Danny was honestly shocked to find someone so young that shared his parents enthusiasm for ghosts. But Dipper didn't seem to be as obsessive as Jack or Maddie; instead, he came off as slightly paranoid of ghosts. But Dipper was definitely interested in them. The kid asked ton of questions, but answered one of Danny's. Whether or not ghosts were in Gravity Falls; clearly, there were ghosts.

Of course Jazz told him not to go ghost. In fact, Danny had said himself that he wouldn't be going ghost during their family vacation due to his parents. Now he was questioning whether or not he should stick to that plan. I'll just go in and out, not for long and not near any ghost hunters. I'll be fine.

"Hey, Danny," Wendy said. She waved her hand over his face. "Dude."

"What?" he asked.

"You zoned out for a bit. And you looked fantastic," Mabel said, sounding lovesick.

Dipper rolled his eyes. "Just ignore my sister. Her summer romance has brought nothing but trouble," he said dryly.

"It's not my fault that Norman was --." Dipper elbowed his sister, and his eyes flicked to Danny. "Was . . . a jerk!" Mabel finished.

Danny raised an eyebrow. These two twins may be the most mysterious adversary I've encountered. "He was a jerk?" Danny asked.

The twins nodded in unison.

"Yeah," Mabel said, "he was."

Danny decided not to pry; he had his own secrets, after all. "Well then . . ." He looked back to Dipper. "So, Dusk2Dawn, right? Where is that?"

Dipper smiled and ran off, then reappeared a few seconds later with a map in hand. "It's right here," he said, gesturing to it on the map. "So, are you and family going to catch them? How do do it? Can I come?" Dipper spoke quickly with excitement.

"Sorry, little buddy," Danny said, rubbing Dipper's hat. "But leave leave the paranormal to the people who can handle it."

Dipper's excitement immediately changed into a more sour mood. "Little? I'm twelve. And I bet I've seen more crazy stuff than you."

Danny laughed. "Yeah, sure."

Dipper opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but stopped and glared. The kid crossed his arms but kept silent.

Danny turned back to Wendy. "So, I guess I'll--."

The door to the Shack opened with a loud thud.

"DANNY!" Jack boomed. Danny winced. "There you are! I was looking at those exhibits when you disappeared. A ghost didn't get you, right?"

Danny was screaming on the inside. "No, Dad," he muttered.

Jack frowned, then looked at Wendy, Mabel, and Dipper. Great. Here we go, Danny thought. "Who are you guys?"

"This is Wendy, Mabel, and Dipper," Danny said. He then muttered, "Please do not try to ruin my one chance at friendship."

Jack didn't seem to hear him. "I'm Jack Fenton! Say, have you seen any ghosts around here?"

Dipper looked excited. Danny knew once Dipper spilled about the Dusk2Dawn ghosts, it'd all go downhill from there. To Danny's surprise, the twelve-year-old glanced at him and said, "Sorry, nope. No ghosts here."

Mabel blinked in surprise, but went along with her brother. "Yeah, sorry."

"Well, keep a look out for them, son!" Jack said. He pulled an ecto-gun out of nowhere and dropped it into Dipper's arms. "Here, kid, take this!" Danny's father walked off, leaving the twins and teens alone.

Danny looked at Dipper. "Why'd you not say anything about ghosts?" he asked in confusion.

"You looked like you were going to have a panic attack," Dipper said with a shrug.

"Oh. Right." Danny awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "My other two friends are back in Amity Park. I can't exactly contact them here."

"Yeah," Mabel said, "Gravity Falls has terrible internet."

Wendy had gone back to relaxing on the counter. She was reading a magazine called "Avoiding Eye Contact Monthly." "Unfortunately, it doesn't block Robbie's texts," she said when her phone buzzed. "Again with the winky frown?!"

"I could always sic' Waddles on him again!" Mabel said energetically.

"Who?" Danny asked.

"My pet pig!"

"This vacation has got to be the weirdest yet. Which is definitely saying something."

~~~~~

Even though he stopped Danny from future embarrassment, Dipper still didn't fully trust Danny. Dipper might of been paranoid as usual, but he knew something was off with Danny. At least the teenager was being nicer than most.

Also, Danny seemed to understand being picked on. He did mutter something about ruining "my one chance at friendship," and Dipper could relate. Back in Piedmont, the only two friends the twins really had was each other; in Gravity Falls, they somehow had found people--whether it be kids, teenagers, or the world's nerdiest old man--that they could hang out with. It really took stress off of your shoulders. Dipper would know. Maybe Danny was trying to do the same. But Dipper, of course, wasn't comfortable enough yet to reveal anything he really knew about the paranormal despite the fact that Danny's family were ghost hunters.

Danny frowned and looked around. "I wonder where Jazz is . . ." He glanced at Dipper, Mabel, Wendy. "She's my sister. Aaaaaand there she is."

A redhead--Like Wendy? Dipper immediately thought and blushed a bit--walked over.

"These exhibits are obviously fake," the girl--Jazz, Dipper presumed--said. "How do people fall for this stuff?"

Dipper shrugged. "All real magic does is freak people out."

Mabel nodded in agreement. "Yup. It doesn't freak us out. Well, not anymore."

Jazz looked at Mabel peculiarly. "You've seen magic?"

Dipper cut in. "No! Mabel is just being weird. We've seen ghosts, though."

"Oh. Well, I'm Jazz. And you are?"

"I'm Dipper. This is my twin sister Mabel, and my friend Wendy."

"Hi!" Mabel said in her usual cheerful tone.

"'Sup," Wendy responded.

Jazz turned to Danny. "Mom told me to come get you. We're going to check out the rest of Gravity Falls," she remarked with an eye roll.

"Welp, it was nice meeting you guys. If ya need me, I'll be in the weird van," Danny said. The two siblings walked off.

"What a weird family," Dipper said thoughtfully.

"This is gonna be fun!" Mabel stated.

~~~~~~~~~~
6-5-1-18
20-8-5
2-5-9-14-7
15-6
4-18-5-1-13-19

~~~~~~~~~~

Sorry that this chapter is a bit short. I hadn't updated in a while, and I thought this was a good spot to end the chapter. Until next time . . . ONWARDS, AOSHIMA!