After Mabel helped Will recover, they went along a new plan to figure out what Mermando was all about. Will was reluctant to say the least, since he had a relented ache inside his head. He tried healing himself, and for a moment, it worked, but not for long. Was it possible that his powers were growing weaker, was it because he hadn't been practicing often?

"Will."

Will blinked, realizing Mabel was speaking to him. "Yeah?"

"I have a perfect plan to approach Mermando," Mabel smiled.

"What is it?"

"First, I purchase a sub sandwich from the snack bar," Mabel said. "Then, I give him the sandwich in exchange for one date with me."

Will tilted his head. "And, you're sure this will work?"

"Nobody can refuse a sub!" She declared.

So, the Guardian and Will ordered one sub sandwich, before looking for the young man from earlier. They eventually saw him leaning against another corner of the pool, and Mabel immediately approached him, with Will not far behind.

"Hey again!" Mabel beamed.

Mermando turned to her, smiling in recognition. "Hola, Mabel. Hola, Will."

"I love your accent!" She exclaimed. "Is that Australian?"

"It's Spanish, Mabel," Will told her.

Mabel ignored him, and continued to step forward. "Anyway, look what I got you--AH!" At that moment, she stumbled on a crack in the concrete floor, the sandwich launching out of her hands.

"I got it!" Will said, and reached out to catch it.

He managed to in the end, but also resulted in smashing into the water. Will held his breath at the last possible second, his vision blurry. Still, he almost gasped, when he saw a glitter in front of him, that seemed to be connected to Mermando. They almost looked like...scales!?

Terrified, Will quickly swam upwards, breaking the surface. He gasped in a lungful of air, still holding onto the now soggy sandwich. Mabel knelt down, and regarded him with worry.

"Will, are you--"

"I saw something!" Will squeaked. "Scales! Mermando had scales!"

Mermando stiffened, while Mabel only looked confused. "Will, you know swallowing pool water is bad for your head. All that chlorine messes you up."

"But, I'm telling the truth," The boy insisted, then spun towards Mermando. "What are you hiding?"

The young man hesitated for a long while, and his brow scrunched up in frustration. "I have a confession to make..."

The two friends looked at him intently, waiting for Mermando's next response. The next thing they knew, the young man pushed away the floaty raft that was covering his legs, revealing that he had a fish tail.

"I am a merman," Mermando said, finally.

Will released the sandwich in shock, letting it's contents float around him. "Oh..."

"That's a relief!" Mabel said. "I thought you had a girlfriend."

"So, you're a merman?" Will said, still in disbelief by the whole thing. "How did you end up here?"

Mermando sighed heavily. "I remember swimming with my dolphin friends, then suddenly, I was enslaved by this fishing net! I was headed to Zero Gravity Town, but then I tried to escape, but fell down a drainage pipe and ended up here..."

"Holy Axolotl," Mabel breathed.

"And now that you know what I am...you must seriously be weirded out."

"No way!" Mabel told him. "Trust me, you're the least weirdest thing I seen this summer! How about, we three hang out and get to know each other until the pool closes?"

Mermando smiled warmly at her. "Thank you, Mabel."

The female Guardian blushed in return. "No problem, Mermando."

"I'll get a replace sandwich in the meantime," Will said, swaying his arms through the floating pickles around him.

❇❇❇

Meanwhile, Dipper and Bill were confronting Mr Poolcheck. Dipper did most of the talking, since he knew Bill would mess it up somehow.

"And we promise she won't do it again," The brunette finished. "So, can you let Wendy out early?"

Mr Poolcheck narrowed his eyes. "How about this, instead? Since there is a lack of lifeguards around, you'll be taking on the roles from now on, and then I'll release your friend."

Bill glared. "Hold up, you wrinkly tangerine, that's not--"

"Bill!" Dipper snapped, then turned to Poolcheck with a forced smile. "Lifeguards? That can't be too hard."

"You may think that, but are you really prepared for the dangers the pool has for you?" Poolcheck demanded.

"Uh, sure," Dipper answered, awkwardly. "I think we can handle it."

"Can you handle this!?" He screamed, before easily removing his hand from his wrist.

Both Bill and Dipper screamed in surprise, but eventually realized it was only a prosthetic.

"I lost my hand to a pool filter!" Poolcheck snapped, before screwing it back onto his wrist. "The pool might seem nice, but she'll turn on you in an instant. So, it's important that you respect her rules! You got that?"

"Yes," Dipper said, hesitantly.

"Good," Poolcheck replied. "Welcome to the deep end, son."

Dipper tilted his head. "Thank--"

He was cut off, when Poolcheck aggressively hugged him. "Ack!" Dipper choked. "Bill, a little help here?"

"Nah," Bill replied.

Poolcheck finally released the Guardian, giving them both a serious look. "The pool is nearly closing, you two will be working first thing tomorrow. Good luck, guppies."

Then, he walked off without another word, leaving the two alone.

"Red owes us big time for this," Bill said.

"Agreed," Dipper said.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the pool, Mabel and Will were bidding Mermando farewell, as soon as people started leaving the area.

"Can I hopefully see you tonight?" Mermando asked, mostly looking at Mabel.

"Definitely!" She smiled. "See you later, Mermando!"

The two walked off, as the merman dived into underwater. Will regarded Mabel with a frown.

"Isn't the pool closed after hours?" Will pointed out.

"Kinda," Mabel said, sheepishly. "But, maybe I can visit Mermando just this once."

"OK, but be careful," He told her.

Mabel dismissed this with a wave of her hand. "No worries, I'm the most careful person there is." She said this, before slipping on the wet concrete and falling into the pool.

She rose to the surface, her soaked hair covering her eyes. Will was stifling his laughter nearby, and Mabel warned. "Not. One. Word."

❇❇❇

Later that night, back in the shack, the Cipher twins were preparing for bed. While Will got dressed in his pajamas, Bill was telling him about his day.

"So basically, Dipper and I are forced to be lifeguards in exchange for setting Wendy free. And our boss is a complete psychopath."

"It can't be that bad," Will told him. "I mean, I heard lifeguards get free snack privileges."

"Yeah," Bill agreed.

"And plus, you get to spend more time with Dipper."

"Yeah--I mean, like I care!" Bill spluttered.

Will rolled his eyes at his brother's childishness, pulling on his pajama shirt, before climbing into bed. "At least your day was much easier than mine."

"Oh yeah, I heard Mabel made you her wingman," Bill snickered. "So, how did it go?"

"I nearly drowned twice, and a sandwich died today," Will explained. "But, other than that, I think Mabel really hit it off with that guy."

"Weird, I thought Mabel had a thing for Pacifica."

Will blinked. "What? No way, I would've noticed that."

"You don't notice a lot of things, Will."

"Jerk."

Bill shrugged nonchalantly, then yawned and laid his head down on his pillow. "OK, time to recharge," He said, putting off the light.

As the blond immediately drifted to sleep, Will was still wide awake. He was worried about Mabel, but decided to push that fear down. Will prayed his friend wouldn't be caught, and forced his eyes closed.

While the twins slept, across the town, the pool had only two residents. Mabel and Mermando were leaning against the edge, while looking through a scrapbook Mabel brought along.

"And here's me doing leg warmups," Mabel started. "And here's me kicking Dipper in his legs. He couldn't move his legs after that! Can you imagine? Not having legs?"

"I feel like you're doing this on purpose," Mermando pointed out.

"Oops, sorry," Mabel said, skipping to the next page. "And here's me taking a group photo with my family."

Mermando suddenly heaved a deep sigh, and turned away. Mabel regarded him in concern.

"What's wrong, Mermando?"

"I too, had a family once," He explained. "I miss them so much."

"Have you tried leaving the pool?"

"Many times, all were fruitless attempts," The merman said, then smiled sadly. "But, I am glad that I'm here, with you."

He leaned against the edge, then gazed up at the star-studded sky. Mabel could only watch him in awe, and mustered up the courage to move closer.

This is it, your first kiss, She told herself. Just go for it.

She puckered her lips, and closed her eyes.

"What are you doing with your lips?"

Mabel stopped what she was doing, turning red. "Nothing! I was eating some sour candy, and that's why my lips were like that."

"Can I have some candy?" Mermando asked.

Mabel paused, before saying. "No."