Wendy drove down the road, the radio blaring some stupid love song. She didn't really know why she was going back. She had just got her AA degree, and was getting ready to transfer to the University of Oregon. Her friends had tried to convince her to move in with them, so she wouldn't have to go back. She had seriously considered it. It wasn't that she hated Gravity Falls. It was where she had grown up after all. But being a girl in a family filled with boys had weighed heavily on her. Her father wanted an athlete, and while she wasn't shabby she certainly wasn't a star. She felt like a constant disappointment. Even when she went off to college (the first Corduroy to have done so in generations,) her father had sneered. She didn't want to be a lumberjack, which is the only thing that would have satisfied him. And so she had severed ties with him. It had been the hardest thing she had ever done. And now she would be going back. She wouldn't be staying with her parents (Tambry was giving her a place to stay), but she was sure she'd see her father around town. It would be a difficult couple of months. But she still had things she wanted to do. She wanted to catch up with all her friends, and thank Stan. Without that job, she wouldn't have been able to afford to go to college.
She parked out in front of Tambry's house, and walked up to the door. Before she could even knock, Tambry swung the door open. She had stopped dying her hair, so it was now black instead of purple. She had also stopped wearing that thick, gaudy eyeliner. She still dressed in purple though, wearing a purple top with tight jeans. The two girls embraced.
"Oh my God Wendy, it's been way too long," said Tambry.
"I know!" said Wendy. "I wanted to come earlier, but school just ate up my life." "I know the feeling," said Tambry. "Community College is a lot harder than high school. Nobody reminds you to do anything."
"Yeah, it takes some getting used to," said Wendy.
"I see you ditched the hat," said Tambry.
"Yeah, it wasn't really my style," said Wendy.
"It's a good move. Those hats have been out for like two years now," said Tambry.
"You know me, I'm such a fashionista," said Wendy. "It's not like I wore nothing but flannel through high school." "Well that wasn't really your fault," said Tambry. "Your whole family did..." Wendy bit her lip, and Tambry blushed. She had forgotten about Wendy's delicate family situation. Desperate to move on, Tambry said," want some help with your stuff?" Wendy smiled gratefully.
"That would be awesome," said Wendy. Tambry helped her bring in her stuff, and set her up in her new room. After they finished, Wendy collapsed on her bed, while Tambry planted herself on a beanbag chair. "Thank God I have you as a friend," said Wendy. "It was super cool of you to let me crash here."
"It was no problem," said Tambry.
"Plus I never missed anything, since you texted me so much," said Wendy.
"That became a real issue," said Tambry. "I had to get a phone that could only send a limited amount of texts. Then I actually had to look up at the world." A smile spread across Tambry's face. "It's pretty awesome."
"It's not bad," said Wendy.
"But there is something I haven't told you yet," said Tambry. Wendy got out of the bed, and tied her hair back into a ponytail.
"What's up?" asked Wendy.
"You're not gonna believe this," said Tambry. She leaned forward, and looked around the room, as if for invisible intruders. "The Pine twins are back. They just rolled in a few hours ago." Wendy's eyes widened like saucers. Tambry raised her eyebrows. "You okay?" asked Tambry.
"The, the Pine twins?" asked Wendy. "Including Dipper?"
"They wouldn't be the twins without both of them," said Tambry.
"Jesus," whispered Wendy. "I didn't think I'd ever see him again."
"What's the big deal?" asked Tambry. "He's just some kid who used to have a crush on you." Wendy shook her head.
"No, it was a lot more then that," said Wendy.
"What, you actually started dating him?" asked Tambry. "He was twelve!"
"No, I obviously didn't date him," said Wendy. "But I, uh..." Wendy scratched the back of her head. Tambry's mouth dropped open.
"Are you freaking kidding me?" Tambry asked. Wendy shook her head.
"It was weird," said Wendy. "He had followed me around all summer, and he was there for me when Robbie wasn't. I know he was kind of young, but I felt sorry for him. So we did some stuff," said Wendy.
"Holy shit," said Tambry. "I had no idea."
"Well I didn't exactly run around publicizing it. If word got out that I was messing around with a middle schooler, I'd be a social outcast," said Wendy.
"At least he was a cool twelve year old," said Tambry. "All our friends liked him. Except Robbie."
"Oh please, don't remind me about that asshole," said Wendy. "Biggest waste of my life ever. I gave him about five chances too many."
"We all make mistakes," said Tambry.
"Like fooling around with a twelve year old," groaned Wendy. "It was so hard when he had to leave. I pretty much had to tell him it was just an over the summer thing, and it crushed him. I mean, I have never seen that much hurt on somebody's face. I was practically killing him. He still tried to call me for a while, but then he just stopped. The whole situation was super shitty." Wendy collapsed back on her bed, shaking the bed frame. "As if I didn't have enough awkward encounters to look forward to, now I have to look forward to that."
"Maybe don't let it be awkward?" said Tambry. "It has been five years. You're both older and wiser. Maybe he's forgiven you."
"I hope so," said Wendy. "He was a really good kid. A really good kid I made a huge mistake with."
"He probably doesn't think it was a mistake," said Tambry. "He may have had his heart broken, but I bet it was a good time." Wendy giggled sheepishly.
"It wasn't bad," Wendy admitted. "He was mature for his age."
"I'm going to refrain from asking what exactly you mean by that," said Tambry. "All right, let's get out of this hole. Wanna get some burgers?" Wendy looked down at her stomach.
"I probably shouldn't, but what the hell," she said. "Might as well celebrate my first day back at Gravity Falls."
"That's the spirit," said Tambry. She helped Wendy off the bed, and the redhead slung her shoulder around the compulsive texter.
"This is gonna be fun," said Wendy.
"Yup," said Tambry. The two walked out of the room, talking about calling some of their old high school buds. A light switch was flipped, and the room was shrouded in darkness. A few minutes passed, and there was a sound. The window was being jimmied open. It flew out, and somebody rolled into the room. It was a girl. She carried an ancient book in her hands. She walked over to Wendy's bed, and set the book down. She raised her arms, and spoke in a strange, terrible language. A flash of light filled the room, and all was quiet. The figure picked the book back up, and left out the open window, closing it behind her. No one would know she had been there.