A/N: So this is an idea I sort of had in my head for a while, and after the whole plagiarism bit with my other story, I figured it would be best to start something new creatively.
Plot: It has one, as opposed to my first work that's essentially just dramatic tension.
Also, I will note that they are all grown up in this fic, and the time is in January of 2033. That year will become super important to this story, and if any of you can figure it out, I applaud you.
Enjoy.
Chapter 1: Snowy Skies and Sinatra Songs
"And now to Dawn Miller for the weather." "Well Sharon, we've got a real doozy of a storm kicking off this El Niño season. Well over 5 feet in the areas exiting Colorado for the next couple of days, and even more on the back roads. The traveling will certainly be rough out there. However, we do completely recommend that if you are on the road now, take shelter. You will be left stranded, so make sure that your phone is fully charged, you have some form of food and water in your car, and a blanket to keep warm if you get caught in the storm. Up next, Ben Stevens for your sports update."
Marco cut off the radio as he traversed down the already icing roads. Great, he thought. You just had to talk yourself out of getting chains for your tires, didn't you? This is going to be one hell of a drive.
He continued down the road as the sun started to go down. He looked at the clock. 6:17. The sun was already going down, but because he was out in the middle of nowhere on a backroad, there was no nearby lodging. I guess I'll just have to pray these headlights are good enough to last me another few hours.
An hour or so later, Marco felt himself getting sleepy, considering all he had done over the past couple of days, so he decided to turn the radio back on to see if anything was on that would keep him up. The first channel was nothing but static. Second one, static. Third one, fourth one, and the last FM channel in reach was… functioning! But it was classical music. "From swing to serenade, 96.9 has got you covered for all of your classical desires. Now for one of my personal favorites, 'I Get a Kick out of You' by ol' Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra." Marco thought to himself, Great. This is just what I need to keep me awake. I guess it's better than nothing.
'My story is much too sad to be told,' the song started off. "You said it, Franky," Marco said to no one in particular.
'But practically everything leaves me totally cold.' I wonder if he's talking about substance abuse or actual cold? Either way, it applies to a certain degree.
'The exception I know is the case / When I'm out on a quiet spree,' the song continued. Suddenly, Marco thought he saw a small flash of light from up in the distance, something headlights couldn't produce. It looked like a combination of, blue and pink? Maybe I do need to pull over and rest. Eyes are playing tricks on me.
'Fighting vainly the old ennui,' the song once again seeming to match up perfectly with the surrounding environment. "Does driving down a stupid road on a stupid night in a stupid storm in a stupid car from a stupid getaway count?"
'And I suddenly turn and see your fabulous face.' Suddenly, he saw a figure start walk across the road in front of the car about 100 feet ahead. Marco slammed on brakes as fast as he could to try and avoid colliding with the figure ahead, eventually sliding off to the side of the road just 10 feet away from what had caused such a scare. He narrowly avoided a crash, but the figure collapsed in the ever-rising pile of snow all the same. What the hell is that, a deer? 'No, you idiot, deer don't have blond hair, as far as you know.' Shut up, I know that- wait, blond hair?
As soon as he realized that the mysterious figure might have been human, he quickly got out of the car and ran over to it, collapsed on the ground, car still on and everything. Yep, definitely human, definitely breathing, and definitely cold. He turned the person over to face him upright.
And as if on cue, he heard emitting from the car, 'Yet I get a kick out of you.'
Earlier…
Star was feeling very nervous, after the way she had been called into the chamber. "Mom, what are you doing?"
Her dad started, "Sweetie-"
"River, let me handle this."
"My apologies, Moon."
Her mother continued."Honey, as you know, we've been waiting on you for a long time. However, it cannot continue to be like this. You are simply too old to continue to go unwed. An heir to the kingdom must be born soon, or the people will be very angry."
She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Mom, you have to give me some time to figure things out. You know how arranged marriages work out."
"Yes, but darling, I'm afraid we have no choice. It has been long enough. We have waited for you to court someone for ages, letting you try and find your own love. But dear-"
"MOM, JUST GIVE ME SOME TIME! I'm still trying to find the right guy. So few of them out there… I can't believe it sometimes how hard it is to find someone."
"Sweetie, we tried. We truly did."
Star was furious, but ready to cede for her kingdom's sake. "Fine, but at least tell me who I'm marrying."
Moon and River exchanged worried glances, shifted around some, and finally said, "…Tom."
"WHAT? YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! HE'S A TERRIBLE PERSON! THERE'S A REASON WE BROKE UP, AND IT'S BECAUSE HE'S LITERALLY THE DEVIL! HE MANIPULATED ME, AND I WON'T HAVE HIM BACK IN MY LIFE. THAT'S FINAL."
"Dear, we knew you would try and do something like this." River pulled a syringe out of his breast pocket with a glowing green ooze on it.
Star nervously said, "Dad, what are you doing with that?", even if she had a pretty good idea of what.
"I'm so sorry sweetie, but this is for your own good. Your own people's good."
Star was then held in place by the two guards in the room. "YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!" The needle started to go in, bringing about a feeling of nauseousness when she managed to wriggle free.
"Star, get back here! STAR!"
Star ran as fast as she could to her room. She didn't know where she was going, but it was going to be as far out of their reach as she could get it. 'An exoplanet in the Andromeda system,' she thought to herself. 'They can give me protection.' She had just grabbed her dimensional scissors when she started to get really drowsy. 'Oh, shit, that wasn't a love serum, it was a sleep serum! Shit, shit, shit…' She could barely hold herself up when she cut a hole through the fabric of space itself, no longer able to control where she cut. 'This isn't Andromeda…' she thought to herself with her ever deteriorating state. All of a sudden, she heard the sound of boots running to her room. 'Guess this will have to do… wherever this is.' She made her way through the portal, in a daze, closing it behind her, leaving behind any trace of herself on her home world.
She stumbled through what felt like a snowy forest, the urge to rest getting stronger every second. She started to feel flat, paved ground. 'Civilization! Great, now I just have to find wherever the natives on this planet live.' Star had gotten to the point where she couldn't continue, so she started to close her eyes, still standing up and walking forward. The last thing she remembered was an approaching bright light, and then darkness.
Now…
Marco was scrambling to find something from his car to wrap her in and warm her up. 'Jesus Christ, what is a girl like this doing all the way out here? And also, why is she dressed up like 18th century royalty? Sort of reminds me of that queen from the French Revolution, Marie-Antoinette, except for the whole revolution and wouldn't-conceive-a-child bit.' [A/N: ;) ]
For Marco, there was no getting around the fact that she was indeed very beautiful. He couldn't help but start to imagine. Blond hair that gave off a certain glow like the sun, captivating blue eyes that could pierce the very soul of any man who dared to look into them, fair skin that made her look just that much more youthful and vibrant, and two heart-shaped birthmarks that were so out there, yet so right, as if she would somehow be incomplete without them. Am I attracted to this girl? Well, you'd be a fool not to, but yeah. Wait a sec, focus Marco! This girl is clearly freezing cold, and is unconscious. He then looked down at himself.
Marco's most prized possession, his red hoodie. He never left anywhere without wearing it. Would I give up my jacket for this girl? You don't ever give this someone else. Why would you give up your most prized possession to a complete stranger? Damn it Marco, you can't do this. This could be a matter of life and death for this girl. Hypothermia and frostbite are very real problems, and if you don't do something, she could die. He took off his beloved red hoodie and put it on the strange girl, leaving him in nothing but his gray undershirt.
'Sooooo… what do I do now? Guys, a little help?'
"You can't just leave her here, she'll freeze, and she'll be very confused."
"But she's a stranger! There's a reason you shut out your family and friends, because they hurt you. No reason to even talk to her, especially since she's not conscious. She was out here by herself in the forest, so she can't be that helpless. Plus, if any police find you, they might think it's a date-rape sort of thing going on here."
'You can't be serious right now, can you?'
"Hey, this is your imagination. Your conscience. We're just here to give your own rational thought two figureheads. Adios amigo."
'You guys never help me out anyway.' Marco picked her off the ground bridal style and put her into his car. Boy, this is going to take some explaining when she comes to.
A few minutes later, Star was beginning to stir. She sat up slowly, eyes still shut, completely unaware of herself or her surroundings. She yawned. "Man, where the hell am I?" She opened her eyes to see her sitting next to a strange, yet handsome man. His attention was clearly somewhere else, but he immediately focused in on her once he realized that she was up.
"Oh God, you're awake. Finally!"
Star was a bit puzzled. "Umm, I have a few questions. First, why do you say 'finally?' Second, where am I? Third, who are you?"
Marco was prepared to answer all of these. "Ok, let's see, you stumbled out onto the street where I almost hit you-"
"YOU ALMOST HIT ME? Wait, why would you punch me in the first place?"
This posed way many more questions for Marco than answers. "Wait, you think I meant- oh. You're not from around here, are you?"
"Is it that obvious?"
"I mean, sort of, but I have no idea where you would come from that still dresses like that. Anyway, to answer your other questions, I said finally because you've been unconscious for a few hours, as far as where you are, you're in Colorado right now, and my name is Marco Diaz."
"Nice to meet you, Marco, but what's a Colorado?"
"O-k, then, you either have some form of amnesia, or you really aren't from around here."
"Yeah, I'll tell you about that later, because in my current state, you really shouldn't believe a word I say, but again, why would you hit me?"
Marco, once again taken by surprise by her clear lack of knowledge of the world around her, struggled to answer. "O-of course, I would never hit you, not intentionally at least, but I was talking about hitting you with my car. You kind of wandered out onto the road, so you should have really been more careful."
This girl, who's name he had yet to learn, sat staring at him with a blank face. "You know, a car? The very thing you're sitting in right now?"
This brought Star on full alert, as she realized she had taken no account her surroundings, being completely distracted by this mystery man, 'Marco.' She was in some sort of a room, like a carriage, but with weird seats and a wheel attached to the wall, with some other gauges of some sort. It was really cold, as her hands involuntarily shaking clearly told, but for some reason, even with only the paper-thin dress, she wasn't cold on her body. Weird, these dresses don't protect from the cold really well… and then she realized what was on top of it. A thick red garment, that looked quite strange, but felt quite, nice. It was really soft, and it had a pleasant smell to it as well, like she could wrap it around a pillow and fall asleep on it.
"Yeah… still not really getting you there."
Marco was stunned at how she had no idea what a car was, yet still look like she was from the developed world, minus the attire. She was very well groomed and taken care of, she smelled like lavender and roses, and her mannerisms were quite well. Granted, he didn't know what kind of mannerisms one should have when stuck out in a blizzard, but it still looked like she was very proper. Which would make sense, considering the overly formal dress that he couldn't help but stare at. But he decided to talk about it later, when they weren't on the road.
Wait a second, what am I supposed to do with her now? I can't just tell her to take a hike, the storm's just starting to pick up, and we still haven't gotten a move on! He said, "You know what, it doesn't matter. What matters now is how we get out of this situation right here. The situation being that we are in the middle of a blizzard, of course."
Star took note of the extreme cold, and then started to worry about her new companion. He was wearing a very thin shirt with pants that didn't look like they could protect him from the elements. "Marco, are you cold? Do you want to keep this weird thing I woke up wearing? It's really nice, and you look super cold right now."
"No thanks, I'm good…um…uh… wait a second. You never told me your name."
She felt a little embarrassed that she had been using his name since she woke up, yet here he was, apparently taking care of her in the blistering cold, without even giving him a name.
"It's Star. Star Butterfly."
Star. Of course! It fit her so well. She shone like only the brightest stars in the sky. This had to have been a dream. It all seemed so real… but he was opening up to someone. He didn't do that. Ever. Not since graduation anyway. But here he was. And he was opening up to a beautiful girl, no less. If it weren't for the long hair and higher pitched voice, she almost reminded me of… NO. PUSH HER OUT OF YOUR HEAD. SHE. IS. GONE. DON'T THINK ABOUT IT.
"Star. What a beautiful name." Marco covered his mouth the instant he said it, both him and Star blushing.
"Thank you, Marco. And you're sure you don't want the weird thing I'm wearing? I mean, I'm not complaining, it's super soft, and it smells really nice, but-"
"Don't worry about it. You need it more than I do. I'm just surprised neither of us has hypothermia yet." Marco looked at the clock inside the car. 9:20.
"Star, it's really getting late, and there's no way we're going to be able to drive in this sort of weather." She again stared at Marco with a blank expression. "This thing we're in can go places pretty fast on the road, but not with it snowing." Star was clearly still confused, but satisfied enough with the answer.
"Ok, what I'm trying to say is, even though I just met you…" Marco still couldn't believe he was doing this for a total stranger. "… I can't let you stay out here by yourself. You can sleep in here with me tonight. Don't worry, I will leave you the backseats so that you can fully lie down. I'll sleep in the upright seats." She didn't budge.
"Marco, if it's all right with you, I'd rather sleep up here with you. You've been so kind to me, despite not knowing me at all, and you kept me warm out here in the snow. Plus, I don't like being alone." Marco was about to protest, and Star saw that he was uncomfortable, so she did what only felt natural to her: She grabbed Marco's hand.
A million memories flooded back at once. High school. College. His parents. His friends. Jackie. All the things he tried for an entire decade to forget. But somehow, Star made everything better for him. All the pain. All of the heartache. Melting at the very touch of their hands. Yet Marco truly believed that Star felt nothing of it.
All of the things she loved and hated about Tom. About being royalty. About having a duty to an entire kingdom. About her parents. About the very concept of love. Somehow it all manifested in this total stranger's hand. She didn't know why, but she just couldn't bring herself to break the connection. She was waiting for Marco to break it off. But he never did.
Nearly 10 minutes passed when they both let go at the same time, wildly blushing, looking away from each other, embarrassed about the moment they had just shared, but each secretly knowing that they had helped one another out in ways they couldn't quite comprehend. "Well… I guess we should be getting rested now, Star. We've got a long morning ahead of us if we want to find real shelter from this storm, and knowing Colorado storms, this could go on for weeks. We would be best to take whatever we can carry, nothing more, and abandon it. But for now, we rest."
Marco started to close his eyes, when he thought of something. "Hey Star, would you like to listen to some music?"
Star nodded her head. "Sure thing Marco."
Marco twisted the dial of the radio, and when he found the station he was listening to earlier, just introducing the next song. "Well folks, you do know how much we love our Sinatra, so here's the Chairman of the Board, singing his hit song, Strangers in The Night, right here on 96.9."
As the two newly acquainted souls reclined their seats as far downward as they could go, even as their eyes were closed, they were both intently listening to Sinatra's lyrical genius, that was all too fitting for the situation. Marco smiled and thought of the times in the past where he was happy, and for Star, given this was her first experience with Earth music, couldn't help but smile at his words.
Strangers in the night, exchanging glances
Wond'ring in the night, what were the chances
We'd be sharing love, before the night was through
Something in your eyes was so inviting
Something in you smile was so exciting
Something in my heart, told me I must have you
Strangers in the night
Two lonely people, we were strangers in the night
Up to the moment when we said our first hello, little did we know
Love was just a glance away, a warm embracing dance away
and,
Ever since that night, we've been together
Lovers at first sight, in love forever
It turned out so right, for strangers in the night.
A/N: Read and review for my first story-driven story, rather than fueled by dramatic tension. But for those of you that actually like that, it should be updated soon. Cheers, and until next time!
