"Sometimes, when you're troubled and hurt, you pour yourself into things that can't hurt back."
―Gentleman's Agreement
It was only a day after the break-up and while Marceline was enjoying spending time with Jasmine, who was proving to be an excellent distraction, her heart always reminded her that it was shattered mess. It was usually at night when she was falling asleep. Just before she'd slip into dreamland, she'd hear Kip's voice telling her to never talk to him again, saw the detached look in his eyes when she showed up at the clubhouse, remembered how he didn't defend her when Cherry, once again, forgot her place.
After having lunch yesterday, Jasmine dragged Marci back into her bedroom and locked them inside. They watched their favorite movies, sang along to the soundtracks, had melodramatic reactions to the sad parts- there were actual tears falling when they watched Malevolent- and the only reason either of them left the room was to go to the bathroom or to grab snacks from the kitchen. Jaz even made a list of junk food and sent Bowler out to fetch them.
Today, Jasmine and Marceline decided to get out of the house. After breakfast, Marci was following after Jasmine as they explored Lodi. Everything was in walking distance from Jasmine's house, so they didn't bother taking Marceline's car. Jaz led Marceline to her school and even though it was a sunny Saturday, there were students occupying the building. On the courtyard, there was a group of boys playing basketball and some girls were watching from the bleachers. When they were making their way across the yard, Jasmine was being greeted by almost everyone and she returned the greeting, even if she didn't know who was saying Hi to her.
They entered the gymnasium and there were more girls inside than outside. Marceline recognized some of the Blazers in their own group, Kristi being the familiar face, and it looked like they were dancing or practicing. For a few hours, the girls spent time with the cheerleaders and they even practiced their routine for their next football game. They taught Marci a few moves and tried to toss her in the air, saying that she could be their newest Flyer, but the ginger refused because she wasn't crazy about heights and she didn't have the experience like the other girls did.
Once that was finished, as a group of almost fifteen teenagers, they all left the gym and followed Zoe, one of their Bases, to a water-ice stand. Everyone was treated to a water-ice and cheese pretzels before going their separate ways. Jaz and Marci started headed home and only when they stopped at Jasmine's favorite corner store, did they realize it was almost 7 pm.
They were a few blocks from home when Jaz's phone started chiming, an unsaved number on the screen. As soon as Jasmine figured that it wasn't her Dad or one of the Grim Bastards calling, she was yelling at whoever was on the other end, but Marceline was unsure who her friend could be so hostile towards.
"We're not friends anymore, you jerk! There's nothing you can do or say to make me forgive you!" Jasmine bitterly snapped, cutting off her next sentence to listen for a second. "I don't care if you deleted the video! You had it, watched it and probably showed it to your Junkie friends! You knew that was wrong and Aliyah almost hurt herself because of it, you insensitive pile of shit!" While Jasmine continued cursing, Marci realized that Evan had to be on the other end. After at least two more minutes of telling Evan off, Jasmine stopped walking and her chest was rising and falling as she tried to calm her breathing while listening to what the boy was saying. Every second that ticked by only served to further twist Jaz's face into an expression of utter annoyance with a dash of confusion. "She doesn't wanna talk to you or snort Coke! Stay off my fucking line and stay away from my friends!"
With a particularly hard tap on the screen to end the call, Jasmine dramatically threw her head back and stomped ahead, resuming the walk home with Marceline beside her.
"Boy trouble?" Marci asked, already knowing the answer.
"Evan's being a clingy fuck-tard again and he's giving me brain contusions." Jasmine rolled her eyes. "All week, he's been calling me from new numbers and trying to be friends like he didn't almost destroy Aliyah's life."
Marceline hasn't been able to let the thought of the blonde cheerleader out of her mind since that night at the diner. She noticed that Aliyah wasn't with the rest of the Blazers in the gymnasium and could only wonder what the girl's been going through.
"How's Ali been?" She asked out of concern, but was prepared to hear bad news when Jasmine sighed. Jaz looked at her best friend and rubbed her shoulder with a small smile.
"Better." She assured and that made Marceline sigh in relief. "Her parents thought it'd be best to have her talk with a psychiatrist or a therapist, I can't remember which, and she goes to see her twice a week. She decided to take a break from cheer squad until she feels like she can give it her all again."
Marceline nodded in response, happy for the update, and the girls made casual chatter as they continued to Jasmine's house. Lander and Bowler were in their usual seats in the living room, but there was a basketball game on and they were intently watching the TV. When the girls walked past, the men were waving them away from the screen or trying to look around them, which made Jaz deliberately stand in front of the screen just to annoy them.
When they got to Jasmine's room, they dumped their snacks on her dresser and kicked their shoes off before plopping on the bed side-by-side.
"I just peeped something." Jaz said and Marci propped her head up on one arm; Jasmine copied her. "You don't go to school. What up with that?"
"While I was in Scotts Valley, I kinda got arrested and finished early while I was in lockup."
"I knew you aced the Good Girl with a Bad Side thing, but damn." Jasmine giggled, making Marceline smile. "Did you and Asher try to be a new-age Bonnie and Clyde?"
At the mention of his name, Marci's smile died and she tried to keep her heart from hammering. She didn't want to think about how now that she and Kip weren't together, she felt more vulnerable to another kidnapping by Asher. She sat up and pushed her wild hair back, avoiding Jasmine's inquisitive eyes.
"You remember Asher?" She asked, hoping to sound casual.
"Yeah, the mysterious biker guy you always talked about. And I just realized that you clearly have a thing for a man on a motorcycle." Marci tried to smile at Jasmine's joke, but she couldn't, not with the thought of Asher fresh in her mind. "He must've been crushed when you told him you were leaving."
"He was probably more worried about his MC than some girl." Marci shrugged and in a desperate attempt to change the subject, asked, "It's almost summertime. When's graduation?"
"It's creeping up on us. Once I get the details, you're getting an invite." Jaz promised. "In the meantime in between time, what shall we do tonight, my love?"
Marceline thought before she answered. She felt like Jasmine wouldn't mind if she told her about how she always thought about Kip at night and nothing she did could get him out of her head, but she still felt like she'd be unloading her baggage on her friend. She knew that she was going to be up tonight, over-analyzing and replaying the entire duration of her relationship with Kip in vain attempts to figure out what she did wrong.
She was not going to let Kip plague her mind tonight, she refused to. She was pushing herself to forget and move on, which was easier said than done, but she was not going to be the desperate dumpee waiting to be taken back. She needed a distraction and she was going to find one if it was the last thing she did.
"Jaz, we're only young once. We should be going into the world, fucking shit up everywhere we go and making people realize why teenagers scare the living shit out of Gerard Way." Marci imagined she was talking like someone perched on a soapbox as she stood from the bed in front of Jasmine, whose eyebrows were raised in pleasant surprise. "The Zombie apocalypse could happen at any given moment. Before that happens, we should be having the time of our lives."
"Marceline, you are out of your goddamn mind…and I love it!" Jaz bounced on the bed in glee. "We are young fucking volcanoes! Let's go get wasted and make somebody's son cream himself!"
"Rain check on that second bit, but okay." Marceline laughed.
"Some of the Blazers were telling me about a house party tonight, glow sticks included. It's gonna be hella fun." Jaz said in a singsong voice with a shake of her shoulders.
She grabbed her phone and sent a few texts to her teammates to see who was going and if there was already a carpool set up. Once she got all the details, she skipped over to her dresser and started carelessly flinging all sorts of clothing from the drawers. Within five minutes, a bra was hanging from the ceiling fan, there were dresses piled on the bed and a pair of underwear managed to get snagged on the doorknob. Jaz picked out a purple, strapless sweetheart dress for herself and a two-piece, creamrose-pearl halter dress for Marceline, a matching pair of sparkly heels for them both.
Within the next half-hour, the girls scrubbed down, shaved their legs, styled their hair and Jasmine played makeup artist to add an extra layer of glam. They were now waiting in Jaz's dark bedroom for Melissa, one of the Blazers, to tell her when Kristie was parked behind the house because there was no way that they were walking out the front door without Bowler and Lander hounding them with questions. When Jasmine got a text from Melissa, she cracked her door open to say goodnight to the Grim Bastards, then locked the door. Marci grabbed a cropped motorcycle jacket for herself and a grey bolero jacket for Jasmine, just in case Lodi had cool nights, then climbed out of the window after her friend. A green Kia Soul was sitting in the nighttime darkness and even after the girls climbed in, the headlights and phone screens weren't illuminated until they were off Jasmine's block.
On the drive, the car full of girls were excitedly chattering, taking pre-party selfies and loudly singing along to a few well-known songs that played on the radio while Kristie drove. When they arrived at their destination, which was a decorated loft, all eyes were on the ten girls in their form-fitting dresses and romantic curls as they easily strutted inside to join the party. Marci wasn't sure if they were out of Lodi or not, but when she saw the colored lights and everyone wearing glow sticks, she couldn't care less about where she was. She knew she deserved a night to be free and this was it.
Marceline wasn't used to parties and knew this was nothing like a clubhouse party, so she followed Jasmine's lead. She and about four of her teammates were getting through the crowd to find where the drinks were being supplied. Some boys would separate from the crowd to ask one of the girls for a dance, but they were always rejected. That didn't stop a trail of them from following the girls as they found the tables housing drinks and finger food. There were coolers, lemonade and beers in tin pails filled with ice and bowls of chips or tiny sandwiches on the tabletop.
With a drink in hand, each girl clinked their glasses and made their way to an empty spot to join in on the dancing. This time, they allowed a few boys to dance with them, but Jaz kept refusing anyone who asked her to dance with Marceline. She was having a great time and she couldn't stop laughing with Jasmine. Once their feet began protesting, Marci and Jaz decided to sit down on a sofa with the other Blazers who weren't dancing. A few people migrated over to them, some being friends of the cheerleaders while others were guys who wanted to let their interest be known. After a few minutes, there was enough male presence for each girl to have one to herself.
Marceline was talking to a guy named Patrick. He told her that he was in college and she suspected that he had dark-blue eyes with brown hair in a short fade crop and a managed short beard, but she couldn't be sure about the certainty of his features due to the colored lights. He respected her space bubble and never leaned in close enough that Marci could smell whatever drink was on his breath, but he did keep his arm stretched on the top of the sofa behind her, his fingers spontaneously tracing patterns on her shoulder. She took a look around to make sure all the girls she came with were accounted for and giggled when she saw Jasmine had her legs across some guy's lap and he was massaging her feet while she held her heels.
Bringing her attention back to Patrick, she only saw his face for a second because he leaned in to almost let his lips touch her ear. He told her that he liked her and complimented her dress. She felt his hand drop to her bared knee and he pulled back just so that there was an inch keeping their noses separated. He ran his tongue over his bottom lip as he eyed hers and Marci knew that he wanted to kiss her. She hesitated for a moment, but them her pessimistic thoughts reminded her that Kip most likely had sex with Cherry the day he broke up with her, reminded her that she was supposed to be proving to herself that she could move on from him.
And with that in mind, Marceline swiped the gloss from her lips before leaning forward to connect her lips with Patrick's. He reacted instantly, one hand going to her hair while the other slowly moved up her leg, almost dipping under the hem of her dress. Marci noticed how everything was different about that kiss.
Patrick didn't taste like whiskey and chocolate with just a hint of cigarettes. He didn't have that clean, fresh smell she'd become accustomed to; instead, he smelled like a pinecone and cinnamon cologne. As she felt his arms and chest over his shirt, she noticed that he wasn't nearly as strong as the body she was used to feeling.
"Get a room, you two!" Jasmine catcalled, making Patrick and Marci separate from each other.
Patrick was smiling at Marci and she looked to Jaz, finding her best friend and the other cheerleaders were either spectating with Jaz or too busy with their guys to notice. She'd hold the alcohol responsible for her boldness, but without a care in the world, Marceline ran her fingers through Patrick's hair to get his attention and with her lips barely a meter away from his, temptingly suggested, "Maybe we should."
With a nod, Patrick took her hand and helped her off the sofa. He barely took two steps away from the couch before he was on the ground and Marceline flinched back as another man grabbed Patrick by his shirt to repeatedly punch him in the face until blood leaked from his cheeks or nose; a crowd quickly gathered around the men to watch the fight.
"Stay the fuck away from her." The other man growled Patrick, but he seemed half-conscious and could only groan in response. He let Partick go and was almost charging in Marceline's direction, but he firmly grabbed her wrist before he walked past her. "Let's go."
She knew that voice.
She knew that touch.
It wasn't until Marceline's skin was met with the cooler outside air did she realize that Kip had dragged her outside and she left her jacket on the sofa. He didn't have his kutte on, but it wasn't like he needed it after what he just did. Thinking back to what just happened, Marci tried to pull her wrist from his grasp, but it was no use.
"Get your goddamn hands off me!" She protested and punched at his back with her free hand. By some miracle, Kip released her wrist, but before Marceline could open her mouth to tell him off, he grabbed her by the waist and easily plucked her off the ground to throw her over his shoulder. He had one arm over the backs of her knees to prevent her from kicking him, but she was relentless in pounding her fists against his back. "Put me down!" She almost screamed.
After another moment of being punched and Marceline's furious squirming, basically throwing a goddamn fit, Kip sighed and set her down on the ground. He braced himself for her to throw a punch at his face, but she didn't. She straightened her dress and glared something godawful at him instead, too angry to make a coherent sentence.
"Are you drunk?" He asked, honestly curious about if she was or not. He didn't know if she took her medication today- he hoped she did- but he didn't want her mixing that with alcohol.
"I'm sober enough to know that you're an asshole!" She snapped at him and Kip was sure that she was indeed sober. His eyes looked her up and down and he narrowed his eyes at the eye-catching shortness of the dress she was wearing, how the two-piece showed such a tantalizing slither of her flat stomach and belly-button.
"And where the hell did you get that dress? You don't wear shit like this." He complained before his eyes scanned her face, noticing how much makeup was coating her features. "Jesus Christ, wipe that gunk off your face."
Kip went as far as licking his thumb and tried to smear the makeup off Marci's face, but she slapped his hand away in a warning for him not to touch her. "What the hell are you doing here?" She demanded.
"Why didn't you check-in?" He countered. "Chibs was worried about you."
"Bullshit. Dad and Phil know I'm having a slumber party with Jasmine and I've been checking in with them since I left. Next time you wanna lie to my face, don't." She spat, narrowing her eyes at Kip's attempt to lie to her to her face. She thought about how the biker could have known where she was tonight because she didn't tell any of the Sons where she was going. "I know Dad didn't tell you where I was, so you probably asked Juice to track my phone like a fucking stalker or you threatened Phil. That was really cute, adorable even. If we're done here, I have a party to get back to."
Marceline brushed past Kip and started walking back to the house, the party seeming to be undisturbed by the short fight.
"Having some random guy licking your tonsils is fun to you now?" Kip accused as he fell into step next to her and she looked at him with a spiteful grin.
"You enjoyed having some used Crow Eater's cum-coated tongue down your throat." She countered and let out a humorless laugh with a shake of her head when Kip didn't comment afterward. It's not like he could deny it. "Go away, Half-Sack."
Kip was momentarily stunned by Marceline calling him by the nickname the Sons gave him. She told him that she didn't like the name because she felt like it was insensitive. He caught up with her and cut her off, firmly standing in front of her. "I'm not letting you go back in there, Marceline."
"You broke up with me!" Marceline proclaimed with a shove to Kip's chest and even though she exerted a fine amount of force, Kip wasn't physically moved by the impact. She was just tipped off the edge of insanity by him embarrassing her and acting like he cared about her when she knew he didn't. He never did and she wasn't going to forgive and forget. "You cut me off, you ended things, you broke my heart! You don't get to keep acting like my boyfriend, like you give a shit about me! You can't do that! You got what you wanted, so go find your Crow Eater and leave me the fuck alone!"
Marci shoved Kip with every 'you' to let out her frustration and to keep herself from crying. Her emotions were being toyed with by Kip and she didn't know how to feel. Her shoves turned into punches and Kip let her hit him, staying silent, until he heard a quiet whimper slip from her. He grabbed both her wrists and pulled her to a nearby tree, pressing her against it. He dipped his head a little and kissed her with increased passion, wiping away any traces of Patrick and reclaiming his territory. She struggled against him at first, but her fighting died down and she partially accepted his lips with a semi-defeated grunt that allowed Kip to slip his tongue into her mouth.
She knew what he was saying with that kiss.
You are mine.
When his hands came into the picture, releasing her wrists to run up the length of her freshly-shaven legs and squeezing the inside of her thighs, most likely leaving some fingerprint marks behind, her body tingled with wanton lust. Kip easily lifted her and settled between her legs, hearing the quietest of moans from the girl. He sucked her bottom lip before moving his mouth to her neck, lavishing her skin with little kisses or tender nibbles. He earned a louder moan from Marci, one that made him rock hard, and he rubbed against her almost to offer himself to her. He knew what to do to get her hot and bothered and horny to the point where only he could provide her with the release she desperately needed. Her body was like a master control panel and he knew exactly which buttons to push to make her circuits go haywire. All he needed was a little time.
Marceline was falling deeper and deeper into the abyss of lust. Her body was warmed and coated in goosebumps, her heart was racing and she couldn't stop making those sweet, little mewls of pleasure. She was losing her grip on her self-control and she wanted to give into Kip. She wanted to make love to him again, even if she knew that he didn't love her.
With that in mind, Marceline bit down on Kip's tongue and that made him hiss as he jerked his head away from her, letting her stand again. When he turned to her, probably about to ask why she did that, she slapped him. The impact was hard enough to make his head snap to the side and he kept it there for a second, but he started smirking.
"That's starting to turn me on." He said lowly, swiping his tongue over his lip.
"Don't do that again." She forbid.
"Why, because you liked it?" Kip asked as he closed the space between them again in another attempt to kiss her.
"Because you're not my boyfriend anymore, you jerk!" She snapped at him and started punching at his chest out of sheer frustration.
Marceline never would've thought that someone she loved so dearly could annoy the tits off her in a matter of seconds. She didn't know what to do with Kip anymore. One day, he shattered her heart and told her to get lost, then he's kissing her and acting like he still cares. Her brain was telling her to keep him as far away as possible while her heart was being a hopeless romantic and telling her to accept whatever form of affection he was giving her, regardless of the damage to her feelings or sanity. She thought women were the ones who played mind games and were experts at twisting someone's emotions, but Kip proved her wrong.
Kip let Maci hit him for a minute because he knew he was driving her to the brink of insanity with his crap. She stopped herself this time and was catching her breath while Kip quietly watched. Marci almost growled at the soft, almost admiring look, in his eyes.
"You need to go home. Not back to Jasmine's, but Charming." Kip told her seriously, catching her sharp eyes.
Marceline stared at Kip, debating on whether or not she should start hitting him again and yelling because he was trying to tell her what to do or if she should just go what he asked just to make him go away. They weren't too far from the house and she looked to the colorful loft behind Kip when she saw movement. In the dark, she spotted Patrick hanging onto a pair of equally-aged guys as they dragged him to the curb, likely taking him back to their campus or a hospital. After what just happened, she wasn't in the mood to enjoy the party anymore.
With a sigh, Marci started walking down the street, remembering the way Kristi came when she drove to the party. She didn't need to look behind her to know that Kip wasn't far behind, but she did look to the side when she heard a rumble. Kip rode up beside her on his motorcycle, his kutte on his back, but Marceline only glanced in his direction for a second. She was still majorly pissed off at him. She couldn't even walk as fast as she wanted to because of her heels because if she could, she'd be running down the street.
Ping! Ping!
Marceline didn't stop walking when she slipped her hand into the side of her dress and under her strapless bra to retrieve her phone. There was an unopened text from Jasmine waiting to be replied to.
️❤️βαε️❤️: do i need to come out there and shank Dreamboat in his urethra?
M: it's fine, im heading home
❤️️βαε️❤️: kk, txt me when u get there
"It's gonna take hours to get to Charming on foot." Kip told her as she replaced her phone and he was eyeing her as she did, but she didn't say anything, so he tried again. "I know your feet hurt in those heels."
"Then hold them for me." She suggested in a light tone before bending forward to tear her heels off and throwing them at Kip as hard as he could. He managed to get an arm up to block her shoes from hitting his face and he laughed as they bounced off his chest or arm, setting them on his lap.
Kip realized, as Marci kept walking- and she was able to go a little faster without her heels- that she was going to continue to be stubborn. He knew she couldn't walk all the way to Charming, but he didn't know how long her stubbornness was going to fuel her. When a gust of wind blew, Marci grabbed her shoulders to prevent the chill from making her shake, but she was already trembling.
Kip kicked out the kickstand for his bike and dismounted. He gently grabbed Marceline's shoulder and turned her to face him. Just as softly, he asked her to let him give her a ride home because it was late and she was cold. He saw how her brows were still firmly knitted together, but after a few seconds of bullheadedness, she mumbled an agreement.
The ride to Charming from Lodi was a little over an hour, but it felt like a day to Kip. He was intentionally driving at a moderate speed just so he could get his last licks in with Marceline. He found comfort in the way her arms were locked around his stomach and her head rested on his back. It made him think back to all the times she's been on his bike since she popped up in town. After passing the Welcome to Charming sign and cruising down Main Street, Kip parked in front of Marci's house and noticed her procrastination before she dismounted. She didn't comment when he walked her to the door and returned her heels.
Before she went inside, Kip pulled Marceline in for a tight hug. He felt her try to be stiff and unaffected by his embrace, but smiled when he felt her tracing the bottom of his kutte. He held on for a prolonged while, petting her hair without a care towards the curls decorating her locks, breathing in deep to commit her scent to memory, and he noticed how she slowly began to lean into him and he felt her nuzzle into his chest.
Finally, Kip kissed her head and looked her in the eyes when he said goodbye. Marceline watched him return to his bike and while her brain was trying to strangle her heart, she was wondering why he said goodbye instead of goodnight.
.~.~.~.~
The next morning, Marceline was riding to the clubhouse with Chibs driving her car. He was waiting for her to come in last night and he commented that the dress she was wearing was pretty, but seemed like something Jasmine would wear. He made Cock a Leekie soup for dinner and Marci was intrigued by the name, so she had a taste, but ended up eating a bowl with her Dad. Chibs asked her if she was had a nice time with Jasmine, what they did and told her that their dinner was a Scottish dish while they ate.
Before Marci decided to turn in, Chibs give her a hug and told her he loved her. Then, in such a delicate tone, as if she were a shard of glass ready to break into tiny pieces, he expressed how thankful he was that she was here with him and that he was sorry for what she had to go through. She took a quick shower, sent a text to Jaz, then plopped into bed without washing the makeup off.
Chibs said that they both needed to be at the clubhouse and that's why he was driving them there now. Marci was already thinking about what he said to her last night, but just as they pulled into Teller-Morrow Automotive, she realized that she didn't see his bike parked in its usual spot last night, nor did she see it before they left.
Marceline decided to let her thoughts marinate for a while before she started asking questions. When Chibs parked, they went inside the clubhouse and all the Sons were there, so were Donna, Gemma and Tara. There were no children in sight and she didn't see Kip anywhere. The next thing Marci noticed, as she received hugs from the women or other Sons, was the quietness of the clubhouse. There were no rowdy hang-arounds or Crow Eaters and while the men were drinking, none of them were guzzling the booze down.
An hour or two passed and the uncustomary quietness was there to stay. Not once, did Tig yell like usually did, nobody cursed at each other and Bobby was strumming a slow tune on the couch. Happy took it upon himself to stay within range of Marceline as she talked to her Uncles, trying to understand why they were all so quiet and settled. She noticed the Prospects and Opie were missing and her Dad disappeared too, but nobody seemed to know where they could've gone.
When someone's Burner rang from the pile on the pool table, the entire bar fell silent. Clay answered the call and it lasted all of a few seconds, but he didn't say a word. He flicked the phone shut, then looked around at his members and nodded. All the Sons stood and simotaneously began stripping themselves of their kuttes, and handing them off to their Old Ladies or Kozik if they didn't have one. In a single-file line, they all walked out of the clubhouse and the women followed after.
The Sons all occupied a picnic table and some of them were smoking, but they seemed to be waiting for something. A few minutes passed and Chibs arrived with Kip in the black van. Jax went to one of the garage shades and pulled it up for them to ride inside. The three men stayed in them for a few minutes before coming out and rejoining the rest of the Sons.
A full five minutes didn't pass before Marceline heard approaching sirens. Through the gates came a squad of police cards and a paddy wagon. As the officers piled out of their cars, ATF Agent June Stahl was at the front of the herd and she strutted over to Jax with a folder. Marci tried to get closer to hear what was being said, but Happy gripped her arm and stopped her.
Whatever Stahl said seemed to hit a nerve with the Sons because they swarmed around Jax and the repetitive word being spat at him was 'Rat.' She didn't understand what was happening, but a bolt of fear struck her heart when the ATF Agent ordered the police to start arresting the Sons. The men didn't protest or fight being handcuffed because they were still spitting venomus threats at their Vice President as they were being pulled to the paddy wagon.
Chibs was the next Son being dragged away, having flipped his arresting officers off before they cuffed him, but he spotted a confused Marceline watching from a few feet away.
"Let me talk to her." He growled at the officers escorting him to the armored van and they warily glanced at one another before bringing Dad about three feet in front of his daughter. "Dovey, everything's fine. Koz, Hap and Opie are gonna protect ya' while I'm away. You're gonna be safe."
"You're abandoning me again." Marci told him and Chibs briefly closed his eyes, regret already weighing his heart down. She stepped closer to him, as much as the police would allow, and Chibs looked at her again. Tears were glossing either pair of their olive-green eyes. Chibs were full of regret while Marci's were full of pain and betrayal. "I told you everything and you promised you'd never leave me again."
"I love you, dovey." Chibs whispered.
Marceline's face twisted at his words, unable to believe him. "I hate you."
She backed away from Chibs and she could easily see a piece of his heartbreaking with each step, but she felt like he deserved that. He lied to her and he was deserting her again, he broke her trust. Marci was not going to keep making the same mistake over and over again without learning from it.
A hand went to her shoulder and she immediately turned around, burying her face into someone's chest or stomach to prevent everyone from seeing her cry. She thought it was Gemma, Tara or Donna, but she didn't feel anyone's breasts on her forehead and their torso was defined with muscles. Marci was turning their shirt into a soggy mess with her tears, but they didn't seem to mind.
Arms consumed her smaller frame in their embrace, strong arms, and a hand was rubbing the spot between her shoulder blades in an attempt to soothe the distraught ginger. Marci suspected that it was Kozik. Ratboy was way too scrawny to fit the build she was pressed into and they weren't close enough for him to be her shoulder to cry on. It couldn't have been Phil either because he always smelled like Crunch Berries from the Cap'n Crunch cereal and his big belly would've given him away. Now that she thought about it, she still hasn't spotted either Prospect since she got to the clubhouse.
Her heart stopped for a moment, hope filling the organ to the brim at the possibility of a certain Son comforting her.
Marceline pulled her head back from the white shirt and saw some of her day-old makeup smudged on it, but she didn't care about the stains or that she probably looked like a Demon crying black tears. She dared to look up at the man holding her and a tingling hope filled her to the brim…until she saw those dark eyes.
It was Happy, not Kip.
Happy's facial expression was rock-hard. His eyebrows were pulled together in a firm line and he looked severely irritated with the situation at hand, but he wasn't looking down at Marceline. He was watching something behind her.
She turned to look over her shoulder and Chibs was gone, but Juice just got put in the paddy wagon. She could see Tig and Bobby from her angle, but they weren't looking out of the opened doors. They had a matching blue-eyed scowl for whoever was chained in front of them and Marci guessed it was Jax. Tara, Gemma and Donna were a few feet away from the van with Agent Stahl and the green-eyed women were crying, sending loving words to their men, but Donna seemed to have herself together. She still looked cheerless at the sight of the Sons chained inside the van, but she wasn't crying.
The final handcuffed Son to be boarded into the van was Kip. He looked like he was about to handle some serious business from the steely expression that looked so alien on his face, but he didn't move an inch towards the van. His eyes wandered to where Happy and Marci were and his attention must've been on Happy's because the tanned man gave a short nod.
Then, those ocean-blue eyes drifted down to Marceline, unknowingly sparkling with the constant California sunlight. All she saw was love and care and happiness in those eyes. It was like the day they went to Fun Town and every time she looked at him, she'd see how joyous he was.
And that's what made Marci start sobbing all over again. She was so confused about what the hell was going through that man's head and why he seemed to enjoy making her go crazy over him. He breaks up with her, then he kisses her and now, he's looking at her like she means the world to him. What kind of sick game was he playing with her already shattered heart?
She'd have given anything to get just five minutes to talk to Kip, to ask him what the hell his end game was, but she couldn't. His loving stare lasted all of twelve seconds, then his eyes darkened and were hard as steel again. The officer behind him pushed him towards the van and he was settled inside with the rest of the Sons. The police closed and locked the doors, then sent a tap to the back to signal the men were ready for transportation.
"You should get inside." Happy calmly advised from behind her as the paddy-wagon drove off the lot, but she's never heard that tone in his voice. She guessed that was the closest thing he had to an affectionate tone. It wasn't anywhere near warm and fuzzy, but she still heard the concern.
Marci still didn't move. Staying there, looking at the exact spot Kip was just standing in, seemed like the best idea in the world because with all the false hope filling her right now, it felt like she could bring him back by just standing and staring. Happy's hands gently rested on her shoulders, but he didn't squeeze them or give her a push towards the clubhouse. In all honesty, his hands were keeping her anchored in reality rather than drifting off to inane daydreams.
But Marceline didn't want to live in reality.
She wanted to keep dreaming because, in those fantasies, Kip wasn't going to jail for God knows how long for whatever reason and they were still a happy couple fooling around and going on double dates with their best friends. In her imaginations, Kip was the sweet-hearted guy that stole her heart and always told her that he loved her and seemed to accept every broken feature of her life.
In reality, Kip was the insensitive brute that smashed her heart to itty-bitty pieces and stomped on them. And at the same time, he was the same bastard who had each and every minuscule portion of it, ready to glue each shard back together.
'That's why he said goodbye.' Her heart whispered and just like that, Marceline was bawling all over again. The sadness and sense of lonliness that crashed over her was too much to handle in one sitting and her legs wobbled before giving out. Happy was quick to catch her before she fell and he cradled her in his arms, walking back inside the clubhouse.