Hey there! This story might sound really familiar. That's because a while ago, I uploaded a fanfiction called Racing for Keeps, which is well... this exact fanfiction. I decided that I was going to re-write it, since I had nothing better to do, hah. I think I've improved my writing skill quite a bit, so I wanted to demonstrate that here. Hopefully I'll be able to start uploading on a regular basis, though I'm not 100% sure. I'll try though :)

This story takes place in the 1970's

A few characters might have different names (Lumpy's name is Lucy S. Patterson in here)

All cars mentioned in this chapter are 1969 models

The smell of rain on pavement mixed with that of burning rubber was... a strange scent indeed. The sound of screeching tires split through the quiet of the night, probably waking anyone up within' a few blocks radius of the old racetrack. A fairly small crowd was gathered there, cheering quite loudly. Two cars whisked past the crowd of people, engines roaring. A hot pink camaro z28 was in the lead for the most race, leaving the other one in the dust for the majority of it. The camaro passed the finish line, only seconds before the mustang did. The pink camaro came to a stop, beside a group of girls that were waiting, triumphant grins on their faces. The maroon mustang drifted to a halt, a few meters away from the winners car. The drivers door popped open to reveal a raven haired girl, seething with anger. Her fist closed tightly around the car keys and she marched over to the door of the pink camaro. The crowd of girls that surrounded the car backed up, allowing her to pass. The window rolled down slowly, to reveal the face of Lucy S. Patterson, the leader of the cobalt dragonflies.

"Well well well," Lucy began, her annoyingly nasally voice nearly making the opposing girl sock her in the face. "Marceline Abadeer, the new gal to the vipers... I actually thought you were gonna be a challenge," Lucy blew a bubble with the bubble gum she was chewing on, popping it moments later. "Guess not. Oh well," She shrugged with a grin. "Pay up," She held her hand out, waiting for Marceline to pay her for the loss. Marceline growled angrily and dropped her keys in the other girls hand. People told her that she shouldn't race Lucy. Did she listen? Nope! Now she had to give up her car and it was all on her.

"Oh just you wait Lucy. You'll get exactly what's coming to you," Marceline grumbled. Lucy looked at her with mock fear, placing her free hand on her chest as if she was going to have a heart attack sometime soon.

"Oh glob, I'm shaking in my boots," Lucy's voice trembled. Her face relaxed again and she let out the most obnoxious laugh Marceline had ever heard in her life. "You did this to yourself hun," She stated, her eyebrows knitting together. "I would have been fine racin' one of Ashes other goons, but you challenged me. Thanks for making it easy Marceline," She finished in a sing-song voice. "Everyone knows that you shouldn't race for pinks with me. I always win," She leaned out through the window slightly so that she was face to face with Marceline. "You should have listened," Marceline gritted her teeth and clenched her fist. "Anyhow, it's getting late. Do you need a ride home Marcy? I'm sure one of my gals would be more than willing to drive you home." She smirked.

"I'm good. Thank you very much," Marceline muttered.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye for now. See you around, loser." Lucy rolled up her window after giving Marceline a two fingered salute. Marceline made her way back to the crowd, shoving her hands deep inside of her jean pockets. Her father was going to kill her and have her head on one of those wall displays. How was she going to explain to him that she lost her car in a bet? He didn't even know she was even in a gang! Maybe... if she bought her car back? She might have enough time to raise the money, he was gone for at least one more month on a business thing. No... that wasn't gonna work. She sat down on the bleachers, next to one of her fellow gang members. They patted her back gently, trying to comfort her as she buried her face in her hands. She stayed like this for God knows how long. When she was sure most people had gone home, she got up from where she was sitting, wet from the rain and began her long walk home. Maybe she shouldn't have gotten mixed up in all this gang business...

-0-0-0-

It was exactly 10 AM the next day and the Treefort Cafe was packed as usual. The smell of breakfast made Marcelines mouth water. She was so flippin' hungry after last nights walk. She strolled up to the barista and sat down at the counter, resting her chin on her knuckles. "Hey there Finny boy. I'll have the usual," She grinned. She and the barista Finn were quite familiar with each other. Not only were they neighbors but he's usually doing his shift in the morning, so they got to know each other. Marceline has a morning routine. Wake up, do normal morning stuff and then go to the cafe to chat with Finn before she does anything with the gang. Finn smiled warmly at her and yelled something into the kitchen behind her.

"Right away Marcy," He said as she slapped two dollar bills onto the counter. He took the bill and placed it neatly in the cash register, before turning his attention back to Marceline. "So, I heard about the derby last night, that's a real bummer huh?" He stuck his lower lip out slightly. He held a mug in his hand and was drying it with a towel, getting it ready for Marceline. "Sorry I couldn't attend. Pa was on me all night about homework, ya dig?" Marcelines expression fell at the mention of the derby and she avoided any eye contact with Finn. "Hey, hey. I'm sorry,"

"It's fine... I just can't believe I lost my ride to that... chump Lucy." She exhaled angrily.

"Oh snap, you were racing Lucy? Damn. Wish I could have seen it!" Finn exclaimed. Marceline glared at him and he shrunk. "I- ahah... I mean, what a drag. What made you think you could go up against her though?" He asked, tilting his head to the side. "I mean everyone knows you shouldn't go up against her, she's like a beast when she's on the track," He set the mug down beside her and poured coffee into it. She sighed gently and shrugged her shoulders in response.

"I dunno man, I guess I just wanted to prove my worth, ya dig?" She said and Finn nodded slowly. Just then, the bell above the door rung and Finns gaze was naturally drawn to the sound. The sound of heels clicking against the marble tiles and Finns expression piqued her interest. Finn was... well, you could hold a tomato up to his face and not see any difference. A few seconds later, Marceline felt someone standing beside her. Marceline stole a small glance at the girl and she could see why Finn was so out of it. The girl was quite pretty to look at. Her auburn hair was tied back into a messy bun and her sun kissed skin was covered in tiny freckles. She looked to be about 19 years old, much too old for Finn, who was 15. And... she actually looked familiar. Where has she seen her before?

"H-hey there sunshine, what can I get for ya?" Finn stuttered, leaning on the counter. Marceline let out a small giggle at the sight of Finn trying to act cool around the other girl. The girl tapped her chin with her index finger and smiled at him gently. You could actually see Finns heart eyes when she did this.

"I'll have a strawberry milkshake please," She ordered and Finn nodded quickly, beginning to whip up her order. Marceline bit the inside of her mouth gently and tapped the other girl on the shoulder.

"Uhm, pardon me miss, but do I know you from somewhere, you look familiar," Marceline asked. The other girl turned her attention to Marceline and... checked her out? Before responding.

"I would hope so," She folded her arms over her chest and leaned against the counter. "You raced my boss last night, surely you recognize me," She smirked. It hit Marceline. That's where she knew this goon from. It took Marceline every ounce of self control that she had, not to jump at the girl and strangle her right then and there. Marceline opened her mouth to say something, but the other girl cut her off before she could do so. "Look here, I'm a very busy gal and I haven't got all day, so I'm just going to be frank with you. My boss, Lucy gave me your ride, after someone... tampered with mine. So, I came over here to strike a deal with ya. You fix my car, I give your ride back, unscathed." The girl said with a calm tone to her voice. Marceline's eyebrows furrowed and she stared at the other girl suspiciously.

"I fix your car and... you give mine back? How do ya know that I can even do that?" She asked, intrigued with the fact that this mysterious girl knew that she could probably fix up her ride.

"I heard that you work as some sort of mechanic. Family business or something." The girl replied. Finn slid her milkshake over to her and the girl handed him a bill, muttering a quick thanks under her breath. "Anyways, yeah. That's all you need to do. Fix up my ride and then you're good to go. You get your own car back and we both live happily ever after, the end." She took a sip of her drink. Marceline scoffed at this. This was going to be easy! All she had to do was fix up some rust bucket and then she's done.

"Deal. Though, I'm gonna need your address, miss..." Her voice trailed off as she raised an eyebrow, waiting for the other girl to give her a name.

"Bonnibel. But you can call me Bonnie," She held her right hand out. Marceline hesitated before taking the other girls hand and shaking it firmly. "And, since I know you don't have anywhere to go, or any way of getting there, why don't you come by my place as soon as I'm done here?" Bonnibel smirked at Marceline. Marceline frowned and rolled her eyes at Bonnibel, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Fine, but hurry up." She grumbled. A few minutes passed and both of them finished with their drinks. The two were quiet the entire time. Neither of them really needed to talk about anything. Bonnibel slid her empty glass over to Finn and winked at him before standing up and gesturing to the door. "Ready to go?" She asked Marceline. Marceline nodded in response and the two Finn to attend to the busy diner.

Marceline trailed behind Bonnibel, keeping her distance. Apparently Bonnibel's house wasn't too far from the Cafe and so she had no need to drive over. Plus... it was a fairly nice day out. Bonnie mentioned something about not wanting to spend time in a car because of how beautiful it was out. Cars drove past the two, their engines purring. God how Marceline missed the roar of her own car. It had only been a day and she was already missing it. Bonnie glanced back at Marceline, her blue eyes scanning the girl quickly before looking forward again. Marceline caught this of course, since the red-head would do it quite often. Made her wonder if the girl was checking her out. Marceline smirked to herself at the thought and she buried her hands in her jean pockets.

"And we're here," Bonnibel suddenly stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. Marceline nearly collided with the other girl and she frowned.

"Hey what gives? Y'don't just stop in the middle of the freakin' road," She growled at Bonnie, her eyebrows furrowing. Bonnie pursed her lips as she looked at Marceline, folding her arms over her chest in a defensive position.

"Do ya want your damn car or not?" Bonnie said with quite a little bit of attitude. Marceline was taken aback by this. Of course, she expected as much from one of Lucy's girls but... this girl didn't really seem the type to be full of attitude. "'Cause if not I could always pawn it off to some guy in the slums. He could turn it into scrap metal for sure," Marceline gritted her teeth roughly and clenched her fists in her pockets. She would really love to just punch that pretty face of hers. Knock that smug expression Bonnie had right off her face. Bonnibel waited a few moments before scoffing. "That's what I thought. Now, if you'll look to your left you'll see my house, not hard to miss. Your ride is in the garage, along with my beat up ol' car," She paused. "You get yours back as soon as you finish up with mine, kapish?"

"I hear ya, loud and clear," Marceline drew the words out, her eye two approached the house, their shoes clicking against the stone bricks that marked the way to the front door. "I ain't gonna lie princess. You've got a pretty nice house if I do say so myself. For this part of town at least," She grinned. It really was well built and strangely placed, since this part of town was considered the slums. Mostly because it was neutral territory between the two main rival gangs and so there were quite a few brawls now. Bonnibel climbed the steps of her porch and stood in front of the door. It looked like it was just replaced, barely a smudge on it's white paint. The windows on the door were polished, not a fingerprint to be seen. Bonnie fished for her keys, digging her hand into her pocket. The keys jingled as she pulled them out of her pocket and looked for the right one. She let out a small 'ah hah' as she pinched a bronze key in between her index finger and thumb. Jamming it into the lock, she twisted the door and it swung inwards into the foyer. The two stepped into the house and Marceline gawked at how nice the interior looked, the hardwood floor shined, and the pastel blue colored walls were without stains. A large staircase lead upstairs.

"Alrighty, right this way Marceline," Bonnie tugged on the sleeve of Marceline's leather jacket. Marceline followed Bonnibel, but yanked her arm away from Bonnie's grasp, a slightly disgusted look on her face. She couldn't have one of Lucy's gals feeling her up or anything. Bonnibel lead Marceline to the garage. The two entered and it was pitch black for a few seconds, before lights turned on, momentarily blinding Marceline. The first thing she noticed was how messy and cluttered the garage was compared to the house. It had boxes laying everywhere, tools on workbenches and the floor. Then, her eyes rested on a 1969 Ferrari dino. It was in fairly good shape, other than the fact that the hood was popped up to reveal an extremely damaged engine, and the tires were slashed. Marceline's eyes widened and she looked back at Bonnie. "You probably know what I'm gonna say," Bonnibel leaned against the door frame. "I left my car for two seconds, and what do I see? Someone messing with my car. A girl with really long black hair and a pretty face,"

"Look, I'm real sorry about your car Bonnibel," Marceline gulped. "I... I needed to. I'm so sorry," Marceline shrunk. It wasn't her idea. Well... maybe it was. She needed to get into the vipers somehow. And her task just so happened to tamper with one of Lucy's girl's cars. "I just needed to-" Bonnibel cut her off.

"Stop acting like you're sorry, I know. You needed to get into your crew somehow. That's why I'm being merciful. Trust me, if I really wanted to, I could have just wrecked your car as soon as I got it. Send it to the junkyard,"She paused. She walked over to Marceline, her heels clicking against the concrete floor. Marceline took a few steps back and was backed up against the side of the car. Bonnibel stood merely inches from her, her eyes staring into Marceline's soul. "But no, your ride is in perfect condition. And all you gotta do is fix all the things you've done to my baby," She said. Marceline bit her lower lip and avoided making eye contact with Bonnie.

"Alright, I'll do it," She sighed gently and Bonnibel backed off.

"Good, you can start now, or you can wait until... maybe tomorrow or something," Bonnibel raised an eyebrow at Marceline. Marceline thought for a few seconds, before shrugging her shoulders.

"I could start now I guess. We should actually get some gear from my dads workshop. It's ahh, down by the ring actually," Marceline rubbed the back of her neck. Bonnie nodded slowly and strolled over to a workbench, opening a cabinet. She pulled out a key chain. Marcelines key chain and tossed it over to her. Marceline almost let her keys slip through her fingers, but caught it just in time. Marceline grinned widely and made her way to her own car. She unlocked the door and slid inside of the vehicle. Bonnibel sat in the passenger seat next to Marceline after opening the garage for her. A few seconds later, the car came to life, the familiar purr of the engine was like music to her ears. "Alright, here we go,"