Chapter One
*THUMP-THUMP* *THUMP-THUMP* She could hear her heart thudding through her chest. Her dainty fingers ran across the cold handle, and gently slid over the small dimples in the metal. The door felt different today, even though the flaky white paint was gradually peeling away like always. Bonnibel could hear the distant mumbling from the town square behind her. She loved hearing people talking and interacting, but she couldn't help feeling a little bit overpowered. The only person she really talked to was Susan, and it was only ever about the books they were reading.
Bonnibel spoke softly most of the time, so the book club was the one place where she could really speak her mind, where she could truly feel like she belonged. Everyone in the book club shared the same passion as her. It was only a small fraction of what Bonnibel really liked to do in her spare time, but she wasn't going to miss out on the chance of actually beginning to make friends. As an only child she had spent most of her life by herself in the playground at school, the place where she truly fell in love with The Adventures of Finnley. He was a companion when no one else was. Bonnibel loved the way he fought to protect the princess of the kingdom, and how he was so devoted to her. She'd always wondered if maybe someone would ever be devoted to her in that way, or even vice versa, but she had never believed it would ever truly happen.
Bonnibel had just read the last chapter of the second book (for the umpteenth time. After all, she had read all of the existing books before she joined the club), and was looking forward to discussing it with the other members, but she was nervous, because she knew that Susan was bringing a friend. Bonnibel was always nervous around new people. She felt like her rounded glasses, and her long pinkish hair made her stand out amongst all of the other members. All of her tiny imperfections, that she thought people would notice, bothered her a lot, and she could never really speak out to new people. She looked down at her clothes. Where they too plain for meeting someone new? The lilac jumper she wore hung over her hands and well past her hips, blissfully resting on the curves of her waist, and her pale blue leggings clutched onto her legs, defining the sharp bones of her knees. She dug her pinkish pumps into the gravel beneath her. It was definitely too casual. What if this person was a beautiful boy? What if he was the real life equivalent to Finnley? She was dressed in no way to meet a man like that.
"The least I can do is pull my hair out of this ridiculous bun." she mumbled angrily to herself.
She lifted her hands to the top of her head, where a basic bun was tied in. Her fingers began to unravel the fuzzy peach scrunchie that held her silky pink hair in place. The jumper she was wearing slid gracefully down her arms, and gradually stopped at her tiny elbows. Aggressively, she pulled the scrunchie away, and her hair quickly fell into her face. She began to brush the hair off of her cheeks, meekly stroking the millions of beautiful, speckled freckles that coated them. She pushed her glasses back to the bridge of her nose, and steadily teased the knots of hair away.
Silently, she stood. Waiting. "Confidence. Smiles. Books. That's all you're here for Bonnibel… Chances are, you won't even like him." She muttered to herself. Slowly, she pulled her backpack back onto her frail shoulders, and took a deep breath, and opened the door.
A gust of warm air hugged her rosy cheeks, and embraced her petite figure. Looking around, she noticed that the library was a little more busy than usual. Nevertheless, she strode over to the usual corner that the group gathered in, letting the door creak shut behind her. The normal members were there; Susan, Jake, Louise, and some others that Bonnibel never really spoke to that much. They were all dispersed around the couches and pillows on the floor, silently reading, and occasionally whispering to each other. Bonnibel went and sat down next to Susan, who instantly pulled her closer for a hug. Susan had large muscular arms, and a well-built figure. Bonnibel began to ponder, 'is this what it feels like to hug a bear?' she thought to herself. As she sat back down, pulling a strand of Susan's blonde hair out of her mouth, she took a quick glance around, and no one new was there.
"Good to see you Bonnie!" Susan whispered loudly, "I was afraid you weren't going to turn up this week. My friend can be a little intimidating at times." She continued, with a sly smile across her face. She adjusted the woollen animal hat that rest on her head loosely.
"Wait, where is this friend?" Bonnie questioned. There wasn't anyone new around, she specifically remembered everyone. Susan had become quite distracted, pulling her wiry hair back underneath her hat, so Jake leant over. His shaggy blonde locks fell immediately into his eyes, and he laughed quietly to himself. When he finally calmed down a bit, he pointed to a table in the middle of the room, slightly hidden by some bookshelves. Bonnibel arched her neck, glancing over at the hidden figure.
She could just make out some dark black basketball shoes, tiptoeing on the ugly khaki carpet. They gripped tightly around some deep grey skinny jeans, which ran up a pair of tall legs. An auburn hoodie hung over the seat of the cheap plastic chair, and inky black hair hung far past the person's shoulders, almost brushing the bottom of the jumper. Bonnibel instantly felt her face redden. The person had dressed almost as casually as she had. 'Well it's not the knight I was expecting.' Bonnibel thought to herself, 'But maybe that isn't a bad thing. I could finally make a closer friend.' . These were incredibly fearless thoughts for Bonnibel. She started to realise that they were probably a little bit too optimistic, so she contemplated just wandering quietly past. She steadily pulled herself up, unnoticed by the rest of the group. As she wandered round, she watched the figure pull their hair up into a low ponytail. She saw the tanned skin of the person's neck, and the gentle point of their ears.
As she walked around, and leant on a column that held the ceiling, she got a decent view of the persons face. It was a girl, and a stunning one at that. She had beautiful sun kissed skin, and a pair of prominent red lips. A flick of eyeliner outlined her eyes, which were pointed down at the book in her hands. A single strand of black hair fell into her face, which she puffed at with all her might. Bonnibel had never felt this way about anyone before, she was grinning bashfully at the girl sitting away from her. Accidentally, she let out a small giggle, which wouldn't seem like much in a noisy room, but the almost-silence of the library made it echo, and bounce off of the walls. Suddenly, she saw the girl look up, her eyes pointing directly at her. Bonnibel clasped her hands over her mouth in shock, and stood still like a rabbit caught in headlights. The girl at the table had ruby red eyes that sparkled gently in the dim light. She looked at the strand of hair in her face, and back at Bonnibel, still mortified in the corner. She blushed. She began to laugh quietly to herself, using her fingers to brush the hair behind her ear.
Bonnibel was completely red at this point, still staring in awe at the girl's beauty. The girl finally took a deep sigh, and looked over at Bonnibel. There was a moment when the two just looked at each other, but the girl broke the tension by poking her tongue out playfully, and waving. Bonnibel smiled instantly, and nervously waved back. She was so embarrassed that she ran off, right past Susan, "Sorry Susan, I'm leaving early today!" she exclaimed quietly. As she threw her backpack higher onto her shoulder and ran out of the door, she closed it and leant on it. 'Who was she?' Bonnibel thought to herself. She could feel herself blushing more and more. She covered her face with her hands and slid down the door, into a pile on the step by the door. 'She was like an angel'. She let out a small squeal of delight, and continued to bury her head into the cosy jumper that covered her hands. Finally, she stood up and began to slowly walk towards town. "I hope she comes along next week, so I can make less of a fool of myself.." She said out loud.
"I'll make sure to then, Pinkie." Bonnibel heard from behind her. As she turned around, she noticed it was the girl at the table. Bonnibel felt herself going red again. "I'll see you same time, same place next week." The girl said as she winked playfully. "Oh, by the way, the name's Marceline! Don't wear it out!" She called. And with that, she disappeared around the corner.
'Marceline…'