Friday, October 5th
It was noticeable. There was a change in the atmosphere. It was so tangible, she could practically taste and smell it.
It was the beginning of fall and the best time if you asked Marceline. Though the weather hardly changed all year round, it was slightly cooler than it had been.
The trees were skirted by pools of autumn colored leaves and when the wind blew, the piles seemed to float. They took to the air in an elegant dance, spinning around the college campus to their own orchestral rustling. When the wind calmed, the dance ended and the leaves landed to form new piles. The cycle would continue.
The weather didn't change nearly as drastically as it had in other states, considering it was California of all places, but people were starting to wear jackets. It was more out of festivity and fashion than anything.
The soft crunch of leaves toward the musician's direction made her turn. That all too familiar figure stood in front of her, a wide smile displayed on her lips.
The smaller girl jogged up and wrapped her thin arms tightly around her roommate's waist. Marceline complied and wrapped her arms around Bonnie too, fully embracing her.
Lately, they'd been getting closer, beyond the point of her typical friendships. They fit like two pieces of a puzzle. Marceline considered her a good friend, like Rain. Then again, she didn't hug Rain like this, but that's because Marceline had physical contact with very few people. Keila and Bonnie were the only exceptions.
"I missed you yesterday," She spoke into the girl's shoulder, hugging her tighter. "I didn't get off work until 1. I knew you were with Simon for his birthday so you weren't alone."
Marceline picked the girl off her feet and spun her in a circle before setting her down on the soft ground, mimicking the leaves. She couldn't help but smile.
"I missed you too, nerd. Marshal and I gathered up enough money to buy him a leather desk chair for his office, like a nice one, not cheap pleather. We got him a few books we thought he would like and a bottle of his favorite wine. Don't ask how we got it, you wouldn't like to know."
Bonnie liked it when Marceline would start to ramble. She always did so when she brought up Simon. It was cute.
"That's really nice of you. Did you have cake?"
Marceline pointed her thumb toward the cafeteria, as she was starting to walk in that direction. Bonnie followed.
"Simon doesn't like cake. We actually took him to dinner at a sushi restaurant like an hour away from here. For desert Marshal went by the store and got a bunch of Oreos for him. The mint ones."
Even Bonnie could tell that the siblings loved Simon as if he was their dad. She knew they didn't like their father and had never heard of a mother figure beside a woman named Betty.
"You never told me your plans for fall break."
The taller girl shrugged nonchalantly. "That's because I don't have any."
Marceline stopped in front of Bonnie and shot her a look. "Don't you dare tell me you're staying here. Did your parents not offer to pay?" Her voice was half-raised.
"They did, I just figured I wouldn't waste the money-" Bonnie held up a finger before Marceline could interject. "When I could stay here and finish up my lab project a few weeks early."
There was a visible change in Marceline's posture and facial features, trying to hide a worried look. Finally, she proceeded to roll her eyes. "You're such a nerd. Come on, we can go to my house and watch movies of whatever the dumb shit people do in sleepovers."
She liked how Marceline spoke, uncaring about a filter or getting her sentences out perfectly. She was such a laid back person, which in all honesty Bonnie needed someone like that in her life. As they always say, opposites attract.
"I don't know, I told Braco-"
"Fuck Braco." She muttered, thinking the pinkette hadn't heard. She had. She hated giving in and canceling plans without notice, but she couldn't ignore the warm feeling she felt when she was around the musician.
"Would Simon be okay with that?"
"He's the one that forced me to room with you, remember?" She scoffed.
Bonnie smiled, grabbing her wrist and pulling her toward the cafeteria. If only, she could have seen the wide smile on the musician's face.
Thursday, October 11th
Come on, come on.
The clock on the wall inside of the living room ticked annoyingly. It was currently 10:39 pm. To Marceline's knowledge, Bonnie would get off work at 9:30 and head that way.
Simon's home was approximately 45 minutes from the college on surface streets. The math still didn't add up.
Maybe she's lost. Should I call-
Flinching, the doorbell cut through the silence. Marceline sprinted, swinging open the door to find Marshal standing there with a sly grin. He was meet with a glare.
"Sorry, grumpy. I forgot my keys in my car."
At that moment she noticed his windbreaker was beaded with droplets of rain and his hair was flattened and dripping droplets of cold water. It was raining outside and she hadn't noticed.
"Better hope you didn't lock it." She mumbled, throwing herself onto one of the leather couches in the living room.
"Glad I'm stupid enough to keep my doors unlocked." He passed a wink toward Marceline, only for it to be rejected with yet another glare. "Jeez Mar-Mar, what's got you in a-"
"Please don't call me that."
"Right, sorry." He sometimes forgot that she wasn't associated with Ash any longer. Even though there was tension between his sister and her ex, he still hung out with Ash as an old friend sometimes. "So what's got you in such a funk?"
The older Abadeer thought. She didn't want to give him any indication of her anxieties. "A friend is coming over for fall break." That's all she would let him have.
"A special friend?" He wiggled his eyebrows and crashing on the couch next to her.
She snickered. "I don't like anyone, Marshal."
"That doesn't mean anything. It's been a year Marce, move on. Get a cute girlfriend, like I did."
Marceline, in all honesty, didn't want to know what kind of mess he got himself into this time, or what poor girl was stuck with him for the next several weeks.
"I have moved on. I did as soon as he sold my shit for drug money." She sighed, letting the anger roll off of her like running water. There was still a lot of hatred. "I tried to help him. I really wish I could have."
"He learned after that, got help, you know? Rehab really made him think. And Marce he still-"
The doorbell wrung, interrupting their conversation. Frankly, she didn't want him to continue. She didn't care about what had happened to Ash after they had broken up. That part of her life was over. More than that, she was over it.
This time Marshal rushed to the door before Marceline could register how quickly he had gotten up. She heard little bits of conversation as she walked toward them. "Yeah sorry for that...A girl like you can sure take a hit though, huh?"
Oh no.
Marceline found herself to the door in .3 seconds, putting an arm between Marshal and the pinkette before pushing herself in front of him.
"Oh hey," The smaller girl smiled. "I got off work late. They made me close tonight."
"No worries. I'm just glad you're here so I can finally get away from this dipshit." Marceline jabbed a finger in Marshal's belly. He got the hint and fell away from the conversation.
Bonnie was led inside and given a quick, vague tour of Simon's household. Her favorite part was Simon's study. His shelves were filled to the brim with every kind of book she could think of.
Finally, they had found their way up to Marceline's room. There was at least one instrument that hung on every wall. A decent-sized television was neatly hung on the wall adjacent to her bed.
"We can do whatever. I'm sure you're tired from work, so I wouldn't blame you for sleeping."
The pinkette yawned, covering her mouth and letting a small squeak escape. Stop being so fucking adorable.
"I am a little tired, but it wouldn't be the first all-nighter I've ever pulled. I'm not a complete grandma, yet." She gave a smirk, sitting herself on the rocker's bed. "We could watch a movie. Or cuddle like middle school girls." She teased.
Marceline pouted. "I feel as if you're referring to something." Bonnie was. A week ago when Marceline came home under the influence of...she wasn't sure of what. Anyways, she had fallen asleep on Bonnie's bed, cuddling with the already asleep Bennett. She never rejected it.
"Nope." An innocent look played on Bonnie's lips. "I wouldn't mind though. They do say cuddling with a loved one has positive effect on the body. It helps with stress and anxieties mostly."
"Wouldn't mind, huh?"
Bonnie's face turned the slightest shade of pink, almost the color of the streaks in her hair. "For science, Abadeer."
A sudden pain was felt in her stomach and chest, a burning sensation. She hadn't felt that sense...no, it had to be stomach acid. She was hungry. She had forgotten to eat dinner.
"Why don't you pick the movie. I'll gather the snacks."
And with that Marceline walked out of her room, closing the door behind her with a sigh.
I don't like her. I don't like her. Fuck.
Bonnie had fallen asleep within thirty minutes of the movie starting. She didn't snore. It was more like she was taking airy breaths. Her head was snuggled into Marceline's right shoulder, her hand resting on the other.
When they had been watching the movie, they were in the same position. Bonnie rubbed her collarbone, tracing the neckline of her shirt before falling into her slumber. Needless to say, Marceline didn't watch the movie.
Instead, she argued with herself about her feelings toward the girl. Inside, deep deep down, she knew she harbored feelings, but that didn't mean she would accept it. Sure, Bonnibel was some sort of gay. And they were cuddling on her bed, watching a romantic comedy. But hey, that didn't mean anything. She could just be friendly. Plus she might have feelings for Braco, even though she's gay...bi? She didn't know. It shouldn't have mattered to her.
Marceline had only dated one person in her life, which was Ash. They dated for a full 18 months before he sold everything they had for his drug addiction. That was her high school senior/college freshman year.
Before that, she didn't have crushes. She stuck to herself and stayed with her friends. There was no one else she would even think about dating. She hated the idea.
As soon as Bonnie slipped into her life, she felt something, a spark. A spark stronger than anything she had ever felt for Ash...and they had only known each other for a little over 2 months.
"Mm," Bonnie mumbled, shifting her position slightly to sit up. "Marcy..."
"Yeah?"
"Why are you still up? It's 2."
To her surprise, the clock on the television read 2:14 am. Shit. She stayed up thinking for hours after the movie had ended. "Did I wake you?"
"You were shaking." Bonnie's voice was gruff and raspy from sleep.
Marceline grabbed her blanket from the foot of her bed and wrapped it around Bonnie's shoulders. "I'll go get another one. Go ahead and sleep." Bonnie fell right back on the bed, falling into her slumber once more.
Finding her way down the pitch blackness of the hallway, she found a flickering light in Simon's study. Marshal was on his computer, as always. He would stay up late and play League of Legends or games similar to that.
"It's two." She said softly, catching his attention immediately.
"I'm aware. Just finishing up." His eyes concentrated on the screen that bathed him in light. "Why don't you guys just date already?" She stood there, stunned.
"What?" She tried to collect herself.
He finally looked up at the older Abadeer. "You never looked at Ash the way you look at her." He hardly used his name around her, out of respect. "Maybe you haven't even admitted it to yourself yet. I know you more than you know yourself sometimes." She wanted to oppose but couldn't. She knew he was right.
"Goodnight Marshal." She stated. He only hummed in response.
She walked toward the kitchen, ignoring her thoughts, ignoring his thoughts. All she wanted was to grab a quick snack, only to find Marshal ate the last of her strawberry pop tarts. Grunting, she closed the pantry and found her way back up the dark hallway, opening the broom closet and taking one of the blankets that lay dormant in there.
When she emerged from the darkness of the hallway, she found Bonnie sitting upright, watching the door. She closed the door behind her and plopped herself down beside the little Bennett.
"Thank you for inviting me. I didn't want to stay in Sigma by myself." She smiled sweetly, giving Marceline cavities by looking in her general direction.
"It's no problem. You're always invited here." Marceline gulped. She didn't mean to.
Bonnie looked at her for a long moment, with that smile glued to her lips before lying down on the bed, patting the space next to her. Marceline obeyed.
Thin arms wrapped around her shoulders, forcing Marceline to stare into her eyes. Her beautiful blue eyes. Marceline's stomach turned, that fire blazing in her stomach. It took everything she had not to close the gap between them, not to kiss her pink lips.
"Still, thank you."
Marceline smiled, masking all feelings she held, including the part of her brain that screamed and begged for her to kiss her. She didn't though. She let the girl shift back to their earlier position. She let Bonnie rub circles into her shoulder and let her invade her thoughts.
