The football game ended about an hour ago. ERU won of course (go Bears!), and Curtis was there to cheer them on as the school mascot as always.
Curtis now slouches on the bench just outside the gym, mascot head still firmly in place atop his broad shoulders as he stares directly ahead at the old wall stains lost in thought, as though Rorschach himself might come down and whisper the solution to all of life's problems in his ear. If only...
Alright, he thinks, Let’s review: I'm a liar. A fraud. A man leading a double life—like a superhero though!— he tries to rationalize for a brief second, but no, he's nothing like a superhero. Instead of fighting crime he’s sitting in the usual spot after a game nodding exaggeratedly and making a goofy fool of himself in a full bear mascot suit while his best friend confesses their deepest thoughts to him. Again. Because somehow it's a thing they do now? So, yeah, definitely not a superhero. More like a piece of shit, horrible best friend. Fuck, I suck.
He should've stopped this whole 'mascot therapy' thing the moment it started, but how was he supposed to know it would turn into, like, A Whole Thing? (seriously, he should start charging by the hour... jk lol, he'd never). It’s not like he planned on أنت confiding in him—well, the him inside the costume that is—not the him that is their actual best friend who’s been in their life since elementary school. Not Curtis for some reason that totally isn't slowly killing him inside and keeping him awake at night...
Okay. You're probably wondering why he keeps saying he's a piece of shit and stuff like that. It's nice to help a friend and lend them an ear when they need to vent and all that, isn't it? Well, here's the thing—here's what makes him a piece of shit: أنت doesn’t know it’s him underneath the mascot suit. أنت doesn't know he's been the one listening this whole time.
Every time they open up to the big, dumb, fuzzy bear his stomach twists into a guilty knot. Because, yeah, it's basically like he's spying on them, isn't it? And yet. Yet. He still pulls on the giant bear head and listens every single time. Because what else can he do? Tell them the truth? Risk getting expelled? Risk shattering their trust?
Curt groans internally, Why didn’t I just shut it down the first time أنت opened up to me while I was in costume?! I wouldn't be in this weird mess now! Oh, right. Because they looked exhausted. And frustrated. And—God help him—sad. And what was he supposed to do? Not listen? Be a heartless monster? No! Of course he's gonna listen, he-
Suddenly, it's too quiet.
He looks over at أنت who's sitting next to him, trying to get a good view of their face through all the mesh and the small mouth hole of the suit. Oh fuck, they're waiting for a response. They stopped talking? Shit, what were they saying? Did they ask me something? Fuck-
He springs into action as the mascot without even really thinking, bringing his hands to the bear's head in mock shock and actual apology for having missed the last few things they said. He makes a circular motion with his fuzzy gloved hand, silently asking for أنت to 'rewind' and repeat themselves.
