ʜ ᴏ ʟ ʏ

19.

It wasn't long before they were there, through the heavily wooded area and smack dab infront of a quite shitty home. The exterior lacked paint from the excessive peeling caused by erosion, the size itself was small compared to the few houses they passed during the trip, and the dried grass was just the cherry ontop. Bonnibel wasn't surprised one bit that such unhuman decency lived in a house that resembled him completely. The thought could've brought a smile to her face but under the circumstances, she chose not to do so. Both girls found themselves situated outside the door, Bonnibel a tad bit anxious aside Marceline. Bonnie didn't hesitate to stop Marceline from knocking, slightly tapping her shoulder to draw her attention. "How do you suggest we approach him?" Marceline only faced the girl and shrugged her shoulders. "We use our woman powers and bitch until he gives in." She spoke. As much as Bonnibel dreamed of releasing her inner bitch on the boy, they had to be weary of his behavior. The boy was commonly known for his impulsive anger, a prime example of him unleashing on Marceline. Bonnibel let out a low whsiper. "Personally, I would enjoy that Marcy, I really would, but we have to watch out. He's still a threat." Marceline didn't want to admit but her words were true. Even before his rage at the school, Ash was promptly known for his change in moods, and not always the good ones. Subduing the worry within her friend, Marceline breathed calmly and nodded in her direction. "Noted." And at the door she knocked, her knuckles meeting the door with a few knicks. In the time they waited her chest unraveled each second that went by. There were alot of things that could go wrong in their situation. What if Ash wasn't home at the moment? Or he refused to help them? Or even worse, Vivian found out? For the better, the door opened before she could answer her thought. Instantly, their noses were greeted with the smell of must and weed, a smell that accompanied him quite often. His eyes slouched downward at them with a pinkish tent coating the white, a sheepish smiled mantling his stained teeth. "Marcelineee." He dragged, his hands reaching up from his side and planting on her shoudler. To focused on the discomfort that suited her, she didn't notice him eyeing Bonnibel up and down. "Hey, isn't that the chick that bopped me one at your school?" His face was replaced with a stern one. For a second, their demeanor dropped noticeably, only to return when he drew back his head and laughed at the slight fear plastered. "No hard feelings princess." He teased, patting her shoulder too. After a bit of a luring eye, Ash released their shoulders and slumped against the door frame, almost as if he wasn't stable (which he probably wasn't) and guzzled their way. "What brings you two to my humble palace? Here to get fucked up?" He smiled grisly, fetching a plastic baggie suited with pills from his pocket. Marceline was quick to deny his offer with a simple "no thanks" and nothing more. "Then how about you ladies come on in for a chat? Would be a shame if any civilans caught sight of you." He anticipated their answer, already stepping aside and pulling back the door a bit further. Bonnibel trailed behind Marceline, who stepped in under the eyes of Ash. Other than the smell and the bad exterior, the house was even worse inside to Bonnibel's opinion. The floor was littered with trash that ranged from old playboy magazines to discarded food containers, the inside of the sink was lined with dirited plates and bowls, and the carpet held a mysterious red stain that Bonnie didn't like the look of. Ash seemed to not mind any of the mess, simply toppling over the clutter as if it was nothing and leading them to the living room like a Shepard and sheep. The living room wasn't to bad, besides the trash filled coffe table, the couch was clean of any litter. Probably due to the fact that he maybed resided there. Trying his best to keep his eyes open, he gestured his hand in the direction to the ripped leather cushion. "Feel free to chill there for a bit, I'll be back in a few." He lowered his aim and excused himself from the room. Marceline ignored his dismisal and sunk down on the furniture, Bonnie following shortly after. Bonnie couldn't help but let the curiousity surface, her eyes peering around the room and then Marceline before questioning. "Hey, Marcy." She tapped her companion, pulling her away from the slab of ripped leather that she focused on. Marceline turned to her, head angeled in a stare. "Speak on Bonnie." She rooted her on, Bonnibel forming the question from their surroundings. "Where are his parents?" Marceline hadn't anticipated her question but the answer was pretty simple.
Taking a faint peep around the corner, Marceline made sure his presence wasn't in attendance. "He lives alone, his parents another town over I believe." She paused, taking the extra precaution of his leave. "He couldn't cooperate under his parents rules. To many girls over, or use of drugs in their home, or just not coming home. They got on his ass about it so much that he just moved out with a roomate. Surprised he's not here now." Bonnie settled back into the cushion, satisfied with the answer she received in silence. Just when the low bustle of the streets and the conversation occupied them calmly, Ash came trudging over the mess and back to the room. Nothing much had changed about his appearance, the same grudging jean vest and stained wife beater, so he must've attended buisness in the bathroom.
"So." He chimed, striding across them and heaving down on the spare cushion across the room."What brings you to here? Hm?" He giggled childishly (likely due to being under the influence) and streched out his limbs with a groan. He spoke before ethier one of them got to. "Must be important if your taking a trip all the way from your christian girls boarding school, which I shit you not is long." He was correct in most aspects. What they came for was very much in their needs and they weren't going to leave out expressing it. "We need your help." Marceline stole the lead, firmness present in her speech. From her side, Bonnibel sat straight with posture similar to a news anchor on brodcast, as if preparing herself to speak to a child (which was hard to differ from Ash.) "Like we said, we came along way to get here and we don't have much time, we need to know if your in or not." Ash stared at the two girls with faces stone cold under his child like manner. High out of his mind, the boy couldn't help but laugh at such seriousness, hunching over with a snort. "You two need my help?" It was something not common to him, unless when one needed help in partaking in drugs. Their grave emotionless faces gave an answer. Marceline watched the boy yawn and shrug his shoulders. "Sure lay it on me." "We need some dirt on Vivan, anything you got." She gave the honest truth. Knowing Ash, the probability of him having something
was significantly high. Both Ash and Marceline knew of Vivian far before saint Annes, Only a slight coincidence that she went to Saint Annes along with Marcy. Before school and even so now, Vivian was a wild girl. His drug high slowly wearing off, he stared at them like mad men. "What's in it for me?" Out of all the things Marceline had thought of to get here, the thought of bargaining with the boy had completely slipped her mind. Of course he would want something, how stupid could she be? Bonnibel could tell by the look coating her face, that Marceline was unsure of what they even had to offer. But there was no going back now. Marceline already knew what category his reward would be in from the look on his face, him taking the silence as an answer. "So you show up to my house uninvited, take refuge inside my humble home, and request dirt on Vivian for the price of nothing?" He remarked, scoffing at her ignorance. This was something Marceline had grown used to over the years, how he could put someone, especially her, down in the dumps with the slightest words. She looked away sorrowfuly. Bonnie didn't. "Its the effort that counts." She protested, her anger starting to show in her voice. "We paid someone to set part of the school ablaze so we could sneak out, swam across a freezing cold lake, walked through long woods, and put our freedom at school through jeopardy just to get here, prick." She leaned forwards, her eye slashing him like a tire. "So least you could do is help." Marceline looked over at Bonnie like a new woman. Never had she seen someone regard on her behalf like that, let alone tear Ash a new one. She couldn't take her eyes off her. Ash leaned back against the chair, not angered but simply surprised at her statement. It took a bit of comprehension for him to form his final answer. "Kiss." His chaped lips parted, earning a questioning look from the girls. "Kiss. You and Marceline kiss and I'll see what I can do." Marceline couldn't say she was startled by his answer. Ash was one weird (or horny) man under the influence, sometimes for the worse. The room drew dead silent. It was a take it or lose it chance for the girls, and Bonnie wasn't eager to lose it. Turning to find Marceline staring back, Bonnie moved closer to Marceline. Both stared eachother deeply in the eyes for more time than Ash pleased, obtaining a few whining grunts from the man- boy until they complied. Slipping her hand from the surface of the couch and cupping Marceline's cheek, Bonnibel moved forward and took her lips into hers. Slow with compassion, Bonnibel allowed her lips to dance with Marceline, who held her in place by her waist. Tracing the entrance of her lips with her tounge a final time, Marceline pulled away, leaving a string of saliva upon their departure. All of this under the eyes of Ash. He seemed to be enjoying it a bit to much, the fabric of his crotch crowning to the slightest. Bonnibel felt like she could gag. "You got what you wanted, dirtbag. Hand over the stuff." Shooting them one last dirty grin, he plucked himself from the chair and gestured them along with him. Over the trash they moved, Bonnie (a flushed mess) trying her best not to trip over the blocked path. They stoped at the entry of what looked to be a room, and to Bonnie's theory, correct. The stained mattress was short of any bed frame or material keeping the distance between the carpet, the bed placed against the floor. The windows were taped shut by sheets, the carpet was a rough dirty color, and from what Bonnie could see, a few prescription bottles lined the one piece of furniture in the room. She didn't question the mess, only following Marceline's side and watching from afar as Ash dug through the contents in a dresser drawer until finally, yanking up what looked to be photos. The shiny white outline kept hold of the actual picture in the middle, which threw Bonnie off at first glance. Vivian, sprawled out on the same bed that lay in the room, nude. Every aspect and crevice of her body was free to the will of the camera, and the astonished eyes of Bonnie. Marcy looked at it as if it was nothing. Bonnibel should be looking at it as such, being that she had seen and experienced a naked Vivian, but her mind wouldn't yet acknowledge it. Ash pulled up a few more and settled them into Marceline's palm. It seemed like he had read Bonnie's mind when he uttered and explanation. "I invited her over and we got drunk, had a drunk photo shoot, and then had sex." He smiled greedily at Marceline, her ushering her sight back down to the pictures. Pulling her mind from the gutter, Bonnibel waited for Marceline to pocket the photos before turning to the boy with a face of stern. "That'll be all, thank you." She composed herself, grabbing Marceline by the hand and finding their way out the room and soon the front door. The crisp air greeted their skin coldly as they quickly dashed out of view from the civilians crossing the streets and back into the woods. By the time they rushed down the slipperly slope of dried grass, they were back at the entrance of the woods and soon school. Marceline didn't speak much on the walk, putting her focus into the photos below her much rather than her path. "Marceline?" Bonnie breathed softly from her side. Sliding the photos back into the pocket of her skirt, Marcy turned to find her eye sight already set upon her. "Yeah?" "You knew Vivian from before school?" Marceline chimed at the thought. "Yeah, we would rumble every now and then. Pretty much everyone did. You could always catch her on the block or at any party event held in that relative area. She partied hard, did drugs, and slept around with anyone she could really."
Bonnie couldn't say she was surprised at the information. "That's why she got sent there right?" Marceline pushed her locks from her face, a let out a laugh. "Out of all the things she's done, no. Her mom only made her go cause its less money since she's the principal." Bonnie snickerd. It was almost hard to believe someone as lively as Vivian (in some manner) could be some devious and manipulative. Maybe if she wasn't, she could've been a cooler girl to hang with if it wasn't for the acts she committed. "Her and Ash." She paused, taking a slight shift in her words. "They used to-" "yeah." Marceline answered before she was even finished. Bonnibel instanly regretted dampening the mood with her curiousity. Damned mind. Marceline kept quiet after the question, only the crunch of the dried nature under her feet. Damn her thoughts, Damn her thoughts, Damn her thoughts. "You know." Marceline cut through her splur of curses to herself, drawing her attention to Marceline. Her eyes resmbled those
who've been hurt in previous times. "That wasn't the only time he did that.. With Vivian. They did it multiple times while we were together." Her voice hitched slightly in her throat, Bonnie facing her friend with much worry. "He made it seem like it wasn't a problem to do those things with her, like I was lucky to even have him in the first place, lucky that anyone in the world wanted me. He broke me. He lowered myself esteem so much to make me think it was ok for shit like that to happen and that I didn't mean shit to anyo-" "hey, hey, hey." Bonnie eased her friends rambling frenzy, stoping them both in their tracks and resting her hand on her shoulder. Marcy heaved in big gasps of air, on the brink of a panic attack. Holding her cheek in her hand, Bonnibel stroked her hair with
the other one calmly. "Cool your jets cool guy." She soothed. Slowly, second by second, Marceline unwound her heavy breaths into soft ones until her frenzy came to an end. Bonnie's hand running through her hair and the eyes that made her feel oh so safe eased her tensed muscles to a calm. Bonnie didn't hesitate to pull her into her embrace, holding her friend by the waist as she cooed words. "That was past tense Marcy, this is now. He was wrong about you not meaning anything cause you mean the world to me." She liked the sound of that. Marceline held Bonnie in silence. The sound and feel of Marceline breathing, the warmth shared between their hold, and the way her chest rose and fell turned her knees into jello. As much a Bonnie wished to freeze time for this moment, their time to get back to school grew shorter every second. "I would really love to stay here like this, I really would, but we got to get back to school." "Just a bit more." Bonnibel didn't question her friend, only holding her as requested.

The trip back was a complete success. To swimming over a freezing cold river, trudging through the wood and back, the plan had worked. As soon they creept in back from under the fence, the school was just starting to let up and escort students back into the building. What ever fire Lsp had started was one big enough to draw in a whole team from the small fire station and leave a chared black streak on the side of the building. Marcy had done a great job with picking her. And there they did it, slipped right back in with the clustered groups of students. Luckily, class was released due to the sudden fire scare, all girls being free to do as pleased until curfew. Of course, Marcy clung by the side of Bonnibel like a lost puppy, trailing by her side all the way to their room (a bit surprised to not run into Vivian). Pushing open the door and entering her side of the room and collapsing on the bed. Bonnie laughed lightly. "Tired?" She questioned, moving to seat herself on her own bed. Marcy chuckled and nodded. "And I smell like creek water, plus I still gotta get Lsp's things." Bonnie tilted her head. "I gues you get first shower." She muttered to herself. "And how do you suppose your going to do that?" Lsp had completely grazed her mind. "I'll probably just steal some money and makeup from Ms. Lopez's purse." Her cheeks flushed with giddy. Bonnibel grew a grin, rolling over on her bed. "Isn't she the one that has the cigarettes?" A low mhm was heard across the room. "You know what im thinking right?" Whispered Bonnibel, a chortle sprouting from Marceline's throat. "Well just look at you little ms. Rebel.
Good girl gone bad?" Bonnibel blushed with realization that part of what Marcy was saying was true. Oh well, to hell with it. Being bad was fun anyways. "Not even." She puffed. "I like when we smoke together. It's one of the times I get to be real and vent to you, just bitchin' about life and school." Marcy gushed at her words. She sat up from her bed and faced her. "You serious Banner?" Bonnibel only nodded. Swinging her legs over the bed and sitting properly, Marceline patted the spot next to her with a gesture, Bonnibel complying and taking refuge on the springy mattress. "We dont need cigarettes to chat. You can speak your mind anytime fool." Marceline beamed at her seated friend, Bonnie back. "I appreciate the offer but I'll save this one until then." Bonnie pulled back a yawn, trying her best to stay alert and awake. "You should get some sleep, banner." Advised Marceline, another yawn and head shake exiting Bonnie. "I cant, I got to start studying for the last school exam." It had rushed Marceline how quick the school year was coming to an end. Only 2 or 3 months left before summer was in their grasp. Just a bit far away. "How about this, you rest up for a bit and I'll wake you up no later than 15 minutes." Even though studying was her priority, sleep sounded just about excellent at the moment. "Fine." She stated, leaning her head on the shoulder of Marceline with a escaping yawn. "No later than 15 minutes." She nestled deeper into the crook of her neck, Marcy up awake like a guard dog. "Got it. Rest up Bonnie." She did just as told, falling asleep on her companion in less than a minute. Marcy only peeped from a distance, smiling softly.