Chapter XII: Meet Me in the Woods
Mabel was not having the greatest of weekends.
Considering just how bad her Friday had been, it was a bit of an understatement, but it was how Mabel had to think to keep herself somewhere in the realm of the positive, which is where she liked to stay.
Turns out, watching your brother almost die really puts a damper on things.
"What's wrong, hambone?" Soos asked as he dunked his pretzel into a cup of nacho cheese. "Ponytail guy still bothering ya?"
Mabel sighed, then shifted her gaze away to the teeming mass of teenager that was the Gravity Malls food court on the weekend. "It's not that," she mumbled morosely, "he's not bothering me anyway... I just don't want to talk to him."
Soos nodded sagely. "I don't get it, but I'll pretend like I do."
Mabel couldn't help but smile. "Thanks Soos." She finally pulled her hands out her lap and tore a bit off the pretzel that Soos had bought her. She chewed and swallowed it quickly, sadly finding that the salty goodness wasn't working its usual magic. Quickly, her smile faltered, and she sighed again. She wasn't going to be able to find Soos a date to his cousin Reggie's engagement party if she didn't pull herself together!
She wished Dipper had come with them.
"Oops!" Soos exclaimed as he dropped a cheese dunked hunk of pretzel, which promptly landed right on the front of his t-shirt. "Well, I guess it's a good thing I didn't dress up after all!" He shrugged. "I needed a new stain anyway."
Mabel chuckled, but knew she wasn't finding it quite as funny as she would on a good day. It was unlike her, and that just made her feel a bit worse. She ripped off another piece of her pretzel and chewed on it mournfully.
She'd already thrown Soos at three women, and all three attempts had been complete busts. Soos was a great guy, really, but his total inability at romance gave Dipper a run for his money. He made weird comments under pressure, talked about things he really shouldn't be talking about with girls he'd just met, and had an extraordinarily bad habit of laughing nervously that made him seem like a total creeper. She had her work cut out for her.
But she'd wanted to play matchmaker all Summer! She could do it!
Sure, all of her attempts at romance for her own sake had gone up in flames one way or another, but that didn't mean squat. She was the love master! Or at least that's what she told herself most days.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and for once she didn't even want to check it. It could be Candy or Grenda, she knew, but she had the distinct feeling that it was probably Gabe. He'd sent her several messages on Facebook since... everything had happened on Friday night.
She didn't know why he wasn't getting her message. She wasn't replying. That meant she didn't want to talk to him! That should be obvious, shouldn't it?
Mabel supposed it was karma. She'd teased Wendy about Robbie's lovelorn attempts at winning her back, and now the guy she'd wanted so bad was the last person she wanted to talk to.
Sighing, Mabel reached for her pretzel only to discover that there wasn't any of it left. She must've finished it on autopilot without even noticing.
Her eyes fell to Soos's plate, and found that he was done too. He was looking at her with a furrowed brow.
"... I still have like a whole month until Reggie's party," Soos said as he scratched his stubbly chin. "We can scrap this for today, if you want. Hit the shops, have a good time?"
"No, we're not giving up!" Mabel exclaimed as she pounded the wobbly food court table with a balled fist. "We're gonna get you a date even if it's the last thing I do!" She rose from her seat in a rush, and snatched up all the various bits of trash until it was a big pile of paper and plastic. "But first you have to go wash out that cheese."
Soos looked down at his freshest stain and frowned. "Eh, I think it's a little late for that, hambone. Besides, I thought you said I should be honest to girls about who I am!"
Drat. She had said that back when he was wondering if he should dress up for their mall trip.
"Well, that was then and this is now, alright Soos? Sometimes you gotta turn yourself down a couple of notches to get people used to you, and then you can turn it all the way back up to normal once you've got them trapped!" Mabel scooped up the trash and headed toward the nearest trash can with her chin held high. She threw it all away, then whirled around to face Gravity Falls' most eligible bachelor. "Chop chop, get to washing!"
Soos scurried off to the bathroom, leaving Mabel to ponder her next moves. Throwing herself into her task was the most surefire way to get her mood back on track, and getting her mood back on track would help with pretty much everything.
She scanned the crowded food court and the surrounding shops, looking for women that looked like they could be about Soos's age (which she was pretty sure was his early twenties). But too many of the women were either walking around with their families, or worse, their partners. Most of what was left looked to be teens, and she wasn't about to sic Soos on someone Wendy's age! That'd be totally creepy.
Just as she was about to give up, her gaze landed on a woman that she was pretty dang sure was an adult, and also didn't seem to be walking around with anyone. No ring that she could spy, either.
'Perfect.'
The woman was window shopping outside a clothes store close to the food court. She was about Wendy's height, but with shoulder length dyed blond hair, in an outfit that screamed 'put together but not too put together'. As much as she loved Soos, she knew he wouldn't be too enticing to a powerful career woman.
She thought about making a beeline to the woman, to stall her while Soos got himself washed up, but quickly nixed the idea. It might make Soos's job even harder!
Soos showed up a minute or so later, and, miraculously, the woman was still window shopping. Soos's shirt now had a suspicious damp spot where the cheese had been, but she supposed that was about as good as it was going to get.
"You sure this is gonna be okay?" Soos asked as he followed her gaze to the unsuspecting blonde woman. "I heard BeeblyBoop's has a limited edition t-shirt, and maybe they still have some left in my size!"
Mabel shook her head and pantomimed turning a volume knob down. "Remember, lower yourself a couple notches. That means no video game t-shirt! In fact, how about no video games at all? Be yourself! But no video games!"
She wasn't sure how that was going to pan out, and by the look on Soos's face, neither did he, but that was about as good as she could manage. Her stores of romantic inspiration were running dangerously low.
Soos's eyes flicked from the woman to Mabel several times. "Uhhhh, I'm not so sure about this, boss."
Mabel pat him on the shoulder, and forced her brightest smile. "C'mon Soos, what do you have to lose?"
Soos hesitated for a moment longer, before he nodded his head resolutely. "Alright. I'll do it. For my abuelita!"
With that, the Mystery Shack's repairman squared his shoulders and set off, a determined glint in his eye. Soos strode across the food court and to the woman who had finally had her fill of that particular shop's window, coming to a sudden stop in front of her just as she was about to start walking away. Mabel followed in his wake, but kept an appropriate distance so that it wouldn't look too suspicious.
Hiding behind one of the large potted plants that decorated the food court, Mabel held her breath in anticipation.
Soos just stood and stared for an incredibly awkward amount of time.
The woman shifted her weight from one foot to the other, clearly uncomfortable with the large strange man standing in her way. Mabel winced.
The seconds dragged on, until finally it was too much for the poor woman.
"Uh. Can I help you with something?" she asked warily.
Soos pulled at his collar. "Yeah!" He cleared his throat. "I mean, yes. I, uh, I couldn't help but notice you looking at all these clothes. I'm a big fan of clothes too!"
Jeez Louise.
The woman was clearly at a total loss, but Soos didn't give her time to cut in before he was continuing his attempt at romance. "I mean, I'm Soos! I work at the Mystery Shack." He gestured vaguely in the direction of the Shack. "I was, uh, wondering if you would like to go on a date? With me?"
Mabel watched from her hiding spot with bated breath as the woman's face slowly twisted into something close to a grimace. She knew what was coming next, but it didn't make it any easier to watch.
"Sorry, but I have a boyfriend," the woman responded in a completely flat tone, before abruptly turning on her heel and hurrying away in the exact opposite direction from where she'd been heading initially.
"No worries!" Soos called out lamely at the quickly retreating blonde, before he slumped over, crestfallen.
Knowing that it was now time for some Mabel-y positivity (that she was still dredging up from her innermost depths as best she could), Mabel stepped out from behind the potted plant and made her way over to a thoroughly dejected Soos.
"Hey, it's okay!" She said, with her best beaming smile that she didn't totally feel. "You gave it your best shot, and that's all people can really ask for, right?" Mabel patted him reassuringly, but Soos still had his eyes directed squarely at his feet.
"I dunno, I think I'm just not cut out for this," Soos said glumly. "Maybe I wasn't meant to have a date to Reggie's engagement party. Everyone's got a weird old uncle, like Mr. Pines. Maybe that's who I'm meant to be."
The thought of Soos ending up like Grunkle Stan was more than a little appalling, and certainly wasn't something she could just let happen. That meant more intervention, and, luckily, a thought came to her. "What's the hardest game you've ever played?"
"Battletoads," Soos said without a second thought, "on the NES."
"Well, did you beat it on the first try? Or the fourth?"
Sook shook his head, but seemed to brighten ever so slightly at the talk of video games. "Heck no, dude, Battletoads is brutal."
Mabel nodded along as her course of action solidified. "But you didn't give up, right? You just kept on trying even though it was ultra super hard?"
"No way I gave up!" Soos exclaimed, affronted. "I played those levels again and again and again until I beat it!" He chuckled. "I remember my abuelita getting mad that I was playing so much, heh heh."
With her cheeriest grin, she slapped Soos on the arm. "See! Dating is like Battletoads! You just gotta keep putting in coins and trying over and over until you succeed! It might seem impossible at first, but eventually you'll get there!"
Soos's brow was furrowed. "Well, the NES didn't have coins, but I think I catch your drift. I have to treat it like a game I'm getting better at, and have fun along the way, right?"
She slapped him on the arm again. "Yeah, sure, that too!"
"Okay, I got it," Soos said with a resolute nod. "Perseverance. Just like with the jet ski level!" He punched his fist into his palm and grunted. "Alright! I can do this. Just point this Soos at someone and fire!"
"That's the spirit!" Mabel said, beaming with pride. "Now let's go find you a new target."
Soos straightened his shoulders, ready for the challenge. "Lead the way, boss."
So Mabel found a new target, and Soos gave it his best shot.
Then they tried another one.
And another after that.
Then another.
Two hours later, and Mabel was starting to feel like the hopeless romantic in her was taking its last dying gasps. She'd met her match, and his name was Soos. No matter how many women she threw him at, he just kept right on putting his foot in his mouth. She didn't know how much more positivity she had left.
She'd already run out of video game metaphors, for crying out loud!
If there was one good thing about her afternoon at Gravity Malls, it was that watching Soos fail spectacularly made her feel slightly less bad about her own spectacular failures. Sometimes the world was simply unfair.
"I think this is harder than Battletoads," Soos mumbled.
"Yeah, you're probably right."
They were sitting on a bench on the second floor, taking a breather, when Soos shot up to his feet with alarm.
"Oh no! It's Reggie!" Soos cried, his eyes wide.
Mabel followed his gaze, and discovered, to her delight, that cousin Reggie looked creepily similar to Soos, except with all of the swagger that Soos decidedly lacked. He was bigger boned, just like Soos, and his face had the same general shape, but his hair was far longer and somewhat slicked back. His facial hair was more defined, and he had piercings in his ears. He looked like how Soos might have ended up if he never touched a video game in his life. He even had tattoos on his arms!
He was flexing for the dark haired woman beside him, who was gorgeous. She had a curvy figure, and her choice of a low cut top showed that she knew it. The gold earrings she wore were massive, but her admiration for the flexing Reggie was even moreso. She snapped a photo of his bulging bicep with her phone and giggled.
"That must be his fiancée," Soos said with a mixture of awe and envy, before the fear quickly returned to his voice. "He can't see me like this! We gotta get outta here!"
"Wait, wh–" Mabel didn't even get to finish her question before Soos grabbed her hand and took off running. Luckily, Soos wasn't a particularly good runner (while Mabel considered herself a stellar one), so she was able to easily keep pace despite his longer legs. They raced in the opposite direction of Reggie and his fiancee, dodging around slow moving packs of teenagers and kids in strollers with a surprising amount of dexterity, until they stopped beside the one shop that she'd been trying to have Soos avoid.
BeeblyBoop's video game shop.
"He won't find us in here!" Soos yelped, "C'mon!"
He pulled Mabel inside before she could stop him, and it was like entering a whole new world.
A world filled with nerd things.
(Once again, she wished Dipper had come with them.)
Shelves full of video game cases lined the walls. Racks of t-shirts with video game logos and goofy catchphrases dotted the floor of the shop, and several of the shelves boasted statues and figures of video game characters that she was sure Soos (and Dipper) recognized. What little free space on the walls there was had posters taped up. There was even a life size standee of some cute video game girl!
Soos found a shelf that no one was browsing, and slumped to the ground in front of it.
Following suit, Mabel sat beside him criss-cross applesauce as she caught her breath. It was a lot quieter in the shop, even though there was a television mounted in the corner playing trailers. She looked aside at her, and saw that he was just staring off into the distance blankly.
She nudged him gently with her elbow. "Hey, you okay Soos?"
He sighed, his shoulders slumping even further. "...did you see her? My cousin's fiancee?"
"Yeah," Mabel answered quietly, "she was really pretty."
Soos bobbed his head sadly. "He can get a girl like that, and I can't even talk to one, dude." He sighed again, even more mournfully than the last time. "Reggie's always been cooler than me, ever since we were little. He got all the good stats when God made his character sheet, and I got the scraps."
It hurt to see Soos so down, but could she really blame him after an afternoon of getting shot down again and again? That'd tear just about anyone down, no matter how thick their skin was.
Mabel put a hopefully comforting hand on his shoulder. "Okay, maybe you didn't get any points in charisma, but you got plenty of points in other stats..." Dipper's nerdy wizard game was still fresh in her brain from last night, but she'd had a hard time keeping track of what stat did what, so she improvised. "...like jokeability! No one laughs at a joke like you do, Soos. You make everyone feel welcome, no matter how terrible their sense of humor is. And you're reliable too! You never miss a day at the Shack, and you're always there for me 'n Dipper."
Soos looked up at her, the hints of a smile beginning to bloom.
"I'd never have been able to have a whole rock opera ready in five days if I didn't have you helping us out and driving me to the store and setting stuff up and all that. You're awesome Soos."
Soos's smile widened, and he scratched at his chin bashfully. "Thanks Mabel, that really means a lot coming from someone as awesome as you."
Mabel squeezed his shoulder before picking herself up off the ground and dusting off the back of her skirt. "I think that's enough dating attempts for one day. Why don't we take a look around?"
Soos stood up as well, his mood noticeably brighter. "Yeah, let's do that. There's always cool stuff at Beeblyboop's!" He chuckled. "Maybe that should be their slogan."
They wandered the shop aimlessly, browsing the shelves and the racks for anything particularly interesting or worth sharing. Mabel, not being the biggest fan of video games (not that she necessarily hated them), found herself gravitating toward the t-shirts and other bits of apparel the shop happened to sell. Some of the shirts actually had some pretty cute logos or mascots, not that she had any idea who any of them were.
Sadly, they really didn't seem to sell anything in her size. She knew could always just buy a bigger shirt and then modify it herself, but she hadn't brought enough cash to buy any of the overpriced stuff they sold here. So, she'd have to come back sometime if she really wanted to do that.
That, or use Grunkle Stan's favorite strategy, the good old fashioned five finger discount.
Mabel shook off the thought of stealing as quickly as it came to her. She'd promised Grunkle Stan she'd avoid getting into any more trouble, and while she knew that this wasn't the sort of thing he meant, it was better to avoid letting that ball get rolling too soon.
She doubted he'd appreciate her getting busted for shoplifting so soon after Dipper got hurt, in any case.
Eventually, she had her fill of browsing the shop's wares, and migrated toward the counter hoping that Soos would catch her hint quickly enough. Sure enough, Soos found his way up to the counter as well not long after.
"Ready to go, hambone?" Soos asked with a tip of his chin toward the exit.
"Yeah, I'm feeling like I could use another trip to the food court," she said, her stomach helpfully grumbling on cue to illustrate her point.
Soos chuckled. "Say no more!"
But as he turned around to leave, he walked right into a cardboard box that had been sitting unnoticed near the counter. He only barely managed to catch himself on the counter before he tumbled to the ground. "Ooh, that was a close one," Soos said as he scratched the back of his head.
The clerk, who had up till then been busily staring at her smartphone, finally made herself known with a nervous laugh. "Sorry about that! Kept meaning to move it, but it totally slipped my mind."
"You're good dude, no worries!" Soos replied quickly, before his eyes fell back down to the box he'd nearly tripped over. "What is all this?"
The clerk, who was a young woman with long blonde hair and bright green eyes behind a pair of thick rimmed glasses, recovered from her embarrassment even more quickly, and shifted into business mode. "Oh, that? It's a bunch of stuff that people traded in that we've had a hard time selling. It's all on sale if you wanna take a look."
Soos's eyes lit up at the prospect of a deal. "Don't mind if I do!" he said as he knelt down to sift through the box full of heavily discounted games and other merchandise.
As he eagerly dug through it, Mabel couldn't help but appreciate the fact that there was a girl working at BeeblyBoop's, rather than some guy like Soos or Dipper. That was roughly the same moment that her matchmaker sense began to tingle.
Soos liked videogames, and this girl worked at a videogame store! Was there a better possible match?
As quickly as the thought came to her though, she was already deciding against it. This girl was rather pretty, and Soos had already faced a ton of disappointment today. The clerk probably got hit on by every new nerd that walked in, and she just wouldn't see Soos for the treasure he was.
Soos was right. He still had a month until his cousin's party, and they'd have plenty of time to work on his dating skills.
After tossing aside half the box, something finally caught Soos's attention. He held it up so that he could get a better look at it, and she could see his lips moving slightly as he read it.
"What is it?" Mabel asked, curious.
Soos showed her the cover, and she immediately knew why it had caught his attention. It had one of those cutesy pink haired Japanese schoolgirls with huge eyes on the cover. "Romance Academy 7!" He read out loud for her benefit, "Virtually improve your dating skills. Nine out of ten basement dwellers recommend!" His wide smile faded momentarily. "Wow, that's pretty judgmental, don't you think?" He flipped the game case over a few times, humming as he did so. "...but maybe it's what I need..."
The girl behind the counter coughed. "Uh, I'm not sure you want to buy that game, sir. This is the third time someone's brought it back, and there's a note on it that says 'destroy at all costs.'"
Soos's brow furrowed as he flipped the game back around. "Oh. I thought that was just part of the marketing." He turned to Mabel. "What do you think?"
Mabel bit her lip.
Maybe it was because of everything that happened with Bill, or maybe it was because of her promise to avoid trouble, but she really didn't like the sound of that note. Gravity Falls was filled with so much weird stuff. Haunted convenience stores. Monsters. Rugs that made you switch bodies. Extradimensional beings. It was too much.
If Soos ended up getting hurt like Dipper, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to forgive herself. She was having a hard enough time with that already.
"I dunno Soos, I think it sounds a little... creepy."
Looking down at the game, Soos's expression wavered between uncertainty and disappointment. After a few moments of suspense, he nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right dude."
As he made to set it down in the box though, the clerk cleared her throat again. "Could you hand it here then? I think I might just keep it behind the counter until I can talk to my boss."
Somewhat reluctantly, Soos handed the game over to the blonde clerk, who took it with a grateful smile and stashed it somewhere they couldn't see. Her task done, she smiled even more brightly. "So, could I interest either of you in a pre-order? Or a BeeblyBoop membership?"
Mabel shook her head. "No thanks! We were about to leave anyway, right Soos?" She grabbed his arm and began to pull him out of the shop before he could get roped into anything that would keep them in the shop any longer than they'd already been there. "Bye, thank you!"
"I'm already a member!" Soos called as they exited the shop. Once they were outside, he scanned the nearby mall-goers, then pretended to wipe sweat from his brow. "Well, at least Reggie's gone." He breathed a sigh of relief. "So, food court! What were ya thinkin'?"
She'd almost forgotten her hunger! "Uh... What's that new place? The one with all the meats?"
Soos's eyes widened. "That's Meat Cute! It's the way of the future dude!"
Eager to be away from that game (it gave her the heebie jeebies!), Mabel nodded excitedly. "After you!"
They set off, leaving Beeblyboop's, and whatever was up with that weird game, thankfully in the dust.
In the end, she failed to live up to her dreams as a matchmaker, but Meat Cute didn't end up being half bad!
Paper plates, stained with pizza grease, sat forgotten on her bed. Several empty cans of Pitt Cola were stashed atop her wardrobe on either side of her tv.
It was a miracle that her dad had bothered to pick up pizzas for everyone after he'd already torched so many steaks for lunch, but it wasn't something she was going to complain about. It wasn't something Dipper had complained about either.
As the credits to 'Silver Bullets' began to roll, Wendy found that she didn't have much at all to complain about.
Turning to face the boy beside her, she squeezed his hand with hers. "So, what'd ya think?" she asked, knowing plenty well that Dipper liked to flex his cinematic muscle.
Dipper quirked an eyebrow and hummed. "By itself? Or compared to Plan 9?"
Wendy chuckled as she nudged him with her shoulder. "Be real dude, this one was like, a million times better than Plan 9. The werewolf costume wasn't half bad!"
Dipper waved a hand dismissively. "Oh sure, it was way better than Plan 9, but I thought the whole point of tonight was bad movies! And Plan 9 is so bad that it's the clear winner for me." He grinned. "You just can't beat a dinner plate on a string."
"But it was so boring," Wendy whined theatrically. "I was practically falling asleep by the end of it."
Dipper's grin only widened. "It takes a certain genius to make something so bad, don't you think?"
She rolled her eyes playfully. "Remind me to keep you away from your camera from now on, I don't even wanna know what horrors you've been making with it."
Feigning offense, Dipper clutched at his chest with his bad arm dramatically. "That hurts, Corduroy," he said with a seriousness that almost had her fooled, until his flat expression broke and he devolved into laughter.
She joined in on the laughter, and, leaning against him lightly, she could almost forget the events of Friday night. If it weren't for Dipper's cast, she almost could've thought all that had been a bad dream.
But it wasn't. It had happened. And because of it, she was here. With her hand in Dipper's, and his laughter ringing in her ears.
As their laughter subsided, Wendy found her eyes closing. She let herself enjoy the feeling of closeness, of comfortable quiet between the two of them. Of his fingers interlocked with hers. It had been too long since she didn't feel like crap, and she wanted to relish it for the time she could.
Slowly, her eyes opened to find Dipper staring at her with a bit of a weird look on his face. It wasn't the same lovestruck stare it used to be, and Wendy wasn't totally sure how she felt about that. "What?" she asked with a playful nudge of her shoulder against his.
Oh wait, false alarm, it was back. He looked away quickly, and his cheeks burned red. "Nothing," he said with a nervous chuckle.
But she wasn't going to let him slink away!
Leaning in even closer, Wendy all but demanded his attention. "Come on," she drawled with a grin, "spill it!" Then, more softly, but still with a distinct note of teasing, "What's going on in that big ole brain of yours?"
His eyes slowly, painfully, made their way back to hers, but the blush remained just as fierce. "I just..." He opened and closed his mouth several times like a goldfish. "...I guess I never really thought I'd be here, like this." His hand squeezed hers as he said it, and he looked away again.
The vulnerability in his tone made her heart hurt. For once, he really looked his age.
It was only fair that he felt that way, considering she'd definitely never expected it either.
"Well, does it measure up?" she asked, her voice soft.
Dipper was quiet for a long moment.
"...it's pretty good."
She snorted a very unladylike snort. "Pretty good?" She retorted with a strong dose of affront, any softness forgotten. "That's it?" But before he could defend his choice of words, she pulled him back onto the bed with her, and he yelped in surprise. Laughing, she continued, "I should march over to my dad right now and rat you out! I go and rent these movies and this is how you repay me!"
Dipper's eyes widened, a mix of panic and amusement flashing in his eyes. "You wouldn't," he said, with only the slightest hint of uncertainty in his voice.
"Wanna try me?" she replied teasingly, sticking out her tongue.
"No..." he said, chuckling as the blush returned to his cheeks.
She knew he wanted to say more, but couldn't quite find the words. She squeezed his hand in a way that she hoped was reassuring. A moment later, he squeezed hers back.
"I'm sorry," he said, after another pause, "I just– I mean–" His eyes darted around nervously, before he screwed them shut. "–I've never really had a girlfriend... I'm sure you guessed that."
It definitely didn't take a rocket scientist to come to that conclusion. He'd never even been to a real party before she dragged him to Sandra's. That didn't exactly speak to a robust social life.
–When she was his age, she'd already had a boyfriend. It hadn't lasted long. A month or two, maybe. She tried hard to forget her more embarrassing moments, and that whole relationship had been one big embarrassing moment.
She didn't want this to be anything like that for him.
Mistaking her quiet for something else, Dipper yanked his hand away from hers. "I'm sorry," he apologized in a nervous rush, "I– I didn't mean to assume anything."
Before he could retreat away, she reached out and grabbed his hand again. "Don't apologize, dork," she admonished lightly. Rubbing circles on his wrist, she could feel the speed of his pulse, and her own heartbeat was picking up its pace in return. "...Is that what you want? ...To be my boyfriend?"
It was just a label. Just a formality. She knew that it didn't really matter, and they were already doing things that couples did anyway. He liked her, and she liked him too. That was what mattered.
And yet, saying it out loud transported her right back to seventh grade, to the anxieties and uncertainties she'd done her best to leave behind. To the time when she was the girl who'd gotten a bit too tall a bit too quickly, and was as eager for affection as she was afraid of rejection.
Looking into Dipper's dark brown eyes, she could see those same feelings in them. She could feel it in his pulse.
The vulnerability was plain on his face as he chewed on his lip, but she gave him all the time he needed. She wouldn't force anything. Wouldn't rush anything. She'd give him all of the courtesies that she never got.
Finally, his pulse steadied, and his gaze became firm.
"Yeah," he said quietly, his cheeks burning red, "I want to be your boyfriend."
She felt her own cheeks warm at that, but smiled right through it. "Okay then," she murmured, "you're my boyfriend."
Dipper's hand pressed hers, and she could see that it was a struggle for him to get his next words out. "And–" he took a deep breath, "–you're my girlfriend?"
With him looking at her like that, if she'd had any doubts about what she was doing she wasn't sure she'd have even been able to voice them.
But she didn't have room for those right now. She'd made her choice on Friday, and she was going to stick by it.
Though, that didn't mean she couldn't tease him.
"Duh," she said with a grin, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You can't be my boyfriend if I'm not your girlfriend."
With a heaving breath of relief, Dipper broke into a wide smile of his own, and he visibly relaxed. "I'm glad," he said thickly, "I just– I needed to make sure. That's all."
It occurred to her that they were still lying on her bed, and it was a pretty good moment to kiss.
She must've read his mind, because she saw his eyes flick to her lips briefly.
It would be oh so easy to lean her neck forward. To close the gap. To feel his lips against hers. She'd done it already, with and without alcohol, but in the end that was precisely the reason she held herself back.
She was the one who'd made things complicated, who'd pushed them from 'just friends' into something more vague. And then took them from that vagueness into something real.
Wendy wanted to leave this kiss to him.
It would be their first one without anything blurring the lines. No booze clouding their brains. No near death experience hanging over their heads. Nothing but the two of them.
Seconds stretched. Eyes glanced at lips. His grip tightened on hers… and just as he was beginning to move–
–the sound of footsteps in the hallway jolted both of them out of the moment, and the chance to re-cross that line passed in a flash. They separated quickly, sitting up on the edge of the bed just like they'd been during the movie.
She barely had time to school her expression by the time a single swift knock sounded. Predictably, they didn't wait for a response before the door swung open.
Somewhat surprisingly, it was Marcus. He held a pizza box in his hands, and even through his thick bangs she could see him looking at the used plates they'd deposited around her television.
"You guys want anymore of this?" He asked bluntly. "If not, I'm finishing it."
She glanced aside at Dipper, who, in his drive to look normal, seemed to have forgotten how to speak. He shook his head, and she looked back to her brother with a smirk. "Nah, we're good. Go ahead and finish it."
She hadn't been able to stomach any of the scorched steaks her dad had made for their weirdly late lunch (he must've noticed they were going bad), but she'd had plenty of pizza tonight. Hell, they'd had some Thursday at the Shack too, so she was officially a little pizza-d out.
"Suit yourself," Marcus said with a shrug, before turning around and heading for his bedroom. He left her door wide open, and she couldn't help but note that he was very good about closing his door.
Wendy pulled herself to her feet and closed the door gently.
Dipper was fidgeting as she sat back down beside him. She knew the tween brain well enough to know that any chance that he was going to kiss her right now was pretty much gone. Which meant there was no use letting him stew.
"So," she drawled as she took his hand, "when's your uncle expecting you back? Is Soos picking you up?"
Dipper's eyes widened. "I... I don't think I actually gave Grunkle Stan a specific time. Soos said he could pick me up if I wanted, but..." He blushed again, and suddenly found the floor especially interesting. "I guess I just kinda had other things on my mind."
"Oh, really?" She asked, making sure to maximize the sarcasm.
Dipper laughed despite his blush. "I should probably check in. Mabel might get suspicious if I don't." Then, after a second. "Uh, could I get my good hand back for a second? I can't get my phone out of my pocket with my cast."
Wendy couldn't help but chuckle at the request, but duly let go of his hand. "It's your hand, dude."
Dipper had to reach across with his right arm to fish his phone out of his left pocket. "I have no idea why I put it in my left pocket," he grumbled with a blush that intensified with every second he struggled.
As soon as he managed to pull it out, he was checking his messages. She didn't love it herself when people hung over her shoulder as she texted, so she gave him his privacy as he fired off a few texts quickly enough that it'd probably make Tambry proud.
It didn't take long for her to hear the telltale buzz of a response.
"Mabel says Grunkle Stan's gonna head over in about thirty minutes," he said, a note of disappointment clear in his voice. He sent a quick reply, and then stuffed his phone into his right pocket this time.
As soon as his hand was free, she took it back. "Then that means we still have a bit of time to kill, doesn't it?" She gestured toward her window with a tip of her chin. "Wanna go for a walk? Just for fun?"
After all, just because she wasn't going to make the moves herself, didn't mean she couldn't give him ample opportunity.
Dipper didn't look like he expected that in the slightest, but after a second's thought, he shrugged. "Why not?" he asked, chuckling. "We're all done with the movies anyway."
They rose to their feet together, but Wendy had to let go of his hand to get her boots on. She'd be a little chilly in what she was wearing now that it was dark, but hey, that's what boyfriends were for wasn't it?
In retrospect, she was glad he wasn't wearing his hat. It would've been a little more annoying to try to get him to leave it behind without giving the game away. It was a lot easier to kiss without it
Once her boots were on, she grinned. "Well, ready to go?"
Dipper nodded, and she led him out of her room. He trailed behind her, obviously careful to keep a certain distance between them. It was simultaneously very adorable and a little sad, but it was what they had to do to keep everything a secret.
As they passed through the kitchen, Wendy was relieved to note the lack of her father at the kitchen table, and she was doubly relieved when he wasn't in the living room either. Though... that did leave the possibility that he'd gone outside for some reason.
The television in the living room was still blaring, and whatever movie that was playing was no less action-y and explosion filled than the last one she'd seen when she'd checked in on her younger brothers when the pizza delivery guy showed up.
Kevin was being his usual self and taking up way too much room on the couch just because he could. Though, by now, it seemed like he'd felt the tiniest twinge of guilt and provided a bit of room for Gus, because Gus was now perched on the edge of the seat at the end of the couch furthest from the television.
Normally, Kevin would spend as much of his Sunday playing videogames as he could, but she hadn't seen even a bit of the family PlayStation today. Must've been too lazy to move it from the bedroom to the living room television.
"Hey!" she barked, so that they could hear her over the movie's latest explosion. "Where's dad?
Kevin made an annoying noise that would make Robbie proud. "He said he was going to the store, maybe you would've heard him if you weren't so focused on your dumb movies."
Wendy rolled her eyes. "We're gonna go get some fresh air. If he asks where we are when he gets back, we're outside."
Kevin didn't dignify that with a response, so Gus did it for him. "Okay, we'll let him know," he said with a nod.
She didn't like her movies being interrupted, so she gave them the same respect that they (especially Kevin) rarely gave her, and gestured to Dipper to follow her out of the house and leave her brothers to watch their crappy action movie. Dipper offered a limp wave that Gus returned enthusiastically, to a snort from Kevin.
Once outside, the chill of the night air surprised her, and instantly made her regret her decision to not grab a jacket. Shrugging it off (she'd handled worse, after all), she turned to Dipper, whose brows were furrowed.
"Has he always been such a..."
"Douche?" Wendy supplied.
Dipper's mouth twitched as he suppressed a chuckle. "I was going to say jerk, but yeah, that too."
"He wasn't so bad until he hit the sixth grade, but now he acts like he's got something to prove." She snorted and flicked her hair out of her eyes. "He'll grow out of it eventually, hopefully."
"Like you did?" Dipper asked with a smirk, clearly not having forgotten that photo she'd shown him from when she had braces.
She laughed. "Yeah, just like me."
Leaving the porch where they'd first kissed behind them, Wendy led him across her family's 'yard' and toward the tree-line. They walked side by side, the crunch of gravel beneath their feet mingling with the soft breeze that rustled the leaves of the surrounding forest. As soon as they'd passed into the forest proper, she felt his fingers tentatively brush hers. She interlocked her fingers with his without a word from either of them.
If she didn't know the forest around her house like the back of her hand, it might've been a bit too dark for a walk, but, hand in hand, it wasn't too hard for her to guide him past familiar obstacles.
"Watch your step," she told him as they approached the spot where she knew a thick root liked to catch unfamiliar feet by surprise.
"Thanks," Dipper mumbled as he took an extra large step to clear it without issue. "Are we going anywhere in particular?"
Wendy grinned, though she wasn't sure he could see it too well in the dark, "What, we can't just enjoy each other's company?" she teased.
He immediately began to sputter. "What? No– I–"
–Wendy silenced him with a squeeze of his hand. "Just teasing, Dipper, take it easy." She squeezed his hand again, and bumped into his shoulder. "Growing up, whenever I had too much of my brothers, I'd just come out here." She shrugged into him. "Yeah, there's some spots I like, but that's not really the point. I just wanted to get away from it all. To be by myself."
Dipper was quiet for a moment. "Did it help?"
"Sometimes, yeah, but sometimes it didn't. That's life I guess."
Dipper hummed, and they fell into another comfortable silence as they walked deeper into the woods. Gradually, her eyes adjusted to the dark, and she could make out more and more of the boy beside her.
He was looking at the ground, mostly, taking his steps quickly yet carefully as he tried to keep pace with her. Realizing that she was walking a little too fast, she slowed down without drawing any attention to it. She knew damn well how boys got about that sorta thing.
She caught him looking aside at her, and she couldn't help but smile.
(It was a little startling to think that it had only been a week since the first time they'd held hands.)
"I don't think I ever thanked you for walking me home," she said with a bump of her arm against his shoulder, "so thank you."
Dipper's foot caught on a root, but he managed to right himself before he added another injury to his list. After he steadied himself, he coughed. "It... it was no big deal. I just didn't think it'd be safe for you to drive. And I didn't want either of us to get in any trouble."
Well, she did end up getting an earful from her dad when he finally caught her between her shifts at work and all the puppet show preparation, but Dipper didn't need to know that right now.
"Well, thank you Dipper. Not every guy treats a drunk girl like you did." And she knew that from experience.
The moonlight filtering through the trees was just enough for her to be able to see his cheeks darken. A part of her wanted to stop and kiss him right then and there.
Instead, she kept walking.
"We're just about there," she said, after another lull in conversation.
"I thought you said we were just enjoying each other's company?" He replied, his voice thick with feigned suspicion.
She tugged on his hand playfully. "Hey, I never said I wasn't taking you somewhere specific."
He made a noise. "That's a technicality and you know it."
"Yeah yeah, whatever dude," Wendy said, laughing him off.
It didn't even take another minute for them to find it. Past the tree with a bent trunk and to the right of the big rock that kinda looked like a rabbit, and they were there.
It wasn't the most scenic of glades. Definitely not the sort of clearing you'd see Bambi's mom get shot in, but it was about as good as she was ever able to find within walking distance of her house. The grass was patchy, and the crickets were ridiculously noisy here, but the moonlight lent the place an almost... ghostly glow that made all the difference. She'd found it back in the fourth grade, and ever since then, it had been one of her favorites.
"It's pretty shabby," she said quietly, "but it's mine."
It was Dipper's turn to take the lead, as he pulled her into the clearing without a word. He looked around, taking in the sights as they walked. When they reached the center of the clearing, Dipper let go of her hand so that he could whirl around and see it all.
He brought his fingers to his chin in his best impression of a detective. "I think 'shabby' is a little harsh."
Wendy couldn't help but laugh as she took a seat on the soft grass. "Eh, you know what they say about being your own worst critic and all that." Leaning back a little, she patted the grass beside her.
"Well, I think it's pretty damn nice," Dipper said as he sat on the spot she'd indicated. He leaned back like she was (though with a bit of difficulty due to his cast), but then looked straight up. "You've got a pretty good view of the stars, too. Wish I had a place like this back in Piedmont, but all we have is a little park near my house, and it's just not the same, y'know?"
Wendy looked up at the stars too. She'd never been one to look for answers in the sky, but it could be rather pretty, she supposed. "Is that what you'd do whenever you had enough of Mabel? Go to the park?"
Dipper shook his head and snorted. "When my mom let me go anywhere without Mabel, yeah. Which was never."
Dipper didn't bring up his parents much, she realized. "Was your mom super protective?"
"My mom's paranoid. Thought we'd get kidnapped if we went anywhere by ourselves." He snorted again, even more derisively. "She didn't even let us walk home from school until we were in sixth grade, and we lived like two blocks from the school!"
Wendy quirked an eyebrow. "Really? Jeez. I think I was walking home from school in like... second grade."
Dipper chuckled breathlessly. "...When my dad said he wanted to send us to Gravity Falls for the summer, she was totally against it. I remember hoping she'd be able to get my dad to change his mind, because I thought it was going to suck here." His gaze fell from the sky to meet Wendy's. "I'm glad she couldn't."
In the soft glow of moonlight, Wendy could finally begin to understand why she'd kissed him that night. When it was just the two of them, the way he looked at her made her feel like she was the only other person in the whole world, and that it was all for her.
She knew Dipper wasn't innocent. He was a boy, after all.
But it made her feel special. It let her forget her insecurities.
God, she wanted to kiss him.
Placing her hand on top of his, she leaned slightly closer to him. "Me too."
Dipper's gaze flicked from their hands to Wendy's face.
The moment hung in the air. Apart from the crickets, only the sounds of their breathing broke the silence.
The whirlwind behind his eyes was palpable: his lips parted, then closed. He looked from her lips to her eyes, and then back. His fingers jittered beneath hers.
'Just kiss me', she wanted to say.
In the end, she didn't have to.
Dipper leaned over, and, for a heartbeat, she thought he was going to kiss her on the cheek, but his lips found their way to hers a heartbeat later, and pressed softly, carefully against them. HIs hand squeezed hers, and she leaned further into the kiss.
This was where someone else would try to slip some tongue, or cop a feel, yet Dipper didn't. He didn't know any better. His hands stayed right where they'd started, and his eyes closed, like this was all he could ever want. It was simple, and sweet. The kind of kiss she'd forgotten all about.
Perhaps… the kind of kiss she'd never really had.
Wendy brought her free hand to his cheek, caressing him lightly to the drumbeat of her heart.
She only realized she'd closed her eyes when he finally drew away. Her hand fell back to her side, and she opened her eyes slowly.
The flush on his cheeks was so dark that it made her heart ache. Of course, that didn't mean she could resist the opportunity to tease.
"Hmm," she said, as if pondering what to order at McDonalds. "Pretty good."
For a split second, she saw Dipper's life flash before his eyes, but realization hit him just as quickly, and he broke into a grin. "Very funny."
Wendy punched his shoulder. "Doesn't feel so good, does it?" She teased with a grin of her own, before a thought occurred to her. She tried to squash it, since it really wasn't any of her business, but as they fell into a satisfied silence, she found that she couldn't quite shake it. "...Can I ask you something?"
He stared at her, completely deadpan. "Wendy, I'm pretty sure you could ask me anything."
"Well, It's only polite to ask first!" she replied, buying herself a few seconds to think of a half decent way to phrase her question. It was a silly question to even ask, considering what he'd just told her not even a full hour ago. She was his first girlfriend, it only made sense if everything else went along with that.
Though she knew all too well how easy it was to do the things boyfriends and girlfriends did without ever making it official.
Shivering, she rubbed her hands together to generate a bit of warmth, while Dipper sat waiting for the question she'd teased. She could see the beginnings of anxiety bleeding into his expression, and that's when she knew she was out of time to think of delicate phrasing.
"So," she began, trying to sound as casual as she could, "after Sandra's party, when I kissed you–" she squirmed in spite of herself,"–was that your first kiss?" Was I your first kiss, she meant, but it just felt a bit easier to phrase it differently.
Blushing so fiercely it was obvious even in the dark, Dipper looked away and coughed. "...I guess that sorta depends?"
That quickly banished any thoughts of guilt over prying into his business. That wasn't how people reacted if there wasn't something fun there! She grinned. "Details, now." Dipper blanched, and Wendy elbowed him lightly with a softer smile. "If you want to, I mean."
Dipper shook his head in a rush. "No, no, I'll tell you." He chuckled nervously. "I just said you could ask me anything, and I'm a man of my word." He scratched the back of his head with his injured hand as his eyes studiously avoided hers, and now it was her turn to wait for some delicate phrasing. When he finally found the right words, they weren't at all what she expected. "...Do you remember when we worked at the pool?"
Her reply was instant. "Of course!" That had been a hell of a week, literally and metaphorically. The heat wave had scared away customers from the Shack so badly that it'd been Mr. Pines who told her about the job opening at the pool. It'd been a fun time, especially after Dipper got hired on as an assistant. "God, I had to put on so much sunscreen, you have no idea."
Dipper chuckled briefly, but then shifted awkwardly.
"Wait..." she said as the gears began to turn in her head. "...Don't tell me you were out there smooching on babes whenever I wasn't looking!" Her smile was so wide it hurt a little, but the thought of it was incredible! Dipper the Lady Killer! "And I thought I was special," she teased.
Dipper shook his head so vigorously she wouldn't have been surprised if he hurt himself. "No! Nothing like that." He let out a ragged breath and closed his eyes tightly. "Alright," he ground out, finally meeting her gaze again after a short pause, "remember that guy Mabel was into?"
She was a little bit sad to find out that Dipper wasn't a secret playboy after all, but now she had no idea where this was going. "Kinda? She really chews through them. Refresh my memory."
"Had long hair," Dipper held his good hand beside his shoulder, and then indicated toward his upper lip," and a really crappy mustache."
Oh wait, that definitely stirred something in her brain. "Spent like, the whole day in the pool?"
"Yeah, that was him." He sighed. "His name was Mermando. It's kind of a long story, but he was a mermaid, and Mabel needed my help to get him outta there so he could go back home." He chuckled even more breathlessly. "That's why I stole the cart and got fired."
She'd always wondered why exactly he'd trashed the place, but she'd gotten fired at pretty much the same time and so never ended up figuring out why. She was so used to the craziness in Gravity Falls by now that the fact that there'd been a mermaid in the pool she'd been in charge of for a week barely even registered to her.
"Okay, Mermando. You had to rescue a merman. Got it. So, what? His sister kissed you as thanks for rescuing him?" First kiss from a mermaid wouldn't be too bad! Nothing to be ashamed about.
Dipper covered his face with his good hand. "We'd gotten him most of the way, but he fell out of the cooler we had him in, and he was starting to... drown I guess. He needed water." Even his ears were dark now. "And since I'd just had those CPR lessons at the pool... I... kinda... had to give him mouth to mouth."
Wendy gasped. The scandal! No wonder he was blushing so bad!
"I don't really consider it my first kiss," he continued, shrugging with obvious embarrassment. "I definitely liked the kiss with you a lot more."
Wendy scooted in closer, and leaned her head against his. "Well, I'm fine with you considering me your first kiss." She grabbed hold of his good hand, half to steal his warmth and half to show him she meant it. "It feels kinda good to think about like that, if I'm being honest."
(She'd never been anyone's first anything, and that was something she'd always liked to think never bothered her.)
Dipper's smile finally returned in earnest, though his blush was no less bright.
And since she'd made him tell her something very embarrassing for the vast majority of boys, it was only fair that she cheered him up with something that she knew the vast majority of boys definitely liked.
"Wanna know a secret?" She asked, careful to keep her tone playful.
Dipper's eyebrows shot up, his obvious interest clashing cutely with the remains of his embarrassment. "I mean, sure. If you wanna tell me."
"At the end of the school year, me and Tambry went shopping. I didn't have a job yet, so Tambry basically paid for everything." It was pretty embarrassing at the time, but Tambry didn't like taking 'no' for an answer. "And since she was paying, she got me this really cute bikini."
His eyes were already saucers, and she wasn't even done yet!
"I thought about wearing it to the pool, but Mr. Poolcheck was pretty strict about the dress code, at least for girls. I almost wore it anyway, but I guess I chickened out...since it showed a little bit too much skin." She could feel Dipper's pulse quickening to an extreme, which meant it was time for the knockout blow. She leaned in even closer, bringing her mouth close to his ear. "I could show it to you sometime, if you want," she whispered.
Dipper's breath hitched audibly, whatever was left of his embarrassment forgotten as a completely different kind of embarrassment painted itself on his face. "I– uhh–" he stammered, his voice cracking repeatedly during his flustered attempt at a response, "I guess– I mean–"
But before he could explode, she was pulling herself to her feet, and him with her. She laughed mischievously, and changed the topic as quickly as she'd brought it up. "I think it's about time we head back! For all we know Stan's been waiting for you."
Dipper, still visibly on fire, offered an incredibly stilted nod. "Yeah– You're probably right." He gulped, and gestured to the surroundings with his cast. "I– thanks for showing me this place. It's really nice."
Wendy's grin was 100% Grade A. "No problem dude, we can come back next time we want some peace and quiet." Then, she pulled him closer, ignoring the heat on her own cheeks. "Now get close to me, I'm freezing."
The walk home ended up going a lot more quickly than the walk to her spot had, and that was despite the fact that they were practically tripping over each other with their closeness. But she really was cold, and guys always had plenty of heat to spare.
Dipper was quiet the whole way back, but Wendy had no one to blame but herself for that, so she didn't really mind. He'd get better at all this, it just took a bit of practice.
They heard the familiar rumble of the Stanmobile before they saw it, and that's how she knew when to stop him. They were just before the clearing that her house sat in, and still totally out of sight of anyone that might be sitting in an old car waiting for a boy to show up.
"Alright, one last thing," she said as she turned to face her boyfriend. It was darker here than it had been in her spot, but she still had enough light to do what she had in mind. "It's been a bit since I've given you a teenager lesson, so here's another one." She smirked. "You ready?"
Dipper's eyebrow quirked, but he managed to keep a straight face, his blush finally having faded at some point along the way back. "I'm ready." Then after a beat. "Oh wise master Wendy."
"Good," she replied with a laugh, before putting her hands on his shoulders so she could orient him the way she wanted to. She turned him slightly so that they were facing each other straight on. "Dates like this should always end with a hug. Especially if it's a good one." She smiled, and hoped he could see how genuine it felt. "I think it was a good one, don't you?"
For a moment, Dipper was at a loss for words. Then, he nodded. "Yeah, I had fun."
She didn't even have to tell him what to do next. His arms found their way around her waist without any further tutoring, though his cast made it a bit harder to fully encircle her the way she was expecting. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and pulled him the rest of the way into an embrace. With their bodies pressed against each other, the cast wasn't quite so uncomfortable against her back.
This close, the cold wasn't so bad. And the forest didn't feel so dark either.
"You're a quick learner," she murmured as she pressed her cheek against the top of his head. She'd never hugged a boy this much shorter than her like this before. It'd take a little while to get used to, but she didn't mind it.
"I had the best grades in my year," Dipper replied, his voice muffled against her shoulder.
"Wow, nerd," she retorted, as she brought one of her hands up to run through his messy hair. "Showing off your grades to a C student, real mean."
Dipper chuckled, the sound vibrating pleasantly against her chest. "If it's any consolation, there was actually a girl ahead of me."
Swaying side to side in their embrace, Wendy knew she was going to have a hard time letting go. Which just meant she had to enjoy it as best as she could. "Only second place?" she made a vague disappointed noise that she didn't mean in the slightest, and was rewarded with another comforting rumble from Dipper. "You can move your hands, by the way. They don't have to be frozen like that." She rubbed a circle into his back to illustrate her point.
"Oh, okay," Dipper said, as he began to rub her lower back in a slow, cautious movement. "Sorry," he added.
The fact that his hands didn't migrate south for the winter wasn't really surprising by now. Part of her wanted to tell him she wouldn't mind if they did... but how much of that was because she was so used to her relationships moving quickly, she couldn't say.
In the end, she kept that genie in the bottle. She'd promised herself she'd let him set the pace, and she'd keep to that.
But like all good things, it must come to an end.
"Alright," she said, smirking as she finally pulled away, keeping her arms around his shoulders, "I think we've kept Stan waiting long enough, and I don't want him docking my pay because of all the time he wasted."
Dipper followed her lead and kept his hands on her waist. He clearly didn't want to fully separate any more than she did, and if the glances toward her mouth were any indication, there was something else he wanted too.
"I can kiss you, right?"
Laughing, she decided that actions spoke louder than words, and pressed her lips to his. The look of surprise on his face melted in an instant as he closed his eyes. She ran a hand through his hair once again, relishing the way his hands felt on her waist, scratchy cast be damned.
When they parted, his blush wasn't quite so bad as it had been the last time they kissed.
"As long as it's just me and you, we can kiss as much as you want," she said softly. Then, with a note of mischief, she added, "it's how you end a good date anyway."
Dipper frowned. "I thought you said you end a good date with a hug?"
Finally letting go of him fully, she elbowed him. "Well, yeah, but then you end the hug with a kiss. I thought that was obvious Mr. 'Second Place in his school year'!"
"It's called a clarifying question," Dipper grumbled. Then, after taking a deep breath, he smiled wistfully. "I guess... I'll see you tomorrow at the Mystery Shack?"
Wendy grinned back at him. "Maybe I'll even be on time."
Dipper laughed, but sobered quickly. "Goodnight, Wendy."
"Goodnight, Dipper."
They finally left the confines of the woods, and both of their hands were right in their proper place. No handholding, no waist gripping, no final hugs or lingering looks. It was bittersweet, to have to hide everything like this. But it was that, or nothing at all.
The gravel crunched beneath their feet as they walked the rest of the way to where the Stanmobile sat waiting for its final occupant. Stan was at the wheel, and even from a distance she could see the flurry of movement in the shotgun seat that could only be Mabel.
When Stan caught sight of them in his mirrors, he lowered the driver's side window and poked his head out.
"Jeez, you guys get lost in there?"
Wendy shook her head with practiced nonchalance. "Nah, I was just showing him the scenic route back."
Dipper smirked at that, but schooled his expression as quickly as it'd appeared. "Yeah, and I almost tripped like a thousand times," he grumbled as he opened the door and fell into the backseat like a sack of bricks.
Mabel poked her head around her great uncle and waved. "Hi Wendy! Bye Wendy!"
Wendy waved back with a laugh, then jammed her hands into her pockets to preserve whatever warmth she could.
"9 AM sharp, Corduroy!" Stan barked as he rolled his window back up.
Wendy could only shake her head as her boss backed his car out in a rush. She watched the Stanmobile careen down the crappy road that her dad refused to let the city pave, waving one final time as it disappeared from sight. In the dark, she had no idea if Dipper even saw it, but it felt like the right thing to do to her.
Feeling the chill now more than ever, she walked briskly up to her porch, taking the steps two at a time in her haste to get inside.
As she closed the front door behind her and heard the familiar drone of whatever it was Kevin and Gus were watching, she finally remembered the argument she'd had with her friends the day before... and how she'd meant to talk about it with Dipper.
Well, at least she'd see him tomorrow. There was no rush to get to the bottom of whatever that mystery was anyway, especially since he was still recovering from the last one.
On some level, she was happy she'd forgotten to bring it up.
A girl like her could still get some butterflies in her stomach after all.