Chapter 6

Climbing

"Are those lights almost done up there?" Lori calls up into the rafters of the old abandoned theater.

"Almost! Just a few more moments!" Mae runs across the rafters , scattering lights and hanging them haphazardly- although that suits the aesthetic they're going for anyway. They're a pretty ramshackle band as it is. Once she tosses the last of them, she jumps down, tucks into a roll, and stops on her ass at Bea's feet. She just sits there with a grin and blows a cobweb off her nose. "Sup, babe?"

Bea snorts and facepalms. "God, how did I fall for someone so cheesy?"

"Still figuring that out myself." Mae jumps to her feet and wheels around to face Lori. "How's that look?"

"As chaotic as I expected and needed." She peeks up from her notebook and calls out towards the stage. "Selma, how's the speakers looking?"

"Lookin' great, Lori! Should be ready for a sound test in a minute or so!" She turns one of the speakers and listens to the stage creaking. "We may wanna lay these sideways."

"Go ahead, it might look better that way actually." Lori steps back and observes the stage with her camera as Selma adjusts them.

"Huh…" Bea's jaw slacks. "I've never seen Lori so... determined."

"She's in her element." Gregg chuckles. "Same as all of us, really. Living in a shit town like this one, if ya wanna keep going, ya gotta find something ya love, hold on, and run like hell with it. This is Lori's thing. Directing. Just her first chance to actually do it."

Bea tilts her head and stares at Gregg in disbelief. "I keep forgetting you can somehow be wise about some of the most fucked-up things."

"It's what I do. I'm like some doped-up feral druid. I'm awesome, I'm wild, I'm crazy as hell, but you'll get a nugget of wisdom from me sometimes."

"The comfy gay wizard is dating a crackhead druid, got it."

"Wait." Germ cuts in. "If they're the wizard and the druid, what am I? I thought I was the druid."

"No, dude." Gregg puts a hand on Germ's shoulder. "If this were an actual RPG, I'd be the crossbow and knife wielding rogue, Angus would be the wizard, you'd be the crazy ranger with a dire possum as your familiar…" He points to Bea. "She'd be the eldritch warlock." Now Mae. "She's the ancestral weapon barbarian." Now Selma. "She's the lore bard." and finally Lori. "And Lori's the…" He hums. "Not sure actually. Can a party have two bards?"

Angus pushes his glasses up. "From my experience the craziest parties have at least one rogue and bard, and a second of either is surefire insanity. So I'd say it's likely Lori's a second bard."

"Gregg, stop making me wanna play D&D when I'm in the middle of directing! I'll play whetever Angus DMs as my first game once he gets off his ass and makes it!"

"Lori!" Bea scoffs. "When did you start swearing?"

"Blame your girlfriend!"

Bea's eyes narrow as she turns on Mae. She chuckles nervously. "Oh, uh, l-look at the time! One of us should probably go down to get Jackie and lead her up here! I volunteer!"

And all of Bea's rage drains from her face. "Wait, Mae, are you sure? You and Jackie don't have the best history."

"Hey, she's one of your best friends. I gotta try and make things right, don't I? Otherwise, what kinda shitty girlfriend am I?" Mae shrugs and makes her way to the window to climb down her own way. "I'll be back with her soon, ok?" She kisses Bea's cheek on the way. "Later, babe~" She turns around, leans back out the window, and rolls out of sight.

Bea stares at her and raises her hand to her cheek, but she's broken out of her stupor by Gregg giggling. Angus speaks for him. "You'll get used to it. I couldn't handle PDA at first either. Now, not so much. She'll figure out your limits over time. It's a process." He gently hip-checks his giggling boyfriend. "Even now."

Mae grips the ledge beneath the window as she rolls back to upright herself, then kick off the wall and grabs the thin metal steps nailed into the side of a utility pole. Rather than climbing down, she swings down to another ledge, runs across to a lower roof, then back up the hill onto the sidewalk. She skids for a moment on the ice, but then turns and slides down towards the parking lot.

Just as she arrives, a small electric smart car pulls in, so out-of-place in a town like Possum Springs that it could only possibly be Jackie. Mae skates over and stops where she's parked, hands tucked in her jacket pockets. Jackie climbs out and pauses at the sight of the aloof cat. "Hey, Jackie. Hope ya didn't have too much trouble getting here. GPS isn't the best here, apparently. They don't update for all the construction here often enough."

Jackie hums grimly. "Yeah, I noticed. Another reason to hate this town, I suppose. So why are you here, exactly?"

"O-oh, uh, Bea needed someone to come down and get ya, I just finished setting up the lights, and Bea needed to do a sound test on her keyboard. I already tuned my bass, so I didn't have much left to do. Kind of the obvious choice."

"Ok, I get that, but why you?" Jackie almost slams her door shut. "Frankly, I don't think you should even be a part of this."

Mae cringes. "H-Hey, I know you don't like me, but I'm trying to fix that, ok? We both mean a lot to Bea, we should at least try to get along!"

"And I can't figure out why she gives a damn about a basket case like you. You're a disorganized menace to society with a criminal streak and a death wish!"

Mae shudders and tries to force a glare. It's not too imposing. "I've changed! A-Anyone can change! I'm working now! I'm trying to help Bea and all our friends get the hell out of this place!"

"Well, congratulations, you managed to figure out how to do the bare minimum for surviving modern society. But I only give it a few weeks. Soon, you'll just go back to being a feral jackass!"

Mae flinches and steps back as her ears lower and almost seal up against her head. Her vision starts to swim. Jackie looks taller. Her eyes are brighter, sharper. Her horns get a lot longer. Everything else around her is just… shapes.

"JACKIE!" The goat girl jumps and looks uphill to see Bea marching at her with a scowl. Much deeper than her usual one. "What the FUCK are you saying to my girlfriend?"

Her jaw slacks and she peeks between the two of them in shock. Mae is still cowering and twitchy, but she's turned her attention to Bea with what appears to be reverence. "G.. G-Girlfriend?! Why wasn't I informed of this?! Why the hell would it be her, of all people? I didn't even know you swung that way!"

Bea steps up and almost goes for Jackie first, but she pauses at Mae. She sees the dilated eyes and constant shivering, the light swaying and apparent vertigo. She sighs shakily and drops her scowl, pulling Mae into her arms. "Shhhh… It's ok. Nod if you can hear me, hun." Mae nods. "Good, not too far gone."

Jackie gulps. "Um… w-what's going on here?"

Bea peeks up with another glare. "You triggered a derealization episode."

Jackie pales instantly. "O… O-Oh."

"Yeah. Just shut up and stand there until I calm her down." She huffs as she looks back down to Mae and pets between her ears. "... I didn't tell you because I wanted to see how you'd treat Mae before finding out. Now, I know Mae was right. I didn't wanna believe it, but you're a real asshole, Jackie. All your self-righteous bullshit, thinking you're so damn progressive and pure, but here you are judging my girlfriend before you ever really get to know her."

By now, Mae's shivering has nearly stopped, but she's still got her face tucked into Bea's shoulder. Focusing on sensations first grounds her faster. Vision can come after.

Jackie bites her lip and casts her gaze aside. "... Ok. You're right. I should, uh… I should probably go-"

"No." Bea cuts her off. "You're going to wait for Mae to calm down, and she'll judge you."

".. F-Fine by me."

Mae grumbles into Bea's shirt.

"What was that, hun?"

"She can stay… I'm gonna prove her bitch ass wrong today…"

Bea chuckles and peeks back to Jackie. "You heard her. You're staying, and you're getting a heavy dose of the full Mae Borowski experience. And if you give her any more shit, you best expect me to kick your ass to the curb, literally. Don't think you're not still in deep shit with me, Jackie."

She gulps nervously and nods. "O-Of course. I…" She sighs. ".. I promise. I'll work on it. No more judging. If Mae's a good enough person for you to apparently date her, then… she's good enough for me. I just gotta see more for myself."

Mae mumbles again. "Prepare to have nightmares then, ya grumpy bi-"

"Mae, that's enough, she gets the point." Bea shakes her head and looks back to Jackie. "It's mostly defensive, really. And she's always been in the mindset of the best defense being a good offense." Mae giggles a bit and starts to upright herself. "There we go. Better, hun?"

Mae nods. "Y-Yeah… I... I-I think that's the fastest I've recovered yet. I-It helps that you caught me so early, though… A-another minute, and I might have been halfway down the road."

"Yeah, let's try not to do that…" Bea pauses, but gently kisses Mae's cheek to perk her up faster. It gets her fur standing on end instantly.

"R-Right! Um… w-well, let's uh... let's get back up there. Everyone else must be tired of waiting by now. Or worried. Probably both."

Jackie bites her lip. "Are you sure you're up for that?"

"Oh, I'm more than ready. I already have a song in mind."

Bea peeks down to her with a smirk. "Ready to give that one a try on the fly? That's pretty bold."

"I live for bold. Also, I just feel like that one's just speaking to me right now."

"Alright, HatCoE comin right up." She turns and leads the way. "You're taking the elevator up, though. No climbing after an episode."

"Damnit." She huffs. "Fine… Jackie, try to keep up! Or slip and fall on your ass, I'd pay to see that right now."

Jackie grumbles and follows close behind, eyes darting between them as she considers this odd but somehow adorable relationship.

They soon arrive upstairs, and by then Mae's pulled herself together enough to act mostly normal. She steps ahead of Bea and grabs her bass. "Ok change of plans, guys. Who's ready for the new one?"

Gregg hums. "I have a newer one I have to throw at you, but I'm up for yours. Cap'n, you finish learning the rhythm for that?"

"Got it down two days ago." He pushes his glasses up. "Kind of excited for this one."

Lori hums. "Well, you were planning to play most of your setlist now anyway, right? Cuz I still have to record Die Anywhere Else." She turns and stares at Jackie, some of her awkwardness returning as she sinks in on herself. "B-But, if it's the agent's whim…"

Bea shakes her head. "Nope, our decision, and we're still doing Die Anywhere Else later. For now, Mae needs her therapy song."

Germ hangs from his knees in the rafters. "I'll reprogram the lights for orange mood lighting, then." He swings back up and tinkers with some dials, setting the blue and magenta to orange.

Selma just shrugs and spins her sticks, doing a few test beats to recall her part.

Mae looks through the whole band for a moment before nodding and stepping up to the mic. She clears her throat, forces her nerves to settle, and after three taps of her feet, everyone starts at once with her lyrics. A long, deep power chord with a gentle, plucking lead, stroked cymbals, and a slow piano. Mae's voice is gentle for this.

"There's a hole at the center of ev-ry-thing,

In my home,

In my town,

In myself,

I must break free.

Holding on- to- aanyythiiiing"

Another powerful strum, and the keyboard gets a little more synth and a bit louder.

"There's a hole at the center of ev-ry-thing,

It grows with every person I lose and each dead dream

Holding on- to-aanyythiiiiiIIiiing!"

Her voice grows louder with that final chorus note, and the drums suddenly pick up, with the gentle lead guitar now playing the same pattern in stronger chords.

"It started when I got back home

Surrounded but I'm still alone

One stupid slip and down I fell

Into my own personal hell!"

"Entire chapters I erase

My best friend gone without a trace

Mom's disappointed

My dad just joins in

Now I can't stand my own damn face!"

After shouting this last line, the lead tones it down and Bea's keyboard shines through in a hopeful little solo as Mae sings in almost a falsetto.

"But millions of people, you see

Are stuck in this damned hole with me."

And they begin again from the top, starting with the heavy strum and gentle lead, then breaking out everything two lines in.

"There's a hole at the center of ev-ry-thing,

In my home,

In my town,

In myself,

I must break free!

Holding on- to- aanyythiiiing

There's a hole at the center of ev-ry-thing,

It grows with every person I lose and each dead dream

Holding on- to-aanyythiiiiiIIiiing!"

The drums get heavier and simpler, slamming out frustrations as every instrument and voice matches their pace.

"I don't wanna save the world

Beat the monster, get the girl

I just wanna get by and be or-di-na-ry.

One mistake is all they see

Goin down in infamy

Now I'm just a freak and life is so- damn- sca-ry!"

The lead riff returns on the way into the final chorus. Mae starts to really belt it out.

"But millions of people, you see

Are stuck in this damned hole with me

Let's climb out and make them believe

We've still got the whole world to see!"

"There's a hole at the center of everything

Fill it in as you discover yourself

We'll all break free!

Now you can- be- anythiiing!

There's a hole at the center of ev-ery-thing

Pull yourself up past the ledge

Let the whole world hear you scream!

Now go on,- be- anythiiiIIIiiing!"

Every instrument cuts out at the same time as Mae, left panting in the end, but grinning. She ignores the few tears in her eyes for now. There's a damn good reason Bea called it her therapy song.

But what had most of her attention now is the astonishment on Jackie's face. "Well then… Let's hear the rest and see if it's a one-hit-wonder or a full break-out album."

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A.N.: Didn't expect a second original song this soon, did ya?! And I absolutely love this one, so much. I feel it in my fucking soul, and I bet a lot of you will too. I hope you enjoy it, and what all I have lined up moving forward! I know, it was two Mae songs in a row, but out of the whole cast, she's had the most growth to incite it. the others will come soon enough!