Hello, Old Frenemy

Hello, Old Frenemy is the first chapter of Season 2 of The Two Cats, and is the thirteenth chapter overall.

Prologue
This chapter takes place the morning after the events of Expi Runs Away, with Expi's mom asking her and Mariko if they got everything. Expi checks her purse one last time, but Mariko shrugs it off, saying that she only brought their paychecks with her. Before they leave, Nikki asks Expi if she can visit her sometime, and both Expi and her mom agree.

Meeting Gracie
Before Expi and Mariko board their train, they decide to go to Al's Yummy Burgers to get breakfast. Mariko goes to find a seat and Expi orders their food. But while Expi is ordering, her name is called out by the cashier - who turns out to be Gracie, her old friend in high school before they ended up abandoning each other due to Gracie's treatment of Mariko. Expi initially decides to get their food to go, but Gracie continues trying to talk to Expi, telling her that she's changed and she wants to catch up with some of her old friends, especially after her clique went separate ways after high school. Gracie finishes taking down Expi's order, and Expi decides to stay at the restaurant while her and Mariko eat.

Expi goes to sit down at the table Mariko sat down at, when Gracie comes over to see them again. Mariko asks why Gracie is there, and Expi tells her that she has changed. Gracie then asks Expi if she could come over and visit them sometime, which Expi hesitatingly agrees to, telling her their address while thinking Gracie wouldn't be able to actually come any time soon.

Gracie's Visit
Expi and Mariko make it back home, and the next morning, Expi wakes up to a knock on the door, which turns out to surprisingly be Gracie. Gracie tells her that she got time off and bought a plane ticket to Anibi. Mariko pulls Expi aside, feeling angry about the surprise visit, but Expi assures her that Gracie has changed. Mariko still feels skeptical, but agrees to just try and make the best of the situation. Mariko sits down on the couch, and Expi asks Gracie if she wants to have breakfast with them, which Gracie agrees to.

While Expi is making breakfast, Mariko tries to talk to Gracie, but this time Gracie responds angrily to Mariko, saying that it was her fault that she split up her and Expi and that now she's lonely after her clique disbanded. As Expi walks back to the front room after breakfast is ready, Gracie threatens Mariko if she were to tell Expi about what she said.

That night, the three end up watching a movie (which Expi and Gracie both take a disliking towards), but Mariko doesn't pay attention and is still thinking about what Gracie had told her. Expi notices that Mariko seems shaken up and tries to help her, but Mariko insists that nothing's wrong. Expi and Mariko both head back to their respective rooms, but Gracie speaks up and threatens Mariko once again, this time faking a swat to get her to flinch and calling her a "Sonrisan scaredy cat."

Mariko Tells Expi
The next morning, Expi, Mariko and Gracie decide to go to Pancake Hut. When they get there, Expi and Mariko find a booth while Gracie uses the restroom. Expi once again notices that something's wrong with Mariko, and insists her to tell her what's wrong. Mariko finally caves in, telling her about Gracie being mean to her before Gracie comes back and they continue their conversation in the restroom. Expi at first doesn't see what Mariko is saying as true, citing that Gracie had said she changed and that she always had a way of saying stuff that comes off as offensive or degrading, however Mariko assures her that that is not simply the case. Expi decides to talk to Gracie after breakfast.

When they get back home, Mariko sits on the couch while Expi pulls Gracie aside to talk to her about what Mariko said. Gracie glares at Mariko, but denies having ever said or done anything of that sort. Expi then goes to wash her paws, and as she does so, Gracie approaches Mariko and gets ready to hurt her when Expi gets back out of the bathroom only to catch Gracie trying to hurt her. Gracie stumbles for a bit, but Expi simply tells her to get out. Gracie then reveals that she was playing hooky from her job in order to see them, but Expi simply states she doesn't care, and tells her to consider her actions before she ever catches Gracie around her apartment again. Gracie leaves, slamming the front door behind her. Expi apologizes for not completely trusting Mariko when she told her about what happened, and the chapter ends with the two hugging.

Trivia

 * Originally, Tomcat was going to take Gracie's place in this chapter, but ExpitheCat ended up deciding that she didn't want to turn Tomcat into a more antagonistic character and felt that Gracie would be more suited to the role. Tomcat is however planned to appear in a later chapter that will be more positive about his character.


 * This chapter was coincidentally published exactly ten years after the sixth episode in ExpitheCat's ROBLOX Epicsodes series.