One Last Deal

Lost in the Woods

Dipper nailed a nail into a tree, solemnly hanging an arrow sign that read "To The Mystery Shack!" on it.

"Grunkle Stan," he muttered, feeling frustrated. "Nobody ever believes anything I say."

He walked up to the next tree and started to hammer another nail into the wood, but something trembled and it shook. Leaves showered down on him and he heard a scream and a loud thud on the other side of the tree.

"What the...?" he said as he walked around the trunk and gasped.

A young girl with dark brown hair who looked about his and Mabel's age laid there on the ground, groaning in pain. He cautiously approached her and lightly shook her shoulder.

Her eyes shot open to reveal her chocolate brown irises.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?!" Dipper asked, clearly flustered. "I-I'm so sorry, I was just hanging these signs up and then the tree shook and I heard you scream..."

The girl chuckled. "Wow, out of all the first impressions I've seen, knocking someone out of a tree has got to be the most bizarre."

She tried to get up, but faltered and almost fell down again. Luckily, Dipper caught her just in time.

"Okay, okay," he said, obviously trying to calm himself down. "You need first-aid; you're coming with me to the shack so we can patch you up."

The two kids walked back the way Dipper came, with the boy holding the mystery girl by her torso so she wouldn't fall.

________________________________________________________________________________

Dipper hesitantly knocked on the Mystery Shack's door to reveal his twin sister, Mabel.

"Hey, Dipper! What's-"

She stopped mid-sentence when she noticed the young girl he had his arm wrapped around.

And, of course, Mabel jumped to the conclusion that...

"Oh my gosh! Dipper! You got a girlfriend!" she squealed happily. Dipper's cheeks flushed a bright red.

"What?! No!" he stammered, clearly embarrassed. "I found her in the woods and-"

"Ooh, the woods! How romantic!" Mabel gushed, elbowing her brother. Dipper quickly shushed her.

"Shhhh! Let's get her to the attic so we can patch her up! We can't let Grunkle Stan see her! He'll freak out!"

Mabel raised an eyebrow.

Dipper sighed. "As soon as we get to our room, I promise that I'll tell you everything!"

The twins managed to get the mystery girl upstairs without Stan finding them. Once they reached their room, they shut the door, and the girl sat down on Mabel's bed. As they helped cover her scratches and bruises, Dipper explained how the two had met.

"So, you guys met in the woods when Dipper accidentally knocked you out of a tree?" Mabel asked as she put a bandage on one of the mystery girl's several wounds.

The girl nodded. "Yup."

Dipper gently took her hand to see if there were any cuts.

The girl quickly yanked her hand away and clenched it into a fist.

Dipper recoiled in surprise. "You okay? Did I hurt you?"

She shook her head.

That's when Dipper realized something.

"Hey, I never got your name."

The girl's expression turned into a small smile.

"My name's Andrea, but I go by Andie," she answered.

Andie's eyes suddenly lit up. "I, uh, found something in the woods before you came. I thought you'd like to have it."

She presented a faded red book with gold accents. There was a gold six-fingered hand on the front with a '3' in the middle. Andie held it out to Dipper.

"Here. I thought you'd be the kind of person who likes adventure and mystery," she said with a wink.

"Wow, thanks" was all that Dipper could say as he took the book from Andie's hands. "Let's get you home," he said, hopping off of the bed with Mabel and headed towards the door.

That's when Andie stammered, "I, um, don't really have a home."

Mabel and Dipper stopped in their tracks.

"Wait, what?"

But that wasn't something coming from the twins.

Stan was standing in the hallway beyond the door, and wore a shocked expression on his face.

Andie giggled nervously and waved. "Uh, hi?"