I don't know why I'm here. Well, I do. I guess that wasn't exactly the most well thought out statement. There are a list of reasons, actually. I'm here because Fiona invited me. I'm here to have a good time. I'm here to enjoy pleasant music and tasty food. To take a break from my princely duties and my experiments. To unwind and chill with all my best friends. To make memories.

I guess a more accurate statement would be: I don't know why he's here.

I'll never understand why Fionna bothers with him. She's such a sweet girl, so it doesn't make sense that she'd hang out with such a neanderthal. I suppose it isn't my position to tell her who she can and can't associate with, but I'd hoped she'd have known better than to invite him to an event with so many people in attendance. He has no manners and clearly lacks intelligence and is devoid of decency of any kind. If it seems as though I'm rambling, it's because there's simply so many things wrong with him.

Unfortunately, my plan to totally avoid him was thwarted when I realized the party was entirely outdoors. I should have came to this conclusion myself; Fionna's house isn't big enough for everyone she and Cake invited. I suppose I could have offered her one of my ballrooms in the palace to host her party. Then perhaps she would have allowed me to help with invitations, and I would have made sure that nuisance was nowhere near the party. My faith in Fionna to not invite trash to her party kept me from making any of these decisions, but, like the time I thought I could safely experiment with zombie candy flesh, my hypothesis was incorrect.

I'd seated myself at a table as far away from the center of the party as possible with some of the other princes. Doctor Prince sat to my left talking to Slime Prince (who was apparently a patient of his), and to my right sat Lumpy Space Prince and Hot Dog Prince, engaged in a game of "Card Wars". I tried to be friendly and converse with them all, but truthfully, I wasn't in the talking mood. It greatly upset me that I allowed myself to be so put off by the presence of one person. But can you blame me?

It wasn't long before Ms. Cinnamon Bun tapped me on the shoulder and asked me to dance. Normally I wouldn't hesitate to say yes; as a prince, you have a duty to your people to be kind. But I hadn't crossed paths with that delinquent all night and I wasn't about to change that. I scanned the dance floor for any sign of him, thankfully coming up empty. I nodded in acceptance and followed her away from the table. Fionna had rigged up BMO to a set of speakers and cleared a large space in the center of all the tables as a dance floor. I spotted Fionna dancing with Cake and Flame Prince and made my way over to them.

"Hey Gumball! Haven't seen you all night. Sweet party right?" Fionna waved when she saw me. Ms. Cinnamon Bun wasted no time busting out her dance moves which surprisingly weren't bad. I began dance alongside her and turned to Fionna. "Indeed. Perhaps I should let you plan parties in the Kingdom." I joked. She laughed and, glancing at Ms. Cinnamon Bun for a moment, shouted something to BMO. BMO shot her a thumbs up and the music changed to a slow song. She gave me a smirk and started slow dancing with Flame Prince. Cake's expression fell when she realized Lord Monochromeacorn was not in attendance. She made her away from the dance floor, moving to drown her sorrows at the food table.

I took Ms. Cinnamon Bun by the hand and began to dance with her. It was clear she hadn't done much slow dancing in her life. As a prince it was one of my many skills, so I was able to assist her as much as possible. We kept pretty close to Fionna and Flame Prince, and whenever she caught my eye she would make kissy faces at me. I almost chuckled out loud when Flame Prince dipped her and she blushed fervently. I didn't bother with such maneuvers. I wanted to be friendly, but I didn't want to give Ms. Cinnamon Bun the wrong idea. I kept it casual and left enough space between us to be certain, but I was pretty sure she was aware I wasn't interested in her.

The song ended and she thanked me before running off to gossip with the other candy people. I was going to make my way back to the other princes when I felt someone elbow my arm. Fionna stood there raising one eyebrow at me. "Sooooo, you taste any Cinnamon Buns tonight?" She giggled and I rolled my eyes. I admired Fionna's playful spirit, but sometimes her jokes leaned a bit on the dirty side. I suppose a party is probably the right place for that kind of thing, but not for me. As royalty, I must always be elegant and poised. Of course, it doesn't mean I cannot enjoy myself.

"It seems as though you had a hot date yourself tonight. I seem to recall noticing the heat especially present in the redness of your cheeks!" I gave her a knowing look and she almost blushed again. Fionna may have been a girl, but she wasn't one for focusing on her feelings. I wasn't totally sure if they were dating or not, but it was only a matter of time. We both laughed and she handed me a drink. The liquid was a sparkling crimson and tasted absolutely delicious. She raised her glass to mine and we clinked them together. "To good times!" She toasted.

Those good times didn't last. I heard a commotion of people (mostly girls) excitedly chatting and making there way over to us. At the center of the large crowd was a truly despicable sight. There he was, in all his horrific glory, Marshall Lee. Dressed in his same old flannel and jeans with his untamed hair and smug expression. He floated over with his crowd of adoring fans close behind. I was mortified to find some of my own citizens in this crowd. Could they not see how completely vile he is? I crossed my arms and shifted my weight, not even trying to hide my contempt.

The vampire floated away from the crowd and over to Fionna. She seemed absolutely thrilled to see him. Poor innocent girl. "Hey Marshall! Glad you made it! How's it looking? Pretty rad huh?" She seemed eager to hear his opinion on her party. Apparently his was the only one that mattered, considering there were dozens of other people present who could have told her how much fun they were having. Marshall looked around pointedly, evaluating his surroundings. Despite Fionna's best efforts, I was certain he would find something to comment on. It probably wasn't wild or disgusting enough for his liking.

"Eh, I've seen better." He said with a smirk. Fionna playfully punched his arm and they both chuckled. His laugh was something I couldn't stand in the least. It sent a shiver down my spine. He floated around to her other side and stole her drink, chugging down what was left. Well, it was more like sucking than chugging. That was something else I couldn't stand. The image and sound of him sucking the red out of things made me almost nauseous. "Mmm, thanks for the drink babe." He tossed the cup haphazardly onto the ground and wiped his lips on his sleeve. He then lazily reclined into a nearby chair and clapped his hands together twice.

"Now Fionna, if you could be so kind, fetch me something to eat." Marshall spoke in a fake refined tone. If I didn't know any better I'd say he was mocking me. If that were the case, he was doing an awful job. I would never treat Fionna as some sort of servant. She laughed and bowed dramatically, giving him a "yes sir" before running off to one of the snack tables. I can't believe she was humoring him. He was perfectly capable of getting his own food; maybe even more so due to his floating ability. He was just being lazy and taking advantage of naive little Fionna. I hated to belittle her like that, but it was true.

Lost in my inner thoughts, I'd only just realized I was now alone with the supposed "Vampire King". He'd positioned his arms behind his head and closed his eyes, his steady breathing almost suggesting he was asleep. I wasn't sure if he'd noticed me earlier, but he didn't seem aware of my presence. I turned to slowly walk away, trying not to make a sound. With all the background noise I was certain I would go undetected. I had only taken about 3 steps when that awful deep voice cut through all the noise.

"Leaving so soon, your majesty? You haven't even said hello." I didn't need to turn around to know that smug look hadn't left his face. I didn't understand what his problem was. We both know that we don't get along, so why not just avoid conflict and ignore each other? I suppose it was silly of me to think that. He wouldn't dare to put in effort to accommodate someone else. His difficult attitude was one of the reasons I detested him in the first place. I contemplated not responding at all, but I figured there was no point. It's difficult to ignore someone who refused to keep their mouth shut.

"Hello. Goodbye." I used my most monotonous tone and didn't stop walking. He might have said something back, but I didn't care. Anything he had to say was irrelevant and would only serve to worsen my mood. I hurried back to the table of princes and tried not to let my sour state show. Luckily for me, the other princes were too caught up in their respective activities to notice. I was content to wait out the rest of the party here, and I doubted Fionna would come looking for me. She'd be far too busy with King Douche Bag to notice my absence.

Among all my feelings of hatred, I felt another emotion that I hadn't been expecting. It seemed logical that I wouldn't get along with Marshall, we were almost polar opposites. What wasn't logical was this feeling of sadness and hurt that I felt in my chest. The closest word I can think of to relate it to would be...rejection. But of course that wasn't the case. I had no desire for his approval. I may have been into guys, but he was the absolute last person I could ever see myself spending time with. He was appalling, repulsive, obnoxious, and above all, arrogant. And I was….

In denial.

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