warnings - eating disorder (mention)
dekkasaurus - duuuude, hollence is one of my notps, i'll probably never move over to the dark side. hollstein is too close to my heart. i just don't really like Danny tbh, she's okay in small doses but once she's in multiple episodes in a row she starts to annoy me and i'm just like 'yeah, okay, i get it, leave now'. Vamp!Danny might grow on me though. i really want to know what made Perry so 'be normal!' from how she is in season zero but half the time i'm too busy staring at Carm to pay attention to the storyline ahaha.
tada001 - yeah, there probably would be a warning for something like that, depending on if i actually write it in detail. but then that'd probably bump the story up to an M rating and idk if i want to do that. hmmmm.
anyways, i hope you guys have an awesomely spooky Halloween (if you celebrate it) no matter what your plans are - mine are finishing off my supply of vodka and watching all of the Alien/Predator/Alien vs Predator movies with my friend. :)
Friday 31st October 2014
"You're sure this won't be awkward?" Keila asked for the umpteenth time as she put her black Playstation controller down and picked up her can of beer.
Honestly, Marceline had no idea if it would be awkward or if everything would run smoothly. She'd kind of stopped caring. Bonnie would make sure that everything went well. Besides, if Marceline's plan went accordingly, she and Keila would spend Halloween as they always did – drinking and watching scary movies – while Bonnie and her friends did whatever nerdy things they did in their free time.
(Marceline still didn't really get why Bonnibel's friends wanted to come, if she was being truthful.)
After a while, Marceline sipped her beer – drinking at 4PM was a new record for her – and shrugged, "Fairly certain. They all seemed happy enough to come so I think it'll be okay."
Keila stared at her for a moment, an eyebrow raised and the usual smile absent. She looked doubtful, like she didn't believe Marceline at all.
(A few months ago Marceline probably wouldn't have believed it either.)
"I'm not going to question you. If you think it'll be fine, we'll see how things go." Keila pressed play on the game again and Marceline hurriedly put her beer can back down on the cheery yellow coaster on the coffee table, picking up her controller and moving her character along the screen. "Do you want me to be nice to them?"
Marceline scoffed. Like that was even an option. "You're nice to everyone." The doubtful expression returned, so Marceline pressed on, pausing the game again, "You are. You were nice to Bonnie when you first met her, and I know for a fact you'll be nice to everyone else. I'm the bitchy one, remember?"
Keila looked away from the television screen and in Marceline's direction, "I was nice to Bonnibel because I knew that you had a massive crush on her. Half of the people that are going to be here were horrible to you a few years ago. How have you just forgotten that?"
Marceline knew this side of Keila well. The protective best friend came out whenever Marceline so much as mentioned Bonnie's friends, and she really didn't like it. Marceline could take care of herself, and although it was nice to know that Keila cared, she wasn't a child.
Keila's walls were going to be up for the night and Marceline knew it, which meant she was going to have to be the accommodating, happy one. That happened every once in a blue moon, and it would end up happening if Marceline didn't manage to convince Keila that Bonnie's friends actually were – shockingly – nice.
Marceline sighed, "I haven't forgotten it." She didn't think she ever could. "One of them apologised to me and I didn't invite the other two. You can be nice to the others."
Keila eyed her warily, "Alright," She leaned forward and grabbed her beer again, downing the can's contents, "but I'm going to have to be a little tipsy."
Marceline laughed, taking the controller from Keila's lap before she could start their game up again, and pulled her best friend in for a hug. She gave her a little squeeze for emphasis. "Thank you."
She felt Keila sigh against her, and the older girl's arms slowly wrapped around her midriff, "Don't worry about it." Keila pulled back and sent her a full blown grin – this was more like her. "You know I'd do anything for you."
"Thanks," Marceline repeated herself. She felt a little better knowing that her usually extroverted best friend planned on being her chatty, welcoming self. "They're coming round soon. I told them four, so they should be here in a few. Knowing Bonnie, they should only be a few minutes."
"From that I'm going to guess that Bonnibel is super prompt all the time and stuff."
Marceline nodded, widening her eyes for effect, "Oh yeah. She's insanely organised. It's kind of scary." After Keila's laugh and a moment of silence, Marceline added, "In a cute way, of course."
Keila opened her mouth to retort – probably some comment about how smitten Marceline was – but there was a knock on the front door and Marceline jumped up to answer it.
(She wasn't in the mood for any potentially embarrassing comments.)
Marceline slipped out of the front room and grabbed the front door keys – since she and Keila were home alone, they'd locked the door – and unlocked it. Immediately, Marceline grinned at the Bonnie-shaped outline on the outside of the door. There were others there too, but for a moment Marceline didn't care because Bonnie was smiling at her through the glass and that smile could make Marceline forget about anything.
"Hey!" Bonnie instantly enveloped Marceline in a hug, "You're eighteen."
"Really? I didn't know." Marceline rolled her eyes as she pulled back; the sarcastic comment earned her an adorable little glare from Bonnie that evaporated into a smile in nanoseconds. "Hey, dork."
Bonnibel boosted herself up onto her tiptoes and pecked Marceline on the lips, pressing a gift-wrapped box into her hands, "Happy birthday. Here's your present."
Marceline frowned at the – unsurprisingly – neatly wrapped box. "You didn't have to get me anything."
"Yes I did." Bonnibel rolled her eyes as she slipped her shoes off. Lady and Jake – who had come with her – mirrored her action. "I would be a terrible girlfriend if I hadn't. You're eighteen, Marcy. That's important."
Marceline laughed, "Hardly," Nodding down at the gift, she smiled, "but thanks."
As Bonnie shrugged her coat off, Lady turned to Marceline and pulled her in for an unexpected hug. "Happy birthday, Marceline." Lady squeezed her before pulling back, "You'll be happy to hear that Jake and I got you some Twizzlers. Bubblegum told us they were your favourites."
"You really didn't need to do that." Marceline responded, "I told you guys not to."
Lady waved her off like it was no big deal. Marceline didn't think she understood why this was the biggest deal. "Shush. It's your birthday, you deserve presents."
Marceline gestured towards the living room. "Keila's in there. We're playing video games."
As they made their way into the living room ahead of her, Marceline finally got a good look at their costumes. Lady was dressed as a witch, donning a weird, clearly store-bought purple dress and a messed up black wig that was topped with a crooked witch's hat. Jake was a werewolf – Marceline assumed he'd just taken an old shirt and ripped it, shoving bits of store-bought fur under there. And he'd gone a little crazy with the fake blood. In Marceline's opinion, Bonnie's costume was the cutest.
(And that wasn't because she was biased.)
Bonnie's pink locks were covered by the wig she'd bought when they went to town the other week – although there was a loose strand near the back that Marceline should probably tell her about – and she was wearing some black pants that were a little short on her, along with a buttoned up lab coat that Bonnibel had dabbed bright red splotches of fake blood on. She'd torn some holes in it – purposely, Marceline assumed – and she'd used face paint to make herself appear paler.
Yep, Marceline thought, absolutely adorable.
Marceline took her spot on the floor next to Keila and nodded up to Bonnie's friends, "Say hi."
Keila shot her a little glare, although Marceline could tell that it was only half-serious. "Fine," She looked up to Bonnibel, Lady and Jake and sent them a smile, "Hi."
Rolling her eyes, Marceline said, "This is Keila. She's my best friend."
Lady sent Keila a bright smile, "I'm Lady, and this is my boyfriend Jake. It's nice to meet you. I think I met you at the mall one time?"
"A few months back, yeah." Keila bobbed her head in confirmation. Marceline could tell that she was still a little wary, but she appreciated Keila's kindness.
Jake frowned at her, "Do you like pretending that you're scary too, or is that just Marceline?"
Keila laughed as Marceline glowered, "That's just her. She doesn't like talking to people."
"Okay," Marceline cut in. She didn't want the conversation going down that road, "Let's talk about something else, yeah? Something not about me."
Bonnibel sat down on Marceline's left, "We can talk about how you two aren't in costumes."
"Yeah," Lady backed Bonnie up, "Where's your Halloween spirit?"
Marceline and Keila exchanged a glance. Sure, they both had vampire fangs and fake blood upstairs, but they didn't plan on wearing actual costumes. That was too much effort for just hanging around the house watching scary movies. Plus, they weren't the dressing up type.
Eventually, Marceline held up her beer can, which was nearly empty, "Here's my Halloween spirit."
Bonnibel jabbed her elbow into Marceline's ribs. "Come on. You said you were going to be a vampire or something."
Marceline shrugged, "I'm scary enough. I don't need a costume."
Bonnie found Marceline's hand, "You're about as scary as a kitten." She tucked a stray strand of hair behind Marceline's ear, "At least go put in those fake fangs and I'll put fake blood on you."
Marceline let out a heavy sigh, "Fine."
Bonnibel stretched and stood up, pulling Marceline up by her hand, "Come on. Let's go upstairs and I'll make you look scary."
"I'm not sure that's what you want your girlfriend to do." Marceline pointed out as she trailed after Bonnibel, towards the front room door, "If anyone else comes, the keys are in the door."
Jake nodded in acknowledgement and Marceline sent Keila one last smile before Bonnie's fingers clasped around her wrist and she was pulled out of the room and up the stairs.
Bonnibel opened the door to Marceline's room with her foot, noticing the two sets of fake vampire fangs and the little tube of fake blood on her dresser. She scooped up the fake blood and the fangs, setting one set aside on Marceline's bedside table. "Sit down."
Marceline sat down on her bed, Bonnie sitting next to her. "What're you planning on doing?"
Bonnie dodged the question completely, "Do you have any cotton balls? Or cotton swabs? I need something I can dip in the fake blood that won't spill everywhere."
Marceline bobbed her head in confirmation, "I have some cotton swabs in the bathroom. They're in the box under the sink."
Bonnibel stood up with the intention of going into the bathroom, but Marceline's fingers slowly wrapped around her wrist and pulled her back, "What's wrong?"
Bonnie perched on the edge of the bed and sent Marceline a reassuring smile. She couldn't read her girlfriend's expression – Marceline was staring at her with a weird, neutral look, and not even her eyes were showing emotion, which was weird for her.
"Nothing's wrong." Marceline said, "Just…" She ducked her head downwards and stared at her lap, "thanks for everything."
Bonnibel blinked in confusion, "Where's this coming from?"
Marceline rolled her shoulders back in a shrug, still not daring to look in Bonnie's direction. "I don't know, it's just…" Marceline blew air out of her nose in…was that annoyance? Bonnie couldn't tell. "This is super embarrassing but like…if it wasn't for you I feel like I wouldn't be as happy and I'd probably still be alone and stuff and I just want you to know that I appreciate you a lot even if I joke around and say stupid things. So thanks. Because if it wasn't for you not giving up on me, I doubt tonight would be happening."
Bonnie's face broke out into a grin and she leaned forward, pushing Marceline's face up by her chin to make her girlfriend meet her gaze. She leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to Marceline's lips. "You don't need to thank me for…being your friend, I guess. I think," Bonnibel pulled Marceline in for a hug, playing with her soft hair, "it totally sucks that you were alone at school and I hate thinking about it because I just…I remember that you've been hurt in the past and it's so - it…"
"Sucks?" Marceline finished for her, finally looking up at Bonnie voluntarily. "Thanks for not making fun of me for that confession."
"Why would I make fun of you?" Bonnie's eyebrows shot up behind the hairline of the wig she was wearing.
Marceline shrugged, "I don't know. Because I'm not good with the feelings thing, I guess?"
Bonnibel smiled, "You're fine with the feelings thing when you get to know someone. Like me, for instance. You trusted me enough to tell me about your eating disorder, and -"
"Don't." Marceline cut in, a little harshly. Bonnie was taken aback. "Please don't refer to it directly. It makes me uncomfortable."
Bonnie felt a little pang of guilt in her chest, "Sorry. I didn't mean to."
Bonnie couldn't help but notice how Marceline had collapsed into herself at the mention of it, hiding like a tortoise in its shell at the sight of a predator. Her gaze dropped to her feet and she brought her knees against her chest as some sort of protection from anyone nearby.
And that terrified Bonnie.
"It's okay. You didn't know." Marceline murmured eventually, resting her chin on her knees. "Don't you need to go and get a cotton swab?"
"Oh, right," Bonnibel blinked in remembrance and jumped up from her spot on the bed. She awkwardly motioned towards the door, "I'll be two seconds."
Marceline picked at a loose thread on her bedsheets, "Okay."
Bonnie slid out of the room and into the bathroom, finding the cotton swabs exactly where Marceline had told her they'd be. Then she pushed the door open and sat back down on the bed, picking up the tube of fake blood.
She glanced up at Marceline, feeling someone pull on the invisible string in her chest. She felt sick. Marceline seemed fixated on the thread on her bed, and Bonnie knew she was trying to stop thinking about what she'd said.
Dryly, Bonnie let out a strangled, "I hate what it does to you."
Bonnie saw Marceline's throat jump with a gulp, and she looked up at her. "Me too."
"Can we just," Bonnibel looked down to the fake blood in her hand, "try and talk about something happy? I'm really sorry for everything."
"Don't be sorry." It was quiet – barely audible – but Bonnie caught it. "It's not your fault."
"Yeah, and it's not yours." Bonnie dropped the fake blood and held Marceline's cool, pale hand in her own, "I'm stupid for saying stuff that might affect you."
Marceline blinked at her. She knew that Bonnie wouldn't let her apologise, and she wouldn't accept it if Marceline told her she was okay. Bonnie was stubborn like that.
Marceline took a while formulating a response. She didn't want the conversation to stay on this topic – she didn't want a panic attack on her birthday. That would suck. Instead, she decided on changing the subject; it would make things easier on both of them. "Have you started watching Buffy yet?"
Bonnie's face sunk into a frown, but Marceline knew she'd catch on. Bonnie knew her almost as well as she knew herself. "Not really, no. I think I watched two or three episodes of season one."
Marceline let out a scoff. It wasn't as effective as usual, but it worked. "Hurry up. Then you'll be able to understand all my references."
Bonnibel sighed. She was so angry at herself for upsetting Marceline on her birthday. God, she was an idiot. "Watch it with me? We can have a binge-watching session next time we have a sleepover."
"Okay." Marceline nodded as Bonnie dipped a cotton swab into the tube of fake blood, "Sounds like a plan. I'll bring my DVDs."
"You have all the seasons on DVD?" Bonnie sent her an incredulous look as she started dabbing little droplets of fake blood around the corner of Marceline's mouth to make her look as though she'd just been drinking blood. "Didn't that cost a lot of money?"
"Not really," Marceline was hesitant to reply in case she ruined what Bonnie was trying to do, "because it's a 90's and early 2000's show it didn't cost as much."
"That's pretty cool," Bonnie commented, "We can watch it on my laptop and snuggle."
Marceline smiled. That sounded like fun. "Yeah, alright."
"You know what? I'm going to call you Marceline the Vampire Queen." Bonnie said as she sat down next to Marceline on the couch with her third can of coke. She poked at the – now dry – fake blood and smiled, "You're a cute vampire."
Marceline beamed at her, leaning in and kissing her on the neck. Bonnie was fairly certain that if Marceline was sober, she would've been yelling about how she wasn't cute and arguing with her. "Thanks. You're a pretty scientist."
Bonnie grinned, "Good thing that one can be applied to everyday life, isn't it?"
Marceline shifted so her head was on Bonnie's lap, her legs spread across the sofa. "You're cute more than you're pretty though. Which is weird because you're super pretty."
Bonnie laughed. Marceline had been giving her vaguely coherent compliments all night – she'd come back over to her after hanging out with a drunken Keila and give her a strange compliment that would make Bonnie smile or call her adorable. Probably both.
Bonnie weaved her hands through Marceline's soft hair, "What do you mean by that?"
"Well…you're all short and cute. You're like a little gnome." Marceline rolled over so she was facing the ceiling and traced patterns on Bonnie's thigh through the too-small black pants she'd borrowed from her Mom, "You're my little gnome. Science gnome."
Bonnibel smiled as Marceline sat herself up, "I'm not sure whether I should take that as an insult or a compliment."
Marceline looked so offended that Bonnie wanted to laugh even harder than she already had been, "Compliment. You're a tiny cutie pie."
"I'm not that small." Bonnie laughed, "I'm 5'3 and pudgy. Unless you meant height wise, I'm not tiny."
Marceline let out an adorable little giggle that made Bonnie momentarily forget her basic bodily functions and just sit there and stare at her because god, was her drunk girlfriend adorable. "Pudgy is a funny word."
"You're so…" Bonnie bit on her lip and kissed Marceline on the forehead, "It is a funny word, isn't it?" She poked herself in the side, "See? Pudgy."
Marceline cuddled up to her, "Pudgy gnome."
"How long are we going to stick with the gnome thing?" Bonnie asked. Marceline had called her an elf for about fifteen minutes and referred to her as Princess Peach for another ten, so Bonnie guessed that this would last for something similar to that.
"Forever." Marceline murmured into Bonnie's neck, "You're my science gnome."
Bonnie still didn't think that the nickname would last for more than half an hour; Marceline had assured she'd keep calling her an elf until the end of time, and that had died out pretty quickly.
"Alright then," Bonnie smiled, "I'm your science gnome. Do you want to go back and see Keila?"
Marceline glanced over to Keila, who was laid out on the other sofa, half asleep. Bonnie was pretty sure she'd called her Mom and told her to pick her up at eleven; everyone else had gone home at ten. Although, it was almost midnight. Bonnie supposed they'd probably need a stretcher to get Keila into the car, if anyone showed up.
"No. I'm happy here." Marceline looked back to her and that fuzzy, drunken smile came back. "You're a pretty gnome."
Bonnie laughed, "You've told me that already, Marcy. I appreciate the compliments, though."
"When I look at you," Marceline grabbed Bonnie's arm and draped it over herself, "I feel all fuzzy. Like I can't think. And I like it a lot."
Bonnie pushed her lips against Marceline's cheek and brushed her hair from her face, "I know. I get that too." Bonnie let out a happy sigh and continued, "It's great, isn't it?"
"Yeah." Marceline nodded into her neck and began playing with Bonnie's pink hair, "You're great. You're my ghoulfriend."
Bonnie shrugged, "Horrible puns aside - you're greater." At Marceline's doubtful snort, Bonnie persisted, "You are. And you're all mine."
"Well, not all yours." Marceline said, and for a moment Bonnie thought the worst and her heart jumped to her throat and she felt like she was going to be sick, "Other people get some pieces too. Like Simon and Betty. They can have…an arm. And Keila can have a leg. My brother might get a toenail. You get the most, though."
Bonnibel felt a cool sense of relief wash over her like a tidal wave. "What parts do I get?"
"Um…the remaining arm and leg and toenails," Marceline bit on her lip in thought, "and everything else."
Out of curiosity, Bonnie asked, "What does your Dad get?"
Marceline made a noise that was half a snort and half a scoff, "An eyelash."
Bonnie let out a short laugh, "You're so sweet when you're drunk. Sober Marcy just tries to be all cool and punk rock all the time. This is nice."
"I am punk rock." Marceline insisted while pouting, which was probably the least punk rock thing she could've done. "And you're…you're probably Taylor Swift pop."
Bonnie guessed that would be the new nickname for the next fifteen minutes. "You'll be happy to know that I really like Taylor Swift, so that's pretty accurate."
"Her latest album is like my favourite thing in the world right now," Marceline replied, "What's your favourite song?"
"I'll only tell you if you promise not to laugh," Okay, so asking a drunk person not to laugh was probably pretty stupid, but Bonnie didn't care, "Wildest Dreams is my favourite. Maybe You Are In Love, too."
Marceline frowned at her, tilting her head to the side like a confused puppy, "Why is that funny?"
"Because I'm probably the gayest person alive and I like singing along to a song that's about a guy who is so tall and handsome as hell. I usually change the pronouns when I sing it." Bonnibel rolled her eyes. It really wasn't all that funny, but drunk people laughed at anything. "What about you? What's your favourite?"
Marceline hummed in thought, "I Know Places."
"That one is pretty cool," Bonnie commented, running a hand through Marceline's hair. "What's your favourite song of hers in general? Mine's Sweeter than Fiction. Or Back to December."
"Crazier or Stay Stay Stay," Marceline yawned and Bonnie smiled that soft smile that usually only made an appearance when she was thinking about how cute Marceline was.
(Naturally, it made a lot of appearances.)
"I want to take a nap." Marceline announced, shuffling away from Bonnibel and standing up. She stretched, staggering a little bit, but to Bonnie's relief she regained her footing. "Are you coming?"
Bonnibel bobbed her head in confirmation. "Yeah, just stay there."
Bonnie grabbed a blanket from where it was folded at the top of the couch and unfolded it, draping it over Keila. Then she spun on her heels and smiled at Marceline.
"Are we going?" Marceline asked. She looked so innocent and confused and Bonnie knew that soft smile was back.
Bonnie walked over and grabbed hold of her girlfriend's hand, leading her towards the door, "Yep, we are."
Getting Marceline up the stairs wasn't too tricky – although she nearly tripped over her own feet two or three times – and before she knew it, Bonnie was helping her step into her pyjama bottoms.
Bonnie dug around in Marceline's drawers and pulled out an older, baggier t-shirt, handing it over to her girlfriend who was sat on her bed wearing her sweatpants and a black bra, swinging her legs off the edge.
Marceline took the shirt from her and pulled it over her head – well, sort of. She got about halfway when her head got stuck.
"Marceline, sweetie, that's the arm hole." Bonnie laughed, walking over to her girlfriend. It was hard to untangle the mess of black hair that was in and out of the shirt – Bonnie didn't know how Marceline had managed that – and helped her head through the right part of the shirt.
Marceline managed to get the rest of the shirt on by herself and then shuffled back on her bed, snuggling under the covers. She patted the spot next to her and beamed when Bonnibel – who hadn't planned on sleeping over – took off the black pants, lab coat and wig and got into bed in her shirt and underwear. She supposed that would have to do; she didn't want to leave an intoxicated Marceline by herself. Although Bonnie knew she'd probably been alone while drunk before, she couldn't help but think of horrible scenarios in which she'd hurt herself or worse, and she wasn't going to let any of those happen. No way. Not if she had a say in it.
She felt Marceline's arms snake around her and her girlfriend buried her face in her neck, "Night, Bonnie."
Bonnibel smiled at her, "Night, Marcy."
Marceline beamed up at her, "You're still wearing your Halloween makeup."
"I'll stay here until you fall asleep and then take it off," Bonnie said. At least, she would if she didn't fall asleep herself. Which she probably would.
Marceline's eyelids were heavy and starting to slowly droop until they were closed, and Bonnie quickly licked her thumb and began rubbing at the fake blood she'd dabbed on the corners of Marceline's mouth. "You're still wearing your Halloween makeup, too."
Marceline mumbled something in response, but Bonnie didn't quite catch it; before she could ask Marceline to repeat herself, her girlfriend was fast asleep, like someone had marched inside of Marceline's head and flipped a switch to send her to dreamland.
It wasn't long before that same someone flipped the switch in Bonnie's head, too.
one of those Taylor Swift songs has relevance. have fun figuring out which. ;)
