Looooong, just because. Please R&R! Special thanks to MarCor3 for the continuous commentary, I love it!

Bonus points to the weeb who can name my favorite Japanese band

How many rainbows could a person fit into a room? Even pastel rainbows were gaudy to look at after a while. This was definitely the girliest room she'd ever been in. A rainbow clock, rainbow bedspread, rainbow cushions, colorful toys, bleh.

She fell onto the ground, groaning. When she closed her eyes, a mix of old English and rainbows pranced around her head together with Bonnibel's slippers.

"Marceline."

She groaned again, opening her eyes slowly. "What?" Her voice croaked from misuse, and she sat up, clearing her throat in embarrassment. "What?" She said again, less quietly. Bonnibel shook her head.

"It's not nap time, Marceline." Bonnibel said, tapping on the question sheet. Marceline had already finished copying everyone's answers, and had been reading Bonnibel's notes on the book alongside the actual text. Bonnibel and the others were discussing meanwhile, asking Marceline for her input on character analysis here and there. Judging from Bonnibel's smile, Marceline guessed she didn't disappoint. The process was draining still.

"Can it at least be break time? We've been at it for two hours." Marceline said, crossing her arms on the table and resting her head on them. Lady giggled.

"It's almost three. I think our discussion answers are pretty good. Let's finish the last question and then maybe get some pizza?" Lady suggested, and immediately Jake's pencil began to scribble faster.

"Let's hurry! I gotta take off to get Finn after that. You can come with if you want to, Lady, but…" Jake looked up at Bonnibel, scowling slightly. "I can drive you there too, Bonnie, but you might have to come with, too, when I pick up Finn. You didn't bring your car, did you? No time to drop you off home in between, sorry."

Bonnibel shook her head, waving her hand at him. "It's totally ok. If we go to the pizza place by the shop, I'll catch the bus."

Jake's face lit up. "Alright! Pizza for three in the Jake-mobile." He said happily. If the invitation hadn't felt extended to her before that point, Marceline definitely felt excluded in these plans, now. She fiddled with the purple pencil Bonnie had lent her, turning in surprise when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Will you come with us?" It was Bonnibel. Of course it was Bonnibel. Marceline froze, looking over at the others. Jake was absorbed in finishing the last task, reading over Lady's sheet. Lady flashed Marceline a smile.

"Um…" Marceline couldn't think up an excuse not to go. Keila, ever the groupie, was in the garage with the guys, who were preparing for the gig that night. Thinking back to the interaction she'd had with Ash that morning, Marceline wasn't eager to see them again so soon. She didn't have her fake ID anymore, and no one made it a point to invite her anyway.

Still…

Marceline didn't feel completely comfortable with these cheery people. Lady and Jake were nice enough, but she couldn't shake the feeling that Jake was suspicious of her. She had the urge to mess with him, to give him a little scare. It probably wouldn't take much- maybe just the mention of drinking, or drugs- but being here, in Lady's house...it definitely sobered the thought. The rainbow girl had been nothing but nice to Marceline. Or, at the very least, polite.

And then there was Bonnibel. She'd invited her in the first place, and after all the work they'd done today, Marceline was positive she was going to pass. If she was completely honest with herself, Simon would probably give her an A. And even if the work wasn't completely her own, Bonnibel had made sure she could defend herself during classroom discussion. It was a big favor, Marceline considered. Still.

"I…" The massive growl of her stomach seemed to answer for her. She clutched at it tightly, face flushing. She hadn't eaten breakfast, and her body burned through the lemonade and cookies much too quickly. She hated to admit how good pizza sounded.

Bonnibel snapped her fingers, laughing. "Well there, it's all settled. Let's hurry and get this all done so we can head out."

Immediately they got to work, pointing out important points of the book, and even though Marceline's input was only a blip in comparison to their analysis, a part of her was happy to participate. She was certain she wasn't going to fail.

It wasn't thirty minutes later that the four of them were at the door, pulling on warmer articles of clothing. Marceline caught Bonnibel pulling on a light pink hoodie from the corner of her eye, and slip into the adidas. She'd been right earlier she noted, chuckling.

Outside, everything was coated in water. Marceline hated the rainy season. Her body seemed incapable of storing heat, and the added wetness in the atmosphere only made her colder. It was enough to put her in a sour mood, and she shuffled her galoshes through the small puddles leading up to her little red Honda. She was glad she washed it a few days earlier- Jake's car looked like it'd driven through a mudbank. The inside didn't look much better.

Ever polite, Bonnibel made her way to the backseat, which Marceline could see was full of empty food containers and what appeared to be sports gear. Jake politely opened the door for Lady, sighing when he realized the back seat needed some rearrangement. Before she could stop herself, Marceline called out to Bonnibel.

"You can ride with me if you want to." She said, clicking her car open. Bonnibel cocked an eyebrow at her, but her mouth twisted up in a small smile. She walked to the passenger side.

As she walked, she called out loud enough for even Jake to hear, "Jealous Jake had all the girls for himself, Abadeer?"

Marceline blanched, and she felt her ears grow hot. Lady laughed as she climbed into the car, shaking her head, and Jake made a sound of surprise.

"A challenger?!" Somehow his voice sounded serious despite the playfulness of the situation. He leaned his elbows on the hood of his car, pointing at Marceline. "Think you'll take my girl, too?"

Lady spoke next, her words mixed with giggles. "Marceline DOES have a clean car. Perhaps riding with her would be nicer." Jake gasped loudly, running back to her side to close Lady's door. Her laughter was audible despite being inside.

"How dare you!" He turned back to Marceline. "Well, you can't have her! Think you can just go around stealing people's chicks? Put your driving where your mouth is!"

Marceline felt completely lost in all of this. Was he seriously challenging her to...something? She didn't know whether to be smug or intimidating, or playful, or...she settled for turning away, and her helplessness only made her blush harder.

"She didn't say anything, Jake!" Bonnibel called out, laughing. Marceline realized the girl was already sitting snugly in her car. She had a prep in her car. She heard Jake's muffled sounds of indignation.

"We'll still beat you guys there! Loser buys drinks!" Jake called, and he dove into his car. Something in the familiarity of the game finally made Marceline react, and she slammed her door shut, fumbling with her keys as she tried to stick the right one in the ignition. Bonnibel laughed.

"Calm down." She said gently, buckling her seatbelt. Marceline frowned.

"But he'll win!" Marceline countered, finally getting the car started. Jake pulled out of the driveway, sticking his tongue out at her before driving off. Marceline followed him hurriedly, jumping when she felt a hand on her own on the steering wheel. She looked at it, almost confused by the contact, but Bonnibel pulled away soon after.

"He was just kidding. Look, he's still driving speed limit." Bonnibel chuckled as they pulled up beside him at the light. Jake pulled a silly face that Bonnibel mirrored, Lady snapping pictures of both of them. Marceline felt embarrassed.

"I...sorry." Her car had been beeping at her to put on her seatbelt, and she finally obeyed. When the light turned green, she sped forward a bit, cutting Jake off, and his angry honks were enough to make her feel fulfilled. Bonnibel laughed.

"You're competitive, aren't you, Marcy?" She said, grinning over at Marceline. Marceline's chest constricted slightly at the use of the nickname.

"You called me Marcy." Marceline said, putting both hands on the wheel and digging her chin into her scarf. The car felt too warm but her fingertips were ice cold. Bonnibel made a small sound.

"I didn't think to ask. Everyone automatically calls me Bonnie, so I guess I did the same to your name. I'm sorry." Bonnibel sounded sincere. Marceline gave a small nod, whispering the name to herself. Bonnie. Bon-nie. Bonnibel had always been a mouthful. Tentatively, she licked her lips.

"It's ok, B-Bonnie." Shit. Why was she so nervous? She felt like she was in elementary school again, trying to get in with the prep girls. She stuck out her tongue slightly, biting it. Something akin to butterflies fluttered in her stomach, but given the situation, she told herself she was just hungry. Bonnibel smiled at her.

"Thanks, Marcy." Her voice was almost singsong, and Marceline suddenly had enough interacting. She turned on the radio, wincing at the music that played. Of course she'd left her CD in.

"That's not English." Bonnibel said, and Marceline quickly switched it to FM.

"Aren't you observant. Good job, brainiac." Marceline bit the inside of her cheek. She hadn't meant to say that. Bonnibel looked at her. Was she upset? Sparing the other girl a glance, she thought to herself that she didn't look upset. She was staring at her like she was trying to figure something out.

"You're embarrassed." Bonnibel said simply, and Marceline gulped.

"Shut up." She hadn't meant to say that either. Bonnibel grinned.

"So you lash out when you're embarrassed." Bonnibel said smugly. Marceline sighed. Who didn't?

"What am I, your subject for observation?" Marceline said glumly, but Bonnibel shook her head. Without asking, she switched the music back to disc.

"Is this Japanese?" She asked. Marceline should be annoyed she messed with her system without asking, but she was too mortified to care.

"Yes."

"Sounds familiar." Bonnibel said, raising the volume slightly. Marceline sighed.

"Another of this band's older songs was used as an anime opening recently. You probably heard about them that way." Marceline sighed. A preppy weeb. She was surprised when Bonnibel shook her head.

"No, this song was in a movie. About music. A sad movie." Marceline's mouth opened slightly, but she clicked it shut. She was quiet a bit before she spoke again. She knew the movie well.

"Yeah. Both the song and movie were based on a manga. It was pretty popular a while ago." Marceline said softly. "I just like the sound of them."

"Sad." Bonnibel said, sighing. "I used to listen to them a lot." So she did know them. Marceline wasn't surprised, but she didn't know what to say, either. Bonnibel broke the silence. "You're not a subject for observation." She chuckled. "But I was curious."

"About what?" Marceline saw Jake drive past them, sticking out his tongue, but she paid him no mind. Bubbline waved, but her smile was for Marceline.

"Curious how you could be so mean one minute, and semi-nice the next." Bonnibel said easily. She shrugged. "You seemed like a completely different person the last few times I saw you. Maybe it's because you were surrounded by candy." Bonnibel chuckled. "Or because you were with your friend and boyfriend. But I liked that Marceline. I wanted to see more of her."

Marceline sighed. In a way, she wanted to see more of that Marceline, too, minus the shy part. She ran her fingers through her bangs.

"I'm sorry I was mean to you, Bonnie. You really helped me out today, and like, you didn't have to." When they were stopped by a red light, she turned to Bonnibel, averting her eyes despite it. "I deserved you calling me out like that, and I owe you. For the apple, the candy, for today. How can I make it up to you?" Marceline asked quietly. The light changed and she looked away, thankful.

"Well, the nine dollars for the candy you can pay me in coffee visits. I get tired working all day." Bonnibel said, and Marceline chuckled.

"Deal."

"And for the rest...just…" Marceline noticed Bonnibel was the one averting her gaze this time. She braced herself. "Can we try to be friends?"

It wasn't what Marceline had expected, but she found herself nodding despite it. "Yes."

The air in the car felt thick and awkward for the rest of the short ride to the pizza place. When they arrived, Jake made a show of gloating he had beaten Marceline, and Marceline made it a point to try and play fight back. When Jake backed off, she figured she came on too strong, but Bonnibel put a hand on her shoulder and reassured her it was fine.

This group would take some getting used to.