"Finn?"

One

"Fionna? Hello?"

"Huh, what?" I snap out of my thoughts.

Marshall laughs,

"Dude, where is your train of thought?" he says playfully,

"I said, have you talked to gumwad recently?"

"Oh, uh, no, not since movie night..."

I'm putting away the dishes while Cake checks on some little marshmallow dudes we saved last week. Hopefully those fire wolves left them alone after we built the moat...

I smirk playfully,

"Why do you want to know what he's up to?"

Marshall instantly blushes, and rubs his neck awkwardly.

"Just wondering!"

I snicker as I put the plates in the cupboard.

Marshall's face changes, he suddenly seems more concerned, compassionate.

"Hey, are you okay, Fionna? Be totally honest with me."

I look at him, confused.

"What? What makes you think I'm not okay?"

He floats further down and puts his hand on my left (I think? Which one is which? I'll have to ask Cake again...) shoulder.

"Fionna, you've been distant. You're less happy, and you flinch everytime I say your name."

I blush, embarrassed from the realization.

"I-I am? I do?"

"Yes!"

"Oh, well... I... I guess there have been a lot of, uh, monsters recently. Kinda stressed, probably."

He seems skeptical,

"Probably?"

I sigh, and brush his arm off, going back to the dishes to put away our (mostly wooden) silverware.

"Look, I don't want to talk about it right now."

"Fionna, (he's right, I do flinch...) please, if something's wrong-"

I cut him off, getting frustrated by his persistence.

"Marshall, please, I'm fine."

"I'm serious, dude, if you need anything-"

I cut him off again, practically shoving the silverware into the drawer.

"I said I'm FINE, just leave me ALONE, Marshall!"

Only one more item to put away.

"Fionna-"

I throw it at him.

We're both in shock, staring at the knife in Marshall's upper arm. The seconds of silence between us felt like hours.

His face morphs, reminding me that he is, in fact, a vampire. It resembles a bat as he hisses at me angrily.

I'm in shock, and I cover my mouth with my hands.

"Marshall-"

He turns around. I can tell if he wasn't floating, he'd be storming off as he left.

"Forget it."

He opens the door and slams it, moving towards his house in the darkness, with the knife still stuck in him.

My eyes fill with water and I blink, pushing out some tears. I punch the wall, leaving a hole due to the thin wall of the tree.

I quickly wipe my cheeks, frowning.

"Stop it," I say to myself,

"Men don't cry."