Well this is about as late as late gets, I should have posted this chapter and one more by now but I just can't find my motivation to do … anything anymore. Anyway, I'm sorry and I will have the next chapter up as soon as possible, which might not be that soon sadly. Now let's hit up those reviews.

Guest Sorta: That he does, he is going to need to think of something outside the box if he's to get out of this mess … or just be really lucky.

Robertkellett: Well he is in trouble but you have to remember, Star is, at least, partially responsible by telling him that he can't come because he wasn't invited, the rest is Marco's fault though. Thank you, I'm always worried about action sequences, they're not my strong suit.

TheOneAndOnly1993: Yes, he really has lost his mind.

TheRealCartoonManiac: Thank you, that's basically what's going on in his mind right now.

kylegriggs13: Well, this is at least partially her fault, she was the one who lied to him and, although he still should have told her the truth, she came onto him.

Nathanhobleygray: O

Guest: Then I think you may like this next part.

RobLebron: Well, Marco's in trouble, that's for sure, and I will try and get the next chapter up as soon as I can.

thewookie1: Lies? Sorry I can't think of any.

JJmmmmmlol: The hole deepens, doesn't it?

Disclaimer: Star vs. the Forces of Evil characters belong to Daron Nefcy.

Beta read by Sabrina06

(Marco's POV)

By the time I regained my senses, I was standing in the gym shower holding the mask as the water washed over me once more. "What happened?" I asked as I rubbed my eyes. Memories began flooding back but it was strange, almost as though I dreamt the whole thing. Yet I knew the truth, it was no dream. "And I didn't even break it off with her." I said with a sigh.

"Well what did you expect?" I asked myself. "Star doesn't want to be with you anymore, and you just can't let go of that."

"I know!" I retorted. "I just … never thought she would actually get tired of me … m-maybe she didn't, I mean she did say that she didn't mean that."

"Words to cover up while in front of her crush." I told myself. "No one wants to sound mean in front of someone they admire." I paused and let my words sink in. "You knew it was only a matter of time before she left you."

"I know." I replied. "I just thought … I just didn't think it would come this soon."

"Well you had better get used to it because it's started."

I looked down and shook my head. "No … it started long ago, now it's coming to an end." I turned off the water and grabbed the towel that I hung just outside the shower and began to dry off. "I was a fool for not realizing it sooner."

As I finished drying off, I made my way out of the shower and over to my locker; I was thankful that the gym was empty at this time of the day, less people to notice me change and less people that I had to convince to cover for me. I might however need to explain this to the receptionist on my way out; something I wasn't looking forward to. "Better to leave them here, it's the one thing I don't want Star to find." I said before throwing my mask into my bag and the outfit into my locker.

I grabbed my nearly empty bag and took a deep breath as I began making my way out. I had nearly made it out of the building until a voice caused me to stop. "Hey Marco, can I ask you something?" The receptionist asked.

I slowly turned around and forced a smile. This was the absolute last thing I wanted to do, but I had to do it. "Yes Jackie … What is it?"

She gave a coy smile at the sight of my frustration; ever since we had our falling out, Jackie had developed a knack for getting under my skin. The one up side was that at least she wasn't as bad as Janna. "You know it's kinda funny, there was this guy who left this morning shortly after you came in. Funny thing is though, I opened today and I never saw him come in."

"Strange the way the world works." I said with a fake smile.

"And on top of that, I took a moment to look for you not to long ago but I couldn't find any trace of you until that same guy walked back in."

"Go figure." I replied again desperate to get out.

"Yeah but you two were wearing the same shoes."

I stopped short at her last statement. "Coincidence."

She shook her head with a smile. "Same tear along the bottom? I don't think so."

I looked down and sure enough, there was a tear on my right shoe that I hadn't noticed before. "Damn." I whispered. "Fine, what do you want?"

"Oh nothing much." She began as she began fiddling with her phone. "But … Interestingly enough … Star has a picture of herself and that guy that was here, and she is talking about him like he's her boyfriend."

"What?" I retorted.

"First real date with the new BF, can't wait to see him again." She read before showing me a selfie that Star took of us.

"Damn."

Jackie smiled and began fiddling with her phone again. "So are you two secretly dating? I though I was the only one with a flame on your heart." She paused for a moment. "Well … Janna as well but I have a better one."

"Neither of you have a flame on my heart." I retorted. "Especially you … I am long since over you Jackie."

"Is that so?" She picked up her phone and began typing. "Wait till the whole school finds out about your secret identity."

"NO!" I shouted. "Please Jackie, I'm sorry, that was rude of me and please don't tell anyone about this."

"Oh relax Diaz." She said as she put her phone down. "But you and Star are actually dating? I can't believe this is finally happening." She stopped for a moment as a look of surprise and confusion formed on her face. "Wait a second, why did she ask me to be her emergency contact?"

I let out a sigh and began nodding. "Because she doesn't know that it's me."

Jackie's face turned to one of shock as she placed her hand on her phone. "I have questions that need answering and soon."

"It was an accident!" I began. "Thing is, Star always tells me that I'm not invited to any royal events, but I am invited to every royal event so I just assume that she doesn't want me to attend. I got curious though, so when I was invited to a masquerade ball I took the opportunity. seeing I thought Star wouldn't recognize me, but my plan worked so well that she fell in love with me."

Jackie stared at me as I silently prayed that she didn't think I was lying. After a while though, she broke into laughter, causing me to feel a whole new kind of worried. "Seriously?" She asked. "If that is true then what did you think would happen by seeing her again?"

"I wanted to put a stop to it!" I replied. "I wanted to tell her that I didn't think we should get together but … I got distracted."

"But if you didn't want that, then why even agree to go out with her in the first place?"

"Because I didn't want to make her cry!" I retorted. "And my feelings for her are … complicated."

"Complicated?" She asked with a coy smile. "I think it's rather simple, you love her and hope that someday you'll be the king of Mewni."

"It has nothing to do with the position Jackie, I love Star because I-" I cut myself off as I realized what I was saying, but sadly it was already too late.

"So you do love her." Jackie said as her smile turned almost malicious.

"So what if I do?" I asked. "She doesn't love me!"

Jackie looked at her phone. "Looks to me like she likes you a lot."

"That's not me, I may pretend to be him but he's not me."

Jackie looked back at her phone before she put it down. "So then … What's your plan?"

"I don't know." I said as I turned around. "He's not real so he can't stay with Star forever, but I'm not sure what I'm going to do about it."

"Well you had better get on it then." She began. "Don't let this spiral out of control or you will regret it."

"A bit late for that." I said as I began walking out, until I remembered something important. "Oh, right, you're not going to tell anyone, are you?"

She smiled and shook her head. "Don't worry Marco, your secret is safe with me."

(Star's POV)

I had returned home after a wonderful day talking to my new boyfriend. "Ah Charro." I said as I walked through the front door. "I can't wait 'till we meet again." I waited for the sarcastic remark from Marco, or the nurturing remark from his parents but there was no response. After a quick look through the house, I discovered that it was empty and no one was home. "Well that's weird." I rubbed my hands together and smiled at this rare opportunity. "Looks like I get to search for that invitation."

I ran up to Marco's room and began my search in his closet, the only place I could think of where he would be able to hide it. "Red hoodie, old gym shirt … Box!" I knelt down and opened it to find nothing but his collection of past karate belts. "So it's not here … If he even has it."

I began looking around for other places he might have hidden it. "Under his bed!" I quickly dove underneath it but much to my dismay, it was completely barren. "Not even a dust bunny." I said as I slid out from under his bed. "Marco does keep a clean room … That should make this easier!"

I continued my search, throwing things about and around as I searched in vain for something he might not even have. As I searched the top of a bookcase, I began to get more frustrated and desperate. "I just need proof that he was invited then I can apologize for saying he wasn't, take him on a trip to make it up to him and let him know just how much he means to me." I stopped as I jumped down. "Well maybe I won't tell him exactly how I feel, but I will tell him he means more to me than Charro." I stopped my search as a thought hit me. "No … I'm not ready yet." I resumed my search by going through his desk. "He's always got my back, even without any magical powers, he's always there for me when I'm feeling down and knows just what to say to cheer me up." I stopped searching once more and let out a sigh. "He always tries to keep me from making stupid mistakes and doesn't say 'I told you so' when I do anyway." I let out another sigh. "That's not to mention his personal qualities." I reached into his desk drawer and began fiddling with things. "And here I am going through his personal belongings because of a mistake I may have made instead of telling him the truth."

I sat down on Marco's chair as I continued to fiddle with the things in his drawer. "How much longer should I keep him waiting … How much longer 'can' I keep him waiting?" I shook my head, feeling disappointed at what I had done. "I need to stop this." I used the drawer to support my weight as I made my way to my feet, but as I did, I noticed something was off about the bottom of it. "Well that's strange." I said as I pushed on the bottom of the drawer. It was caving slightly, something that it shouldn't do normally. "Let me see." I began searching until I found a little hole on the far side of the drawer. "Jackpot!" I lifted up the bottom and smiled. "A fake bottom Marco? What could you possibly be hiding?" The bottom came up and I quickly snatched the top piece of paper and looked it over confirming that it was the invitation. "I knew it!" I exclaimed. "Now I know for a fact that he … That he … Still stayed behind … Just because I wanted him to." I let out a sigh as I continued to look at the paper. "Now how to make this …" I stopped as my brain finally finished processing the image I saw when I grabbed this paper. "Up to him." I slowly turned back to look at the drawer confirming my fears. "There's more." I put the paper down and began going through the rest of them. "Invite … Invite … Invite." I flipped through them and sure enough, there was an invite to every event I've attended in the past nine months. "Marco's not upset because he's never invited, he's upset because he was invited … and he thinks I didn't want him there." I put the papers down and stared out the window. "I've made a horrible mistake."

Wow, that was something else, wasn't it? Now to get my shorts out and work on the next chapter a little. So until next time, see ya!

Enjoy your day and please leave your tears in the collection bucket.