(Maybe a little OOC on Bill Cipher here, but he's cute anyway!)

"Captain's log, star date…" I check my watch for dramatic effect. "Second day in the Mystery Shack." I chuckle to myself and straighten my black bowtie.

"So you did pick something up from all that Star Trek I showed you!" Shooting Star crashes into my room, flopping backwards onto my bed. "Blop. What's up, Cipher?"

I look at her for a moment. "How long were you listening to me?"

"Like forever." She does a weird handstand. "Hey! After you're done with your shift, maybe we can go on a Mystery Hunt together! It'll be FUN! I even decorated you an invitation!" She tosses a piece of paper to me. It's pink, and the sparkly stuff is all over my hands. I consider it, but decide against it. I'd need Pine Tree's authority.

"Dipper's the one who invited you, silly!" On "Silly", she pokes my nose. Right. Stop thinking out loud. But Pine Tree was paranoid that I may ruin something…

I decide not to question it any more than need be. If there's a catch, so be it. I agree to go and re-dress myself in something that won't tear or get ruined by the thorns and vines in the forest. Black sweatpants are kept in the back of my wardrobe. I also put on a black turtleneck sweater and a yellow vest. Just for good measure, I stuff the pine tree hat into the inside of the vest. I head out once my shift is over.

"Hey, Bill." Pine Tree doesn't look up from his journal. Shooting Star, however, is struggling not to burst out in laughter.

"What?"

She holds a finger to her lips and ruffles around inside my vest, placing my hat on my head. She chuckles and taps her brother on the shoulder. He looks up at me and raises his eyebrows. "Hate to break it to you…"—He clears his throat suggestively—"…Pine tree, but…uh… Blonde's not your color."

"Hah. Hah. I'm laughing. See? Genuine." I drag the corners of my mouth upwards into a grimace that makes all three of us burst out laughing. "So we're twins for the day. Great. First can I know what exactly we're going to do?"

"That's for us to know and YOUUUUUUUU—" Shooting Star pokes me in the cheek. "—to find out!"

"I already want to throw myself off a cliff."

"Awwww don't be that way, Bill!" She skips around Pine Tree. "I think you'll have a great time!"

We set off into the forest, Pine Tree silent and catlike as he slips between branches and steps in the perfect places. I follow as quietly as possible, but I'm a clumsy human, so I manage to step on every loud thing we come across. I don't know how Shooting Star does it, but she's gymnastically swerving and avoiding every obstacle in a weird little dance.

Eventually the forest begins to thin out and give way to flowers, soft soil, and brightly flowering trees. When Shooting Star pulls a green curtain of lichen back, it's a cascade of colors that my human eyes strain to look at.

A deep blue marsh, covered by overhanging willow trees and wisteria flowers, lies before me. Shadows of neon creatures dart just beneath the surface of the water, creating boiling cyan foam on the top. Just past the curtain is a smooth, flat rock, slightly wetted by the pond water, with a patch of sunlight right on the edge. The lagoon is the most beautiful thing I've seen with human eyes.

"Pretty great, huh?" Shooting Star prances through the curtain and onto the edge of the stone balcony. "Woo!"

Pine Tree gives her a lighthearted laugh and follows her up. "Come on, Bill!"

His fingers entwine with mine and he pulls me gently up. I can see the neon streaks clearly from this vantage point, and notice that as their bodies slither up and down through the water that they look more and more like brightly colored snakes. It takes me a moment before I glance down at our hands. His is warm and soft, while mine is growing clammy. I'm about to look him in the eye, but he lets me go and digs in his backpack for something.

Shooting Star eases herself off the balcony and onto the two-foot strip of sand. She steps slowly across the sand, then kneels by the water. She looks at me and waggles a finger, mouthing "Come here." I follow her and kneel beside her, my hands squeezing the soft sand between my fingers. "What are they?"

"Eels." She reaches her hand out and rests it on the surface of the water. Two eels, one blue and one purple, sidle up beneath her hand almost instantly, holding it above water. She giggles. "You can walk on them. It's neat, right?" She stands up and steps on the water. She's instantly carried as she steps to the other bank, the bright scales slithering up and slightly around her feet. "Come on!" she calls.

"I-I don't know. Are you sure it's safe?"

"As long as you don't stomp them."

Pine Tree calls down to me. "It's alright. I could never do it either. Good news is, I found the sandwiches."

"YES!" Shooting Star skips lightly across the water, calling "Thanks" down to every one of the eels.

I awkwardly clamber up onto the rock, crawling over to Pine Tree, who's holding three ham sandwiches. I take one, slowly opening my mouth and fitting as much as possible into it before biting down.

"Geez, Bill, calm down. It's not gonna swim away." Pine Tree giggles, handing another sandwich to his sister. We sit in a little circle, eating in silence. I take tiny bites, trying not to eat it too quickly. It tastes better under the dark, yet bright canopy of the lagoon. Mabel glomps hers down in three bites, but takes forever to down the carton of milk Pine Tree produces from his bag. Pine Tree's eating his symmetrically, placing each bite directly before the last. I'm trying to replicate him, but I sometimes take a big bite and then a small one and it messes it all up. Pine Tree notices my frustration and laughs.

"You don't have to eat it perfectly. I just eat this way because my brain likes patterns. Here." He pushes the half-eaten sandwich up to my face. "Just eat it."

I oblige, and soon it's gone. He nudges the milk carton towards me, and I take it and take tiny sips of it. I make it last until they're both done.

After eating, Pine Tree goes and inspects a flower, leafing through his journal to find its name. His face is concentrated, but the place we're in prevents it from looking frustrated. He grins at the flower for no reason, the sunlight reflecting off his face. I watch from a crouched position on the edge of the stone balcony. Shooting Star is busy lying facedown on a bed of eels.

After an hour of absent messing around, we start heading back. I'm slightly less loud and obnoxious, walking through the forest, but it's short lived, because Pine Tree has to help me out of a bramble, and that requires very close physical contact.

It's like time stops. My heart thunders in my ears as he struggles to untwist me from the bramble. Afterwards, I'm way too hot and flushed to walk quietly.