A snap resounded in his head as Dipper woke up with a jolt. He was laying on his back, over his blanket. The room was in full color. He looked to his left and saw that Mabel and Waddles were already awake. The smell of pancakes downstairs wafted to his nose and he sighed, taking in a deep whiff of breakfast. That's when he noticed movement in his lower peripheral vision. Tilting his head down enough to see what had moved, he screamed, swatting at the giant spider on his chest. Knocking it off, he jumped to his feet, standing on his bed and watching the arachnid. The spider scurried up the wall and out the cracked open window. Sighing, Dipper chuckled at his irrational fear and got down, making his way to the bathroom. He got ready for the day and jogged down the stairs, the scent of fresh pancakes urging him on.
"Nice pitch, Dipper." Stan retorted, smirking at the pancakes he was making up. "Any higher and only dogs could hear you."
Dipper flushed a little in embarrassment, but stayed silent as he went to the table. Mabel giggled at Stan's remark. She stood up and grabbed a couple pieces of ice from the freezer, handing them to Dipper. "Here, you'll need this."
"W-wait, wha-?" Dipper started, trailing off as he accepted the ice. "What's this for?"
Mabel giggled a little more before replying, "For your burn, doofus. Cause you just got one!" She smirked, closing the freezer.
Dipper's expression hardened as Mabel and Stan burst out laughing. "Nice one, Mabel!" Stan remarked, setting down a plate of hot pancakes. "Well, here you kids go." He picked up his coffee and newspaper from the table before proceeding to the living room.
The two ate their breakfast, cleaning up after. "So, did you want to try looking for the Seal of Solomon again?" Dipper asked as he put away the last plate, the details of his dream slipping from his mind as he focused back on the ring.
Mabel looked him straight in the eyes and placed a fist on her hips, "Guuuurrl, why you ackin' so cray cray?" She smirked a little, despite the semi-serious look she was trying to give off.
Dipper chuckled a little and Mabel lost herself, giggling. "Alright," Dipper responded, "we can put it off for a day or so." He waited for her to compose herself a little. "You wanna go down to the pool or something?" He offered, giving out random ideas. Without the Mystery Hunt, he couldn't think of much to do.
Mabel grinned, thinking about getting her quest for summer romance fulfilled. "I call driving the golf cart!" She screeched before darting off upstairs to ready herself for the pool.
"Oh no you don't!" Dipper laughed, bolting off after her. He managed to reach the attic first, closing and locking the door behind him. He got ready, shoving his Journal, along with the sunblock and a few other things in his pool bag after he changed. Shouldering the bag, he unlocked and opened the door to Mabel, who had been pounding the door. She darted into the room and he left, closing the door behind him. He bolted down the stairs and ran out of the Mystery Shack.
"Hey! Where're you going?" Stan called after him.
"Mabel and I are going to the pool!" Dipper hollered back. Reaching the golf cart, he slid into the driver seat and buckled up. He set his bag in the back and waited for Mabel, drumming his fingers in the steering wheel.
Mabel finally appeared from the shack, her one piece bathing suit and swimming skirt on. She also had large, pink sunglasses and a hat, her pool bag bouncing off her hip as she held it to her shoulder. "Aww, no fair! I called dibs," she cried out as she raced to the cart.
Dipper smiled, but unbuckled his seat belt and slid over to the passenger seat, allowing her to drive.
Mabel screeched as she dove into the driver seat, seat belt on in a flash. She flashed him a huge smile as she turned on the cart, and slammed her foot down on the gas. They sped away from the shack eager to get to the pool.
They arrived at the pool, spilling out of the cart and dashing to the swimming pool. Mabel tossed her bag, hat, and sunglasses to the side and jumped in. Dipper grabbed the bags and walked to the best seat at the pool, setting her bag down on the seat next to his. Putting his bag on the ground, he lathered some sunblock on his skin and laid back, relaxing in the sun. He never realized how great it felt to relax like this. He had been so intent on finding out who the author was, that he never even seemed to have taken a moment to relax. He pulled out one of the novels he had packed, one that he had read many times before.
Mabel came over some time later, while he was in the middle of a bit of comic relief in the mystery he was reading. "What'cha reading there, Dipperoni?"
"Below the Sea," Dipper answered not looking up. It was one of his favorites. It started out as a simple story with a simple job. Get billionaire celebrity, Madame Kaiser's, beloved blue and gold brooch back and get paid. But no, Detective Foster, there's much more to this case than that. The Detective is lead through a wild goose chase in southern India. Yet, the cobalt embossed brooch is just off the Russian border. He must retrieve the ornament from the North Sea, which he finds in a dark cave, along with many sunken ships. Upon later inspection, he discovers vast amounts of gold on the ships. He retrieves all the gold he can from the ships. He returns the brooch to Madame Kaiser and gets a reward of a few thousand dollars. He then donates all but two gold coins he could retrieve to museums across the globe. The two coins he keeps, holding onto one to pass to his future bloodline. He sells the other after a few years to the Smithsonian, getting thousands of dollars. He finds a woman back in America and the two marry. He still has his detective work, small jobs in comparison to the Kaiser case. He longs for a thrilling adventure like that again, even if it were just once more. He gets his chance, as his wife dies of causes unknown. Left with his three year old son and a large case to crack, he continues on in the sequel book, Beyond the Stars.
"Haven't you read that, like, 50 bazillion times?" She asked, drying herself off.
"Maybe more like 50. Well 51, now." He corrected, still riveted by his book.
"Close enough," Mabel giggled. She flopped down in her chair, pulling on her hat and sunglasses. "So, ya plan on goin' in any time?" She sighed, relaxing into her chair.
Dipper finished the paragraph he was on, bookmarking his page. He sat up, swiveling his feet over the side of his chair. He set his book to his side and pulled out the sunblock, tossing it on Mabel's stomach with a soft thump. "Yeah." He finally answered, standing up and walking to the pool. Easing into the water, he let himself adjust to its coolness. His spine shivered a couple of times before he became accustomed to the water. He floated around for a little bit, then tested how far down he could go, along with how long he could hold his breath. He pushed himself, trying to hold his breath longer each time he went down.
Some time later he came out of the pool, shaking the water from his head like a dog. He dried off, wrapping his hair up in the towel. He reapplied some sunblock and relaxed back into the chair, dozing off.
He awoke shortly after by commotion. It seemed that someone almost drowned in the pool, but still wasn't resuscitated. Curious as ever, he decided to check who it was. A crowd had gathered around the person and Mr. Poolcheck, head lifeguard at the pool. Crouching, he peered between people's legs to see who it was. He immediately sprang up, shouldering people out of the way with surprising strength.
"MABEL!" he cried out, finally reaching her. Her thick hair spilled around her, almost like a halo, strands plastered to her forehead. Her skin was pallid, her lips turning a faint blue. Mr. Poolcheck continued performing CPR, his expression like steel. Dipper knelt down next to her, brushing her hair from her face. As soon as his fingers touched her temple, she gurgled, coughing up water. She sat up as she coughed up more water, water and saliva drooling from the corner of her mouth. Breathing ragged, she wiped the spit and water from her mouth with the back of her hand.
The crowd relaxed around the three. Dipper was behind his sister immediately after she sat up, rubbing small circles on her back. People started to disperse. Dipper looked back to where his towel had fallen off his head, back when he checked to see who was drowning at the time. He got up and grabbed it, returning to Mabel and wrapping it around her shoulders.
"Thanks Dip," her voice hoarse and raw from coughing and the chlorine. The last of the crowd had dispersed, leaving the twins and Mr. Poolcheck. Dipper hushed her before retrieving her towel as well and draping it on her hair. He extended a hand and helped her up. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and started off to lead her back to her things, intent on going home. Poolcheck stopped them, stepping in their way, arms crossed over his chest. "I take it that it's just you two?"
Mabel leaned against her brother as he answered for the two of them. "Yes. I brought her here so we could relax."
"You realize that while you were 'relaxing,' your sister almost drowned."
"I know, okay!" Dipper snapped, Mabel flinching in his arm. He steered around Poolcheck and hurried Mabel to their things. He put on his hat, stuffed their things in their bags and directed Mabel to the passenger seat of the golf cart. She pulled herself in and buckled up. Dipper tossing their bags in the back before he slid in and buckled up behind the wheel.
Darkness fell. Dipper groaned when he tried the headlights and found one was out and the other was anything but visible.
On the drive home, Dipper couldn't help stealing worried glances to Mabel. 'Why do you keep getting in so much danger lately? Is it me?' Dipper pondered. 'Yesterday with the gap and now today with the pool. It can't just be coincidence. Everything happens for a reason.' He glanced again at Mabel, who had dozed off. 'Maybe it is my fault. I've been just about nothing but bad luck to her all summer. Like with Blendin. If I wasn't so persistent with Wendy, then we wouldn't have made all those time anomalies. And we wouldn't had to play in Globnar, leaving Soos during laser tag on his birthday.' He took a small shortcut through a patch of trees near the shack. 'It's all my fault. I know it is.' He looked once more to Mabel, yelping a little at the bump he ran over. He glanced back to see what he ran over, not seeing much and presuming it was an unearthed tree root.
The rest of the drive was silent. Parking and turning off the cart, he unbuckled and slid the bags on. After easing Mabel awake, he helped her out and walked her to the shack.
"You two are late agai- Geez, what happen?!" Stan exclaimed, seeing Mabel. Dipper gave him a hard expression, one he hadn't given anyone. He walked her upstairs and into the bathroom. Peeling the damp towels from her, he helped her into the tub, her bathing suit still on. He turned on the water and rinsed her off, Mabel dozing off again. He finished and coaxed her out of the tub, wrapping a fresh towel around her. Walking her up to their room with another towel draped on his arm, he sat her down and towel dried her hair. He continued to dry her off and pulled one of her night gowns on her. He pulled her blankets over her and grabbed his own bedding, setting it down between her bed and his. He got cleaned up and got ready for bed. He checked on Mabel once more and slipped under his blanket.