Chapter 8 – Where There's Smoke There's Fire
The weekend of Marshall's last-minute get together/party was quickly approaching, and Marshall had only barely begun preparing for it. Aside from cleaning up around the house and making a few playlists to get them through the night, Marshall Lee had pretty much stared distantly through a week's worth of classes, barely managing to hold his attention or focus in most classes. It was Friday, and Marshall was currently sitting in his music class listening to Marceline, Fionna, and Bonnie all chatting it up about their ideas for the weekend party.
"All I'm trying to say is that it's impractical for us minors to partake in alcohol! The effects are detrimental to growing bodies and it just seems so- so- so barbaric!" Bonnie exclaimed, earning a chuckle from Marceline.
"Really? Cuz I remember one time you were particularly loopy off some G and T's. You came backstage the second our set was up and tried to-" Marceline began recalling an event of particular graphical content, but was quickly cut off before she could go any further.
"I'll have you know that I was simply gathering data on the effects and properties of a few alcoholic beverages, and we will leave it simply at that." Bonnie's face had washed a few shades darker than her hair, and Fionna chuckled lightly as Marceline wore a triumphant grin on her face. While Marceline moved over to console Bonnie on her behavior, Fionna took notice of the spaced-out look Marshall had as he played the same note on his guitar over and over and over and-
"Heya Marshy? Whatcha thinking about?" Roused from his daze Marshall looked over to the rabbit-hatted girl who had scooted over to him. He took a moment to pause before answering.
"Just thinking about how wild this shin-dig will be tonight. Are you sure that you can handle partying with my crowd Fi?" Marshall gave her a smirk as she rolled her eyes.
"I think I can manage. I'm not as straight-edge as I might come off you know." She gave him a playful wink and stood up to put back her guitar. The bell had sounded, and Mr. Pierce waved the class off, warning them not to 'Do anything I would or wouldn't do'. They all slowly filed out into the crowded halls of AAA, trying their best to stick together as the crowds of students mashed into one another in an effort to break the threshold of the school. The group quickly said their goodbyes and moved to their respective transports home, agreeing to meet up again at 7. Marshall once again hopped on his bike, waving Fionna a quick salute as she climbed onto her bus. Marshall started up his bike and revved the engine a few times, his eyes trailing up to see the last of the kids making their way out of the school, when his eyes connected with hers.
Ashley.
Marshall Lee froze as her eyes bore into him, piercing the reflective visor of his helmet, as though seeing right into his very being. Her eyes narrowed and her lips split into an eerie smile, and Marshall wanted nothing more than to disintegrate into a pile of ash right then and there. She stared for a few more seconds before being called away by one of her friends, breaking her eye contact and seemingly breaking her hold on the raven-haired teen. He breathed deeply several times to try and stop his beating heart from exploding within him. He could never tell what she was thinking, what sorts of sinister things she would be plotting behind the scenes. He quickly pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road, losing himself in the speed of his travels. I have to get a grip. Just focus on the party Marshall. We'll get through this.
~.~
With a grunt, Marshall shoved his couch heavily against the wall of the living room, the floor no mostly clear of the furniture that normally inhabited it, making way for a spacious dance floor. Knowing how far the reaches of Finn and Jakes friend groups went, he expected that his "Circle-Only" party would be littered with people he didn't know. He couldn't be too upset over that, it just meant he'd dedicate some space upstairs to hosting his true friends as the party goes on. He quickly tested the sound system, ensuring the music would be as bass-y and loud as possible without killing their ears. He also left out a couple handles and some plastic cups in his kitchen, ensuring that most of the glass would be out of the hands of party hooligans. He checked his phone to see it was still only about 5:40, meaning he had time to get himself ready for the party.
Marshall started to head upstairs when he heard a vigorous knocking on the door, a knowing smile crossing his lips. He opened the door to see Jake hulking a few steps away from the door, a full keg in tow, along with Finn carrying two racks of beer. He peered past them, seeing the back of Jake's beat up truck filled to the brim with even more alcoholic goodness.
"Holy fuck you guys I told you enough for the crew! This could last a small country decades!" Marshall faked annoyance, but the smile on his face at seeing his friends told otherwise.
"You know it wouldn't be a real Marshall Rager without literal mountains of booze right?" Finn joked, heaving the alcohol into Marshall's kitchen.
"You know it bro! You know we make the party. I'm a damn animal!" Jake gave a howl, causing Finn and Marshall to laugh as they started to move the rest of the goods. A few minutes later and Marshall's kitchen looked like the backroom of an uptown bar.
"Alright you guys, it's about time I make myself pretty for the party, You two might wanna think about doing the same," Marshall smirked while looking the two up and down. The blonde brothers laughed and made their way out of his house, heading back to make some last minute preparations for themselves.
~.~
Bass, throbbing through the walls of the house and the veins of the drunk, grinding bodies of teens. Marshall's house had been bombarded with an earth-shatteringly large amount of people. So much for only bringing 'the crew' Marshall thought to himself as he squeezed through the crowd of people raving in his living room. Trying to move through the bouncing crowd was akin to running a marathon, and Marshall concluded he could use a drink. Shuffling over to the kitchen, Marshall Lee took a moment to browse the stock of various alcohols laid out before him before settling on a bottle of Tennessee Honey Jack Daniels, taking a few hearty swigs from the bottle. Marshall winced as the burning liquid slid down his throat. He took the bottle and carefully stepped past more dreary-eyed drunken, wait were these guys even in school? Marshall took note of more of the crowd, examining many of them seeming much older than the average high schooler he was used to seeing.
He made his way over to the DJ table where Jake was currently manning his post, keeping the crowd engaged in the ridiculously loud club-like music he was spinning. Marshall approached the booth and waved to get the older Mertens boy's attention.
"DUDE. What's the deal with all of these people?!" Marshall strained to make himself heard over the music.
"I told you man, I know a lot of people! Chill out and enjoy yourself bro!" Jake waved Marshall off, leaving the teen to grumble to himself as he continued to sip away at his Jack Daniels. Normally a rager like this would be fun, but the last time he went to one of these he only remembered seeing his ex cheating on him before getting blackout drunk. The more he recalled his previous party experience the more tempted he was to try and shut this down.
No Marsh, keep it together. You promised you'd prove your normalcy.
Normal? Don't kid yourself hun. Things will never be normal as long as I'm here.
Shut up! Can't you stay out of my head for one fucking night?
You'll have to try harder than that to be rid of me Marshall. I own you.
You don't own SHIT Ashley, least of all me!
Marshall tried hard to convince himself that he was in control, but even he couldn't keep up the act forever. Suddenly he felt overwhelmed, his mind racing a million miles a second. His senses were going into overdrive, and he was starting to sweat. He needed to get away from all of these people, from all of this stuff. He needed space. Downing the last of his drink and grabbing a bottle of vodka from the kitchen, Marshall raced up the stairs to the last door on the floor.
~.~
Fionna had spent a great deal of time debating whether or not she wanted to even be at this party once things got going. She had taken a good two hours making sure her hair was perfectly kept up in her trademark hat and applying a slightly larger-than-normal amount of makeup before coming to this party. By the time she opened the door she was immediately pushed inside as though she was being swallowed by an ocean of tipsy strangers. After recovering from the initial shock she quickly took solace in the slightly less-crowded kitchen. Fionna knew tonight would be relatively crazy, but no one would ever anticipate it being this crowded. She stood and scanned the crowd aimlessly, hoping that by some miracle she would be able to recognize at least one person in the crowd.
Fionna was knocked a few feet away as a pair of bodies collided into her, almost sending her face first into the floor. After recovering Fionna turned with malice in her eyes and her hand balled into a fist, ready to pummel whoever had bumped her, before her eyes settles on the blonde boy locked at the lips with a fiery red-headed girl.
"Oh shit, my bad Fionna! I was a little wrapped up in things, I didn't see you there," Finn offered with a chuckle, finally separating from the girl he was with. Fionna looked her up and down, recognizing her as a girl from their school that she'd seen with Finn in passing. What class was she in?
"Finnnnnnnn, come onnnn, we were having *hic* fun!" The redhead clung lazily to Finn's hip, shoving her face towards his attempting to initiate another lip-lock.
"Chill Ember, we've got the whole night to try and enjoy ourselves okay. Have you two met before?" Finn looked between the two, sensing Fionna seemed off put. "Okay, Ember this is Fionna, my homie, and Fionna this is Ember, my girlfriend. She's a lightweight, and can be very affectionate when drunk." Finn's quick introductions were quickly pushed aside as Ember stepped straight up to Fionna, pressing her face almost nose to nose with her.
"How do you know my Finn?! Are you his ex or something?!" Ember began quickly accusing, a fire in her eyes. Her words were slurring slightly as she wobbled back and forth on her feet. Before Fionna could react, Finn quickly pushed the girl the other way back towards the crowd, trying to calm her down. Looking back Finn looked at her apologetically.
"Sorry about her, she can also be very protective. Here, take my drink, you look like you haven't had any. I'm gonna go dance and try to calm her down." And with that Finn and his fiery lover disappeared back into the crowd. With a sigh, Fionna looked down at the cup in her hands, taking a tentative sip of the strange liquid. She was surprised as the drink went down quite easily, noting the heavy flavors of orange juice decently masking the subtle vodka taste underneath. Fionna continued sipping, scanning the crowd to try and catch a glimpse of the host of this crazy party.
She caught just a flash, but even that was enough to know it was him. Marshall had an odd expression on his face, like he was thinking hard, or as if he was in some sort of pain. He rushed up the staircase off in the corner of the living room. Fionna smiled to herself and eagerly followed the raven-haired teen to the second floor.
~.~
Marshall pushed open the door slowly, only just now realizing which room he had entered in an attempt to escape the chaos below him. Taking in the older furniture, the king sized bed, the nightstands on either side, Marshall's breath caught in his throat.
It was his parents' room.
Ever since the incident, he hadn't gone inside, too afraid of what he might feel. He froze in place, a wave of several emotions hitting him all at once. Everything was as he remembered it as a kid. Not a thing was out of place, not one speck of dust had been misplaced after all this time. Marshall walked slowly around the room, inspecting each item in the room with some form of memory or feeling of a time or a place coming with it. He still had his childhood toys littering the ground at the foot of their bed, there were still his dad's band shirts and his mom's work blouses on the floor of the closet.
The most important item Marshall found was strewn among the pillows on the bed. He almost didn't see it, just barely catching sight of its' arm sticking out from between the sheets.
Hambo.
Marshall recalled the name instantly, moving quickly to pull the bear out from its hiding place, his eyes tearily glossing over every detail of the beat up stuffed bear. It had been his dad's favorite toy since he was a kid, and when he passed it down to Marshall, he never let it out of his sight. Half of the damage and on the bear had been caused by Marshall himself while the shoddy repairs had been implemented by his mother. He plopped heavily onto the bed cradling the bear close to his chest as the tears now flowed freely as he recalled his parents. The alcohol coursing through his system made his memories hazy, and only moved to amplify all of the chaotic thoughts running through his head. He didn't need to deal with this again on top of everything else, he needed to stop feeling. He got up and trudged to the glass door on the other side of the room, leaving behind his prized bear and taking his bottle of vodka.
He stared emptily at the bottle in his hands, taking a few deep breaths before pouring the liquid right down his throat. He managed several large gulps before coughing heavily, the singeing feeling in his throat nearly causing him to chuck it right back up. He swallowed heavily before hitting the bottle, coughing again, repeating these two steps until the bottle was 2/3 gone. His senses were numbing, his body felt hot and heavy, and he could barely think straight.
A soft hand placed itself on Marshall's shoulders, causing him to flinch wildly as he looked back and met his eyes with Fionna's.
Now you've gone and done it. She's going to ask questions. What will you tell her, I wonder?
"Sh-shut up," Marshall murmured, his voice barely audible.
"Marsh are you okay? You look like crap, how much have you had to drink?" Fionna asked, concern evident in her voice.
You're weak Marsh. She'll learn to hate you, just like everyone else does.
"I said shut the fuck up!" Marshall shouted, staring distantly past Fionna. His thoughts were quickly interrupted by a sharp pain in his cheek as Fionna struck him.
Marshall clutched his cheek lazily, the burning of his flesh quickly fading as the alcohol continued to permeate his system. Marshall looked up to see Fionna's blurry form walking briskly away, out of the room and down the stairs.
You drove her off Marshall. Now you can be alone again.
Marshall couldn't control himself, his body racked with sobs. He was filled with so many different cursed emotions, so much self-loathing and feelings of loneliness, and it was all coming out like a waterfall. He didn't stop as arms wrapped around him gently, he took no notice as a head nestled against the nape of his neck as he was hugged from behind. The two stayed like that for a long time, neither of them saying anything as Marshall exhausted himself and his sobs subsided to occasional sniffles.
Fionna came around to face Marshall, eyes full of concern and even some of her own tears. She didn't say anything as she nudged Marshall back onto his feet and slowly guided him inside to the bedroom. She sat him down on the edge of the bed and handed him a water bottle.
"Drink," she said, her voice quiet. Marshall did as she said, welcoming the refreshing liquid in place of the alcohol. She placed a plate on his lap, Marshall groggily looking down noting it had several pieces of bread on it.
"M'not hungry," Marshall slurred, earning him a stern look from Fionna.
"You have to sober up a bit Marshall," Fionna said, her tone not leaving room for negotiations. They spent the next few minutes with Marshall eating bread and sipping water while Fionna watched over him, making sure he kept everything down. When he finally got it all down and they spent a few minutes decompressing, she slowly pushed him back onto the bed, tucking him under the sheets. She looked to the back of the bed and her eyes caught sight of the beat up stuffed bear. She grabbed it slowly and put it next to Marshall who snuggled it gently in his half-conscious state.
Fionna took one last look at her friend, her mind still full of questions, but deciding to let him have his rest. As she got up to leave she was surprised to feel Marshall grab her wrist.
"Please mom… stay," Marshall pulled Fionna softly. Not wanting to upset him, she got into the bed next to Marshall. This entire night had been going in a completely different direction than she thought it would, and definitely not as fun as she had hoped. But at the same time, she was determined to get the answers as to what was going on out of her friend. Come tomorrow, that is.