A Marshmallow's Guide to Loving a Complete Idiot (Inanimate Insanity)(Marshple)

44. Listen to Your Heart

Marsh would've expected everything to change after being proposed to. For better or for worse, she was wrong.

Apple acted no differently since her proposal was rejected. Her hugs weren't shorter or longer; the daily drawing sessions involved the same cliches of the past. Marsh braced herself to hear about it for the days afterwards.

But days turned into weeks. And weeks turned into months. She braced herself for a mention that never came.

Marsh was almost as exasperated as she was relieved.

Would Apple seriously propose without thinking about it and then forget? Or was she really just giving Marsh space?

XXX

Whatever the case, Marsh was taking that space.

Marsh sat at the side of her - no, their - bed, staring at the bulletin boards decorating the longest wall. Every single drawing Apple had made her since they'd arrived at the mansion was pinned up, their corners overlapping, their colors coming together. At that point they were six boards into their universal truce, the newest halfway covered.

How many years' worth of drawings was that?

What was the conversion factor for drawings to affection?

'What's the unit of measurement for affection, anyway? Is it the secret glances? I get a lot of those from her...'

There was a sigh behind her as Apple rolled over in her sleep.

Oh, it was far too cold of a season to stay up late staring at drawings. The radiator only did so much to combat how cold it got, after all. In a mere three days, they'd be sleeping within improbably-orange walls with cameras in their faces for the second II reunion. The drawings would be miles away.

'Being thrust into the spotlight would be awful, but for the possibility of more time here, could it be worth it?'

No response met her, of course. Drawings didn't talk, even if they said a lot about the artist.

"Am I even ready for all this? Is she?"

"Marsh?"

Marsh jumped at the voice and noticed Bow. "Oh! ...Hey, Bow." Marsh forced herself to smile. "How much did you hear just now?"

"Enough."

Marsh hugged her limbs close. "Oh."

"Yeah... Sounds like you have a lot of baggage. But it's okay, because there's no rush! And you can take all the time you need, right? If she rushes you, dump her."

"But there is a rush, isn't there?" Marsh mused. "Game show celebrities never stay relevant for long. Her plan won't work five years from now. It might not even work in two."

"Pfft. You two could make a big name for yourselves apart from the show to buy time," Bow suggested. "People love you guys. Do you have any idea how much buzz happens when I post photos of you two?"

"You post pictures?!"

"I mean, just enough to keep the power couple alive," she said more sheepishly, pulling out her phone. "Wanna see?"

She found it, then showed Marsh. There were about two dozen across the last three-and-a-half years, all of simple stuff. The most recent photos were from Christmas.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I needed something to spice up my profile! My selfies are amazing, but you can't have a blog with just selfies. That'd be tacky. Don't worry, I didn't take any that'd hurt your cute-innocent-girl image with the fans."