Neighbors Chapter 3

It was Friday night and I was finishing up my evening shift at the bakery where I co- managed. I hated working for someone else, but I knew I had to start some how. In my opinion, I should have been head manager. I did go to a culinary college, after all. But even though I'm the best damn baker here, they felt that I just didn't have enough experience. Even though I didn't really want the position, I moved so I could be closer to my work place and took the job. If they thought I needed more experience, then I would get so much experience that it would knock the boss's pants off.

I watched as the crew members cleaned the store properly and put everything away into its proper place. When each individual employee was done with the job I assigned, I told them to leave. I left after everyone was gone and I did one more check to make sure everything was perfect. Once I was satisfied, I locked up shop and hoped into my car, headed for my apartment. I figured I would relax until about five o'clock tomorrow, when it was time to meet up with my friends and go watch The Scream Queens play live. After that I had a sort of date with Guy. I would meet the band and have a good time, presumably.

I was standing in a crowd watching an outdoor concert with my friends, Finn, Jake, and Pepe. The band hadn't come on stage yet. I listened to Jake and Finn talk amongst themselves. Jake had brought his girl friend Rayne, and Finn was depressed that his girlfriend, Phoebe couldn't make it. Pepe was as quiet as ever, but probably dying of anticipation on the inside. He loved rock bands. Really, anything of a dark aesthetic excited him.

I ruffled his hair, which he had dyed blonde with red streaks. He looked up at me and smiled, but quickly turned his attention back to the stage as the band members entered one by one. First was a big guy with curly, shoulder length hair. He pumped his fists, then sat at the drums. I assumed that was Bongo. Next was Guy. I threw my arms up and waved as he moved over to stand at the keyboard. The bassist took the stage next. I couldn't see well, but the way she looked familiar. Lastly, a girl with an afro came out. I wondered, were those girls my neighbors?

The girl with long, black hair wearing a black tank and red, leather pants took the middle of the stage.

"I am Marceline and we are The Scream Queens!"

Wow, so my neighbor is in this band. I guess I should have seen that coming. I wondered how she and her friends would sound. I hoped it was good, but I couldn't be sure for some reason.

"This first song is called Boys For Breakfast," Marceline announced.

I expected their sound to be heavier, but it was actually pretty mellow. I enjoyed listening and Marceline was a very talented singer and bassist. I was captivated by her voice throughout the whole show. I don't think I even heard any of the other instruments.

When the concert was over I stood around with my friends while I waited for Guy to find me.

"I really enjoyed their sound," Pepe told me. "What did you think, Bonnibel?"

"I liked it, too. The melodies were pretty smooth and well written."

Pepe chuckled lightly. "I wasn't all that fond of the singer, though. I felt like she could have done better."

"I like her," I retorted.

Pepe gave me a smirk and my face turned red.

"Her voice I mean. I thought she was great."

Pepe stood on his toes so that he could put his mouth near my ear.

"I saw the way you watched her," he said with that same smirk.

I lightly punched him in the shoulder.

"I'm not... I like men, okay?"

Despite my scowl he gave me a cheeky grin.

Of course I didn't like the same sex. I've never been attracted to another girl, its always been dudes. He may have been my best friend for as long as I can remember, but I started to think Pepe was loosing his touch. Maybe moving out of town made our connection suffer.

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and took it out to see who was calling. It was my twin brother, Neddy.

"Hi, Neddy," I said. I listened to his excited giggling.

"Hi Bonnie. Guess what I did today," he said with an excited tone.

"Did you go to the park," I guessed. I smiled when I heard a few more muffled giggles.

"Yeah. I saw a really cute doggy today. I thought it looked really skinny like it didn't eat a lot. The nice lady said that it was a grey hound and that's just how they look," he explained with confidence and excitement.

"Oh, grey hounds are very pretty dogs," I retorted, smiling sweetly.

"What are you doing today, Bonnie," my brother asked me.

"I saw a concert today and I'm going to meet a date soon," I explained.

"Is he nice?"

"Yeah, I think so. But we just met met, so I'm not sure, yet," I said, half smiling. I spotted Guy walking and waved him over. "Oh, Neddy, there he is. Is it okay if I call you back later?"

"Okay. I hope he's nice and you have fun. Bye, Bonnie."

"Talk to you later, Neddy," I said, and ended the call.

"Pepe, I'll see you later. That's my date. Tell Finn and Jake I had fun," I said as I walked away to meet Guy.

"Enjoy the show," Guy asked, putting his hand on my shoulder.

I shrugged his hand away and half smiled.

"Yeah, it was pretty good."

"Did you like my mad keyboard skills," he asked, grinning as he led me behind the stage.

I actually hadn't paid him any attention the whole show.

"You were all right," I decided to say.

Once we were behind the stage, Guy motioned towards two vans. I saw Bongo packing the instruments onto one, and in the other were my neighbor Marceline and her friend, whose name escaped me. They were laughing and making faces at each other.

"Well, that big guy is Bongo. Marceline sings and plays bass, and Keila is the guitarist," he said as he pointed at each of his friends.

"I've met Marceline and Keila," I began, "Marceline lives in the apartment right to mine."

"Oh," Guy laughed, "Well that's good. You're already acquainted." He knocked on the van. When he got the girl's attention he waved and pointed his thumb at me.

Marceline gave me a strange look and Keila shook her head. I wondered what that was about. Did they not want me around? Was I intruding and unwelcome? I started to feel self conscious and wondered if I should leave. I felt like maybe I should have canceled this date and suggested we do it another time. But just as I was about to speak, Guy pushed me into the vehicle. He and Bongo followed after me.

"Hi, Bonnibel," Marceline said shyly.

"Hi Marceline, hi Keila," I mumbled.

"Do you drink," Keila asked, as if breaking an awkward silence.

"Not much," I replied, watching as Guy sat in the front of the van to talk to Bongo, who was laughing loudly at some joke.

Keila shoved a bottle in my hand, then handed one to Marceline. I eyed the bottle of beer, wondering if I really wanted to drink it. I was never a fan of alcohol. I could count the times I've drank any on one hand. I watched as Marceline opened her's and chugged it all down in one go. She then got up to sit further back in the van. She put a pair of head phones on and turned the volume up loud enough so that I could hear it slightly. I couldn't understand the words, but the instruments sounded like chaos.

"Don't mind her. She likes to zone out after a show," Keila explained.

I nodded and sighed. I was feeling awkward and decided I would drink the beer I was holding. I drank half of it before stopping. I knew my tolerance was low and I didn't want to get drunk in a hurry.

Guy came to join Keila and I. She offered him a beer but he turned it down.

"I was thinking we could go to a club or something tonight, and someone has to drive this hunk of junk back to my place," he said, grinning at me. "What do you think, Bonnibel?"

I thought for a moment. I wasn't sure. Club scenes weren't my thing and I didn't like to party.

"I don't know," I sighed.

"Do you have any siblings," Guy asked, changing the subject.

My head began to feel a little light.

"A twin brother, Neddy," I answered.

"Aw man, I wish I had a twin. I bet that would be cool. What's he like," Keila asked.

"He likes dogs, art, and stuffed animals," I said. "He's not much of a talker, either. He has trouble conveying his emotions to strangers. It makes him super uncomfortable."

"Why is that," Guy asked with his head cocked to the side.

"He's mentally challenged," I replied.

"What about you," Guy asked.

"My parents got mad that I didn't go to college to be a scientist. They said with my big brain I could probably figure out time travel. But I wanted to go to culinary school."

Guy chuckled. "Wow, so what, did you absorb both brains while you were in the womb?"

My face went blank and I gave Guy a death stare. I wanted to take the bottle I was holding and break it over his head.

"What the hell, Guy," Keila yelled. "That was a terrible thing to say!"

Guy genuinely looked confused, but I didn't care. I stood up, my hand gripping the bottle tightly. I probably would have done it, had Keila not grabbed me by the arm. She led me to the back of the van, grabbing Marceline with the other hand. She opened the back doors and jumped out with us. She kicked both doors shut as hard as she could with her foot, then let us go and sighed loudly.

"Dude, what in the hell are we doing," Marceline asked, obviously annoyed. She removed her head phones and sat them over her neck.

"Guy made another awful joke," Keila explained.

Marceline cackled. "Wow, he blew it with you fast," she laughed.

"Sorry, Bonnibel. Guy is really dumb," Keila apologized. "He's still learning."

I crossed my arms and sighed. I shook off my anger. I realized I still had the bottle in my hand and finished the drink.

"I think Bonnibel would have killed him if I didn't stop her," I heard Keila whisper to Marceline. "You should have seen the look in her eyes! It was so scary!"

I grumbled under my breath. I remembered all the times in school when I heard people say awful things like that. I'll admit, I beat up a few people for it, which got me a bad reputation. But I couldn't take the sad look Neddy had in his eyes when people addressed his condition in such a rude way. By my senior year in high school, people were afraid to even talk about my brother, which put my mind at ease when I left for college.

"There's a little bar in walking distance of here, Bonnibel. Wanna come with us," Marceline asked.

I jumped at the question. My mind was completely somewhere else. But I didn't have anything better to do. My plans were gone. So I shrugged and nodded. These girls seemed at least a little nicer than I first suspected, so maybe I could make friends with them.

It was about a twenty minute walk to our destination. The bar was in town between two other buildings that were closed for the night. I could hear music coming from inside the building. We walked in and were stopped by a man who asked for our ID's. Once we showed them I followed the girls to the bartender. Marceline ordered three drinks. I didn't hear what she called them, but Keila looked pretty excited to get one. When we got our glasses I followed the girls to a booth and we sat down. The local band had just finished playing and the music was switched to radio.

"So what did Guy say that made you so angry," Marceline asked after taking a big gulp of her drink.

"He made a joke about my autistic brother," I replied.

Marceline drew back in shock, then shook her head.

"Wow, Guy is so stupid," she sighed. "He doesn't mean to be, though. He's just... Uneducated about that sort of thing."

"Are you gonna forgive him when he apologizes," Keila asked.

I shook my head. He had crossed a line, and I wasn't gonna let him take that insult back. He deserved what ever guilt he felt for it.

The three of us ended up talking and getting to know each other. I found out Keila and Marceline really liked vampires and that it used to be the theme of their band. But when the media got a hold of vampires, they felt like it ruined the whole thing. I also learned that Marceline had lost her Mom and didn't get along with her Dad. I told them about Neddy and I being orphans, and how nice our adopted parents were. I even finished my drink and offered to pay for another round for the three of us. But when I came back to the booth we were sharing, Keila and Marceline jumped up to go use the bathroom, leaving me alone.

I felt awkward sitting alone in this loud bar. I suddenly noticed how many men were in the bar and how few women there were. I started to get a little paranoid, but that might have been the alcohol talking. It was supposed to be a weak drink, but I was really starting to feel drunk all of a sudden. I rested my head on the table. I jumped up when I felt someone sit down beside of me. I expected it to be Marceline or Keila, but it wasn't.

"Hello beautiful," A man said.

He touched my back and I arched it quickly, trying to avoid his hand. But that didn't stop him. He only moved it to my knee. I wanted to spit at him and smack his face, but then I noticed how big he was. I was trapped between him and a wall.

"Can you please not touch me and leave?"

He ignored my demands and only grinned.

"Wanna come home with me tonight," It sounded more like a demand rather than a question.

"No. Please leave me alone," I said. I think I might have yelled, but I wasn't sure.

I spotted Marceline and Keila standing behind the man, looking at me. Their eyes were concerned. I glared at them, trying to convey as much as possible with my face that I needed help.

The man slowly trailed his hand up my thigh and I flinched, then slapped his hand, trying to stop him. That's when Marceline stepped in. She smacked her hand on his shoulder. He removed his hand and quickly turned to her.

"You need to leave, bro," Marceline warned him.

"Why should I?"

"She's clearly not interested," Marceline said in a sharp tone.

The man stood, straightened his back, and flexed his muscles. He had to be at least seven feet tall and three hundred pounds of nothing but muscles. I suddenly felt very small. If that man wanted to hit Marceline, she'd be unconscious within seconds. I had to say something that didn't sound too mean as not to send him on a rage, but what could I say? I vomited out the first thing that came to mind.

"I don't like men, she's my girlfriend!"

The monster of a man looked back at me and scoffed.

"Disgusting," he mumbled under his breath, then walked away.

I made a loud sigh of relief. But when I looked up, he was still watching us from across the room, sitting with a group of other large men. His glance made me feel uneasy. Had he saw through my lie?

"Can we leave," I whispered into Marceline's ear, but not taking my eyes off the man.

Marceline nodded at Keila. As we began to walk, I saw the guy move, as if he would get up and follow us. My head spun a little, but I tried to shake it off. Marceline laughed and told me to sit back down. She suggested we should sit down for a bit longer. She thought it would be safer to wait for those men to leave first and let the alcohol pass through my system so that we could all walk home. But the men left shortly after and I ended up finishing my second drink with the girls.

We hadn't left the bar until it closed at about two in the morning. Keila and Marceline laughed at the fact that I was having a hard time walking in a straight line. Marceline ended up holding onto me so that I wouldn't accidentally find my way into the street and get hit by a a passing car.

"Wow, Bonnibel, you really can't handle your alcohol," She laughed.

"I even made sure to get us malt beers so that you wouldn't get wasted," Keila added, joining Marceline's laughter for the hundredth time that night.

"I've never had more than one of anything," I muttered, then giggled a little.

"Wow, really," Marceline asked as I put my cheek against her's. It felt so warm and I thought it was a little chilly outside.

"Yolo," I whispered to her.

Keila had to stop walking because she was laughing so hard.

"Marceline, she's such a nerd!"

"I am," I giggled, holding onto Marceline's arms with both of my hands.

"All right, I'll see you girls, later," Keila said, walking down a different street than where we were heading.

"Marcy, where's she going," I moaned.

"She lives down that way," Marceline chuckled. "I'm glad we're neighbors. I don't think you remember where you live right now."

"I'm trying, okay," I whispered, wrapping my arms around Marceline waist. "I'm really cold, do you have a jacket?"

"I'm not wearing one," Marceline laughed.

I held onto Marceline until we got to our apartment building. I let got of her so she could open the door, the grabbed her arm, again. Even though it wasn't as cold I was still drunk, and apparently a touchy drunk.

Marceline laughed, leading me up the stairs and to my door. I closed my eyes as she reached into my purse, which was sitting on my shoulder, to look for my keys.

"Bonnie, I can't find your keys," she told me.

"Are you sure," I groaned.

She looked again.

"I think you might have dropped them somewhere. Do you have a spare?"

"No," I pouted. "Can I stay with you, you're warm."

I felt Marceline's body temperature rise a little, and I hugged her tighter, trying to absorb some of the heat for myself.

"Uh, I guess," Marceline stuttered.

Marceline shuffled over to her door. It might have been difficult with me being attached to her torso. She took a set of keys out of her pocket and unlocked her door. She opened it and walked inside with me. She closed the door and my eyes burned when she turned on the light. I hid my face in her neck.

"Bonnie," Marceline said with an awkward sounding tone in her voice.

"Yes," I breathed on her skin and wondered why she suddenly stiffened.

"Where do you wanna sleep?"

"In a bed," I laughed. "Where do people sleep on your planet?" I looked up at her red face and yawned.

"Um, okay," Marceline mumbled, leading me into her room.

When I saw a bed I quickly fell down on it.

"I'm gonna use the bathroom and sleep on the couch," she said, then left.

"No," I protested. "I'll freeze! Can't you sleep in the bed with me?"

Marceline didn't answer. I sighed and realized I had jeans on. I kicked off my shoes, then my jeans. I knew I'd never get to sleep in those, anyway. They were too stiff and rough. I got under the blanket and closed my eyes. When I heard the bathroom door open I rose up to call Marceline.

"Marcy, dude, please come sleep in this bed!" I begged. I made sure to make puppy dog eyes at her. "Its cold, can you please just sleep in the bed and keep me warm?"

"Okay," Marceline said with a soft smile. She grabbed some pajamas and went back in the bathroom to change. She came out and stared at my jeans laying on the floor. "Bonnie, are you not wearing pants?"

"I can't sleep in jeans," I explained. "Come on, I'm freezing!"

"Bonnie, its not even cold," she said.

"Yes it is," I whined.

Marceline made a loud sigh, then turned off the light. She got in bed with me and I hugged her from behind, making sure to scoot close. She was super warm and it felt so cozy. I buried my face into her soft, black hair. It smelled really good.

"Tell me what shampoo you use in the morning," I yawned, then fell asleep.