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As soon as the trio stepped out into the crisp night air, Bea started fumbling through her pockets for her cigarettes and a lighter. “Thanks guys,” she huffed. She lit her cigarette and stared off into the distance. “I am never doing that again.”
Mae restlessly twirled her cape back and forth. “So, what are we doing now?”
Surely the night wasn’t over! It was hardly seven, and there were so many un-condoned spooky activities they could get up to. They might’ve been a bit old for it, but they could go trick or treating, or they could be a little more grown up and watch a bunch of spooky movies; hell, they would’ve been happy to just sit on one of their couches and talk until the sun came up.
Gregg lit up. “Well I’m going home!” he chirped. “Angus is making dinner and we’re gonna watch horror movies.”
That sounded perfect. They didn’t think twice before the question tumbled out of their mouth, “Can I come?”
Gregg’s expression went sideways. “Erm, it’s more a… date thing.”
“...Oh.” Mae’s heart sunk in her chest. That was… fine. Those two deserved their alone time. Their gaze slowly drifted over towards Bea, who had somehow managed to whittle her cigarette down to less than half already. “What are you doing Bea?”
She rolled her eyes and took a loooooong drag. “Chamber of Commerce folks are going to the buffet out by the Ham Panther. Kinda have to go. ‘Business stuff.’” She groaned and dropped the little orange bit that remained on the ground and stomped it out. “I hate this.”
“But you’re good at it!”
She sighed. “Both of those things can be true.”
Mae fidgeted with their fingers. “Can I come?” Surely bad things could be made better with a friend? Plus, hey, free food! It wasn’t quite a spooky activity, but it was still an activity that was somewhat related to Harfest.
“Nope.”
The pop of the ‘p’ stabbed them right in the chest. They looked back and forth between their friends—their only friends, the two people they loved more than anyone else in the world—and desperately tried to reach for something, anything, they could do right now.
“Ok, well…”
Before any plans could formulate in their head, Gregg and Bea both said their goodnights and walked off into the dark.
Their eyes burned.
It was… fine, they guessed. It had to be fine. The world didn’t revolve around them, her friends had to do things without them sometimes. Gregg and Bea were both entire people! Just like them! But watching them both leave, walking away without them, leaving them alone in the cold and dark stirred something in their stomach that they didn’t have the words to express. It was like someone had taken an ice cream scooper to them and pulled out their organs to serve as a bloody, hot fudge sundae topped off with crushed dreams.
Their entire body deflated. It was fine. It was fine that Gregg had a boyfriend. It was fine that Bea had to do business stuff. It was fine, really, they didn’t care, so why were they ripping tears into the edge of their cape with their claws? It was fine, they didn’t care, they could find something to do on their own. Without their friends. It was so incredibly fine. They didn’t need their friends to have fun. They could feel their guts being ripped out; Mae a la mode.
“This is garbage,” they mumbled.
They didn’t even want to do anything anymore; they wanted to go home and lie in bed and stare at the ceiling until it all blurred together into shapes and ones and zeros. They wiped at their eyes and took half a step to turn around.