The car sputtered to a halt as I approached my house. The lawn needed to be mowed, again. The constant rain kept the grass growing at an annoying rate, while drowning other parts of the yard in dark puddles of mud and who-knows-what. I sat in the driver's seat for a minute, observing the house. It wasn't often that I remembered to just look at it.
The white siding was becoming dirty, in need of power washing. The black shutters had been fading to a dull gray over the years, desperate for a coat of paint. Trim all around needed to be cleaned, and gutters were chipping off in pieces. The doorjam on the front door had a meaty dent in it from the last hurricane, the last window to the left on the second floor was cracked from the same event. My house was falling to shit, and I knew it. Looking around the street, nobody else seemed to care much either. This whole town was falling to shit, and I knew that too.
Kicking open the door to my car with the painful squeal I was used to, I headed out into the light rain. I felt the water drip through my hair onto my scalp as I trekked up the awkward stairs leading to my porch. Digging in my coat pocket for my keys, I felt the wind hit my back roughly, nearly sending me into the door. I unlocked the door and pushed in.
The darkness would've startled any normal person, especially for being two in the afternoon, but I was used to it. The rain and clouds constantly set Ooo into a darkness in which eight in the morning was miraculously the brightest point of the day. Everyone here was used to it.
Shutting the door behind me, I walked blindly to the lightswitch and flipped it on. The light flickered: once, twice, and finally settled with buzzing on. The bluish fluorescent light in the kitchen dimly lit the countertops and sink, restoring my vision. I quickly set to turning on the small lamps that I had placed all around the home. Soon enough, the lower floor was lit in warm yellowed light bouncing off of the beige walls. I settled onto the red couch in the center of the room, pulling the woven blanket over my form. I had to readjust about twelve times until I had finally entered the ideal position for this horrific couch, the half-fetal, "my wife banished me to the couch" position.
I didn't even bother with the television, so I just sat there in the dim, warm light, and fell asleep.
A few hours later, I woke up facing the wrong way, my chin buried into my shoulder. My neck hurt. Groggily, I slipped off of the couch and stretched, popping the vertebrae in my back. With the ache subsiding, I padded over to the kitchen. Ah, the kitchen, with the shitty tile and shitty counters and shitty appliances. Not to mention, the shitty fluorescent light that was still buzzing overhead. I pulled the fridge open, scanning the contents. Expired milk, old lunchmeat, and one unopened applesauce container. I settled for that, yanking it from the sticky shelf and grabbing a not-very-clean-looking spoon.
Settling at the small nook, I cradled the applesauce container in my hand while staring out of the small window. Rain was falling heavily now, pounding on the roof and making small, muffled sounds. A crackle of thunder sounded in the distance, not startling me in the least.
Realizing I had never taken my coat off, I slipped it off of my shoulders and onto the back of the chair behind me. The cool air quickly chilled my bare arms, making me shiver. The weather here was miserable, windy, and cold. Not quite cold enough to snow, but cold enough to make the damp air feel twenty degrees cooler than it was.
After nearly twenty minutes of boredly sitting at the nook, I stood up and left it. There was nothing to do in this stupid, boring, depressing city. Everyone who lived here was either old, depressed, or both. I was one of the few exceptions, of parents who insisted moving here due to such low housing prices. Well, they were dead now, and I inherited the family-piece-of-shit. Including the piece-of-shit car to go with it. The early 90's Glob-knows-what with the dented hood and dead taillights. Real charmer.
The only slight ray of sunshine in this whole town was the lounge downtown. It wasn't nice, per se, but it wasn't horrible either. It was the only place that served good alcohol, after all. A nice, brick exterior with a cute sign. The goal was to attract most of the younger crowd, but most of the younger crowd moved away the second they turned eighteen, leaving their depressed parents behind. Those aren't the kind of people that show up at the lounge.
The chirpy server there, Finn, was somehow always bright in this dark city. He wasn't the smartest tool in the run-down shed, but he was entertaining enough. His laugh was still pure somehow, and highly contagious. On days he wasn't at work, he was nowhere to be found. I always believed he went to another town as a break from this place. Hardest part is, the nearest town that actually has things to do is almost three hours away.
At the lounge, Finn would always flock to me. In the crowd of grumpy people, I was his only relatable friend. We were just about the same age, him only two years younger than me. We could talk about young adult stuff: drinking, dating. He never spoke about dating though, choosing only to listen to me. If I ever invited him over, he would politely decline. I never took personal offense to it, and just agreed with him. He liked to keep to himself.
One day, I finally got him to open up about his love life over a few drinks. He was well past buzzed when he said her name for the first time: Bonnibel. To me, it was a pretty name, but I couldn't make a face to fit it, so I asked him to describe her.
"Oh, y'know. She's just… her. You'd have to meet her yourself." He said with a smile, obviously deeply in love with her. I thought it was cute.
"Maybe, if you can drag her down to this hellhole." I said, holding a glass just below my mouth. He just put his thumb up and downed his shot, wincing at the burn of it.
"Yeah! She's coming down here next week. She wants a break from the big city, and all that craziness. She's actually pretty quiet so she might like it down here." He explained, his hands flailing all through the air, trying to describe his words.
I downed my drink as well, shaking my head.
"It'll be a miracle if she likes it down here. Or, she's crazy… Is she crazy, Finn?" I asked with a smirk, raising my eyebrow.
"Not a chance."
A week went quickly with Finn texting me a new countdown number every day.
Finn: trust me! :D you're gonna love her!
Me: If you say so, bud
Finn: she'll be here tomorrow, so make sure you wear something nice!
Me: Why, so she can fall in love with me instead? :P lol
It took a long time for him to reply.
Finn: if thats what will make her happy then sure
That text took me aback. I read it twice, and settled with a cute goodbye text. It was a really weird message, but I didn't dwell on it.
The next day, I met Finn at the lounge. He was off shift, but leaning against the bar. His hair was trimmed, his shirt ironed, and a nice watch sat on his wrist. He looked nice.
"Hey! You excited?" He asked, nervously.
"Not nearly as excited as you, Finn." He looked upset. "I mean, you look super excited, totally." He smiled at that and motioned for me to sit.
We waited for about ten minutes, just chitchatting and drinking a little bit of alcohol as we sat there. Then, the bell on the lounge door pinged, and we both turned. A smile rose on his face, but I couldn't take my eyes off of her.
There was Bonnibel. Finn's girlfriend. The, unmentioned, incredibly damn hot girlfriend. Unlike all of the pale and dark haired citizens of Ooo, she had tanned and radiant skin, and strawberry blonde hair tucked up into a bun. Huddled into her coat, I could see her slender neck and collarbone from the gap between cloth and skin. Her legs, oh boy her legs, long and lean and perfectly sculpted, something from the heavens for Glob's sake. As she approached, I barely managed to pick my jaw up and off of the floor and play it cool.
"Finn!" She exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a hug. "I missed you!"
He placed his hands on her waist and kissed her cheek. I could only stare on in… jealousy? No.
Her face was so soft looking, so tender, and flushed slightly from the outdoor chill. Her smile revealed those perfect, toothpaste-ad teeth that simply glowed against her skin. Her eyes were a brilliant blue, deep and layered with colors and shades. I wasn't sure whether I should be jealous of her or attracted to her. Maybe a little bit of both.
When she pulled back from Finn, she turned to me, giving me a once over. I felt nervous, uncomfortable, under those bright eyes. "And who is this, Finn?" She said with a smile. It felt genuine enough to help ease my nerves a bit.
"Oh! This is Marceline. She lives here in Ooo, too." He said, gesturing towards me.
She smiled and took my hand. "Bonnibel." We never lost eye contact. I smiled back at her, anxiously. For such a small girl, she was so intimidating.
It was in that moment that I knew, I had a crush on Finn's girlfriend.
A/N: This is my first story so thank you for reading and reviews would be super appreciated!