Trent was glad to find that it was hard to hold onto the anxious energy of his conversation with the mean old man under the weight of Mae's obvious happiness and the chilly but sunny day and the small town atmosphere.

For some reason, he thought he'd like it here in Possum Springs, although that could just be empty hope.

There'd been enough of that in his life.

He'd say that Mae changed as they began walking down the road together, but that seemed true of her almost all the time. Mae changed course on a dime. He wondered how long it would take to get used to.

This was good, though. She was happy. She seemed to be in her element, although he noticed she didn't say hi to or wave at anyone. Maybe it was because she was focusing on him. Trent looked around as they held hands and walked down the road together, at this town that he had committed to living in, to moving across the country to live in. It honestly wasn't all that different than what he was used to.

Trent had spent his whole life in one town before now.

For a few seconds, he felt panic begin to settle in. Had he just fucked himself? He'd invested everything into coming here. This had to work. Somehow, someway, it had to work. Or he was just fucked. He couldn't go back, he just couldn't.

But then the panic subsided when he looked at Mae, and she looked back at him and smiled a sweet smile.

For some reason, being here with her, holding her hand, walking through town, it made everything just…

Better.

"Okay, Selmers is up ahead," she said. "Be nice to her, okay? She's super chill and nice and I like her. I'll have to punch you in the balls if you're mean."

"Noted," he murmured. God, how many people were mean to her that she had to keep warning him about shit like this?

Up ahead, he saw the person she'd indicated sitting on, presumably, their front stoop. She looked at them as they approached, studying them. She was a brown bear with hooded brown eyes and a dark hoodie with earbuds snaking up out of the pocket. Reaching up, she grinned as she took them out of her ears and killed the music.

"Mae...did you get a boyfriend?" she asked. "I've never seen you hold hands with someone."

"...so the jury's still out on that," Mae replied, glancing awkwardly at Trent.

"Clearly more than a one night stand then, huh? Is this the morning after?"

"Yep!"

Trent wondered if she even knew what 'the morning after' meant. He already felt awkward, because now he was thinking about sleeping with this woman, because hadn't she been who Mae said he should sleep with? Her and...Bea?

"I'm Selma Ann Forrester, but you can call me Selmers if you're with Mae," she said.

"Trent Sinclair," he replied. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too. You just move in? I've never seen you around."

"Yeah. Just last night."

She laughed, grinning. "Wow Mae, you snagged him right off the bus, huh?"

"I sure did," Mae agreed.

"She was literally the first person I saw," he replied.

"Selmers writes poems," Mae said. "And Trent writes horror novels!"

"Whoa really? That's awesome," Selmers replied.

"I'm not, like, published or anything," he replied awkwardly.

"That's still pretty cool though. I like horror. I know Mae does."

"Do you have any poems today?" Mae asked.

"I do, actually. You really wanna hear it?"

"Yeah!"

Selmers looked at Trent inquiringly. "Oh, yeah, definitely," he replied. "I don't know if I've ever actually met a poet."

"I wouldn't call myself a poet, really…"

"Oh come on, Selmers! You write poems and you're part of that poetry group and did that reading at the library!"

"Fine, fine," she said. "Okay, here goes." She paused. "It's sad."

"Yay! I'm sad too! I mean not really right now, just in general. Are you sad?" Mae replied.

"I mean, not right now, but I was when I wrote it. Okay." She shifted uncomfortably. "So stark, so dark. Used to worry, about my mark. Just some hick, so sick, here's the carrot, now where's the stick? I hate, this fate. No car, no job, no hope." She stopped and shifted again. "I kind of stopped it there, and it's not like my others. I don't really know if it's done or not? I don't know."

"I'm sorry, Selmers," Mae murmured, reaching out and putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry that you're sad."

"I'm okay right now," she replied, her smile returning tentatively. "Just a bad night is all. I dunno. I shouldn't've told you. It's your morning after and all, I don't want to mess it up."

"It's okay...I get it," Trent said. "I mean...I've been there."

"In the dark," Selmers murmured. "When it's three in the morning and you don't have a job to go to and no money and you can't sleep and you can hear the house making sounds around you, living in your parent's basement…"

"How'd...you know all that?" he muttered, feeling a strange sense of unreality, like she'd just looked into his brain somehow.

"What? No, I'm talking about myself. Jeez, man, you really do know, huh?"

"Yeah. I thought...I don't know what I thought," he said, feeling stupid suddenly. "That sucks."

"Ham Panther never got back to you?" Mae asked.

Selmers sighed and shook her head. "Nah, they did. Job went to someone else. But I was talking with Claire. She's working there part time, but they don't have the hours...I can't remember, do you know Claire?"

"Uh...she works at Telezoft, right? Or she did?" Mae replied.

"Yeah. She quit Telezoft and went to work at Ham Panther, but they lied about how much hours they were going to give her and so she had to go back to working part time at Telezoft, too."

"How'd you meet her?"

"Old friends." She frowned. "I...ugh, I'm getting desperate, Mae. I really need a job. Telezoft is the only place hiring that I actually can find. Everything else isn't hiring or you need experience or some kind of degree for. It really sucks." She looked at Trent suddenly. "Don't suppose you could use an editor? I don't really know your money situation but I'm like really good at editing."

"Maybe," he said. "I'm still trying to get my feet under me right now. I just inherited my great-uncle's house and that's why I'm out here and the power isn't even on yet…"

"Oh, shit, sorry man. Don't worry about it."

"No, I'll think about it. Like for real," Trent replied.

"Thanks, I appreciate it...so like you own a house?" He nodded. "Wow, holy shit. How old are you?"

"Twenty two."

"Wow, man. That's nuts. Sounds like he's a keeper, Mae."

"Yeah, sucks for him," Mae said, laughing.

"I dunno, you're a catch Mae," Selmers replied.

"What clown world are you living in? I'm like the biggest trash loser in town!"

"Aw come on, don't be down on yourself, Mae."

Mae sighed heavily. "Okay fine, but we have to go. I got stupid BS to do. But you should come over to his house sometime! It's cool!"

"...I think he should be the one to invite me over, Mae," Selmers replied uncomfortably.

"Oh, right. Uh. Shit. Sorry, dude," Mae replied.

"It's cool. You seem cool, Selmers. I wouldn't mind hanging out. I just need to get the place in order first. But it's easy enough to find, it's the house right behind Mae's."

"I've never actually been to Mae's house," Selmers said, "but thanks. We'll hang out sometime."

"Awesome."

"Okay, bye Selmers!" Mae said, walking ahead and pulling him along.

"Bye, Mae. Bye, Trent. Nice to meet you. Uh, sorry about your great-uncle dying."

"It happens, apparently," he replied, finding himself oddly leaning into the way both Mae and her mom responded to it.

"I guess so," she said.

They walked on.

"Ugh...hold up," Mae said, all her good cheer abruptly evaporating.

She looked morosely into a window of the building they were passing and as he began reading the lettering printed on it, he saw why.

This was the doctor's office.

"You got an appointment or something?" he asked, deciding to let her set the situation, even if she didn't realize it.

Mae paused almost long enough that he got close to telling her what Candy had told him, then she sighed. "Yes. I got a whole checkup and I hate it and I hate Doctor Hank but my freaking mom wants me to get looked at and also I gotta do this if I wanna get on birth control. Which I do."

"That would be a good idea...I mean, if we're gonna continue, uh...this," Trent replied.

"Are we gonna?" Before he could answer, she pressed on. "Even if we don't date, could we be like...friends. Like sex friends? Is that what they call it?"

"I think they call it friends with benefits," he replied. "But...yeah."

"Yeah to what?"

"Yeah for sure to friends with benefits. And probably yeah to dating. I mean, I like you. Like a lot. I just…"

"Can't tell if it's a really stupid idea? It's okay, man, I get it." She paused, looking like she wanted to ask him something, then instead looked over his shoulder. He followed her gaze. She seemed to be looking at the building next door.

It read Ol' Pickaxe on the plate glass.

Why did that sound familiar? God, he'd inhaled so much information in the past less than twenty four hours that he couldn't even process everything.

"That's where Bea works," she said. "Okay, so, hopefully this won't take too long. The administration building is like six blocks straight on. It's literally right next to the Taco Buck. Like it's in the same building. And they're both right next to Video Outpost Too."

"Outpost Two? Is there a One?"

"No, Too as in also, and also I don't think there is. I don't know who named it. It's a dumb name. But the important thing is Angus works there and he's super cool. He's a big tall bear, stop in if you see him and say hi from me and maybe introduce yourself. Then come right back here after you do your electrical things."

"Okay, I will," he replied.

"Cool!" She began walking up the steps, then stopped and came back up to him. "Can I have a kiss? Those are like super cool when they go the way they're supposed to."

"They are and yes," he replied, and kissed her on the lips. She gripped his head and kissed him back more aggressively, then let go of him and giggled.

"Oh man that feels so good," she said dreamily.

"It does," he agreed.

She started up the steps, then stopped and turned once again. "So would you like, do Selmers? Like sex? With her?"

He stared at her closely. "Okay, I for real need to know if you're fucking with me or not. Like, is this a trick question?"

"No, it's not! It's a real question! I'm totally serious!"

"I mean...yeah, I would. I like her. She's hot."

"Cool! Maybe we could have a threesome? She's sad now and I think sex would make her happy," she said.

"Mae," he muttered, looking around quickly, "how about we talk about sex stuff...not outside? Where anyone can hear? Okay?"

"I...mmm, fine okay. Well I gotta go. See you later."

"Later," he replied, watching her head into the doctor's office.

Trent shook his head and kept on walking.

It was very tempting to go into the Taco Buck after the walk through Possum Springs.

Mainly because a lot of people kept looking at him. Not everyone, but several people gave him curious and even somewhat hostile looks. Trent supposed he shouldn't be surprised, he was new, after all, and apparently this was one of those towns where everyone knew everyone, so it would be immediately obvious when there was a newcomer.

But he resisted temptation, however, for the moment, and instead headed into the very dull and boring looking Social Security Administration.

Everyone kept calling it that and he thought it was a strange slang term for it, but no, that's what was literally printed on the front.

He'd also been tempted to stop in the Video Outpost Too, as he'd taken a peek in through the window and had indeed seen a tall brown bear with a hat and glasses, but he looked busy talking with someone and Trent really wanted to get this over with. Mainly because he had no idea how long it would take or what it would entail.

What did electricity have to do with Social Security anyway?

He walked up the front steps and pushed the door open, then found himself inside a room that reminded him of a DMV. It was littered mostly with uncomfortable looking chairs in uneven rows, all facing towards a large desk that ran the length of the building. A single, tired-eyed, bored-looking peacock sat behind the desk, reading something.

He looked up as Trent approached. There was no one else around.

"Help you?" he asked, already sounding vaguely annoyed.

"I, uh, need my power turned on. Also I guess I need a new license? I don't have any mail because I just moved into town but I've got a copy of the deed and the will in my name…"

"Oh, you're the new Sinclair. Yeah Molly called about you, should be fine," he said, straightening up a little, a new energy entering his eyes. He started shuffling things around, tossing his book aside. "Uh, here," he slapped down a clipboard, "just fill this out. I've already sent a guy out to turn on your power. It probably should be on by now, actually. We're sorry about that."

Trent hesitated, then slowly picked up the clipboard. Was he missing something?

The guy almost seemed afraid.

"It's fine," he said, looking over the paper.

"I'll get your ID cued up," the man said, "as soon as you fill that out."

He lingered for a few seconds more, trying to determine a way of asking 'why are you suddenly scared?', not being able to find one, and finally heading for the nearest chair after grabbing a pen. He sat down and filled out the basic information about himself, glad that he'd already dealt with this crap ahead of time online.

Trent pondered the situation as he filled out the paperwork. Had his great-uncle been a bigshot in town or something? Why would that matter though? Maybe he was missing something else. In the end, he finished up the paperwork and turned it back in. The man took it and swiftly typed up the information into his terminal, then pointed at the white paper or whatever it was you stood against when you got your photo taken.

"Okay, stand there and I can take your picture and print out your new license," the man said. He almost seemed eager to get him out of there.

Well, Trent couldn't argue with that.

"Wait, I can walk out of here with it? I thought I had to get it mailed to me," he said as he stepped over.

"Well, we do things a little differently out here," the man replied, then flashed a quick smile.

"Uh...okay." Trent got into position.

"All right, smile." Trent smiled, or tried to, he always thought he looked dumb as hell in pictures. The man quickly snapped the photo and then typed rapidly into the computer. A moment later, something began to hum and he rolled over to another machine in his computer chair.

"Did you know my great-uncle?" Trent asked. It seemed like an innocent enough question.

"Not personally," the worker replied, not looking at him. "I just heard about him."

"What'd you hear?"

"You know, what a great guy he was. Devoted. Hardworking. He did a lot for the community. That's all. Upstanding guy." He pulled something out of the machine, a printer, and then rolled back over and slapped a freshly laminated driver's license on the counter. "There you go!"

"Thanks," Trent murmured, studying it. It was legit. This guy really just wanted him out of here, and again it almost seemed like he was frightened.

What the hell?

"Yep."

Trent lingered for a moment, wanting more information, but finally just left. He stepped outside for a minute, then looked around. He began to head for the Taco Buck, but then he saw the brown bear from before standing outside the Video Outpost Too, leaning against the front wall, looking into his phone. That had to be Angus, should he just, like, approach? Say what's up? Mae had told him to say hi for her…

"Fuck it," Trent muttered.

He'd spent so much time alone before now, so much time without friends, running into opportunities to be social and almost always turning them down. He'd promised himself on the way out here that this was actually going to be a new life and he was going to do things differently. Probably in that he was going to do things.

So little had been done before now because he was scared or miserable so much of the time.

He walked over. "Angus?"

The guy immediately looked over, stiffening slightly. "Do I know you?"

"No, sorry. Not trying to be weird. Mae sent me. To say hi. Uh, I'm Trent. I'm new in town," Trent replied, coming a little closer.

Angus relaxed. "Oh." He seemed to consider that. "How new?"

"Got in last night."

"Wow, and you already are being sent by Mae to say hi to me? Well," he stepped closer, slipped his phone in his pocket, and offered his hand, "it's nice to meet you, Trent, friend of Mae."

"And you, also friend of Mae," he replied, shaking his hand. "I'm assuming?"

"Yeah, Mae's my friend. I suppose if you're going to be friends with Mae there's a decent chance we'll be friends." He paused, shifted uncomfortably. "I mean, logically speaking. You don't have to be my friend if you don't want to be."

"No, I mean, I'm in the market for friends," Trent replied. "Mae says you're cool and I...trust her. You know, mostly."

Angus laughed softly. "Yeah, I get it."

"Uh...I was gonna grab her and myself some tacos. You want any? I'm buying."

He frowned, seemed to really think about it, then slowly nodded. "I suppose, if you are offering, I would appreciate it. I accept. I can join you. I'm on break and the Outpost is locked up for now."

"Sure, sounds good."

"Where is Mae?" Angus asked as they walked over to the Taco Buck. There weren't many people inside and they walked up to the register, which wasn't presently being staffed.

"At the doctor's office," Trent replied, then hesitated. Maybe that was privileged information. Crap. Normally he was more reserved, but Mae was already having an effect on him. Just thinking about her gave him this strange energy.

"Oh. Interesting."

They ended up ordering half a dozen tacos and several packets of hot sauce, then headed back outside.

"Thank you for this, I really appreciate it. I can pay you back in a few days, when I get paid…" Angus said.

"Oh, no, don't worry about it. Consider it a gift," Trent replied.

"...hmm. Very well," Angus replied, looking uncomfortable again. Trent knew how he felt, and himself felt somewhat conflicted. He always felt weird about getting stuff from people, but he always wanted to be nice and just give people things. He wanted to make people happy, especially so if they were going to be friends. There was a chill energy to Angus, somewhat reserved and probably shy, but also laid back and likely kind, and if Mae was friends with him, he doubted the guy was an asshole or anything.

"Thank you for the gift," Angus said as they walked back in front of the Outpost.

"Happy to...I should probably go see Mae," he replied.

"Definitely," Angus agreed. "If you are bringing her tacos, then it would be smart to get them to her posthaste."

"Yeah...aw shit, I forgot a drink. Uh, well, it was good meeting you."

"You too. I'm sure we'll meet again. Also, we've got VHS tapes and some DVDs and video games in the store if you're into retro stuff."

"Wait, so…" Trent looked up. "Is this like a Blockbuster?"

"Yeah, basically. A low-grade Blockbuster."

"Oh man I'm so coming here," he replied. "Thanks."

"Indeed."

Angus headed back into the Outpost and Trent headed back to the Taco Buck to get a drink.