A few minutes have passed.
Marco was still standing in what used to be Stars bedroom door, gawking inside it.
It was empty. Changed back to what it used to be. It was just a solemn reminder to the boy that his best friend was now gone, possibly forever, and he may never know why.
For the first few moments, Marco felt like he was paralyzed. Like he couldn't do anything but stand in the doorway and gawk at the empty room. After those minutes passed, however, his mind began to process what had just happened.
Star had left. She took all her belongings with her. She was just...gone.
He took a few steps into the room. In the year that Star had been here, he had forgotten what the room had looked like before she had magically changed it. He looked around at how plain and boring it was. This room used to be filled with color, with magic, with...Star's life. And now it was gone...
Star was gone.
Marco felt his legs give out and he fell to the floor. As soon as he sat down, his mind became flooded with thoughts. He couldn't stop thinking about what his life would be like now that she was no longer in it. Now that she wouldn't around to bring some sort of feeling of purpose or importance to his life.
Marco's thoughts were interrupted by a voice behind him.
"Hey, Marco, are you okay?"
Marco turned his head to see Jackie standing in the doorway.
"Oh...uh...I don't know...I..." Marco sighed and lowered his head. "No I'm not."
Jackie came in and sat down next to him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"I know you probably miss her a lot. Star was super cool, and everyone at Echo Creek is going to miss her." Jackie didn't really know what to say beyond that. To be honest, a part of her was getting worried about how Marco may feel about Star, considering what she had just confessed to Marco.
"I miss her like crazy. She hasn't been gone for more than ten minutes, but I already feel horrible thinking of having to live my life without her around."
Jackie sighed. She was about to say something she didn't really want to say, but she knew that for Marco's sake, it had to be said.
"Are you sure you guys are just friends?"
Marco looked up at her, shocked.
"Wh…what….what do you mean?!" He stuttered, very confused; not about the question, necessarily, but about the fact that he didn't know how to really answer it.
"I mean, you and Star seem to have a really special connection. I've noticed that every time we hang out, every single time we've kissed, you interrupted it because of Star. Everyone has seen how happy you are whenever she's around…it just seems like there's something more there that maybe you're not seeing." Jackie explained.
Marco's mind was so busy thinking about this that his expression was blank. He didn't even know what to say to that. He didn't understand anything anymore.
"Look, I can tell you're confused and there's a lot to process, so I'll leave you alone for a while."
Jackie stood up and headed for the door. She paused in the doorway and turned back to face Marco. She took a deep breath before speaking; what she was about to say was going to be hard to say. It was going to be a bit hard for him to hear, but she thought it was something he may need to hear.
"Maybe if she has these feelings for you, it's for the best that she left."
She hesitated a moment, lowering her head before she left. She didn't want to say it, because it was only a small part of her that thought that, but she could tell he needed to hear it, even if it was so he could realize that it was the furthest thing from the truth.
As she walked downstairs and said a quick goodbye to Marco's parents, she couldn't help but let a few tears fall. She could tell Marco had very strong feelings for Star, and even if he didn't realize it, he had been in love with her for a long time. Jackie was beginning to sense that she was standing in between the two, and that was the last thing she wanted to do.
Saying what she said to Marco…as bad as it felt to say, she knew that it might be what she had to say to push Marco away from her and closer to Star.
Marco's eyes widened as he looked over to where Jackie had been standing just moments ago. Her words bounced around wildly in his head.
Maybe it's for the best that she left.
It couldn't be true. There was no way that was true. How would it even be possible that his life was better without Star Butterfly?
Marco sighed and laid down on the floor, dismally staring at the ceiling. He moved his head to look around at the rest of the room, taking in just how plain and boring it looked. There wasn't a single sign left that there had ever been a magical princess from another dimension living here.
A few hours passed as Marco laid still on the floor, letting all the thoughts that were rattling around in his brain attempt (and fail) to sort themselves out.
After several hours, Marco heard a knock at the door. He stood up rather quickly in excitement, thinking that maybe, just maybe, it was possible that Star had come back to talk to him. When his eyes turned to the door, however, he realized that it was just his parents, their faces laced with concern.
"Oh…" He murmured. "It's just you guys." Marco slumped over onto the bed and laid down. Angie and Rafael exchanged worried looks before sitting next to Marco on the bed.
"Honey, are you okay?" Angie asked. She knew he wasn't, but she didn't know what else to say.
Hours of sulking and processing what had happened must have finally started to sink in for the boy, because as soon as his mother's words hit his ears, he broke down and began to sob.
"NO! NO I'M NOT! My best friend in the entire world just left me, and I don't know why!" Marco bawled.
Angie immediately pulled Marco onto her lap, placing a caring hand on his back, and another on his head, stroking his hair gently. The feeling of his mother's touch, however comforting, couldn't soothe the boy's tears.
Minutes passed as Marco wept in his mother's lap. Rafael placed a hand on Marco's back as well, but they both knew that no amount of comforting was going to make him feel better (that didn't mean that they were ever going to stop, though).
After several minutes, Marco shifted his head so he could speak.
"I just…she just…she…said th..that…" Marco said, in between sobbing gasps. "a..and left…"
"And…I don't even know how I feel anymore…" Marco took a deep breath. He took a moment to calm down a little before he kept talking.
"How could she expect me to be okay, after running to me so suddenly and telling me that 'she's in danger and has to leave Earth forever'? After confessing her…her crush on me…" Marco found that part hard to say. He had to pause before he dared to explain the part that was even worse.
"How could she just say all of that to me, and just…just leave?!"
After he managed to angrily spit out the words "just leave", he broke out in tears once again, his head retreating to his mother's lap.
Angie sighed and continued running her hand through his hair.
"Marco, honey, we know you miss her. We miss her too. But we've always know that this day would come. We knew she would have to go back to Mewni someday. She's a princess, sweetie, she probably has a lot of responsibilities back home."
She knew it wasn't going to be very helpful, but it was the best she could manage at the moment.
Marco only continued to sob. Truthfully, he had never really considered that before. Maybe he had thought about it during the first few weeks of their friendship, but somehow, they had gotten so close so fast, that he ended up pushing that thought permanently out of his mind.
He pushed it out of his mind because he knew he couldn't bear the thought of Star not being there.
Angie and Rafael were growing ever more concerned. They knew their son felt strongly for Star, but they never thought it would hurt this much for him to see Star leave. Of course, they missed her a lot too; she had begun to feel like a daughter to them. But they had seen exchange students come and go before, and they knew they'd be okay, and would eventually grow used to not having her around anymore (or, at least, that's what they told themselves).
It was beginning to seem like nothing would console their son; nothing except seeing Star again. They didn't want Marco to just disappear into another dimension and walk into whatever danger waited on that other world, though, so they began thinking of things that they could possibly say to get him to stay here.
"Sweetie, I hate to say this, but maybe it had to be this way. Whatever is happening back on Mewni, I'm sure it's very important. Mewni probably needs Star a lot right now. Maybe it's best this way, honey."
Marco's mother's words managed to calm him down. His tears faded, leaving red, puffy cheeks in their wake. Angie's words bounced around in his head for a moment before they really struck him.
Marco suddenly shot up in surprise, his eyes widening. Her words had reminded him of what Jackie had said earlier.
Maybe it's for the best that she left.
His eyebrows scrunched together as a feeling of anger took him over. The more he thought about it, the more it angered him. It couldn't be further from the truth.
"NO!" He shouted. His sudden shout took his parents by surprise.
"That's not true! My life isn't any better without Star around, it's worse! Do I look any happier without her around? DO I?!"
Marco found himself incredibly angry, and he didn't completely understand why. All he knew was that he wanted people to stop telling him to try to think that his life would be improved now that Star was gone.
His parents didn't know how to react. They realized that that was probably the wrong thing to say, and they didn't know how to fix it.
Marco was silent for a moment as he turned away from his parents and angrily folded his arms.
"Look, I'm sorry for snapping like that. I just…I think I just wanna be alone for a while."
Marco sighed and shuffled off to his own bedroom.
He was about to lay down on his bed and cry himself to sleep, when he glanced over at his desk.
That's when he saw his dimensional scissors sitting there, gleaming as the moonlight shone through his window, hitting them just right.
He furrowed his brows as a thought struck him.
He hesitated for a moment.
Am I really about to do this?
He took a deep breath. Yes, he thought, yes I am.
He quickly opened the drawer of his desk and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen.
I can't stay here anymore. Not without her. -Marco
With the note sitting on top of his computer, Marco cut open a portal to Mewni. He took one last look around his room before walking through it.