Hello again! Thank you for coming back to my series of short stories about life for Star and Marco after Earth and Mewni cleaved together. I hope you have been enjoying something fun-loving and a bit frivolous. It is kind of nice to write something that is light hearted-especially during a time like this. I hope this next story is a good break from the hectic, crazy world for a few minutes. Thank you again for reading. I do not own Star vs the Forces of Evil.
20). Tease
"OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH! I'M SO EXCITED!" Star was literally jumping up and down in her seat as she waited for the show to start.
"Yeah? It is just a bunch of dumb tricks. It's always a mirror." Janna murmured under her breath as she stared at her phone. "Trust me, this is going to be boring."
Star waved her hand at Janna to show she was ignoring her, nudging Tom in the ribs instead. "Ahh, come on, Tom. You are totally excited, right?"
Tom blinked, as if he suddenly realized someone was talking to him. "Huh? Oh yeah-sure, sure, sure. I'll switch seats with you." He scooped up Star's hand, twirled her out of her seat, and sank down in the chair next to Janna. A satisfied smirk broke his lips as he grinned at Janna. "So Janna-how's it going? Excited for this magic show?"
"Didn't I just tell you? It's dumb. It was nothing compared to real magic. Or my own book of spells." Janna shrugged, not taking her eyes off her phone. Tom blinked, unsure how to respond to her. Star shrugged her shoulders in response.
"I know there is no magic anymore, Janna-but isn't Echo Creek University awesome for putting on a magic show?! I'm just sad Marco wasn't able to make it…" Star shook her head, realizing that Janna was ignoring Tom who was ignoring her. With a huff, she turned back to the stage, waiting for the spectacular event to start. The lights slowly began to dim. Star felt her pulse rising-this was it! Finally-after four years of no magic, things were about to get-
"I'm gonna get some snacks!" Tom jolted up from his seat, looking awkward as if he was channeling Marco. "Janna-" Tom's voice cracked. His checks reddened but he coughed into his hand and continued, "oh, and I guess you Star too…want any snacks? I've got a hankering for a flaming burrito!"
Janna finally glanced up at the half-demon prince, an eyebrow raised. She caught Star's eye, who just shrugged her shoulders. "What is a flaming burrito?"
"You know! A burrito on fire? It's the biggest delicacy in the Underworld!"
"Riiiiiiiight." Star narrowed her eyes at Tom. Why was he being so weird? There weren't flaming burritos where he came from, so why was he being-"JANNA!" Star flung her hands out, accidentally punching Tom in the stomach. He leaned over, glaring at her with all three eyes narrowed. "Uhhhh-of course! Three flaming burritos, Tom!" Star beamed at him, giving him a subtle wink whenever Janna turned back to her phone. "'Kay, thanks-byeeeeee!"
Nodding in thanks to Star, he walked away just as the lights went black. All thoughts of Tom and burritos fled Star's mind as she squealed in delight. Everyone around her shushed her, but she didn't care. It was time for a little bit of magic.
"Welcome to the Magic Extravaganza of World Renowned Magician-Abra KaWowYa!"
Janna snorted as a tall man with a curly mustache danced onto the stage. He waved a black magic wand, causing Star to shriek in excitement. "Abra Ka-Wow-Ya? Lame." Janna snorted but Star shushed her again as the magician first brought out a hat. He tapped the hat two twice and showed the crowd it was empty. He flipped it over twice, called "Abra KaWowYa" and suddenly pulled out a rabbit from his hat.
Star called out in surprise, eyes wide as she stood up. "How did he do that?! Is it real magic? I thought I destroyed-"
"Chill, Star. It is a paper rabbit. Not real. Man, where's Tom with the burritos?"
With a frown, Star slowly sat down, fighting back annoyance at Janna. Fine-so it isn't real magic. That doesn't mean she can't enjoy the show like everyone else. "And for my next trick, I'll need a volunteer from the audience." The magician reached out a hand toward the audience as the crowd began to cheer. Many people called out to him-though one louder than everyone else.
"ME! ME! ME! PICK ME!" Star flung her arms in the air, waving them back and forth.
"Come on down, little lady!" Suddenly, a wave of black hair whipped Star in the face as the girl in front of Star was picked. Star gasped and knitted her brows together. Seriously? Her?
"What's your name?"
"Brittany. Brittany Wong." With a wink down at Star, Brittany smirked back at Abra. "My father, who donates a lot of money to this university, would like me to personally say you're welcome for getting the privilege to pick me as your assistant." She flipped her hair again.
The magician blinked, then pulled Brittany to a box on stage and shut her into the box. Star was glued to the trick as he brought out a saw and began to saw Brittany in half. "OH MY GOSH! JANNA! WE HAVE TO HELP BRITTANY-"
"Yo, Star! Chill-there's another girl in the other box. Besides, we all know that Brittany wears closed toed shoes due to the warts on her feet."
"But how would you know she-"
"Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to, Star."
As the crowd burst into applause at the end of the trick, Brittany sashayed down the stairs back to her seat. As she sat down, she whipped around and black hair flew into Star's mouth. Janna didn't even look up from her phone and muttered, "Rude."
One corner of her mouth upturned, Brittany smirked at Star. "Oh, are you sad he didn't pick you for his little trick? He only picks pretty girls-he doesn't pick girls that are weird and ugly." Star's heart fell into her stomach. Weird? Ugly? Her mouth hung slightly open as a sharp pain began to tug at her chest. Even Janna slowly looked up from her phone, a look of complete anger on her face. Brittany shrugged her shoulders, tapping Star's knee. "What? I was just teasing. Learn to take a joke, Princess." Nonchalantly, she got out a compact mirror to check her makeup and gasped. "Ugh-that dumb magician smudged my eyeliner!" Brittany sprang up, blocking the magicians new trick with a water tank and chains as she bolted toward the exit.
"Star, don't listen to her. You're the coolest girl ever. Brittany is an idiot and just jealous. The magician just picks bimbos anyway." Janna nudged Star in the ribs. Star gave her a weak, watery smile and nodded. Satisfied, Janna looked back onto her phone. "Oh, and there is a secret tube that gives him air in the tank."
"Hehe, cool. Breathing is…cool." Though she wanted to believe Janna, Star felt odd. Something just didn't feel right. Her chest began to tighten, making it hard to breath. Taking two deep breathes, Star shook her head and continued to watch the show. With each new trick, Star felt her chest tighten a little bit more each time. She would wave her hand in the air wildly to be picked-and each time some other girl in a tight skirt or a low-cut blouse would be picked. With each trick, Brittany would look back and smirk at Star, then pat her hand and whisper, "Maybe next time. But don't get your hopes up."
And with each new trick, Janna would ruin the magic-not even bothering to look up from her phone.
"Break in the hoops."
"It is up his sleeve."
"Wires to pull him in the air."
"Where is Tom with those burritos?"
With that last comment, Star abruptly stood up from her seat and stomped down the aisle. "Where are you going, he is just about to pick you." Brittany's voice called after her, while Janna continued to text on her phone. "Wait, if you're getting up, can you get me some Mewman corn on the cob since Tom ditched us?"
Finally, it felt that her chest was about to burst as she kicked open the door and raced into the lobby of the event center. Eyes itching, Star blinked rapidly and gulped deep breaths of air. Why was she so upset? Face burning red, the former princess mentally kicked herself. Seriously, Star? You're better than this! You kicked evil villain butt more times than you can count and saved both Earth and Mewni! But she couldn't pinpoint it-it was like she couldn't shut off her mind. Closing her eyes, she took cleansing breaths like when Marco had taught her karate. With one last deep breath for good measure, Star thought she would feel better.
But she didn't.
With a groan, she sank onto a bench and put her face in her hands, embarrassed. "What is the matter with you, Butterfly?"
"Star?" Jumping up from her seat, Star noticed Tom sitting awkwardly on a bench in the middle of the lobby. He was holding three hotdogs in his lap and had that lost puppy dog look he had whenever he needed a bro-talk. "Are you okay?" Getting up from his seat, he walked over to Star and sat next to her on the bench.
Dodging the question, she nudged him. "Those look like some tasty Flaming Burritos." With a sigh, he groaned and leaned back against the wall. Star resisted the urge to laugh as she patted his shoulder. "Why were you being so weird in there?"
Tom glanced at Star, a curious look on his face. "I probably shouldn't talk to you about this…"
"Why?"
"Well, you know, since we used to-and Janna-and I…"
Rolling her eyes, Star straightened up and smiled at Tom. "Tom, seriously, we broke up over four years ago. If you like Janna-ask her out!"
"Wait-how did you know I like-"
"Seriously Tom-I dated you for almost two years. I know that look you get when you like someone. Plus-flaming burritos?"
"Okay, okay. You're right." Tom gestured for Star to setlle down, leaning forward and groaning into his hands. "It's just, I always thought of myself as this super cool person-well, figurately anyway-but now I feel like when I'm around Janna, I turn into Marco!"
"Awkward?"
"Exactly!"
"Hey-that's my boyfriend!"
"What-but-you just said-STAR!" Star stifled a giggle but gestured for Tom to go on. Sighing, Tom continued. "It's just, I always thought I was this awesome, cool Prince of the Underworld, but when I'm around her, I just…"
Nodding her head slowly, Star furrowed her brow. "I get what you mean." She looked at Tom, feeling her chest tighten even more, feeling embarrassed to even admit her feelings out loud. "I just-I never really thought about what I looked like. I've always liked how I look and who I am. But during the show, the magician kept pulling up these girls and Brittany said he only picks pretty girls and he never picked me and-"
"WHOA WHOA WHOA! Let me stop you there." Tom gestured for her to stop, his three eyes narrowing at her as his tail twitched. "Star, even though I don't feel romantic feelings for you anymore, you still are one of the most amazing girls I have ever met-and I've met a lot of girls." Taking in a deep breath, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "You are super beautiful-those girls are probably just jealous. But what makes you super beautiful is how you see what makes everyone else beautiful."
Star's jaw dropped open and her eyes began to itch again-but this time for different reasons. The tightening in her chest became a warm tug. A smile slowly spread on her lips. "Tom, even though I don't feel romantic feelings for you anymore, you are still the coolest guy I have ever met. And one of the sweetest. HUGS!" She threw her arms around her friend, happier than ever that she was able to keep this friendship despite past hardships. Breaking the hug, she held him at arms-length by the shoulders. Raising an eyebrow, she smirked. "Plus, I noticed that Janna tries to act cooler when she is around you. Just saying."
The pair broke into big smiles. Even though it had been four years since they dated, this was the first real talk the pair had had just the two of them. The tugging in Star's chest began to grow warm-but not the romantic feelings like she got with Marco. It was the same feeling when she was with Ponyhead or Janna or Jackie.
The demon prince got a goofy grin on his face as he glanced back at the door. "So…you really think that Janna likes me?"
Groaning, Star stood up and pulled Tom toward the auditorium doors. "Come on, Lucitor. Let's just go see if Janna can ruin the final magic trick for us."
As the pair entered the auditorium and made it back to their seats, the magician began to set up for his last trick. Star made sure to let Tom sit next to Janna. As he offered her a hotdog, she grunted in reply, "Thought you were getting a flaming burrito."
"Oh, you know…carbs…" Tom replied then slapped his hand to his face. Star smiled as Janna slyly looked at Tom and let a small grin creep on her face before turning back to her phone. With a smile, Star glanced back up at the stage and let out a gasp. A large, beautifully crafted wardrobe was on display.
"And for my final trick, I will need a brave soul-for this finale trick, my dear magic lovers, is not for the faint of heart." The magician swished his cape behind him, thrusting a gloved hand onto his brow. Janna and Tom both stifled snorts of laughter but Star's eyes grew wide. He then looked around to auditorium, a hand above his eyes as if to block out the light. "Let us see who will be brave enough to assist me with my finale…YOU!"
Suddenly, a world got really bright. Star had to block the light from her eyes. With a yelp of excitement, she realized that the spotlight shown down on her and she had been chosen to be in the final trick. "Come up, my dear. It is time to show the world how brave you can be…"
Gasping with delight, Star resisted the urge to blow a raspberry at Brittany, who sat sulking with her arms thrust across her chest.
Star sprinted to a halt in front of the magician, who waved his black wand around Star. Jumping up and down on the balls of her feet, Star clamped her hands together as the magician explained to the audience what he wanted her to do. "Now my dear, if you would step up into the wardrobe." Star quickly sprang into the closet, having to crouch to fit. "Now, I will shut my lovely assistant into this wardrobe and say the magic words." The doors closed in front of Star. It got extremely dark. Through the wooden door, Star heard the magician exclaim "Abra KaWowYa!"
Suddenly, the floor of the wardrobe fell out from underneath Star. Falling too quickly to yell out, Star slipped down through a trap door. Before she could yelp, she landed on something that was meant to be soft…but wasn't. POW! With a grunt, Star slowly stretched out, rubbing her bum. Looking around herself, she saw that she landed on an old mattress that had the thinnest padding she had ever seen. "Seriously?" A roar of applause was heard above her as the crowd began to whistle and cheer. "So, am I supposed to just stay down here or…" Looking around herself, noticed an exit sign and left the building.
Star began to search around as people began to stream out of the doors. Somehow she had ended up outside the auditorium. Finally, after wading through the sea of people, Star finally found "Janna! Tom!" She quickly ran through the crowd and waved them down.
"Star! I knew that wasn't you on stage! The magician said you had a make-over." Tom smiled at her.
"I told you it wasn't her. He was just looking for a pretty blonde." Janna sighed as she finally put her phone into her pocket and looked at her two friends. "So where did the trap door dump you? Below the stage?"
Jaw dropping, Star shook her head in disbelief. "How did you know that?" Janna just shrugged her shoulders, then glared at Brittany as she walked by the trio. The heiress 'hurumphed' and flipped her hair as she marched away. Rolling her eyes, Star turned back to her friends. "I miss real magic. This show was such a tease."
Janna shrugged her shoulders before stretching her arms into the air and yawning. "Well, good night, gotta get back to my dorm so I can continue to procrastinate on studying for my midterm." She waved at Star with one hand while she flicked Tom in the nose with the other. With a wink, she walked away and disappeared into the crowd.
Turning back to Tom, Star looked at her friend but placed a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle. Tom had a goofy grin on his face as he looked out to where Janna had disappeared. Piercing her lips, Star fought a smile off her face as she asked, "You okay, Tom?"
Slowly nodding his head, he smiled as he began to walk back home. "Yeah…such a tease."
Hope you enjoyed this chapter! It was fun to write about Tom and Star's dynamic. I like them as friends and am glad the show ended with them on good terms-can we talk about character growth with Tom?! Also, I felt that tease could have a lot of connotations-teasing could mean bullying like Brittany did to Star, or teasing could mean having your hopes up and being let down or just having your interest peaked, or it could mean having someone flirt with you and just messing around. Anyway, I thought it was fun to just have a slice of life moment. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please let me know what you think! Thank you again for reading, commenting, following, and favoriting my story. Until next time!
SugarQueen97: Haha yes-I feel like Marco mostly became a cop to help people but also a little bit because he just loves kicking butt! But he was a knight-I feel like he would be bored doing anything else. And yes-thank you, that was the main lesson I wanted to teach from that chapter! Thank you again for your encouragement!
Starco4everr: Thank you for your continual support and encouragement. It really means a lot to me! Hope you continue to like the stories!
