Ethereal

06

Danny awoke to Jazz's alarm clock, cutting through the thick morning air like melted butter. He groaned and put his pillow over his head, trying to ignore the persistent beep.

"Danny!" Jazz said, and he felt a pillow land on the pile of blankets that covered him. He groaned in response.

"It's eight thirty. Don't you want to go see the town?"

"Jazz, this is a vacation. I'm not getting up until after nine."

Danny dared a peek from under the pillow. Sunlight streamed through the cheap fabric of the tent, lighting it in an orangish glow. The shadow of the RV blocked out some blinding sunlight, though not much, and his mother's and father's shadows could be seen, fumbling with something that smelled of bacon. He placed the pillow back over his head.

"Breakfast is ready, Danny. Don't you want to eat as a family?"

"Not really."

Suddenly, the dreaded folk music blasted from outside, followed by the excited squeal of his mother. There was no way he would be able to fall back asleep in this racket. Hesitantly, he sat up, rubbing his eyes and stretching.

"There you go. I'll be outside."

Rather slowly, Danny walked outside and into the RV, fumbling with his white tee and blue jeans. After tying on sneakers, he splashed water on his face and messed with his hair before giving up on it and walking outside. There was no taming the black jungle that sat atop his head.

He pulled the Fenton Phones out of last night's jeans and tried to call his friends, though he knew they wouldn't answer. Sam and Tucker always slept in late, and Danny planned on finding a nice shady tree somewhere to rest. Circles shaded the skin underneath his eyes, making it evident to everyone around him that he had lost hours of sleep.

He opened the RV door and was greeted by a small girl, her braces glinting in the morning sun. Danny flinched.

"Good morning!" The girl shouted. She seemed overly peppy, her long brown hair bouncing around her. Her physical features reminded Danny of someone, but who?

The girl rubbed the sleeve of her sweater. How in the world was she wearing that thing? Danny was naturally cold all the time, but just seeing it on her was enough to make him sweat.

The girl saw him eyeing her sweater and smiled. "You know what this shirt is made out of? Girlfriend material, that's what."

"I—"

"Mabel!" A familiar voice said behind her, and she groaned before turning and flashing a fake smile at Dipper. His bandage had been ripped off, revealing a thick red scab right underneath his cheekbone.

"What's up, bro-bro? I'm just meeting our new neighbors—"

"They aren't our neighbors," Dipper grumbled, grabbing Mabel's wrist and stomping off.

Danny was confused. Bro-bro? They were obviously sister and brother, most likely twins. Their features were almost identical, their ages matching up. The only major difference was the personalities. That and their genders, of course.

He watched as the boy dragged his protesting sister through the Mystery Shack's door. His parents had ditched the bacon and we're now talking to a man Danny had seen yesterday, but only briefly. His suit looked cheap, his gray hair covered by a red fez. In his hand, he held a cane of sorts, and underneath his glasses was one eyepatch that he obviously didn't need. He talked in a loud, scratchy voice, loud enough for Danny to tune in to.

"Really?" he said. "Your weapons and thingamabobs could sure bring tourists to this old shack."

Danny shook his head while his mother responded, her voice incomprehensible from this far away. Though no one else could see it, he could look right past the man's carefree demeanor. A glint of curiosity and purpose was in his eyes, or rather, eye. Danny, unlike other people, would respect this man's secrets and go about his day. If anyone could understand anything about secrets, it was him.

His father smiled. "We'd love to show people how to fight ghosts! This new invention is called the Ghost Globber."

Danny's mother opened her mouth to correct him only to be cut off by his loud explanation.

"It shoots ghosts with ectoplasmic energy, but it doesn't hurt humans. Watch this!" His father aimed the gun at a passing squirrel, shooting ectoplasm all over it. The squirrel shot away in surprise and his father rested the gun on his shoulder in confidence.

However, he accidentally pulled the trigger while doing so, shooting Jazz in the face with goo from the Ghost Globber. Danny winced as Jazz screamed in anger. He sighed and left the premises with a piece of bacon in his hands. He didn't wish to stick around.

Instead, he headed into town.

[][][]

"Dipper!" Mabel scolded angrily, but the preteen boy wasn't paying attention to his twin sister. Instead, his eyes were on the window, watching and listening as the two parents talked to Grunkle Stan on the front porch. His eyes occasionally shifted to Danny, who seemed not to notice him there behind the window.

Mabel joined Dipper by the window. "He's so cute."

Dipper shook his head in disgust. "He's way older than you."

"So? Wendy is way older than you."

"That's different."

"This new invention is called the Ghost Globber," he heard someone announce from outside the window. "It shoots ghosts with ectoplasmic energy, but it doesn't hurt humans."

Dipper watched as the teen winced and grabbed a piece of bacon, walking off towards the direction of the town. He witnessed Danny shiver, a breath of air visible in front of his mouth. How could the  teen be so cold in the middle of summer?

"Mabel, follow me."

"Where are we going?" The announcement of an adventure perked her up, causing her to whip her head from side to side as if a present would appear. Dipper shook his head and pointed at Danny's back.

"We're following that guy."

This story has over 450 reads. Are. You. Serious. I never expected this book to get past 100, much less 450 by chapter five! Thank you all so so much for the support, it means more than life to me.