A/N: Yeay! this is the second last chapter before this story is done! I feel so happy and excited!


Marshall walked to the back of the school building during lunch looking for a certain person he had not talked to in a long time. It was fairly easy to spot Ash, he had always made sure to stand out. As Marshall approached him, Ash took a long drag of his cigarette and flashed him a dangerous smile.

"Well, well, well, look what the wind brought us. Hello, Marshall Lee. Long time no see." he said with a low chuckle.

Marshall nudged his chin in response but said nothing and kept his distance.

"Want a smoke?" offered Ash, holding up a pack of cigarettes.

"I quit," replied Marshall quietly.

Ash laughed and said, "Unbelievable! The king has quit smoking!"

Marshall narrowed his eyes at Ash and said, "What have you said to Gumball?"

"Gumball?" asked Ash looking confused, "Ah, you mean the pink nerd. He's cute; I can see why you like him."

"What did you say to him?" he asked, more firmly this time.

Ash took another drag and blew out the smoke slowly, staring at the sky. "Geez Marshall, I don't seem to remember. I did say quite a lot to him."

"Ash, leave Gumball alone!"

"You want me to leave Gumball?"

"Yes. If you want revenge, then come out on me! But leave Gumball out of it."

"Sure."

"Wha-"

"You asked me to leave Gumball and my reply is yes. I will leave Gumball. Marshall you are a very dear friend of mine. Even after what you did to me, I still like you a lot. I will respect your wishes and leave your pink toy... on one condition."

Marshall took a step back and said carefully, "What do you want?"

Ash laughed and continued. "Don't be scared, I won't hurt you. I'm not capable of that. I just want us to be friends again, you know. Hang out with each other like we used to back in the days."

"You're insane! Why would I want to hang out with you?"

Ash took one last drag before flicking his cigarette on the floor and stepping on it. "Did you sleep with him yet? Your pink toy… is he a screamer? Maybe I should try him out, too," he said with a smirk.

"NO! Ash, don't go near him! Please don't approach Gumball."

"Marshall, my dear. You know I'll keep my hands off of him if you agree to my condition. It's that simple."

Marshall glared at Ash before giving up. With a sigh he said bitterly, "Fine."

Ash laughed and strutted towards Marshall, "That's more like it, dude." He patted Marshall on the back and said smugly, "Welcome back."

A week had passed and since the incident with Marshall. Whatever was between the two had fallen apart beyond repair. Few days ago Gumball saw Marshall sitting with Ash in the school's courtyard; he didn't know what to make of it. Had Marshall really gone to Ash because of what he said? Even though seeing the two of them together really hurt, Gumball told himself it was for the best.

Gumball sat in History class as the Lich handed out their reports, Cake sat in the seat beside his, busy texting and hardly paying attention to the inevitable wake-up call to grades.

"Horrible. Horrible! I have never seen such horribly written reports. You'll fail in life! All of you," the Lich screeched as he threw Gumball's paper on his desk.

Gumball picked his paper and his eyes grew wide when he saw his mark.

A C? He thought I got a C on my report?!But how?

Suddenly it clicked in Gumball's mind and he remembered that the night he was supposed to write the report when Marshall had dropped by and things got out of hand.

Damn it! I got so busy dealing with Marshall that I screwed up my report! He sighed as he stuffed his paper in his binder, from the corner of his eyes he saw Cake grip her paper tightly and glare at the teacher. Well, one C won't hurt.

But what Gumball failed to realized was that was just the beginning.

Few days later he got back his Chemistry and Calculus test, and he received a C in both of them. Gumball started to panic, how had he fallen so low so fast? He was sure he had studied for both the tests. One C was fine but three C's was very bad!

Will my average drop? What about the recommendation I got from Ooo University, will they take it back?

Gumball slammed his head against his locker, holding back tears. He crumbled his test papers and stuffed them in his bag. He wasn't going to allow this. He had been a straight A student for as long as he remembered and he was not going to let those C marks ruin it. With a clearer goal in his mind, Gumball walked towards the teacher's office. He was going to ask for a retest and he will get it no matter what!

The Lich agreed to Gumball's proposal, he was going to allow him to write another report. But he won't give him more time and the report must be handed in by the end of the day. On the other hand, Mrs. Betty was kind enough to give Gumball a whole day to study before his retest. Gumball smiled and thanked her before stepping out of the Math office. He continued to the science office with a smile, but he didn't find Ms. Bubblegum there. Knowing the only other place where she would hangout is her secret lab on the third floor, Gumball made his way there as fast as he could.

"…What about tonight?" asked Marceline in mid-sentence when Gumball walked into the lab, her cheeks turned red when she saw him and she jumped down from the stool making a beeline towards the door.

"Marcie, tonight sounds good." said Ms. Bubblegum before Marceline left.

She turned around beaming, an expression Gumball had ever seen on her and replied, "Okay! I won't be late." Then she rushed out.

"Was I interrupting something?" asked Gumball as he approached the teacher.

"Not really, its fine." Ms. Bubblegum was checking papers on her desk. "What can I do for you Gumball?"

Gumball stayed back after school and managed to finish his history report on time and handed it in to his teacher. He closed his locker and was on his way home when Finn and Marceline approached him. He was about to say hi but Marceline pushed him back against the lockers.

"What the hell is wrong with Marshall?" she spat.

"What?" he managed.

"Gumball," started Finn, "I'm sure you've seen it too. Marshall, hanging out with Ash."

"I don't know."

"Don't mess with me, nerd! I know Marshall more than you do," Marceline growled. "And he never- and I mean never- hangs out with Ash! Never."

"Look I really don't know guys. Why are you asking me anyway, shouldn't you question Marshall himself?"

"We are asking you because the last time Marshall was sane he said he was going over to your house to apologize. Did something happen?" asked Finn.

Gumball shook his head and said, "We just fought, okay? I don't know why Marshall decided to be friends with Ash. Did you ask him?"

"He won't fess up!" yelled Marceline as she kicked the lockers. "He's not showing up in time for rehearsals, and he's not even focusing during work! It'll be the end of Nightosphere before it even begins!"

"How bad was your fight?" Finn pressed.

Gumball avoided eye contact with Finn and found interest in a loose thread from his pink sweater. Finn sighed and ran his hand through his thick blond hair. "All right, I guess we'll try to reason with Marshall again."

Gumball didn't get off work that day until 9 pm; the bakery was getting busier and busier as the holidays approached. Of course Mr. Cupcake was paying Gumball for the extra hours he's working, for that he was thankful even though it didn't matter to him. After the whole bakery was empty and every single baked good was sold, Gumball was allowed to leave.

He dragged himself back to his home and threw his bag on the floor. His shoulder was aching and every single muscle in his body wanted to rest. He opened his fridge to look for something to eat but the thought of food made him want to double over. He didn't have much time anyway he had two tests to review for. Gumball managed to stay up for five hours studying for both calculus and chemistry before his brain and eyes gave up. He ended up sleeping on his desk.

When Gumball woke up the next day he didn't feel very well. He knew something was wrong with him but he didn't have time to worry about it. He was surprised he got through his Calculus test even though he didn't remember much of it.

But it was during gym that Gumball couldn't focus. Everything around him was swaying and he had trouble standing up straight.

"Gumball, are you okay?" asked Finn when he caught him before he hit the floor.

Everyone in class gathered to see what was going on.

"I'm fine," breathed Gumball, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Dude, you look pale!"

"I am pale, Finn."

"No, I mean sickly pale."

Suddenly Gumball tasted bile; he covered his mouth with his hand and ran to the washroom to throw up. After he gurgled and washed his face in cold water to wake himself up, he stepped out of the washroom to find Finn and their gym teacher, Mannish Man waiting for him.

"Finn is right, you don't look good," said his teacher. "Why don't you go home and rest, I'll talk to your teachers."

Gumball nodded and silently made his way to his locker to grab his things. He was walking down the school's empty hall ways when he saw Marshall Lee walking towards the gym. Gumball stood taller and looked ahead of him avoiding any eye contact. Marshall was busy talking on the phone he didn't seem to notice Gumball; they passed each other without a word being uttered between them.

Gumball walked out of the school and his head filled with questions, Did Marshall not notice me? How can he not notice me when I was the only one in that hall way? Didn't he notice how sick I looked? Did he not care?

Gumball shook his head and entered his apartment, as he made his way to his bedroom he threw his coat, his keys, his muffler, his boots and his gloves on the floor leaving a trail behind him.

I'll clean it up later, he told himself as he changed into much more comfortable clothes and snuggled in his bed. My chemistry retest... was his last thought.

"...and then he said butt cheeks!"

Finn and LSP were laughing at Marshall Lee's joke when their Calculus teacher walked in and barked, "Take your papers out we're going to have a pop quiz!"

The whole class groaned trying to get her to take her words back, but Mrs. Betty just shook her head and said, "I told you we're having a pop quiz sometime this week. You should've been studying!"

The students pulled out a sheet of paper from their notebooks and copied down the question that the teacher was writing on the board.

"A company wants to create a new 500m3 cylindrical can. The metal for the top and bottom costs $1.20/m2 and the metal for the sides costs $0.40/m2. After the circles for the top and bottom are cut out of a rectangular piece of metal, the remaining metal is scrapped. Find the dimensions of the can that will minimize the cost of the materials," she recited as she pulled out her attendance sheet. "Please make sure you include all diagrams and rough work. When you're done pass the papers to the front."

Marshall took one look at the question and knew he didn't understand a thing. He shook his head and started drawing himself playing a bass axe on his paper.

Gumball would probably know how to solve it, he thought.

"Is Bubba Gumball not here today?" he heard the teacher ask.

Confused, Marshall looked up from his desk trying to catch a glimpse of pink hair, or pink bag. But the seat that Gumball usually occupied was empty.

That's strange, he thought, Gumball's never absent. He always made sure his attendance record is perfect. He will never miss a school day unless…

"Psst! Finn, where is Gumball?"

Finn looked up from his paper at Gumball's seat then said, "He probably decided to stay home and rest."

"Rest? What do you mean?"

"Oh didn't you hear? Gumball threw up at gym class yesterday. He was so pale Mannish man sent him home."

Gumball's sick? Wait. Wait. How did he not realize this? Yesterday when he saw Gumball in the hallway he thought it would be too awkward to pass each other and not say hi, so he pretended to be talking on the phone to look cool. But after he passed him, he realized how uncool and lame it was. So he decided to turn around and call out to him, but Gumball wasn't there anymore. How did I not see how sick he was! Is he taking care of himself now? Damn it! That Gumwad is living alone, he's probably too sick to take care of himself!

Marshall stood up suddenly and the sound of his chair scrapping the floor brought everyone's attention to him.

"Mr. Lee is everything alright?" asked the teacher, raising her eyebrows.

"No. I…I have the cramps!" he said and pretended his stomach was killing him. "It hurts too much. I think I'll go home."

Marshall ran out of the class the students laughter echoing behind him. He got into his car and drove to Gumball's house. He ran into the building and while riding the elevator he kept on tapping his foot.

Please don't die, Gumball!

He reached Gumball's apartment and knocked on his door but there was no response. He knocked again, this time louder and harder.

"Gumball! Gumball, can you hear me? Open up!" The only thing that welcomed him was the silence. The seed of fear that had planted itself in Marshall's heart started to sprout. "Gumball! I know you're still mad at me, but please open the door! I need to know if you're all right!" Marshall knocked on the door some more, but still he got no answer. He clenched his fist and cursed loudly. "Damn it, Gumball!"

Marshall kicked at the door feeling rejected before taking the elevator down and leaving the building. Before he got to his car, he looked up at what he hoped was Gumball's balcony and sighed. He shielded his eyes from the sun when something shiny caught his eye. He walked towards the tree trying to find that shiny thing when he saw a pink round gumball dangling from a crow's nest.

Could it be…? He thought as he hurriedly climbed the tree to the nest, and there he saw the pink gumball attached to a key. The key!

The one that Gumball threw off the balcony! The duplicated copy his mother made! Marshall jumped from the tree just as a big crow attacked him. Marshall shooed it away and ran back into the building hope bubbling inside him.

He unlocked the door to Gumball's apartment and slowly walked inside putting the key in his coat. The whole apartment was dark and quiet; it made Marshall very worried. He followed the trail of clothes to Gumball's room; he picked them up one by one but dropped the whole pile when he saw Gumball snuggled in his Mexican pink blanket, coughing in his sleep.

"Gumball?" he said as he slowly approached the sick boy. Marshall placed his hand on Gumball's forehead and was horrified by how hot his skin felt. He dropped to his knees beside the bed. "Damn it! You scared me man! I thought you were dead! I thought you didn't want to see me anymore!" Marshall ran his hand through Gumball's pink hair before he got up and mumbled, "You really can't take care of yourself when you're sick. Where's Fionna? Shouldn't she be nursing you back to health?"

As if cue Gumball's phone rang Marshall snatched the phone and stepped out of the room fearing the loud noise might wake Gumball up.

Marshall hung up immediately when he saw the caller ID. Fionna had been calling and texting him nonstop since yesterday. He knew he should inform her of Gumball's condition but he didn't want to, so he turned the cell phone off and placed it back quietly on Gumball's bedside table.

Suddenly Gumball coughed and shivered before pulling the cover tighter around himself mumbling incoherently. Marshall ran into the kitchen to grab medicine but didn't find any; he went through all the drawers and cabinets but didn't find anything that might resemble a cold medicine. He couldn't find any in the bathroom either but didn't want leave Gumball all by himself, so he pulled out his phone and called Finn. It was most likely lunchtime at school now and he prayed Finn would be available.

"Hey! What's up?" said Finn cheerfully.

"Finn, I need your help! Gumball is very sick, he has a high fever and I can't find any cold medicine. Can you buy some please? I can't leave him alone! Hurry up, okay!?" he hung up not giving Finn time to respond then he grabbed a bowl and a piece of cloth. He filled the bowl with cold water and rushed back to Gumball's room.

Marshall dipped the cloth in water and gently placed it on Gumball's forehead. Finn was right, he looks really pale.As Marshall continued to wipe Gumball's face, hoping to bring his temperature down a bit, Gumball stirred and pushed Marshall's hand away.

"Hey," said Marshall softly. "Calm down it's me."

"…Lee?" croaked Gumball, his eyes half open, he cleared his throat and said, "What're you doing here?"

"I'm taking care of you because you're too sick to do it."

Gumball rolled his eyes as best as he could in such an ill state and Marshall suppressed a chuckle.

"I meant how you got in here?"

Marshall swallowed hard and said, "I broke in." He decided to hide the fact that he found the duplicated key.

"How-?" tried to ask Gumball but Marshall covered Gumball's mouth with his hand.

"Don't talk too much, you're sick. Just sleep," he instructed.

"I'm fine. It's just stress, lack of sleep and malnutrition," mumbled Gumball, swatting Marshall's hand away.

"Just sleep," said Marshall.

His phone vibrated, startling him. He pulled his it out to see a text from Finn asking for Gumball's address. Quickly he typed the address and sent it before taking the cloth from Gumball's forehead dipping it in water and placing it back on Gumball, who was already sound asleep.

It wasn't long before Finn arrived; Marshall left the sleeping Gumball and opened the door to find that Finn had brought company with him. Cake, Marco, Jake and LSP stood behind him.

"Sorry, they insisted on tagging along. They were worried about Gumball," he shrugged.

"Whatever." Marshall shook his head and took the medicine and a water bottle from Finn before walking away to Gumball's room. "Try to keep quiet" he hissed.

Silently, Marshall closed the door and tiptoed over to Gumball; he placed the medicine and water on the bedside table and sat on the bed.

"Gumball? Wake up. Finn brought medicine," he whispered as he gently shook Gumball awake.

Gumball opened his eyes lazily and tried to sit up before a wave of dizziness washed over him and he almost toppled over the bed. But Marshall's strong arms held him up and helped him in a sitting position. Gumball couldn't tell if he was blushing or if it was the fever. After taking the pills and drinking almost half the water bottle, Marshall helped set Gumball down to sleep.

"Thank you, Marshie..." mumbled Gumball.

Marshall blushed and ran his hand through Gumball's hair, regretting not realizing his feelings toward Gumball sooner. He knew it was already too late; he acted like a jerk and lost him for good. With a sad smile, Marshall kissed Gumball's forehead and walked out of the room.

In the kitchen he found Cake ordering Finn and Jake around, yelling at them and hitting them with a wooden spoon.

"Smaller! I told you to cut them in smaller pieces, you pig brain! Do you think Gumball would be able to eat a potato this big?" she shouted.

Marshall turned around to see Marco sitting on the couch flicking through the TV channels as if nothing was going on. LSP was on the sitting on the couch's other end, busy with his phone.

"Could you guys take it down a notch? Gumball is trying to sleep," Marshall asked meekly.

"Oops! Sorry, sweet cheeks. It was all my bad," said Cake before whacking Finn on the head.

"Ouch! What was that for?" he hissed, while stirring a pot.

"Because I like hitting you," Cake chimed cheerily.

"What're you guys doing anyway?" Marshall demanded, fighting back a smirk.

"We're making porridge for Gumball," said Jake while trying to cut the potatoes into smaller pieces, even though Marshall thought they were already small.

When the porridge was done, Cake handed the tray to Marshall insisting that he should go and give it to Gumball. Marshall walked into the room to find Gumball already awake, trying to sit up.

"What was that noise?" he asked sleepily.

"Oh that?" said Marshall setting the tray of porridge on the bedside table. "That's Cake bullying Finn and Jake."

"Cake, Finn, and Jake? Is everyone here?"

"LSP and Marco are here, too. Everyone is worried about you, Gumwad."

Gumball chuckled and said, "Do tell them I appreciate their visit." He turned his head and saw the tray with a steaming bowl on it, a frightened thought ran through his mind. "What's that?" he asked fearfully.

"Cake made you porridge."

"Cake... made it? In my kitchen?" Marshall nodded. Gumball's eyes widened; his instincts were right! "Why are they in my kitchen? Did they mess it up? Did they break anything? Did they waste anything?" Gumball tried to get up feeling the need to protect his poor kitchen from savages.

"Dude, dude! Hold your horses, your kitchen is fine! They just borrowed it for a minute and right now they're cleaning it up, all right?" Marshall pulled Gumball back to his bed and pulled the covers back over his legs. He stopped short when he noticed the shirt that Gumball was wearing.

"You're still wearing that?" he asked, feeling a lump grow in his throat.

"Dude, I wear it all the time...as pajamas" said Gumball smiling down at the T-shirt that Marshall had given to him on his birthday.

"Why?" he whispered.

"Why not?"

"I thought you'd have already thrown it away. After what happened that night."

Gumball was quiet for minute, thinking over his answer. "Well, this and that are totally different."

"No, they're not, Gumball! They're not! I was jerk to you; you should've thrown that piece of trash away! In fact you should be throwing me out of your apartment right now!"

"I do not see a need for that, Marshall. You have helped me a lot today, and without you I would probably be on Death's bed."

Marshall turned around, giving Gumball his back. No, if Gumball doesn't forgive him now… Why can't Gumball just be mad and annoyed at him? Why can't he curse and spit at him!

"Marshall?" Gumball said quietly.

Marshall shoved his hands in his pockets and walked out of the room. Cake was sitting on Marco's lap giggling as Marco buried his face in her neck. Marshall passed them and slipped on his coat and winter boots.

"You're leaving?" asked Cake breathlessly, her boyfriend removing his face from her neck.

"Yeah."

Cake looked at Marco, sharing a worried look. "Hun, are you alright?" she said as she got off Marco's lap and walked towards Marshall placing her hand on his shoulder. "I think your fight with Gumball has been going on for too long. Maybe it's time to apologize."

"Cake, please. Not now," said Marshall and shrugged off her hand. "It's too late for an apology."

He opened the front door and was surprised to see Fionna standing outside tears in her eyes.

"Ja-Jake texted me…Is Gumball alright?" she sniffed.

Marshall suppressed the urge to yell at her and just walked by her in silence. Fionna walked into the apartment and took off her sapphire blue coat.

"Gumball is fine, babe. He's in his room; you can go check on him," said Cake before giving her a hug.

As Fionna disappeared into the hallway Marco shook his head. "I know sugar, I know. Both Gumball and Marshall are jerks," sighed Cake and kissed Marco's cheek.

When she saw Jake walk out of the kitchen nursing a bag of chips, she took the remote control and threw it at him. Finn burst into laughter and Jake whined, "What in the world was that for?"

"That was for you being stupid!" Cake hissed.

When LSP walked out of the washroom he saw Marshall storming out of Gumball's room.

This is my chance, he thought, I have to like tell Gumball I can't keep my mouth shut anymore!LSP slowly tip toed to Gumball's room closing the door behind him. He walked in to find Gumball eating his porridge.

"Hey, I know, like, this isn't my business, but, like, I thought you had the right to know because you're, like, her boyfriend and all," he whispered so the others wouldn't hear.

"What're you talking about LSP?" said Gumball as he took another spoonful of the porridge. He was already feeling better because of the cold pill he took.

"Okay, like, yesterday while I was on my way to drama class, I was, like, talking to Sophie on the phone and she was, like, telling me all the latest gossip news going on. I was, like, totally minding my own business, I swear! I wasn't even, like, paying attention to that one girl wearing like a really out of style top that bumped into me. I mean, like, who wears that anymore? So anyways, I was walking down the hall when I saw Fionna flirting with that Flameo dude!"

Gumball looked at LSP in confusion. "Who's Flameo?"

"Oh he's, like, the new student who transferred here yesterday. He was, like, all over Fionna and all. I was out of earshot but, like, I could totally read lips and Fionna was, like, all giggling leaning into Flameo, and he was, like, all 'baby you're hot' and they exchanged phone numbers and all. They're like probably on a date now!"

"His name is Flameo?"

"I don't know his name, but he was, like, wearing all red! Even his Mohawk styled hair was, like, red as well. I tell you he, like, dyed it and it's not natural!"

Gumball nodded pretending all this news interested him. LSP looked like he was about to say something when Fionna ran into the room.

Marshall was driving his car with the window rolled down trying to cool off his head, but the bitter cold only managed to give him a runny nose. He closed the window and wiped the snot away with the back of his sleeve when his phone rang. He parked the car in his garage and pulled his phone out; he had received a text from Ash that read:

I'm waiting 4 u at ur rm :)

Marshall sighed and walked into his house carrying his guitar case behind him, he didn't want to meet Ash just yet so he went into his kitchen and grabbed a bright red apple from the fruit bowl.

"You still carry that around?"

Marshall turned around to see his mother standing in the kitchen doorway, her hands folded in front of her. Her hair was up in a neat bun and she was wearing a black knee length pencil skirt, a white button up shirt, and a black blazer with its button undone.

"Why are you here? I thought you wouldn't be back until tomorrow night?"

His mom smacked her red lips and said, "Forgot important documents." She started waving bunch of papers at him.

Marshall took a bite from his apple and tried to walk out of the kitchen but his mom stopped him. "When is that band of yours planning to break up?"

"If you haven't noticed mom, we are a hit. The Nightosphere's new album just sold millions."

His mom rolled her eyes and said, "If I knew this was going to happen I wouldn't have bought you that guitar on your 8th birthday."

Marshall shoved his mother aside and walked up the stairs to his room.

"One day you'll have to take over the family business you know!" he heard her shout.

Marshall walked into the mess he called his room to find Ash sitting on the window sill, smoking. He groaned inwardly and wondered which company he'd rather have, his mother or Ash.

Neither!He thought hotly. Then he faintly heard the sound of the front door close before he heard the sound of a car engine roaring to life. His mum had just left.

"Yo! Where were you? I've been waiting for you for 3 hours!" said Ash acidly.

"I was busy," muttered Marshall.

"Whatever. Anyways, check out my stash," he said slyly and threw Marshall a brown paper bag.

Marshall opened it to find bunch of pills and shots." Is this…Are these drugs!?" he hissed, horrified.

Ash nodded with a smirk, and then he stabbed the butt of his cigarette on Marshall's wall and went to sit beside him on the bed. "Wanna give them a try? It'll be fun."

Marshall shoved the bag back into Ash's hands and said forcibly, "I'm not doing drugs, man! I'm a musician!"

"Suite yourself. You'll miss out. Oh by the way, I have a request."

Marshall eyed Ash and said cautiously, "What do you want?"

"I want back."

"Back?" said Marshall with a weary feeling.

"Mm-hmm," nodded Ash as he took a small pink pill and swallowed it. "I want to be back in the band and back in the Special department."

Marshall glared at him. "No. You lost the right to the band, and you can't have it back."

"Come on! If it weren't for me we wouldn't have won the competition."

"I don't care! That was cheating! What you did to those guys was horrible!" Marshall was yelling now, absolutely livid. "Also, don't say 'we.' You don't belong to the Nightosphere."

"I don't belong? Who was the one who came up with name for the band? I belong to the band just as much as you do!"

"You flippin' don't! Both Marcie and Marco don't want you anymore! We don't need you anyway; just yesterday we got ourselves a new member."

"Why are you fighting with me Marshie? I thought we were friends. Aren't friends supposed to help each other out?"

"DON'T. CALL. ME. MARSHIE!" roared Marshall. "I don't want to be friends with you anymore. Forget the deal!"

"Are you sure about that Marshall? You know-"

"I don't care! Get out of my house now!"

Ash sighed and left the room grabbing the brown paper bag on the way out. "You've changed Marshall. I can't say it's for good."

When Marshall heard the front door click shut he collapsed on his bed, it was such a terribly emotional day. He rolled off his bed and grabbed a box that was hidden under his bed. He opened the box and took out a stuffed toy. He rolled back on his bed crawling under his covers and pulled the stuffed toy closer to himself. "Hambo," he mumbled as he nuzzled the soft fur, "what am I going to do…?"