Soos put his hand up to stop her.

"Hold up dude, let's rewind and really think about things, okay?"

"Okay." Wendy felt pretty hopeless.

"Cary is your best friend, right?"

"Right."

"And you've known them for most of your life, right?"

"Yeah."

"I need you to ask yourself if these feelings are new and if these feelings are real."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you have a crush on Cary or do you have a crush on Cary's new haircut?"

Wendy fell silent, considering Soos's questions, and Soos went back to fixing the golf cart while Wendy reflected. They were all fair points, Wendy had to consider her feelings and how they differed from the feelings that she'd had before.

She'd been in a lot of relationships with boys, following any and every whim and ending things when she was no longer happy. Every time one of those relationships ended she told herself that guys were overrated and that dating didn't have to be anything more than a bit of fun so she shouldn't overthink it.

She was overthinking it now.

"Cary's different than all the guys I've dated before."

"Well, yeah. But that doesn't answer my questions, Wendy."

"I… I don't know." Is it real? Is it real? Wendy felt like she was going to cry, which was not typical for her.

Soos softened, "You don't have to know everything right now. Relationships are hard, I know that. But if you have feelings for Cary you're going to have to figure those feelings out before you act on them."

Wendy's eyes widened in a panic, "What? I can't act on them. This is Gravity Falls, not Portland."

Soos shrugged, "So then why are you telling me?"

Wendy slumped into the driver's seat of the golf cart and groaned.

"Because my insides are mixed up and every time I look at them I feel like running away. They're my best friend! I can't live like that! I can't run away from them…"

"If you lived in Portland, would you ask Cary out?" Soos asked.

"I'd want to."

"But?" Soos prompted.

"But there are so many unknowns, Soos. What if Cary says no? What if I scare them off and they aren't my friend anymore? What if we do start dating and I end up hurting them? What if our families don't approve and pull us apart? And… What if it isn't real?"

"It's real," Soos said with a knowing smile.

"How do you know?"

"Because you care so much about Cary, and it's clear you have for a while.

"So what do I do?"

Soos shrugged, "You follow your heart. If you like them then you should tell them, but if you're not ready to do that now, then we could come up with a plan."

"We?"

"Yeah, I'll help you, dude. And I bet there are other people in your life who would help you, too."

"Thanks, Soos." Wendy went inside to finish her shift, trying to bury her feelings for now.

But she couldn't help sneaking glances whenever Cary was in the room, feeling her heartbeat quicken and her palms feel sweaty. Cary had told her that he was disappointed that he didn't have any magic outside of the dreams and the curse, but he had no idea what kind of power he had over Wendy.

So, Wendy decided to follow Soos' advice and ask for help.

"Hey, dad? Can I talk to you about something?"

Manly Dan developed a look of fear. His daughter was pretty independent, so if she needed to talk, something was probably wrong.

"Ah, don't worry so much," Wendy said quickly. "I just want some advice."

"From me?"

Wendy laughed a little, "Yeah, you're my dad. Can't I go to my dad for advice?"

"Of course you can!" He said quickly, sitting down on the couch and patting the spot next to him.

Wendy sat down next to her dad and took a deep breath, playing with the edge of the quilt that was draped over their couch. Her mom had made that quilt.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Manly Dan asked, trying to offer his daughter a comforting smile.

"I have a crush on someone, and it's different than all the crushes I've had before, it feels more real… And I was wondering if you had any relationship advice, about that kind of thing?"

"Oh, uh, sure." Now Manly Dan felt even more awkward. He hadn't been in a relationship since Wendy's mom had disappeared, so he didn't feel like the most qualified person to talk about this kind of thing.

"What exactly do you want to know, kiddo?"

"How do you know when you're in love?"

His little girl, in love? That was a lot to wrap his head around.

"I wish I could tell you that you just know, that you just feel it in your heart and then you're sure, but it's more complicated than that…"

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Wendy said with a sigh.

"Hey, it's okay. There's something about falling in love where everything and nothing makes sense. So if you feel like you don't know anything, that you're feelings are all out of whack and you don't know how to tell the person who means so much to you that they mean so much to you- that's love, Wendy. Love is feeling so lost and unsure that you don't know how you feel until you step back and realize that you've been in the forest the whole time."

"You lost me, dad."

"Ah, I'm mixing my metaphors. Love's confusing, even for an old timer like me. It's the old saying, you miss the forest for the trees. If you get so focused on every little thing you're feeling you won't stop and see that all those little feelings add up to love."

Wendy gawked at her dad. That was surprisingly profound.

"So I don't have to overanalyze every little thing?"

"No. Just try to put the pieces together until you can see the forest."

Wendy threw her arms around him.

"Thank you, dad."

"So when do I get to meet your new love?" Manly Dan asked, teasing a little.

Wendy laughed nervously, "I need to spend a little longer in the forest before I'm ready to make any moves."

Manly Dan laughed, "That's exactly how I was with your mom."

"Really?"

"It took me months to get up the nerve to talk to her."

"And then what happened?" Wendy asked. Her dad didn't talk about her mom that often so Wendy chose to cherish every opportunity she had to put the pieces of the past together.

"And then she asked me out. Completely blew my mind, I didn't know ladies could do that. I said yes, of course. The rest is, well, the rest is the rest. I'll tell you about it some other time." Manly Dan had that sad, wistful look on his face that appeared whenever he thought about his missing wife.

"Thanks for the advice, dad. I'm going to, uh, get ready for school tomorrow."

"Alright. I'm gonna fix dinner in a bit, I'll let you know when it's ready."

Wendy headed to her room and flopped down on the bed, notably not getting ready for school tomorrow. Cary still consumed so many of her thoughts but she felt better about her feelings. She didn't know if she felt ready to confess, but if her mom could do it, she could. She was a Corduroy, after all, and so she could take on anything, even new crushes on old friends.

But… That could wait a while. Until after dinner, at least.

I wasn't gonna do an all-Wendy chapter but then I made a comment at the end of the last chapter that some of the chapters might focus entirely on the other Team Pines members, so I thought this would be a good chapter to write, and I like it. I like Wendy being able to go to other people for help. It will be a handful of chapters before either of them actually confesses, though.

It's been a long few weeks so I forgot to check the comments for questions but I promise I will answer any questions next time so feel free to leave your comments and questions below.