It Started With a Partnership (discontinued)

five: the busted van

I had been working at the golf course for two weeks before I saw the strange Dipper boy again. Everyday, I'd go into work, earn money, and serve the Gleefuls every once and awhile.

And hanging out with Robbie was pretty cool too. He was fun to be around and knew how to make me laugh. And an even bigger bonus? I was being paid!

So it didn't surprise me one bit when I saw the money I'd made in those two weeks. 348. Three hundred and forty eight dollars! Sure, it was as a big chunk of my summer, but the money I was making was definitely worth it.

"Hey, Robbie?" I asked after receiving my paycheck.

"Yuh-huh?"

"So, I was thinking we could do something fun sometime." I shrugged, trying not be obvious. Not only was Robbie incredibly good-looking, he was nice and hilarious! The recipe for my dream guy!

"Yeah, that'd be cool." He looked over at me. "Since we work Monday-Thursday, why don't we just hang out here on Friday or something?"

"Kinda sick of the golf course." I rolled my eyes. "Like, a movie or maybe food? Amusement park?"

"Huh, sounds like fun." Robbie nodded. "Friday might work, I'll have to check to see if I have any other plans going on."

"Great!" I grinned.

Two days later, Robbie came up to me while we were cleaning up the place.

"Hey, so, turns out I have plans tomorrow." Robbie rubbed the back of his neck. "But I thought you could come out and hang with us. That way we still get to hang out."

My heart deflated a little, but I managed to keep up a smile. "Yeah, sure. When?"

"We'll pick ya up." Robbie nodded. "Here's my. Umber. I'll text ya about it, okay?"

"Yeah, great." I grinned. Sure, I wasn't going to get any alone time with Robbie, but at least I got his number!

* * *

Friday night I was sitting at the edge of the woods. My mind was focused on when I'd get to hang out with Robbie. Technically speaking, I wasn't just hanging out with Robbie, so it wasn't a date, which made me slightly upset.

I was so focused that I didn't notice when someone came up behind me.

"Are you gonna stare off into the distance or are ya gonna hang out with your boyfriend?"

I jumped and saw my cousin Gideon. "Gideon! He isn't my boyfriend!"

"Yeah, but you want him to be your boyfriend, don'tcha?" He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Shut up!" I blanched. "Sure, Robbie's nice, but he's older than me and just a friend!"

"You're in high school, right?" Gideon asked. "So, he's in high school, too! Maybe he likes ya."

"I don't think so." I mused. "Sure, I invited him to hang out with me, but now we're hanging out with his friends too."

"Maybe he wants his friends to meet a potential girlfriend?" Gideon asked, trying to get my hopes up.

"Maybe." I murmured. "Anyways, I should probably get ready."

Gideon looked me up and down. "Aren't you already ready?"

"I'd rather look nice!" I snapped. "Well, at least a little nicer than I do right now. Y'know, fix my hair and whatnot."

Gideon just rolled his eyes, "whatever ya say, Paz."

Only an hour later Robbie had rolled up to the Mystery Shack. I ran out the door, shouting that I would be back in a few hours and my parents just let it slide.

The vehicle he pulled up in was a beat-up old van, that somehow didn't match his personality. Until I found out that the van didn't belong to him. And that he had five other people with him.

"Hey, Robbie." I called out and waved.

"Hey, Paz." Robbie gave me a short wave from the passenger seat. "Hop in, it's gonna be amazing."

I pulled the van door open and crawled into the back seat. Once inside, I noticed that there were three guys, one blond, one with dark hair, and the other with regular old brown hair, as well as a girl who had the most bizarre hair I'd ever seen.

"So, this is Paz. She works with me at the golf course." Robbie introduced. "Paz, this is Nate," he gestured to the one with dark hair. "Lee," the blond one. "Thompson," the brown haired boy. "And Tambry." The girl with the cool hair that I wish I could pull off.

"Hey, Paz." They said in nearly perfect sync.

"And Wendy, of course." Robbie smiled at the girl who was driving the beat up van.

I looked at Wendy, and much to my horror, I saw that she was driving one-handed (dangerous enough on its own) but in the other hand she held a cigarette.

"ooh, 'Wendy, of course'," Nate mocked with the puckering of his lips.

The group laughed it off, but I felt upset. Was this Wendy girl Robbie's girlfriend? My face blanched but I tried to play it off as nothing. Hard to do.

"So, where are we going?" I asked after a beat.

Wendy chuckled. "Hope you don't pee your pants, but we're going to our typical place."

"The haunted convenience store down the road." Lee explained. "The spookiest part is that there's a full moon tonight."

"Lighten up, you don't believe in that crap, do you?" Robbie rolled his eyes but smiled at me.

What was I to do? How could I admit that I deeply believed in the supernatural, mainly because of the strange stuff I had experienced in this town alone. The gnome, the creature in the woods. . .the boy.

Dipper. I thought to myself. That boy is so strange. I wonder where he is now? Probably sleeping in a cave or something ominous and creepy like that.

Regardless. I had to answer Robbie's question. So, I did what any teenage girl would do when faced with their crush.

"Nope, not at all!" I replied brightly.

I lied.