and i love her ▸ tate langdon ✓

10. gutless

You can try to suck me dry
But there's nothing left to suck

-

Marceline was in the belly of the beast when her dad came home that night.

"Marceline Vera! Get your ass down here!" her dad calls out for her. Marceline sits on her bed, her heart beating in her ears as she walks downstairs. She sees her dad standing at the kitchen counter, a look of anger on her face.

"Suspended for a fight," he states plainly. He clearly had gotten Mr. West's phone call. She stares at him, her lips pressed together. "Care to explain yourself?"

"This guy and his friends were beating up Tate and--"

"Tate Langdon? Tate got you into this fight?" her dad cuts her off, only making her angry since he said she could explain herself but he cut her off.

"Yes. But he was getting beat up and I stopped Bobby from killing him. Or at least causing internal bleeding," Marceline manages to speak quickly. Her dad sighs, rubbing his forehead in irritation.

"I told you, Marcy. That boy is bad news," he says, looking at Marceline who's brows furrowed in confusion. Why was he pining this on Tate? "You need to listen to me. I say stay away, you stay away,"

"You can't control me forever, dad," Marceline replies, saying the word "dad" flatly. He sighs, shaking his head softly as he looks to the side. "You will stay here the entire two days you're suspended. No leaving and no phone," he says.

"God," she mumbles, rolling her eyes.

"And no more seeing Tate, Marceline," he warns, making her groan dramatically. "Now go to your room," he dismisses her.

Marceline knew she'd be home alone all day during her suspension. Her dad was a doctor and Gloria worked as a financial aide at some hot-shot company in the city. How would they know that Marceline wasn't sneaking out during the day?

Tate wasn't grounded because his mother simply didn't care. Constance didn't work, but Tate knew she wouldn't care if Tate did anything during his suspension.

On the first day of suspension, Marceline roamed her house as she listened to her music on the loudspeakers. 'Heart-Shaped Box' by Nirvana plays as she decides to bake some cookies. Maybe it'll lighten up her father.

Through the volume of the music, Marceline hears the front door open. Closing the fridge, she peaks her head around the corner and sees Tate walking into her house. With a smile, she leaves the kitchen and meets Tate, glad to see him.

"I figured I should see what you were up to. I feel bad about getting you suspended," he says, his hands tucked into his jeans pockets. Marceline shrugs. "It's not a big deal. I would've ended up hurting Bobby in some way sooner or later,"

He smiles, his head tilted down as her eyes stay on him. "I'm making cookies if you want to help," she says. He nods, following behind Marceline as she walks into the kitchen.

"I need an egg and a stick of butter," she instructs him. He follows her words and gets a stick of butter and an egg. He hands the ingredients to him, blushing as her hand brushes over his when she grabs it.

She cracks open the egg and watches as it falls into the powder in the bowl. Taking the softened stick of butter, she adds it into the mixture and stirs. Tate watches her, drumming his fingers to the beat of 'In Bloom' that was playing on the edge of the countertop.

A dough finally forms and Marceline tells Tate to get out a cooking sheet and parchment paper. He does, bringing the things back to her. He watches her with a small smile as she scoops the dough into perfectly symmetrical circles.