(Marco's POV)

About a week out of the hospital, Marco was now fully recovered from his accident, although he hadn't been hurt before. He was in his house, about to finally go to school. He took in a deep breath, a little nervous about what the kids at school had to say. He grabbed one of his hoodies, but as he looked at it, the red it was colored was suddenly uncomfortable. He put it down, a little confused on why he was doing so. He put on a plain black shirt and went to knock on Star's door, then he remembered . . . she wasn't here. He pulled his hand away, sadness overtaking him. She was back in Mewnie now. He wondered if she was having any fun without him. Probably, she was Star Butterfly. She could have fun no matter what. He sighed and turned to go downstairs, but as he did, he thought about his parents. They loved him, as he was. He owed to them to go back to normal. He sucked it up and went back into the room, picking up the hoodie. He stared at it, feeling slightly uncomfortable. He sucked it up and put it on. As he did, he felt the red around him, and it was . . . nice. He liked it. He shook his head. it was ridiculous, you couldn't feel color. He went downstairs.

"Bye, mom. Bye, dad." He said and made his way outside. His parents called their goodbyes, and he walked towards the bus stop. As he did, he thought about the kids at school, and what they heard about his condition. He got to the bus stop and found it was devoid of life as usual. He stood next to the sign, just like usual, waiting in the empty street. He looked out in front of him, his mind going slower than he would like it to. He didn't bother looking around for the bus, it always got him to school on time.

"Well, isn't this a coincidence?" Someone said. He looked to the left to see . . . the nurse. Chelsea, was it? She had her fire hair tied in a ponytail and a wide smile on her face.

"Hey. Didn't think I'd see you here." Marco said, smiling a little.

"Well, I must answer in kind. So, you go to Echo Creek?" She asked. Marco nodded.

"Yeah, you?"

"I'm going to graduate at the end of the year. So . . . you need some guidance since you probably lost all your memory?" She said, jokingly. He immediately thought of Star and sobered a little.

"No, it's fine." He said. There was a long lapse of silence as he gathered his thoughts. He woke himself up mentally, trying to lighten up.

"Hey, wanna play a prank?" Chelsea asked out of nowhere. Marco looked at her confused.

". . . What?" He said.

"A prank. Half of the people at Echo think you're dead, so this could be a great opportunity." She said.

". . . I don't know . . ."

"Oh, come on. All you have to do is act broody and stuff, like . . . how you think a ghost would act."

". . . I don't think people will buy it." He said. "Plus, I'm not really the pranking type."

"Seriously? Look, please, just this once."

". . . I'm not sure about this."

"I'll do anything, just this once." She said, giving him a pleading look. He sighed.

"Look, I just want to go back to a normal life, so I'm sorry, but I can't."

"I thought you liked doing all this dangerous stuff. At least, that's what your parents said." Marco flinched. He had done a lot of dangerous stuff, but that was with Star. Now she was gone. So it was only fair for that part of him to go, too. Or was it? He sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry. Maybe we can do it another time." He said.

"It's a date." She said. Marco blushed at the word "date," and was about to protest. Just then the bus stopped with a screech in front of them. Marco didn't flinch at the sudden action. In fact, it kind of amused him. The world was going back to normal.

"Well, if it isn't the safe kid, back from the dead. You getting on?" His old bus driver. He smiled. The world was going back to normal . . .

Could he?


(Star's POV)

Star stood in her room, looking sadly at her current attire. A fancy dress. She wanted to wear her normal clothes, or at least the ones she had on earth. Thinking of earth led her to think of Marco. She had found out that they were in love, and not even thirty minutes later, she . . .

Never mind. It was over now. Marco couldn't be hurt because of her. Star looked down at the ground, feeling the tears welling up. She told herself she couldn't cry, it would ruin her make-up. Her mother was planning a ball, and Star was to attend, for an important announcement. She didn't want to, she was in a horrible mood now. But she had to, it was royal matters, and the Princess of Mewnie had to be present. Star sighed. Just then there was a knock on the door.

"Princess?" One of her servants, Collins. "The Queen requests your presence." Star sighed. She sucked up all the sadness and stood, walking to the door.

"I'm ready, Collins." She said, loudly and monotone. The door opened and Star sighed. The old man Collins led her through the hallways of her luxurious castle, and into the main hall, where many of the inter-dimensional royals were gathered. Star's mom approached her.

"Star, you look lovely tonight." The Queen said.

"Thanks, Mom," Star said, smiling. Her mother rewarded her in kind, giving a friendly smile.

"Your father will be here any minute, so I need to tell you this before the announcement. Do you remember the kingdom of Draconia?" Of course, she did. Not only was it filled with the universe's shiest people, but it was twice the size and quantity of Mewnie. Its army alone could outnumber theirs five to one, and they had superior fighting techniques.

"Of course. I was friends with the prince, Kalahari, when we were younger."

"Well . . . the Draconians have been making some threats, and for the sake of the kingdom, we had to strike a treaty." She said. Star was confused. What did this have to do with her?

"I don't need to know this, Mom. Treaties aren't exactly my thing." The Queen's smile was replaced by a look of regret.

". . . That's not it. The Draconian council is demanding . . . your hand as a part of the treaty."

"They want to cut off my hand?!" She asked, confused and horrified. Her mother shook her head.

"No, no, Star, it's worse than that . . . they want you . . . to marry the prince." She said. Star's eyes widened and she took a step back.

". . . What?" She said in almost a whisper. Her mother put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Star, but we have no other choice. If we risk war with Draconia, our kingdom could be annihilated." She said. Star pushed her mother's hand away.

"Then ask them to think of something else, gold, or jewels." She drastically spoke, denying what she had just been told.

"We can't Star...we already accepted." The last words rang through Star's head like a gong of doom, each crashing through her heart in a horrible way. She backed up, not bothering to hide her tears, looking at her mother with a mask of shock. Given the current condition of the kingdom, it was the best solution, for the rest of the kingdom, and the people. They had to come first, but why . . . why did it seem so wrong? She couldn't go through with it. She seemed frozen to that spot, grief-stricken. When she came to her senses, she turned and ran full-sprint to her room. She crashed in and closed the door behind her, falling on the bed, letting her tears empty themselves.

"I . . . love him. I love him. I . . . don't want to." She told herself, thinking of Marco. She wondered that, if she had stayed on earth, would this be happening? Of course, it would. The only thing that would change was the number of people crying. The number of broken hearts. Why did she keep getting her heart broken?

Marco . . . was Star's last thought as she drifted off, once again finding herself crying herself to sleep.