Chapter 29 - Bonnie (Originally Published: 19 February 2016)

Bonnie pulled her favourite pink t-shirt over her head. The weather today was unseasonably warm, and even though she'd heard predictions of snow, the likelihood of that happening was totally far-fetched. It just didn't seem that winter would be coming this year.

Today's run had left her feeling refreshed. Since the beginning of this term, she'd found herself enjoying gym class more and more. Athleticism had never been a big deal to her before, but perhaps it was inspired by her boyfriend and how hard he worked to keep himself in shape for rugby. Bonnie grabbed her dirty school clothes and shoved them into the bottom of her bag. Slinging it over her shoulder, she exited the girl's locker room.

"Hey, Finn!" she called out, seeing her friend walking in front of her. He didn't seem to hear her. After another failed attempt at getting his attention, she tried to squeeze through the stampede of wild classmates going to lunch.

"He was probably ignoring you," Jake mumbled from next to her. She jumped, having not noticed him before.

After the initial shock of being crept up on, Bonnie felt a twinge of panic at his statement. Why would Finn be ignoring her? She hadn't done anything to earn such a thing from him.

Jake must have read her thoughts from the lines that wrinkled her forehead, because he said, "Finn's been acting really weird lately. Bea mentioned it to me a week or so ago, and I thought it was just because of that stuff that happened with Phoebe, but I'm starting to think that's not quite it."

She hadn't noticed him acting any differently, but then again, she hadn't really been paying attention to him as of late either. Ever since she'd had that awkward dream of Marceline, her boyfriend completely occupied the forefront of her mind, apparently blocking out anything else that happened. "I'm sorry. I didn't realise. Have you tried talking to him about it?"

"I was actually going to ask you to do it." Jake scratched the short hairs that made up his beard. "He won't talk to me about... well, anything. In fact, we've hardly been alone in the same room for more than a few minutes lately. It's not that I haven't tried... but you, well, he talks to you about everything."

It felt like she'd just returned home after a long vacation away, and suddenly all her friends had been replaced by carbon copies. "I'll talk to him at lunch today." She tongued her cheek, wondering if there'd been anything else she missed during her stay in Bongo-land. "How are you and Aeryn doing, by the way?"

Jake shrugged. "We're doing well. It's been kind of hard to focus on our relationship though, what with Finn being the way he is."

"Understandable." She felt endlessly guilty for not noticing. Had Bongo noticed and been too nervous to bring it up? Had everyone else seen it except her? "We'll get it all sorted out. Don't worry, Jake."

He acknowledged her only with a curt nod, and the pair walked in silence to their respective partners waiting outside the gymnasium.

"Hey Bonnie!" Bongo was always so happy to see her. He scooped her up in a hug with big, muscular arms that always made her feel safe. Right now, she was especially thankful for that. His embrace never failed to lift her spirits; it was a welcome distraction from her current worries.

"Hey, Bongo." She kissed him. "Have you seen Finn? I think he left to find Bea."

"I-" his face fell, distracted by something behind her.

Bonnie turned around to see Marceline and Phoebe walking away from them. Her stomach jolted in every direction, pulled by a variety of feelings - both emotional and primal. "Is everything okay between you two?" He shook his head, and there was a wetness to his eyes. "Bongo," she said gently, hoping to coax him into talking.

"Can we just... go sit down?" he asked, looking anywhere but at her.

Bonnie took his hand and led him back into the gymnasium. Since their groups had converged, they'd been spending their lunches in the only place with enough seats for the lot of them.

"Wow, it's been forever since I've been here," she said, attempting to make a joke. His weak smile made her feel so hopeless. Bonnie rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand, wishing that she could read minds. Bongo was rarely in a poor mood, and when he was she never knew what to say or do to help. It was just such an unnatural occurrence to her.

Bea was already waiting in the gymnasium, sitting on the bottom step of the bleachers by themself. It was an odd sight, to be sure. Most days, Bonnie's friends would pile in after meeting up with companions or getting lunch for themselves. Bea was no different - they were almost always one of the last ones to show up, walking with a bagged lunch in one hand and Finn by their side.

Jake mentioned that his brother was acting strangely, but he and Bea were almost inseparable. Now, with the added mystery of Bongo's reaction towards Marceline, Bonnie wondered if she really had been on a mental vacation to Neverland. Or was she, perhaps, so self-absorbed that she'd been ignoring anything she didn't want to see?

"I brought you a lunch," Bongo said, quietly. He pulled a brown paper bag out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her. Usually when he brought her food from home, he smiled and bounced excitedly in anticipation of her opinion. However, there was nothing of that upbeat boy in the lacklustre mimicry of his movements today. "It's nothing extravagant. I'm sorry. I didn't have the time today."

Bonnie kissed him on the cheek. "Don't worry. I'm sure it's perfect." She wasn't as hungry as she'd been a mere ten minutes ago, but she ate all of the plain sandwich anyway. Bongo went through the trouble of making it for her, and she wasn't about to do anything that would possibly worsen his mood.

After she finished her lunch, she realised that he hadn't done much more other than sit next to her. "Did you not bring anything for yourself?"

"I did, but... I don't feel well enough to eat." Bongo's hands were in his lap, clenched into white-knuckled fists.

She cupped his chin in her hand, forcing him to look her in the eye. "Please tell me what's wrong. I just want to help you."

He hesitated, weighing the idea in his head. Finally, he said, "Marce doesn't want to be my friend anymore." His shoulders slumped. "I don't know what happened. Everything seemed kind of normal until just recently. Then she stopped talking to me as much. I asked Keila to find out what was going on, but it... didn't go well."

Bonnie had never been more furious in her life. It was one thing for Marceline to stop talking to her - she'd messed things up between them, after all - but to declare she didn't want to be friends with Bongo either? He was the sweetest person anyone could ever meet, and if Marceline had any reason to ignore him - it was because of something he didn't do.

She was going to talk to Marceline. As soon as the other girl showed up at their lunch spot, Bonnie was going to interrogate her and sort this mess out once and for all. It wasn't something she looked forward to, but Bongo deserved better than to be caught up in this ridiculous feud of theirs. There was also the matter of talking to Finn, but she would find a way to knock out two birds with one stone.

At least, that was the thought she had at the beginning of lunch. However, as time went on, she realised that neither Marceline nor Finn were planning on coming to lunch. The ringing of the bell only made her task more daunting, as the mere idea of speaking to either of them individually severely diminished her confidence. It wasn't Finn that scared her, of course.

Bonnie gathered her things to go to her next class. On her way out of the gymnasium, she passed the elder Mertens boy. "I'm sorry, Jake. I'll talk to him before the end of the day, I promise. Even if I have to text him."

"It's okay. Take your time, Bonnie. I just want to know that my little bro is okay." One corner of Jake's mouth perked up, before losing strength and sliding back down his face again. "I feel so helpless when I see him struggling like this. He used to come to me for advice, but nothing I say even seems to help anymore."

She waved goodbye to him, reassuring him once more that everything would turn out all right soon.

"You're a really good friend," Bongo said when they were further down the hall. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Finn and Jake and everyone else are lucky to have you."

Bonnie knew that her friends appreciated her for all that she did. They always thanked her for helping them; however, hearing the positive affirmation from an outside source had an even greater effect on her. She could feel the heat in her cheeks rising. "Come on, cutie. I have to get to art. We're starting a new project today and I don't want to miss anything." After saying goodbye to her boyfriend, she walked the rest of the way to her class alone.

Bonnie set her bag down on the floor next to her chair. Art was the only class she had with Bea, so it was always something to look forward to. Mrs. Hannigan didn't mind that they talked through class either. Since their table was in the back of the room and they were both well behaved, it never disrupted the class when they'd decided to be sociable.

"Hey, Bea." She sat down next to her friend. "I noticed you haven't been spending quite as much time with Finn today. Is something going on?"

They shrugged, uncharacteristically sombre. "He's been kind of distant lately. I don't know why."

Bonnie nodded slowly. "Nothing comes to mind at all? Jake said Finn's been acting like a totally different person lately, but I would have assumed that you knew something about it."

They shrugged again, putting an awkward halt to the conversation. By that time, Mrs. Hannigan was ready to inform the class of their new assignment. It was a rare occasion where they would spend the week working in pairs. Each student was given a couple of white chalk pastels and a large black sheet of paper to share with their neighbour.

"You'll be using negative space to create a collaborative image with your partner. Both of you are to draw on each and every side of the paper, spreading the work evenly. The goal is to combine your efforts in order to form a picture that looks pleasing," Mrs. Hannigan explained. She clasped her hands together, smiling proudly. "Many of you work in different art styles and at varying skill levels. In doing this, I hope to see improvement from everyone."

In some small way, Bonnie felt that the comment had been indirectly aimed at her. Logically, she knew it wasn't meant to be specific, but Bea was a phenomenal artist. In comparison, Bonnie's art was more akin to that of a toddler's than a high school student.

"This sounds like it's going to be fun." Bonnie picked up one of the chalk pastels she'd been given. "What kind of picture do you want to draw?"

Bea rolled their shirt sleeves up, a rarity that always managed to surprise her. "It's up to you. I don't feel very creative today."

Something clicked into place, like a lever that had previously been stuck for a long time now suddenly inching its way towards the 'on' position. Bonnie set her chalk down and turned in her seat to face them. "Today is an odd day, isn't it?" Before they could respond, she continued, "Everyone I know seems to be feeling down. Between Finn and Jake, Bongo, and you - it's as if there's something in the air." She sighed. "I just want to help, Bea. You don't have to tell me what's going on until you're ready. That's how it's always been between us, you know that... but right now, I miss my bubbly friend who always finds a way to see the bright side of things. Let me help you. Even if that means just doing an art project with me until you figure things out. It might help clear your head."

Bea's eyes were wide, shocked that Bonnie had been so forward. "Okay… Maybe we could draw some sort of scenery? I think the negative shading would look really cool."

"That does sound nice," Bonnie agreed. Tapping her chin thoughtfully, she added, "What kind of scenery?" She thought for a moment, staring at the black paper as if some ideas might materialise out of the dark surface. "Oh! Perhaps we could draw the camp site that Bongo and his friends took us to."

Bea's face lit up. "That place was really pretty! I'd love to draw it." With that, they picked up their piece of chalk and went about outlining the perspective points and basic scenery. "Trees are fun to do. Would you like to be in charge of those?"

"Sounds lovely." Bonnie watched their face closely for how they would react to her next statement. If she'd said she didn't have ulterior motives in getting Bea to sink themself into art, she would be lying. "You know, Bongo was telling me that Marceline has been less than friendly towards him since we all went camping together. I know that part of it must be my fault, but it's not fair to Bongo."

Bea nodded, more focused now on drawing detailed leaves in one corner of the shared paper. "Definitely not."

Bonnie continued. "I'm going to try talking to her today after school. I don't know what to expect, but it's totally unreasonable for Marceline to treat one of her best friends this way." She started drawing the thicket of trees to the best of her memory, leaving an unfilled gap in their conversation. Eventually, she said, "Now that I think about it - Finn's not been as close to me since then either. I wonder if it's because I was the one to tell him about Phoebe?"

Bea paused, their chalk pastel leaving an unnecessary white dot in the middle of the page. "No, I don't think that's it. He certainly doesn't hate you for looking out for him." They attempted to camouflage the dot under a pile of leaves. "There's a lot going on with him right now. I don't fully know what it is, but I have an idea. It's just that every time I try to bring it up he tells me that it's best if I don't know, like I'm some kind of liability or something."

Bonnie chewed her lip, wondering how much further she could push them. "You said you had an inkling to what's been going on with him lately. Care to share?"

"I want to." Bea inhaled deeply. "Believe me, I really want to. I'm just scared that things will be worse if I do anything at this point. At first I only wanted some extra time; I thought if I kept trying to talk to him about things, he would crack and tell me what was going on, but he hasn't... it's just that now, I don't think anyone I know can do anything about it. I don't want to get Finn in trouble, but if things are as bad as I think they are then I'm going to have to go above Jake or Marceline or his parents."

Bonnie froze. There was no way she'd misheard them. Bea was speaking as clear as ever. "Why would you go to Marceline about Finn? They haven't spoken a kind word to each other in months."

"Did I say Marceline? I meant Phoebe." They laughed awkwardly. "Phoebe was the first person I was planning on speaking to if things got out of hand."

It wasn't an unrealistic mistake - Marceline and Phoebe spent so much time around each other that they were practically the same person at this point - but Bonnie just wasn't sure if she believed it. Whatever the reason was that Bea would have preferred going to Marceline first was trivial; Bonnie was more concerned with other things. Was Bea planning on contacting the authorities about Finn? The thought just didn't sit right with her. "Jake actually asked me to talk to him as well. I was hoping you would know more at this point, but if you're not willing to share then that's fine. I'm going to sit him down and figure this out." Bonnie looked at the colourless residue on her fingers. "Bea, I trust your judgement. If I can't get him to talk today, then call whoever it is you need to call to set him straight. Okay?"

"Don't worry. I will."

What remained of the class period passed by under the stress of a tense silence. Both of them were immersed in their work; if anything, it provided a temporary escape from their restless minds. However, the real world returned far too quickly, and it was soon time for them to go to their next class.

Bonnie grabbed her belongings and left the art room. She couldn't be sure that she even said goodbye to her friend - everything happened in a blur. Even her time with Bongo was not enough to shake her from this stupor. It wasn't until she sat down in her assigned seat that her attention finally returned.

Leslie Peterson had been the one to snap her out of it. The drama club vice president was hovering over her desk, but it wasn't Bonnie that she was there for.

"Listen, bitch. I saw you in town the other day. I know it was you who ruined my clothes." Leslie pounded her fist on Phoebe's desk, but the redhead didn't even flinch.

"I honestly don't know what you're talking about," Phoebe said, looking straight ahead of her as if the girl standing there was invisible. "I didn't do anything to your precious wool sweater."

"Do you know what wool smells like when it's wet?" Leslie went on, completely ignoring her claim of innocence. "It smells like a filthy sheep! I was going to chat up that boy at the grocer if it weren't for your little prank. No cute boy wants to shag a smelly sheep."

Phoebe waved a hand, noncommittally. "Showering helps solve that problem, I'm told."

Bonnie wanted to laugh at that, but Leslie looked as though she might strangle anyone who drew attention to themselves.

"I've had enough of you taunting me," she said, her voice low. "Do you know what I could do to you if you keep provoking me?"

"Do you know what I could do to you?" Phoebe said, her voice mimicking the threatening tone the other girl's held. Just then, Bonnie could have sworn she saw genuine fear in Leslie's eyes.

"Why don't you leave Phoebe alone for once and go sit down?" came Keila's voice from the back of the room. "She was with me and Marce that day. She didn't do shit to you."

Leslie glared at Keila, and then shot Phoebe another menacing look before she dramatically stomped back to her seat.

Keila walked to the front of the room to toss a wad of paper into the bin by Miss Pearl's desk. "So annoying, that one," she said to Phoebe. Then, to Bonnie, "Hey Bon."

"Hey," she said back, totally bewildered. Keila had always hated Phoebe, yet suddenly they were on good terms; Leslie had apparently been kicked out of Phoebe's tight social circle, and the two most cheerful people she knew were simultaneously having an off day. With everything going on lately, Bonnie considered that she might have woken up in some kind of alternate reality.

Miss Pearl walked into the classroom two minutes after the final bell, apologising profusely for her tardiness. There'd been a line outside the nearest bathroom, she'd said.

As always, the history lesson was incredibly dull. More times than naught, Bonnie found herself looking over her neighbour's shoulder. Phoebe was always texting Marceline during class. She could never make out what they were saying, not fully. Sometimes she'd catch bits and pieces of the conversation, and it always happened to be something that she could have gone her whole life without reading. Bonnie envied her for never getting in trouble in class. If their teacher noticed Phoebe's texting habit, she didn't show it. Of course, that was to be expected. It was Phoebe, after all.

Bonnie hated how perfect the other girl was, and perhaps she even envied her for that as well. Whenever she saw them together, Marceline looked so proud to have her. There was nothing out of the ordinary about that - everyone at their school fancied the rich redhead - but Bonnie couldn't keep herself from wondering if Bongo admired her in the same way Marceline did Phoebe. He treated her well, smiled whenever he saw her, even went out of his way to show his appreciation for her company... but Bonnie wasn't perfect. Not like Phoebe.

Her mind wandered, involuntarily slinking into strange places. The dream that convinced her she would be better off distancing herself from Marceline returned, only now the roles were switched - Phoebe was substituting for Bonnie. The change brought about flutters of warmth in her lower abdomen, and a familiar twitch in her loins. Was she really imagining her childhood friend and the girl she hated having sex? In spite of the unwanted imagery, Bonnie found her chest tightening.

"Miss Edan, would you kindly collect the homework for me?" Miss Pearl called out, startling Bonnie. For a split second she was concerned that her thoughts were written plainly across her forehead.

Phoebe slowly rose to her feet, almost lazily. Then, she walked around the room to gather previously assigned worksheets from their classmates; Bonnie was the last person to hand hers in. It was a short respite from their teacher's dull voice - a chance for the students to move around a bit and get their blood flowing again. Unfortunately, just as quickly as the break was given to them, it was also taken away.

Phoebe paused on her way back to her seat, placing her hand on the desk to steady herself. No one else seemed to notice - Miss Pearl was going on about the lesson once more, and as usual everyone else in the room was already dying of boredom.

"Are you okay?" Bonnie whispered.

Phoebe ungracefully plopped back down into her seat. "Dizzy," she muttered. "I'm fine."

Bonnie wasn't sure what she should do. "Do you need to go to the nurse? I can tell Miss-"

"I said I was fine," she snapped. Phoebe rubbed her eyes, breathing shakily. "I haven't been sleeping well lately. That's all it is."

"Okay." Bonnie sat back in her seat. There was not a single thing about Phoebe that she liked, but she didn't want anything bad to happen to her. It was just normal human decency, she thought.

Regardless of her motives, Bonnie couldn't stop checking the corner of her eye to see that the other girl was all right.

Finn was standing by his locker, his head tilted towards something he'd been holding in both of his hands. Hunched shoulders blocked her view from whatever he was doing, and even though she was curious to know, she thought that it would be awkward if he'd caught her sneaking up on him.

Bonnie cleared her throat to announce her presence. The sudden noise startled Finn, and he spun around. A loud clatter drew Bonnie's attention to the combination lock now laying on the ground, but it wasn't until she realised that his locker was still closed that she became suspicious. Her eyes scanned the nearby lockers, ignoring the guilt-ridden expression he wore.

"What were you doing in my locker?" she demanded.

Finn's mouth opened and closed as he groped for words. "I started playing this new video game," he finally said. "There's a part where you have to pick these locks to get into an old warehouse. I was kind of curious if it really worked, so I-" he looked down, unable to meet her gaze. "I'm sorry... I wasn't going to mess with your stuff or anything. I already know both mine and Jake's combinations, so it wouldn't be hard to open our locks."

There was a sincerity to his apology, and it certainly was something he would do. "It's okay, Finn. Next time, please ask me before you do anything like that."

He nodded. "Sorry, Bonnie."

"I was looking for you, actually." She picked the lock up and examined it for any sign of damage from the fall. When she was satisfied, she fastened it back in its spot. "I wanted to talk about something, if that's okay with you."

He looked like he wanted to refuse, but she knew he couldn't. Not after she'd caught him red-handed. "Yeah, okay. Should we go somewhere else?"

"Let's just walk around for a bit." Bonnie led the way through the desolate corridor, destined for no area in particular. "How have you been, Finn? I don't feel as if we get to see each other anymore."

He shoved his hands into his pockets. "I've been doing well. School is stressful, and I've been feeling kind of… not myself lately. What about you? I've noticed you've been spending a lot of time with Bongo. Things are going good then, I guess?"

"I have, and yes. I've probably been spending too much time with him. It only just now occurred to me that my friends need me as well."

Finn shot her a sideways glance. "What do you mean?"

"Well..." She mulled over her thoughts, choosing her words carefully. If Bonnie said the wrong thing, he would retract into his shell and nothing would come out of this. "Something's on your mind - and you can't say that it's nothing. You always talk to me when you need to. I'm just concerned that the whole Phoebe thing has come between our friendship."

He frowned. "That's not it at all. I'm not upset with you for what you did. I guess I'm just... upset about Phoebe not liking me back. I mean, I've fancied her since I first set eyes on her. Then Marceline comes out of nowhere and snatches her up? Right when she's starting to show some interest in me?" He paused, and then quickly added, "She wasn't though. I just misread her."

Bonnie didn't believe that. She still maintained that she'd been right, regardless of what everyone else was being fed. "Jake doesn't think that's the only thing bothering you," she said, cautiously avoiding bringing Bea into the mix. Even if that had been on his mind, it didn't account for some of the things Bea told her. "I don't either, for that matter. You're stronger than that."

Finn shook his head. "I'm not though. I'm... heartbroken. I have to see Marceline and Phoebe together all the time. It feels kind of like she's better than me - Marceline, I mean." He twiddled his thumbs together. "I'll be okay soon."

"Jake thinks that you've become a danger to yourself," she lied. "He's worried about the way you've been acting. Actually, he asked me to talk to you as a last ditch effort to figure out whether or not he should tell your parents."

The statement didn't shock him, surprisingly. "I'm not a danger to anyone. I'll talk to Jake and everything, but I promise everything is fine."

"You're not going to hurt anyone else, are you?" she said, trying to pass it for a joke.

Finn stopped walking and turned to look at her. He narrowed his eyes, although what he was thinking went beyond her. "If you must know... I may have mentioned to Bea that I wanted to... fight Marceline."

"You wanted to what?"

He tugged at his ear, looking down and away from her. "I didn't mean it. I was just angry and said whatever stupid thing came to mind."

"I would hope so." She laughed, relieved to hear that it was nothing major. Bea cared deeply for him, so much so that they may have overreacted to something silly he'd said. Bonnie reached her arms under his and hugged him tightly. "I'm glad you're okay, Finn."

He hesitated before hugging her back. "Yeah... Thanks."

"Don't worry. Heartbreak will heal, I promise. I know it doesn't seem like it right now because the wound is too fresh, but you're going to be fine." She ruffled his hair. "Do you remember when I was upset about that boy I obsessed over a few years ago?"

He nodded. "I brought over a tub of ice cream and we talked about how boys were stupid for the better half of a night."

"Exactly. If you ever want to, we can do that. I'll play your favourite video games with you." Bonnie nudged his arm, playfully. "Unless you're scared that I'm going to beat you at them."

"You're on." Finn smiled half-heartedly and looked at his watch. "I better get going. Aeryn usually leaves by now, and Jake isn't exactly patient when you keep him from his daily nap."

Bonnie followed him out to the student car park. Across the stretch of pavement, she could see that Bea and Jake were already in the car waiting for him. She gave them both a thumbs up where Finn couldn't see - a silent promise that she would tell them all about the conversation later. "I'll see you later, Finn," she shouted over her shoulder, on her way to her own car.

By some luck (or misfortune, she couldn't decide), Marceline was still at school; she sat in the grass, digging up the packed dirt with a sturdy stick. Bonnie had almost completely forgotten about her plans to speak with Marceline as well until then.

"Don't you ride home with Phoebe?" she said, walking over to the girl sitting on the ground. That heavy feeling in her chest she'd experienced earlier returned.

Marceline didn't spare her a glance. "She went home feeling ill."

"Do you need me to give you a ride?" Bonnie offered.

"No." Marceline threw the stick to the side, finally looking up. "Guy's supposed to pick me up after he runs some errands. Probably bonking Keila," she mumbled.

"I bet Bongo wouldn't have minded taking you home. It's too bad you're no longer friends with him, isn't it?" Bonnie couldn't be bothered to beat around the bush. Talking with Marceline only made her angry, and sad, and frustrated, and annoyed.

Marceline made a show of grabbing her bag and walking away - running from her problems as she always did. Bonnie wasn't willing to give up that easily.

"Stop following me," Marceline growled. "If I'd wanted you to criticise me, I would have asked for it."

Bonnie grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. "No! You don't get to keep acting like a child, Marceline. What is your problem? Bongo has never done anything to you - except maybe give you everything he had to offer!"

She swatted Bonnie's hand away. "Don't remind me! I know that Bongo's a good friend. This isn't about him."

"Believe me, I know!" She shook her head in disbelief. "You're just angry that I was looking out for you! Bongo doesn't deserve for you to take it out on him. This is between us."

Marceline clenched her jaw, tears streaming down her face. "You don't fucking get it, do you Bonnibel?" She laughed bitterly. "No, of course you don't."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I can't stand to be around the two of you." Marceline ran a hand through her hair, the tears flowing more freely now. "It makes me fucking sick to my stomach to see you and him together. All those years. Everything… You don't fucking get it." The words came flying out again. Marceline threw her hands in the air. "Forget it!"

Bonnie watched her run off. Her nose itched, burdened by a familiar scent lingering in the air - a smell she once called 'home'. She turned away from the retreating figure, focusing on the disturbed ground and the little stick lying discarded in the dirt. At that point she was too angry to think. She refused to let her mind wander, and instead, went back to her car for a blurry eyed drive home.