Chapter 11
Life Goes On
Bea jumps awake as the phone beside her goes off. It takes her a moment to recognize the empty room she fell asleep in, sprawled across an old couch and surrounded with notes, her keyboard, and her laptop. She grumbles and picks her phone up, claws fumbling until she manages to answer. "H-Hey, Maeday… what time is it?"
"Babe, it's already eleven. Did I really wake you up?"
She groans and flops back down. "I was up really late last night, writing something. I think it's about done, actually…" She yawns and rolls onto her back. "Sound like you've been awake for a while."
"Yeah, we're already on our way back with the mattress. Want us to pick you up?"
She sits up and stares out the window. "Uh… yeah, I'll meet you out front. Your dad really jump on me moving in that fast?"
Stan speaks up over Mae's shoulder. "Was already planning to offer, Bea. We'll be there shortly."
"O-Oh, um... alright. Thanks, Stan. I'll see you soon, then."
"See ya in five, babe!" Mae hangs up and leaves Bea in a slightly confusing silence.
She peeks around the empty room to all that remains of her old life, and eventually settles on the photo that inspired her latest work. She slowly picks it up to caress it, taking in the fine details, before packing it away in some of the little space remaining in her backpack along with the notebook, laptop, and clothes. With another deep breath to prepare, she hefts the keyboard case and her duffel bag of remaining clothes, then peeks back into an entirely empty apartment one last time. "Hm… good riddance. I've got a new family to live for now." She pulls the door shut and drops her key in the landlord's mailbox on her way out.
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Returning to the Borowski residence feels almost entirely new now. It's not home away from home anymore. It's just… home. More than anywhere else has been in years. Soon enough, Bea is packing the remainder of her clothes into all the empty space in Mae's dresser- as she has a rather limited wardrobe- and finishing settling into the idea of living here now. She slowly backs up into the edge of the new bed they'd set up together and takes a seat. Her position is quickly compromised by Mae pulling her down to cuddle, and she instantly realizes she's never been so comfortable before. Mae's already purring, and Bea just knows she would be if she were capable. With a sigh of relief, she pulls Mae in and tucks her furry girlfriend under her chin. "Thanks, babe… it's good to be home."
"Heh… for now. Imagine how much better it's gonna be once we have our own place."
Bea rolls her eyes. "That'll take a while, but I can certainly see it. That's gonna be a wild housewarming…" She chuckles. "So, what do ya wanna do to celebrate?"
Mae hums. "Well, let's save the celebration for tonight. We've got practice soon, and uh… yeah, you still kinda smell like beer-stained couch. Let's focus on showers first."
Bea snorts and shakes it off. "Wow, I actually got too used to that smell after sitting there so long. Alright." She smirks as she lets go and stands, turning her back and pulling her shirt off. "No point wasting time and water, though. You coming?"
Mae slowly turns crimson as Bea sheds more clothing on her way to their private bathroom, but then leaps from her bed and almost tears one of her favorite shirts while trying to catch up.
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Gregg peeks up from tuning his guitar as both girls arrive to their next practice and recording session. This time it's on the roof of his and Angus' apartment complex, with the river visible in the background from a camera mounted up on a flagpole. Thankfully, there's no wind today to cause any issues up here. Should record smoothy regardless of the precarious height. "About time you two got here. The hell took you so long?"
Mae's still grinning ear-to-ear and blushing faintly. "Sorry, got a bit occupied."
Gregg raises an eyebrow, but slowly develops an accusing smirk. "You fuckin?"
"We fuckin."
Bea facepalms and walks away from Mae to speak with Angus, turning crimson herself. Angus just hums and shrugs it off. "If you ever thought they wouldn't discuss it, that's your own fault honestly. Congratulations, anyway." He takes a few testing plucks and strums of his own guitar. "Big step for you two. But not surprising, after moving in together…"
Bea pauses and crosses her arms. "She told you guys pretty much everything, huh?"
"She was too excited to keep quiet, obviously. Can't blame her." He smirks. "Didn't I come to you when Gregg and I decided to move in together?"
"… Ok, good point."
"Yo, guys!" Law finishes climbing down from the pole they set the camera on and waves everyone over. "Anyone check out our Youtube channel in the last two days?"
"Uh…" Mae hums. "Nope, can't say I have. Things have been kinda crazy."
Gregg rushes over. "Somethin big happen? Did we hit a million subs?!"
Law stares blankly and shakes his head. "Uh… no. Way too soon for that. But we did get a few hundred more, and more are piling in fast. Apparently, the sinkhole news led people to more Possum Springs and some deep dives about the cult, and I always mention Possum Springs in our video descriptions." He grins. "That got us some pretty big hits, and there's people sharing us on Twitter now!"
Gregg and Mae both cheer and freak out, punching the air as Gregg arches back far enough to fall and need Angus to catch him. Bea's just baring a toothy grin as she looks over the numbers. "Now that's something. We've gotta step up our game, give them something special to thank them."
Law hums. "Could go full gay spectacle and kiss at the end of today's song. I mean, it is a love song, so it'll probably be a pretty big hit."
Mae hums and crosses her arms. "I mean… I don't see why not. We were doin' Red Winder today anyway." She grins. "And getting to show off my lovely girlfriend a bit is a huge bonus."
Bea rolls her eyes and wanders back to her keyboard. "Why the hell not? I'm in. You sure the camera's stable and not gonna be shaking and blurring the footage up there, though?"
Law nods eagerly. "No wind today, and the gravel up here should prevent the bass from shaking the pole. Wouldn't have put it there otherwise. Everyone ready?" He climbs back up and hits record.
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At the end of practice, they emerge on the front steps to find Germ seated at the bottom, waiting for them. He slowly peeks up to them both with a sad smile. "Hey, Mae. Bea. How'd practice go?"
"Uh…" Mea slowly lowers herself to sit beside him. "Pretty great, but… what's goin on, dude? You rarely miss it. What's got ya hiding down here?"
Bea sighs as she sits on Mae's other side. "I think I know."
Germ nods. "You're both invited to Gramma's funeral, if you wanna be there. She really liked you both. "
Mae's eyes slowly widen, and she stares down at the sidewalk in silence as that sinks in. "… Was… was he there yesterday for her?"
Germ slowly nods. "Any time anyone in our family passes, he knows. Gramma knew it was coming too…" He slowly raises his head and stares into the sky, then looks Mae in the eyes. He seems shiver for a moment. "She… She knew she had to throw one last party with us all, one last good night, before she went. I'd say she had a great one, and she wouldn't want us to mourn too long."
Bea slowly nods as she hangs her head, suddenly desperately wanting to smoke. She settles for pulling Mae into a hug. "… Right… Yeah, she did go out on a good note. I'm glad we could be a part of it…" She sighs and peeks up to look Germ in the eyes. "But are you gonna be ok? I know it's not so cut-and-dry, especially with family."
Germ hums and nods, slowly looking away. He spots James across the street, leaning against a phone pole as he sips some Fiascola and stares into the sky. He seems peaceful, but wistful and lost in his own head. "I will be. Just coming to terms with it, ya know? I think it helps that I was there when she left. I know she was happy to go. She'd lived all she needed and wanted to. She was ready."
Mae hums and nods shakily. "I can respect that. And I'll definitely show respect for her and come to the funeral."
Bea hums. "Ditto. She was one hell of a woman. Hope I can be half as much of a dramatic spitfire at her age."
Germ chuckles softly. "I'm sure you'll outdo her at that." He's already seen it, actually.
But Mae flickers in and out of that vision. Too many factors for it to come through clearly, fate too uncertain.
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"So, Mae…" Miss Carver sits across from her with her pen and notepad in hand. "Any big improvements since you were last here?"
Mae chuckles nervously. "W-Well, uh… Bea and I are definitely a thing now. Actually going kinda fast, but it just kinda feels natural after knowing each other for so long, ya know? I mean, she was living in a terrible two-bedroom apartment alone since her dad died, and now she's living with us, sharing a room, and both our finances got stable pretty quick. And, uh…" She bites her lip. "Well, I had trouble asking because I wasn't sure she swung my way, but uh… I'm pretty damn sure now."
Miss Carver smiles as she jots that down. "And has this been a stable, reciprocating relationship?"
"Oh, definitely! I mean, I'm more than able to give her any distance she needs. Just last night, she decided to spend one last night at her old apartment before fully moving in, to really think things over, and I'm pretty sure she wrote a song she's not showing me yet. She had that night and when we got back together this morning, she just seemed… peaceful. Even when she's happy, she still seems pretty stressed. I think she got a lot of that out of her system last night, and now she's just ready to live, ya know?"
She hums and nods. "I certainly get that. And you didn't insist on staying there with her?"
Mae shakes her head. "I asked if she wanted me there, and she was sure she had to do this herself. I didn't argue, I kinda get where she's coming from." She hunches forwards a bit. "I think... it's a lot like a much healthier version of what I did the night we confronted the cult. I was sure I had to do that alone, and left everyone behind. They caught up and saved me. My decision was stupid and self-destructive. I could tell Bea was confused and kind of upset, but there was no danger, and… I just trust her. I knew she'd be ok, and if it didn't go well, I'd be there for her this morning. Instead, she came back a little quiet, but I don't think I've ever seen her so… serene, I guess?"
She nods and jots that down. "Seems like you're a stable partner so far, then. Most others with histories and mental health backgrounds like yours would have gotten very protective, especially with a big event this early into a relationship. You handled yourself well, Mae."
She blushes and rubs the back of her neck. "Y-Yeah, well… I know Bea's used to handling things alone, I knew she could take this, and just knowing I was willing to help probably made a big difference.
"Oh, I'm sure it did. But, how has she handled your problems? You mentioned she was the one that got you on the path to recovery to begin with. Have you had any episodes since that she's witnessed?"
Mae fidgets a bit. "Um… yeah. You already know Jackie, and she didn't know we were together yet. She showed up to watch our practice session and maybe become our agent, and she laid into me pretty much on sight." She huffs. "I started to see shapes halfway into it, and Bea showed up. She expected Jackie to be kind of an ass, and she stepped in to shut her down. But she noticed me derealizing, and calmed down to focus on me." She smiles somberly. "It was… so much easier. Just feeling her scales, smelling her clothes, hearing her voice, it all grounded me. She was too familiar and too… pure… to break down. She didn't baby me after, either. She let me make my own decisions. I insisted we go on with practice, and I get a chance to prove Jackie wrong. I did, and she's been, uh…" She shrugs. "Well, she doesn't talk directly to me much still, but I think she's kinda scared to?"
Miss carver chuckles. "Yes, well, that's a common reaction to realizing you made such a huge mistake. Hopefully, she'll come around. But back on topic, I can see Bea's certainly not slacking on her end either. You seem like a lovely couple so far."
Mae grins. "You ain't seen nuthin' yet. I'll send you the video for today's recording as soon as Law puts it up- Oh!" Mae grins ear to ear. "We also helped the kid who's doing our filming and editing realize he's trans. His dad's even getting him on blockers already!"
"Well, aren't you full of surprises? Certainly doesn't sound like the struggling social wreck you insisted you were when you came to me."
Mae shrugs. "I know my people, and I take good care of them. The problem is most people just aren't mine and they can't stand me because I'm too much of a gremlin."
"Well, I suppose I can get that. But you don't need a ton of people to like you. You've clearly got a few great friends, and they're the ones that really matter."
Mae grins and sighs in relief. "Yeah… Yeah, I guess you're right. I'd be cool with just them. Although if we do manage to get out of Possum Springs, I'll probably make a few more whenever we go. Anywhere's better than there."
"Well, there's probably worse places now that your cult's gone, but yeah, your hometown's track record is pretty terrible."
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A.N.: Sorry this took so long! Life got, uh... difficult and depressing for a bit. But I'm back on the upturn, and my youtube channel is even up over 100 subs now! Go check it out, still Envoy of Kairos on there too! Lot of new stuff comin real soon, it's gonna be great. For now though, like, review, subscribe, pass this around to every NitW fan you know, and expect me to be slightly delayed again by being addicted to the new Kirby next week.
