AUTHOR NOTE: The following takes place a few days after "Bon Bon The Birthday Clown" and follows the character analysis I outlined here: post/153821033398/is-star-in-love-with-marco (reading is not necessary, as this fanfiction is kind of a literary version of it) - after making the post, I got a request for a fan-fiction based on it, so after a month of working, I finally have a draft I'm happy with and feel comfortable sharing! It's not perfect, but it's finished (and hopefully fully grammatical).

"See ya tomorrow."

"Yeah, tomorrow," echoed Marco. He closed the door as Jackie mounted her skateboard and coasted off, then turned to look for Star who was already heading upstairs. "Hey, Star." She paused and faced Marco. "Thanks for taking me and Jackie through those dimensions."

She smiled. "No problem." Before she could continue upstairs, Marco spoke up again.

"Star, wait." Marco inhaled through his nose, preparing for his dialogue. "Look, these past few days, you've been acting different. I get that you lost your spellbook and Glossaryck, and that in a few days you're leaving back home for Mewni, and we've talked about it a little, but-" He sighed. "But ever since that night, you've seemed more distant, like you're not okay but you're trying to act like you are. Just earlier when we were hanging out with Jackie, you didn't seem like your normal, cheerful self, as much you seemed like you were faking it. Star, I care about you, and if something's wrong, I want to know, and I want to help."

Star's gaze wandered slowly away from Marco, trailing along the living room, her blue eyes thoughtful and full of pondering. She slumped her shoulders and rested her hands on the railing.

"If you don't tell me," he went on, "then I have to assume it's something I said or did, so if that's the case, I'm sorry Star, I really am." He came near the staircase, reaching out his arm and placing his hand on the railing. "But please, tell me; tell me what's wrong."

She took a small breath, looking ready to say something, but obviously decided against it, choosing instead to continue staring ponderously into the living room.

"If..." ha added, "if you don't want to talk about it, then that's... that's okay. I just want you to know that I'm here for you, no matter what."

For a few seconds, she stood, visibly contemplating his words. He waited patiently; if she didn't want to talk about it, he was willing to respect that. He didn't want to push her too far. Eventually, she turned to face him and spoke up.

"Marco, do you remember when we first met?"

He grinned. "I don't think I could forget. You created a giant killer moth, set the school on fire, summoned puppies with laser eyes-"

She smiled and laughed. "Yeah, yeah, okay. My point is, we didn't really get along at first, mostly my fault like you pointed out, but in the end you let me stay and we became friends; best friends. I've really enjoyed my time here, on Earth, and the best part has been meeting you and becoming friends. It hasn't been that long, but I've already forgotten what it's like without you."

Marco thought back on the time he'd spent with Star: fighting monsters, travelling through dimensions, re-exploring Earth. Through all of it, Star and him had grown close. He was used to living with foreign exchange students every year, but he'd never bonded with any of them as much as he had with her. It was going to be difficult adjusting to life without her.

"So, this is about leaving home for Mewni?" he asked. When Star's parents had learned about Glossaryck and the spellbook, they had demanded she come back home. It wasn't a shocking decision, so they'd figured it would happen, but they had agreed that truth was the best option for the situation; they were in over their heads. She had been given a week to get her stuff together and say her goodbyes.

Star thought about it for a moment, before continuing. "No, it's not that. It's-" She stopped and looked out the front window. Marco followed her gaze and noticed his parents pulling into the driveway. He looked back to her. "Do you want to go upstairs?" She nodded and led the way, Marco following close behind.

The two entered Star's room, once filled with aquariums, paintings, and other assorted oddities, now empty and deserted, its contents magically packed away. It produced a somber contrast to the upbeat and cheery atmosphere the room usually had. Marco all but closed the door behind him, leaving it slightly open.

For a few moments, the two of them stood silent, facing each other. Star appeared to be collecting her thoughts, and Marco waited patiently. He'd been worried about her the past few days and was glad she was finally opening up. Eventually, she continued, smiling.

"It wasn't long before I thought of you as my best friend. We've only known each other for less than a year, but you've always been there for me: supporting me, teaching me about Earth, keeping me safe. Our friendship means a lot to me; you mean a lot to me."

"You mean a lot to me too," he replied, then added skeptically, "Star, what's going on? What's this about?"

She spoke slowly but surely, choosing her words with care. "I've always known how much you mean to me, and how important the time we spend together is; we've always had each other's backs, and I've really appreciated that. You're my best friend: there's no one I know better or care about more. And that night, when Jackie came by to pick you up, I thought about that, and how I always want to be there for you, to be... with you. I'd never thought about it this way until that night, but I realized that I... I love you."

An uneasy silence fell over the room as Marco tried to understand. Everything she had said made sense up until those last three words. He couldn't see how their friendship or time together was connected to them, but somehow she did. She had a warm, modest smile on her face, and she seemed to be unaffected by his very apparent confusion. It wasn't long, however, before she continued.

"I don't mean I'm in love with you, whatever that even means, I just mean... well, what I said: I know you and care about you and the time we spend together is important to me; you're important to me. I've always known that, I'd just never considered what that meant. And now that I have I've realized that there's no one else I'd rather be with."

Marco took a moment to reflect on Star's words. He'd never thought about it that way she explained it, but it began to make sense. He knew he cared about her greatly. He and Star were close, and if was honest, he was deeply dreading her move back to Mewni because he didn't want to be away from her. Star was important to him; more important than he'd ever taken the time to consider. What she seemed to be suggesting wasn't that she wanted them to be closer, but that they were already so close. She believed that what they had was already more than it appeared to be.

Something in Marco's mind clicked as he realized just how much he loved Star. More than just a friend, Marco cherished her like a member of the family. As impersonal as that might sound, there weren't many, if any, people he loved as much as Star and his parents. Ferguson, Alfonzo, even his crush on Jackie, all seemed drastically insignificant compared to his relationship with Star. Suddenly, he understood what Star was saying, and he realized he felt the same way.

Filled with elation, Marco refocused on Star, who'd been smiling softly, and smiled himself, albeit much more enthusiastically. "Star, I..." He shook his head, unsure of how to word what his face had no problem conveying: that he loved her too, and in the same, close but friendly way.

Star, however, dropped her gaze and her smile. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" He asked incredulously; he was, not for the first time in the past few minutes, confused. "Star, what are you sorry about? It's fine, it's more than fine, it's amazing! And nothing's different, nothing's going to change, it'll just-"

"Marco, I'm leaving." Marco's stomach sank as he remembered. "I'm going back home to Mewni, and probably never coming back. So, I'm sorry I made you realize, or think, that..." She trailed off.

"We'll still see each other right?"

"Maybe, but not like this. I'll probably have lessons and responsibilities, and I did lose the royal spellbook and tutor, so I'll probably have some restrictions for a while. We might be able to see each other now and then, but not like before. Not enough for us to..." She shrugged. "We can still be friends, but not like we used to be."

Marco struggled internally, grasping faintly at straws. "You have your dimensional scissors, right?"

Star unzipped her handbag and took out her scissors. "I'm not supposed to have these. My parents still don't know about them, or at least my Mom doesn't." She held out her hand, offering them to him. "I want you to have them. I won't be using them anymore, but I'm sure you can."

Marco took them absently. He stood despondent for a while, staring down at the dimensional scissors in his hand as he wrestled mentally with the situation. After a few moments he looked back up at Star who was watching him silently, looking somber but fairly in control of her emotions.

It occurred to him that she had realized all the things she had just shared with him the other night. Realizing the true depth of their relationship, then having it shattered almost immediately; this must've been how she had felt that night, when he went out with Jackie, and he suddenly felt guilty for not thinking about how she felt earlier.

"Star, I... I'm sorry I didn't- that I..." He struggled with his words. "You should've told me sooner, I would've understood, I could've said something to Jackie, we could've-"

"I'm still leaving Marco, it wouldn't have mattered. But listen, when I go... I want you to stay with Jackie, like you are."

"Star, I couldn't-"

"No Marco, listen. I don't want you to spend the rest of your life alone because I had to leave, because I lost a few important items. It's going to be tough losing you, but it'll help if I know you can be happy."

"I don't know if I can be happy without you. Jackie's nice, but she's not you."

"Marco," she emphasized. "When we met, you chose to let me stay at your house, even though we didn't get along at first. We fought quite a bit along the way, but we always worked it out. We didn't have to get along, but we chose to put each other first. Our friendship was a choice. Now, as your friend, I'm asking you to choose that for Jackie. She's a wonderful person, and you two already get along so well. You could be great together, you just have to choose that."

It didn't seem right, building up a relationship with Star only to abandon it as soon as they realized what they'd made, but again, Marco caught himself thinking more about his own wants than Star's. As much as it hurt, he understood her request. "Okay," he croaked. "I'll... I'll do that; for you."

She smiled. "Thank you. But do it for Jackie."

They stared at each other for a moment, neither of them sure what to say next. Finally, Star held her arms open, silently asking for a hug. Marco complied, walking forward and wrapping his arms around her tightly. She returned the hug gently, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she repeated softly. "If I hadn't said anything, you'd be fine. Now it's my fault if you're not happy."

"Don't say that Star, it's not your fault. I would've realized eventually, like you did. I'm glad you told me now so we could talk about it."

They continued to hug wordlessly, seeking comfort in each other's embrace. Marco loosened his grip slightly, but neither let go for several silent moments, until Marco asked "So, what now?"

"Well, I don't know about from now on, but right now I'm probably gonna go to bed."

"Right, right." He let go of her and took a step away. "I probably will too."

They stared at each other for a few moments longer. Marco was amazed to find that despite tonight and the past few days, Star still had a warm smile on her face. It appeared she'd come to terms with the situation and prefered to see the good rather than the bad, which seemed exactly like her. Even though their current relationship was coming to an end, she was happy they had had it at all, and he decided he would always cherish it as well.

"Well, good night then," he said.

"Good night Marco."

Marco walked backwards towards the door, smiling softly back at Star. When he reached the door he opened it and slipped out, closing it behind him.

It was a few days later and Star's parents were set to come any minute to take her home. A plethora of people had come to send her off, including Jackie, Janna, Ferguson, Alfonzo, and various other friends she had made at school. The party was reasonably upbeat, as everyone recounted their time with Star and wished her well for when she left. Marco stayed near her for most of the time, following her around as she conversed with everyone who had showed up, giving out hugs and goodbyes.

Finally, a large portal opened up in front of the Diaz household, where the goaway party was being held. A carriage drawn by two large fantastical beasts came through, driven by a royal chauffeur.

Star turned to Marco. "Well, this is it. I'll see what my parents say about when we can meet up next, but until then..." She smiled and held out her arms.

Marco stepped forward and they wrapped their arms around each other. "Goodbye Star."

"Goodbye Marco."

They let go early, on account of the carriage and the crowd, dropping their arms down to hold each other's hand. Star began walking away, dropping his hand and turning slowly to the carriage. She got in, and it rode back through the portal, which then proceeded to close.

Marco continued to stare at where to portal had closed as the crowd began to dissipate. He shifted his eyes to Star's giant room, which they had unanimously decided to keep. It hadn't even been a minute, but he was already aching from Star's absence.

A hand met his, and for a second he could imagine it was Star's, but he knew it wasn't. He turned to see Jackie, now the only one who hadn't left. He wasn't sure how to feel about her, but Star's last wish was for them to be together, and he planned on honoring it. He didn't try to mask the sorrow in his face, and Jackie kept silent, allowing him some time to think.

Eventually, he spoke. "Jackie, I've enjoyed getting to know you over this past week, I really have. And if we want this, us, to work, we definitely need to know each other, to be friends; and for that, we need to be honest with each other." He paused. As confusing as it still was to him, there was nothing weird about his relationship with Star. It was simply a close and personal friendship that they'd both taken too long to realize the greater value of. Jackie was pretty chill, so he was sure she'd understand. "There's something I need to tell you."

She smiled supportively. "What is it?"