Chapter Three:
A Completely, Totally, Utterly Normal Day.
The first time Marco had to dump the boiling water in his teapot, the steam felt nice. The second time he had to? Okay sure, he messed up. Third time he took a deep breath. Fourth time he grit his teeth. Fifth time he told himself he didn't care. Sixth time he found out that he was previously lying to himself. He was now on his seventh try.
"Mr. Diaz, what word would you use that connotes foolishness?"
"Fool?" Marco returned.
"Too lazy - and stop watching the water. It doesn't help."
"Well, in that case, I was always a fan of clod." Marco said. He wasn't taking his eyes off this thing. Stupid stove was temperamental. First time was eight minutes. Second time was seven minutes forty-five seconds. Third time was nine minutes. He wasn't sure what he was doing wrong.
"Mmh. It doesn't speak to me. A lady must be rich in both her dowry and words. Hold on." She mused. Marco heard her flip through her thesaurus. "This kept me up all night…"
"What did?"
"The perfect word for my sister!" She crowed. "I swear my sister is such a… an Ignoramus!" She shouted in triumph, snapping the book shut. Marco stayed silent and watched the water start to bubble. "She's condemning Star down such an uncouth path! That willy nilly nature of hers will be the death of the Butterfly line!"
"What are you talking about? Mrs. Butterfly's pretty cool." Marco was quick to defend her. The bubbles in the teapot were beginning to go faster. It was almost ready.
"To hear her push Star into the Heart of Hearts ritual. Unthinkable at such a hormonal age!" She railed. "After hearing her dream, little wonder why she's succumbing to dark magic!" Marco let her complain and mouthed back from five seconds; taking the teapot off of the stove the microsecond he had finished his countdown. He turned off the stove and rushed it over to Olga Heinous and presented it to her.
"Seventh times the charm?" He asked, faking a smile.
"Your bubble's are too large and rapid. It is too warm. Again." All she did was glance at. Marco let loose a grunt of frustration. "Water must be on the precipice of boiling Mr. Diaz. Any hotter than that and the leaves will turn to mush."
"Well it would help if your stove wasn't so inconsistent." Marco threw in her face, but she just tittered and waved it off.
"Oh Mr. Diaz it is not my stove that is the problem. Flame intensity, teapot position are the things you should be concerning yourself with." Marco dumped the water for the seventh time into the sink, glaring at the teapot that just refuses to be consistent. He started up the tap again and waited as it filled. He started up the gas on the stove, lighting it up and placing the teapot in what he thought was the very center of the grate. He lowered the heat. "Honestly, it is the risk dark magic poses to us all that I opened this reform school. Why must my sister allow her such freedom? She obviously can't handle it…" Olga muttered loudly.
"Mrs. Butterfly knows how to handle things." Marco said his mouth in a stern line. She didn't know the whole story. "And Star can take care of herself."
"Feh." Olga spat. "A princess cannot afford the luxury of herself. Especially a Butterfly."
"Well Star can and she will." Marco eyed his water. Getting close… again. Olga gave an unladylike tiff of breath. A few moments the only sound in the room was the quiet hiss of the stove.
"Mr. Diaz, sit down." Olga spoke up. "You can talk and boil at the same time."
Marco tore his eyes off of the teapot and looked up to see Olga watching him with a sour expression. He didn't really feel like talking today. Talking about Star's Heart of Hearts yesterday just made him confused. He had always regarded Star as a friend, but that night changed things. He never shared it with anyone and it still kind of put him on edge.
Still, Marco found himself walking back over to his easy chair and sitting down. He regarded her for a little bit. Olga had an expectant frown on her face. "So. You still think of Star as only a friend after that dream?" She asked.
"… It's complicated."
"So no, essentially."
"Stop."
"Okay… get a hold of yourself, get a hold of yourself." Marco muttered propped up in bed. It was six o'clock AM and the spring sun was filtering through his curtains. He could hear that Star was up by the muted sound of her hair drier going in the bathroom. It's been five days since he and Star did the Heart of Hearts, and this was the fourth night he had woken up in a cold sweat. He kept it to himself, but what happened that night really bothered him. Star was his friend, heck, his best friend. Although ever since that dream it was becoming impossible to ignore that Star also happened to be a girl.
He wasn't sure if it was the kiss or the run in the Star-berty that did it. But he's started to notice things about Star that he just never thought about. For instance, Star Butterfly smelled different every single day. Saturday she came back home smelling like raspberries. Monday she smelled like blackberries. Tuesday she smelled like blueberries. Wednesday she smelled like cheese and that wasn't an accident. She literally had taken a can of spray-cheese and lathered a little bit behind her ears for that day. She also had surprisingly toned arms and the way she walked. She never simply walked. She always skipped, bounced, bobbed, jived, shimmied, rolled, spun, ran, sprinted, and trudged.
He pulled himself out of bed and shuffled his way over to his connecting door to the bathroom. "Star is your friend." He mouthed. "Nothing to be scared of." He turned the handle and walked in, his feet slapping on the tile and the hair drier roaring.
"Morning Marco!" Star shouted over the noise. She was looking at him in the mirror.
"Hey Star." He returned well enough. She was already dressed; her wand in one hand and a cloud of tools surrounded her. A comb was untangling knots, the hair drier was drying her hair, and a curler was curling with a hair straightener closely following, undoing all of the curler's work.
Marco stood over his sink and opened his cabinet, taking out his comb and tooth brush and began his routine. He made sure to go a little slower than usual. Maybe Star wouldn't notice and leave before he showered…
"So Bud." Star clicked off her hair drier. The rest of the hair tools floated back onto the counter. She plucked her toothbrush and toothpaste from the mess on her side. She never let go of her wand. "Can I get your opinion on something?"
"Yeah?" Marco asked and found Star placing her wrist over his nose. He put his head back, a little surprised.
"Smell."
"Uh- O-Okay." He stammered. He started and stopped a few times before giving a tiny sniff. She smelled like pancakes…"Star. Is this syrup?"
"Uh huh!"
"Star wash it off."
"No way. I found who I am Marco."
"You're going to be sticky and attract flies." Marco looked over at her side of the sink. The syrup bottle from their kitchen was in the corner surrounded by tissues and bobby pins. He reached for it, but Star pointed her wand at his hand and zapped it. Marco shot his hand back, yelping.
"My syrup."
"It needs to go back to the kitchen Star."
"I'll put it back when I'm done." Star said, piling on an obscene amount of toothpaste on her toothbrush. Marco sighed, bringing the comb up into his hair. He'll do it later. She was not going to. He combed, listening to Star wrestle with her toothbrush. He finished and put everything back, bringing out the floss. Normally he didn't do it until after showering but Star was still around. Star flicked her eyes over at him and he met her eyes. "Mmm Mmm Mmm?" She pointed at his floss.
"Changing things up."
"Mm. Mm?"
"What? I'm not allowed to change things up?"
"mmmmmmmuh." She hummed, pulling the toothbrush out of her mouth and spitting. "Marco you never change things up." She said.
"That's not true." Marco said. Star flapped her lips.
"Yeah. Okay Marco." She said. He rolled his eyes. "Ya want Pancakes? I'm feeling pancakes." Star asked.
"We have some in the freezer." Marco said.
"Cool. Cool…" she drawled. She took a step back from the sink, just loitering. "You, ah, gonna hop in the shower or did you just decide to skip it or something?" She asked. He stopped, hissing.
"I will get in the shower Star."
"Like now or…"
"When you leave." Marco said. Star frowned. Marco cringed. She found out what he was doing. She always liked to sit around and talk a bit while he was in the shower, but now it just felt weird.
"Oh – right… Sorry."
"Sorry. Do you want any syrup on your pancakes?"
"Oh, yeah, I do actually." Star walked over and grabbed the syrup bottle walking back. "How many pancakes do you want?"
"Just two please."
"Right." She said walking out.
He waited two minutes before running in and starting to undress.
"Now to make this easier for you degenerates to remember. To calculate the Cosine you use the adjacent and the hypotenuse. To find the sine you use opposite and the tangent. To find the tangent you use the opposite and the adjacent. We abbreviate this by calling it SohCahToa who's a Native American…" Miss Skullnich rumbled.
Marco nodded slightly to himself, jotting notes down in his journal. He always was grateful for class, but today he was especially glad for it. He didn't have to do anything except listen. The same couldn't be said for Star. He always glanced over at her occasionally. Ever since she freed the class hamster Marisaul, he'd felt compelled to keep an eye on her. Last time he checked Star's boots and socks were up in the air.
Riding the bus and walking to class felt like moving through sludge. Since when were skirts and pants so short? When did girl's voices sound so high? It felt like walking through a funhouse of mirrors where gawking at the mirrors gets you slapped.
His phone itched in his pocket. He carefully brought it out and rested it on his thigh. It was a text message from Star.
Star Butterfly
Anchovies or Pineapple? :P
?
Pizza tonight Marco. What topping?
?
Friendship Thursday doof.
What topping?
The blood drained out of Marco's face. He had totally forgotten about Friendship Thursday.
Star Buttefly
Oh.
Not a topping Marco. What topping?
not tonight.
He looked over at Star's feet. They were relaxed before but now they were straightened out.
Star Butterfly
What.
Sorry!
Why?
Library with Jackie
On Thursday!? Why not Friday?
Can't do Friday.
How about Library Saturday?
How about we do Friendship Friday :D?
YOU CANT JUST CHANGE THE NAME
MARCO DIAZ (╯°□°) ╯ ┻━┻
He stared at his phone and back at Star's feet. Her boots were clacked together and were pointed at him. He got the distinct impression they were acting like some sort of periscope. He really didn't know how to respond…
Star Butterfly
YOU CANT JUST CHANGE THE NAME
MARCO DIAZ (╯°□°) ╯ ┻━┻
(L･_･)L ┳━┳
He put the phone back in his pocket. He missed enough notes and he can talk to Star about this at lunch. Although he only got about five seconds into his notes before his phone started to vibrate again. He ignored it.
His phone vibrated again and again, and then he started to hear Star's boots start to click together. He ignored it. His phone started to ring. He ignored it… Until he remembered what his ring tone was that was now the only thing heard in the room.
'SPACE UNICORN!'
FALLING THROUGH THE STARS!'
The whole class laughed, even Miss Skullnich.
"Marco how in the world can you forget that Friendship Thursday are on Thursdays!" Star cried.
"Well how can you forget to not call me in class!" Marco shot back.
"Sheesh. Get a room you two." Janna mumbled at her carrots.
"Uh. We are in a room Janna it's just really really big." Star corrected her.
"Something smaller than the lunch room." Janna returned.
"Oh yeah sure." Star nodded. "We could be in a nice old TV room with a snuggie and pizza and shows but some people, not naming any names, have SO MUCH BETTER THINGS TO DO!" Star pushed her body over the table, further and further at Marco's direction until she was lying on her stomach on the table.
"Star we can still do that!" Marco threw his hands up. "This is the only day that works for me and Jackie this week."
"Star, I think you need to calm down." Janna said. Star was staring balloon daggers at Marco who was just glaring back at her. He had no idea what crawled up Stars butt but he was having none of it. He was going on a date with Jackie and Star was going to live with it.
"Fine." Star slinked back into her seat. "Gonna have friendship Thursday by myself."
"Why not have Pony-Head come?" Marco asked.
"Not her thing." Star shook her head.
"Well… if I'm not gonna be there you don't have to do the whole TV and snuggie thing." Marco offered. "You and Pony-Head can go do something way more fun than just sitting around in snuggies all night. Like the Bounce Lounge."
Star sat there, glowering at him. He wasn't sure what else he could do besides cancel on Jackie and he simply was not going to do that.
"Well I have fun with snuggies…" Star said, at that, standing up. "Going to the bathroom." She walked towards the wall and without missing a beat, shot a ray that opened a hole, which she walked through. Once outside she raised her wand and brought it down, rocketing away on a rainbow and bunnies towards their house. She never liked the bathrooms at school.
He was confused. He didn't think it was going to be that big of a deal honestly.
"Well now that she's gone…" Janna slid her way next to him. Uncomfortably close with the grin of a snake. She left the implication just sort of hang between them, and normally, Marco would just be annoyed. Although with all that's happened recently he found himself just uncomfortable.
"Janna I'm just not in the mood. Alright?"
"Ah Marco, just messing with ya." Janna scooted away, snickering. "So what's Fabio got cooked up for tonight?"
"We're just going to the library." Marco said. Janna pursed his lips
"The library?"
"What? She's not feeling well. Figured it was something light." He shrugged. He didn't have a whole lot to go on. She liked history books, would give them a good place to hang out and maybe talk. Janna was thoughtful, puzzled even.
"Did Jackie tell you anything else about not feeling well?"
"No…" Marco said but hesitated when he saw her frown deepen. "Why?"
"Don't think it's my place…"
"Janna. What's wrong?" Marco pressed. Okay, now sweat was starting to prick his pits. Janna paused for a moment, considering.
"Okay. Look. You didn't hear this from me…" She leaned in closer. "But it's her aunt Flo."
"What's wrong with her aunt?" Marco said, fidgeting. He didn't know Jackie had an aunt Flo.
"She's sick dude."
"Sick?"
"Yeah." Janna nodded.
"Don't tell me it's serious… Right?" Marco said, and felt his blood turn to ice when Janna didn't answer right away.
"I don't know Marco, last I heard Flo was coughing up blood."
"What!"
"Yeah. It's pretty bad." Janna said. "Don't tell Jackie I told you this okay?" She stood up. "Going to Principle's Skeeve's office."
"Why?"
"Need some of his hair, or what little he has left." Janna responded, leaving him. He felt his stomach curl into knots. Now why would Jackie not tell him about that? That's pretty serious… Well, they weren't really close or anything yet. It's probably something she didn't want to worry him with. Still though…
Maybe there was something he could do?
The rest of the school day passed pretty quietly. He noticed that Star never came back from lunch. He worried about that, but the whole thing with Aunt Flo felt a bit more immediate. He ducked out of last period and biked down town, which was about fifteen minutes from school. There was a flower shop that had just absolutely beautiful arrangements focusing on hydrangeas coupled with babies' breath. There were get-well cards on the desk, which he took by impulse, and some candy that just seemed like a good idea. Then he started thinking about the presentation of it and it just spiraled out of control.
It was four o'clock PM, he was standing outside the entrance to Echo Creek's public library, pacing. A wicker gift basket rested at his feet bulging with flowers, cards, chocolates, ribbons, Easter fake green grass filler, a coloring book paired with thin tipped markers, and little balloons. It was too much, but he couldn't help himself.
The sky had the barest tint of orange to it when he saw Jackie pull up to the entrance in a blue SUV. She was wearing a white tank top with her shell necklace and long blue baggy pants. She looked a bit paler than usual, but her smile was just as warm. They waved to each other, but her smile dropped into a quizzical look when she saw the basket.
"Hey Marco…" she walked up to him, "Is that… your basket?"
"H-Hey Jackie… It's um- no- it's not for me. It's for your aunt."
"My aunt?" Jackie asked, puzzled.
"Yeah- yeah. Your aunt Flo?"
"My aunt Flo." She repeated. Marco jerked to life and picked the basket off of the ground. He handed it to her, which she took after a pause. She rummaged through the contents with a blank expression.
"Will she like it?" Marco asked with a stitched on grin. Jackie blinked her mouth slightly open.
"Um. Yes. Thank you Marco…" She said haltingly, a smile spreading across her face. "This is very sweet of you."
"Yeah well, heh, I'm sorry. I hope she feels better soon."
"Me too…" Jackie said with a small laugh. She took a deep breath. "So. Library date huh?"
"Yeah. I know you're not feeling well. I know you like history books so I just kind of figured this was a good idea."
"Hah. Alright, come on Marco. Let's go." Jackie took his sweaty hand and led him inside. The interior of the Library was a two story complex with bookcases that went all the way up to the ceiling. In the center of the room were big wooden study tables paired with long narrow tables with dividers that held computers. You could see straight up to the second floor from the center with a staircase leading up further in the back.
The history section was up on the second floor, he knew from his many trips here for school projects and research papers. There were also really neat tucked away spots with cushioned seating away, which he knew about. It didn't take long for them to find a book. Marco chose a book about the Revolutionary War while Jackie had picked out a book covering the Lewis and Clarke Expedition.
Not many people were in the library, which Marco was thankful for, so finding an open cluster of cushioned seat relatively away from people was easy enough. They settled in with their books and the gift basket between them and the largely remained quiet, sitting together. Whatever conversation they had was quick and whispered. At one point Jackie had actually asked if she could have a candy bar. Initially Marco resisted, but it was hard to say no to her so she ended up having one.
They sat until the sun started to set, and that's when Marco brought out his backpack. He had packed up some sandwiches and water for them. Technically you weren't supposed to have food in the library but this was one edge Marco felt was appropriate to live on.
Although, shortly after their food Marco could see Jackie was beginning to fade on him, date was drawing to a close…
"Hey Jackie." Marco spoke up. "Everything alright?"
"Hmm? Oh, yeah Marco." Jackie yawned. "I'm just really tired."
"Ya wanna Call it?"
"Think we could?" Jackie asked, almost sleeping. "It's been really nice Marco but I'm just about ready to fall over."
"Hey, all good." He said. "Let's head out."
"Yeah."
They both put their books down and, again, Jackie took his hand as well as the giftbasket and began to walk to the door. The library was empty and Marco didn't see anyone at the front desk.
"Should do this again sometime." Marco said, if no one was there he didn't feel like he needed to be quiet.
"Totally."
They had reached the front door and Marco looked out, it was dark out at this point. Strange, really didn't feel like all that much time had passed. He reached out to the door, but found it stubborn and pulled hard. Wouldn't budge.
"Uh oh."
"You can't open it?"
"No no, I'm sure I can." Marco placed a foot on wall to brace himself and heaved. The door shuddered but remained closed.
"I think it's locked." Jackie realized.
"What? No way, it's only like eight." Marco said. He brought his phone out of his pocket to check the time. Indeed, it was a quarter past eight.
"Locked in? Here. Let me try!"
He felt it more than he saw it. Felt like a hot iron poker grazing past his sleeze and slamming into the door. Ethereal green chains quickly wrapping themselves over the door with a shuddering clack. Jackie gasped and Marco jumped back, whirling around.
There. Standing on a tower of books was Ludo holding his wand out in front of him. "Aw shucks!" He snapped his fingers "Looks like I made things worse!"
"L-Ludo!?" Marco stuttered, heart icing over.
"Surprise! Miss me?" Ludo jumped off his book tower. "Hah! Now who's this! You're not that stupid Butterfly." he cackled bandying his wand at Jackie, which sizzled with green sparks.
"Marco? Who… Who is that?" Jackie pointed.
"I asked you first!"
"Jackie, that is Ludo." Marco hunched down, muscles tensed. "He is not a friend." What in the world was he doing here? On his date of all things!
"Jackie huh? Well shall I say Jackie it's a pleasure for this to be the first and last time I'll ever meet you." He bowed with a grin that looked like hooks were holding it up. Jackie's face went fully white.
"What are you doing here Ludo?" Marco snapped. His eyes flighted up above, to the corners. Ludo was one thing, but he was more worried about the Spider and Bird coming in.
"Well who would you rather be with, a pathetic human or a Mewni Princess!?" Ludo yelled which melted into a hysterical chuckle as he watched Marco look around. "Ohh, you're looking for my girls are you? Well you're in luck! They aren't here…" He broke off into another giggle fit. "Alone! All alone…" He brought up his wand and Marco's eyes narrowed. "Or am I! HAHA-" the wand began to crackle and shine. "FEARSOME BLACK SPIDER" He screeched.
"Jackie, run! Hide!" Marco shouted at her as the wand's green energy start to coalesce around itself. Jackie ran off to the side, shimmying along the wall and disappearing further into the library. Ludo didn't care, totally focused on him.
Marco was ready to jump out of the way, throw a chop, but as the wand released his magic, he was confused when he saw a black and red rubber spider pop out of the wand and squeak onto the floor. For a moment, both Ludo and Marco had a look of utter confusion.
"That… was not what I was expecting."
"Hiiiiyah!" Marco charged at Ludo and shot out a fist catching him right on the beak. He constantly forgot how light Ludo was because he went flying deeper into the library, crashing into a table. Marco ran after him as he struggled to his feet on the table. His wand sparkled like a star.
"Fah! It's going to take more than that!" He brought his wand up again. "CLAWED FLYING DEATH!" He yelled out. The wand sparked intensely, but all that came out was a black kite full of holes that sunk to the floor. He wailed in frustration. "STUPID STUPID STUPID WAND! I GOT YOU YOUR BOOK! WHAT MORE COULD YOU WANT?"
Marco sprinted at him again while he was trying to strangle his wand. Although Ludo looked up just in time. "At least I can still blast you! Hah!" Ludo pointed his wand below him the resulting green blast splintering the table in half as he rocketed up in the air. Marco skidded to a halt and dove to the side splinters embedding themselves in his hoodie.
Thankfully he wasn't hurt, he rose to his feet and looked around. He couldn't see Ludo. Couldn't see Jackie either, but that was probably for the best. "ELDRITCH TERROR TENTACLES!" Marco whipped his head up just in time to see Ludo hanging off the second story balcony pointing his wand straight at him.
Spaghetti flew out of his wand and slammed into Marco knocking him against a bookcase. He saw both stars and Stars. "Well. Close enough I guess!" Ludo jumped down. He landed with a pained whimper but he fought to keep the smile on his face. The wand flared.
Marco struggled, but the sauce had hardened and he found his upper body glued tight to the bookcase he was against. Ludo watched him with a playful sneer. "Hah! Some training dummy you turned out to be." He nickered.
Ludo pointed his wand at him and it started to hum with energy. Marco didn't feel anything. His adrenaline numbed him to anything. He tried to tear himself off until it became clear he wasn't able to get off. He started looking at anything, anywhere.
It was then that his eyes settled on Jackie slowly starting to creep over Ludo, a massive encyclopedia cocked back like a bat. "Any last words Marco Diaz!?" Ludo screamed. Marco's heart leapt into his throat and he choked back a relieved laugh.
"Uh... Batter up?" He's not really good at witty one-liners.
Ludo's eyes narrowed. He began to say something but whatever it was was cut short when Jackie swung the encyclopedia wildly around and caught Ludo square in the side. An audible thawk echoed throughout the room and Ludo found himself doing an impression of a screaming line drive straight into a bookcase, bouncing off of it and squashing unto the floor a pained moan coming out of him when he settled, never letting go of the Wand.
For a moment, Jackie and Marco looked at each other, then at Ludo completely surprised. "Ahh… Well… That'll do." Ludo groaned. He tried getting up, but fell back down. "Guess I'll just…. Leave…" He grunted, bringing out a jagged knife from the cord on his hip helplessly swinging at the air before it found purchase and a portal was rent open. "See you all… later!" He crawled back in the portal, dissipating away shortly afterwards.
The library returned to silence except completely ruined with a cracked table, marinara sauce staining the floor and books littering the floor. Jackie dropped her book, rushing over to where Marco was.
"Marco! Are you alright?" She exclaimed, dropping to her knees and inspecting where he was stuck.
"Fine… I'm fine." Marco breathed. The adrenaline was receding and it was like his body was catching up with all the terror that it didn't feel in the moment. He was glad though… so glad for Jackie. "Nice cut."
"Thanks…" Jackie said, giving a fragile smile.
It was then that they heard something else. Like a high-pitched siren that was increasingly becoming louder. Both of them jumped, Jackie throwing herself against Marco when a thunderous explosion banged in the room.
"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!" A horse, or rather, a warnicorn bounded into the central room. Star Butterfly was riding on top decked in an iron suit of armor with blue trim and a horned helmet yelping a yodeling war cry. She had her wand crackling menacingly in one hand and holding tight to a one-bladed war axe in the other. The warnicorn cantered around the broken table, Star's war cry dropping in pitch and intensity when it became apparent that there was nothing on going. Her warnicorn slowing down until coming to a complete stop, right in front of Jackie and Marco. "MARCO WHAT HAPPENED!" She yelled dropping down, panicking. "I FELT IT! I FELT MAGIC! IT WAS WEIRD!" She stopped short when she saw Jackie still clutching him.
"Star… Don't yell." Marco said. Jackie let go and backed up a step.
"I AM GOING TO YELL MARCO!" In an instant, Star jumped to him picking at the dried sauce. "HOLD ON!" She dug her fingers behind his shoulders and with a gargantuan heave pried him clear off. Marco winced when he heard the fabric of his hoodie tear. Star picked him up and his hoodie promptly fell away, torn in half.
"Aw man."
"Are you alright?" Jackie asked again resting a hand on his back.
"Yeah… yeah I am, just stained. Heh. Thanks to you- not the stained part, the saving part I mean… Sorry." Marco reassured her. Stung from the splinters, but largely all right. Marco looked to Star to find her shaking.
"Wh- What- What did Jackie do? What happened?" She stammered.
"This guy named Ludo attacked us." Jackie said, "He pinned Marco down, but I was able to sneak up on him and take him out."
"Clocked him with a book, that was amazing." Marco said, replaying it in his mind. She really did do a perfect swing.
"So… Everything is fine? Where's Ludo?" Star asked, clutching tightly to her wand and battleaxe at a loss.
"Ludo got away." Marco said. Star gave a lost chirp, slowly looking over at Jackie.
"And you… You saved Marco?" she hefted her axe at Jackie who took a step back.
"I... guess I did. Yeah." Jackie shrugged.
"Jackie saved the day." Star mumbled, eyes wide.
"Uh Star?" Marco asked when she remained silent for a couple of seconds. She suddenly dropped her axe.
"Sorry bout that." She said. "Did you have a nice time together?"
"We did. For the most part." Marco said quietly. There wasn't one speck of emotion on Star's face.
"Yeah." Jackie said slowly. She saw it to.
"Cool… Hey by the way have you met my warnicorn? His name is Charlie. Say hi Charlie."
"Sup."
"Hey." Marco said and Jackie waved. The four stood there a very uncomfortable silence between them, until Jackie cleared her throat.
"Well… I think it's time to go home. I'm exhausted." She said.
"Agreed." Marco nodded. Glad to get moving.
"Well I'm not tired, but I could sleep." Star said toneless. "Would you like a ride on the warnicorn?"
"That would be pretty rad." Jackie nodded.
"… Sure!" Marco said. He biked here, but with the way Star was he felt that maybe this was more important. He can always come back in the morning and get it.
"Great." Star turned around and picked up her axe. She didn't bother pulling it up so it dragged on the floor leaving a deep slice in the carpet floor. While Star was trying to get on, Jackie's eyes widened.
"Oh, wait, I gotta go get the gift basket."
Star tumbled off the warnicorn.
The ride was silent. The warnicorn was fast. Seemed like they dropped Jackie off at home in minutes and got back to their house in five minutes more. The warnicorn they were on poofed into dust as soon as they got to the front door. Instead of going through Star rocketed herself up to the roof and went straight into her room.
Marco went straight in, he didn't see his parents but he wasn't exactly looking to talk to them. Instead, he just went to his room falling on his bed. The whole day caught up to him as he lay there and pretty soon he found himself dozing off.
He really wished that could have just been the end of his day, but something slimy and moist prodded him awake, late into the night of the wee hours of the morning.
"Karate Boy." A deep accented baritone voice whispered. Marco opened his eyes.
"Buffrog?" He murmured. He matted his face to his pillow, he didn't want to do anything else.
"Pardon Interruption." He whispered. "I did not see Star in room." Marco matted his face to the pillow. Just what he needed, he sat up.
"It's alright Buffrog. What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Nothing." He was quick to say. "Just. I come with bargain. Meant for Star, but not here." Buffrog rummaged around in his pocket, bringing out a little notebook filled with scrawls. Marco couldn't make heads or tails of it. "Is mewnian." Buffrog clarified.
"What is it?
"Is vital information. Regarding Ludo." He said. "Ludo different now."
"We've noticed." Marco grumbled.
"No. Ludo actually dangerous. Has tunnel network, army, stealing corn-" Buffrog whispered, but broke off suddenly. "Ach. Must remember bargain…" Marco felt himself get a little uneasy. He hadn't heard about that. "My bargain, please tell Star."
"I will."
"I give information." Buffrog shook the notebook. "In return, you give me corn. Food. Anything for little children." Buffrog said with a hint of a pleading tone. It didn't sound like this was a bargain to him…
"Uh. Sure Buffrog. I'm sure Star would be happy to accept." Marco said. Buffrog's shoulders sagged.
"Good…Good." He mumbled. "I continue to spy on Ludo. Information for food. Yes?"
"Buffrog we can just give you food." Marco said. This was too much for him.
"I am father." Buffrog pumped a finger in his chest. "Fathers work. For little children… Besides." He paused, looking down. "Star Butterfly different. Hate to see her hurt…"
"Really?"
"Yes." Buffrog slowly nodded. Marco sighed and got out of bed. He had an idea, one that he knew he would appreciate.
"Wait here Buffrog. I am going to get something." Marco left him in his room and tiptoed downstairs to the kitchen. He opened the fridge and pulled out a big blue bowl, bursting with watermelon slices. He smiled.
When he got back, Buffrog's eyes bugged out when he saw what he was carrying.
"That is…?" He pointed but hesitated when Marco offered him a slice.
"We call it watermelon. It's an earth thing. Eat the pink parts, leave the green." He said. Buffrog took it, inspecting it and licking it with his tongue. He went still.
"Is… sweet…" He said haltingly.
"It's mostly water. Its actually very healthy and easy to mash up." Marco explained, but Buffrog was already pinching it in his fingers. "You can take the whole bowl… just bring it back when you're done."
Buffrog gingerly accepted the bowl, his face slowly breaking out into a smile. He hooked an arm around, gently bringing Marco in. He smelled like marsh and salt, kind of gross.
"Thank you karate boy. This means the world."
"Don't mention it." Marco said. Buffrog took out his scissors.
"I leave you to sleep."
"Wish I could… Gonna have to find out where Star is."
"Ah. I see. Window was open if that is any help."
"Thank you Buffrog." Marco closed his eyes. He didn't like the implications of that. Buffrog tore a portal open and hopped in, leaving Marco in silence with the notebook on his nightstand. Without missing a beat, Marco walked out of his room and down the hall into Star's room. Indeed, Star's bed was empty and her window was open.
He looked outside, not really expecting to see Star but was surprised when he saw her sitting on the roof curled up in a ball looking off into space. "Star? What are you doing here?"
Star whipped her head up, surprised to see him, but the surprise quickly morphed into apathy. He still saw it plain enough though.
"Oh. Hey Marco. Just thinking." She said. Marco climbed outside to join her, sitting down.
"What are you thinking about at this time of night?"
"Stuff."
"What kind of stuff?"
"Star stuff." She said. Marco didn't say anything and let the silence go between them. "Sorry…" Star spoke eventually.
"Now what are you sorry about?"
"Being a goof today… about friendship Thursday."
"Ah." Marco nodded. "It's all good."
"No its not Marco. I was stupid."
"You're not stupid."
"Oh come on, I really starred things today."
"Well, I'm sorry for not telling you sooner."
"Marco please stop." Star admonished him. "You didn't do anything wrong."
"Well I don't want you to be mad." Marco shook his head. "Although, Star, you do know I'm going to be spending time with Jackie right?"
"Oh I know… yeah…" She twirled her hair. "I'm sorry."
"Told ya, you're fine." Marco waved it off. Star chuckled weakly.
"Really don't feel that way." Star hesitated. "I guess- just- Marco-" She sighed. "I'm not going to lose you am I? We'll still do things right?"
"Of course we will Star." Marco said looking at her. "You're still my best friend. My Friday night is free, lets do a friendship day then-" Marco started to say, but found himself scooped up into a hug.
"Promise?"
"Yes? Of course."
"Good, because Marco I really don't know what I would do otherwise…" Star trailed off, squeezing tighter. He didn't know what to say to that. So, he just returned the hug.
Star may be crushing his mid-section and smelled like salt and soap. But all that stuff just seemed insignificant as of that moment. It really dawned on him just what kind of turmoil that she must have been going through. Star was definitely a girl… but she was also his friend and he wasn't going to let her face this alone.