Gregg would've taken the orange cat back to his place, quite eager to show his friend how he had redecorated his room. However, knowing how his parents would react to a boy in the house was something he preferred not to deal with. As much as he wanted to hear the usual "keep-the-door-open-dont-even-think-about-doing-anything" piece of dialogue from his extremely accepting mother (she wasn't), he didn't bother offering.

So instead, Casey would have to host.

The end of their summer had already been pretty melancholy, as the anticipated warm and sunny weather had started showing signs of the windy, fading environment from the results of the impending autumn season. As the once simple green leaves had become infected with spots of brown, and the pure blue skies had become ridden with the clouds of many shades of grey, finding any piece of the treasure of

summer were starting to disappear, the days counting until the official start of autumn.

Dealing with the change of weather never seemed to be too delightful for the two. But knowing that they couldn't share their feelings along with Mae this year - nor the years from now on - would call for a heavier sulk.

Gregg didn't seem to mind the change of season, on the topic. Although the weather was an extreme reminder of the pressures of going back to school, especially knowing he won't be going back to school, he weirdly found the leaves quite favorable. His dirty, black boots would create sounds from the crushed orange leaves on the sidewalk, calling for a happy Gregg. The fox was still processing wishing his friend goodbye, however, he still could find joy in the present. Each of his steps would take his attention, a warm feeling dancing on his skin as he continued to walk, thinking to himself on his way walking out of Mae's neighborhood towards the town.

The fox, after seeing his friend leave town, was able to maintain his mental state, or at least maintain what he possibly could. As for Casey, his mind called for a lot of displeasure.

Casey didn't see any value in college. In fact, he didn't even see value in forced education entirely. Knowing where his interests aligned, he knew very well that seeking post-secondary education would just create debt he'd spend paying for the rest of his life, while a piece of paper just rests on his wall to prove he spent another 4 years learning information, three-fourths of which would be useless to him. As pushy as his guidance counselors were with college, he thought of 10 better reasons as to why he shouldn't go to college. As set in stone his feelings were with college, it was weird to see anyone remotely close to him actually want to go. A lot of what he had been feeling at that moment, while Gregg walked casually, was confusion.

Confusion, and disappointment.

"How far do you think Durkillesburg is?"

Casey glanced at Gregg in silence, pondering the question.

"We said we'd go see her. Do you think it's a big school? What do you think she's doing right now? What kind of-"

"Gregg."

"-school did she say it was? I hope her roommate is cool. Do you think she'll-"

"Gregg."

"-start classes right away? What kind of clubs do you think she'll be in? Will she meet new-"

"Gregg, dude-"

"-friends? Do you think we'll be able to-

"Gregg!"

The two were silent for a moment. Agitated, Casey looked over at him, huffing a bit. Gregg, weirdly enough, held onto a smile, his hands shoved in the pockets of his leather jacket as the two stopped in place.

Calming down for a moment, Casey sighed, shaking his head.

"Save your breath for band practice."

Casey kept walking, clearly frustrated. This was definitely something Gregg picked up on, remaining silent as he kept up on walking.

Gregg had been pretty well used to Casey's moods. From all that he remembered, a lot of high school consisted of periods of time where Casey was visibly irritable. Whether lashing oit on him, or picking fights with Mae, Gregg always knew to think nothing of it. At this point in time, it was nothing out of the ordinary for him to be shitty, Gregg thought, walking at his side as they made their way into central.

The two remained entirely silent until they arrived to Pastabilities.

"So as far as music goes," Gregg had started, in the middle of chowing down a breadstick as he went over plans for their band. "Our sound is set. Angus is still okay with singing, and right now, he's working with a friend of his to cover Mae's bass."

Pastabilities had been a common place for Casey, seeing as this was where he practically grew up. The food wasn't terrible, if you liked your mouth to taste like grease for the rest of the day, and the atmosphere carried a weird sense of nostalgia. The smell wasn't too strong, if you didn't mind old tomato sauce and burnt pizza crust with a dash of cheap olive oil coating your nostrils. Even the servers weren't too bad, as long as you weren't crazy young or you left a tip. Overall, Pastabalities was genuinely decent, or decently genuine. The place usually left it up to its customers to decide that.

He wasn't too sure why he liked the place as much, seeming as it looked close to being run down. If it weren't for the fact that people still came around for cheap food and hot meals, this place wouldn't be standing, much like the rest of the previous existing restaraunts in town.

Maybe it was people like him who kept the place running. Young, sad, cheap, shitty asshats who wouldn't dare spend a grand on an old car but would gladly spend a grand in a months worth of inexpensive food.

God, what a bummer he was today.

"We could definitely go to the Party Barn tomorrow to get this song of yours going. You're just about finished it, aren't you? What's it called?"

Casey was still wrapped up in his head before snapping out of it, seeing Gregg looking at him.

"Huh? Yeah, man, I understand."

The fox blinked a bit, the two sitting in silence before Gregg letting out an annoyed sigh.

"Alright, duder. Spit."

"Nobody's spitting here besides you, don't talk while eating."

A frown fell on Gregg's face, the two looking at each other quietly again. A little embarrassed, he went and swallowed his food, still visually unhappy.

"I don't think we should practice today."

"I don't think so either."

Casey looked off, crossing his arms as he leaned back in their booth, keeping his eyes away from contact. He was definitely not oriented to talking about whatever is going on, distancing himself from a conversation about the things on his mind. A confused Gregg sat beside him, fiddling with a half eaten breadstick on his small plate.

Just when Gregg was going to finally say something, a waitress made her appearance, standing at their table holding the standard small notepad.

"What'll it be, boys?"

Gregg turned to Casey, noticing him still off in his own world. Putting on a fake smile, he looked over at the waitress, getting together his best customer voice.

"Just a pepperoni."

"Size?"

"Yeah."

An awkward period of silence was left between the 3, this taking the attention of Casey now.

"Just an 8 inch, please," Casey spoke up, refusing to look at Gregg as the waitress wrote down the order.

"Anything to-"

"Two waters and a coffee."

With one last swivvle of a pen, the waitress took off with their order, the boys watching her leave and head behind the counter, getting their order processed.

"She asked for the size..."

"Yup."

"And you said yeah?..."

"Yup."

A frustrated sigh left Casey's lips, Gregg's face slightly red from the situation. Unsure of what to say, he realized that no further comment was needed as he saw a small smile on Casey's lips.

Casey started to laugh, following Gregg's laughter in response. The two were wild with what had just happened, Casey holding his stomach to keep himself steady.

"A-Are you s-serious? After all the times we've gone here, you haven't remembered how they take our order?"

"Dude, give me a break, we haven't been here in a while!"

"We were just here last night for Mae, you dumbass!"

The two continued to laugh for a moment, this not only catching Casey by surprise but just keeping his mind off track as to what had been bothering him. The cat could only imagine the tension between him and the waitress, only wondering how confused and scared she might've been. This was hilarious to him, Casey eventually calming from his laughter, Gregg following suit as their chuckles has reduced to them lightly panting.

"I almost lost my shit when you put pepper flakes in Mae's drink."

"I thought she knew something was wrong until she finished the entire thing and said how much she liked the cherry soda."

"Did you ever tell her what you put in it?"

"You kidding? She almost kicked my ass the other day for breaking her headphones, me telling her would be a wish for death."

"You think Mae would kill you?"

"No, I think Mae COULD kill me. There's a difference."

"She almost broke your arm today, from the looks of it."

"If if wasn't for her mom interrupting, she would've broken both of them."

A snicker left both of their lips, Casey becoming more comfortable as he leaned over, looking at Gregg more as the two spoke. Picking up on this, Gregg couldn't help but smile cheerfully, seeing his friend acting just fine as the two finally communicated normally.

And clearly, what was normal to them was making fun of each other.

"Too bad she didn't rip your eyes out."

"Too bad she didn't kill me and you get charged for being an asset."

"Too bad her parents didn't run both of you over with the car while you were still fighting."

"Too bad... she's gone."

The silence had come back, Gregg noticing as Casey seemed to back away from talking again, the glow in his eyes fading back to their sad shade of color.

"It... sucks, but you aren't alone?"

Gregg spoke up, making an effort to be positive. He scooted a little closer to Casey, hoping he could be of some help with this. He wasn't too sure what was wrong, however, given the way he had been acting, it definitely wasn't difficult to figure out the real problem here.

"I get it, Case. You're hurting. This is... weird. Her not being here is weird. Us not being together is weird. Knowing we aren't going to see her in an hour, or tonight, or tomorrow, or in a few days, even a few months is soooooooo weird. I don't even want to think about how we aren't even going to see her for Halloween is weird, because in all honesty, I haven't let this sit completely either. This is all just... shit. A big pile of shit."

Casey hadn't made eye contact at this point, nor really gave the indication he would. Gregg noticed and sighed again, still looking at him nevertheless.

"This is hurting you, I get that. We just saw her leave in, what, like less than an hour ago? This is still so... recent. But... You aren't the only one hurting?"

Casey still wasn't looking, but his behavior changed, the cat not as hunched over or stiff anymore. He kept his eyes on the table now, resting his arms on the surface as Gregg continued to talk.

"This is hurting me, too. It's so weird to see her... gone. It'll feel a lot more lonely without her, but... You aren't exactly alone. I'm right here."

The two sat still for a moment, Casey still not moving. Gregg remained as comforting as possible, doing his best to speak to him.

"We can be alone together. The rest of this year. Mae's gone, we're sad about it, but it's not as bad as being sad and alone."

The sound of drinks being set on the table interrupted their talk, as well as the small pizza taking the center place. The waitress gave the boys another smile while getting the meal placed correctly, making sure everything looked alright.

"So two waters, a coffee, and an 8 inch pizza. Can I get the two of you anything else?"

Casey looked over, waited a moment, then spoke up.

"I mean if you're offering a steady income with a paid off car and a roof over my head, then yes. Otherwise, I'm good."

The waitress let out a chuckle, setting their bill on the table quickly.

"Honey, you're looking for everyone else's want. You ain't special."

She walked away with gusto, Casey and Gregg watching as she walked away back to the place behind the counter.

"Now that woman gets it. I'm gonna have to leave a good tip."

Gregg chuckled in response, helping himself to the pizza. Casey acted the same, enjoying their cheap, greasy food for the time that they could. Pizza was a pretty weird kind of breakfast, however, a weird breakfast was necessary for a weird day.

As Gregg munched away on his food, Casey watched and held a smile, remembering how it felt to be around Gregg again without Mae in the picture. It had been so long since the two were together alone, it was so strange to even keep seeing each other after Mae leaving. Maybe this wouldn't be a bad fall after all, Casey thought, keeping his eyes on his friend.

Mae leaving was definitely a bummer. But that didn't mean he didn't have Gregg.