Chapter Text
Mae walks by Collins house, just a few blocks from her own house.
Mae: hi collin! How's it going?
Collin: o-oh! Mae! Wasn't aware you were back, finished college early?
Mae: dropped out.
Collin: oh. Don't wanna try and get my nose into places that isnt my business so.. What's up?
Mae: ..you weren't really asking personal questions.. But I was planning on strolling through town with a friend, and since you're the closest, I decided to ask you first!
Collin: Sure, I guess. Not like i have anything better to do
Mae: awesome!!
Collin: Do you have any like, places specifically you wanna go to?
Mae: nope! Sometimes I just like walking around town with no goal. Makes my brain feel free and less confused.
Collin smiles. He remembers in his teenage years when he did the exact thing mae does now.
Mae: wow.. Has anyone told you that you look cute when you smile?
Collin blushes slightly and feels incredibly nervous
Collin: u-uh.. Thanks.
Collin: Let's roll.
Mae and collin run through town, first stopping to talk to selmers
Selmers: hey mae, who's your friend?
Mae: This is collin! Met him when he moved to possum springs in the.. 2 or 3rd grade. I think.
Collin: h-hey, selmers, right? Im collin.
Selmers: yeah. Im selmers. I write poetry.
Collin: cool! ..I mop floors at the ham panter.
Selmers: I mean, if it pays it pays.
Collin: I guess. Probably not nearly as cool as poetry though.
Mae: Speaking of poetry, have you been writing anything new?
Selmers: bit of a creative block this morning. Dont think ill have one anytime today sadly..
Mae: It's cool! Take your time.
Selmers: thanks. Maybe come back later and I'll have a new poem.
Collin and Mae continue moving along the street.
mae climbs on the electrical poles
Collin: holy crap! Isn't that like, illegal?
Mae: only if the cops are bored as hell! Cmon colin!
Collin: I haven't done this since I was like 15.. God im gonna die
Mae: no you won't..
Collin hops on the electrical poles
Collin looks at mae with a annoyed look
Collin: If I fall, I'm suing you.
As they traverse, they hop between buildings. They stop at one building to rest
Collin, very tired, sits down and tries to breathe.
Collin: god.. Eff.. how do you have so much energy, mae?
Mae: dunno!
Collin: Are you addicted to caffeine? Inject yourself with adrenaline?
Mae: I don't know! I've always just felt so.. Free just roaming town, leaping buildings, balancing on electrical poles, I feel so.. In control.
Collin: alright mae, sorry.
Collin: But Jesus christ.. I wish I had your speed.
Mae: it's been awhile since youve done that, hasn't it
Collin: mae im, an adult now i can't just be jumping on electrical poles like i used to!
Mae: adult?? You're only like, 18!
Collin: Yeah, and that means I gotta be an adult!
Mae: Collin, just because you're 18 doesn't mean you automatically have to act and force yourself to be a grownup. It's ok to be a little childish sometimes! God knows I can be..
Collin: i dont know mae.. I gotta follow society norms.
Mae: EFF society dude.
Mae: I cant believe 18 is legal adult age.. Should be like 21.
Mae: please don't act all adult-ish, ok collin?
Collin: ..ok, margret borowski.
Mae looks annoyed, yet somewhat happy now that collin has learnt being 18 doesn't mean he has to force himself to act and be an adult.
Mae: so.. What do you wanna do now?
Collin: I'm thinking of grabbing something at the snack falcon.
Mae: ok!
Traversing back to the ground, mae and collin run on over to the snack falcon, where mae finally meets gregg again after like 2-3 years in college.
Mae and collin enter the snack falcon, gregg is in complete shock in the fact that mae is finally back
Gregg: oh. My. god.
Mae: hey gregg!
Collin: hi!
Gregg: Collin, did you and mae go to college together? Why are you both back?
Collin: EFF no. You know I can't leave this place. Mae just came back though.
Mae:.. What do you mean by that collin?
Collin: i'll tell you about it later
Gregg: ah, right. Too bad you didn't die in college.
Mae: Too bad you didn't catch a flesh eating disease.
Collin: Too bad you didn't die of a heart attack from eating all these snacks.
Gregg: Too bad you 2 didnt join a murder cult.
Mae: Too bad you didn't lose all your limbs in a freak soda accident.
Gregg: God, it's so good to see you mae.
Gregg: AGGGHHH!!!
Collin: Hey, can you toss me a sandwich?
Gregg: sure!
Gregg hands collin a blt, and collin gives gregg 6$
Gregg: gotta change the music..
Gregg” aggh! It's so great you 2 are back!
Collin: It's been like, 10 hours since we last saw each other, gregg.
Gregg: agghh i know but like, mae is back!!
Gregg: By the way, when did you get back?
Mae: Last night, 11 or so?
Gregg: agghhh!! Awesome!!
Gregg: You should come to band practice!
Mae: oh my god, the band is still a thing??
Gregg: yeah!
Mae looks at Collin eating his blt, realizing they have spent a maximum of 30 minutes together as of now.
Mae: ..maybe later? Collin and I have things to do.
Gregg: ok!
Collin: you sure mae-
Mae grabs Collins hand and walks out of the snack falcon.
Collin: you don't have to feel the need to hang out with me, you can do band practice with gregg and angus!
Mae: But duuude! We've barely spent any time together!
Collin looks shocked that she chose to spend time with him rather than her other friends.
They head to “video outpost too”
Collin: mae, you ever wonder why its called video outpost too and not just, “video outpost”?
Mae: I have. That is an extremely bad typo.
Collin: I'm not even sure if it's a typo or just something the guy who made the sign added on accident.
Mae: I guess we’d have to ask the manager.
Mae: You wanna rent a movie for our sleepover tonight?
Collin: w-what?? I don't remember us organizing a sleepover!
Mae: Just an idea! Might be fun!
Collin: I have to ask my parents first. Have you asked your parents?
Mae: I will later.
Collin: ok..
Mae and Collin continue walking, seeing the WW2 memorial.
Mae: Do you have any relatives on this?
Collin: I actually do, Elliot cheadle. He was my great grandfather.
Collin: My dad told me that he and his family immigrated from Poland to the states during WW2, however he got drafted.
Collin: yeah.. I think it's easy to assume he didnt survive. Least he had my grandfather before getting drafted.
Mae: speaking of.. How is your grandad? I remember before I left for college you said he was living with you and your family.
Collin: yeah.. He died 2 weeks after you left.
Mae: oh.. God, I'm sorry collin.
Collin: I mean, it's not like he died out of nowhere: his health was getting weaker and weaker. I knew eventually it was gonna happen but.. Damn it hurt when he died.
Mae: I know how it feels. My grandad died when I was young.
Collin: yeah well, like any death in the family, i eventually got over it.
Mae: That's good.
Mae: ..can you go to band practice with me?
Collin: I mean, I can watch, I don't play any instruments though.
Mae: That's fine.
Mae and Collin head back to the snack falcon.
Gregg: Hi again! Ready for band practice?
Mae: yeah!
Mae, gregg, and collin head towards the area where they practice music.
Mae: Hey angus!
Angus: hey. It's you.
Gregg: It's mae!!
Collin: it is infact, margaret borowski.
Gregg: aggghh!!
Mae: So party barn went out, huh angus?
Angus: yeah. Not sure how it was ever in business to begin with
Collin: I think I went there once for my 11th birthday, not sure if yall remember that.
Mae: I kinda do?
Angus: I don't, unfortunately.
Gregg: mae!! I found your old bass!!
Mae: oh dude i don't even remember-
Bae walks in
Angus: oh hey bea. Mae and Collin are back.
Collin: oh yeah, it's been a bit since i've last seen you angus, we should talk more after practice.
Angus: sure collin.
Collin: oh, what's up bea?
Mae: wow. Hi.
Bea: yeah, hey mae and collin.
Gregg: They are totally back!!
Collin looks slightly annoyed
Collin: c'mon man! It's been like maybe 20 minutes since we last saw each other!
Bea: Wait, what?
Mae: Are you here for band practice?
Bea: yeah. I play drums.
mae: ..that's a computer, not drums.
Angus: It's fine. She also does your bass parts.
Bea: Well, I understood them as the bass parts.
Bea: But y'know. I can turn them off.
Gregg: mae! We are so gonna play a song! You gotta play bass!
Mae: I don't even remember how!
Collin: Wait, why did you agree to band practice if you don't even know how to play an instrument?
Mae: I thought we would get to watch together, but I guess not!
Colin stands by, and the band plays one of their original songs, and mae, well, doesn't really play well because she hasn't played bass in like years.
Gregg: Well that was.. Uh..
Bae: horrible. That's how it was.
Collin: What the hell did you guys expect? Mae hasn't played the bass in years.
Mae: like 2 or 3 years. But yeah my bass skills are gone for good, i guess.
Angus: You just have to get back into practicing.
Gregg: yeah! I bet you'll be able to play like you used to!
Gregg: Anyways, man that was awesome. Just as awesome as seeing you again.
Bea: ok are we doing this dinner thing?
Collin: Do I have to pay for my own meal?
Bea: I think we are all sharing a pepperoni pizza.
Collin: oh, alright
Gregg: lets gooooooooo!!!
Collin, mae, gregg, angus, and mae, head on over to the dinner, where they get a pepperoni pizza.
They all grab a slice, and eat it.
Gregg: hell yeah. Did you miss pizza mae?
Mae: They had pizza at college.
Gregg, for some reason, puts the crust back on the tray.
collin: .. you're not gonna eat the crust?
Gregg: As much as I like pizza, I hate the crust.
Collin: seriously?
Gregg: yeah! The crust is nasty.
Collin:.. You are weird, gregg
Angus: If you think THAT is weird.. Wait till-
Gregg: angus!! Shut up!!
Mae: Collin, it's not THAT weird..
Collin: swear yall are always against me..
Angus: Anyways, this pizza isn't great.
Bea: It's pretty horrible.
Gregg: dudes. Haven't you heard of the pizza scale?
Collin: hold on.. You've told me about this before..
Collin: It's a scale of the best pizza, and the worst pizza.
Collin: And I'm guessing this is on the lower end
Gregg: yeah! The pizza scale is like that.
Gregg: tho, id say this is up high on the scale.
They continue eating another slice, tho angus struggles to grab the last slice, so collin grabs it and hands it to angus.
Angus: thanks.
Mae: We should have gone to pastabilities.
Collin: Yeah, I guess we should have.
Bea: The food is terrible, but it has charm.
Gregg: you too fancy for the diner now?
Mae: c'mon guys. I was raised in this diner.
Bea: you and like a zillion rats.
Collin: Wait, this place has rats??
Bea: wouldn't be surprised if it did.
Mae: so, when are we gonna play out?
Collin: With how bad your bass skills are, I'm surprised you want to play out.
Mae, now looking slightly annoyed
Mae: becoming actual musicians might be cool idk man.
Collin: Just saying..
Bea: mae. We don't play out.
Mae: oh.
Bea: We have jobs, mae.
Bea: gregg works at the snack falcon, angus works at the video outpost “too” i work at the pickaxe, collin i think got a job at the ham panter like 6 months ago.
Collin: can confirm.
Mae: Where's casey?
Angus: ..
Collin: oh..
Gregg: oh yeah, you wouldn't know, would you
Collin: caseys.. Gone
Mae: gone how?
Collin: A lot of people say he hopped on a train, but I'm not so sure about that. He's been missing for awhile now.
Mae: I mean, didn't he always talk about hopping on a train?
Collin: dunno. Never talked to him that much.
Gregg: yeah one day he was just gone.
Angus: made a clean break. Hasn't talked to us or emailed us at all since, id say june.
Gregg: his parents put up missing poster signs
Gregg: but everyone knew what happened.
Mae: damn. Casey.. I-.. huh.
Bea: mhm.
Collin: Anyways, it's getting dark, I think we should all head out.
Bea: wait. I wanna ask mae something. Why did you leave college?
Mae: screw school.
Collin: understandable.
Angus: We should get going.
Collin, mae, angus, bea, and gregg head out of the diner.
Mae: Man, that was great.
Gregg: Yeah man! We can hang out every day!
Angus spots an actual severed arm, laying on the sidewalk.
Angus: Oh my god.
Bea: holy crap.
Collin: shit..
Collin: that is an actual, severed arm
Gregg: Nobody move. Lets poke it with a stick.
Collin: wh-why??
Mae: I called first!!
Collin: ugh.. R-really?
Mae: c'mon dude! When's the last time you saw a severed arm on the street!
Mae grabs a stick
Angus: mae, this is like, tampering with evidence
Bea: I don't think this is a good idea.
Collin: That's what I've been saying!
Gregg: shh!! I wanna watch!
Bea: you don't need your ears to watch.
Mae: ok! Here it goes
Mae pokes the arm, eventually revealing a tattoo on the arm that is shaped like a diamond.
A cop walks by.
Aunt molly: hey!
Mae: hi aunt molly! We found an arm!
Aunt molly: Everyone, step away from the arm.
Mae: alright alright! Don't tase me or anything.
Aunt molly: no promises.
Gregg: I think it's time for me and Angus to get home.
Gregg: see y'all tomorrow!
Aunt molly: Alright, I don't want any of you walking home alone tonight.
Bea: I can drive collin and mae home.
Collin: Just drop both of us off by my house. Sleepover tonight.
Bea: ok.
Aunt molly: thank you, bea
Mae: Thanks bea! Let's roll!
Collin: alright.
Mae and Collin get inside Bea's car, and now they are off.
Mae: so..
Mae: still working at the ol pickaxe?
Bea: yep.
Collin: mae, you are awful at small talk.
Mae, now looking annoyed
Mae: Shut up!!
Mae: Anyways, are they training you to take over the family business?
Bea: “they”?
Collin: think she's referring to, like, your parents or whoever currently owns the pickaxe.
Bea: …
Bea: Oh look. We're here.
Collin gets out of the car
Mae: isn't Collins house a few more blocks away?
Bea: get out.
Mae: ok! Thanks for the ride
Collin and Mae walk a few blocks, until they reach Collins house. Collin unlocks the front door and is greeted by Collins mom, Marceline cheadle.
Marceline: heyy sweetie!
Collin: Hey mom.
Marceline: mae! It's been a while hasn't it?
Mae: sure has.
Marceline: think the last time you 2 had a sleepover was when you were like.. 13? 14?
Collin: anyways, lets go mae
Marceline: have fun you 2!
Collin and Mae walk upstairs, to Collins room. Nadia used to share a room with collin, but moved to college. So now there's a bed available for mae for this sleepover.
Mae: Hey, what time is it?
Collin: uhh.. 8:30.
Mae: We should play video games!
Collin: you probably haven't played videogames in years.
Mae: It's been like 2 years! I'll be fine!
Collin: ok margret borowski..
Mae and collin play.. Basically night in the woods equivalent of mario kart. Mae actually wins more games than collin.
Collin: damn!
Mae: told ya!
Collin: i can't believe i got outbested by a millennial..
Mae: bitch! We are in the same generation!
Collin chuckles a little.
Mae: …
Mae: Hey collin?
Collin: yeah?
Mae: back at the snack falcon, you said that you couldn't leave possum springs, when gregg mistakenly thought we both left college, why did you say that?
Collin: …
Collin looks somewhat distressed.
Mae: its ok if you don't want to-
Collin: no, you deserve to know.
Collin: truth be told.. I'm terrified of the idea of going to college.
mae: ..why?
Collin: the idea of moving far from home, away from my friends, and being stuck in new territory for years..
Collin: That is effing scary.
Collin: I don't know how you even managed to stay there for even a day, man.
Mae: oh.. Collin..
Mae: yeah. College is scary.
Collin: Would asking why you dropped out invade some boundaries?
Mae: yes.
Collin: gotcha.
Mae: though, I think you're the only person i know who would willingly stay in possum springs. I think all of the people in school wanted to ditch this place.
Collin: well mae..
Collin: I don't have many memories of where I was originally born. Moved to possum springs when I was like 6.
Collin: So to put it in perspective: I've basically lived here my whole life.
Collin: And I have no idea what lies beyond possum springs.
Collin: I think my mom calls it.. Agnosiophobia?
Mae: didn't know that word even existed.
Collin: me either
Mae: I don't wanna sound rude, but I feel like you're gonna turn into a hermit if you don't find a way to deal with that.
Collin scratches the back of his head and looks somewhat nervous.
Mae: Have you talked to your parents about this?
Collin: not really.
Collin: Can we talk about something else? This is making me uncomfortable.
Mae: Sure, sorry dude.
Collin: No, it's cool! It's just, well, heavy stuff.
Mae: Well, I think it's time we went to bed.
Collin: Alright, good night mae.
Collin and Mae both head to their beds, and sleep.
End of start of reconnections