Near the School Gates - Thursday Night
Mike Wazowski
He should have brought earmuffs. No, it wasn't that cold. Well, not as cold as, say, the Himalayas (a place he never wanted to visit), but it was cold. That, coupled with being stuck in the human world all day, led to a very frazzled, very unhappy Mike Wazowski. "Seriously," he said to himself, walking along the wall that fenced off what he learned was the school from the rest of the town, "It's an island. I know he's here. He's a big guy. How hard can it be to track down a giant monster in a place like this? You'd think the humans would notice."
Sulley
Sulley had spent the whole day indoors, but couldn't resist going out to get pizza. Pizza was the one thing that stayed the same from Monstropolis. Pizza Planet wasn't as good as the place on the corner down the street from home, but at least they indulged his 'weird' choice of toppings and said it wasn't the strangest order they'd ever received.
He left the main gate of the school and was walking down Apocalypse Avenue when he saw what he thought he'd seen before and had been sorely disappointed. He wasn't going to be fooled by his own high hopes this time that Mike had found him. At least, that was what he told himself until he heard the muttering and complaining. He turned back around. "Mike?" Sulley couldn't believe it. "Mike?" he asked louder.
Mike
"Big blue guy. Furry. Can't miss..." Mike trailed off. "Sulley? Sulley!" His eye widened and he ran towards his best friend. "You're here! You still have your fur! I don't see any boils. What have they been DOING to you?"
Sulley
"Mike!" Sulley scooped Mike up for a hug, hardly believing what he was seeing. "You're here! You actually came. How did you get here? Wait, you're not stuck, are you?"
Mike
"Easy, big guy." Mike scrambled away from Sulley and fell out of his arms, plonking down onto the cold ground. He rubbed his backside and looked up suspiciously. "You didn't just infect me, did you? Because lemme tell you, I didn't come all this way to get you only to end up with oozing boils and losing my skin!"
Sulley
"You came to get me," Sulley repeated. He rubbed a hand over his face. "You're not stuck? I got stuck."
Mike
"I know you got stuck. I saw you get stuck! Half of Monsters Inc. went crazy looking for you until I came up with a cover story saying you had to leave early. Then I had to tell your mom you got a scholarship to some boarding school in another country..."
Sulley
"Technically that's true."
Mike
"She didn't believe it at first, but- wait." He stopped. "Wait wait. You're telling me I've spent the last couple of months looking for you and you've been going to school here? With the humans?" He backed off. "You are contaminated. It's gone to your brain like, like a parasite! Who are you and what have you done with Sulley?"
Sulley
"No! No, no, Mike, it's me! I swear it's me. When I first got here, I was freaking out, but there was this boy."
Mike
"You went near a boy? What am I saying? You went to school with these people! Of course you were near them. This is insane. The CDA is going to be all over us when we get back. They can detect things, Sulley. They have sensors! You can't walk back in there and expect to not get caught."
Sulley
"There's more to the story. Maybe we'd better sit down."
Mike
"Sit? Sit down? Are you kidding me? We're in hostile territory and you want to sit down and catch up?"
Sulley
Sulley's expression turned serious. "Mike, trust me."
Mike
Mike hated that look. It was the same look Sulley had been using since the 3rd grade and while he knew it meant that Sulley wouldn't let anything happen to him, it also meant that he couldn't help but do what Sulley asked. Sighing and looking decidedly uncomfortable with the situation, Mike edged back towards the wall and took a seat on a nearby rock. "Come on then. I don't have all day."
Sulley
Sulley smiled a little and sat down next to Mike. He told the story of falling through Karal's closet, freaking out, Karal helping Sulley to get enrolled to protect him and Dean Jones getting him a bed big enough to fit him. Then there was meeting Ron, finding out about different kinds of humans, not getting boils, finding out that the stories and urban legends about humans weren't true and about how they'd all almost died and still tried to help each other out. At the end of the story, though, Sulley looked down.
"I thought I was stuck here for good, Mike."
Mike
Mike had been silent the whole time. It took him a moment to reply. "Are you kidding? As if I'd leave you here. It wasn't easy, you know. I spent my car savings getting that door to get to you."
Sulley
"No! Mike, your car?" Sulley asked, feeling slightly guilty. "But you love that car."
Mike
"I do love that car," Mike agreed. "I couldn't get a car without you there, pal. Come on, we've talked about that car since...well, since forever. It wouldn't be the same without using it to give you a ride." He stood up. "Let's go home."
Sulley
Home. He could actually go home. He'd wanted nothing more than that since arriving here. The feeling of being stuck had made him sick to his stomach. Now he wasn't stuck. Now he could go home. With the relief of having a choice, Sulley found himself hesitating. It should have been an easy choice to pack up and leave right away. But he had friends here now. None as close as Mike was, and no family, but there was something telling him he wasn't meant to leave yet - a gut feeling. "I can't go back yet, Mike."
Mike
"What do you mean? We can. There's a door. It's still open." Mike saw from Sulley's expression that that wasn't what he meant. "I came for you. I spent my life savings to come after you."
Sulley
There was no way Mike would ever understand or forgive him for choosing Fandom over him. Sulley knew that. He had to try a different approach. "I'd do the same for you too. How long is it until the exam for the summer internship intake at the scaring companies?"
Mike
"What does it matter?"
Sulley
"It matters. Humor me."
Mike
There was that look again. Mike's shoulders drooped and he sighed. "It's at the end of May. Not that it matters since there's no point going without you being there."
Sulley
"I'll be there." Mike went to interrupt, but Sulley held up a hand. "This is the perfect opportunity, Mike. We can get one up on the competition. Even Randall Boggs doesn't have this kind of access to humans. If I stay here, I can learn about them from living with them. I'll find out what scares them the most, get in some really good practice and we'll blitz the competition when the exam comes." Sulley wasn't sure if Mike was going to go for it.
Mike
Now that made sense to Mike. The thought of getting one up on all of the other would-be interns and especially that weasel Randall appealed to him. "Sulley, you're a genius! You planned this whole thing, didn't you?" Sulley tried to correct him, but Mike was already caught up in the plan. "No one else has hands-on scaring experience when they start out. We'd be at the top of the class! They'd have to hire us with how good you'd be! I can still practice my assisting techniques at home and then you can come home and this is perfect! I can't wait to see the look on Randall's face."
Sulley
Sulley visibly relaxed. He'd gone for it. It was true, staying here would give them an advantage, but it was only one reason why he'd chosen to stay. Mike didn't need to know that. "Me neither," he grinned. "Is there any way you could maybe keep the door connection open? I still don't like the idea of being stuck."
Mike
"Hey, it's my door. I paid for it. Don't ask where I got it from," he added hastily. "I think I can manage opening it once a week. Why? Thinking of coming home for a visit?" Mike asked slyly.
Sulley
"Maaaaybe," Sulley replied. "It'd be nice to come home whenever I want to. How's my Mom doing?"
Mike
"She was worried at first until I started sending her letters from the school. Thank you, nerdish freshman with the tentacles. You owe him money, by the way." Mike ignored Sulley's rolled eyes. "Now she's settled down to being annoyed about not hearing from you. You should fix that."
Sulley
It then occurred to Sulley for the first time since arriving that he hadn't even tried sending a letter home, especially considering the unusual nature of Fandom and its connection to different places. It took every ounce of self-control not to face-paw. "I'll try my best. Come on, Mike. I'll walk you home."
[OOC: Not for interaction, but feel free to have noticed them. OOC comments welcome.]