"Miss?" Said the short man working at the booth.
Marceline brought her attention back to him. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Your change." He held out his left hand to give her the twenty-three cents he owed her.
"Oh, right." She took the change from him, before turning her attention back to searching the crowd for the beautiful girl in the Princess Peach cosplay.
She held the plastic bag with the rolled-up Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan art she had boughten from the booth tightly in her right hand, pushing past the crowd as she searched for the cosplayer. She was more of a Princess Daisy fan but the cosplay had been so well made that she couldn't help but want a picture with it. And the phone number of the girl wearing it would be nice too.
She finally managed to spot the blonde wig through the crowd of people. Marceline internally thanked her genetics for her height. The girl had stopped to take pictures with a small group of kids dressed as various characters from the Mario Bros franchise. She waited until the pictures were taken before walking up to the cosplayer.
"Hey," She greeted. "could I get a picture with you?"
When the cosplayer turned to her with wide eyes that were to blue for them to be contacts, Marceline personally made it her mission to get this girl's phone number.
"Of course." Peach said. "Do you want to ask someone to take it or do you want to take a selfie?"
"A selfie's fine." Marceline said as she turned her phone on.
She held her phone up and they got close enough to fit in the frame. "Say cheese." Marceline said before taking it. "Mind if I post this on instagram?" She asked once they had both agreed that they looked good in the picture.
"Sure, I just need you to tag me in it." Peach said. "My username is Princess Bubblegum with an underscore between the words."
"Cool, I'll follow you too. My username is Marcy the Vampire Queen, no spaces." Marceline told her as she put her phone in her back pocket. "Hey, uh, are you coming to the cosplay dance party tonight?"
"Yeah, I'll be dressed as Utena Tenjo." Peach told her. "What about you?"
"I'm actually the lead singer of one of the bands playing." Marceline boasted. "We're called Marceline and the Scream Queens, I'm Marceline."
"My names Bonnibel." She replied as a stressed looking mother asked if she could take a picture with her son. "I'll see you there." Bonnibel said before kneeling down to pose with the son dressed in a cheaply made Bowser cosplay.
Marceline couldn't help but smile to herself, she may not have gotten Bonnibel's number but she did get the name of her Instagram account and she knew to look fo a Utena cosplayer at the party tonight. All in all she thought she had a pretty good chance with this girl.
oOoOo
As Marceline sang the chorus of the song into the microphone she scanned the crowd for a Utena cosplayer. It was no use, the large crowd that filled the room was too packed together to spot anyone specific and the strobe lights didn't make it any easier.
As the last notes of the song were played by the rest of the band she yelled an adrenalized goodbye to the crowd and ran off the stage as deafening music played over the speakers while the next band set up. It was clear that Keila, Guy, and Bongo were still as hyped up as she was, pulling her out onto the dance floor before she even had a chance to sit down.
They danced along to the techno music, less dancing and more jumping up and down. None of them were very good dancers.
After awhile Marceline yelled over the music to tell Keila she was going to get some water before pushing past the hoard of cosplayers to the outskirts of the room. The outskirts weren't much better, kissing couples,teenagers too shy to dance, and people whose cosplays looked much to delicate for this kid of party leaned against the walls. She slipped past them all, careful not to touch any of those delicate cosplays, she knew how it felt to have something she spent weeks working on to be ruined by one simple mistake.
There was a small booth by the door that was selling drinks and snacks, Marceline bought a bottle of water and a bag of chips, disappointed at the lack of alcohol before she remembered there were minors at the party. Feeling a small headache she decided to go into the hallway where the music was only a muffled pounding.
She cringed at the bright light that filled the hallway, a sharp contrast to the dark party that was illuminated by the strobe lights and the spotlights on the stage. As her eyes adjusted she leaned against the wall and instantly chugged half the water in the bottle. She rubbed her sleeve to dry the water that had dripped onto her chin as she examined her surroundings. It was mostly groups of friends laughing and eating snacks and a few more kissing couples.
She was about to dig into the bag of chips when a flash of pink caught her attention from the end of the hallway. She stared towards the source, filled with hope. Her stomach did somersaults when she realized that the pink hair belonged to a beautiful girl in a Utena Tenjo cosplay. She picked her water bottle up from the floor and held the bag of chips tightly in her hand as she made her way towards the girl.
Marceline waited until she was closer to call out Bonnibel's name, if it turned out to be someone else she'd practically die of embarrassment. But when she was close enough to recognise the big blue eyes she didn't hesitate to get the other girl's attention. "Bonnibel!" She said as she waved. "Hey, did you see me perform?"
Bonnibel quickly shut off her phone when she saw Marceline walk closer. "Hi, Marceline." She smiled brightly. "You were freaking amazing."
Marceline ignored the blush on her cheeks as she smiled proudly. "Thanks, if you want to listen to more our albums are on youtube."
"I'll check them out later tonight. Sit down, you're probably tired." Bonnibel said as she patted the floor next to her.
Marceline took her invitation. "Yeah, the adrenaline is starting to wear off but it's the good kind of tired." She said before remembering something. "Might not be my business but why'd you shut your phone off so fast when you saw me? Sending nudes? Reading smutty fanfiction?" She laughed.
"Marceline! Don't be so distasteful." Bonnibel said as her face turned red. "I was actually looking at your instagram."
"Oh, that's not bad." Marceline sighed. "Nothing to be embarrassed about. I spent some time looking at yours too." What she didn't say was that she went through every picture Bonnibel had posted.
"Well I was a couple months into it." Bonnibel admitted and Marceline relax a little, so this girl like to stalk instagrams too. "You cosplay a lot too. Why so many vampires?"
"When I was a kid people called me a vampire. Once I started cosplaying I decided to embrace it, so I became the Vampire Queen. What about you? Why 'Princess Bubblegum'?"
"My parents own a company called the Candy Kingdom. The factory workers loved me and I used to pretend they were all people made of candy while I ruled over them as their princess made of bubblegum." Bonnibel giggled at her child-self and Marceline laughed along with her. The image of a child version of Bonnibel bossing around a group of factory workers was adorable. "Tell me about your music. What instruments do you play? What made you decide to start a band?"
"I play guitar, bass, ukulele, piano, cello, violin, and I'm currently teaching myself how to play the harp and the trumpet. I thought I should learn something that doesn't have strings." Marceline joked. "I met Keila, Guy, and Bongo in high school. We all went to this prestigious boarding school that rich parents sent their kids when they didn't want to deal with them. We basically started the band as a way to rebel against our parents who only wanted us to play classical music."
"Harsh." Bonnibel said under her breath.
"Yeah, but it's true. After my mom died me dad didn't want much to do with me. I spent the summers with my Uncle Simon." Marceline sighed. "Sorry to be a downer when we've only just met."
"Nah," Bonnibel shook her head. "everyone has emotional baggage and sometimes it's easier to talk to people you've just met. It doesn't matter if they judge you as much as it would if it was someone you've known for a long time."
"Wow Bonnie, are you psychoanalyzing me right now?" She laughed.
Bonnibel shrugged. "I majored in psychology."
"In your instagram bio it said you were an intern at a hospital." Marceline said, tilting her head like a confused puppy.
"I quadruple majored." Bonnibel said nonchalantly as she shrugged again, as if what she said was no big deal.
Marceline just stared at the beautiful and smart girl sitting next to her. "You quadruple majored? Jesus christ Bonnibel, I nearly failed my classes when I double majored. What did you major in?"
"Well, you already know I majored in psychology. I also majored in biochemistry, economics, and pharmacology." Bonnibel said, counting the majors off on her fingers. "I'm starting at a medical school next year."
"Oh my god, how are you so smart?" Marceline gaped. "I majored in creative writing and music theory."
"Me?" Bonnibel scoffed. "You're the one who plays eight different instruments. I took music classes in middle school but I could never understand the different notes and symbols."
"Different talents, I guess." Marceline scooched towards the nearest wall and leaned against it before opening her previously abandoned bag of chips. "Want one?" she asked, holding the bag out to her.
Bonnibel nodded her head and moved closer to the wall. "Thanks." She said as she took a small handful. "Oh, here." She said before opening her handbag and pulling out a half eaten bag of Hershey's kisses.
Marceline took a few from the bag and was unwrapping one when she got an idea. If everything went according to plan Bonnibel would think she was really cool. Marceline smiled to herself as she held the unwrapped chocolate to Bonnibel. "I'm gonna show you a trick. I need you to hold this between your lips and don't move, okay?"
Bonnibel screwed her face up in confusion but curiosity got the better of her and she followed the instructions. Marceline was just amazed this was working, for such a smart girl Bonnibel sure didn't know when someone was flirting with her.
A sudden surge of confidence allowed Marceline to follow through with her insane plan. "Now you need to close your eyes." Bonnibel looked at her suspiciously but closed them anyway. Marceline leaned closer to her, her heart pounding in her chest, for a moment she almost thought about not going through with the plan, but she knew that might be even weirder, she was sure that Bonnibel now knew what was going to happen. She parted her lips before closing the gap between them. The kiss lasted for only a few moments before Marceline pulled away, taking the piece of chocolate with her. "Thanks for the kiss." She said when Bonnibel realized the piece of chocolate was gone.
Bonnibel burst out laughing. "Oh my god, that was the dorkiest way you could've gotten me to kiss you."
Marceline laughed too. "If I'm a dork then you're a nerd."
"Wow, what a nice thing to say to the girl you just kissed." Bonnibel rolled her eyes but she was still smiling and she was now shifting closer to Marceline. "Although you're not wrong. I mean, we are at a cosplay party."
They sat in peaceful silence for a couple of minutes, listening to the muffled music of the party, when Marceline remembered to ask Bonnibel. "Oh, hey, could I get your phone number?"
"Yeah, here. " Bonnibel said as she took her phone out of her pocket and opened her contacts. "I have myself listed as a contact, just copy that number."
Marceline added her number into her own phone and sent a quick text to Bonnibel's phone. When it lit up with a notification Marceline said "That's me, you can add my name later."
"Cool. We can make plans to meet up soon. Do you live in this state?" Bonnibel asked as she put her phone away. "It's a pretty popular convention, I know that some people have come from across the country."
"Yup, just a couple towns away." Marceline nodded her head.
"Me too. It won't be too hard to make plans, then." Bonnibel said, just as Marceline's phone lit up with a text.
Marceline looked at the text and sighed. "I'm sorry I need to go. That was Keila, they need me to pick up the payment for the performance. They can't do it 'cause I'm the one who signs all the papers." She explained as she stood up from her spot from the floor, Bonnibel following suit.
"I'll talk to you later." Bonnibel said before standing on her her toes so she could Marceline a quick kiss before they said goodbye. "Bye."
"See you." Marceline waved before heading back to the party, basically radiating positive energy as she pushed past the crowd and back towards the stage. She had gotten gotten Bonnibel's phone number and even after a single day of knowing Bonnibel, Marceline hoped their relationship would last.