The Hunt: The Final Chase (3) (Edited)

Chapter 39 (Two weeks later)

As the sun set over the Winchester Bay boardwalk, coloring the sea in vibrant oranges, reds, and yellows, Marceline stood on the edge of the boardwalk, leaning herself against the wooden barrier. Wearing a pair of high-waisted jean shorts, a baggy pastel blue sweatshirt that had an arctic moth on the front, and white socks with old yellow converse. As she looked at the waves crash onto the beach about four miles down the way, Alex walked over, holding a grocery sack in one hand, and two vanilla Cokes in the other. "Hey Marcy," she said, as she handed Marceline one of the Cokes. Marceline smiled and opened the cap, saying, "Got a new hair cut?" Alex nodded, running her fingers through her fresh haircut, "Yep, in honor of Samantha and K.C. I asked for the shorter haircut, then I asked for my hair to stay fluffy on the top, but to part it on the left, like K.C,'s." "You miss Bailey, Clancy, and C.J. yet?" Marceline asked, as she took a swig of vanilla Coke. Alex nodded, "Yeah, especially C.J. That kid was, well, an interesting one." Marceline laughed, "Yeah, I had to live with him for two months in Japan. And it was one helluva experience." Alex smiled, then saw Samuel running up to them with a grocery sack in his left hand and guiding his bike in the other. Alex lightly slapped Marceline's left shoulder and said, "Hey, look who it is." Marceline turned her head and smiled at the sight of Samuel, who she hadn't seen in two weeks because of the moving process. 

"Hey ladies," Samuel said, trying to catch his breath. Alex waved, "Hey Sammy, what's in the bag?" "It's some late birthday shit that we forgot to give to Marceline," Samuel said, as he opened the bag. Once he opened the bag, Samuel handed Marceline a birthday card and something wrapped in tissue paper that had a tag reading: "To: Marceline, From: Isaac (your favorite ginger kid :D). "Oh Samuel, you guys didn't have to get me anything," Marceline said, as she looked at the card and the thin gift wrapped in tissue paper. Samuel smiled and said, "Hey, just open the present." Marceline unwrapped the tissue paper and unraveled a CD, a Syd Matters CD. "Isaac's a sweetheart," Alex said, looking at the CD. "Tell him I said "thanks" okay, Samuel?" Marceline said, putting the CD in her back pocket. "The card's from Jeff," Samuel said, as he handed her the card. Marceline read the card and it was clearly a card that Jeff wrote himself, it read:
"To one of the most bad ass girls I know, and possibly the best Irish person I know. HAVE A HAPPY FIFTEENTH MARCELINE! 
P.S. Samuel got you something too ;D

Your favorite biracial dude, Jeffery."

"Jesus, he's hilarious," Marceline snickered, as she folded the card and put it in the grocery sack. "Thanks you guys, we should head back, Alex," Marceline said, as she grabbed her Coke. "Wait uh Marceline, I still haven't given you my present yet!" Samuel called out, as Marceline and Alex began to walk off. Marceline turned around and ran back to Samuel, asking, "What is it?" Samuel smiled and said, "It's not an object, but it is something I think you'll like." She was about to speak, but Samuel moved her side bangs away from her eyes, and kissed her on the lips. Marceline didn't know what to do, but she kissed him back with her eyes closed. Alex smiled and said, "Oh my god, I knew it!" After Samuel had kissed Marceline, he looked at the clock that hung above the arcade, and said, "Shit I need to go! Sean's cooking tonight and I don't need to miss it. Bye Marceline, bye Alex! I'll see you all tomorrow!" Marceline smiled, as her cheeks began to turn a sunrise pink. "Oh wait, I almost forgot to tell you!" Samuel called out as he ran to his bike that was parked outside the nearby bowling alley. "What?" Marceline asked. "I love you!" Samuel called, as he hopped on his bike and began to ride back to his neighborhood. Alex smiled as she put her right arm around Marceline's shoulders and said, "I knew he'd tell you soon." "Wait, you knew he liked me?" Marceline asked. "Marceline, honey, he doesn't just like you, he adores you. He loves you more than anything else out here. And that's hard to find at your age," Alex said as they headed back to the house that was near the boardwalk. Marceline smiled and said, "How long has he loved me for?" "Since the day he first laid eyes on you, he knew that you were different than any girl he'd ever met and seen before. And you proved him right," Alex cheered as she and Marceline walked up the off-white front porch steps.