"The sun's going down," muttered Dipper. He, Mabel, and Wendy were sitting on the front porch of the Mystery Shack. The rest of the day had passed uneventfully. Dipper had rooted through the local papers, and had found several disturbing stories. Children disappearing, a man dead without any visible wounds. Stuff right out of horror movies. "Is Soos locked up?" he asked.
"I took care of it," said Mabel.
"I can't believe Soos is a werewolf," said Wendy.
"I can't believe any of this," said Mabel. "It's just so hard to accept."
"I know," said Dipper. "It's like one of those dreams that feels super real. Weird things are happening, but you just take it in stride. The strange and terrible seems normal."
"I this is a dream, then I kinda wish I'd wake up," said Wendy. She looked at Dipper, and smiled. "I'd miss you though. It's been fun hanging out again, even under the strange circumstances." Dipper blushed. He pulled out a notepad, and scribbled something down on it.
"We leave for patrol in an hour," Dipper said. "I have everything we need in the car. Wish we had some silver, it seems like a lot of monsters are weak to it."
"Maybe I have some silver earrings," said Wendy. "I'd have to go check."
"That'd be great," said Dipper. "We'll do that tomorrow. For now, all we do is wait." The three sat in silence, staring off into the distance. Mabel suddenly stood up.
"I can't take it!" she said. "This is too much stress." She opened the door to the Shack, and stood at the threshold. "I'm gonna go do... something." She entered the Shack, and closed the door behind her. Dipper and Wendy were alone. Wendy put her arms around her chest.
"Are you cold?" asked Dipper.
"A little," said Wendy.
"I could go get a jacket," said Dipper. Wendy scooched closer to Dipper. She put her head on his chest. Dipper got the hint. He put an arm around her, and pulled her close.
"That's better," said Wendy. Dipper became very aware of his heart. It was beating rapidly in his chest, pumping furiously. His breath picked up, and he felt his stomach flutter. All these years, and she still made him feel like this. Dipper's other girlfriends had never made him feel like Wendy did. He just couldn't explain it. There was just something about her that really got to him. He realized he was staring at Wendy, and quickly looked away. "What's a matter?" she asked.
"Nothing," said Dipper.
"That beard looks good on you, you know" said Wendy. "When you were smaller, I knew you'd grow up to be handsome." Dipper looked back at her. She was beaming at him. "I'm glad I wasn't wrong." Dipper felt an incredibly strong primal urge rumble inside him. He wanted to take her right there. He didn't care who was watching, or what had happened in the past. He took a breath, and calmed himself down.
"Thanks," he said. He wanted to say more, but before he could Wendy's smile faltered.
"Is this right?" she asked.
"What do you mean?" asked Dipper.
"I'm just thinking about what happened last time," said Wendy. "I really hurt you. And this is all going pretty fast. I'm afraid I'm going to do it again."
"You didn't hurt me," said Dipper. "When I think back on what we did, it makes me happy. I'm glad I was with you that summer."
"But I took advantage of you," said Wendy.
"No you didn't," said Dipper. "If I hadn't wanted it, then maybe. But I really, really wanted to be with you." Wendy sighed.
"Why do you have to be so awesome?" said Wendy. Dipper chuckled.
"I could ask you the same thing," said Dipper. The two looked into each others eyes. They leaned in. Dipper could see all of Wendy's freckles, could see the dimple on the top of her nose. He smelled her breath (minty, she had been chewing gum,) and could hear her quick, shallow breathing. Wendy put a hand on Dipper's cheek. She ran it down his beard, and caught his chin. She pulled him in, and they closed their eyes. The kisses were slow at first, exploratory. Dipper put his other arm around Wendy, pulled her so they were entwined. The kisses got faster and deeper, each losing themselves in the moment. Dipper began to lose all conscious thought. Everything was Wendy. Every thought, every action, all of it was about her. Dipper felt a breeze blow the hat off his head. He pushed Wendy back gently. She slowly opened her eyes. She seemed a little dazed. Dipper did his best not to laugh. "Had to come up for air," he said. He reached behind him, found his cap, and put it back on.
"You're really good at this," said Wendy.
"Guess everyone has their talents," said Dipper. He scratched the back of his head. "So, are you sure you're cool with this? If you're at all uncomfortable, we can-"
"Shut up," said Wendy. She pulled him into another kiss, and they faded back into each other. Inside, Mabel was pacing back and forth. Waddles followed her, oinking inquisitively.
"Oh Waddles," Mabel said. She picked the pig up, and held it like a baby. "What I wouldn't pay to be you. To live the stressless life of a pig." A strange memory came to her. "Oh my God," said Mabel. "I was you for a little while. No wonder I hate that freaking carpet!" She put Waddles back down, and collapsed on the sofa. "Isn't there anything in this town that isn't crazy!?" She sat straight up. "My first kiss was with a mermaid." She reached down, and picked Waddles up. She shook him. "My first freaking kiss was with a freaking mermaid!" Waddles oinked irritably. Mabel stopped shaking him, and put him back down. "Sorry buddy. I'm going a little crazy right now."
"I know the feeling," said Robbie. Mabel looked behind her. Robbie was carrying a large box. "Things around here are getting a little tense."
"Oh, you heard me talking?" said Mabel. "The whole mermaid thing was just a joke."
"What mermaid thing?" asked Robbie.
"Uh, never mind," said Mabel. "Wait, you know what's happening around here?"
"Of course I do!" said Robbie. He set the box down, and brushed some sweat off his brow. "Everyone does."
"Really?" asked Mabel.
"Yeah," sighed Robbie. "Stan's money problems have been public news for a while now."
"Money problems?" said Mabel. "I thought we were talking about monster-" She paused. "... monster roaches! Big, ugly things. Just running around town." She chuckled nervously. "But what kind of problems is he having?"
"He's struggling just to keep the shack open," said Robbie. "Business is drying up. Gravity Falls has stopped encouraging tourism. They're focusing on expanding industry, so less and less people have been coming by." Robbie shook his head. "Stan had to take money out his retirement fund last week. It really sucks."
"That's terrible!" said Mabel.
"Yeah," said Robbie. "There's a good chance we're going to have to close down the shack." He lowered his head. "I don't know what I'm going to do without this place." Mabel stood up, and walked over to Robbie. She put a hand on his shoulder.
"You'll do fine," she said. "You don't need the shack to be successful. You can do anything you want to do." Robbie scoffed.
"Come on Mabel," he said. "No one wants to hire a high school dropout."
"You'd be surprised," Mabel said. "Lots of people believe in second chances." She looked into Robbie's eyes. "I know I do." They stared at each other for a second. Mabel snapped to her senses, and backed up a few paces. "I should let you finish up," she said. "I'm sure you don't want to hang around here."
"Right," said Robbie. He picked the box back up, and began to walk away. Before he left the room, he stopped. "Thank you Mabel," he said. He walked away, and Mabel sat back down on the couch. She felt funny. Not ha-ha funny, more buzzy in the head and belly funny. She was the first to admit that she fell in love way to quick. But normally it was a lusty kind of thing. She would have a few make out sessions with the guy, and then the feelings would leave and they'd break up. But this feeling was different. When she thought of Robbie, she didn't just want to kiss him. She wanted him to hold her, to talk to him for hours. It was a deeper feeling. More than a crush.
"This isn't good," said Mabel. "I'm fighting monsters, dealing with my last summer vacation ever..." She looked towards the hall where Robbie had walked away. "And now I'm falling in love." She shook her head. "Why couldn't it have just been monsters. Monsters I can handle. But this..." She collapsed on the couch, letting her body sink into it. "Well, at least he isn't a mermaid."