09.14.2016

"You are hurting."

"What?" Marceline said in shock.

Bonnibel went with her hand through her hair and sighed. Her green eyes felt like spears, piercing through Marceline's head. The young Abadeer suddenly wanted to push her away, run away as far as she could, as long as she didn't have to bear those green eyes any longer.

"I… know how angry one can get when hurt." Bonnibel said, in a soft voice. If Marceline hadn't been so occupied with her own emotions, she would easily have noticed that she wasn't the only one that was struggling right now. "I am here for you if you need someone to talk, Marceline."

"I already got a boyfriend." She didn't know why that was the first thing she had to say. The young Abadeer wanted to slap herself, but the answer had already escaped her lips. "I'm okay." She quickly added, hoping to defuse the awkward comment.

Can't this day just end? She thought, but then she noticed something surprising.

Bonnibel's face got flushed. "I-I didn't mean it like that!" She said while furrowing her brows in angry confusion. "You know what, just forget I offered. Get the stuff we talked about done for tomorrow, please. Bye." She turned around, and stomped off, mumbling to herself "How stupid…"

Marceline didn't go after her this time. She stayed in the middle of the street, looking at how the cold distance between them grew again. As if she had shut everything around her out, suddenly all the surrounding noises started hitting her at once. The cars driving loudly through the streets, the three young women walking past her, looking at Marceline in worry, and a biker using his bell to her left so that a man would move aside.

Why did I even run after her? An Abadeer running after a nobody? And for what? To apologize? Me? I didn't do anything wrong in the first place, I never do. Dad would be disappointed in me if he heard what I did…

She swung her bag around her back and started walking in the opposite direction.

I'm okay.

…

I'm so not okay. Bonnibel thought angrily. Why the hell did I feel like helping that stupid rich girl?

Until now, she had done a decent job at keeping her distance from the people around her, well aside from Finn at least. But out of all her classmates, why did it have to be the arrogant black haired Abadeer she tried getting closer to?

What did I expect? I can already hear her laughing with her colleges at her father's company about me, acting like a know-it-all... Or with that great boyfriend of hers!

Bonnibel was quickly heading home right now, her eyes glued to the ground while walking. She was angry, yes, but she knew better than to search for friends. Only people that are close to you, can hurt you. Her iron rule. Her dogma. Why would she risk it for Marceline?

Because she reminded me of myself when I was about to break. She has so much anger inside, she must've been hurt very badly by someone.

By now the pink-haired girl had arrived at her front door. After nervously fiddling with her keys for a few seconds, she managed to open the door. Immediately, after hearing the door open, her small brother Neddy came running into the entrance hall.

"Hey, Sis!" He said, waving at her. "Today in math, we learned about mu-mu…"

"Multiplying?"

"Yes!" He said, all excited. "And I was really good at it. Look." He pulled his hand up. "If I have two, and two again-" He pulled his other hand up as well, both now showing two fingers. "That makes four!"

"Very good." Bonnibel said. "Your friends must've been jealous."

"Y-Yeah, they... were." His blinding smile suddenly dropped. "I will go play in my room now." And with that, the young Buchholz hurried out of sight.

"Sure?" Bonnie said as her little brother left, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Well, he always had some wild mood swings. Mom once said that I was just like that when I was young, must've been though.

She shrugged her brother's weird behavior off, but as she was thinking about her mother, she noticed that Clarabels' shoes were at the entrance. Surprised, and worried Bonnie knocked on her mother's room.

"Come in." A soft voice invited her.

Bonnibel opened the door and found her beautiful mother laying on her bed, reading a novel. "Mom? You alright?" She asked, closing the door so that her nosy brother wouldn't listen in.

"Course I am."

Moving over and sitting next to Clarabel on the bed, she asked: "But, shouldn't you be at… you know, work? Not that I don't feel happy to see you here so early." And that was not a lie. She hadn't seen her mother relax in a while and had in secret been worried about that as well.

"I just got a new job, at a big company, but I got a few days off before it starts. But you know what? No more night shifts!" She said all excited while putting the book aside. It was nothing new for her mother to change jobs. Most of them had been hard and not well paid, but it seemed like she was happy about this new one, and that in turn made her daughter happy. "Like that, I will get to see my two lovely children a lot more than before!"

"That sounds great!" But Bonnibel couldn't help but stay skeptical. "What is your new job about? And the payment, is it enough?"

Hearing that, Clarabel couldn't help but chuckle. "You sound like a mother already." She popped her daughter on the nose with her finger. "Stop worrying, or you will get wrinkles. Everything is fine, I will finally work in an office again. Can't lie it's going to be tough, but you know me, I will make it work. Especially with my super duo helping me out as usual." She winked at her. Then her face sobered up. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, mom. You know I don't blame you, right?"

"I know, I know… I just…" It was one of those rare moments, her mother showed her frail side. Bonnibel wasn't bothered by it ever though. She admired Clarabel for all she had done. But as quickly as it had come, the sad look in her mother's eyes vanished again. Her beautiful smile returned, and all was good. As long as her mother could smile, everything was good. It had to be. And so, Bonnibel smiled too.

"Are you letting your hair grow again, honey?" The older Buchholz asked, as she gently went through the pink hair of her daughter. "Not that you don't look good with shorter hair."

"Don't know yet, to be honest. It's just so useful when they are shorter."

"But imagine, all of that pinkness in the wind. You would steal the heart of all the boys, in an instant. Just like a princess."

Bonnie rolled her eyes, as she stood up.

Her mother narrowed her eyes, looking at her leaving daughter. "Uh-oh, don't tell me you already have someone on your mind."

"Mom! Gee, no! Stop!"

"Or maybe you are not the princess yourself, but the knight that will save a lady?" Clarabel teased her before her daughter closed the door behind her.

She's such a dork. Bonnibel thought as she could hear her mother chuckle even through the door. But at the same time, her heart beat just a tad faster than before.

I really should talk to Finn. Maybe I am wrong, and he simply likes me as a friend. Just platonic friendship liking. I don't want to hurt someone again…

…

Marceline stomped through the entrance, right into the elevator. She had been calm at first, but now her usual fire was back again.

How can she look down on me? I'm working my ass off, while she does nothing, except to suck at making friends. She thinks just because she is kinda cute she can say whatever she wants? Arrogant little…

As she entered her apartment, she threw her bag on one of the sofas and started heading to the big kitchen. But just then suddenly strong arms closed around her. She screamed loudly but didn't waste a second, swinging her elbow back, and with a loud grunt, her boyfriend fell on the floor.

"What the fuck Ash?" She yelled under her breath, fists still tightly clenched.

"Shit… Fuck…" It seemed the blonde boy on the floor didn't even listen to his girlfriend yelling at him, instead, he was holding his nose. His face was red, and tears started filling his eyes. Then, Marceline could hear something dripping on the floor. A drop of blood, followed by a few more. Now the red was sullying the clean floor. "I think it's broken!" He screamed, tears now running down his face.

"N-No way, I didn't even hit you so hard. There is no wa-" She stopped mid-sentence as her boyfriend let go of his nose, and she could fully see what her elbow had just done.

"How do I look? Is it okay?" Ash asked while breathing fast and loudly. Marceline bit her lip, not knowing how to answer that question. His nose was… crooked.

As if the hulk had played "I got your nose" with you. That was the first thing that came into her mind, but luckily this time she was able to suppress the urge to say it out loud. But as Ash's face went pale, she realized that she hadn't done a great job at hiding her shock. "Oh god, it is broken!"

"Maybe we should call a doctor?"

"Why did you even fucking hit me in the first place?" Ash asked, his pain now turning into anger.

"You fucking jumped me!"

"And? You can't just attack someone because you got startled! Shit!"

"What? Are you serious? What were you even doing here?"

"I just wanted to surprise you! A harmless prank. Didn't know you would break my fucking nose because of it."

Marceline just rolled her eyes, while taking a mental note that she would confiscate the key she had given Ash for her apartment. She turned her back to him and called not the ambulance but the doctor her family was always going to.
Dr. Gross was an old friend of her father, a great doctor, and most importantly had thanks to Hunson Abadeer achieved a very profitable position in Ooozten's biggest hospital. In short, that woman was indebted to her father, and Marceline was more than ready to make use of that.

The doctor answered the call almost immediately. "Mrs. Abadeer, it is rare for you to contact me. How can I be of help?"

Clutching his nose, Ash was whimpering by now. "My face..."

"I… I think I just broke my boyfriend's nose."