SPOILERS!!!
replayed again and am i crazy for thinking bb and lane know each other?
NOW HEAR ME OUT like i could just be grasping at straws but was trying out different routes and i remember that if u take the bus home instead of going with bb, amelia stops you and asks if you still call lane by his name, implying he goes by a nickname. but if you let bb drop you off and give your phone number, he tries out texting acronyms and comes up with "wz."
and earlier when you're cleaning the bathroom, the toilet bowl says "w and z were here" and it has the same face as the one on bb's skull tattoos on his hands and helmet. and when you click on it mc kinda gets a faint memory of a voice saying "if you ever get tired of these losers around here, i'll take you to the moon. i swear." seeing as the text was red we can assume it's bb, since he's the only character who's text turns red in certain dialogues.
now back to when you're at the bus stop waiting for the bus. when bb approaches you, depending on what route you're going, you start talking about the sky and how empty it is. you say it's stupid but bb immediately understands and you reveal that you love the moon. so to put those two together, it's safe to say that whoever is under the helmet had a close enough relationship with mc to know she likes the moon.
it's also been exactly one month since mc started working at the mad dog convenience store. (october 17 2009 - november 17 2009) bb's last message thread is a month old. [ the message thread is not completely related to my theory just something i thought i should point out. ]
i'm going to assume that within this time frame, "the incident" happened that not only ruined our friendship with amelia but caused some memory loss. which would explain why mc gets these moments of familiarity but can't place it, like in the bathroom or when they wear the red helmet. i put it within this time frame because mc started their job on october 17th yet when they talk to amelia in the cafe they seem to still be on good terms and they talk about their job but it's november 16/17th when we see their current standing.
which brings me back to the "wz" text.
w and z could possibly be lane and bb. HEAR ME OUT. i only say this because we don't know bb's name or the nickname lane goes by. but if this is true and mc, bb, and lane were somehow friends and then "the incident" happened it could be that it was bad enough to split up their group. bad enough that amelia would hold a grudge for what happened between us and her brother.
which also explains why bb wears his helmet because if he was worried about mc recognizing him he could just wear a face mask since her faulty memory wouldn't help her put the pieces together to recognize him. the helmet not only covers his face but muffles his voice.
but if it's not lane, w and z would have to be bb and mc or at least connected to them, and to see it in the bathroom means they would have to hang out at this store often enough to feel the need to tag it. so lane either knows him personally or at the very least know of him before whatever went down.
[ is it obvious how badly i need shift 3 to come out ]