"Dipper, do you think there are werewolves here?" Dipper Pines looked at his twin sister over his journal.
He gave her a small smile. "Still dreaming about that epic summer romance, huh sis?" Mabel Pines smiled at her brother, a small blush creeping into her rosy cheeks.
"I was just wondering..." she said softly, suddenly jumping over the side of the armchair and into her brother's lap to get a closer look at the book. He bit his tongue and curled his fingers around a pillow as her knees landed in an unfortunate spot between his legs.
"God, Mabel," he murmured, and she giggled. "Got anything in your magic-booky-thingy about werewolves?"
"I thought you wanted a vampire," Dipper said, flipping a few pages to look for the creature anyway.
Mabel shrugged, the lollipop design on her teal sweater rising and falling with her. She leaned against her brother as he stopped at a page.
"Maybe this will help you," he said finally, raising the journal to his sister's eye level. She squealed happily and snatched the book away, knocking her brother onto the living room carpet in the process.
Dipper rolled onto his back on the shag carpeting and stared blankly at the ceiling. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" Mabel suddenly yelled.
"What is it?" he asked, propping himself up on his elbows to look at her. Mabel beamed down at him and crawled out of the armchair to show him the faded yellow page.
"Look here!" she said, pointing to a slightly smeared line of dark ink writing. "It says, 'Werewolves are usually boys, and for some reason all the werewolves I've found in my studies are blond teenagers with an extreme sense of shyness and pale eyes that are found as extremely striking to young girls.'"
Dipper looked at the book suspiciously. "Why exactly did the writer of this book know how werewolves are considered attractive to girls?" Mabel shrugged, a dreamy look in her eye.
He looked at her and waved his hand in front of her face. "Hello? Mabel?"
She blinked, her doe-eyed look disappearing. Suddenly she looked a little upset. "Dipper! Thanks for nothing; I was in a nice fantasy about my werewolf guy!" Dipper rolled his eyes.
"Alright, alright, go back into your fantasy," he told her, picking up the journal and standing up. "I'm gonna go get a soda." Mabel had already zoned out, a broad smile spreading across her face.
Dipper groaned, muttering, "Why'd I ever show her that page on werewolves? I could've showed her a page on pixies or something, something where she wouldn't be lost to all mankind all day…"
He walked into the gift shop, bending down to pull a Pitt can out of the cooler.
"Excuse me?" a small voice said behind him. He whirled around, coming face to face with a tall boy with light hair. He looked a little startled as Dipper looked at him, giving him a nervous smile. "Sorry, I don't mean to bother you," he said softly.
All the werewolves I've found…blond teenagers… Dipper shook the thought out of his head and gave the boy a slight smile.
"No-no," he said slowly, "It's cool. What'cha need?" The guy looked at his feet.
"Uh, I was just wondering if there were any more of these," he said, almost whispering as he held up a small plastic ball containing a clay model of the Mystery Shack. Dipper found it cheap but rather pretty as pieces of broken glass floated around in the water. "Exotic Crystal Ball", his uncle liked to call it. "You shake it, and it shows you where you're most likely to spend money next," he had told Dipper as he slid the plastic spheres onto the shelf.
Dipper glanced at the one the boy twirled around in his hand. "Is there something wrong with it?"
"Turn it over," he said, Dipper only barely managing to catch what he said. Would he mind speaking up a bit? I don't have eagle hearing!
A small crack ran along the plastic, and the tap water Stan had infused into the trinkets leaked out slowly. Dipper blinked. "Oh, sorry man," he said, looking up at the boy, "Are there anymore on the shelf?"
The boy shook his head. "I-I checked already," he whispered. "Sorry, I don't mean to be a bother, but I was wondering if there were any more in the back room."
"Uh, maybe," Dipper said, setting his Pitt can on the counter. Wendy glanced up at him as he did it.
"Oh, hey Dipper," she said calmly, her eyes trailing to the unopened can. "Oh cool! Thanks for the drink, kiddo!" She smiled, flicking a finger at his cap affectionately and popping open the top.
Dipper blushed at his crush, then shook his head and turned back to the boy. "We don't exactly have a back room," he explained, "But there might be some more in the hall closet."
He turned, opening the door that led into the house. "Come on," he said to the boy, who jumped at being acknowledged.
"You-you want me to go with you?" he said timidly. Dipper shrugged.
"You wanted the thing, didn't you?" The boy nodded as Dipper pushed open the door. "Well, come on then!"
He walked through the living room, where Mabel still sat on the rug, fantasizing about her dream werewolf. Dipper wanted to yell at her to try scoping out the boy he was helping out, but he shook the thought out of his head, mentally telling himself to shut up.
Pulling open the hall closet door, he smiled and slipped another plastic mystery ball out of it's bubble wrap packaging. "Hey man, you're lucky, I found one! Fresh out of the- what'cha lookin' at?"
The boy's light grey eyes were focused on one thing and one thing only, his eyes widening the more he looked on. Dipper followed his gaze as it landed directly on Mabel.
"Wh-who is that?" he asked timidly, blushing profusely. Dipper snorted. What are the odds?
"That's my sister," he said, putting a hand on his shoulder to guide him to the living room. The boy flushed.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't know she was-"
"Nope, no need to apologize," Dipper said calmly, cutting him off. He smiled at him to show that he meant it. "C'mon, I'll introduce you to her."
He walked up to his sister, prodding her lightly with his foot. "Mabel? Mabel…you awake?"
Mabel blinked, her gaze suddenly focused on Dipper. Her eyes darted from the boy to him, then back to the boy rather quickly. Dipper smirked. Why am I enjoying this?