Monday 27th January 2014.
On Friday, Bonnibel found out that German was an available class at her new school. She was overjoyed. She'd excelled in German back in New York, and it was her favourite class, so as soon as she found out that she could take it, she went to the office to request a timetable change. It took up half of her lunchtime, but she managed to drop Art – which she had taken up because there was nothing else – and replace it with German. Her timetable had changed about a little bit, but it was nothing she couldn't get used to. Her English Literature was where she previously had English Language, and Literature was where Art had been. German took up her old Literature spot.
She still got confused when she went to school on Monday.
She knew she had German after lunch, and when she checked her timetable at break, she realised she had absolutely no idea where the German room was. She had stopped using her map after her first week; she hadn't thought about the possibility of switching classes, and had thrown it in the garbage once she'd become comfortable with her surroundings. She'd asked her friends, and none of them had any clue, either. She even asked Marceline when she sat down in History.
"You don't know where this room is, do you?" She spread her new timetable out on the desk between her and Marceline, who was pulling her notebook out of her backpack.
Marceline scanned over Bonnibel's timetable, following the other girl's finger. She took the wire of her left earphone from her mouth which she'd been chewing, finally sending Bonnibel a small nod. "Yeah. I know where it is."
"Could you show me?" Bonnibel questioned, folding up her timetable and placing it neatly in the front pocket of her pink backpack. "I'd really appreciate it."
"I guess," Marceline shrugged. "Also, we have Language and Literature together."
"You were creeping on my schedule?" Bonnibel chuckled, shooting Marceline a small smile.
"I was curious." Marceline replied, running a hand through her messy black hair.
Bonnibel's eyes fixed on Marceline's left wrist, which was almost completely covered with brightly coloured bracelets; probably the only time Marceline would ever wear any colour other than black or grey, Bonnibel guessed. "You have a lot of bracelets."
Marceline's eyebrows arched, and she followed Bonnibel's gaze, examining her arm as if she didn't realise they were there. "Oh…yeah, I guess. They're mostly just Warped Tour wristbands – I go every year – and band merch."
"Warped Tour?" Bonnibel felt a frown settle across her face. "What's that?"
"It's a huge tour of like thirty different bands and artists. It's pretty rad." Marceline shrugged. "People say it's like a summer camp for bands."
"It sounds like fun." Bonnibel commented.
"It is." Marceline assured, circling one of the wristbands with her forefinger. "I've been every year since 2010. 2012 was my favourite year, probably."
Bonnibel smiled. "I take it you're going this year?"
Marceline nodded, her side-bangs falling into her eyes. "Yeah."
Bonnibel watched as Marceline ran a hand through her hair. "So, you'll walk me to my German class at the end of lunch."
"Yeah, I guess." Marceline played with the hem of her t-shirt, before meeting Bonnibel's blue eyes. "Where shall I meet you?"
Bonnibel shrugged. "I don't mind. I'll come to Simon's classroom if you want."
Marceline nodded. "Yeah, okay."
Bonnibel smiled. "Thank you in advance, by the way."
Marceline didn't reply, and instead began scribbling in her notebook, positioning herself so Bonnibel couldn't see what she was writing. Bonnibel watched the girl for a while, but eventually turned her attention to the lesson.
"You're a real pain in my ass, princess." Marceline complained as Bonnibel insisted on stopping off at the cafeteria to buy a snack.
"Back at you, Marcy." Bonnibel stated. "Especially when you call me princess."
"Will you stop fucking calling me Marcy? It's not cool, man." Marceline sighed, running a hand through her hair.
"Stop calling me princess and we have a deal."
"Fine, whatever." Marceline huffed. "We're not stopping at the cafeteria, though."
"If I drag you, you might have to." Bonnibel stated, gripping onto Marceline's wrist and pulling her along.
Marceline groaned, but didn't complain as Bonnibel pulled her through the double doors to the cafeteria. "You're too much, nerd."
Bonnibel kept a tight grip on Marceline's arm as she dragged her through the cafeteria. "Don't act like you can't tolerate it."
"Fuck off." Marceline muttered, yanking her arm from Bonnibel's grip. "I'm not going to escape, you know. You don't need to keep me on a leash."
"Promise?"
Marceline huffed. "I promise. Just hurry the fuck up and buy whatever you're buying."
"Is there any need for that language?" Bonnibel chided, picking up an apple and delving in her backpack for her money.
"Is there any need for your face?" Marceline shot back.
"Good one." Bonnibel laughed, paying for her apple and walking out of the cafeteria and almost straight into Lady and LSP. She noticed Marceline tense up. "Hey guys."
LSP eyed Marceline as if she was some sort of rabid animal ready to attack. "Hi, Bubblegum."
Lady tried her best to ignore the pale girl stood biting at her fingernails. "Bonnibel."
"Why aren't you guys outside?" Bonnibel questioned.
Lady smiled. "LSP wanted me to wait with her for Brad."
Bonnibel nodded. "I see,"
"So, what're you two doing?" Lady asked.
"Oh, Marceline's showing me the way to German." Bonnibel turned to the other girl with a smile. "Right?"
Marceline looked up, eyebrows arched. "What? Oh, yeah."
"I didn't know you two were friends." Lady said, a tone of disapproval in her voice.
"We're not." Marceline was quick to reply.
"Yeah, we're best friends."
"Will you ever drop that?"
"Probably not." Bonnibel grinned, before tugging Marceline's sleeve. "Come on, let's go."
Marceline nodded and led Bonnibel through the school, all the way to the German room, which was hidden away at the end of a corridor. "Here."
"Thanks. How do you know where it is, anyway?" Bonnibel questioned.
Marceline shrugged. "Keila used to do it."
"Oh, that's really cool." Bonnibel lingered in the doorway for a minute.
"Aren't you going to go in? You're early, but you might as well." Marceline frowned.
Bonnibel stared at Marceline with an unreadable expression. "Yeah, it's just…,"
"Spit it out, nerd."
"Thanks for everything." Bonnibel mumbled, refusing to meet Marceline's crimson gaze. "You don't even know me all that well and you've helped me a lot."
Marceline frowned. "I haven't done anything."
Bonnibel wrapped her arms around Marceline's middle and hugged her, nestling her face into the girl's pale neck, inhaling the strong scent of strawberries. Marceline didn't hug back. "You have. You saved me from Ricardio, you taught me about music, and you helped me today. So, thanks. If there's anything I can do in return, please let me know."
"You can get off me, for starters."
Bonnibel quickly retreated her arms and moved away from the pale girl. "Sorry."
"It's fine." Marceline waved a hand dismissively. "You know what you can do for me?"
"What?" Bonnibel's smile was eager; she was anxious to repay Marceline for everything.
"Stay the fuck away from me."
Bonnibel felt her stomach drop, and her jaw went along with it. "What? But I thought -,"
"We're not friends, princess. We never will be." Marceline stated. "I told you that."
"But -,"
"No. I'm going. Don't talk to me again, got it?"
Bonnibel didn't have a chance to reply. Marceline was already walking back in the direction they came in.
"Marshall, why did Marceline tell me to leave her alone?"
"She's scared of you."
"Marceline?"
"Yep." Marshall nodded. "She actually kind of likes you so typically she's avoiding you. She's weird."
"Can I make her stop avoiding me?"
"Probably not." He stated, before placing the Chemistry book he was holding on Bonnibel's lap. "So, this is what I really didn't get in class,"
Bonnibel tuned out. Marceline liked her? She couldn't help but feel overjoyed at that new information. All Bonnibel had to do was make Marceline talk to her again, and they maybe had a shot at becoming friends.
"Are you even listening to me?" Marshall chuckled, leaning back on the couch.
"Is it that obvious?" Bonnibel retorted, eyebrow quirked up.
"What're you thinking about?" Marshall asked.
"Isn't that obvious?"
"Marceline's really getting to you, huh?" Marshall let out a sigh, standing up from the soft couch and stretching. "I'll go talk to her."
"Please don't." Bonnibel grabbed onto his arm and pulled him down. "I need to do the talking."
"You know where her room is."
"I didn't mean now!" Bonnibel exclaimed, flicking through the pages in the textbook she was holding. "I have to tutor you."
"You clearly have too much on your mind to do that. Go talk to her. She won't bite." Marshall assured.
Bonnibel stood up and sighed. "I'm doing this purely to clear my mind, got it?"
He rolled his eyes. "Sure."
Bonnibel left the room and made her way up the stairs, which creaked slightly under her weight. She remembered the directions to Marceline's room, and she stood in front of the white bedroom door for a few minutes, contemplating her next move. She listened to check if Marceline was actually in her room, letting out a low chuckle upon hearing the noises of a video game and Marceline frequently using words such as 'motherfucker'. She finally plucked up the courage to knock on Marceline's bedroom door.
"Come in." Was said from inside, so Bonnibel gently pushed open the door to see Marceline sprawled out on her bed on her stomach, playing a game that looked to be something like Grand Theft Auto.
The game paused, and two crimson eyes fell on Bonnibel. "What do you want?"
"To talk." Bonnibel awkwardly lingered in the doorway.
"You can sit down, if you want." Marceline motioned to her bed. "But close the door first."
Bonnibel pushed the door closed and nervously made her way over to Marceline. She awkwardly perched herself on the edge of the other girl's bed. "So…"
"What do you want, princess?"
"You like me?"
Marceline frowned. "No. Who said that?"
"Marshall."
"Well, he's lying." Marceline finished, laying back down on her stomach and unpausing her game. "If that's all you're here to talk about, you can go."
"He said that you actually like me and that you're scared so you're avoiding me and that's why you told me to leave you alone," Bonnibel continued, tugging on the hem of her shirt. "And that makes no sense."
"I don't like you," Marceline stated.
Bonnibel felt an odd sinking feeling in her stomach. "Oh."
"But," Marceline began, "I don't dislike you."
"You're neutral." Bonnibel concluded.
"Yeah."
Bonnibel smiled. "That's great."
"Why, exactly?"
"Because you might end up liking me."
Marceline snorted and paused her game. "If you think we're going to be best friends and ride off into the sunset on a magical flying pony, you've got another thing coming. Just because I can tolerate you doesn't mean there's any chance of a friendship."
Bonnibel sighed.
"Sorry to disappoint, nerd."
"You're difficult." Bonnibel evaluated.
Marceline's game was resumed. "And? Shouldn't you be tutoring my dumbass of a brother?"
"Yes. I'll be getting back to that now." Bonnibel stated. "And don't be mean to your brother."
As Bonnibel walked towards Marceline's door, she heard a cackle. "Don't tell me what to do."
Bonnibel walked out of the door, pausing before shutting it behind her. "Do I still have to leave you alone?"
Marceline let out a long sigh, sitting up on her bed. "I guess not."
Bonnibel smiled. "Good. I'll see you at school tomorrow."
"Whatever, nerd."
"A simple goodbye would be nice."
"You not existing would be nice."
It was pretty obvious that upset Bonnibel, as the pink haired girl inhaled sharply. "Right. Okay. I'll go. Bye."
"Hey, wait."
Bonnibel sighed. "What?"
"Sorry. You not existing would actually be kinda lame."
Bonnibel looked at Marceline in surprise. "You really mean that?"
"Yeah." Marceline mumbled, before the usual scowl returned to her face, spinning around and unpausing her game. "Now get out of my room."
Bonnibel tiptoed back over to Marceline's bed and wrapped her arms around Marceline's middle, making the other girl jump. The pause screen flashed on the TV again. "Thanks, Marceline."
"You really have to chill with the hugging."
Bonnibel gave Marceline one last squeeze. "Or you need to get used to the hugging."
Marceline sighed. "You're really something, princess."
"What did I say about that nickname?"
"My sincerest apologies, your Majesty." Marceline mocked.
Bonnibel gently smacked the other girl's arm. "Shut up. I'm going to go back downstairs. I'll see you if you come down."
"Whatever, dork." Marceline shifted so she was lying on her stomach, unpausing her game and ignoring Bonnibel, who walked away from the other girl and slipped out of the room, heading back downstairs to Marshall who'd abandoned the studying and started watching TV.
He smiled when he saw her. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. She was actually kind of nice to me." Bonnibel said, a slight smile playing at her lips.
"She's not good at talking to other people." Marshall laughed. "But she is somehow able to have a full conversation with Schwabl."
Bonnibel looked down at the white poodle who was napping in his basket. "Cute."
"Oh, by the way," Marshall's face lit up, "My friend Guy's parents are out of town so he's having a party this Friday and he said I can invite whoever I want, so you can come, if you want. Bring Gumball too, he's awesome. Fuck it, bring all your friends."
"A party? Parties aren't really my scene." Bonnibel started, a small blush on her cheeks.
"I kind of figured, but it'll be fine. Just stick with your friends." Marshall shrugged. "Come on, it'll be fun."
Bonnibel sighed. "I guess I could go for maybe an hour."
"Awesome!" Marshall grinned. "I'll text you the address. What's your number?"
Bonnibel recited her phone number from memory, and Marshall quickly typed it into his phone. "It won't be too wild, will it?"
He chuckled, shrugging. "Course not. It'll be fine. You'll have fun."
Bonnibel sighed to herself. She wished she could believe him.
