Hello readers. To any of you who have read my stuff in the past, I know it has been a long time. I guess some things never change. I get so many ideas but I never find the opportunity to do them justice and make the scene I envision a reality. I'm grateful to any of you who look forward to reading what I write, and I'll try to keep that in mind and keep seeking time and opportunities to be creative for fun.

The story I am posting is actually a short that I wrote a long while ago, originally as a short response for a prompt among friends. I found it again today and thought it would nice to share, so I rewrote the story. As simple as it is, there is nothing I enjoy more than people being vulnerable with one another in stories.

Note: this occurs some time between season 3A and season 3B give or take.

Hairy Feelings

The tearing of a pair of scissors could be heard as a dimensional portal formed out of thin air in a cozy forest. The calmness was interrupted as figures passed through the swirling vortex into the locale, covered in nicks, scratches, and a bit of grime. They were exhausted, albeit quite satisfied. After a long but exhilarating experience, the two friends were finally able to take a breather. The first, one Marco Diaz, an Earthling far from home, practically rolled over onto the ground with fatigue and relief. The other, a laid-back albeit also worn out Kelly, were finally prepared to take a breather.

"I honestly can't believe grizzle-sharks are a thing that exists," Marco said.

Kelly seemed amused. "You've been slicing portals through dimensions for how long now? It impresses me how normal you expect the rest of these dimensions out here to be."

"Okay, fair, but I come from one of the most boring, mundane dimensions out there to ever exist. I'm used to average." The two of them sat down on an overturned log. Marco stretched his arms out hungrily while Kelly began teasing and straightening out her long, tangling hair.

"You know, Marco, Earth is fairly impressive with all of its technology and crazy, cool buildings." The girl began. "You've probably been to more dimensions than almost all of the inhabitants of each one you have ever been to. You're not exactly the average boy you may think you are."

Marco shifted his eyes away from Kelly and looked up at the sky as he thought about what it meant to be 'average'. It was past dusk now that they were back on Mewni, and the sky was already beginning to brighten up with its own cosmic dazzle. Stargazing has become an evening passtime of Marco's; he was actually starting to recognize the difference between the unique celestial bodies in his new home dimension and how often they presented themselves. The stars and planets visible had remained rather consistently easy to spot so far, and consistencies like these, no matter how big or small, always helped make Marco more comfortable, even back home. He thought to himself that this must have been a part of his 'average'. He was always creating the comfortable mundane out of exciting things when left to his own devices.

"Well, you may be right about all of the places I've gone, but I don't deserve the credit for all of that."

Kelly understood what he meant, but she wasn't prepared to relent on that point. "Marco, you personally have made a lot of decisions that brought you to where you are. Ifs, ands, or buts aside, you always had it in you to be the cool, interesting person that you are now. It was inside of you, no matter what brought it out."

This took the boy by surprise. He never considered it in that light, but it made a lot of sense, honestly. It certainly helped his self esteem that logically, maybe he was able to be the kind of cool bad boy that he always believed he could be. He took a deep breath and sighed, letting warming, grateful thoughts pass through him. Finally, with a little confidence coursing through his psyche, he was able to look Kelly in the eyes without wavering to his self-conscious pesterings.

"You know, you really have a way with words, Kelly. Thank you, really. I needed to hear that more than I realized." The boy smiled genuinely. "You're a great friend."

This time, it was Kelly's turn to look away. She wasn't quite expecting that manner of directness and sincerity from Marco, even if those were the features that she appreciated the most about him. There was something about the way he looked into someone's eyes whenever he was truly happy or appreciative. It felt as though he was shining warm, fuzziness directly from his eyes, through her own, and into her soul. It was unbelievably endearing; it was so genuine. Kelly had allowed herself to get a little too close to him a little too soon. By the time she realized this it was just too late. She was sure she would probably regret it in hindsight, but right now it just seemed like it didn't matter. Perhaps she, too, was simply indulging in a bit of blissful naiveté. She wore a bitter smile as she pondered everything.

Marco noticed the way she was taken aback, and became a little worried. Maybe something was wrong, and he had not been asking the right questions? He was a bit worried that maybe he was being too selfish after all, not giving her the floor. He didn't want to let those thoughts eat away at him anymore. "Kelly, is everything... alright?"

There was no response. Kelly didn't even seem to react. She seemed pensive, lost in thought, perhaps a bit somber.

"I'm sorry if I've been too focused on myse-"

"No no no no, Marco, please," Kelly began, "You haven't done anything wrong, I promise."

"Is there anything you want to talk about?"

"No, that's alright. You would be better off not knowing about this. Besides, I'll be fine"

"Kelly." Marco looked at her with that sincerity in his eyes, and a bit of sterness. She struggled to hold her gaze on his without feeling a prickly sensation around her heart that, causing it to stir as she continued to listen on. "You've helped me all week, running little errands, sparring, and even helping me unwind from some tense days. It feels like all I've managed to do for you is convince Tad to actually move out of your hair. I can't just ignore it if you're down about something." Marco clenched the log they were sitting on emphatically. "If there was anything I couldn't have taken, it was being left alone on the beach back during the Soulrise." He shook his head "Please let me help if I can. It is only fair that I return the favor... especially if it is about something I did..."

Kelly swallowed hard and steeled herself. She had knots around her heart, perhaps bigger than the ones in her hair. Speaking seemed impossible for once. Her usual confidence had vanished in a puff of smoke. She wondered if this was how Marco must have felt all of this time. In spite of it all, he found confidence when it mattered. Even if she couldn't produce her own right now, Kelly decided that, maybe she could just borrow some of his. She toughened up and returned his gaze again, allowing herself to relax again. "Marco, you didn't do anything wrong. If anything... you've done a lot of things right. Perhaps a little too right. I think I already know what's going to happen when I say this, and what you're going to say, but I can't really get over these feelings flooding in right now..."

Marco froze the moment those words left her lips. He has been oblivious in the past, but he had learned to wise up to the subtleties that he allowed to go over his head before. He knew exactly what was going on, and suddenly he felt sick. He had struck a landmine. "Oh no. No. No, no, no, no... Kelly I-"

Kelly raised her hand to stop him "Calm down Marco. You don't have to say the right thing to make me feel better. Just be honest. It'll hurt less to hear it from you while you're wearing those sincere eyes you use so much."

Marco paused to generate a proper response. He took a deep breath and allowed his thoughts to come out calmly. "I'm sorry, Kelly. I know too well how you feel right now. Part of me wishes I could make this easy and just flip a switch but... I can't." Marco shuddered a little as he continued. It pained him so much to do this. "You're awesome, seriously. I've enjoyed getting know you, and have had an absolute blast just doing stuff and laughing a little. I owe you so much for helping me get over what happened at Lava Lake Beach. You've become a precious friend to me. All of that said, I can't just pretend my heart isn't telling me exactly what it wants. I still want to be there for Star. I don't think she's helpless, and I don't think she needs me to do great things... but I know that I'd regret it for the rest of my life if I wasn't by her side to see where things go next. Maybe it's not the healthiest decision for me to make, but I've never had a best friend who I'd throw my home world away for, you know?" Marco exhaled and took off his hoodie before carefully placing it around Kelly's shoulders. "You deserve something better than I can give."

Kelly smiled. It hurt just as much as she knew it would, but it meant a lot that he could look her in the eyes and say all of that. He was one of the most mature people she had ever met when he wanted to be. She believed that Star may not have realized just how lucky she was to have him there for her the way he always has been, whether it was by her side, or in her shadow. But then again, Kelly knew that Star was one heck of a person herself. If it wasn't for that bubbly firestorm crashing into his life, they would never have met, and he may not have had such an adventure-filled life up until this point. It sort of hurt to think about, but Kelly hoped that these two friends of hers could maybe find happiness together someday, or at least work out their feelings and move forward. Surely they wouldn't be stuck like this forever. A few tears welled up in her eyes which she promptly wiped away.

"Marco, I'll be okay. You're an awesome friend, and I mean that." She sniffled a few times, but she never let that tiny smile drop from her face. "You may not be able to tell, but I am sure Star still likes you too. It sucks to say this, but I just don't think the two of them will work out, and it is precisely because she still cares about you that I am so sure of it. Just keep being there for her. She'll definitely keep needing you, even if you don't believe it yet." Kelly boldy moved forward and placed a brief kiss on the boy's cheek. It wasn't a lustful kiss, it betrayed only feelings of kindness. It was her way of saying 'thank you'.

"Let's get you back home. And Marco... don't forget to keep using that real smile of yours, okay?"

Marco smiled in appreciation immediately. Who would've thought he'd meet such incredible people in such a short time.

"You can count on it."

Thank you everyone who gave this a read. Please consider leaving a reply about how it was, how you feel, or anything that comes to mind. I'm always excited to get responses.

Have a wonderful day!