Danny had originally been behind the group, his breath coming out as a fine blue mist in the humid summer air. He closed his mouth in an attempt to stop it, though the condensation eventually began coming out of his nose like a dragon breathing fire. He was briefly reminded of Princess Dorathea and her magical amulet, turning the wearer into an angry fire-breathing dragon at any given time. The corners of his mouth turned upwards into a small grin as he thought of these past memories.

A hand reached out and pulled him to the front of the group.

"Jeez, Fenton, are you always this cold?" Wendy asked, brushing her hand off on her flannel shirt.

Danny ignored the question, saying, "I think that's the first time you've come close to actually saying my name."

"Yeah, well, don't get used to it."

They arrived at the lake, Danny desperately holding his breath. It was like the lake was emanating ghostly energy, and he wondered what might lurk beneath its waves.

Thompson began taking his shirt off.

"Uh, I don't know if that's such a good idea," Danny said, studying the water. It wasn't exactly clean; moss acted as a barrier from land to lake, sticking to the sides like a gross fence. A single dock made of rotting wood reached out over the lake and some of the teens stepped onto it, causing it to creak as if contemplating to break or hold strong. Danny refrained himself from shivering in disgust and took a deep breath.

"Trust me, City Boy, we've swum in this lake a lot."

"Cannonball!"

Thompson splashed into the water, swimming out to an area less covered in murk and moss. Following after him was Lee and Nate, with Tambry simply sitting on the edge of the dock, phone in hand. She took a picture of the laughing boys.

Wendy looked over at Danny, concerned. "If you don't really want to swim here, I know this really cool place not far from here. The water is like, super clear."

"What?" Dipper asked, surprised. "You've never shown Mabel and me this before?"

Wendy shrugged. "It wasn't really important before."

So, with only a moment's hesitation, Danny followed after Wendy, Dipper and Mabel sticking behind. They were whispering something to each other and Danny was far too tired to eavesdrop. Besides, it would be rude.

"So like, Robbie was a total jerk. I mean, maybe not total, but he always played this really cool act when he actually wasn't cool. He's just like, super messed up."

"Like you?" Danny joked.

Wendy blew air through her nose. "No. I'm not messed up. I mean, maybe a little, but he's my-parents-keep-dead-bodies-laying-around-everywhere kind of messed up, you know?"

"No, I wasn't saying that. I was saying you keep up a chill act when you're actually super worried all the time."

Wendy's breath hitched slightly and she glanced over at the seemingly carefree boy. How did he know so much about her in such little time?

"Anyways," she said after a while, avoiding the question, "this is it."

Danny pushed through a layer of bushes before emerging in a meadow, the grass waist high and the sun beating down. Running down the center was a small, glistening stream, the water shining like gems. It was so clear, Danny could see right down to the colorful rocks below. He held his breath.

"Cool, right? I don't really know why this water stays so clear, but I know it runs right through the woods, and that's pretty sweet."

Dipper's eyebrows furrowed. "Seems a little strange, doesn't it?"

"Dipper," Mabel whined, "not everything in this town is paranormal. Can't you just accept that we've come across a beautiful meadow with beautiful water that's just—guys, I really want to drink that water.

"No, nuh-uh, no way." Dipper shook his head. "You don't know what type of bacteria could be in that stream!"

"It beats the lake," Mabel sighed.

Danny got closer to the water, staring at the hypnotic surface. A gentle breeze caused small ripples to lap at the edges of the land.

Wendy came up behind him and pushed him in.

In one splash, Danny coated the three others in cold water. Wendy was so taken aback by the frigidness of it that she fell right in, grabbing ahold of Mabel's sweater in an effort to keep herself from toppling over. The two fell in beside Danny, the stream water so shallow that it only went up to their chests when they were sitting.   Dipper was once again coated in the cold water.

Mabel laughed and splashed Wendy with water, who in turn smirked maniacally.

"Oh, it's on!"

Beside Danny, the two girls were having a full out war, water soaking their hair and dripping into their eyes. Dipper shivered, freezing.

"Come on, Dip, it's really not so bad once you're in!" Danny encouraged.

Dipper was rearranging his face to sport an angered glare when Danny climbed a little ways out of the water, grabbed Dipper's wrist, and dunked him under. The preteen came up gasping and spluttering, splashing more water in Danny's face.

The teen splashed Dipper playfully, and in an instant, the preteen's angered face became one of pure joy.

The two boys joined in on the water fight, ignoring their soggy clothes. The longer they stayed in the water, the more fun they seemed to have, until the sun began sinking and the group they had arrived at the lake with started calling their names. They climbed out with goofy grins, their hair sticking to the sides of their face.

Wendy shook herself off, much like a dog would do after taking a bath. This earned her some pretty strange looks.

"What?" She inquired innocently.

Having no choice but to let themselves air dry, they headed back to the lake, the sky lighting everything in deeper shadows. The four teens that they had ditched looked as if they were trying to look angry and failing miserably. Everyone had had too much fun today for any negativity to be spread, even Nate and Lee looked like they had forgiven each other.

Even Tambry looked a little happier, though Danny could never tell what she was thinking.

As they walked to the Mystery Shack, everyone found their stomachs growling. Danny's Ghost Sense was surprisingly not going off, whereas it had been impossible to ignore before. He tried to focus on the orange-pink sky, the colors mixing like wet paint.

Danny decided then that this town might be a little better than he had originally thought, and Dipper decided that Danny, well, he wasn't as bad as he thought.

[][][]

Upon arriving at the Mystery Shack, Thompson, Tambry, Nate, and Lee all immediately headed home, complaining about the sun setting and their stomachs growling.

"You guys can eat here, if you want," Mabel offered, ushering them into the shack. Danny nodded gratefully, for his family had already eaten and was now sitting around a small campfire.

"What do you guys want?" Stan grunted. Danny was surprised at the man's appearance: he sported blue striped boxers and a greasy tee, his eyepatch taken off. Danny caught sight of a scar on the great uncle's shoulder blade, but he decided not to say anything.

"Hamburgers," Wendy said, licking her lips.

"Fish," Danny said quickly, looking up at the man.

"Salad," Mabel and Dipper stated in unison.

"I heard pizza. Did any of you say cheap oven-made cheese pizza, because that's what I heard."

Stan stuffed the pizza into the oven and left for the living room, scratching his back and leaving the four adolescents to chat about the day's shenanigans. Dipper looked down and grinned.

"Yeah Danny, I'm sorry I was so mean to you. You're actually pretty cool."

"It's no problem, little man. I was the one being weird."

"Nah, I was the one that wouldn't let you keep your secrets."

Danny smiled. He really, really appreciated that.

The four of them fell asleep at the table before the pizza even finished cooking.