WOW THIS GOT POPULAR FAST I GUESS I GOTTA MAKE ANOTHER CHAPTER NOW TO SATIATE ALL OF YA OKAY
Uh I don't really know whether or not I can write angst, but I tried? Feel free to let me know if I did a good job. I'm kinda anxious to post this one since expectations are high, so reviews would be nice, to hear your thoughts and all. Anyway, enjoy!
Janna looked to Marco, a wide grin across her face. They'd done it. They'd found Star.
Marco felt happy tears rack his body. His long gone best friend, a person who he'd thought he'd never see again, was back. He would finally be able to talk to her again.
...But what would he say?
"Janna, w-we haven't seen her in three years, what do we say to her?" Marco stuttered out, alarmed. "How do we g-get her back…?"
Janan stopped, looking thoughtful for a moment, before getting an idea.
"Well, I heard that she usually responds to the comments on her comic. So why don't we leave one? Then she'll talk to us first, and we won't get blocked for approaching her first like some kind of internet stalker!" Janna exclaimed, smirking triumphantly.
"W… Won't she recognize my account though?" Marco sniffled.
"That's fine, we can make an alternate one." She grinned.
And so, Janna did just that, comforting a crying Marco all the while. The two were tense as they waited for a reply, watching anxiously as their comment was buried down further and further whenever the page was refreshed.
...
Star was having an average day. She was just trying to relax, and trying not think about her comic, or how she was never going to see Earth again, but since she'd posted the series finale that had become pretty typical. Well, that was common even before that, but more so now.
As expected, as soon as most people realized (some people were actually awake when she posted the comic's new episodes, but most people were asleep and didn't notice right away) that she'd posted the back-to-back "episodes" Face The Music and Crashing Comet, the comics were getting support like she couldn't believe. People absolutely adored it.
And that was kind of terrifying. Because even though people adored it, they obviously really wanted to know what would happen next. And, well, that was the issue. There was no next. The episodes were fine for a season finale, sure, but a series finale? She wasn't sure if people would accept that.
Star still hadn't go to the comments of her comic. She'd accidentally ran across feedback for it in other places anyway, of course, but she tried to avoid people praising the comic (or otherwise) as much as she could. She couldn't take it.
Until now.
Curiosity killed the cat, after all. But Star had a sick feeling that no satisfaction would be there to bring it back.
Star scrolled through the comments uneasily, responding to as many posts as she could. Most people were freaking out, which was to be expected, but it still made Star very anxious. As she scrolled through the endless page of panic, one particular comment caught her eye.
CuteLittleMole143: Wow, this is a really cool comic so far! What inspired you to write it?
Star tensed up, flushing a bit at the praise. And whoever this was had a username named after a quote from her comic, too! Wow. Star wasn't sure how to handle this.
Welp, the best thing to do was respond, she guessed. The girl quickly started typing up a message to the user in response to their comment.
GhostingNova: Thanks! I was inspired by
Star paused for a moment. What would she say the comic was inspired by? Well, it was probably best to keep her story somewhat consistent.
GhostingNova: Thanks! I was inspired by real life experience, like being in a foreign place, and sorta feeling like I was from a whole different dimension or something. I guess the story sorta took shape from there
Star looked over the message a couple of times to make sure she was satisfied with it, and sent it. Technically, she wasn't really lying. Just remove all of the uncertainty and words painting her experiences as what she was feeling and not reality, and the story was true! Or something like that, anyway.
Star was about to go back to where she left off on the comments page when the computer dinged. Star looked to see what had given her a notification and was amazed (and unsure if she should be a bit freaked out or not) that the person that she had just responded to had already replied.
CuteLittleMole143: Really? That's pretty cool, where did you go?
Star felt her breath hitch.
"Uh. Um. Quick, think of a witty and clever response." Star thought to herself, typing out a response and sending it swiftly.
GhostingNova: Idk, based on all of the lectures of internet safety I've endured I'm not so sure I should disclose that information, lmao
Star read over the message she'd sent quickly before facepalming. Oh boy. She hoped that didn't didn't sound too accusatory. Star blinked as the notification sound panged again and another new message appeared, just as quickly as the last.
CuteLittleMole143: Lol, yeah, that's fair. But I was kinda more curious about what inspired your later stuff, it's all pretty amazing to me
Star tensed up. Oh boy. Okay. Well. Uh. She couldn't incorporate any truth into this. Oh no. Hopefully she was a good liar over the internet.
GhostingNova: Well, it was mostly just boredom, imagination, and a bit of wordplay for stuff like the warnicorns and soon enough I'd pretty much created my own world.
CuteLittleMole143: Oh? So the later bits weren't inspired by any real life experiences then?
Star paused, looking at the screen in utter dismay. Oh geez. That sounds bad. Maybe it was just the paranoia, but the way that what the other user had phrased that made it seem like they knew something they shouldn't. Oh man.
Star wrapped her arms around herself, burying her face in her knees. Oh no. They knew. Whoever this person was, they knew everything, didn't they? They would tell everyone, people would think that she was insane, she'd have to delete the webcomic, and her Youtube account, hell, she'd have to delete everything just to be safe!
Star forced herself to take a deep breath. No. No, no, that was just the paranoia talking, there was no way they knew. There was no way, no way, no way…
Star flinched as another notification sounded.
CuteLittleMole143: Lol, you still there?
Star sighed, relieved. Okay. They didn't know, clearly, it was the paranoia taking, it had to be. Otherwise they'd be more outraged, right?
… Right?
The girl paused for a moment. She could always just ignore this random user and get back to all of her other fans. She could pretend that she wasn't, in fact, still there. After debating with herself for a moment, Star decided that, despite her anxiety, she should respond. She shouldn't just leave them hanging.
GhostingNova: Lol sorry I was getting a drink. I was inspired by real life a bit, but Mewni and everything is mostly entirely made up.
Star replied, typing out her response hastily and not rereading what she'd written before sending it. She fidgeted nervously, not needing to wait long before getting another reply.
CuteLittleMole143: Well that was weirdly phrased, lol
Star looked to the message, facial expression blank. Oh. Welp. Oops.
Well, at least she had a valid excuse for that.
GhostingNova: Yeah I was up late last night finishing the comic, my english isn't the best rn haha
CuteLittleMole143: Ah, yeah, makes sense.
Star paused, not knowing how she should respond to that. The user failed to send another message after the first one, too, so Star figured that the conversation was over. Star was about a second away from closing the page before the computer panged once more.
Oh. Looks like the conversation was continuing after all? Star looked to the computer, curious.
The girl froze at what she saw, going dead silent.
CuteLittleMole143: Okay, I'm just going to get to the point. It's me, Janna. Marco's here too.
CuteLittleMole143: Star, we know it's you. Please, we need to talk.
CuteLittleMole143: Nothing's been the same. The school feels so empty. Everything's been seeming duller to everyone who's known you. Marco's been absolutely broken over you. And I'm afraid that now that we've found you, we can't ignore that. Please, we NEED to talk about this with you.
Star looked to the message, her heart dropping.
She began to shudder, sobs wracking her body. Oh god. She'd ruined everything, hadn't she? Everyone probably hated her, she'd made everyone so miserable! She'd made them hurt so much. She couldn't handle this.
Star didn't want to talk to Janna about the effects of her leaving. She didn't want to hear how badly she'd fucked up.
Star flinched as another notification sounded. She didn't move, terrified. The sound rang out again, another message sent. Star was starting to shiver again now. Finally, as the notification panged one more time, Star broke, reading the messages quickly with terrified eyes, unable to stand her imagination making up the worst case scenarios any longer.
CuteLittleMole143: Oh my god, Star? I'm so sorry, please responnd
CuteLittleMole143: Im so sorry Jnaana took hte computewr
CuteLittleMole143: Star please reply you can't justt leave us like thos you cant leave us againwe jsut found you pleaes respomg oh my god Im so sorry
Star stared at the screen, mesmerized. She recognized that kind of typing. She'd only seen it a few times, mostly in the inboxes of her old accounts from various places online after she'd left, but it was clearly there.
It was Marco, and he was cry-typing. Cry-typing as in he was actually crying so much right now he couldn't type properly. And she'd caused that.
No, that wasn't right, Star realized, eyes widening. He was crying because she wasn't there. He was crying because he's thinking that she'd left, that she wasn't reading what he'd sent. He wanted to see her again, he missed her. And she could fix that. She just had to be brave. She'd need to muster up every bit of courage that she had to fix this.
But looking at the computer screen, seeing the messages sent by a boy she'd assumed that she had long since lost, it didn't take much for Star to get her fingers to move across the keys of her laptop. Because seeing this, deep in her heart Star knew that despite everything...
She had to bethere.
For Marco.
Slowly, shakily, Star began to type.
…
It had been a few days since Janna set up the alternate account to contact Star. She'd been at Marco's house most of the time since then, not wanting to miss anything. Marco had been hovering over the laptop ever since the message was sent.
Janna was getting snacks for herself and Marco in the kitchen when she heard the laptop make the long awaited sound she'd been hoping for.
Janna immediately rushed from the kitchen and into the living room, but Marco was one step ahead of her, already typing out a reply at incredible speeds.
"Is that her?!" Janna screeched.
"Yes! It is!" Marco cried out in reply.
"What'd she say?!"
"Just look!" Marco replied, scooting over so that Janna had a spot on the couch with a clear view of the screen. The occult enthusiast practically threw herself onto the couch next to the boy to read over the messages exchanged so far.
GhostingNova: Thanks! I was inspired by real life experience, like being in a foreign place, and sorta feeling like I was from a whole different dimension or something. I guess the story sorta took shape from there
CuteLittleMole143: Really? That's pretty cool, where did you go?
"Where did you go?! Seriously Marco?! That's what you say to her after all these years?!" Janna cried out.
"I didn't want to scare her off!" Marco replied sheepishly. He frowned nervously, already looking like he was about to cry. Janna was about to reply when the computer dinged again. The pair read over the message hastily.
GhostingNova: Idk, based on all of the lectures of internet safety I've endured I'm not so sure I should disclose that information, lmao
"Jesus, since when did Star say lmao…?" Janna muttered as Marco typed out another reply, hands shaking. Despite this, however, he didn't make any typos.
CuteLittleMole143: Lol, yeah, that's fair. But I was kinda more curious about what inspired your later stuff, it's all pretty amazing to me
GhostingNova: Well, it was mostly just boredom, imagination, and a bit of wordplay for stuff like the warnicorns and soon enough I'd pretty much created my own world.
"Liar…" Janna heard the boy mutter. She chuckled a bit, nervously. If they hadn't already known for a fact that the person behind these words was Star, that'd be a pretty convincing lie.
CuteLittleMole143: Oh? So the later bits weren't inspired by any real life experiences then?
Janna looked to Marco, frowning. "Come on, we have to tell her already! She's going to start replying to everyone else soon enough!"
"Sorry, sorry! I just don't want her to leave as soon as we tell her who we are, I don't really know how to do this!" Marco swallowed hard, nervous.
Janna felt kind of bad for making him worry like this, but she had a feeling that if they didn't act soon, their opportunity would slip by. And despite not being able to distinguish if that was a legitimate concern or if she was just being paranoid, Janna wouldn't let that happen.
Despite her annoyed facade, Janna was panicking too, after all. And even though she didn't really mean to take that out on Marco, but it was happening nonetheless.
"Wait." Janna muttered, realizing something. "She hasn't responded yet. Oh god, she hasn't responded yet!"
"Fuck!" Marco cried out, terrified. Even though it hadn't even been a full minute yet, Star's replies had been coming quickly, and seeing them stop for this long was concerning to the pair.
So that meant it was time to panic and scream.
Or it would be if the computer hadn't dinged.
"Wait!" Janna looked over the messages. She blinked, looking to Marco. "Wait, you sent another message? When did you send another message?"
"I don't know, I panicked, I'm sorry."
"No, no, that's not a bad thing, I just didn't notice you do it."
"O-oh." Marco stammered, embarrassed. "I dunno, I guess I'm just a fast typer?" Janna hummed in understanding as Marco replied to Star's message. Janna read over what little she'd missed.
CuteLittleMole143: Lol, you still there?
GhostingNova: Lol sorry I was getting a drink. I was inspired by real life a bit, but Mewni and everything is mostly entirely made up.
Janna watched as Marco typed out his reply, growing more fearful the longer the exchange went on. The fear that their opportunity would pass was back with a vengeance, Janna nipping at her fingernails anxiously.
CuteLittleMole143: Well that was weirdly phrased, lol
GhostingNova: Yeah I was up late last night finishing the comic, my english isn't the best rn haha
CuteLittleMole143: Ah, yeah, makes sense.
Janna looked to Marco, horrified. That sounded like the end of a life changing conversation to her. Adrenaline kicking in, Janna lunged for the computer, Marco making a shocked sound as Janna typed out and sent another message.
"What're you doing?!" He cried.
"We're waiting too long! W-we have to get to the point!" Janna screeched, sending another two messages before she could really stop and contemplate whether or not it was a good idea.
Marco stole the computer back, Janna doing nothing to stop him now that she'd already said everything she needed to say. He read over the messages with terror-filled eyes.
CuteLittleMole143: Okay, I'm just going to get to the point. It's me, Janna. Marco's here too.
CuteLittleMole143: Star, we know it's you. Please, we need to talk.
CuteLittleMole143: Nothing's been the same. The school feels so empty. Everything's been seeming duller to everyone who's known you. Marco's been absolutely broken over you. And I'm afraid that now that we've found you, we can't ignore that. Please, we NEED to talk about this with you.
Marco began to wail heartbrokenly, unable to hold back his tears any longer. There was no way Star would respond now.
He was too late, Janna was too quick, he didn't know. He didn't care, either. All he knew was that the best friend he'd been missing for so long has slipped away for the second time.
This didn't stop the boy from typing desperately, though, hoping with all of his heart that the girl on the other side of the screen would respond, despite his mind crying out to him that it was no use.
CuteLittleMole143: Om my god Star? Im so sorry please responnd
CuteLittleMole143: Im so sorry Jnaana took hte computewr
CuteLittleMole143: Star please reply you can't justt leave us like thos you cant leave us againwe jsut found you pleaes respomg oh my god Im so sorry
Janna watched as the boy in front of her had a breakdown, terrified.
"Oh no." She muttered, horrified. "I-I didn't mess it u-up, right? P-please, please tell me I didn't mess it up!"
Marco didn't reply, still wailing incoherently. Janna felt herself fall onto her knees, unable to support herself.
"FUCK!" She cried out, trying to hold back her own tears. "No. No, PLEASE NO! I WAS ONLY TRYING TO HELP!" She screamed, a few tears leaking out of her eyes despite her best efforts.
Marco hiccuped, trying to calm down, as his friend screamed. He didn't know what to do anymore. He didn't know what to feel. All he knew was that he was terrified.
The two almost missed the pang of a notification sounding from the laptop.
I thought that I was going to finish the story after this chapter, but during editing I realized, "WOAH. This would be a great place for a cliffhanger!" So yeah. I am so, so sorry. Probably not a good idea to piss you all off like this, but whatever. At least I updated quickly! Anyway, I hope you all like it!
