The Colors of the Summoning Wheel

32

The next thing Dipper realized, he was standing at the bus stop, gripping the straps of his backpack tightly as he said his goodbyes. He and Mabel had already said their goodbyes to all three Cipers in the Mindscape, and were therefore alone at the bus stop. Stan, Soos, Wendy, and Ford were there with the twins as they waited for the bus.

Mabel hugged Stan tightly. "Thank you for a wonderful summer."

Stan hugged her back. "You're welcome, kid. Come back anytime."

Ford smiled at Dipper, handing him Journal 3. "Here. Keep it."

Dipper carefully took it. "Are you sure? You aren't going to publish it?"

"Of course not. Why publish a book that says "Don't Trust Bill" on several of the pages?"

"Good point."

Wendy got Dipper's attention, handing him a sealed letter. "Here. Read it whenever you start to miss it here." She lifted Dipper's hat from his head and messed with his hair. "I'm gonna miss you, Dipper." She replaced his hat and grinned at him. "Keep being cool, little dude."

Dipper smiled at her. "I'll try."

Soos hugged both of the twins. "I'm gonna miss you, bros." He pulled away, fighting back tears. "Come back next year, okay?"

Mabel nodded, speaking for the both of them. "We will, Soos. Don't worry about it."

The bus pulled up and opened its doors. The twins grabbed their bags and made their way on. The bus was blessedly empty, and the twins took the seat at the very back of the bus. They waved out the window at the others as the bus began moving, and they eventually faded from view.

Dipper began to cry, and Mabel rubbed his back. "It's okay, DipDot. We'll see them all again."

Dipper sniffed, nodding. "I know." He wiped his cheeks. "I miss Bill already."

"I know. But I also know that he's thinking of you right now."

"Of course I am!" The twins shot their heads up as Bill popped his head up, looking at them from the seat in front of them. "I'm always thinking of you, Mason!"

"B-Bill?" Dipper asked. "How are you..?"

"Eh, I had to pull a few strings."

Jill appeared next to her brother. "By that, he means he had to beg Ford to let the weirdness barrier around Gravity Falls down to let us all through."

"'Let us all through'?" Mabel questioned.

"Would y'all keep it down back there?" Gideon stood up on the first seat on the bus. "We're tryin' to talk up here!"

Will popped up next to him. "Shush. Let them be happy."

"What are you guys doing?" Dipper asked.

Bill grinned at him. "We're all moving to California with you!"