"You can't just sit there all night, Princess," whined Peppermint Butler for what felt like the hundredth time. "This is a party. So be excited."

Bubblegum only sighed.

"My, we're unenthused this evening. I did tell you not to invite the vampire."

Bubblegum rolled her eyes. "She's my friend Peppermint. Besides, she's gone now." She didn't mention the part where the invitation was meant to be payback. That wouldn't go over well.

Peppermint cleared his throat. "Yes… well. That doesn't excuse your behaviour. You are their princess. Act like it."

Her butler often spoke his mind, but for him to be so blunt… that was unusual. She forced a smile onto her face and focused her gaze on him. "Is that better?" she asked through gritted teeth.

He put a finger up to his face. "Hum… if it looked a little less like you were in pain, it might be passable for a smile."

She sighed again. "Why ever did I think this was a good idea?"

"You do have to maintain an image, Princess. In regards to the vampire… I believe I asked that question earlier also."

"You're useless."

"Careful, Princess; mustn't let your melancholy infect the guests." He turned to walk away, and then looked back at her. "Act cheerful for an hour then I'm sure you can bail gracefully."

Bubblegum closed her eyes and forced the smile back onto her face. It didn't sit right and she still felt hollow inside, but it seemed to fool some of her guests. Lady, was looking at her from the other side of the room and from her gaze, she was most definitely not convinced that all was well. Bubblegum made a note to avoid contact with her friend.

The hour positively dragged on. She couldn't bring herself to dance again, but she walked about, careful to stay away from Lady. LSP was still on the phone and even if she'd been by Bubblegum's side, she wouldn't have noticed. She was constantly checking the clock high on the wall for a time to arrive that was suitably late so she could excuse herself. But the seconds seemed to take years and the minutes lasted veritable eternities.

After waiting what felt a lifetime, the clock chimed the hour. Ten at night was by no means late, but she knew most of the guests were aware she wasn't sleeping. Pleading exhaustion might pass for a decent excuse. Taking a deep breath she headed over to Lady. Finn, Jake and Flame Princess were with her which would make this much easier.

"I'm calling it a night, guys," she said, still holding onto her false smile. "Feel free to stay as long as you'd like. I'll leave Peppermint in charge."

Lady asked her if she was sure she was alright and was echoed, surprisingly, by a worried looking Flame Princess.

"Yes, I'm just tired," she replied. "Perhaps going to bed earlier will give me more time to sleep."

"Hah!" Finn exclaimed. "I knew it. Sad… Pfft!"

Her smile faltered momentarily at his words and she knew neither Lady nor Flame Princess would have missed it. Driving the wan smile onto her face for a few more moments, she made her final goodnights and hustled off before they could ask anything else.

She waved to LSP and Devlin as she passed them and headed along the corridor, then on up the stairs. Peppermint Butler followed her the whole way to her bedroom in the tower. "Just… make sure they're gone by midnight," she told him, stopping at her door. "And apologise for my absence."

He nodded, watching minutely as she opened her door the tiniest of slivers and slipped inside. Once away from his knowing stare, she leaned back against the door and wrapped her arms around herself. Peering up at the dark rafters she tried to see through the gloom.

"Marceline?" she asked in a whisper. The window was closed, but the door to her balcony stood ajar and she tiptoed over to it. "Are you here?" The cold air from the balcony cut straight through her dress as she stepped outside and looked around. Her friend wasn't on the railings so Bubblegum looked up. There on the sloped roof, with her knees brought up to her chest, her arms around them and her chin on one elbow, was Marceline.

"What are you doing up there?" she asked. No reply. Bubblegum sighed. "Get down off the roof and come inside."

Marceline looked over at her. "Why?"

"Because I'm cold out here and I want to talk to you," Bubblegum replied gently, moving back inside and pacing to her desk. The door clicked gently as Marceline followed her in, but she fidgeted nervously and floated up so high that Bubblegum had to crane her neck to look at her.

"Are you alright?" she asked her. Marceline's eyes widened in surprise.

"You're… not going to ask why I left?"

Bubblegum shrugged. "I figure if you want to tell me you will."

The vampire dropped several feet until she was pretty close to eye level. "I… yeah I'm fine."

"Don't you lie to me, Marceline."

She huffed. "I'm fine alright?" she said tartly, crossing her arms. Bubblegum just watched her. Marceline sank slowly until she was sitting on a sofa, avoiding Bubblegum's eyes. "I'm fine, Bonnie really. Stop staring at me."

Still with her arms around herself, Bubblegum sat down beside her friend. "Marceline…" She had no idea where she was going with that so she just closed her mouth and sat in silence.

Marceline sighed softly. "Why did you invite me? You could've picked anything else for me to do. Why this?" She still wouldn't make eye contact, but that wasn't unusual.

"Why did you come?" Bubblegum countered. She knew it irritated the other woman when she replied with a question, but she was pretty irritated herself.

The vampire frowned and for a moment forgot that she was trying to ignore Bubblegum, giving her a confused look. "Well… because you invited me… and I owed you. But I still don't know why this was what you picked."

Bubblegum shrugged. "Because you're my friend and I wanted you to be here. Why do you think?"

Marceline shook her head. "That's…" she sighed, looking away again. "Finn was going to ask you to dance," she said, surprising Bubblegum with the randomness of the statement.

"Uh…"

She shrugged. "He said you looked bored and thought a dance would cheer you up," Marceline explained. "I told him not to."

"That was… nice of you, Marcy," Bubblegum said softly. "Poor Flame Princess."

Marceline smiled wanly. "Yeah, Finn's practically blind sometimes." She paused and took a deep breath, then exhaled without speaking. "I left because you didn't need me there," she blurted suddenly.

Bubblegum started. "What? Why? Who said I didn't want you there?"

Marceline pursed her lips and shifted uncomfortably on the chair. She looked like she wanted to be anywhere but there. "You didn't need me, Bonnie. I don't exactly fit in… you know," she waved a hand vaguely as though searching for words she could care less about. "I don't belong here."

"That's stupid. And completely irrelevant," Bubblegum said a little more sharply than she meant to. "I invited you. I wouldn't have if I didn't want you here."

"We're talking about two different things now, PB," Marceline replied, trying to sound offhand and not succeeding. "You're talking about wanting me to come here and I'm talking about belonging here. I'm not like you."

"Usually you wouldn't care what people think about you turning up to a party that's a little different. You've never cared before."

Marceline hunched her shoulders. "What makes you think I care now?"

Bubblegum lifted one eyebrow and tugged on the sleeve of her friend's dress. "Look at what you're wearing. I didn't even know you had this."

A smile pulled at the corner of Marceline's mouth but was quickly supressed. "I just found it in the closet. It doesn't mean anything."

She sighed. "What's wrong with you Marceline?" she asked. "And don't say 'nothing', I know there's something. Tell me."

The other woman opened her mouth and then closed it again. No doubt she'd been going to say 'nothing'. "I'm fine, Bonnie," she said instead, exploiting a loop hole. "Really."

"No," Bubblegum snapped, twisting in her spot to better see her friend's face. "You tell me right now. Spit it out."

Marceline stood and walked away. Walked, not flying and she didn't go out the window. Oh yes, there was something on her mind. She folded her arms and stood looking down at Bubblegum's desk. There were a few papers on it, but Marceline wouldn't read them.

"Why did you wait here if you weren't going to answer my question?" Bubblegum asked her. She stood too, but didn't walk over. Marceline leaned back till she was resting on her heels, hard to do for most people, but then she could float.

"I… I don't know."

"Then would you please –"

"You danced with me," she said suddenly, cutting across Bubblegum. Marceline closed her eyes and her feet clicked back to the floor. "But you invited someone to dance with. Why…? Why would you do that?"

Bubblegum snorted. "That's it? I can't dance with a friend if I want to?"

Marceline stared up at the ceiling, then down at the floor, then out the window. She sighed and turned away. "You go to a party with someone to dance with them, not with someone else."

"That's silly Marcy."

"I know," she retorted waspishly. "I know that. But… did he dance well?"

She frowned. "He who?"

"That guy," she said waving her hand. She seemed alright now. "That one who waved at you. He was your partner right?"

"Devlin?" Bubblegum asked, shocked. "The one in the yellow?" Marceline nodded. "Oh Glob no! He's the son of one of my cooks. He brings her something every Friday; a party tonight wasn't going to stop him." She crossed the room and smiled.

"Oh," the other woman said, rolling her eyes up. "Oh."

"He looks like a banana, Marceline," Bubblegum laughed, elbowing Marceline in the ribs. "He was here for his mother, not to dance."

Marceline smiled, a proper smile this time, there was no strain. "Well then." A thought made a shadow cross her face briefly. "Then… who did you invite to dance with?"

She felt her cheeks go all warm. "I invited you. You are my friend. I figured I could count on you."

The look on Marceline's face was priceless. She was completely lost for words, and usually she'd react to surprise with anger or something defensive. Not this time.

Marceline leaned in and pressed her lips softly against Bubblegum's. It lasted only the briefest of seconds, but it was plenty long enough to send electricity through her. Bubblegum shivered as the other woman pulled away sharply, her eyes wide, horror written across her face.

"I… I don't…" Marceline stammered, taking a step back. "I don't know why I did that." She looked shaken and anxious. Bubblegum's feet moved without her permission, following Marceline.

"I do," Bubblegum whispered. It was like she'd completely lost control of her faculties. All of them were doing things without her acquiescence. What was wrong with her?

Marceline walked backwards into her lamp and stopped, turning slightly to see what had impeded her slow retreat. When she gathered herself and spun back to watch Bubblegum, the smaller woman had closed the gap. Bubblegum reached up and wound her hands in the collar of Marceline's dress, pulled her forward and kissed her gently. She was losing her mind.

It took a moment, but this time Marceline didn't pull away. Instead, her feet rising from the floor and her hands on Bubblegum's shoulders, she leaned into it. Bubblegum's toes curled and her fingers looped through Marceline's hair. Then in a flash, her brain caught up with her and she pushed Marceline away.

"Stop," she gasped, her hands were shaking violently. Her heart was pounding awfully fast and her head felt… like jelly.

Marceline's eyes were round like saucers. They glanced at Bubblegum's crown briefly then back down to her horrified green eyes. "I'm sorry, Princess," she said quietly. Like lightning, she was gone out the window.

"Marceline!" Bubblegum cried after her, her voice catching. The vampire didn't even look back.

Still quivering like leaves in a gale, Bubblegum stumbled to her bed and flopped down, face first into the covers. She wrapped her arms around her pillow and pressed her face into it as far as she could. Then she screamed. She screamed for a long time, before it faded away and she started shuddering. She wasn't sure if it was crying or not, but either way, knotted up into the foetal position, hugging the pillow to her chest, she fell asleep.