Summer was supposed to end when the first leaves turned orange and the sky no longer looked completely blue.
Summer was supposed to end when Pastabilities no longer served its Summer Sundaes on Summer Sundays and went back to only serving its weird cardboardy-greasy pizza. .
Summer was supposed to end with the gang ready to start a new year in school. This would only apply to one of them, a girl who ended up dealing with all the bullshit high school threw at her and actually wanting more bullshit to be thrown at.
Four more years of not just school, but optional school was what Mae Borowski seemed to have wanted as she waited patiently at her drive way, her body completely tense and her head pounding from the pre-stress of college.
Her mind was frazzled with endless thoughts of having to unload, move her luggage from the car to her dorm, unload at her dorm, then unpack, just for everything to be packed up again in less than a year. She would no longer be living in permanent residence, having to get used to a new eight-month home, just to move to a different location to then get used to as well.
All of this, plus having to get used to prioritizing school on her own without the aid of her parents and immediate friends, would become the metaphorical thunderstorm in her head, a severe disaster occurring just to destroy her head with the whiplash of anxiety and the downpour of mental illness. She could feel her body shaking as she stood, staring at the ground she grew up on, watching her life in Possum Springs starting to die.
Neck-down, her body wasn't doing too well either. While dealing with the storm inside her head, she was also dealing with the land on which this storm was affecting.
She could feel her clammy hands making holding the handle of her suitcase difficult. She could feel this weird episode of dehydration make her mouth compete with a desert on who was the driest. She could feel her lungs stretching after each inhale, her lungs possibly going to be the result of her death.
Her lungs could very well fail and kill her, for all she cared. Suddenly, death didn't feel like too bad of an option at this moment in time.
Perhaps meeting the Grimm Reaper would be less anxiety ridden than meeting a professor who conducts lectures about the Grimm Reaper. Instead of envying his clients who he comes across and wanting to be the fictional screaming person encountering death, she could actually die and meet the midnight man herself. She definitely had some questions of her own to ask of him, and he probably wouldn't mind answering a couple either.
She would be dead, after all. She would think she would have all the time she needed. And seeing that the Grimm Reaper really only does one thing, he probably wouldn't mind pushing back his clients for a few hours for a quick interview.
Mae was quite invested in the idea of obtaining an internship with the Grimm Reaper before being interrupted by the noseflick of a slender, long finger, one which both looked and felt like the finger of a certain gay fox.
Blinking her eyes a bit, Mae's vision readjusted upon seeing the familiar set of blue eyes of a familiar friend, her eyes then spotting his casual grin and predictable expression. She could feel her anxiety disappear quickly, a smile creeping on her lips as well.
"Too bad you didn't go into neurogenic shock."
"Too bad you didn't get hit by a car on your way over here."
"Too bad that same car didn't drive over, kidnap you, and sell your body parts over the internet."
"Too bad you didn't lose your leg and needed my leg for replacement just to remember my body parts are all over the world."
"Are leg transplants a thing?"
"You should know, you took anatomy in high school."
"Just because I took a class doesn't mean I took anything out of it."
"Can't wait to graduate college knowing absolutely nothing then."
Gregg and Mae would share a laugh, most likely their last one for a while, then run into each other and hug, a hug which Mae wanted to feel like an eternity. She kept her arms wrapped around Gregg, breathing in the familiar smell of him and his rugged leather jacket, one which raised nostalgic memories of their experiences together. Hugging her best friend was hard.
But letting go of him would only be harder.
"Too bad you didn't choke and die from my disgusting body odor."
"Too bad your disgusting body odor didn't kill Angus."
"Too bad the both of you haven't learned how to take an effin shower."
And up came her favorite scrawny, orange cat, his expression as chill as ever and his clothes as dingy as usual.
The two looked over at Casey before bringing him into their hug, one which made them all laugh again, the trip together for another time.
Feeling their touch was only a reminder of how much she was going to miss it. And out came the tears, the tears which she had been holding back all summer, the tears she knew she'd she'd for her two favorite boys.
Gregg and Casey held onto Mae as she cried into them, audibly sobbing on their arms. She held them tightly and firmly, wanting to remember the bodies she grew up with for such a long time.
Mae was normally embarrassed to cry in public. She was especially embarrassed to cry in front of her friends. But at this moment in time, the only thing she could do was cry, the only response that made sense to her, the only way she could genuinely put out her feelings about leaving.
She was terrified. She was anxious. She was sick. But worst of all, she was unsure, and that was hacking at her body. It wasn't difficult to understand her emotions, but just to know she wasn't sure about college shattered her to pieces.
Maybe that's why she was really crying. Maybe she was crying because she just didn't know where this whole college thing was taking her. Maybe her tears were for the fact that she would have to make new connections and meet new people. Maybe her outward sobs had more to do with having to make new friends rather than losing her current ones.
Her hands clutched Gregg and Casey tightly. No longer did she hug them because of them. She hugged them because of her.
And that was something she didn't know whether to be ashamed or cautious of.
"We'll come visit, dude."
"I'll bring boxes of Wolf Donuts!"
"We'll light fires in your memory."
"I'll do double the crimes!"
"And most importantly-"
"AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
A laugh left Mae's mouth, the trio letting go of each other at this point so Mae could come to her senses again. Gregg held onto a proud grin, Casey playfully rolling his eyes at his obnoxiousness. Facing Mae now, he walked up to her and sighed, ruffling her hair.
"And most importantly... We'll be here. Waiting. So... don't you go die or something."
Mae would then hug Casey once more, holding him as tight as she held Gregg. She would take in his scent one last time, huffing a bit.
"I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too, Nightmare Eyes."
"Keep the band going."
"You know I will."
"And take care of Gregg for me."
"I'll feed and water him every day."
"Don't feed him after midnight."
The fox flayed his arms in response.
"CAN'T STOP WHAT YOU WON'T START"
Laughs left from both Casey and Mae this time, the two letting go of each other and staring. Not just at each other, but at the street they were standing on, the town they were in, the world they were living on. They stared at more than Possum Springs, more than the county, more than past the highway and more than the Earth itself.
They stared at the moment they were living, the time they were existing in. They stared at their feet planted into the ground, soles that would eventually be ripped from the roots and moved to different locations. Their time as stable beings would eventually be over, and their roots would have to grow elsewhere.
Maybe this wasn't the true end to their friendship. But it was definitely the end of their lives as kids. Mae going to college was Gregg and Casey going to adulthood. They would all stop being kids this day and have to grow up.
Mae hated this. Casey hated this. Gregg hated this.
And because they hated it was when they realized that in adulthood, that was the first step.
The trio wasn't sure how long they stood there until a distant voice hit their ears, Mae turning around and seeing an excited mother, followed by an excited father in a university sweatshirt.
"Mae, honey! It might be early in the morning but it's late in college time!"
"From what I remember, Mom, the standards of time exist similarly regardless of setting."
From the looks of it, Mae's parents were more excited for college than Mae. While going to go load a few things in the back of the truck, the trip caught sight of the back of Mae's father's sweater. The printed "#1 College Dad" would encourage a few chuckles from Casey and Gregg, Mae's father mindlessly packing while her mother handled her camera hanging from her neck.
"Mom, you've been taking pictures since it hit midnight."
"I don't want to miss a single second of you on your way to university."
"At this rate you'll get every picture of me breathing."
"That's the goal, sweetie."
Her hands lifted upwards with the camera, the device held up to her face as she viewed her daughter with her friends.
"Alright, you three - get close and smile! Gregg, Casey, stand next to Mae, I want her in the middle - Perfect!"
As the trio posed, Mae gave a small smirk, holding her friends close.
"Is that how you say 'good morning' to my friends?"
"That's how I say 'good time to take a photo.' Good morning, Greggory and Casey."
The two boys chuckled to Mae and her mother's interaction, the atmosphere quite warm with everyone so close. Gregg found himself rather cheery, regardless of his close separation with Mae. Casey, on the other hand, maintained his casual expression. Whether or not he expressed anything, it didn't mean anything according to how he really felt.
"You three ready?"
"Yep."
"Yeah."
"Yeah!"
Gregg, Mae, and Casey would then smile to their character as Mae's mother snapped a photo. The morning sky along with their neighborhood provided the perfect background to the trio, all giving their best expression to their last photo together, for the mean time.
"Perfect. Alright, let's get going. No time to lose - Stan, is everything in the car?"
As her mother went to attend to her father, Mae stood with her friends once more, sighing a bit.
"This is really it. After this, you'll be meeting Dr. Mae Barowski, PHD."
"A PHD in what?"
"A pretty huge dick."
Casey rolled his eyes and slugged Mae, a growl leaving her lips. She would then hit him back, the two starting to roughhouse.
Gregg watched and laughed as the two got into it, Mae's short but strong body going against Casey's slender but quick body. Although Casey wasn't much for fighting, he wasn't afraid to leave a mark, the cat quick to claw at his best friend.
And clearly, Mae wouldn't be having that, resulting in her throwing some decent punches on her part.
When it came to fighting, the two would only use hands. Nothing too violent, but enough to be a memory. Mae and Casey were close to taking it to the ground until her mother let out a yell, startling and stopping the both of them.
"Mae, for the love of God, if you two don't quit, we'll unpack everything and you'll stay!"
They all remained silent for only a few seconds, Mae blinking a bit at the threat.
"That sounds more like a reward, to me."
Another period of silence came, Mae's mother sighing after some thought.
"Grab your bag and get in the car, Mae."
And without much else, and a few last goodbyes, Gregg and Casey waved off to their best friend driving away, the Borowski's car moving further and further away from the boy's sight. The car would be leaving Possum Springs with their friend, Mae Borowski, and would return without her.
The two stood out there for a while, continuing to wave. They waved past not seeing her anymore, because if there was any chance Mae could still see them, they didn't want her to see them leave.
A few minutes went by, and that was that. Mae Borowski would be on the highway out of Possum Springs and heading to university, leaving the two stuck in town.
"She's gone."
"Yeah."
A moment of silence hit their interaction, Gregg staring at the sky while Casey stared at the ground.
"...Pizza and Practice?"
"...Pizza and Practice."