Brad and Ash's apartment was on the first block of the Daley Estates Apartments, apartment 3A to be precise. The door was a streaked red, the paint peeling and the frame chipped. Marceline glanced to Phoebe.
The situation that they were in dawned on her, then, watching as her friend produced a key from her back pocket, were they really about to break into Ash Mercers place to investigate his involvement with the people at the mill? Surely the police would've already done this.
"I'll stay out here in case the neighbours get curious as to why two strangers have decided to take a look around," Phoebe muttered, unlocking the door and patting Marceline's shoulder as she swung it open. "Just… don't make a mess."
Marceline stepped inside and warily looked around. The hallway she was in was surprisingly clean, a few of Ash's jackets had been hung haphazardly on a hook, and Brad's shoes were tucked away beneath them. Marceline had been expecting clutter, really.
She found Ash's room almost immediately, the one with the fist sized hole in the door, and nudged it ajar with her foot. His unmade bed was tucked away in the corner, but her eyes went straight to the bedside cabinet with a lock under the handle. If he's hiding anything, it's gonna be in there.
Ash also had a desk with a computer on the other side of the room, littered with papers and other odd trinkets. Marceline decided to start looking for things there, making a tiny to do list in her mind.
Find a small key, look for a gun (optional), get dirt on Ash, search Brad's room. This investigating shit is exhausting what the fuck? The papers on Ash's desk were mostly half finished school work from last month (which, relatable, wow). However, one of the sheets of paper had names of students on, each with a cross or a tick beside them. She was surprised when she found her name without either, and that Finn had a tick. What the fuck? She very quickly took a few pictures of the odd list before moving her search onto the computer. She collapsed into the chair, eyes focussing on a sticky note attached to Ash's monitor with the word alibi written hastily across it as she turned on the computer. What an odd password, Ashykins, and you've made it so easy for me to access. She logged on to his account, pleased to find that the password did match.
She almost threw up a little when she saw the desktop background was of him and Bonnie, smiling with Brad and the rest of her friends in the background. If only I was around back then… I wonder if things would've gone differently.
She checked his browser history before anything else, but it seemed like Ash kept on top of that more than anything else in his life. His most recent searches were 'was columbine gay?' and 'tcc mlm'. Marceline closed it before she went even further and checked what they were.
His documents were a cryptic mess. Most of them were labelled numerically, but the one titled 100717_costs caught Marceline's eye immediately. Costs for what exactly? Drugs? More guns?
Brad Simmons - Enhancers, 250
Ellen Sarah-Peterson - 100
Ricardio - 50
Finn Mertens - 500
Adam Barker - 100
Braco - paid
Eric - 350
Stacy - 200
Eddy - 1000, paid.
Marshall Lee - -250
Drew - paid
Marceline took another picture, frowning when she saw all too familiar names on the document. Fucking Marshall can't keep his hands clean can he? And what the fuck has Finn bought that has him in so much debt to Ash?
Marceline switched the computer off as soon as she realised the other documents were also more school work and unfinished essays. The desk drawers seemed to be of more use to her, though.
In the left hand side drawer Marceline found what looked to be a forged gun license. She knew it was forged because Ash's last name was definitely not Ferdinand. Her phone came out once more.
Marceline (10:08): Hey Finn where do boys keep things that they don't want people to see? Also why the fuck do you owe Ash 500 big ones?
Finn (10:11): Under their mattress or their pillow usually. & please don't tell anyone about that, it's the only reason I'm trying to find a job rn.
Marceline (10:12): Tell my why you're in debt to an asshole and I'll help you pay it back.
Finn (10:14): When he was dating Bonnibel he used to hook us up with drinks and things for our parties. Nothing too intense dw about it, but eventually he'd start bringing drugs and things and asking Bonnie to hide them for him. I told him I'd take them from him and ended up with a whole lot of shit in my room. He told me I could have some freebies because I was his friend and long story short after he broke up with Bonnibel he started charging me for all the stuff he gave me. It was so much worse before but I dipped into my uni funds to help pay it off. Please don't tell my brother or the others.
Marceline sighed. Ash is such a fucking dildo. Making this fucking kid use his uni money to pay for 'freebies'. Stupid fucking Finn for actually believing him though.
Marceline (10:15): Won't tell anyone, promise. I can lend you some money, but don't expect me to get you out of shit like this again, okay?
Finn (10:15): Thanks Marceline! I have 200 in my bank account rn, but I'm not expecting you to pay off the rest just because you're my friend. Even just 50 would help me out rn.
Marceline pocketed her phone and span around on the chair, eyeing up the unmade bed in the corner of the room. The very thought of going over there and touching Ash's mattress made Marceline feel sick to her stomach, but the right drawer was just full of cables and that was her only lead right now.
There was a really gross long strand of Ash Hair on the pillow, a detail which Marceline wanted to burn out of her brain and forget as soon as she saw it, but she continued to lift it up anyway. No key.
So she lifted up the mattress, trying not to think too much about the stains on the bottom side of it, and instead grinning when she saw a small key on the bed frame. Perfect, gotta thank Finn after giving him his fucking drug money.
The key fit perfectly in the lock, and Marceline was both terrified and pleased when she opened the cabinet to find a gun and a whole lot of other questionable shit inside.
Ignoring the gun as much as she possibly could, Marceline moved the bags of weed and pills and needles to pull out sheets of paper at the bottom, frowning when she unfolded a map of Oakdale. Her eyes narrowed to a wooded area with a red circle around it, mouth dipping into a frown when she noticed more ticks and crosses over certain areas of the town.
Is this the… mill? So he did have something to do with that. But what about all this other shit? She took a photo of the map, checking the other sheets of paper as quickly as possible; she had already spent far too long in Ash's room and the fact that there was a gun right in front of her was making her shiver. She took another picture of the contents of the cabinet before putting everything back and locking it again, slipping the key back into its hiding place.
"And now… Brad's room." She sighed, crossing the hallway to another open door.
Brad's room was so much more organised than Ash's, the desk was clean and the bed looked as if it hadn't been slept in. Marceline mused at the idea of Brad sleeping with Ash at night, but shook the idea from her head when she remembered why she was there.
No locks this time, Marceline thought to herself as she opened Brad's bedside drawers, grimacing at the sight of boxers and socks. Also… a fucking boat load of sports trophies from the school. Baseball, basketball, football, the boy seemed to like his balls quite a lot. No computer, though, which made Marceline frown. There was a sleeping bag though, tucked underneath the bed and stained with something red. Marceline vaguely remembered Brad saying something about Braco getting stabbed and moved on. It was only the last drawer, though, that had something particularly interesting within. A few photos of the mill, all taken on the same day, some with Ash smiling at the camera and holding the fucking gun in his hand. Marceline assumed Brad didn't look at them very often, considering the thin layer of dust covering a few, and stole one of the photos of them both smiling. Fucking weirdos.
She continued her search.
No one seemed to have tipped either of them off that her and Phoebe had been inside their apartment, it seemed. Marceline felt a little weird after ditching to be back at school, but said nothing when she walked up to the group at lunch. Phoebe gave her a little smile and remained silent on her phone.
She turned to Finn, smiling at the way he shifted uncomfortably under her stare. "Move over so I can sit next to Bonnie." He relaxed almost immediately, much to her amusement, and moved to a different seat so that Marceline could collapse next to Bonnibel with a huff. "How illegal is trespassing?"
Phoebe spluttered from her seat. "Nice one, Abadeer."
"Quite illegal," Bonnibel replied simply, taking Marceline's hand in her own with a smile. "Might I ask why or would that make me an accomplice to your crimes?"
Marceline gave her a lopsided grin and reached forward with her free hand to brush pink hair from blue eyes. "You'd be a beautiful accomplice, though." She said softly, earning a groan from Lady. "I'm right, shut your mouth."
"Yeah, whatever, Abadeer." Lady muttered. "Why were you trespassing exactly?"
"That's secret information,"
"Bullshit." Marceline arched a brow. Lady raised both hers in return. "Tell us, we can help if you get in trouble." Lady raises a good point, actually. I'll need an alibi.
"Me and Phoebe kind of went inside Ash and Brad's apartment," Marceline explained. "For investigations and stuff,"
"You could've left me out of it." Came a grumble from Phoebe.
Bonnie shifted in her seat, staring curiously at Marceline. "They live together now? That's… nice."
Is that out of the ordinary for them? "Yeah, I'm pretty sure Brad sleeps someplace else, though, his bed looks like it hasn't been slept in years. Like, the pillows were on top of the duvet which was tucked under the mattress. It was really strange."
"Maybe they sleep together," Phoebe sang teasingly, laughing at the grimace on Marceline's face. "Joking. Though, they are really close. I wouldn't be surprised."
Lady rolled her eyes. "Brad and Ash? Please, they're both too far up their masculinity to even think about being that close. Brad has probably been running off to Ellen's place."
That was the most logical answer, yet Marceline couldn't help but keep thinking about how close Brad and Ash actually were. Not as close as to share a bed, but close enough that Marceline could think of a few times they'd unconsiously showed how much they cared about the other. Brad defended Ash without him even being there when Bonnie called Ash out that one time, and Ash was stood in a similar way to how Bonnie was standing behind my chair in the principles office.
And then Marceline's eyes drifted over to where Brad and Ash were sitting. All the way at the other side of the cafeteria, Brad was talking animatedly to Ash, who was sat listening in return. Ash was also smiling. Something that Marceline hadn't seen him do in genuine.
She blinked.
Ash can have friends, he's a normal human teenager too. He just happens to own a gun and do hardcore drugs and might be involved in a hostage situation. Who the fuck knows?
"So, is Brad the only person Ash talks to?" Marceline found herself asking.
Phoebe shook her head. "He talks to Braco sometimes, Brad drags him to parties with Ellen's crowd and he socialises there too. I think he wishes he could just talk to Brad though."
"Sometimes I wish I could just talk to Marceline," Bonnibel sighed wistfully. "But then I'd feel like a terrible person because you're all nice people."
Marceline gave her girlfriend an odd stare, brows furrowing and lips curling into a small smirk. "You're a nerd." She muttered before leaning forwards to kiss a freckled cheek. "I'm dating a socially repressed nerd. How'd that happen?"
Bonnibel scoffed gently, staring down at her empty plate and then at the empty space in front of Marceline. "I'm not a nerd, Marceline, I'm a scientist. We just like time to ourselves and academics. Sue us."
"Sue all the nerds? That'd take a long time, Bonnie."
Bonnie just groaned in reply, much to the amusement of the rest of the table. "Go get food, idiot. You're gonna complain next period that you're hungry and I know you'll want to go to the diner." Marceline gave Bonnibel her best pout, bottom lip quivering just because she could. "Brad might be there, Marcy," At that, the older girl stopped immediately and straightened her back.
Brad. Brad and Ash are possibly involved in something really big and somehow I'm the only one who cares enough to go find out? What the fuck? I need to compile all my evidence onto my computer, look at it for a few seconds, watch some netflix, think about my girlfriend (clothes optional), possibly sulk in my bed until I fall asleep. Sounds like a perfect plan.
"Marceline?" Jake's foot collided with Marceline's shin, pulling her out of her thoughts. In all honesty her brain had hooked on Bonnie without clothes and she was happy to remain thinking about that until death. "You did say yes to going to the gym with me," And at his sincere smile, Marceline knew Jake wasn't teasing her. "Wanna go this weekend?"
Before Marceline could reply with a complicated falsehood that might've resulted in her leaving the country and changing her name, Bonnibel perked up. "You're going to the gym?"
Marceline knew the look in Bonnibel's eyes was something else entirely, something other than simple curiosity, and that alone made her stomach wobble in an unhealthy way. "Yeah, this Saturday?" She glanced back to Jake with a half smile. I'm getting abs for this girl. Hell fucking yeah I am.
"'Course," Jake agreed, nodding and pulling out his phone. "We're gonna break you, Abadeer."
Marceline swallowed.
Bonnibel moaned into Marceline's open mouth, hands bundling into her friends collar. It was still cold outside, the snow only just turning into mush, and the windows in Marceline's car had steamed up nicely. There was something that just felt bad about making out in a car, Marceline thought idly, softly trailing her mouth down Bonnibel's throat as her friend groaned and pulled at her clothes, something that made her feel like more of a delinquent than she already was. It was oddly satisfying, really.
"Come in?" Was breathed against her ear, and Marceline had a hard time understanding what Bonnibel meant by that request before her brain caught up with her. Yes I was supposed to be taking her home. So that could only really mean that Bonnibel was asking her to… oh.
In the back of her head, Marceline vaguely remembered Bonnie commenting that her parents weren't home. She'd been completely oblivious, of course, and just told the other girl that she'd text her when she'd driven home. Oh, Marceline, you useless idiot, the girl wants to bone and you didn't even realise.
Marceline detached her lips from Bonnie's throat, fumbling for the door handle on her side. Despite her best efforts, Marceline ended up winding the window down, to which Bonnibel rolled her eyes at and leaned forwards to help. Of course, with Bonnibel's neck in front of her once more, what else was Marceline supposed to do other than go back to kissing and marking it? Really, it just seemed natural.
"Marcel-ine," The door behind Marceline finally opened, and she found herself toppling out in a fuss of limbs and cursing.
"Ow, damn. Fuck, I'm bleeding. Cock, that hurt. Holy shit what the fuck just happened, did you just try to kill me?" She glanced up from her now prone position in the middle of the fucking street to stare at a very red and all of a sudden very shy Bonnibel peeking out from over the gearbox.
"In my defence, you bit me." She squeaked.
Despite her position, Marceline waggled her eyebrows at her friend. "Want me to do it again?" Her school bag was thrown at her head. "Alright, alright. Stop attacking me. I really am bleeding."
Bonnibel exited the car via the normal person way (read: the boring way) and helped Marceline up from the damp ground. With a kiss to her cheek, and her now bleeding palm, Bonnibel led her inside.
"I'll go get you a band-aid," She said with another chaste kiss. "Go sit on the couch and look pretty, yeah?"
Marceline opened her mouth to protest, but Bonnibel had already winked and started walking into the kitchen. She collapsed onto the couch, then, huffing and pulling out her phone to a text from Marshall.
Marshall (4:08): Yo, me and Keila wanna come down to see u marmar. got a clear calendar or something?
Marceline (4:13): I've only just got back from christmas break, asshat. You can come over for a weekend or something if you so wish.
"Secret girlfriend?" Bonnibel teased as she sat next to Marceline, a little first aid box on her lap. "Should I be concerned?"
Marceline shook her head no. "It's Marshall, wants to come over and ruin my life."
The band aid was applied delicately to her palm, and another kiss was planted to her wrist, and then her cheek, and then her mouth. Marceline found herself being pleasantly pressed against the arm of the sofa, Bonnibel shifting her legs so that she was sat on her knee. She was more than happy to lay there and let Bonnibel kiss her until she was numb and dizzy, but her phone began to ring in her pocket and Bonnibel was too responsible to let Marceline not answer it.
"Hey, Marceline," Jake's voice came from the phone. "Did you pick Finn up from school?"
Marceline frowned, forgetting he couldn't see her and shaking her head. "Nope. Why?"
"Oh, he said you were going to pick him up today. He's not with you, then?"
"Last time I saw him was at lunch." She muttered. "I thought he'd gone home as per usual."
"Fuck, okay, well he's not shown up. Can you keep an eye out for a text or something? I'm gonna go check Phoebe's place."
"'Course we will, we hope he shows up soon," And with that, Marceline returned to kissing Bonnibel.