Chapter 31 - Bonnie (Originally Published: 4 March 2016)
It was the fourth phone call that finally woke her up.
Bonnie shook herself from the comfortable blanket cocoon she'd been nestled in to grab her phone from the nightstand next to her bed. The device had been ringing off the hook for a while now, but she'd been too exhausted to pick up. It had become obvious, however, that the damned thing wasn't going to stop pestering her until she answered. Groggy and annoyed, she unlocked her phone and put it to her ear.
"Hello?" The word came out languid, sounding as tired as she felt.
"Bonnie!" It was Finn. Of course. He was the only person who would dare rob her of her precious sleep. Something in his voice sounded frantic, but the words he said blurred together in her muddled state.
She frowned slightly, attempting to get her sleepy mouth to form proper words. "Hold on, Finn. Someone else is ringing me."
Bonnie willed her eyes to open, squinting so she could see who the other caller was in the blinding light. The number hadn't been saved into her phone, so it was mildly concerning that they were trying to get a hold of her so early in the morning.
"Hello?" she said again, after switching calls.
"Bonnibel? Don't hang up!"
It was sobering to hear the other girl's voice, and it alerted her that something was definitely wrong. She sat up lazily, trying to wake the rest of her body. "Marceline? What's going on?" If she strained to hear, Bonnie could just barely catch hints of other conversations going on in the background. "Where are you?"
"That's kind of what I'm calling about." Marceline exhaled audibly. "I know it's a lot to ask, but I don't know who else to go to… I need you to bail me out. I'm at the police station." After a short pause, she added, "I can pay you back. I got the job at that record store I told you about."
Bonnie felt a wave of relief wash over her. With Marceline speaking to her for the first time in what felt like an eternity, she was worried that something else had happened. That maybe Marceline was hurt, or worse... Being held by the police - for whatever reason - was still bad, but Bonnie's mind had gone wandering to darker depths in the short interval between the other girl's words.
After the initial comfort of knowing she was okay, Bonnie remembered why she was mad at her in the first place. "Why couldn't you have tried Bongo? Or Phoebe? Why me?"
She thought Marceline might lose her temper again, but to Bonnie's surprise, she didn't. "I can't call Bongo because we're not on good terms right now. I know he would forgive me and come through, but I don't want to have to owe him anything. And Phoebe… I don't want to worry her. She's got enough on her plate with the school play coming up this week." She could hear Marceline tapping on something, maybe with a pen. "I know we're not exactly doing okay right now either, but can you just do this for me? I swear I'll have the money back to you by next week."
Bonnie checked the time on her phone. It was almost four in the morning, and the idea of being alone with Marceline was not one she wanted to entertain… but she couldn't in good conscience say no to her childhood friend. "I'll be there shortly."
"Thank you," Marceline said, sounding humble - a distinct change from the hot-headed, prideful girl she'd grown up with. "Um… This might seem kind of weird, but have you heard from Finn? Is he okay?"
Bonnie chewed the inside of her lip. "Could you give me just a moment?"
"Sure."
She looked at her phone. Two of her missed calls were from Bea, and one was from Finn. She'd slept through something important. Did this have to do with the things that Bea had been worried about? And why was Marceline involved? Surely Finn hadn't actually tried to hurt her; he was too sweet for that.
He has been acting out of character lately, though… is there even more that I've failed to notice? Bonnie tongued the inside of her cheek. "Finn's on the other line. He called me just before you did. Is everything okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah, everything's… It's okay." The shakiness in Marceline's voice seemed to dull down after that, her mind set at ease. "I'll explain when you get here. They're telling me I have to hang up the phone. Oh, and… thanks, Bonnibel."
Bonnie muttered a quick goodbye, taken aback by the sudden change in Marceline's behaviour, before switching back to her call with Finn. "Are you still there?"
"Bonnie!" She could hear Finn and Jake's parents talking in the background - just another small thing that perturbed her about this night. Most people would be in bed at this early hour. "I know this is going to sound weird coming from me, but I need Marceline's number. I deleted it from my phone a long time ago and I can't get a hold of Bea for some reason. Do you still have it?"
"What's this about, Finn?" She compelled her legs to work, making a face at how stiff they were when she stood, and went to her closet to fetch a heavy coat. It was starting to get cold again, and she had no intention of forgetting the garment on her way to the police station.
"It's a long story." Finn was speaking frantically, and all out of sorts, just as he had earlier. "I just need to know if she made it."
That gave her pause. "Made it? If by that you mean to the police station, then yes. I've just spoken to her. She's in custody and needs me to come get her."
"What?! That can't be! She didn't do it!" Finn covered the receiver, but it didn't stop her from hearing him relay the information back to everyone else that he was with. Muffled voices climbed over each other, vying for dominance in the conversation. It sounded almost like arguing, but without the negative hostility that usually accompanied such things. The voices were… concerned? "It's going to take us about twenty or thirty minutes to get there. Do you think you could wait for us? We're coming into town."
"Let me talk to her," Bonnie heard Jake say. When Finn handed him the phone he said, "If you don't feel like waiting around, we can meet up with you guys at your place. I don't mind taking Marceline back, since she lives down the way from us."
"It's going to take me a moment to get there as well, and I don't really want to wake my parents. I'll just meet you at the station." It was odd to hear Jake of all people showing any amount of sympathy towards Marceline.
Bonnie said goodbye to him and hung up. Then, she donned her shoes and warm clothes. Her appearance didn't matter, so she didn't bother to freshen up. It wasn't like Finn or Jake cared about how she looked, and Marceline was the only other person she would be seeing tonight. Still, she must have looked a right mess; she knew her hair would be wild from sleep, as it often was.
Grabbing the car keys from her desk, she went out to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. Aeryn had given her a stainless steel tumbler for her birthday last year that hadn't seen much use, in spite of her notorious caffeine habits. When the black liquid was done brewing, she filled the still-new container to the brim. She ran through a quick mental checklist of everything she needed and, before she could forget again, grabbed her wallet from her room. When she was sure she had everything, she tiptoed her way out the front door.
The windscreen of her car was covered in a thin layer of ice, reflected by the temperature. The moon was new, and barely visible other than a slender crescent. However, the light was supernaturally bright. She was grateful for that. Hopping into the front seat, she turned her key in the ignition. It would take a few minutes for the car to heat up, but Marceline wasn't going anywhere. Besides, it gave Bonnie some time to enjoy her coffee and relish the warmth it provided.
How much is bail, I wonder? There's probably going to be quite a bit of paperwork involved. Marceline and I have grown so distant lately, and yet here I am - sacrificing my own sleep to help her out of a bind. She laughed, bitterly. Just like old times.
The heat in her car was suffocating, and it wasn't until Bonnie noticed the water pooling on the bonnet that she realised her mind had wandered - consumed by thoughts and memories of Marceline. She pushed them out of her head. It didn't change the fact that she couldn't let the other girl into her life again, and it didn't change that Marceline didn't want her around either. She secured the tumbler in her car's cupholder and backed out of the drive.
Bonnie considered herself to be a model citizen and was totally uninterested in law enforcement. She had never found a reason to visit the town's police station, but Whitewater was not so large that she didn't know where everything was. It only took a couple of left turns and one right for her to reach her destination - a single story brick building with a plaque next to the entrance that read WHITEWATER POLICE in tacky gold lettering. The door was solid wood, so she couldn't sneak a glimpse at the inside until she pulled the heavy thing open.
The station was, suffice to say, not what she expected. In front of her was a counter that extended from one section of the wall to the other, providing a small window into the grunt police business that took place on the other side of the wooden barricade. There was a lone woman sitting at the counter, typing on a computer whose monitor was just barely visible to Bonnie. Behind the woman, file cabinets lined the walls of a hallway - where it led, she didn't know. There were two other mysterious corridors branching off from the reception room, littered with heavy looking metal doors; Bonnie wondered if Marceline was being kept in one of them. The walls on the outer end of the counter were a bland greyish-blue - like what one might expect from a dreary hospital - however, behind the counter were walls of wood, adding colour to the otherwise lifeless police station.
"May I help you?" the woman asked. Now that her face wasn't obscured by the computer monitor, she looked rather lively in contrast to her workplace.
Bonnie pulled her wallet from one of her coat pockets, unsure of the procedure for having someone released. "Yes, please. I'd like to pay the bail for Marceline Abadeer?"
The woman looked at her wallet, and then at her. An awkward silence seemed to take hold of the air, before the receptionist broke into a hearty laugh. Bonnie could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. There was no need to make her feel silly for trying.
When the receptionist's laughter died down, she wiped a tear from her eye. "Oh, honey… That's not how posting bail works. Lucky for you, your friend may not have to be detained after all. Once they finish the booking process, we'll let you see her." She waved a hand toward the door. "Have a seat over there, please."
"I don't mean to imply that I'm not thankful, but why would she be let off so easily?" Bonnie asked. She still didn't know what was going on, nor why Marceline had been arrested in the first place. In the corner of her eye, she saw a familiar figure approaching. "Jake?"
"Hey, slow-poke." He gave her a little wave. "Finn already explained what happened. They're going to let her off with a slap on the wrist. I think I heard one officer saying she's just going to be under strict curfew from now on." Jake turned to walk down the corridor, prompting Bonnie to follow.
"I haven't a clue what's going on, myself. Would you care to enlighten me?" It was irritating for her to have gotten out of bed for no reason - Finn and Jake seemed to have this covered, and they'd been planning on taking Marceline home anyway - she wasn't needed here.
Jake shook his head. "Ask Finn," was all he said.
The pair turned at the end of the corridor into a lounge of sorts. The room was occupied by vending machines of snacks and fizzy drinks; in the corner hid their less-liked cousin, the water dispenser. A television hung from the ceiling, playing a popular game show at low resolution—muted, with blocky subtitles on. Finn and his parents were seated at a table, craning their necks to see the screen.
"Did you figure out what's going on?" Finn asked, over his shoulder.
Jake placed a hand on Bonnie's back, giving her a gentle push into the room. "It looks like they're going to take a bit longer, but look who I ran into."
The family all turned their heads, smiling when they saw her. Mr. and Mrs. Mertens uttered a friendly greeting, drowned out by the squeak of Finn's chair as he jumped to his feet.
"Bonnie! It's about time you showed up!" He threw his arms around her, trapping her in a big bear hug.
It was nice to see Finn truly returned to his usual demeanour, but it was far too early in the morning for this. She patted him on the back, wishing he'd quiet down just a bit. "It's good to see you as well, Finn, but can someone please explain to me what we're doing here?"
The nature of the room turned grim in an instant, faces draining of their colour as they stared back at her like lifeless husks. Finn shrunk in on himself, burdened with the weight of what he knew.
"We'll leave you two to talk," Jake said, ushering his parents out of the room. The waiting area seemed much less welcoming now that they were gone, silent except for the oppressive hum of the vending machines.
Finn pulled out a chair for Bonnie at his table and sat down across from her. "I messed up, and I lied to you. That's why we're all here. I lied to my parents, and to Jake." He looked like he might break down into tears, yet his eyes were already puffy. "None of that stuff I told you when we talked was true. I was never that upset about Phoebe. I just said it because it seemed probable and I didn't want you to know the real reason I was so messed up."
"Which is?"
"Do you remember that guy who threw a birthday party for me? Ash Williams?"
She didn't like where this was going. Naturally, she remembered Ash. The things she knew about him were forever imprinted in her memory - things Keila and Bongo had told her, the way he stripped Marceline of all her self-worth and trust, and the time he'd approached her in a threatening manner. It still gave Bonnie chills to remember that night.
"Judging from your face, I can tell you already know where this is going." Finn looked at the wall behind her, twiddling his thumbs. "I was misguided and stupid. Everyone was telling me he was a terrible person, but I ignored them because I idolised that guy. Ash was cool, I thought, and he made me feel like I was cool too." He looked down at his hands, turning them over to examine his palms. "Before I knew it, I was sucked into this huge mess. I was scared he was going to hurt my family, so I just went along with whatever he said - even if that meant breaking into some place tonight and robbing it. The pressure got to me though, and I said I didn't want to follow through with their plans any longer." He closed his eyes for a moment, shaking his head at the memory. "I was so scared... I knew... I knew they were going to kill me."
Bonnie reached her hand across the table to take his, and rubbed her thumb over his palm. She could tell he felt bad about it, and he'd surely learned his lesson, so she wasn't going to chastise him after the traumatic night he'd had. "What happened next?" she said, softly.
"Well, that's where Marceline comes in." Finn squeezed her hand, shuddering when he inhaled. "I don't know how she knew, but Marceline just-" he waved his other arm, "came out of nowhere! I wish I'd stayed to see what happened, but I ran away. I was calling you to see if you could find out if she was safe, and well, that's how we all ended up here. When I got here, they were discussing charging her for vandalism, so I guess Ash and his friends did something… but I explained everything to the police and gave them names. Dad even vouched for her. I think that's why they're letting her off easy, but she has to come back for a court date in about a month, and they're placing her under curfew until they can decide what they're going to do with her. I offered to take the sentence instead of Marceline, but they refused since I wasn't the one that was caught at the scene."
"Have you been to see her yet?" Bonnie asked.
"No." Finn shrugged. "I guess she's not allowed to see anyone until they're done with her. She was a proper mess when she came in though. That's what the receptionist told my dad anyway."
Bonnie nodded slowly, mulling over everything he'd told her. Marceline was okay at least, aside from being punished for no reason. It made sense that she'd been in a panic though - Marceline had never been too keen on authority. A random thought came to mind. "You said you haven't been able to get a hold of Bea, correct?" Bonnie pulled out her phone to look at the calls she'd missed earlier. The two from Bea were about an hour before Finn's first call. "I can try to get in contact with them, if you'd like."
"That'd be great," Finn said, despondent. Bea's opinion mattered to him more than she'd realised.
After failing to reach Bea several times, she decided to call Bongo. To her surprise, he answered fairly quickly.
"Hey Bonnie. Are you okay?" her boyfriend asked, showing no signs of sleeplessness. She wondered if he'd already been awake.
"Everything's fine. I may have to cancel our plans for tomorrow though." After tonight, she was going to need the whole day to catch up on her sleep. She left that part out, however, worried that if she mentioned Marceline it would only make him sad.
"Aww. That's okay. We can just reschedule."
Bonnie couldn't help but smile at how understanding he was. "There's another reason I wanted to call you… Since I'm probably going to be indisposed all day tomorrow, I'd appreciate if you could contact Bea at some point and have them give Finn a ring. Just tell them that it's very important."
"Oh. Why don't you tell them yourself?" She was about to reiterate her point, when she heard rustling in the background on Bongo's end. "Hey Bea?"
Bonnie felt no panic at hearing her friend was with her boyfriend at such an hour - she trusted both of them - but, it did make her a bit uneasy to think that something else had happened in the time she'd been peacefully unconscious.
Bea grumbled something unintelligible, and then Bongo was back on the phone. "Sorry, Bonnie. I thought they'd get up to talk to you." There was someone else speaking in the background, a female voice. Bongo said something to the other girl that Bonnie didn't quite catch. Then, addressing Bonnie again, he added, "Bea called me earlier to ask if I could stay with them until they calmed down. I don't really know what's going on, since they didn't want to tell me, but Keila's here too."
Bonnie chewed her lip, conflicted about what she should say. It would upset Bongo to be around Marceline, or even to hear about what happened earlier that night, but Keila deserved to know the whereabouts of her best friend—Bonnie guessed that Marceline had only called her—and Bea needed to see that Finn was okay.
"Could you meet me at my house? I need you to bring Bea and Keila, please," Bonnie eventually said, despite her gut instinct warning her not to. She absentmindedly waved at Jake, who'd returned quietly, realising she was on the phone.
"Sure thing, Bonnie. I'll see you soon. Goodbye."
She tucked the mobile back into her coat pocket, worried that she may not have formed the best decision. Bonnie had been making a lot of mistakes lately; she just hoped this was not one of them. When she saw the concerned look on Finn's face, she gave him her best reassuring smile. "I believe Bea may have been asleep when you tried to reach them. Bongo's bringing Bea and Keila to my house in just a bit. If your parents are okay with it, you can come over and talk everything out with them. Call it a hunch, but I'd wager that they're dying to hear from you."
"I may have already invited someone to meet us here. We'll have to wait unless you don't mind me giving them your address."
"Who?" Bonnie asked, although she had a feeling she already knew.
Finn smiled apologetically. "Phoebe." He laughed and then quickly added, "Me and Jake could just wait here with Marceline if you want to go ahead. I don't know how long it's going to take for her to get here or-"
"It's fine." It wasn't. Bonnie didn't want to spend any more time with Phoebe than she was already being forced to, but she had no intention of leaving Marceline at the station. Nor did she want to step on any toes tonight. She was too tired, and the sooner this whole ordeal was over with, the sooner she could get back to bed. "Give her my address. We'll just all meet there. You guys have to be quiet though. My parents are still sleeping."
"Of cour-" Finn's eyes went wide, drawn to something behind her.
Bonnie turned in her seat to see what he and Jake were gaping at, and upon seeing Marceline in the doorway, her stomach sank into a bottomless pit - dropping, with no end in sight. One of her eyes was completely swollen shut, and the hair on the right side of her head had been neatly shaved off.
"Well, here she is," the receptionist said, carefully putting a hand on her back. "Make sure she gets plenty of rest. It would be a good idea for someone to keep an eye on her until she's well again."
Bonnie tried to say 'okay', but all that escaped her mouth was an incomprehensible mumble. The receptionist smiled at them, although there was no joy behind her expression. She left them to themselves to take care of business elsewhere.
"What's the matter, Bonnibel? You look like you've seen a ghost," Marceline said, smirking despite her busted lip. When she tilted her head, it was easy to see the long line of stitches where her hair had once been.
Bonnie couldn't stop staring, couldn't stop her jaw from hanging unhinged. Behind her, she heard the metal legs of one of the boys' chairs squeak against the hardwood floor.
"They hurt you." Finn stared up at her, his fists clenched. Bonnie couldn't see his face, but she heard the tremble in his voice. "You got hurt b-because of me."
Jake walked over to meet her as well. He held Marceline's gaze for a long time before finally speaking. "Why did you do it? There were five of them. You got completely destroyed."
She shrugged, chuckling bitterly. "I guess that's karma."
The elder Mertens boy shook his head. "No. You didn't deserve that."
"It could have been worse." Marceline turned her attention to Finn. "I'm guessing you got out all right?"
He nodded, unable to look at her. "Thank you. Jake's right though. You didn't deserve any of this. It should have been me."
Marceline mussed up his hair. Her movements seemed slightly unnatural to Bonnie - a symptom of injury that she couldn't quite manage to hide. "Stop pitying me. I did what had to be done. You're okay. Be thankful for that. Now can we get out of here? I'm getting depressed looking at these walls. Who picked that awful fucking colour?"
The boys exchanged looks, but they didn't protest.
"We'll meet back up at your place, then?" Jake asked. Bonnie nodded, and he dragged his brother out of the room.
When Marceline looked at her, the smile she'd been holding up vanished. Bonnie understood. What were they supposed to say to each other? The two of them were stuck in this constant struggle, going back and forth between being friendly and despising each other. Except, that wasn't totally true. Bonnie had her reasons for distancing herself, and she was sure Marceline did as well... But that was before, because now, all she wanted to do was run up to her old friend and hug her.
Bonnie knew that she couldn't, though. No matter how happy she was to see Marceline in one piece, she knew that things were different now. They hadn't exactly last spoken on decent terms. So even though she longed to wrap her arms around her oldest friend, she couldn't.
She cleared her throat awkwardly. "We probably shouldn't keep them waiting."
"Yeah… You're probably right." Marceline waited for her to get up before following her down the long corridor.
The many doors leading to unknown locations reminded Bonnie of a dream she'd had not long ago. Feeling uncomfortable, she hastened her pace, happy to reach the end of the hallway. She politely waved goodbye to the receptionist, whose face crinkled with remembered mirth. Bonnie cringed slightly as her earlier blunder passed through her mind. She couldn't wait to get out of there.
Exiting to the car park became a battle of pushing the already heavy door against an icy gust of wind. Propelled by the chill, Bonnie ran to her car, anxious for the promised warmth of the heater within. Her teeth were chattering, and she couldn't hide the shiver that caused her body to convulse. Marceline, on the other hand, walked at a slow pace, showing no sign that the temperature bothered her - not that it came as a surprise.
Bonnie felt guilty for leaving her injured friend behind, and for a split second she considered getting back out to open the door, but decided against it. Marceline had been beaten up, not rendered incapable. She turned on the heater in anticipation of the other girl finally getting to the vehicle. At least it would be warm.
The tumbler she'd used earlier for her coffee was still waiting, and to her delight, the liquid inside was still hot enough to burn her tongue. She would have to remember to tell Aeryn that it worked well, and thank her again for the well-invested gift. It also provided a buffer for her to gather her thoughts when Marceline finally did settle down into the seat next to her.
"What did they do about your… face?" Bonnie asked, cursing herself for the lack of tact.
Marceline leaned against the window, sitting as far away from Bonnie as she could get. It was nothing unusual at this point, but that didn't lessen the blow any. "I went to the hospital before they took me to the police station. I've got a couple of broken ribs, and stitches in my head, but all they could do was give me some pain medication." Marceline clucked her tongue. "I've got to get a ride to the pharmacy tomorrow to pick up a prescription for them."
"I could take you," she offered, feeling guilty for her earlier remark and for the other girl's situation.
Marceline laughed through her nose. "You don't have to do anything else for me. I'm sure Phoebe could ask her father to take me. Or I'll get Guy to give me a ride. I'm sure he owes me a couple of favours or something."
"In the event that you can't find someone else, you have my number." Bonnie cleared her throat. Everything she said came across as too awkward or too formal. Had she lost her ability to speak to Marceline normally? There was surely something they could talk about that didn't feel forced. The thought pre-occupied her mind, allowing a tense silence to linger between them while she tried to think of what to say. Her attention only snapped back to focus when she realised that she was turning down a familiar street.
"I guess we're here already," Bonnie said, laughing nervously. How could it be that someone she used to be so comfortable around now made her feel so unbelievably helpless? She parked the car in front of her house. The Mertens had all taken one car, but Bongo's vehicle and Guy's motorcycle were blocking her out of the drive. I wonder who invited him. It didn't appear that anyone was waiting outside, which meant that her parents had woken up at some point. So much for that.
"Are you hungry?" Bonnie offered, unsure of how to extend her hospitalities in this situation. She looked in the dark for Marceline's reaction, but found her more focused on not tripping. "You can't see, can you?"
"Barely," she grumbled.
Bonnie took Marceline's arm, gently lifting it onto her shoulder, and reached her other arm around the girl's back to guide her. It came as a surprise to her that helping Marceline didn't require any thought, when lately everything did. She'd become a person who thought about their every action and reaction, consciously avoiding her old friend and analysing everyone else, creating mental lists of the pros and cons to her every movement - but not this. Helping Marceline, even after all the petty fights and bickering, was second nature. Bonnie thought the stubborn girl might protest the assistance, but she took it without any complaints.
She'd forgotten how pleasant Marceline smelled, but being in such close proximity to her made it hard to ignore. The scent she'd grown up with was now tinged with the dusty, metallic smell of dried blood, but it didn't hinder the internal nostalgic joy that came as a natural reaction to the familiarity of her childhood friend.
Bonnie carried Marceline to the front of her house before letting her stand on her own, and held the door open. Indistinct chatter flooded the outside, having previously been only shielded by the polished slab of wood between them. The voices led them to the kitchen, where it seemed that nearly everyone they knew had gathered together - Bonnie's parents, The Mertens family, Bongo, Bea, Keila, and Guy. Bonnie was oddly reminded of a surprise birthday party, but here, the celebration was that Marceline hadn't been killed in her reckless act of heroism. The clatter of voices dissipated when the others took note of their arrival.
Guy's joyous laugh cut through the growing awkward silence. "Bloody hell. You look like a battered woman!" Bonnie knew that this was his way of expressing that he was happy to see his friend in one piece. However, her parents did not. When she saw the disapproving frowns on their faces, she wished that she could tell them that Guy was more Bongo's friend than hers.
Before she could open her mouth to try to cover his remark, a movement caught the corner of her eye. Bongo, her wonderful Bongo—still wary of existing in the same space as Marceline—was rubbing the back of his neck, looking at the floor in front of them. "We heard about what you did for Finn. That was really cool of you, Marce."
The others in the room nodded, or voiced indistinct murmurs of agreement, still rather unsure of how to proceed within the bounds of this unusual gathering. Jake, neither nodding nor clearly agreeing with the others, cleared his throat nervously. He took a hesitant step forward, then stood there with his arms crossed over his chest.
A small shiver of trepidation crawled over Bonnie's skin. Surely, Jake wouldn't stoop so low as to lash out against Marceline now? To her surprise and relief, the corners of his mouth turned up in a cautious smile. "I guess…" he started, then faltered slightly. Shifting on his feet as though to find a better footing for his words, he tried again. "I guess now I have to admit that I was wrong about you." He let out a long, steady breath, shoulders slumping as he seemed to slough off the cloak of distaste he had been carrying about for so long. "You're a good person after all, it seems… I guess what I'm trying to say is... thanks for saving my brother."
"No problem." Despite everything, Marceline's one open eye still held its usual youthful twinkle. "If it took getting my face bashed in to show you that, it was well worth it." She chuckled softly at her own joke, and the good humour seemed to wash over everyone else present.
"That reminds me." Finn scratched his palms, trying to distract himself from the growing anxiousness of everyone looking in his direction. "How did you know that I would be with Ash?"
"I called her," Bea said, wringing their hands together. Bonnie couldn't believe she hadn't noticed sooner, but Bea was wearing a normal length sweater - a total change from their usual baggy attire. "I'm sorry, Finn. I didn't know what else to do."
He looked shocked for a moment; his eyes darted over Bea's face, examining the sincerity of their actions. Suddenly, Finn flung his arms around them in an apologetic, teary-eyed hug. "It's okay. I'm glad you did," he said, his voice cracking. "I'm sorry I was a jerk before."
Another silence fell over the group as everyone watched the reconciliation unfolding in front of them. Bonnie took this opportunity to cherish the moment, to sculpt this night into her memory forever. It was, after all, the first time in a long while that things felt truly normal. Everyone looked so happy, unbothered by the lack of sleep they'd gotten that night. The group of teenagers were just thankful that their own friends had come out on the other side of a challenging ordeal. There was no fighting, no drama, no sadness. All was right in the world.
She smiled, thinking about the past few months and how those days had come together to shape this one particular night. It made her start to wonder where things would go from here. Would she and Marceline once again be friends? Or was this night merely an anomaly spliced into the new order of their world?
Bonnie pushed those thoughts out of her head. What the future would bring was not the most important thing right now. She looked over at Marceline, adding the last bit of detail to her figurative masterpiece. The other girl looked mostly normal from the right side; her head had been shaved to allow doctors to stitch the open wound, but other than that, Marceline looked exactly as she always had. In spite of everything, Bonnie found her heart soaring. The other girl was a doom magnet, always getting hurt or inconvenienced somehow—usually for the sake of a laugh—but she was perfect just the way she was. Who am I kidding? I could never stay mad at you.
"Margaret. Joshua," her father addressed, snapping Bonnie from her reverie. "Let us speak in the other room, give these kids some time to themselves. They've earned it." He walked past everyone, gave Bonnie a kiss on the forehead, and disappeared into the lounge. Finn's parents were right behind him, both of them pausing for just a moment to express the utmost gratitude to Marceline and to invite her over for supper some time.
"Oh, Marceline." Bonnie's mum stopped to look her up and down. There were tears brimming in her eyes, contrasting with the delightful expression she wore. "I always knew you would grow into a beautiful woman, and here you are."
Marceline snorted. "You flatter me, Mrs. B, but you see," she pointed to her bruised face, "my mug is far from being anything pretty."
Bonnie's mum placed her hands on her hips, giving Marceline the same pointed expression she always had when she was dissatisfied with whatever new thing her daughter's friend had picked up from the kids at school. There was a slight upturn in the corner of her mouth, barely noticeable. "I would say something about beauty being on the inside, but I know you'll be stubborn about this no matter what." Then, she cautiously reached out to hug Marceline. "It's nice to see you again."
"It's good to see you too, Mrs. B." Marceline hugged her back, and with that, her parents were gone.
Bonnie looked around the room, attempting to make heads or tails of what would happen now. No one appeared to be tired anymore. A few of her friends were talking amongst themselves quietly, possibly recounting the events of that night once more. Her gaze locked with Keila's, and there was a knowing look in the other girl's eyes.
"Excuse me? Mr. Bauers let me in just a moment ago."
Bonnie had completely forgotten about the extra guest Finn invited earlier that night. Next to her, she heard Marceline swear under her breath. It hadn't occurred to her that Finn messaged Phoebe without Marceline's knowledge.
"Hello," Bonnie said, greeting the other girl with the most friendly smile she could muster. It took every ounce of energy she had not to let the corners of her mouth dip down into an ugly scowl.
Phoebe didn't offer any warmth in exchange for her hospitality. Instead, she scanned the room in search of her girlfriend. When she saw the tall, half-bald figure next to Bonnie, she froze, her eyes ignited by a spark of recognition. Immediately, she dropped her bag and rushed to Marceline, taking her face in pale, shaky hands. "What's happened to you?"
"Relax," Marceline said, casually, smiling with that ever-so-charming smirk of hers. "I'm okay, Pheebs. A little sore, but I'm just dandy."
Phoebe leaned up to kiss her girlfriend gently on the corner of her mouth. As she looked at Marceline, her face contorted, as though she might cry at any moment. For the first time in the history of Bonnie knowing her, the drama club president was speechless - standing there, groping for words that only reached her lips in the form of quiet gasps and intense facial expressions.
Marceline only smiled, silently reassuring her that nothing was the matter. It made Bonnie sick to her stomach - seeing the two of them look into each other's eyes with the most loving gaze… it hurt. She knew, of course, that it wasn't her hatred of Phoebe that stirred these feelings. It wasn't the fear of being replaced, or the concern for Marceline's well-being. Those things were all petty excuses; she'd come to realise this now.
"I'm going to step outside for a moment," Bonnie announced, desperate to escape the light-headedness that suddenly swept over her. No one seemed to realise the inner turmoil that made her physically ill, which was okay. For now, she just needed some time alone. Creeping past the lounge where her parents and the Mertens were talking, she slipped out the front door and into the frigid air once more.
In the far-off distance, a thin, pinkish-orange hue lined the horizon. Bonnie sat on the front porch step, eager to watch the miraculous colours brighten the once-black sky. She could feel the damp wood seeping through her jeans, and the cold wetness that followed, but it didn't really bother her. Things were starting to change, slowly, but noticeably.
"Love's crazy, innit?" Keila said, giving her a start. She sat down on the step next to Bonnie, her attention set on the shifting skyline.
"Excuse me?"
Keila continued on, withholding any explanation. "One moment you think you're okay, and the next, you're falling apart." Keila finally turned to face her, that same knowing look in her eyes. "You're not fooling anyone, Bonnie... Except maybe the people that matter."
"I don't know what you're talking about." She couldn't hold Keila's gaze any longer. Her heart beat incessantly, propelling her blood at alarming rates that only made her feel more dizzy.
"Sure you don't," Keila said. "You can keep lying to yourself, but one day it's going to hit you like a ton of bricks." She shrugged it off, coolly. "Maybe you'll move away for six years and never call her - because you feel like you've lost your only chance at happiness. Maybe you'll avoid ever bringing her name up again, because you think of it as some kind of lacklustre remedy for the pain. But one day you'll see her again, and all those repressed feelings will come bubbling back up to the surface. That's how it always is with first loves, isn't it? Sometimes you just keep opening yourself up to someone you think you never want to see again."
"Wait, is that why Marceline-"
"Did you really think that she quit talking to you because she thought you'd judge her for her sexuality?" Keila narrowed her eyes, sounding incredulous. "Or that she would just forget her best friend?"
Bonnie's jaw snapped shut like a bear trap. Her throat was dry, and she suspected that even if she did know what to say, she wouldn't be able to freely speak her mind.
"So you do know what I'm talking about." Keila's features softened, morphing into something sympathetic in nature. Without another word, she got to her feet and walked back into the house.
Bonnie let go of a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding. Her chest ached, demanding that she supply it with more air. For a few minutes, she could only manage to focus on breathing - a slow, deep cycle of inhales and exhales to prevent herself from passing out. She knew.
Of course she knew. In the back of her mind she supposed it had always been there, waiting patiently to one day be accepted. It only took Keila saying it for her to finally come to terms with the truth.
Bonnie gasped, choking back tears. "I'm in love with her," she said quietly, left alone to wallow in her own overdue confession. "I'm in love with Marceline."