Chapter 1
It was a somber, yet relaxing August morning in the small town of O'Niell. The leaves were beautiful shades, and the air was intermediate and crisp. Near perfect walking conditions, in Bonnibel's opinion. She found herself casually strolling down the sidewalk - She opted out of taking her car this morning, due to the preferable weather - with no real destination in mind, simply walking along at a casual pace enjoying the scenery. The sidewalks were scarcely used this time of year, and the roads were mostly quiet this time of morning. A smile crept across her face. Her luscious auburn locks hadn't been too much trouble this morning, her mother would be in town this afternoon, and school started back within a week. "My senior year." She mumbled, still grinning uncontrollably. What wasn't there to smile about? Honestly.
Bonnie found herself skipping briefly out of pure enjoyment. She giggled aloud. Her pace calmed as she glanced around, half to spot any specters to her prance, half in search of a resting point. After a short examination, she found no one paying her any mind and she decided the cafe just down the road would be an excellent establishment to visit. Bonnie didn't frequent this shop by any means, but it sounded absolutely lovely this morning.
As Bonnie approached the crosswalk at the street in front of the cafe she noticed a familiar vehicle come to a stop at the red light. She scurried to beat the light change. As she closed with the truck, she felt a devilish grin creep onto her face. Just as the dingy yellow truck slowly began to pull forward she was in range to playfully slap the passenger side window. The vehicle screeched to a halt - She could hear the muffled panic from inside. She was laughing heartily as the window crept down.
As she peered through the window, she saw two blond headed boys. The driver was a short, but stocky boy, with light hazel eyes, short but stylish blond hair, and a well-maintained blond beard and mustache combo. The boy who sat in the passenger seat was a tall, lanky boy, with possibly the most captivating sky blue eyes - There wasn't a person who would, or could, deny that - in the known world, obnoxiously long, shaggy, blond hair held - Year round - in place by a snow white slouch beanie, and a baby smooth face.
"What the what, Bonnie!? Why you playing?" Jake yelled, his voice deeper and more scruffy than usual, leaning across the center console rigid. Finn had a cheeky grin adorning his face. Bonnie ceased her laughing, but couldn't quit smiling. She ignored Jake's question. "What are you two up to this fine morning?" She beamed.
Jake's tension slowly released. "We were just going to go grab something to eat" the brothers responded in unison. "Wanna come?" Finn offered, bearing a toothy grin. With a smile and a nod of her head, Bonnie quickly found herself squeezing into the - Uncomfortable - backseat of Jake's pickup, trying to hurry, as to not cause a traffic problem.
After Bonnie got comfortable - Well, as comfortable as she can get - she leaned forward to speak to the brothers. "So, where did you two have in mind?" Jake shared a glance with Finn. Simultaneously, they both shrug their shoulders. "Honestly, we have no idea." Jake laughed. Finn twisted around to face her. "We just figured we'd stop where ever felt 'right'. Ya know?"
Bonnie laughed. "Alright, well, how does coffee sound?"
Jake nodded his head. "Yeah, I think I could get behind that. Finn?" His brother made a face. "Man, you know I hate coffee." Which sprung a large, and heated, debate between the two brothers. Bonnie leaned back, and watched as the two went back and forth about whether of not coffee was a suitable beverage choice or not. Eventually, Finn sighed, and agreed to the coffee shop visit. She could see Jake's ear-to-ear grin in the rear-view mirror, which prompted a snicker from her. Jake caught her eyes in the mirror and asked, "So, where do you want to go for coffee, Bonnie?" Bonnie pointed behind her, "Well, I was going to the cafe there, but I really don't know any good coffee shops around here. I usually just make my own." She stated plainly, with a shrug.
Jake made a fart noise with his mouth. "You don't want to go there, trust me. I know a way better place. I mean, it's a bit of a drive cause it's on the outskirts of town, but it is totes worth it." Bonnie nodded her head in agreement. Jake had slowed down without noticing it during their conversation, but he sped up to the speed limit - Not that there were many cars on the road for him to irritate.
"So, Bonnie, how's the last few weeks of summer been for you? Haven't seen you much recently. We figured you've been doing your 'pre-start-of-school studying." Finn glanced at his brother, who just nodded his head in response. "You seen your mom yet for her summer visit?" Finn continued, turning around in his seat to face her. Bonnie smiled. "Well, you weren't wrong. I have been studying my butt off these past few weeks. Got to get into college, you know?" Her smile faded a bit, and with a sigh she continued. "No, not yet. She's been really busy, but she is supposed to be in today. Presley is going to pick her up from the airport sometime in the afternoon. I'm pretty excited." She finished, suddenly beaming with joy. Finn's face quickly shifted to one of concern, but he twisted back to sit proper, before Bonnie could catch his look. Jake however, caught the vibe, and interjected quickly. "Well, I'm glad to hear it Bonns." His voice caught in his throat, briefly. "And hey, if things get weird like last time, we'll be home all day, just come by. Anytime. I mean, I think Mom is making meatloaf tonight."
Bonnie wore a smile, but it thin. "Well thanks, you two, but I don't think that will be necessary. Mom just... Gets in one of her moods sometimes. It's no biggie, really." Her tone carried a certain weight, as if she was not only trying to convince the brothers, but herself as well. 'They just don't get it. Politics is a stressful job. Of course Mom's going to be up tight, it's kind of her job to be uptight. She has to uphold the law. They can't even imagine the stress she's under.'
An awkward silence loomed inside the truck, only the faint sound of an eighties rock track playing through the trucks speakers could be heard. Jake tapped his thumbs on the steering wheel to the beat of the song whilst they waited patiently - And awkwardly - at an exceptionally long red light. "Well..." Finn exclaimed, capturing everyone's attention. "I've been thinking long and hard, and I think I'm going to try to convince Mr. Earle to sanction a fencing team this school year." Jake snorted. "Yeah, good luck with that, bro. You know Earle. You'd be lucky if they still had a wrestling team this year." Jake paused briefly, before taking in a big breath of air. "Hell, I'll be lucky if we still have a football team this year." Bonnie and Finn shared a laugh, then Bonnie cleared her throat. "Yeah, Finn, I don't think my uncle is going to allow that."
Finn sighed. "Yeah, I figured as much, but I think I have a pretty convincing argument." His voice trailed off for a moment. "By any chance do you think you could bring it up with him, if he comes to see you and your mom? Maybe?" Finn's voice trailed much higher than usual, and was accompanied by a cheeky grin. Bonnibel tried very hard to stifle her laughter, but her efforts where futile. "Finn, I think that would probably make it worse. He practically hates me." The younger brother sighed. "Yeah, I know. I thought it was worth a try though." He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. The older brother charmed in shortly afterwards. "Yeah, what's the deal with that anyway? He's your uncle. Isn't blood thicker than water, or whatever?" Bonnie chuckled. "Yeah, something like that. However, I think he's just secretly mad at my mother." She said leaning forward, now in between the brothers. "I think he's just mad that his sister is in charge of cities, and the best he can manage is to be in charge of a school. Not to mention... He looks like a lemon." She finished, imitating her uncles constant sour expression.
The truck roared with laughter. Finn and Jake both held a fist up to show appreciation for the roast she had just delivered. Through heavy laughter, she firmly planted her fists on her friends. Jake pretended to wipe a tear from his eye - Or maybe he did laugh so hard he cried, Bonnie couldn't tell. "Man Bonnie, that was golden." Finn confirmed. "Like, A! U just roasted him to perfection." He blushed, eyeing the rear-view mirror to see if Bonnie had caught his science joke. Jake simply shook his head, and jeered. Bonnie snorted, and put on a smile - For his ego's sake. Jake stretched his arm over to his brother, and playfully pushed his head away. "Get out. Just, no. You need to go." To which Finn promptly swatted his hand away, now staring out the window.
"Oh gob, we missed our turn!" Jake yelled, cutting clean through the aftermath of Finn's joke. Bonnie could see Finn's body loosen up as attention was diverted from his joke. She couldn't help but giggle.
Jake made a block, and pulled into the parking lot of the humble little coffee shop. 'Edge of Town Coffee'. As the truck was brought to a stop and the engine silenced, Finn opened his door, and leapt from his seat, hitting the ground with a thud, his long blond locks following in hot pursuit. He quickly opened Bonnibel's door with a half bow, and in a teasing tone said "Princess." She gave him a smirk as she climbed out - Literally, climbed out. She didn't realize how tightly she was packed into the backseat until she went to exit the vehicle.
The coffee shop was small, but had the appearance of being well maintained. The windows where adorned with large steaming coffee cup stickers, and a small hedge bush was kept perfectly trimmed, guarding the perimeter of the establishment. "You guys ready to go in?" Jake asked, wearing a larger-than-life smile. "I swear, this place is the bees-knees."
The coffee shop was the bees-knees. The coffee was exceptional, and the ambiance was even better. Very dimly lit, which was perfect for those sluggish mornings. The windows seemed to reduce the natural light that tried to flood in, and brighten the room. There were no stand-alone tables, only a bar and several booths that had floral couches for seats - Generally, Bonnibel found floral to be tacky, but these were adorable, and in good taste. However, her friends, nor the coffee, nor the ambiance, nor the astoundingly low prices held Bonnibel's attention. She was focused firmly on identifying the girl sitting across the room. She hadn't noticed them at first, and she most likely wouldn't have noticed - Or cared - had Jake not went over to deliver, what he called a 'bro-shake', to an excessively large boy at the table.
The mystery girl was sitting across the room with two guys, and another girl. She was easily able to identify everyone else at the table. The brunette girl with with the messy shoulder length brown hair (Always pulled into some form of an up-do) was Keila Lyvelle Palmer. The lanky guy with the shaggy light brown hair and mustache goatee combo sitting beside her was Guy Giovanni Rockbell - Her boyfriend. The stout man with the short, but stylish, dirty blond hair, who towered over the others - Even while sitting - was none other than Henry Bartholomew Bonham. Most people just called in "Bongo", though. Even his football jersey read "Bongo."
All three where Seniors, and she had Guy and Keila in couple of her classes last year. They where three among hundreds that came to Conner O'Neill High School after the neighboring town of Camden - Even smaller than O'Neill - consolidated with O'Neill, and lost funding for their school a year ago. She had never been to friendly with any of them, but she had never been rude neither. They were just part of two different worlds. However, the girl with them that captivated her, she had never seen her at school - Even though she appeared to be her age - And she couldn't shake the feeling that she had seen her somewhere before. 'Who is that...? I know her..'
Bonnibel's gaze locked on the mystery girl, eyeing her head to toe. Her hair was long. 'Even longer than mine. Or Finn's, for a fact.' It was jet black, and a section on the left side of her head had been shaven from her ear to the crown of her head to reveal her scalp. She was wearing a red and black flannel shirt, with the sleeves rolled to her elbow, skin tight faded jeans, ripped and frayed in many places, and a pair of black and white checkerboard slip ons. Bonnie wasn't able to make out her eye color in the dimly lit room, but she could tell the girl on trial's eyes kept darting in her direction. Usually, Bonnie would be made to feel uncomfortable in a situation like this, but she was so perplexed by the identity of this familiar girl she had briefly forgotten staring was rude. 'I think that's... No, it couldn't be... Could it?'
After closer examination, Bonnie was able to pick out a few other distinguishing features on the girl in question, in the form of tattoos. She could make out, what appeared to be, two small dots on the left side of her neck. She had a word tattooed across the inside of her right forearm, that she believed to read "Marshall." 'Marshall..?' As the girl turned to talk to Bongo, she was able to catch a glimpse of a dagger tattooed on the back of her neck. 'I think that is... I think that is Marceline' A small smile found its way to Bonnibel's face. The girl was now standing, facing her, yelling at someone. "Hey!" She was able to see words tattooed wrapping across the girls collar bones, but her shirt covered too much for her to be able to decipher the script.
"Hey!" The girl yelled once more. 'I think that is, that must be Marceline!' Bonnibel's smile widened. Her concentration was broke shortly after when she felt a boney finger make contact with her cheek, causing her to jolt. "What the gunk, Finn? What?" She gasped, sounding more irritated then she ment to. Finn simply pointed at the girl standing across the room. "I think she's talking to you." Bonnie returned her attention to the girl she was fairly certain was her childhood best friend. She stood glaring at her from across room. Bonnie suddenly felt a wave of embarrassment wash over her as she realized she'd been staring for a few minutes. The girl just stood smacking her lips ever so often like she really wanted to say something. She didn't. She turned and briskly walked out of the coffee shop, leaving all of her friends to glance at each other in bewilderment.
"What a wad." Jake snorted, taking a sip of his coffee. Bonnie shook her head to clear her thoughts and stood abruptly. "Wait!" She yelled, but the girl was already outside, and well out of earshot. The entirety of the coffee shops patrons where now staring at her, but she paid them no mind as she jogged across the room. She flung the door open, causing the bells fastened atop the door to go mental. Carefully, but quickly she navigated her way down the stairs. "Wait!" She called out once more, however the girl just kept walking down the sidewalk. "Marceline? Is that you? It's me, Bonnibel! Remember?" Bonnie was positive it was Marceline Reigh Abadeer, her childhood best friend. There was no way it could be anyone else. She could recognize her best friend, no matter how many years had passed.
The girl in question stopped dead in her tracks, her head slumped. Bonnie's smile continued to grow as she watched the girl swivel around on her heels. Bonnie took a step toward her, fully prepared to run and embrace her, once it came out in the open that it was her. It had been years since she'd had her best friend in her life. 'Marceline...' The girl hesitated. "I'm... Amber. I don't know you, sorry." Amber shouted, turning away instantly and picking up her pace.
Bonnibel's heart sank. She felt a flush of heat overwhelm her, she actually felt a bit dizzy - Whatever this feeling was, she didn't like it. She slowly turned around to go back inside and sit down, when she noticed Amber's entourage standing behind her. Then came the embarrassment. It started in her stomach, and quickly worked it's way to her throat. Bonnie nervously looked at the ground, trying to avoid anyone's eyes. "Hey," Keila mumbled, "Don't worry about it. It's just... Uh, It's Amber's time of the month. Yeah. She's just a bit cranky." Keila's kind-hearted attempt to make Bonnie feel better, only made her face turn a deeper shade of red. Bonnie cleared her throat. "Uh, yeah, sorry about that. Uh, you guys have a good day." She mumbled, as she scurried around the couple and the giant.
The ride home felt a lot longer to Bonnie than the ride there. She sat, cramped, in the back of Jake's pickup silently mulling over the events of the day. 'I feel like such an idiot...'
She continued to make casual conversation with her friends for the duration of the trip, to the best of her ability, to keep up the image that the incident had not shaken her. She had never been one to get involved - Not prematurely, anyway. If she was going to put her dignity and reputation on the line, she was sure she was right. She can't afford to run through coffee shops, and yell at people. It's not who she is - Or has ever been.
Despite her best efforts, both brothers where well aware that she was upset about the events that had transpired. They have heard her talk about Marceline on a handful of occasions, and realized how much Bonnie desperately wanted that girl to be her old best friend. Not to mention the embarrassment of the whole situation. It had to have hurt Bonnie's pride, even if only a bit.
As the truck slowed to a stop in front of Bonnibel's house, Finn went through the process of letting her escape the confinements of the backseat. While they were saying their farewell's for the day, Jake's face grew long. "I'm sorry Bonnie, had I known I wouldn't have, ya know, took you out there." She smiled weakly, reading his eyes like a book 'He thinks this is his fault somehow.' "Don't worry about it, Jake. There's no way you could of known. It's whateve's. For real, don't be upset about it." She said in a confident voice, fully realizing that she had been telling herself the same phrase for the past twenty minutes, to no avail. Jake perked up, "Well, same to you. It happens, you know?" Finn smiled, and agreed with his brother.
'That's just the kind of people they are.' Bonnie told herself, smiling genuinely. She was thankful to have friends that were supportive, caring, and thoughtful. Even if most of the time they were in-and-out of some sort of mischief, it was all light hearted, and in good fun.
Bonnie stood outside and waved them off, watching as they drove away. Waiting till they were well out of sight to exhale deeply, and let her smile fade. 'Well, at least I'll still get to see mom.' She told herself, in an effort to cheer up.
Once Bonnie had composed herself, she walked the short driveway up to her home. As she breached the threshold, she heard a voice from another room in the house. "Bonnibel, is that you?" It was Presley. "Yeah, it's me. When are you supposed to go get mom? I think I want to come with." She shouted, in no particular direction, climbing the stairs to her room. She heard feet shuffling, and paused half way up the stair case. Shortly after, a short, much older gentleman with thick slicked back red hair, riddled with grey streaks rounded the corner and stared up at her. She could tell be the expression on his face that she would not be pleased with the news he was about to deliver.
Presley fumbled over his words, trying to find the right way to tell her the relevant news. Bonnie grew impatient. "What? Did mom's plane get delayed or something?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. He sighed. "No, not exactly. See, Miss Dianne isn't going to be able to make it. Something really important came up with her work, and she called to inform me this morning that she had to cancel last minute, and she apologizes, sincerely." His eyes darted away from hers.
The room grew silent. Bonnibel felt something welling up inside of her. Her vision blurred in the corners. "Well," She started, taking a moment to gather her thoughts. "She couldn't have told me herself? She couldn't have called?" Presley's lips grew thin, his red and grey beard appearing to consume them. He began kicking his foot nervously. "Well, she did, dear." He paused. "When she couldn't reach you, she called me, and after she told me, I tried calling you, but you seem to have forgotten your phone in your room this morning."
Bonnibel's breathing became heavy, but she composed herself. "Thank you, Presley. I'm going to my room for a nap. It's been a long day, already, and I think I would like to go back to sleep." She said in an eerily calm voice. Presley nodded his head. "If there's anything you need, please feel free to call for me. I'm in the process of making lunch, if you would like me to leave you a tray by your door, I shall." Bonnibel did not respond to his offer, she just continued the trek to her room.
Once safely inside her room, Bonnie gingerly shut the door, locking it behind her. She collapsed into her bed, and fished for her phone beneath the covers. Upon locating it, she clicked the lock button, which revealed she had one missed call, from 'Mom.' She sighed, trying to keep herself from breaking down. She quickly unlocked her phone, and thumbed over a few pages till she found her social media app, and tapped it. The screen took only seconds load. She tapped the "Friend Request" button. When it loaded, she thumbed down several pages till she came to a pending friend request she had sent nearly three years back. With a quick tap she clicked on the person's name. Marceline Reigh Abadeer. The page loaded promptly, and she gazed through the available photos. 'These are all three or four years old... But.. I swear that was her.. Or I thought it was.."
With a long sigh, the phone was promptly powered off and discarded to the floor. Bonnie pulled a pillow over her head, taking deep breaths, trying to fight what she knew was coming. 'I almost got reunited with my best friend, or so I thought, and I almost got to see my mom for the first time in a year...' Bonnibel had grown sick of the word almost. Nothing good ever came from that word. Her breathing intensified. She couldn't keep it in any longer, it was years overdue.
For whatever reason, it picked that (once) lovely Friday morning to finally escape its shackles and run free, coursing through the fibers of her very being. There was no time, there was no warning. Only overwhelming sadness.
Bonnie gave in and wept silently into her pillow.
Authors Note: Feel free to leave reviews and what have you, I will do my very best to post a new chapter and reply in a timely manner. I work graveyards, so yeah. There's that to work around.
I hope all you lovely readers enjoyed the start of this story. But I must warn you ahead of time, hold on to your feels (and maybe your soul) this story is going to be hectic, gritty, and beautiful.