"I don't know, Lady. Are you sure?" Bonnie was holding up a pair of jeans and one of Lady's cropped shirts that she was insisting Bonnie borrow. Lady looked great in them, but Bonnie wasn't so sure she could pull it off. "Isn't it a bit cold for this kind of clothing?"

"Oh, fine. But I still think you'd look super cute in it." Lady tossed the shirt up onto Bonnie's bed. "Do you have anything besides pink, Bonnie?"

Bonnie laughed. "Well there's some purple in there. Does that count?" Lady rolled her eyes and continued scouring Bonnie's closet for an acceptable outfit for her friend. Lady happened to know what was in fashion and dressed accordingly. Bonnie wished she could have the same innate sense of style.

"Here," Lady proclaimed, throwing a few hangers that Bonnie barely managed to catch. As she untangled them, the girl noticed a skirt, a tank top, and a cardigan.

"I still think it would look better with my crop top," Lady mused, "But this will also be cute. Now go try it on and show me."

Bonnie complied. Lady turned around as her friend began to change into the outfit. She wasn't sure why it was such a process to select an outfit, but clearly Lady knew what she was doing. "Okay, I have it on."

"Ah ha! Very nice, twirl for me." Lady examined the outfit from head to toe, looking pleased with herself.

"I like it," Bonnie confessed, and Lady clapped in excitement.

"It's about time we agreed on one! Now it's settled. Go ahead and do your makeup. We have 15 minutes before we leave!" Lady exited, leaving Bonnie alone to do her makeup. She swiped on some liquid liner as she though about the party. I wonder what it will be like. I sure hope it isn't a frat party. I went to one of those during our first week here and had no fun at all. Bonnie put on the finishing touches with a coat of mascara and some simple pink lipstick. For the most part, she liked her makeup relatively simple.

Bonnie exited her room, joining the rest of the group that had congregated in their common area. She saw her roommate emerge from the bathroom where she had been getting ready for her Saturday night. Bonnie waved a brief goodbye to Juli, who smiled politely. They weren't very close, but the girl was nice enough and didn't do anything to upset Bonnie—other than being on the phone a lot and staying out late to party from time to time.

Bonnie's group, now nearly ten strong as her friends met up with people to whom she had only ever been introduced briefly, began the 20 minute walk to the apartment where the party was being held. It was on campus in the upperclass apartments, where apparently all the decent on-campus parties were held (according to Lady). Some time later they arrived at a very unassuming brick building. Bonnie could hear faint music coming from one of the upper floors.

She and her friends proceeded up the steps to the fourth floor, where the party was being held. They knocked on the room's door, and the young man who opened it lit up.

"Yo, Jake! How's it goin'?" So this must be Jake's friend. "Jonathan is right through here if you wanna say hi." Jake thanked him and led the way into the already crowded apartment.

The next hour saw Bonnie being introduced to a myriad of people whose names she soon forgot. Most of them were friends of friends of roommates or some other distant relationship. Bonnie tried her best to listen to conversations but she eventually began to zone out.

"Bonnie? So what major are you?" One of the boys must have noticed that she was bored.

"Biochem." She responded, perking up a bit. Science had always been her favorite subject since she was little. She was a very detail-oriented person, which was great when she had to keep detailed journals and create lab reports.

"Wow. That's intense," The boy said. What was his name again? Bonnie mentally cursed herself. She had met more people tonight than she had in weeks and all the names were beginning to blur together. Maybe I really should get out more.

Once he started launching into his career as the next basketball star, Bonnie couldn't help but zone out again. She felt bad, but sports were so dull to her. She had never been good at playing (or doing anything requiring physical coordination, for the matter) much less understanding the rules.

"I'm going to use the restroom," Bonnie whispered to Lady. As Bonnie slipped away to try and locate the facilities, she wove in and out of the throngs of people crowded into the tight apartment. She made her way through a kitchen with an open bar and sticky floors and eventually found a small powder room. It wasn't in the best shape considering how many people were there that night, but it would do for now.

After Bonnie had finished in the restroom, she headed back into the sticky-floored kitchen to pour herself a drink. Bonnie didn't drink often but at social events like this she would usually have something to sip at. She definitely wasn't the type to get wasted at these kinds of things and come home drunk, like her roommate sometimes did. Bonnie scanned the choices in front of her, which weren't great. Some really cheap, awful brand of beer, a handle of vodka, several liters of mixers, and some rum sat on the table before her. Not a fan of vodka and not wanting to taste the crappy beer, she settled on making herself a rum and coke. Bonnie tasted the drink, figuring that it was decent. She probably wouldn't finish it anyway.

She exited the kitchen and began searching for her friends. Unfortunately, they weren't in the same spot as when she had left for the restroom. She walked back through the living room and kitchen areas, but they were nowhere to be found. She pulled out her cellphone and composed a text to send to Lady.

To: Lady

Hey Lady, where did you guys head off to?

After pressing send, she sighed and looked around. She didn't know anyone here except for the group she came with. She impulsively checked her cellphone but there was no reply. Bonnie was too shy to approach any of the strangers and ask to join in their conversations. Well, at least I can go awkwardly stand over there by the wall instead in of the middle of the room like a doofus.

Bonnie headed over to the nearest wall in the main room of the apartment and leaned up against it. Above her some stairs led to what must be the bedrooms. Bonnie checked her phone again to no avail and took a sip of her drink. Her eyes scanned the crowd. The people watching here was alright, but so many of them seemed to look the same to her. She felt like it was all upperclassmen and athletes, whom she had nothing in common with. They all even seemed to dress similarly. Suddenly, she was very conscious of her bright pink locks. At least it's hard to lose me in a crowd. But I did still manage to lose my friends, and it's not even midnight yet. Good going, Bonnie.

"Any good people watching?" A voice came from behind and slightly above her. Bonnie jumped, turning on her heels. A girl was draped over the banister of the stairs behind her, mere inches from her ear. A toothy grin spread over the girl's face.

"Sorry for scaring you," The girl chuckled, clearly amused at Bonnie's physical response. She walked down the stairs and stood next to Bonnie. Bonnie suddenly felt small. The girl's tall, lean figure easily towered several inches over her. She examined her face. Sort of angular, but not harsh, with a defined jaw and soft, pink lips arranged in a smirk. Bonnie's eyes traveled upwards. The girl had striking blue eyes set against pale skin. Those eyes—they look so familiar…

Bonnie snapped back to reality.

"Not scared—just startled."

"I see," The tall girl responded, but her eyes and her smirk revealed that she didn't really believe Bonnie.

Bonnie began looking at her again. That long, black hair and those blue eyes…. Wait a second… this was the girl I saw the other day! Glob, I knew she looked familiar. She's so…. Pretty.

"So, what are you drinking?" The girl asked. Bonnie figured she had been silent for too long. Get it together, Bonnie. Stop getting distracted.

"Rum and coke."

"Any good?"

"It's…. okay," She confessed with a smile. "You're not having anything?"

"Nah, I only drink occasionally and when I do, it's not gonna be the cheap stuff they have here."

"Wow, I thought I was the only one." Bonnie chuckled.

"What, who doesn't drink much? Or who hates shitty college party alcohol?"

"Both," Bonnie laughed. The tall girl smiled, and this time she looked less mischievous.

"I don't think I got your name?" The pale girl asked.

"Oh, my fault. I'm Bonnibel." She stuck out her hand.

"Marceline," The pale girl offered, shaking Bonnie's hand. She leaned against the wall next to Bonnie. "So, you go to school here too?"

"Yes, and yourself?"

"Yeah. I'm a third year, you?"

"I'm a sophomore."

"Major?"

"Biochemistry." Marceline's eyebrows raised.

"Really? Wow. That science stuff is way too complicated for me. I can never keep up. Do you like it?" The older girl asked.

"Yeah, I've loved chemistry ever since high school." Bonnie smiled. "I'm very detail-oriented so it suits me well. What's your major?"

"Music Industry."

"Really?" Bonnie was genuinely surprised. "Arts majors are hard to find in these parts." Their large university was heavy on the science majors.

"Yeah, I always get that." Marceline laughed. "I can't see myself doing much else though. Maybe music therapy. But it's the performing I love."

"Oh, cool. What do you play?"

"Well, mostly the bass, but also guitar, and a little bit of drums and piano. I play bass in a local band." She shrugged nonchalantly, but Bonnie thought it was cool. A musician—that would explain the leather jacket, shaggy hair, and ripped jeans. This girl didn't fit in with most of the rest of the crowd.

"That's great. I'm not very musical at all, but I find it very admirable."

"Heh, thanks. It's not a big deal though. We're not very well-known or anything." The tall girl ran her hand through her hair. Her raven-colored tresses came down all the way to her waist.

"So, you came here alone?" Marceline asked.

"No, I had a bunch of friends but they all went missing as soon as I went to get a drink." Bonnie pulled out her phone. 12:09 am. One missed text from Lady. Bonnie must have missed the text alert while she was talking to Marceline.

From: Lady

Just stepped out for a few minutes. Sorry, I didn't realize my last text didn't send. Do you want to meet us at the nearby market? We were going to get something to eat. Or we can come back on our way home to meet you. Sorry again.

Bonnie laughed. They were the ones that insisted she go to this party and then they left. But Lady did say her text didn't send, so she wasn't all that mad.

"What is it?" Marceline asked.

"My friends got hungry and left." She rolled her eyes. "They were the ones that dragged me here in the first place."

"Food, huh? That sounds pretty good right now. Mind if I go with?"

"Sure, if you want." Bonnie was surprised the girl wanted to hang with her. She texted Lady back.

To: Lady

Sure, which one? Marshall's Market? Bringing a new friend with me.

"So, let's get out of here, right Bonnibel?" Marceline linked an arm with Bonnie and winked. The dark-haired girl led her to the door. Once they were outside, Bonnie took a deep breath of the cool night air. It was refreshing after that sweaty, packed apartment. Marceline dropped Bonnie's arm and started heading downstairs. Bonnie's phone buzzed.

From: Lady

That's the one. You know how to get there? And ooh, is he cute? ;)

Bonnie chuckled. Lady was always so concerned with Bonnie's dating life, which had been nonexistent since the 10th grade. She was quickly losing Marceline, who took long strides, so she stowed her phone in her pocket and jogged to catch up.

"So where we going?"

"Marshall's. You know where it is?"

"Hmm, sounds familiar. Lead the way?"

"Sure." They walked in silence only for a moment.

"So, I guess you like pink." Marceline was smirking again.

"Oh, uh, yeah." Bonnie felt embarrassed.

"How long has your hair been like that?"

"Probably 5 years now. I started doing it in high school." She said sheepishly.

"I used to dye my hair a lot too. It looks good on you though. I don't know if I could pull off pink." Bonnie had assumed she wouldn't have liked it. With the black leather jacket, slouchy tee, and ripped up jeans, Marceline didn't look like one who would be very into pink.

"Oh, thanks." Bonnie might have been blushing at her compliment, but luckily it was dark so her new friend couldn't see. "So, do you live on campus?"

"Nope, I've got an apartment about a 10 minute drive away. You?"

"I live in the 2nd year dorms over in North Campus." She's got her own apartment? That's cool.

"Nice." Marceline stuck her hands in her pockets and they walked for another minute or so in comfortable silence. As they rounded one of the residential buildings, Bonnie saw the neon sign of the market. "Here we are."

"Sweet," Marceline replied, and they headed in. Bonnie quickly found Lady and Jake in the small store.

"Hey guys!" She waved to them with a smile. "There's someone I want you to meet. This is Marceline."

"Oh, hello," Lady said somewhat hesitantly. Another two inches shorter than Bonnie, Lady was very much dwarfed standing next to Marceline. Jake wasn't eye to eye with the new girl, either.

"Hey guys, what's up? It's nice to meet you." Marceline smiled. "We're just gonna go grab some food." Marceline, obviously very excited at the prospect of food, headed off into one of the aisles. Bonnie followed suit.

"So, you have a nickname?" Marceline asked Bonnie while eyeing up the packs of ramen. "Bonnibel is quite a mouthful."

"Most people call me Bonnie. Do you have a nickname?"

"Marcy. Or, the Vampire Queen." Bonnie laughed. "No, seriously," Marceline said, turning to her.

"What? Why?" Bonnie was genuinely interested now.

"Well, when I was younger I was really into 'dark' stuff. I was sort of a weird kid, always wanted to be different, you know? I loved horror movies, creepy animals, and I was obsessed with vampires. I can't tell you how many times I've read Dracula and watched the movies. I was so into it that I even started believing I was one of them. My dad wasn't around much so I kind of did whatever I wanted. I even started drawing bite marks on my neck. It was pretty funny now that I look back on it. I told my friends that I was a vampire queen. Not sure if they ever believed it, but they played along. But I still love creepy stuff, and Halloween is by far my favorite holiday. So I guess the nickname just stuck."

Bonnie chuckled. She could vividly imagine a younger version of Marceline decked out in all black Hot Topic gear. "That's cute. Well, if it makes you feel better, when I was a kid my parents called me Princess Bubblegum because I loved pink and dresses so much. I thought I was an actual princess." I chuckled. "It ended up sticking with my friends, too."

"That's funny. I can see why though." Bonnie noticed Marceline's smile was a little crooked, but nonetheless very cute. The pale girl turned back to pick up a cup of ramen.

"So, I can call you MarMar?" Bonnie joked. Marceline shot her a deadpan look.

"Never."

"Alright, alright." Bonnie put her hands up in defense. She walked into the next aisle over to grab a few boxes of candy. They both met up at the cash register. After they were done paying, the two headed over to Jake and Lady.

"Ready to go?" Lady asked Bonnie, and she nodded.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later?" Bonnie asked Marceline.

"I'll walk you home, if you want."

"Thanks for offering, but I'll be fine." Bonnie smiled warmly. "I have these two nerds to accompany me, anyway." Lady made a noise of protest.

"Haha, alright. Well here, let me give you my phone number in case you want to hang out again sometime." They exchanged phones and entered themselves into each other's contacts.

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Marceline." Before Bonnie could say much else, the tall girl leaned down to give her a hug.

"You too. See ya soon." Marceline winked and smiled before turning on her heels and striding out of the market.

"Soooooo, who was that?" Lady asked, elbowing Bonnie in the side.

"Ow!" Bonnie exclaimed. "Just a friend. I met her at the party after you guys left me."

"So, is that your type, Bonnie? Tall, dark, and mysterious?"

"Don't be silly." Bonnie replied. "Come on, let's go home."

While Jake and Lady talked, Bonnie walked a pace behind them. She thought about her friend's comment on the way back to their dorm. Do I have a type? I only ever dated once before, and that was for a short time. I don't even like girls that way. Bonnie shrugged but her thoughts went back to Marceline. Her tall, lean figure, the way she was self-confident and yet a tad mysterious. That long, black hair, the pale skin, and those striking blue eyes.

Bonnie snapped out of her thoughts to see that she and her friends had arrived at their dorm. She grabbed her wallet and fumbled for her keys to unlock the suite door and then her room door. She set down her candy on her desk as Jake and Lady sat down on the couch to start a movie. Bonnie flipped through her wallet and saw that something crucial was missing. She looked through her wallet again, checked her pockets, but there was nothing. She started leafing through the stuff on her desk, to no avail.

"Guys, I can't find my student ID." She was rubbing her forehead. How could she be so stupid to leave that somewhere?

"Oh no." Lady said, she and Jake turning around from the common room couch to look at Bonnie.

"Well you used it at the market, right?" Jake questioned.

"I think so, I just… don't remember. Ugh." Bonnie mentally cursed herself for her forgetfulness. She sat down on the couch dejectedly after going through her desk and wallet several more times.

"Hey, chill man, you'll find it eventually," Jake offered. Bonnie wasn't so convinced. She would have to purchase a new card, which was another $15 out of her food money. She was annoyed with herself, to say the least. It wasn't like her to be forgetful.

About 10 minutes into the movie, she got a text message.

From: Sexy vampire queen ;)

Hey, I found your ID on the ground outside that market thingy. Nice picture, by the way.

That must be Marceline, Bonnie thought, remembering the girl's nickname. I didn't see her put that as her name in my phone. Bonnie blushed. She was making a weird face in her ID photo and hated showing it to people. She was grateful, however, that Marceline had found her ID and that she wouldn't have to buy a new one.

To: Sexy vampire queen ;)

Oh, thank glob you found it. I thought I'd have to get a new one. Can I meet you sometime soon to retrieve it?

Bonnie didn't have to wait long for the reply.

From: Sexy vampire queen ;)

Sure thing. Does tomorrow work for you?

To: Sexy vampire queen ;)

That would be great. Thank you so much.

I should really change that, Bonnie thought. She proceeded to her contacts and changed the silly name to the correct one. Only a minute later, she got another reply.

From: Marceline

No problem, Bonbon ;)

Bonnie smiled. What a silly nickname. The two girls texted for another few minutes and arranged a pickup time at one of the popular campus coffeehouses the next afternoon. Bonnie looked at her phone. It was nearly 1:30 am now. Exhausted, she wished her friends and Marceline goodnight, brushed her teeth, changed into pajamas, and clambered into bed. Bonnie's thoughts drifted to Marceline's sky blue eyes and crooked smile one final time before sleep took her.