CHAPTER 17 – Major Scale pt 1
"Bonnie, this is it." Marceline said, opening the gates and jumping back into the car to park it inside.
"Didn't expect the place to be so big."
"Dad is kind of a big shot lawyer, you know. Apparently, it paid well."
"Must've been a change when you moved out." Bonnie mumbled. "It was years ago, but still."
"I wanted to stay." Marceline muttered. "But eh, I like it here."
Bonnie whispered. "Oh well, I can't blame you."
Looking across the console, Marceline gave Bonnie a solemn look. Well, this was totally out of character.
"Hey, what's up? Are you okay?"
Bonnibel hummed but she rested a hand to her face. The way she looked was as if she was trying to find some sense of control of her thoughts. To be fair, the morning they had was definitely a doozy at that point and Marceline wasn't sure of the clear direction it was supposed to be taking. Either way, she looked a cross between sad and reluctant.
Putting the vehicle to her designated spot, she rushed to open Bonnie's door; the redhead was looking distant as ever. Marceline was almost scared that opening the door would startle her enough into a heart attack, considering how deep into thought the other girl was in. Regardless, she tapped on the window softly and beckoned for Bonnibel to follow her lead into the house. Either way, Bonnie fumbled to open the door and walked on towards Marceline.
Rummaging through her set of keys for quite some time, Marceline eyed the one to the front door.
"HUZZAH!" she hailed, putting on a huge grin. "Now we can kinda relax in the solace of this lost world."
"Stop sounding so dramatic," Bonnie commented, laughing softly. "It's as if it was a needle in a haystack for you."
Marceline smirked but she proceeded to unlock the door, later on showing Bonnibel the set of keys she was holding. There were labels on every one.
"I make sure everything is here, and they're all arranged in alphabetical order." An undefeated grin took place in lighting up Marceline's whole face. It was really endearing, in a way, that Bonnie couldn't help but smile. Still, the feeling of gloom stayed by a thin layer over everything. Marceline couldn't help but feel the tension so she opened the door and let a soft smile filter through.
"We can talk about anything. It doesn't have to have anything to do with the petition. Just you and me, maybe some coffee?"
"I'm almost half-certain that you're gonna use the latter line in some new song or whatever."
In a sing-song lilt, Marceline faced Bonnibel, making a random sly melody come out.
"You can meet me up at heart of the city, we could be a mess but the ruins are pretty, grab some coffee, a table, stay without a label. I'm not sure how this would work so I'm not sure if this is stable."
"Okay, okay, enough now, Taylor Swift," Bonnie commented, bumping her hip against Marceline's. "Let's just head inside before either of us catch some sort of outside world disease.'
Huffing a tad bit, Marceline opened the door and waved into the mostly empty large space of a home.
"Here we are, Bonnibel. Welcome to my not-so-humble abode." She said by the entrance, making a slightly mocking bow as Bonnie entered the room.
There were hardly much to see on the walls away from a specific theme. There were pictures of Hunson and Marceline by some tourist places, tongues out with deuces out on display, some photos taken away from the state and others obviously from much farther away. There were trophies for some recitals that Marceline performed in, and there were some certificates for excellent performances in various fields. Hunson's own certifications were splayed in large displays, some noting him as an ambassador for a major unit, one being that of some country in relations to Scarborough. None of the displays featured Marceline's mother as if that was the biggest intention that the house had to offer. All Marceline and Hunson, and none for the mother.
Bonnie paused to give occasional glances at every item. Marceline observed her curiously, obviously just waiting on her for them to get anywhere within the household. Preferably in her room where they could just chill out. Either that or they can laze by the couch while filing through the papers they needed to go through. Whatever the case, Bonnie being distracted from everything around her was half-expected, while… not really.
Bonnie trailed her hand down to a photograph of a Marceline from years ago.
It was a picture of a little eight year-old Marcy, holding on to Hambo. Her room just readily made, obviously indicating her recent move to the place. Her smile was bright as she lit up the then bare room that she was standing in.
Marceline, noticing the blank stare that Bonnie was giving the photograph, lightly touched her by the wrist.
"Hey, come on. We can space out in my room. We can just chill." Marceline said, taking Bonnie by the hand, tugging and leading her up into her room.
Fair enough, the redhead followed.
Laying the paperwork by Marceline's desk, Bonnie as slightly amazed with how everything was kind of organized in Marceline's room. The room was neat and it seemed to be readily painted regularly, or at the very least dusted and cleaned enough to not grow any molds. It was a little funny as it seemed so different from the vibe that Marceline normally gave outside of her house. Though to be fair, nobody would find it normal how Bonnie would let molds grow on over in her room while only keeping limited things pristine.
Marceline patted on the other side as she plopped down into her bed. Bonnie settled down on the clean sheets.
"Who cleans the room? It's so pristine. Do you guys keep it like this regularly?" she asked.
Marceline shrugged, leaning her weight on one elbow as she turned to face Bonnibel.
"I fix everything. I got used to cleaning up after everything, and it helps cut away from general people being around in the house." Marceline lay down on her belly. "Also, I have some kind of OCD."
"Understandable," Bonnie mumbled. "Didn't expect that but I guess we can't really judge."
There came a slight tension between the two of them that left things desired to be said.
"So what's on your mind?" Marceline whispered. "You've been out of it since we got out of your house."
Finding her spot on the bed, next to Marceline, Bonnie lay down on her back, proceeding to stare at the other girl as if to contemplate what to say next.
"Can we catch up on everything that's happened through the years?" she mumbled. "I think we'll need a refresher after everything."
Marceline nodded, solemn, still, quiet.
It was going to be a really long day, but she knew it was needed.
All she needed was to spend time with Bonnie, recounting, remembering, speaking and putting pieces together.
Maybe it will make sense that way, anyway.
/-/-/
"Schwabl, what's wrong?" Marceline said, crying.
The little dog was coughing up blood, as helpless and lethargic. It had marks that were left out of beatings that he had probably endured.
"Who did this to you?" Marceline begged, crying. It was as if she expected him to actually speak. She didn't know what to make of it, but she was scared. What kind of monster would hurt such a kind, soft creature?
Her mother came through the room, glaring at the dog.
The way she gave the look said so much.
Marceline didn't want to believe any of it.