(note: Vincent’s path is a little different from all the others, as you can only find him on the roof of the school at random, when the door is unlocked. He’ll first appear on the first of October. If you miss him then, you won’t be able to meet him again until two weeks later. After initially unlocking his path he’ll be easier to find however as there’ll be more places he might be, though it's still randomised.)
Grey Springs High School - Rooftop
You have gone up to the roof. You’re not entirely sure what brought you up here, but when you found the door unlocked you simply couldn’t help but have a look. As you stand outside you breathe in the fresh air.
The rooftop looks as unremarkable as ever. You’re about to turn around and go back down, when you suddenly hear something. Someone is strumming a guitar nearby. You look around, but you don’t see them.
???
“God dammit…”
You hear someone try to play the same chord progression multiple times. From their frustrated grunts it seems they’re messing up, though to you the music sounds fine. You follow the sound, and finally find the source behind the small building that leads back downstairs.
You don’t recognise the student you find. The scent of fresh air has been replaced with a faint smell of cigarette smoke.
???
“Whoa. No one comes up here. Why are you here?”
You tell him the door was open.
???
“Well, duh. If I don’t leave it open I’m stuck up here. And I can’t climb down with this thing.” He holds up the guitar. Then he briefly scrutinises your face. “I don’t recognise you… What year are you in?”
You tell him, and also tell him your name.
Vincent
“Oh, nice to meet you, Yon. I’m Vincent. Please don’t tell anyone you found me up here. Got a limited amount of spaces to get some peace around here as it is… But you seem cool. You can hang out up here, too, if you want. Just don’t like, talk to much. I gotta concentrate.”
You spend some more time on the roof with Vincent as he explains to you what he’s trying to play on his guitar. He offers you a cigarette, which you decline. He’s a little strange, and you’re certain that you’ve never seen him before, but you feel a faint bond form between the two of you.
Vincent Social Link - The Magician 2
You’re about to leave the field after the pep rally finished, until you hear a voice calling for you from under the bleachers. When you look to the source of the noise you see a terrifying sight: Two empty felt eyes staring at you from a tattered looking wolves’ head. The Grey Wolves mascot. Why would he be calling for you…?
You try to talk to him through the bleachers, but the mascot shakes his head. He points for you to join him underneath. You sigh and awkwardly climb through. You feel a little stupid but your curiosity of who’s inside the suit has gotten the better of you.
You look at him expectantly. For a moment he tries to talk through the suit, but his voice is too muffled. Finally the mascot removes his head, revealing a red-faced Vincent underneath. His dark brown hair is sticking out wildly where it is not stuck to his face.
Vincent
“It’s me. Please don’t think less of me for, you know, this.” He gestures at his body.
You say you don’t, which is true, though it’s a little hard to accept that the mascot you saw prancing around the field moments earlier is the elusive Vincent Mason.
Vincent
“Cool. Sorry for dragging you under here, but I’m dying for a cig so I was wondering if I could bum one off you?”
You tell him you don’t smoke. He looks shocked.
Vincent
“What? I thought that was why you went up to the roof. I thought you got flustered cos I was there, or something.” You say that doesn’t make sense, why would you get embarrassed at finding another smoker up there? Vincent bites the inside of his lower lip and averts his eyes briefly. “Ok so when I first saw you I thought you were gonna try to get a cig off me and I was not gonna give you one. I just... kind of assumed you smoked after that.” He sighs. “Guess I gotta get back to the locker room and get my own.”
You ask him why he’s hiding under the bleachers.
Vincent
“Cos this is super embarrassing and I hate being the mascot. And also I’ll get suspended again if they see me smoke on school grounds. My mom threatened to kick me out if that happened again, so I’m trying to behave. And by behave I mean hide.”
It suddenly makes sense to you why you’d never seen Vincent before until he decided he wanted you to see him.
He puts the wolf’s head back on, his tired looking eyes disappearing once again behind the ripped felt ones. He gives you a falsely chipper wave before helping you out of the bleachers. You have a feeling you probably shouldn’t stick around to see how Vincent gets out himself.
Vincent Social Link - The Magician 3
You make your way up to the roof. The moment you open the door you are hit by the strong smell of smoke. It catches you by surprise, and the mouthful of burning air gives you a coughing fit.
Vincent
“Yon, that you?”
You’re too busy coughing to respond.
Vincent
“Come on, step out here, get some fresh air.”
His speech sounds slightly strange. You realise he’s got a cigarette clamped between his lips. Does Vincent smoke every second he’s outside? He grabs you by the arm and pulls you into the open air. You take a deep breath and fill your lungs. In the meantime Vince rubs the cigarette out under his shoe.
Vincent
“I’m sorry. I’ve been real stressed lately. So I’m up here more than usual. I know it’s bad… Wait, you’re not my mom, why am I justifying myself to you?”
Now that you can breathe, you ask him why he’s been so stressed.
Vincent
“Oh man, you’re not gonna believe this.” He pulls his phone out of his pocket and shows it to you. “Look at this.”
You look. On the screen is a drawing of a cartoon wolf. It’s wearing a shirt in the colors of the school.
Vincent: You remember his name? Huh. Didn’t think you were so into the school spirit. Vincent: …But no, it’s not. Who would make fanart of Lupin?
He looks at the art himself. Vincent: It’s too cute. Lupin’s like, super creepy. It’d be bad fanart. Even though it’s good.
You look at him. When he notices, he gets a little flustered. Vincent: Objectively! I mean, it’s nice art. It’s well done.
You continue to look at him. He turns red. Vincent: B-but that isn’t why I showed it to you!
Vincent: Somehow, yes.
He pulls his phone back. He looks like you slapped him in the face. Vincent: You’re joking, right?
You shrug. Vincent: Do I look like a furry to you?
You shrug again. Vincent: Damn. I thought we were friends, man.
You don’t understand why he seems so offended.
Vincent
“They’re giving Lupin a makeover. This is supposed to be him.” He shows you the phone again like you didn’t just look at it thirty seconds ago. “Do you see why I’m so stressed now?”
You don’t, but Vincent doesn’t give you space to answer. He grabs your shoulder and pulls you closer, so you can really look him in the eyes.
Vincent
“Do you see how serious this is?”
When you don’t immediately answer he puts his other hand on your remaining shoulder. His eyes are intense. You’re almost afraid to break eye contact.
Vincent
“I can’t be seen wearing a suit that looks like that, Yon.” To your relief he finally breaks eye contact and lets go of your shoulders. You take a step back in the hopes it’ll make it harder for him to grab you again.
“Lupin is scary! He is- he’s dilapidated!” He gestures wildly in the air with his arms. Then he looks at you again.
“He is not cute! I can’t wear a cute mascot suit!” He steps towards you again and grabs the front of your shirt before you can stop him. “Do you know what that’ll make me look like?”
You shrug, again, and carefully but firmly remove Vince’s hands from your shirt.
You wish you could make him look elsewhere too, but for now you’re stuck with Vincent giving you an intense stare that seems far too dramatic for what he’s telling you.
Vincent
“You have to help me, man.”
What can you do, you ask.
Vincent
“I don’t know!” His hands form claws in his hair. You have never seen someone look so desperate and at a loss for what to do.
“I only know about the redesign because I checked the team’s emails. They’re technically only for the coaches but I’m on them by mistake, I don’t know how, some filing mistake, maybe because I shoulda graduated two years ago— as far as I know the suit hasn’t been ordered yet, the school’s just decided on this new design. And I can’t let it happen. They can do with Lupin what they want once I’m gone, but for at least another year he’s gotta stay the way he is.”
You say you were under the impression Vincent didn’t enjoy being the school mascot anyway, and that you’re not sure why he’s so upset they’re updating its design.
Vincent
“You’re right, it’s embarrassing, but… It’s hard to explain. I’ve been doing it for so long now, I almost… I don’t know, I take pride in it, or something.” He takes a deep breath, then sighs. It seems he finally allows himself to gather his thoughts.
He waves you over, and you finally sit down in your usual spot on the roof.
Vincent
“I used to be in the team, you know. But I had to quit.”
The manic energy seems to have left him, replaced by a somber sort of soberness.
Vincent
“I got in a car accident when I was fifteen. It screwed up my leg real bad. The bone was shattered, and I had to have skin grafts… I couldn’t even walk on it for almost a year. I still can’t walk normally.” He pulls up his pant leg up to his knee. The skin on his leg is discoloured, and different textures across. It looks like a scarred patchwork. “Maybe you noticed,” he adds quietly, not looking at you.
“So I can’t play anymore. But I had friends who were on the team, and I wanted to stay with them, so I found a way I could. I became the guy in the mascot suit as a joke, but it’s kinda fun, too, you know. People do like watching you and the stupid shit you do on the field. You get them hyped up, or whatever. And Lupin looking as screwed up as he does is part of that. If they change how he looks, especially so dramatically… it’s not our Lupin anymore. Not the Grey Wolves mascot.” He sighs again, and stares off into the distance, the wind gently swaying the trees next to the nearby fields. "Also it would just be fucking embarrassing for me if he's that cutesy," he adds flatly.
Then he looks at you again. Not so intense, but determined still. “Does that make sense?”
This time it does. You say you want to help Vince but that you don’t know what you can do.
Vincent
“Just knowing you have my back is enough for now. I need to think about how to approach this. Once I’ve figured that out, I’ll let you know what you can do. I’m glad you have my back.”
You spend the rest of lunch together on the roof, talking about lighter stuff. Still you can tell how happy Vincent is that you’re going to help him destroy the cute new mascot.
Vincent Social Link - The Magician 4
Outside Grey Springs - Rival School
You’re at one of the team’s out games, sitting on the stands. You’ve been under the weather so you can’t play yourself, but you still want to show them your support.
This is the first time you get to see Lupin in action. You understand now what Vincent was saying about his looks being an advantage; the opposing cheerleaders (and team) seem put off by his appearance and way of acting.
It’s almost like they’re dealing with a zombie, Lupin simply has to make a jerky move in their direction and they flinch away from him.
The team wins with a small advantage. The team seems happy, except the captain; you can tell his slight smile isn’t quite genuine.
You join everyone in the dressing room, where you find the captain in a heated discussion with Vince, who is still half in costume. He looks like a sweaty homeless werewolf.
Vincent
“I just did my job, you know how it goes. Why’s it a problem this time?”
Justin
“You’re distracting, I’ve said it before. Even the team gets caught off guard by your antics. When we win people say it’s because of you, not because we played well.”
Vincent
“Yeah but you know that’s not true! You guys are good. People are being petty. Besides, we still won, I don’t see what the big deal is.”
Justin
“If people think we win just because our mascot is so off-putting we might as well not train.”
Vincent clutches the costume’s head he’s holding in his hands a little tighter. His eyes narrow.
Vincent
“What’re you trying to say? You’re not happy with the school’s mascot?”
Justin
He sighs. “Look, it’s not you.” He gestures at Lupin’s head. You notice one of the felt eyes has come loose since the last game. “We have to replace the suit. Whenever we’ve got games against other schools nobody pays attention to how we play, it’s all about how messed up Lupin looks. And it’s not just our team, people whisper about it with other teams, too.”
Vincent
“It’s an advantage that other schools think he looks scary! We shouldn’t change that, are you crazy?”
Justin
“It undermines everyone’s hard work!”
It seems the two finally notice you standing there. Justin gives you a half hearted wave, Vince simply nods, but you see a small twinkle in his eyes. He’s hoping you’ll back him up.
Vincent
“Yo, Yon. What’d you think of the game?”
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Suddenly Oscar barges in from the entrance. You see some of the team members wince; Justin and Oscar’s friendship is as famous as it is notorious in your school’s halls.
Oscar
“Justin! Good show today man.”
The two of them high five so aggressively it makes both you and Vincent flinch a little. You can tell from Vince’s expression that he’s holding in a derisive comment.
Justin
“Honestly it could’ve been a lot better.”
Oscar
“What do you mean? You guys killed it.”
Vincent
“They would’ve killed it harder if I wasn’t there, you know, being the school’s mascot and stuff.”
Justin
“That is not what I said…”
Oscar looks surprised.
Oscar
“What do you mean? Having Lupin at games is a huge advantage.”
Vincent
“Thank you! At least someone gets it.”
Justin
“I just don’t think our mascot looking so busted that it’s distracting is a good thing.”
Oscar
“It is! If a player drops their attention because they’re too busy looking at Lupin, the team can’t be blamed for that, it’s great.”
Vincent
“Did you know they’re thinking of changing him?”
You can tell Vincent was waiting for a moment to bring this up.
Oscar
What? No way. Change him to what?”
Vince pulls out his phone and shows Justin and Oscar the picture of the new Lupin design.
Justin
“…well, it’s more in line with other school mascots.”
Oscar
“Aw, he’s cute!”
Vincent
“…”
Vincent
“You’re joking, right?”
Oscar
“What’s the matter? It’ll be good to give him an update. Shows the school cares about its teams, don’t you think?”
Vincent
“If he looks like this, people will just laugh. We’ll lose that sinister edge.”
Justin
“We shouldn’t have a sinister edge in the first place…”
Oscar
He shrugs. “I don’t think people will laugh, that looks a lot more in line with the other school mascots. If anything he looks a little fancier.”
Vincent turns a little pale. He mumbles something that sounds like “there’s a good reason for that” but doesn’t look either team captain in the eyes. You can tell he’s given up.
Justin
“If you really hate it so much, you can quit wearing the costume. I’m sure one of the cheerleaders doesn’t mind taking over.”
Oscar
“No, don’t quit! You’re good at it. Besides, it’s only til the end of the year, right?”
Vincent replies with a noncommittal grunt. He turns to you.
Vincent
“I gotta get changed. See you outside in a couple minutes, yeah?”
You wait outside of the building on a bench. You have a good view of the rivaling school’s fields from where you’re sitting. There’s a sign on the fence gate depicting the school's mascot, which is a sort of yeti, except it’s orange. During the game you thought it looked more like a giant cheeto with a face. Oscar was right, the new Lupin design looks a lot more expensive than most other school mascots you’ve seen.
Vincent
“Hey.”
He leans on the bench behind you, staring at the field. He places his bag next to you. He sounds tired.
You talk about the game for a little bit when you hear the bus pull up behind you. You move to get up, but Vincent puts a hand on your shoulder.
Vincent
“I’ll give you a ride back, if you want.”
You thank him. The bus is overly full, and it’s especially uncomfortable to be on after your team has won a game. The excitement in an already cramped space just doesn’t make for a particularly relaxing ride home.
Vincent
“I thought I did pretty good today, you know. Until Murphy said I shouldn’t have. Like what does he expect me to do, just stand there like the other guy? I’m just doing my job.”
You say it doesn’t sound like either Oscar or Justin will help you stop the replacement.
Vincent
“I know. I had little hope for that anyway, but it still stings a little that they’re not on board, I’ll be honest.” He sighs. “I was friends with the captain before Justin. He would’ve helped, I’m sure of it. But I don’t really know Murphy all that well. He takes the game so seriously.”
You tell him a little bit of what you know about Justin, since you’re in the same year and you consider him a friend.
Vincent
“When you describe him he sounds nice. I think we’re just at odds because of our roles. I think…” He hesitates a moment. “I think I kind of hate him.” His tone makes it sound like he’s surprised at the realisation.
He grabs his bag and gestures for you to follow him.
Vincent
“Let’s get out of here. I’m starting to feel kind of terrible just being here.”
Vince’s car is small, but it’s well kept. For some reason you expected it to be messy. You can tell he cares for it.
He seems to brighten up a little as you get further away from the school.
Vincent
“Are you hungry? There’s a pretty good food truck on the way. If you don’t mind hanging out on the side of the road for a bit.”
Outside Grey Springs - Main Road
You agree, and you spend some time sitting on a park bench with Vince, looking at the nearby passing cars. The sandwich you got from the truck is surprisingly good.
Vincent
“Just a few more months. Then I’ll finally be done.” He sounds optimistic while he says it, but you can’t help but feel it still sounds a little ominous. “Well, if everything goes right.”
You ask him what he means.
Vincent
“I might’ve mentioned to you before I was supposed to graduate two years ago.” He looks a little embarrassed. “I lost a year due to the accident, then on my second try I just couldn’t really focus. It all felt kinda meaningless, you know. And most of my friends were gone. So I got held back again. I turned nineteen last month.” He says it like it’s a fault of his character.
You say it’s not really his fault, that an accident like that would leave more scars than just the physical ones. People can’t expect Vince to get over them within a year.
Vincent
“Thanks, but… It’s not really that. Well, not by itself. I feel like I manage the whole mangled leg thing pretty well. I mean hell, I’m on my feet all the time now I can walk again. And I’m not afraid to drive. Well, I wasn’t the driver when the accident happened, and I can’t sit in the passenger seat without freaking out, but still.” He takes a deep breath. “I just… don’t see the point of it anymore, you know?”
You don’t. You ask what he means.
Vincent
“School. I try but it’s so hard to really give it any effort. I attend class where I have to and I do an extra activity which is more than most I think but I don’t care about any of it.”
Except Lupin’s appearance, you point out.
Vincent
“Yeah as long as I’m still here that wolf is staying busted and dilapidated, so help me God.”
You want to ask how Vince can say he doesn’t care about anything at school and also be so determined when it comes to Lupin, but you feel you’re not going to get a sensible answer out of him.
