"Yeah, it's me," said Wendy. Wendy approached Dipper, a smile on her face. "I figured you might be around town. Tambry told me that you and Mabel came up."
"Soos said you were off at college," said Dipper.
"I just finished," said Wendy. "Sort of. I have to go to a university, but I figured I'd come down here for the summer. Say hi to all my friends, that sort of thing," said Wendy.
"Same here," said Dipper. "Me and Mabel are going to Dartmouth, so this is kind of our last summer vacation."
"Dartmouth? Wow, that's cool," said Wendy.
"Thanks," said Dipper. The two stood there awkwardly, Wendy digging at the ground with her foot, Dipper twiddling his thumbs.
"Listen-" they both said at the same time.
"You first," offered Dipper.
"Thanks," said Wendy. "Look, you don't have to hang out with me if you don't want to. I know you're probably still a little upset about what happened that summer. I mean, I was kind of hoping we could be friends. But I understand if you want me to keep my distance."
"What do you mean?" asked Dipper. "What did we-" the memories came flooding back. Wendy's second breakup with Robbie. Comforting her on top of the shack roof, hugging her close. His heart beating out of his chest. Dipper never though he'd be that close. And then, out of nowhere, Wendy took Dipper's head in her hands. She pulled his face towards hers. Her face was streaked with tears.
"Do you love me?" she whispered. Dipper couldn't answer. He thought for sure that his heart would explode, and that his life would end. He wasn't sure it was real. Maybe it was some sort of illusion, some sort of trick. But then she kissed him. His first kiss had that awkwardness that all of them do. He wasn't sure what to do, but Wendy had guided him. They sat up there for an hour, Dipper fulfilling his deepest wish. Afterwords, he had stumbled downstairs. He collapsed in his bed, too overwhelmed to do anything but sleep. The memory faded out, and Dipper snapped back to the present. Wendy stared at him, waiting for a response.
"Oh. Oh, right," said Dipper. "Well, I guess what happened happened. Nothing we can do to change that," said Dipper. Wendy frowned. "Not that I would want to!" said Dipper. "I'm glad we did that. It's a nice memory," said Dipper.
"For me too," said Wendy. She began to blush, and Dipper felt something in his heart soar.
"I don't want you to stay away," said Dipper. "That would be silly. We used to have a really good time together. No reason we can't still do that."
"Yeah, we did used to have fun," said Wendy. "Remember that time we all went to that abandoned grocery store?"
"Oh yeah!" said Dipper. "And Mabel ate all that candy dip? Oh man, it was like she was tripping. She kept talking about candy dogs and three headed flying dolphins."
"Oh my God, I forgot about that!" laughed Wendy. She stopped suddenly, as if something were bugging her. "Did... did something weird happen at that place?"
"What do you mean?" asked Dipper.
"I don't know. I feel like something strange happened," said Wendy. She shrugged. "It's weird. Sometimes I have trouble recalling certain things that happened in my childhood. I guess everyone does, but it bugs the hell out of me."
"Same here!" said Dipper. "I know exactly what you mean! It's like right on the tip of your mental tongue, but you just can't remember."
"I talked to some of my friends about it, and they all have the same thing," mused Wendy. "Must be one of those things."
"Yeah," said Dipper. "Hey, maybe the shop was full of ghosts, and our minds are just blocking out the horrors we had to endure." The two laughed at that.
"Right, right. And I bet you had to dress up as a lamb and do a stupid dance to appease the ghosts," laughed Wendy,
"That must have been what happened," giggled Dipper.
"See, I miss this," said Wendy. "You're a cool little dude."
"Not so little anymore," said Dipper. "Have you seen the beard?"
"Yeah, it's not to shabby," said Wendy. "Weird that it's a different color then your head hair."
"My Dad has the same thing," said Dipper.
"You hungry?" asked Wendy.
"Not really, I just had breakfast," said Dipper.
"Oh. I figured since you had pulled into here, you wanted something to eat," said Wendy. Dipper looked at the restaurant, Smokey Toes. He couldn't imagine telling Wendy the truth. That he had a weird hallucination, and had a panic attack.
"No, I was just pulling over for a second," said Dipper.
"Gotcha. Well, do you maybe want to go fishing then?" asked Wendy.
"Sure. You got a ride?" asked Dipper.
"No I've been walking around town," said Wendy. "But I'll take one if you're offering."
"Yeah, get in," said Dipper. The two clamored into the car, and Dipper started towards the lake. He reached for the stereo, but remembered what had happened last time he turned it on. He retracted his hand, and decided to spend the car ride talking to Wendy.