The Infinite Desert chap. 3
Marco looked up at the jet black sky. He was having trouble figuring out if it was a solid wall or if it just an empty void. The two had been walking for some time now, or, Marco speculated, no time at all but a good distance from the oasis. If what the Doctor had said was true, this place was outside of time and supposedly the other dimensions. It was then that he realized that they hadn't asked the man much before departing. They hadn't learned why he was there, how he had gotten there, what the oasis was, etc.
"Hey Star," he asked. She had been walking slightly ahead of him during the majority of their adventure so far. Despite the sandy environment, she had been skipping at least half of the journey. She turned his way without stopping.
"Hmmm?" She casually hummed. In spite of the dreary area and their horrible circumstances, she had been in a relaxed mood for the first three-ish hours of the journey. The two had been talking about all sorts of things, from sports, to T.V., to how Marco was going to get with Jackie, and vice versa for Oscar. It wasn't until a few moments ago that Marco had shut up. She had figured that he was done for the moment. Thus, when she turned around, the expression she wore was much less troubled than his was.
"Umm," he began. "Well, how do we know that we can trust that Doctor? He never explained who he was in depth, or why he was here. He just sort of told us where we were and how to get out."
Star's smile changed to a frown and she looked oddly at him. "What do you mean, Marco?"
He gathered his confidence before speaking again. "Well, what if he was a hired by Ludo or Toffee? He was nearby us when we woke up, and could have easily disrupted your wand and dimensional scissors somehow whilst we slept. How do we know that this isn't just a setup for us to die in this wasteland?
Stars look darkened a little more as she thought about what he had said. It was true that the man, if he was a man at all, had said very little to them. And they had just woken up unconscious with him nearby. Was it possible that the supposed Doctor had actually disrupted her wand and dimensional scissors somehow to aid Ludo and Toffee? She thought about the conversation a little more. The doctor hadn't acted devious or tried to attack them in anyway. He had acted… genuine.
"Hmmm," she muttered uncertainly. "I… don't think that he was evil. He was kind, and nice, and helped us. If he was a minion of Ludo's or Toffee's, why would he give us the packs of food and water? He could have easily told us they were off limits, but he gave them to us."
Marco pondered on that for a second. "Maybe it was a trick, to try to catch us off guard."
Star gave him a dubious look. "Now that's just paranoid, Safe Kid Diaz." She cocked her head and gave him a playful smile.
He chuckled to himself and calmed down a bit. Strange, he thought to himself. I don't think anyone's called me safe kid in a few months. I guess taking on monsters and hanging out with Star actually did get rid of that title. He smiled warmly. They may have been in a hellish dimension, but they were doing fine. As long as he had Star, everything would be O.K.
The two continued on for a while. Star, who loved to talk about Jackie and how Marco was going to get with her, decided to bring up the subject again.
"So," she teased. "Back to Jackie."
Marco groaned in irritation. His inability to get with Jackie Lynn Thomas depressed him every time she was brought up. He didn't know what he was doing wrong. What was he missing?
"I know what you're missing, Marco." She sang gleefully, somehow reading his mind. Or perhaps he was just that predictable. "You never talk to her."
Marco groaned a second time. This was the same conversation they had had for the past forever. She acted like talking to your crush was just something you do, like going out to eat or chatting with friends. Of course he had tried to talk to her, but whenever he was even close to her his mouth stopped working. As a matter of fact, so did his stomach, his mind, and most of his body.
"It's not that simple, Star," he complained. "Jackie is just so… I don't know, I just can't." He reddened as he tried to explain why it was impossible for him to talk with Jackie. It was so obvious for him that it made the explanation part incredibly difficult.
"Marco," Star chastised, giving him her reproving look. Unfortunately for her, he found the look insanely adorable. "How are you going to get noticed by Jackie if you don't talk to her? You'll just end up being part of the background to her. If you want her to know you, and thus like you, you need to talk to her."
Marco's frustration grew. "If it's so easy, then why don't you talk to Oscar more? You have his number, you know where he lives, why don't you talk to him more?"
It was Star's turn to become frustrated. "What are you talking about? I talk to Oscar all the time."
Marco gave her an unimpressed look. "'All the time', huh? The last time I remember you talking to him was 2 months ago, and the only words you said were 'hi, Oscar' and 'bye, Oscar'."
Star looked a little hurt after that comment. Marco realized it might have been a touch too harsh, as her relationship with Oscar's really was just as bad as his with Jackie. "Star, the point I'm trying to make is that I can't talk to Jackie is because I can't. I've tried, and tried, and tried. She's just… unapproachable for me." He felt something wet on his cheek, and realized that a tear was falling from his eye. He turned his face away from Star, but she still saw it fall from his face.
Star looked somberly at him. "I suppose it's the same for me." Her voice was just barely audible for the two of them. "But, how are we ever going to get their attention otherwise? How will we learn anything about them, get to know who they are?" A terrible realization came over them as she said the words. They both stopped and Star looked at the ground in deep thought.
How would either of them know if they were actually in love with their supposed crushes? Was it purely based on looks alone? Could they have been so shallow this entire time?
Marco thought about Jackie. He thought about the first day that he had seen Jackie. She had seemed beautiful, even when they were toddlers. He thought about what else had attracted him to her. Perhaps it was her skill in skateboarding, a sport that he had always seen as extreme and dangerous. He had always wanted to have a little more action in his life. Maybe she had just been a symbol of that dream, an idea projected upon Jackie as what he wanted. Maybe…
Maybe she had never really liked Oscar. She had to rack her brains to remember why she had first fallen for him. He had been playing his keytar in the parking lot, and the noise had practically summoned her over. He was a bad boy, and she had a thing for bad boys. Ever since Pony Head had taken her to concert, she had enjoyed being a renegade, disobeying her parents and breaking minor laws. She had been energetic and mischievous before that concert, of course, but it had turned more rebellious afterwards. Especially when she was with Pony Head. Was it possible that she was missing Pony Head more than she thought, and that Oscar's lifestyle was what attracted her to him? Maybe…
They both stood there in silence, their minds racing to find an answer. The light breeze made them shiver, and Marco snapped out of his mind. "We, uh," he stammered, fervently trying to relearn Basic English. "We should keep going. The way out is this way."
Star looked up and nodded hastily. The two walked along the dunes in silence, both of them scared to talk. Neither wanted to accidentally bring up the subject again, for fear of facing the truth: their crushes were only that, and nothing more.
They continued on in said silence for several small hills. Finally, Star broke the ice and asked about the project they needed to finish. The mood gradually shifted to how it had been before the subject of Jackie and Oscar had come up. They shared some jokes and laughs, debated which Disney princesses were the best, and shared embarrassing stories of when they were in grade school. The dunes went on, seemingly endless. They both started to realize that the Infinite Desert hadn't been called that simply because it sounded cool. The two became tired and hungry, and both decided to rest in a dune bed for the night. They both knew there was no night or day, but they called it night out of habit. They got out their sleeping bags, set them up, and had a short dinner. The dates were sweet, and the water was pure. They maintained their conversations for a short while, but fatigue overwhelmed them.
Before she could stay awake no more, Star asked Marco, "Do you think you still like Jackie?" Her voice was as quiet as it had been earlier. Marco stared out into the black sky, thinking it over.
"No," he said, almost melancholy. "I don't think I ever truly loved her." The words felt bitter in his mouth, but the truth was the truth. He had obsessed over Jackie Lynn Thomas for most of his life, only to now realize his mistake.
"Same," Star said under her breath. "It's hard to imagine that we were wrong about our own feelings."
Marco's mouth went dry, and he swallowed. "Yeah." Water started to form at his eyes.
"Well," Star said with more conviction. "At least I still have the best bestie ever. Right?"
Marco's eyes widened, and then he smiled. "Of course you do, Star." The water in his eyes started to flow out down his face. "We both do."
And thus, they fell asleep smiling.
