I keep forgetting things. I also feel like this chapter makes it abundantly clear just how impatient a person I am. Right. See you next week, hope you're all well. :D
Sunlight filtered in the high window, playing with funny shapes across the ceiling, but the drawn curtains prevented more from creeping in. A light weight rested across her hips and despite not really wanting to wake up, Bonnie opened her eyes. She was still on the fold-out bed in the lounge, the bowl of popcorn that Marceline hadn't quite finished had toppled off the bed to the floor, scattering food all over the place. And Marceline herself was still curled up beside her, sleeping with her mouth open slightly and one arm draped over Bonnie's hips. The other arm was folded like a pillow beneath her head.
She looked so peaceful asleep like this. There was no mischievous grin, no teasing in her eyes, it was so easy to forget how easily she frustrated Bonnie. For a moment, Bonnibel simply watched her, heart pounding just a little too hard, that unusual fizzing in her stomach again, a tightness in her chest. She shifted uncomfortably, not wanting to dwell on it overly much. Bonnie turned her attention elsewhere, forced it onto something other than her internal turmoil.
Marceline's dark hair pooled across the mattress, in the low morning light she looked exceptionally pale. Unhealthily so, although Bonnie supposed she always looked pale, but right now, she was a grey so pallid it was definitely not normal. And a mark on her neck stood out slightly from the rest, somewhat darker and slightly shiny. A little jagged line down low on her neck, just where it met the trapezius muscle; it was possibly positioned over a carotid artery (the internal ones maybe?) or perhaps above the external jugular. It was hard to say, and probably not all that important, but the scar was quite prominent, remnant of some deep wound that might have been fatal if it had hit an artery. The scarring was faint, so an old injury, but once it had been puckered and it was still ragged around the edges in its slightly curving path across the skin. It was altogether quite an odd scar.
Another oddity presented itself as Marceline stirred slightly: her ears. Hair fell away revealing ends drawn to a point. Bonnie blinked; they looked similar to how elves are often depicted. She knew from research into analogous topics that such occurrences as pointed ears are not uncommon or even unusual, but it was still weird. Tentatively, she reached one hand out to touch the end, almost as if to convince herself they were real. Marceline did such a good job of hiding them behind her hair… and yes, they were real.
Marceline's eyes snapped open. A smile flickered across her lips, that look in her eyes was back, the slow, dark look that made Bonnie's heart skip a beat. Suddenly self-conscious – and embarrassed to be caught touching her friend's ears – Bonnie retreated.
"Good morning, Bonnibel." Something in the way she spoke was off, weird, just as creeping and soft as the shine in her eyes. Bonnie's mouth was inexplicably dry, her palms moist and there was a heavy weight resting inside her chest that she didn't like. She tried to roll away, but Marceline grabbed her wrist.
At first, Bonnie worried why, but then Marceline twisted her hand again – as she had done last night – checking the time. Also as last night, electricity ran along her nerves, lightning striking her spine and she shivered, wrenching her hand away. Marceline's grin broadened as she sat up, stretching and slid off the bed.
"So what's on your geek timetable today, Bonnie?" she asked heading for the kitchen. Bonnibel decided to overlook the part where Marceline ignored the mess on the floor. She was opening cupboards up, presumably looking for food. She hoped they weren't out already.
"Nothing much. Once I've mailed my paper I'm probably going to hang out with Rain," Bonnie informed her with a shrug. Everyone had been bugging her about taking a break for weeks now. She might as well give in and get it over with.
"Cool." Marceline had her head buried in the pantry now. "I'm going out with Marshall and Bubba. Be back here for dinner a'ight? I've got a good movie for you." She backed out with a disappointed expression painted all over her face. It was pitiful.
Bonnie sighed. "I'll get some cereal while I'm out." Then she trudged off to get changed, leaving a now beaming Marceline in the kitchen with a lollipop in one cheek. She ate so badly.
So, maybe she slammed the door on the post box a little harder than she needed to. It made her feel better. So what if she had an expression like a thunder cloud on her face, while not really necessary, that made her feel better also. What was wrong with her?
She kicked a pebble across the footpath and jammed her hands into her pant pockets. Scowling, she stalked off to meet with Rain, wondering how she was going to sort out this… this… thing inside. No… she knew what it was and it was the scariest of thoughts. There was no way she was bringing it up at lunch. No way.
Still grimacing like she had a sour taste in her mouth, she stormed into the little café where she was meeting her friends and dropped into a seat without even bothering to look around. She just glared into the top of the table and wondered how this could have happened. She'd been so resolute in not liking Marceline and now look what had happened. Bonnie shook her head and exhaled heavily. It… hurt.
"What's got you in a twist, Elle?"
Her eyes whipped up just as Rain was sliding into the seat next to her. Jake and Finn pulled chairs out and flopped down, both of them looked somewhat worried and somewhat happy. It was a bizarre combination that only they could pull off.
"Oh you know…" Bonnie said noncommittally. She shrugged and glanced out the window, arms folded across the table in front of her. Uh-uh, she needed to put on a happy face and play pretend. Rain would be all over her mood otherwise. "Just… Marceline." It was funny how her heart leapt at the name.
"She keep you up late again?" asked Finn. He pounded a fist into his open palm: an implication that wasn't hard to understand.
"No… well… a little." This was stupid. "I was doing work, then we watched a movie… well, she watched a movie and I fell asleep." Which was true. After a fashion. She felt bad for kind of lying to her friends though, and to be honest, she was lying to herself. This was not healthy, she needed therapy.
Rain peered at her, amber eyes worried. "You need to sleep."
"You know not too long ago you were telling me I needed to do more 'fun things'," Bonnie said, her tone only a little bit more acerbic than she meant it. "Now I need sleep more." She smiled, trying to take the edge out of her words. It probably didn't work. "Come on, Rain. I can't have everything."
Her friend sighed; the closest she'd ever come to ceding. "Well at least she gets you out of those books sometimes," Rain mumbled. "You know I worry about you."
"I know. But I'm fine, I promise." This time, the smile was completely fake. Fine… bah. All she felt was hollow.
They never did much when they got together, mostly just sat around talking. Sometimes they'd go shopping; occasionally they'd even see a movie. Today they went to the park and sat in the shade under a tree. It was too hot in the sun, but it was a nice day, not a cloud to be seen. Jake had the forethought to bring a picnic basket with snacks and drinks. It was a nice day really, the anxiety in Bonnibel's stomach even receded to the point where she could almost forget about Marceline. Almost.
She knew that Rain was aware something was up and that troubled her. Rain never left a stone unturned; it was like a sixth sense she had for detecting when Bonnie was evading something.
When the sun hit its apex they wandered across the park to the pond where an ice-cream stall was set up. It was pleasantly refreshing under the baking late spring sun. Well… there wasn't really spring in Australia, but it still wasn't as hot as summer. There was that.
Afternoon faded leaving golden brown light suffusing everything, motes glittered orange and heat lingered defiantly in rocks and bitumen. Slowly, very slowly, the heat of the day was sucked away as dusk settled its glowing wings around them. Now the anxiety wore off and was replaced by anticipation. It wasn't proper that she should look forward to going home as much as she did.
Bidding her friends a good evening, she hurried only a tad faster than usual to her car. Of course, she stopped at the market on the way back to get cereal; the sugary kind Marceline liked best, as many boxes as she could carry. There were butterflies of all things bounding around inside her as she unlocked the door to their apartment and swung it open. She pondered idly about the night before, then decided that reading into things was ridiculous. It was nothing. Friends, they were friends. Nothing else.
With a metallic clatter and a soft rustling whump she deposited the keys and grocery bags on the table. It had remained relatively uncluttered for two months, a success in and of itself. Marceline burst into the kitchen, grinning madly.
"Oh, Bonnie, thank you!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around Bonnibel's neck. Her breath hitched before Marceline pulled away. "I missed my cereal something fierce." She beamed and proceeded to fill a bowl. "Glad you're back, I've got just the thing for tonight." Marceline waggled a finger and shoved a spoonful of cereal into her mouth. "Movie and junk food. We're not eating dinner."
Bonnie rolled her eyes but couldn't stop from smiling like a kid. Her heart galloped in her chest; Marceline's smile had a strange power over her that she didn't dislike. But she did have to clench her hands into fists to stop them from trembling.
"What movie?" she asked around a sudden catch in her throat. Get a hold of yourself, Bonnibel, she scolded herself.
But then Marceline's lips twitched up into that little half-smile that made her chest tighten and tingles run down her spine and she gave up. It was just too hard not to care. So she stopped trying. "You'll have to wait and see." Bonnie sat down hard on the lounge, folded back neatly into a chair.
Then, feeling Marceline's dark eyes on her and not able to stand it, she bounced to her feet and hustled down the hall. A shower would fix everything. Clear her head, set things straight. Yes, that's what she needed.
The shower didn't help.
Marceline had already unfolded the couch and set up the television. The side of the bed was strewn with bags, bowls, packets, plates and buckets of junk food. It was quite the assortment and Bonnie wondered where it had come from. It wouldn't surprise her if Marceline had gone shopping. The woman herself was on her knees, already in pyjamas, bouncing excitedly on the bed, waiting for Bonnibel.
Bonnie eyed the arrangement nervously; this didn't seem like a good idea. But that didn't stop Marceline. The woman never seemed to think about things 'being a good idea' she just did them and to hang with the consequences. She grabbed Bonnie's wrist and dragged her rather forcefully onto the couch, still smiling.
"Come on, Bonnie," she chirped. "I know you like to fall asleep in movies, but trust me. This one you'll want to see through to the end."
Trust her… That was a novel concept. After so many horror, thriller, zombie infested and otherwise gruesome flicks, Bonnibel was running a little short in that department. It would take something quite incredible to change her mind now.
Marceline reached around her, black hair falling in waves everywhere, to grab the remote and a bag of lollies. Once again her heart skipped a beat, this time from being so close. She closed her eyes and bit the inside of her cheek.
As it turned out, it wasn't so bad. Once the movie started (a film from the 90's called '10 Things I Hate About You'), a romance of all things and one Bonnie didn't mind, it was easy to forget about Marceline. Of course there was singing involved, and rhymes and poetry and all kinds of definitely Marceline-esque things. Skipping dinner to eat nothing but sugary foods didn't even bother her. Still, it didn't take her long to begin a losing battle with sleep.
They couldn't have been more than half-way through the film before she stood, muttering about needing to go to bed. The look on Marceline's face was strange, almost hurt. She grabbed Bonnie by the wrist, gently this time, and pulled her back down.
"Just watch the movie, Bonnie," she murmured, not letting go of her wrist. She could feel her heart rate pick up and couldn't fathom how Marceline didn't feel it too. "This is a bed too, right? You can sleep here just the same."
She leaned against the back of the chair, one arm around Bonnie's waist to keep her down. Her mind kept telling her she'd given up, remember, so why keep arguing. Bonnie curled up against Marceline's side, face buried in her hair but she couldn't sleep, not with her heart hammering like this. Not with Marceline's fingers in her hair.
Bonnie sighed; trying to blot out everything she could and just relax. That warmth inside flared brightly, sending tingles along every nerve in her body, making her shiver, making her breath come short, and it kept sleep at arms' length.
"You alright?" Marceline's voice vibrated in her chest and the question was soft, gentle.
She just nodded.
"Don't lie to me."
How the flip did she know I was lying? Bonnie thought, panic rising. She scrunched her eyes shut and twisted her face, trying to hide.
Marceline pushed her back totally thwarting that idea. "Tell me what's wrong?"
Bonnie shook her head. She couldn't speak, her throat was clogged with wool and her tongue was dry.
Those dark eyes… augers… held her gaze. Mesmerising again, concerned… scared? What? The corners of Marceline's mouth twitched, but not with a smile this time, with something else. Bonnie couldn't quite place it but it made her heart cry.
"Tell me." And her tone was so full of fear, of warmth, of… of… heartache?… something, whatever it was, Bonnie couldn't ignore it. But she still couldn't speak. And her face was flushed, heart racing, blood-thunder drumming in her ears and warm, so warm, all over.
She couldn't speak and she couldn't not answer. Her hands tangled in Marceline's collar and she pulled her close, planting a soft kiss on the corner of her mouth.
Every muscle in Marceline's body froze at the same time. Then they melted. Marceline turned her head slightly and it was a proper kiss now. Yes, that's what it was.
The bubbling warm in Bonnie's stomach exploded, shooting lances of light everywhere. Sweet, like… like late spring rain and strawberries. Golden like sunlight; the sun suddenly didn't seem so bad anymore. She was weightless.
Marceline leaned in, pressing her against the couch, hands on the small of her back, insistent. Bonnie didn't care. Not about a thing, she wrapped her arms around Marceline's neck, hands in her hair. She tasted strawberries again, her new favourite food.
Then Marceline broke away, eyes shining, half-smile canted across her lips, teeth glinting in the flickering light from the movie. "What was that?" Her tone was light, airy and her fingers fiddled absently with the hem of Bonnie's shirt.
"Oh… I don't know… Chemistry or something," Bonnie replied, trying her best to sound cavalier. It probably didn't work, she wanted strawberries.
The smile cracked slightly, tilting up a little higher, making Bonnie's heart soar. "Science is awesome," Marceline muttered. "How about you teach me something?"
They didn't see the end of the movie.
