Chapter four:

Lesson flew by with Marceline doing her best to pay attention, but the thoughts of Bubblegum and Marshall going out together kept flooding her mind. It was crippling to think about, but no matter how much she tried to consentrate on the lesson, she couldn't forget. The thoughts were like a plague on her broken mind. Was it a date? Were they going to kiss and become boyfriend and girlfriend? Does that mean Bubblegum likes Marshall? And if that's the case, Marshall's been known to move fast in a relationship, so what if he takes her back to his and they have-

"Marceline!" She was snapped out of her thoughts by the teacher. "Is there something else more interesting to be paying attention to?" He asked with a scowl clear on his skinny face.

"Uh, n-no, sir." She looked around, seeing her class mates all staring at her and whispering again. Jeez, knock it off already.

"Well then please pay attention. With your grades as they are, you really don't have time to be daydreaming about stupid things" He turned his attention back to the board.

His words made Marceline's blood boil. How dare he? Who did he think he was degrading his students in front of everyone like that? Marceline was well aware that no teacher at this cursed school liked her, but to embarress her like that? What an ass.

She let out a heavy sigh and looked down at her book, jotting down some notes that she didn't really pay much attention to as she wrote.

Bubblegum glanced at Marceline, her lips pursed slightly as she examined her features. She wasn't sure what Marceline was thinking inside her head, but she could tell by the expression on her face that she wasn't dealing with those thoughts well.

She let out a gentle sigh and turned back to her work, trying to consentrate rather than let all the complicated things going on get to her. Her grades were important, after all.

Class had finally finished and the two girls made their way to their table for break. Marceline tugged on the bottom of her shirt and bit her lip, wondering if she should say something about her and Marshall. She wanted to put her mind at ease, to know it wasn't a date. But so what if it was? Who was Marceline to say who Bubblegum could or couldn't go on dates with? But even though she knew that, she couldn't help but feel a nasty, bitter feeling well up inside of her. She didn't know why, but she didn't want Marshall to take Bubblegum out. She didnt want them to be alone together. She knew it was selfish, but she couldn't stop herself from feeling this way.

Mustering up the courage, she began to speak.

"Hey, Bubble-"

"Hey, Bonnie" Marshall cut in, throwing his arm around Bubblegum's shoulder. It was timed perfectly and Marceline was unable to say what she had wanted to say, but that wasn't the biggest problem. He had called her 'Bonnie' which was Marceline's special nickname for her. She had made that nicknamed from when they were young kids, when it was just her and Bubblegum. Marceline was also the only one to use it, so why would Marshall call her by that name when he had no past to it? Or was Marceline just overreacting? I mean, he had every right to call her whatever he wanted, right? So why did it anger her so much?

Marceline lowered her head as the two walked over to the table, laughing and chatting away and forgetting Marceline altogether. Her heart sunk a little deeper as her words went unspoken, building up inside her.

"Hey, Marceline. What are you doing all by yourself?" A familiar voice asked. Marceline looked up and to her side to see a lock of golden hair and a pair of blue orbs staring at her with concern and wonder.

"Oh...hi, Finn." She sighed, shaking her head and putting on a smile. "I was on my way to our place, obviously"

"But you looked kinda sad" He replied instantly, like he knew she was going to say that and already planned his reply. "Weren't you with Bubblegum until Marshall came over?"

"If you knew, then why ask?" She sighed, sounding irritated.

"Because I knew you'd lie anyway. You're always like that, Marceline." He smiled "You're too proud, so you act like things don't bother you when they really do." Marceline was a little shocked with Finn's words. For an idiot, he sure did observe a lot. But maybe that was it? He wasn't just an idiot that did stupid things to make everyone laugh, but maybe in all those moments he was quiet, he was observing everyone's behaviour. Maybe...

"Listen, I don't know what you're jabbering on about, but let's just go before we miss all of break." Marceline began to walk with Finn beside her.

"Marceline, can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Could it be that you're in love with Marshall?" Marceline stopped in her tracks and looked back at Finn with wide eyes and blushed cheeks.

"What the hell kind of question is that?" She scowled. "Of course not!"

"Oh" Finn looked straight with a somewhat difficult stare, as if he was surprised he was wrong. Marceline let out a sigh and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Why would you even think that?"

"Because you've been acting kinda sad since Bubblegum and Marshall got closer." He replied, cocking his head to the side slightly. "So I guess that's why I thought so. Sorry."

"Sorry?" She rose an eyebrow "Jeez, Finn. You don't just ask people if they're in love with someone."

"Well...normally I wouldn't. I mean, normally it's none of my business and so it's okay, but..." Finn's eyes darted to the side, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

"Spit it out, Finn." She sighed.

"Well...I thought that if you dated Marshall, Bubblegum would have time to notice me..." Of course. Finn shifted uncomfortable as his confession sunk in to Marceline, shocking her slightly. Of course, she had a hunch that Finn liked someone, but she always thought Fiona was more his thing. But no, he liked Bubblegum.

"Finn, that's not how it works." Marceline sighed, a gentle smile pulling at her lips as she closed her eyes. "Bubblegum already notices you anyway. She notices you as her friend and nothing more. Just because Marshall might date someone else, doesn't mean she'll end up loving you. I mean, if she loves Marshall, then him dating someone else will hurt her and she won't be happy." She paused for a minute, looking back at Finn as she placed her hands on his shoulders. "Finn, if you love Bubblegum, then you want her to be happy. You wouldn't want to use her pain for your gain, you know what I'm saying?"

Finn stared at Marceline and his bright eyes dimmed slightly as they looked down on the floor.

"But I...I love her, Marceline. I can't take this constant ache any longer."

"Then let her go, Finn. Sometimes...sometimes love doesn't always work both ways, no matter how much you try. So you have to pick yourself up and say "Alright, fine" and move on. Then it'll hurt a little less with time and eventually you'll find someone else." Marceline smiled, ruffling the younger boys hair. "Besides, you're too young to be worrying about love and all that gross stuff. Just focus on being young and having fun because believe me, you miss that when you grow up." She joked, but behind her laughter was an honest truth.

"Marceline, has that ever happened to you?" Finn asked curiously. He had every right to be curious when Marceline had said something like that. I mean, it would have shocked anyone for her to say something like that.

"No, not yet, Finn. But everyone will in life." She smirked. "Now come on before we really miss break." She laughed, pulling the young boy by the hand and dragging him all the way to their table where everyone was already waiting.

"Oh, greetings. You two are awefully late." Gumball raised an eyebrow. "And together? Weren't you with Bubblegum, Marceline?"

"Yeah, but I ran into Finn in the hall and he needed help with something." Marceline replied casually, sitting next to Gumball. "Why, is it a problem?"

"Not at all. I was just a little surprised, is all." He smiled. "But is there something troubling you, Finn? You look a little blue"

"Nah, I'm fine. I just got a detention for forgetting my homework again and I know my mum is going to ground me" He shrugged it off swiftly, and it almost amazed Marceline how well he had done it. But it made her realise a lot more about him. He was no longer just 'some kid' to her. She felt herself understanding the pain he was feeling, but she wasn't quite sure why.

She glanced over at Bubblegum, who was laughing at something Marshall was saying. A small scowl formed on her face as she looked away, distracting herself with Gumball and Finn's conversation.

The rest of the day flew by, and before Marceline knew it, it was home time. She pulled her bag onto her back and saw Bubblegum off before she left to meet up with Marshall.

"You're going to meet up with Marshall now, right?" She asked casually.

"Yeah. Maybe I'll give you a call later." She gave a small smile, but her eyes shifted uncomfortably.

"Right. Well have fun." Marceline smiled awkwardly before turning away and heading off. She wanted to say what she wasn't able to earlier, but she felt like it was too late now untill.

"Marceline"

"Hmm?" She turned to see Bubblegum looking at her with a somewhat worried expression.

"Are you okay?" Her question caught Marceline off guard a little. "It's just that you've seemed a little-"

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it, Bonnie. Just go and enjoy your date with Marshall." She smiled before turning her back again and walking off. She felt a hot, burning sensation on her eyes as she got further and further from Bubblegum, who just watched her leave. The weight on her own heart was unbareable at this moment, but why? It was because the silence comfirmed it.

Her footsteps got faster as she disappeared from Bubblegum's view, running through the sea of students. Bubblegum lowered her head, silence tugging at her heart as she turned away to meet Marshall. She was only going out with him because she believed it would take her mind off of Marceline, but deep down, she wanted to deny it, she wanted to chase after her and grab her hand. She wanted to laugh with her like she did before.

Marceline fell back into her locker, sighing heavily as she ran her hand through her long, black hair and thought long and hard.

"Ugh!" She hit her fist into her locker as the thoughts began to irritate her. Why was she feeling this way? A few students glanced at her in her random outburst, but she payed them no mind. She had gotten good at ignoring stares and whispers now anyway. However, there was one thing she wasn't expecting.

"Marceline?" Gumball ran over to her and grabbed her hand. "What are you doing? You could really damage yourself doing that." He examined her right hand carefully, unaware of her burning eyes as she tried her best not to cry in front of him.

"I'm fine, just leave it." She snapped, pulling her hand away and facing her locker so he couldn't see her. She would have made a run for it, but she knew he'd call Simon about it, so it was best to just stay.

"Marceline, what happened?" His voice was gentle, realising she was more upset than angry. "You can tell me." His hand squeezed her shoulder gently before he turned her around slowly to look at her. "Oh, sweetie..." He could see her fighting back the tears, and he could tell it hurt her to do just that. "Let it out" He sighed, pulling her into his chest.

"...G-Gumball.." It was all she could say before the tears streamed from her eyes and stained his bright blue shirt. He rubbed her back gently, giving her all the support he could with no words. He knew that nothing he said would help right now. He wasn't about to say such empty words like "It's okay" or "I know how it is" So he waited until she could explain herself. Until then, he would just sooth her as best he could.

After a while, the hallways became empty and it was just the two of them. Marceline's shaking body began to calm itself and her breaths became steady again. She pulled away, wiping her tear stained face and looking around awkwardly.

"Are you okay now?" He smiled gently, resting his hands on her shoulder.

"Yeah..." She nodded, her voice still small.

"You wanna tell me what this is all about?"

"..." She was unable to meet his gaze, but nodded her head.

"Alright, then you can tell me on the way home." He smiled. She nodded again and the two made their way out of the school building in silence. It was only until they left the school entirely that they began to speak again.

"It must be something serious to make you cry like that, Mar-Mar." Gumball teased, but his voice and tone was gentle enough to sound sincere and caring, and he really was.

"I don't really know" She shook her head.

"Hmm?"

"I mean, I don't know the reason behind it all. I got angry because I didn't know and I guess the crying was from frustraition." She said casually, as if it was nothing. But in all honesty, it was burning into her. She had cried because it hurt, but she didn't know why it hurt and that made her angry and frustraited at herself.

"What don't you know?" Gumball asked, looking at her curiously.

"My feelings, I guess." She sighed. "Maybe I'm just tired from all this trying and trying and not getting anywhere."

"That would make sense, I guess." He smiled. "But Marceline, you could tell her this and I'm sure she'd understand and forgive you. If she knew how it really was, then I'm sure you'll be the way you were"

"Don't sugggest that, okay?" She hissed. But truthfully, all she wanted was to hear Bubblegums soothing words again. She just wanted to fall into her warm arms and be held by her.

"Alright, I wont do it again." He vowed, smirking a little as he did. "But Marceline?"

"Hmm?"

"Chin up, okay?" His words caught her off guard and she didn't know why, but it made her eyes water again. 'Chin up'. Why was something so simple powerful enough to bring her to tears again? But no, she faught those tears back and shook them off.

"I'll try." She replied. As they walked in silence, Gumball glanced back at her, a gentle, yet pained smiled on his face. What was going through her broken mind? What pain was she feeling? Whatever it was, he knew he could feel it too. He wanted to protect her and make her smile and laugh, but he knew he didn't have that power, not like Bubblegum did.

"Well, thanks for walking me home, Gumball." She turned to him and smiled as she stood at her front door. "You wanna come in for a drink?"

"No, it's alright. I'll leave you to it." He smiled softly.

"Gumball, don't make me drag you in here." She smirked with a raised eyebrow. "Come one, I need some company" When she made such a request, he couldn't turn her down. She made it sound like a lighthearted joke, but he knew it was a serious plea for him to stay. She needed the friendly company to keep her from feeling lonely and thinking about Bubblegum.

"Alright." He sighed, rolling his eyes playfully and following Marceline into her house.

-Meanwhile-

"I don't get what the big deal is, Bonnie" Marshall sighed. "Loosen up. The whole point of this date was forget her, not talk about her."

"Please stop calling me that." Bubblegum replied. "I know you mean well, but it's Marceline's thing. You using it isn't helping me forget."

"Alright, alright." He rolled his eyes before looking at her and watching her gentle features crinckle with thought. He sighed, giving in to his own feelings. "Look, I'm sorry. But can we just enjoy ourselves now? I want to cheer you up, so I'm sorry if I'm being an ass."

Bubblegum rolled her eyes a bit before nodding. She wasn't really able to consentrate on it at all since Marceline left her after school. They had left with so little words and it tore a whole in her heart. She wasn't sure why, but Marceline seemed distant about something all day. She wanted to talk about it like they normally would, but Marceline rejected her and acted like nothing was wrong.

"Bubblegum?" Huh? She was snapped out of her thought by Marshall, who was staring at her with a brow raised. "You're thinking about her again, aren't you?"

"N-no." She lied. "I was thinking about what I wanted to eat when you take me for food later."

"Good save" Marshall smirked. "So have you decided?"

"I figured it would be better to see the menu, but I have a rough idea of what I want to eat."

"Alright. Well then lets go." They continued their game of bolling and headed to a resturaunt after. Marshall was in a bit of a sulk since he lost the game, and Bubblegum was sure to keep that memory burned into his mind as she continued to tease him about it. And for those carefree moments of bliss, she did in fact forget about marceline and the feelings that tugged at her sinking heart constantly. It would be wrong to say she was happy, but she was enjoying herself nonetheless.

"Since I won, does that mean you'll treat me to the biggest ice cream sunday they have?" Bubblegum teased, sitting in her seat.

"How about we make a new deal." Marshall smirked. "If you stop teasing me about losing, I'll buy you anything you want, but as soon as you crack up, you're paying yourself."

"That's no fair. You already told me to leave my purse at home."

"Then you better keep those pretty little lips closed." He chuckled.

"You play a mean game, Marshall." narrowed her eyes on him before a small smirked tugged at her lips. "But you're on."

"Good. So what'll it be?" He asked, looking through his own menu while Bubblegum scanned through hers.

"I guess I'll have something simple...hmm" After they spent some time thinking about what they wanted, they finally placed their order and waited for their food, just chatting about simple things until it got to them. When it did, they continued to chat about lighthearted things and eat.

"So, you up for that big ice cream yet, ?" Marshall teased, noticing how full Bubblegum looked.

"I don't even want to think about ice cream" She giggled.

When they left the resturaunt, it was dark outside and they walked back to Bubblegum's together.

The air was clear and the night wind blew gently threw their hair and refreshed them as the moon shon down with it's gentle glow and the night decorated with stars. Even if they shared no words, the silence was bliss.

"Hey, Bubblegum?" Marshall broke the silence, a small blush creeping on his cheeks. "Did you enjoy yourself tonight?" Bubblegum looked up at him and smiled.

"Yeah, I did. Though I'll be honest, I wasn't sure I would at first." She said honestly, recieving a somewhat started looked from Marhsall.

"Why's that?"

"Well because of everything that's been distracting me lately. I just didn't think it would take my mind off it, but it did, so thank you, Marshall." She smiled, standing still and looking up at him again. They were now outside her house, so it was time to say goodbye.

"It's no problem, Bubblegum." He blushed, but managed to keep a smirk on his face. He was happy knowing he was able to cheer her up, at least.

"Hey, Marshall?"

"Hmm?"

"Goodnight." Bubblegum leaned up and Marshall felt a pair of warm lips against his cold cheek. She met his gaze again, her currulean orbs staring into his red ones. He couldn't control his urges anymore, he just wanted to kiss her so badly.

"Bubblegum, I-"

"I'll see you tomorrow" She smiled softly before letting go of his hands and walking up to her door, heading into her house and leaving him there in silence.

"...I love you." He muttered to himself, turning his gaze to the ground. "But I'll wait a little longer if you need me to."

"Goodness, is that the time?" Gumball jumped up, noticing it was 9:48pm.

"Don't sweat it" Marceline waved an arm in the air before pulling herself up. "You can stay here the night if you want."

"Are you sure? I mean, I'll need to wash my cloths too."

"Yeah, it's cool. Feel free to use the shower whenever." Gumball nodded his head and ruffled her hair.

"Thanks, Mar-Mar." He had been at her place for hours now, just chatting about random things and laughing. However they hadn't done it alone. There were several empty cans of beer scattered on the floor. They weren't hugely drunk, just enough to get a buzz and to feel like nothing mattered. And it was okay since they were both 18 years old anyway.

"Don't mention it. I kinda owe it to you anyways. You've been a good friend, Gumball." Marceline smiled, throwing an arm around his shoulder. "I love you, man."

"...Marceline.." Gumball felt his cheeks flush a shade of pink as his rather drunk friend leaned her face closer.

"Don't worry, I'm not confessing. I love you like a brother" She giggled. "Unless you want me to be confessing."

"N-no..." Gumball sighed. "I love you too, Marceline." His heart felt heavy, like those hours of laughing together just washed away as her drunk words slurred out. And although they may have been drunk slurs, they were truth as well as Gumball's. However Gumball's words were more than drunk slurs, but his honest feelings quietly spilt out into the air only to be forgotten the next day.

But just then, he felt something on his cheek. Something he had longed for; Marceline's lips. he had planted a soft kiss on his cheek before falling back onto her sofa and closing her eyes. Clearly she was flat out now, but Gumball couldn't help but chuckle and smile at her before leaning down and planting a kiss on her forehead.

"Goodnight, Marceline." He whispered before heading up into the shower.

AN: I don'th know this chapter is a bit too short, but I'll probably update tomorrow anyway. Thank you for the kind reviews~!