There we go, the second chapter is done Midterms now! I'll have a review limit for this one too sorry guys and gals but these midterms will be taking me over for a while!
10 reviews for this story should be enough for me to start the next chapter.
It had been a long time since Marshall Lee drank, alcohol and him didn't really mix well, he was already confident and a flirtatious idiot without the poisonous liquid. It was always a nice relaxant though, he would usually drink it when he felt like he was too stressed to take anything else or when he was emotional, which wasn't often. Drinking had never become a habit though, even as much as Ashley and his friends drank he never really cared for it. Ashley especially would drink from dusk until dawn if she wanted to. He hated how her kisses tasted when she had alcohol lingering on her lips. He hated the bottles and how they always ended up scattered around the places she'd been. Then again he understood what drinking was for her and so he let her have it, it made her more fun and he liked her when she wasn't always sulking about something or complaining about the world.
She hated everything.
She would hate him if she didn't drink enough.
He shifted in bed and stretched his legs out, hissing when his feet passed the sheets and he felt the cold air rush in his cover, it felt nice though in a way, he had been way too warm and the cold air was always a nice change of pace. He reached next to him for his girlfriend but he only groped empty air. She was gone, Ashley never really liked to cuddle, it was something that Marshall Lee never really complained about but wanted to. He loved cuddling, when he would hold someone and nuzzle his lips against their neck and share in their collective warmth, it was the best, he just never got that with Ashley. Groggily he got his underwear on and leaned his head against his palms.
So much to do today.
Georgina hadn't texted or called him to tell him that she was ok, so that was a bad sign. Then there was the fact that Ashely would still probably be a little pissed that he had been hanging out with Cat. He sighed and walked towards the bathroom quietly. While he brushed his teeth he wondered about where Ashley had gone, also where his mom was. She would be in and out of the house a lot doing who knew what but he always worried. Even if he didn't show it all that often. He got ready as he usually did after he brushed his teeth, took a fifteen minute shower, got his flannel shirt and jeans on, and walked out of the house in the cold afternoon air. He had slept until about one which was the perfect time to wake, late enough for him not to feel too tired and early enough for him to still get things done.
He walked along the sidewalk and towards the park, one of his favorite places to hang out by himself, usually when he was here people would just walk past him and give him strange looks. He sat down on the swing and checked his phone, he texted Georgina asking her where she was and how she was doing, swinging slowly so he could get the wording right. The creak of the metal under his weight was comforting to him. He picked up speed, going higher and higher, feeling the breeze blow by his face and the cold air numb his skin. Whenever he did this he felt like he was flying and he loved the feeling, the rush of it all. After he got as high as he could he jumped off the swing and landed hard on the sawdust. His feet stung and the shock of the fall hurt his legs but it didn't matter to him, it was fun. He looked around quickly to make sure no one saw him and smiled contently, that is until someone called behind him.
"Wow that was cool, bet I could go higher though!" It was none other than Fionna who was running towards the swing at full speed.
He wanted to be embarrassed but he was too intrigued by how excited she was. "Why are you over here?" He asked, it wasn't like he didn't want to see her, it was just a surprise.
She wasn't looking at him and shifting her feet against the ground. "Well Cat sent me over here to thank you for the letter, even though it was pervy." She sent him a quick glare and went back to watching her shoes.
He smiled and sat next to her on the opposite swing. "Aww, can you give her a kiss for me," He thought about it for a second and smiled. "That would be pretty hot too." Fionna pretended to vomit and punched him in the arm, hard enough for her point to get across to him.
"That's nasty! She's my sister you weirdo!" Another couple of punches but he was able to dodge most of them.
"Whoa there bunny, I was just joking around." He grabbed one of her hands and smiled down at her. "How about I beat you at this first." He pushed at her swing, almost touching her butt and she scoot forward a little.
She started moving first and Marshall Lee followed, they both laughed and jeered the other while they continued.
"You really think you can jump from that height? Last I heard bunnies couldn't fly."
"Hey don't go up too high, I heard the suns coming out and I don't think vampires mix well with light." Marshall Lee had always been called a vampire, he fit the characteristics he was just missing the cool teeth.
They kept at that for a while until Marshall Lee finally let go and flew forward, propelling himself as far as he could go before he skid against the earth just past the sawdust. He watched as Fionna kept going, moving her legs quicker against the air and jumping up, she miss timed it going straight up. She was flying upwards and Marshall Lee was already running towards her by the time she had just started to fall down. He caught her, but the shift in weight caused him to lose his footing and he landed awkwardly on his ankle. The pain drilled up his leg quickly and through his thigh but he just grunted at it.
She was staring at him wide eyed, gulping at the sight of an in pain Marshall Lee. He was smiling at her but sweat was already collecting around his forehead. He was clutching her a little tighter, not out of necessity he just wanted to.
"You ok bunny? Told you the air isn't the place…for your kind." He tried to stand up but his ankle was really bothering him.
She grabbed his shirt and shook him a little. "I should be asking you that you idiot." She looked a little mad and tried to wiggle out of his grasp but he held her closer.
This was the closest thing to cuddling he'd had for the longest time and he liked the contact, he felt warmer, she was still holding his shirt and he liked the pull of fabric clinging to his back. "One sec, I don't want to mess it up any more than it is." He lied, thinking quick on his…well foot.
She looked into his eyes for a little but he doesn't look back, he hated when anyone tried to read him but he especially hated when they could read him. He couldn't really hide his expression because he was too focused on the pain. The blush was already starting to creep around his nose and he let her go way too quickly, she caught herself and looked down at him.
"Holy cow, you look really hurt, this is my fault too!" She yells in more frustration than anything. More mad at herself than at how hurt he is and he smiles.
"I'm fine…my ankle just hurts a little." He slowly gets up and tries to put his weight against it, the ankle doesn't respond and he falls into Fionna.
She held him as he put his arm around her shoulders and hopped with her. "Come on, I'll take you home and Cat will check your leg out." She sticks her tongue out disgustedly at it. "It looks kinda whack too."
He rolls his eyes at her and hops along as she moves. "Thanks Fi that makes me feel sooo good about it." The sarcasm drips off of each of his words.
Fionna gives him an apologetic smile. "It's how I deal with pain, I just say it like it is." She nudges against him a little. "You'll be fine you big baby."
He realizes then that he could get a lot out of his injury. "Ohhh Fionna I don't know this might be it, anything you want to say to me before….it's over." He was fake moaning and groaning, hard enough to know he was faking but Fionna was always a gullible one.
"Are you ok?" She asked genuinely concerned, "You want to sit for a little?" She was going to stop but he shook his head with a sputtering laugh. She frowned at that.
"Hahaha, I could make you think the world was flat Fi." He almost falls when she lets go of him, bouncing his ankle on the concreate and cursing. "Hey, what was that for?!"
"You dummy, I thought you were really hurt!" She's pouting and he realizes he's gone too far, she always went into some kind of mode whenever someone was hurt. She was so protecting.
He smiled at her, hobbling up on his good leg and reaching out for her. "I am, I'm just joking around Fionna, I'll need your help though." He gave her an extra sweet smile when she looked at him and she sighed, pulling at his arm and putting it around her.
"Don't joke around about that stuff," She wasn't looking at him, just kept walking. "I feel bad that I hurt you…"
He laughed, rubbing her head with that hand that was draped around her. "Ya, it was kinda your fault, but its ok, just pay me back in strawberries and we're even."
Her lip was already quivering and for a split second, probably even less than that, he was tempted to make it go away.
"It's 'cause I'm a fatty!" She complained, and even though he didn't want to he busted out laughin.
She was glaring at him like never before but he couldn't help but howl with laughter and a couple of tears welled up in his eyes. It was just funny to see Fionna acting like, well any other girl he knew, there were points in time where he would just forget that she was a girl because of the tomboyish manner in which she acted. Yet here she was complaining about how fat she was, even though she was as active as anyone he knew and was actually pretty curvy.
Hm, she did have some womanly curves that he noticed now as he looked over her. He shook his head before he got any ideas and bumped against her playfully.
"You aren't fat, you jog like every morning and you play sports, if you were fat you would have flattened me back there, I just stepped on my foot wrong." He was smiling at her, it was probably one of the first nice things he had said to her in a while.
She was frowning and looking up at him, it was dare he say almost cute. "Really?"
He looked down at her, and knew he had stared for a little too long. "Of course, you got a nice bod' Fi." He winked at her, nudging her with his shoulder. "I would know, I've stared enough at it."
She sighed and he could see a tint of pink on her cheeks. They walked the rest of the way in silence and when they got to her house Fionna called out.
"Cat I need your help!" But no one called back and Fionna slapped herself on the head, she had totally forgot that she was working all of today.
Marshall Lee hopped over to the couch and checked his ankle again, it was really swollen and still throbbed but it wasn't broken. Marshall had broken his arm before he knew what that pain felt like, but this one was different, probably sprained. He was going to say something but he noticed that Fionna was looking at him worriedly, her gaze not leaving his ankle. It had been a while since someone had actually worried about him before and it felt kind of good.
He rubbed it and hissed when he moved it with his hands, trying to see just how bad it was. Fionna grabbed his hands when he tried to move it again. "Stop you dumby!"
It had been a very long time since someone had called him a dumby too, like fifth grade long and he couldn't help but smile. "Don't worry, it'll be fine, just need to walk it off." He was starting to realize that he was going to overstay his welcome if he stayed there for too long, anyways this girl was making him smile too much.
She shook her head and walked off towards the kitchen. "No way are you leaving until he put some ice on that. It's supposed to stop the swelling and all that junk." She was already rummaging through the freezer before Marshall Lee could say anything.
"Fi, I don't need ice, I'll live. It's a sprained ankle, I've had worse before."
Fionna didn't even pay attention to him and pulled out some frozen peas. Wrapping a towel around them and placing it on his ankle tentatively. He couldn't help but admit that it felt good to have the cold pressure on him aching ankle.
"Shut up, I'm heling you."
Marshall Lee adjusted the bag. They looked at it for a while before he finally spoke. "So what's a guy gotta do to get some grub around here."
She smiled at him and sat down next to him on the couch. "You gotta wait for Cat like I do, I can't cook for lumps."
He leaned his head on the sofa and moaned. "But I'm huuuunnngggrrryyyy."
"Stop whining you big baby." She turned the TV on and a basketball game was on. "Slama'cow I was waiting for this game!"
Marshall Lee opened on of his eyes and leaned forward when he realized who was playing, his favorite team. "Whoa, I didn't know that game was on today."
Fionna gave him a side glance. "You watch basketball?"
He gawked at her, trying to hide how offended he was. "Of course I do! Hell, I make bets and everything on games like this." He looked over at her and smiled. "Like a little stripping bet or something." She pulled her clothes closer to her and tensed up.
"Shushers man!" She shook her head. "How about the loser has to sing to the winner." She looked over at him and smiled. "I've never seen you're band play so I wanna know if you're a good singer."
Marshall Lee rubbed his hair, he was probably the best singer in his band but he didn't like singing one on one with someone, it always felt too personal. Then again his team was something he had great pride in. "Fine I'll take you on that Fi."
They cheered and jeered at each other whenever one of their teams made a basket or when someone blocked someone else. Marshall Lee almost forgot that his ankle hurt and shook himself when he saw that his team was leading.
"Here we go Fi!" He nudged against her and she pushed him to the side in anger. Usually she wasn't so competitive, unless it was with sports. It was something new he had learned about her. Or maybe she was just scared to have to sing to him. He imagined what her voice sounded like when she sang and shook his head.
"Oh c'mon pass the ball!" Fionnas hands flew up in frustration.
Marshall Lee had to take advantage of that. "Ya but if they pass it then my team will lose and I already know how much you want to sing to me." He ducked when a pillow was thrown and watches the red dance across her face. Picking on her is too much fun.
It really was.
He looked at her for a little longer than he should and she turned even more red.
"W-what?!" She tried to look mad but her blush wasn't helping it.
He leaned into the couch and just continued to watch the game without looking at her again.
He needed a drink.
The game eventually ended and he was glad when it was his team that lost. If she would have sung to him, he didn't know how he would have taken it.
"Ha! Now you are gonna have to sing for me." She actually looked happy.
Marshall Lee dug in his pocket for some paper, noticing how much crap he had in them and wrote down a time and a location. "Come here next Saturday if you actually want to hear me sing, the song we've been working on has me singing it." He smiled and pretended to look at her eyes but he was staring at her forehead.
She quickly scanned over it and nodded. "Ok, I promise I'll be there." For some reason a part of her actually was excited to go to one of his performances.
He lifted one of his eyebrows and sat up more on the couch. "You don't have to promise, if you don't show up I don't want you to feel bad." He knew how much promises meant to Fionna, they were part of her honorary code, if she didn't come now then it was because she was fighting monsters or something.
She pouted and his her hands on her thighs. "I really will be there!"
"Ok Fi if you come I'm going to bring you up on stage." He gave her a toothy grin and she felt like she had to cover her neck out of instinct.
"You better not!" She started punching his arm, he had to admit that it actually hurt when she hit him, even if it was playful.
That was when the door opened and Cake walked in, at first she hadn't really noticed that they were there but after a while she gave them a curious look. "Did Marshall Lee break in the house?" Even though her hands were full of bags she pointed at him.
They both laughed and Fionna shook her head. "No, I broke him." She pointed to his swollen ankle.
"Did he touch you Fionna?!" She took a step towards Marshall and he got the sense that she might kill him, but he didn't move away.
"Hi to you too Cat." Marshall Lee smiled, patting the seat to the other side of him. "C'mere and sit with me."
Cat looked at him like he was a bug and turned around to go into the kitchen. "Just because I let you in here once doesn't mean I'm gonna be cookin' for you every day." He knew that was her way of saying she missed him so he let her have it.
Fionna was smiling fondly and turned to him. "It's nice to see that you and Cat are getting along."
He shrugged at her statement. "She arrests me like five times and all of a sudden I grow on her, I told her it would happen."
"I heard that Marshall Lee, don't make me poison your food!"
They laughed again, Fionna's face went blank for a second like she was thinking of something. "Why was it that I wanted to punch you and give you a fat lip?"
Marshall Lee knew the answer but didn't really want to get beat up again. "As long as you kiss your knuckles before you punch me bunny, but make sure it's my lips."
And she didn't blush like she usually would, she just looked at him. He was so mad at the way she looked at him.
It was a mixture of confusion, surprised confusion. He had made a mistake saying that. Before he could do something stupid again he got up and started to limp out of the house.
"Where do you think you're going?" Cat tuned around from the stove and pointed a wooden spoon at him.
He shook his head, his bangs waving around his eyes. "I…I gotta go, I'll see you guys around I guess." And before anyone could say anything else he picked up his shoe and closed the door, limping his way home.
Cat shook her head, stirring the sauce for the spaghetti. "I just don't get him Fionna." She looked over at her sister but she was blushing, and biting her lip like she was thinking. "Are you ok girl?"
Fionna nodded slowly but her head was spinning slightly, the way he had said that, the way that smirk showed when he looked at her. It made her feel…weird.
She felt wrong and picked up the phone to call Flint, almost begging him to come over and wathch a movie with her and she couldn't have left the house faster. Running to his, and cuddling up to him when they had finally picked the right one.
This was safe. In his arms she felt so warm and safe, it was like being by a fire in a cold snowing day, nuzzling closer and closer to the fire to feel the flicks up the flame licking your cheek. Marshall Lee was like the bitter cold winds of a snowy day, cold, dangerous and freezing to the touch, he was always close enough to touch but far enough to not want to. He had always just been Marshall Lee the flirty idiot, and if she wanted to stay in the warm arms she was in now it would have to stay that way.
She didn't like the cold. It was new, it was different, and in a way it scared her.
But it wasn't like he ever gave her a reason to.
She was confused, she was blushing and confused and she wished she never watched that game with him.
"Kiss me." The words slipped past her lips before she could stop them.
Flint had herd her, there was no way he hadn't. "W-what?!" He let her go and the air started to cool her off, she grabbed his arms and turned around to face him, grabbing his face gently and looking at him.
"Kiss me." She repeated, leaning forward and meeting his lips with hers, they were so warm that they almost felt like they were on fire but she continued to kiss him anyways as he slowly wrapped his arms around her waist.
She liked the warm fire.
But the cold winds always blew.
Marshall Lee took a deep breath in the shower, he had his head in the water and watched the droplets fall down his face. He needed to calm down and warm showers always helped. He shouldn't have watched the game with her.
He wanted to see Fionna again.
Water got in his eyes and he shook his head, trying to get the warm water and thoughts of Fionna off of him. He hoped that he wouldn't have to see her look at him like that ever again.
There was a week before school started again and he knew once it did she would leave him alone. FIonna was popular and her circle of friends was large, she was always busy with something and he was always in his own little world. He would only see her if she decided to come visit and that wasn't often.
He got out of the shower and barely dried off before he got some sweatpants on and laid in bed. It was so hot after a while that he started to sweat and he kicked the covers off. Feeling the cold air wash over him and he sighed at the pleasant feeling.
She was a puzzle piece that would screw it all up, she didn't fit in his puzzle. At least not the one he was making for himself currently. She was a corner piece, something to start with and build around but if he did he would have to get rid of everything else.
He wasn't ready for that.
He had his corner pieces already, there wasn't enough room for another one.
He didn't have to wait long before Ashley texted him and he let her in, he was sitting down watching TV and she jumped through the window.
"Have you even texted anyone about Georgina?" She was angry, he didn't even have to hear it in her voice to know.
She hadn't been drinking today.
He nodded but he was trying to pay attention to the highlights of the game from before. "I texted her but she never got back to me, I'm just waiting for her to get out."
Ashely shook her head. "Dumbass, why don't you text one of us so that you can be in the know. She won't be able to appeal until tomorrow." She sat down next to him and practically hissed at him. "Do you realize what'll happen if she rats us out."
Marshall Lee thought about that for a second, he wondered if Ashley even thought about how hard it was for Georgina. "She won't, if there's one thing about Georgina it's that she's loyal." He smiled, thinking about a good memory and turned to his girlfriend. "Hey, do you want to watch the next game with me?" It was so sweet, almost so needy that he was surprised it even came out of his mouth.
Ashley looked at him like he was a vampire hissing at her and eyes turning red. "What is wrong with you? We have a lot more to worry about than who wins a stupid basketball game."
But it wasn't stupid. Watching basketball games made good memories, but only one other person would know about that. All of a sudden he was confused and stressed out, and he partially knew why but he hid that somewhere deep down.
"Do you have anything to drink?" He needed it.
She smiled, it had been a while since Marshall Lee had been drinking. "Of course babe, I'll go get it out of my car."
And even though they didn't have enough time to watch a basketball game, they had enough time to drink.
Fionna brushed her teeth for longer than she had thought possible, until the foamy toothpaste almost burned her gums. It wasn't his fault, he was a good kisser, and it had been her who had asked for it but is had just felt…wrong.
Maybe if she got used to it she would be able to kiss him more, but it had been such a rush of emotions and new feelings that it had short circuited her brain. She started to get her pajamas on, a small piece of paper fell from her pocket and she picked it up, it was the location of Marshall Lee's concert.
Even though she didn't want to go she had promised and she always kept her promises. What she hadn't known is that she was smiling a little while she was looking at the paper.
Woohoo I got this! Four chapters in a week let's go! Ok but like my other stories I will have a review limit! Umm for this one I'll say 10 and if I can get 10 reviews I'll start working on the next chapter but if I don't I probably won't start one until February. Sorry :(
