Chapter 10 - Finn (Originally Published: 9 October 2015)

"Thanks for not telling dad," Finn said, his voice amplified by the barrier of silence between them.

His brother said nothing.

That didn't really come as a surprise. Jake hadn't said a word to him since the night of the party. Not on the ride home. Not even the next day at breakfast. Usually the boys were so close; their parents had to have noticed. They didn't say anything though. No one was saying anything.

Finn just wanted his brother to yell at him already. Get it all out so that they could start trying to move past this incident. Instead, Jake just allowed this prolonged period of tension to fester. Maybe that was his punishment. It would have been different if Jake normally acted like this, but he didn't, and Finn had no idea what to do in this situation.

The ride to school today already felt like it was taking twice as long, but the last few minutes before they arrived seemed to stretch on forever. Finn nervously played with his wristwatch, twisting the dial so that the seconds hand loosely swung back and forth between faintly glowing digits.

Finn could see their friends gathered around Bonnie's vehicle when they came into view of the student car park. The girls were all smiling and laughing, a luxury Finn wished he could afford right now. Jake parked the car, and as Finn glanced at his brother he could see that he still wasn't going to acknowledge him.

"Hey guys," Finn said, anxious about how they might act around him now. He closed the car door behind him. They all greeted him apprehensively. Word travels fast in small towns.

Bonnie gently touched his arm. "How is everything?"

"Jake hates me." When she frowned, he quickly added, "It's no one's fault but my own… Anyways, I just wanted to say hi before I went inside."

"You're not going to stay out here?" Aeryn asked.

"No, I've got homework and stuff to do. I'm going to wait in the library."

Bonnie stared into his eyes for a long time. It felt like she was dissecting him, inspecting his little white lie. He'd been using a lot of those lately. "Tell Marceline I said hello," she said softly, so that only Finn could likely hear it.

The corner of his mouth twitched. He didn't want to confirm or deny what she already knew, but the nervous act told her everything. Waving goodbye, he turned to leave for the gym. Bea fell in step beside him.

"Sorry you and Jake aren't okay right now," she said, wringing her hands together. Her sleeves were too long for her - they always were, it seemed - so it just looked like two striped sock puppets snogging.

"Don't apologise. It's not your fault." He kicked a rock and watched it skip across the pavement, bouncing back when it hit the first step up to the building. "I'm not actually going to the library."

She shrugged. "I just want to come with you… If that's okay?"

"Of course it's okay. You're my best friend."

In the corner of his eye, he could see her smiling at that. It was a good feeling, even if the rest of him felt terrible. He just liked to see her happy.

Opening the door to the gymnasium, they were met with Guy's loud voice. His back was turned to them, facing the others as he retold a story using lewd gestures. Finn couldn't really make out what he was saying; the reverberating echo of the gymnasium distorted his voice at a distance. Marceline sat a small ways away from them, her shoulders slumped as she stared at a spot on the ground. Finn didn't know what happened, but Bonnie and Marceline weren't talking anymore. Neither one of the girls were handling it well. His eyes bulged when he saw who was sitting next to Marceline.

"Hello, Finn," Phoebe said, crossing one leg over the other. Her dress was distractingly short for that, he thought.

He just nodded and smiled, his throat too dry for words.

"Well, look who it is." Guy clapped him on the shoulder, his story abandoned. "What's up, mate? Why'd you have us meet you in here?"

Finn swallowed, trying to lubricate his vocal cords. "I just wanted to hang out with you guys without making things worse with Jake."

"Is everything okay?" Bongo asked. He wasn't wearing his jacket, Finn noticed. It was probably the first time he'd ever seen Bongo without it.

"Jake's not talking to him," Bea said. Finn was glad she answered for him. It was less painful than actually having to say it out loud.

"He's bloody barmy. It was your birthday," Guy said. "Has he got a stick up his arse?"

"Don't be insensitive," Keila snapped. "That's his brother. How would you feel if Bongo stopped talking to you?"

"Bongo's a fucking faerie. He probably can't even function without me."

Keila was at his side in a second. She smacked her boyfriend upside the head. "Is that how you talk about your best mate?"

Guy rubbed his head. "What's he going to do? He hasn't got any backbone. Besides, love, he knows I'm only joking."

"I don't care if you are. That's no way to talk about him."

Finn sat down and watched them argue back and forth, like some kind of poorly written sitcom.

"Is Bonnibel okay?" Marceline asked, never looking up from the spot she'd been focusing on.

"Yeah. She's doing fine. She said to tell you hi." Finn wasn't sure why Bonnie wouldn't be okay - other than the two of them not talking.

Bea sat down in the spot previously occupied by Keila, letting her backpack slip off her shoulders onto the bleachers behind her. Finn had no idea how she managed to carry that thing around everywhere. It was practically twice her size and, judging by the heavy thudding sound it made, it was twice her weight as well.

"I like your hair," Bea said, looking up at Bongo next to her.

He smiled. "Thank you. I like yours too. I always wished I was a blonde."

Pulling her legs up under her, she sat up on her knees. "What's your favourite colour?"

"Purple, I think."

Bea reached into her sleeves and pulled out a couple of purple hair ties. "Can I play with your hair?"

Bongo just chuckled. "How many colours have you got in there?"

Bea pulled her loose shirt sleeves back, revealing dozens of brightly coloured hair ties around her wrists.

"Okay," he said, laughing. "Have at it."

Bea moved up to the step above him, running her hands through his hair.

Finn just watched, amused. Bea was so weird, but she was a delight to be around. He felt bad for poor Bongo though, he had about ten little ponytails sticking out of his head by the time she was done with him.

"Oh, I think I'm going to have to start coming to you instead of my stylist," he said when she showed him the picture she took with her phone.

"I think I can fit you into my busy schedule," Bea said, clicking her tongue. "But now I've got to figure out how to get all of these out without taking your hair out with them."

Finn smiled. The rustling of a bag caught his attention though, and he looked to his other side.

Phoebe stood, using Marceline's knee to push herself to her feet. "Walk me to class," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. It wasn't so much a request as it was a command.

"I'll be right back, guys," Marceline said. Aside from Finn, it seemed to fall on deaf ears.

"Fine. I'm sorry, Bongbro."

Finn turned his head back to the group. Keila had finally gotten Guy to apologise to Bongo for his earlier remark. Keila sat back down next to Finn, not seeming to pay any heed to her missing friend. Now that everyone was seated, Guy continued with the story he was telling before Finn and Bea walked in. It was something dumb and way too vulgar for Bea to hear, Finn thought. He actually felt kind of embarrassed that she was there to associate him with the person telling it. Guy cursed the school bell when it rang for not letting him finish his story, but Finn was kind of glad. The couple left ahead of everyone else, walking hand in hand to their classes.

Finn waited patiently for Bea, helping her slip back under her oversized backpack. When the two of them exited the gymnasium, they noticed Marceline and Bongo standing a ways away and talking.

"Hey, Bea, I'll meet you in class. I want to talk to Marceline about something," he whispered.

Bea shot a concerned look in the older girl's direction, but then she nodded and left.

There wasn't anything important he wanted to talk about. Really, he just wanted to walk with her to class - to provide some kind of support, or just make her laugh. She needed it.

"... and then I took her home. That's it."

Marceline looked at the floor, nervously toying with the red hair tie around her wrist. "This is all my fault… Isn't it? If I had just stayed…"

"Don't say that. You didn't know what was going to happen after you left."

"You didn't tell her where I went, did you?"

Bongo shook his head. "No. I wouldn't do that."

"Good," she said.

He was quiet for a moment. "What did you and Phoebe do after you left?"

"Nothing. We just watched a few films at her house."

He raised an eyebrow.

"I'm being serious. I'm not interested. It was just one time and I wasn't thinking clearly."

Bongo looked over her shoulder at him. "Hey, Finn."

Marceline tensed up. She turned to see him standing behind her.

"Sorry. I wasn't eavesdropping. I just wanted to walk with you to class."

"Speaking of class…" Bongo waved goodbye to both of them and trotted down the hallway.

Finn walked next to Marceline, keeping an eye on her out of the corner of his eye. She walked with her head hung low and her arms crossed over her chest.

"Thanks for the party," he said, hoping to put her mind at ease.

She looked up. "I should have never thrown that stupid party. If I didn't, Jake wouldn't be mad at you and… Everything is my fault."

He shrugged. "It sucks that Jake's not talking to me, but that's not your fault. I had a lot of fun. Besides, Jake just had a bad experience at a party once. That's all."

Marceline stopped walking, turning to face him fully. She looked everywhere on his face but his eyes. "Did he tell you what happened?"

"No. He's never told anyone. My parents know though. They were the ones who had to bail him out of jail."

She clasped her hand over her mouth, her eyebrows disappearing into her hair. "He went to jail that night?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"Yeah. I don't know the details. My parents never talk about it either. It's just a thing that happened once upon a time. He'd been beaten bloody senseless too. I can't really blame him for not wanting to talk about it." She didn't say anything, so he added, "I wish he would understand that it's not going to happen to me. I don't hang out with the same people he did then. I've got you guys."

Marceline frowned. "I guess."

The shrill sound of the tardy bell alerted them that they were late for class. They hurried to the end of the hall, but as they turned the corner they were blocked off by a tall blonde figure.

"To my office, immediately." Principal Earle said. He looked so proud of himself, like he'd just been awarded a special treat.

With Principal Earle close behind them, the pair were herded along, trudging morosely to the front office.

He had them sit in wooden chairs, padded with squishy red cushions.

"Tardies are unacceptable," he began, eyeing them over his steepled fingers. "Once you have come onto the premises, you are expected to follow certain rules. Those rules include, but are not limited to, being in your classroom before the tardy bell as well as actually showing up to class. I am quite aware of your penchant for skipping class, Ms. Abadeer. There are cameras in this school." He did not even try to mask his grin. "I'd like to make a proposal."

Marceline ground her teeth back and forth. "And what's that?"

"Either you attend class as you're expected to, and stay out of trouble from this day forward - both on and off campus." He sneered.

"Or?"

"Or I expel you."

"That doesn't seem very appealing," Marceline said, not sounding the least bit surprised.

"Oh, but it is to me." Earle stood, opening the blinds in his office to stare out at the overcast sky. "Your ilk have no place here, polluting my school with your corrupt behaviour."

Marceline gripped the armrests, glaring holes through the back of Earle's head.

"There's one more thing, Abadeer. I don't want this meeting to leave us off on the wrong foot. I'd like to leave you with a parting gift." He stroked his chin, turning to watch for her reaction. "Because you are so fond of truancy, you are hereby suspended from school for the next week."

Marceline shot forward in her chair. "That's not fair! I'll fall behind if I miss that much!"

"Bite your tongue. You should have thought of that before you decided to act out of line. However, I suppose you do have time to think about it now. You are dismissed. Please leave immediately."

Seething, she stormed out of the office, slamming the door so hard on her way out that the diplomas rattled against the wall. Finn was afraid they might fall and she'd get into more trouble because of it, but they remained steadfast on their hooks and did not deem to fall and sully Earle's fancy carpeting.

"As for you, Mr. Mertens, because this is your first offense - I am letting you off with a warning. I hope seeing what happens to troubled children will inspire you to be better than this."

Finn let go of a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "Yes sir."

"Have a good day. Goodbye."

Finn grabbed his bag off the floor and left, closing the door more gently than his predecessor. Marceline had already left. It was up to him, he suspected, to tell everyone what happened.

He apologised to Professor Carson for interrupting the lesson and took his seat in front of Bea. Due to their blossoming friendship, Guy and Bongo had both moved to sit near him as well.

"Where were you?" Guy asked, leaning in to whisper.

"Front office. Marceline and I were late to class, and Earle saw us. He suspended her."

Bongo turned around. "Wait, where'd she go? She hasn't got an auto anymore."

Finn shrugged. "I didn't see her when I got out."

"Probably Keila's," Guy said confidently. "Marce used to get mad and run away, so Keila's window's always unlocked in case she needs to get in and cool off for a bit."

Professor Carson asked them nicely to stop talking in class. Respectfully, the boys all turned their attention back to him. Science was usually quite fun, but today it was all lectures. Finn stared ahead of him, realizing for the first time that Bongo had once again donned his signature jacket. I wonder where it was.

When the bell finally rang, Finn said goodbye to his friends. He waited outside the science room, leaning against the wall by the door. Bonnie had Carson's class after him, and he felt horrible for having to be the bearer of bad news, but he also knew that it had to be done.

It wasn't long before he saw her walking along, probably anxious to see her friend.

Bonnie waved when she saw him. "Hey Finn. Are you waiting for Marceline?" she asked, glancing around.

"You, actually. Marceline's not going to be in class today."

Bonnie's eyebrows knitted together. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Why not?"

"We got in trouble earlier on. She's been suspended," Finn said.

She frowned. "Oh… Thanks for telling me."

"I figured you would want to know. Even if you aren't talking to each other right now."

She nodded, her lips pressing together in a tight line. "I'll see you later, Finn."

"Bye Bonnie." He wished that he could stand there and talk to her for a while longer. He hated to see his friends sad, but he went on to class anyways. After his run-in with Earle today, he didn't want to risk getting in trouble again.

When he got to literature class, Phoebe was already there. Sitting back in her seat, she typed rapidly on the touchscreen of her phone, a faint smile playing at the corners of her lips. Finn sat down in his assigned seat next to hers.

"What're those?" He asked, pointing at the neatly stacked papers in the corner of her desk.

Without looking up from her phone, she said, "Flyers for the Christmas play. We're looking for volunteers to operate the technical side of things." She waved a hand dismissively. "You're welcome to take one."

He reached over and pulled the top sheet out of the stack. They needed people for the spotlights, the sound booth, and for stagehands. Auditions were on Fridays. Finn hoped he'd get a stagehand position. He might actually get to talk to Phoebe that way. That made him nervous, but he would have a whole week to figure out what he was going to say.

As much as Keila had told him not to waste his time on her, he still really liked her. Although, from the way she smiled at her phone, he got a sorry feeling that she might already have a boyfriend.

"Um… Marceline got suspended. For a week," he said, hoping to grab her attention.

She inhaled deeply, dropping her phone into her purse. "I know."

"Oh." Now that she was looking at him, he couldn't think of anything to say.

"Are you going to help us?"

Finn stared at her for a moment, confused. When she gestured to the flyer he'd taken he slapped his forehead. "Oh, duh! Yeah. I've never done anything with theatre before, but I really want to help."

He was going to ask her what to expect from the auditions, or at least how he could become a stagehand when Mrs. Jefferson called for their attention. He folded up the paper and put it in his pocket, already dreading literature class.

Finn waited impatiently. The sickly sour-sweet smell of decaying refuse emanating from the skip behind him made him dizzy, but there were not very many other places he could hide. If Bunyan saw him, then word might get back to Jake - and Finn definitely didn't want that.

He was being extra careful this time to avoid getting caught. After telling his parents he was feeling sick and just wanted to sleep, he locked his bedroom door and waited until everyone was going about their business - Jake in the basement, his mum preparing supper, and his dad in the lounge watching telly - before sneaking out and running down to the small petrol station at the end of his street. This kind of heightened cautiousness meant that he was at the meeting place far too early. He only wished he knew how disgusting his hiding place was beforehand.

At least he'd brought a jacket, he thought, digging his hands into the pockets. Nervously, he played with bits of fluff. Ash should have been there by now. He glanced around the side of the building, looking for any sign of his friend. If Ash was coming from home, he'd have to pass through town.

However, when he eventually did pull into the car park, it was from the opposite direction.

Ash parked the car in front of Finn, waving his hand out the window to make sure that Finn realised it was him.

"How'd you get here without passing through Whitewater?" Finn asked, closing the door behind him.

"Stopped by Marce's house before I came to get you. I think she's ignoring me."

Finn fastened his safety belt. "I don't think she's home, actually. She got suspended from school today. I think Guy said she'd probably be at Keila's."

"Shite." Ash sucked his teeth. "There's no way I'll get a hold of Marce with that bitch in the way."

"You don't like Keila?"

"She's the reason Marce and I broke up. That girl was my everything, man."

Finn crinkled his nose. He wasn't going to ask what happened; it was none of his business, but he couldn't imagine Keila doing anything that would hurt Marceline. Keila was one of the nicest people he'd met.

There were rumours though. A lot of people were intimidated, even kind of scared of Keila. He'd heard that one time some dude had made a nasty joke in her direction and she broke his nose. Keila Harrison was abrasive, and she didn't take shit from anyone, but she was still a good person. Ash was cool too, and as far as Finn could tell - he and Marceline were good for each other. Whatever Ash had done to invoke Keila's wrath had to have been an accident.

Bongo also didn't appear to like Ash very much, although Finn suspected that it was entirely because Keila didn't like him. Finn still hadn't figured out his opinion of Bongo. The rugby player was too shy and too much of a pushover; he just seemed to fade into the background noise. Guy and Marceline liked Ash though, and that was good enough for him.

The ride to his friend's house was a fairly long one - they lived as far away from each other as two people could in the confines of their town, but it wasn't terribly boring. When they weren't talking about girls, they were filling the void with heavy rock music.

Ash parked the car, turning to look at Finn. "Could you tell her I'm sorry?"

He was talking about Marceline, Finn knew. "For what?"

"For everything."

"Sure, dude."

"Thanks, man," Ash said, and he got out of the car. Finn followed him up the drive. Their front door was never locked, it seemed to him. "Go ahead and make yourself at home."

Finn left Ash in the kitchen. Party Pat was the only one in the lounge, twisting a palm sized silver canister between his hands. "Have you come to party with the chief?"

"Nah. I'm all partied out for the week," Finn said, plopping down on the sofa. He swung one leg over the armrest and watched as Pat masterfully packed the contents of the silver canister into a large glass water pipe.

Finn had met all of Ash's flatmates when they threw his birthday party here, and Party Pat was by far the coolest. It wasn't just Finn's admiration of Pat's great dancing or his easy-going attitude. Everyone thought Pat was cool. Especially girls.

Pat's water pipe bubbled noisily as he inhaled, building a reservoir of smoke inside the clear glass chamber. He pulled his thumb away from the hole in the back and the entire tube of smoke shot into his lungs. Looking at Finn with his red eyes, he silently offered a turn.

"No thanks, man. That's where I draw the line."

"Sorted," Pat said. Thick smoke billowed out of his nose and mouth.

"Not a drug person?" Ash asked, coming in from the kitchen.

"I'm more of a hugs kind of guy. Besides, I've still got to get home to my parents at some point."

"I remember when I lived with my parents. Nothing beats the freedom of being away from home," came the deep voice of Billy. Finn hadn't even noticed him come in. As cool as all of Ash's flatmates were, Billy was kind of… off. Maybe it was the way he stared into your eyes and the reach of his view seemed to go further than physical bounds, or the way his smile curved and crinkled in all the right places and still didn't seem quite sincere, or just the way his cheeks and eyes were sunken in.

There was something admirable about Billy though. He'd been everywhere and gone on crazy adventures. Billy was the kind of guy who had a story for everything. It was just those supernatural eyes that made you feel like something was amiss.

"I quite liked your folks," Pat said, his voice somewhat strained from holding back all the smoke in his lungs.

Billy scoffed. "My father was a pig. Me mum made good apple pies though. I'll give her that."

Wispy tendrils of smoke drifted near his face, and Finn swatted them away, turning to look at the source of the white cloud. "What about your folks?"

Pat just shrugged. "It was just my mum and I growing up. We still keep in touch, but we've got our own lives. I'm too old to be staying home anymore." Pat pulled his hat off, dropping it onto Finn's head. His exposed hair stubbornly clung to his head in a hat-like shape.

"Funny, that. You're the only one who doesn't pay the rent," Ash said.

Pat just looked at him for a long time, and then he started laughing, looking from Ash to Finn and back.

Ash just shook his head, grinning. "Maybe you're right, Finn. Drugs are bad."

"Open your windows," Pat said, watching his flatmate through glasses made out of his hands. "If the eyes are the windows to the soul, why do you only feel alive when they are closed?" He looked at Finn through his hands.

"Whoa… That's profound."

"It's from a song. Don't let him fool you for a minute into thinking he's clever. Come on, Finn."

Curious to see where Ash would lead him, he gave Pat his hat back and followed the older dude out behind the house.

There were a couple of logs set up in the back with tin cans set up on top of them. Ash grabbed a handful of rocks from a pile nearby and stood next to Finn.

"The key is to cause as much damage as possible," he said, giving Finn a rock. "Don't put too much force in your arm. Just use your body as a catalyst and let it fly."

Finn nodded. He tossed the rock in his hand a few times to get a feel for it. Then he drew his hand back, took aim, and threw it at the furthest can away from him. It collided with a loud clang.

"You're a natural. Too bad you've got to be back home for supper. We could have a lot of fun with your skill," Ash tossed him another rock.

By the time the sun started to set, Finn had only missed once. He seemed to be a natural at everything involving aim - from playing beer pong to this - and it was probably due to all the video games he played.

After saying goodbye to Ash's flatmates, the pair rode back through town to take Finn home. Since it was drawing towards the evening and the shadows provided ample camouflage, Ash just dropped him off a couple of houses down from his own. It was unlikely that anyone would be watching for him anyways.

"Thanks man. We'll have to do this again sometime."

Ash waved. "Sure. Don't forget to tell Marceline what I told you." Then he drove off.

Finn crept inside, closing the door quietly behind him. He could hear the clatter of silverware on porcelain. They'd started supper without him. Tiptoeing up the stairs to his room, Finn dug a paper clip out of his pocket. He carefully unravelled it into a straight line and then bent the tip at an angle. Then he pushed it through the tiny hole in his doorknob, jiggling it until he found what he was looking for. Finn turned the paper clip, smiling at the satisfying click of his door unlocking.

He changed into his pyjamas, making a bit of noise to give off the illusion that he'd just woken up. To top things off, he went into the bathroom and splashed some hot water on his face, not bothering to wipe off the excess.

Finn shuffled back down the stairs and into the dining room. "Hey guys."

"Sit down, Finn," his father said, voice stern.

His heart leapt into his throat. Jake and their mum weren't looking at him. He'd been caught. Finn pulled a chair back, sitting across from Joshua.

"Your school called today."

Finn solemnly stared at his empty plate. His father looked so disappointed in him.

"You're not in trouble. Not with the school. Principal Earle just wanted to warn us that you're hanging out with the wrong crowd. This Marceline girl-"

"No, Dad. Let me tell him." Jake's chair made a dull squeaking sound against the floor as he stood. "Come with me."

Finn felt like he was walking through a dream, but he followed Jake outside anyways. He could deal with his brother. Better than his parents, at least.

With only the light of the stars, they went out to sit in Jake's dark car. The air was shivering cold, even more so in the car. For a long time, neither one of them said a word. Finn was beginning to think that they were just sitting out here to fool their parents, but by the time he'd gotten used to the temperature, Jake finally spoke up.

"I've been holding this back for Bonnie's sake, but there's something you need to know." He took a shaky breath, staring at his hands folded in his lap. "Do you remember that party that I went to?"

Finn said that he did. He'd been curious about it for two years, of course he remembered.

"When I first got there, I was so nervous. For starters, it was at this dude's house in the middle of nowhere, and I didn't know anyone there. I only went because I heard some kids in my class were going and I didn't want to be left out, but there were so many people there - I didn't see any of them all night. I just ended up hanging out alone in a corner for an hour, watching everyone else have fun. I finally decided I should probably just give up and come home, but this girl came up and started talking to me."

His hands clenched into fists. "At first I thought she was really cute. She was funny and I thought she might have liked me. We had a few drinks. Maybe more. We were talking for so long that I lost count. After a while we were both kind of drunk, and she kissed me." He shook his head, looking ashamed of himself. "It was my first kiss, and I could tell she was probably only doing it for fun, but I honestly thought it might turn into something. Maybe we'd start dating like some kind of shitty love story. Then her boyfriend showed up." He shivered, hugging himself. "He was lanky, and I probably could have taken him, but the way he looked at me when he put his arm around her… I thought he was going to kick my ass, man. It was his house too. But they just said I should come up and hang out with them in his room." He sniffled, looking out the window to his right instead of at Finn.

Finn waited patiently for him to continue. He knew the aftermath of what had happened that day, and he felt sorry for making his brother relive it. He struggled internally for what to do in this situation. All he wanted to do was hug Jake, but he knew that would only hinder his words even more. When he finally continued, his voice was lower. Finn had to strain to hear it.

"There were a few other kids my age in that room, friends of that girl. They were just sitting in a circle passing some spliffs around. They were all pressuring me to try it, and I really didn't want to… but I wanted so much to impress her. So I did it thinking 'What's the worst that could happen?' Her boyfriend sat next to me, and he kept leering at me and making suggestive comments. Everyone was provoking him and it made me super uncomfortable, but then she sat in my lap and kissed me again and I didn't want it to stop. I thought… I thought it was going to go further, but then she just left me high and dry. She sat with her friends and they were all just laughing about it. By then, everything just felt amazing and I started to laugh as well. Even though I knew they were making fun of me.

It started hitting me harder though, and for a long time I just lay in her boyfriend's bed staring at my hands really confused. I felt like I couldn't even move, like I lost all control of my body. I don't know how much time passed. There were moments where I would close my eyes for a second and open them again, and it'd be as if several hours had gone by. I don't even remember riding with them into town." There was a muffled squeak and Finn realised that his brother was crying. Reaching out, he took Jake's hand and held it.

"I sobered up a little bit once I saw what they were doing. It started off so juvenile and stupid. They would knock over wheelie bins and kick the rubbish everywhere, or rip the flyers off of shopfront windows. One of the guys even pissed into a postbox. I didn't participate at first, but the girl… she touched my chest and batted her eyes at me and I was still too fucked up to think of anything other than how badly I wanted her to like me. I just couldn't resist trying to please her. And I hate to admit it, but it was kind of fun at first - this gleeful destruction that normally I would have never even considered, and it was childish, but they were cheering me on and it felt great. But then they started throwing rocks at cars and windows and I kept thinking about how much trouble we were going to get into. I told them I didn't want to be a part of it anymore. They ignored me. And I was so stupid. I thought that if I threatened to call the police on them that they'd get scared and stop, but that just made them angry. They started taunting me, and it wasn't so bad. I could still leave and call someone to take me home. The only problem is, someone else - probably someone who'd gotten a rock through their window - actually did call the police. We could hear the sirens getting closer. Great timing that was." Jake shuddered, his voice shaking as he spoke.

"Then-" he faltered, his breath hitching. "I panicked. I didn't know what to do. Before I could react, they were on me. I kept pleading, trying to tell them I was innocent, but they wouldn't listen. All I could do was curl up on the ground and try to protect myself. I think the drugs must have amplified my senses because every time they hit me it felt like time would stop, and I'd just have to suffer that one blow for what seemed like hours, or minutes, or I don't know. But it wasn't just the one blow. It was hundreds and it hurt like nothing's ever hurt before. I was crying and screaming for them to go away. I just… I had to ride through the pain, and I thought maybe I'd grow numb to it after a while, but every blow hurt more than the last."

Finn was shocked, although he shouldn't have been. He was the one who had had to help Jake get dressed for the next couple of weeks. His brother had had bruises all over - especially on his arms, probably from trying to block the blows - and one of his eyes had been completely swollen shut.

"By the time the police arrived, they were all gone. I tried to run, scared of what would happen to me, but someone had yanked my trousers down, probably while they were wailing on me, and I tripped. The police found me on the ground with my skinned hands and my trousers 'round my ankles. I've never been more mortified in my life. There was nothing I could say to explain the situation. I was too frightened, too monged. What are you supposed to even say when you're caught like that? Anyways, you know the rest. I got in trouble for trying to evade the police. Mum and Dad had to bail me out of jail in the middle of the night. I got off lucky with only being grounded, but I also ended up paying for all the damages because I was too terrified to tell the police their names. The way they looked when they were beating me to a pulp… I'll never forget it. So angry, and yet so viscerally happy at the same time. It was a nightmare." He shook his head. "They were bloody mental. I didn't want… didn't want anything worse to happen if I turned them in." Jake stared at his hands for a long time, opening and closing his fists. And then he hunched over and started bawling all at once.

Finn leaned over and hugged his brother the best he could from the passenger seat. The hurt that he'd been holding onto for the past two years seemed to come pouring out, and Finn held him until that well ran dry. They sat together like that even after Jake had stopped crying.

Any kind of anger he had at Jake for ruining his fun was gone, replaced with a heart-breaking sadness. Now he understood. Finn moved away so that he could face his brother. "I'm so sorry I scared you. I'll never go to a party again. I promise."

Jake gave him a surprisingly cold look. "I don't care if you go to parties. That's not what this is about."

"It's not? You've been freaking out every time I go out. I don't understand. What's the problem if not that?"

"It was her who did that to me, man. It was fucking Marceline."