Chapter 37: Paradise weekend
The weather forecast was on most TV's and radios in the town. Everyone was ready for the hottest weekend for the summer. Naturally, people were planning to spend the day at the beach of at waterparks. Everywhere would be full and packed with people, but not for a certain group of buzzing students.
"Hey, Gumball, how much further is this private beach of yours?" Marceline groaned from the backseat of Marshall's truck, her hair blowing slightly from the wind outside. It was just too hot inside the truck to keep the windows all shut, so everyone had them fully opened.
"Not long now" Gumball called back, pointing ahead. "Just about two more miles to go"
"Hey, pass me a drink, will you?" Marshall held his hand out to the before Gumball unscrewed a bottle and handed it to him. He took a big gulp, keeping his eyes on the road while he did before handing the bottle back to Gumball who sat in the passenger seat next to him.
Marshall had been driving for two hours now, sitting in just his white vest and jeans. Luckily the breeze from the open windows kept them all cool while they drove. Of course, seeing as no one else had their license yet, Marshall had to be the one to drive. And he didn't mind at all. He was just happy to drive the truck again.
Meanwhile, both Bubblegum and Marceline sat in the back seats with their wasn't too bad for those two because not only were they getting a breeze from their windows, but also the windows in the front seats.
And in the back of the truck was Fin, Fiona, Jake, Fin's girlfriend, Lara and Meg. They had it easiest, being out in the cool breeze completely. None of them could stay the night though, unfortunately. The group of four would have the shack all to themselves while family had arranged to pick the others up at around six pm. Still, they were all eager to have fun.
But it wasn't all fun time vibes for everyone. Both Bubblegum and Marceline had things they both needed to tell the other. Marceline needed to open up about how she felt and Bubblegum needed to announce that she had been accepted. Neither knew how anything would play out, but for now they just wanted to push it to the back of their heads and enjoy their time.
"Looks like we're here.." Gumball smiled as Marshall drove them down into a small ally. Everyone looked froward, waiting to reach the end of the ally eagerly. Finally, they came out into an opening onto a small beach that stretched for about half a mile. Just a little further up on a small hill was a small shack that they'd be staying at. Marshall drove the truck up the hill and brought the truck to a stop near the shack.
"Ahh, wow!" Fiona beamed as she hopped out of the back of the truck eagerly before anyone else. "This is all ours?"
"That's right" Gumball smiled, everyone now piling out with their things. "All ours"
"This is pretty nice, huh, Meg?" Lara smiled, helping Meg out of the truck. While she had been discharged from the hospital for a while now, she still needed a little help here and there. But for the most part, it was just Lara being over-protective.
"Yeah, thanks for inviting me" Meg replied, nodding to Gumball. "It's nice to get away "
"Why don't we put our things in the shack and change in there." Marshall stretched, pulling his bag over his shoulder. "I wanna get into that sea"
"Here's the keys" Gumball reached into his pocket, running ahead to the shack to unlocks and open the door, the rest walking in.
The girls went into one room and the boys into another all to put their belongings and to get changed into swimsuits.
The girls had it a little more cramped than the boys, who were only three of them. Meanwhile, there were five girls in one, relatively small room. It was fine for just two of them, but for five it was a little cramped. Nevertheless, they all got changed and met with the boys outside again before heading down onto the beautiful sand.
"Man, this is something" Marshall stretched his arms out, the summer breeze hitting him. He stood in just some black trunks, enjoying the breeze. Drooling at him close by was Fiona, wearing a light blue bikini with her long, blonde hair tied up into a ponytail. Marshall could feel her eyes, but it was nothing new to him. Everyone knew Fiona had the hots for Marshall. But he had no interest in her, so he simply ignored.
Joining him was Finn, wearing blue trunks and a shirt and Gumball in pink shorts. Both were taking badly to the heat as it was.
Meg and Lara stood together, both wearing one-piece swim suits; Meg also wearing a shirt over hers. And then followed Bubblegum and Marceline, setting up an umbrella and some towels as well as a cooler with their drinks in.
"I say last one to the water is the rotten egg!" Marshall declared, a cheeky grin on his face before he began to run towards the crystal clear water.
"You're on!" Finn followed in hot pursuit. Typically, everyone else followed too, apart from Meg, Lara and Bubblegum.
"Hey, aren't you two coming?" Bubblegum turned and asked the two girls that sad down under the umbrella for shade.
"No, we're gonna sit it out for now" Lara smiled. "we still need to apply sunscreen and Meg still needs to take it slow sometimes."
"Yeah, doctor said I can't stress my body too much. So when we're ready, we'll come down." Meg smiled.
"Alright, well take your time then" Bubblegum smiled before heading down to join the others. They were all playing in the water, splashing each other and laughing. Gumball popped up underneath Marceline, throwing her into the water. Jake was splashing around like dogs do with Finn and Fiona.
"Well, looks like Bubblegum is the rotten one" Marshall laughed as Bubblegum ran over.
"What about the other two?" Marceline asked.
"They'll be down in a bit. Meg can't stress her body too much still"
"Ah, okay." Gumball nodded. "Makes sense." With that he pushed Bubblegum in the water, laughing.
"You sure you don't want to go ahead and join them?" Meg asked Lara. She had noticed Lara look at them all playing in the sea a few times.
"Don't you worry about me, Meg" Lara smiled, rubbing the last bit of sunscreen on Meg's back. "You come first."
"Lara.."Meg looked to the side, feeling a little guilty. She thought back to all the terrible things she had done and said to Lara in the past. How horrible she had been, yet there Lara was. She took care of her the whole time. Never left her side. The amount of times Meg woke up in the hospital bed to see Lara passed out on the uncomfortable chair beside her. She never really had the chance to really apologize to her. All she knew was that Lara was the only person she knew she could depend on now. And she needed to pick up the courage to say sorry for everything. Yet every time she tried, she'd get a lump in her throat.
"Hey, are you okay?" Lara asked, turning to look at Meg.
"Yeah, I'm fine" Meg smiled, standing up slowly. "Lets go join the others."
"You sure?"
"Yep" Meg nodded, still smiling. "Thanks" With that, they both headed down to the water, too.
Time seemed to pass by in seconds with them all having so much fun together. It wasn't long before the sun began to slowly set, creating a pink hue in the sky. The boiling heat began to calm down into a nice, cool air. After hours of playing in the sea, they decided to head back up and set up a small fire to sit around until it was time for them to head home.
"Man, today has been awesome" Finn beamed, stroking his dog who slept beside him. "Even Jake's all tired out, aren't you, boy?"
"I don't know about you, but I don't even want to go home" Fiona gave a pout.
"Well, you guys are younger and your parents said so. Besides, there's not enough space in the cabin." Marshall replied. He was secretly a little glad Fiona's parents were so against her staying the night. It wasn't that he disliked her, it was just that he didn't feel comfortable sleeping with her in the same building as him. She was the type of girl to creep into his room if she could.
"Speaking of" Gumball nodded up ahead as two headlights lit up near the cabin and Simon came walking down.
"Hey kids." He called. "I'm here to pick up the stragglers." He joked.
"Aww, already?" Fiona moaned again. "Can't we stay a little longer.
"Sorry, sweetie. It takes two hours to get back and I know your parents want you back before nine" he shook his head.
"Hey, that's okay." Finn smiled. "I'm pretty tired. And I'll need to bath Jake, too." He yawned as he stood up, stretching his back. His movement woke Jake up, who stretched and yawned as well.
"Fine, fine." Fiona sulked before getting up, dusting her backside off. "I'll go"
"Good girl. And you two girls as well?" Simon looked at Lara and Meg, who were also picking up their things.
"Yep, us too" Lara smiled. "I had so much fun today, though. A well needed break, that's for sure" she laughed.
"Me too..thanks for inviting me" Meg nodded.
"No problem." Bubblegum smiled.
"Hey, Simon. For the road" Marceline threw a can of juice to Simon, who effortlessly caught it.
"Thanks, Marcie" He smiled. "Well, lets get you kids home. And you four be good"
"We will, don't worry." Gumball reassured.
With that, Fiona, Lara and Finn got in the back and Meg sat in the front next to Simon with their things in the boot.
"You guys have fun!" Lara called from inside the car, everyone waving as Simon started the car.
"We will. Be safe getting home." Bubblegum called back, waving as well.
As the car disappeared, the four friends were left on the beach alone together while the sun fell lower in the sky and the night began to creep in. Their fire was still burning brightly, the cool breeze getting a little chilly.
"Today has been great, huh?" Gumball smiled, stretching slightly.
"Yeah, I'm going to sleep good tonight" Marshall replied with a laugh. "So no matter how loud you two girls are you won't wake me. So don't you worry about that." He joked.
"Jeez, we won't be doing whatever it is you're assuming." Marceline frowned, blushing slightly.
"Alright, alright. Don't embarrass her too much" Gumball added.
"Can you guys believe it, though? Looking at how far we've come." Bubblegum went on as stars began to dot the sky. "All the things we've gone through. Yet here we are, all together. We've graduated together and now we'll go our separate ways to follow our own paths in life." Bubblegum looked into the distance, a nostalgic look in her eyes.
"Yeah, you're right." Marshall nodded. "Sure as hell's gone too fast. Almost wish I could go back to the simpler days. Knowing everything will get harder from here really makes me miss it"
"No kidding" Gumball added. "But it'll also be a great journey for us all. We're going to find ourselves and make something of our lives. Just like we always told ourselves we would. Now the chances are finally here. I'll be heading out to go to the Medical school of my dreams and I'll come back a doctor."
"Hey, why don't we make a promise then?" Marshall went on. "We all have to promise that we'll all be back here together in a couple years, with our studying and careers under our belts. We can sit here again in a couple of years still a group of best friends with a bond just as strong as it is now."
"Yeah, I like that idea." Bubblegum smiled. "I'll be sat here as a fully-fledged scientist just like my parents and I have always wanted. "
"I'll come back a Doctor and have a job at the hospital here" Gumball added.
"I'll be here anyways with my band having took off. Maybe I'll tour a bit, but in the end I'll come back here" They all smiled and agreed before Bubblegum turned and noticed Marceline sitting quietly, not saying a word into the conversation.
"What about you, Marceline?" She asked, gently placing her hand over her partners.
"O-oh, erm.." Marceline was taken back slightly and shook her sadness off and laughed. "Oh, I don't know. Haven't decided yet." She laughed nervously. "But I guess with your confidence it means you've been accepted, right?" She asked Bubblegum, who was also then taken back.
"Oh.." Bubblegum swallowed hard, her lips dry before slowly nodding. "Yeah, I have been."
"That's great!" Marceline beamed. But with how thick her act was, it was a little obvious she wasn't actually that ecstatic about it. "Sorry, though. I don't have any great achievement or goals in life. So I'll just always be here. But you guys shouldn't let that stop you or the promise."
"Marceline.." Bubblegum spoke softly, still taken back.
"You're still included whether you like it or not, Marceline." Marshall replied bluntly, taking a sip of his drink. "You're a part of this group or not. Whether you have your shit figured out yet or not, that's fine. Just promise we'll see you here in a couple years with us, still the same as you've always been."
Marceline was a little surprised by what Marshall said, but it hit her. Marshall's words had almost brought tears to her eyes. Not because they were hurtful, but because it meant that much to her. But it would make sense that Marshall knew what to say to her. The two were very alike in a lot of ways. If it wasn't for Marshall's band, he'd be in the same position. It was the only thing that gave him a clear path in life.
"Yeah.." Marceline nodded. "I can promise that."
"Good." Marshall nodded before smiling. "Then it's settled. No one can go back on this promise."
"Well, I think it's simple enough. Since I'll be coming back anyway." Gumball laughed.
"Yeah, me too" Bubblegum nodded. However, there was a weight on her heart from how Marceline was before. It was clear there was a poisonous tension between the two girls right now and Bubblegum wanted to fix it. After all, if there was one person she couldn't bare being on bad terms with, it was Marceline.
"Ah, well! "Gumball stood up. "I'm going to use the shower. I can feel the sand starting to irritate me a bit. There's only one shower, so we'll have to take turns" He added, heading towards the cabin. "I won't be long.
"Yeah, okay. I'll head in after." Marshall nodded. "I'm just gonna take the cooler inside." He picked up the large cooler box before carrying it off to the cabin as well, leaving both girls in silence by the fire.
"So, when were you going to tell me?" Marceline broke the silence, making Bubblegum jump slightly. She didn't turn to look at her pink-haired girlfriend. She just stared emotionless into the fire. "Or were you waiting to just disappear on me?"
"Marceline, no.." Bubblegum replied quickly. "Look, I just…I didn't know how to tell you"
"And why not?" "Marceline frowned. "It's not like I'd stop you."
"It's not that." Bubblegum went on. "I knew there would be tension from it." Bubblegum looked town, tears stinging her eyes. It's not like it didn't hurt her, too. "I don't want to fight with you so close to the deadline…"
Marceline remained silent for a moment, hearing Bubblegum's voice break. She remembered what Simon had told her while she rubbed her previously injured knuckles slowly. She knew it wasn't any easier on Bubblegum. The last thing they needed was to waste their last week together on bad terms.
"It's not that I'm mad." Marceline went on. "I'm just a little hurt you didn't tell me. I know how important this is for you, so I wanted to be the first to know."
Bubblegum looked at Marceline a little surprised, unsure of how to respond.
"And yeah, I do hate it. I mean, look at you. You're going off to a university to study science and come back a scientist just like your parents and you have always wanted. I'm just going to be left behind with nothing until you come home again" Marceline admitted.
"Marceline.." Bubblegum's bottom lip quivered, Marceline's words breaking her heart a little. "Don't say that.."
"It's true and you know it." Marceline lowered her head. "my parents are gone, always have been. All I have is Simon and he doesn't have any expectations. My only family is you guys and now you're leaving me, too. I'll be left behind, the same old Marceline I've always been. Just a slacker with no goals in life. Meanwhile, you'll be doing your parents proud. You'll be doing everything you've wanted to. And in the end you'll come back here with so much greatness with you. And I'll just…be unchanged with nothing. You won't want to come back to me at all"
"Shut up!" Bubblegum snapped, startling Marceline. "You really think that's true? I'd give it all up in a heartbeat to stay with you if you asked me to. Knowing you're here waiting for me will give me the strength I need so I can make it. Whether you're the same Marceline I've always known and loved, or a new one, I'll come back to be with you."
"Promise me"
"Huh?" Bubblegum blinked.
"Promise me you'll come back to me" Marceline looked at Bubblegum with tears brimming.
"I promise, Marceline." Bubblegum nodded, pulling Marceline close into a hug.