Just A Normal Summer (Dipper x OC)

12. On the Hunt

Third POV

The day started pretty normally for our young girl, Dani. She woke, got ready, and made her way over to the Mystery Shack to meet up with her favorite people. But there was something off when she got there. Dipper was nowhere to be seen...

She figured he would be hiding upstairs in his room, so she went up to check. When she opened the door, all she saw was Mabel on her bed, playing with Waddles. Dani rubbed her arm nervously as she made her way up to her friend. "Hey, Mabel..." she greeted awkwardly.

Mabel looked up at Dani and grinned, showing off her braces. "Oh, hey, Dani!" she said. "What's up?"

Dani awkwardly chuckled. "Heh, nothing much. I was just wondering if you've seen you're brother around."

"Oh, yeah!" Mabel said, her eyes lighting up. "He told me to give you this." She reached behind her back and pulled out an envelope with a wax seal that was shaped like a heart.

Dani looked at it questionably before taking it from Mabel. "What's this?" she asked.

"Open it and find out!" Mabel told her with a big goofy smile.

Dani just raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything further. She opened the envelope and pulled out a note, reading it out loud. "'Free Pancakes'?" she read. "What... what does that mean? What's going on?" Mabel just bit her lip and Dani noticed her leg was starting to bounce up and down. "Mabel?" She didn't respond. "Seriously, Mabel, what's going on?"

Mabel groaned loudly, flopping over which caused Waddles to squeal and run out of the room. "Greasy's Diner!" she exclaimed then sighed. "He's at Greasy's Diner and he has something he wants to tell you."

Dani felt nervous. "What does he—?" she was about to ask but Mabel cut her off.

"I'm not even supposed to tell you anything," she said. "So, no more question. Just go, I'll probably see you later to help you out."

"Help me—?"

"Go!"

"Okay, okay!"

---

Dani left the shack and hopped on her bike, making her way over to Greasy's Diner. The entire way, her brain was wracked with all possible things Dipper wanted to say but shook off the one she never thought possible. When she got there, she parked her bike on the rack and walked inside. To her surprise, the place was busy. Several of the townsfolk were in this restaurant. But she couldn't see the one she was looking for. That was until she heard his familiar voice call out her name. "Dani!" Dipper shouted from one of the booths. Dani caught his eye and smiled as he waved for her to come over. She made her way and sat down on the other side of the booth. "Hey, Dani," he greeted. She noticed he looked more nervous than usual.

"Hi, Dipper," she replied. "What's going on?"

Dipper nervously tapped his fingers on the table as he sucked in a deep breath. "I, uh, just wanted to talk for one second, maybe..." he admitted.

Just then, Lazy Susan walked over with a notepad in hand and a pencil in the other. "Hello, is there anything I can get you, dear?" she asked Dani.

Dani was about to respond, but Dipper held up his hand to stop her. "Uh, no!" he interjected. "She's fine. We're just gonna be here for a little bit."

Susan stared at a Dipper for a second, a smile on her face. "Oh... okay," she said and walked off.

Dani raised a brow. "I guess I won't get a cup of tea, then," she said then chuckled.

Dipper looked sheepish. "Sorry..."

"No, you're fine, I'm just pulling your leg," Dani giggled. "So, is there something you wanted to tell me?"