A/N: Let's pretend I haven't been gone for months on end.
Marceline sighed, absently tapping out a steady beat with her fingers on her knee. Man, waiting is boring. The next 'act' went up onto the stage. From the looks of him and his companion, they were doing a magic act.
"Hello, Ladies and Gentlemen." She rolled her eyes. "We are the... the uh... The Two of Clubs." A snort. "And this is my trusty assistant," The rest of the sentence was lost in the depths of Marceline's mind, her phone being far more interesting than the two idiots on stage.
Fifteen minutes later and it was her turn.
Fuck.
"Give it up Ladies and Gentlemen," Simon was saying into the microphone. "For the girl you've all been waiting for, Marceline Abadeer!" Marceline scoffed and grabbed her guitar from beside her.
As soon as she shuffled awkwardly onto stage the crowd erupted into applause. She might have jumped a little.
"U-Uh... Well, here's wonderwall." Marceline joked quietly into the mic as she sat down, guitar in her lap. A few people in the audience chuckled. "But uh... seriously," She strummed a chord, glancing up into the blinding spotlight. "This song is a cover and it means a lot to me; me and my brother used to sing it in the car home from school." She smiled at the memory before realising that these people didn't care one bit. Another chord. "I couldn't do the set up like last time either... too much effort." Okay, Marceline thought to herself, now you're just stalling. "This is Land Locked Blues, originally sang by Lua."
The room fell silent then as Marceline put her shaking fingers to the instrument. Even as she opened her mouth and sang the first few words, it was clear she was nervous.
"If you walk away, I'll walk away
First tell me which road you will take
I don't want to risk our paths crossing some day
So you walk that way, I'll walk this way
And the future hangs over our heads
And it moves with each current event
Until it falls all around like a cold steady rain
Just stay in when it's looking this way
And the moon's laying low in the sky
Forcing everything metal to shine
And the sidewalk holds diamonds like the jewelry store case
They argue walk this way, no, walk this way
And Laura's asleep in my bed
As I'm leaving she wakes up and says
"I dreamed you were carried away on the crest of a wave
Baby don't go away, come here"
And there's kids playing guns in the street
And ones pointing his tree branch at me
So I put my hands up I say "enough is enough,
If you walk away, I'll walk away"
And he shot me dead
I found a liquid cure
From my landlocked blues
It'll pass away like a slow parade
It's leaving but I don't know how soon
And the world's got me dizzy again
You think after 22 years I'd be used to the spin
And it only feels worse when I stay in one place
So I'm always pacing around or walking away
I keep drinking the ink from my pen
And I'm balancing history books up on my head
But it all boils down to one quotable phrase
If you love something, give it away
A good woman will pick you apart
A box full of suggestions for your possible heart
But you may be offended and you may be afraid
But don't walk away, don't walk away
We made love on the living room floor
With the noise in the background of a televised war
And in the deafening pleasure I thought I heard someone say
"If we walk away, they'll walk away"
But greed is a bottomless pit
And our freedom's a joke
We're just taking a piss
And the whole world must watch the sad comic display
If you're still free start running away
Cause we're coming for you!
I've grown tired of holding this pose
I feel more like a stranger each time I come home
So I'm making a deal with the devils of fame
Saying "let me walk away, please"
You'll be free child once you have died
From the shackles of language and measurable time
And then we can trade places, play musical graves
Till then walk away, walk away
So I'm up at dawn
Putting on my shoes
I just want to make a clean escape
I'm leaving but I don't know where to
I know I'm leaving but I don't know where to..." The audience were seemingly holding their breath as Marceline finished the song.
And then it was loud and everyone was cheering and Marceline was amazed because holy shit they were cheering for her. The grin on her face seemed permanent as she exited the stage, threatening to split her face open.
"'Sup, babe." It was gone as soon as it came. Marceline swivelled around on her heels, eyes wide with shock. Ash. "You know," He breathed, sly smirk tilting up at the surprise on her face. "You're never going to become famous if you still get nervous in front of a hundred people."
"I-I'm not your babe." Marceline spluttered out, backing away from his as fast as possible. Ash frowned, brows creasing together as he leaned forwards off the wall to follow after her.
"Look, all I need is for you to deliver something for me," He whispered, hands sliding into his coat pockets. Marceline could smell the cigarettes on his breath as he drew closer.
"Fuck off, I'm no longer your little drug mule." She spat. Ash merely grinned down at her, bearing his shining white teeth.
"Bet you wanna be my something else, huh?" Marceline felt sick to her stomach, turning around to walk away from her ex-boyfriend. "Hey c'mon doll," He grabbed her wrist as he growled. "Don't you miss me?"
"Fuck off," She repeated. "I have somebody else. Somebody who sees potential in me." Someone who loves me.
"Who is he?"
"Your dad." Marceline childishly replied. Ash blinked and Marceline took this as a chance to slither away from him, hurriedly pacing towards the large crowd now leaving the hall.
"Come on, Marceline." He called over the chatter. Marceline ducked between a family, frantically searching for her favourite pink haired nerd.
"Gotta find Bonnie, gotta find Bonnie, gotta find Bonnie," She repeated under her breath.
"Babe-"
"Marcy!" Marceline sighed in relief at the voice of her girlfriend, turning to find her and her family near the door. "We're leaving, you want a ride home?"
"If it isn't a problem with your folks," She said with a grin, anxiously throwing a worried glance over her shoulder. No sign of the bigot, thank god.
"Of course not, Marceline." Richard said with a polite smile. "You're practically part of the family now."
Marceline had never been so glad to leave a building in her life.
You should totally check the song out, it's amazing.
Don't expect a load of updates because I'm writing like ten things atm, one of which I'm really looking forward to posting.
