Chapter 7 - Bonnie (Originally Published: 18 September 2015)
Bonnie covered her mouth as a yawn escaped her. Getting out of bed that morning was an accomplishment all its own - one that she probably wouldn't have achieved if her mum had not come into her room to silence the persistent beeping of her alarm clock. It wasn't her fault for ignoring it - not only did Bonnie stay up late the night before watching a documentary, but with autumn came the perfect weather to keep you in your warm, cosy bed all day. Mondays were rubbish, she determined, and went by far too slow for her liking; she and Aeryn had only just gotten out of maths.
"Have you decided where you're going to apply for uni?" Aeryn punctuated her question with a yawn, giving Bonnie an agitated look for starting some kind of sleepy domino effect.
"I was actually looking into MIT."
"MIT? But that's-"
"One of the leading universities for chemistry in the world," Bonnie finished for her. She had anticipated Aeryn's protest. "I've already sent off my application."
Aeryn walked wordlessly beside her for a time. "You'll be so far away though," she finally said.
"It's not as if I'll never visit, Aer. Besides, I haven't even been accepted yet."
"You will," Aeryn said confidently. "By the way, Jake called me last night."
Bonnie had the slightest inkling that the two of them had been getting closer lately. It's about bloody time. "How'd that go?"
"He asked me to come over before the party to help set things up. And then we talked about going to see a film next weekend."
"That's exciting. Do you think he'll finally ask you to be his girlfriend?"
Aeryn nervously wrinkled her nose. "I hope so." She and Jake were both so shy when it came to relationships that Bonnie wished she could be there to see them tiptoe around the subject. "He's also a little worried about Finn."
She was not expecting to hear that. "What's wrong with Finn?"
"Apparently he's been acting kind of weird at home. I don't really know. You should talk to Jake when you see him," Aeryn said, stopping at the spot where they usually split off for their next class.
"I haven't noticed anything, but I'll bring it up." Bonnie gave her a hug and they said their goodbyes, heading in different directions for the next class.
When Bonnie walked into the science room, she saw that her childhood friend had not yet arrived. She didn't really expect her to be on time. Marceline seldom was.
"Ah! Miss Bauers, may I speak with you for a moment?" Professor Carson sat at his desk, tapping the fingers of one hand on the knuckles of his other. He reminded Bonnie of a happy bumblebee - always in motion with his weird little tics, and always smiling. At times she wondered how his son turned out to be the exact opposite of him. "Yes, sir?"
The professor rifled through his desk, producing an unopened package of hair ties. "We will be going to the lab today. Would you be so kind as to hand these out to everyone with long hair once we get in there?"
"Of course. Is that all?"
"Yes, I believe so. Thank you." He smiled brightly, his glasses sliding down his face as they always did.
The bell for class to begin rang just as Bonnie found her seat. As was required by the school, Professor Carson got up from his desk to close the door so that any tardy students could be accounted for. When the ringing sound died out, the squeaking of sneakers against the waxed floor could be heard drawing nearer. Oh dear...
Marceline burst in the door, nearly barrelling into a startled Professor Carson. "Not late!" she shouted triumphantly, generating an uproar of laughter from their classmates. As she walked by to get to her own seat, Marceline's fingers danced along Bonnie's desk as if they'd been walking alongside her.
Professor Carson cleared his throat, waiting patiently for the class to quiet down. "Right-o! Today we're going to have a very short lesson on oxidation, and then we're off to the lab to observe it for ourselves!" He looked so delightfully pleased with himself. "I'm sure you're all quite excited for that." Pushing his glasses up his nose, he added, "To make things more fun, we will be splitting off into groups of two. So pick a partner that you're going to be able to work well with."
Knowing that she would be working with Marceline, Bonnie jotted down careful notes. It wouldn't do for them to mess up the experiment and get a bad grade… or worse. When it was time for them to go to the lab, she stood sentry at the door to hand out hair ties to all the people in her class that needed them. Marceline waited at the end of the queue so that they could walk to the lab together. Being that they were last, there was only one lab table left available to them. Unfortunately, it happened to be behind Leslie Peterson.
Professor Carson set a box on top of one of the tables at the front. "Eleanor, can you come up here and help me hand these out?"
The class looked around, confused. Next to her, Marceline had a strange look on her face that Bonnie couldn't make heads or tails of.
"There's no one called Eleanor in this class," a student at the front of the room said. Bonnie was glad she never wanted to become a teacher. Learning hundreds of new names and faces each year would have been frustrating.
"Yes, she's right-" His smile faltered, fading slowly. "Of course. My apologies. I was thinking of a different class." Professor Carson set himself to handing out goggles and other safety equipment.
"How was your weekend?" Bonnie asked her lab partner. They hadn't talked since Friday and Marceline appeared to be in a sour mood when she left school that day.
"Yes, Marceline. How was your weekend?" Leslie asked, turning to face them with the sinister grin that Bonnie knew her so well for.
Marceline ignored her. "It was fine," she told Bonnie quietly.
Leslie forced a loud, mocking laugh. "Just fine? I heard somebody got lucky," she said in a sing-song voice.
"You don't know what the fuck you're talking about," Marceline snapped. "Stop trying to start shit."
Professor Carson called for their attention, seemingly oblivious to the conflict at the back of the room. "Before we begin the experiment, I have to ask that none of you look directly at the magnesium ribbon as it burns. It will emit an intense light that may even damage your eyesight. Secondly, since we will be dealing with an open flame I'm going to have to remind those of you who were handed hair ties to put your hair up."
Bonnie could sense the sudden rigidity in Marceline. "Are you okay?" she whispered.
Marceline shook her head. "I don't want to do this experiment."
"I'll do most of the work if you want me to, but at least put your hair up so we don't get in trouble." Bonnie put her hand on Marceline's arm in an attempt to be comforting. The action just seemed to make her tense up even more.
"I don't have a hair tie."
"What happened to the one I gave you?"
"I flicked Noah in the back of the head with it."
Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Here." She pulled off the spare hair tie that she kept around her wrist in case of emergencies. "This is my favourite hair tie. I'm going to let you borrow it, but you have to swear you won't lose it."
Marceline nodded.
"Or flick it at anyone."
She jerked it out of Bonnie's hand. "Okay. Geez."
"Marceline, that means you too," Professor Carson said. A few of the other students turned in their seats to look at the two of them, Leslie included.
Sighing, she reluctantly pulled her hair back into a bun, revealing dozens of deep red blemishes that ran all up and down the side of her neck, previously hidden by her long hair.
So, Leslie was right.
A terrible, sharp pain erupted in Bonnie's chest. She wasn't entirely sure it was because Marceline tried to hide it from her. It was just this weird feeling of... Jealousy? Was Bonnie jealous that Leslie knew more about Marceline's love life than she did? She had no idea what this sorry feeling was. All she knew was that she wanted to wipe that smug look off Leslie's face.
"What were you saying, Marceline? Because I think I do know what the fuck I'm talking about," Leslie said, turning back to her table.
Bonnie tried to gauge how her lab partner was feeling at that moment, but Marceline wouldn't even look at her. Bonnie ended up doing most of the experiment, not unwillingly. She just wished that Marceline would talk to her. About anything.
More times than she liked, she found herself staring at Marceline's neck.
After it cooled down, Bonnie weighed the crucible she used in the experiment and took note of the changes it underwent throughout the lab. When they'd been able to turn the Bunsen burner off, Marceline immediately took her hair down and buried her face in her arms on the table. She didn't move until class ended, and as soon as it did she took off before Bonnie could even say anything.
She figured that Marceline would calm down by lunchtime. Hopefully by then, Bonnie could try to gently bring it up. If anything, just to let Marceline know that Bonnie wanted to be there for her if she needed to talk about anything. Hoisting her bag up, and ignoring the sneering remark she'd gotten from Leslie, she made her way to the gymnasium. Aeryn and Jake were standing outside talking, and she didn't want to disturb them now that they'd finally made progress in their budding relationship, so she went to the locker room to get changed for class.
After stretching her legs, she took a deep breath, sizing up - for the first time - the court that they ran around every day. Then, putting one foot in front of the other, she broke into a run. Bonnie pushed her body as hard as she could, and then she pushed it harder. For once, she kept track of how many laps she'd finished. One. Two. Three. She wasn't sure why it bothered her so much that Marceline was being dodgy - she had her own life and maybe Bonnie just wasn't as big a part of that anymore - but she tried to outrun the way it made her stomach twist into huge, unyielding knots. Four. Five. Six. Perhaps Aeryn was right when she said that Bonnie needed to talk to Marceline about the way she'd been acting. Seven. By just getting everything out of her system she'd feel better and come to some conclusion about whether the friendship was still meaningful to both girls. Eight. After all, communication is important in any relationship. Nine. Bonnie thought that maybe if she kept running, she'd sweat out that awful feeling. Ten.
At least, that's what she hoped for, but she still felt terrible when Coach Thierry blew his whistle to indicate that there were only ten minutes left of third period. Breathing deeply, she jogged to the locker room. Today she was quick to shower and get dressed. If she wanted to have time to speak with Marceline, she was going to have to hurry.
Jake was waiting for her when she got out of the locker room. "Hey Bonnie. Can I talk to you?"
"Sure. What's going on?"
Jake walked in stride with her swift pace. "I told Finn to go to lunch already. I wanted to ask you if there's any chance you can get us a deal on some pizzas at that place you used to work."
Bonnie nodded. "I'm sure I can. I'll talk to Chet after school today."
"That's awesome. Thanks. There's something else though."
"About Finn?" Bonnie asked.
Jake scratched his chin. He hadn't shaved his facial hair in a few days, so he looked kind of scraggly. She did think that the moustache was a good look for him though. "Did Aeryn already tell you?"
"Not in detail."
"He's just been acting kind of freaky since he got home Saturday," Jake said.
"Saturday?"
Jake nodded. "Yeah. He hitched a ride from school with this kid called Stanley and stayed the night at the dude's house for a project."
Bonnie wrinkled her brow in confusion. Maybe Jake misheard, because she saw Finn leave with Marceline. "How exactly is he acting different?"
Jake thought about it. "He's only being weird around me, I think. I'm not sure why. He's just being totally awkward and avoiding me."
"I see." Bonnie wasn't going to tell Jake that he'd been wrong. There was probably a misunderstanding. Finn wasn't the kind of person who would be dishonest, especially not to Jake. She was just going to have to talk to the two of them separately and figure out what was going on.
"Are you seeing this?" Jake asked, his jaw dropping.
A crowd gathered around their lunch table, trying to push around each other to see who would win in an arm wrestling match between Finn and Marceline - so far, they were at a standstill. For some reason, Bonnie wasn't the least bit surprised. Looking around the cafeteria, she learned that when a quarter of the room was not in their seats it was fairly easy to spot other people you knew. Even ones you didn't particularly care for. A certain drama club president showed great interest in the competition. Bonnie was sure it was entirely to look for something to gossip about, and that really put her off.
The winner was left undetermined as Principal Earle swooped in on them. "Stop this at once! This is unacceptable!"
The other students scattered, and Bonnie was finally able to sit down.
"Need I remind you, Abadeer, that you are treading on thin ice as it is? It would not be wise to draw any more unwanted attention to yourself. Do I make myself clear?"
Marceline had that defiant look in her eyes. The same one that caused Bonnie to be grounded so many times when they were kids. "Yeah."
"Yes what?"
She shrugged. "Yeah. I get it."
"No. You say 'Yes, sir.'"
"Why?"
Principal Earle's mouth puckered and twisted, like he'd just swallowed a lemon whole. "Did your mother not teach you any manners?"
"No. She might have if I'd had one," Marceline said.
Earle turned his nose up. "Pity that. No wonder you dress like a ruffian. I suggest you watch your tongue, Abadeer. Or we'll see about contacting your guardian. Mr. Petrikov, was it?" Clasping his hands behind his back, Earle puffed his chest out and left them to go about his other duties.
"Whoa. That was so cool," Finn said. A grin split his face from ear to ear.
"She could have gotten all of us in trouble." Jake was right, but Bonnie couldn't be mad at Marceline for being rude. What Earle said really irked her, and if she was as ballsy as Marceline she would have said something to him about being less of a… a butthead.
"Do you think you could go with me real quick to get lunch?" Bonnie asked, gently placing her hand on Marceline's back.
Her body stiffened under Bonnie's touch, but she said, "Sure." They took their place in the lunch queue. "I would have totally beat Finn, you know." She flexed her arm.
Giggling, Bonnie squeezed Marceline's bicep. "I'm sure you would have."
It was the way that Marceline smiled that changed her mind about having a talk right now. Bonnie initially asked her to come along because she'd wanted to figure out what happened with Finn last week - and maybe even bring up the thing that Leslie mentioned in second period - but she didn't want to ruin this moment.
"Do you remember when your dad used to take us to that little bakery by the train station every day after school?"
Marceline chuckled. "How could I forget? You used to get so sick because you'd order two of those colossal brownies and try to finish them both off in one sitting."
Bonnie rubbed her tummy. "Ugh. I know. I have the worst sweet tooth." Finally, her turn came to get her lunch. Feeling more hungry than usual after her intense run in the gym, Bonnie grabbed a sandwich bag. "Do you want to go? After school?"
"With you and Bea?" Marceline asked.
"Bea's going over to Finn's house today. I was hoping that it could just be the two of us. Like old times."
Marceline didn't answer right away, and that worried Bonnie, but she nodded. "Yeah... Like old times."
Returning to the table, they found Guy waiting for them. What baffled Bonnie was not that he specifically was the one to come drag his friend away, it was that Guy and Finn were apparently getting along. The two of them sat next to each other with their handheld video game devices, talking between themselves.
"I'll trade you my Staryu for your Nidoran," Guy said, glancing around the cafeteria suspiciously.
"Yeah. That works for me."
"Okay. Don't tell Keila. I want to train it up and give it to her as a surprise."
"Whoa. Keila plays?"
Marceline laughed, sitting on top of the table next to Finn. "Keila's better than he is at these games."
"That's so cool." Finn pressed a few buttons on his device and then closed it, putting it back in his backpack. "Thanks for the Staryu. I really needed a good water type."
"No problem, bro. Come on, Marce. Let's get out of here."
Dropping her sandwich bag on the table, Bonnie gave Marceline a hug. "I'll see you after school."
"Later, Bonnibel," she said, waving goodbye to everyone else at the table.
"How do you know Guy?" Jake asked when they were gone.
"He's in our class," Bea said suddenly.
"Yeah… uh… He heard us talking about games last week and said we should trade."
Jake nodded slowly. "I don't like that dude."
"He seems pretty nice to me," Bea said.
Jake shook his head. "He's an arse."
Bonnie was wary of the way Jake had been acting this semester. He'd never been like this before, and Bonnie wasn't sure if he held a personal vendetta against Marceline's friends or if something else was bothering him. He certainly never acted this way around anyone else. Rubbing her temples, Bonnie wished that the school day would just be over with. As she ate her lunch, she paid minimal attention to her surroundings. Jake and Aeryn were talking, as were Bea and Finn, and currently she was enjoying a well deserved meal.
At the ringing of the school bell, she fell into the systematic routine of gathering her belongings, throwing her trash away, and walking with Bea to their art class.
Today was the beginning of a new project in art class. The way that Mrs. Hannigan explained it, they were to make the biggest mess they could on a giant sheet of white paper, and then use a viewfinder to discover a work of art within the chaos. It turned out to be a lot of fun - Bonnie and Bea spilled paint on their shared paper, smearing it all over the sheet - and each other - with their hands. Then they splattered black ink in random spots. Bonnie couldn't stop laughing at how silly Bea looked with paint all over her face and hands. It certainly cheered her up more than she ever thought that art class could. So when class ended, she was actually kind of sad.
"I wish we had more than one class together," Bea said.
"Me too."
"Do you think Marceline's going to come to Finn's Birthday party?"
"I don't think so," Bonnie said. "I can't imagine Jake inviting her with how weird he's been acting... Speaking of, have you noticed anything different about Finn since Friday?" Bonnie asked. Personally, she had not, but she knew that Bea and Finn were always talking to each other - be it by phone, text, or in person.
Bea wrung her hands together. "Nope. He's been totally normal."
"You're a horrible liar. I won't tell Jake anything, I promise. I just want to know if Finn's okay."
"He's fine." Bea twirled the strap of her backpack around her finger. "He just feels guilty for lying to Jake."
That took Bonnie by surprise. "About what?"
She shrugged. "He said he couldn't tell me everything, but that he was going home with Marceline after school. He only told Jake that it was Stanley so their parents would be okay with it."
"He spent the night with Marceline?" As soon as the words left Bonnie's mouth, her throat went dry. Suddenly, she felt ill.
"I don't know. Maybe," Bea said.
Steeling her nerves, Bonnie asked a question that she didn't think she really wanted the answer to. "Do you think that Finn and Marceline are…" She couldn't finish the sentence. Bonnie didn't know what it was that made her feel so ill, maybe it was just knowing that Finn might have been the one to leave those marks on Marceline's neck. Except, that didn't make sense. Why would she care about that?
"What? You think-" Bea laughed.
"What's so funny?"
Bea had to calm herself down before she could answer. "Trust me. Marceline isn't into Finn at all."
For some reason, that was such a relief to her. "Wait. Do you know who Marceline likes?"
The corners of Bea's mouth twitched upwards, but she forced them down, trying to keep a straight face. "Nope," was her terse reply. Then, for the second time that day, one of her friends ran off without explanation. Well enough. She was going to be late for history class if she stood around any longer.
At this point, she was accustomed to the death glares and hushed mocking tones she received from Phoebe and Leslie every time she walked into class. What Bonnie had ever done to make them hate her so much, she didn't know. Leslie was the one who started this long running feud of theirs, and the other girl was just guilty by association.
Ignoring the girls at the front of the adjacent row, Bonnie took her usual seat in front of Keila. "Can I ask you something?"
"Shoot," Keila said, not bothering to look up from the guitar catalogue she was reading.
"Promise me you won't tell Marceline I asked."
Raising an eyebrow, Keila now regarded her with curiosity. "I won't."
Bonnie lowered her voice. "Do you happen to know why Marceline looks like she's been throttled?" She gestured to the side of her own neck, hoping Keila would understand so she didn't have to go into detail.
"Marceline left a party early to visit her ex-boyfriend, but they wouldn't have done any-" Keila trailed off, glancing over Bonnie's shoulder at something. "Marceline, you daft twat," she muttered under her breath.
"Bauers and Harrison, if you do not stop talking in my class I will be forced to separate the two of you," Ms. Pearl said.
Bonnie turned around in her seat to face the front of the class, not hazarding another look away from their teacher. History was awfully boring. She understood why they were required to take it, to be sure, but that didn't make her hate the class any less. Perhaps if Ms. Pearl wasn't so dull during the lecture she could maybe stay awake for an entire lesson. Several times today alone, she'd nearly dozed off, until the jarring sound of the school bell at the end of class shocked her wide awake. Keila stormed out of class like a girl on a mission and Bonnie knew then that she should not have brought it up at all. She felt worse for it. Whether or not Marceline would be mad at her, she'd know in a little over an hour.
The clouds cleared the way for the sun to beam down brightly on Whitewater, breaking the cold streak that had for so long held its vice grip on the town. Showing their appreciation for the warmth, the birds sang their melodic tune, its echoes reverberating throughout the wood near the school. Bonnie only wished that she could be as cheerful as them right now. Whatever Keila said to Marceline put her in a less than stellar mood. It was by some miracle that she was still willing to go along with Bonnie today, which she demonstrated not with words, but by getting into her car and fastening the seat belt.
Not wanting to cause any more damage than she already had, Bonnie silently got in and started the engine. Out of nervous habit, she drummed her fingertips against the steering wheel. This uneasy quietude made her restless. She rolled her window down, and back up again, adjusted her seat at a stop, and rolled her window down a second time. Marceline did not seem to notice her squirming in her seat; all she did was stare out the window.
Bonnie parked the vehicle in front of the train station across the street from the bakery. Her companion didn't bother to wait for the car to shut off before jumping out and walking in the direction of the little restaurant. Bonnie sighed and followed Marceline to the end of the street where they waited for traffic to clear. There was enough distance between the two of them as they entered the building that any outsiders would have taken them for strangers.
"Just a tea, please. With milk," Marceline told the waitstaff. Her voice was so soft, so hurt. It made Bonnie's breath catch in her throat.
When it came time for her to order, she wasn't hungry anymore. "I'll just have a coffee." Bonnie paid for the beverage and thanked the waitstaff for the warm ceramic mug he'd handed her.
Marceline sat hugging herself in a far corner of the restaurant, her tea untouched.
"Are you not hungry?" Bonnie asked, hoping to evoke some kind of response from her.
Marceline shook her head, jaw clenched. Her eyes were glossed over, likely due to all the words that she held back.
"I'm sorry."
Marceline shook her head again, her eyes focused on a point in space where she didn't have to look at Bonnie. "You had no right."
It was true, and she deserved that, but the words stung like a slap to the face. "I'm sorry I told Keila. You're right. I should have just asked you instead." Bonnie sighed. "I don't even know why I wanted to know so badly in the first place. I guess it just really scares me."
"It scares you?"
"You've been so distant since you moved back, Marceline. If I'm honest, I don't know what to make of that." Bonnie wrapped her cold, shaky hands around the mug to give them something to do besides tremble visibly on the table. Her reflection stared back up at her. "We used to talk about everything together, and now I feel like I don't even know the first thing about you. I mean, I didn't expect you to stay the same." She sighed. "I guess I wanted us to go back to normal." Bonnie tapped her mug with her thumb, watching as the vibration sent ripples through her mirrored image. "I feel so out of touch with what's going on in your life and it actually made me incredibly jealous that of all people Leslie knew your business. I just want to feel close to you again, Marceline."
Bonnie could feel something warm and wet trail down her cheek. If she looked at Marceline now, she just knew she wouldn't be able to continue. There was more to say, so she closed her eyes and inhaled the scent of baked goods swirling in the air. "I don't feel like you want me in your life anymore, and I think when you moved away that eventually just became the new normal. Then I saw you that first day and I thought things would go back to the way they used to be... But they didn't and that hurt more because you were there." She could feel her lip quivering as she tried to regulate her breathing. "Maybe we're just too different now." The mere mention was enough to crush her spirit, and no longer could she hold back the dam of tears that rushed down her face.
She heard Marceline scoot her chair closer, and then Bonnie's tears were being wiped away by the gentle stroke of two soft thumbs. Opening her eyes, Bonnie saw through blurred vision the most clear sign of love that Marceline had ever displayed. It was in the deep furrow of her brow - the way she focused so intently on clearing away the flood of wetness that Bonnie created, in the way panic shone in her eyes, it was in the way that Marceline touched her face - delicate, but sure. How could I ever have doubted you?
There were a million things that she wanted to say right then, a million apologies that fumbled for purchase on the tip of her tongue, but all she could do was pull her chair closer to Marceline. Bonnie buried her face in the comfort of her friend's shoulder, embracing her with all the things she'd left unsaid. She expected Marceline to stiffen like she had done every time Bonnie showed her the slightest bit of affection, but she didn't. Marceline just held her tight, petting her hair and calming her by quietly humming in her ear.
How long they stayed like that, Bonnie didn't know, but she was glad that no other patrons in the bakery bothered them. Pulling away, she looked Marceline in the eyes. No one had ever shown more concern for Bonnie's well being than Marceline did right now.
Suddenly, Bonnie was aware of how awful she must look after crying so hard. She had probably also smeared her makeup. Bonnie imagined that she'd given herself the appearance of a sad clown. A breathy laugh escaped her, and seeing that she was okay Marceline broke into a big, dorky grin, which just made Bonnie laugh even more. No words were needed in this moment they shared; there just seemed to be an air of understanding surrounding them.
Watching the trails of colour as she swirled the tea bag around her cup, Marceline appeared to be deep in thought. A grin slowly spread across her face before she jumped out of her seat and told Bonnie to stay put, disappearing around the corner to the front of the bakery.
She returned moments later toting two dishes, a couple of forks, and a lot of napkins. On Bonnie's plate were nestled two big chocolatey brownies. Crumbles of graham crackers adhered to the treats by just the right amount of melted marshmallow goo, the whole thing embellished by a thin chocolate drizzle. For herself, Marceline purchased a slice of peanut butter cheesecake.
Bonnie's cheeks hurt with how big she was smiling. "Thank you. You're amazing." She cut off a bite sized piece of brownie with her fork and put it in her mouth, her taste buds instantaneously captivated by the rich, delicious flavour. "Oh my God. I've missed this so much. It's exactly as I remembered it."
"Have you not come here since I've been gone?" Marceline asked, mildly surprised.
"It didn't feel right to come here without you," Bonnie said. She chewed another bite thoughtfully, then set the fork down against her plate. "Can I just say… I don't care who you're seeing. Or what you're doing with your life. I just want you to be happy." She took Marceline's hands in hers. "I'm here if you ever need to talk about anything."
"Thank you."
"Do you want to hear something really crazy?" Bonnie sipped at her lukewarm coffee. "For a minute there, I thought you and Finn had been bonking."
Marceline nearly choked on her food. "Don't even joke about that!"
Bonnie chuckled. "What? He's kind of cute."
"Finn's cute like a puppy is cute. Not like someone I want to sleep with."
"Fair enough." Bonnie traced her finger along the rim of her cup. "Am I allowed to ask who it was?"
Marceline waved her hand dismissively. "I'd rather not answer. It was a mistake. I honestly don't know what I was thinking."
"That's okay. I won't try to pry it out of you." Bonnie laughed through her nose. "I just figured I owed it to you to ask directly."
The two of them fell into a comfortable silence, eating as if they'd only just gotten their order. Smooth jazz played softly over the bakery PA system, giving it the stereotypical ambiance of a café on a rainy night.
Marceline sipped her tea, regarding Bonnie with a pensive stare over her mug. "Do you really feel like you don't know me anymore?" she asked, setting her drink down.
"Hm... You're still stubborn. And I've yet to see you on time for anything, so that hasn't changed. You just seem more withdrawn and I feel like there's something different about you, but I'm not sure what that is."
Marceline chewed her lip, nodding slowly. "Well, what do you want to know?"
"Maybe we could start with what you've been up to over the past few years," Bonnie said.
Catching up was oddly nostalgic, because it felt as though she'd been there for all the adventures of Simon and Marcy, but at the same time it was saddening that they'd been apart for so long. Marceline hadn't changed much, she was just older, and as Bonnie recapped the past few years of her own life she realised that she had forced herself to grow up in Marceline's absence. The other girl was still a child at heart, and she probably always would be - Bonnie was glad for that.
The waitstaff that served them earlier interrupted their conversation to inform them that it was closing time. Having not been facing the window, Bonnie didn't even realise it was getting dark outside.
"Do you want to walk around for a bit? I'm not sure I'm ready to go home."
Marceline nodded.
They stopped by Bonnie's car beforehand so that she could grab the coat she kept in the back seat. It wasn't terribly cold out just yet, but she liked to be pragmatic. Walking without a destination in mind, they passed the train station and circled the park a couple of times. The streetlamps illuminated their walk in a subtle orange glow that reminded Bonnie of autumn leaves. A few times they'd pass a fire hydrant and Marceline would try to jump over it or on top of it, nearly falling a few times. It was amusing to watch, but Bonnie made her stop out of fear that she'd seriously hurt herself.
"I should probably be getting home soon. My parents are going to be wondering where I've gone off to," Bonnie said. As much as she wanted to stay out later, she still needed to get a hold of Chet for Jake and do whatever homework she was assigned.
Retracing their steps, they found themselves back in front of the bakery. Marceline's teeth chattered as they stood waiting to cross the street.
"Where's your jacket?"
"I think I left it at my ex's house," Marceline said, looking at her miserably.
Chuckling, Bonnie dug her hands into the pockets of her coat and opened her arms, pulling the front flaps out wide. "Get in!"
Marceline didn't argue, she just burrowed into the coat with her. Bonnie wrapped the coat around her friend the best that she could, giggling at the ridiculous position they'd gotten into. They must have looked like a couple to passersby judging from all the car honks they'd gotten standing there.
"I hope you're watching the road," Bonnie said, giggling. "I can't see anything but hair."
Eventually they got across, jogging to the promised warmth of Bonnie's car. Marceline jumped from foot to foot, waiting for her to unlock the door. As soon as the distinct click sounded, they rushed to get in.
Bonnie started the ignition and waited for the heater to warm the car, huddling close to the vents. "I had a lot of fun with you today."
"I did too," Marceline said, smiling. "I'd like to do this again sometime."
"Can we go somewhere warmer instead?"
"Yeah. That sounds much better than freezing to death." Marceline turned on the radio; a familiar guitar riff played through the speakers from the disc that Bea found when they went out for pizza. "You kept the CD I gave you?" she asked, surprised.
Smiling sheepishly, Bonnie said that she had. "Yeah. It means a lot to me. I actually lost it for a while, but Bea found it somewhere in all this mess and now I listen to it all the time."
Marceline formed imaginary bass chords with one hand, strumming the air with the other. When the singing began, she went along with it. Having never heard her sing before, Bonnie was unaware of how brilliant her voice was.
She worked up the courage to sing along as well, shocked that she still remembered every word. It brought back fond memories of Marceline playing records for her and rambling on about how great the songs were. Midway through talking, she'd always stop - embarrassed that she'd gotten carried away - and apologise, but Bonnie loved to hear Marceline talk about the things she was passionate about. She didn't think she could count all the times they lay in the floor of Bonnie's room, listening to one of Marceline's new discoveries.
When they arrived back at the school, Bonnie turned the volume down so they could talk. Unbuckling her seat belt, she turned in her seat so she could face her friend. Marceline did the same.
"You have really pretty eyes," Bonnie observed.
Marceline groaned. "My eyes are brown."
"What's wrong with that?"
"Nobody likes brown eyes," Marceline said matter-of-factly. "There's nothing special about them."
"I like brown eyes. They're my favourite actually. Sometimes they make me think of big chocolate puppy dog eyes. Or cinnamon. They're like tree bark, or coffee, or the way the river looks reflecting off the rocks, or-"
Marceline shook her head. "They look like soil."
"Okay, fine, you big butt. Suppose they are like soil. But without soil we would have no vegetation, and subsequently - no life. So you can dislike your eyes all you want, but everyone would be dead without them."
Marceline raised an eyebrow. "Everyone would be dead without my eyes?"
"Yes. Exactly," Bonnie said, completely serious.
Marceline laughed. "You're so weird, Bonnibel," and then she smiled, "Thank you. I should let you get back home before your parents flip."
"They've always been kind of bad about that, haven't they?" Bonnie said goodbye, watching as Marceline got into her truck and - after four tries - successfully started the engine, waving as she drove off.