Twelve-year-old Dipper Pines lumbered through the forest, the usual look of happiness and determination replaced by sadness and despair. He kicked loose dirt and pebbles as he walked, desperately trying to erase the memory of a horrible moment that happened a mere twenty minutes ago.

"Who would buy Grunkle Stan bobbleheads?" the brunette tween asked himself. Apparently, someone did, and they needed to be replaced. Unfortunately, as Mabel had pointed out, Dipper was too short to reach the shelf, so Wendy had to do it. Dipper grabbed a box of bobbleheads from the attic and went to go give it to Wendy.

He repositioned his sweaty hands so the box wouldn't slip. "Hmm, I'll compliment her hair." Dipper smiled at his plan. A small part of his heart still believed he could get with Wendy, and he clung to it as if he was over quicksand. "One day, Dipper, one day." He rounded the corner and entered the store part of the Shack, and his eyes widened in disbelief at the scene in front of him.

Wendy was making out with Robbie.

The two were so concentrated on each other that they didn't notice the small boy dropping his bobbleheads and sprinting away.

Dipper had ran as fast as he could into the forest, not caring if anybody noticed. The part of his heart that still had hope was now broken. The thought of "one day" seemed to far-fetched now. Tears streamed across his face as he realized the truth; he didn't really have a chance with Wendy. Even with clones and time travel, he failed. And something always got into his way, whether it be ghosts or pigs or sentient candy.

Out of breath, he sat down on a log and buried his face into his hands. His heavy breathing returned to normal rates, and he wiped the tears away from his eyes. Calmed down, he dared to look up and study the forest. Its peacefulness and serenity washed over him like a wave. Dipper relaxed a bit and layed back, because he knew he wasn't moving his spot.

That's when he heard the scream.

The piercing noise thundered in his ear, and its source was abruptly cut off. Dipper instantly came to alert, and scanned the area to look for the area it came from. Another high-pitched cry for help cut across the forest again. Dipper stood back up and ran toward its origin.

Dipper heard it again, and noted it sounded familiar some how. He came to the top of a ridge which overlooked a small dip in the forest. He peered down, and sighed when he saw the familiar pointy red hats and blue overalls of the gnomes. "They must have captured another girl," he whispered to himself. He looked around the gnome camp, and saw several gnomes fighting a short girl with a green shirt and black hair and glasses. His eyes widened.

"That's Mabel's friend, Candy!" Dipper saw the girl trying to escape her captors. She let out another shriek, but a gnome placed his hands over her mouth. Two more jumped on her back and pulled her to the ground. Jeff stood on a large rock and issued orders.

"Good job, guys, just like we practiced." Dipper smirked when he saw Jeff still had a bruise from where Dipper kicked him during the incident with the fake unicorn. He frowned again when he realized that Candy was pinned to the ground. "That's it! Hey, Steve, get her left leg!"

Dipper slid down the slope, grabbing his hat to keep it from falling off. He angrily approached Jeff and grabbed him by the beard. "What's going on?" the gnome yelled. Dipper threw Jeff to the ground. "Ow! Watch it, Dipper, you already bruised half of my body!"

"Let her go!" Dipper commanded. The gnomes temporarily stopped, allowing Candy some freedom. Jeff desperately waved his arms at them. Getting the message, they jumped back on her. Jeff turned to face Dipper.

"Look, Dipper. I know you may be mad at us for attempting to marry-"

"Kidnap!" Dipper interrupted.

"Marry, kidnap, whatever. Anyway, we moved on." He pointed to Candy, who was still struggling to get free of the ropes tried around her. "Doesn't she look happy?"

"What? No!" Jeff ignored him, and went back to commanding the gnomes. Dipper thought of a way to get Candy out of this. He smiled smugly when an idea came to him. "Hey, Jeff, you can't marry her without a wedding ring."

Jeff turned around, confused. "What?"

"Mabel never returned your wedding ring," Dipper explained. Jeff nervously turned to face the other gnomes.

"Um, guys, we, um, kind of forget the wedding ring."

One of the larger gnomes pointed at another. "It was Steve's fault!"

"Don't blame Steve-" Jeff was interuppted when Dipper launched a kick. His foot connected right into Jeff's back, sending him flying. He smashed into a tree. He tried to stand up, but immediantly fell again and layed there.

While the gnomes were busy gasping, Dipper freed Candy. He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the camp, up the ledge, and through the forest. A gnome noticed the queen-to-be was gone. "Uh, guys, should we form another gnome monster thingy?

Steve shoved him. "We can't without orders. And it wasn't my fault!

Dipper and Candy didn't stop until they were back at the Mystery Shack. The two simply panted for a few moments, then turned to face each other. Candy adjusted her glasses and nervously smiled. "Thanks for saving me," she said in her accent.

Dipper shrugged. "It was nothing, really."

Candy rubbed the back of her neck, then took a deep breath. "Hey, G-Grenda's dad owns a pizza shop, and I was wondering...do you want to go with m-me there some day?"

Dipper stared with amazement. Did Candy just ask him out? He paused to think about his answer. Wendy, for the forseeable future, was untouchable. And, maybe, it was time for something different. He took in her sweet scent of peppermint.

Dipper, cheeks red, smiled. "Sure."

A/N: I love to ship Dipper and Candy, for some reason I can't explain. Several new chapters are coming soon!

By the way, these stories all have a continuity, so there may be a few references to previous chapters (mainly the first one).