On a late night out in the highway in possum springs drove two people, a cat named Mae Borowski and a crocodile name Beatrice Santello, towards a fairly new place deemed the Haired Eagle, a fancy techno-aesthetic restaurant that sold abundances of random things meant for teens and adults alike. From alcoholic beverages to chocolate cakes, this place that the two girls were currently driving to had it all. But, the kicker was that it was about another fifteen minutes drive, and Mae had fallen asleep in the car. She dreamt vividly of a dark outlined character, someone who she couldn't even identify at the time who had a vague outline of a snout as the only identifiable feature. Then, she heard a voice, distant at first. Inaudible, as it was. But it grew louder at the second ringing, more distinct. At the third, it all went pitch white, then pitch black, and now she was staring off out the front window into the night sky.
"Mae!" Said a voice coming from the blue-scaled figure behind the wheel.
"Wake up! We're almost there." The gothodile followed, sighing.
"Oh, um.. Sorry." Said the feline, scratching the back of her head and stretching with whatever space she could find.
"I- It's just that everything has to process. I have never been in a consistent dating streak like this. It's just kinda like, i'm so stressed I fell asleep."
"Mae, I think that's the opposite of what anxiety does"
"We all cope in different ways, Bea."
"True."
The two paused for a little while, Mae sitting in a position where she could basically hug her own legs, Bea staring blankly into the road ahead.
".. I'm scared."
"About what, Mae?"
"That the night will turn out horribly, and then I'll end up crying and in the seat of the car still crying, almost throwing up, and hating everything."
"Mae, trust me, I will not let that happen."
".. Thanks, Bea."
The two conversed, until they arrived in front of the door with purple and dark blue lights coming from the windows next to it, some red mixed into it. The sign above it, made up of neon lights, spelled out "The Haired Eagle."
Mae walked out of the car, in a sort of formal casual. Non-ripped jeans, but a sort of dress-shirt to go with them. She had borrowed Bea's makeup kit, so she had some extra black-color features to her cheeks and eyes. Bea, about the same. Except she always wore this. And this makeup. Everywhere. So it was normal Bea attire this dark evening.
And without further ado, Mae helped herself inside to the building, being greeted with a colorful strobe light and techno-dubstep music. She looked to her left, then right, and then gave a concerned look. Bea, coming in right behind her, did the same, and pointed towards someone within the crowd of people holding bottles and dancing. A still, empty-handed guy wearing a bowtie and a polo, with jeans that had a hole in the kneecap area.
"That him?" The crocodile asked.
Mae looked at the direction Bea was, and then lit up a second.
"Yup." She responded, pushing her way through to the new male figure. They conversed a second, before coming back towards Bea, taking a turn towards the window-seat booth tables that were placed with digital menus on them you could order from without needing a host or waitress. Bea would then turn towards the bar area, and glance at the menu for a second. God, a cocktail right now? That sounds great.
Cut back to Mae and the boy she was with, someone named Thomas, but she likes to call him Tom, Much like Mae being short for Margaret. She had thought for a long time on what to talk about tonight, but she finally decided that maybe she should get the heavy stuff out of the way at some point. Alright, Borowski, you got people skills. You can talk. Talking's good.
"Heyyy, Tom."
"Borowski?"
He had a low voice, but not really low. Like someone who would say they'll kick your ass, and then only half-kick your ass.
"What's new?"
"Oh, nothing much. Classes are goin' good, even though they're slow and I already know most of the material. Majoring in Physics is either really easy or really hard, with no in between. Ah, I should've.. No. No, nevermind. But What's going on with you, Mae?" The fox-like figure asked, placing his hand ontop of Mae's while she rested it on the table.
"Uhm.. Just, been thinking about tonight. Was we could talk about, and what we should."
The nervous cat responded, wrapping her paw around the fox's.
"Well, let's start with should. Anything on your mind, Mae? Anything at all?"
He sounded so caring, and concerned.
"Um- Yes, actually. Uh, so, have you heard about anything I've done in the past?"
"No, not really."
"Well, a few years ago, there was this kid named Andy Cullen."
"Okay."
"And he was in my baseball training, or team, or camp.. Whatever we had. And he was a really decent pitcher. Well, during- One of uh- Our games, I kinda beat the shit out of him."
"Oh my god why."
"Because, like, a week before this..."
And she went on, telling the story of how she was playing a video game and came to the realization she was just living in a world of shapes.
Bea, back at the bar, was on her second drink, with another crocodilian man flirting with her as he sat two seats down.
"So what's your name, beautiful?" He asked. He didn't look older than Bea's age, nor did he sound older.
"My friends call me Bea."
"Is that so?"
"I wouldn't tell you otherwise..?"
"Ah, I see. So- What are you doing after stopping by here?"
"Driving my friend home."
"And who's that?"
And suddenly, a loud voice could be heard ring across the bar and food tables, something medium-to-high pitched. As if it was.. A scream? From.. Mae?!
Bea, putting down the remains of her second drink, made her way out the door, only to be blocked by the dude who had originally caused this sudden trauma in the first place. As if reflex, she grabbed the back of the dude's collar, and said in a stern voice, something that read 'hoh bitch I don't fucking think so' and 'i'd totally break a bottle on the back of your neck right now.' very prominently.
"Oop- Nah buddy, you're paying." She stated, beating a slip of paper against the fox's chest. It was more of a punch than a rude, costly gesture.
While Tom was recovering from the shock of being grabbed by a goth girl and almost serially killed, Bea had fast-walked out the door once more towards where she could only figure where Mae was. In the car, crying, hating everything and almost throwing up. Bea hopped into the drivers seat, and fasted Mae's seatbealt for her. She then put hers on, and then drove off back towards town.
"Fuck."
Someone said, because they both were thinking it. Didn't matter who.
Mae was just bawling while Bea drove, genuinely upset, towards a different place to stop and sit down. She found a fairly empty lot, the parking area of a bank with one or two other cars, and undid her seatbelt. She turned to face Mae, and, as calmly as she could, asked -
"What happened?"
And, to which Mae replied,-
"I-I-I-I told him ab-b-bout that t-tuh-time w-w-with Andy Cullen a-and ab-bout the sh-shapes and shit a-and he called m-m-me a freak and s-said that w-we were done for- A-and he.. He just.. Got u-up and.. B-BeaBea..!"
She cried, lunging forward to hug the crocodile figure. All Bea could do what look down at the mess that was made and feel like she could've been a better wingwoman. She said this night wouldn't turn out like this.
... Three-drinks determined Bea fucking REFUSES to let tonight turn out like this.
"C'mere.." She mumbled, turning off the car engine and then dragging Mae to the back seat by lowering the drivers seat a good ways.
After so, and a few awkward movements later, Bea had Mae tucked into a brief hug with some backrubs, letting the cat bawl her eyes out onto Bea's signature silk ankh dress-tunic-shirt thing. The croc took a this time to think on what she'd do in order to cheer Mae up. Something about seeing the feline as heartbroken as she was right now was rather discomforting, and made Bea feel like she failed something. God, damn it. Okay. Think, Bea. What would make Mae happy?
She's stubborn, and pretty young-minded, and probably bi. Was she bi? Pan? The only thing Bea really caught was that one time in the graveyard when they were describing their perfect dates, and she said it didn't matter if it was a guy or girl.
.. Their perfect dates.
It didn't matter
if it was a guy
or
girl
It took about thirty minutes for Bea to draw that conclusion, and she smiled at the thought. She scratched an area behind Mae's ear, and said -
"Hey, Mae."
And, through panicked and quick breaths that could almost be confused with hyperventilation, the cat got out a response -
"B-B-Be-Bea?"
"How would you feel,-"
Bea started, lifting Mae up to about her head height.
"-About a lil' wrestling match?"
Mae, confused and tearing up, took the offer into consideration. She smiled a second, though still in tears, and said -
"O-A-U-Uh.. Okayy.."
And to which Bea responded with a smile, and her arms going under Mae's, wrapping them in a tight hold.
"I'm going to /kick/ your /ass/"
Bea jokingly explained, pulling at the feline's arms to sortof twist them. Mae, in response, yelped. And then used her little feline leg to kinda kick upwards at the arms tightening around hers, breaking free of Bea's grasp, and then quickly attempted to twist that. With the lack of enough upper body strength, Bea attempted to wiggle her arm free, letting go of Mae's other arm to try and do this. With the feline's newly found mobility, she maneuvered to behind Bea and pulled her arm with her, now causing the croc to squeal a little.
"A-Ah!"
Bea exclaimed, turning herself over as quickly as possible to lay ontop of Mae for a second, and then get up to place Mae's leg on her shoulder, and lift it up to the point it starts hurting on Mae's end. The cat managed to get past Bea's leg and kick the back of her knee, causing the gothic type to drop Mae's leg, allowing the feline to lower the elevation enough to get Bea in a leg-headlock.
"A-Ackh! Agh!" Bea exclaimed, tapping her palm against the carseat in a sign of defeat.
Now she wishes she'd had more space..
Mae let go of Bea, and Bea of Mae, and they just sat there staring at eachother for a moment..
.. How Mae's wet, teary-eyes glistened in the moonlight, and how her matted fur looked and felt so soft..
"Fuck, Borowski.."
Bea mumbled, a sortof mixed emotions thing.
She then leaned in closer to the feline character and laid with her, wrapping her arm around her belly/chest area. Non-violently this time.
".. Bea..?"
"Hm..?"
"W-Wanna tell eachother secrets n' stuff..? Like back when.. Before we stopped talking.. We laid together, and told secrets, and who we liked and stuff.."
Bea smiled, a bit brighter, and rubbed at Mae's stomach.
"Sure, Mae.. You- You go first."
"Mh.. I've always kinda.. I really kinda look up to you, you know? Like, figuratively."
"Whattya mean 'Kinda'?"
"Bea, I- You- Agh, I just.. Can't talk
"I won't get mad.."
".. I say kinda, because I sortof see myself on the same page sometimes. It- It doesn't seem like that. But- But I.. You're so much cooler.."
".. I wouldn't call myself cool."
"I would call you cool, Bea. I would."
"Anything you wanna say..?"
Bea laid a moment, holding Mae close, closing her eyes before opening them again.
"I don't think I've ever kissed someone, like, really kissed someone."
"Really? Not even at—"
"Mae, no. He didn't."
".. Wow."
Well, now it was Mae's turn to do something. Admittedly, she never really kissed someone either, because Cole doesn't count. He just doesn't.
"... Would you like to?" Was what her tired head went to, before even looking over the sentence in her head. Now that she thinks about it, Mae has made a horrible mistake.
"Like, sometime soon?"
Bea returned, playing dumb for a second.
".. Sure. Yeah. Anytime."
"... How about-"
She turned Mae to laying on her backside, and embraced her mouth with the feline's for a moment. She let go pretty early into it, though, as to sortof.. Tease at it.
Mae was looking happy now..
Or, flustered out of her mind.
"Oh.." She mumbled, laying her head back in satisfaction.
"Mae?"
"B-Bea?"
".. You know, you're an idiot sometimes. Like, kinda- Oblivious. But in it's own way, that's pretty.. Cute. You're cute, Borowski."
"Oh.. Sorry."
"It's okay."
"... Bea?"
"Hm?"
"I dunno what happened tonight.. It's all jumbled now.. But like, right now, it's super- Super nice.. You're so.. Soft, but you're still.. Like, Grr."
"Grr."
"H-Haha.. Hey- Hey, uh- Remember like, yesterday, when that other college boy at that party bailed on you before you could even catch their number?"
"Oh, please do remind me. It seems I've lost my memory since then."
"Ah, shush. I just wanted to say, like, maybe we're bad at dating people we don't know."
"Mae what the hell are you implying?"
"I'm trying to say that this- The bit of wrestling, the secret telling, the smooch.. That maybe we should- I dunno, go on a date ourselves. Kinda, I dunno, practice?"
"You want to practice your woo-ing skills on me..?"
"Yes- Maybe- No- What? Uh.."
".. I mean, okay. Sure. How does tomorrow night sound?"
"Wait, really?"
"Yeah. Why not? It seems like we both need to sharpen our skills. But- We've had eachother up until this point."
".. Then shouldn't we be getting home?"
"Oh, shit- Yeah. Yeah let's do that."