The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
A/N: College is so very hurtful to my time. Honestly, it's so abusive to time. But I refuse to let this one die. Here it is.
This chapter contains: Swearing, molestation/sexual abuse, drugs, angst
Rated M
Marceline x Princess Bubblegum (Eventually)
Summary: The first time ever she saw her face; she saw the sun rise in her eyes. She felt a pull so strong, her heart felt like it might burst out of chest in a bloody mass of veins and muscles. But even that pain couldn't compare to the sudden, surprising pain she felt when she saw that she was distinctly disliked.
Disclaimer: I own zero—zip—nada.
Chapter 4: Prod
Marceline was tapping her fingers on her knee frantically. Here was Finn looking guiltily at her and his brother Jake looking mightily irritated at Finn and Marceline. They were all sitting in the nearby park, occupying a bench and a vacant chess table. Jake and the other girl were in chairs, Finn and Marceline, occupying the wooden bench. She kept tapping in a compulsive manner, opting to stay silent until someone else dared open his or her mouth.
All Marceline had known was that Finn had popped a molly; she had neglected to really see the damage inflicted upon the boy, prior to her own pummeling of him. His eye looked to be split open and incrusted with blood, bruises and nicks littering his skin. He was badly bloodied and battered. She had woken up in the morning to a text from Finn at three in the morning, declaring he'd popped a molly. Looking at Finn constricted her throat as she wriggled her fingers more vigorously.
Then couple that awkward situation with the anxiety Marceline felt in her belly when she looked at the blonde girl next to her. The girl was beautiful. Her eyes were blue and soft, her skin supple and tinted. She looked as though the angels in heaven had handcrafted her and the lazily rising sun in her eyes was like her celestial halo. Marceline felt a deep tug when she focused in on her, a desire forming to be closer to her, despite how rude the girl had been earlier. It was so… intriguing. So much so, Marceline was almost able to forget-
Until Jake sighed and cleared his throat.
"When did you first start doing drugs, dude?" Finn rounded on Jake, anger instantly on his face.
"C'mon man! This is not a friggin' intervention! All that happened was that I experimented and got hurt." Finn huffed standing up angrily. Jake remained seated.
"Don't lie, bro. You know you've been doing too many drugs with Marceline and her friends!" Marceline stopped her playing and snarled at Jake.
"Fuck you. What your dumbass brother does is his own fucking business. I don't smoke anything but bud."
"You gave him the gateway drug!" Jake squealed.
"I gave him a way to shut the fuck up and relax. And those people he was with—I don't fucking know 'em but if I find 'em I'm gonna fuck 'em up." Marceline finished vehemently but quietly. At this time, Jake gave Marceline a strange look and shut up. Finn sat down slowly, unwinding. It was then the girl next to Marceline spoke.
"When I saw Finn, he was at my friend Leah's house. He was dancing along and I think he and Leah had a connection, but her boyfriend Manny was not happy. The next thing I saw was Finn taking shot after shot and Manny daring Finn to do molly." The girl paused, throwing a quick glance at Jake. "I didn't really know him, not enough to monitor him." She lowered her head, casting an apologetic look at Finn, "I didn't see him again till I was about to leave the party."
"And what the hell was happening?" Marceline was tensed up, begging to find some answers as to what the fuck was going on. The girl tossed a disgruntled look at Marceline and continued.
"I guess MDMA mixed with some liquor made him extra confident and he tried to fight Manny outside Leah's house. Why, I dunno. All I know is that Manny's friends jumped in and dumped Finn at the school." She spluttered nervously at the silent tension in the air finishing, "I-I-I came as soon as I found out."
"Not soon enough, apparently." Marceline spat vehemently, directing her outrage at the girl. What Marceline didn't expect was the remark she got back.
"But where were you when your friend was getting pulverized? At least I tried to help him on purpose." Marceline felt her mouth twitch in pure irritation, as the pull she had felt within her surged into something much more volatile. Who the fuck was this chick?
"Right, but you watched the dumbass pop a molly right in front of your fucking face. Real helpful." Marceline fixated her anger on the girl. That tramp didn't even try to intervene for Finn. She only gave a damn when she saw things were getting serious.
The girl flushed, her tan skin erupting in red, her eyes narrowing, and her tone growing cold. She set her body towards Marceline as she stood. "So what you're saying is, you meant to help Finn? You showed up by accident. You were nowhere to be found, since, apparently, you had no knowledge of what Finn was doing last night. I at the very least showed a little concern. Some friend you are." Marceline almost busted an eye vessel with how her anger rose. She shot out of her chair, pushing herself eye to eye with the offending girl.
"Fuck you! Who the fuck are you?" Marceline felt about ready to bounce, her muscles tightening, and adrenaline pumping in preparation for a fight. Before she could spring, Jake stepped in, teamed up with Finn, splitting both girls apart. The blonde girl looked afraid and the slightest bit weirded out to Marceline. That bitch better be scared. Marceline shook Finn off her as well as the collecting her anger inside her, locking it away from her exterior.
She lifted her hands in surrender to Finn. "I'm calm, alright? I'm cool." Finn relented, looking nervously at Jake.
He opened his mouth abruptly, voice crackly, "Marceline, Bonnibel, Jake… I'm sorry. I didn't—I didn't mean to cause problems." Everyone was tensed again, waiting for Finn to finish. "I just—I won't do it again." To Marceline, the guilt and repentance radiating from Finn was damn near palpable. The boy looked like his whole world had fallen to pieces. She almost felt bad for hearing him say that. Marceline couldn't help herself; she reached out to Finn and clasped his shoulder reassuringly.
"You're okay." She looked down at Finn and she knew he felt her comfort. Marceline soon after picked up her axe bass and backpack off the ground. She was again surprised by the voice that assaulted her.
" 'Scuse me. Where do you think you're going?" It was none other than Bonnibel calling her out. Marceline fought to keep her temper from leaking into her voice.
"Home."
"If I'm correct, there's still school going on. And it's illegal to skip school." Bonnibel crossed her arms and looked a little miffed at Marceline's behavior. Marceline's eyes widened as she burst out into a full-hearted laugh. Bonnibel's cheeks tinted pink as she huffed at Marceline. "As student body president, I am required to uphold—" Marceline guffawed again, interrupting Bonnibel again. The blonde fell into a pout and Finn scowled at Marceline.
"C'mon Marceline." Finn implored. Marceline chuckled some more at the two of them.
"Relax, she's just so straight laced. Caught me off guard, y'know?" Marceline shook her head, still grinning, focusing back on Bonnibel. "Look, princess, I'm not going back to school. So I suggest you run along and go be a good little teacher's pet." Bonnibel gasped almost animatedly, huffed and turned tail towards the school. Finn shook his head and shuffled towards the school. Jake cast a long glance at Marceline. She looked back, searching for Jake's reason for staring. He broke contact first, trampling after Finn.
Marceline let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She relaxed slightly and found the racing in her chest she had felt was oddly refreshing. Bonnibel was etched in her mind, stupidly. That girl is fucking annoying. But…
It seemed to Marceline that she wasn't upset with the girl. Just—intrigued. Marceline reached in her back pocket for her phone and instead pulled out a crisp ten-dollar bill, her cellphone at that moment vibrating from her other pocket. Marceline shook her head in mild awe; maybe today was a good day.
=========================-IV
Marceline had only seen the girl one time and already she felt like her head was going to explode.
Marceline snuffed out the J, sitting up and reaching in her back pocket for her new ten-dollar red bowl. She took out a baggie and packed a sizable amount of weed in the pipe. She flicked the lighter once—twice—an annoying third, and inhaled. The pipe hit her throat hard, constricting it. Marceline coughed out the smoke, the burn branding into her throat. She grinned happily, high and sated, deciding she liked the burn. She took another burning hit to finish the bowl and fell onto her back.
The bowl hit differently; it was a much different high. Marceline felt like a goofy cloud in space with zombies. She giggled at that. Her limbs felt like they were encased in pudding and her mind felt spacey.
Marceline rolled onto her belly, the world sloshing like a foamy beer. The sun was caressing her back and the wind careening under her loose tank top. All was perfection. At least it had to be if Marceline couldn't feel her toes in the grass anymore. She let out a snort again, rolling back over to look at the clouds.
Bonnibel popped in her mind again, a slow, wry smile curling onto her face. Marceline relaxed and closed her eyes. She had decided that Bonnibel was alright.