Jackie gazed at a sheepish-looking Star in astonishment, her board dropping to the side out of pure incredulity at what she'd just heard.
As for the blabbermouth princess herself, she could only laugh nervously at the idea of what Jackie might say next, upon hearing her not-so-simple request.
Star hadn't meant to give voice to her secret feelings so blatantly, but once again she'd engaged her mouth before her brain, and impulsiveness had won over subtlety.
Eventually, after a whole two minute stare-off, some of Jackie's trademark laid back temperament returned, although there was still an understandable air of confusion around her reply. "...Why? Is something wrong with him?"
"No, no not all!" Star waved her hands in protest at the skater's misinterpretation, before adding. "In fact, Marco is as wonderful as a boy could possibly be! How could you even think that?"
"Hey, you're the one saying strange things, like we should break up!" Jackie huffed, unsure where Star was going with this little confrontation. "So, if Marco's happy, and I certainly am, what reason could you have for wanting us to split? After all, it was you who made it all possible in the first place, in case you've forgotten..."
Don't remind me... Star grit her teeth in irritation at the memories, but soon Jackie's truthful words sunk in and the anger was replaced with guilt.
"Y-yeah, I know that..." the princess conceded, glancing down at the horn on one of her shoes, almost wishing she could impale herself on it for how mortified she felt. "I-it's just..."
"Well, spit it out, silly!" Jackie's smile had returned, thinking by now this was just another one of Star's weird yet oddly endearing turns. "Me and Marco want to get back to grinding the streets this afternoon, and later, I'm going to introduce him to a little invention known as the 'half-pipe'! He's so adorable when he's jittery..."
"...Because I kinda like him myself!"
Once more, despite firmly promising herself that it wouldn't happen again, Star had blurted out the only thing she wanted to remain undisclosed. Nice job, brain. She thought, while covering her mouth in embarassment.
As anyone who knows her well would tell you, it takes a lot to rattle Jackie Lynn Thomas. Just last year, there was a minor earthquake (which wasn't caused by one of Star's spells misfiring, for a change) and the skater just kept on chowing down on her undercooked macaroni and cheese calmly in the school cafeteria, while everyone else cowered on the ground in earnest. Jackie Frost, as in 'cool as ice', that was her nickname.
This unexpected revelation from Star though, shocked her to the core more than anything else she'd heard for a long time . "Y-you... like him? B-but, you've done more than any other person to hook us up together! I-if you really felt that way, w-why didn't you just..."
"Well, maybe 'like' is a bit of a weak word..." Now that Star had finally (albeit unintentionally) unloaded her major burden, it was like someone had just unblocked the faucet, as more and more secrets were dislodged and came leaking out. "I absolutely LOVE him. He's the nicest, sweetest guy I've ever met, so much better than the other boys I've been involved with. Did I ever tell you about Tom? What was I thinking, going out with a literal devil..."
"I-I can't believe I didn't see this before..." Jackie wasn't really interested in hearing about Star's exes, and started almost talking to herself. "All that time you've spent together... the dimension hopping he's told me you do... He's even saved your life before, hasn't he? Heck, the two of you live in the same house. Of course, a 'thing' could easily develop. I do wonder though, does he feel the same way about you?"
"Oh, no, no. I doubt that..." Star innocently continued to tell the truth, unaware that it was to her detriment. "Remember that strange game we played at the sleepover, where we almost died because someone lied? Well... that was kinda my bad. I said I had a crush on Oskar, when I've known for a while now that Marco is the one for me. When he said he was crazy about you back then, he meant it. Don't worry about my boy, he would never tell a fib."
"I see..." Jackie suddenly regarded Star with a raised eyebrow. "So, what you're basically telling me is, you want Marco to break up with a girl he's 'crazy' about, on account of the fact you think you may have a chance with him? Isn't that a little unfair on him?"
"Well, he's already my 'best' friend..." Star exclaimed optimistically, naively thinking the argument was going her way. "So, surely it can't be that much of a stop-gap between that status and 'boy' friend. I'll just have to bide my time, and tell him when I'm ready. Besides, surely you can't feel that strongly about him now. I mean, you've known each other for years, and you've only just started going out. I know I'm asking you to do me a massive favour, but I'd really appreciate it..."
"No, Star."
This straightforward, two-word reply shattered the princess's hopes, and caused her world to start spinning, almost off it's axis. "...N-no"? She croaked, unable to say anything else.
Jackie's green eyes took on a hitherto unknown steely quality, as she addressed Star in a determined tone that left no room for doubt. "No, I won't give up this promising new relationship I've started with my childhood friend on account of your speculative interest in him. If you really felt that way about Marco, maybe you should have confessed to him sooner, instead of leading him in my direction. I must admit, I'd never thought about Marco that way before, but now after spending lots of time with him over the last few days, I think I do sorta..."
Don't say it. Don't say it.
"...LOVE him." Another example of the power a couple of simple words can have on the psyche, caused Star to fall to her feet, silent tears dribbling down her cheeks. No, this can't be... The Blood Moon. The dance. Our souls entwined for eternity...
Throughout the rush of failure in her ears, and the solitary perception that life as she knew it was coming to an end, Star felt a sympathetic hand gently land on her shoulder. After all, Jackie was nothing if not conciliatory. "Sorry dude, but I'm sure you'll meet someone else! Look at me, for instance. I thought I'd be riding solo forever, never knowing that the one for me was right under my nose all this time! Just think, if me and Marco hadn't ditched that stupid party and fallen off my skateboard when I busted a wheel, we never would have kissed, and I probably wouldn't have realised my true feelings..."
"Yeah, sorry about breaking your manually operated device..." Star was so firmly entrenched in the pits of despair at this point, she was barely able to process what she was saying. But not to the extent that she missed the last part of Jackie's statement. "Wait a minute... you kissed?! I didn't see that part, when I was spying on you with my forbidden spell..."
"Hang on a tick..." Now it was Jackie's turn to pull up Star on something she heard said. "You ruined my skateboard? How is that even possible?! I didn't see you anywhere around. Wait... you were spying on us as well? With a 'forbidden' spell? What were you thinking?!"
"E-er yeah, sorry 'bout that, too..." Star tried to clear the air with an apologetic smile, which if anything made her look even more guilty. "It's my new wand, you see. When I get mad, my magic turns green, and things get a little crazy. I should have listened to Glossarick and not used that spell. I swear, as soon as I get him back, I'll pay more attention to his lessons, as boring as they are half the time . Anyway, let's return to the part where you kissed Marco..."
" I don't care about my board!" Jackie suddenly raised her voice, and poked Star angrily in the chest. "You could have caused a serious accident, and all because of your mindless jealousy! What would you have done, if the boy you say you love so much, had been badly injured?! It's one thing to envy what me and him have, it's quite another to almost cause us physical harm! I'm surprised at you, Star. I thought I knew you as a sweet if somewhat excitable girl... I never dreamed you could be so downright... malicious! If that's the way you respond to not getting your own way, than maybe Marco is better off with me, and safer. Actually, scratch that... I know he is."
Star knew Jackie's accusations were on the money, but she couldn't just let her 'friend' and now love rival get in all the licks, so she attempted to make a comeback. "Oh, yeah? Well, who's the heiress to an entire kingdom? Who can summon up swathes of mystical creatures with a wave of her wand? Who has the ability to travel between worlds with just a snip of a pair of scissors? Let me guess... not you! What have you got, besides that coloured streak in your hair, a piece of plastic on wheels and a few extra moles on your face? Nothing! You might have stolen Marco's first kiss, but I'm going to win the war! And believe me, Mewnions never lose wars!"
" We'll see about that! I won't lose to some weird alien girl who tattooed hearts on her cheeks! Did your parents even give you permission?"
" For your information, those are real! Unlike your hair! And I won't lose to a human girl who... has a boy's name as a surname!"
"... Star, that didn't even make sense."
"...Really? I thought it was a pretty good one."
"I guess I shouldn't expect any less, from the sheltered princess who's comfortable fighting off hordes of monsters, but can't even confess her feelings to the boy she likes. There's logic for you..."
"W-what?! How dare you speak to me like that, Jackie! If we were on Mewni now, I'd have you..."
"Guess what, your royal lameness? We're not! So, you're just going to accept the way things are."
"Well, I don't! Marco is mine, and don't you forget it."
"I'm sorry Star, my memory must be playing tricks on me today. All I can recall is the fact that Marco is mine."
"We'll see about that!"
"We certainly will!"
Marco, the 'prize' of whom they spoke, decided to enter the kitchen just at the moment both young ladies were standing toe-to-toe, openly snarling at each other, all vestiges of friendship long since departed.
"E-er, guys? Are you nearly finished? My mom really needs to start preparing lunch. What's the matter? You both seem a little tense..."
"Nothing, Marco. Everything is just peach fuzzy. See you soon, 'Jackie Lynn Thomas'!" Star stamped off towards the stairs, thoughts rapidly going through her head about how to beat the foul seductress that had enslaved her future prince, with a new brand of magic she was unaware of.
"Sooner than you think, 'Princess Star Butterfly'! Come on, Marco. We'll get back to the park. I've got a few more tricks to teach you, then I'll treat us to the movies. Let's just get you strapped in..." Now it was Jackie's turn to do the dragging, as a hapless teenage boy found his arm almost being wrenched from it's socket, until he was past his parents and outside. To any casual observer, it was clear who the 'man' in this relationship was.
"And there was me thinking he'd toughened up..." Mr Diaz sighed disappointedly, as cries of help sounded from the porch.
