Mabel's Gift - Parapines

It was time to go.

The summer was finally coming to an end. And, no matter how much they all disliked it, Norman had to go back home. His parents honestly still believed he had attended some fancy summer camp, but now, they were only miles away, coming to take him back to the bitterly cold town of Blithe Hollow again.

Norman glanced down at his cell phone, having received another text from his mom. They were minutes away, and couldn't wait to see him, apparently. He sighed.

It wasn't like he hadn't missed his family; it was that he really didn't want to leave Gravity Falls. He had made such great friends with the Pines twins and became so familiar with this crazy town, it was going to be difficult to actually up and leave.

"Well," Dipper spoke up, after minutes of pure silence, "we'll see you again next summer, right?"

Norman turned around, facing Dipper, and noticing that Mabel was digging around under her bed. By now, it didn't seem strange at all, and he simply ignored her and replied,

"I hope so. I'll have to find some way to convince my parents to let me come all the way out here again, though."

He pocketed his cell phone, looking down at his shoes.

Dipper sighed loudly, crossing his arms over his chest, and sitting on the edge of his bed, remarking,

"Well, if you could get here for free, I'm sure they wouldn't mind much at all."

Norman nodded, because it was probably true. His parents had texted him all summer about how well everyone was doing; his dad got promoted at work, his sister made head cheerleader after tryouts, and his mom was finally weaned off her meds. They seemed to be doing great without him there.

But Dipper seemed to know that, apparently.

Norman stepped back, sitting on his suitcase, and putting his head in his hands. He'd known the twins for only a few months, but he really didn't feel ready to say goodbye.

"AHA!"

Dipper and Norman both looked back at Mabel and she pulled a cardboard box out from under her bed.

"Geez, I thought I lost these! And that'd be TERRIBLE!" she exclaimed to no one in particular. She opened the old box to pull out two gifts. They looked like blankets covered in cheesy Christmas wrapping paper.

With a big smile on her faced, she skipped across the room, shoving a gift into each of the boys' hands. Dipper gave his sister a look, obviously wondering what she was up to, but she was too focused on watching Norman.

"Go on! Open it! You gotta open it before you leave, ya know!" she told him. He glanced up at her, obviously completely dumbfounded. Since when do people give gifts for no reason?

"Uhh, y-you didn't have to, uhm—"

"JUST OPEN IT ALREADY!" Mabel jumped up and down, her anticipation obviously getting the best of her.

"Chill, Mabel," Dipper told her, standing up to come up next to her.

"What's with the gifts, anyway? What even are these?" he asked, poking at the wrapping paper.

Mabel quickly turned on her heel, saying,

"It's a secret 'til you open them! Now, hurry up already! Norman's parents will be here any minute!"

The last comment didn't necessarily cheer up the mood of the room, but Norman glanced at Dipper and they locked eyes for a second.

"Alright, alright. Just open it before she flips out, okay?" Dipper told him, flipping his own gift over to remove the wrapping. Norman shrugged and did the same, slowly pulling the wrapping paper away to see something soft and red. He pulled it away from the paper. It was a sweater.