buckle up lol this one's gonna go down like vinegar

The two made it out of the mall, and with hindsight Jackie saw how it could have been overstimulating for someone who just came out of a situation that Marco had. now it was time to surround him with things that were familiar things that made him feel and place and at home. Ice cream was a great ice-breaker for this. They made it to a shop and headed inside for their sweet treats. Inside was more of the same like the mall, there were no posters instead screens danced along the walls with their advertisements and deals. There were not that many people inside especially in comparison to the mall so it was a little less stimulating which helped Marco not feel so out of place. However the lack of a cashier made things a little odd as the whole place was run by a single manager and a staff of machines that could scoop ice cream and two perfect bulbs of sweetness. Jackie asked for Marco's order before approaching the line, there she placed the order on a screen and paid for it with her card, the arms got to work and build the tall cones topping off with candies and cookies. Jackie walks down to the pickup and was handed the treats by cold metal claws. She turned and handed Marco his cone what she took happily, well happier than before. "Thank you" he said simply before licking it. They found their way to a table and Marco just licked at his cone, for the most part spaced out, but every now again the ice would melt and drop down on his hand snapping him back. The treat calmed him a lot. Chocolate ice cream was the cure-all for everything, even being trapped in some dystopian future nightmare hellscape. Marco even felt himself slowly snapping back into reality. "This place is pretty cool... robots that serve you ice cream. Who woulda thought.." he said, finally making small talk. "Yeah, places like these have been popping up everywhere since 2021. There's a ramen house down the street that offers fully automated service, the only people who work there are the chefs who prep the ingredients and make the noodles and broth." said Jackie. "Neat!" said Marco, cracking a smile. "I can't believe that lady back there thought you were my mom..." he said, with a chuckle. "I know! I don't think I look that old, do I?" she giggled. "She probably thought you were because of how young I look. I have a baby face. I could easily pass for 12, maybe even 10 after a haircut and a fresh shave." said Marco, rubbing his stubble. Jackie laughed at his comment, and then there was a brief silence as neither of them knew exactly what to say. "Sooo... surf shop and no college huh? Whatever happened the history buff you were back when we dated?" asked Marco.

"Life is a weird stage set up, man... You think you know what you want to do then life just goes and proves you wrong." She giggled leaning back into her chair some. "It started with me just renting out my boards to friends. Ya know, pay me five bucks and I'll let ya use my expensive equipment sort of deal. And it just sort of grew, I ended up buying boards just to keep up, soon I couldn't just do it out of my car and computer so I opened up a shop. It all kind of happened fast, I'm lucky it worked out. " Jackie explained rather loosely. "I enjoy my job, it's definitely been an experience. N' hay... I'll take you out surfing with my top notch gear some time." she said in a cheery voice. "That sounds nice.." Marco said with a smile. He loved the beach, he remembered all the fun days he spent splashing around in the water with Star. He wondered if he'd ever get to experience that again. "And I'm serious about the job offer. I could use the extra set of hands around the place, especially if those hands belongs to someone I can trust." said Jackie. Truthfully, she didn't need a tremendous amount of help around her shop, she really just felt this instinctual need to keep an eye on Marco. Plus she knew that keeping him busy would keep his mind off of other things. She didn't know how things would go when he finally caught up with Star again, but she wasn't counting on things going extremely well. "I'll have to think about it... I need to figure out what I'm gonna do in terms of school, but I'll let you know." said Marco, finishing up his frozen treat.

Not to long after Marco, Jackie finished her treat as well. Once Marco saw she had finished he shifted in his seat a bit. "Hey, um. If it's cool... I want to go find Star." He spoke up. Jackie hesitated a moment. "Like right now?" "Um, yeah." He started. "See, I don't think my dad will let me go any time soon and I don't exactly want to stress him out anymore than he is. I need to see star, and if I can go while my dad thinks I'm here on Earth with you, he won't ever worry." Jackie was rather caught off guard. "I.. uh.. I mean.. if you think you're prepared for that, then.. I guess we gotta go find Star" she said with a smile. "But we have to be back in 4 hours, or your Dad will kill me. Think we can swing that?" Jackie asked. Marco pulled out his dimensional scissors from his back pocket. "I don't think it'll be a problem at all." said Marco, smiling back. "But we need to find a secluded place to open the portal, I'm not trying to go dimension hopping in a public establishment." said Marco, gesturing to the other ice cream shop patrons. "Alright, come on. We will head to my shop." She nodded and offered a smile. Marco's face started to light up. The thought of seeing Star made him motivated and he stood up ready to go. Marco and Jackie headed to the car and got in. Before she started the car she opened the glove box and searched around. "I know it's here some where. Ah!" She pulled out an AUX cable. And plugged it into her car. "Man I haven't used this in a while. Here dude, plug in your jams. " She handed him the other end and started her car. The car ride had to be the best mood Jackie's seen Marco in this whole trip. He played some songs that Jackie would say where blasts from the past. They got to the shop and Jackie parked In the back. It was closed for the day. She got out of the car and unlocked the back door with her keys. Marco of course followed in. She closed the door behind him, and locked it before turning in on the lights. "Welcome to my shop man. Just tell me if you see anything you like." She treated with a shrug. "Whoa, this is so cool. " Marco complimented the shop. It has white walls with aqua trim. The walls where decorated with surf boards of all price ranges, the floor was covered with shelves and racks of equipment like flippers or swimsuits. It even had a little gift shop shelf. Marco looked around, but he did it quickly. He was ready to hurry up and go find Star. He returned back to Jackie's side and pulled out his scissors once more. "I love this place, and I would love to look around more later, but where can we cut this portal?" asked Marco. "It's my shop. Open it anywhere." chuckled Jackie. Marco shrugged and took the scissors Hekapoo had given him so long ago and tore open a portal. They stepped in quietly to find only an empty bedroom. "Where are we?" asked Jackie, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. It was the dead of night on Mewni and everything was quiet. "Star's room. Or, at least, I thought so. She's not here.." said Marco as he sat on the still-made bed. He looked around the room. He hadn't been here in so long. Well, to him it hadn't felt that long ago, but it reality it had been a decade. He looked by where Jackie was standing and found the hoodie and note he had left, still on the floor. "Hmm. She never got my note. I guess she sleeps somewhere else now..?" deduced Marco. "Then I guess we're going on a princess hunt." said Jackie.

Star sat up in bed with a groan. She didn't like getting up when she was comfy, but nature was calling. She exited the big bed she shared with her demon fiance and started down the hallway to the bathroom. She hadn't been sleeping that good anyway- Tom's snoring had been getting out of hand for a few weeks now. She'd be lying if she wasn't tempted to smother him with the pillow every once in a while. She was almost to the bathroom when she could have sworn she heard a door creek in the direction of her old bedroom. This was odd seeing as there are no other offices or bedrooms in that part of the castle.

"Okay dude so seriously, let me talk to Star first. " Jackie said grabbing Marco's shoulder before he could run off. " She may need to be warned about this ... She took your loss more personal than anyone. It's been ten year. Just let me get this started " Jackie whispered. Star, down the hall, could hear the sounds of hushed conversation, but she still couldn't make out who or what was there. "Hello?" She asked. Her voice sent shivers down both Marco's and Jackie's spines. "just stay." Jackie ordered before Marco could speak up in protest and slipped out of the room to meet Star in the hall way.

"Star! Buddy! Long time no see!" said Jackie, popping out of the room. "H-wha? Jackie? How did you get here? Not that I'm not happy to see you, you look great! Love what you're doing with your hair!" said Star, confused yet pleasantly surprised. "Oh, this? Yeah I figured I try out a new style a couple years back, you know how it is. You look great too!" She said, returning the compliment. Marco listened to their conversation, relieved to hear Star's voice. She hadn't changed at all! "Oh this? These are just my pajamas!" giggled Star. "But yeah, seriously, how are you here and why?" said, flipping her tone of voice. Jackie scratched the back of her head nervously. "Okay, so, Before I tell you, promise to not freak out?" She asked. "Uh, okay?" replied Star. "...It's about Marco." With that, Star fell silent. The color draining from her face at the mere mention of her long-lost lover's name. "I-I don't know what you could possibly have to say about him... he's been gone for years." She stammered out. Jackie pondered her word choice for a moment. "Uhhhhh.. well... see, the thing about that... there's been a, uh.." "STAR!" exclaimed Marco excitedly as he burst out of the room with arms stretched out for a hug. He stood in front of her with a big smile on his face while Star froze stuff, her hair raising on her skin. He ran into her and wrapped his arms tight around her. She was significantly taller, and she didn't feel like stars body he was use to, this was fully matured and felt more like his mother. But he didn't care he just held on while star stood there with an expression of utter fear. "Dude!" Jackie ran up and put a hand on Marco's shoulder prompting him to look up as see Star's face of horror and watering eyes threatening to let tear drops fall. "No, not again.." Star's voice was weak and shook. "I thought I was done seeing these things... Why now?" she said to herself, thinking she was stuck in another Marco related lucid nightmare.

"Wait, seeing things?" asked Marco. "Star, no, it's actually me! I'm alive! I can explain everything!" Said Marco, letting go of the the woman. Star fell silent and looked at him, terrified, and then back at Jackie. "He's as real as me, Star. I promise this isn't some hallucination." said Jackie. Star rubbed her temples for a moment. "Come with me. We should.. we should all sit down. I need a drink." She said, with a monotone voice. She led them down the hallway and into a room. It was simple and plain, but there was a stocked minibar and a table with chair. Star poured herself a glass of Mewman wine. "Sit." She instructed the two friends. "And convince me why I'm not losing my marbles again." She said, hand trembling. Marco scratched the back of his head and spoke up. "I got on the plane... it felt like just a normal flight. But then there was this awful turbulence. Rattled the plain enough to make you think we were going to split in half. It came out of nowhere. But It was only a few seconds! Then we landed and suddenly it's 10 years later... and my brother is in the 4th grade and has no idea who I am... and my house is gone.. and my mom is dead..." said Marco, trailing off, reminding him of how shitty the nature of his situation truly is. "And I miss you. And I need you, now more than I've ever needed anything..." He finished, his tone changing to that of something profoundly somber. Before Star could muster an answer for Marco, Jackie interjected. "Y'know, Star, this means you could have been right! Marco came back and he hasn't aged a day. There has to be something magical behind this, these things don't just happen."

The woman listened to the both of them but their words didn't seem to impact her. She heard their words, but was stuck in the moment, processing all of it. "Star...Star!" Jackie addressed her to snap her out of what ever set of mind she was in. "Are you okay?" Star didn't seem to be coping well at all at this point. She was pale, well, more pale than usual and her face seemed flushed of life. Her eyes drooped with lack of sleep and red from stress. She ignored Marco's request for whine, and sipped on her own with little to no words leaving her lips. Every now and again a silent tear fell from her cheek as her mind revisited old memories that where now the most painful memories of her life. Marco couldn't stand seeing star thing way, it hurt, he didn't like seeing the pain, and confusion, denial on her face. "Star..." He started. "I don't know the full details about what's happened to you these past ten years, but nothing has changed for me, I still love you and miss you, I'm so sorry this happened. I never wanted any of this to happen." said Marco, trying to say something that would reach his estranged love.

"You said you were coming back, and you didn't." She said softly, without looking directly at Marco. "I know, I didn't want it to be like this. But I'm here now, and I love you, and I want to be with you. I dunno, maybe we can find some kind of spell to age me up or something- and I... I can't imagine how hard it was for you after I disappeared all those years ago, and I know I can't-" "Can't what, Marco?" started Star as she raised her voice slightly and locked eyes with Marco. "Give me back the four years I spent pulling out my own hair, scratching away my skin, biting my fingernails off looking for a way to bring you back, while I starved myself and deprived myself of sleep until I could find even a little piece of bullshit information that suggested you could possibly be alive?!" She said, voice quivering. "Star, none of that was my fault! It was out of my hands!" interjected Marco. "What about the 6 years I spent afterwards, accepting you were gone and agreeing to settle down with the most C+ husband in the multiverse, because I decided to focus on the welfare of my kingdom instead of my own happiness!" said Star, practically yelling. Marco and Jackie fell silent. "Do you have ANY IDEA what it's like to hallucinate your dead boyfriend for years?! To feel yourself lose control of your brain?" She said, tears rolling down her face. "S-Star, I swear I'm r-" "I KNOW you're really here! And I have no idea what to think!" interjected Star. "What did you expect would happen here? That I'd just magically fix your timeline like a broken bone and then leave my fiance, abandon my kingdom, and destabilize my entire life AGAIN so I can go fool around with my dead ex-boyfriend?" said Star, clutching her hair. She felt like she was losing her mind again. Did Marco really just think she could bring her adult life to a screeching halt to be with him, especially with her now being an adult and him still being a kid? Just then, Jackie's words ringed out in the back of her head, and she had a point. Star WAS right! Marco's disappearance had to be magic related for him to just return randomly, without having aged a day! This realization eased Star in the sense that now she knew she never was actually crazy, but it didn't make the present situation any easier.

Jackie stepped in between before another word escaped from their lips. "Whoa whoa whoa. Okay. Marco? Can you step out please?" Asked Jackie as she took a hold of Stars wrists to keep her from pulling out her hair viciously like she had seen her do just a couple of years ago. It was instinct at this point for her to grab Star, calm her down, and hug her and that's just what Jackie did while Marco watched from the doorway, dumbfounded and heartbroken. "Look at me Star, breathe... This isn't how you want this day to go and you know it." Jackie said firmly. Star had tears streaming down her face and she took sharp panicked breaths looking at Marco. "Don't look at him, look at me, remember how this goes?" She asked. Stars eyes darted between the two before finally settling in Jackie's stare and nodded, the two just took a few breaths in sync together. In and out. Long drawn out breaths made to lower heart rate. after a while Star calmed and her body felt weak and heavy from lack of sleep, the emotional roller coaster she is facing wasn't helping ether . Feeling the dead weight from star relaxing, Jackie pulled her into a hug where the queen finished her sobbing and gathered herself in her friends arms just enough to face the truth.

"..I'm sorry." She said, panting. "This is all just-" "Completely insane?" interjected Jackie. "Yes! Absolutely insane. I need.. I need to talk to Marco alone for a minute. I need to do this right." She said, pinching her forehead. Jackie nodded and stepped into the hallway where Marco was waiting. "Buck up, champ. She wants to talk to you." said Jackie with a smile, sending him in. Marco stepped inside with caution, Star's rage had scared the hell out of him. They stood and looked at each other for a moment, and then Star embraced him in a tight hug. Marco hugged back, fighting back tears. "I missed you so much.." He said softly. Star kissed him on the forehead and touched his cheek softly. "I've missed you more than you can imagine... sit down, please." Instructed Star. Marco sat down and Star sat across from him. "I'm sorry for freaking out on you, you didn't deserve that... if my mother was here she probably would have told me it wasn't very Queen like." said Star, sipping her glass of wine. "I can hear that lecture now.." said Marco with a soft smile. "I can't believe you haven't aged at all, after all this time. Still so handsome.." She said, taking another sip. She was fighting back a frown, not liking what she was about to do to the poor boy.

"And you have grown more beautiful than I could have ever imag-" Star held up her hand, palm out to stop him. Something about being complimented before she was about to rip his heart about made her crack a bit, and show her true weakness she was fighting back. There was a moment of silence as star caught her breath and swallowed down her emotions again. "Thank you... " She stated simply. "Star, can I please just say something. " Marco spoke up getting a little tired of not being able to speak himself in such intense times. "Marco, I know what you want... I can't give it to you..." She said through clenched teeth looking away. "I'm kind of figuring that out..." Marco sighed feeling a part of him die inside as he admitted it himself. "These types of things have to be handled in a certain way that is very delicate and calculated, as they're tremendously complex, I'm sure you understand." said Star, changing her tone a bit. "I do.." said Marco, cautiously, unsure of where she was about to take this. "Good, now you and Jackie should return to Earth promptly. " Star stated as the color from Marco's face drained. "Wait what?" Marco began the panic. "But I just got here?!" Star stood up. "And I must return to bed, we don't want the King to charge you with treason for trying to win over his queen." responded Star as she began exiting the room.

"So that's it? I just get to lose fucking everything then? My home, my mother, getting to watch my brother grow up? And now you? You're just sending me off so you can continue pretending I'm dead? Maybe thinking we could still be together was a little far fetched, fine, but I thought we'd at least still be friends!" said Marco, now furious and frustrated as all hell, with tears running down his face. Star couldn't bear to turn back and face him as she began walking out of the room. "...Your return has confirmed something. That I was right. Your disappearance must have been magic related. I will investigate on my own time, I'm queen. I have better resources now. When I have news, I'll make contact with you. But until then.." she trailed off, voice quivering. "It's best that we don't talk or see each other. Everyone here.. everyone thinks you're still dead. Until we can figure things out, it's best that the people continue to believe that." She stammered out. "So I just sit around and wait, and hope that you will eventually come back to talk to me? How do I know whether or not you're really going to? What if I wait for months and hear nothing?" He protested, tears streaming down his cheeks. Star hesitated not sure if what she was hearing was right... but it was. she felt something snap, and suddenly she felt disassociated from the room. Her dead gaze laid upon Marco who echoed his own words within his head, hearing the irony now that it was to late. "Welcome to the world of government secrecy... Goodnight, Marco Diaz. " and with that, she headed back to her bedroom. She passed Jackie in the hall whom she ignored and b lined to the safety of her husband who would for sure ward away the unwanted company if the chose to pursue her. Marco did, but stopped at Jackie's side, tears still fresh and dripping.

"I'm going to fucking throw up." said Marco, basically spitting the words. "That bad huh? Y'know, I don't think I've heard you say 'fuck' like, ever." said Jackie, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You know, I'm starting to think that plane crashed and I'm really dead, and this is hell. I'm in hell, Jackie!" said Marco, starting to freak out as he took out his dimensional scissors and opened a portal back to Jackie's shop. Jackie followed Marco through the portal and grabbed his shoulder before he could run off in his blinded sorrow.

"Hell's a lot hotter, trust me." Jackie reassured him. "Sit down and try to relax man... Things will get solved." "My girlfriend got married in under 20 hours!" Marco snapped around and spat his words at Jackie. "One day I'm talking to her, she says she loves me, the next she's grown a foot taller, has boobs out of no where, got hitched, now she wants nothing to do with me?! How do I relax?!" Marco's voice was shrill and frantic. Jackie's nose wrinkled not liking the emotions that where just hurled at her so aggressively, but kept level headed. He was a kid after all. "Look man, You know what I meant, go sit in the break room watch some TV, gather yourself. I need to take you back home soon... I need to go home too, and sleep. I'm back on my normal work schedule for a while. You know if you need anything I will make time for you, but you need to level out first dude..." said Jackie, firmly.

"Level out? Level out!? Nothing about any of this is even remotely level!" exclaimed Marco. "Star wants next to nothing to do with me, my little brother looks at me like I'm a stranger, my home is gone, my dad barely lets me do anything now because he thinks I'll just disappear again, and I fucking miss my Mom!" He yelled through loud sobs. "Y'know what? Just take me back to my Dad's place. At least there I can go to sleep, and at least when I'm asleep it's like I'm dead for real." He said, turning to walk towards the car, but before he could, Jackie gripped his wrist and pulled him into a tight hug. She didn't appreciate being screamed at, but it was clear Marco needed some kind of physical comfort. He may have been 15, but he was still a kid, and no kid should ever have to go through what Marco was going through. At first being pulled into a hug enraged him, he grabbed fistfuls of her shirt ready to yank her off, but something made him hesitate. He hadn't realized out touch deprived he had been, and he almost immediately started to calm down and sink his wight onto her similar to how Star had earlier. His cries didn't stop, but at least they where far less violent. His fists shook before his grip on the shirt loosened and soon dropped as he let go and just hugged back, crying. Jackie just held him and swayed slightly side to side, rocking him as she comforted him. She didn't say anything and just let Marco get what he needed out. it hurt to see him like this, she felt her throat getting tight as sadness washed over her, but she kept it hidden. what mattered now was making sure Marco was okay, and to make sure he is safe. right now, she didn't want to bring him home, she wanted to keep him around and make sure he didn't do anything stupid in his depressive episode, but that wasn't a choice she could make. eventually he would have to go home, and pretend non of this happened. That scared her.

"Are you going to be okay if you go home? Will you be able to act like we had a normal day?" asked Jackie, reminding him that his dad couldn't know where they had gone. "If I'm being honest.. my dad would be able to read me like a book right now.." He said, voice muffled as his face was still buried in her shirt. Jackie patted his back. "Why don't you crash at my place tonight? I want to keep an eye on you. I don't think it's a healthy idea for you to go home and act like none of this happened." She said to the boy. Marco parted from her and looked up at her. "My Dad won't go for it.." He said, sniffling. "Let me handle him." said Jackie as she pulled out her cell phone and dialed Rafael's number. "Hey Raf! Yes. Yes everything is good Marco was fine, there was just a little hiccup- he had a bit of a panic attack at the mall, he's not feeling very good at all. If it's okay with you, I'd like to keep him tonight, and just make sure he'a okay." She spoke into the phone. Marco heard some indistinct chatter from the other end. After a minute or so, Jackie chuckled. "Believe me Rafael, I can read teenagers like a book. Sometimes, it's better for them to talk to their friends about their issues instead of parents. Don't worry, I'll make sure he stays safe. Yes, I'll have him home at noon tomorrow. Yes, I can absolutely throw his clothes in the wash- by the way I went AWOL and took him clothes shopping. His wardrobe is soooo 2018. Hahaha! Yes, no problem Rafael. Tell MJ I said good night! See ya tomorrow!" Click. "Done and done." Said Jackie to Marco, who looked quite surprised. "How did you do that?" asked Marco. "I told you, I'm good with parents. Also your Dad can pretty much never say no to me." She said with a smile. Jackie gave the boy two solid pats on the back, and they ended their embrace. She grabbed her keys and hit the unlock button, prompting her car to been short and quickly twice just outside. "Let's get to my place before it gets too dark." She offered. Marco stepped back and wiped the back of his hand over his wet cheeks with a sniffle and a nod. Once again Marco followed Jackie's lead and headed out of the shop into her car. As Jackie drove, every now and again she would look Marco down from the corner of her eye to try to read his mindset and mood without stepping over boundaries. He seems spaced out again, and every now and again she could hear him choke up as he revisited painful thoughts. It hurt to just sit. His mind wouldn't slow down. He looked over the old texts on his phone, just trying to find comfort in Star's words of love and support he received while away but it just seemed to pour salt in the wounds of the situation.

Marco shut off his phone and put it away. The Star Butterfly he once knew was gone, and she it was evident she wasn't coming back; not anytime soon, at least.

*sad song on the worlds smallest violin*

Next chapter will be less emotionally exhausting, I swear. in fact- It'll be a Star chapter!