•Marshall•

"Dude, what's with you?" Finn asks me as we sit at the table at my place, which is basically a normal house inside of a cave. It suits Marceline and I's need to stay out of the sun.

Finn and I are playing Battleship right now.

And I'm losing.

"What do you mean?" I ask as I squint at my Battleship board. "Um... how about... D7?"

Finn shakes his head. "Miss," he says. I put another red pointer where I had missed on my board. "Seriously, man, what's up? Ever since yesterday, when you and Fionna got the information about the Birthday Ball, you've been acting... not yourself... Do you really not wanna go that much?"

"Yes."

"Why?" Finn squints at his board. "A11...?"

I put a white pointer where he hit one of my battleships. The final spot. "You sunk my battleship," I remove my battleship and put it in the little container where all the "sunk" battleships go. "And why do you think? It's because of Gumbutt."

"It can't be just because of Gumball. Marshall, dude, you should be kicking my ass right now! What happened to the King of Battleship? You dominate me every time we play! You're acting strange. Seriously, what's up? You can tell me anything, we're bros for life," Finn says. "Uh... B11?"

"Hit," I put another red pointer on one of my little battleships. "There's nothing to tell, Finn. It's fine. I'm fine. Nothing happened. You know how much I don't like Gumbutt. That's why I don't wanna go to the stupid ball. Okay?"

The truth is I actually have no idea what's wrong with me. After Fionna questioned me about Gumbutt, I developed a strange feeling in my gut; the kind of feeling that makes me want to punch Gumbutt's lights out, and it's stronger than usual. And when I asked Fionna if she still had... feelings... for him and she said no, I immediately felt relieved, even though she's told me that several times before.

And even though I felt relieved, some part of me told me she was lying; that she still has mad feelings for him.

And, for some reason, I hate that--I hate the very thought of her even having a slight thing for him.

What's even more confusing is I don't have any idea why.

I repeat what I said. "It's because of the dumb ball, dude. I just really don't want to go. That's it."

Finn gives me a look that pretty much says he doesn't believe me.

I give him a look that pretty much says I don't care.

We have this intense stare-off for a couple of seconds before Finn's eyes suddenly widen. "It's a girl, isn't it?"

I clench and unclench my fists under the table. Something tells me he's right--it is about a girl.

But it can't be, can it? I'm currently not interested in anyone. Ever since my last relationship... and how badly it ended... I just sort of decided to take a break from dating for awhile.

So, how can it be a girl when I'm clearly not interested in anyone?

I mean, I am not interested in anyone... right?

I shake my head rapidly at Finn, maybe a little too rapidly. "No. Of course not. There's no girl. What makes you think there's a girl?" I say, trying to keep my voice from wavering.

But, why would my voice waver? I've got nothing to hide. There's no girl... right?

"You're lying, Marshall; I can tell."

Am I? Am I lying?

No! No, that makes no sense! Why would I lie to myself?

"I promise you, Finn, there's no girl," I say.

"I find that hard to believe since the look in your eyes is the exact same look I get when I'm thinking about Flame Princess and why I can't have her," Finn says.

"Wait... What exactly is stopping you from asking her out? I mean, she's single, dude, I say go for it," I say.

"It won't work out. For one, she's Flame Prince's sister; you know, the guy we all freaking hate? Fionna, probably the most. If I did ask Flame Princess out, I'm pretty sure Fionna wouldn't approve. She'd probably look at Flame Princess the exact same way she looks at Flame Prince--with nothing but hatred," Finn mumbles. Then he shakes his head and glares at me. "Hey! Wait a second, we're talking about you here! So don't try to change the subject, Marshall!"

I sigh. Well, it was worth a try.

"You can question how ever long you want, but there's nothing wrong with me! Why can't you just believe me, Finn?" I say.

"Because, I'm your friend and that's what friends do; we call you on it when you're full of crap!" Finn says. "And I can tell there's something off with you, Marshall; there's something you're not telling me."

What exactly am I not telling him? I feel like there's something more, but I can't figure out what.

"Who is she? Is she someone I know?" Finn asks.

I stay silent, in fear that if I say something Finn might get more suspicious of me than he already is.

Finn crosses his arms. "Oh. I see. We're being silent, are we? Wow, real mature, Marshall," he huffs.

I stay silent.

"Look, whatever is up with you, whatever you're hiding, I will find out," Finn says. "Eventually."

Hopefully "eventually" isn't any time soon because, whatever is going on with me, whatever I'm feeling, if I do ever find out what I'm feeling, then I'm pretty sure I don't want it revealed to the world.

Whatever it is.