Told you I was fail at updates. I will attempt a semi-regular basis though. And the next... installment (can these be called chapters?) will be longer. I'll make sure of it. How are we all? Doing well? Excellent. Enjoy your Sunday~
"So, we gotta pick your friends up too, Bonnie?" Marceline asked around a mouthful of cereal. It was quite the bowl she was working on, Bonnibel wasn't entirely sure she'd actually eat it all. But then again, she was doing a pretty good job so far.
"No. They'll meet us there." She had to call it from the bathroom. She hadn't slept well during the night, too many things bouncing around in her head. Too many ways this could go wrong.
Bonnie hated that about herself. While she was generally an optimist, sometimes she just couldn't help but work out all the bad things that could happen. And today, there were quite a few. Seeing as she'd tossed and turned to the wee hours of the morning, she'd been up well before Marceline. At least, she thought she had, the other woman's light had been on all night too. Maybe she hadn't slept either.
Once she was dressed she paced back and forth across the living room waiting for Marceline to get ready. She was impatient and anxious at the same time and it was the strangest stomach churning combination she'd ever felt. Her brain was doing too many things at once and it was tired.
"Sheesh," Marceline said. "Relax, Bonnie. Please, you're driving me batty." Then she chuckled as if at a private joke.
"You're not ready, Marceline," she snapped. "We're going to be late."
"Is your brother going someplace?"
Was he? "Not that I know of."
"Then relax. Put something on telly, I won't be long." She kept grumbling as she tossed her dishes in the sink and slouched off to change out of her pyjamas.
Grumbling, Bonnie fell onto a beanbag and flicked the television on. She scrolled through the channels for a moment before deciding there was nothing worth her time (read: no documentaries). Heaving herself from the squishy chair, she resumed her pacing. It took her all of a minute to decided that from the island bench in the kitchenette to the back of the sofa was six and a half comfortable steps and another thirty seconds to decide that wasn't far enough. Plus that little half step at the end kept throwing her off.
She extended her route to the wall where the television was mounted. This increased the distance to nearly nine steps. The little extra still forced her to add a skip at the end. Grumbling, she decided to try again but go all the way to the fridge. At which point, Marceline exploded from the end of the hallway with a bag over her shoulder and a grin on her face.
"The floor's already polished, Bonnie," she said cheekily. "You don't have to do it yourself." Dressed once more in all black clothes save for her red boots and grey cap, Marceline – it appeared – was at last ready to leave.
"About time," Bonnibel growled. She stalked past the dining table, snatched up her keys and bag before marching out the door. Marceline barely made it through as Bonnie slammed it on her heels. "I did say it'd take an hour didn't I?"
"You did. But we have all day."
In a flash, Bonnie was struck by a feeling of guilt. Marceline had agreed to this to satisfy the curiosity of her friends. But Bonnie hadn't given any thought to plans the other woman might have made.
"This didn't… conflict with something you wanted to do… did it?" she asked hesitantly.
Of all things, Marceline gave her a reassuring look. "No, thanks though. I was going to meet my brother later today. He lives across town too. Apparently he's moved in with this prudish fellow who doesn't have any alcohol in the apartment. He was very upset." She grinned again. "I'd like to meet the dude who can stare down Marshall. He must be really something."
Bonnie didn't want to reply. She just wanted the day to be over. Then she could pretend she didn't care about the other woman and they could stop being friendly. She didn't want to be friends. And Rain could think what she wanted about that.
The drive was, as expected, obscenely long. It was only made more so by the stretched silences that filled the cab. Marceline wore her perpetual half-smile, but made no effort to engage in a conversation. But Bonnie hated awkward silences.
"So where are you from?" she asked at last. Cities were the worst; they were full of traffic lights and arrogant, selfish drivers. Traffic lights were boring. She drummed her fingers on the wheel, wanting desperately to have something to do. Normally while she was driving she'd play a voiced recording of some theoretical paper, but she figured that wouldn't go down too well with Marceline the musician.
Surprisingly, Marceline did actually answer her question. And the response was surprising too. Or… maybe not if she thought about it hard enough. "Been a lot of places," she said with a shrug. "Originally… well I was born in England, lived there a long time. Went to America a few years back and stayed a really long time. Only just moved to Australia. Family visits and so forth. Haven't seen my dad since I left England. Got some other friends here too." Well… that at least explained the slight accent. She sounded southern. "What about you?"
"Been here my whole life," Bonnie replied, pulling up at yet another red light. "I go out to the countryside sometimes to visit family. My parents live just outside town. But my brother and I boarded here in town. We sort of graduated from one institution and moved in to the next campus straight away." She shrugged this time. "When he got a job he moved out of our apartment to be closer."
Marceline bobbed her head, fingers moving as if playing an instrument. She kept glancing at the radio. "Ugh, look. Can I just turn on the radio? Please? How can you bear to sit in a quiet car?" She shuddered.
Bonnie lifted one eyebrow, smiling slightly. "Yeah go ahead. You might want to eject the CD that's in there though."
From the cheeky grin on her face again, Bonnie guessed she wouldn't eject the CD. Consequently, the soft voice of a doctor in neurophysics filled the car. It was a lecture on brain function and its networks that she'd attended when a guest speaker had visited the university nearby. She loved listening to it, everything made sense when there was science involved.
"Ah!" Marceline exclaimed, hastily pressing eject. She did it a few times just to be sure. "What was that?"
"A theory on higher brain function and related diseases," Bonnie explained. "I told you to eject it."
Marceline pulled a face. "You listen to lectures in the car? Wow. That's just… wow." With one long finger and her thumb, Marceline adjusted the tuning knob on the radio until she found a station she liked. "That is way sad, Bonnie. You need to get out more."
Despite the words, Bonnie felt that Marceline hadn't meant it badly. Sort of like an observation.
"Yes I do. Music isn't really my thing."
The look on Marceline's face as she said that was one of pure and unrestrained horror. "How dare you speak such filthy words," the pale woman said, appalled. "You take them back. I'll rinse your mouth out with soap."
"I've never found music to be very… stimulating."
"You just haven't found the right songs yet." Bonnie glanced over at her, suddenly worried. The smile she usually wore – the cocky one – was gone, replaced by something else. The corners of her mouth were still quirked up, but it was more a look of determination than anything else. As if she'd just accepted a challenge and was determined to see it through.
"What are you thinking?" Bonnie asked apprehensively.
"I'm going to find music you like," Marceline announced happily. "And revolutionise your way of seeing the world." She shook her head, still shocked by what Bonnie had said. "Life just isn't worth living without music, Bonnie. It's just not."
Despite trying her very best not to like the other woman, her tenacity for the remainder of the trip was endearing. Marceline scoured every station the radio picked up; trying to find a song Bonnibel would appreciate. She failed. But that didn't throw Marceline off; she claimed the only reason Bonnie didn't like any of that music was because it was 'stale, money making, pop tunes'.
"Well," Marceline sighed, leaning back in her chair. "If you can't find it already in circulation, make it yourself." She grinned as they pulled up outside the small house Bonnie's brother shared with his roommate. "Hey," she snapped upright. "That's where my brother lives!"
