*Author's Note* Hello all! This is my first ongoing, chapter based story for any fandom. It's Starco through and through, though it will take a little bit to get there. Got ideas for this story? Send me an ask on my tumblr, spicedscribbles. I hope you all enjoy!
It was a normal night in the Diaz household. Lights flickered on and off in each room, the residents restlessly deciding whether or not to sleep. Eventually, the lamp in the adults' room went off, and the last gleam of light emanated from Star Butterfly's tower, the oval shaped window dancing with illumination. Books were scattered all around the room; leather-bound books that smelled of must and knowledge, strewn about the room as if they were disposable, their uses not what Star desired.
"There's got to be one around here somewhere!" she said, and jumped onto the bed, grabbing the first book she saw. The spine of it creaked, and dust flew up as she opened it with vigor.
"Aha! Oh, Marcoooo!" she called out to him.
Her eyes glided over to where her friend lay, his head completely obscured by the pile of stuffed animals he had buried his head into.
"Marco, I found the solution!"
Marco grunted something incoherently, and waved his arm about aimlessly.
Star, disgruntled, closed the book with a sharp slap of the pages.
"Marco, get up. I found a non magical solution!"
"I said no magic at all," Marco mumbled, his voice a mere whisper due to the weight from the stuffed unicorns all around him.
"I said it was non magical, Marco," Star said, exasperation tinging her voice. "You really should listen more."
"Yeah yeah," Marco said dismissively.
"Marco! I'm the one trying to help you out. Get your lazy butt up and sit it down over here."
With a sigh, the exhausted boy stood up and trudged over to her bed. He held his hand out for the book.
"Welllll Marco," she began, before noticing the sleepy and mildly annoyed demeanor painted on his face. "Uh uh. Smile."
Marco groaned.
"You want Jackie to like you?" Star said, dangling the book away from him.
Marco perked up slightly, and nodded.
"Then get your head in the game!" she blurted, a little too loudly for the hour.
Marco was awake now, and he nodded vigorously.
They moved closer to each other, Marco now examining all of the books sprawled out across Star's mattress.
I didn't even know she had this many, Marco thought, curiosity now entering his mind. She only ever reads the one."So, Star," he said, excitement begin to overtake him. "What's your non magical and 100% safe solution for my Jackie problem?"
"Before we do this, could I suggest just talking to her a lot more?" Star said, raising an eyebrow.
Marco groaned. "That's impossible!"
She sighed, and showed him her solution.
"Okay, so it's a little magical, alright?" she said, and slapped her hand over his mouth before he could protest. "No. Hear me out Marco. It's just a potion."
"Whaigufafaoption?" Marco blabbered.
She removed her hand from his mouth.
"What kinda potion?" he reiterated.
"It's a super tame love potion. Not the kind where she goes crazy in love with you, but it's enough that she tries to talk to you way more, and your strengths are exaggerated in her mind!" Star said, grinning widely.
"I dunno Star, that feels kind of… wrong," Marco said, worry in his voice.
"I mean, it is, but it's fine Marco! It won't make her do anything that she doesn't want to do," Star reassured him. "You still have to be yourself and impress her; it just makes her try harder to get to know you."
"Really?" Marco said. "So basically, all it does is make her come at me intensely… and I'm still a nervous wreck around her?"
"Exactly!"
He stared at her in disbelief.
"I don't know, Star, that doesn't sound worth it."
She rolled her eyes. "You're the one who didn't want anything magical, and still asked me for help. This is as tame as it gets, pal."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Then… can we make it a little bit stronger?" Marco said, hesitation now edging its way into his voice.
"Yes! Magic!" Star cheered.
She saw his nervous face.
"Pff, yeah, super easy. It'll be tame still. So tame. So good."
Marco's nervous face remained, and the two sat in contemplation for several minutes.
"I don't think we should do this," he finally said, albeit quietly.
Star opened her mouth to protest, but saw his face. He didn't want to make her like him like this. She softened.
"Okay, Marco," she chirped. "Whatever you want to do."
The silence hung in the air once more, the lateness of the hour suddenly wrapping them up into a daze of overwhelming sleepiness.
"I have to talk to her, don't I?" Marco grimaced. "Seeing as I don't want to go all magical on her."
"Yep! You'll do just fine Marco," Star trilled, a temporary burst of energy filling her. "You just gotta talk to her. Really talk to her."
She rolled over, now facing Marco upside down. She grabbed his cheeks and squished them. "You just gotta be you boo."
Marco sighed. "That's the hard part though."
Star rolled her eyes, and flipped back up into a sitting position. She was a ball of energy. "Look Marco, she's just a girl. You can talk to girls."
He threw his hands up, exasperated. "No, I can't! You're giving me too much credit."
She squished his cheeks again. He protested slightly, and she ignored him.
"You talk to me every single day! I'm a girl, you know!" she stated, mildly irked. "I mean, technically I'm a princess, so you should really be bowing."
"I'm not bowing."
"You should though."
He laughed. She loved that sound.
"Look Star, it's different with you," he explained. "You're just… you're Star."
She laughed quietly, almost entirely out of disbelief. "I'm- I'm still a girl though, Marco."
He shrugged. "I know, it's just different with you."
Her mouth hung open ever so slightly for a few seconds, closing it only when she noticed he wasn't looking at all.
"Marco, let's try something,. It'll help, I promise," she said after a while.
Marco shrugged, and turned to her.
"Pretend I'm Jackie! You'll be you, of course," she decided.
Marco raised an eyebrow. "How will this help exactly?"
"It'll help you rehearse for your next big conversation with Jackie!"
Marco let out a deep breath. "Okay. Let's try it."
Star hopped up and walked over to the middle of her room. Marco did the same.
"Hey, Marco!" she said happily.
"Hi Star," he said before noticing her face. "Sorry. Hi, Jackie."
"Hi Marco!" she reiterated.
"Hi Jackie," he tried again.
Star's face slackened. "Marco, you gotta try harder than this."
"I know, I know. I just don't know how to talk to her. I don't have an objective." His eyes widened as he said the last part.
"I'm sorry Marco, I'm trying to-"
"Star!" he exclaimed excitedly.
"Marco!" she returned with the same level of excitement.
"That's it! That's the problem!" he proclaimed with a wide grin,. "I need an objective! If I know exactly what I want before I go into a conversation with her, it could be easier! I mean, I'd still be terrified, but I would know what I want to say eventually. It would be easier to navigate the conversation!"
"Okay!" Star said, mildly lost. "What's your objective?"
Marco opened his mouth to talk and stayed like that.
"Uh, Marco?" she questioned.
"I have no idea what my objective could be," Marco said, his face dejectedly returning to how it was before.
"There's gotta be something, Marco," Star reassured him, putting her hand on his shoulder. "There's gotta be something, right? You could just ask her on a date."
Marco grimaced, and shook his head in protest. "No, I need to have an excuse to hang out with her."
Star stared at him.
"What?"
"Marco, just ask her out," she said. "Last time I'm saying that tonight."
He shook his head. "It's really complicated Star. I have to find an objective; I can't just normally ask her out, that would be too direct. She would think I'm weird!"
She rolled her eyes. "Well, maybe there's something school-related you can use as an excuse to hang out with her."
"Good idea, Star," he said decidedly. "We can check tomorrow."
Silence returned to the room, and their energy depleted almost instantly. Their words still hung in the air, a content decisiveness in the decision to look for an objective tomorrow.
"I'm going to go to bed," they said simultaneously, a somewhat common occurrence. They both grinned meekly, wishing each other a good night. Marco stood up to leave.
"Hey Marco?" she said as she began picking up the books.
"Yeah, Star?" he replied, turning around to face her. She looked up from her work to do the same.
"Jackie would have to be an idiot to reject you. You don't need potions or magic or anything," she declared, a small grin now occupying her face.
Marco's tired face found its way into a warm smile. "Thank you Star. For tonight. Sorry for wasting your time."
She waved her hand. "It wasn't wasting my time, we made some progress. It was still fun talking to ya!" she said cheerily.
He grinned. "Night!"
She wished him the same, and she flicked out her light.
*Author's Note* I hope you all enjoyed it! Follow me on tumblr, (spicedscribbles), or just leave a review! New chapter should be soon. Thank you!