Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Aw bunk it! Bunk it all!”

The cry came from a nearly empty classroom, tucked away in the corner of the dim, brick hallways of the science building. There were only a few rooms in the entire place that still had their lights on, and the majority of them were just for safety. But the only one still occupied was a room strewn with small, black workbenches that all mostly sat empty. Mostly, except for one towards the back of the classroom, closest to the wall. Sitting at the table, head in her hands groaning at yet ANOTHER failed attempt at running her program for her midterm project, was an exhausted petite girl. She had brunette hair so light it almost looked blonde, with straight across bangs that covered her forehead. Freckles dotted her round, pink cheeks, and round wiry glasses sat atop her icy blue eyes. This girl was Bonnibel Bogart, a sophomore Bioengineering major who was seriously struggling right now.

She sighed, brushing her sweaty hands against her cream-colored sweater, and went back to scanning the code on her laptop, looking for what the flip she did wrong this time. She had been at this dumb junk for hours. It was for her favorite class, Machine Learning in Medicine. She was supposed to be writing a program using publicly available data to show some interesting statistics she and her professor had been talking about lately. Bonnibel was only a sophomore, but had shown some pretty wicked drive and intelligence that caught the eye of the Engineering school chair, Dr. Petrikov. So, he extended an offer for her to be one of his research assistants in exchange for extra credit (not that she needed it).

‘And now here I am’, she thought to herself instead of out loud this time, ‘not even able to figure out a simple err– ah blitz!’ She cut herself off mid-thought as she noticed what was wrong with her code. A simple syntax error, so nothing was even wrong with her math; she was just making stupid mistakes at this point. ‘I wonder what time it’s getting to be,’ she mused as she picked up her phone. Her home screen, over a picture of her and her roommate, relayed to her that it was 10:02 p.m.

She sighed to herself yet again, realizing the science building technically closed two minutes ago and a security guard would probably be coming around to shoo her away in just a second. The girl stood up and realized her back was aching from sitting at the same table for almost four hours now; even if the building wasn’t closing, she probably needed a change in scenery if she was in pain and making dumb errors.

After gathering her things, she tiredly shut the classroom down, waved goodbye to a familiar security guard, and eventually stepped outside into the cool first-Friday-night-of-October air. Bonnibel took a deep breath in and started the long trek to her apartment. She and her roommate, Lady Rainier, had been lucky enough to come into college with enough credits to get out of living in the dorms in their second year as opposed to their third like most students. This gave them a coveted off-campus apartment. She preferred their quiet, homely-decorated safe haven to the raucous hallways of the dorms any day, but still loved to study in the academic buildings. She called it her work-life balance, even though Lady insisted that didn’t only mean having a separate space.

The ancient, cobbled paths ensured her leisurely pace through the beautiful campus. The buildings were brick and hundreds of years old, the trees that covered most of the campus stood tall and strong, and everything down to the streetlights was historical. It was part of what drew the bright-eyed young Bonnibel to this campus in the first place. And she loved how even though it was nighttime, she still felt safe enough in this place to walk home by herself. Her fond musings over Olsten Orbach University (OOU for short) were cut short, though, and she realized she had been moving on autopilot. She took her lanyard out of her pocket and unlocked her first-floor apartment’s door. As she opened it, she was greeted by a sight that brought a look of shock to her face. Her roommate was dancing on her coffee table.

Lady Rainier was a tall, lanky woman whose beret was almost touching the ceiling when Bonnibel came in. Her dyed-blonde hair was loose, flowing past a white button-up that was tucked lazily into a pair of black high-waisted shorts. As Lady turned towards the door, her deep brown eyes grew bright and wide.

“Bubblegum!” she shouted as she jumped down from the table with a thump. Bonnibel feigned a frown at the nickname she had earned herself freshman year, after Lady discovered a drawer in Bonnibel’s desk that was entirely filled with bubblegum ‘just in case she ever ran out.’ “Where have you been, honey?” Bonnibel walked across their spacious living room to where Lady had her Bluetooth speaker set up and paused whatever party song was causing the walls to vibrate before attempting conversation.

“Been at the science building. My research project for Petrikov is due next week and I’m thoroughly behind on it,” she explained as she slumped into one of their armchairs and threw her hefty backpack on the floor.

“Did I hear someone say Petrikov?!” A yell came from one of the rooms off their hallway that nearly scared Bonnibel half to death causing her to yelp. She whipped her head around just in time to see Lady’s boyfriend Jake Mertens stroll around the corner with a beer and a White Claw in his hands.

“Geez Jake; can’t you warn a girl when you’re lurking around in her apartment like a creep?” Bonnibel joked with a hand on her heart. Jake gave a half-hearted shrug and smirk before taking a seat on the couch with Lady. “And yeah, he’s a great professor but his Machine Learning class is kicking my butt this semester.”

“Dude, I told you not to take a 400-level class as a sophomore. I may be a music major, but I’ve heard plenty about the Engineering school and it’s not something to fuck with,” Jake said as he opened his and Lady’s drinks. Bonnibel always appreciated Jake’s sage advice, even if she’d never say it out loud. It was nice back in her freshman year to have someone who was a year ahead of them to tell them what professors to avoid, the best spots to eat on campus, and for Lady, where the best parties were. That was never really Bonnibel’s scene; she preferred to spend a Friday night in her bed watching Netflix and catching up on homework.

“I know, I know, get off my junk about it,” she grumbled as Jake chuckled. “Your refusal to say swear words is just as amusing today as it was when Lady introduced us,” he said as he took a swig of his beer.

“Don’t you two start into THAT debate again,” Lady said, feigning annoyance. “But hey, seriously Bubblegum?”

“Yes?” she asked, unamused.

“Do you remember a silly little promise you made to me at the beginning of this semester?” Lady asked. Bonnibel wracked her brain as she played with a loose string coming off her sweater, but ultimately shook her head sheepishly.

“I’m sorry, Lady, but I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’m talking about when you were going to spend yet another Friday night in alone and Jake said, ‘Peebs you should really come out with us,’ and you said, ‘no I like brooding all alone while my best friends go and have fun.’ Ring a bell?”

“Two things,” Bonnibel started, “one: I hate the variations of my cursed nickname that involve the word princess so cut that biz. And two: I do not brood.” After a night of board games between the three of them after midterms last year where Bonnibel won every game, Jake jokingly called her the princess. It stuck on and now her nicknames came in a wide variety: Princess, Bubblegum, Princess Bubblegum, PB, Peebs, etc.

“Whatever, your highness,” Lady said, evoking a grunt from Bonnibel. “But my main point was, after we had that conversation, you said that as an early birthday present you were giving me a voucher to use at any point this semester. I think it was just to shut me up but I’m using it tonight!” Lady whipped out a small, rectangular piece of paper from her pocket that had Bonnibel’s unmistakably proper cursive handwriting on it. The science student snatched it from her best friend and began to read it.

“This voucher is good for Lady Rainier and Jake Mertens to take Bonnibel Bogart out on one (1) Friday or Saturday evening of their choosing this semester. Bonnibel does not get to say no/whine/complain/argue or any such things of that nature. Ah, geez… I forgot I wrote this,” she groaned. “It’s already 10 p.m., where the heck are we gonna go?” This statement caused Jake and Lady to giggle.

“Man, it's a Friday!” Jake exclaimed as he put his empty beer bottle down and wandered to the kitchen to look for another. “10 p.m. is when things get started.”

“Yeah! And also that sounded a little bit like a complaint,” Lady teased as she wiggled her eyebrows in Bonnibel’s direction.

“Ugh whatever. Just like…” she could feel herself starting to slip into anxiety about what was happening. “Do I need to change? What’s the dress code for wherever you’re taking me? Do I need to bring something?” Lady cut her off before she could keep spiraling.

“No, no, don’t worry about anything like that. You look fine.” She joined Jake in the kitchen, directly behind the living room. “Where we’re going is pretty lowkey, so I think you may actually have some fun and make some friends that aren’t professors.” Jake giggled a bit as he shoved some beers and White Claws from the fridge into Lady’s waiting backpack.

“I doubt it,” Bonnibel muttered under her breath as she sank further into her favorite armchair. The two girls who lived here may have come across like vastly different people, but in reality, were two sides of the same coin. The décor of their shared space reflected this. The furniture had all been carefully chosen by the two of them from secondhand stores and thrift malls. The well-loved, sky-blue sectional took up most of the living room, but they saved room in a corner for a bright pink, brand-new, suede armchair that had somehow found its way to Goodwill. Both women brought posters from their childhood bedrooms, so the walls told stories of pop art and classical music, science and noir films. Tying the room together was a yellow shag rug under a coffee table from the seventies. Bonnibel and Lady had curated the space perfectly for themselves; why would she go to a dumb party?

“Girl, I know moping wasn't on the voucher, but c'mon!” Jake started as he came back to sit directly in front of her on an ottoman. “Lady and I care about you and we want you to have more friends. You’ve seemed lonely this semester.” It was true. Lady and Jake had both grown their friendship circles lately, so she was hanging out with them less and less. More of her nights were spent alone in cafes and classrooms than she cared to admit. Bonnibel sighed and sat up.

“Thanks Jake,” she murmured as she ruffled his hair playfully. “I’ll try to have some fun even if you’re taking me to a party.” She could see why Lady was attracted to him, and if she was less, well, Bonnibel, she probably would be too. Not only was he thoughtful and fun, but he was also cute by all standards. He had brown hair that was shaved on the sides, and he wore large glasses that covered green eyes and rested above a stylish mustache. He was also pretty short, for someone who played volleyball. (Although Lady swore that when he was on the court his limbs stretched out as he ran and jumped like he was the same height as the 6’4 guy he was blocking.) Bonnibel noticed Lady had come back in the room, beaming as she threw her alcohol-filled backpack over her shoulder, and stood by the door waiting for her two favorites to join her.

“Come on Bubblegum, time to socialize!” She and Jake obeyed Lady’s bubbly command and joined her at the door. She took a second to smooth out her khaki shorts so they fell halfway down her thighs, and just like that she was out again, only having gotten to spend 20 glorious minutes at home. As the three pals walked and joked, Bonnibel only got more nervous. She had never been to a party before - what were the expectations? She didn’t know how to dance or converse at these events either…it was going to be a flipping nightmare.

“Awww yeah! There’s the house! You ready PB?” Jake yelled back as he and Lady started to pick up the pace towards a ranch style house on the corner. The lawn was well-kept and the outside was painted a lovely forest green, and as they drew nearer Bonnibel noticed that at least there wasn’t music blasting inside that would give her a headache. That was the only impression she was getting, though, as the curtains were closed all around the house. She kicked up into a run so she could keep up with her taller, faster friends and before she knew it, they were just outside the door.

“Should… should we knock?” Bonnibel asked. Jake looked over at Lady and gave a small smirk, which Bonnibel knew only meant he was about to do something stupid. And sure enough…

“SHELBAAAAAYYYYYY!” Jake screamed as he flung the door open with all his strength and ran inside. She could’ve had a freakin’ heart attack in that instant; what the junk was he doing? It wasn’t until Lady walked in after him, chuckling and shaking her head, that Bonnibel sensed this was a normal thing for Jake to have done, so she walked in after her friends. “SHELBY! I brought us a sixth player!”

Bonnibel was honestly a little stunned when she walked in and saw… nothing? She had been expecting a house packed wall to wall with sweaty, horny 20-somethings grinding, drinking, and making out. She had been expecting music so loud that it would split her head open and a dirty house covered in junk. What she was instead standing in front of was, as far as she could tell, a nerd's living room. Pop culture posters and overflowing bookshelves lined the walls, and every piece of soft furniture had been pushed to the walls to make room for a card table and mismatched set of plastic folding chairs. Just inside, a boy Bonnibel occasionally saw around campus was trying to hang a poster on the wall before Jake had evidently scared the blitz out of him. He was almost as short as Bonnibel was, with a pink mop of hair and dressed in a casual flannel and jeans.

“Jesus Jake!” He yelped as Jake jumped over a chair to give the boy who she supposed was Shelby a bear hug. “How many times have I told you to stop coming in my house like that! You’re gonna give me a heart attack!” All Jake did in return was laugh and pick up the tiny Shelby to spin him around. “Put me down you friggin oaf!” Jake continued giggling but put him down, anyway. “You’re friends with this guy?” Shelby asked as he jerked a thumb towards Jake. It took Bonnibel a long few seconds to realize he was talking to her.

“Oh! Oh yeah, I’m Lady’s roommate so he’s my friend by default.” Bonnibel said with a smile; she knew Jake hated when she said that.

“Ohhh that makes much more sense, I can barely wrap my head around why Lady spends time with him, much less Bonnibel Bogart,” he joked as he stepped towards her, causing Jake to let out a sarcastic ‘hey.’ A small oh crap ran through Bonnibel’s head; Shelby knew her and she had no idea how. “Hey, don’t bug, I don’t expect you to know me. I write for OOU’s alumni magazine. I did a piece on Dr. Petrikov’s research a few weeks ago, and your name came up. Pretty interesting stuff y’all got going on.” Oh thank glob.

“Heh, I really don’t have a poker face, do I?” Bonnibel managed to get out. Shelby shook his head, gesturing at the chairs around the table for them to sit down. “So, it’s nice to meet you. Lady and Jake haven’t told me what we’re up to for the night.”

“Oh what? Jake, are you dragging another innocent person into your Card Wars obsession?” Shelby groaned.

“Ah ah ah, nope.” Lady cut in before Jake could say something like a smart-ass. “Bubblegum here plays CW with us all the time. I just wasn’t telling her what we were up to so she’d actually come out with us.” Lady was starting to unload all the alcohol she had brought. She passed a White Claw to Bonnibel and winked. Bonnibel rolled her eyes; Lady was always trying to get her drunk with them… but hey, when in Rome right?

“Wait, that's all we’re doing? Playing Card Wars?” she asked incredulously.

“Ah, not just any old game of Card Wars!” Shelby proclaimed, gesturing to the poster board on the wall behind Jake’s head. There was a whole tournament bracket ready and made. Bonnibel made sure to quickly take in what she was seeing: J, L, and S were written in a few slots (assuming they stood for Jake, Lady, and Shelby), a blank one which Bonnibel assumed was for her, and then F and LSP. “We are here tonight to have the greatest, all-night Card Wars tournament of the semester!” he boomed in an announcer’s voice. Bonnibel threw a look of shock and delight across the table to Lady. This wasn’t a party; this was a board game night with a group of pals. Lady in response subtly pointed to her phone, which made the girl pick up her own. There was a text from Lady that read:

Lady, 10:32 pm: Told you you’d have fun, anti-social nerd :P

“That sounds so exciting!” she said, turning to Shelby. “Thank you for letting me be a part of tonight’s events.”

“Oh no sweat!” he returned. “We had another friend drop out a few days ago and Lady said she had someone perfect in mind to take her place.”

“Uh yeah! Card Wars is for sure my favorite game. Anything that involves strategy is a winner… for me at least,” Bonnibel chuckled.

“Yeah, watch out for this one,” Jake butted in after a swig of beer, “she DOMINATES.” Jake shot daggers at her that Bonnibel knew were harmless. The four of them continued to make causal conversation about classes and clubs. Shelby asked about the Bubblegum nickname and they all had a laugh about it. And Bonnibel, despite her better judgment, had cracked open some alcohol. She thought it tasted harsh and unsatisfying, though, so she opted to pretend to sip on it for the rest of the night. She was actually starting to let herself feel excited about the night. It was still terrifying, though, to hang out with strangers, especially strangers that were all already friends. She absolutely wouldn’t have preferred a party, but it definitely shifted her fears in a new direction.

About 30 minutes after they got there, the front door was thrown open yet again, scaring the blizz out of everyone.

“THE PARTY IS FRIGGIN HERE! WHERE’S THE DRINKS?” boomed an incredibly jarring voice coming from the door. Bonnibel whipped her head and saw a short girl with poofy, purple hair, giant red lips, and a sparkly purple top. She had her own deck of CW cards in hand, so Bonnibel assumed she was another tournament friend. Lady was throwing the girl a beer while directly behind her a tall boy with a shaggy blonde haircut and large green eyes was stumbling in. He wore a white beanie, a blue shirt, and jeans.

“LSP, would you chill out girl?” the boy said from behind her. “Yo yo yo everybody! Who’s ready to get down with the Card Wars King?” Everybody wooed in response, including Bonnibel, however half hearted she felt about yet more friends coming in.

“Ummmm, you know just being my little bro doesn’t make you in any way heir to my title?” Jake asked.

‘Huh,’ Bonnibel thought, ‘I didn’t know dude had a brother.’

“Whatever whatevs,” was all the boy had to say back with a shake of his hand before he turned his attention to her. “Oh snap! Hey Bonnibel, I didn’t know you were gonna be here!”

‘Ugh, again?’ she thought. “Heyyyyy,” she said out loud with a small wave, hoping the kid would give her a context clue if she let him talk.

“Man I’m sorry, I probably sound like a class-A-creep. We, uh, have a class together. Anthro 219?” he said while rubbing the back of his neck and blushing. ‘Oh yeah! Literally the only elective I have to take this semester,' she thought. She realized now this was the kid who always took the seat next to her in the far back, despite his constant hand-raising and participation. Bonnibel had grown to think of him as annoying – after all, why wouldn't he just sit in the front if he was so eager?

“Oh, Finn, right!” she said, not wanting him to feel as awkward as she did right then. Not knowing what else to say to him, she continued, “I didn’t know you were Jake’s brother.”

“Yup, that’s us, the Mertens boys! Followed in his big bro’s footsteps and came to OOU this year.” Jake popped up and picked his brother up for a bear hug, even though lanky Finn was taller than him. This caused them both to topple to the floor in a laughing heap.

“Ughhhhhh I’m starving!” the girl they called LSP piped up with. “Lana-Sue needs some fricking waffles or something to put in her face hole!” She started waving her arms around dramatically and pointing to her own mouth as Lady gave Bonnibel a knowing look and pointed yet again to her phone.

Lady, 10:58 p.m.: She’s fucking insane, but she’s one of the best friends breakfast foods can buy ;)

“Can you chill for 5 minutes?” Shelby asked. “We’ve got pizza coming and also I wanna get started before it’s too late if y’all don’t mind.” Everyone around the table nodded in agreement.

Throughout the night, Bonnibel used what remained of her logic and brain power to make a mental map of her newfound friend group's relationships. She learned that Jake and Shelby had met their freshman year in Music Theory I; their dynamic was the foundation of this group, along with their bandmate that didn’t show tonight. Then Lana-Sue came next; as a theater major, she had the chance to star in a production the music department was playing for and the rest was history. As for Lady, she and Jake met at the East Asian Studies club and were both ecstatic that the other was fluent in Korean (Lady’s family were first generation Americans from South Korea, and Jake just thought it’d be a neat language to learn). Finn had only been at school for a few months at that point, so his brother’s friends were his friends. Bonnibel envied how nice it probably was to have a built-in support system waiting for you like that.

She reminisced about coming into college knowing absolutely nobody. She wanted it that way; it’s why she ultimately chose OOU. It was out-of-state and everything unfamiliar she needed. It wasn’t like she had many friends in high school anyway, and she preferred feeling lonely on a campus full of strangers to feeling lonely in a room full of people she knew. Lady was the first friend she made. Her bright-eyed, brilliant roommate was the first person she’d made a genuine connection with in a long time. It took plenty of time before she let Jake get that same level of trust, but she was starting to think they’d grown closer than she and Lady had been. Going through almost a year and a half of being friends with only two people had been lonely though. But being here tonight, and learning about a group of people who seemed to welcome her with open arms, was something that gave her the slightest glimmer of hope for the future.

She learned that Lana-Sue, the biggest drama queen in existence, was actually a great strategist; that Shelby was an incredibly kind soul (which translated into being an awesome host); and that Finn was uber competitive just like his older brother. That evening, when the tournament disbanded and Jake was crowned Card Wars king yet again, she was no longer thinking of her perfect apartment or the abandoned homework assignment. Maybe Jake and Lady had done her a bigger favor than any of them knew.

Chapter Text

The next “morning” (more like 1 p.m. since they didn’t get home until 4 a.m.) Bonnibel felt like she was on cloud nine. She almost didn’t even care that she had slept half the day away…almost. She did still have a mini freakout and quickly threw on sweatpants, an OOU sweatshirt, and threw her hair into a quick ponytail before rushing to the kitchen. She had to work on that cursed project today! Lady and Jake were already in there, barely awake and nursing steaming cups of coffee. Lady, who was sitting on the counter next to the coffee maker, smiled and silently poured her a travel mug.

“Thanks,” Bonnibel barely grumbled. The instant she put the mug to her lips, she felt herself become slightly more of a person. Lady gave the “ok” symbol with her hands, which Bonnibel knew meant that the girl was hungover and didn’t want many words uttered between them. She waved goodbye to Jake, whose head was resting on their tiny kitchen table, staring at his phone. She chuckled to herself at her friends’ expense and headed out the door.

The biting October afternoon air was almost more effective than the coffee in waking her up. She took a deep breath, tightened her grip on her backpack straps, and headed off to the café under a cloudless sky. It was called “Breakfast Kingdom” and it was the most underrated spot on campus according to Bonnibel. It was at the far end of everything behind the science building. Out of the way enough that many students didn’t know about it, but convenient for after class cups o’ joe. She walked in and took a big whiff of coffee and sizzling bacon. The inside of the café was set up like a 50s diner. Fire-engine red dominated the décor, the floor was checkered in black and white, and there was a jukebox in the corner, currently set to “Yakety Yak” by The Coasters.

“Miss Bogart!” came a call with a sweet southern lilt from behind the bar. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to get to see my favorite customer today.” The voice came from a little older lady, dressed in era-appropriate waitress clothes, with a pen sticking out of her blonde perm. This was Theresa “Tee” Trunks, the owner of the Breakfast Kingdom. She was famous for whipping up pancakes, bacon, and a slice of apple pie that could cure depression itself.

“Hi Miss Trunks,” Bonnibel said as she approached the counter. “Yeah, I know, I slept in today.” She took a seat at the empty counter and looked around. There was one other student there, and he had headphones on so it seemed she was free to gossip.

“I’ll say!” Tee said as she poured Bonnibel a cup of coffee with a heavy splash of cream, five sugars, and some whip. “It’s a Saturday so I expected you to be waiting when I got here at 7.” 

“Well, you’ll be pleased to hear that I went out last night,” the girl said with a smile as she took her sweet drink from Tee. The older woman looked like she was about to fall over as Bonnibel’s words hit her ears. “You know my roommate Lady?” Tee nodded. “Well, she took me to a game night with her friends and we all got along very well.”

“Oh my darling, I’m so excited for you!” she gushed. “I’ve been telling you since last year you need to start putting yourself out there.”

“I know, and I’m finally taking you up on the advice so now maybe I can stop getting grilled for doing homework on Saturdays,” she joked as she reached for her laptop that was sticking out of her backpack. Miss Trunks waved her off and went back into the kitchen to prepare Bonnibel’s order. It was the same every time: confetti pancakes with a side of chopped fruit. Now that she was set up for the day, Bonnibel could finally take another crack at her program for Dr. Petrikov. ‘Hey,’ she thought, ‘maybe it’ll make more sense now that I haven’t looked at it for almost a day.’

It did not. She came at this project from almost every angle she could think of, painstakingly scrolling over every single line to look for ways to improve. Two orders of confetti pancakes and fruit came, were devoured, and the number of plates stacked in front of her became how she measured time. When 6 p.m. rolled around, Bonnibel was so focused that she didn’t notice the door to the café slam open, or that someone was approaching her from behind.

“Oh… my… GLOOOOOB!” Bonnibel jumped out of her seat, almost knocking her coffee into her lap as she whipped her head around to see what the- “Bonnibel Bubblegum right?” It was Lana-Sue from the night before. She was unmistakable with her unruly purple hair, although she was dressed much more casually today in an outfit similar to her own.

“Yeah, hey, Lana-Sue, right?” Bonnibel coughed out. “Well, actually no… Bo-Bogart is my last name.” 

“Riiiight, right.” Lana-Sue waved sporadically and Bonnibel noticed Miss Trunks coming around the counter to give her a hug. “My favorite chef in the freaking world! How are youuuuu?”

“I’m doing so well darling, now that my two favorite customers are both here,” she smiled as she looked between Lana and Bonnibel. “Let me go get your waffles started for you and then we can all chat.” Bonnibel tensed up instantly, as she was not prepared to hang out with someone from Lady’s group all by herself. But it looked like there was no backing out now, as Lana-Sue was already pulling out the stool directly next to her and retrieving her own laptop. It was noticeably quiet for a few minutes as neither LSP nor Bonnibel were breaking the ice; only the sounds of clacking keyboards filled the restaurant. 

“Sooooo,” LSP started, “kinda wild that we both come in here like all the time and have never talked.” Bonnibel felt a pang of guilt in her chest; she’d never noticed LSP before. Which when she thought about it, was kind of absurd because of how noticeable she was. It made her more embarrassed that LSP had clearly noticed her before too. 

“Yeah, haha, crazy.” ‘Lame, lame, lame! Say something else!’ “I’m pretty…well, I usually keep to myself. I have so much schoolwork right now.”

“Oh girl, fucking tell me about it. I have a 10-page script due by Monday, and the stupid professor didn’t even assign it until Friday! Can you believe?” Bonnibel wanted to scoff but managed to keep it inside. This girl thought 10 pages of creative writing was hard? She should try to look at Bonnibel’s code for even a second and see if her head could even comprehend what she was looking at.

“Nah, can’t believe at all,” was all Bonnibel could manage as she went back to typing. LSP seemed to take the hint and went back to typing on her own screen. Eventually Miss Trunks came back out and talked with LSP for a while. Bonnibel picked up on certain topics as their words filtered through her brain fog. They talked about cars, LSP’s new nail polish color, and Miss Trunk’s new boyfriend, all while she was losing her mind next to them. Bonnibel looked down at her phone and let out a frustrated “ughhhhhhh.” It was now 8:30 and she still hadn’t made any progress.

“Girl are you okay?” Bonnibel jumped a little in her chair; she hadn’t even realized LSP was still sitting next to her.

“Uh yeah, well no I mean…ugh. I’ve been working on this project for my Machine Learning class for two weeks now and have gotten absolutely nowhere. I’m about ready to go to the professor and tell him he needs to pick another research assistant,” Bonnibel muttered as she lowered her head to the counter.

“Mhmm, girl I know what you mean. There’ve been times when I thought I was gonna be perfect for a role, but no matter how much I rehearsed I couldn’t nail it y’know?” She wanted to snap and say that she didn’t know, and that LSP didn’t relate to what Bonnibel was going through at all. But instead all she did was grip her own arms until there were nail indents in them. “Oh hey, is that Python?” Bonnibel’s ears perked up. ‘Huh?’

“Um yeah, I’m using it to write a statistical--” she started.

“Oh my glob! Sorry for snooping all up on ya but I took a few computer science classes a few years back and couldn’t help but sneak a peek.” Bonnibel grew more dumbfounded by the second.

“You…took programming classes…here?”

“Um cha! What, you think I’m not smart enough for it?” Bonnibel started to sputter and shake her head before LSP cut her off with laughter. “Nah girl I know that’s not what you meant. I was only supposed to take one for a math credit but I ended up loving it so damn much that I took a few more classes. I guess I have a computer science minor now or whatever.” Bonnibel had no idea what to say. She felt like a little bit of an ass for judging this girl off tops like that. Her face turned from pink to red as Lana-Sue kept explaining which classes she had taken and which professors were “garbo.” That’s when Bonnibel, as embarrassed as she was, decided there was something she could do (to make herself feel better about being judgy).

“Hey, um, I know you were supposed to be working on your own stuff but is there any – I don’t know – chance you could maybe – WHOA,” Bonnibel was cut off mid-sentence by her laptop being snatched from her hands as Lana-Sue settled it on her own lap.

“Um ya! You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for you to ask.” Bonnibel gave a soft smile as she saw Lana’s face turn into intense focus as she scanned over the program. Bonnibel started scrolling through Twitter, thinking she was about to be here for a while, when not even five minutes later LSP looked up.

“Your nested loops? Lines 145-190?” Bonnibel nodded as if to tell her to continue. “They don’t make sense. Your math looks good but this part is so jimbo jammed up everything is happening in the wrong order.” The girl was, yet again, dumbfounded. LSP, the theatre major , just schooled her in programming. She didn’t know whether to feel embarrassed or impressed. “Heh, Shelbs was right, you don’t have a poker face.” Cue the reddening of the cheeks yet again.

“Ah flip, I didn’t mean to imply—”

“Nah it’s cool.” Bonnibel found herself getting cut off mid-sentence a lot more than she was used to. “Peeps in the sciences don’t really get peeps in the arts. It’s like oil and water, they don’t jive. You think I try to comprehend why you waste your time in the engineering school? Nuh-uh.” Bonnibel smiled. LSP was an alright chick, and she noticed she had finally relaxed and looked around the diner to see it…hopping. There were students in almost every booth laughing, eating, or studying. Miss Trunks had left a few hours ago and the night cook Walt had taken over.

“I didn’t know this place was so popular…” Bonnibel mused to herself out loud.

“Um, cha, Bubblegum. Haven’t you ever been in here past 6? This is the only 24-hour café on campus, this is the eatery at night.” Bonnibel noted that she in fact, had never been in here at night before, and the atmosphere was electric.

“Hey, thanks for taking a look at my program for me, I super appreciate it,” Bonnibel said as she left $25 on the counter to pay for all her food and slipped her laptop in her bag.

“Anytime girl…WAIT!” Bonnibel quickly realized that if she and Lana-Sue were going to be friends she needed to get used loud, random outbursts. “Gimme your phone!” And before she knew it, Bonnibel had obliged and handed LSP her unlocked iPhone. She tapped around a little bit before pulling the other girl in for a selfie. Bonnibel raised her eyebrows, smiled, and held up a peace sign as LSP pouted her lips and threw her arm around Bonnibel’s shoulders. She said bye to LSP and stepped out into the dark, starting the long trek home.

She looked through her phone to see what exactly Lana had done and saw something that made her stomach drop. At the top of her messages was a new thread: Kings and Queens of the Card Wars Scene. Bonnibel couldn’t believe her eyes as she looked through. There were six other numbers in the chat, three of which belonged to Jake, Lady, and Lana-Sue, who added her own in the girl’s phone. Lana-Sue seemed to text herself off Bonnibel’s phone and then added her to their group chat! She looked at the most recent message, which was from Lana.

Lana-Sue Pratchett<3 😉 , 8:45 p.m.: y’all Bubblegum has entered the chat!

Jake, 8:45 p.m.: oh snap, biz just got real 

Unknown, 8:45 p.m.: Whaddup whaddup girl! ‘Okay, so that has to be Finn’, she thought as she added his number to a new contact. They texted back and forth as she tried to piece together who was who from the messages that were coming though. She wished she had access to old messages so she could creep a little bit. She was still curious as to who the unnamed, so-far-unknown bandmate was that Jake and Shelby seemed so fond of and wanted her to meet so badly. When Bonnibel had asked Jake of her whereabouts or for any clues Jake just said that he wanted the two of them to meet organically so she could love the bandmate just as much as he did. ‘Whatever,’ she thought, ‘I’ll meet her soon enough.’

She was about halfway home when she decided to take a shortcut through the quad. The quad consisted of a beautiful sloping green hill that met a gigantic lawn that backed right up to the off-campus neighborhoods. Bonnibel didn’t like cutting through there during the day because it was normally packed with leisuring students, but at night it was peaceful and mostly empty, save for a few stragglers. She whistled to herself and continued to giggle at the group chat. The newness of Bonnibel wore off pretty quickly as the gang settled back into sending memes and trying to coordinate when they’d all be having brunch together tomorrow.

Lady, 8:57 p.m.: PB your welcome to join us ofc! The latest message came with a gif of a cartoon character giving a big thumbs up. Several others in the chat “hearted” the message indicating they agreed. She started to feel a warm, fuzzy light fill her chest. They wanted to hang out with her again. It was a new feeling she could get used to—‘WHOA!’

Bonnibel’s thoughts were cut short as she tripped, seemingly out of nowhere, and fell face first into the dirt. Her glasses launched themselves off her face and since it was dark, she could barely see anything. She grunted to herself as she jerked off the ground onto her hands and knees and started flailing around to find her glasses. The feeling of panic  grew when she realized there was someone giggling really close to where she was. She squinted her eyes and darted them around until she could barely make out the shape of a person, sitting maybe a foot away from her. The person was barely lit up by probably a flashlight and had something huge in her lap and was now laughing uncontrollably. Bonnibel’s fire only grew. ‘Who the hell was this girl to flippin laugh at me?’

“Hey! Dude, what the H?!” Bonnibel started in as angry a voice as she could muster. The girl’s laughter calmed down a bit, hearing bite in Bonnibel’s voice.

“Yo, chill.” Bonnibel could hear what sounded like a guitar, but with a wayyy lower pitch, being lazily strummed. “Not my fault you weren’t looking where you were going.” The girl’s voice was low and cool. It would’ve been described as soothing if Bonnibel wasn’t fuming from what it just said. Bonnibel knocked into what felt like the other girl’s ankle with her knee and realized she tripped over the girl herself who’d obviously refused to move out of the way.

“Chill? CHILL? You just tripped me and now my glasses are lost! What kind of impolite…” Bonnibel trailed off and started grumbling to herself as she felt the grass for a sign of her eyewear. Normally, she would barely have the confidence to say so much as a ‘sorry,’ when she bumped into someone, but today she was on edge. Maybe it was the wrench in her routine, maybe it was residual anxiety from hanging out with the group last night and LSP today, or maybe she had been wound too tight lately and this was the straw that broke the camel’s back. A rude girl who didn’t even apologize for tripping her.

“Oh whoa whoa, hold the phone,” the other girl started, showing a bit of the same fight as she put her guitar to the side. “Number one: I didn’t trip you on purpose, I was relaxing and your princess ass is upset I didn’t lay down a red carpet. Number two: your glasses are right in front of your face, are you blind?” Oooooh there was nothing that got Bonnibel riled up like the princess nickname; this girl didn’t know what she started. She felt around on the grass a bit more to the left and her hand bumped a lens. She beamed for only a second before putting the glasses on and turning to face the offender with a scowl.

The girl was… interesting. If she hadn’t had a flashlight Bonnibel probably wouldn’t have seen her at all. She was dressed in black jeans, black boots, and a black t-shirt with some band Bonnibel had never heard of on it. Her slightly curly hair was equally jet black and fell across her tan face and black eyes; it would’ve reached her waist had it not been tied up. She was adorned with an eyebrow piercing and a few stick-n-poke tattoos. 

“I’m basically blind without my glasses,” Bonnibel started in a low voice, “which usually isn’t a problem when I don’t run into jerks on my way home.”

“Ooooooh a jerk! The princess called me a jerk! I’m so upset!” the other girl said with a laugh, which only made Bonnibel feel like she was on fire. “Whatever, run along home to your castle.”

“Ooooooh the vampire’s got one good joke, hold your applause people, maybe we’ll get a sick one-liner about a horse-drawn carriage!” Bonnibel basically spat out as she stood up, partially to start on home, and partially to have the high ground if this continued.

“Thanks for the compliment, sugar,” the girl said with a smile. “You really think little old me could pass for a vampire?” The girl stood up too – she was a solid few inches taller than Bonnibel, which took away her high ground advantage.

“It WASN’T a COMPLIMENT, MONSTER TRASH!” Bonnibel yelled. At this point, the girl was keeled over laughing, clearly just getting pure amusement out of whatever was happening. 

“Hahahaha! Girl is feisty!” Bonnibel felt her rage starting to boil over and knew that if she didn’t leave soon, she’d end up slapping her or something else she’d regret. So she turned around and left as fast as she could, ending up at her apartment in half the time it usually took. She slammed the front door shut and made a beeline to the hallway separating her and Lady’s bedrooms, where Lady had just emerged with wide eyes.

“Whoa honey, you okay?” Lady asked.

“I’M FINE!” Bonnibel surprised herself with how loud she yelled. Lady jumped back about a foot and put her hands in front of her to protect herself, which made both of them let out a small, nervous laugh. “Ugh I’m sorry, I ran into some jerk wad on the way home and I’ve been on edge lately so I just lost it a bit.”

“Hey, don’t worry,” Lady said as she pulled her into a hug. “I knew things had been going in a weird direction for you lately so I cancelled my plans with Jake tonight.” Bonnibel opened her mouth to protest but was quickly shushed. “Ah bup bup bup! We’ll be having a girl’s night. I’m going to paint your fingernails in exchange for you making some of those delicious cookies you’ve baked before, then we’re going to watch some classic 80’s movies! You’ll forget all about that jerk wad in no time.” Bonnibel realized quickly that arguing with Lady on this would’ve been futile. She hated feeling like people were moving things around just for her, but when Lady wanted to do something there was no stopping her. So, they did exactly as she said they would.

The girls hung out in the kitchen as Bonnibel pulled up a recipe for cookies she had written down in her phone. She had it all but memorized at this point, but one could never be too careful. They yelled and laughed and threw flour at each other as the cookies baked. When they had been pulled out of the oven and carefully stacked on a paper plate the girls made their way to the living room and Lady put on The Breakfast Club. Lady had just finished painting Bonnibel’s left nails and was moving on to the right when they delved into a conversation sparked by the film.

“Do you think high school was actually like this in the 80s or is this another attempt by adults to make a relatable film for teens and failing?” Bonnibel asked, head resting on one of her kneecaps as Lady meticulously obsessed over each finger.

“Mmmmm…probably a mix of both. What exactly do you mean?”

“Well, it’s just, I’ve seen this movie so many times and there are things I can never grasp. Like they’re making fun of that one chick for being a virgin, but how many people actually lose their virginity in high school?” Bonnibel asked. “How many people actually have access to cannabis? You know what I mean?” She looked over at Lady who had her lips flattened into a straight line and looked like she didn’t know what to say. “What?”

“Okay, prepare to have your mind blown,” Lady said as she finished up one of Bonnibel’s nails. “I…actually lost my virginity in high school. And I went to plenty of parties my senior year that involved the…devil’s lettuce if you know what I mean,” Lady laughed. Bonnibel’s eyes went wide and her face turned a deeper pink than usual. 

“Well, what…I mean, you were such a cool kid though. Of course all the cool kids did that stuff…” Bonnibel trailed off.

“Hold on,” Lady said, putting Bonnibel’s hand down and picking up her phone. “Let’s take a poll.”

“What the blip are you doing?” Bonnibel asked. But before she could be given an answer, her phone buzzed with one text right after the other:

Kings and Queens of the Cards Wars Scene: 2 new messages

“Ladyyyy what did you say,” she whined as she opened the group chat. She saw links to a separate app that allowed you to create closed polls for your friends to vote in, and there were two of them. One read, “Did you lose your virginity in high school: Yes or No” and the other, “Did you ever smoke weed in high school: Yes or No?”

“I didn’t say anything about you asking, see Peebs?” Lady teased. “I’m just curious now if my experience was unique or not.” And right on cue, both their phones buzzed with another message.

Jake, 10:13 p.m.: ooooo girl’s nights getting interesting huh @ peebs and lady?

“I do not control my boyfriend and his inability to shut up!” Lady said quickly, throwing her hands in the air. It made Bonnibel giggle as she monitored the polls for the results. Over the next 10 minutes she saw the names of her friends pop up on Lady’s poll tallies. Under the “No” column on both questions were only the names Bubblegum and Finn. ‘Not surprising,’ she thought. Even though he and Jake were brothers, they seemed very different. Bonnibel chuckled to herself and looked at the “Yes” columns now. There were the rest of them: Jake, Lady, LSP, and someone named…Worm?

“Worm?” Bonnibel asked.

“Oh, that’s Shelby! Shelby Wormon…WORMon. Yeah, we’re not creative,” she said. Bonnibel let out a small “ah,” and went to put the phone down when she saw the message “FINAL VOTE CAST” on her phone. Wasn’t Shelby the last one?

Nope, as it turned out. Someone named Marceline had closed the voting by choosing yes on both polls. Marceline…that must be the unnamed bandmate of Jake’s! She didn’t know of any Marcelines at the OOU though, and it wasn’t exactly a common name. So she did the first thing any rational scientist would do: research. She pulled up Twitter, Instagram, and any other social media app she could think of to search for Marceline, but nothing came up. ‘Drat, she must not have any socials …’

“Hey, what are you all focused on over there PB? I gotta finish your right hand.” The girl gave her hand back to her roommate and finally put her phone down, deciding her search had been futile.

“Jake and you slipped up,” she said teasingly. “I saw the mystery friend’s name on your poll: it’s Marceline! I tried to search her up on socials but she didn’t freaking come up.”

“Heh, we didn’t slip up you goof,” Lady explained. “I expected Marceline to answer the damn chat sometime this weekend, and Jake was okay if you knew her first name. She doesn’t go by it on any social media, that’s why it didn’t come up.”

“I still don’t get the game of keeping any knowledge of her from me until we meet in person. What’s the point?” Bonnibel asked.

“It’s Jake’s weird hang-up. He didn’t want to tell you about any of the other friends before you met them either, even Finn. He didn’t want you to come up with any pre-judgements about any of them before hanging out with them.” Bonnibel cringed a bit, remembering how she somehow still managed to do that with Lana-Sue, and understood why Jake wanted her to go in blind when meeting their buds. Soon enough, Lady had finished painting her roommates nails and they were gorgeous! Bonnibel studied all the intricate little designs of rainbows and ice cream cones painted delicately on. She thanked Lady and they hung out for a bit longer, chatting about nothing. Eventually, Bonnibel couldn’t stifle her yawn any longer, and said she needed to get going to bed.

“Oh yeah me too,” Lady said, returning the yawn. “We have the brunch tomorrow at noon at Jake’s place. Speaking of which… are you coming?”

“For sure,” Bonnibel said, not even having to think about it for a second. “Do I finally get to meet the elusive Marceline?”

“Yay! I’m so glad you like all of them!” Lady said while clapping. “Unfortunately no, Marceline can hardly ever make it on Sundays, she usually has family stuff going on.” Bonnibel and Lady went over some quick details, the former deciding she would run to the store in the morning to bring some drinks, and said goodnight. Bonnibel could hardly sleep that night; she felt high on the gross sappy feelings making their way into her chest.

Chapter Text

The next morning started for Bonnibel around 7 a.m. She was finally back to her usual weekend wakeup time after Friday night's festivities had thrown her routine for a loop. She all but leapt out of bed with a smile on her face. After showering, combing out her hair, and getting dressed in her usual fall sweater and high-waisted skirt combo, she walked to the convenience store at the edge of her neighborhood. She picked up orange, apple, and grapefruit juice just to be safe. After pondering over it for just a second, she decided to grab some strawberry lemonade as well, because you could never be too careful as everyone had different tastes. It was a small bonus that she loved strawberry lemonade.

She turned back down the aisle to the juices, and just as she was fumbling around with the three others in her hands to make room for a fourth, a tan hand snatched the last two liter! Bonnibel gasped as she dropped all three other bottles out of her hand, thankfully none of which exploded. She scoffed before she looked up to see who rudely snatched the last one when she was clearly… “Oh you’ve gotta be freaking kidding me.”

And there she stood, the jerk wad from the night before, only this time in better lighting and with a big ass smirk on her face. Bonnibel’s face instantly went sour as icy blue eyes met deep black ones. She looked the girl up and down and got a better look at her tattoos: on her neck were two black dots that looked like a vampire bite (‘Oh that must’ve been why she laughed at me calling her a vampire.’), on her wrist was “bite me” in shaky handwriting, and a tiny, cartoon axe rested behind her ear. 

“’Fraid not princess. What a sweet little coincidence running into you again, ” she said as she tossed the two liter between her hands teasingly.

“Nothing is sweet about this,” Bonnibel fired back. “Now if you’d kindly hand that to me, I was clearly trying to reach for it before someone’s goblin hand took it from the shelf.” This caused the “vampire” from last night to laugh again – and her laugh was infuriating to Bonnibel.

“Damn you really aren’t gonna give up your little grudge huh? And for what,” she suddenly switched to a baby voice, “because I wouldn’t apologize for having the gall to exist in your presence?”

“ My little grudge?” Bonnibel retorted. “I haven’t done bunk! You were the one who tripped me, refused to apologize, and is now taking the last lemonade purely to spite someone she doesn’t even know the name of!”

“And let’s keep it that way princess, it’s more fun,” the frustrating girl winked. This caused Bonnibel’s cheeks to redden, but out of embarrassment or anger she didn’t quite know yet. Then the other girl swiftly opened the lemonade and took a swig straight from the bottle. It was the last straw. Bonnibel wasn’t proud, but on instinct she leaned forward and quickly smacked the bottom of the bottle, causing it to spill all over the other girl’s front. She pulled back fast; eyes wide with regret at what she’d done. The other girl was staring back at her with an unreadable expression. Surprise? Anger? Puzzlement? Almost as quick as she dropped them, Bonnibel had picked up the three other juices and ran to the front, throwing $10 on the counter praying that covered it, and ran towards her apartment. She quickly reached her front door, and ran inside. She set all the juice down on the coffee table and put her head in her hands. A few seconds later she heard Lady’s bedroom door open.

“Hey honey, Jake just got here to help me — are you alright?” Lady asked. Bonnibel realized she had extremely red cheeks, was out of breath from running, and had a bit of pink lemonade spilled on her sweater. ‘At least the sweater was pink anyway,’ she thought.

“Ugh honestly no,” she said. “Remember that jerk wad I was telling you about last night?” She pulled her head up to make eye contact and saw that Jake was just behind her roommate in the hallway.

“There was a jerk wad?” he asked.

“A huge one,” Bonnibel said. “I saw her again at the convenience store.”

“Ugh I’m sorry honey, you can rant to all of us about it later when we get to Jake’s house,” Lady said as she stroked her friend’s hair. “We just got all our ingredients together and wanna get them over there before they get gross.” Bonnibel nodded and started helping them put stuff in Jake’s car. She couldn’t get out of her own head the whole time. On the drive over, all she could keep thinking was why the H had she acted like that? She’s usually not quick to anger, and she especially never takes that anger out on other people. She was already thinking about how she could never show her face in that store again, not that it was much of a loss. 

They arrived at Jake’s off-campus house. It was a two-story craftsman, but he only had access to the first floor. The three buds grabbed every bowl, covered plate, and utensil out of Jake’s trunk and carried it all into his house. It looked like your typical college-aged boy’s house. Not expertly decorated by any means, but it still gave off a homely feel with worn-in furniture, a few wall decorations made from beer cans and old band merch, and a few family pictures here and there. Bonnibel got right to work putting everything in its place in the kitchen while Lady and Jake began setting up his dining room. She was easily the best cook out of the three, so Lady and Jake were thrilled when she agreed to cook almost everything. Bonnibel, being a perfectionist in the kitchen, was happy to oblige. She whipped up gargantuan proportions of scrambled eggs, breakfast potatoes, bacon, sausage, toast, and pancakes. Basically, if you could imagine a breakfast option, Bonnibel was cooking it up.

“It smells freaking incredible in here!” said a voice she recognized instantly as Finn’s as the front door creaked open. He wandered in the kitchen with whipped cream, strawberries, and sprinkles. “PB! I didn’t know you were a chef.”

“Heh, I like to think of myself as one anyway…” she said as she tried to scrape a particularly stubborn piece of bacon from the bottom of her pan.

“Well never fear, I have decided to be a gracious help and bring toppings for the pancakes!” he said proudly gesturing to his pile. 

“Your gift is most appreciated, my hero,” she joked. It was silent for a moment after Finn finished giggling and opened his phone, so Bonnibel took the opportunity to get back to work. She turned around and continued diligently as she had about three pans going at once, all with different heats and cooking times.

“Where’d you learn how to do all this?” And just like that, the spatula that was in her hand fell into the hot bacon grease and popped it up onto her arms.

“BLITZ!” she yelped and started furiously brushing her arms off as Finn watched on in embarrassed horror. She yanked the spatula back up and took a deep breath. “I’m so sorry I have no idea what came over me just then. I uh…learned to cook when I was little.”

“Yeah, for sure, uh sorry for the personal biz,” he said, “I just…think you’re pretty neat and think we should get to know each other more,” he spat out quickly.

“Oh yeah, no doy,” she said as she turned around to face him. His face lit up with delight. “Jake’s like my best friend besides Lady, of course I want to be friends with his little brother too.” She saw his face falter just the tiniest bit. ‘What the junk? I literally just said I want to be friends with him; what could I have possibly said to hurt his feelings?’ Despite a bit of awkwardness after that, they had some nice conversations. They talked about how Finn’s first semester was going – he was taking his first criminal justice class! They griped about their shared anthropology professor who seemed to take delight in sucking the fun out of a room, and they joked about Jake and his weird hang-up about introducing them.

It wasn’t long, though, before they were joined by LSP and Shelby, who had thrown open the door to scare Jake just as he had done to them several times. As they all laughed it off Bonnibel silently wondered if that would ever get old. LSP had thrown herself next to Finn, and joined them in their gossip session as they sat at the island across from Bonnibel. Even Shelby had a few words about a couple of gen-ed professors to contribute before she finished cooking.

As the group finally gathered around the table and dug into the food, that’s when the real gossip session began (of course, not before everyone showered Bonnibel with compliments about her cooking). Lady gave them all a run-down of a very over-eager freshman in the studio art class she was a TA for. They never stop asking questions that weren’t even relevant to the lesson; they just wanted to show off their knowledge. Jake talked crap about some idiot he ran into at one of his basement music shows who “wouldn’t know talent if it slapped him.” And Lana-Sue, mouth characteristically full of waffles, was finishing things off by telling them all about the cutest new pizza delivery boy at Pizza Sassy’s.

“Let me fucking tell you bitches he. Stole. My. HEART!” she wailed into Shelby’s shoulder. He looked less than amused as he mouthed ‘What the fuck?’ in Lady and Bonnibel’s direction.

“LSP, you talked to him twice for 30 seconds, what are you expecting here?” Jake asked as he took another bite of his eggs.

“I don’t know, maybe a friggin phone number on the box?! A romantic gesture JAKE!”

“Girl, you are class-A-insane in your deepest membrane,” Shelby said, drawing a laugh from the group. All Lana-Sue had to say in response was a small sob into his shoulder that nobody could tell was fake or real.

“So…Peebs!” Finn’s eyes darted around the table trying to find someone to direct the conversation towards. She almost choked on her bacon as he continued, “You seeing anyone lately?” Well, straight to the point, I guess.

“Uh, nah…not at all.” Bonnibel was all of sudden very interested in the piece of cheese clinging to a particular piece of potato and was working diligently to separate them.

“Oh, word. Word…” Finn clearly was lacking in his ability to carry a conversation and looked to his older brother like a lost puppy.

“Heh, actually guy, PB’s got the opposite problem. Sounds like there’s a new beef brewing on campus and I’m feeling gossipy and wanna know what happened,” Jake said, leaning across Lady and making a point to get Bonnibel’s attention off her plate. Bonnibel giggled at his honesty and finally put her fork down.

“Okay, you guys feeling gossipy and also down to hear me rant about something stupid? And also Lady… I might’ve done something stupid in return so don’t yell at me later,” she said, smiling sheepishly at her roommate. Everyone nodded in response to her previous question, and even LSP had picked her head off Shelby to listen. “Alright, so it started after LSP and I hung out at the Breakfast Kingdom…” Bonnibel recounted the events of the previous night and this morning, of the mysterious girl whose track record for Annoying Bonnibel was growing by the minute. “…and after she took a drink in the middle of the aisle, I might’ve lost my patience a bit.” She looked around the table and everyone seemed enthralled with the story; they had been nodding and frowning along with every detail.

“Pfft, what did you do honey? Call her a butthead?” Lady laughed.

“I…might’ve poured the lemonade down the front of her…” Bonnibel said softly. As Shelby, Finn, and LSP started losing their minds laughing, Jake and Lady’s mouths were hanging slack-jawed and their eyes were bugging. The girl buried her head in her hands to avoid the shame.

“You? Bonnibel “Princess Bubblegum” Bogart, threw a drink on a girl who was being rude to you?” Lady asked as if Bonnibel had said she’d slayed a dragon.

“There’s no way!” Jake followed.

“Hey, you saw me come home with some of the residual damage on my own sweater!” she yelled. “She had it coming okay, I mean I know I’m making a thing of it but who trips someone with their stupid guitar and doesn’t apologize?” 

“Guitar? Ooooooh mystery bitch is a musician Jake, maybe we got her number?” Shelby joked, sticking his fork at his buddy.

“Bro, everyone and their mother plays guitar, most of them not music majors,” Jake said as he stuffed his face with more sausage and toast.

“Yeah, for real, and maybe it wasn’t even her guitar that tripped me but still…she was playing it so badly too. I remember thinking this sounds way too low to be coming from a guitar. ”

“Hmm,” Jake started after he finally swallowed the mouthful of food, “wait, did this ‘guitar’ have four strings?”

“Hm, now that you mention it, yes! Hot head probably broke the rest of them off…” she mused as she took a drink of her third cup of orange juice.

“Oh well then honey we ain’t lookin for a guitar playa, we lookin for a BASS…playa…” Jake trailed off and furrowed his brow and pulled out his phone.

“Oh whatever, bass and guitar are the same thing,” Shelby piped up, then looked over at Bonnibel. “Don’t ever let Jake or Marceline catch you saying that. They’re the string instrument experts,” he stage whispered.

“I mean I’d probably have that opinion anyway. I’m what Jake calls a musical peasant, right bud?” Bonnibel asked. She turned her head only to see both Lady and Jake engrossed in their phones. She looked to Shelby and gave a shrug. 

“What the stink Jake?” Finn scolded his brother. “If mom could see you right now, she’d throw a fit, phone all up in your face at the brunch table!”

“Let people be on their phones wherever they want Finn! What are you, my freaking parents?” LSP grumbled as she too, had been on her phone for almost the entirety of the meal. Shelby and Bonnibel shared a good laugh over LSP and Finn’s ensuing argument before Lady leaned over towards her.

“Hey, honey,” she whispered over to Bonnibel, “can you join me in the kitchen for a quick sec?” Bonnibel gave a nod as Lady stood up to take her plate into the kitchen. Bonnibel assumed she needed help doing some dishes so she took a second to finish up her food before bringing her own empty plate. She heard Jake and Shelby starting to argue about his bass vs. guitar comment as she walked into the kitchen to see Lady washing plates.

“I’ll dry then?” she offered. Lady simply smiled and handed her a wet dish and a towel. The two stood in silence for a moment, simply enjoying the other’s company as they did a mundane task together. Lady was the first one to break the quiet.

“So, this girl, er, jerk wad you encountered last night,” she started, keeping her eyes on the sink, “you said you saw her in the quad?” Bonnibel gave Lady a raised eyebrow in return to the question. “Look, I wanna see if I can figure out who you’re talking about. M-maybe we could get revenge if we do!”

“Heh, no chance I ever wanna see her face again, even for revenge. But yeah, it was in the quad round bout 9 pm, right before I got home. Why, you know the entire student body’s personal schedule?” Bonnibel joked as she nudged Lady with her elbow. The girls laughed for a second.

“Well I guess not,” Lady seemed to relax a little, but she hadn’t even realized her friend was tense. Bonnibel silently wondered what could be wrong. “Um…what did she look like? I just realized I never asked.”

“Oh yes, maybe that would be helpful in identifying her,” Bonnibel mused as she carefully dried the pan she used to cook the eggs an hour ago. “Well…she had this long, kinda curly black hair, an eyebrow piercing, a couple of distasteful tattoos on her neck and arms. You know, she just looked like a general ne’er do well…” Bonnibel stuck her hand out to receive a new plate when she looked over and realized they were out of dishes to wash. Lady had her tongue in her cheek, hands leaning on the counter with her fingers tapping an intricate rhythm.

“Was she half-black?” came Jake’s voice from the doorway where he was leaning against the wall. Bonnibel didn’t know how long he had been there but had clearly been eavesdropping for long enough to get some context clues about their conversation.

“I don’t freaking know, I didn’t think to ask,” Bonnibel said pointedly, growing a little more irritated with the situation. “Do you guys know who I’m talking about or not, because you clearly have someone in mind Jake!” She watched as Jake and Lady shared almost too quick of a glance between each other before Lady looked at her and smiled.

“I don’t think so, I’m sorry we got you all stoked up Bubblegum,” she said as she threw her arm around her roommates shoulders. “I think Jake and I just get a bit protective of you…and the rest of our friends for that matter.” Bonnibel looked to Jake who was furiously nodding at his girlfriend’s sentiment. 

‘Okay I know I’m not a social expert but these two are acting banoonoos. I wonder what’s going on… What if – but, also, no. No. Lady would tell me if their Marceline was my tormentor. I know that much. Plus, Marceline seems so chill in the group chat.’ But she didn’t have time to sit in these thoughts for long.

 Before she knew it, Lady was dragging her out to the porch where the rest of their friends had migrated. They were all sharing the last remnants of the juice Bonnibel brought. They intermingled for a few hours, sharing details of failing love lives (except Lady and Jake), what video games they had played lately, what classes they were expecting to fail, and eventually having a contest of “who can do the best handstand.” (Jake won.) Eventually, when it reached 5 p.m., Bonnibel decided it was time for her to head home, much to the chagrin of everyone else.

“Look y’all,” she said as they groaned. “I got to finish reworking my project, thanks to LSP b-t-dubs.” She threw Lana-Sue a wink and got a thumbs up in return. “I’m sure I’ll be around again soon enough.”

“Speaking of…” Jake stood up and wiggled around like an idiot, meaning he had an announcement to make, “who wants to come see my, Shelby’s, and Marceline’s band perform at the Ice Castle this Friday night!” Everybody started talking all at once, whooping and cheering and asking how it happened excitedly before he cut them off. “OKAY! Yes, it’s not a scheme, we did legitimately get booked to play at the bar, y’all! I refuse to explain how so make up your own minds about it,” he said, pointing a finger in each of his buds faces. “It’s this Friday at 7, fucking be there!”

“Yeah, be there or I’m considering you a son of a bitch against the arts!” Shelby yelled. “SOABATA, if you will.”

“I wouldn’t,” LSP retorted. The group had a laugh, and Bonnibel said goodbye for real that time, and walked home. She sat in her room, making the changes that Lana-Sue had recommended and… 

‘What do you know…it works!’ Bonnibel could’ve done cartwheels all the way back to Jake’s house just to say thank you, but instead opted to finally focus some of her intensity to her other engineering classes she had that semester and patiently wait for Friday to come.

Chapter Text

The rest of Bonnibel’s week went by without much of a hitch. She stuck to her meticulously scheduled daily routine. She woke up at 6, headed to the Breakfast Kingdom to grab a cup of coffee and a blueberry muffin, and then plopped herself in a quiet nook somewhere in the science building to study. It was nice that early in the morning, having the building to herself. She went to her classes and furiously took notes on different types of tissue, programming languages, and math problems that threatened to kill brain cells from just being looked at. Then she returned home to spend the rest of her night doing homework and occasionally making conversation with Lady and/or Jake over dinner. It was uneventful, it was studious, and it was just how Bonnibel preferred it.

So why was she craving hanging out with that loud, crazy group of friends again? She found herself checking the group chat all the time, as at least one person was always sending something. Whether it was a meme, a link to a poll to prove a point, a song on Spotify to check out, or seeing if someone wanted to be their midnight snack-run bud, there was never a dull moment. She would laugh react to the memes and vote in polls, but mostly just lurked and read everyone else’s conversations. For her, it was nice just to be included in something like this for once.

Friday rolled around and after Bonnibel’s last class of the day ended around 4 p.m., she walked home, getting ready to kill a few hours until the show. When she entered the apartment, she was surprised to find Lady already looking immaculate in a black blazer with nothing but a sports bra underneath, black jeans rolled to her ankles, and a pair of heels. She had on red lipstick and smoky eye makeup.

“Dang dude!” Bonnibel marveled as she set her backpack down next to the door. “You look incredible!”

“Hehe, thanks honey,” Lady said as she blushed and tucked her hair behind her ears. “Have a good day of class?”

“Yeah, it was good,” she replied as she relaxed into the armchair and slipped off her converse. “Why are you already ready to go? I thought the show didn’t start until 7?”

“Oh, it doesn’t, don’t worry!” Lady reassured her. “I just have to go play my role as roadie and help Jake and Marceline set up. You can still take your time to get pretty and show up at 7.” 

‘Nooooo,’ Bonnibel thought, ‘no, no, no! I have to go alone?’ She knew that the entire group was going to be there, but it wasn’t like it would just be the…seven… (Bonnibel counted on her fingers quickly and yes there were seven) of them. It was going to be, to quote an earlier text from Marceline, a “packed house.” She didn’t want to risk doing something stupid at a bar, especially since Lady and Jake would be busy backstage and her only beacons of hope were people she met last week. Also, not to insult Jake, but based on their name alone and knowing Jake’s affinity for punk music she figured the crowd wasn’t going to be her scene.

“Look Lady, maybe I shouldn’t go tonight, I -” Lady cut her off before she could get too far into her sentiment.

“Shouldn’t go? PB noooooo,” Lady whined as she came to sit on the arm of the chair. “Why, are you afraid Jake’s gonna suck? Because he’s not the lead singer and I promise the viola actually works pretty well in punk music when you –” Bonnibel decided it was her turn to cut somebody off.

“No! No, it’s not that. I’ve just never been to a concert before, and if you’re not going to be by my side in a crowd full of people 10 times more intimidating than me, I’m just going to feel lost and not have a good time. I don’t want to ‘ruin the vibe’ or whatever LSP would say.” Lady gave Bonnibel a frustrated look that she knew all too well. Instead of replying, however, she took her phone out of her pocket and started typing. Bonnibel assumed this meant she was texting Jake that the girl was no longer coming. She felt something that registered as relief, but with a yucky taste at the back of it, almost like guilt. She came out of her own head when her phone buzzed, and she checked it on instinct revealing a text from Lady to Kings and Queens . “Lady! Not this junk again!” the girl yelled as she looked up to see her friend smirking.

Bonnibel opened her phone to find a link to the polls app they had a group on, and the newest question was at the top of her feed: “ Lady : Should Bubblegum come to the concert tonight?" She rolled her eyes at Lady’s blunt nature, and felt her cheeks turn red as one after the other, all the names in their group chat fell under “Yes” in less than five minutes. She could’ve cried in that moment, knowing that there were six people that were in her life not because Lady dragged her along, but because they wanted her there. In a matter of seconds texts were flying in.

Lana-Sue Pratchett, 4:06 pm: um,,,lady is that even a question?

Jake, 4:07 pm: lady tell her if she skips out on me I won’t hang out with her for a month

Marceline (?), 4:07 pm: just come man, I wanna meet the person my buds won’t stop gushing about

Lana-Sue Pratchett, 4:10 pm: hey tell peebs if she doesn’t wanna come alone Finn and I will pick her up on the way

“See you moron, I told you,” Lady said, giving her a nudge. Bonnibel smiled and wiped her eyes to stop actual tears from forming because good glob she’d never recover from that. 

“Okay,” she nodded. “I’ll take LSP up on her offer. Now you get to the venue before Jake gets mad at me for holding you up,” she said as she pushed Lady off the chair. Lady blew her a kiss, and just like that was out the door. ‘Now…to find an outfit that doesn’t make me feel out of place at a punk show.’

As Bonnibel stepped out of her apartment door three hours later, wearing the only black t-shirt she owned along with blue jeans and some brown work boots, she took a deep breath. LSP’s dull purple convertible was parked out front; she could see the girl readjusting her lipstick for what was probably the millionth time that night, and Finn who was on his knees in the passenger’s seat, waving to her. They both looked like slightly punked-up versions of themselves, wearing leather jackets and band t-shirts (Finn was still in that cursed white beanie though). She gave a small wave back and ran to the car, jumping into the back as LSP sped off towards the city’s “downtown”, if it could even be called that much. The bar was situated at an intersection where the quiet campus met the livelier city beyond, so it didn’t take long for them to arrive. Lana-Sue parked in the last spot in the tiny back lot, and the gang headed inside.

“They don’t card here!” Finn yelled over the loud music and conversation that was tearing through the bar. He made a beeline for the nearest bartender as soon as they entered and got a beer. “I mean if they don’t card baby-faced me, they definitely won’t card a pretty girl like you!” Bonnibel had barely even heard what he said, and not just due to the loud nature of the place. She was terrified.

Everywhere she looked, there were people who looked like they would step on her and not think twice about it. People dressed in all black, leather, all-black leather! People were smoking inside, causing her to feel like she was about to hack up a lung. And to top it all off, no matter where she stepped, the floor was freaking sticky. 

“Yeah, I might get something later…” Bonnibel trailed off, not sure what else to say to the kid. “Hey, I’m gonna use the ladies’ room. I’ll be back in a bit.” Finn gave her a thumbs up as he walked over to where LSP was hitting on someone to drag her away. She pushed her way through the crowd, albeit very politely and slowly, and made her way to a back hallway that she correctly assumed housed the restrooms. She didn’t actually need to go; she just needed some breathing room which suddenly seemed like too much to ask for anywhere else. Just as she put her hand on the doorknob to go inside, someone from behind her cleared their throat like they were trying to get her attention.

“Helloooo princess.” That voice made Bonnibel freeze in her tracks. ‘No. Donkin. Way,’ she thought. She had to will herself to turn around and there she stood: the jerk wad. This time dressed in ripped jean shorts and a red cutout tank top that exposed a black bra. “I almost didn’t think it was you. Isn’t it beneath you to step inside a concert like this?”

“Maybe you wouldn’t be trying to find out if you’d quit stalking me,” Bonnibel shot back. “Seriously, how the flip do you keep finding me?”

“Oh, stalking you ?” The girl said with a bite in her voice. “Let’s be honest, your highness, this is way more my scene than yours. Doesn’t take much to figure that one out.”

“I’ll have you know I’m here with my friends. Not like you’d know anything about that with a personality like yours.”

“You know your phone and your headphones don’t count as friends, right?” the girl said as she stepped forward, making Bonnibel take two steps back. The girl was just as quick to throw jabs as she was, which pissed Bonnibel off even more.

“Of all the idiots I’ve met in my life you are by far the most infuriating, you wanna know why?” Bonnibel asked through gritted teeth.

“Oh, do enlighten me, your majesty,” she said with a flourishing bow, whipping Bonnibel with her hair in the process, which only poured lighter fluid on the flames that were growing in Bonnibel’s chest.

“YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW ME!” She sure was glad that the opening act had started on her way to the bathroom. The music was so loud she could yell at this girl without attracting any attention. “Yet you’ve gone out of your way to be trash! If you would’ve just let me go to the freaking bathroom instead of antagonizing me, this WHOLE conversation could’ve been avoided! What do you get out of this, you freak?!”

“Heh, I love fucking with prissy girls! Why don’t you go back home to your boyyyyyfriend?”

“SO, WHICH IS IT? Do I have no friends, or am I a pretty girl with a boyfriend? PICK ONE!”

In response, the girl did absolutely the most annoying thing she could do. She simply started laughing, lit a cigarette, and walked backwards into a door that led somewhere Bonnibel couldn’t see. As it was closing, Bonnibel was seeing red. Fists clenched in anger, she all but stomped her way back over to LSP and Finn who were in a heated debate about something at a small high table they had managed to snag.

“I’m telling you girl, he’s not into you!” Finn shouted over a drum solo.

“Ugh, but whenever I get a pizza delivered to my house, he’s ALWAYS the one to bring it I’m telling you!” Lana-Sue yelled back as Bonnibel sat down and clenched her hands around the cold metal edges of the stool. “BUBBLEGUM! Tell Finn that Petey from Pizza Sassy’s is into me!”

“LSP let him go!” Bonnibel yelled, trying to sound angry. Lana-Sue didn’t seem to pick up on that and mimed tears coming out of her eyes as Finn laughed. Glob, as much as she wanted to direct her anger at them, she just couldn't. They didn’t do anything wrong. She finally relaxed her death grip on the stool and crossed her arms, leaning backwards against the wall.

“Hey peebs, are you alright?” Finn asked as he poked her with the neck of his beer bottle. The kid really was a sweetheart, took right after Jake.

“Heh, yeah, thanks buddy,” Bonnibel replied. The three of them tried to continue their  conversations after that, but the opening act was coming to a close, so they were playing at the loudest possible decibel. After about five minutes of ear-splitting drum and guitar solos, the band bowed and left the stage to a chorus of applause. Following them was a man who introduced himself as the bar owner and welcomed everyone to Punk Night. Everyone, even Bonnibel, cheered as loud as they could. She wasn’t about to let that dingus ruin her fun night of watching her friend’s band.

“That’s what I like to fucking hear!” the man shouted back at the crowd. “Now, we’re gonna give a big, cold Ice Castle welcome to a band I heard about through the grapevine. The three of these guys are students at OOU, and are committed to keeping the underground punk scene alive. Here’s Shelby, Jake, and Marceline of The Ne’er-Do-Wellers!” 

“Oh, my glob you guys!” LSP shouted to no one in particular, “They’re going on! YESSS THAT’S MY FRIENDS!” Finn and Bonnibel shared a small laugh between them as they turned to the stage to hear a thunderous applause ripped through the bar, excited about the main act. Jake came on first, really hamming it up to get the crowd excited. Next came Shelby, sitting at his drum kit and giving a few teaser beats on his kick drum. And then, as if time had slowed down to about half speed, all Bonnibel saw was a mess of black curly hair run on stage, with, what do you know, a bass hanging from her shoulders.

‘No. No freaking way.’ Bonnibel almost refused to believe what she was seeing, until she saw the girl flip her hair to one side of her neck, exposing a vampire bite tattoo. “…Balls.”

“Whaddup nerds, my name is Marceline Abadeer. I’m the lead singer of The Ne’er-Do-Wellers and we’re here to fuck your shit up!” The crowd cheered in response as Bonnibel’s mouth continued to hang open in utter disbelief. She was dumbfounded. This mean, impolite, trashy girl was JAKE’S BEST FRIEND?

Chapter Text

Jake was the one to kick things off, and honestly, an electric viola sounded fantastic against Shelby’s drumming and Marceline’s picking. The crowd was hooked. Everyone was bobbing their heads or swaying their bodies to the lead singer’s incredible voice…well, almost everyone.

To say Bonnibel was furious would be an understatement. She watched her friend’s band and couldn’t even take in anything about how they sounded. All she could think about was how angry she was. Not only about her supposed sixth new friend being the ultimate dingus, but she was pissed at Lady and Jake. Bonnibel was almost sure they knew she had been talking about Marceline. ‘I bet that’s why they’ve been acting so shady since Sunday, glim glob it!’ she thought. ‘What, did they think that I was just gonna come in here and me and that girl would instantly make up just because? No!’

Before the girl knew it, LSP and Finn were rushing her outside towards the back of the bar. She must’ve looked confused because Finn snapped her out of her thoughts quickly.

“Hey, could you hear us in there? We’re heading to the back to talk to the dudes about the show! We wouldn’t want people flooding them in the venue y’know?” 

“Oh…right,” she muttered back to him as she rounded the corner and saw Lady standing against the side of the building, hands clasped together and a nervous look on her face. As her eyes met Bonnibel’s, her face fell even harder. Like everyone else said: girl doesn’t have a poker face. The science student’s anger only grew as a word repeated in her head, ‘liar, liar, liar.’

“Hey guys,” Lady started, trying to seem like her usual upbeat self, “how’d you like the show?”

“Oh my glob, it was fantastic! Did Jake write that third song about you, Lady? You can spill,” Lana-Sue gushed. Lady only giggled nervously and looked to her roommate.

“It sure was…something,” Bonnibel said through gritted teeth. Lady looked like she knew a hurricane was about to hit. She was wringing her hands together and her face was now fused in an expression of concern. 

“What’s…going on?” Finn asked, glancing between the two of them. But before either girl could give an answer, the sound of laughter getting closer to the back door broke the tension. The door opened, and out came the three members of The Ne’er-Do-Wellers in a state of euphoric exhaustion.

“WERE WE SPECTACULAR OR WHAT?” Shelby yelled as he ran to LSP and gave her a huge hug. Jake gave Lady a kiss as Marceline shoved them both. It was a chaotically happy scene filled with laughter and cheering, save for one.

“You were amazing!” Finn yelled. “Weren’t they great, Bubblegum?” Finn asked the girl standing next to him. ‘Flop it all,’ Bonnibel thought, ‘I was just gonna try to say bye to Shelby and slip out…thanks for the attention, Finn.’ As the group’s eyes all settled on her, Bonnibel’s locked with a set of particularly confused ones.

“Bubble…no way. This is the famous Bubblegum?!” Marceline all but shouted as she moved towards the smaller girl. Someone else in the group could’ve cut the tension with a knife, all but Lady and Jake unsure of what was going on there.

“Yeah, it doesn't seem so fun to not know my name now, does it?” Bonnibel fired back, this time not stepping away. A wave of realization washed over the three other friends’ eyes. The two girls were too focused on each other to hear LSP mutter a quick “oh fuck.”

“Jake, you’re friends with this prissy bitch?” Those words stung for reasons Bonnibel couldn’t quite put a finger on, but she wasn’t about to show that on her face (consciously, anyway). “I thought my buds had better taste than that.”

“Hey! Not cool man, what’s your problem?” Jake said. Bonnibel was glad to see her friend had some kind of backbone.

“Oh, I can think of a few problems this trashy demon’s got,” Bonnibel quickly spat back.

“My problem is I was excited to meet my supposed new bestie ,” Marceline spit the word out like it was bitter, “but instead I came outside to find a hot-headed princess in her place.”

“Okay listen here—” Bonnibel started, but as she caught sight of her friend’s horrified expressions, all her confidence crumbled. She just realized she admitted to hating one of their friends. She was insulting one of their best friends. They’d known Marceline for years, and her for what, a week? There was no way they’d want to keep being around her now that they knew there was…whatever this was going on. “I…I’m sorry I caused a scene.” Marceline’s face fell from anger into that same unreadable expression she wore after the lemonade incident. “I didn’t mean to cause a fight. Jake, you guys were incredible, for reals. I’ll meet you at home, Lady.”

And with that, Bonnibel walked off. She almost made it around to the front of the bar when she heard clunky footsteps running after her. She groaned and turned to see Finn catching up quickly.

“Peebs,” he huffed, “come on, at least let me walk you home.” ‘Can’t this kid go literally anywhere else?’ is all that she wanted to say, but she opted for the more polite route out loud.

“Look Finn, I meant what I said. I really didn’t mean to cause a scene. If you really want to help me out, will you go tell them I’m alright and go have a fun afterparty with your brother? Please?” Finn gave a confused look, but all Bonnibel did was raise her eyebrows emphatically before he sighed.

“Alright, well, I hope you still managed to have fun tonight even though Marceline just treated you like shit.” The words rang in Bonnibel’s ears as he walked back towards the group. She hadn't expected him to talk like that about Marceline, partly because Finn wasn't particularly confrontational but mostly because Bonnibel had been just as rude. But knowing what she'd learned about Finn, he had probably just said that to be nice. The kid was obsessed with her so of course he’d take her side. At least most of the group sized up what was good for them and kept their mouths shut. 

Bonnibel thought long and hard about everything she was going to say to Lady the next morning, and was still thinking about it as she walked through the door to home. She angrily slammed both that and the door to her room, even though there was no one here to make a point to. She grumpily threw on her pajamas and even skipped brushing her teeth in favor of lying in bed and watching Disney movies to take her mind off of things. She threw on Beauty and the Beast, her favorite, and let herself zone out. She thought about how just as quickly as this friend group had been given to her, it was being taken away. If she had known that her newfound rival was Jake’s best friend, she would’ve just stayed out of it and wouldn’t have allowed herself to feel hopeful that this was going to be any different.

She went to plug her phone in and saw only one notification from 30 minutes ago:

Jake, 9:51 p.m.: Lady told me it wasn’t a good idea to text you yet but idc. I’m sorry Bonnibel, I don’t know what in the hell I was thinking. When/if you wanna talk im here

She decided it was in everybody’s best interest to text Jake back tomorrow after the heat was off. Although when she turned her phone off and pulled the covers close to her chin, she realized the only thing that filled her was…nothing. No more anger. It was that same hollow feeling she knew all too well. She'd first met it when she was 13 years old, and it never got easier to deal with. But hey, at least it was familiar company.

That’s when she heard the front door creak open. ‘Must not have been a long afterparty,’ Bonnibel thought as she heard the unmistakable sound of Lady’s heels on the carpeted floor, making their way to her bedroom. The footsteps paused, even if only for a moment, before she heard her roommate’s door open and shut. Even when she was so freaking mad at her, she always appreciated how good Lady was with boundaries and knowing when to give people their space. She thought of what in the hell she was supposed to do as her eyelids drooped slowly and carried her into sleep.

Bonnibel woke up slowly the next morning around 10. She had no interest in getting out of bed just yet, so she rolled over to check her phone. That notification from Jake was still sitting there, willing her to do something about it. She ignored it once again because, ‘What the hell am I supposed to say?’ It wasn’t like he gave her much to work with. Then there were a couple notifications from Kings and Queens. She was almost scared to check them, convinced these people were going to be talking about how she ruined everything and how they wanted her out of the chat. Going against her anxiety, she opened them.

And…not terrible. Shelby texted a link to a YouTube video of their performance, which was “hearted” by a few of them. And Lana-Sue texted that she was going to be working on a script analysis today at Breakfast Kingdom for a bit if anyone wanted to join. Nothing about her and Marceline’s fight. ‘I guess if you can even call it a fight,’ Bonnibel thought. She started to spiral, wondering if she had really blown the whole thing out of proportion. 

‘I really should’ve just kept my mouth shut. Why did I have to rant to them about this girl anyway? I barely know any of them, they probably didn’t care. Stupid, stupid, stupid,’ she thought as she pulled herself out of bed and put her glasses on. ‘Why did I even keep egging Marceline on, anway? She’s not the only one at fault here. I’m the one who kept adding fuel to the flames. Stupid, stupid, stupid,’ she continued as she brushed her hair and threw on the same outfit from the night before, not wanting to put in the effort to choose something new. She grabbed her backpack and walked into the living space.

And sitting in the kitchen, as to be expected, was her roommate. Their eyes met and Bonnibel felt a lot less angry than she thought she’d be. Lady quickly got up from her chair at the kitchen table and gestured to the coffee pot and smiled. Bonnibel’s grip tightened on her backpack straps; she may not have been angry, but she sure wasn’t ready to talk.

“I’m…good,” Bonnibel croaked out, the first time using her voice since all the yelling over music she did last night. “I’m heading out to grab coffee actually.” Lady’s face fell as she nodded and took her seat back at the table, not-so-subtly pretending to focus on her sketchbook. And with that, she put her headphones in and walked to Breakfast Kingdom. She couldn’t wait to settle in to her favorite chair and listen to Miss Trunks gossip about wherever she went on her date night last night and—

‘Balls,’ Bonnibel thought. Just as she was about to turn the corner past the science building she remembered Lana-Sue said she was going to be at Breakfast Kingdom today. She froze mid-step to calculate what the next best move was. Should she go ahead and go to the restaurant? Then she’d either have to acknowledge the awkward events of last night with Lana or ignore her completely. Neither of those seemed like something she wanted to do. Should she go home? Then she’d have to talk to Lady…

‘Why don’t I want to talk to Lady?’ Bonnibel wondered. ‘She’s been friends with me longer than she’s been friends with Marceline. Ugh, I just really don’t want to hear what happened. If I talk to Lady that means I’m going to have to face whatever happened after I left last night…’ She stood at the corner of the road for a while. She stalled for time on her phone, flipping through Spotify playlists and checking the group chat for any context, but getting none. Only memes.

‘Okay…I’ll just walk to the coffee stand in the science building, no sweat.’ She turned on her heels and marched into the glass double doors leading into the atrium of the old building. The little coffee kiosk right off the entrance had just opened, causing the smell of burnt, cheap cups of joe to permeate the entire first floor. She settled in line and willed herself to not think about anything for just a moment, pretending to decide between menu items. It only took about thirty seconds to get to the front of the line though, and she just ordered a plain medium roast with cream and five sugars, nothing special.

As she stood at the end of the bar stirring everything together in her cup, she stared at her phone. She tried to think of anywhere else she could go. 'Breakfast Kingdom's already out. Library? No...Shelby's working today. I could sit on the quad, but apparently that's Marceline's song writing spot so no freaking thank you. I could stay here, but all the classrooms are locked on Saturdays without special permission and this atrium is way too crowded...dangit."

That’s when she swallowed the lump of anxiety in the back of her throat and texted Lady before throwing her phone in her pocket as if it would save her from an answer.

Sent at 11:04 a.m: Hey, are you at home still?

Bonnibel turned around and started to take the long way back towards her apartment, not sure what she was expecting from Lady, but desperately wanting something. She wanted to apologize but didn’t know how or where to start. Not to mention she just wanted to feel like she had somewhere to go again. Not even five minutes into her walk, her phone buzzed.

Lady, 11:08 a.m.: yeah, I will be all day honey. The “honey” brought a pang of hope back into her chest; Lady obviously wasn’t completely pissed off. This made Bonnibel pick up the pace a bit, backpack bouncing with her every step. She eventually arrived at her apartment, and found Lady in the same spot she left her at the kitchen table. Bonnibel awkwardly shuffled into the kitchen and poured herself another cup of coffee before heading out to the living room. She still wasn’t sure how to break this wall between the two of them, so she sat in her armchair, pulled out her laptop, and waited.

It came naturally about an hour later. Bonnibel had her head buried in an assignment for her Organic Chemistry class when she heard the classic squeak of a kitchen chair being scooted from the table. She turned and saw Lady coming towards her, possibly to go into her own room. Bonnibel was instantly panicking on the inside; her mind was telling her that if she let Lady go into her room and shut the door her chance to apologize would be gone.

“Wanna sit?” Bonnibel offered, gesturing to the couch. Lady first looked surprised but nodded, setting her laptop on the coffee table and taking a seat. The girls worked in uncomfortable silence until a mutual buzzing of phones brought their attention to the group text. It was a link to their polls group from Shelby.

“Worm asks: Would you be down for a pool tournament next weekend? Yes or No?” Bonnibel raised her eyebrows slightly in Lady’s direction, just as her roommate happily put her name in the “Yes” column. Lady looked up in time to catch Bonnibel looking at her, and their silence got a whole lot more uncomfortable; both girls were unsure of what to say.

“So what’s with you guys and tournaments?” Bonnibel finally offered weakly, causing Lady to let out a small laugh that sounded more like a sigh.

“Shelby started it a while ago with the first Card Wars tournament. Now every game we play has to be a tournament because we realized it’s the easiest way to make sure the whole group is included and participating,” Lady said. That made sense to Bonnibel, as she was sure it wasn’t exactly easy to organize a chill night in with six people. Seven now… maybe. As if reading her mind, Lady took a breath. “You know you still count as part of the whole group…right?” 

Bonnibel wasn’t sure how she should feel about that. On one hand, her heart leapt for joy that her new friends weren’t upset with her, but on the other she wondered if that was Lady’s sentiment alone. On one hand, she so desperately still wanted to be friends with the five people she had brunch and played Card Wars with; on the other, she wanted nothing to do with Marceline.

“Are…you sure?” Bonnibel asked, raking her nails over the denim of her jeans. “They all looked pretty horrified when I left. But who could blame them? I did insult their friend.”

“Yeah, you insulted her back after she started it,” Lady said with some bite in her voice. Bonnibel was unsure who it was directed at. “I literally couldn’t believe my ears, I have never seen Marceline act like that. I mean she’s a bit of a button pusher but she’s usually not…mean.” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“Wait, so no one was mad at me?” Lady looked at her like she had two heads.

“Um… no ,” she emphasized, still confused. “Why the fuck would anyone have been mad at you ? After you left, Marceline told her side of things and yeah, neither of you look great in those stories but that’s just normal beef. What was crossing the line was calling you a bitch for no reason and then basically calling all of us the same for hanging out with you. Trust me, Jake was still giving her an earful in the parking lot after the rest of us decided to go home.”

“Oh.” It was all Bonnibel could think to say. 

“Yeah.” Lady seemed equally out of words for a moment. “Look, I understand that that was a lot. And I also understand that most of it could’ve been avoided if Jake and I had just told you we knew you were talking about her.” Oh yeah, Bonnibel had fully forgotten about that part.

“Yeah, thanks for the heads up!” she said sarcastically, some of the anger coming back. “I even suspected it when you and Jake were acting banaynays at brunch, I just trusted that you wouldn’t keep something from me.” Lady’s eyes fell and eyebrows furrowed together as the words left Bonnibel’s mouth; she must’ve hit a nerve.

“I’m…really sorry. I really wasn’t doing it with malintentions but I can kinda see how that doesn’t matter…”

“Kinda? Girl, I just would’ve stayed home if I knew Marceline was the jerk wad. Conflict-free environment!” Bonnibel said as she threw her hands up in the air.

“Yeah, that’s the problem!” Lady replied. Bonnibel cocked an eyebrow at her roommate so she continued. “Jake and I didn’t want you to pull away. Bonnibel, you’ve seemed so happy this week. You come out of your room more often, you seem to be taking more time off from research and homework…I mean not a lot more time, but still!” The two of them chuckled half-heartedly as Lady moved to sit on the arm of Bonnibel’s chair, next to her roommate. “Point is, I think having these people in your life would be really good for you. Don’t sabotage yourself because of one ‘dingus’ as you’d call her.”

She sighed as she realized Lady was right. She had been more engaged in life outside the classroom this week, and it had honestly been great to have something else to care about. 

“Look, I get what you guys were trying to do for me, and I appreciate it. You’re right that I enjoy spending time with them and it’s been nice to have some texting buds. But man that doesn’t excuse what you did. I don’t even care that Marceline is your friend as much as I care that you lied to me about it,” she said as she leaned her head on Lady’s thighs. 

“That makes sense. I’m sorry. I’ll never lie to you again, even if I think it’s for your own good,” Lady said as she gave her a hug. They shared another gentle laugh before Bonnibel pulled away and went to the TV stand to pick out a movie for them to watch.

“Apology accepted. And by the way, I’m sorry too. I acted like a real knucklehead to Marceline right back,” she said as she flipped through their massive collection of DVDs. “Wanna watch 12 Angry Men?” she asked. Lady reluctantly nodded and she smirked, knowing Lady was only saying yes because she felt bad for the situation she felt she had caused. The science student went back to the kitchen to make some popcorn as Lady set up the ottomans and coffee table to make the space ideal for watching a movie.

“By the way,” Bonnibel said as she sat back down and placed the bowl right between them, “I still want to hang out with the group and everything, but I can and will refuse to play nicey-nice with Marceline. I’ll be cordial, but that’s all I can promise.”

“Listen, that's more than fair…” Lady started. “Just…I don’t know how to say this without coming across as pushy but really, give her a chance. I don’t know what’s going down with her right now but she’s been amazing the past year I’ve known her.” Bonnibel pondered it for a moment, then gave Lady a reluctant nod.

***

The next week came and went just like the last, without much of a hitch. But something was different: Bonnibel wasn’t spending most of her days alone. It turned out Lana-Sue also had a bunch of early classes, so they would meet at Breakfast Kingdom everyday and have breakfast while they caught up on homework. She learned that Shelby worked in the library and wrote his articles for the alumni magazine during that time, so she spent a few hours there for a couple days studying with him and occasionally Finn would join. 

Oh, Finn. He had started trying to be around her whenever he could. After their anthropology class would let out, he would insist on walking her home, and sometimes on buying her a coffee. It was nice to have someone to talk to, but it was starting to get a little obsessive. As she and Lady walked to Shelby’s house that next Friday, she was trying to explain that much to her roommate.

“Yeah, I get that Finn’s a little overbearing, but he’s a cute one huh?” Lady said, wiggling her eyebrows at Bonnibel.

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?” Bonnibel asked as she took her glasses off to clean them on her purple sweater.

“Oh nothing…he’s just sweet…and cute…and single,” Bonnibel cocked her eyebrow at her friend, still not seeming to get the point. “Bubblegum, Finn’s into you.” This made the other girl stop in her tracks as her eyes went wide. Lady laughed and started to drag her along.

“Wha-what? How do you know that?” she asked.

“Well, let’s see, he follows you around like a puppy. He is constantly trying to hang out at our apartment. Oh… and Jake told me,” she finished with a smirk. Bonnibel felt a huge lump in her throat. She knew Lady thought this was funny, and by all accounts she should also think it was funny. Or maybe she should even…like him back? Lady was right, he was cute and kind and funny…hm.

Before she could get too lost in her thoughts, they were walking up to Shelby’s door. He had seen them coming up the driveway and gave them both a huge hug.

“Hey guys! I’m so glad you could both make it,” Shelby beamed at the two of them. “Sorry I stole Jake away from you guys today, I needed him to help me move the pool table out of the corner of shame.”

“Ha! Try you’re welcome,” Bonnibel joked. Lady and Shelby let out a laugh as he led them to his basement. If the upstairs was Shelby’s nerd paradise, the downstairs was where the punk part of his brain took hold. All across the walls was graffiti art, posters from shows he’d been to, and art made out of old cases of Miller Lite. His drum kit stood proud in the corner of the basement, along with a ton of recording equipment Bonnibel assumed was for The Ne’er-Do-Wellers. He had set up bean bag chairs around the concrete floor, along with a cooler filled with beer. Sitting in those bean bags were Finn and Jake, playing what looked to be a made up drinking game.

“Hey! PBubs and my lady, Lady!” Jake yelled, clearly already tipsy. “What’s shakin bacons?”

“Heh, not much, bubs,” Bonnibel said as she sat down in the beanbag next to Finn so Lady could sit next to her man. Lady gave her a knowing smile that she promptly ignored.

“Honeypie, you may want to cool it on the drinks if you want to have a prayer of winning tonight,” Lady said as she gently took the half-empty bottle from her boyfriend’s hands. 

“Pshaw my beautiful sugar, I am more focused than I have ever been,” Jake said as he and Finn continued slapping each other’s hands in…some kind of chaotic rhythm? Bonnibel thought it was sweet how much the two of them loved each other. He leaned over and kissed Lady on the cheek as she wrapped her arms around him.

“Ewww,” Bonnibel said sarcastically, “mom and dad are being grossssss.” She covered her eyes dramatically as she drew a laugh from the others. Nothing made Bonnibel’s heart flutter more than people thinking she was funny.

“Girl, if Jake was my dad I’d already have run away from home,” came a familiar dramatic voice from the stairs. Upon seeing Lana-Sue and Marceline walk down the stairs, six packs in hand, the group let out a chorus of excited hellos. Bonnibel’s hands tensed around the seltzer she had been handed as a courtesy and hadn’t even opened. Marceline was here.

‘Doesn’t that girl own any clothes that aren’t that…revealing?’ Bonnibel thought. She had a gray shirt with the “no smoking” sign on it with the sides cut off and black shorts that barely covered any of her thighs. She caught herself zoning out while staring at Marceline's smooth, tan legs. She shook her head slightly to get herself out of whatever kind of trance she was in. She looked up in time to catch Marceline’s eyes. She could feel a blush creeping up on her face as the punk girl from across the room pulled her face into a huge, shit-eating grin.

“Heh, hey Marce-marce! What’s got you smilin’ girl?” Jake asked as he plopped his head on Lady’s chest. She promptly pushed him off as he fell onto the floor. Marceline opened her mouth slightly as if she was going to answer him, and Bonnibel cringed, preparing to be embarrassed. But then, a look of slight…almost remorse crossed the other girl’s face.

“What’s got me smilin’ is how much I’m gonna kick your drunk ass tonight. And I feel sorry for Lady, because she’s gonna have to pick up the pieces of your shattered dream.” Bonnibel was shocked. Marceline didn’t rat her out. Bonnibel wondered if this was as good an apology for her behavior the other night as she was going to get.

“Nah way, if we’re doing teams, Bubblegum and I are going to destroy you all!” Finn yelled as he grabbed Bonnibel’s hand and raised it high in the air. She blushed again, but couldn’t put her finger on why. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Lady smiling at her.

“Hey loud-mouths, we're not doing doubles!” Shelby finally piped up after making sure everything was all set up and everyone was paying attention. “We’re doing 1 v 1’s. And…behold! A proper bracket!” He yelled as he turned around a big whiteboard on a stand next to the table. And there was, indeed, another tournament style bracket just like the weekend before, except it was blank.

“Ay, what gives, Worm?” Lana-Sue shouted between sips of her water bottle that Bonnibel was almost positive did not contain water. “That’s not 1 v 1, that’s 0 v 0.” Shelby walked over to her and leaned in her face until their noses were almost touching.

“Let me FINISH, GIRL!” He shouted in her face as they both started laughing. “Okay,” he started again as pulled back and picked up a dry-erase marker, “as I was saying, I have taken the liberty of writing down all our names on tiny slips of paper as you see here.” He gestured to seven small slips of paper on the pool table. “I will now fold them up, and place them in my hat, and we shall draw for the first three matches. Since there is an uneven number of us, one person will sit out and join in the second round. Sound fair?” Everyone nodded their head and Shelby took off his backwards snapback, his pink hair falling in his eyes momentarily.

He put each of the seven slips in his hat, shaking it around vigorously before dramatically closing his eyes and rifling his hand through the papers. Everyone silently rolled their eyes to each other as he really milked how long this was going for.

“Okayyyy, the first match will be betweeeeeeeen…” he paused for effect as he pulled out two slips and read them. “Finn and Lady!” Everyone clapped as Finn crawled across the circle of bean bags and got about two inches from Lady’s face.

“You’re going down, sister!’’ He pointed in her face while she narrowed her eyes at him. “And I’m not talking downtown-down, I’m talking six feet underground, fool!”

“Get yourself out of my woman’s face, dog,” Jake slurred from Lady’s lap. “Your breath is stank, little bro.” Finn covered his mouth as the group burst out in laughter once again.

“Okay, okay hush!” Shelby yelled. “Next match will beeeeee…Jake and Lana!” 

“For real?” Lana-Sue asked, looking over in Jake’s direction. “That’s gonna be like playing against a wet spaghetti noodle!”

“Shut your faceeeeee,” Jake said as he pointed at her with one eye closed, as if he was trying to see better.

‘Oh of course,’ Bonnibel thought, ‘of course I’m the one who has a fifty-fifty shot at playing against Marceline.’ Marceline must’ve realized this at the same time, she thought, because the other girl was looking over in her direction with her almost-charming smirk.

“Alright, alright y’all. And the last match of the first round will be between, drum roll please,” Shelby said as all of the friends started to stomp their feet on the concrete or slap their legs in a dramatic fashion, “...Bubblegum and Marce-uh-line…” Shelby’s voice trailed off and the drumroll stopped, enveloping the room in a heavy silence. Everyone in the room turned their attention to the two girls who were staring each other down, wondering what the hell was going to come out of their mouths.

“Oh it is on ,” was all that Bonnibel could think to say that wasn’t going to come out as completely rude and distasteful. 

“Pfft, that’s all you got, princess?” Marceline asked, evoking a small sneer from Bonnibel. “If your game is as good as your trash talk, this’ll be a piece of cake.” Lady looked at Bonnibel like she was holding her breath, waiting for the girl to get mad or storm out.

“Oh you’ll see. A good comedian doesn’t open with her best material,” Bonnibel quipped with an easy shrug, leaning back into the beanbag. The room seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief as they realized the two of them weren’t going to kill each other. Marceline shook her head and laughed a bit as everyone started to get  set up for a long night of pool. Empty bottles were replaced with full drinks (except in Bonnibel’s case as she was still pretending to sip on her High Noon), Shelby hooked his phone up to the Bluetooth speakers to get a playlist going, and Finn and Lady grabbed pool cues and playfully argued over who should break.

As the game between the first two started, it was clear both of them had played before and this game was going to go fast. Bonnibel leaned against a nearby wall and silently observed, letting her thoughts drift to a particularly challenging assignment she had been working on for her Biotransport Phenomena class. Her eyes had all but glazed over before she felt a poke in her side.

“Yo, Bubblegum, I’m talking to you,” said that low and cool voice she had come to find so irritating. “You still on this planet?” Marceline asked as she leaned on the wall next to her.

“Clearly,” Bonnibel returned in a flat tone. “If I was anywhere else I know I wouldn’t have taken you with me.” Marceline laughed in a way that made Bonnibel wonder if she was being  sarcastic or not. She raised her third beer bottle to her black-lipsticked smirk. 

“You are so hilariously terrible at trash talk, princess.” Bonnibel grunted. “What? Don’t like your nickname?” Marceline asked with a pout and a baby voice. “Why? It suits you so well.”

“It does not,” Bonnibel said. “You just like getting under my skin for whatever donkin reason.” Marceline’s eyes lit up as if she sensed an opportunity. Bonnibel nervously followed the other girl’s eyes around the room. Everyone else had been paying intense attention to Lady and Finn’s game. Jake was behind him and, as the younger boy lined up his shot, loudly commentated in an Australian accent while the rest of them laughed. Marceline leaned in so close she was almost touching Bonnibel’s ear. The breath caught in her throat and her back stiffened as she caught a whiff of the woody cologne coming off of the taller girl’s neck.

“That’s not the only thing I like getting under,” she said in a sultry voice. Bonnibel’s face felt like it had caught on fire. She whipped her head to the side and almost crashed noses with Marceline, who wore that same shit-eating grin from earlier.

“Of all the distasteful, deplorable, inappropriate things you could say to me…” she grumbled as Marceline’s grin only grew.

“Oh sorry, should I apologize to your boyfriend?” Marceline asked as she jerked her head to the side. Bonnibel followed her gesture. It looked like Lady and Finn’s game had ended and Lana and Jake’s had begun. Shelby was writing some things on the whiteboard, so his back was turned. However, Finn and Lady had been staring at them for who knows how long, with very confused — almost scared — faces. 

“He is not my boyfriend,” Bonnibel said as she took a step back from the other girl. She couldn’t think of anything else to say at that moment. "And anyway, you wouldn't have a chance in hell." 'What the grip am I saying?!" she thought to herself as soon as the words left her mouth. "A-against Finn, I mean." She flushed and raised her hand to her mouth to "sip" from her drink. But when her lips met a cold glass bottle instead, she glanced down and realized Marceline had switched their drinks while Bonnibel was stuttering out an insult. Marceline laughed at the fullness of the High Noon and lifted it to her own mouth. 

"Trust me princess," she said as she took a long drink and took her spot at the side of the table, "neither would you." Bonnibel could only cock an eyebrow and leave her mouth hanging open dumbly as she watched the wannabe rockstar strut away. Finn gave Bonnibel a look of bewilderment as he made her way over to her.

“Don’t worry about it,” she grumbled as she handed Finn the empty beer bottle. He shot it like a basketball and it loudly clunked into the trash can. He fist bumped her as she started talking again. “You know, I don’t need you to come rushing to me every time she talks to me. I can handle my own biz.” Finn blushed his signature blush and scratched the back of his head under his hat.

“Right, of course, I’m sorry,” he said. “I can’t help myself sometimes. I see you in trouble and wanna just… rush to your aid I guess.” Bonnibel nodded and became intently focused on popping her knuckles. Finn mirrored the nod and continued to stand at her side, casually sipping on his beer. She was snapped out of the spell of her knuckles when she heard an eruption of simultaneous laughter and groaning from the pool table. 

Finn and Bonnibel rushed over to see that in his ever-increasing drunkenness, Jake shot the 8-ball into a corner pocket not even five turns into the game. LSP was shaking her head while their friends had difficulty containing  their laughs.

“See! What’d I tell y’all? Wet. Spaghetti. NOODLE!” Lana-Sue shouted while she covered her forehead with one hand. Jake didn’t seem that upset, laughing and singing “I’m a loser babyyyyy,” using his pool cue as a mic. Lady took it from him with a concerned motherly look and came over to Bonnibel.

“Try not to punish her too much, yeah?” Lady asked in a whispered, laughing tone. It was Bonnibel’s turn to feel superior. She didn’t look the part, in her bright purple sweater, pink jeans, and peppermint patterned converse, but she killed at pool. It was a game of angles and calculations, two things that fell directly in her department. She narrowed her eyes into slits as her opponent stood across the table from her, chalking up her cue with that damn arrogant smirk on her face.

“Yo princess, I’m feeling nice tonight so I’ll let you break,” Marceline said as she threw the chalk to the smaller girl. Bonnibel caught it mid-air and decided to have some fun.

“Breaking…that’s what it’s called when you hit the balls for the first time in a game right?” she asked, purposefully fumbling around with the chalk. Lady gave her a look that said, ‘you can’t possibly be serious.’

“Oh my god, this is going to be the slowest game of my life,” Marceline mused as she walked around to the side, letting Bonnibel take the spot at the top of the pool table. The smaller girl quickly pulled her hair into a loose ponytail, rolled up her sleeves, and set up to break. She let her cue fire, sending two solid balls into opposite corner pockets, leaving everyone in the group with wide eyes.

“Ooooh, y’know what Marceline? I don’t think you’re right! What’s new though?” Bonnibel said with sarcastic, over-the-top bubbliness, eliciting a chorus of “ooooohhh”s. Not breaking eye contact with wide-eyed Marceline, she hit another solid into the corner pocket, then another, then another, until she finally missed a near-impossible shot from the opposite end of the table. Only a small “hmph” was emitted from her mouth as she let Marceline step up.

“Can’t be so perfect all the time, can you?” Marceline asked.

“I never said I was,” she growled back. Marceline smirked, which Bonnibel hated. She realized Marceline only did that when she felt she had the upper hand, and there was no way she was going to let that girl have the upper hand tonight. “I know I probably look it in comparison to you, so I get how that could be confusing.” Marceline furrowed her brow, bringing a similar smirk to Bonnibel’s face.

Marceline was able to make about three striped balls in before she lost her grip mid-shot when Jake burst out in laughter at something Finn whispered to him. She gave them both a death glare that threatened to pull lightning down to strike them. And all Bonnibel could do was laugh. Marceline sent the same look her way though, which scared her into silence.

“That’s what I thought.Your shot, Bonnie ,” Marceline said in a mocking tone. Bonnibel’s head snapped up, and her icy eyes seemed to turn dark as they met the other girl’s.

“Do not. Ever. Call me. Bonnie.” Bonnibel growled, her voice low in her throat. Marceline quickly arranged her smug expression into an attempt at neutral, but undercurrents of genuine shock cut through her dark eyes. The rest of the room fell silent and Bonnibel felt too many eyes on her.

“Uh…sure. Just…your shot still,” Marceline said, gesturing to the table. Bonnibel came out of her anger, and cringed hard. She was incredibly embarrassed she let herself get that angry in front of everyone. 

“Sorry…” she mumbled as she leaned over to take her shot. The nerves were taking their time leaving her body, and she missed an easy shot into the side pocket. “Well, that’s what I get for losing my cool,” she said sheepishly. Lady giggled and patted her on the back.

“That’s alright, sweetheart,” Lady whispered. Lady’s motherly presence always made her feel better. After only two more rounds, Bonnibel easily wiped the floor with Marceline. As she hit the 8-ball into the side pocket, cheers rocked the room.

“NO WAY! Nobody’s ever beaten you, Marceline!” Lana-Sue yelled as she punched Marceline’s shoulder a few times.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever y’all,” Marceline said, giving a nod of respect Bonnibel’s way. “I’ll get a winning streak going again before you know it.” Shelby went to the board and filled in Bonnibel, Lana-Sue, and Finn’s names in the next round of brackets as his friends continued to chat.

“I’m bored of watching other people play a game! Why don’t we take a frickin break and play something we can all play together!” Jake yelled from a bean bag chair, finally with water in his hand instead of a beer.

“Ugh, what did you have in mind, you big baby?” Shelby asked.

“I wanna playyyyyy…uhhhhhh…” Jake trailed off mid-sentence to stare at a bubble in his water bottle. 

“Let’s play Never Have I Ever! Except Jake you’re drinking water so Lady and Bubblegum don’t have to clean vomit off their carpet tonight,” Lana-Sue suggested. Everyone nodded and murmured in agreement as they all grabbed a fresh drink and sat down, with Bonnibel situating herself between Finn and Lady. 

“So…” Bonnibel said to Lady, “is this the game where you drink if you have done the thing?” Lady gave a small giggle and nodded.

“Sometimes I forget how much you didn’t go to parties, honey,” she joked as she nudged her roommate. “Alright I wanna start, I wanna start!” Everyone looked expectantly to Lady as she thought of something to say. “Okay, I got one… never have I ever tried to do a keg stand!” Jake, Shelby, and Marceline all groaned as they took a drink.

“That one was targeted, Lady,” Shelby said. “I think you still have the video of us from last year’s Halloween party.” Bonnibel kept forgetting that all these people had been friends for so long, until one of them said something like that. “Okay, I’ll go. Never have I ever…crashed my car! And yes, backing into something parked does count, LSP.” Everyone besides Shelby chuckled and took a drink. Even Bonnibel had to suck it up and sip on a seltzer, no matter how gross it was.

A few more rounds went by, Bonnibel not having to drink much. Besides Shelby, everyone only seemed interested in distasteful topics such as drinking, drugs, and sex (all of which she had done almost none). She was starting to get a bit bored, her seltzer still almost full to the brim as everyone else around her got drunker and louder.

“Princesssssss,” came an irritating, sing-song voice from the other side of the circle, “we haven’t heard one from you yet. Your turn!” Marceline yelled while waving her fourth beer that night at Bonnibel. The group all turned to face her and waited.

“Oh…yeah…um…” She was at a loss, she didn’t want to say anything crude, but didn’t want to embarrass herself either.

“Bonn-i-bel, Bonn-i-bel, Bonn–i-bel!” Jake started chanting. It didn’t take long for the rest of the group to join in, and she had never felt so much pressure.

“Okay, okay!” She laughed nervously. “Uh, never have I ever been on a date!” Everyone suddenly stopped chanting. Someone could’ve dropped a pin and it would’ve been the loudest sound in the world.

“Wait…bro are you serious?” Jake asked. “I’ve known you for over a year and this is the FIRST I’m hearing of this?” Bonnibel's familiar blush slowly crawled back to her cheeks. 

“Come on, princess,” Marceline started, “a prim and pretty girl like you has never giggled her way into a date with a quarterback?” LSP laughed at the idea.

“Shut…up,” Bonnibel said with a thoroughly annoyed expression. “I didn’t think it was that big of a deal.”

“It’s not. Bubblegum, don’t listen to these morons,” Shelby said, throwing a look to Marceline who shrugged in response.

“Thank you, Shelby ,” she said while pointedly glaring at Jake. “Although I guess it is a little silly.” She hoped acknowledging it would take the heat off and someone else would go. Only she saw Finn scoot forward, and she got a bad feeling in her stomach.

“Well, I’ll take you on your first date, PB, just so you don’t have to feel silly anymore!” Finn said. Lady squealed in delight before Bonnibel herself had the chance to react. Her eyes were wide, and the pit in her stomach only grew by the second. She opened her mouth to answer but her throat felt dry. She hoped everyone was too drunk and giggly to notice how long she was taking.

“Uh…yeah, sounds great Finn,” Bonnibel said as she swallowed the lump in her throat. She wanted to cry as Lady squealed in delight yet again.

“Oh my goodness yay! I was waiting for that!” she said as she shook her roommate, who was frozen in place. Finn was too drunk and happy to notice that his future date seemed none too thrilled.

“Okay, okay,” Shelby said, “I’m done with this sappy weird junk y’all are getting into. I wanna play some more pool.” Everyone groaned, but stood up to go back to the pool table. As Bonnibel stood up and wiped her jeans of the concrete dust the gathered on them from the floor, she realized Marceline had been looking at her since Finn had decided to very publicly ask her out. Her dark eyebrows were furrowed in what could've only been confusion and her black lips had all but disappeared into a thin line. Bonnibel folded her arms across her chest and darted her eyes to the floor. There was something really...knowing in the way the other girl was looking at her that she didn't like one bit. When she dared to peak her eyes back up again, Marceline was gone, all the way to other side of the room holding a pool cue over her head while Lana-Sue let out a loud succession of expletives and hopped around her trying to grab at it. It was time for her to play against Bonnibel this round. So the science student decided there was no time to think about what the hay that was all about. 

Bonnibel could not get out of her own head. No matter what she tried, those words kept ringing in her head: “Well, I’ll take you on your first date, PB.” He had probably only had the courage to say it because he was drunk, but that didn’t make the peer pressure that came after any less real. 

Everyone had been looking at her with wide, expectant eyes. How was she supposed to turn him down and break his heart? Especially in front of all his friends. And Lady was so excited… it felt like she would’ve let everybody down if she would’ve said no.

It was hard, but she managed to focus on the rest of the games, beating Lana-Sue, then Shelby after he had won against Finn. She was crowned the champion among her cheering friends, but didn’t feel like a winner that night. Finn said he wanted to walk with Jake, Lady and Bonnibel, but she insisted that Finn should go back to his dorm alone. He said okay, but that didn’t stop him from giving her a kiss on the cheek before walking away, causing Lady and Jake to give Bonnibel a simultaneous “ooooohhhh” as if they were school children.

The three of them then started on their trip home. Because Lady and Jake were drunk, she had to be in charge of leading them and making sure they didn’t fall in a ditch somewhere. She was annoyed, she was tired, and she had a hollow feeling in her chest as her phone buzzed with a text.

Finn, 12:26 a.m.: Hey, hows abouts we meet up round 6 pm tmrw?

She sighed. It was all she could think to do.

Chapter Text

Bonnibel stood in her room the next morning, completely alone for the first time all weekend. She could barely escape the hustle and bustle around her, or at least that’s what it felt like – not being able to escape any texts, or Lady and Jake who decided to spend this Saturday in, playing games and watching movies. She couldn’t bring herself to wake up before noon, seemingly saying goodbye to her once-structured weekend routine – these days it was rare she stuck to it. When she did wake up, she already had awaiting texts from Finn asking her to choose between a couple of restaurant options. She told him whatever he wanted was fine, but he insisted on “lady’s choice.”

She wanted to like him so, so badly. He had such a boyish charm and old-fashioned sense of chivalry that any girl like her would find endearing. ‘I mean, I DO like him, so why am I beating myself up here,’ she thought.

Nevertheless, she had already said yes so there was no backing out now. ‘And who knows, maybe the more time I spend with him while we’re not surrounded by his friends, the more I’ll feel attracted to him,’ she thought as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail. She left a few strands out on either side to frame her freckled face. She stared at her reflection for a few breaths before deciding that, if Finn had asked her out when she wasn't wearing makeup, she was not going to go through the trouble of asking Lady to borrow some. 

She stood in front of the mirror, trying to decide if she was too casually dressed. She wore a cream-colored sweater that was adorned with a single, thick red stripe at the top, along with a khaki skirt that fell halfway down her thighs. She decided that it was going to have to be good enough, slipping on her red Converse and looking at her clock. It was 5:45 and Finn was known to be early to everything. She sighed as her hand grabbed her bedroom’s doorknob, savoring the last moment of peace she was going to get that night.

She walked into the living room to see Jake playing some Gears of War on the Xbox that was, though technically Bonnibel's, used by everyone else more than her . Lady was also there, straightening up her Texas Roadhouse uniform. Lady turned to face her and her eyes immediately lit up with delight.

“Oh my goodness! Are you excited for your first real date?” Lady squealed as she threw her hair up into a ponytail to complete her work ready attire.

“Heh, we’re going to Olive Garden,” Bonnibel said.

“I asked HOW you’re feeling, not WHERE you’re feeling,” Lady joked as she came over to mess with her friend’s hair.

“I look fine MOM, leave me alone,” she said with a small laugh, all thoughts of Finn leaving her mind for a fleeting moment. Lady threw her hands in the air and grabbed her purse, starting towards the front door. 

“Jake, is it still okay if I take your car to work?” Lady asked her boyfriend whose eyes were still glued to the screen as he spilled alien guts with his virtual guns. She had his keys in her hands, dangling in front of his face.

“Of course, sugar,” he said, craning his neck to look around the keys. “Even if it wasn't, I don't know if that would stop you; you were supposed to leave 10 minutes ago.”

“Ah geez!” Lady exclaimed, looking at her phone and realizing the time. “I gotta get going like, yesterday . Have fun on your daaaaate and tell me all about it when I get home, sweetie!” 

“Heh, yeah. Catch you later,” Bonnibel all but whispered as the door slammed shut. Almost instantaneously the alien screeching stopped as the game on the TV was paused and Jake snapped around on his knees so he was face-to-face with her. “AH! Dude, what’s with you and scaring the blizz out of me in my own domain?”

“Hey, can you be honest with me? Homie to homie?” he asked. She nodded slowly. “Do you…do you really wanna be doing this?” Bonnibel tried as hard as she could to keep her non-poker face unreadable as her heart whipped out a drum solo. A complicated question not even her logic-loving brain could answer.

“Um…why are you asking?” she chuckled.

“Don’t dodge my questions, Prubs,” he said, climbing to the back of the couch to sit facing her, legs dangling. “I know Lady means well, but she’s blinded by her own awesome excitement. You’ve seemed like you’ve been dragging your feet since last night. Well, except to leave the pool tournament, which… you’d think the new Pool Queen would want to stay longer… unless there was a reason she wanted to high-tail it?” he asked as he raised his eyebrows. 

Bonnibel swallowed and realized her mouth felt dry. She had literally just gotten into a spat with him and Lady about being dishonest, and she hated lying anyway. She couldn’t turn around and lie right back to him! But she didn’t… not want to go. Right? So why did it feel like lying?

“Look, Jake, I want to go,” she said after a second of pause. She wasn’t even convincing herself, though. He gave her a look, the one she dubbed the classic Jake look. The one where he tilted his head down so he was looking at her over the top of his wiry glasses similar to her own, eyebrows all the way up, with as serious a face as he could muster. He thought it was intimidating, but all it ever did was make her laugh, and laugh she did. 

“See! That’s the first time you’ve seemed happy since last night! Just…don’t do shit you don’t feel like doing. And I’m not saying you don’t want to go on this date so don’t get defensive yet. But…he’s my little brother. I gotta protect him even though he thinks I shouldn’t.”

Bonnibel understood. She knew Jake was probably struggling to do his due diligence as both her friend and Finn’s older brother. But she couldn’t think of any way to tell him why she was doing this that would make logical sense without telling him the one thing she really didn’t see a point in anyone knowing. ‘Nothing good has ever come from anyone knowing that ,’ she reminded herself. She was ripped out of her thoughts when a text buzzed in her pocket.

Finn, 5:55 pm: Hey PB! I’m at the restaurant a bit early. Gotta snag us a good seat! take your time tho :) Fudge. That was her cue. No backing down now.

“I’m picking up what you’re putting down, Jake,” she said as she moved towards the front door. “You staying the night?” He nodded as he put himself back in front of the TV. “Alright, I’ll probably be home around…8? I don’t know how long these things last.” Jake chuckled to himself a bit as he unpaused his game.

“Sounds good, Peebs,” he said, sending her off as his eyes glazed over in focus once more. 

She sighed as she stepped out into the dark evening and got in her dinky, blue 1999 Honda Civic. Her hands gripped the steering wheel for just a bit too long before she decided to start the car. The Olive Garden was maybe a five minute drive from campus, but that didn’t stop her from picking a killer playlist to set the mood and ease her nerves. She didn’t have to scroll for long before finding her favorite, “Growing Up.” She didn’t know why she had named the playlist that, but it felt fitting for the mood. As a cover of “Teenage Dirtbag” played, she headed off to the rest of her night.

She got to the restaurant at 6:07 p.m. She wandered in and saw Finn immediately, sitting in a booth close to the front, waving enthusiastically. He hadn’t worn his beanie tonight, catching Bonnibel off guard. She assumed it was sewn into his hair, but his golden blonde locks were finally visible, falling in a shaggy mop just over his eyebrows. He still kept to his classic blue t-shirt and jeans combo, which dismissed any of her feelings about being underdressed. She walked over to the booth and took a seat across from him.

“Bonnibel!” he started. “It’s good to see you.”

“Hey Finn,” she said, thinking calling him bud was not appropriate at this juncture, “it’s nice to see you too.” It was at that moment she realized she had no freaking idea what to talk about. She didn’t know if this was supposed to change anything about the conversations they had, or if she should pretend nothing was happening. Thankfully, he took the lead.

“So…have you ever been here?” he offered with a meek shrug.

“Have I…ever been to Olive Garden?” she asked. There was a brief moment of pause before the two burst into laughter. 

“Aw man, that was so stupid,” he said through one last chuckle as he reached for the breadsticks that had already made their way to the table. “Honestly though, if you hadn’t that would’ve been a real conversation starter.”

“Hm, yes, I suppose,” she said as she took a sip of the water Finn had ordered for her. “But I think at this point in history, if you’re born in America, you’ve been to Olive Garden.”

“You’re so right for that,” he said through a mouthful of bread. “Look, before this goes on awkwardly any longer I want to say something.” 

‘Ah ball,’ she thought. ‘Nobody ever says that before they say something good.’ But she looked at him expectantly anyway as she fiddled with a loose string on her sweater.

“Yeah…so…I’m sorry for asking you out that way last night.” 

‘What the huh?’ she thought. A warmth rose through her chest. Was he going to say that he didn’t mean to ask her out at all? That he didn’t mean this to be a romantic endeavor and that he was just trying to offer something to make her feel less embarrassed in front of their friends? Maybe she wouldn’t have to feel so weird tonight after all!

“I can see you look…confused, I think?” he offered. “Listen, I was so drunk by that point. Jake and I had been going ham into this drinking game we made up in high school. It’s called ‘slam-a-cow’ and – well, I don’t think that’s the important part. Anyway, I shouldn’t have put you on the spot like that in front of all our homies.” She felt her face flush instinctively when the words left his mouth. “Yeah, I know. It was a real bunk thing to do. It wasn’t the way I wanted to do that. You’re just…so smart and pretty. When we talk alone I feel like I can’t ever hold a proper convo, so I guess when a drunk Finn sees an opportunity he takes it. I humbly apologize,” he said, finishing his ramblings.

Bonnibel didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know if she should accept his apology and keep the night moving, or if it would be better to take this out he was giving her. Maybe she could say that she had been drunk too, and didn’t want to say yes. But that would be a lie, she decided. She was fully sober, and nobody was pressuring her to say yes besides herself. The self-inflicted peer pressure had haunted Bonnibel for years now, and looking at Finn now, flipping through the menu absentmindedly, a familiar pang of guilt flared in her chest. Why was she even considering taking the excuse to leave?

She couldn’t decide if she was thankful or not when the waitress came over to take their order so she didn’t have to confront the answer. Neither of them needed to look at the menu because, like they said, it’s Olive Garden. They both ordered and passed their menus to the waitress. After that, Bonnibel decided the best thing to do would be to just treat this like she treated hanging out with LSP at Breakfast Kingdom. After all, it should be exactly the same.

“Well,” Bonnibel said, the first time she tried to initiate conversation with him in a week, “I know you're kind of a rock star in our Anthro class, and you said you were taking criminal justice stuff. Do you think you'll major in something like that?” He blushed as he used his straw to play with the ice in his lemonade. 

“Heh, well thanks for saying that jazz. I’m super passionate about like, justice and making sure things go right for the people who’ve been wronged in the world y’know?” He said. “So I came in as a Criminal Justice major. I’m taking, like, ALL anthro and CJ classes right now.”

“Oh wow, that’s actually really neat,” she said honestly. She remembered her conversation with Lana-Sue about how humanities and science majors don't often interact, and that was true -- which is why it was so refreshing to be reminded that there are people working towards person-focused good in the world. As much as she loved her numbers and science, she respected anyone who called themselves a people person because she could never be one.

“Yeah! But I bet it’s nothing compared to what you got going on, I know you’re Dr. Petrikov’s research assistant. I may be a newbie, but even I know that’s a pretty high honor for a sophomore. He’s like the most renowned professor OOU’s got!” He really knew a lot more than he let on, Bonnibel realized.

“Heh, I guess so. I kind of just fell into it, which makes me feel pretty crummy for all the seniors who applied and worked really hard just to be considered.”

“Aw, screw that biz,” Finn said as the waitress placed their salads in front of them. “Thanks ma’am,” he turned back to face Bonnibel as the waitress walked away. “I’ve met Simon and he wouldn’t have picked you if he didn’t think you were at least two times smarter than any of those washed-up seniors.” Now it was her turn to blush. He really was so sweet. But something else he said caught her attention, too.

“Oh whoa,” she said as she dug into her salad, “Simon? You’re on a first name basis with OOU’s most renowned prof?” Finn’s eyes bugged a little as he was clearly trying to keep his cool.

“Oh um…yeah. I’ve met him once or twice.”

“How? He’s basically unreachable outside of his office hours. The man’s halfway to a Nobel Prize in Biology, he’s got a lot going on.” Bonnibel was fascinated. She’d never heard anyone refer to Dr. Petrikov by his first name. He wasn’t intimidating by any means, a frail man in his mid-40s with a long haircut and a middle part. The man wore bifocals for Glob’s sake. But still, he was respected by everyone who crossed paths with him. Dr. P was the shortest his name got as far as Bonnibel had heard.

“Yeah, he’s done some incredible work. He was telling me all about the statistical analysis you sent him at the start of this week and how good it was going to be for his new project with the hospital up the road,” Finn said between bites of salad. Hm, playing dodge-questions are we?

“I was really excited when he asked me to be a part of that. I almost felt bad collecting my paycheck from him this week because Lana-Sue helped me so much with it,” she said. “So when did you get around to talking with him? I didn’t think any anthro or CJ classes happened in the science building.” Her tone was neutral, teasing even, but she was genuinely curious as to how anyone managed to find Dr. P in his free time, let alone someone who spent all their time across campus.

“I – well, I just…oh look!” he interrupted himself. She turned her head to see their waitress already coming to their table with their food. “I cannot wait to dig in!” Bonnibel made a mental note to continue this conversation later because he was clearly done talking about it and she didn’t want to push. The talking paused for a minute as they both dug into their barely-qualifying Italian food.

“Okay so,” Bonnibel took the initiative after a moment, “I know you and Jake are like, best buds but is it weird being friends with only people in older grades?”

“Oh nah, not at all,” Finn replied. “I know I’m only 18 but I’ll turn 19 soon. And I mean we’re all in the same stage in life right now. Got the same probs, the same experiences. Plus it’s been really helpful having all of you around to kind of show me the ropes.” 

“Those are some excellent points,” she said as she wiped her hands on her napkin. “Although I feel like Lady and your brother are still showing me the ropes sometimes.”

“Ah what? No way!”

“Yes way! I mean I pretty much kept to myself before they dragged me to the Card Wars tournament. I only met Lady because she was my assigned roommate last year. I didn’t think I was going to like her at first, but I have a bad habit of labeling people before I get to know them. Turns out we’re just two sides of the same coin.”

“Oh that’s obvious. You two have a great dynamic,” Finn said as he sat his fork down, already having scarfed down half his spaghetti. “Jake did the same for me at the beginning of the semester. For about a week or two I holed up in my dorm room calling our mom, dad, and little brother Beemo every chance I got.”

“Beemo?” Bonnibel asked, slightly amused at the name.

“Oh yeah,” Finn said through a laugh, “it’s his nickname. Ben Morris Mertens. It started as Ben Mo when we were kids and slowly morphed to Beemo. It suits him, cute little nerd,” Finn mused. “But anyway, Jake could tell I was being a hermit, so he took me to their first Card Wars tournament back in August. They all kind of adopted me that night.”

“That’s really sweet,” Bonnibel said, taking a bite of her pasta.

“Yeah, they’re all great. Lana-Sue’s like the sister I never had, and Shelby knows a lot of the professors from his work on the magazine so his advice on how to deal with each one individually has been killer. I’d gush about Lady but, I mean, you already know she’s great. I actually got to meet her when Jake brought her home for spring break last semester. Oh and plus! Marceline is like my…not really my sister but a fun aunt. We play EPIC pranks on Jake together.”

“Oh do tell,” Bonnibel said with a waggle of her eyebrows. She was trying Lady’s advice to not turn up her nose at the mention of the girl, no matter how much self-control it took.

“Well…” Finn laughed again and leaned in as if he was about to let Bonnibel in on a wild secret.  “like, after she got her vampire bite tattoo in September, we managed to convince Jake she was actually turned!” Finn recounted the story in great detail, making Bonnibel laugh harder at every twist and turn. She countered with her own story of how she and Lady had glitterbombed his room last year. 

They traded stories, some that revolved around Jake, some that revolved around grouchy professors. But eventually Bonnibel realized that their plates had been empty for almost a half an hour and they hadn’t stopped talking. She was actually having a great time. Finn made her laugh and the conversation came naturally once her anxiety floated to the back of her brain. She was pulled out of these thoughts when their waitress came by again.

“So, are we ready for dessert?” she asked in a chipper tone. Before she could reply, Finn was already talking.

“Can you bring us a piece of that chocolate cake please, ma'am?” She nodded and walked off. “I know you like sweet things,” he said with a coy smile.

“Heh, I do, I do. You caught me,” she said with a giggle.

“Well…it’s not like anything could be as sweet as you,” he said as he put his hand over top of hers on the table.

Bonnibel froze. Her anxiety came back to the forefront of her mind as her hands went clammy and her heart dropped. She had all but forgotten what this was. She didn’t know what to do. He was so sweet and charismatic, but when she looked up to meet his nervous eyes she didn’t see anything but the little brother everyone thought of him as. She felt horrible. She was leading this guy on and she couldn’t take it. She pulled her hand back and couldn’t bring herself to look at him again; she didn’t want to see the hurt in his eyes.

“Look I – I’m sorry. You’re so sweet, I just…I have to go,” she stuttered.

“Hey,” Finn said in a soft voice as he moved to the edge of his side of the booth, “I didn’t mean to come on too strong, I’m sorry –”

“No, please don’t apologize,” she said as she ruffled through her purse as fast as she could, leaving a 20 dollar bill on the table. “You didn’t do anything wrong…I just have to go.” And with that, she turned and rushed out of the restaurant and into her car. The familiar pit in her stomach only grew as she started it and pulled out of the parking lot.

She tried desperately to settle her breathing as she hit a red light on her way back to campus. Her grip on the steering wheel was turning her knuckles white. She looked over to turn on the radio and saw the time: 8:25 p.m. And she then remembered telling Jake she was coming home around now.

“Aw…DAMMIT!” she screamed to herself as a tear she couldn’t hold back streamed down her face. “Why am I making such a big thing of this…I’m an idiot. I could just go back home, but then – AW BUNK IT.” The light turned green and instead of going straight towards her apartment, she turned left. She drove down a long road that dipped into a wooded area that was barely lit by streetlights. As the radio played and she struggled to keep her tears at bay, Bonnibel drove to a spot that she had come to love.

Chapter Text

Bonnibel parked her car in an empty parking lot across from a huge field. At one end sat an empty playground, and at the other sat an unlit amphitheater. It was quiet, it was connected to nature, and it was where she went to be alone. She walked all the way to the other side of the field, next to a small stream at the edge of the woods, and sat on top of a huge, cool, flat rock. She pulled her knees close to her chest, and tried to make the angry swarm of wasps in her mind calm down. But it wasn’t stopping. She sat on her rock for what felt like hours and she blinked hard against the insults buzzing in her ears. Idiot. Liar. Jerk. That one she hadn’t been able to shake since she was 13. 

The words flew in from every direction, some in her own voice, but most not. She felt small, weak, useless – felt like she was looking through the eyes of her younger self. She smelled sweat and science books and plastic desks and she felt her chest tighten. She felt cold morning dew on her hands, even though they were planted firmly on a dry rock. She felt surreal, out of place. She obviously knew she was in the park but she felt lightheaded. She felt the sweatiness of a high school locker room, the stuffiness of a dusty old manor that was never a place for children, felt cold metal underneath her after waking up on a freshly rained-on park bench at six in the morning. It was tearing her brain apart.

It's not like the date with Finn had been bad per say. In fact he had been plenty charming, plenty sweet, and plenty of everything she could've wanted. The entire time she was in that booth, however, she had been waiting. Waiting for that spark, that 
"aha!" moment where butterflies collected in her stomach. She waited the entire two hours she was at dinner for him to say something magical so her heart would skip a beat and her face would turn pinker than it usually was. But it never came. And deep down she knew it never would, not with him.

“You…” she started out loud to no one in particular, choking on her own voice, “you can’t do this anymore.” And then the tears came fighting out. She might’ve been holding most of them back, but she couldn’t keep them at bay forever. This was it. The mental breakdown that she had been rescheduling for over four years now. She was trying to will it back, but it was getting harder. A few salty drops of water ran down her hot face and her chest started to heave like it couldn’t get enough air. She hugged her knees even tighter, leaving crescent moon indents in her pale skin.

‘This isn’t working. You can’t keep lying to yourself hoping something’s going to change because it’s not. You’re just broken. Broken broken broken broken –’

“Bubblegum?” came a voice from behind her. Then came her brain’s best response: freezing. She straightened her back and quickly wiped her face with the sleeves of her sweater. She took a deep, shaky breath and tried to steady herself, because she had a feeling she knew who was behind her. There were only two people who knew where she went to brood and that sure as striz wasn’t Lady’s voice.

“Hey…hey Jake,” she said in a volume barely above a whisper, not daring to turn around.

“Finn called me. What the puke, girl?” he said, his voice hard and cold. Bonnibel could feel the tears pooling up at his anger.

“Um…” she couldn’t force her mouth to make any more words than that.

“Um? Dude, I told you not to go if you didn’t want to! He even gave you an out!” Jake’s voice was getting closer as she desperately tried to remember how to breathe. “Is this funny to you? He really likes you and all you can say to me is –” Bonnibel didn’t like how quickly he stopped talking. She felt him right next to her, felt him looking at her messed up face. She finally brought herself to meet his eyes. He was standing just a foot away from her, eyes wide and looking like all the wind was just knocked out of his anger. “Are…is there something going on? I mean, are you okay?”

That was all it took. She hated crying in front of people but those three words opened the floodgates with a key she didn’t know existed. She covered her face with her hands as she began to sob harder than she had in a long time. Almost immediately she felt Jake’s warm body wrap his arms around her shoulders. She couldn’t even bring herself to care in that moment, and she let herself feel everything she’d been bottling up for years. She leaned her head into her friend’s shoulder, and cried for what felt like an hour. She was longing for the feeling of the nothing, because feeling nothing was better than feeling like this. Weak. Broken. Liar…

She finally cried herself to a place where the tears just couldn’t come out anymore and pulled her head off of Jake. She saw she had left an enormous wet spot on his shirt and felt her cheeks get somehow even redder.

“I…I’ll wash that for you,” she said in a shaky voice, not knowing what else to say.

“Wash…what? Wash my shirt? WHAT? Wash my shirt – what the – Bonnibel…wash my shirt?!” Jake sputtered as he waved his hands around wildly. It was enough to make Bonnibel chuckle as she wiped her eyes for the millionth time that night. He took a breath and met her eyes again. “Please… I might be his bro but you’re like one of my best homies. Can you tell me what’s going on?”

No turning back now. As much as she wanted to avoid the awkward and painful truth, she also knew that having a breakdown on a friend’s shoulder and not giving any context was generally unacceptable behavior. 

“I…I don’t…I’m not into Finn like that,” she said. There was an uncomfortably long pause.

“Yeah. I kinda gathered that. But I didn’t think a bad first date was enough to make Bonnibel Bogart cry in a dark and creepy park and ignore all my texts.”

“Yeah.” She said, taking a deep breath yet again. “The thing is…I want to like him. He’s everything I should want. He's everything the right girl could want.” Jake opened his mouth to say something, but stayed silent waiting for her to continue.

“I’m not upset because I don’t like him. I’m upset because I can’t ,” she choked out. Jake looked at her with blank eyes. “Please don’t make me say it out loud.” Her voice trailed into a whimper and she hugged her knees again, resting her forehead on her kneecaps.

“Huh? I’m so lost right now, Peebs.” A fire grew in her chest. He was going to make her say it out loud. She remembered so vividly the last time she had said these words to someone. It wasn’t an experience she wanted to repeat. She took a deep breath and ignored the taste of something burning on her tongue. She felt like she was sinking in quicksand and that if she didn’t tell Jake, she was going to drown. So she closed her eyes tight, and yelled:

“I’m GAY, OKAY?!” She threw her hands over her mouth as she bit her lip and fought another round of tears. “I’m gay.” Jake said nothing. He sat there and stared at her with a neutral expression, opening and shutting his mouth as if he was trying to will the right words to come out. There wasn’t much Bonnibel could do now, just choke back tears and talk herself down a spiral.

“I don’t like Finn because I am incapable of doing so. I try and I try and I try but nobody can seem to fix this,” she whispered, gesturing to herself. Jake looked at her with an expression she had never seen on his face. They sat there in silence for another minute as he put his arm on her shoulder. She didn’t know what to make of this. But he sure wasn’t pushing her away, and that she could live with. She took a shaky breath and went back to making patterns in her knees with her fingernails.

“You’re a science gal, right?” Jake said. Bonnibel looked at him with the most bewildered expression she could muster. “Okay, I’ll start talking sense. You know there are some things people are born with, their genetic biz?” She nodded, sensing where he was going with this. “I was born with green eyes, shit’s genetic. My whole life I wanted to be a blue eyed babe, but my eyes are green. I can wish it was different all I want, hell I can hate the way I look for it even. But nothing can change it. Sure, I could put colored contacts in, but underneath my eyes are still green and I’d be living an untrue life. And it’s not a problem. You can’t fix things that aren’t problems, dude.”

Bonnibel stared at him, and he stared back. Her eyes started to well with tears again as Jake panicked.

“Ah! I’m sorry! That was stupid, I should’ve called Lady she’d have been much better with this I–”

“Dude!” Bonnibel cut him off with a laugh. “I…no. That was, that was actually so…nice. I think these are good tears.”

“Oh thank glob,” he said with a huge exhale as he relaxed his shoulders. Then, inexplicably, they started to laugh. They laughed at nothing like it was the most hilarious nothing there had ever been. Jake wiped a tear from his own eye as he started again. “Hey, you know this changes… actually nothing, right?”

“Heh, I should’ve figured,” Bonnibel said as she stretched her legs out, realizing how cramped and cold she had become. Her face was hot from crying, but October nights were unforgiving and her skirt wasn’t doing her many favors against the breeze flowing lazily through the trees. She sighed and blew her bangs off the top of her glasses, contemplating what to say next. And nothing came. Jake was the first person she ever voluntarily told.

It wasn’t who Bonnibel’d imagined. She imagined it would’ve been Lady. She would work up the courage one night, after making a dazzling powerpoint presentation of course, and lay her cards on the table. Some of Lady’s friends from her hometown are gay, plus she and Bonnibel were damn near inseparable, so she’d be the most logical person to start with. Jake would’ve come next, then Shelby and Lana-Sue, and then…well, that left two. Two people she’d rather not face for a while. Somehow she figured it was a luxury she wasn’t going to be granted.

Jake was still sitting next to her, picking pebbles off of the rock to throw into the stream. He whispered a gentle “ker-ploop,” every time they made contact with the water and she couldn’t help but smile to herself. Lady may be her sister/partner-in-crime, but she was pretty sure this mulleted dork was her best friend. She wasn’t sure she was ready to just…move on from the topic. But she also figured a round of ‘oh my glob thank you for being so perfect about this,’ would’ve been overly dramatic for the both of them.

“Hey, what time is it?” she finally asked, stretching her arms over her head.

“Uhhhh,” Jake said as he fumbled for his phone. “It’s…10:02.”

“TEN?” Bonnibel yelled, scaring the crap out of her friend. “Ugh, I guess we should go home…”

“Only if you want to. I was thinking if you weren’t ready to be alone we could go to Waffle House? I know you just ate but you could drink coffee while I go nuts on some hash browns,” Jake offered. Bonnibel thought it over.

“That actually sounds really nice,” she said as she stood up.

“Poifect!” he shouted as he jumped down off the rock. He started walking away when Bonnibel thought of something.

“Hey Jake?” she called. He turned to face her.

“That’s my name, don’t wear it out,” he joked, putting his hands on his hips.

“Yeah, yeah,” she said with an unamused expression. “I’ll tell Finn I’m sorry for tonight. But please…don’t tell anyone. Even Lady. I trust her with my life but I really wasn’t ready for anyone to know yet.” Jake took a few steps back toward her and dropped all his goofy mannerisms if only for a moment.

“Yeah, for sure, man. And look, I know how your anxiety is but don’t get some type of… Bonnibel way about this. You haven’t done anything to upset the balances of our friend group. People go on awkward dates or break up but it doesn’t have to affect anything if we don’t let it.” She smiled and jumped down to walk with him. He really knew how her mind worked. “I’ll have to tell you about how Shelby asked out LSP last year.”

“Okay, WHAT?” She said with a laugh.

“Oh I know girl!” he laughed right back. All of a sudden he stopped, and got a weird look on his face.

“What, is the story that bad?” Bonnibel asked, shoving her hands in her pockets.

“Well, uh, no.” She cocked an eyebrow at him as if to say get on with it. “Well, since you’ve been so honest and we promised not to lie anymore, I feel like I need to warn you about something I might’ve forgotten about,” he grumbled as he stared at a seemingly interesting piece of grass.

“Okayyyy?” She didn’t like where this was going.

“Okay so, Lady took my car to work tonight. And when Finn called me to tell me you ditched him I was so pissed and wanted to find you because I figured you weren’t coming home…”

“ Okayyyy …and?”

“And I maaaay have called someone to drive me to this park so they’re going to be with us at Waffle House if we go,” he said with a look of pain on his face.

“...oh Jake you can’t be serious!” Bonnibel shouted. As they drew closer to the other side of the field, she saw the only other car in the parking lot was a bright red SUV with all the lights on inside. And in the driver’s seat was a familiar dark-haired girl, bored face screwed up in concentration as she messed with her phone and an AUX cord. “You called Marceline?!”

Chapter Text

“I didn’t know what was about to happen!” Jake whispered back to Bonnibel as they inched closer to the SUV, trying and failing to look like they weren’t arguing about who was inside. Marceline was doing them both a favor and pretending not to notice, at least as far as Bonnibel could tell.

“You could’ve called anyone else!” she hissed back, fists clenched in rage. Marceline was quite literally the last person she ever wanted to see at the moment. She did not want to see her…whatever she was…right after coming out for the first time. Bonnibel felt ridiculous calling the bassist her worst enemy; it seemed dramatic. But they weren’t exactly friends even though they shared activities and a friend group. The only thing her mind seemed to agree with was “awkward acquaintance.”

“Uh, no !” Jake kept up with their stage-whispering. “Shelby’s at the movies, Lana-Sue’s at a late-night rehearsal, Lady’s at work, and Finn wasn’t exactly jumping at the chance to come with me. This was your only option that wasn’t the dude you just stiffed.” Bonnibel grunted back at him and directed her attention back to the car that was almost within 10 feet. She and Marceline made eye contact for the smallest of moments before the bassist yet again pretended to have problems with the AUX cord.

“Well she can definitely hear us talking ,” Bonnibel said.

“Well all we’re doing is quietly screaming!” Jake said back. They were both silent for only a second before bursting out into schoolchildren giggles. They saw Marceline roll her eyes and put her phone down.

“I can hear both of you!” she yelled muffled through the windshield. “Why don’t you want me to? Talking shit?”

“You wish we were talking about you,” Jake said as he opened the passenger side and Bonnibel climbed into the back. Her feet kicked a couple of Monster energy cans and an empty carton of cigarettes as her face twisted in disgust.

“Don’t act like everyone doesn’t use their backseat as a trash can, princess,” Marceline called from the front. “Wanna tell me what you two dweebs are doing in a park at 10 p.m.?” Bonnibel just grunted in response, causing Jake to turn around and give her a look that she thought was supposed to say ‘play nice.’

“We’re gonna…gotowafflehouse.” Marceline turned and gave her a raised eyebrow. Bonnibel didn’t want to tell her what they’d been talking about, so deflecting to their plans seemed like the best bet.

“Speak up dude!”

“Ugh, Peebles don’t be grumpy,” Jake piped up. “I wanna take her to Waffle House. Do you want to be a fair maiden and drive us?”

“Sure your highness,” she said in a pompous voice with an over-exaggerated bow. They all gave an awkward laugh as Marceline kicked the car in gear and they started on their way to the main road, away from Bonnibel’s safe space. She was still shaky and trying desperately to steady her breath from her previous…conversation. So she wasn’t paying much attention to whatever was going on in the front seat. She was doing her usual grounding routine and over-analyzing the space she found herself in.

She looked around the messy floor and began to piece together a few stories. Stories of a girl who chain smoked cigarettes like it was her job, apparently. She saw empty energy drink cans, some presumably-dead lighters, and a bunch of crumpled up papers. Oh how she wanted nothing more than to be a nosy bastard and rifle through them… but she thought better of herself. ‘That sure won’t win me any brownie points.’ Instead, she found herself subconsciously tapping out a rhythm on her exposed thighs. She hadn’t even registered the song that was playing, but somehow her brain had her humming and drumming like a pro.

“Yo, pinkie.” Bonnibel stopped all movement and grunted. Another nickname? “You know this song?” 

“Yes, if you must know,” she flattened her expression before catching Jake giving her the stink eye from the rearview mirror. She sighed and let up a little. “Cage the Elephant isn’t exactly underground, Marceline. And Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked is like their most popular song. Surprised you weren’t aware.”

“Mm, true,” the other girl mused with an almost admiring look on her face as she put her blinker on to pull off onto a side street. “But still, I’m impressed. Thought you’d be into all that bubblegum pop,” Marceline raised her eyebrows and cracked an exaggerated open-mouthed smile. Bonnibel’s eyes went wide and Jake threw a palm to his forehead.

This awkward silence was palpable.

“God I don’t know why I said that…” Marceline grumbled.

“Dude,” Jake said after he let out a repressed chuckle, “there’s no way your fuckin jokes are actually getting worse! I didn’t think that was possible!” All that came in reply was a swift THWACK to his shoulder from the driver, followed by some slow laughter. Bonnibel was almost in shock. This was the girl who keeps insulting her? Really? The same girl who teased her relentlessly also made unabashed puns and was…kind of awkward. What?

“Ay!” Bonnibel snapped out of her thoughts to catch Marceline’s eyes. They were officially parked outside the Waffle House (even if she hadn’t looked, the smell of weed and burnt butter should’ve given it away) and the driver had turned around to look at her. “Take a pic, it’ll last longer.” She guessed that in her wondering, she had been unintentionally staring at the girl. Marceline had worn her hair up in a loose ponytail that night, and Bonnibel felt relief that Marceline was wearing a hoodie and sweatpants. ‘Wait what the junk, why am I relieved? It’s not like she’s all that pretty…not like gorgeous or anything anyway…’

As Jake laughed at both of them to avoid taking sides,  Bonnibel formed  her eyes into slits and slid forward until their faces were two inches apart. Marceline smirked and made no move backward. As the shorter girl grumbled Marceline leaned on the center console and cocked an eyebrow as if to say ‘What now?’ It made something grow in her chest. But this wasn’t exactly anger like the last few times Marceline had challenged her.

‘Huh,’ Bonnibel thought, ‘something’s different here. Maybe I’m actually making moves toward tolerating this girl…’ Her thoughts were interrupted by Jake clearing his throat. Both girls’ eyes finally left the other’s as they turned their attention to him.

“As much as I’d love to see you two murder each other, I’d also like some hash browns before I get interviewed by the cops.” Marceline flashed him a thumbs up before spinning back toward Bonnibel to blow her a sickly sweet kiss. Bonnibel’s face flashed her trademark pink as she huffed and pushed back into her seat. Marceline let out a cackle as she clambered out of her car.

“You saw that!” Bonnibel gestured to the front seat as Jake rolled his eyes and turned to face his friend. “She winds me up to be a nuisance!” 

“Yeah, she does it on purpose, you absolute DINGWAD,” Jake emphasized. Bonnibel crossed her arms and huffed. “She does it to everyone! If you really wanna get her back, play it smoooooove,” he moved his arms to look like waves. “You two’d probably be much better friends if you weren’t so similar.” 

“Aw, WHAT?” she leaned forward to grab onto the passenger seat. “I’m nothing like her!”

“Yeah sure, and I’m President Porpoise.” Huh?

“What?”

“Exactly. Tell me if this sounds familiar: someone with a sarcastic sense of humor who likes to dig at their friends to rile ‘em up on purpose , someone who talks funny and makes terrible jokes, someone really proud and won’t hardly admit when they’ve done wrong…need I continue?” Bonnibel moved backwards and side-eyed her friend. She didn’t like what she was hearing.

“No you don’t,” she grumbled. “Only because you’re forgetting one crucial detail: I’m not a jerk!”

“Hey bro! She feels crummy about how she treated you; don’t diss one of my best homies.” Jake pointed a finger at her chest. Her face fell slightly as she shrunk in stature. She offered him an apologetic smile. He gave one right back and offered his hand for a truce fistbump. She loved how the two of them could have a whole conversation without talking.

Their attention quickly jumped to the front door, however, when they heard it slam against the worn brick exterior. Marceline was standing there, foot extended, with an irritated look on her face.

“Hey assclowns!” came muffled through the windshield. “I didn’t drive you all the way out here to watch you have touchy-feely friend time! I got us a table!”

“Bro calm down,” Jake chided as he stepped out of the car, “you can be hangry without all the screaming. Save your voice for the next gig.” Bonnibel quickly followed suit and ran to catch up with Jake at the door. The three of them made their way into the sparsely-populated restaurant and sat at a booth with three inexplicably wet menus.

“Ooh, there’s a next gig already?” Bonnibel offered, trying her best to make polite conversation.

“Kind of,” Marceline muttered as she tried to pry the menu off the table. Bonnibel cocked her head and turned to Jake who was sipping on one of the three coffees that were already waiting on the table for them.

“It’s real tentative right now,” he tapped on the side of his mug with both his hands. “Some guy at the show a couple weeks back got our contact info and sent Shelby an email--” The story was cut off momentarily as a waitress who looked like she wanted to be literally anywhere else sauntered over to take their order. It was fairly simple; all they wanted was some hash browns, and an order of waffles with a side of toast and jam for Marceline. 

“So the show?” Bonnibel asked as she emptied five sugars into her coffee at once. She decidedly ignored Marceline’s snickers from across the table.

“Yeah, right. So it turns out, guy actually runs promotions for a bar further into the city. A place called Nightosphere.”

“Never heard of it,” she muttered as she blew on her much sweeter drink.

“Not surprised,” Marceline piped up. “It’s a punk spot. Ice Castle is a college bar who just happens to host a punk night once every blue moon. Nightosphere caters to our people.” She gazed into the distance as she twirled her fork between her fingers, apparently lost in a daydream.

“Right,” Jake bounced off her. “So it’d be huge for our cred if we could open a show there. Problem is we’re not sure if we’re polished enough to play somewhere with that kind of exposure.”

“Bunk that!” Bonnibel said with a creased brow. “You guys sounded incredible at your show!” Jake and Marceline actually blushed at the compliment. Marceline blushing sure was a sight, she thought.

“Well, thanks,” Marceline said slowly through a smile. Wow, that was almost - “princess.” - aaand nevermind. The conversation was cut through once again as their waitress sat their food on the table and informed them she was going out back for a smoke break and if they needed anything to bother somebody else. The three of them gave each other a look as they giggled at how perfect that attitude was for a Waffle House. Just as they were digging in, Marceline’s phone rang. She picked it up without even looking at the screen.

“Yello, you’ve reached everyone’s favorite bassist,” she said through a mouthful of carbs and syrup. Bonnibel chuckled and shook her head at the other girl; that can’t seriously be how she answers the phone all the time. “Oh - dad!” Marceline instantly swallowed her food as her eyes lit up and she stood up. “Heh, no I didn’t see it was you obviously. Whatcha need? I told you I was helping out Jake tonight, right?” That was the last Bonnibel heard as Marceline reached the front of the restaurant and stepped out into the night.

“Helping out Jake?” Bonnibel questioned as she turned back around from watching Marceline to nurse her coffee once more.

“Heh, I told you I didn’t tell her anything,” he shrugged.

“Well, you still might’ve told her.” She shrugged shyly, feeling her trust issues creep up. “She could just not wanna spill that she’s at dinner with a confirmed sadistic heartbreaker,” she said with as much sarcasm as she could muster, which wasn’t much. Jake gave her a look that said ‘dude, seriously?’

“Dude, seriously?” Welp. “Yeah, you did a shitty thing. But it was because of something you can’t really control. If you’re a lesbian, you’re a lesbian you kn-”

“HUSH!” she all but yelled, flinging her arms around. “People are gonna hear you!”

“Who? The people three booths over gabbing away? You’re the one drawing attention to us.” She looked around to realize Jake was right, and nobody was looking at them. Still, it didn’t stop her from feeling like there were a thousand eyes burning holes into her skull.

“Ehhhhhhh,” was all she could get to come out of her mouth as she sunk into the booth. Jake gave her a small smile and reached across the table. Bonnibel gave one back and did their stupid “handshake” with him. Calling it a handshake was pretty liberal, though, as all they did was wiggle their fingers together.

“Look, I’m sorry. I get that you’re probably not ready to exactly talk about this yet.”

“I mean, no. You’re literally the first person I’ve ever told. It’s almost like I’ve been actively avoiding thinking about this very topic for like four years.”

“Word…” was all Jake could seem to think to say as he sat his fork down for a moment. He had scarfed down about half his food and was taking a breathing break. Why did the Mertens boys always eat like they’d never been fed in their lives?

“And besides, you’re straight. At least as far as I know,” she said with a smirk.

“Hey, as far as I know too,” he threw his hands in the air. She giggled.

“Yeah, exactly. So is Lady. It’s not like I even know any…others to talk with about this subject,” she said dejectedly. Jake opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but opted for clearing his throat instead. “You seriously think that trick still works on me? Just say what’s on your mind.” Jake gave her a mischievous look.

“You’re too observant, girl,” he gestured his coffee mug at her. “I don’t know what is and isn’t my business to say.”

“Mm, fair I guess,” she said, thinking she knew what her friend was getting at. He knew someone gay and didn’t know if he was allowed to spill the beans. She was glad he was trying to be respectful, but out of… scientific curiosity, she wanted to know so bad. Going to a liberal arts school, it wasn’t exactly uncommon for people to be a part of that community, but it wasn’t like Bonnibel went out of her way to make friends. A part of her wanted a gay friend to ask any and all questions in the world, and another part wanted to squeal and hide under her bed at the mere thought of that. She was so deep in her thoughts she almost didn’t notice a toned, tan figure walking up. Almost.

“Hey losers, dad supposedly just wanted to know if I fed the dog before I left. Then I somehow got roped into a long-winded rant about his work,” Marceline explained as she plopped back down next to Jake, cheeks rosy from the cold.

“Sounds about right for a family phone call,” Jake laughed as he resumed ravaging his dinner-breakfast-midnight snack.

“For sure,” Bonnibel offered half-heartedly. “I’m sorry, hold on,” she said in Marceline’s direction before turning to Jake. “Dude, didn’t you already eat tonight? You’re going to give yourself a stomachache.”

“Honestly, gotta agree with Bubblegum here,” Marceline jabbed her thumb in the other girl’s direction. “You’re a bottomless pit, man.” Bonnibel caught herself almost smiling. Out of all the idioctic names she’d earned herself, Bubblegum was the one she was most partial to, and it felt nice to hear Marceline use that one instead of princess - ew.

“Keep your loser opinions to your loser selves and let me be a WINNER,” Jake said through a mouthful of hashbrowns. The girls made eye contact and laughed while Jake sat there and looked mock-offended. Maybe it was nice to hang out with Marceline when they weren’t at each other’s throats.

“Speaking of winners, did someone score tonight?” Marceline said while wiggling her eyebrows. Bonnibel scrunched her face in confusion and looked to Jake for help. He was unhelpfully staring at his plate and hiding his lips in his mouth. Marceline scoffed and blew a stray curl out of her eyes. “I’m talking about your date, nerd.”

“Uh… well, you know. It was fine. It was a date.” Bonnibel took a sip of her coffee to avoid answering fully. Marceline gave her a knowing look before taking a sip of coffee. Since no one else was saying anything, she found herself not being able to shut up. “Yup. A date, all it was, no scoring of any kind involved. Yeah you know, now I know what it’s like. Pretty uneventful I’d say actually. I don’t know why everyone seems to be dying to get a piece of this romance nonsense.” When she finally looked up, Marceline had that stupid look she always had on her face, and Jake was giving her one that she just knew said “what the fuck was that?”

“I kinda figured you’d say something like that,” Marceline replied through chuckles. “Maybe not in as many words, but still.”

“What?”

“Yeah, what?” Jake chimed in, ready to jump to Finn’s defense.

“Nothing against Finn, dude. He’s like my little brother. Just, you know.” She focused her attention back on Bonnibel. “I just meant… because you’re gay, right?” 

Bonnibel choked on her coffee, coughing for several long seconds that felt like minutes in her mind. Jake’s face was frozen in shock, eyes wide with amusement and jaw glued to the table. The few remaining hash browns were immediately forgotten.

“Gah, wha - okay, first of all! Why, how? You can’t just -” she cut herself off by having another coughing fit. She suddenly became very aware of their volume and scanned the restaurant. Nobody had even glanced up from their table as far as she could tell. Maybe choking was one of the more tame things that could be considered an incident at Waffle House. “I mean what…JAKE!”

 Marceline looked between Bonnibel and Jake, then took a tentative bite of toast… to hide embarrassment, Bonnibel noticed. Marceline the rockstar, embarrassed. She saw Jake motioning towards her, and mouthing the words ‘I didn’t say anything,’ WAY too pronounced to be subtle while crossing his heart.

“Well, I gather that that was not common knowledge,” Marceline muttered around the food, spilling some jam onto the corners of her lips. Bonnibel was at a loss for words, glaring at Marceline with a flood of emotions even she couldn’t decipher. Anger for calling her out, jealousy that she could say it so easily, anxious that if even Marceline could tell that the rest of her friends could too, dread about the teasing that would ensue… and maybe even a little relief that she didn’t have to repeat it one more time that night.

“Look,” Marceline spoke, cutting the tension at the table, “we can always spot each other.” Jake’s glittering eyes bounced between the two girls and their conversation. He looked at Marceline with hesitation, and his other friend with pure uneasiness. Bonnibel blinked once, twice, her head simultaneously full to bursting and completely empty. Marceline turned her head fully towards Jake, then Bonnibel, clearly frustrated that she was carrying the conversation. “Dude, I’m bi. It’s not exactly a secret. I figured you… well, like I said, we can always clock each other.” She looked down at her plate and shrugged, picking up another piece of bread absently – the closest Marceline could get to being flustered, Bonnibel assumed. 

“Ah,” was all she could bring herself to say after she could rest assured she wasn’t going to choke again. Marceline cocked an eyebrow her way.

“Ah?”

“Well… Jake, that explains what you stopped yourself from saying earlier.” Jake’s eyes went wide yet again before giving her a death glare. But Marceline only looked amused.

“Bud, I’ve told you! I don’t give a shit who you tell about me.” 

“Not my biz!” Jake threw his arms up in the air, looking uncomfortable as all hell. “Okay can we PLEASE talk about something else now? I’m literally begging.” The girls shared yet another laugh between them. All of Bonnibel's instincts had been telling her to get mad, to scream at Marceline that her sexuality was none of the other girl's business, and to storm out and call an Uber home. But she had weighed the options carefully in her mind. They were in a very public place, there was no way she wanted to yell at the top of her lungs something she already hadn't been prepared for one person to know, let alone two. Also, the main thing Jake and Lady had been saying for the past few weeks had been bouncing around the back of her head: "give her a chance." So, as much as the instincts she had spent years carefully developing to protect herself didn't want her to, she decided to give her best effort to play this off. 

It's not like that wasn't a calculated move either. Bonnibel determined that if she played this off as no big deal, maybe Marceline would treat like that too. Or maybe in the very best case scenario she'd forget it altogether, even though there was a small part of her that didn't want it to be forgotten. Since the cat was already out of the bag, there was an inkling of hope forming inside her, that maybe this could be the thing that bonded the two of them together, and that she'd finally have a friend who understood the things she went through. But then she looked again at the girl sitting across from her, and remembered who she was dealing with. Marceline didn't exactly like her, and maybe she had reason for that as much as Bonnibel didn't want to admit it. Maybe she could change that, if she tried. She reached over and stole a bite of Jake's hashbrowns, causing him to gasp in mock horror.

“Alright, ya big baby,” Bonnibel said with a teasing tone. “Tell me more about this potential…concert thing guys.”

That sure got Jake talking. He explained that basically they knew their band was pretty good. They had gained a small following on YouTube, and their video from the bar show was sitting at around 10k views. While it was something to celebrate, they couldn’t just coast on that for too long. They needed to keep putting their sound and faces out there, so they needed this gig at Nightosphere. Not only was it the perfect venue to reach a bunch of people that were sitting pretty in their target demo, but they’d get a feature on ALL the bar’s socials. 

“That sounds like a pretty big deal,” Bonnibel offered as she took the last sip of her coffee, regretting drinking it so fast and so late at night.

“Um, yeah! It’s frickin huge! HUGE,” Jake emphasized. 

“Yeah, what he said,” Marceline agreed, but rolled her eyes a bit at his dramatics. “It’s just that we’ve only officially been a band for a little less than a year. Technically we’re still in the phase of finding our sound.” Bonnibel rested her elbows on the table and put her chin in her palms, so Marceline continued. “We’ve been jamming together longer than that, obviously. But there’s a difference between playing Green Day and Anti-Flag covers in Shelby’s basement and actually thinking about getting serious about this shit and writing originals.” Bonnibel nodded.

“Okay, there’s a difference between them for sure,” she offered. “But you guys seem serious enough. What’s holding you back?” Jake and Marceline shared a look and she nodded at him as if to say continue.

“Well for one, we barely have any original songs. We wanna have at least three before opening a show. You can’t open a show as a cover band, that’s lame as shit.” Bonnibel nodded, even though she was barely following his logic. “And two, we’re missing a piece. We’re just not sure what yet.” Now she was even more lost. She guessed (correctly) that he meant they needed a fourth member. She wasn’t sure why, she thought they sounded great just the three of them. But Jake and Marceline insisted they needed more balance in their “tracks.”

“So if you know of any punk bitch who can play a mean lead guitar AND could hang with us, let us know,” Marceline said with a wink.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be sure to send all of my friends that fit the description your way,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Thought I could count on you, princess,” Marceline said all too sweetly as she winked. Bonnibel grunted, as was custom, and Marceline promptly ignored it and yawned. “Alright y’all, it’s past my bedtime. I wanna get home before my mom has a conniption.” Bonnibel looked at her phone and groaned. Along with it being damn near one in the morning, she had about 30 missed texts from Kings and Queens.

“Do any of you have any other people to text?” she muttered as she flipped her home screen to show Jake. He scoffed as the three of them stood up from the booth and made their way outside.

“Not really, no,” he sighed as he stretched his back deeply. “We may seem all cool and popular and awesome,” he said, earning an elbow jab from both girls, “ow! But Lady and I really stopped going to the big parties around March of last year. I’d rather get wasted with my buds while we play Card Wars or video games rather than getting sweated on by a bunch of idiots I barely know.”

“Ditto,” Marceline said as she flicked a lighter for the cigarette in her mouth.  Ew. She must’ve seen Bonnibel’s disgusted look, because she turned slightly in the shorter girl’s direction. “Look, I may tolerate you enough to share some shitty diner food, but not enough to not smoke around you.” Jake sensed another argument coming and rolled his eyes, hard.

“Come onnnnnn,” he groaned with all his might. “I don’t have the energy to break you two up. Marceline, can’t you just smoke after we drop Prubs off at her car?”

“Mm, sure,” she said, taking the still unlit tobacco out of her mouth. “But I’m definitely stealing that version of the nickname, Prubs.” Bonnibel pressed her lips together in thought, and decided to take a step in the right direction,

"Look I won't be a grump about it, just keep the windows down," she said as she started towards the SUV. When she turned back around to climb into the back seat, she thought she saw Marceline smiling as a cigarette was lit. Bonnibel was glad it was dark all around, because blushing at Marceline was not something she wanted to be caught doing. The windows were rolled down and Jake kicked on some old-school punk as the three of them headed back to campus. She couldn't put her finger on it, but Bonnibel thought the air felt just a little lighter.

–

When they got back to the park, Marceline stepped out of the car along with Bonnibel, trailing her to the Honda. “Dude, what–” Bonnibel started, but the sudden closeness of Marceline made her pause. She threw a look to Jake, but he was engrossed in some stupid YouTube video he started watching halfway home.

“Look, princess, I didn’t realize that the whole…vegan thing was breaking news. I’m not gonna tell anyone, scout’s honor. I could tell you were worried.” 

“Vegan?” she asked, genuinely confused. 

“Heh, no meat,” Marceline smirked. Bonnibel brought up her arm to smack the girl, but quickly thought better of that. “Smart choice.” She muttered something about ‘what would you know about smart,’ but put her hands in her pockets nevertheless.

They stood in silence for a second, unsure of exactly what to do next. But when Bonnibel opened her mouth to mutter her thanks, Marceline was quick to cut her off. “It’s not like I care enough about you to be spreading your secrets anyway.” The words stung Bonnibel, a familiar annoyed flush creeping up her neck. Marceline chuckled and turned away, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she walked back to her car, not waiting for a response. 

“Hey!” Bonnibel called after her. Marceline turned on her heels and gave a look of confusion. “Were you ever actually a scout? Because I swear that honor means junk if you weren’t.” Marceline mustered that damn charming smirk.

“That’s not for you to know.” And with that, she was officially in the car, ending the first genuine conversation that the two had ever had.

As she started her car, staring through the artificial light of her headlights, something gave her pause. Maybe it was her high emotions, the late-night coffee, or the darkness masking facial expressions, but Bonnibel could’ve sworn that, underneath the dripping sarcasm, she detected a bit of gentleness in Marceline’s voice.

Chapter Text

Bonnibel groaned at the uncharacteristically bright light creeping its way into her bedroom that early Sunday morning. ‘It’s almost November, shouldn’t the sun have gone to die by now?’ she thought as she rolled out of bed to close her curtains, grumbling nonsense to herself. Now that her room was sufficiently dark again thanks to the blackout curtains she bought last year, she went back to lie in her bed and tried to forget the mind-numbing amount of vulnerability she partook in the night before.

She pulled the covers up over her face, trying unsuccessfully to hide from her own thoughts. She had really come out to another human being, two of em, last night. That in itself was enough to make her want to throw up all over her dark purple sheets. The last time anyone found out about this part of her was not a moment she wanted to relive anytime soon. The angry swarm of wasps in her head were already trying to start up a thought storm, albeit slowly and sleepily. The phrases zipping around were things along the lines of “he said he didn’t care but we both know that’s a lie,” and “Marceline found out too, what you think the girl who hates your guts is really gonna keep that secret for you? Keep dreaming moron.”

Realizing that the blanket wasn’t doing her enough good, she upped the protocol and shoved her pillow over her face as well. She let out a very loud and frustrated groan into the darkness, hoping some of the wasps might leave with it.

‘Come on Bonnie, you’re not buying into all that breathwork shit your therapist tried to teach you, are you? It’s a waste of time!’ Welp, they definitely weren’t going to leave on their own.

 ‘Okay Bonnibel, let’s think about this calmly and rationally,’ she started in her own head. ‘Jake has nothing to gain from lying to you. And Lady would kick his butt if he so much as said one negative word to you…right? Yeah. Yeah she totally would.’ This was something her and her free campus therapist were working on: taking the negative self-talk and pairing it with evidence of why it wasn’t true. It didn’t even work half the time, and it usually ended with Bonnibel feeling completely freaking ridiculous. But every once in a while, a miracle happened where it sort of calmed her down. This was her version of  “fake it til you make it.”

She slowly uncovered her face, pushing the blanket down and moving her pillow back under her head to take a deep breath of the now cool air of her bedroom. ‘And let’s think about Marceline. She has nothing to gain either. If she told anyone in the little group we have it wouldn’t do her any favors. They were already peeved at both of us from the little stunt we pulled at the bar. It’s not like outing me to them would make that any better. If she won’t protect me for my sake, I’m sure she’d do it for her own.’

After repeating these thoughts like mantras to herself for a few minutes she finally felt her stomach settle and her breathing come back to a normal pace. ‘Well there’s no way I’m going back to sleep now,’ she thought. She slowly sat up and stretched her arms to the ceiling, willing her body to be as awake as her mind. She slapped her right hand down on her nightstand, coming into contact with her phone.

‘8 o’clock on the dot. Guess I should get up for the day.’ Her feet hit the floor with a thump and she tried to work out a plan for the day between showering, brushing her teeth, and picking out an outfit. But it was getting hard to concentrate on anything with the growling of her stomach growing louder by the second. She threw on a long sleeve t-shirt and a cardigan overtop a pair of jeans and headed out into the common space of her apartment, crossing her fingers that Lady was still asleep.

As Bonnibel looked over the empty living room and kitchen she sighed in relief. ‘Thank cheese. Lady must’ve closed last night. Maybe there is a Glob and he doesn’t hate me.’ She then made her way as quietly as possible to the front door and gingerly eased it closed. As she turned around and was greeted with the gentle brushing of snowflakes on her face, she groaned. So that’s why the light coming in her window was blindingly bright; there was about 2 inches of snow on the ground. Not an unusual sight for the week leading up to Halloween, but one that pissed the already emotionally exhausted girl off to no end. 

The only reason she was even out of the house was because in her anxiety-ridden, barely conscious state she realized that all she had managed to accomplish the last few days was pedaling drama…instead of doing literally any of her homework. Otherwise that blessed, blessed bed that was calling her name might not be getting ignored. However, being the semi-responsible student she was, she reached in the door and grabbed her favorite gray beanie to keep her ears warm before heading off.

It was still the weekend, so as Bonnibel walked along with her hands shoved in her cardigan, she took in the droves of students attempting to build tiny snow people and having snowball fights; one frat guy was even attempting to “ice skate” on the street with his Heelys. She smiled a little to herself; even though she would not be granting herself the pleasure of goofing off, she still found it incredibly endearing watching other people do so.

‘Speaking of endearing idiots,’ she thought to herself as her phone buzzed numerous times in a row. These days she didn’t even have to look at the screen to know who was texting her; it was always going to be one of six people. And she knew it was going to be Shelby before she saw his name because he was the only other person likely to be awake before 9 am. ‘Except that one time Lana-Sue texted at 6 am and we all thought she was dying…got a healthy reminder that all-nighters existed…’

As she “love” reacted to his GIF about snow days, she looked up and realized she was already at the library. It was the most modern building on campus, thanks to a donation by a very wealthy alumni family, and from the outside it resembled more of a museum with its large glass walls with their concrete supports. Bonnibel couldn’t help but feel at home when she stepped inside. The large circulation desk separated the two halves of the expansive library: to the right was the open computer lab, the collaboration-friendly workstations, the office of the Student/Alumni magazine where Shelby worked, and most importantly (where Bonnibel was headed first) a coffee/pastry stand.

Bonnibel, 8:24 a.m.: I mean I’m not complaining but…I’m noticing that there is a coffee stand in like every building on this campus. Is that not a hint to assign us less stuff to do?

Shelby WORM-man, 8:24 a.m.: holy shit. does my phone deceive me or did bubblegum just send an actual text in here

She rolled her eyes as deeply as she could as if he was standing next to her to prove her point. Then promptly looked around with a flush to make sure nobody actually saw her do that. Good part about 8 am on a Sunday? Only like two other people in the library and both were in front of her in line for coffee.

Bonnibel: 8:25 a.m.: And now that will be the last one you receive for 5-7 business days depending on how generous I’m feeling :P

The message got a nice little laugh reaction as she tucked her phone into her pocket. A simple iced coffee with lavender syrup and a splash of milk would do this morning. As unhealthy as she knew it was, she liked to drink coffee on an empty stomach before a long study session, she felt like it made the caffeine hit her brain faster. She took a long sip from the already crumbling paper straw and grabbed a mint from the counter before turning around to go into the study area. The mint was in preparation for the stomach ache she would definitely be getting later thanks to what Jake and Lady had dubbed her “brain juice.” As she weaved through all of the poorly spaced tables and wheelie chairs, her phone buzzed again in her pocket.

Shelby WORM-man, 8:29 a.m.: Come baaaaaaack nooooooo

Shelby WORM-man, 8:29 a.m.: BABY COME BACK

As Bonnibel struggled to contain her laughter in the deathly quiet library, a small noise coming from a few tables down caught her attention. She noticed as her phone buzzed incessantly with Shelby texting that stupid song line-by-line, someone else’s was buzzing in sync. She looked around and ever so un-gracefully made direct eye contact with one unamused Finn Mertens, whose phone was face up on the table in front of him.

Bonnibel cannot be sure if she visibly winced or if she just felt it with every fiber of her soul, but in that moment she didn’t really care. She had only known him a month now but had never seen that sweet blonde face so blank, and honestly in that moment she would’ve preferred the anger she saw from him in that video of him losing at Smash Bros. to Marceline, courtesy of Jake of course. He had his headphones in, and when he saw her take a step in his direction he wasn’t exactly discreet in turning his music up and diving back into whatever thick law book was in his hands. Based on the dark circles under his eyes he looked like he hadn’t slept much, if at all. And if Finn wanted to be alone so bad he had been up all night studying , Bonnibel definitely knew this was a time to leave things alone.

She instantly regretted that stupid iced coffee, as the unsettled feeling in her stomach was growing by the second and she was sure if she didn’t exit the library right that minute her guilt was going to swallow her whole, or she was going to throw up, or both. She dumped the almost full drink in the nearest garbage as she stumbled for the exit and right back out into the freezing morning just as the wind was picking up…perfect.

There was no way she was staying in that building. She wanted to be the mature one and just take a seat and do her work. But with everything she had learned about that boy, she didn’t want to risk it. He didn’t know how to feel things casually. No matter what he did, he had his passion and ambition turned to 100%, and she couldn’t imagine him handling his crushes any differently. She would just have to wait for this to pass. 

The walk home was pure torture, and the mint she struggled to unwrap with her icy fingers was doing little to quell her nausea. Suddenly the groups of eager young adults playing in the snow didn’t seem so entertaining anymore.

As she trudged back up to her own front door she took a deep breath to settle her rush of anxiety and pure annoyance. An almost half hour to walk there, and close to a half hour to walk back all for 5 minutes of peace, a heaping plate of awkward tension, and a side of stomach ache. As she unlocked her front door she prayed she would be so lucky to find her roommate still asleep.

“OH my glob,” Lady yelped from the kitchen, dropping two (empty) plastic cups scaring the crap out of both of them, and out of Jake who was sitting on the couch with his OOU athletic sweats on.

“Jesus Lady!” Jake muttered as he rubbed his eyes. “It’s not even 10 yet, can you hold off on The Great Gaspy for another few hours?”

“Sorry,” she grumbled as she rolled her eyes at her boyfriend. “I just thought you were still asleep, I didn’t hear anybody leave this morning and your door was still shut!”

“Heh, it’s cool,” Bonnibel said as evenly as she could. She just needed to get back to her room before anybody said anything else. “Anyway, I’m just gonna get a jumpstart on my homework-”

“Uh uh uh!” Lady tutted as she strolled into the living carrying two cups of OJ in her hands and two plates of bagels balanced on her forearms. “Don’t think you can sneak out of here without giving me detaaaaails!” Glob it.

“Huh, details?” Playing dumb was never her strong suit, she noted as Jake narrowed his eyes at her.

“Don’t play dumb Peebs, details about your date! You stayed out pretty late last night, you weren’t even home when I got here at midnight.” She said the last sentence with a sultry tone that Bonnibel decided she never wanted to hear come out of her best friend’s mouth again. As Lady faced away from them both to set the food and drinks on the coffee table, Bonnibel mouthed “HELP ME” as pronounced as she could to her partner in this crime of…not lying but for sure not telling the truth to Lady. Jake bit his lip and sighed before standing up and widening his eyes at his phone screen.

“Awww dammit sugar!” Jake yelled as he slung his duffel bag over his shoulder.

“What’s up? Is something wrong?” Lady asked, Bonnibel all but forgotten in the background.

“There’s an accident on Glenwood, so they closed the whole section of the road by the edge of campus!” Jake made a huge show of hurrying to slip on his volleyball shoes.

“Fuuuuuck,” Lady groaned towards the ceiling. “Well now we’re gonna have to take the back way to the gym.”

“I know!” Her boyfriend shouted as he tossed her the keys to her car. “So we gotta get going now or I’m gonna be late for warm-ups!” Bonnibel smiled warmly and as discreetly as she could gave him a mouthed “thank you.” His thumbs up back was all the confirmation she needed. She felt a little bad, Jake had his first practice match of the pre-season today and they had talked about her being there. College volleyball still confused the bjork out of her, but she had come to understand that before the competitive season started in January the team had a few months of intense camps and practice matches to prepare. 

“Peebs, you still coming?” Lady tossed the question over her shoulder as she slipped on her snow boots. “The whole gang’s gonna be there: LSP, Marceline, Shelby…Finnnnnn.” She drawled out Finn’s name and wiggled her eyebrows before laughing at herself as she saw Bonnibel’s constipated expression. “Okay I promise to stop being childish about it as soon as I get your deets in the car.”

“Ahhhh, well actually…” she looked to Jake for the briefest of moments, waiting for him to throw her a life preserver. But instead she got a look that said ‘I did my part you’re on your own now.’ “I have just this killer stomach ache, and I kinda wanna sleep it off.” Hey, not a lie!

“Oh honey I’m sorry,” Lady said with pity in her voice and eyes. “I can stay home with you if you want some company? Jake’ll have plenty of people supporting him today.” GLOB IT AGAIN.

“Oh please, come on,” Bonnibel started with what supposed to be a casual chuckle but came out as insecure, weird giggles, “you don’t need to do all that. I just had coffee on an empty stomach again. I just need to take a nap and I’ll be okay. Hey! Maybe if I feel better I’ll drive myself over in a bit!” ‘I really should learn how to edit, what did Marceline say? Too many words?’

“Oh…kay.” Lady said with the slightest bit of hesitation. “Well, if you change your mind just…text me.” Bonnibel swallowed hard as she muttered her goodbyes, she knew Lady could tell she was withholding information. They could always tell with each other.  And there was almost nothing she hated more in this world than lying to her best friends. Her mind began yet another ping pong match as she both hated herself for omitting the truth, especially after her almost-fight with Lady, and rationalized it with her exactly zero preparedness to come out again.

Bonnibel knew that telling Lady the full truth about the date would mean telling her why she freaked out, telling her that she went to the park, telling her about the conversation with Jake and subsequent conversation with Marceline. And she desperately wanted that night to remain an isolated event in her mind. No connections to real life, just a moment forever suspended separately from her life timeline. She knew it was special, and for glob’s sake she hadn’t had time to process it yet. 

And on that note, she decided it wasn’t going to be processing time quite yet. It had been time for thinking and drama for the past 48 hours and honestly she was getting tired of it. Before she could look in her backpack though, she got a text from Jake.

Jake, 9:20 a.m.: ahhhhhhhh i h8 foolin lady, tell me i won’t have 2 do that a lot. idk if i can handle that bro

Bonnibel felt the guilt creeping up like bile in her throat as she quickly typed out a reply:

Bonnibel, 9:21 a.m.: No, you won’t. I’m sorry I put you in that position. I’m not ready to talk about ALL OF IT, but I’ll tell her the date was bad when she gets home tonight.

Jake, 9:22 a.m.: well duh not all of it. just know if she ever finds out i lied 2 her 4 u were both getting our asses WHOOPED sister

Bonnibel, 9:24 a.m.: Looking forward to it. Btw, I’m sorry I’m not coming to your game today, I’ll make it up to you.

Jake, 9:25 a.m.: gurl plz. u came to like every game last season. there were sum games lady wasnt even at that u were so you have plenty in the bank 2 use

She breathed a sigh of relief as she put her phone on airplane mode and threw it to the other side of the couch. Okay, at least that conversation was sweet and funny and could take her out of her own head for two seconds. And two seconds was definitely long enough to remember that she was about to get down to business.

She had yet another assignment due for Biotransport Phenomena that she hadn’t even glanced at. It wasn’t even due for another two weeks, but that class didn’t donk around and she wasn’t taking chances. And if that didn’t work out, Dr. Petrikov sent her back the code they had been working on after testing it rigorously. He found a few bugs and offered to pay her overtime if she turned it in, debugged, by Wednesday. And, really, there wasn’t a limit to how much time she’d give up for time-and-a-half. 

So, after six hours of work (and one hour of twitter and a Kraft Mac n Cheese that Bonnibel would never admit to), the code for Dr. Petrikov had been rid of: four whole bugs! That only left…about six more to fix. If she kept up the pace she was at now, she’d have the whole program wrapped up in a bow by Tuesday morning. However, if she kept up her current pace she would also be tearing her eyes out by nighttime. She gingerly closed her overheating laptop and reveled in the peace and quiet once the fans turned off. The snow outside was still falling gently, but not enough to put more than another half-inch on the ground, and because it wasn’t going to cause her any more irritation Bonnibel could finally appreciate its beauty. 

She had taken her phone out of airplane mode for her (hypothetical) twitter break, so its buzzing took her out of her window trance as she checked Kings and Queens . LSP sent a picture of the 6 of them that was taken at the match, all hovering around Jake who was covered in sweat and raising his arms in victory. The sweetness Bonnibel felt looking at a picture of her friends didn’t last long as she glanced at the video sent directly after. It was of Jake, Finn, and Lady all trying to take Jello shots at some bar. They were trying not to use their hands and it was ending in a MESS. Shelby and LSP could be heard belly-laughing in the background and Bonnibel found it contagious. 

After a moment of solitary laughter, Bonnibel realized with the way the snow was falling behind Finn’s head out the window and the lighting in the video, it had to have been taken minutes ago. After the match they all must’ve gone out together, and knowing them they’d probably be together for the rest of the night. She weighed her options carefully while blowing out an all too dramatic sigh from her pursed lips. 

‘Alright. If they’ll all be busy being drunk idiots for the rest of the night, I should probably be fine to take a quick walk. I need my donkin brain breaks.’ Not running into one of them for at least a few days (so they would most likely forget about the dreaded date and therefore forget to ask questions) was priority number one. So only after double checking the video to make sure it couldn’t have been taken any earlier and being satisfied with her snooping skills, Bonnibel donned her faithful cardigan and beanie once more and headed out.

It was only about 5:30, but the sunset already looked to be in the process of starting so the gaggles of students had retreated inside. It left a very peaceful feeling on the campus as she took the back way through the neighborhoods, trying to find the fastest way to the quad. The streetlights were glowing orange against the dark blue clouds, making the snow glitter all the way to the ground. Autumn wasn’t quite over yet,  but it looked like a real winter wonderland outside.

She found her way to the quad with ease, and was delighted to find it mostly empty, except for a few snuggling couples enjoying the picturesque evening, probably about 50 yards away. Bonnibel even spotted a few of them holding hot cocoa. She felt a slight pull in her chest that she couldn’t quite explain when she looked at them. It distracted her so much that she was walking around in a pensive fog not watching where she was going, and ran right into a knee-high pile of snow.

And promptly fell on her face.

There were absolutely no words to describe her embarrassment as she wiped the snow out from in between her glasses and her eyes, praying that no one just saw her do that. And somehow there were even less words to describe the way her stomach dropped when she heard a very familiar laugh.

“Oh my god dude, are you okay?” It said through the giggles. Bonnibel almost refused to believe who was talking to her until she dried her lenses off and looked Marceline in the eyes herself. She was all bundled up in a fleece lined, brown leather jacket, black jeans (with no holes for once) and a black and white oversized beanie. And she was holding her stomach giggling with one hand, with the other outstretched toward the fallen girl. She felt her face go bright red. Bonnibel was not about to be pointed and laughed at, by Marceline, again. 

Just as she was about to hurl out an insult, she stopped and noticed Marceline wasn’t pointing at her, but was offering to help her up. As the giggling stopped Bonnibel just eyed her counterpart with one raised eyebrow, which was returned with an equal unspoken challenge. 

‘Damn why does she have to be better at that than me,’ Bonnibel grumbled in her thoughts as she took Marceline’s offer and steadied herself. Neither of them were wearing gloves, so she was shocked that Marceline’s hands were still so warm. She declined to think about that any further while she brushed the snow off her jeans. The only sound filling their part of the sloping hills was snow falling off denim, and the crunch of frozen ground as Marceline rocked on her heels. She needed to say something to fill all the dead air, it wasn’t like she could just keep walking now.

“We have to stop meeting like this?” Bonnibel offered what was meant to be a funny one-liner, but sounded more like she was asking permission. Luckily tone didn’t seem to be very important and Marceline laughed anyway. “And yeah I’m fine. The only thing bruised is my ego.”

“Well shit, I think that thing could get used to taking a hit or two,” Marceline said through her smirk. 

“Shut up. Like you're the master of humility, monster trash,” Bonnibel said with narrowed eyes, but both of them felt no bite behind those words. “What are you even doing out here?”

“Could ask you the same question Peebs,” the taller girl mused as she went back to picking up snow with her bare hands and adding it to the pile that was now in front of both of them. “Heard you skipped out on us at the game because of a stomach ache. Seems like you’re walking and talking just fine, so we know it’s not life or death. What’s the affliction keeping the Princess away from us?” Her tone was overly formal and teasing, but something in her face said she really wanted to know.

Bonnibel blew a big breath out before shoving her hands in her pockets and looking at the ground. “I, uh…I didn’t tell Lady, or anyone else, about my date with uh… Finn.” Marceline looked at her and nodded thoughtfully.

“Yeah, makes sense,” she said as she smoothed out the sides of her snow pile. “Not exactly hearing wedding bells on that front.” Bonnibel gave an awkward chuckle in response. “Even if you weren’t gay, he’s still such a…” And just like that the switch flipped. Bonnibel’s body went on high alert as she scanned her surroundings for potential listeners. She only felt a little stupid when she remembered how empty the space was in the first place. Then she looked back at Marceline, who was still gesturing to the air trying to find the right, non-offensive words. 

“Little brother?” Bonnibel offered, trying to suppress the shake in her voice. 

“Exactly, not really boyfriend material. Just never tell Jake I said that.” That garnered a much realer laugh from the other girl. 

“Yeah…plus then I’d have to tell them why I ditched the kid and why I freaked out. And I don’t think I’m ready for all that.” She sat down on a blanket she assumed was Marceline’s (unless somebody else brought their bass and set it up right next to them) and started picking at a stray fabric on her jeans.

“I mean I guess I get it,” Marceline said, tongue poking out slightly as she stacked more snow on top of her original pile.

“You guess?” Bonnibel asked, watching the other girl work.

“Yeah…I mean. Why not tell the rest of them?” Bonnibel scoffed on instinct at such a brass suggestion.

“Pffft, absolutely not.” Marceline stopped musing over her creation long enough to give Bonnibel a pointed look.

“Well that sounds very final. Care to share why, your highness?”

“Hate that one by the way.” Marceline shrugged so Bonnibel could do nothing except roll her eyes and continue. “I’m simply not ready. That’s pretty much all there is to it. Sorry there’s not a better reason for you.” The last sentence was meant to be sincere, but Bonnibel couldn’t seem to stop it from coming out bitter. But Marceline didn’t even seem to notice. 

“I mean, do shit whenever you’re ready for it, whatever, that’s fair. I just know them, they’re all cool with me being bi. And Lady basically conducts the Ally Train. Shit, LSP and Shelby even go to pride just for fun. There’s nothing to be scared of.” Bonnibel felt her chest tighten and knew she was about to get bitchy, she just couldn’t stop herself.

“I’m not scared, you dillweed,” she muttered. Marceline had finally smoothed the top pile of snow down to a shape she liked and turned towards the sitting Bonnibel, arms crossed with both eyebrows up. 

“Try again,” came in an unamused tone. Bonnibel grunted and tried to avert her eyes, but could only focus on- wait a minute.

“Did you skip out on the bars with the group to come out here and…build snowmen?” Marceline looked between her almost fully formed snowman and Bonnibel, face reddening. “Big bad Marceline wanted to build Frosty and didn’t want anyone to know?”

“Jesus who do you think I am dude? No. Sunday evenings are my song writing time,” she explained. “I just felt particularly uninspired tonight. But I still gotta put the creative energy somewhere I guess,” Marceline took a couple steps toward her blanket, kicking tufts of snow idly as she moved, and looked down for a silent invitation to sit. Bonnibel gave her a look that she thought exactly conveyed ‘it’s your blanket, sit down if you want.’ And it must’ve been perfect because Marceline just rolled her eyes and plopped down.

“Well I mean… that guy had to come from some kind of inspired place,” Bonnibel offered weakly, gesturing at the snow pile. It was a really lumpy, half-melted looking snowman so the sentiment just came out sounding sarcastic. Marceline just laughed.

“Eh not really. Just trying to make some feelings happen, didn’t work. Speaking of, don’t think I forgot about your issuuuue.” Bonnibel groaned and fell dramatically onto her back. 

“Don’t make me talk about it. You’re supposed to hate me and want me to struggle. And I’d rather be repressed so there you go, dingus,” she deadpanned. Marceline giggled for the second time that night, and it made Bonnibel smile just a little. 

“You’re so right your highness,” she started in that fake pompous tone that made Bonnibel’s skin crawl. “But making you talk about it is painful, so here I am.” And after a few beats of silence, “I won’t make you. I’m just letting you know you’re scared for bullshit reasons.” Even though Bonnibel knew she was right, it still didn’t make this biz any easier. “You wanna see our friends in action around a bunch of us? Maybe that’ll help.”

Bonnibel propped herself up on her elbows and gave a questioning look, “Us?”

“Gays, queers, lesbians, u-haulers; whatever word your glass-closeted ass wants to use,” Marceline replied. It was Bonnibel's turn to giggle. It felt weird…and a little warm to be part of that ‘us.’ Even if only one person knew and could relate. “I think I’m just gonna stick with a big ol’ ‘nerd’ label for you though.”

“Okay, I’ll have to think on that preferred term I guess,” Bonnibel said amused. “Where would I get to see our friends in action?”

“Oh shit I forgot…” Marceline reached around Bonnibel’s back to grab her bag and started rooting around, until she pulled out a slip of paper with a small aha. “I’ve been meaning to give one to you to finally get Jake off my back,” she muttered as she handed Bonnibel a piece of paper the size of a greeting card. On the top read “Marceline’s 22nd Birthday Bash Monster Mash”. It was Halloween themed, and honestly very nicely made. It was dated for the coming Saturday, the actual day of the holiday.

“A physical invite? What, are we in 2nd grade?” Bonnibel asked, waving it around. 

“Yeah okay,” Marceline started, “our freshman year Shelby was this real big weirdo who didn’t have a lot of friends in high school. His birthday is in August so we didn’t have time to tell him that party invites are more of a texting thing when you get past the age of 11. I’ll never forget the dude I just asked to drum for my new punk band coming up and handing me a paper invite to his 18th birthday party at Dave & Buster’s.” Bonnibel doubled over in laughter at the thought of baby Shelby being even more clueless than she was. “So now our whole little group does it as an inside joke with each other.”

“God y’all have some complicated jokes but whatever. I’m just absolutely floored that the resident vampire actually celebrates her birthday on Halloween,” Bonnibel said as she pulled out her phone to mark the date and time on her calendar.

“My birthday is on Halloween, your majesty,” Marceline retorted. Bonnibel just stopped typing and stared at her.

“No it is not.”

“Yes it is! Why would I lie??”

“That’s too perfect. Either some divine power planned that or you decided to base your entire personality around your birthday! Which one, Dracula?”

“Shut up, I am not that scary!” Marceline half-yelled as she shoved Bonnibel’s shoulder. Bonnibel dramatically fell onto her back again and Marceline followed suit.

“You kinda are,” Bonnibel offered. Marceline laced her fingers together lazily on her stomach and appeared lost in thought.

“Yeah I kinda am,” she said proudly. “But so are you when you wanna be, even with the Princess Bubblegum nickname.” This made them both laugh quietly, before going back to an almost comfortable silence for a moment.

“I’ll be there,” Bonnibel said as she tucked her arms behind her head.

“Sweet,” Marceline said, before quickly adding, “it’ll be good for you. All those theater kids can show you what it means to be out and proud.”

“Sure,” Bonnibel breathed out through a half-laugh. It was almost uncomfortable. ‘I mean a month ago we were at each other's throats,’ she thought to herself. ‘Now it almost feels natural. Almost . Something’s still off and it’s killing me that I can’t put my finger on it. Did I really fuck up that bad that we have no shot at being friends?’ She snuck a look at Marceline who was paying no attention to the girl next to her. She was, in fact, trying to catch the few fluttering snowflakes in her mouth. Every few seconds she would stick her tongue out and look like she was licking an invisible ice cream cone.

It took everything in Bonnibel not to burst out laughing, but there was no way she was doing anything that would mean she’d get to stop looking at that. It was probably going to be the one and only time she got to use the word “cute” in reference to her new maybe-friend and she wasn’t going to waste an opportunity to make fun of her later. It was only after a full minute of Bonnibel staring that Marceline finally noticed. She looked a little embarrassed, before something unreadable danced through her eyes.

“Careful.”

“Pardon?”

“Lesson number one from your gay-mentor,” Marceline started, earning her a quick slap to the forearm. “I’m gonna choose to ignore that,” she said pointedly. “Anyway, don’t…don’t look at girls like that.”

“Like what?” Marceline just turned to stare back at the sky.

“I don’t know, like that!” She gestured to Bonnibel’s face. “Someone might get a…very wrong idea.” She was trying to give Marceline a ‘what are you talking about’ look, but couldn’t help but notice Marceline wouldn’t meet her eyes. She turned back to stare up at the sky herself, when the realization hit her like a ton of bricks.

‘Wait what was I…no it wasn’t like that …Jesus I just came out and she thinks I’m hitting on her! How blippin conceited…she just…she finally wasn’t being an insufferable asshole for a minute, well not as much as usual anyway! And it’s perfectly normal to look at someone for a minute and not be…’ And then after a bit of pause, she remembered the last time she had to have this talk with herself. 

‘FUCK.’

Chapter Text

“Come on ding-dongs!” Jake yelled as he ran forward past his group of very tired and very annoyed looking friends, all barely awake and clutching coffee like their lives depended on it. “Papa’s gonna be late!”

Bonnibel watched her friend face them with a very earnest expression behind his glasses and almost felt a shred of sympathy for him. And then a truck cruised by where they were standing in the parking lot of an abandoned Best Buy, spraying them all with a light dusting of leftover snow from Sunday. As she looked down at herself and the rest of her friends clad in thick winter gear, fighting sleep, and now rubbing snow from their faces…the sympathy vanished.

“ Papa’s not about to be anything if he says that one more time,” Lady whispered in a fierce tone as she glared at Jake through her drooping eyelids.

“Point taken,” he said after he audibly swallowed and they all couldn't help but laugh a little. They were in the parking lot of said empty Best Buy at seven in the morning on a Thursday after being at The Ne’er Do Wellers band practice last night after certain people won a certain argument. “But come on sugar. You cannot deny we’re gonna get the BEST costumes!” Jake whooped as he threw his hands over his head in victory.

The reason for being in an abandoned lot? Well, it wasn’t totally abandoned. This particular Best Buy had been converted into the seasonal chain of Spirit Halloween. And why seven in the morning? Because that is when Jake had insisted to the rest of them would be the best time to buy costumes for Marceline’s birthday party that coming weekend. ‘Because that’s when they stock the store and no one will have been in to buy any of the good stuff yet!’ And why had they all agreed? Jake’s suggestion was originally met with loud protest that even included Bonnibel and Lady telling him that was just not going to happen. Until a certain someone had joined him in his cause.

“Lady,” Lana-Sue could be heard sing-songing from behind her. She had driven herself and Finn over from their side of OOU and had just caught up with the group. Lady turned around with a smile on her face.

“Yeah what’s up girl?” That was when she noticed LSP was holding a wallet outstretched towards her. “Oh shoot! Did I leave this in your car last night?”

“If you had forgotten your wallet and missed out on getting your PERFECT sexy costume, I would’ve ripped your junk off,” LSP put the wallet in Lady’s hand and strode over to join Jake at the front of the group. Lady was just left to stand, conveniently between Marceline and Bonnibel, looking shaken. Marceline gave Bonnibel a curious look before leaning into the tallest of their friends.

“Dude,” she started in a whisper, “how would that even be…possible?”

“I don’t know,” Lady whispered back, with what Bonnibel detected as genuine fear in her voice and she did all she could to suppress a giggle. It didn’t particularly work and as a struggling half-cough-half-laugh made its way out of her throat, it caught the attention of Marceline. Who then proceeded to check if Lady was watching, and when she wasn’t, made quite the overt gesture of pretending to rip her own chest off and mimed vomiting. 

And Bonnibel couldn’t contain it anymore, she let the laughter fall from her chest as Marceline smirked her way. She caught a glimpse of the way the snowflakes stuck around Marceline’s smile on her cheeks as one even caught in her one dimple. Immediately the cold air filling her lungs didn’t feel so chilly anymore so she had to stop to take a breath, the laughter having dissolved almost as quickly as it started. It wasn’t subtle enough to escape from Lady’s attention, though. As Marceline walked away towards LSP and Jake, who were currently arguing about a points system for a hypothetical costume contest, Lady gave Bonnibel her look .

“Don’t you even start with me,” Bonnibel said in a way that conveyed she knew it was coming anyway. 

“Oh don’t start with me not-nevermind!” Lady cut herself off with a wild gesturing of her hands. “What was that?”

“What? I’m not allowed to be civil with her?” Bonnibel asked as she casually popped some bright pink bubblegum in her mouth to replace the stale coffee taste on her tongue. She knew damn well Lady was going to call BS.

“Bullshit.” Uh-huh. “That wasn’t just civil . You two barely interacted at practice last night and I thought it was from that stupid little rivalry from the quad that one night. I thought it was getting better, but we had the pool party and you weren’t exactly buddy-buddy there either. Why’s it happening now, of all places?”

‘Right, the pool tournament,’ Bonnibel mused as they inched closer to Lana-Sue, who was arguing that costumes needed to be awarded points for campiness while Jake kept saying “What does that even MEAN?” ‘That was the last time Lady saw us talk. She doesn’t know about Waffle House, she doesn’t know about this past Sunday…’ The truth was that Bonnibel really was going to attempt to try to act nicer towards her supposed rival last night when Jake invited them all over to hang out and listen to them jam. She was going to try to ease those who were unaware into the new air of understanding between her and Marceline.

But as soon as she and Lady had stepped foot into Shelby’s basement, and she saw Marceline, headphones in, tuning her bass in the corner with a look of stoney concentration, Bonnibel had found herself musing that Marceline looked really pretty when she wasn’t talking through her thick cloud of sarcasm.

And for the entirety of last night, she couldn’t even look in Marceline’s direction. After that little blip, plus her thought spiral from their shared time on the quad, Bonnibel felt like she was fighting with the truth. She was trying desperately to keep one of the many boxes that inhabited her brain’s attic closed. It was labeled in bold, black ink “why do I care so much?” with Marceline’s picture stapled to the front. And all of this week seemed determined to bust the box wide open and spill contents she wasn’t quite ready to see.

“Look dude we…kind of bonded?” Bonnibel offered weakly. Her first instinct had been to come up with a fake reason to skirt around the conversation and get Lady to drop it, but as she looked into her best friend’s eyes and remembered her promise after the punk night fiasco, she reconsidered. “I mean I told you about my date with Finn being terrible. I just also kind of forgot to mention that I told Marceline about it too. She was surprisingly nice, and I’m trying to let that be good enough for us to get over whatever else.” 

There. No lies were told. Everything that had just awkwardly clambered its way out of Bonnibel’s mouth had in fact been true. Was she leaving things out? Absolutely. But it didn’t make her stomach flip with guilt so it would have to do for now. And it was going to do just fine as she looked and saw Lady grinning wildly and clapping softly.

“Thank GOD,” she sighed in a high-pitched excited tone. “I was starting to think you two weren’t ever going to get over being petty with each other.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I don’t think that’s ever gonna go away,” she chuckled as Lady’s face fell into annoyance. “Isn’t that right, monster trash?” Bonnibel asked a clearly-zoned-out Marceline who was tapping away on her phone. But there was still no bite behind the insults coming out of her mouth.

“Huh, wha-” the older girl turned around just in time to catch Bonnibel’s glare, and quickly returned it. “I do not talk to science geeks before coffee,” Marceline said as she took a sip of her Starbucks cup.

“You’re drinking it right now, genius.”

“TWO cups, your highness,” Marceline threw back at her with a barely contained upturn of her lips. Bonnibel rolled her eyes with a smile fighting to make its way into her muscles.

“Great,” LSP muttered from where she was only standing a few feet away. “Now we get to listen to it all the time.”

“Yeah, yeah whatever you love us,” Marceline managed from behind her cardboard cup. Bonnibel gave a raise of the eyebrows to say ‘You know dang well we’re right’ and all it got them was a swift eye roll as LSP went back to her argument with Jake. The rest of the group was content to sit on their phones in silence and count down the seconds until 7:30 when the doors opened so they could get in and out. To pass some time Bonnibel and Lady each had one earbud in and were jamming to their shared Spotify playlist entitled “The Vibes Are Not Matching” at Lady’s insistence since their tastes in music were so different. And just as the jarring transition from Party on Fifth Ave by Mac Miller to Everywhere by Fleetwood Mac was over, a very tired and very confused looking employee unlocked the front door.

“Uh, good morning,” the 20-something manager with dyed-silver locs and a groggy voice greeted them.

“Good morningggg!” Lana practically sang into the poor man’s face. He gave a look that screamed ‘well I was hoping to nap until 10 am when normal people start shopping but here we are,’ and Bonnibel felt a pang of sympathy.

“You can tell who dragged us all here,” Shelby muttered to him and he laughed a bit as the group meandered their way in, with Finn and Marceline immediately bolting towards the back of the store.

“That’s not concerning at all…” Jake said with a slight worry in his voice. Lana gave him a slight smile and turned towards him.

“I love you Jake, but you are the world’s easiest person to scare and you are the one who suggested taking your greatest tormentors to a Halloween store. So sit in your own decisions for a bit and contemplate,” she said as she patted him on the back and walked off to where the “sexy” costumes were housed prominently on the left side of the store. 

“Lana, what does that mean?” Jake called as he briskly followed her. “Lana? LANA-SUE?” Lady rolled her eyes at her boyfriend’s antics and turned to Bonnibel and Shelby.

“I guess that’s my cue. Plus I think if I don’t let Lana dress me in something sexy she’ll kill me. Have fun, you two!” She gave them a cheeky wave and rushed after Jake and Lana-Sue, shaking her head down the aisles.

Bonnibel and Shelby were left standing in the entrance, identical expressions of bewilderment hanging off of their faces. “What…” Shelby started, gesturing vaguely at the store. “We’ve been here two minutes.” He turned to Bonnibel, who laughed at the mixture of exhaustion, dismay, and confusion in Shelby’s eyes. She held up her hands and shrugged.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” she said, unbuttoning her coat and idly glancing around the store. “So… what are you going as again?” She, at the insistence of every one of her friends and much to her chagrin, was assigned the role of princess. Not a sexy princess (she’d talked Lana out of that one), and not a fancy Greek goddess princess (because Marceline had declared that a nerdy interpretation), just… princess. She hated the insinuation, but she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t excited about taking part in Halloween festivities for the first time since childhood.

“Patrick Star,” Shelby announced sarcastically with accompanying jazz hands. “Because apparently I’m seven years old.” 

“Dude, they made me a princess. A PRINCESS! Talk about being seven years old. Just remind me to stay away from the Disney aisle.” They laughed and grabbed a handbasket, making their way towards the children’s section.

“Well this is what we get for being honest,” Shelby mumbled into the iced latte that Bonnibel didn’t understand how he was drinking in the thirty-degree weather. He was referring to a particularly annoying conversation in the group chat where everyone got ripped to shreds by Jake and Marceline for none of them choosing their costumes for the party. Bonnibel nodded thoughtfully and began lazily browsing through the wall of masks and hats. She hadn’t spent much time alone with Shelby yet, at least outside of the studying they’d do during his shifts at the magazine’s desk in the library. And even then the two of them were pretty serious academically; so if they said they were studying it wasn’t just an excuse to hang out, they had headphones in, locked into their screens and books. So she had no idea what to even talk to him about. As she stumbled through her mind to think of anything they had in common, it came up behind her.

“Alright they actually have one!” Lana-Sue cheered as she began trying to reach an astronaut helmet that was just out of her 5’1” reach. She grunted and stood on her tiptoes grabbing for it with the tips of her fingers as Shelby and Bonnibel giggled from behind her. “Shelby you useless, walking laugh track will you actually be helpful and get me the damn thing!” Bonnibel cringed slightly at the insult, but it only made Shelby laugh even harder. “Peebs?”

Bonnibel took a beat to look between herself, Shelby, and the helmet. She and him were about the same height, only 5 '5”, but she could totally reach it too. Yet all the little times Lana-Sue called her a nerd in the Breakfast Kingdom came to her mind, and she decided to play along.

“Not sure that’s within my capability. I mean a princess should not be subjected to such dull physical labor.” She thought her pink-haired friend was going to pass out if he didn’t stop to breathe soon as he started to wheeze with laughter when Lana-Sue angrily stomped her foot and started jumping to try and swat the helmet off its hook. But then he took a deep breath to bring his laughter down to a light chuckle as he extended his arm to grab the addition to Lana’s costume.

“Thank you, you absolute moron,” Lana-Sue said with a smile as she snatched the crown from him, and then pointed at Bonnibel. “And I will not forget your act of betrayal, so jot that down.” Bonnibel just laughed and nodded as their friend sauntered away toward the makeup section. 

“You’re just lucky we didn’t take a video!” Shelby called out after her. She turned and stuck her middle finger at him only to twirl and keep walking away. He only stuck his hands in his pockets and shook his head with a proud smirk on his face, wandering further into the aisles. Bonnibel followed close behind, no longer bothering to focus on the clothing and props surrounding her, only on the question burning to come out. Her curiosity was trying to push the words out of her mouth, but her anxiety wasn’t letting it happen. She didn’t know how to ask what she wanted to without seeming like she was invading his privacy. If there was something Bonnibel Bogart never did it was speak without thinking about every possible consequence.

As they came around the corner to the next aisle, Shelby’s eyes lit up as they found themselves staring at a full section of only crowns. Everything ranging from one fit for a king to a tiny pink plastic tiara meant for a toddler. As Bonnibel picked one up and grimaced at the matching wand, Shelby giggled.

“Not going for a magical vibe? Never would’ve guessed,” he said with his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Nah, not really. I vetoed magical, Disney, and sexy before LSP ran out of ideas and told me to just figure it out,” Bonnibel said, returning the giggle. 

“She thinks being the theater major gives her some inherent authority on costume design and outfit choice in general. And maybe on some level it does, I stopped fighting the suggestions right after we met two years ago.” At Bonnibel questioning ‘oh yeah?’, he continued. “Well I can’t complain, she did get me to stop wearing cargo shorts and I did get a date a week after that. Just don’t let her know I said that, she won’t ever let me live it down.” 

“Yeah that makes sense.” She smiled and nodded as she sorted through crowns. She knew the longer she went without saying anything the more awkward she would feel, and there might not be another time as good as this one to bring up her question. She had to spit it out now or never. So she turned to slightly face away from and took a deep breath in. “So, speaking of dates and Lana-Sue…” she said, pretending to study the gold princess crown she had in her hands.

“Ahhhhh,” Shelby said as if he was reminiscing his glory days, “which one of ‘em ratted me out?” he asked as he smiled at her. The ease in his voice rushed all of the anxiety out of Bonnibel’s nose in the form of a breath she didn’t know she was holding. 

“I’ll give you one guess.”

“Jake?” She gave him a knowing smile. “Thought so, he’ll never let us forget about it. But I do the exact same kind of shit to him, so it doesn’t bother me.”

“Yeah I’m gathering that that’s just your guy’s nature.” Shelby nodded in response as he tossed a way-too-large king’s crown on his head. Bonnibel couldn’t help but laugh and throw the nearest way-too-small golden crown that almost had a bubble shape onto her head. “What a pair we make.”

“Well, should we move on, Princess Bubblegum?” He asked with a flourishing bow. She rolled her eyes and groaned as loud as she could to drive the effect home as they walked towards the middle of the store to the adult costumes. Shelby began holding up different pink shirts to compare shades as Bonnibel stood behind him.

“So what like…happened?” She found herself asking. Shelby turned to face her, two pink shirts in hand. 

“Which one?” Bonnibel pointed to the one in his left hand, a lighter pink that complimented his now fading dye-job. He nodded and threw the other back on the rack as they continued walking. “Well I mean not much to be honest. It was last year when we all really started getting close. I just kind of mistook my feelings of admiration and..." he trailed off and furrowed his brow.

"Platonic affection?" Bonnibel supplied. Shelby smiled sheepishly and nodded.

"I wouldn't have put it like that but yes: platonic affection mistaken for actual feelings. I asked her to go to the movies with me and I bombed.” Bonnibel found it adorable watching the usually collected and serious Shelby rub the back of his neck and look at the floor with embarrassment. “She didn’t like the movie and I was just repeatedly acting like an awkward idiot. She just said she’d rather just keep being friends so we did.”

“Really?” Bonnibel asked as they finally made their way to the women’s section so she could look for a dress. “Just like that? No problems?” She added as she flipped through a few frilly messes being passed off as clothing. Shelby hummed.

“I mean no,” he chuckled as he flipped through dresses on the other side of the aisle. “We couldn’t hang out alone without it turning weird and silent for like a good few months.” He pulled a dress out to show her that was by all standards unoffensive, but it was bright orange and she immediately shook her head.

“Too traffic cone-like,” she said. Shelby gave it another look and nodded in very serious contemplation as he put it back on the rack and walked further along to keep up with Bonnibel.

“I’m assuming that this is not exactly a random topic of conversation,” he said carefully as he picked up a pair of purple shorts to inspect. Bonnibel’s hands stalled and clutched the dresses she was flipping through. She wasn’t being subtle and should’ve expected Shelby to just get to the point without any nonsense, but it still shocked her mind a bit.

“Ugh no,” she admitted as she turned to face him and see his sympathetic smile. “It’s not exactly a secret that the date with Finn wasn’t amazing.”

“Yeah I mean that doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out,” he muttered. “But hey, he’s been in college for like five minutes. He’s gonna bounce back and be into somebody new by next week,” he said as he patted her shoulder and began to mozy along the aisles again.

“You think so?” Bonnibel asked as she started to follow.

“Oh absolutely,” he stated with a confidence that took just a little bit of the tension out of her shoulders. “The dude’s just got a lot of passion and a laser-like focus, once he puts it somewhere else after he mopes for a few days he’ll forget about it. Plus as our friend group’s gotten bigger a little awkwardness between two people is easy to ignore until they move on. It’s no big thang.” 

“Thank you for that,” Bonnibel sighed as she picked up a denim, square neck dress with a full skirt. It was a nice pastel pink and the texture didn’t feel like a cheap costume that she would get tired of wearing within a half-hour. “What about this one?” she asked. Shelby turned to look and his eyes lit up for a second time.

“Hey, not a bad find! Doesn’t look like you’re going trick or treating but it doesn’t look like a cheap ball gown either,” he said as they continued on and Bonnibel threw it in the basket along with Shelby’s shirt.

“Just out of curiosity, what movie did you try to take LSP to that she hated so much?” Bonnibel asked as he began browsing a section of pants to try and find a pair of shorts.

“Oh glob,” he said as he put his face in his hands. “I took her to this dollar theater downtown. They show vintage hits and cult classics once a month and I took her to see something called The Maltese Falcon . I will not be shocked if you haven’t heard of it because she certainly didn’t know what it was or care.” Bonnibel’s ears perked up the second the movie’s name fell out of his mouth.

“ The Maltese Falcon ?” she reiterated. “The Humphrey Bogart movie? That’s one of my favorite noir films!” Shelby’s eyes went wide.

“No WAY!” he exclaimed. “You like classic noir movies? How have we not figured this out yet? I need to start planning a full viewing experience right now!”

“I need you to not be kidding,” Bonnibel said with only a slight hint of joking. “I know it’s not exactly noir but Casablanca has to make the list. Humphrey Bogart is a treasure.”

“Oh for sure,” Shelby said as he dug through a bin of loose, solid color shirts and shorts. He suddenly shot up, yanking a pair of perfectly neon green shorts with him. “You think I can paint purple spots on these?”

“I don’t see why not,” she said with a shrug. Shelby nodded triumphantly and threw them in their basket. The two of them continued to walk aimlessly around the massive open store and debate the best films from different eras. It was a pretty good way to begin her morning with some intellectual stimulation considering she was being forced to skip her 8 am Anthropology elective. That miracle of glob had been accomplished through a combined effort from Jake, Marceline, and Lady telling her it wouldn’t kill her to skip her one Tuesday/Thursday class especially since attendance wasn’t even required. It was only after Marceline promised to pay for her (and Lady’s) Starbucks that her resolve wore away completely. 

With a basket full of costumes, and cheap plastic crowns still hanging from their heads, they turned the corner into the makeup aisle in search of pink face paint to complete Shelby’s look. Instead, they found none other than Marceline and Finn huddled together on one side of the aisle, heatedly whispering to each other. They stopped when they heard Bonnibel and Shelby approaching, but Bonnibel was sure she heard something along the lines of “ you don't have to keep pretending you’re okay if you’re not ” coming from Marceline. 

“Oh!” Finn exclaimed softly.

“Uh,” Marceline started, raising an eyebrow at the crowns.

“Oof,” Bonnibel whispered to herself.

“Hi!” Shelby shouted, now caffeinated and apparently oblivious to every thread of tension between them.

“Okay wait,” Marceline started, ignoring or avoiding the awkward eye contact between Bonnibel and Finn. “I get you’re a princess and all,” she pointed at Bonnibel, “but since when is Patrick Star king of anything?”

“What?” Shelby frowned in confusion and lifted a hand to his head, laughing when he discovered the crown. “Oh. I’ve walked through like five aisles with that on. Whoops.” He placed it haphazardly among some eyeliner as Bonnibel blushed and threw hers into the ever-growing pile in the basket. “What are you guys doing anyway?”

“Actually!” Finn interjected, jumping on the opportunity to avoid talking to Bonnibel. She felt guilt rush through her, ugly and warm, and she fought back a prickle in her eyes. “We wanted to talk to you, Shelby.” Marceline scoffed and Finn elbowed her playfully. “We need to get back on the Prank Jake Train. Marceline and I haven’t done anything in forever so he’ll never know it’s coming. But we wanted to know if you’d be down for another round.”

“If I’m down? For pranking Jake? Dudes, you don’t even have to ask,” Shelby said, grinning ravenously. “What’s the plan so far?” Marceline nodded approvingly and led him further down the aisle to look at some wigs and masks while she murmured conspiratorially. 

This left her directly in front of Finn. They made very brief eye contact before turning in opposite directions, pretending to look through the copious amounts of makeup and face paints. Bonnibel felt her stomach tighten and the bile building up in the back of her throat as the familiar feeling of floundering rushed her senses. The only solace she could find was in carefully studying the names of each different color of lipstick. It was only when she got to “Black Cat Fur” did she hear the clearing of a throat. She turned her head to the right to find Finn pointing at the lipstick in her hand.

“Marceline was saying something about needing some of that, we should hold onto it,” he said in a surprisingly neutral tone.

“Huh, good call,” she muttered as she threw it in her basket. Her breathing was threatening to betray her by devolving from “nervous” to “panic attack” rapidly so she kept going. “Wouldn’t red lipstick be better?”

“That’s what I tried to say…” he sighed. “Apparently that’s too obvious or something.” He shrugged. Bonnibel opened her mouth but before she could start to talk again Finn cut her off with “I’m going to go get Marceline and Shelbs, come on. They’ll want you in on this too.” His tone was still neutral, but somewhere at the back of his breath she could hear the heaviness. He was doing his best to still try and talk to her and it was making her want to cringe all the way back to her apartment. He had already turned around, still refusing to look her in the eye for more than a second and was heading towards where Marceline and Shelby were pointing to different masks on the wall, so she followed suit. There didn’t seem to be any other option.

“Alright!” Finn said in a much more upbeat tone that almost sounded real. “What do we got cookin’ Marce-Marce?” Marceline only half-turned to give him the same look Bonnibel was sure she was giving as well: raised eyebrows that said ‘you can’t possibly be serious right now.’ “What?”

“Nothing weirdo,” Marceline said as she turned her attention to them both. “Okay so we have a plan.” The concerned expression quickly turned into a mischievous grin as she pulled Finn and Bonnibel into a huddle of hushed giggles and whispering. The plan was set, and all they needed to do was put it into motion. The four of them quickly dissipated to assume their roles. Bonnibel had probably the easiest job of the bunch, and she was never one to underachieve. She strolled as casually as possible to where the rest of their friends were hanging out by the front of the store, costumes in hand.

“Peebs there you are!” Lady exclaimed. She looked like she was ready to check out and get out of there as soon as possible. “What’s taking you all so long? We’ve been waiting for like 30 minutes.” Bonnibel did her best to bite back a grin.

“Ugh I don’t know. I guess Finn can’t find a sword good enough for his warrior costume. He keeps saying that every one he finds is ‘weak looking.’” Just as Shelby predicted, this was enough to spur Jake into action.

“Damnit, hold on,” Jake said as he handed his jacket to Lady. “Show me where he is, I’ll help him.” Bonnibel nodded and began to lead her friend towards the aisles, conveniently passing right by the outdoor, moving decorations. This is where she stopped and pretended to start tying her shoe. 

“Sorry, converse never wanna stay tied, y’know?” she offered. Jake nodded but looked just a little uneasy as his eyes darted around all of the creepy decor.

“Yeah, hey what section did you say they were in? I can go find em,” he said quickly. Dang, Bonnibel thought, he really is easy. She stood up and stretched as she finished with her shoes and lazily started to wander through the decorations without answering him. There were a few Bonnibel would have definitely seen herself being terrified of…when she was about six. A half-realistic spider was waiting for someone to step on the little orange marker stamped “TRY ME.” It almost made her giggle to tap her toe on it. And it made her go into an uproar when the thing jumped out and Jake looked like he was going to pee himself right in the middle of the store.

“OH MY GLOOB WHAT THE HELL!” He yelped as his hands went to his heart and he let out a huge breath. Bonnibel could only smile and shake her head at her friend.

“You’re way too easy, guy.” Bonnibel patted her friend on the back sympathetically as she smiled to herself; phase one was complete. She again began to wind herself through the frankly enormous selection of outdoor decorations. Her friend quickly strolled up next to her.

“Yeah ha ha, laugh it up at Jake!” He said through a forced little laugh himself. “Whatever, you got me. Does Finn even actually need help?” Bonnibel almost couldn’t help the cheshire cat-like grin that wanted to spread across her face.

“Yeah he does, I just couldn’t help myself.” Jake seemed satisfied enough and kept walking. As they almost reached the end of the display section, Bonnibel stopped at a particularly large decoration. “Geez, who would even splurge for this?” she asked, pointing at it. It was around six feet tall, halfway enclosed in a tent. Poking out of the tent’s opening was a statue of a werewolf, standing deathly still. The werewolf didn’t even look remotely real, but that did not stop Jake from staring at it as if it would start chasing him at any moment.

“I have no idea and I don’t wanna go to their house for Halloween,” he said matter-of-factly.

“I don’t understand how the biggest weenie in existence loves the holiday about scaring and being scared.”

“I AM NOT A WEENIE!” he yelped as she gave him a look of raised eyebrows and a large smile that indicated to him he had not been believed in the slightest. This boy was falling for it hook, line, and sinker.

“Alright tough guy, if you’re not a weenie why don’t you activate this one and see what it does?” His eyes widened only slightly as he looked at his friend, and then back to the dormant animatronic. He cracked his neck and took his hands out of the pockets of his joggers to shake them out. “Any day now, Weenie Hut General,” she deadpanned.

“I’M GOIN HUSH!” he stressed. Bonnibel threw up her hands in mock surrender and snickered. Her friend rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the werewolf. He took a deep breath in, looked around the empty aisle for any wandering eyes even though they were still the only people here, and stepped up to the pedal that said “press me” in bloody letters. As if he was tiptoeing, he gingerly placed only his big toe onto the petal through his snow boots and–

Nothing. The machine didn’t move, nor make any noise. Bonnibel grunted and crossed her arms. “Bunk it, the dang thing must be broken.” Jake immediately slumped over with a chorus of ‘thank globs’ and smiled. She then looked back up to the werewolf and saw it wink at her, and knew she was in for a show. One of the werewolf’s surprisingly pale hands moved as slow as it could towards Jake, who had faced the other way to gloat to his friend. Before he could get one word out he felt a tug on his jacket and turned around, probably thinking he had snagged it on something and saw the figure gripping his sleeve. His eyes found the werewolf’s face…and when they did–

“GET OVER HERE AND LET ME EAT YOU!”

And that was all it took to send Jake screaming and running in the opposite direction. The werewolf jumped out of his enclosure and began to chase him towards the front of the store with Bonnibel following close behind. She hadn’t run in quite a while, so by the time they reached the front of the store to a confused and freaked out Lana and Lady she was pretty winded. She got there just in time to see Lady wrap her arms around her slightly shorter boyfriend to hold him in place. 

“SWEETIE! CHILL!” was the only thing that got him to stop yelling for a half second. “That is so clearly Finn in a mask, what is your problem?” At that point Bonnibel and Shelby, who made his way to Lana, were howling with laughter. There were even tears pricking the edges of Bonnibel’s vision as Finn took off his mask to laugh at his brother too.

“Bro you should’ve seen your freaking face!” He said between gasping for breath. Jake pulled himself out of Lady’s arms to glare at the rest of the group having a great time with their little prank. He scanned their faces and found Marceline at the counter, checking out a flannel and some stick on fangs.

“I know this was your idea.” Marceline just shrugged and said nothing. “You’re buying all of our dinners for the next MONTH, do you hear me?!” 

“A month minus one, gotta cover some expenses,” she said plainly. Jake looked at her confused until she handed the cashier a $20 bill after he was done checking out her costume supplies. “Thanks for moving the real decoration for us.”

“No problem,” he said through a giggle as Jake’s jaw hit the floor. “You were right, it did make the morning shift more tolerable.” Jake immediately sprung into incoherent ramblings about betrayal and calling into question the meaning of friendship. Finn and Bonnibel caught each other’s eyes and couldn’t help but laugh again. Jake looked at them and just grumbled “Glad to see this can bring you two together.” They quickly stopped laughing as Lady pulled him out of the store. Lana, Shelby, and Finn all moved to make their leave since they all already paid for their things too. Lana quickly turned around to yell back to Bonnibel.

“We still on for a Mario-Kart marathon at y’all’s place later?” Bonnibel flashed a thumbs up and Lana smiled and started towards her car with the boys. She shuddered as she thought of having all of them over in her space. They decided since they were all skipping class in the morning they should just make a day of it. Lady suggested having them all over to play Mario Kart. And even though Bonnibel probably could’ve pointed out that it was HER Switch that Lady was offering up for the day, she decided it would be better to suck it up and play host for once. She marched up to the counter with her and Shelby’s basket, and cursed herself mentally for letting him leave without paying. She looked up to ask Marceline to remind her to get Shelby to pay her back later, but found her still engaged in conversation. 

“I’ve seen you around before I think,” the cashier said as he briefly smiled at Bonnibel and began to ring up her items. “At the Ice Castle I think.”

“Seems like you think a lot of things.” She teased, which caused the mystery man to smirk. “But yeah my band played there like a month ago.” This seemed to spark something in his memory as his eyes widened slightly.

“Marceline Abadeer,” he drawled as he looked her over. It wasn’t even her he was eyeing and Bonnibel’s skin still started to crawl. She tried to keep her lips from wearing a sneer when he turned back to pick up and scan her crown. “That show was fucking awesome. You guys lookin for any groupies? My schedule would blow wide open for someone as talented and pretty as you.” Bonnibel almost threw up in her mouth. What was this guy even thinking? Was he seriously trying to flirt with Marceline? Just as she was about to start a conversation with her friend about Shelby yet again, she saw Marceline was smiling at him. And not the smirk, or the ‘evil’ smile she’d wear when she was pranking Jake or about to piss Bonnibel off. If Bonnibel didn’t know better she’d say the girl looked…flattered.

“Nah we’re full up right now. You see all the dorks who just left? They’d prolly be pissed if I let someone I didn’t even know take their spot.” The cashier smiled and nodded in understanding, but still stuck out his hand after bagging Bonnibel’s dress.

“Ash. There, now you know me,” he said. She gave him a look at the weirdly formal gesture but shook his hand anyway, and Bonnibel now felt like she was intruding on something she definitely didn’t want to watch. Her fingers unconsciously started to drum the counter as she had to listen to the two of them drone on. The longer they talked the more she wanted to tell the idiot behind the counter to shut up and leave the girl alone. She scowled when he asked her a question, and it only deepened the longer Marceline entertained his ramblings. She swore the other girl would’ve written him off after the first pathetic sentence, but here she was, still talking. So all Bonnibel could do was drum and wait.

“You ever go to the Nightosphere Ash?” Marceline asked as she leaned on the counter. Bonnibel continued to get increasingly annoyed as Ash didn’t take his eyes off the other girl to hand her the bags. He nodded. “Well I’m sure I’ll see you there soon,” she said as she gestured for Bonnibel to follow her to the door. Bonnibel was sure she saw his eyes literally glitter with excitement and the feeling of wanting to vomit came back as strong as ever. She rolled her eyes as she took the bags and walked out the door. Bonnibel started towards the parking lot but noticed she stopped hearing snow-crunching footsteps next to her. She turned and saw the smile had been replaced by that ever-irritating smirk.

“What?” Bonnibel asked, and jumped hearing the thick annoyance that covered her voice. She felt her face untwist from the scowl she didn’t even know she was wearing.

“I have never seen you look so annoyed. I’m admiring my work,” she said as she walked a few paces to stand right next to the shorter girl. 

“Your work?” she questioned. ‘That still sounded irritated, glob Bonnibel calm down!’ “Over-confident are we? Who says you did this?” Marceline’s smirk deepened when she heard the light, playful tone in Bonnibel’s words. Bonnibel had a feeling that nobody argued with her quite the way she did. As quickly as that popped into her mind, she pushed it out. It felt like a weird thing to care about.

“I don’t know,” Marceline pretended to muse as they walked across the parking lot side by side. “Maybe just the way you were having a happy-sappy time with all our little friends until you saw the cashier put the moves on. So I think that qualifies as my work, you agree?”

“I think that qualifies as Ash’s work but that’s-” Bonnibel muttered as a blush came to her face. As she reached for another piece of bubblegum in her pocket she jumped about 6 inches when she heard Marceline yell:

“AHA! So you admit it was the flirting with me that pissed you off.” Marceline smiled even wider as she walked backwards to keep eye contact with the shorter of the two. Bonnibel narrowed her eyes and popped the gum in her mouth.

“I was merely pointing out that if that was, in fact, what made me angry it wouldn’t even be able to be attributed to you,” Bonnibel deadpanned and blew a bubble. After an audible pop she got a good look at Marceline’s blank stare.

“What?”

“Marceline you have had two cups of coffee by now you cannot tell me you didn’t understand that. You just want me to look stupid by explaining it,” she continued in the same, stoic tone. This had become a common theme at the group hangouts. Bonnibel would say something, Marceline would pretend not to understand, Bonnibel would keep dumbing it down until she realized the girl understood the whole time. She had no idea what was so funny about this particular joke. The facade cracked as Marceline laughed again.

“Damn, took you long enough to catch up to that one,” Marceline said loftily as she began to face forward again. Bonnibel rolled her eyes and popped another bubble. “Gonna have to rework the methods of messing with you again.”

“I don’t know if that’s a ‘have to’ situation if I’m being honest. I think what you’re doing now is working plenty,” Bonnibel threw back with a sarcastic grin. If the annoying antagonistic Marceline drove her insane, she didn’t have the words to explain what the playful antagonistic Marceline did. And she wasn’t exactly sure if the difference was better or worse. The warmth she could feel all over, even with how freezing it was, said it was a good thing. The pounding in her heart from anxiety told her it was worse.

“Don’t think you’re getting out of admitting you were jealous back there, my attention span’s not that bad.” Definitely worse. Bonnibel groaned internally, why wouldn’t she just leave it alone?

“I really don’t think that’s necessary, as soon as I find Lady’s car I am not required to admit anything,” Bonnibel said as she scanned the back of the lot for Lady’s car…which wasn’t there. Bonnibel put a palm to her forehead. “Great,” she muttered.

“Lady take off before you got out here?” Marceline questioned as the other girl looked at her phone to find a text from her best friend.

Lady, 8:45 am: saw u and marceline checking out together, figured she’s giving you a ride! jake and i are getting brunch so well see you guys later for mario kart <3

“It appears so. She saw us at the counter and figured you were driving me back to the apartment,” Bonnibel said. Marceline didn’t even bat an eye, just nodded and started walking to where her red SUV was parked a few feet away. As Bonnibel opened her mouth expecting to rebuttal protest from the other girl, Marceline turned around.

“Why are you just standing there? I'm not gonna open the door for you,” she quipped with a smirk. Bonnibel could only roll her eyes and hop into Marceline’s car for the second time. “Alright, I’m hungry. Where do you want food from?” Bonnibel just twisted her face in confusion.

“I was just gonna make myself some toast at home,” Bonnibel said.

“Well I’m trying to be a good friend and invite you to get breakfast with me so pick a spot,” Marceline said as she scrolled through her spotify playlists. Bonnibel tried to ignore the way it felt like her heart was pounding between her ears from the feeling this was inducing. For some reason Bonnibel just couldn’t shake the anxiety even though they seemed to actually be on the way to friends.

“Mmm let’s go to Waffle House,” Bonnibel said. Marceline nodded as she smiled and threw the GPS on. “It’s literally right around the corner. Why do you need directions?”

“And you literally need to stop spending time with Lana-Sue because the way she speaks is rubbing off on you,” Marceline shot back with a smile. Bonnibel was satisfied with the comeback and sat back to listen to the new Magnolia Park she had learned Marceline was obsessed with thanks to constant links in the groupchat. She found herself singing along which came with an impressed look from Marceline as she turned the radio up. At that point she stopped and just listened to her friend sing for the rest of the car ride. Bonnibel found herself thinking about how mad she was that she didn’t pay attention at the Ne’er Do Wells show; Marceline really was insanely talented.

The time at Waffle House was spent talking about the potential Nightosphere show, and Bonnibel saying how she couldn’t wait to go. And then they talked about Bonnibel’s upcoming research presentation she would be doing with Dr. Petrikov at the local hospital. They talked about their favorite video games and songs. It was the first time they hung out that Bonnibel felt herself realizing they were friends; just playful insults and genuine conversation. It brought a warm smile that didn’t leave, even after they paid and found themselves back at her and Lady’s apartment. They were still engrossed in conversation as they walked in the door.

“-and I was just trying to agree!” Bonnibel finished as she took her coat off.

“Nooooo,” Marceline enunciated as she kicked her boots off. “You saying you have seen the Heat Signature series does not mean you agreed with me saying I liked Heat Signature, I need the truth.” Bonnibel scoffed with a smile and gingerly began to take off her boots as Marceline closed the door, sealing the frigid late-morning air outside the warm apartment.

“Okay if I say I like Heat Signature will it get you to stop?” Bonnibel asked through a laugh. She turned toward the kitchen to see Lady standing there with Jake, both of them wearing as Marceline would call them, shit-eating grins. “What?” Marceline turned and gave a similarly confused expression.

“Yeah, what's up with the case of Moron Face?” she asked. Jake just gave Lady a look that Bonnibel knew meant ‘I told you so,’ and her face immediately fell.

“They’re not so subtly rubbing it in that we’re getting along now,” she mused. “They just don’t know about the video game fight we got into on the way here.” Marceline looked back at her with a challenge gleaming in her eyes and smirking. 

“I said we were gonna settle that on the track, Princess Peach wannabe,” Marceline quipped as she headed to the couch. Bonnibel grabbed a soda from Lady’s offering hand as they made their way to the living room to begin their lazy day. Even when she was having such a good time with the other girl, for some reason she couldn’t shake the heart pounding anxiety when they were next to each other. She’d have to get that under control before she was surely going to be pressured into drinking at Marceline’s birthday party that weekend. But for now she was content to let it hammer away as the two of them sat next to each other on the small couch surrounded by their friends.

Chapter Text

“Bubblegum if you don’t stop messing with the dress every three seconds I’m gonna kill you,” Lady said as she picked up a bottle of Pink Whitney off the liquor store shelf. Bonnibel promptly grunted and gave one last straightening attempt to her princess dress they bought from Spirit Halloween four days ago; she wished she had tried it on ahead of time since now it was clear it hugged her slightly chubby curves a little too well. It was the last Saturday of October, Halloween, which meant it was also the day of Marceline’s birthday party. So the roommates decided to make an alcohol run since Lady assured her showing up with a few bottles totally counted as a birthday present. 

“Okay whatever. But do we really need this much?” she asked as Lady placed the Whitney in their handbasket where a bottle of Fireball and Jose Cuervo were already taking up residence. “By the looks of only what we’re bringing you won’t even be able to drive us home.” Lady rolled her eyes and exited the aisle, barely having to walk five feet to get to the counter. Marceline lived about a twenty minute car ride away from campus, so they stopped at a gas station/liquor store along the mostly deserted state road into the rural suburbs to pick up their supplies on the way. 

Bonnibel had thoroughly protested having to leave the city just to drink with their friends; they could do that in one of their apartments for Glob’s sake. She tried to express this to them at the Mario Kart marathon, but was met with a lot of thumbs down and booing. Apparently Marceline’s house was huge and great for parties.

“Yeah, that’s why I’m not,” Lady said plainly as she handed the cashier her credit card and ID. At Bonnibel’s incredulous glance she continued. “Marce always sets up the basement for us to stay over. Most of the people coming are people who commute to OOU or live in town so she’ll just kick their wasted asses out at 1 and we get to have our own private afterparty.” She was satisfied with her friend’s answer for now, taking one of the bags and walking out to the car.

“And WHY did you not tell me we were staying over?” Bonnibel whined as they climbed into Lady’s way-too-big SUV. There was a very quickly rising panic working its way out of her. “I didn’t bring anything for that! Plus I could very well have plans tomorrow,” she finished with a flourish of crossing her arms to her chest. Lady giggled as they buckled their seatbelts.

“First of all, if you have any plans I know very well that they’re with your laptop,” Lady joked as she put the car in gear. She pulled out onto the deserted state road and sped up a little past where Bonnibel was comfortable. “Second, it’ll be fine I’m sure Marceline’s got some clothes you can borrow-”

“Absolutely not,” Bonnibel cut her friend off as she played with an already loose strand on her dress and stared out the window of the car. Thanks to Lady wanting to leave at the, according to Bonnibel, way-too-late hour of 10:30 p.m, it was pitch dark out of view of the headlights and the only thing there was to even pretend to study was miles long forest on either side of the two lanes.

“Whatever germaphobe, sleep in the dress that looks like it was made out of a pair of stiff jeans I’m sure that’ll be really comfortable,” Lady said as she rolled her eyes and cranked the volume on Kesha.

“Not a germaphobe,” Bonnibel muttered under her breath, knowing full well Lady would not hear it over her questionable karaoke skills. She sighed and resigned herself to her thoughts that hadn’t stopped racing since she woke up that morning. She was going to a party . A party with strangers, alcohol, loud music, and whatever other horrid things she could think of. 

She wracked her brain for the last party she even went to, and all she could come up with was her friend Noel’s birthday party…when they were 14. She didn’t even know if she should count that because she didn’t partake in any of the stupid games like truth or dare or stay for the sleepover as she wanted to get her math homework done. She had gone to a Catholic school for crying out loud; it's not like there was ever any opportunity to experience any crazy ragers. So of course the college, and friends, she picked happened to be all about the social scene. 

And it’s not like she was a killjoy, or at least she hoped not. Bonnibel had no problem with people around her engaging in raucous behavior and having a good time, she just had better things to do, she thought. ‘Oh glob maybe I am a killjoy, I hope that’s not that they all think of me.’ 

She was mapping the night out in her mind. It was easy to predict what each person would be doing, she thought. LSP would inevitably be pushing her “sexy astronaut” costume to its limit and flirting with every guy in sight. Shelby would be “chopping it up” (as he’d say) with the regulars from the Nightosphere that had been invited. Finn would be probably having the most fun, she mused, he loved any kind of good time, and the more the merrier. And finally, Jake and Lady would be joined at the hip all night, dancing and giggling and generally being in a disgustingly happy relationship. 

“I’m surprised you and Jake didn’t go with a couple’s costume!” She yelled over the heavy bass blasting from “We R Who We R” being played at top volume. Lady held up a finger and finished her clearly rehearsed lip sync routine, and only then did she turn the music down. “So sorry to interrupt. I didn't realize you were preparing for the tour so soon. ” Lady turned to her with squinted eyes and a dropped-jaw.

“I take everything back. PLEASE stop spending time with Marceline.” Bonnibel could only throw her head back laughing as her roommate was right, that sentence could’ve come straight from the birthday girl’s mouth. “ Anyways ,” she continued begrudgingly. She explained how they did it last year and it wasn’t worth the effort because: “Jake likes simple and I like sexy.” So “sexy unicorn” and “dog” it was.

Lady complained that the pictures were going to look ridiculous, and Bonnibel pretended to care as a good friend should. She sat and stewed some more over her theory of being abandoned at this party with no one to talk to, and Lady yelled at her for continuing to pick a hole in the thigh pocket of her dress. 

It was hard picturing what Marceline might be doing. She didn’t know if the girl was going to speak to her at all. She couldn’t picture her dancing, doing so only caused her to smile and chuckle to herself while Lady looked at her like she was a crazy person. She didn’t know what to think. And she only hoped that the promise of keeping her…identity a secret would be kept even with copious amounts of alcohol and people with…similar identities present. ‘Glob even I’m exhausted listening to me,’ she thought, ‘I’ve spoken this out loud before, what is wrong with me? Just say lesbian Bonnibel, get it together.’ As Lady finally pulled into a neighborhood, Bonnibel was pulled from her thoughts and sat up a little straighter and started gazing in awe out the window.

“THIS is where Marceline lives?” Bonnibel nearly shrieked. Lady chuckled.

“Yeah, what do you know?” she said, feigning serious thought. “Ms. Punk-Rock-Anger doesn’t live in a shack made of hell fire, it’s crazyyyyyy!” Bonnibel rolled her eyes but immediately went right back to staring. 

There were rows of houses with front lawns bigger than whole plots of land in her hometown; immaculately manicured, and peppered with fountains or koi ponds. Driveways housed cars that cost more than she hoped to make in a year when she graduated from OOU, and were protected by ornate iron gates with insignias and crests. The houses she could see over their gates and past their yards were beyond anything she had ever set foot in. Pristinely trimmed trees lined the softly winding road all the way down to a street sign marked “Schwabl Way” with a smaller indicator hanging from it: “Private Drive”.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me, they have their own street?” Lady just laughed and shook her head as she turned onto the stone road that cut through a small clearing in a dense forest. After about a minute where nothing was visible beyond the headlights, they came to a clearing at the top of a hill that overlooked an expansive property. 

The house was definitely not as big as others in the neighborhood, looking like it could’ve been picked from any suburb with its blue siding and red shutters and doors. The focus of the Abadeers was clearly on the outdoor spaces. The property was decorated with huge gardens, a large lake with a dock big enough for at least one or two boats, and she thought they were passing a home-built wooden stage. She smiled at the idea of Marceline as a teenager, practicing her future punk shows on that very stage.

“Alllllllright,” Lady said as she pulled the car into the driveway. They had to be behind at least 20 other cars, Bonnibel thought as she could feel her hands start to sweat. She wiped them on her dress and straightened her crown that all of a sudden felt way too tight on her forehead.

There was no way to predict who or what would be waiting for her when she opened the front door. The only indicator she had was the music she could already hear through the closed car doors and she could almost feel the headache wanting to form without even going in. She tapped her fingers on the door handle, and tried to get her feet to move. But if her feet moved she would make it inside, and then she would have to try to find her friends, then she would have to talk to people who were talking to her friends. This was already way too much and-

“Hey.” A simple, softly-spoken word came from Lady that brought Bonnibel back from her trance of staring at the door. She turned to see Lady wearing an easy smile. “Would you have rather gotten here at 9 before everyone showed up? So you would have to introduce yourself to every new person who walked in until it got crowded?” 

Bonnibel took a deep breath in. She realized Lady wanted to arrive late, something Bonnibel had been whining about all day, because she wanted to make sure her roommate was as comfortable as possible. Her eyebrows knitted together before her face relaxed into slight embarrassment and appreciation. Lady was right, they could pretty much sneak in and do whatever they wanted with most people having already arrived. She took another deep breath and nodded as most of her heart palpitations subsided.

“Okay, you’re right. Let’s go,” Bonnibel said with a small smile that she hoped conveyed her thanks. 

It seemed to be accepted with no problem as Lady gave an excited squeak and practically jumped out of the car, baggie of bottles in hand. They walked up a small flight of stone steps to the front porch, and after one last “Does my outfit look okay?” moment, they stepped inside.

 Out of the cold, peaceful nighttime air into a hot, crowded, loud living room was quite the transition for Bonnibel. She swallowed tightly as they made their way inside to see about 20 people dancing on a hardwood floor that had been cleared of any furniture, save for a single cloth couch and tv stand at the far end of the room. The lights were off save for a multi-colored disco light clearly duct-taped to the ceiling.

“I bet $20 Jake did that!” Lady screamed over the noise when she saw Bonnibel staring at it with furrowed eyebrows. “Come on, let's find all of those idiots!” 

A staircase framed the right side of the room, and attached to it was a study shelf holding what she assumed to be one of Marceline’s amps that had been converted into a speaker for the night. It was cranked to full volume and blasting what she recognized as “The Middle” by Jimmy Eat World from Marceline’s “education.”

‘Educational is generous,’ Bonnibel thought to herself as she followed Lady around the edge of the living room to an archway leading to a well-lit room. ‘Forcing me to ride in her car so she can play The Killers and Forever the Sickest Kids is not what I call education.’ As they broke through the crowd they came into a breakfast nook that had been removed of all furniture except a circular table with a stained table cloth to protect it. There looked to be a pretty intense drinking game going on that she decided she was not going to attempt to understand.

Gazing at the walls as they made their way into the kitchen, Bonnibel felt a slight unease at the lack of photos and decor around. She felt like she wasn’t at Marceline’s house, but at any generic party house. There was nothing to look at to distract herself from possible eye contact with every costumed person she didn’t recognize or the way that her shoes were already slightly sticking to the floor. She had been looking at the state of the poor hardwood floor a little too long as she ran directly into her tall counterpart. 

Lady had stopped suddenly at the counter in front of a large orange tub with a gatorade symbol on the front and a pour spout at the bottom. There were large stacks of solo cups surrounding the containers, and as Bonnibel looked closer she could see they were labeled.

“Blood of Innocents and Frankenstein’s Wine?” Bonnibel questioned, only getting to lower her volume slightly. “What is this, a middle school dance?” Lady opened her mouth to respond, but was promptly cut off by a flash of neon pink stepping in between the girls.

“YOU GONNA KNOCK MY THEME, PEEBS?” Shelby yelled much louder than he needed to as he jumped out of nowhere. Lady squealed and gave him a huge hug like they hadn’t just seen him yesterday when they had dinner with him and Marceline at The Breakfast Kingdom.

“Shelbyyyyyyy! Where did you come from?” Lady yelled as she let go of him and began pouring two cups of, apparently, blood of innocent souls. She handed one to Bonnibel and the princess grimaced and gave it a quick sniff.

“Glob, that's just gasoline!” She whined. Shelby doubled over in laughter, tipping some of his own drink onto the floor and directly onto his green shorts that Lady had helped him paint purple designs onto. At least she got to see a front-row example of why the floor was feeling like glue, she thought. 

“Huhhhhhh thatwasgood!” He said, barely leaving any space between his words. He turned unsteadily back towards Lady. “I was playing Just Dance in the den,” he answered. Bonnibel’s head leaned forward and eyebrows raised. 

“Just Dance?” she reiterated. Lady giggled as she took a large sip of her drink.

“There’s no fucking way they’re actually playing,” she said through a face-splitting grin. She grabbed Bonnibel’s hand once more, leading her roommate down a hallway. As they came around yet another archway in the back right corner of the hallway, Bonnibel instinctively rubbed her face in her hands at the sight before her as Lady whooped and cheered like she was watching the performance of a lifetime. 

Said “performance” was Lana-Sue, standing on a thankfully sturdy-looking coffee table, in no way following the dancer on screen and twerking to “It’s Raining Men.” Her astronaut helmet barely contained the purple afro threatening to spill out of every opening, and her skimpy gray satin bralette and skirt combo were holding on for dear life as she danced ferociously while a crowd of mostly unknown faces cheered and threw imaginary money on her.

“YEAH LSP GO GIRLLLLLL!” rung out from where Jake was sitting on the only available couch with a few other people she didn’t recognize. His yellow dog ears were taped onto the shaved sides of his head and were already threatening to fall off as he aggressively pointed at one of his best friends.

“YEAH IT’S RAINING MEN!” Lana sang unbelievably off-key as she switched from twerking to just wild jumping and flailing arms. She spun around to face the doorway and caught sight of her friends mid-jump, and damn near fell off the table. “OHMYGLOB someone take over for me RIGHT NOW! YOU!” She hopped off the coffee table and proceeded to grab the nearest person, a confused looking dude dressed as a zombie. He seemed to accept his fate quickly and took the spotlight as Lana ran to bear hug each one of them individually. Jake came over as soon as he noticed them as well to give Lady a kiss and give a polite, if way too strong, hug to Bonnibel. The sloppy greetings did not last long, however.

“Hey hey hey!” Jake slurred over the music and sound effects of missed dance moves. “You guys need to sit and watch for a minute, me and Finn are next!” It was only then that she noticed over Jake’s shoulder in the corner, Finn talking with very large gestures, sloshing his alcohol all over the place, to a short redhead who was playfully shoving him and smiling wide. 

Bonnibel cocked her head as she and Lady shared a mutual quick glance. That sure was a good sign. But as Jake got his little brother’s attention, that feeling went away when his face promptly sombered seeing Bonnibel in the room. A flush crept across her face as Lady gave her a pitying glance. Thankfully the rest of her friends were way too inebriated to notice the tension in the room. She pursed her lips and looked at the full cup in her hand. 

“What do I got to lose, right?” she muttered to herself as she held her breath and tried as quickly as she could to down half of it. The drink was somehow both sickeningly sweet and burned her throat and stomach as it went down, but she forced herself to keep going and keep it down. She removed the cup from her lips, took a gasping breath, and steadied herself on her knees, making her stomach accept the liquid fire she just willed into it. She looked up to find Lady’s mouth wide-open and gaze flicking rapidly between her empty cup and regretful face. Bonnibel shrugged and went to sit down on the couch where Jake’s previous seat had remained open as the rest of her friends whooped and marveled at the decided non-drinker’s sudden interest in getting drunk.

As she settled in to watch Jake and Finn fight over picking a song, she set her empty cup on the coffee table, and gingerly put her weight on it to test just how sturdy it actually was. She nodded to herself as it was a pretty solid structure, and heard a voice come from beside her.

“Yeah it’s made out of solid oak. If that thing was going to break, it would’ve when Marce dove on it full-send a few weeks ago.” Bonnibel, deciding not to chance the table anyway and sinking into a couch cushion, turned to her right to see a girl with long, puffy black hair and dark eyes looking at her over a solo cup of her own. She froze and sucked in a breath as she saw the glow of the LED lights in the room glinted off of the girl’s eyebrow bar, and as she spoke Bonnibel realized she had some very realistic vampire fangs glued in her mouth. 

“And why, praytell, did she do that?” Bonnibel asked. ‘Praytell, what the H?’ she thought to herself. The girl studied her for a moment before those dark eyes sparked with realization.

“Bonnibel?” she questioned. Bonnibel blinked rapidly and felt her voice move a few octaves higher as she went to reply.

“Um…yes. Uh how did you-”

“Not important,” the other girl said, cutting her off. “Keila, by the way.” Bonnibel nodded and offered a small, awkward smile in return. “Anyway, Marce and I were playing some cards and she swore I stole one out of her hand when she wasn’t looking, it’s not that great of a story.”

“I mean well… you don’t see me coming up with anything better, right?” Internally she was smacking herself on the forehead. ‘JUST BE COOL EVER!’ Keila smiled and tipped her cup towards the other girl for a cheers. “Sorry, I’m all out.”

“Oh, no problem.” Keila reached under the coffee table to reveal a case of tequila seltzers and placed one in Bonnibel’s hands. Bonnibel gave another tight-lipped smile and looked at the can, wondering if she should crack it open. After all, if Finn’s refusal to look in her direction tonight was killing her after five minutes, she needed to pace herself. On top of that, her brain was still buzzing from this girl recognizing her. She fidgeted with the tab for a few moments before Keila spoke again.

“I promise I’m not a creep trying to get you drunk. I mean, you’re not exactly hard on the eyes but I’m gonna get the shit kicked out of me for even saying that much,” she said, gesturing wildly with her hands as she spoke.

Bonnibel felt her mouth go absolutely dry. There was no way in any world that this girl was, indeed, flirting with her…right? There was just no chance. This girl was miles out of anyone in this room’s league much less her-

And she stopped her thoughts right in their tracks to get a grip. She took a deep breath in and loosened her posture, sinking further into the couch. She gave Keila a smile and pointedly opened the drink, cheersing with her as they both turned to laugh at the display of Finn and Jake dancing widely to Price Tag by Jessie J. She liked the little warm feeling in the pit of her stomach replacing the usual neverending panic. She liked the way she hadn’t thought about much of anything and just giggled, stealing glances at Keila and chatting with her about random little things throughout the few songs her friends were dancing to and-

‘Oh my god dumbass she was flirting with YOU! She’s gay too!’ Usually she wouldn’t know whether to run straight out of the room or scream bloody murder. But for the moment, she bit her lip and turned to Keila as her friends’ song ended and the controllers were passed to a few other costumed friends of Marceline.

“So wait,” she started a little too loudly, then giggled a bit to herself.

“And just like that you got cuter. You’re not making this easy for me,” Keila said through an easy laugh that made Bonnibel’s face flush instantly.

“Not making what easier?” she countered as she sat back against the cushion a little too hard, spilling a bit of seltzer on her leg. Glob it, now she was contributing to the floor problem too.

“Not getting my ass kicked, remember?” Keila teased.

“As far as I remember I haven't done anything yet,” Bonnibel laughed. This was incredible; she felt free and like her words were just allowed to flow right from her brain to her mouth without passing 300 checkpoints first. It was way too loud in here for anyone to hear, and her friends were too drunk to be paying attention, and she might never see this girl again. She was safe, and this was fun. Keila’s eyebrows raised and her smile twisted into a proud smirk, and there was an unsettling familiarity to it.

“Yet is a great word,” Keila said smugly. “But I know that you’re off-limits.”

“Huh? Says who?”

“Says my lovely jackass of a cousin. I’m not even close to being allowed to flirt with her friends, specifically you for some reason she refuses to disclose,” Keila said before taking another sip of her drink. As Bonnibel finished her second drink, it was getting harder to reason and think things through, but that came through loud and clear.

Marceline. Keila’s cousin Marceline. Who Marceline had told to stay away from her. Her heart filled with a little bit of warmth as she realized Marceline must have said that to protect her from being uncomfortable. She probably knew it would’ve been too much to be thrown into a party environment with all her LGBT friends and be pursued so she called Keila off. Bonnibel couldn’t help the megawatt smile that crept onto her face as she grabbed a third drink and began to sip.

“Ahh, nevermind.” Bonnibel looked over, puzzled. “Don’t worry about it, princess.” Okay, no. That didn’t feel right coming out of anyone else’s mouth. And she was never comfortable having information withheld from her, but just as she was about to press the other girl for more information, she felt a very familiar hug wrap her up from behind.

“KEILAAAAA,” Lady practically screeched in Bonnibel’s ear. “I didn’t see you in here! I’m sooooooo glad you get to meet Peebs!” Bonnibel cringed at her nickname and tried to will Lady’s tight grip off her shoulders to no avail.

“Heyyyyyy pretty lady, Lady,” Keila smiled as Lady blew her a playful kiss. “I am too. You think you could get Marce to call off her irritating rules and let me get this one’s number?” Bonnibel immediately felt every muscle in her body tense and her hands pool with sweat. Lady wasn’t supposed to hear about all that. Lady wasn’t supposed to know they were flirting no no no-

“Please,” Lady scoffed. “The day she does that is the day her kingdom of Hell freezes over.” Keila let out a loud, hearty laugh at that one. “Secondly, even if this one wasn’t straight she’s in a long standing, very serious relationship with biology and chemistry.” 

Oh. Keila only said she was flirting, Bonnibel realized. Lady didn’t know anything that was said or done. It was going to take a while for her heart rate to come down from that, but repeating that like a mantra was definitely going to help.

“Hey I could teach anyone a thing or two about biology and chem-” Keila started before Lady yanked her shorter friend off the couch.

“Aaaaand on that note, go try to get into someone else’s pants. Peebs and I are going to play pool.” As much as Bonnibel hated being touched, and especially forced to move, Lady caught her attention very quickly with that one.

“THERE’S A POOL TABLE HERE AND YOU DIDN’T TELL ME?” Bonnibel shrieked. Lady’s eyes had never bulged wider as she let out a shocked, airy laugh. 

“Well shit! If I’d know booze and pool was all we needed to bring out this side of you I would’ve gotten you drunk years ago!” Lady said as she took her friend back down the hallway and towards the basement door. As they went down the stairs she saw a comfy, carpeted basement with leather couches that housed a few groups chatting and laughing. Behind them was a beautiful, brand-new looking pool table. At the head of the table was Marceline, talking to a guy while leaning her head on a pool cue. She had her hair down flowing past her midsection, and wore a red varsity jacket and blue shorts. When the girl made eye contact with her friends pushing past the couches, her black-lipsticked smile revealed the same glued-on fangs.

“Whaddup party people?” Marceline said, wearing her smirk. Family resemblance really was such an eerie thing.

“Happy birthday!” Lady screamed as she let go of Bonnibel’s hand to bear hug her friend. Marceline gladly welcomed it and giggled her thanks. “Glad to see the princess could grace us peasants with her presence this eve,” she said in a mock pompous tone with a bow. Bonnibel rolled her eyes, betraying the smile that accompanied them. 

“Happy birthday Marceline,” she said as she grabbed a pool cue laying haphazardly on the table. “It’s a great party.”

“Well I’m pleased that it met even your standards, I should get a plaque for that,” she pretended to muse.

“Really? I just got here. Not even a “hi, how are you?” before we get right into it?”

“Somebody’s cranky,” Marceline smirked. Bonnibel gave another swift eye roll as she swung the pool cue between her hands.

“Somebody needs to shut up.” That made Marceline grab her stomach as laughter took over everything else between the two of them.

“Riveting conversation you two,” Lady dead panned from over the rim of her hard lemonade. It was suddenly clear to both girls they had just been acting like they were completely alone and ignoring their friend right next to them.

“You want in on this brawl, Lady?” Marceline asked miming boxing with her arm.

“I would absolutely kick your ass, shorty,” Lady laughed.

“First of all: no. So jot that down. And I’m not even short, you’re just freakishly long!” Bonnibel laughed and steadied her balance on the cue as she swayed.

“Oh you wanna laugh at short jokes over there, missy?” Lady said, pointing a very exaggerated finger at the top of Bonnibel’s head.

“Got her!” Marceline spat loudly into the air. Bonnibel scoffed and shook her head as she began to walk around the table while her friends continued making pointed insults that she gathered was a beautiful drunken bonding ritual. She heard all about how tall, short, obnoxious, way-too-uptight, and lazy each one of them apparently was and how funny it seemed for about 2 minutes before it was all she could take.

She began to set up the table, gathering all the pool balls from the pockets and racking them up. She listened to her friends move into a calmer conversation about the newest episode of some podcast that came out that morning as she chalked up her cue. As she gave the table one last once over, she turned to her friends.

“So. Marceline, are you breaking?” Marceline looked over in confusion, but her eyes lit up when she saw the pool table all set-up. Her face shone with confidence and excitement as she stood up off the mini-fridge she’d been leaning on. 

“Hey, who says you get the first game?”

“Me says!” She yelped.

“You…says?” Marceline looked to Lady for help. Bonnibel was unhappy with the amount of nonverbal communication taking place as Lady mimed chugging a beverage and Marceline’s jaw dropped. “THE Princess Bubblegum is drunk at my party?”

“Why are you all acting like it’s the end of the world? You wanna lose to me yet or what?” Marceline eyed Bonnibel very carefully with a mischievous grin. She handed her beer to Lady who gave an “ooooooohhhhhh” at the challenge set forth.

“Oh no no no way dude,” Marceline tutted. “This is the official rematch, there’s no way I’m letting you even come close.”

“Oh so you’re saying last time you let me win in front of all your friends? I thought you were better than that,” Bonnibel teased. It was all so new to her, just letting her thoughts and jokes leave her mouth without several layers of editing. It would’ve been a hell of a lot scarier if Marceline wasn’t smiling bigger and bigger with each one.

“You’re on, Bubblegum.” Over the next hour the two of them proceeded to play about four games of pool. Bonnibel was sure that the other girl would never admit that she lost every single one, but she was okay with that. Marceline had friends of varying social groups coming and going the whole time, having quick conversations and wishing her happy birthday. It was enjoyable, getting to see her be her sarcastic self to everyone and laugh and be in her element.

“Shit, how is it 12:30 already?” Marceline thought out loud as she and Bonnibel sat side by side on the edge of the pool table, legs swinging in sync. 

“Time flies when you’re looooosing ,” Bonnibel sang as her eyes fluttered closed and she smirked at her own burn. It was finally Marceline’s turn to roll her eyes. 

“Yeah yeah, whatever, Bonnibel,” Marceline deadpanned. Bonnibel felt her chest tighten and all the heat in her body rush to her face. It was decidedly…weird to hear her actual name come out of Marceline’s mouth. Hardly anyone called her that anymore, and she didn’t think Marceline ever had. Subject change, now.

“It’s good to know the attitude is genetic now,” Bonnibel said lightheartedly. Upon Marceline’s confused look, she elaborated. “Met your lovely cousin upstairs before I came down.” The confusion quickly turned into an eye roll, under which, if Bonnibel didn’t know any better, she swore she saw a clenching jaw.

“Oh yeah, she’s a delight to bring around my friends,” Marcceline said. “I love that she flirts with all of you just to be annoying.”

“See? Genetic,” Bonnibel said, snapping finger guns. Marceline couldn’t help but laugh and abruptly stood up. At Bonnibel’s raised eyebrows, Marceline gestured toward the sliding door leading to the backyard.

“Come on, I want some time out of all this fucking noise.” She started towards the door and Bonnibel couldn’t help but stand and follow. The late fall temperature and peaceful back garden sounded like a great alternative to the hot basement air and the drinking game that had broken out around the couches.

The backyard was bigger than any house Bonnibel had ever been in and probably the most homey outdoor space she had ever seen. She guessed that Marceline hadn’t bothered to rid this space of its decor and charm since nobody seemed to want to be outside in the cold. There was a barbeque area that was meticulously decorated for entertaining with wicker couches and a picnic table. Plants adorned the paver patio from flowers to a full tomato plant on the other side of the deck that also housed a fully stocked bar. They continued onto a stone path through the grass that led to a sitting area in the once, Bonnibel assumed, vegetable garden that was now cleared and ready for winter. They sat on a comfortable wicker bench as Marceline kicked her feet up onto the matching ottoman while Bonnibel tucked her ankles underneath her thighs. She sighed and leaned her head into the left arm of the seat.

“You have such a beautiful house, I’d kill for this backyard,” Bonnibel said lightly. Marceline sat still and quiet for a moment, as if she was taken aback. Before she could offer a rushed apology, Marceline cut her off.

“Thanks. I love it here. Especially out here.” Okay, now Bonnibel understood why the other girl was uncomfortable. That whole “genuine” thing going on right then was freaking her out. She could feel the alcohol trying to wear off as she tried to cling to its unfiltering of her mind. They sat there in the quiet of the night for a few more moments before Marceline spoke again.

“So. What about you?”

“What about me, what?” Bonnibel asked, truly puzzled.

“Do you have a…place you…like?” Marceline stuttered in a pained, almost involuntary way. Bonnibel couldn’t help but giggle. “Hey! Don’t laugh at me!”

“Hehehehe I’m sorry!” Bonnibel continued trying to stifle the flow of laughter. “It’s just…was that your attempt to get to know someone?” Marceline narrowed her eyes and held up a loose fist. Bonnibel stared at it with a wide eyed smile as the other girl put it right next to her face.

“See this? WOooooOOooOOooo,” she said, giving a sound effect to her knuckles that had transitioned to doing figure-8s in front of Bonnibel’s eyes.

“What? You gonna bop me one?” she asked incredulously.

“It’s coming in for a landing, princess, be ready,” Marceline deadpanned. The other girl rolled her eyes and sat up to face her friend.

“I’m sorry Marceline, I’m an insensitive jerk,” Bonnibel over enunciated in a sarcastic tone. Marceline’s smirk came back in an instant, and she brought her fist back to her side. 

“Disengaged.” Bonnibel smiled and looked up at the clear night sky.

“Not really,” she said. Marceline stayed quiet, seemingly beckoning her to continue. “I don’t really talk to my family anymore, and even when I did we didn’t have a space together. We weren’t… close at all.”

“Oh.” It was silent for a few moments too long for Bonnibel’s liking after that. She looked over and saw Marceline fiddling with the snapping buttons of her varsity jacket. “Damn I wish I had something funny to say right now.” Bonnibel was too caught up in studying the patches on her arm to hear what she said. 

The pristinely white sleeve was adorned with three patches. Each a small rectangle, and in the bottom right corner in small cursive writing the word “Varsity.” On each patch were, respectively, a soccer ball, a volleyball, and what looked like a running shoe. 

“I’m sorry,” Bonnibel said suddenly as Marceline looked at her bewildered. “Are those- did you play varsity sports in high school? I thought the jacket was a fashion choice.” Marceline’s face went as red as the torso of her jacket as she looked at the patches on her sleeve.

“Oh uh…yeah I guess I did. And uh- it was a fashion choice,” she sputtered. “Don’t think I’m trying to brag about high school here. I’m not a fucking loser. I just…kinda forgot those were on here.” Bonnibel looked up in wonder as she watched Marceline flounder. It was almost…cute.

She swallowed a little too loudly as she let the word her brain had just spit out sink into her thoughts. It was…cute. That box she kept imagining in the attic of her brain, the one with Marceline’s face plastered onto the front, was suddenly at the forefront of her mind. And it was threatening to burst at the seams. 

“Whatcha lookin at? Like what you see, princess?” Marceline asked in a teasing tone with her tongue slightly sticking out in mockery. She even threw in a wink at the end for good measure.

Nope.

Keila messing with her and flirting with her was one thing. This was an entirely different monster. Against her own will, her heart began to pound against her ribcage, and her entire body jerked into an upright position. Something about this was just throwing her body off its natural rhythm. And somewhere in her mind, that box was kicked over, one step closer to opening.

“What?” No answer from the then robotic Bonnibel. “Dude, what? Was that too much?” Marceline asked in a hurried tone.

“Uhh, ahh…I don’t know. I don’t know why I just got weird I’m sorry,” Bonnibel said, finally releasing a breath she hadn’t known she was holding and slouching backward onto the cushions. Marceline followed suit, eyeing her closely.

“Hey it’s whatever,” she said with a forced casualness. There were a few moments of the two of them staring at the stars together, the faint sounds of wind rustling the remaining leaves being the only soundtrack. Until Marceline broke the silence, in a tone with only the faintest hint of teasing.

“So…you never answered.” It was a standalone statement, and not a very hard one to figure out. But being who she was, she thought better of assuming.

“What?”

“Do you like what you see?” There were so many ways to interpret that, Bonnibel thought. There were endless interpretations to that question. So her data-driven brain wanted to sit there and analyze and find the best one to apply to the situation, the one that Marceline meant so she could give the best answer. But she didn’t have the time.

“Why do you wanna know?” Nice deflection, Bonnibel thought, she’ll never get past that one. Marceline shifted as if trying and failing to get comfortable.

“Ugh, I don’t know, just forget I asked.” The girl went back to staring at the sky, tapping her feet on the ottoman to some melody she was probably making up in that moment. The frustration wasn’t the response Bonnibel expected, which sent her mind reeling all over again. She expected some teasing comeback or a dismissive chuckle or… well, anything but this. Marceline was almost… embarrassed. She took a deep breath and found another redirection in her still-tipsy brain.

“Well… yeah.” It was simple, and a lot more painless than Bonnibel thought it would be. Maybe it would be just as painless to say a little more.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Can you be irritating and stand-offish? Well of course, it’s your nature,” Bonnibel mocked. Much to her surprise, all she got in response was a grin. “But hey, you got some good stuff too.” Marceline pondered that for a moment.

“Well thanks, Bubblegum. You’re not exactly the worst person to be around either.”

“Put that on my headstone,” she said, copying a running joke from LSP and Shelby.

They shared a good, quiet laugh for a minute. It was still near silent outside, only now in the background “Misery Business” could be heard faintly playing in the living room. They were just looking at each other, trying to find something to say, or at least Bonnibel was. She was just watching the other girl’s eyes. Marceline’s…really beautiful, deep, dark brown eyes. 

Her heart dropped into her stomach as, in that attic, she had seemingly taken a knife to the already thin tape on her “Why Do I Care?” box. It wasn’t like she was…completely inept. This wasn’t the revelation of the century. But by glob it was still confusing. Marceline was everything she wasn’t. There was no reason to feel this way. But for some reason she did, and for some reason she was even admitting she felt it.

Her eyes roamed Marceline’s face, only inches from hers for the first time since they met, that unfortunate night on the quad. She had long eyelashes, a tiny mole on the top left corner of her forehead that was usually covered up, her cheeks were really red (from the alcohol she guessed), her lips were full, and the black lipstick looked really good. 

She wasn’t sure how long she had been staring at her lips before she felt her tongue roll to wet her own bottom lip. She wasn’t sure why, it was a reflex that felt natural in the moment, and she liked how Marceline’s breath hitched almost imperceptibly at it. The sound caused Bonnibel’s eyes to be ripped upward, but not before catching Marceline staring at hers.

They locked eyes for the first time in minutes. She was pretty sure this was the longest they had gone in silence the whole time they’d known each other. Bonnibel wasn’t the best at picking up social cues, but she saw Marceline tilt her head the slightest bit. Almost like she was asking for permission for something. Bonnibel didn’t know exactly what but knew she wanted to give it.

So she mirrored the action, tilting in the opposite direction. Marceline’s eyes widened and she moved forward very slowly. Bonnibel mirrored in the same fashion as before. Soon the two were only about an inch apart, and Bonnibel could feel Marceline’s breath on her lips. Marceline took a deep breath in, and shut her eyes. Bonnibel could feel a heart attack coming on, but decided to just ignore it. The residual drunk feeling was still there giving her confidence. And as she closed her eyes and began to close the already small distance -

“MARCELINE!” screamed a distant voice, way back by the sliding door. Bonnibel instantly yelped and jerked back so hard she fell off the bench, directly onto the gravel. Marceline was frozen in place, eyes wide open. “MARCELINEEE WHERE ARE YOU?” The voice was given an identity when Shelby came around the corner with Finn in tow. 

“There you areeeeeeee,” Finn said in the happiest tone Bonnibel had heard from him in weeks. “Guysss most people are leavingggg, we wanna set up that board game you were telling us about Marce.”

Bonnibel was frozen. She was being so careless, she had almost gotten caught. Sure they hadn’t done anything yet but they were…probably about to! If they had walked out a second later who knows what they would’ve seen! As steadily as she could manage, she sprang off the ground. Marceline just kept looking at her with those wide eyes.

“Yes, Marceline,” she started in the coolest, most proper voice she could manage. “What’s the game called so I can find it and set it up?”

“Uhhh…Codenames?” Marceline replied dumbly.

“Great, I’ll retrieve it.” This seemed to please Shelby and Finn, who promptly high fived and began their victory dance. Marceline just shook her head, trying to sober up a little more and process.

“Uh okay, do you wanna come back out and-” Bonnibel held up her hand quickly.

“Oh, no it’s okay! I really should start winding down I’m much more inebriated than I should be!” she exclaimed in a quick, wavering voice, and turned to go back to the basement.

“Bonnie-” Marceline called one more time, and that sure made her spin around.

“I’ve told you not to call me that,” she said in a hard tone, one that let a stunned Marceline know that this conversation was over. She rushed back in the sliding door to find the rest of her friends sitting in a circle on the ground between the couches, throwing popcorn in each other’s mouths, laughing up a storm. She took a deep breath and dug in the closet for the game, setting it up and trying to naturally insert herself into the conversation. 

Marceline came in a few minutes later, and she pointedly didn’t look Bonnibel’s way once during the entire two hours of gaming. Perfect.

This was just perfect.

Chapter Text

“Bonnibel?” The girl in question looked up from her laptop for the first time in hours at the rare sound of another person’s voice. She rubbed her eyes violently since taking them away from the pixels somehow caused more of a headache than looking at them directly. She blinked hard and quickly until the cozy university office came into focus beyond her glasses. 

She sat completely sunken into a well-worn couch across the room from a simple writer’s style desk cluttered with monitors, notebooks, post-its, and empty coffee mugs. And the person sitting  at the desk didn’t look much more put together, with his shoulder length hair thrown into a messy ponytail and his university hoodie stained with coffee. She’d swear he wasn’t anything close to a professor if she looked his way and didn’t know him, much less OOU’s most decorated.

“Bonnibel, are you even awake over there anymore?” he asked with a small smile as he flipped through the data packet on his desk. When she heard his sarcasm she couldn’t help but feel like she was talking to a friend or colleague rather than her boss and advisor. She yawned and looked at the bottom of her screen: 4 o’clock on the dot. 

“Yeah, of course,” she said. “It’s not even dinner time yet, the sun’s still out, how could I be sleeping?” He laughed lightly as he tossed his working materials back onto the desk.

“Because I don’t think I’ve seen you look up in about three hours,” he reasoned. “And even I’m tired of this crap. If I wasn’t on the hook for office hours today I would still be at home breaking down my patio for winter.” She laughed slightly at her favorite professor. For a man who was being co-nominated for a Nobel, he really didn’t seem to take himself all that seriously, Bonnibel thought.

“Well some of us have an undying need to prove ourselves over here,” she said, dramatically pointing at herself. He chuckled at that as he went to pour himself another cup of coffee from the pot he always kept full on a small end table next to the window.

“Precisely what I don’t miss about my 20s,” he said as he looked out at the heavily falling snow outside. A week had passed since Halloween, so the rural campus was about to be blanketed in snow until about April or so. “I used to put so much pressure on myself to be the best.”

“Well it seems to have worked,” she said lightly. He smiled and went to sit back down at his desk. “So all I’m hearing is what I’m doing is a fantastic way to kickstart a long career.”

“Sure, sure. But I still could’ve gotten to exactly where I am today if I had found the time to relax a little ,” he enunciated. Bonnibel chuckled under her breath, and as her favorite professor gave her a questioning look, she explained.

“If you’re trying to do that thing and give me subtle advice, I don’t think you would’ve listened to anyone telling you to slow down either. You know, if we’re even a tad similar.” The older man smiled again as she made herself comfortable and kicked her feet up on the couch to dive back into the code. She had spent countless hours in this office since her first semester at OOU when he agreed to be her advisor and at this point it was her second living room.

When Bonnibel learned there was a world-renowned, tenured Biology professor on the same campus as her, she was determined to put herself on his radar. On her second day as an official student, she went to his office hours and introduced herself. It was awkward; she even brought an official resume with a portfolio of projects and research papers she worked on in high school. She told him she wanted to do whatever she could to be involved in his research. ‘I’ll even clean lab equipment! I’m willing to do any job you have available!’

Luckily for her, he found her forceful determination endearing instead of weird and off-putting. He said if she could prove to be serious and motivated during her first semester he would take her on as an advisee. Bonnibel knew how big of a deal that was. During orientation they were informed of the Bio professors who were also advisors and when she saw Simon on the list she immediately asked her Orientation Leader about him. All she got in response was a long-winded ‘don’t bother’ as the sophomore explained that Simon only took on about three students every year, and never any freshmen. What the poor OL didn’t know was the easiest way to give Bonnibel a goal was to tell her it was impossible to achieve. So she went all out. 

She managed to be selected to join the university’s chapter of the Biomedical Engineering Society (which she said took no effort) and got selected for both the Engineering and Biology departments’ student research teams; all while maintaining a 4.0. Sure, she didn’t get to have many hobbies, and she didn’t spend time with anyone other than getting dinner with her way-too-social artsy roommate every other night, but she’d tell anyone who’d listen that it was well worth it when Petrikov signed her official Major/Advisor Declaration Form at the end of semester one.

“When you’re correct I can’t argue. But if anyone can afford to take some time to themselves: you can.” She looked at him incredulously. 

“So my boss is telling me to…what? Spend less time working on his super-important project than I already am? Am I hearing this correctly Dr. Petrikov?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Yes, you hear me,” he said, pointing his index finger in her direction. “There’s no way you’re spending less than 30 hours a week on this. Every time we have a collaboration day you’ve accomplished at least twice what I’ve expected. I mean, you’re really helping me impress those big shots down at Olson-Walch. But glob kid, take a break once in a while.”

Bonnibel couldn’t help but sit up a tad straighter and do all she could to suppress a grin. This project was going to be huge to add to her resume. She and her professor were making a database for the intern and residency programs at the Olson-Walch Hospital to show how effective their teaching program had been in the past ten years. The hope was to get the hospital more access to funding, and to eventually attract more doctors to the area.

“I do take breaks!” she protested. “In fact, I’m cooking dinner for my friends as soon as we wrap up here.” She made plans earlier that morning to have a taco night with LSP and Lady while their other friends were at some big music shop in the next town over. The three of them had been invited too, but Bonnibel politely declined since she “wouldn’t appreciate it as much as the rest of you guys would.” Lana then promptly planned a girl’s night since, in her words, “if Peebs doesn’t have to listen to y’all’s shit I don’t either”, and Lady offered to bring rolls home from her shift at work since she had already been to that store with Jake a few times already. 

It had been a week since the Halloween party at that point. After the seemingly endless array of board games, they all passed out in their costumes on the basement floor. And after Bonnibel had woken Lady before the sun was even up to drive them home, she was ready to get a sense of normalcy back.

And she did, mostly. This last week included her usual routines of going to Breakfast Kingdom, studying in the library, and having to constantly check her phone. None of her friends had been very available all week, but that didn’t mean she didn’t hear from them. She hadn’t been able to make any of the “group hangs” this week but that was different.

She was just trying to be much more focused this week, she told herself. There was just no time. The Sunday after the party she was too hungover to get brunch with everyone. There was no time to go to the Ne’er Do Wells band practice because she had to work on the front-facing coding on the database, of course. And she had to catch up on her homework for Cell and Molecular Biology; she was ahead in the syllabus but still, she’d like to stay that way!

“Well then what in the world are you still doing here?” Dr. Petrikov exclaimed.

“What?” she asked, confused after getting lost in her own head.

“You’ve done plenty of work today, honestly more than me,” he said as he got up to start for the door. “We’ll catch up sometime next week. I want to make sure we get as much done as we can before Thanksgiving break but we’re already way ahead of schedule. Go have fun with your friends.” She thought briefly about arguing and trying to work for just a little longer, but once Dr. Petrikov set his mind to something she knew there was no talking him out of it.

“Of course, but I’ll still be available to work on the project over break. I usually just stay on campus anyway,” she said, hoisting her far too heavy backpack on her shoulders with a grunt.

“Come on kid,” he chastised with a non-serious smile. “You deserve a break.” He pushed the already open door a bit wider and Bonnibel took that as her sign to leave.

“Trust me,” she said as she walked just into the hallway, “staying here alone is much more of a break than anything else.” She saw her professor’s face fall slightly and cursed herself. “No, no I didn’t mean it like that . Seriously don’t worry about it, I enjoy being by myself. I like being in the apartment when Lady’s gone so I can watch movies in the living room as loud as I want. And I can even order from the pizza place she doesn’t like. So yeah, I’m good.” She sucked in a quick breath. ‘Yeah great idea,’ she thought, ‘nothing will be more effective at convincing him it’s okay than just saying it over and over.’

“I hear you loud and clear,” he said with, as far as Bonnibel could tell, a twinge of disbelief. “I’ll text you about how the meeting on Monday goes. Have a good rest of your weekend, Bonnibel.” She gave him a small wave as the door closed and she turned to navigate the endless brick hallways of the science building. She cringed slightly as she replayed the parting interaction in her mind.

It’s not like she kept it a secret that she didn’t talk to her family. She just kept it on a need to know basis, or at least that’s what she was thinking to herself as she trudged outside into about six inches of snow to head home. Lady and Jake were about the only people who knew, and she only told them because it was pretty unavoidable for them to notice how she never went anywhere during break. Even during the summer she stayed in the dorms and took on a job working the desk in the library (“who could turn down getting paid to watch Netflix while nobody comes in?”). Even they only got the bare bones version of the story: “we have very different ideas on what I should do with my life and I’m doing just fine on my own.”

And she was, she thought to herself as she stomped her way through the unplowed streets of the off-campus housing. A 4.0 student with a thriving social life and an important job? Somebody should give her an award for that, she mused. She definitely didn’t need pity from anyone, including her mentor.

As she approached her apartment and stuck her key in the door, she could already hear a commotion going on inside. The clanging of pots and pans was almost overtaken by Lana-Sue’s unmistakable voice ringing through the closed entrance. She smiled to herself and pressed her ear against the door to prepare for what she was about to walk into, and silently thanked her friends for being as loud as they were for once.

“I told you, there’s! A! System!” Lady spat out.

“And I told you to just stack your dishes like a normal goddamn person! I just want the fucking skillet!”

“Well you’re holding a CROCKPOT so what are we doing ?!” Bonnibel took a second to collect herself and make sure the giggles that had been working their way out of her mouth had time to stop before she opened the door. She found it odd how two people could have an entire friendship based upon mutual threats and arts, but she knew better than to question either of them.

The moment she turned her key and pushed the door open, all signs of an impending smackdown were promptly forgotten. Lady and Lana-Sue had whipped around to face the front door and were wearing all-too-charming grins.

“Heyyyyy Peebs,” LSP said in a tone a bit too friendly. “How’d your little study session go?”

“Hey dudes. It was fine, we made very little progress as always,” Bonnibel said, not bothering to correct her friend anymore, as she threw her jacket and backpack on the mat next to the door. She surveyed the scene and saw quite a few open cabinets, a toppled heap of pans on the counter and floor…and she decided whoever chopped the onions and peppers had to have been drunk because the amount on the cutting board and floor appeared to be the same. “So…I thought I was cooking tonight.”

“Yeah, yeah!” Lady jumped in. “Well you were running a little late and we know how caught up in your work you can get so we figured we’d…” she trailed off, gesturing to the mess behind her.

“Set us back a half hour for fun?” Bonnibel quipped. Lady rolled her eyes and gave a non-convincing ‘ha-ha’ in response. “I’m just teasing, but for reals get out of the kitchen you two stress me out.”

“This is my apartment and you can’t make meeeee,” Lady sing-songed as she jumped to sit on the counter. This was their protocol, Bonnibel cooked and Lady kept her company. During the first month of having the apartment Bonnibel expressed how it might be nice for her roommate to cook every once in a while. Then she came home to find the complex evacuated and a fireman coming out of their apartment holding a pan with the blackened remnants of…something. So needless to say she never asked Lady to cook again.

“You’re right, stay close so I can make sure you don’t touch anything else,” Bonnibel laughed as LSP shouted ‘got her!’ from the kitchen table. “Pipe down back there I heard you thought a Crockpot was a pan.” It was Lady’s turn to laugh as LSP crossed her arms in her seat.

“I wish you were all like scared and shy again, what happened to that?” Lana-Sue drolled sarcastically. “And this is BIG talk coming from the one who was mmmmmmm,” she dramatically craned her neck to look at the clock above the shelf of plants on the kitchen wall, “an hour late. Stay humble.”

“Okay, hurtful but fair,” Bonnibel conceded as she put the ground beef in a skillet and began to chop the veggies into more even shapes.

“That’s the brand babes,” LSP winked as she whipped out her phone to scroll Instagram for that week’s crush. 

They laughed and joked over Lady’s playlist while Bonnibel moved around the kitchen with the confidence of a trained chef. Lady wore a look of stunned appreciation almost every time she watched Bonnibel cook. The recipes were never simple, and she almost never made the same dish twice. Even the tacos at Taco Night used a different recipe every time.

Bonnibel very vividly remembered being about twelve years old and being forced to take an art class if she wanted to move on to the next grade. She remembered whining and fussing to her favorite science teacher nearly every day about how it wasn’t fair to make her take an art class because she wasn’t an artist and would never make money from it, so there was no point in learning it. It was after about three months of having to listen to her complain over every lunch period when he finally decided to give her some advice. And thinking about it, Bonnibel realized she probably broke that poor man and he was making a last ditch effort to stop hearing about it.

“Bonnibel, we don’t make you take it because we think everyone needs to know how to draw. We think everyone should know how to make something of their own. You need a creative outlet or you’re going to drive yourself, and everyone around you, crazy.” He then told her that it didn’t even need to be art, she just needed to express herself. It stuck with her for weeks, so much so that she made it a mission to find her “outlet.” Drawing, writing, and attempting to learn the piano all proved to be futile efforts that bored and frustrated her to tears. She was pretty hopeless until she wandered into the kitchen one evening and asked her mom how she came up with dinner every night.

When her mom told her she usually made it up on the fly, Bonnibel felt that little spark. The feeling of interest being piqued by something other than her classes or her “My First Microscope” kit. Every evening after, she stood right behind her mom at the stove just watching and taking everything in, and was occasionally allowed to stir something.

She still felt that spark now, pulling the elote corn out of the oven and inhaling the scent of confirmation that she used exactly the right spice level. And she especially felt it after the three of them had assembled their meals and dug in, and the only thing leaving everyone’s mouth was a compliment. She grinned ear to ear as she listened to her friends’ very loud appreciations devolve into conversation about the week.

“So where the hell even were you again?” Lana asked, pointing her half-eaten taco in the direction of Bonnibel. “It’s fucking Saturday, even you usually take it easier on the weekend.” 

“Okay it’s not like I was in class or even studying,” Bonnibel said. “I was having a meeting about the project for the hospital you helped me with a few weeks back. That’s more like my job than homework.”

“Alright, fair enough,” Lana conceded as she finished her plate. “Who’s the professor though? If they’re trash to work for I know spending that much time with them would kill me dead in the brain.”

“It’s not that much time,” Bonnibel defended as she collected her friends’ plates to put in the sink.

“Dude,” Lady chimed in, “every spare minute you have goes into it. You were working on it during our special TV time. It’s like your newborn child.”

Bonnibel turned from the sink to lean on the counter and look at Lady with a singular raised eyebrow. “Don’t you start with me, how many nights did you half pay attention to my movie choices to work on your sketches?” Lady started to answer, but comically shoved a cookie from the jar on the table in her mouth to cut off an answer that would’ve proven her roommate’s point. “Anyway, to answer your question Lana, I’m working with Petrikov on this one.”

”Ohhhhhh snap! The homie Dr. P!” LSP exclaimed. “I didn’t know he was your boss.” Bonnibel’s eyes narrowed as she began to run through the hallways of her mind, looking for any clue as to why in the blitz LSP of all people would know this man.

”How are all of you guys so well connected? I feel like I’m missing some important networking events or something around here,” she said, turning off the sink and making moves towards the living room. 

“You got any idea what that means?” Lana asked Lady as they both stood up to follow. The tallest in the room shook her head as she grabbed the whole jar of cookies and went to slump down on the couch.

”It means there’s like no reason for you, or Finn for that matter, to know my Bioengineering advisor. So, to quote you, what gives?” she asked, turning on her Xbox to open Netflix and commence the inevitable argument of what to watch. 

Lana uncomfortably settled into the pink armchair, her hand picking through her recently blown out Afro. The chair was a little too small for anyone to fully lounge in, but hey, that’s why it was $9 from Goodwill. Bonnibel had a feeling, however, that the chair had little to do with the discomfort. As socially inept as she usually was, she wasn’t stupid. She saw Lady pass the slyest of glances Lana’s way, and Lana’s very small nod in response. It may have only been a fraction of a second, but the interaction was already triggering Bonnibel’s… ‘what did Lana call it? My “BS-dar”? Stupid.’

“Ohhhhh right. Well back in freshman year, like my Shelby Jake and Marceline’s freshman year, he was like our on-campus mentor. And he used to do gatherings for his mentor group so we hung out at his house a few times. He helped us with class shit, and even stuff like financial aid if we wanted it.” 

“Oh, right. Well that makes sense,” Bonnibel said as she began to scroll through Netflix to try and find something all three of them could agree on. But the more she thought about it, the more she was unconvinced. “Hey wait, no it doesn’t.”

”What?” Lana and Lady said simultaneously looking up from their phones. It was then that Bonnibel realized she had no idea how long she had been stewing and scrolling on the explore page, she was all the way down to “Family Friendly” which wasn’t even a category they ever chose from unless Jake or Finn was over. She quickly straightened up and chose the first movie she saw that was slightly agreeable, Legally Blonde. This got smiles and “yessss”es and nods of approval from her friends before she continued.

”Oh um…the thing you said before, about Dr. Petrikov,” she explained, fidgeting slightly with her shirt collar. “I’ve always been told he’s highly selective about who he takes on as a mentee. I’ve only ever heard that his maximum is three students a year, and he never talks about anyone outside the Bio or engineering department so, again, what gives?”

“Damn girl,” Lady said through a chuckle, “if anyone here should be getting the third degree it isn’t us.”

“Huh? What on earth are you talking about?”

“I meaaaaaan you’re really gonna give us grief about who we hang out with when you haven’t been turning up all week?” Lady said, turning to her roommate and wiggling her eyebrows. 

“Okay usually I’m great at reading between the lines of what you say but I truly have no idea how those thoughts correlate.” Lady groaned and threw her head back dramatically.

“You’ve been holding out on us this week! No band practice, no brunch? There’s no way your job needs that much of your time,” she chastised.

Bonnibel twisted her mouth pensively from side to side as she started to come up with a response. She felt something heavy pooling at the bottom of her stomach as she side-eyed Lady’s expectant face while pretending to watch the movie. It was bad enough that she had to try to muscle the memory of Marceline’s face being just so close out of her brain; she wasn’t about to have to muscle it out of someone else’s. 

Plus it wouldn’t get to be a conversation about why she hadn’t been around, because then she’d have to explain why she… totally wasn’t feeling awkward around Marceline. And then she’d have to explain why that moment had happened. And then she’d have to explain her sexuality. It sure felt like a waste of time for something that only needed time to be remedied.

She had planned her “comeback strategy” the same morning she bolted from her still sleeping friends in the basement. She was going to avoid group hangouts this week, which she thought nobody would notice, then she’d go to the Ne’er Do Wells band practice the following week since Marceline would be occupied and likely not talk to her, and then slowly work her way back to full hangouts while letting the impending tension quietly fade into the background. 

But Lady jumped right into the middle of her meticulously crafted plans, as she so often did. And she knew she needed to think quickly here. She needed to come up with a reason that was boring enough not to elicit questions, but also sounded important enough so Lady and LSP didn’t try to weasel her out of it.

”Well I mean-”

“Oh HELL yeah!” Lady yelled abruptly enough to cause both of her friends to jump in their seats. “Heh sorry,” she said, still looking at her phone and typing away. Bonnibel and LSP glanced at each other, and did their best to glare holes in Lady’s head the longer she refused to look up.

”WELL?” Lana broke the silence. “Wanna enlighten the rest of us?” 

“Oh! Sorry, um…” she continued to type as Lana tapped her foot impatiently against the ottoman. Lady finally looked up a few moments later “Okay! Jake texted, apparently they’re already done at the music shop. He said it was a bust and the four of them are on their way back if we all want to do something together.”

”Well last I checked everyone in this apartment is free so tell em to get the fuck over here!” Lana said with a big smile. Lady nodded and stepped out of the room to call them. “Tell em to bring some milkshakes back!”

Well…there went the excuse plan, directly out the window. Bonnibel mustered as big a smile as she could and excused herself to the kitchen to clean for their guests. She maniacally scrubbed each plate and pan while she listened to the other two argue about how to switch out the HDMI cables so they could put Mario Kart on the TV. 

She just refused to believe that this was her life. With every plate scrubbed she was thinking of a new way to get out of the situation. She could say her boss called her back and needs her to take care of something for the program, or maybe she just realized an assignment is due tonight, or maybe she was coming down with food poisoning from the tacos? 

‘Agh, no. None of these are going to freaking work.’ No matter what excuse she simulated in her brain, she foresaw Lady being suspicious of all of them. If there was one thing Bonnibel could call herself with 100% certainty, it was “terrible liar.” That partnered with Lady’s commitment to asking way too many follow-up questions and bountiful insight meant that Bonnibel was just going to have to grin and bear it.

She joined her friends back on the couch at Lana’s very loud insistence that they needed a practice race so they could finally end Shelby’s “reign of terror.” She was just happy to have something to focus on besides the angry cloud of wasps encircling her brain. 

There was no telling what would happen. At least Finn had taken down some of his walls of anger surrounding her, even making small talk in their shared gen ed. She never thought she’d be so thrilled to talk about the weather on the walk to class, but it meant progress. And possibly that he’d say more than three words to her tonight. 

But then there was the other… small issue. Would Marceline ignore her? That would sure raise questions. Would she tell everyone what happened by making it a joke? Had she already told Jake? He was her best friend after all. The more time that passed the more she had to have a death grip on the controller to keep it from falling out of her sweaty palms. ‘Gross.’

It took about a half hour (29 minutes based on Bonnibel’s obsessive phone checking) for the door to open, revealing the rest of their friends. They were all thoroughly bundled up to brave the ever-falling snow outside. For a split second Bonnibel felt a warmth run through her. If she had told herself a few months ago that she would be on the “Don’t Knock Just Come In” friendship level with more than one person, she’d have thought it was crazy.

”YOOOOO who ordered a GOOD TIME?” Jake yelled as he dramatically fell on the couch and wrapped his snow covered arms around her and Lady. The other three strolled in, taking off their coats and boots, and gave similarly happy greetings. It was enough to make Bonnibel smile and relax into the couch a little.

“I know nobody did because my phone never rang!” As everyone laughed, and Shelby proclaimed Jake was ‘boom, roasted!’, Bonnibel finally looked away from the safety of the floor and towards that taunting, cool voice. She didn’t know what she was expecting, but there was Marceline, sporting a fleece lined denim jacket and a beanie with what she now recognized as the symbol for the band All Time Low’s album “Future Hearts.” She was smiling big and kicking off her boots as their eyes met. Exactly as expected, her heart began to pound and she needed to wipe her palms on the sweatpants she changed into before her practice races.

She watched the girl casually wander over to the couches, and briefly thought she might be having a heart attack when Marceline sat down directly next to her. The room was already starting to get loud with stories from their collectively busy weeks, so she was at least confident nobody heard the surprised grunt that left her throat when the cushion dipped and she felt a barely-there punch to her shoulder.

“Hey princess, haven’t seen you in a minute. I see you’re back to living the hermit-academic life,” she said in her usual, casual teasing tone. Bonnibel’s eyebrow instinctively went up to her forehead before she could stop it. “What?”

“Oh, uh,” Bonnibel stuttered as she took a deep breath in and adjusted her expression back to neutral. “Nothing. I just, uh, didn’t think you cared about anybody’s presence that much,” she said, trying to quickly recover. She had to play along with whatever this was.

“Touche,” the other girl said, reaching a hand up to catch one of the beers Jake was throwing around to everyone. “Been busy?”

“Yeah, yeah,” she rushed the words out of her mouth. “That hospital project, y’know? I was even there until five o’clock today.” Marceline smiled slightly and Bonnibel really thought she might drop dead right in the middle of the living room from a panic attack.

“Glob dude,” she laughed before taking a sip from her can. “That’s BS. You gotta tell your boss to lay off sometime.”

“Yeah, sure,” Bonnibel replied, seemingly very distracted by nothing in particular on her phone.

“Ah, so she didn’t lose her phone,” Marceline said sarcastically, and almost in a whisper. Bonnibel scrunched her eyebrows and looked back at the device in her hand. She didn’t have much time to think about replying, however, as a Nintendo Switch controller was thrown into her lap a moment later.

“You're up first, Peebs!” Shelby said from his spot on the floor. “And don’t even think about choosing Princess Peach because I just re-dyed my hair today and it matches perfectly ,” using his hands to really emphasize ‘perfectly’. She couldn’t hold her laugh in before trying to retort.

“Pick any character you want, I’m still gonna kick your ass,” she said over top of a chorus of “oohs” from the rest of the group.

“Peebs swore!” Lana-Sue proclaimed. “She means BIDNESS.”

“Oh! Hypocrisy!” Finn cried from the floor in front of Bonnibel’s side of the couch. “She swears and she means ‘bidness’ but I do it and I sound like ‘a middle schooler trying to be cool?’ What the H!!” 

“Yeah… you don’t use it right,” Lana said with a cringe as it was clear to Bonnibel she was remembering something specific. This got another hearty group laugh as an argument ensued between Finn and Lana about the “right way to use fuck”. Bonnibel had fully tuned the two of them out and was doing a breathing exercise to try and slow her ever-climbing heart rate.

She was stewing over what Marceline had meant when she said something about her phone. So, after making sure everyone was still invested in how many times you can swear in one conversation before it’s weird, she pulled out her phone. Her heart sank as she opened her messages app. She had been keeping her phone on Do Not Disturb most of the week. She figured that Marceline definitely wouldn’t want to talk to her, and she wanted a little space from her friends anyway to finally focus on her dang schoolwork. But much to her endless embarrassment, there was a text from Marceline almost everyday that week.

Marceline, Monday - 10:09 am: hey, wanna get coffee before ur lab today

Marceline, Wednesday- 6:45 pm: hey i get that u dont wanna talk abt it, u coming to the practice tonight

Marceline, Thursday- 4:25 pm: me n jake are going to waffle house after his vball practice, wanna come

Marceline, Today- 4:10 pm: just saw that Cage The Elephant record u said u were looking for, want me to grab it for u

Bonnibel felt her cheeks heating up a little more with every ignored text she read. She had no idea what to do. She felt her breathing go slightly shallow as she floundered trying to figure out how she’d fix this. She didn’t have much time to think, though, as she realized Finn was currently shouting the “3, 2, 1” countdown to the race’s start.

She quickly threw her phone in her lap and picked up the controller. She, Finn, Shelby, and Jake were about to go head-to-head on Rainbow Road as the four of them were definitely the best at the game out of the group.

“OH BOOST AT THE START!” Shelby yelled. “Eat my dust you bastards!”

“Oh shut up I got one too!” Bonnibel shouted back as she maneuvered her Yoshi to side swipe his Princess Peach. He gasped in mock hurt as Bonnibel quickly overtook him for second place. 

“Oh and Finn,” Jake chirped as he not so subtly elbowed Bonnibel’s controller while Lady yelled ‘cheater!’, “that’s how you use swears for emphasis. Not whatever the fuck you do.”

“Why the shot at me?!” Finn yelped. “I haven't even red-shelled you yet!”

“Yet?” As the word left his mouth, Jake’s Waluigi was immediately hit with Finn’s red shell and fell into 12th place. All of his friends couldn’t contain their glee about Finn’s perfect comedic timing as Jake grumbled for the rest of the race that he was being punished for being hilarious. The game ended quickly, finishing with Shelby in 1st, Bonnibel in 3rd, Finn in 4th, and Jake in 6th. 

“Nothing about that was fair!” Jake whined as he passed his controller to Lady, who dramatically cradled his head and made what she called her “poor baby” face at him.

“I think you just enjoy the attention you get from complaining,” Bonnibel teased as she threw her controller over to the armchair.

“Amen, baby!” LSP agreed as she caught it in midair. Even Jake couldn’t keep pretending to pout and laughed along.

“Marceline! Want in on this round?” Finn asked, winding up to toss his controller her way.

“Ehhhh nah,” she said noncommittally, looking at her phone. “I’m cool to watch; my eyes are tired from driving.” Finn nodded and went to set up the next game with him, Lana, Lady, and Shelby who was staying in since he won. Bonnibel immediately tensed her shoulders and slumped back on the couch. She was very ready to sit back and finally relax while Marceline played, but now they were going to be right next to each other with nothing to do, and her not knowing what to say. In that moment, she was just grateful that her other friends never took a break in conversation, at least she could pretend to pay attention to them.

“Suit yourself,” he shrugged. “Just gives me more practice to beat Shelby, I need a win this week man.”

“I feel that,” Lady sighed. “I bombed a quiz for my Art History class this week. Plus we’re getting close to the End of Semester Showcase and I’m still deciding what I want my collection to focus on.”

“Dude I bombed my exam in CJ 101. That’s like the foundation of my major! I gotta at least pass,” Finn groaned as he picked his character. “Plus I asked out that girl in the D&D club and she ghosted like an hour before I was supposed to go get her.”

“Yeeeeeeesh that’s rough,” Lana grimaced as she picked the prettiest pink car for her pink Shy Guy. “With those stats just take the loss this week honestly. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Try again next time.” Bonnibel giggled at her friend’s version of encouragement, but it seemed to put some ease on Finn’s mind as he settled in to the race.

As Bonnibel picked up her phone to use as a conversation buffer yet again, she felt Marceline lean back directly next to her to do the same. It seemed to her that the other girl was doing something that hadn’t even crossed her mind as a possibility, just ignoring their… incident entirely. As she stared at her sparsely populated messages app, she tried to understand how she felt about that.

On one hand there was a little bit of relief running through her chest. She could rest knowing Marceline didn’t intend to tell anyone, and really there was nothing to tell if she thought about it. And it seemed like she was trying to preserve the playfully hostile peace they had cultivated. But there was still this gnawing feeling in the back of her mind. She felt her head pound slightly with confusion as she was feeling… upset?

She swallowed hard, like she was trying to keep something down. That was just absolutely unacceptable. There was no way she was going to allow herself to think about what it meant to be upset that Marceline wasn’t going to acknowledge that… something had almost happened. There was just no way. She knew if she wanted to maintain any semblance of friendship with the other girl she had to follow suit, and possibly now.

“Did you end up getting anything at the store?” Bonnibel said, leaning over slightly to talk under the noise of their friends’ raucous cheering. She looked up and saw Marceline looking back at her, with eyes slightly widened in surprise.

“Oh, yeah not really,” she said. “It was kind of a bust besides seeing that one Cage The Elephant record you won’t shut up about. Thanks for the no reply by the way,” she said in a light tone. Bonnibel rolled her eyes pointedly. 

“I can’t believe you’re admitting that you think about me when I’m not around though,” Bonnibel said, her voice slowly transitioning into a sarcastic tease as she heard Lana-Sue scream about a banana peel. “That seems like something friends do and I didn’t think you had any.” She saw Marceline smirk out of the corner of her eye and she knew it was on.

“God you’re so naive, princess,” Marceline retorted. “You gotta keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”

“Oh sure, and the textbook way to win your enemies over is to buy them gifts. You learned that from all those punk anarchists you hang out with?”

“No, see, what you think happened is that I bought you a thoughtful gift. But what actually happened is you thought I was being thoughtful. And now you think I’m soft and won’t see the next attack coming.”

“I never said it was thoughtful.” Marceline scoffed and pushed her shoulder ever so lightly. “And also, next attack? What are you, a military officer?” Bonnibel laughed as she pushed back.

“Look, just say thank you as a proper royal lady has been taught to do and we can move on.”  Bonnibel rolled her eyes.

“Thank you so much,” she drawled sarcastically. “I’d have you knighted but my kingdom has a strict ‘no-blood-sucking’ policy.”

“Yeah, yeah. Give me some of your gum, oh princess of the Candy Kingdom,” Marceline drawled right back as she held out her hand for Bonnibel to give her some of the pink bubblegum she was going through like candy. Bonnibel plopped it into her hand and leaned back to look at the results of the race. She didn’t need to though as she could already hear Finn whining about Shelby winning yet again.

“It’s seriously not fair,” Lana-Sue grumbled in agreement. “Shelby you didn’t even have a bad week like the rest of us, let someone have something!” Shelby only laughed and shrugged.

“Maybe if y’all would get good I wouldn’t have to be the villain here,” he said. “Also it’s not possible for all of us to have had a shitty week besides me there’s too fuckin many of you.”

“See and how is that not too much,” Finn muttered so quietly only Bonnibel heard it and giggled quietly. “I’m serious!” he whispered to her through a laugh of his own.

“Yeah, you losers can speak for yourselves,” Marceline smirked. “I’m killin it lately.”

“Oh do brag,” Jake mocked.

“I shall,” she gave right back to him. She leaned forward and Bonnibel tried not to notice the space she left on her shoulder. “Point the first, I aced my midterms.” Everybody gave a celebratory beer can raise to that one. “Point the second, I finished the lyrics for our fourth original song.” Another group celebration complete with a few high fives Marceline’s way, including from Bonnibel. “Point the third, I have a hot date tomorrow.” 

That one got the group going. Bonnibel watched as her friends absolutely lost it. Lady and Jake were pretty much the most exciting couple any of them knew, and the two of them never had any drama going on. So someone dating was definitely something to talk about. There were a few “OHHH”s, a “get it” from Shelby, and lastly Lana-Sue had to ask:

“Okay, details?” Marceline smirked as Bonnibel continued to lean back with her arms crossed.

“Okay okay. Only because I know if I don’t now, you’re just gonna get annoying.” Lana-Sue nodded aggressively with a smug smile on her face. “You remember that cashier from Spirit Halloween?”

Bonnibel’s stomach turned as Lana-Sue clapped in delight. That slimeball? He asked Marceline on a date? And she said yes? What the actual blizz was going on?

“Hey nice!” Shelby piped up, putting his empty beer on the table. “You said he works at Nightosphere right? Bartender?” Bonnibel could feel her face screwing into a sneer but did everything in her power to keep it neutral. Making a face right now felt beyond pathetic.

“Yeah it’s sick,” Marceline continued. “We’re going to a show there tomorrow night.” Everyone gave their props and shared in the excitement as Bonnibel tuned them out and stared at the screen for a moment. Just like there was no way she was allowed to be upset about Marceline saying nothing, there was even less of a chance she was going to let herself be upset about the girl going on a date. It wasn’t the date, she decided. It was the dude.

She was taken out of her zone when Lady tapped her on the shoulder with the controller, silently telling her it was her turn on the game. Bonnibel smiled as much as she could muster and waved her off.

“I’m seriously so brain dead after work today, you keep playing, okay?” Bonnibel yelled over the other conversations and music coming from the TV. Lady nodded and took her hand back.

“Who’s ready to go DOWN?” she said with a devious smile thrown Jake’s way.

“Oh you’re on!” he said, focusing on the screen and beginning a trash talking tirade directed at Shelby. Bonnibel was still working on keeping her eyes trained strictly forward. She knew if she opened her mouth it was all going to come out wrong. There were just too many things to think about, so she could only tense her jaw and wait to calm down. The newest race had just started when someone interrupted her again. This time in the form of a familiar figure leaning into her shoulder.

“You good?” Marceline said just low enough to fly under the constant noises around them. Bonnibel wasn’t sure what was happening, but all she could feel was something taking over her mind the second she heard Marceline’s voice. She felt her voice coming out thick with sarcasm, but she couldn’t stop it.

“Peachy.” She could almost feel Marceline’s face screwing in confusion.

“Princess peachy?” the other girl offered. Bonnibel didn’t bite and kept looking forward, and she felt more than heard the other girl’s scoff.

“Something on your mind?” Bonnibel chirped.

“Yeah, what’s with you? You were fine until like 5 minutes ago.” Bonnibel shook her head. “What, man?” the girl said through an almost laugh. Oh the laugh pissed Bonnibel off, something wild. And she didn’t even understand why.

“You spent plenty of time proving that you’re much smarter than you appear. So you figure that one out, detective.” Marceline almost recoiled at the words. She leaned back and appeared lost in thought for a few moments. Bonnibel looked around to make sure nobody was paying attention and much to her pleasure everyone was still fully engaged in yelling at each other and bumping elbows to throw off steering.

When her eyes met Marceline’s again they were still just as lost. Bonnibel was getting even more frustrated the more time went by, so she tried to help by raising her eyebrows hoping that would get the point across. For a second Marceline's features crawled more into a ‘help me’ expression, but only for a second.

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me.” Marceline’s face couldn’t have looked more sure, and it also couldn’t have looked more annoyed. It was Bonnibel’s turn to recoil now, she couldn’t believe Marceline had the audacity to be annoyed.

“Are you serious? You’re going on a date with that trash bag and you’re annoyed with me?” Marceline scoffed and it was about to push Bonnibel over the edge of her rage if it happened again.

“First of all, you have no reason to think he sucks, you’ve never even spoken to him,” Marceline said like she was explaining this to a child. “Second, yeah actually, you have no right to be annoyed.”

“You forget I had to listen to that frankly nauseating conversation while I waited for you to take us home.”

“Oh I’m so sorry you listened to him speak one time. I forgot I was in the presence of the world’s most gifted mind and you’ve probably figured out his entire life story from just a few sentences. How could I be so thoughtless?” The icy sarcasm quietly making its way out of Marceline’s mouth brought a sense of sick deja vu to Bonnibel. It reminded her of the way they were speaking to each other when they first met, and it wasn’t helping the irritation.

“Oh and you’ve heard more?” Bonnibel questioned as she nudged Jake’s elbow off her arm and Finn screamed about Shelby cheating.

“He works at my favorite bar, connect the dots detective. ” Before she could stop herself her mind conjured an image of Marceline in one of her skimpy shirts, leaning over a dingy bar at a punk venue laughing at that creep’s jokes and sipping on a drink he poured her and-

“Ugh.”

“What? Can’t handle being wrong?” The smug tone was just stoking the flames.

“I’m quite certain this isn’t something anyone can be wrong about,” Bonnibel said. “This is just you making stupid decisions.” Marceline’s face soured as the music in the game kicked up for the final lap.

“I don’t know how you manage to care too much and not at all at the same time,” she grumbled.

“What does that mean?” Bonnibel whispered pointedly, getting slightly closer to Marceline’s face as everyone began yelling at the final lap.

“Do the math, princess. You’re plenty smart.” Bonnibel felt all of the breath leave her lungs in a split second, she didn’t like where this was going. Didn’t like what the other girl was implying. She wasn’t exactly sure, it was only a feeling, but she knew she wasn’t going to open that can of worms right now.

The two of them were snapped out of their little bubble by Lady letting out a loud, piercing victory scream. Bonnibel almost jumped off the couch as she looked at the screen to see her roommate in first on the leaderboard ahead of Shelby.  

“I DID IIIIIIIT!” She screamed. “I took down the giant!” Everyone picked up their beer cans, full or empty, and raised a toast for their new champion. 

“Ah, I gotta give it to you,” Shelby sighed. “You raced like a champ out there. If anyone was going to beat me I thought it’d be Jake.”

“Me too,” Finn said. “What happened man? You scooted all the way down to TWELFTH, what is the matter with you today?”

“Dude don’t even look at me,” Jake said, muffled through his hands as he hung his head. Lady laughed and threw her arm around him. Lana-Sue shook her head and looked to Bonnibel.

“Girl are you gonna get in on this or what?” Bonnibel gave the quickest glance to her left side and saw Marceline looking down at her phone, utterly pissed off, and cringed.

“I really would love to but work killed me today, I think I’m going to call it an early night tonight.” She could feel Marceline’s eyes roll and wanted nothing more than to get out of this room.

“It’s 8:30?” Lady said as if it were a question.

“I know,” Bonnibel said, convincingly sad as she stood up towards her room. “I just really need some alone time. Nothing against you guys I swear!” The group mainly just nodded.

“Hey I get it,” Finn chimed in. “I’m honestly probably gonna go after a few rounds. I need some me time.” Bonnibel smiled lightly, it was nice to have someone to back her up. She said her quick goodnights and practically collapsed in relief behind her bedroom door.

She wasn’t sure what jealous monster took over her mouth during her time with Marceline, but she was sure it needed to go. That absolutely could not happen again. She still valued her friendship with everyone in the group, including Marceline. They really had fun together and that wasn’t something she was going to get rid of because of a stupid dude, no matter how gross he was.

She sat in her bed for a half hour, perusing Twitter on her laptop and listening to some music, trying to wind down for the night. The hangout was still going strong by all of the music and loud cheering that her door couldn’t muffle. She smiled while listening to them have fun and considered herself lucky to be a part of it, a part of them. She settled back in her bed and closed her eyes, ready to let herself fall asleep there and then, when some rustling roused her from her relaxed state.

She sat up and looked towards her door, and saw something had been slid under her door. She got up to see it was a Cage the Elephant self-titled record, with a pack of strawberry gum taped to the outer plastic.

‘Glob help me.’

Chapter Text

It turns out Glob sure wasn’t planning on handing out any favors. The closer OOU got to Thanksgiving break, the closer Bonnibel felt to losing her mind. There may not have been any more homework or tests necessarily, but the pressure was definitely on high. All of her friends, and even Dr. Petrikov, tried to assure her that no matter what she wanted to do after college, a 4.0 wasn’t going to be a deciding factor. And yet still she was determined to maintain her little badge of honor.

Which is probably why she was in such a foul mood, she decided. The whole of the student body were four weeks away from finals, and scrolling through her MyCampus app she was reminded of her glaring 89% in Anthropology 219. Just the sight of ‘B+’ on her profile made a shudder run down her spine as she distractedly strolled through the colorful hallways in the James Building for Social Sciences.

It was Thursday, and Bonnibel always had an awkward amount of time (an hour and fifteen minutes, to be exact) between her usual breakfast “date” with Ms. Trunks and LSP and her Anthro class. So she would sit on the couch just outside one of the largest lecture halls on campus and catch up on work for her “more important classes.” But today she really needed to get a handle on all this humanity business.

Not just today either. On Sunday morning over a lovely breakfast she and Lady cooked together, Bonnibel had gotten a notification that the most recent exam she and Finn had taken was graded and posted. Anyone walking by their window at the time might’ve thought someone had just experienced a deep betrayal, or possibly been cheated on, from the words “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?” exploding in every direction. A text was sent to her group chat moments later:

10:10 am: I don’t know why I picked a liberal arts college. Why should a sciences major be forced into taking classes that serve no purpose to them?

Finn, 10:11 am: get ur grade for our exam? i’m not ready to look yet

10:11 am: Yes as a matter of fact. 72%

Finn, 10:12 am: NOOOO NOW I REALLY CAN’T LOOK

The texts from everyone quickly turned into an end-of-semester pity party for their grades. It also didn’t help that in that same hour Lady had gotten her feedback returned on her End of Semester Collection. Bonnibel would’ve asked what it said, but she had been slightly concerned about the amount of paper being ripped out of her roommate’s sketchbook at the time and decided it was better not to know.

So for the past three days, their apartment became a haven for academic achievement and Bonnibel was loving it. She needed to be free of distraction right now, no matter what it took. It used to be much easier for her, she pondered as she scrolled over the essay questions she had missed on the last exam, sipping on a probably burnt coffee from the stand in the lobby. Back when she was only hanging out with Lady and Jake, they really didn’t bother her much. They knew it would be a battle to convince her that she needed a break, and a losing one at that. They were content with seeing her over dinners and at his volleyball games or Lady’s art showcases.

Now she had to put up with an endless array of messages every time she was unaccounted for for more than two days. They always understood if she had work or needed an assignment done, but Bonnibel was in new territory: feeling bad for turning them down. Even in the early stages of integrating herself into the group she could turn down a study session or a shared meal with ease; now when she did finally say no she found herself apologizing and mulling over if skipping was actually worth it.

She sighed as she sat down on that familiar couch and opened her laptop to pore over last night's reading one more time before the ‘attendance quiz’ that the professor gave every day. She could grumble and groan for hours about how lower-level classes take themselves way too seriously, but any of her friends would just laugh and tell her she could deal with it for one semester.

Just as she logged in to the online textbook and settled her cursor over the marker for chapter 19, her Macbook let out a small ping into her earbuds to alert her to a text message in the corner of the screen.

Marceline, 9:35 am: hey r u coming to band practice at shelbs? need headcount for snax

 She clicked on the message and stared blankly at the thread. She tapped her finger against the spacebar absentmindedly as her eyes roamed over all of the unanswered texts from the week before, along with a single one from Bonnibel a few days ago thanking her for the record. It had been a week since last Friday when the two of them got into it while their friends played video games. She was just thankful that she didn’t have time to sit and think about it with her workload and anxiety steadily increasing with each passing day. But Marceline had responded with a simple ‘no prob’ to her thanks and clearly still wanted her to come to band practice, so she tried to sound as casual as possible in her reply.

9:38 am: Hi! Yes, assuming it’s starting at 7:30 like always Lady and I will be there a little before then.

Marceline, 9:39 am: good shit see u then

She really couldn't get a read on this girl. One moment they’d be best friends, joking and playfully debating, and the next the argument would become real. She couldn’t even pinpoint exactly when it would happen, but sometimes all she could see was the Annoying Marceline who did everything out of spite. And then she’d do something like buy a thoughtful gift and leave Bonnibel in a whirlwind of confusion that lingered every time she saw the record on her bookshelf in her bedroom.

She was beginning to learn, however, that arguments were just that: arguments. Not every little spat warranted a crisis, and most everybody wasn’t thinking about things as hard as she was half the time. Just because the two of them would get “heated” as Jake called it, didn’t mean anything was wrong or needed to be fixed. At the few hangouts with their friends the past week they would somehow always end up separated and trading insults. But within the hour it would be right back to jokes and laughs. Plus, even though she would never admit this out loud, she was growing very fond of arguing and debating with Marceline. It shot a thrill through her every time. 

This mentality was really helping her have breakthroughs with Finn, she mused as she skimmed a reading on “Social Structure”. Ever since she stopped acting like a skittish cat around him, talking had been getting easier. They had recently graduated from half-sentences uttered in passing during group hangouts, to more specific neutral topics such as video games and music in the back of their shared lecture hall. She even caught herself smiling as she remembered a conversation about strategizing the best starting deck in a game of Card Wars.

Before she could keep thinking of what she might try to talk him about to pass the time today, her laptop let out another soft ping. She opened her messages to find one from Marceline yet again.

Marceline, 9:52 am: Black Butterflies and Deja Vu - The Maine

9:52 am: And you expect me to do what with this?

Marceline, 9:52 am: dont play dumb. its adorable when i do it but its sad coming from u

Bonnibel smiled to herself and opened her phone to find the song on Spotify. Ever since they went to Waffle House with Jake, Marceline had made it her mission to “educate her” on all things alternative music. She became accustomed to getting a text at any hour of the day with a song and artist, then adding it to her Spotify to listen and critique. If she didn’t text the other girl back within a few hours to give an opinion, an annoying conversation would be waiting for her at the next get-together about how “inattentive” of a “so-called friend” she was.

9:54 am: Alright ding-dong it’s in my queue for later. You’re not allowed to pester me about it tonight though.

Marceline, 9:54 am: u have no royal jurisdiction in shelb’s basement princess. dont tell me what to do

9:55 am: I have class loser, I know The Maine is like your favorite band but they do not take precedence over lectures.

Marceline, 9:55 am: where do u think i am right now?

9:55 am: PAY ATTENTION IN CLASS!

Marceline, 9:55 am: glob im goin chill

Marceline, 9:56 am: ill have u know im in music theory right now so that could’ve been considered studying

Bonnibel shook her head and sighed at the girl’s attempt to justify her careless actions. As impossible as she could be, it was sort of cute, Bonnibel thought. It was nice for her to let that thought flow freely now, ever since she had allowed herself to acknowledge that word back when they were in the snow and at the birthday party. She absolutely had no idea what that meant to her, and no desire to find out, so she decided to just let it be there.

Bonnibel had never really succeeded at letting something be, though; she was self-aware enough to know that. It was hard not to keep staring at the messages, and it was hard not to let the way they made her feel mean anything. But she was making a mental note to remember her earlier train of thought, that not everything had to be dealt with or fixed. 

“Mornin!” Suddenly the couch dipped to her right, bolting her into an upright position. She, in a feat of coordination, simultaneously whipped her head to meet an unusually chipper Finn’s eyes and slammed her laptop closed.

“Finn!” she said, slightly too loud for her own liking. She cleared her throat and continued. “You’re in a good mood.” His eyes darted from her laptop to her face in a flash before he closed them and shrugged.

“It’s a good morning,” he said, not offering anything further.

“Well?” Bonnibel said with raised eyebrows. “Are you going to share with the class?”

“Ahhhh fine, you convinced me,” he said, pretending to be bothered in a way that sounded eerily Jake-ish, Bonnibel decided. “I ran into this girl from D&D club that I thought ghosted me at the coffee stand this morning.”

“And this… boosted your mood?” 

“Well, okay, I’ll explain,” he said as he adjusted on the couch to face her and she followed suit. She was then guided through a five minute long monologue with plenty of unnecessary details that included the way the girl’s hair was done and what kind of coffee he ordered for her. “So basically,” he concluded, “we have a new date planned for Saturday and she gave me her phone number so this doesn’t happen again.”

“Timeout, you didn’t have her phone number before all of that?” He scoffed and glanced off in the distance as a response.

“Psh, whatever whatevs, that’s unimportant,” he said. She couldn’t help but wonder why he was telling her this. This was a huge step up from how he was acting just two weeks ago at Marceline’s party: aloof and almost avoidant. They hadn’t broached a topic that was beyond small talk for almost a month. And here he was, telling her about a girl that he liked.

As he kept talking, telling Bonnibel all about the new cafe he was taking “Phoebe” to this weekend, she couldn’t help the strong feeling of guilt building up in the back of her throat. He was clearly trying to steer her in the direction of a friendly conversation, since she hadn’t made any move to do so since she left him confused in their Olive Garden booth. And maybe she should’ve been the one to do that; the offending party should always extend the olive branch of course.

There was something else building up, but this feeling was harder to identify. The way this kid, and all her other friends for that matter, talked about the people they were pursuing made her feel so… left out.

This was an experience she never got to have. In high school when all her friends would gossip in the cafeteria about who they were hoping to go to prom with, excusing herself to the library was easier than having to listen in silence. When Lady would go on and on about the short, cute boy in her East Asian Studies club over pizza in the dining hall, it was much easier to say she was focusing on her studies than to tell her the truth. 

The first time she ever even told anyone about the possibility of having feelings for a girl, she was left with no friends. She learned then the hard truth that the more she chose to trust someone, the more power she was giving that person to hurt her. And that she had chosen wrong. And that there was no way to tell if she chose wrong before actually giving them that power. And it was much safer for her to keep everyone an arm’s length away than to blow her life up over and over again.

Safer, but lonelier too. It probably should’ve bothered her that Lady brushed off Keila hitting on her at the party, because that meant that Lady didn’t know her as well as she wanted her to. And it probably should’ve bothered her that Finn had been avoiding her for a month, because that means he just thought she was a coward. She was walking a thin line between just being in the closet, and being dishonest. There was a difference, she could acknowledge, but it still felt messy.

When her thought spiral came to an end, she became aware that Finn had stopped talking seconds ago. She noticed he was glancing around with a touch more purpose than during his story. Bonnibel followed his eyes, unsure of what caught his attention since no one was around. 

“Oh balzacs.” The replacement for his crude language was enough to make her burst into laughter and forget about the heaviness on her mind. 

“Okay, I’m absolutely telling Jake about that, but what’s wrong?” Finn only gestured around them, and Bonnibel finally realized they were the only students still outside the classroom. She opened her laptop back up in a panic and -

“You can’t possibly be serious,” she groaned, putting her head in her hands. It was 10:05, and their lecture promptly began at 10 a.m. For any other class of hers this wouldn’t have been a hindrance, but this control freak of a professor locked the door from the outside the moment class was in session.

“Welp, ‘fraid we’re not getting those five quiz points today.” Finn stood up and threw his backpack on his shoulders. She didn’t understand how anyone could be so casual about “just” missing points and skipping class . He saw that much on her face so he continued. “What? The attendance quizzes are worth an entire 5% of my grade, if this is my bad biscuit for the day I’ll take it.”

“Hey, nuh-uh!” she chided. “You’re the one who says bad biscuits make the baker broke.” He laughed with a small amount of surprise creeping into his expression; she guessed it was from her remembering one of his Finn-isms as Marceline called them.

“Well, yeah…” he admitted. “But only if you try to sell ‘em!” Bonnibel could only begin to pack her things into her backpack in bewilderment.

“You are not making sense,” she said as she stood. He shrugged noncommittally.

“I make sense to me. Now are you going to try and fail to get in there or are you going to take the L with me? You don’t have to come but I figured we could maybe go to the library and study for the actual quiz we have next week.” Well that was sensible of him, Bonnibel decided. If she was going to miss a lecture, she was going to have to put that time to productive use. It wasn’t like she hadn’t ever skipped class before — she was studious, not a robot —  but it always came with a very good reason. Well, a reason at least, since she didn’t know if Halloween costumes counted as a good one.

As they walked and chatted about how Dr. Daniels would’ve made a better corrections officer than a professor, she was beside herself. Sure, she had skipped class purposefully before, but missed it? When she was merely two feet from the door? That was definitely unheard of. As Finn droned on about how he was going to be screwed for the inevitable essay questions on the new chapter, her phone buzzed in her pocket. 

Marceline, 10:15 am: class? over. headphones? back in was accompanied by a middle finger emoji to get the point across. Well this was new, Bonnibel thought. Marceline hardly ever texted her outside of the group chat — last week when she was ignoring the musician notwithstanding — and even then never without a purpose. ‘Don’t overthink it.’

10:16 am: I am not the fun police, but thank you for providing evidence that you care somewhat about your education.

Marceline, 10:16 am: i done provided nothing to no one

10:17 am: Okay, how about we work on getting that English credit next semester though? I can’t keep suffering through the grammar nightmare of talking to you.

Marceline, 10:17 am: nobodys forcing u to text me

Marceline: 10:17 am: unless finns holding u hostage in anthro right now 

Bonnibel wavered slightly as she pulled the door open to the library. Marceline remembering her class schedule probably shouldn’t be enough to make her stomach drop. ‘Let it be,’ she reminded herself as Finn called at her to find a table from over his shoulder as he wandered towards the smell of hot drinks and pastries. She swore the boy couldn’t go two hours without a coffee or an energy drink.

10:19 am: He is doing no such thing, it’s just my duty to educate the less inclined, i.e. you.

Marceline, 10:20 am: glob i could not roll my eyes harder if i wanted to

10:20 am: What was that thing you said? About nobody forcing us to text?

 Bonnibel’s concentration was broken as Finn sat down and slid a lavender oat milk latte across the table. Her eyes widened at him from the gesture, but he already had his earbuds in and was trying to pry his laptop from his overstuffed backpack, so she took a cautious sip.

They had a copy of the physical textbook open between them to the chapter Bonnibel was skimming just before class was supposed to start, and each of their laptops open to the sample questions their TA sent them for the upcoming assessment. With Bonnibel’s affinity for research and Finn’s miraculous ability to write well-rounded answers, they had a shot of acing this between the two of them.

 She was finding information for their answers faster than the poor boy could type at that point, and seeing the constipated look on his face she decided to give him some reprieve. She gave him a small nod and headed towards the coffee stand to grab a bottle of water. The library was quiet this time of day, so there wasn’t even any good people-watching to do. So as she paid for the way-overpriced bottle of water, she checked her phone.

Much to her surprise, there were more messages from Marceline. It’s not like she expected to get ignored or… okay so maybe she had. It wasn’t like the other girl had a reputation for being the most talkative amongst their friends. Bonnibel was noticing more and more that the girl’s role in their “group hangs” mainly involved jamming in a sarcastic comment or a jab at someone else for a laugh. It was night and day to how she acted when they were alone together, or even when just Jake was around.

Now that was a thought she was having trouble “letting be.” She wondered if Marceline was (almost) pleasant with every one of them when they were in private. The sinking feeling that came along with that was something decidedly un pleasant. And it only grew when a brief flash of a thought crossed her mind. ‘I want that to be special.’ She took a deep breath and opened the familiar thread.

Marceline, 10:21 am: and yet here u r princess

Marceline, 11:30 am: or here u arent. fuckin do-gooder shutting your phone off for class whos the loser now 

Bonnibel couldn’t help but stifle a giggle as she walked back to her table.

11:40 am: I will have you know I actually skipped class today

This was punctuated with a smiling emoji for good measure as she slipped her phone back into her pocket. Finn gave a polite nod welcoming her back to the table as he dove back into typing. They had done this a few times before during their study sessions while Shelby worked his required shift at the Student Magazine’s desk on Tuesdays. He was her favorite person to study with, but it wasn’t like he had much competition. LSP seemed to only obtain the ability to focus while talking (to herself or to her partner), and she loved Lady but not her affinity for pop music with the volume cranked to 100.

Marceline, 11:45 am: im sorry i dont think my phone is working can u say that again for those in the back

Bonnibel couldn’t help but roll her eyes when the text came through in the top right corner of her laptop’s screen. She didn’t know what had gotten into that girl, but she was not letting up. Maybe she was bored, or everyone else was too busy to entertain her nonsense. Either way she had decided to be talkative today, that much was evident. Bonnibel finally conceded, leaving her phone open next to her laptop.

11:45 am: If you can’t read this is a safe space for you to say so, you don’t have to beat around the bush.

“Hey, what do you think of this?” Bonnibel nearly jumped out of her skin hearing Finn’s voice for the first time in over an hour. He averted his eyes, pretending to not find it as amusing as he clearly did.

“Shut up, what is it?” she asked, sliding his laptop over to her before he could even answer. She read his first two essay answers, thoroughly impressed with his ability to make a persuasive case that the professor was asking to be argued about how “race” was not as concrete a concept as most people think.

Marceline, 11:47 am: srsly tho how did that happen

11:47 am: If I recall correctly we just NEEDED to have a conversation about how much you don’t pay attention right before I had class with Dr. Dirtball who locks the damn room if you’re late.

“This looks good,” she said after sending off the last text and copying his answer into her notes. “Like really good.” Finn beamed with pride before enthusiastically yanking his laptop back to finish the response to the third sample question. She shook her head and silently wondered if this is what she looked like to people like Dr. Petrikov.

Marceline, 11:50 am: ohhhh i see

Bonnibel waited for a follow-up text, staring at her screen and willing something to come through and give her context. But Finn tapped her on the shoulder before it had a chance.

“Hey, wanna call it?” he asked, having already unplugged his headphones and shut his laptop. Bonnibel groaned.

“Come on Finn, we were just getting in a groove.” He scoffed right back at her.

“Our class got out at 11:45, I worked an extra 15 minutes as a penalty, I am bored, so therefore I am done,” he said, counting each reason on his fingers.

“Alright, alright,” she sighed in concession. If she had to keep going alone there was no way she was going to come up with essays half as intelligent as his, so she shut her laptop and made her way out of the library with him. As they walked side by side down the hill from the library she rolled her eyes at him. “Your dorm is the other way, you don’t have to walk me home every time we have class.” He picked up that little habit a few weeks ago after they went shopping together. It didn’t annoy her or she would’ve asked him not to, but she considered it to be pretty silly. He shrugged.

“It’s not like I have anything important to do today.”

“What?” she all but yelped, causing Finn to cover his ears in mock pain. “Then why aren’t we finishing what we started?”

“Because the quiz isn’t til next week? I’m not wasting the rest of one whole day when I can waste a few short periods of time over a few days,” he explained. Bonnibel didn’t push that. This was something she and the majority of her friends disagreed on and there had been no changing their minds in the past. Normally she would’ve tried to argue that the time with his friends or napping in his dorm room was the waste of time, not the studying. But she remembered Dr. Petrikov’s advice about having a “social life” or whatever and decided to give something a try.

“Alright well if you don’t have anything to do…” she hesitated for the briefest of seconds, hoping to glob he wouldn’t notice. The progress they had made since their “date” had been great. There was no reason they shouldn’t try to get to a level where they were actually good friends, right? “Do you want to stay for a bit and play some Mario Kart?”

Finn’s eyes lit up with what she could only guess was shock, and cautious excitement. She understood when he didn’t answer immediately. This would be the first time they were truly alone together in a month. Sure, they had their walks to and from class, but this would be different. She half-expected him to say no.

“Sure, the rest of the clown college is busy until band practice anyway, let’s do it.” Bonnibel let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. They continued the walk back to her apartment, somehow both more and less tense than they were before. She could do this, she kept repeating in her head. She hung out with everyone else one on one all the time. This was good, this was progress.

Thankfully Finn supplied most of the talking for the rest of their walk, mostly just ranting about the upcoming research paper he had due for his criminal justice class. She could confidently say she was half listening after her phone buzzed in her pocket. It usually was alerting her nonstop if she left it off Do Not Disturb thanks to the group chat, but almost everyone had class on Thursday. She and Finn were the only ones lucky enough to be done before 3 pm. So there was only one person who was trying to reach her.

Marceline, 12:01 pm: i can’t sit through another second of this lecture

12:01 pm: Oh so that’s why you’re texting me! Good thing you said that when you did, I almost thought you wanted to talk to me all day or something. 

Bonnibel was not a fan of the blush that instinctively appeared on her face as she pictured Marceline in class, phone under the desk, texting Bonnibel because she wanted to. She had to physically shake the thought from her head before convincing Finn it was not meant for him and his opinion on the computer lab in the social sciences building.

Marceline 12:02 pm: shut upppp i dont know how you sit through all these science classes without being on ur phone the whole time bc i really could not care less about what makes a rock metamorphic

12:03 pm: Geology is the easiest general science credit offered here, if you’re looking for sympathy you’re not going to find it.

Marceline, 12:03 pm: come on, u can’t tell me this shit interests u

Bonnibel pondered the message as she put her phone away to unlock her apartment door. The two of them threw their snow-covered boots and jackets on the plastic mat just inside the door in mutual silence. Somehow the hum of the heating system was making the lack of noise truly deafening and something had to change before she went crazy.

She marched off towards the kitchen, telling Finn to set up the TV while she grabbed a snack. He had been over enough times to have the Mario Kart theme song playing at her back within the minute as she dove into their snack cabinet and emerged with a bag of Doritos. And having sufficiently pondered, sent off a quick message as she walked back to the living room.

12:06 pm: To tell you the truth, it’s the most boring subject I’ve ever had to sit through.

That sure got the other girl going. With the smallest bit of permission Bonnibel threw her way, Marceline seemed to be fully comfortable ranting about how there must be some high council who chooses geologists based on how bland their personalities are. Bonnibel tried to chastise her, and it was working well in the blase messages she was carefully crafting between races with Finn.

But it was hard to keep that up beyond the screen. It used to irritate her to the ends of the earth, how charming Marceline could be. No matter what mean-spirited, apathetic, or teasing comment came out of her mouth she knew how to smile at just the right moment or quirk her eyebrow just so to let Bonnibel know it meant no harm. And to make matters worse, it always worked.

She knew Marceline did it on purpose. Every time they hung out Bonnibel could feel her poking at the well-crafted walls of politeness she kept up around everyone. The bassist was a master of knowing just where to push, and exactly when to knock it off. It was infuriating, because it made it that much harder to call Marceline on any of it. How is anyone supposed to complain about something they themselves play into? But even Bonnibel in all her self-acknowledged stubbornness could admit that the most enraging part was that she enjoyed it.

She’d never had anything like this. In the past if someone did anything she deemed too annoying, she’d just never talk to them again. Some people (mainly Lady) called it harsh, but she liked to think of it as protecting her peace. Even so, she never had to deal with anyone she didn’t 100% enjoy being around, that was a point nobody could argue.

“Ah man,” Finn said with a sigh as he tossed his switch controller on the coffee table. “I thought I had you that time. It’s not fair that you had a bomb-buh.” Bonnibel chuckled and mirrored his action.

“What would you say to me about this? Sucks to suck?” It was Finn’s turn to laugh now.

“That’s for sure! I gotta take a break though, my eyes are hurtin a little which is concerning.” She nodded and picked her phone up to find Marceline’s most recent reply to a message about never seeing one of the girl’s favorite movies.

Marceline, 1:45pm: and thats why ur the uneducated one because u cant appreciate the comedic genius of seth rogan

1:45 pm: And I cannot believe this is the hill you’re dying on right now. Out of all comedians to pick, Seth Rogan? And of all movies, Knocked Up? Get real

Marceline 1:46 pm: u get real. if u ever decide to come down off ur throne, pick up a joint and turn it on. u will thank me and maybe ill finally get that knighthood 

Bonnibel couldn’t help but giggle again. It was ridiculous. She knew she was still only 19 but she felt like such a flippin teenager when Marceline teased her like this. It was weird to admit that she had a favorite way of it. But when all of the bite was gone and the two of them were left just being playful, she could feel herself having some fun.

“Not tryna be nosy,” the interjection made Bonnibel jump a little. Finn had been so quiet, scrolling on his phone, that she’d forgotten he was there altogether. “But you’ve seemed happy today too. Got anything good going on over there?”

“Huh?” she said, setting her phone on the couch.

“Oh! Earlier you commented on my good mood so I told you about Phoebe. You’ve seemed really happy all day too, care to share?” Bonnibel clenched her jaw. Was it that obvious? Of course it was; she had basically been kicking her feet and twirling her hair at her screen since the moment he was next to her this morning.

“Ah, not really,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Come on, your eyes clearly feel better. Let’s get some more rounds in, I want to try to get 1st place on Rainbow Road again. That’s a high I’ll be chasing for the rest of my life.” Finn sat up and leaned towards her with a grin.

“Come onnnnn,” he said with a playful edge. “I gave you my deets!”

“Who says I have deets to share?”

“The way you’ve been jumpy all day, for one. And normally you are totally AWOL phone-wise, but somebody’s had you glued to it all day. So come on, I won’t tell.” Bonnibel couldn’t believe how careless she had been: leaving her phone open where he could see, not paying attention to how much time she was spending on it. Finn might have been goofy and nonchalant, but he was observant and really good at reading people.

“Look, it's nothing. Besides, isn't it…” She realized she didn’t know how to broach her second point halfway through making it.

“What?”

“Isn’t it… weird to talk about this stuff with… me?” Finn’s expression sobered hearing that.

“I mean… maybe it should be. But it’s not like I’ve ever had to deal with something like this so I’m making my own rules about it. It didn’t feel weird to tell you about my date. I just felt like I was talking to any of our other friends. And also we never really did anything romantic if you think about it, just ate some Olive Garden together.” Bonnibel skewed her lips to the side to chew on the inside of her cheek. “I think I’m saying it’s only weird if we make it weird.”

There it was again, the olive branch. And this time he was basically putting it in her hand directly, inviting her to tell him something. The guilt came back over her in a tidal wave. She knew she needed to accept it. Not only because she was aware of the way her actions had come across, but because she genuinely liked Finn. He was sweet, funny, and a great time to be around. He deserved a better friend.

“Oh trust me, talking about it would make it weird,” the words were out of her mouth before she had time to think about them. The way Finn furrowed his eyebrows together instantly shot a chill down her spine. There weren’t a lot of ways to take those words; she should’ve been more careful. She was cursing the way her walls had come down without her noticing, and was wondering if it was too late to put them back up.

“I mean,” he started, and she could tell from his voice he was trying to be gentle, “I’m not judging or anything if that’s what you’re worried about?” She had to figure out a way out of this.

“No… I just—” and before she could say anything, she saw Finn’s eyes move. It was the slightest and fastest of twitches, but she saw him glance downwards towards the couch. She followed them, and found that her phone was lit up, a message prominently displayed on her lock screen.

Marceline, 1:59 pm: not to switch topics but u always get the orbit strawberry gum right? omw to the convenient store now

Crap. When their eyes met again, he had a knowing look on his face that opened a hole in the pit of Bonnibel’s stomach. She, in all her power, was doing her best to keep her face neutral. She was thinking about how careless she’d been with her texts mere moments ago, and she had done it again!

“So,” Finn said after what felt like five minutes in silence. He was looking at her with expectant eyes and a slight smile playing at the corner of his mouth. She hated it. This wasn’t funny. And he was just staring at her like that, not saying a dang thing.

“So, what?” Bonnibel said, shocking herself with the calm voice that came out of her and the casual shrug that followed it. She picked up the controller again and he did the same.

“So… nothing?” he asked. Her eyes were trained on the TV. Every muscle tense as she swiftly picked Rainbow Road. She could feel the sweat pooling on her palms as she tapped the sides of her controller, calculating.

She could’ve confirmed that she was not going to be offering any more information, but she saw Finn just deeming that suspicious so that wasn’t an option. She could’ve continued saying nothing, keeping her eyes focused on the TV. But she could see herself coming across weird… and rude. As the countdown to the race started, she realized she was running out of time to respond before the silence got too thick to cut through.

A million thoughts flashed through her mind, carried on the back of that usual swarm of wasps that populated her head. Telling him would be a bad idea… right? Yes, of course, it had to be. They had just started to get back to a place where she didn’t feel weird around him, and it seemed like that was mutual. This would just go screwing everything up again. And that’s not even to mention that even though two people knew about her sexuality, there was still no one who knew anything specific.

And the only specific to tell was majorly off limits for even Bonnibel herself to think about. But the more she let that train of thought wander, the more intriguing it seemed. This little issue had been eating at her for close to a month now, and the more she didn’t let it escape that sealed box where she kept the things she couldn’t think about, the more it grew. Plus, she was already out to his older brother; if he desperately needed to discuss her sexuality with someone he’d have Jake.

And to top it off, the kid really liked her; maybe romantically, maybe platonically. Bonnibel felt slightly guilty for thinking it, but she knew even if he had weird feelings about her orientation or… the other thing, he’d keep it to himself and be as supportive as possible.

“Okay, maybe that was too much.” She snapped out of her head as Finn’s voice registered. She had been racing on autopilot for about a minute it seemed from where they were on the track. She took a deep, steadying breath.

“No, no sorry. You didn’t ask anything out of line, I was just thinking.”

“Oh word?” he asked, a slight glance thrown her way was inviting her to continue.

“Yeah, you’re right. We’re friends, it shouldn’t be weird.” She saw his smile perk up slightly at the word friends and it gave her a small boost to carry on. “I, uh, well. So there’s… let me start over.” She adjusted so she was sitting up and she could see Finn trying not to chuckle at her overall awkward nature.“Shut up,” she chastised him lightly. 

She was stalling, and in that moment it dawned on her that she had never done this before. She wasn’t out for most of high school, and when she was it wasn’t exactly a joyous experience with friends to gush with about crushes. She had no idea how this went. Was she just supposed to come right out and say ‘I have a crush on Marceline’?

Oh glob, she had a crush on Marceline . 

“Dude!” Finn yelped. “You’re falling behind mad fast like zap! Do we need to pause?”

“Nope!” Bonnibel said a tad too fast, mind still reeling. “It helps to have something else to focus on. And if you don’t mind and it doesn’t make me seem weird, please don’t look at me.” 

She felt her cheeks heating up as Finn scrunched his eyebrows the same way Jake did when he was trying to say “alright, whatever.” Now or never, she decided. If she kept chugging forward, there was no time to dwell on meanings and feelings and big admissions. One more deep breath.

“Okay, so… hm. Okay. Ihavehadacrushonthisgirlforlikeamonth.” There. It was out of her mouth. It had left, painfully and rapidly, but it was out there now. It wasn’t her turn to say anything else. She sat through a pause that was most likely only a few seconds, but felt like minutes.

“You’ve… oh. Oh!” He looked over at her with his entire face lit up. She could almost see the smoke coming out of his ears as his eyes searched her face like he was finally able to fit all the puzzle pieces together to see a full picture. “Ohhhhhhhhh.”

“Can you please say something else,” she said through hands that had found their way to covering her face. “Anything else.”

“Oh… sorry!” he grimaced as the countdown for the next race in the circuit began. “Sorry I forgot you said don’t look. Agh um… okay.” She had uncovered her face to find her Yoshi driving straight into a wall on Moo Moo Meadows.

“Okay?”

“Yeah, okay. I mean hey it explains some stuff,” he offered. Now it was her turn to grimace.

“I’m… really sorry about all that, by the way,” she cringed, referencing their date. “I was going through my own stuff, I didn’t mean to make it your problem.” Again he glanced her way, but this time his face looked puzzled.

“Oh, it’s okay. It really wasn’t as big a deal as I felt like it was, you know? But that’s not what I was talking about.” Bonnibel paused the game and turned to face him on the other side of the couch.

“Wait what were you talking about then?”

“Come on Peebs,” he scoffed. “You know I saw who you were texting all day. Plus, I don’t know, you and her always got some jazz going on.”

“Oh yeah… jazz,” she mumbled. She didn’t really know how to respond to that. On one hand she was relieved she didn’t have to say the words out loud since she had barely gotten through saying them to herself. On the other hand, her not even needing to say anything was making her feel uneasy and squirmy at best.

“Not like weird jazz, good jazz!” he said, waving his hands around.

“Will you stop saying jazz and chill out?” she snipped.

“Yeah, yeah. Okay, no worries, I'm super good!” He gave a thumbs up and a painfully large grin, and she couldn’t help but smile and feel her shoulders relax a little. If she had known it was easier coming out to someone even more awkward than her she would’ve started with him, she thought.

“I cannot stress enough to you how much you are not to breathe a word of this to anyone . Am I clear?” She stressed each word in her question carefully.

“Crystal, Prubs.” She sighed at the nickname, but she was finally able to fully relax so she could rest on the cushions. She felt a twinge in her lower back and swore that if she was sore the next day from tensing up talking about her love life, she’d have to bring it up to her therapist. There was no way that was normal. “So… you gonna tell her?”

“Glob no!” she all but screeched. “Barely anybody even knows I’m a lesbian, I don’t need to throw any potential relationship in there.” She paused for a brief moment, thinking through what she had said. “And even if I did want to date anyone, there’s no way it’d be her.”

“Wait, timeout,” he interrupted. “You just said you liked her.”

“Well, yeah but she drives me crazy!” She said, throwing her hands out in front of her in emphasis. Enough said, she thought.

“Okay, and? You still got feels.” Maybe he had a point, or maybe he didn’t.

“Okay, but I’ve also been in the closet for a long freakin time,” she pointed out. “She’s the first girl I’ve ever even let myself acknowledge having a crush on. Geez, even saying it makes me feel 13 years old. Regardless, these feelings are probably blown way out of proportion. I’m hoping by talking to someone about them, and giving it some time, that they’ll work themselves out of my system.” 

She looked over to see Finn looking at her again. This time with an expression she could only read as being amused. She tilted her head, asking a silent question.

“You’re weird,” he said, picking up his phone again. Before she could fire back, he added, “But maybe it makes me just as weird that I feel pretty awesome that I’m the only one who knows. It makes me feel like a super-ally!” She cringed, but laughed affectionately all the same.

“Don’t get too big of an ego, Jake and Marceline already know I’m gay.” He gave her yet another look. “I didn’t tell either of them the other part though! So again, not a word.”

“My lips are sealed! Locked and zipped up!” There was a beat of silence before he spoke again, and she reveled in the fact that she felt comfortable in it. “She’s pretty great, at least I think so.”

He leaned back on the couch again, controller in hand, so she unpaused their game. It felt like a two-ton boulder had just been removed from her shoulders. They still had to be at Shelby’s house later, and if she had guessed the time correctly Lady would be home soon, but she found herself wanting to hit pause (not on the game, to be clear). She knew this feeling wouldn’t last long. The easy, unguarded sense of calm from letting go. Of what exactly, she wasn’t sure, but her chest felt lighter than it had in weeks.

“Yeah, she is.” Again words came before thought could stop them, but this time she didn’t mind as much. She really was terrible about letting things be.

Chapter Text

“Glob you can be so lame sometimes,” Bonnibel sighed dramatically. She was curled up on the couch in her apartment underneath her favorite fluffy blanket, hot chocolate in hand, listening to the pitter patter of a cold November rain on the windows. She watched Lady make her way to their front door.

“Me? I’m the lame one?” Lady questioned with a quirked eyebrow. Bonnibel had to stifle a smile. “Were you even a part of the conversation we just had? I told you I was going to stay the night with my boyfriend and you said, and I quote: ‘great, I can get some real studying done.’ Be so real with me.”

Bonnibel laughed into her mug as she took a sip of the rich, warm drink in her hands. She knew Lady had a point, and a much better one than her at that. It was Friday, and miraculously their group chat hadn’t made any solid plans. She chalked it up to the rain; nobody was going to want to go outside when it was only slightly above the temperature required for snow. It had been like this for the past three days, so the only time any of them had really hung out was at band practice yesterday.

It had been the second band practice since her… surprisingly pleasant hangout with Finn and text conversation with Marceline. And much to her ever-anxious shock, both practices had turned out to be lovely evenings. . It had taken a lot of harsh facial expressions and on-the-fly reasoning last Thursday when Lady walked through the door and found her and Finn on the couch to plead for her roommate to refrain from asking about the pair’s sudden rekindling. . To Lady’s credit, she only raised her eyebrows before joining them in watching some superhero anime Finn was obsessed with.

They stayed like that on the couch until it was time to head to practice, which was almost like any other. Almost, because now every time Marceline said some sarcastic comment or Bonnibel laughed at the other girl’s joke, she’d eventually find Finn wiggling his eyebrows in her direction. He would giggle, she’d throw him a death stare; this had come to be their new little game in the past week and a half.

“Anyway, why am I lame?” Lady’s voice stopped her train of thought right in its tracks.

“Thought I was wrong, why’re you pushing it?” At her roommate’s scoff, she continued. “Because, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, you’re making this the first weekend in almost two months that I don’t have any plans to hang out with someone.” 

Lady’s smile was instantly wider than Bonnibel thought was necessary, and she felt a blush creeping up her neck. “My little hermit, all grown up and out of her shell,” Lady said with mocking pride.

“Yeah, yeah,” Bonnibel muttered. “I’m actually glad he has a place to himself now; I don’t have to hear you anymore.” Now it was Lady’s turn to blush.

“Oh shut the fuck up,” she said through rushed laughter. “I’ll see you tomorrow honey, love you!” she called as she walked out the front door and into the rain.

“Love you!” Bonnibel called after her as the door slammed shut, leaving her to her first silent night in quite some time.

She told Lady she was going to get some good studying in, but as she propped her laptop on the softest blanket she owned, she realized there really wasn’t much to do. She had just finished all of her midterms, and professors really seemed to hate handing out assignments between now and finals every semester; plus it was too early for any study guides for said finals to be handed out yet.

When 10 minutes of mindless scrolling through MyCampus turned up a big load of nothing, she tossed her laptop haphazardly on the floor. Leaning back and stretching into the couch, she let out a long sigh, staring at the ceiling. The soft glow of the lamp on the side table cast a warm light, making the apartment feel even more empty without Lady’s usual presence.

So much for being productive, she thought wryly. Bonnibel pulled her blanket closer, wrapping it around herself like a cocoon. Her gaze drifted to the window, where raindrops trickled down the glass, blurring the world outside. The rhythmic sound of rain usually comforted her, but tonight, it felt like the quiet was too loud, the emptiness too heavy.

Nope. She couldn’t take it. As much as she hated to admit it, she needed some damn noise . She turned her head, scanning the living room, until her wandering eyes landed on her Xbox. It felt weird calling it her Xbox anymore, even though she technically owned it, since Jake played it more in the past year than she ever had. She never had the free time for it, she told herself, but maybe tonight was the night. With a determined nod, she rose from the couch and made her way over to the busted IKEA entertainment center. Dusting off the top of the console, she plugged it in and settled onto the floor in front of the TV.

After navigating through a sea of forgotten games, she finally found one that caught her eye: Outlast 2. She remembered a particularly fun night last school year when she and Jake had played and laughed together at all the jump scares, and as soon as she scrolled over it she felt a pull in her brain commanding her to start a new save.

And just as she did that, she was reminded of why this game gave her such vivid nightmares the last time she played. With the immediate dive into an exact replica of a catholic school hallway, it was like she was being whisked right into her childhood. With a not-so-slight shiver, she pressed on anyway. 

Pacing, tension, and sound design. Those were the markers of a good horror game for Bonnibel. And there was a reason Outlast 2 was among her favorites. She was hearing footsteps and voices and having to whip her camera around to find where they were coming from. She could feel her palms starting to sweat as she walked through a seemingly empty town in the middle of the desert. It was captivating. It was the kind of game that made her talk to herself out loud in an empty room.

“It’s just a door…I just have to…enter…the home,” Bonnibel muttered to herself as her on-screen character stood stone still in front of a rickety wooden shack. Easing the left joystick on her controller forward, the door slowly creaked open and-

CAWWWW

Bonnibel did her best to maintain her composure, only jumping enough to bump her back into the hard underside of the couch a little too hard as a flock of crows flew from inside the otherwise empty house. She laughed a little to herself, about how stupid that was. She took in a deep steadying breath before entering fully and-

BZZZT

“SHIT!” Bonnibel yelped, throwing her controller against the entertainment center with a loud whack on the wood. It tumbled onto the floor, pausing the game in its process. It was only then that she realized the sound that scared the life out of her was her phone vibrating on the arm of the couch above her. She hadn’t looked at it in hours, so it was probably just the group chat. Most likely LSP trying to get someone to play iMessage games with her. She looked back towards the screen, and immediately felt her face flush at her loud reaction even though no one was around to hear.

“Get it together…” she groaned to herself in the returned silence of her living room. She settled back onto the couch and grabbed her phone to look through what she was sure was going to 100 text messages. Only, to her surprise, it was just two.

Marceline, 5:30 pm: and i ask again: what are your actual opinions on the matter

Marceline, 6:07 pm: where do u get off on leaving questions unanswered

Bonnibel felt herself bite the inside of her cheek to suppress a grin that was trying to work its way across her face on instinct. Ever since Finn had deduced her… crush within a single day, she was trying to be much more careful about how she acted, around her phone and around Marceline in general. In the past week she had become infinitely more aware of what she was saying, who could see her phone, and even where she was looking.

And the awareness brought on some of the most intense embarrassment she had ever felt. Every time the seven of them had hung out in a group setting in the last two weeks, Bonnibel realized just how often her eyes naturally drifted to Marceline. The scarier part was that it wasn’t even a conscious decision. Every time she made a joke, her blue eyes found dark brown seeking approval. Any time Marceline stood to go somewhere, she found her eyes fleeting to the other girl's legs, which was a habit that needed to end anyway since the bassist had already caught her looking a month ago at the pool tournament. She couldn’t even bring herself to think about what had maybe almost happened in Marceline’s back garden on Halloween when she looked at the other girl’s face just a little too long.

Labeling whatever the hell she was feeling as a… crush (she shuddered everytime she even thought of that word) didn’t make it new. Looking at this from a purely scientific point of view, she could acknowledge observations of an attraction before last week. All her emotions always felt so heightened around Marceline. Racing heart rates, nervous laughter, and a crippling need to prove herself the best that had previously been attributed to panic attacks and anxiety suddenly made her feel like a child again instead of a slightly-neurotic scientist.

There had to be a way to get around this, Bonnibel thought. As she had made abundantly clear to Finn, she was in no way interested in dating this girl. No matter how much the awkwardly harsh teasing, cocky grins, and surprisingly sweet disposition made the idea… maybe not the worst. 

‘Okay. So it was definitely a crush, whatever’, she thought. Crushes didn’t mean you had to date someone. And wanting to date someone in her first friend group in years when she was only out to three people didn’t seem like an awesome idea. Especially when that someone drove her batshit crazy most of the time. And especially when that someone had been on an unspecified number of dates with that sleaze who dared not speak his name.

The only way around this was through it, Bonnibel reasoned. She had to get herself to a place where just seeing Marceline wasn’t enough to elicit some of those really inconvenient responses from her subconscious. And clearly not responding wasn’t working, because a mere text had already sent a goofy smile and blush to her cheeks. So she pulled that cozy blanket back up to her chest, leaned back, and typed out a reply.

6:08 pm: The same place you get off on insulting me.

Marceline, 6:09 pm: answer the question princess

6:09 pm: Okay but you’re not allowed to get mad at me.

Marceline, 6:09 pm: i make no promises

6:10 pm: So my exact feelings on the movie since you can’t seem to drop it. When you asked me if I liked Heat Signature a month ago… I wanted to seem cool so I lied. I’ve never even seen it.

The read receipt came almost instantly, but Bonnibel stared at her phone for at least a full minute, seeing no response. She rolled her eyes and switched over to Twitter, because Glob could that girl could be dramatic. Of course she would start ignoring Bonnibel just to make a damn point. A point that wasn’t even that good in the first place, she thought.

Just as she was about to throw her phone onto the coffee table to retrieve the controller, she felt it buzz in her hand again. And buzz again. And when she looked down she almost couldn’t believe her eyes. An incoming call. From Marceline.

There was just no way she should answer this, right? She just got through reasoning to herself that just texting the girl was enough to turn her into some blushing schoolgirl. Sure, they talked in person all the time, but this was different. Phone calls were decidedly… intimate, she determined (as much as the word ‘intimate’ sent her face into an unpleasant screw). 

But she also couldn’t… not answer it either. This was the first time Marceline had ever called her. She had no idea what the protocol was here. Lady had called her maybe three whole times throughout their entire friendship, and they were all during a month-long stretch last summer when she had gone with her family to visit South Korea.

The two of them were just starting to get to a place where there wasn’t any tension every single time they talked. They had hung out all of three times since she had begrudgingly told Finn her (ew) feelings: at two band practices, and at a casual dinner with LSP and Finn at the Breakfast Kingdom a few days ago. All of the sarcasm and teasing and debating that she had grown very accustomed to were exchanged between them without so much as a roll of the eyes. She didn’t want to mess all that  up by ignoring a call when she was very clearly available. But she didn’t want to mess it up by saying something stupid when her guard was up either.

But she knew her phone was almost done ringing and the hypothetical embarrassment of sending Marceline to voicemail very quickly won out over the hesitation of not knowing how she would handle this. And before she had time to prepare, her finger hit the green “accept” button and she threw her phone up to her ear.

“Uh hey! Hi,” Bonnibel forcibly said into the microphone.

“Catch you at a bad time?” Marceline said through a chuckle. Bonnibel could feel her face turning red.

“No, no,” she sighed, putting her head in her free hand. “I’m just…” she scanned the room, searching for an excuse, and landed on her controller. “If you must know, I’m playing a horror game right now, and I’ve been known to be maybe slightly jumpy.”

“Ha! Okay, I can see why you’ve never seen Heat Signature now.” Bonnibel cringed as she used her free hand to save the game and go back to the main menu.

“Yeahhhhh… sorry?” she offered. “You just seemed so excited about it and I figured I’d have time to watch it before I got caught in my web of lies.” She could hear Marceline chuckle again. “If I’m being honest the only thing I know about it is that it’s a cult-classic type from the 80s.”

“...That’s it?”

“That’s it,” Bonnibel confirmed, nodding to no one in the room.

“Interesting…” Marceline said in a thoughtful tone before trailing off. Bonnibel waited through a full five seconds of silence before she couldn’t take it anymore.

“Is that all you got?” she asked. “I was expecting the whole nine yards of taunting and gloating and holding it over my head. Why are you being so chill about this?” She got up from her spot on the floor, resigned to being done playing Outlast since this was not going to be a quick conversation, and walked into the kitchen.

”Do you not understand the unique opportunity this gives me right now?” Bonnibel carefully balanced the phone between her ear and shoulder as she busied her hands making another mug’s worth of hot chocolate.

”I really don’t. Also is this not a conversation we can have over text?” The line went dead for a few seconds and Bonnibel mentally slapped herself on the forehead. Glob that sounded bitchy. Where did her filter go? “Sorry. I just–”

”No, just… hold on,” Marceline muttered. She stared out the window, simultaneously watching the rain pick up and hearing it through the tinny filter of the phone speaker. “Okay! Sorry, trying to back out of that shitty parking lot across from the library and it seems every other asshole is leaving campus for the day too. I may be some kind of rebel queen in your eyes but I refuse to text and drive, especially in the rain.” 

“Alright, fair enough,” Bonnibel said, making her way back to the living room with her fresh mug. “I can let you go if you need to focus on the road.” Marceline laughed though a sigh and she felt her stupid heart rate stupidly pick up at the stupid sound.

”Will you relax? I usually call Lady or Lana on my way home but Lady has informed me it’s date night so I thought maybe you’d be able to tolerate me for at least some of the 45 minutes.” Alright, well that sounded reasonable enough. 

“We’ll see,” she said through a smile, throwing her blanket back over her lap. “So, the opportunity?”

“Oh right!” Bonnibel chuckled at Marceline’s limited attention span. “Do you have Netflix?” She rolled her eyes.

”You know I do.”

“Perfect, put it on.” Bonnibel felt her eyebrows furrow, but reached for her Xbox controller all the same.

“You want me to watch a movie, that you can’t even see, while I’m on the phone with you?” 

“Yup,” she replied with a pop at the end of the word. “This way I can get your live reaction. Plus I’ve seen it like… oh I don’t know let’s call it 800 times already. I can recite it line by line and I figure that’s the kind of behavior that would get me kicked out of your apartment if I was there.”

Bonnibel found that stupid smile making its way back to her face as she navigated Netflix. “That’s not incorrect, I’ll give you that. Fine. What’s it even about?” She found it easily enough. A thermal image of a submarine with the tagline “ IN THE OCEAN NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU DIE ” written underneath it. “Looks like a true hidden gem.”

“Your sarcasm is noted and not appreciated,” Marceline said with fake irritation. “It’s a psychological thriller set during the Cold War. If you enjoy nothing else, maybe you’ll get a kick out of correcting the inaccurate details, nerd.” Bonnibel hit play and shook her head.

“I’m a science nerd, thank you very much. History contains way too many words and way too little math.” 

Bonnibel switched her phone to speaker and set it next to her on the arm of the couch. The movie started off pretty normal, a crew on a submarine just off the coast of Asia, talking about some Russian intelligence mission. It reminded her of some of her favorite movies, where the whole thing takes place in mainly one room or location. The low budget was glaringly obvious from the quality of the costumes to the special effects for all the technology on the ship. Marceline took pride in those details, talking over the dialogue to tell Bonnibel all about the making of the movie and how indie films were the backbone of the entertainment industry. Now there was something Bonnibel could agree with.

“ I can’t seem to find… our heat signature…” the captain muttered in horror on screen, causing his troops to tense. Bonnibel found herself captivated. Okay the acting wasn’t great, but pacing was everything to her, and this movie was a masterclass in it.

“Okay, I’ll admit I can see why you like this so much.” She could almost hear Marceline’s smug smile through the phone.

“Thank you, thank you.” Here came that pompous tone that had Bonnibel wishing Marceline was in fact here so she could shove her. “I’d say this makes up for you ignoring all my song recommendations lately.” Bonnibel felt herself shrinking even though no one was there to see.

“Yeah… sorry about that.” She felt the guilt pooling up in her chest as she watched the crew on screen realize in horror that one of their oxygen tanks was missing. “To be honest I didn’t think you cared much about my opinion. I figure you just don’t want to associate with someone who can’t hold their own at Emo Night at Ice Castle,” she joked halfheartedly.

“Alright, you might have a point there,” Marceline said. “But no dude, I wouldn’t ask for your opinion if I didn’t want it.” There was something soft behind those words that had Bonnibel retreating. It felt too close, too sweet.

That was another problem that had come up in the past two weeks. Every uncovered aspect of Marceline’s personality added a whole new layer to Bonnibel’s anxiety and/or feelings. And the genuine side that had started to creep out ever since their private afterparty in the garden was probably the one she had the hardest time dealing with. It was nice, don’t get her wrong. But Glob, did she have a hard time ignoring the warmth it brought all over her body.

“That’s also fair,” she said, curling even deeper into the couch. “I know this sounds like bullshit but I’ve been so busy these past few weeks with this all-consuming research project. I’m so ready for it to be over so I can just go back to helping my professor with grading papers instead… don’t tell anyone I do that, bee tee dubs. I don’t think it’s technically allowed.” She heard Marceline laugh and relaxed a little bit again. 

Petrikov was a pretty good boss and great guy, but damn, he had been working her hard lately. After she cleaned up all the bugs in the program, he came back from a meeting with the hospital board and wanted to add an entirely new data tracking feature to highlight efficiency in the budget. It was fine, and she totally got that it made the software more valuable, but now this wasn’t just a semester-long project. She’d probably end up working on this thing until May. 

“He called me off until after Thanksgiving break though, so this is the first time in a while I’ve had to just not think about anything. I haven’t been doing much of anything except obsessively checking Twitter and, as of an hour ago, watching movies.”

She was just in Petrikov’s office that day, actually. They spent the entire day laying the framework for the new addition until neither of them had an ounce of drive to continue. She didn’t think it was pertinent to tell Marceline about him badgering Bonnibel about her plans for break, though.

He had tried to convince her that she needed to go home and take an actual rest from school and work. Maybe it was all the half-truths she was giving Lady lately, or the careful side-stepping of Marceline so she wouldn’t have to deal with the feelings. But she had felt compelled to tell her favorite professor the truth, that she didn’t go home because she wasn’t welcome there.

It was an awkward conversation, to say the very least. She didn’t give any specific details, in true Bonnibel fashion. But the concerned look in Dr. Petrikov’s eyes still felt just as painful as if she had. So when he offered her a place at his Thanksgiving table two weeks from then, she didn’t have it in her to say no. He told her it was always a huge affair with friends and family alike, so there’d be no way she’d feel intrusive or out of place. Knowing herself, she knew she’d probably find a way to feel like that anyway. Yeah, Marceline didn’t need to know any of that.

“Good. Not that you’re so bored staring at the ceiling instead of listening to good music and you’re calling it a break, but that you’re taking some time off.” Bonnibel had given up on holding her reactions back, smiling away like an idiot. Maybe letting it all out when no one was around would help. “Maybe you can come out to Nightosphere with me next weekend and I’ll show you what fun really is.”

Well that took care of the smile pretty quickly. “Uh-huh.” That came out sounding much more bitter than she wanted, but Bonnibel didn’t care. Nightosphere is where he worked. “Why, so I can watch you flirt to get some free drinks?” She heard Marceline scoff.

“Oh come on. You’re not seriously still annoyed about that?” Bonnibel grunted and crossed her arms as if the other girl could see. She must’ve felt it somehow, though. “Dude. It was one date.” She cocked an eyebrow.

“One date? What, was he not good enough for the vampire queen?” she asked. It was meant to come out more sarcastic, but there was a hint of curiosity in her voice. She had been purposefully avoiding this topic, careful to steer her friends away from any romantic topics when they hung out. Which with LSP in tow, was always a challenge.

“One date, Bubblegum. I saw him after we played Mario Kart two weeks ago and I haven’t answered any of his texts since.” The line was silent for a few moments. “Just ask,” she said, voice thick with exhaustion.

“Why only one?” She obviously knew what Bonnibel had been getting at, so any shame about actually saying what was on her mind had flown right out the window.

“Because…” and then she muttered something, slightly muffled so Bonnibel couldn’t quite catch it.

“Huh? Are you driving through a dead zone?”

”Becauuuuuuse,” she overly-enunciated, voice coming through clear, “you were right.”

“About…?” she asked, genuinely confused.

“It was a dumb idea.” Bonnibel smiled again, as much as she hated it. On screen, a terrifying(ly bad) deep sea doppelganger was tearing through the ship, killing off the crew one by one. But somehow that was way less interesting to her right now.

“Oh really?” she said, trying her best to keep her tone neutral. “And why would that be, pray tell?” She more felt than heard Marceline sigh if that was possible, and wondered if she had pushed too far or if the other girl was searching for the right answer. The loose fabric on her blanket became longer and longer as she absently fiddled with it.

“It’s not some, like, grand reason or anything if that’s what you want to hear.”

“I’m not Lana, dude, any answer you give me will not be put under the spotlight,” Bonnibel attempted to lighten the mood.

“Yeah, just a microscope,” Marceline countered. Bonnibel couldn’t tell if that was supposed to be funny or not. “I don’t know. He wasn’t creepy or weird or bad. It was just one of those dates where you go and you just know nothing’s gonna come from it.” 

Bonnibel nodded silently, and she of all people definitely understood that reason. But it felt incomplete to her. It was a toss-up in attributing that feeling to her analytical brain or anxiety, but it felt like there was something not being said. And she hated that. She was never good at reading between the lines.

“Well… is it weird for me to say I’m glad it didn’t work out?” And after some more silence only broken by the sound of falling rain, she clarified: “I think you can do better. Even if I only heard him speak once and you are kind of annoying.” She heard Marceline chuckle, and figured it wasn’t in fact weird.

They sat through the rest of the movie together, Bonnibel narrating the end scene of the Lieutenant returning to the USA, unable to speak with a mysterious bite mark on his face, looking like a shell of himself. She and Marceline debated their different interpretations, from a potential zombie outbreak to the allusion of a Russian bio-weapon. Then that sparked a debate into which would be more terrifying, Bonnibel on the side of the bio-weapon and making what she thought to be sound counter arguments as opposed to Marceline’s ‘have you never read World War Z? Until then don’t talk to me about zombies not being scary!’

As Bonnibel was finishing her third cup of cocoa that night, they were deeply wrapped in a debate-bordering-on-argument about the best monster movie of all time.

“I’m just telling you what you need to hear,” she said. Marceline made a noise of pssshhhhh way too close to the microphone for comfort.

”You are being pretentious is what you’re doing. I guarantee you’re only saying Frankenstein because of how old that damn book is.” Bonnibel rolled her eyes, and just as she was about to deliver a devastating comeback, she was assaulted with, “AWWW DUDE!” Bonnibel jumped so hard she spilled the remaining, now cold, cocoa all over herself.

“WHY! I have been subjected to too many jump scares and I’m at my limit! What is the matter with you?” Bonnibel all but screeched. Marceline let out a long groan.

“My stupid roof is what’s the matter with me,” she grumbled. “I’ve been telling Dad that he needs to fix the stupid shingles on the stupid fucking balcony but does anyone ever listen to me? Of course not!” Bonnibel did all she could to repress a giggle. She imagined Marceline out on her balcony, sopping wet and steaming with rage and it was more than a little amusing to her. But the image made her realize something else.

“Oh… so you’re home now?”

“Yeah, obviously,” Marceline said with a grunt and what she assumed was the sound of a slamming sliding glass door. “There weren't any shingles on my car the last time I checked.” Hm, interesting. Bonnibel rolled her eyes, and couldn’t stop herself from teasing… just a little.

“Man, so that makesssss,” she dragged as she checked the timestamp of their call for the first time and did her best not to waver in surprise of her own, “two hours and seven minutes of your forty-five minute drive that you could tolerate me for.” She could almost feel Marceline’s face blanche through the air waves.

“It’s not my fault you decided to distract me with your infuriatingly wrong opinions,” she deadpanned, with only a hint of sheepishness shining through. 

“Is this where I apologize for keeping you so long?” Bonnibel asked, a little softer than she would’ve liked as she scrolled through her notifications.

“No,” Marceline said quickly. “I guess… this is where Iiiii,” Marceline hesitated slightly, and Bonnibel felt weirdly proud that she was having to think so hard for some witty little jab to throw, “thank you? I guess. For keeping me company. Don’t let it go to your head,” she tacked on quickly at the end.

Well, that wasn’t what she expected. There were no pre-recorded dialogue options available for that. As she continued scrolling she noticed the group chat was going strong, mainly with Lana badgering Shelby to play her in Cup Pong on iMessage games. Huh, hadn’t she said she usually called Lady or Lana when she was driving home?

“Uh… well I guess I should…maybe thank you too? It’s weird, for everything to be so quiet tonight. You guys have made my life so freaking noisy lately.”

“Don’t expect any apologies, you knew what you were getting into, Bubblegum.” She smiled again, fiddling with that ever-growing loose string.

“I most certainly did not. Lady is not the most informative friend.”

“That’s the truth…” and the line went silent again. It wasn’t exactly unpleasant, Bonnibel admitted to herself. But she wouldn't call it comfortable either. It was warm and uneasy and light and uncertain. And it was starting to consumer her so–

“I guess I should let you get back to your weekend, I’m sure you have much greater plans at eight o’clock on a Friday,” she rushed the words out of her mouth.

“Oh… yeah for sure,” Marceline quickly agreed. But just as Bonnibel was about to say her goodbyes, she heard a woman’s voice in the background.

“Marcie! There you are, I was just– I don’t even want to know why you look like you just stepped out of a dunk tank. But Daddy’s got the Scrabble board set up and I’m making popcorn, get your ass upstairs!”

Bonnibel could only imagine the look on Marceline’s face. But it was still priceless.

“Yep… I’ll be up in a minute,” she could hear Marceline say through gritted teeth in what she believed to be out of range of the microphone. Seconds later she was back. “You heard that, I assume?”

“Wouldn’t wanna keep Daddy waiting, would we?” Bonnibel said, voice quivering. Marceline let out a hard “ugh” and that was all it took to break the dam keeping her laughter in place.

“I’m hanging up now. You’re a terrible friend and if you never hear from me again you know what happened.” Bonnibel finished her laughing fit with a deep sigh.

“So I’ll see you on Tuesday for the jam session?” she asked.

“…Yeah, see ya Bonnibel.”

“See you later, Marceline,” she said as the muted beeping confirmed their call was over.

Bonnibel looked at her screen, seeing the timestamp of “2 hrs 10 mins” flashing back at her. She looked around her empty, silent apartment, eventually landing on her TV. The Xbox had automatically shut off a while ago, leaving her to look back at her reflection in the black screen. She didn’t know if it was her flushed face, her tongue in cheek grin, or the way she was clutching the blanket to her chest that pushed her over the edge. She put her phone on the coffee table, turned onto her stomach with her face in a throw pillow, and screamed as loud as could.

Chapter Text

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving break came a lot faster than Bonnibel anticipated. And much to her secret delight, she and Finn’s anthro class was canceled the night before due to a nasty case of the flu making its way through one of the humanities buildings. She wasn’t going to pretend anymore that learning about the ways civilizations and cultures developed—and the way every aspect intertwined—wasn’t... kind of beautiful. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t also take advantage of no quiz combined with the unpredictable Midwest gifting a 50-degree day.

She made her usual walk to the Breakfast Kingdom, listening to her new playlist, aptly titled “get cultured, nerd.” Well, she supposed she couldn’t really call it her playlist. She had finally gotten fed up with Marceline texting her random songs and having to scour for them and add them to a queue she would inevitably lose. So Marceline had sent her the link to this one a few days ago. It was filled with the usual suspects: The Maine, Good Charlotte, Magnolia Park, Sleep Token.

To Bonnibel’s secret delight, though, her favorite Fleetwood Mac song made its way into her earbuds just as she passed the science building. She smiled, clutching her backpack a little tighter to her shoulders. The mental boxing match with her feelings was…not going well. Clearly. That phone call last week? Bad idea. Exposure therapy was just making things worse.

She’d never felt less logical in her entire life. She knew having a crush on one of her friends was messy and cliché and ill-advised. Marceline drove her up a wall half the time. And spending more time with her wasn’t helping.

And yet.

There she was, walking into her favorite diner with a bounce in her step, taking her earbuds out to hear the melodic chaos of the jukebox bouncing off the walls of a nearly empty building… nearly.

“Ms. Bogart!” Tee Trunks called from behind the counter, her sweet Southern lilt unmistakable. “What brings you in so late? Playin’ hooky today?”

“No, Ms. Trunks,” Bonnibel smiled. “My professor is.”

Tee chuckled, shaking her head and tucking a stray piece of silver hair behind her ear. Bonnibel scanned the booths, and her eyes landed on the one in the far corner, and on the girl already sitting in it.

“I’m actually, uh, meeting someone,” Bonnibel said quickly, already turning to make her way over, and praying Tee wouldn’t say anything. She’d never be that lucky though.

Tee followed her gaze and lowered her voice with a knowing smile. “Well, don’t let me keep you from your new friend, honey. I’ll get your coffee started.”

Bonnibel’s face went warm. She mumbled her thanks and approached the booth with what she hoped was casual confidence.

“I’m a little offended to be called a new friend,” Marceline said as Bonnibel sat down across from her. “Not good enough to be introduced to your favorite waitress?”

“I’m not giving that question the dignity of an answer,” Bonnibel replied, deadpan. “Am I not good enough for you to wait for me to order?”

“No,” Marceline said cheerfully. “No, you are not.”

Bonnibel narrowed her eyes, but she was already smiling. Of course she was.

Okay. So she had no idea what she was doing. Sue her.

They’d been on the phone the night before—arguing whether or not a saxophone improved any song—when Bonnibel got the cancellation email. Marceline made fun of her for being disappointed, then suggested they hang out. And Bonnibel… said yes. Immediately. No hesitation. Her mouth answered before her brain could ask what in Glob’s name are you doing?

And maybe the scarier part was: if she had stopped to ask, she wasn’t sure she would’ve had an answer.

“But if I’m remembering correctly,” Bonnibel said, voice light, “I am good enough for you to skip class?”

“I’d skip Music Theory if the wind blew in the wrong direction,” Marceline grumbled into her coffee.

“Isn’t that required for you to graduate?”

“Perhaps,” she said with a shrug. “But I could pass it in my sleep.”

Before Bonnibel could reply, Tee returned with her usual sweet coffee and a plate of confetti pancakes—plus hashbrowns and eggs for Marceline. She winked as she set them down, and Bonnibel caught the mischievous glint in her eye just before she walked away.

“Did I get it right?” Marceline asked, nodding toward the pancakes.

“What?”

“I thought I remembered you rambling about them to Lana that one time.”

Bonnibel stared at the plate, then at Marceline. “Yeah. That’s… exactly right.”

Before anything else could be said, the diner bell chimed again. Jake and Lady stepped inside, laughing about something—until their eyes landed on the booth.

“Ooh,” Jake said, drawing out the word. “Well, well, look who’s already got breakfast company.”

Lady smirked but kept her tone light. “Hey, Bubs. Didn’t know you and Marceline were getting so clooooose.” Bonnibel stiffened.

“It’s not a thing,” she said, a little too fast. A little too loud.

Lady blinked, surprised. “Okay. Didn’t say it was, chill out girl.”

Marceline arched a brow and sipped her coffee in silence, looking mildly amused in a way that made Bonnibel want to sink into the booth.

Jake gave a low whistle. “Touchy.”

“We’re just hanging out, I know everybody else is super busy today. Don’t you guys have class soon?” Bonnibel added, voice tight.

Lady and Jake exchanged a look Bonnibel didn’t bother interpreting before Jake slapped the top of the booth. “We sure do, you fuckin weirdo.” Bonnibel felt her face blanch as Marceline let out a sharp laugh. “We just stopped in for some joe-to-go. See you nerds later.” He threw up a peace sign as he took Lady’s hand to go pick up their coffees from the counter and head outside.

Silence settled between her and Marceline as she turned her attention back on their table. She wasn’t exactly sure what she said, but based on the vibe at the table it wasn’t good.

Marceline was the first to break. “You always get weird when people mention us.”

“I don’t,” Bonnibel said quickly. Almost before Marceline was even done speaking.

“You do. You got defensive just now like I was your dirty secret or something. Why do you always have such a problem with our friends thinking that we are also friends?”

“That’s not what—” Bonnibel started, then stopped. She picked up her fork and stared at her pancakes. “I just… don’t like people making assumptions.”

Marceline didn’t respond right away. “You think it’s weird for them to assume we’re close?”

“No,” Bonnibel said. “Just—”

But she had nothing else. No excuse that didn’t feel like a lie. Marceline let out a long breath and leaned back in the booth. “Whatever. It’s fine, dude. It’s not like we have to be all lovey-dovey or anything.”

It got very quiet at the table. It wasn’t tense, exactly, but something had shifted. This was the absolute worst. If hell was real, this is what it would feel like. Things had been so good lately. Leave it to Bonnibel to mess it up with one single interaction. Leave it to her to panic at just the wrong moment.

Why did it even make her panic? she wondered. Lady knows the two of them at least have some sort of understanding, and Jake even moreso. They hangout in group settings all the time. It was absolutely not weird they were hanging out. And it was absolutely normal for Lady and Jake to tease any two people alone together, it was their humor. If anything made that whole thing weird, it was her. Like usual.

“I can hear you thinking,” came from across the table, Marceline looking at her with a mocking grin. “You got your class cancelled, you’re supposed to give that machine up there a break for a while.”

She smiled, a wave of relief instantly flooding over her. Maybe things were a little weird, but things were okay. They finished the rest of their food in silence, but in a decidedly less tense silence. More just both of them knowing there wasn’t much to say yet, Bonnibel thought. Tee brought the check and Marceline threw down a credit card before Bonnibel even had the chance to argue with her. She gave her a pointed look that she hoped conveyed “I will be getting you back for that later.”

On the walk back to Bonnibel’s apartment, the air was crisp and quiet. The sidewalks were mostly empty, students either home early for break or holed up in dorms. Bonnibel shoved her hands in her pockets, trying to discreetly wipe the sweat from her palms.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

“For what?” Bonnibel groaned internally. Of course Marceline was going to make her come out and say it.

“Before. In the diner. I wasn’t trying to be a jerk. I’m just… bad at this.”

Marceline kicked a small rock along the pavement as they walked. “What’s ‘this’?”

“Letting people… or, like, letting myself feel close to people. It feels weird sometimes.”

“You’re close with Lady. Finn. Jake. Plenty of people.” She had no idea where Marceline was going with this, and she had a feeling the other girl didn’t know either.

“It’s different… somehow. I don’t know. I’ve known Lady and Jake since I stepped foot on campus, and Finn is Jake’s brother.” That felt so weak Bonnibel was horrified she even let it come out of her mouth disguised as a legitimate argument. She screwed her eyes closed, hoping to will away the memory of saying it.

Marceline didn’t say anything for a long stretch of sidewalk. “You don’t have to explain. But it’s noticeable.”

Bonnibel swallowed. “I know.”

They walked the rest of the way in silence, and by the time they got inside, the tension had loosened slightly—enough that Bonnibel didn’t feel like she was about to crawl out of her own skin. The breeze was starting to nip at Bonnibel through her sweater, and she was itching to get back to her home. Something familiar to ground her. Marceline just kept kicking that rock all the way back to Bonnibel’s apartment, seeming to get into a better and better mood with each strike. 

The two of them made this plan last night. They were going to get breakfast together, then they’d go back to Bonnibel’s apartment to watch Heat Signature 2. Bonnibel had been floored when she learned a sequel to that terribly acted, no-budget thriller was greenlit back in the 90s. And she said she needed to see it immediately. 

But she agreed to that in the safe feeling of being alone. Now she was here. Alone. With Marceline. Unlocking the door to an empty apartment where they would be alone all day. Alone with the girl she had been actively trying not to have feelings for. Who she mostly enjoyed seeing in a group setting so she could control herself and her stupid stupid impulses.

“I’m just gonna run to the bathroom, then we’re doing this,” Marceline called back over her shoulder as she walked to the hallway. “Heat Signature 2!” she yelled, disappearing around the corner.

Bonnibel could only shake her head and laugh, however shaky it sounded. Dear glob she felt like such a mess. Why did she say yes to this? To prove a point? To who?? There was nobody here to see how totally not cool she was being about this whole thing anyway. They were just going to watch a stupid movie. Her and Finn could even do that without so much as an awkward silence now. 

‘Get it together.’

She sat down on her couch and found Heat Signature 2 pretty easily on Netflix. It looked to be just as high quality as the first one had been. Bonnibel had barely gotten through reading the very vague description before she heard a faint rustling coming from her bathroom, then the sound of Marceline approaching.

“Yo, why do y’all have pink hair dye? Lady going for a new look?” Bonnibel turned to find her leaning against the corner wall, a box of Manic Panic in her hand. She furrowed her eyebrows.

“Why are you rifling through my cabinets?”

“I asked you first.”

“My drawers, my rules. You first.”

Marceline shrugged nonchalantly, tossing the box between her hands. “Easy, I’m nosy.” Bonnibel rolled her eyes.

“Could’ve figured that out for myself.”

“And yet,” Marceline said, stepping forward pointing the box in her face, “you still asked. Now: why do you have it, Princess Dodge Questions?” Bonnibel chewed on her cheek, wondering if sharing this would backfire. But Marceline had never been one to let Bonnibel avoid answering a question before, she didn’t think it would start now.

“When I dressed up as the princess for your party, I was thinking of… committing to the bit, I guess, and dyeing my hair to match the whole pink thing.” She watched Marceline’s expression morph from curious to… impressed? “Plus you call me Pinkie anyway, I thought it might be funny. But I’m also not known for my jokes so I figured it was best to… not.”

Marceline shook her head and laughed, which did absolutely nothing for instilling any confidence. Bonnibel scoffed, feeling her face turn that trademark shade of pink as she turned to face the tv. She didn’t know why the laughing was bothering her. Marceline laughed at the stuff she said all the time, and it was fine. 

It felt like they were speaking two different languages sometimes, but usually could end up understanding the other just fine. Every once in a while though, it felt like Bonnibel couldn’t quite make out a few key words, and she’d be totally lost. Sometimes people would laugh, and she couldn’t tell if it was with her, or at her. And she would take knowing someone was laughing at her over not knowing at all.

“Get outta your head,” she heard from right beside her on the couch. When did Marceline get there? “You just have absolutely no ability to hide your emotions and it’s kind of hilarious. Why is that such an embarrassing thing to say?” Bonnibel tapped her fingers to her knees, and considered that.

“I… don’t know. Maybe I just… it sounds so stupid saying it out loud but I don’t think I’m cool enough to pull that off,” Bonnibel said, crossing her arms to her chest. Marceline looked taken aback for a brief moment, then grabbed the remote and pressed play on the movie.

“It does sound stupid.”

“Gee, thanks,” Bonnibel deadpanned, turning to face the screen,

“No, like,” she paused, like she was thinking about the best way to word her thoughts. “Whatever, what does being ‘cool’ even mean? If you want to dye your hair then just do it. If you like the way it looks then you’ll be confident about it. And the confidence is what makes it look good, trust.”

Bonnibel trained her eyes on the screen. The story this time looks to be set in America, following the captain from the voyage in the first movie. She tries to follow the introduction, but she can’t help but think about Marceline’s words.

“Are you just saying all that because you think it’ll look weird and that’ll be funny for you? Because if so, you’re playing chess,” Bonnibel intended it as a joke. But the way Marceline looks almost annoyed tells her this wasn’t the right crowd.

“No dude, I thought we were past the bitchy shit,” she questioned. Bonnibel almost does a double take.

“We are. I just…” Bonnibel couldn’t remember how she intended to finish that thought, or if she had ever known in the first place. She sighed, pulling that favorite plush blanket across her lap. She didn’t understand why her shoulders suddenly felt so heavy.

“I think,” Marceline started, pausing when Bonnibel glanced her way, “I think it would look good.” There was something soft in both her voice and her words that made Bonnibel’s cheeks turn from pink to red. And she felt muscles in her calves clench, like they were getting ready to run. But she made herself stay put.

As gentle as it was, it still felt like a little bit of a challenge. And Bonnibel can’t resist a challenge.

“So let’s do it,” she said, forcing her tone casual. Her eyes drifted from the captain onscreen, returning to his post in Russia for the first time since the incident, to Marceline’s face. It was almost unreadable, but Bonnibel thought she saw a bit of that impressed look she managed to garner earlier.

“Yeah?” she asked, leaning forward to grab the box off the coffee table.

“Yeah. I’m gonna need help since I’ve never done this. And I have a feeling young teenage Marceline was ten times as emo as you are now if that’s possible.” Marceline scoffed at that, but the smile playing at her lips betrayed her. “So I assume you know your way around this.”

“I might, I might,” she conceded. “Alright, sit on the floor in front of the couch. Where do ya keep your towels?”

After convincing Bonnibel she’d want to stay in the living room so the movie could keep her occupied, and that they’d put enough towels down that she’d be able to get her security deposit back, Marceline was sitting above her preparing a concoction that was punishing her sense of smell.

“I feel like we should’ve figured out a better way to do this by now,” she grumbled, watching the captain grow increasingly paranoid as he pilots his submarine, new crew in tow, deep into the Pacific.

“Yeah, that’s really what the scientists are focusing on right now. I’m sure all your precious STEM classes have given you Hair Dye 101 to 400 at this point.” Bonnibel rolled her eyes. Marceline could at least show a little bit of mercy and let her at least distract herself with conversation.

As Marceline started to work the dye into her hair, she realized it did not occur to her just how… intimate this was going to be. Which, it absolutely should have. She’s essentially going to get a ten minute scalp massage from the girl she was trying not to have feelings for. Forget the 4.0; she was an absolute moron. Having feelings for a girl was rendering her intelligence completely useless. Maybe she should’ve stayed in the closet for a bit longer, she thought as a chill ran down her spine. From the cold gel or the hands in her hair, she didn’t know.

“Earth to Bonnibel?” She heard Marceline call from above her.

“Hm, yeah, what?”

“You’re so weird, what are you doing? Because if you tell me something ridiculous like homework in your head I’m leaving and you’re on your own.” Bonnibel couldn’t help but giggle a little. “I’ve been going on and on about the main actor in this movie and I think I should’ve been talking to the wall instead.”

“I think the wall might be more interested,” Bonnibel said, looking up to meet Marceline’s eyes. There was something so… captivating about the way her eyes lit up when Bonnibel played into her sarcasm. It was so much more interesting than all that arguing they did. Why did they ever do that, she wondered, staring up at the way Marceline’s lips broke into a devious smile. And she did try very hard to ignore the way her stomach flipped when she saw it.

“That is very, very bold talk coming from someone whose entire look I hold in my hands.” It was hard not to think about it then. The way Marceline’s hands felt in her hair. Not just in her hair. She could feel the callouses, built from years of plucking away at the bass, running gently across her scalp. She was doing her best to keep her eyes open, as they seemed to be fighting her to close and drift off. She could feel Marceline’s soft palms massaging the color into her hair, her thumbs playing with loose strands of hair they came across. It was making her chest feel warm, and her mouth feel dry.

“Hm, what are you gonna do?” Bonnibel said, keeping her voice steady. “It feels like to me you’ve almost got it all covered up there. You gonna leave me a single strand of blonde? Doesn’t seem like the best revenge.”

She then felt Marceline’s hands leave her head. Thank glob she still had the self-control to swallow whatever surely embarrassing noise was about to come out of her mouth.

“I can and will give you a permanent, neon shade of blush,” Marceline said, waving her dye covered hands in Bonnibel’s face. Bonnibel grimaced.

“Get those out of my face,” she grunted. “And we both know that’ll wash out way too fast to be satisfying for you.” At least she hoped it would. Otherwise her hands were gonna be an interesting color for a while.

“Whatever,” Marceline laughed. She sighed afterwards, shuffling backwards. “Alright, you’re all gooped up, now we gotta wait like a half hour.”

“Never call it that again,” Bonnibel said, disgust and laughter lacing her tone. She wrapped the towel under her hair tighter around her shoulders and moved to sit on the couch next to Marceline again, careful not to come in contact with any cushions in the process. Lady would kill her if she dyed their couch… without her present.

“Yes your highness, so were you paying attention at all or using all your brain power to annoy me?” Marceline asked.

Bonnibel was then subjected to a play-by-play summary of everything happening in the movie up to that point, including anything Marceline deemed “symbolically important.” Apparently, the submarine was a metaphor for isolation, the captain represented internalized rage, and the blinking red light on the control panel was “definitely trauma-related.” Bonnibel nodded along, saying “mmhmm” at the right intervals, but mostly she just watched the way Marceline talked with her hands, her whole face animated, like she genuinely believed what she was saying. It was ridiculous. And a little mesmerizing.

As if an internal timer went off in her brain, she cut herself off from her own ramblings and turned to face Bonnibel again. “Okay, go rinse, dry your hair, and prepare to be amazed,” Marceline said, waving her hands like a magician revealing his final trick.

Bonnibel giggled, warm from the inside out, and made her way to the bathroom—grateful for the excuse to take a breath. A moment of reprieve from everything that had just happened.

The second the water hit her skin, the pressure in her chest began to ease. Warmth wrapped around her, the rising steam softening her tight muscles and foggy thoughts. The creeping anxiety, the one that had been steadily rising since she sat on the floor between Marceline’s knees, finally began to quiet.

It was the first moment of stillness she'd had all day. Maybe all week.

She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been touched like that. Not casually. Not playfully. Not gently. And certainly not by someone as thoughtful, and beautiful, and maddeningly cool as Marceline.

Just thinking about it made her breath catch in her chest. But, glob. That girl was beautiful. It wasn’t even up for debate. It wasn’t something she was overthinking anymore. It felt as much a fact as the color of the sky or the warmth of the water on her skin.

And the way she’d looked at her: focused, unbothered, tender . Like Bonnibel wasn’t just a project, or a joke, or a challenge. Her hand rose instinctively to where Marceline had touched her, her cheek still tingling like it had only happened seconds ago. This was getting dangerous, and she had no idea what to do about it.

As she stared at her reflection, it didn’t even feel like she was looking at herself for a second. It was like her glasses had suddenly been equipped with a filter that made her look… so fucking cool.

Her hair had always been a dark blonde, probably the least exciting color hair could ever be. She had never really thought too much about it, certainly never enough to form an opinion on the way it looked beyond “messy” or “neat.” But this ? This was different, in such a good way. So much so that she wonders why the hell she’s never done it before. The way the neon pink contrasts to her admittedly-pale, freckled clad skin was photo worthy in her eyes. 

Holy shit forget a picture, there was a real life person whose opinion she could get right outside. That was priority number one. She needed to know if this was just in her head or if this was as awesome as she thought it was. She darted from the bathroom to her bedroom; new hair called for a new outfit.

She frantically threw shirts and pants around the room, searching for the perfect combination. In the end none of them were good enough, so she decided to go with a simple black shirt and pair of blue jeans. That would have to do. She slowly opened her bedroom door and moved to the corner to see if Marceline was looking her way.

When she wasn’t, and was instead watching some YouTube video on her phone about Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Bonnibel walked to the middle of the living room, grabbing the empty dye box from the back of the couch.

“Not too shabby, huh?” Bonnibel said, tossing the box at Marceline, who jumped and swiftly looked up. Bonnibel didn’t think she’d ever seen Marceline get spooked before, and it was hilarious . “For someone so obsessed with horror movies, you’d think you’d do better with jumpscares.”

But Marceline didn’t answer, she was just… looking. Not necessarily in a bad or judgemental way. Just staring. The only sound in the room was some commentary about the cultural significance of a vampire show, as it was still playing on the phone that laid slack in her hands. Bonnibel suddenly became aware of how straight she was standing, her head held high, and the lazy smile on her face. She felt so silly. It was just a new hair color, why the hell did she feel like this was so revolutionary?

She sighed, feeling her shoulders drop and the smile on her face go slack as she sat on the couch next to the ever silent girl. “You can tell me that I look like a nerd in a cool-girl costume, go on,” she said. She saw Marceline blink rapidly, like she was taking herself out of a trance.

“Hey, what? No. No, not what I was thinking,” Marceline said, turning her phone off and tossing it on the table with a loud thud. “I mean… no.”

Bonnibel raised her eyebrows. Was Marceline flustered ? Is that what this was? Bonnibel felt her face heat up, and it did make for a funny image knowing her face was the same color as her hair. But her speeding heart made it hard to feel like laughing, or breathing.

“Okay I meant,” Marceline started, “that I was not thinking that. I was thinking that… I was right.” Bonnibel felt her face screw with confusion.

“About?”

“Confidence is very pretty on you.”

Okay. There were a few things she was expecting to hear. That was not one of them. She felt like her entire body had an electrical current running through it. Her hands were buzzing, and her face felt like it was on fire. She had to consciously take a big breath in, suddenly feeling like she couldn't get enough air.

She has plenty of memories of Lady calling her hot, or sexy, when they would get ready to go somewhere together (as much as it makes her cringe). She has plenty of memories of her mother saying she looked beautiful in her Sunday best. But she can’t remember the last time someone called her pretty . Glob, she can’t remember the last time someone complimented her in such a steadfast, certain way that even Bonnibel had no choice but to accept it without question.

“Thank you,” is all she could think to say in response. It was soft and barely there, but Marceline seemed to get it just fine. Her smile was easy, and stayed in place as she scooted closer to Bonnibel on the couch. She thought her heart might beat out of her chest if this kept up.

Marceline reached out and took a section of damp hair from behind Bonnibel’s ear and twirled it in her fingers. She wondered if it was normal to feel it all the way in her toes. She felt like she should be panicking. That this would be the time her anxiety finally turned on and she’d have to figure out a way to run away. But instead there was… nothing?

An absence of thought. It was like as soon as Marceline had touched her, it activated the elusive ‘off’ switch in her brain. One that she had never been able to find on her own. She was waiting for anxiety that wasn’t coming, not right then. She watched Marceline’s dark fingertips playing with the neon almost absentmindedly. And when she looked into the other girl’s eyes, she found them looking back.

Bonnibel wasn’t sure what possessed her at that moment. Maybe it was their close proximity, the way Marceline had been so casually touching her all day, or the look of what she could swear was admiration. Maybe a combination of the three. But in a split second, she made a decision before she could even articulate it. Like it was the easiest one in the world.

She put her hand on Marceline’s shoulder, and the other on her knee. At the girl’s questioning glance, Bonnibel took a breath and leaned forward. She felt Marceline’s hand move from her hair to her cheek, almost automatically. The feeling of those calluses on her soft cheek was enough to send a warmth spreading from her heart out to her stomach. And in less than a moment, her lips landed on Marceline’s.

It was soft. That was the first thing she noticed. Bonnibel had expected fire, or lightning, or something dramatic to match the storm in her chest. But instead, the world went quiet.

Marceline’s lips were warm against hers, a gentle pressure that somehow still managed to make her feel like her ribs were cracking open. Her hand still rested on Bonnibel’s cheek, fingers splayed like she was trying to memorize the shape of her. Bonnibel let her eyes fall shut, just for a second, and let herself fall into it.

It felt... right. Not in the abstract, overthinking way she usually calculated right and wrong. Not like checking boxes or following a protocol. It felt like slipping into something that had been waiting for her all along—like finding a puzzle piece she hadn’t realized was missing, clicking perfectly into place.

And for once, she wasn’t analyzing it. She wasn’t wondering if she was reading too much into the way Marceline looked at her, or if this was going to ruin everything, or what came next. She wasn’t thinking at all.

She was just feeling .

Marceline’s thumb brushed along her cheekbone. A feather-light touch. Bonnibel felt herself tilt forward, just slightly, chasing the warmth, chasing her. The kiss deepened only a fraction, barely there, but enough to steal the breath from her lungs. It wasn’t fireworks. It wasn’t a thunderstorm. It was something better. It was quiet. It was steady. It was real .

And then it ended.

They pulled apart at the same time, almost like it had been rehearsed, like their bodies had already agreed on the rhythm before their minds had a chance to catch up. Bonnibel opened her eyes, and Marceline was staring at her like she was just seeing her for the first time. Like her face was something so new and so familiar at the same time. Bonnibel didn’t know what to say. Couldn’t even imagine what words would look like right now. Apparently, neither could Marceline.

They sat there, breathless and wordless, the inches between them feeling like they still held something electric. And then—

“ Bonnibel! ” Lady’s voice rang out from just beyond the front door, as Bonnibel could hear her fiddling with the lock. “I brought pizzaaa! And Jake brought Shelby, and Finn’s got the new Card Wars expansion pack—”

The sound of multiple voices, laughter, and the unmistakable crash of someone tripping over the entryway rug came crashing into the moment like a tidal wave.

Bonnibel and Marceline jumped apart, and Bonnibel got a sick sense of deja vu. Both of them instinctively reached for opposite ends of the couch. Bonnibel felt her heart rate triple and wasn’t entirely sure if it was from the kiss (holy shit holy shit) or the ambush.

Lady finally made her way into the center of the living room, a box of pizza balanced on one arm and a confused expression on her face. Her eyes flicked from Bonnibel’s flushed cheeks to the way Marceline was clutching their throw pillow for dear life.

“Oh,” Lady said, pausing just long enough for it to be meaningful. “We interrupt something?”

“No,” Bonnibel and Marceline blurted at the exact same time.

Lady raised an eyebrow. “Okay, then.”

Jake, Shelby, and Finn followed her into the apartment, arms full of Card Wars decks, snacks, and way too much energy. Finn made eye contact with her, mouthing ‘what was that about?’ gesturing to Lady. Bonnibel waved him off shakily. Her hands were still buzzing.

She glanced at Marceline, who was already reaching for her soda like it could shield her from reality. Their eyes met briefly, and for a second, neither of them smiled, or spoke, or moved. It was the kind of second that made Bonnibel wonder if anything was ever going to feel the same again.

And then Marceline smirked, just a little. And Bonnibel felt her lips twitch in response.

Let the awkwardness begin.