I can't believe this! Of all the rotten luck!

For a second there, I thought everything had finally come together. I had spent the entire day having fun and getting into trouble with Dipper. Even when he became depressed, I was able to lift his spirits up (despite being thrown for a loop by learning that I was his secret crush) and gave him an extra boost of self-confidence that he desperately needed.

As we were about to say good-bye, Dipper gave me the gold and green lens from his mysterious journal, the same article that I needed in order to return back to my fifteen-year-old self.

That is, until he came…

My ex-boyfriend, Robbie V, had snuck up from behind and literally snatched my lens out of our hands. Dipper turns around to face him; his surprise quickly becoming anger and outrage. He steps forward and positions himself in front of me, even going as far as to raise his shoulder back as if to shield me.

"Why is Dipper acting so serious?" I wonder. "Robbie may act big and bad, but in reality, he's all talk…"

Isn't he?

"My, isn't this precious…" Robbie examined the monocle between his fingers, "It would be a shame if something terrible was to happen to this…"

"NO!" I accidentally let my anguish get the best of me. Dipper sees my worry and challenges the menacing goth:

"What do you want, Robbie?"

"Oh, I think you know," he hints. "You and I have unfinished business to attend to, but tell you what, you go fetch Wendy for me, and I'll think about letting you have this back! On second thought, I might use this to get back on Wendy's good side! It does match her eyes…"

I couldn't believe my ears! I mean, I knew that Robbie and Dipper used to argue (especially when it came to me) but I didn't know that Robbie could be such a bully! Besides, he should know me a lot better to know I wouldn't be suckered by jewelry.

Dipper pointed straight at him, "First off, Wendy's not here! She's out camping with her family, but even if she was, I wouldn't go "fetch" her for you anyways! Second, that thing doesn't even belong to me…" He uses his thumb to point at me, "…it's Gwen's…"

Not expecting to be put on the spot like that, I nervously offer a tiny wave.

"Gwen?!" Robbie asks. "You mean you're not the other little freak?" He narrows his black beady eyes to get a closer look. He observes the way Dipper is hovering over me, waiting in anticipation of any false movements towards us.

Robbie seemingly puts two and two together. His wicked smile only deepens upon realization. A creepy laugh begins to rise from his small frame, "HAHA! I get it now! Someone's finally got a little girlfriend of his own age!"

I see Dipper's hands curl into fists as Robbie meets him face-to-face, "Well, junior, looks like it's time to give you a taste of your own medicine. Maybe you'll see how it feels when someone messes with your girlfriend! Perhaps then, you'll learn to keep your pink nose out of other people's business!"

Dipper goes to rush towards the mocking teen when I reach out to hold him back, "Dipper! Don't do it!"

He strains in my arms as he growls through grit teeth, "Gwen has nothing to do with me and you, Robbie, and you know it! Give it back to her RIGHT NOW!"

Robbie slightly shifts his head as he mockingly places his hand under his chin, "Hmm…I have a better idea…" He lowers himself to Dipper's level, "So, you want to impress your little lady, huh? How about we finish what we started earlier?"

"What?!"

"You. Me. Circle Park at Sundown. No magic men. No hiding behind Wendy. Just you and me. And who knows? Maybe you'll be able to get her trinket back…"

With that, Robbie slides the lens into his hoodie and starts to walk away. Just before fading back into the woods, he turns around and flashes one last smirk, "See you soon, twerp…if you're man enough…"

As Robbie vanishes into the dusk, I can feel Dipper's breathing growing heavier and heavier. Is this how Robbie treats him anytime I'm not around? The more I think about it, the queasier my stomach becomes.

"I'm sorry…"

Dipper's break from total silence catches me off-guard, "Wait, what?! Why are you sorry?"

He can't look at me. "I let this happen. I let you down. The same way I always seem to let her down." At long last, he finds the strength to look me in the eye, "Do you still think that I'm sort of hero?"

After a moment to think about it, I give Dipper my answer, "Yes."

He asks me in disbelief, "How can you say that, especially after everything that just happened?"

I squeeze my disgruntled buddy tighter and offer an encouraging beam, "Because I asked you not to fight and you didn't. You were big enough not to let that jerk get to you. You chose to be the bigger man…"

"Well," Dipper despairs. "'The bigger man' just lost your good-bye present…"

"So what?" I reassure him. "I'd rather lose 1,000 gifts than to see you get hurt for no reason!"

Dipper gives me a half-smile of appreciation as he releases a heavy sigh. I press forward, "If you want, I can stick around a bit longer…"

His eyes seem to light up at the mention, "That…would be really nice…"

Suddenly, he wiggles free of my grasp, "Don't mean to ruin the moment, but I have to use the restroom. Wait for me on the porch?"

I nod as Dipper hustles into the house. As I see the door shut, I walk up the steps of the Mystery Shack and plop myself down on the worn-out couch Stan stationed outside. As I start to relax, I try to come up with a battle plan of my own. After I say good-bye to Dipper as "Gwen", I'll have to stop over by Robbie's to get him to return the monocle. Unfortunately, that means that I'll have to tell him the truth about my condition. Of course, I have several ways of persuading Robbie to keep this to himself, but I figure it's the only way where Dipper will remain unharmed and I can go back to normal.

The sun disappears behind the forest lining as dusk starts to set in. I look behind me, expecting Dipper to pop back outside any time now. I tap my foot against the wooden structure as I grow impatient. It's been more than a half hour. What could be keeping him?

*KNOCK KNOCK*

"Dipper?" I call through the empty house. No response. I remember him telling me that Mabel and the rest of the family were out for the day, so there are no worries from that end. I approach the bathroom door and knock gently?

"Dipper? Are you alright in there? "

There is only complete and utter silence. I can see under the door that the light isn't on. Is he in there? I take a deep breath and turn my head as I open the door.

"Is everything –"

There's no one inside.

I'm starting to get worried. As I head for his upstairs bedroom, something catches my eye. On the table before the staircase, I see a note with my name scribbled at the top; my alter-ego's name, actually:

"Gwen,
I'm sorry to go and sneak off like this, but today was the last straw. It's one thing for Robbie to mess with me, but when he brings innocent people like you into it, it's a totally different story. Please try not to worry. By the time you read this, everything will be over with. I will get your monocle-thing back in no time!
Please don't be mad at me over this. It's just something I have to do…
Be back soon,
Dipper."

Without thinking twice, I let the paper fall to the floor as I bolt out the door. It slams loudly behind me. I need to hurry! Despite his deception, I'm not mad at Dipper. If anything, I'm worried for him! While I think it's great that he believes that he could take on the world, I just think that this time, he may have bitten more off than he could chew. The very last thing I need on my conscience is my buddy getting creamed for what he thinks is "my sake." Dipper expects that "Gwen" would have no idea where Circle Park is in Gravity Falls. Luckily for him, "Wendy" knows at least 3 different shortcuts through the woods that leads straight there.

As I come out of the forest, I can hear grunts and groans stemming from over the horizon. I peek out from behind a pair of bushes and gasp at the sight before me.

Robbie is towering over Dipper, launching shot after shot at him. "Oh no!" I think to myself. "I'm too late!" As I study the scene closer, I find myself astonished; Dipper is actually holding his own! For every swing Robbie takes, Dipper (with dukes up) agilely dodges out of the way, just in the nick of time.

Part of me actually feels bad for doubting Dipper. He always talks about how he single-handedly fights off strange monstrosities out in the woods. I usually chalk it up as the over-imagination of a lonely boy, but after everything I have seen this weekend, I'd probably believe anything that comes out of that kid's mouth.

Suddenly, things take a turn for the worse. My fears become reality. Dipper goes on the offensive and delivers a series of punches to Robbie's midsection, only to have them shrugged off.

"HA!" Robbie mocks him. "That's the best you can do?!" Catching Dipper off-guard, Robbie delivers a cross. Dipper raises his hands in time to block the attack.

"UGH!"

The force of the blow forces Dipper down to one knee.

"He isn't strong enough to stop Robbie by himself..." I realize. "I need to do something, now!"

I come storming out of my hiding place, "DIPPER!"

Dipper turns in my direction and spots me hurrying towards him. A look of horror overcomes his face, "Oh no…"

Robbie notices that Dipper is distracted. I see him pull his arm as far back as he can.

"DIPPER! LOOK OUT!"

As Dipper turns back, Robbie delivers an incredibility brutal backhand to my pal's face. Dipper is sent flying into the air, rotating no less than three times before crashing into the ground.

"DIPPER!" My scream echoes throughout the empty park. I go to check on my downed friend when suddenly, I feel myself being hoisted into the air.

"And who do we have here?"

I am rotated around to meet Robbie eye-to-eye. "The little twerpette, eh?" His smirk widens. "Did you come to cheer your boyfriend on?" We both look to see Dipper still sprawled on the floor, groaning as he tries to get back up.

Dipper struggles to raise his head upward. His saddened eyes widen upon seeing my predicament. "No…" he groans, reaching outward towards me, "Let her go…" He slumps back down to the earth.

Maybe I can try to talk to sense to my ex, "Listen to me, Robbie. You don't have to do this…"

He laughs in my face, "I know I don't, but I want to!" He points down at Dipper, "I know this may seem cruel, but believe you me when I say, he definitely has this coming!"

"Put me down!" I demand as I kick and squirm in an attempt to escape Robbie's grasp. He starts to carry me forward.

"Sorry, but this is between us men…" With that, Robbie lifts me up and snags the back of my hoodie onto a nearby branch. He leaves me dangling from the tree as he steps back to admire his handiwork. "There you go! Now, you have a front-row seat to the festivities!" He heads back towards Dipper.

I try to kick off with my feet to hoist myself off, but the rain has left the wooden surface extremely slippery. I can't get a grip! "Robbie, please! Don't –"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…whatever you say, little girl," Robbie cuts me off, as he turns back around to taunt me, "Lollipops and rainbows and unicorns and all of that garbage…"

I shake my head. He's lost it completely! Dread seems to trounce over me as I wonder if he has ever treated Mabel in such a horrid way.

"Man, Robbie! I think this is a new low!"

We turn to see that a shaken Dipper has staggered to his feet.

"Picking on little girls? Man, what's your *WHEEZE* your encore, huh? Stealing candy from a baby? But then again, after what you did to Wendy, nothing you do surprises me…"

Before Dipper can react, Robbie dashes towards him and grabs him by the throat. He hoists him into the air and screams in Dipper's face:

"I didn't do anything to Wendy! And even if I did, that's none of your concern!"

Dipper remains defiant, "She is my concern!"

Robbie rants on, "This is all your fault, kid! If it wasn't for you, things would be okay between Wendy and me! And where did it get you, huh? Wendy still thinks you're a pathetic loser! And soon…" He glances back towards me, "…she will think that as well!"

Dipper pulls his head back while Robbie is facing the other way, "Don't count on it…"

My mouth gapes open as I watch everything unfurl. Robbie looks back just as Dipper throws his head forward with full force. His forehead slams down hard on Robbie's nose.

His howl can be heard all through the woods.

Robbie instantly drops Dipper as he covers his face with his hands. Dipper lays motionless on the cold park ground. I think he knocked himself out-cold with that headbutt. Robbie removes his hands to see that they are covered in sticky red blood.

"What? How did –" He is a state of disbelief that Dipper could have delivered such a powerful blow. I can see that Dipper's forehead is starting to bruise. Robbie growls to himself as he approaches my unconscious friend, "You…You will pay dearly for that!'

I have to get free! I can't let him hurt Dipper!

A new idea hits me. Instead of launching myself upwards, why not try the other way? I reach over and start to unzip my Mystery Shack hoodie. My arms wiggle out of their sleeves one by one. After a few seconds, I slip down onto the wet grass. I hurry back to the battleground, only this time, I make a few changes: I remove my glasses and slide them into my front pocket. I reach behind me and fumble with my ponytail, returning my hair to its natural state.

I jump in between the two boys and hold out my arms, shielding Dipper from any approaching dangers.

Robbie points down towards me, "Don't think for a second that you're going to save his sorry -"

I reach up and roughly grab Robbie by his chin whiskers, bringing him down to my eye level. At first he resists, "Who do you think you –"

He looks into my eyes; my angry emerald eyes, and shortly after, his face turns ghostly white as he gets his answer, "No…"

I nod, "Yes…"

"It can't be…"

"But it is!"

"WENDY!" Robbie shrieks as he falls backwards. "What the – I mean, what happened?" He looks towards Dipper, "Did he do this to you? If he did, I'll – "

"You'll do nothing!" I bark at him. "I did this to myself. Dipper doesn't even know it's me, and that's the way it's going to stay. Understand?"

Robbie starts to backpedal using his hands as things suddenly become clearer to him, "Wendy, all of those things I said to the kid, I didn't mean –"

I approach him slowly, "Is this how you treat people when I'm not around?" I extend my arm back towards Dipper, "Am I suppose to pat you on the back for this?"

"Wendy, you don't understand…"

"I've heard enough, Robbie, and frankly, I've seen enough!" I extend an open palm outwards, "I want Dipper's glass thingie, right now!"

Robbie races through his pockets, and after a few moments, pulls back his hand and drop the lens into my hand.

"There! You got his jewel thing back! We're all good, right?"

I secure the monocle in my other free pocket. "Not by a long shot, pal!" I narrow my eyes at him, "That's the only thing that could return me to normal, and I have been going out of my gorge trying to get my hands on it, no thanks to you!"

"Please, Wendy," Robbie begs me. "Isn't there anything I can do to make it up to you?"

"Hmmm…." My thoughts shift to Dipper. "Perhaps there is something you can do…"

"Really?" Robbie hops up to his knees. "Just name it…"

I poke him roughly in the chest, "You are going to make it look like Dipper won this little tiff that you two had…"

Robbie gives me a confused look, "But how are we going to do that –"

I launch forward and deliver a swift, but precise blow to Robbie's breadbasket. He lets out a whiny, "OOF!" only to fall onto his side. He lays silently groaning to himself. I know this seems spiteful on my part, but after everything I just had to sit (or hang) through, he absolutely deserved this.

The glasses and the ponytail go back up as I enter "Gwen" mode yet again. I kneel down towards Dipper and flip him over. Except for the mark on his brow, he seems completely unharmed.

"Dipper…" I call out as I lightly slap his face, "Wake up, Dipper…"

"Huh?!" His eyes open slowly as he starts to make recognition. Upon seeing me, he jumps up from the ground, "Gwen! Are you alright?! Where's Robbie?!"

I point into the distance where Robbie remained stunned. "You did it, Dipper! You stopped him with one blow!"

Dipper seems confused by this, "I…I did?" Surprisingly, he doesn't celebrate "his" victory in the slightest. A shameful expression appears across his face, "So, are you mad at me for leaving you behind?"

"Let me put it like this…" I reach over and give Dipper a quick lovetap on his forehead.

"OWWW!"

"You're forgiven…"

He winces and covers his head, "Gee, thanks…"

I reach down and help Dipper up. He takes a few steps and starts to lose his balance. I throw his arm around my shoulder to better support him.

"Thanks…"

I smile at him, "Don't mention it." I reach into my pocket and pull out the lens, lowering it to Dipper's line of sight, "Thanks to you, I was able to get this beauty back…"

Dipper still seems to be down in the dumps. I wonder why…

"Hey, guy. What gives? I said I'm not upset with you or anything…"

"Hmm?" I watch as he stares at Robbie. "Oh, it's not that…"

"Then, what is it?"

Dipper lets out a heave, "Either way, I'm going to be in trouble…"

"How so?"

He turns away from me, "When Wendy hears that I beat up Robbie, she's going to be steamed at me…"

I'm baffled by his answer, "Why do you say that?"

"Because she hates guys who fight..." He hangs his head even lower, "…and I just got her to forgive me for that other thing…"

Dipper's words make me remember why exactly I broke up with Robbie in the first place; how on that night, both my boys broke my heart. However, Dipper was the only one that tried his best to make amends, instead of blaming others for his actions.

Then again, that is a tale for another time…

I clutch my worried companion even closer, "Something tells me that she'd understand…"

Dipper looks relieved as we walk back towards the Mystery Shack.

When we arrive back at the Shack, we find an extremely nervous Mabel waiting for us. She had found Dipper's note from earlier and worried about its meaning. Seeing the gigantic bump on his head only made matters worse. As I got an ice pack for Dipper's head, I tell Mabel about our adventures and more importantly, how Dipper "saved the day" yet again.

Mabel walks over to her twin sitting at the table and gives him a congratulatory shot to the shoulder, "I always knew you could do it!"

I sit next to him, holding the ice pack against his head. Dipper looks up at me with adoration. My green eyes are locked onto his soft brown ones. We bask in the peaceful setting in hopes that the moment will last forever…

*CUCKOO! CUCKOO! CUCKOO!*

Stan's old clock goes off repeatedly; a haunting sign that my time as "Gwen" was shortly coming to an end. The light in Dipper's eyes seems to shatter as he seems to know what this means. I set his ice bag down on the table.

"I…I have to…"

Dipper stands up beside me, "I know…"

I try to retain a positive attitude, "Hey, we knew this moment was coming, right?"

"Yep…"

I head towards the gift shop exit, "You'll walk me out? Right, Dipper?"

He nods as he follows right behind me. Mabel stays behind. I think she knows that it's probably best to give Dipper and me our last moments alone.

We are by ourselves in the closed Mystery Shack Gift Shop. Soos has gone home for the night and Stan is fast asleep in his bedroom. As we pass "Wendy's" counter, Dipper stops me.

"I know this seems cliché to say, but will I ever see you again?"

I lower my head. I have to be realistic with Dipper, but at the same time, I can't break his heart, "Who's to say, Dipper. Fate has a funny way of intervening in people's lives. But if not, look at it this way: there are those who go their entire lives without having the same kind of fun that you and I had in the last few days!"

The look on Dipper's face tells me all I need to know. I see something that can ease this situation for me.

"Tell you what, Dipper…" I reach over as pull a pen from the basket just under my checkout. "Just in case things with that Wendy girl don't work out, or heck, if you need an open ear to listen…" Taking a blank piece of paper from the countertop, I scribble down my real phone number and email address. I hand it to Dipper, who now displays a gaze of shock.

As he takes the sheet, he pulls me forward for one last hug. As he lowers his head on my shoulder, I whisper in his ear, "I wish I could stay like this with you; I really do, but look at it this way…"

I pull back and flash a toothy grin, "…chances are if I stuck around any longer, I'll end up giving you a nervous breakdown or something worse!"

"HA!" Dipper rubs the back of his head anxiously, "Yeah…probably…"

I lean forward, lift the lock of brown hair, and once again, give his birthmarked forehead a quick peck. He blushes as I bid him farewell, "Have faith in yourself; you'll be alright…"

I open the door as Dipper quickly wipes his eyes. As the door closes, I blend into the darkness to make it seem like I already left. I peek into the nearly window and watch as I have to break Dipper's heart one last time.

Mabel has snuck up on her dazed brother "A kiss and a girl's phone number? Way to go, Dipper!" she congratulates.

"Yeah…" Dipper turns a brighter red, "I guess it is kinda neat…" He returns his sights to the paper I gave him, "Still, I can't believe…" His voice breaks as a look of complete terror overtakes him.

"What?!" Mabel asks. "What's wrong?"

Dipper spins around to face his sister, "Her…Her note!" He holds it up so that Mabel can see, "It's totally blank!" I can see the distress in his face, making guilt weigh heavy on my mind.

"I don't understand," he grieves, "I watched Gwen write on this same sheet! She reached over and grabbed a pen from beneath the counter –" His mouth drops open as he shortly puts together the truth. Dipper reaches down and grabs the same type of pen I previously used. He reads the label aloud:

"Real-Deal Invisible Ink Pen! Prank your friends with little to no effort!"

"But I – I mean, she…BAH!"

He throws the pen downwards in defeat. "Maybe I can still make it out! I can trace the scratches on the table, or I –"

"Dipper," Mabel comforts her twin by placing a hand on his shoulder. "It's gone…"

He sighs to himself, "I know…"

"I guess fate decided that it wasn't meant to be…" She wraps her arm around Dipper and leads him back towards the parlor.

"But when will it be, Mabel? When will it be?"

I sink down against the edge of the Mystery Shack. My heart is literally in my throat. But at the same time, I consider the alternative. What other choice did I have? As I rise to my feet and head for home, I think to myself, "Chances are, after the summer ends, Dipper's going to end up with my info anyways…"

"…that is, if he plays his cards right…"

I sit up on my roof as I am bathed in the moon's blue light. A change of Wendy-sized clothes sits at my side as I prepare myself for the change back to normal. Regardless of what happened during this experience, my mindset is the same: this has happened for a reason. I got the chance to be a twelve year old again, only this time, I was spared the constant teasing and ridicule. I also got to see things from Dipper's perspective, or in other words, how his life runs a slight parallel to that of my old one.

My hand slides into my pocket and pulls out the green and gold lens. As I raise it to the sky, I close my eyes and promise not to forget the lessons that I learned over the last few days…

The next morning, I open the door to the Mystery Shack's Gift Shop to see Mabel and Dipper sweeping and dusting alongside the several aisles of souvenirs. The bell mounted above rings, alerting the Pines twins to my arrival. Their eyes light up as they spot me standing in the doorway.

"WENDY!"

"Hey, guys! Miss me much?"

Mabel runs up to me and hugs my waist, "You bet! It's been so b – or – ing here without you!"

I look up to see a very shy Dipper looking down at his own feet. He tries his best not to make eye contact.

"What's up with you, Dipper?" I flash a sly smile, "Too cool to come and say 'hi' to me?"

Dipper raises his head, "Huh? Who, me? You want me to…" He chuckles as he presses his sneaker fretfully against the wooden floor.

Mabel moves aside as I get on one knee and motion towards him with both arms. He hesitates at first, but then steps up and lightly embraces me. I wrap myself around him. A moment later, I can feel him relax. He squeezes me harder.

"See? Was that so bad, Dipper?" I remember "Gwen's" advice towards his "predicament", and while I hope that he takes it one day, it certainly doesn't mean that I can't give an encouraging push in the right direction every now and then!

Dipper opens his mouth to answer, only to be cut off by Mabel, "Don't be offended, Wendy…"

He breaks away from me, "Mabel! Don't!"

"It's not anything that you did…"

Dipper rushes to stop his sister, only to arrive a second too late!

"While you were gone, Dipper went and got himself a girlfriend!"

He looks back at me, totally speechless and red-cheeked. Dipper pulls on his collar as he chuckles nervously.

I decide to play along. "A girlfriend?" I raise an eyebrow to Mabel's claim. "I can't believe it!"

"Wendy…"

"I leave for one weekend, and some girl tries to muscle in on one of my boys?" I shake my head playfully, "No, sir, I don't like it one bit!"

"Wendy…hehe…it's not like that!"

As I tease my special little guy, I am soon hit with something that I never seen coming; one tiny, yet important detail that I hadn't given any thought to. Perhaps I should have considered it beforehand, but with everything that has happened, it was the very last thing on my mind:

"Well, enough about us, Wendy; tell us all about the trip with your family! We wanna hear every last detail!"

June 3, 2014 – June 27, 2014