4.
Dipper waited while Mabel and Wendy were chatting idly at the cash register. She rang them up and he could've sworn she only charged them for a couple of coffees. Then she came around the counter and scooped Mabel up into a bear hug.
"Let's hang soon, kay?" Mabel begged. The younger girl squeaked as she was squeezed, making both of them erupt in fits of giggles.
"DUH, dude. I got an apartment downtown. Come over whenever and we'll go thrifting!" Wendy said, beaming... From his place behind Mabel, Dipper couldn't help but smile as well. It was so like her to downplay the independence she treasured so much, and the apartment was something to be proud of.
"YES! Thrift shop! Thrift shop!" Mabel chanted, pumping her fist. Wendy laughed, ruffling the younger girl's hair affectionately. "Alright gang, I'll go grab the Stanmobile. Be ready out front or you're swimming home!" Mabel spun Stan's keychain around her finger once for effect before grabbing her umbrella and ducking out into the storm.
Dipper could have killed her then. She had left them alone on purpose.
Well, not exactly alone. The cook was still there, and even though the college kids had long since finished their food, they were still hanging around. He looked down at his shoes, still soaking wet-
"Dipper..."
He looked up and into Wendy's eyes for the first time that night. Her smile was only skin deep and it made his hands curl into fists in his coat pockets. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears that he had put there.
"W-Wendy, I-"
Then in the middle of the dinner with all these people around, she stepped forward and gathered him into a fierce embrace and he couldn't even remember what he was just going to say... probably something stupid. Probably something trite in an attempt to pretend that nothing had happened. Whatever it had been was long gone at the sensation of her body against his. Even the regret waned, ever so slightly.
His hands came out of his pockets and around her body, pulling her even tighter. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and whispered something just loud enough for him to make out over the steady cacophony of rain hitting the roof of the diner.
God, I missed you.
Outside Greasy's now, Dipper sighed and listened to the storm, a roar that blocked out every sound but the pounding of his heart. He gave himself over to the memories of last summer. Sitting in Wendy's bedroom, sharing the rare experience of her mother's record collection, nights watching terrible horror movies… Mostly, the other stuff.
It was then that Mabel pulled up in the Stanmobile. She tapped the horn once and he hurried to throw their bags in the back before sliding in beside her, careful not to get too much mud on the floor of the old Caddy. He buckled himself in and they began the drive to the Mystery Shack at a snail's pace.
The car was silent.
Mabel usually enjoyed the radio when she drove, but tonight it remained untouched. Moments went by with her leaning over the steering wheel peering intensely through the windshield as the wipers just barely did their job.
"Are you gonna continue your story?" She asked suddenly. Dipper had anticipated this. Mabel wasn't one to let something like this alone. Still, it was difficult to begin again.
"Yeah, last summer, Wendy and I…" He stopped short. His entire body flushed hotly as the memory of her embrace in the diner forced its way through again. "We sort of had a thing." He finally blurted, for lack of a better way of putting it.
"Did you guys kiss?" Mabel asked. Her voice had that barely restrained giddiness that was just so Mabel that Dipper had to sigh.
"Well yeah, but—"
"Dipper that's so AWESOME! Wendy's your dream girl! Way to go my man, makin' it happen!" She exclaimed, taking a hand off the steering wheel to go in for a high five. Dipper stared at it blankly. "Bro-bro do not leave me hanging here!" He groaned and gave her hand an uninspired tap with his own.
"Thanks, I guess." He murmured, then turned away to look out the window- anywhere else. The oppressive silence was back.
"Sooooooo..." Mabel began again, "Are you guys like, dating now? Like boyfriend, girlfriend?"
Dipper turned back and regarded his sister's excitement, not sure how much he should say. In the end, he settled for the easiest answer: "No." He watched as Mabel's expression morphed with each passing street light. The orange glow of the arc-sodiums painted her troubled features in odd shadows.
"Okay, but if you guys FINALLY smooched then why are you so unhappy?" She asked, her voice was laced with concern.
"You're going to be mad."
"Try me."
Dipper sighed. "Okay then. Wendy and I... That did happen last summer."
"Right, after you and Pacifica broke up."
Dipper sighed and shook his head, his bangs getting damp from the window's condensation. Here it was. "Nope."
The car slowed to a halt. Mabel put the gearshift into park and turned to him, her arms folded. He really needed that hole now... Being trapped in a stationary car with his sister's level stare was not the way he wanted to spend the evening.
"Seriously? Pacifica obviously doesn't know, otherwise she would have told me... Jesus, Dipper she's like one of my best friends! How could you be so stupid? What does Wendy have to say about it?" Mabel ranted.
Each valid point felt like a punch in the gut, "I KNOW." Dipper cut in defensively before she keep going. The same brown eyes he had were staring back at him wide with anger, and he could do nothing more than turn away to stare out the window into the inky night. "I don't need a lecture." He muttered sullenly. Mabel rolled her eyes and turned to look out the front windshield. No cars were out driving this night, so being parked in the middle of the road wasn't that big a deal.
It took a minute to collect herself. "Look, I'm sorry if I jumped down your throat but I have to be mad for my friend. That doesn't mean I don't care. Everyone goofs." Mabel laughed softly and shifted into drive again, "Who knows how many times I've screwed things up?" She glanced over, then at the road. The typically dark circles under her brother's eyes looked worse in the shadows of the Stanmobile, especially paired with his wrinkled brow and hunched shoulders. A wave of guilt rolled over her and she sighed, "I'm sorry... I just hate seeing you this way!"
After a long moment, Dipper sighed. "I know… Sorry Mabel. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, too. I just didn't know how to bring it up."
"Don't apologize to me, the one you should be apologizing to is Pacifica." Mabel retorted. Again, she hit the nail on the head, "Will you tell me the rest?" Her fingers tightened around the steering wheel as they hugged the curve past Gleeful's Auto Sales. The permanent sale banners around the car lot tossed in the fierce wind.
"I don't know. It's a long story." Dipper laughed hollowly, still looking out the window. Lightning flashed and he caught a glimpse of the billboard for the Mystery Shack. It wasn't a very long way at all.
"For my dear brother, I've got the time in the world." Mabel sighed, flexing her fingers on the steering wheel. They pulled onto the long driveway that led to their Grunkles' home. "We can have a sleepover and you can tell me everything."
Wendy watched as the Caddy pulled out of the parking lot. The red taillights disappeared into the night and she felt a tightness in her throat that promised eventual tears.
"You ok?" Joe, the night cook came to her side, gently resting a large hand on her shoulder. She turned to look up at him and he grimaced at the way her green eyes glittered. Worse was the wavering smile she wore- it was full of regret.
"Yeah—got any cigarettes?"
Wendy pulled the oversized flannel tighter over her waitress' uniform as she dodged under an awning around the back wall of Greasy's. Gravity Falls was oddly cold for the time of year. She fumbled for the lighter in her pocket and sparked the cigarette she held in her trembling lips. Once it was lit, she was plunged into the darkness sandwiched between the diner and the forest's edge again. The thunder rolled overhead and she shivered, her thoughts racing.
She'd seen him out in the storm. That split second glimpse of his face bathed in the cold flash of lightning was all it had taken to undo a year of mental preparation.
He was wearing one of those dorky plastic rain ponchos
Wendy choked out a laugh that sounded more like a sob as she breathed a plume of smoke out into the dark. Even as their eyes met, she knew that all that time apart hadn't mattered one bit. She couldn't help but think back to how it all began...