AN: Wow, that was a long hiatus. I'm sorry to anyone who still follows this, but with school, study abroad, and just life, and a lot of writer's block, this poor story has been neglected. I can't make any promises if it will be finished any time soon as I'm trying to work out the way the story is going, but thanks to all who read this and leave reviews, it makes my day. Anyway, here's the long awaited Chapter 8. Enjoy and happy holidays!

(Bonnie's POV)

As the days passed, Bonnie slowly began to tell her friends that she was now officially dating. It was her first romantic relationship of any kind since high school, and already it was so much more than what she had back then. When Lady heard, she was thrilled, and admitted she had seen it coming.

"The way you two look at each other, it's obvious," Lady had said with a smile.

"Really? Is it that obvious?" Bonnie laughed. "Wait, but… I'm not sure if I want to be, you know…out." The last part was nearly a whisper.

Lady shrugged. "You have to do that on your own time, when you feel comfortable."

In fact, Bonnie had been reading recently about being LGBT, and she had learned quite a lot. But she felt that it might take some time to adjust to her newfound realization of her sexuality. In the meantime, she was just glad that her friends were supportive.

A few nights after she had confessed to Lady about her relationship, Bonnie received a text from Marceline. Turns out that she and her band had just booked a gig at a local bar next weekend. Marceline said that she'd love for Bonnie to be there. Bonnie complied—although bars weren't quite her scene, she had been eagerly awaiting a chance to hear her girlfriend play with her band.

The night of, Bonnie and a few other people made their way to the bar with the help of one of Lady's friends who had a car. As they pulled into the crowded parking lot, Bonnie began to wonder how she would get in. Luckily, the bar didn't card. Sure enough, there seemed to be a large demographic of college students there. Lady, Bonnie, and their friends found a small table and managed to get chairs for almost everyone. One of the other girls went to get drinks, but Bonnie was feeling too nervous to drink.

"You excited to see Marceline play?" Lady asked. Bonnie nodded with a smile. She wasn't sure why she was nervous, really. The time seemed to pass slowly for Bonnie until finally she saw them come out on stage. Two guys and a girl she didn't recognize, with Marceline bringing up the rear. They spent a few minutes hooking up cables and microphones and checking amps before her girlfriend donned her bass and took the mic. "Hey guys, hope you're all having a good one tonight. We're gonna play some songs for you. I'm Marceline, and we are Marceline and the Scream Queens." A small nod to her fellow bandmates started the music. Marceline started playing a catchy, distorted bass line. She was joined by the drummer and then the guitarist, and then Marcy began to sing. Bonnie tuned everything else out but Marceline as she played. It was clear that Marceline was passionate about her music—anyone could see that. Although it wasn't the genre she typically listened to, Bonnie thoroughly enjoyed the Scream Queens' music. Plus, Bonnie thought, it didn't hurt that her girlfriend looked really hot. The band played a bunch of songs, mostly original with some covers thrown in for good measure. When their set was over, they received a hearty round of applause from the audience. As they were packing up, Bonnie went over to congratulate Marceline and her bandmates.

"Hey," Bonnie said timidly as she approached. Marcy turned around with a smile on her face. "Hey, babe," She replied, giving Bonnie a hug and a quick peck on the cheek. "Thanks for coming."

"Of course! You guys did great." Bonnie smiled at her and then looked to the other band members who were still collecting cables and packing up. "Hey guys, I want to introduce you to someone." The three stopped what they were doing and walked over.

"Everyone, this is Bonnie. Bonnie, this is Keila, Bongo, and Guy." Marceline gestured to each person and Bonnie shook hands with all of them. Keila, the guitarist, was a gorgeous olive-skinned girl with brown eyes and a huge mass of curly black hair. Guy, the keyboardist, was tall and quiet with a thin build and shaggy brown hair. Bongo, the drummer, was pretty short and on the chubby side. He had a goatee and a big smile on his face as he shook Bonnie's hand.

"We've heard so much about you. It's great to finally meet you," He said warmly. Bonnie hoped she wasn't blushing. Marceline talked about her a lot? Keila and Marcy exchanged glances that Bonnie couldn't quite decode.

"We're having a party afterward at my place to celebrate. Are you down?" Marceline asked.

"Sure," Bonnie smiled. They seemed nice, plus she figured she should get to know Marceline's friends.

After some more talking, Bonnie left the band members to pack up their gear. While she was talking to her friends, Marceline came by and apologized for having to steal Bonnie away. After bidding goodbye to Bonnie's friends, the two of them headed out to Marcy's bike and Marceline drove them back to her apartment.

Not long after they arrived, the rest of the band showed up along with a few of their friends. Marceline's apartment radiated warm light as bottles were opened and snacks were shared among everyone in attendance.

"Bon, you want something to drink?" Marceline asked.

"Sure, I'll have whatever you're having," Bonnie replied. Marceline nodded with a smile and came back with two rum and cokes. The pair sat on the couch, chilling out and talking while records played in the background. At one point, Marceline got up to talk to Guy and Bongo and a few of their friends, leaving Bonnie alone on the couch. It wasn't long before she felt someone plop down next to her.

"Hey, Bonnie." Keila had occupied the empty space next to her.

"Oh, hi, Keila," Bonnie said somewhat awkwardly. Sitting this close to Keila, Bonnie took note of how pretty she was. Her olive skin contrasted beautifully with her chocolate eyes and curly black hair.

"So, how long have you guys been dating? 3 weeks?"

"Yeah, more or less."

"Well, let me tell you something. I've known Marceline longer than a lot of people. She's not really one to have a lot of friends, especially close ones, but she's pretty cool. And she likes you a lot already. Take good care of her, ok?" Keila gave her a smile, which Bonnie returned.

"Yes, of course." She genuinely appreciated her advice but somewhere in the back of her scientist mind wondered what motivated it.

"Alright, well, good luck then." Keila gave her a pat on the back before getting up and leaving her to herself again.

After two or so hours of hanging out, Bonnie began to feel tired. She leaned her head back on the couch cushion and closed her eyes for a moment.

"Bonnie?" She woke up to a hand shaking her gently. It was Marceline, her long hair in a ponytail. "You're sleepy. Come on, let's get you to bed." She helped Bonnie stand—she was dizzy not from drinking but from the sleep that still enveloped her eyes—and guided her towards the dark bedroom. Bonnie all but collapsed into the bed, not even bothering to get under the covers. She caught a glimpse of the clock—it was almost 4 am. Marcy chuckled.

"I'm gonna clean up a couple more things before I join you." Marceline gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and Bonnie made a contented sigh. She sleepily watched her girlfriend exit the room before she let her eyes close again.

Some time later she was awoken to the sound of drawers opening and closing. When she opened her eyes, Marceline was bent over a set of drawers retrieving some piece of clothing. Still with her back to Bonnie, Marceline put the clothing on top of the dresser and swiftly pulled her shirt over her head. She tossed it with expert aim into the laundry basket before wriggling out of her skinny jeans. Bonnie was probably blushing but it wasn't visible in the dark room. Something about seeing her girlfriend getting undressed got her heart racing. She felt like maybe she shouldn't be looking. While Bonnie was trying to decide whether to continue watching, Marceline unhooked her bra and tossed it and the pants into the basket with the shirt and other dirty clothes. She took the big t-shirt from the top of the dresser and pulled it over her head. She fixed her ponytail and turned around, coming to the other side of the bed and quietly climbing in beside Bonnie.

"Hey," Bonnie said sleepily.

"Hey. Sorry, I hope I didn't wake you up,"

"It's ok." Bonnie moved closer to her and rested her head on Marcy's chest, taking in the smell of her skin and the lingering scent of laundry detergent on her clean t-shirt.

Marcy put an arm around her. "Someone's cuddly tonight," She said with a chuckle.

"Mmhmm," Bonnie replied. Marcy started to stroke her hair and Bonnie let herself surrender to sleep.

Bonnie awoke to a kiss on her cheek. Slowly opening her eyes, she saw Marceline smiling at her.

"Mm, morning," Bonnie yawned. Marceline just continued to look at her quietly.

"What?" Bonnie wondered if she had weird bedhead or something.

"You're beautiful," Marceline said quietly. Bonnie hadn't really been told that before, so at first she thought she was joking. But as she looked at Marceline, she could see that she was quite serious.

"Thank you," Bonnie managed, but didn't quite know what to say. She planted a soft kiss on Marceline's lips to show her appreciation. When she pulled away, Marceline smiled and placed her hands on Bonnie's cheeks and kissed her again. They shared several long, slow kisses before Bonnie pulled away and laid her head on Marceline's chest as her girlfriend stroked her hair.

"Marcy, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Bon."

"When did you know you were bisexual?"

Marceline chuckled a bit. "I was in middle school. I saw a girl in passing and the first thing I thought was 'wow, she's gorgeous.' And then when I got to know her, I found out that I really liked her. But it was more than just friends." She shrugged. "It kind of came naturally, I guess. I was confused for a little bit since I still liked guys, but pretty soon I was just like, 'well, I guess I like both.'"

"Hmm." Bonnie nodded. "I just… before you I had never liked a girl. I had never liked anyone, really. I had a boyfriend briefly in high school but I was never physically attracted to him. It's still sort of strange to get used to—not liking you, that feels natural. But the identity that comes along with it. Even though I'm not exactly sure which sexuality I am yet. There's a lot to learn."

Marceline chuckled again. "Well, I guess I'll have to give you the crash course on being gay."

"And what does that entail, exactly?"

"Hmm, well, all the lesbian girl bands you need to know, and all about Pride, and how to dress gay, and some other stuff." Marcy flicked her tongue and gave a wink. Bonnie lightly punched her arm, her face flushing with embarrassment at the innuendo.

"Marceline, that's too distasteful!"

"I don't know Princess, sounds pretty tasty to me." Her eyes were glimmering with mischief.

Bonnie tried to hide her bright red face by burying herself in the pillow but Marceline was clearly having too much fun playing off her embarrassment.

"Alright Bonnie, I'll stop making dirty jokes," Marceline laughed, trying to pry her girlfriend out of the pillow. Although Bonnie didn't really believe her, Marceline was finally able to coax her out of bed with the promise of breakfast. The two girls sat on the floor of her living room laughing and talking, eating cereal out of whatever clean dishes were left over from the party.

Soon Bonnie realized that it was the week before Thanksgiving. She couldn't believe it had approached so quickly.

"Marcy, what are you doing for Thanksgiving?" Bonnie asked while talking to her girlfriend on the phone one day.

"Oh, uh, when is that?"

"Next Thursday? Aren't you going home?

"Uh, probably not." There was a short pause as Bonnie waited for some kind of explanation. "Me and my dad don't really have a great relationship."

"Oh. Well, would you like to come home with me then? I'm sure my parents would be happy to host."

"Nah, but thanks for the offer. You go home and enjoy being with your family. Me and the band members are gonna cook up a little dinner. Nothing crazy."

"Alright, well the offer is open if you decide to change your mind."

"Thanks, Bonbon. I'll talk to you later, okay? I have to go do some homework."

"Alright, Marceline. Talk to you soon." After bidding each other goodnight, the two girls hung up and returned to their respective schoolwork.