Gravity Rises (S1)

NW: Part Five

The truck rolled to a stop, and only when she felt it bump back did Mabel realize what was going on. She raised her head in drowsy confusion, having nearly managed to fall asleep. The drive wasn't that long, but apparently her anxiety about all this made her tired.

"Here we are!" Robbie said. "Our home away from home: the Big Rock."

"Cool!" Dipper unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned forward, waiting for Robbie to let him out. Wendy simply grumbled a bit in the front seat.

Mabel unburied herself from the gear she was under, frowning at the back of Wendy's seat as she did so. Girlfriend. . . She was Robbie's girlfriend? How did he put up with her? She hadn't said one nice thing since getting in the truck. Why would he even fall for her?

And why was Mabel suddenly so jealous?

She frowned at herself. You always knew you'd never have a chance with Robbie, she told herself. Thirteen-year-old girls don't date sixteen-year-old guys. It doesn't happen! The fact that he already has a girlfriend has nothing to do with it.

But it still made things worse, somehow.

"Hey, grumpy," Robbie said to Wendy. Mabel could see a small smile on his face as he looked at her. "How about a smile on that face?"

Mabel couldn't see Wendy's expression, but after a moment the teen leaned over and gave Robbie a quick kiss. "All right," she lamented. "For you."

Suddenly, Mabel wanted to bury herself under her camping gear all over again.

Another agonizing moment passed before Robbie spoke up. "All right, let's get all this stuff out of here." He reached around his seat and poked Dipper's knee. "Like you."

Dipper laughed. "Hey!"

Robbie got out of the car and pulled the seat forward for Dipper, who bounded out immediately. For Mabel and Wendy, the process took much longer. Neither of them acknowledged the other as Wendy pulled the seat forward and Mabel slid down to the ground. The Journal, which was under her arm, nearly slipped out, and she fumbled to catch it.

Snow crunched beneath her feet as she joined Dipper and Robbie on the other side of the truck. She still wasn't sure if camping in the winter was a good idea, but that seemed to be the least of her problems at this point. The boys pulled stuff out of the backseat, throwing it on a tarp that Robbie had laid on the snow. "Dip," said Mabel softly.

Dipper turned, dropping a sleeping bag onto the tarp. "Yeah?"

Mabel pulled him aside as she saw Wendy coming around the truck. "C-can we go?" she said.

Dipper frowned. "Shouldn't we help set up?"

Mabel shivered in the cold. "I think we'll just get in the way. C'mon. We can go find the Bottomless Pit, maybe, or. . . or we can just get away."

Dipper was silent for a moment, searching his twin's face. "I'm sorry Wendy was rude to you."

"I-it's not that. Please?"

Dipper hesitated, then nodded. "All right. Let me go ask Robbie if it's okay."

Mabel stayed where she was as Dipper rejoined Robbie and Wendy. "Hey, is there anything we can do to help?"

Mabel groaned softly. Dipper, she thought, you don't offer our help when we're trying to get out of it!

Robbie gave a small laugh. "You guys can go explore while we get settled in. Don't go too far, though. Mr. Pines would have my head if you guys got mauled by a bear or something."

"Don't bears hibernate in winter?" Dipper asked.

Robbie waved a dismissive hand. "You get my point."