Mountains

Chapter One

"Come on, Dipper! We gotta get there before the sun sets!"

Dipper looked up from his journal to where Wendy was packing up the golf cart. She smiled at him before literally throwing the tent in the back. "You got all your stuff?" she added.

"Yeah," Dipper replied, stuffing the journal into his bag. He hastily threw his backpack on his shoulders before running over to where the redhead was getting the keys. He tossed his sleeping bag and pack into the back before hopping into the passenger seat.

"See you in two days!" Mabel shouted from the Stanley Mobile. Grunkle Stan just grunted a polite "see ya" while Dipper's sister waved frantically. The small detective watched as they drove away, leaving dust in their trail.

The silence was broken as Wendy tapped his shoulder while getting into the driver's seat. "You might run into them at the campsite," she mused, putting on her seatbelt.

"Hopefully not," Dipper replied, grinning. As the two pulled out of the Mystery Shack driveway, the goat let out a loud complaint at them leaving. The boy reminded himself that Soos was staying behind, and would provide enough food to all the animals in the area while they were off camping.

When they were about halfway there, Dipper began to ponder what exactly had happened in the hours that had preceded that moment. It had seemed like such a blur at the time, but now that he was feeling rather bored, he could recall everything in almost haunting detail.

At around seven in the morning, Mabel had taken a running jump onto Dipper's bed, ending his peaceful rest and putting him in a seemingly infinite bad mood. Upon seeing his glare, Mabel shouted at the top of her lungs that Stan was taking them camping with Grenda and Candy.

Dipper hadn't even acknowledged the information at first. Brain dead from lack of sleep, he had stumbled into the kitchen and started pouring a hearty amount of orange juice into his cereal. Grunkle Stan had then waltzed in, eager to catch the morning rush of tourists, and confirmed that Dipper was apparently going to be camping with three pre-teen girls for two days. In the middle of the woods. With no adult besides Grunkle Stan, but he didn't really count in Dipper's eyes.

Dipper had choked down his delicious orangy cereal before going to work in the shop. He could tell immediately upon arriving in the shack that he wasn't the only one who was extremely tired. Wendy was actually asleep at the counter, snoring away and drooling on the cash register, while Soos was staring out the window in an almost unconscious way.

He barely made it through the morning. Stan came in again at lunch break, and Dipper immediately confronted him. Even around five hours later, Dipper could still remember the slight argument perfectly.

"Why do I have to go camping with them?" Dipper had moaned, absentminded poking a sandwich in the general direction of his mouth.

"Because I already reserved the campsite. Or campsites, rather. They had this deal where you could get two campsites instead of one for the same price, so I did it," Stan replied.

"What are we even going to do with an extra campsite?"

"If any bears attack, we'll tie them up there until we leave," Stan reasoned, smirking. He pulled off his eyepatch and started counting the change in the cash register.

"Couldn't I just camp in the other campsite?" Dipper asked hopefully.

"Sorry, kid. The other campsite's like a mile from the one we're staying at. You'd need someone older to stay with you."

Dipper pouted and stared at the floor. Grunkle Stan looked down at him. "Kid, I'd let you stay there alone, but I don't want to get in trouble with the park ranger like I did a few years ago after I tried smuggling a rare rabbit out."

The young detective didn't look up. Soos looked at him in slight sympathy, but Grunkle Stan growled, "Leave him. He'll be ok."

"Hey, Mr. Pines, I could go with Dipper," Wendy offered from her seat near the roof entrance. "I fixed up the golf cart, so I could drive him to the campsite, and I could bring an extra tent, too."

Grunkle Stan raised an eyebrow. "Uh, Wendy, you sure?" he asked uneasily. "You know, the kid's real superstitious about the woods and everything…"

"I can deal," Wendy answered dismissively. "But if Dipper doesn't want me to take him, then it's his decision."

"No, that'd be awesome!" Dipper hastily broke in. "I mean, how many camping trips have you been on?"

"Hundred and seven," Wendy replied casually.

"See? She could totally take me, Grunkle Stan!" the young detective exclaimed, trying to make puppy eyes. Stan looked down at him in confusion and slight disgust.

"Egh. Sure, fine, you can take him camping," the shack owner gave in. "Just don't let him die or anything, 'cause that'd be a bunch of paperwork and I don't want to get involved in that."

"You have my word, Mr. Pines," Wendy saluted. "Just let me go confirm it with my dad. I need to get that extra tent, too."

On Wendy's way out of the shack, Dipper had tackled her from behind in a huge hug. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" he cheered. "Oh, this is going to be awesome! Now I don't have to worry about Grenda stealing my snacks or Candy trying to read over my shoulder…"

Wendy just grinned, bending down so Dipper was no longer hanging off her shoulders. "Glad to help, buddy," she smiled. "I'll be back in like twenty minutes with my stuff."

Dipper dropped off Wendy's back and waved to her while she walked off into the woods. As soon as she was out of sight, the young detective gave a loud squeaking noise out of pure joy. He practically skipped back into the shack, grinning ear to ear.

"Whoa, bro bro, what's up?" Mabel asked, trotting into the gift shop. "I haven't seen you this happy since… ever!"

"Oh, nothing, it's just I'm not going camping with you guys after all!" Dipper announced happily.

"What? How? I thought Grunkle Stan said you had to go!" his sister replied surprisedly, her eyes widening dramatically.

"Nah, Wendy said she'd take me to the extra campsite so I didn't have to stay," Dipper beamed. He noticed the sudden smirk appear on Mabel's face and felt himself growing red. "No, no, not like that…"

"You haven't gotten over Wendy, have you?" Mabel snickered. Dipper's blush spread under his hair.

"Um…"

"You haven't! I KNEW it!" Mabel nearly shouted. She was within a foot of Dipper in an instant, smiling smugly at his face.

"Look, ok, you're right!" Dipper whispered loudly, averting his eyes. "Just don't go screaming it to the whole shack!"

Mabel grinned and vaulted over the counter. "It's totally like you have a date!" she declared. "You two, all alone in the woods, stuffing your faces with marshmallows…"

Dipper tried to tune out his sister's enthusiastic speech for the rest of lunch break, but he realized as soon as Wendy returned that he would never get the half hour of his life back. The rest of the afternoon he spent packing pretty much all his possessions into his small, brown backpack and trying to find food he could bring in the kitchen. Of course, Wendy had found some marshmallows and chocolate in the back of her pantry, while Dipper tracked down the stalest unopened box of graham crackers known to humanity underneath a table in the living room.

Not much more had happened in the time since that and his departure from the Mystery Shack. Dipper sighed and stared at the trees rushing by as Wendy casually obliterated the speed limit. The campsite was thirty minutes away by car, but an hour away by golf cart, even driven by somebody with as little regard for rules as the young detective's love interest.

They finally arrived around six thirty. Wendy pulled into the parking lot and tossed the keys into her pack before pulling out her stuff. She pushed Dipper's belongs towards him before starting towards the hiking trail. Dipper was smiling until he saw the sign.

Campsite and Cliff Overlook: 2 miles

"Aw man," Dipper moaned.

"What?" Wendy asked, looking over her shoulder.

"I kind of suck at hiking," Dipper admitted. He looked at the ground and scruffed up the dirt with his shoe. Wendy backpedaled and took the bag of food from him, so the only things he was holding were his sleeping bag and pack.

"You can't be that bad," she grinned. "Besides, it's only two miles. How hard can that be?"

One hour later, Wendy was looking down the trail to where Dipper was wheezing and plodding along. "I take it back! You're actually kind of bad at this!"

"Y… you think?" Dipper panted. He caught up with the lumberjack girl before collapsing into a rock on the side of the path.

"Come on, dude, we have like a third of a mile to go!" Wendy called, shaking his shoulders before hauling him back into a standing position. "On your feet, soldier!"

Dipper laughed weakly. "Ok, I'm going," he replied, starting up the trail again after Wendy. He gazed at the daunting hill he would have to top before arriving at the campsite, and sighed. You literally asked for this.

Wendy was at the top of the hill in seconds, looking down at the young detective, who was moving at a snail's pace. He arrived a few minutes after her, clutching his sides and staring down at the great climb he had just achieved. "All downhill from now on, dork," Wendy laughed.

They finally got to the campsite just as the sun disappeared over the edge of the mountains. Dipper looked at the small fire pit, the close-growing trees they could tie up their food in, and mostly the great cliffside overlook. "Don't you think camping next to a cliff is kinda dangerous?" he asked, peering over the side. He could see a tiny stream at the bottom.

"As long as we set up in the trees, we should be ok," Wendy replied hesitantly. "But you're right… I wonder why your uncle even rented this place. At least it's not at the very top of the mountain. It's more like we're halfway up."

Dipper nodded and started to throw a rope over a high branch in one of the trees. Once it was securely knotted, he tied the bag of food to the end and hoisted it up, out of any other predator's reach. Smiling at his handiwork, he hopped over to where Wendy was pulling the tent out of her pack.

The two put up the large, orange tent without too much difficulty. They were missing a bunch of stakes, so Wendy ended up hammering in only two of them on the side facing the cliff. Dipper was still worrying over the safety, but his friend easily consoled him while using a large stone to pound the last stake in. As soon as that was done, the unusual pair went off into the woods to find some dry kindling.

Dipper crossed a small river several times while gathering the twigs. The water was sluggish and curled around the rocks lazily, but there were several sticks he could have used that were soaked thanks to the current. It got around three feet deep in the middle, so the young detective ended up walking across a fallen tree to cross.

Soon, the stars were out and the fire was roaring. Wendy rubbed her hands and held them up to the fire eagerly, looking over at Dipper, who was doing the same. The remnants of the several hot dogs they had tried to roast burned in the fire, while the few they had succeeded with had been eaten up quickly. Dipper had gotten out the marshmallows, but they lay wrapped on the log they used as a bench for later.

"Nice night out, huh?" Wendy asked, staring up at the remarkably clear sky.

"Yeah," Dipper murmured. He absentminded felt his hand creeping across the log to where Wendy's was. He felt a slight shock as she reached out and gently rested her fingers on top of his.

"So, you want to roast these marshmallows?"

"Sure."

A/N: Well, guys, it's happened. I'm officially a faller. Don't freak out or anything, I still like Teen Titans, but I've decided to take a bit of a break from them. I may be one to let an inspirational thought go to waste, but I'm not one to waste a huge buttload of them.

Just so you know, this is written after the events of Into The Bunker. I know, I know, they supposedly decided to stay friends in that one, but I get the feeling that Dipper's crush isn't going away that easily. Besides, we all totally know that they might start liking each other a little later in life. This is just a fanfiction, guys. This is something I imagine could happen.

Well, peace out until next chappie!