•Marshall•

"How about this one?"

"Mm... nah."

"Okay," It goes back on the rack, and off comes another. "This one?"

I stare at it a second before I shake my head.

Finn groans and rolls his eyes before he reluctantly puts it back as well. "Honestly, Marshall, why won't you just pick one? It's really NOT that hard," he grumbles. We've only been at the mall for thirty minutes, and he's already getting irritated.

"You don't understand, Finn. It has to be perfect," Jake says, his tone exaggerated. "You know, because Marshall's such a diva."

I roll my eyes and resist the urge to smack him upside the head. "I am not a diva, I just want to be comfortable when I'm at the stupid New Years Eve Gala. Is that too much to ask? Well, apparently it is, seeing as all the clothes Finn's picked out for me look about as comfortable as wearing sandpaper," I retort. The New Years Eve Gala (which is now tomorrow) is already going to be hell, seeing as Ashley is going to be my date, so I don't want to make it an even more hellish experience by wearing something incredibly uncomfortable.

When it comes to clothes, I am not a picky guy; as long as it's comfortable, I'll wear it.

"Don't forget, Marshall; you want to look your best, of course," Gumbutt says. "The New Years Eve Gala is the biggest party of the year." Smugness and pride are evident in his tone. He obviously enjoys the fact that he and Bubblegum's New Years Eve party is the most popular of them all.

Which is why we are all at the mall, each looking for the perfect tuxedo to wear to the event. Finn, Jake, and Gumbutt have all already found theirs, so I am the last one on the list.

I still haven't found anything I like.

So, we continue looking.

"Glob, Marshall! The New Years Eve Gala is tomorrow. At this rate, the girls are going to have bought their dresses before we've bought our tuxes, and we all know how slow the girls are!" Finn complains as we look. I roll my eyes again.

"Wait!" I say just as I come across one that looks comfortable. Luckily, it is my size. I take it off the rack and hold it up. "How about this one?"

Finn doesn't even look at it. "Perfect!" he says with an exaggerated sigh. Then he grabs it from me and starts towards the counter. "Now, let's pay for it and get the hell out of here, already!"

"But, don't I have to try it on first?" I ask in an obvious tone of voice.

"I bet it fits you just fine! We're good!" Finn says before he starts at the counter again.

"But you guys tried on yours," I point out.

Finn stops again and looks even more irritated. "I said we're good," he hisses, teeth gritted.

I hold my hands up in defense. "Alright, alright...! Jeez!" I say, backing down. Finn lets out a satisfied huff before he yet again starts towards the counter. We all follow him.

Then we all stand in line, waiting for our turn to pay.

"I'm so glad I found the right tuxedo," Gumbutt says as we wait. "I have to look my absolute best tomorrow night. It'll be a very special night."

I cock my head to the side. "And why's that? I mean, I get it's the New Years Eve Gala, but you've had it before. So, what's so special about tomorrow night? You never talked about it like this before," I question him.

A smile suddenly makes its way on to Gumbutt's face. "You're right. I'm just really excited about it this year because of my date," he admits.

His date?

Who's his date?

"Who's your date?" I voice my thought.

Gumbutt's smile grows. "Fionna," he says.

Everything stops. I freeze.

Then, I speak.

"You're taking Fionna...? She's your date...?" I ask calmly, quietly, in fear that I might just explode. I try my best to keep my cool.

Gumbutt nods, and right then I want to smack that smile off his face. "Yes."

Keep calm. You're in a public place. You cannot explode in a store at the mall. Not around all these people.

I clench my fists.

Why would Fionna be Gumbutt's date to the News Years Eve Gala when she specifically told me several times that she's NOT interested in him anymore?

Maybe she's in love with him again. Maybe they're both trying again, trying to go out and date again.

Or maybe she never stopped loving him at all; maybe she lied.

The thought makes me cringe.

I knew she was never really over him! I knew it!

Finn must see my reaction. "They're just going as friends, though," he says suddenly.

I eye him. "You knew?" And you didn't tell me?

"Yeah," Finn replies, seemingly unnerved. "Does it matter to you?"

He's baiting me.

I press my lips together and tell the biggest lie in the entire universe.

"No."

Finn just smiles at me, his eyes saying Uh huh, SURE.

Now I want to slap him too.

Right then, we are suddenly at the front of the line and it is our turn to pay. Just like that the conversation is over.

So, without another word from anyone, we all pay.

After we pay for our tuxedos, we immediately leave the mall, all looking forward to getting home so we won't have to spend any more time shopping.

Especially me, since now I've never wanted to be farther away from Gumbutt.

He's taking Fionna to the New Years Eve Gala.

I'm not.

Over the years, Gumbutt's had many things I didn't, and I didn't care. Not once. Any new thing he suddenly got that I never had, I never cared. He never once had something I wanted, and I was never jealous of him for having something I wanted for myself.

Until now.

•Fionna•

"Oooh...! How about this one?"

Cake squeals excitedly as she grabs a light green silk bow off a shelf and holds it for all of us to see.

"That'd look great on you!" Bubblegum says. Next to her, Flame Princess nods.

Cake blushes. "Awww... Stop...!" she gushes, clearly implying for them to keep going.

"Seriously," Flame Princess keeps going. "You'd look totally hot in that."

Cake grins, looking smug. "Of course I would!" she chirps, and they all giggle.

I just roll my eyes. "How much longer do we have to be here?" I groan. If there is one thing I hate most in the world, it is shopping.

Which is what we are doing right now, at the mall.

Looking for dresses.

It's my worst nightmare.

Now Cake rolls her eyes. "Yes, Fionna, we all know your standpoint on shopping. But, too bad so sad! We all need dresses for the New Years Eve Gala, which, by the way, is tomorrow."

I groan again. "I know, I know..." I mumble.

"Well, on the bright side for you, Flame Princess, Marceline, and I already have our dresses," Bubblegum points out, and the three of them nod.

"Put my name on the list, because I'm buying this bow!" Cake says cheerfully, holding her bow close.

"Okay, so has Cake," Bubblegum adds.

"Which means you're the last and only one who needs a dress," Marceline tells me.

"Okay, so let's get it done and over with!" I say before I begin skimming through racks of random dresses.

"Fionna! You can't just skim through them, you have to find the perfect dress for you!" Cake insists as she watches me skim.

I ignore her and just keep randomly skimming.

Cake huffs. "Fine. I'll find one for you." Then I hear her shuffling through another rack.

I roll my eyes and suppress a groan. "Ugh, Cake, please. You'll probably just pick something super girly and--"

"How about this one?"

I turn to see Cake holding up a long blue dress with white ruffles on the front.

No sparkles.

It isn't a girly color.

It isn't flouncy or big.

It looks comfortable.

Hm.

Cake holds it out in front of herself, a sly smile on her face. "It's in your size~!" she sings as she waves it slowly in my face.

I sigh and roll my eyes once more before I reluctantly reach out and take the dress from her. Then I head inside the fitting room to try it on.

I go inside one of the stalls and close the curtain before I begin removing my clothes.

As I put the dress on, I hear the girls giggling immaturely and talking in hushed tones.

"Sh-Shut it!" I snap weakly. That just causes them to giggle even more.

Once the dress is completely on, I open the curtain and step out of the fitting room.

"Okay, okay," I mumble as I stand in front of them. "Quit the giggle fest, already. How does this look? And be honest."

They stop laughing before they all slowly look at me.

Their eyes all widen.

"Oh my God..." Bubblegum and Flame Princess say in unison.

"Wow, Fionna..." Marceline mumbles.

Cake looks like she is near tears. She clasps her paws over her mouth. "Babycakes... you look gorgeous...!" she gasps.

"Absolutely stunning!" Flame Princess says.

"Totally..." Bubblegum trails off, seeming just as in awe as the rest of them.

"A ten," Marceline muses. "My brother just might have a nosebleed."

I feel my cheeks heating up madly. "I told you guys to be honest..." I mumble, trying my hardest not to smile.

"We are!" Cake says, and I can tell she is being honest. The rest of them nod in agreement.

I blush harder. "You guys don't think I look weird...?" I ask.

They all immediately shake their heads. "No!" they say together.

"No way!" Bubblegum presses.

"Of course not!" Flame Princess insists.

"This dress will be perfect for the plan..." Marceline mumbles.

We all look at her.

"The plan?" Bubblegum repeats.

"What plan...?" Flame Princess asks.

"Yeah...?" I ask.

Marceline's eyes widen before she immediately looks down at the floor, avoiding our eyes.

"Plan? What plan? There's no plan! I never said anything about a plan...! What are you guys talking about?" Marceline stammers quickly, seeming nervous.

Cake puts her paws on her hips. "But you just said--"

Marceline looks at her watch. "Wow! Would you look at the time! It's getting awfully late!" she starts towards the counter. "We better hurry up and pay before the store closes! Hurry, Fionna, change out of that dress so we can all pay and get out of here!"

I do as she says, changing out of the dress and handing it back to Cake before we all follow her to the counter to pay.

As we all pay for our dresses, though, I can't stop thinking about what Marceline had said.

"This dress will be PERFECT for the plan..."

What had she meant by that? It is obvious she had let it slip by accident, like she had something to hide. If so, what is it? What does she feel she needs to hide from us by suddenly changing the subject and rushing up to the counter like her butt was on fire?

What "plan" was she talking about?

Unbeknownst to me now, I would find out soon.