when Grunkle Stan made me dress up like a werewolf?" Mabel tapped her chin with a finger.
"Not really," she admitted.
"Well he made me wear these super itchy pants. And these really, really stupid ears," said Dipper. "It was humiliating."
"Oh come on," said Mabel. "I'm sure Grunkle Stan was just having a little fun." Mabel frowned. "Are you gonna be okay? You seem really down for some reason."
"I know, I feel really weird," said Dipper. "It's coming back to this place. I thought when I came back, things would feel good. But now that we're here, I just feel uneasy. I don't know if we should be doing this."
"What do you mean?" asked Mabel.
"Maybe there's a reason we blocked it all out," said Dipper. "What if something really terrible happened here? I read an article somewhere that said people put in mental blocks when something really traumatic happens to them. Maybe this is like that."
"No way," said Mabel. "If that's the case, why have we been wanting to come back for so long?"
"I don't know," said Dipper.
"Well regardless of how you feel about the town, it'll be nice to see Grunkle Stan again," said Mabel. Dipper smiled.
"That's true. It's been forever since I've seen him." Dipper closed his eyes, and pictured his Grunkle. "Hopefully he bathes more." Mabel laughed, and waved her hand.
"Oh yeah, he was super stinky. Oh, and those awful clothes. Who told him that a wife beater and sweats was a going out outfit?" asked Mabel.
"Maybe the same person who told you that sparkly pink sweaters were a good buy," said Dipper. Mabel punched Dipper on the arm.
"You're such an ass, Dipper!" She folded her arms, and stuck out her bottom lip.
"Come on, I was just kidding," said Dipper. Mabel shrugged her shoulders.
"I know, I know. You're still an ass though," said Mabel.
"Takes one to know one," said Dipper. Mabel chuckled.
"What are you, seven?" asked Mabel.
"Ten years ago I was," said Dipper. "All right, let's go see him. You ready?"
"If you are," said Mabel. The two nodded, and got out of the car. They walked up the path quietly, both stuck in their own heads. Mabel kept fooling with her hair, tying it into a ponytail and untying it over and over. Dipper ground his teeth together. They finally reached the door, and gave each other a look. "Here we go," whispered Mabel. Dipper reached out a hand, and knocked. They waited for a few seconds, and the door opened.
"Dudes!" Before they could register what was happening, they were both pulled into a bone crunching hug.
"Hey Soos," Dipper said. "It's nice to see you, but you're crushing my ribs."
"Whoops," said Soos. He let the two twins go, and beamed at them. "It's been forever! What took you so long to come back?"
"It's a long story," said Mabel. "But you look amazing! You lost so much weight!" Soos looked down, as if to double check that he had in fact lost weight.
"Oh yeah. Did you know if you eat less food, you start to lose weight?" Soos asked. The two twins laughed, but they were both flummoxed when they realized Soos was being serious. "It's amazing dudes. I went down from three sandwiches at lunch to one, and all of a sudden I started getting thinner. So then I thought, 'why not try that with all my meals?' And out of nowhere, I got super thin. Look!" Soos pulled his shirt up, and showed them his belly. It was almost completely flat. "It's like half of me just vanished."
"That's really good Soos," said Dipper. He pat Soos on the shoulder, and Soos beamed.
"But enough about me," said Soos. "How have you two been? Things still going good in middle school?" The twins raised an eyebrow.
"Soos, we're out of middle school," said Dipper.
"We just graduated high school," added Mabel. Soos's mouth dropped open.
"Are you kidding dudes? That's crazy. I mean, I should have guessed. You two are so much bigger. Last time I saw you, you didn't have any hair on you at all," said Soos, pointing to Dipper. "Now you got this whole thing going on," said Soos, pointing to Dipper's beard. "And last time I saw you, you were super tiny. Now you're almost as tall as me," Soos said to Mabel.
"Guess we've all changed," said Mabel. Soos nodded.
"Well, not him," said Soos, pointing into the shack. "You're old Grunkle's still the same old Stan."
"I can't wait to see him," said Mabel. "It's been forever."
"He's actually not here," said Soos. "He's out doing something. Messing with Lil' Gideon again, I think." A shiver ran down Mabel's back. Dipper noticed it, but refrained from saying anything. "But come on in dudes. We got sodas and stuff in the gift shop. Help yourself."
"Thanks Soos," the twins said in unison. The group stepped inside the shack, and Soos swung the door closed behind them.