Afraid?

The intensive, overwhelming feeling surging through the fragile being of Wendy Corduroy couldn't be defined by a mere word.

As the redhead faced the deadly threat of the primal fury of nature head on, her life flashed before her emerald-colored eyes. In specific, Wendy recalled the moments that led her into this predicament.

It was only a few days ago when she had overheard her friend and co-worker Mabel Pines confide in her pet pig, Waddles about the state of her twin brother, Dipper. Originally, Wendy presumed that her pint-sized cohort was off adventure-seeking and monster hunting, but became shocked upon learning the truth.

A week before, Wendy and Mabel had requested Dipper's help in getting rid of a possibly-rabid possum that somehow snuck into their place of employment, the Mystery Shack. He had always prided himself in his dealings with the creatures of the Oregon wilderness, so the girls figured he'd be the person to turn to.

After a brief struggle, the rodent had gotten the best of the young boy, forcing Wendy to launch a prompt rescue. As she and Mabel laughed about the whole experience, Dipper disappeared into the depths of the dilapidated house. Little did she know it was because the pre-teen thought that he had embarrassed himself in front of her!

Wendy wasn't exactly sure why she decided to get involved in the first place. Maybe she felt guilty for playfully poking fun at her sensitive young friend. Perhaps she missed having Dipper at her side, keeping her company as she sat through day after boring-day of ringing out unfortunate sightseers that managed to find their way into the tourist trap. Conceivably, it could have been because she didn't want to be the prime reasoning in whatever double standard Dipper had set in his mind.

As Wendy went to give Dipper a stern talking-to, Mabel beseeched her to stop, fearing that a confrontation and her betrayal of trust would further drive her sibling into reclusiveness. The teen grew frustrated by the stalemate until Mabel inadvertently gave her a brilliant idea. Within seconds, the two females began to formulate a devious plot to help get the devastated boy back on his feet.

Wendy would act as a damsel in distress in an effort to lure Dipper out of his self-imposed exile and back into action. The spunky girl called in every owed favor from her teen-aged friends, eventually convincing them to dress as monsters and stage a kidnapping scene to further convince her skeptical, little buddy into believing the ruse. Wendy went as far as to play both captive and captor (thanks to a handy, yet cheap voice modulator she bought at a novelty store downtown) in her own ransom call, despite having her heart break a little in hearing the concern and worry in Dipper's voice. Nevertheless, she had to chalk the experience up as a necessary evil.

When the big moment came, Wendy's idea came to fruition. She was to pretend being tied up as precious bait while her costumed friends lied in wait for Dipper to make a rescue attempt. The plan was simple in theory: the boys would chase the heroic pubescent around, and after a while, run off in false terror, giving him the victory needed to regain his confidence.

However, Wendy had overlooked one small detail in her plan: she didn't expect Dipper to come out fighting! The bound girl watched in quiet awe as the small juvenile systemically took down each and every one of her buddies using any means necessary. Wendy couldn't decide if the display before her eyes was a demonstration to Dipper's alleged monster fighting tactics, or if it was a testament to how much the boy really cared about her.

After a lengthy "battle," Wendy's friends couldn't take anymore of Dipper's antics, and swiftly surrendered, ruining her plan. Filled with anger and embarrassment, the distraught lad ran off into the forest despite her pleas. Wendy projected her frustrations on her cowardly acquaintances, forcing them to flee in fear of the outraged ginger.

As she wondered about what to do next about her hurt companion, Wendy discovered that the real threat stood quietly behind her, stalking her every movement. A cougar had found its way down from the Gravity Falls Mountain tops in search for its next meal. Deciding on the unusually tall morsel in front of it, the beast slowly approached the frightened girl.

Wendy wanted nothing more than to run away; to fly away from the incoming danger. As she went to make her great escape, Wendy was roughly tackled to the ground, and back down towards a cold, harsh reality. In between attempting to calm Dipper and chastising Thompson, Lee, and Nate, Wendy's boot had become entwined in the rope that she used to feign her bondage, effectively binding her firmly to the huge tree in the middle of the clearing.

With her ankle tethered to the spot, Wendy could only struggle in vain as the mountain lion overcame her. Deathly terrified, she forced herself to still all movements, even her breathing, to avoid triggering the creature's temper. Her green eyes were lost in the yellow ones focused solely on her. Wendy could see a blurred reflection of herself on the animal's bright-white teeth. She closed her eyes, and waited for the end as she felt the cougar's hot breath rush onto her nostrils.

Despite everything, the irony of the situation was not lost on the bright teenager. She had wanted to be a damsel-in-distress, and now, Wendy was one! The only problem was that the peril was dangerously real, and unfortunately for her, there wasn't anyone around for miles that would be willing to help her.

Wendy pulled back as much as her trapped foot would allow as the mountain lion roared in anger. As the brute bellowed a second time, Wendy realized that it wasn't aimed at her. She opened her eyes to see that the creature's sights were locked on something over her head.

Suddenly, a small pebble crashed into the cougar's forehead, making the monster screech in rage. Confused, Wendy turned her head and gasped at the sight before her.

Across the field, Dipper Pines stood at the foot of the giant tree. He held a handful of rocks in his arms as he launched them one by one at the wild animal holding his crush at bay.

"C'mon, you big bully!" Dipper egged the mountain lion on. "Try picking on someone half her size!"

A faint smile appeared on the exasperated girl's face, but there wasn't any solace to be found. Wendy did want the monster to be as far away from her as humanly possible, but at the same time, she didn't want Dipper to risk his life to help her. She wanted to tell him to run; to get out of harm's way and forget about her, but Wendy was so petrified, she found herself physically unable to do so.

"That's it…" Dipper coached as the cougar slowly shifted past the immobile redhead. He hurled another rock to keep it coming. "That's right…leave Wendy alone…pay attention to me…"

After letting out a quiet growl, the mountain lion rushed towards the small boy antagonizing it. Dipper yelped at the hungry creature racing towards him, immediately letting his ammo supply fall to the grassy ground. He leapt up, catching a branch, and started to scale the enormous tree. Halfway up the tree's trunk, Dipper looked down to see that the cougar was literally right behind him, using its claws in pursuit.

Once more, Wendy found herself in amazement as she watched the every action of her secret admirer. She couldn't believe that Dipper's escape plan was the exact same as hers! "Oh, well," the ginger figured, "I guess great minds do think alike…"

With great effort, Dipper hoisted himself up to the top branch. He peered past his dangling, sneakered feet to see that the savage beast could only make it halfway up the tree before sliding back down in defeat.

"HA!" Dipper laughed in relief upon realizing that he was safe for now.

With the ferocious cat preoccupied, Wendy went back to trying to release the rope that held her prisoner. She tried her best to slide it off, but Wendy couldn't pull the taut cord past her heel. She even tried to remove her boot, but the tense knot kept her ankle firmly held in place, preventing her from doing so.

Wendy heard Dipper call out from the treetops, "Hurry, Wendy! While it's distracted! Get out of there!"

She continued to thrash futilely with the tangle. Wendy finally found the inner strength to regain her voice. "Dipper…" she coughed dryly. With a bit more effort, she compelled a yell outwards, "Dipper!"

"Dipper! My foot's stuck tight! I can't move!"

The anxious boy worried as he heard the snarls of the cougar beneath him, "Oh, man!" The tween mumbled amongst himself in an attempt to further aid his main squeeze.

"Umm…"

All of a sudden, Dipper was struck with an idea. He cupped his hands and shouted down to the ensnared redhead.

"Wait, Wendy! Do you see my knapsack around?"

She raised her head and scanned the field, noticing the light brown backpack a few feet away.

"It's right in front of me. Why?"

Dipper instructed his friend, "I keep my multi-tool in one of the side pockets. Use it to free yourself!"

Wendy nodded as she crawled towards her last hope for freedom. As she reached for the backpack, she felt the rope dig firmly into her shin, making her cry out in pain.

Noticing the shriek of the defeated teen, the cougar turned its sights back towards Wendy. Dipper quickly became frantic, looking around the tree tops for a way to get the animal to focus on him again. Taking a handful of nuts and berries, Dipper hurled them downwards, landing right in the creature's face. Yet again, the mountain lion hopped up towards the tree, desperate to reach the child who insisted on teasing it.

"Yeah, big boy!" Dipper persisted, kicking his feet against the tree trunk to further provoke his opponent. "Stay right here!"

Wendy reached again for the bag, her hand narrowly missing its straps. The ginger grit her teeth, trying her best to fight the pain, and made one last stride towards Dipper's supplies. As if the fates heard her silent prayers, Wendy was able to clasp the rucksack by the edge of her fingertips.

"Score!" the teenager cheered to herself as she started to go through the various pockets in search of Dipper's multi-tool.

"Come on! Where is it?!"

At long last, Wendy pulled out the multi-tool from the bottom of the side pocket. She threw back the various contents until she reached the blade portion.

Dipper watched from the tree as Wendy sawed through the rope holding her down. Finally free of her tie, she quickly rose to her feet and turned to look up at her pal in the treetops.

"Run, Wendy! Before it's too late!"

He noticed that a sad, guilty look was plastered across the girl's freckled face, as if to say, "What about you?" Dipper knew that Wendy didn't want to leave him behind, but what could she do without risking being mauled by the fiend waiting at the tree's base.

"I'll be okay!" Dipper pledged to his worried crush. "You go on ahead, and I'll be right behind you. I promise!"

Without saying a word, Wendy signaled in response. With a gleam in her eye, she picked up Dipper's backpack, and snuck off into the shelter of the green wilderness.

As Wendy disappeared from sight, Dipper let out a sigh of comfort. To him, Wendy's safety was the most important thing at the moment. Since she was now safe and sound, it felt as if a huge weight was removed from his shoulders.

"Now that the hard part's over," Dipper said to himself. "All I have to do now is wait…"

He looked upon at the raging cougar reaching out for him with its sharp fangs exposed.

"After all, it shouldn't be long until this guy gets bored and goes away. Yep! I have a feeling that everything's going to be alr-"

*CRACK*

Dipper glanced down at the branch he was currently resting on. "Please tell me that wasn't what I think it was…"

Out of the corner of his eye, the shaken boy noticed at a razor-thin crack forming at the ridge of the branch. He stopped any or all fidgeting in hopes of preventing the tear from deepening.

"Ok! Ok!" He attempted to calm himself. "As long as I stay absolutely and perfectly still, nothing else can happen. Things can't get any worse…"

*CRACK*

Dipper felt the tree branch lower even further. "Oh, come on!" the pre-teen complained. "I can't even take a breath?"

*CRACK*

He glimpsed down to see that the mountain lion had stopped clawing and snarling its way up the tree. Instead, as if it was aware of Dipper's plight, it waited patiently with its eyes aimed towards the heavens, knowing that a tasty appetizer would be making its way down the tree shortly.

Dipper could do nothing else but wait for whatever fate had in mind for him, "Well…"

*CRACK*

"…at least I'll go knowing…"

*CRACK*

"…that Wendy is safe and sound..."

*CRACK*

Abruptly, the tense atmosphere was shattered by a deafening blaring sound. Both human and beast froze in their actions and looked around for the source of the noise. A few seconds later, another blast echoed through the woods. Alarmed by the resonance coming closer and closer, the cougar let out a howl, and hastily retreated into the other direction.

Dipper looked into the distance to see something rattling around in the bushes at the outside of the clearing. "Oh, great," he moaned to himself. "Now what?!"

A second later, Wendy came out of the distance, clutching an air horn against her chest. With a conniving smile, she offered a tiny wave to her tiny defender.

Bowled over by his secret love's ingenuity, Dipper let out a series of nervous laughs, "Where…*hehe*…where in the heck did you find that thing?"

"Oh, this?" Wendy held the air horn up for Dipper to see. "I found it buried in your knapsack." She raised her eyebrows at the boy in the tree. "It looks like you brought everything but the kitchen sink with you, huh?"

"Yep," Dipper rubbed the back of his neck, making his redheaded friend chuckle at his edginess. "I guess it pays to be prepared…"

Both of them laughed at the serendipity of the whole scenario.

*CRACK*

The branch finally gave way beneath Dipper, sending him plunging down towards the ground

"WENDY!"

"DIPPER!" the teen cried out as she raced towards the scene.

Dipper shut his eyes as he let out a high-pitched shriek. As he prepared to painfully hit the rough terrain, it seemed like he was stopped in mid-air by some miraculous force. He opened his eyes, trying to discover what prevented his crash landing. He looked up to meet the glowing green eyes of Wendy. Somehow, the ginger was able to catch the tiny hero in her arms a split second before he landed on the forest floor.

"Gotcha!" the girl's smile only widen upon seeing the surprised look on her protector's face.

"Wow…" Dipper was at a loss for words. "Gee, thanks, Wendy! I…I don't know what to say…"

"Don't mention it, little guy!" she prided. "After all, I did owe you one…"

"Yeah…"

The sounds of the Gravity Falls Forest played on as the two stumbled their way through quiet awkwardness. After a brief moment, Wendy was the first to break the silence.

"Are you alright?"

"Me?" Dipper answered shyly. "Just a little out of breath." His brown eyes focused on Wendy's emerald ones once more. "What about you? How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. I mean, I have a really, nasty red mark on my ankle, but other that than, I'm just fine."

Even though Dipper would never admit it, he was getting used to the feeling of being held in his crush's arms.

"Just wondering, Dipper," she pondered, as her dimpled cheeks started to become a blushed red, "How did you know that I needed…err…I mean, that I was in…"

"Oh!" Dipper responded, getting the gist of what Wendy was trying to ask. "Well, I was walking back home when I seen the boys rush past me, screaming in terror about a mountain lion that was after them. I didn't see you with them, so I just put two and two together…"

"Ah, then…"

Wendy gawked down at her secret devotee still snuggled in her clutches, and decided to break the tranquil peace for a second time with a question; something that she figured that should have been said in the first place.

"Hey, Dipper?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

He immediately knew by the changed tone in Wendy's voice that her inquiry was going to be serious. He stuttered out a response, "Um…Sure, Wendy. A-A-Ask away?"

"Dipper, I just gotta know: what was this all about? I mean, you being embarrassed about the whole thing with the possum; you hiding away in the Shack's attic. What's up with that?"

"Umm…"

Faced with being forced to tell Wendy the awful truth, Dipper became so panicky that he was unable to come up with a reasonable answer for her.

"You see," he struggled to explain. "The thing is…"

With that, the jumpy youngster attempted to leap out of Wendy's arms. However, the redhead, well experienced from the shenanigans of her three younger brothers, tightened her grasp on the twelve year old.

"Uh-Uh, mister! You're not getting away that easily!"

"But, Wendy!"

"C'mon, man!" Wendy encouraged. "Level with me, Dipper!" She narrowed her eyes onto the hesitant boy, "I did almost get eaten by a cougar because of this!"

Finding himself lost yet again in his crush's sparkling green eyes, Dipper was helpless in fighting against his guilty conscience.

"I…I was afraid…"

"Everyone gets scared sometimes, Dipper." Wendy sympathized. "Like, that huge possum totally freaked me out, but you don't think any less of me, do you?"

"No, but that's different because…"

Dipper stopped in mid-sentence as he felt Wendy squeeze him even harder. He looked up to see her green eyes glaring down at him.

"The next words that come out of your mouth," Wendy warned, "…better not be, 'because you're a girl.'"

"No! No!" Dipper raised his hands upwards in self-defense. "It's not like that! What I meant is that I was afraid that I changed things forever."

Wendy lightened her disposition upon hearing his answer, "Changed things?"

Dipper sadly nodded in response. "I know that there are certain things that you guys count on me for, and I like that, but after what happened the other day, I was scared you wouldn't see me the same way ever again."

Her heartstrings were gently pulled as Dipper went on with his perspective.

"I just – I just thought that you wouldn't want anything to do with me; that we couldn't hang out anymore, or go out on adventures..." He sighed to himself, "I couldn't face that; I didn't want to face that..."

"Oh, Dipper…"

His vision shot up to the girl who cradled him like an infant.

"Why do you think I went through all this trouble?"

Dipper's brown eyes widen at Wendy's exclamation, as if to say, "Why?"

"I missed you, Dipper." Wendy elucidated. "I missed having someone to goof off with at work; someone to laugh at the same stupid, lame, corny jokes that I find funny…"

Dipper smiled, realizing that Wendy was right in saying that very few shared their twisted sense of humor.

"…and do you honestly think if I didn't really want you around, I would have done this in the first place?"

A great sense of remorse formed in Dipper's mind, especially when thinking about his previous outburst towards his favorite redhead.

"And another thing," the teenager declared. "Even before this whole thing started, I always thought of you as one of the bravest guys I have ever known."

"Really?" Dipper was totally astonished by Wendy's answer.

"Yeah, man! And I don't mean by "twelve-year old" terms, either. I know grown adults who don't have half the stones that you do, kiddo!"

He couldn't help, but cheerfully grin at all of the praise that Wendy was showering him with.

"Besides," Dipper noticed that Wendy resumed using her "serious" tone. "You deserve to know that sometimes…" The teenager bit her lip as she tried her best to find the right words, "…sometimes, you inspire certain people to braver than they really are. "

"Like who?"

Wendy lowered her eyebrows at the naïve boy, "Like me, doofus!"

Dipper gave his crush a perplexed expression, "I don't understand…"

She rolled her eyes as she explicated, "Do you remember how I said that that rodent made me flip out?

Dipper followed along with Wendy's story, "Well, I had no intention of setting foot off of the gift shop counter. That was, until I seen that thing mount itself on your back. As it raised its head to bite you, I knew I had to do something! I can't explain it, Dipper. I didn't think; I just acted. Before I knew it, I flew off the ledge, picked up that broomstick, and thrashed that stupid pest."

The curious boy hung on the lanky ginger's every word with great interest as she persisted, "The only thing that was going through my head at the moment was that I couldn't let it hurt you, Dipper; especially when you were put in harm's way because of me." A hint of sadness appeared over the young girl. "I bet that sounds kind of dumb, doesn't it?"

"Actually, Wendy," Dipper empathized. "It doesn't seem "dumb" at all! To be honest, I know exactly how that feels!

Both youths beamed at each other upon discovering that they shared some mutual ground. The Gravity Falls Forest was filled with a sense of calm serenity for a third ztime.

"So," Wendy double-checked with her companion, "Are we cool? No more hiding away from the world?"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Glad to hear, short stuff!" As Wendy went to lower the boy back on his feet, she stopped in hesitation. Dipper became worried as he noticed the change in her expression.

"What is it, Wendy? Did the mountain lion come back?"

"No," she muttered as brought the concerned pre-teen back towards her center. "It's nothing bad. I just…forgot something…"

Dipper's brow beaded as he attempted to figure out what exactly Wendy was talking about.

Her freckle-filled face slowly turned a tickled pink as she raised the small form closer, "I forgot to say, thank you for always coming to my rescue…"

With that, Wendy bent down and gave the mystified tween a short, but tender kiss on his cheek, instantly sending Dipper into an almost catatonic state.

"…my hero…"

She giggled light-heartily at his over-the-top reaction to her simple gift. As Wendy went to set the stunned boy down, he sprung back to life, surprising her to the point that she nearly dropped him too hastily.

"WAIT!"

Before Wendy could react in any fashion, Dipper reached upwards towards her.

"In that case, thank you for saving my bacon as well…"

He returned the favor by giving the off-guard young adult a cheek peck of her own.

"…my heroine…"

Despite being shocked and somewhat flustered by what just occurred, the redhead gently set Dipper back down on the grassy floor.

"Okay; enough of all of this mushy stuff." She looked down at her little devotee and offered her hand to him, "How about we get out of here? After all, I'm definitely going to need your help with my next scheme."

Dipper excitedly slid his tiny hand into Wendy's as they walked side-by-side back towards the main trail. Simply content to be included in her newest adventure, Dipper quizzed her for more details, "So, what exactly are we doing?"

"Simple!" Wendy prided. "We're going to get some payback on the guys! I have a prank planned that's so bad, they're going to run home and cry to their mamas!"

"Wendy," Dipper tried to warn his determined comrade. "Didn't you learn anything from today about playing tricks on people?"

She turned towards her fretful chum, "It's like I said earlier, Dipper: I almost was eaten by a cougar, and those dorks couldn't even give me as much as a heads-up. They aren't getting away with that scot-free…"

Dipper could only sigh in defeat, "…What's the plan?"

Smirking due to Dipper's trouble-free surrender, Wendy began to dictate the details, "First things first; do you still have my cap?

"I left it at the Shack with Mabel. Why?"

Wendy bent down and whispered more fine points to her partner in crime, "Well, before we head back, we need to stop at the store and pick up some thick ketchup. Or I guess we can use strawberry syrup; you know, whatever's cheaper…"

"Uh-huh…"

"We cover my hat with the red stuff, making it look like a bloody mess…"

"Then what?"

"We track down those traitors. My guess is that they're hiding out at Greasy's Diner, or the movie theater. Anyways, I need you to take the cap, and run inside, screaming and crying, "Look what happened!"

Dipper could only shake his head and blissfully laugh as he listened to the wicked detailing of Wendy's vengeful design. As both adolescents headed towards the next escapade together, they carried a sense of delight and reprieve as each had received exactly what they wanted in the first place:

Everything had returned back to normal…