A/N: Massive shoutouts to Luzz015 for letting me use her amazing drawing of Star and Marco as the new cover for my story! Thanks you SO MUCH! You guys be sure to check her out on DeviantArt, under the username 'Luzz015'!
P.S. I saw the results of a public internet poll that people recently voted on about which ship they support the most, and, well... 7.5k people voted and Starco won with around 4000 votes. I was cool with that but... *clears throat*... HOW THE HELL DID TOMCO GET 2ND PLACE WITH NEARLY 3K VOTES? Are you telling me that people are so salty that they'd rather ship Marco with Tom than Marco with Jackie? Are you kidding me XD!?
Replies to the latest reviews:
RedHood001: Sry, I'm too stupid to see what you meant by that.
Rock Raider: I think you'll be surprised with the direction in taking this story in.
Guest/Guest Sorta: Just make an account and log in xD, not that hard to do. And yes, hectic and eventful.
Princess: I'm gonna sound like a jerk but I literally burst into laughter upon seeing the words 'highschool' and 'hard' in the same sentence. I don't mean that I'm a genius or that you're stupid or anything like that! What I mean is that I just now realised how simple high school was compared to College. I'd study 1 day before the exam and get an A, yet here I break my head to solve a single equation... And I do have 1 or 2 real friends, which is enough for me. I'm a humble person and don't need much to be happy.
Just a guy: Alright, here you go, buddy!
ElleFreak: I'd reply to this but I think we covered everything in our Skype conversation, so yeah XD.
poppy: I'm actually not familiar with the show. When I read your name and you mentioned 'Poppy', the 1st thing that popped into my mind was 'Poppy', The Keeper of the Hammer'. Either was, I might look up that 'Trolls' show when I have the time, if you really want me to do a fanfic about it. And, what is 'musicly'? Unless you link it to me directly via PM or something, I can't do anything... + In case you didn't know, I'm kind of a 'Metal and Rock' kinda guy (I draw a lot of my inspiration from certain songs), so the chances of me 'getting inspired' to write something are sadly slim... Apart from Shakira, that is :P; Shakira is cool.
Disclaimer: All characters from Star vs. The Forces of Evil belong to the creators of the show. The plot of this story and any original characters that may appear in it, however, do belong to me, and I would kindly ask you to inform me should you want to use anything from this story in your own fanfic.
Beta read by ElleFreak.
Story cover by Luzz015. Be sure to check her out on DeviantArt!
EDIT, December 4th, 11:35PM CET+1: The cover image doesn't wanna change properly. I've already contacted support and hope to have the issue resolved. I'm sad now, because the drawing is really great :(!
Star vs. The Forces of Evil: Staring it up!
Episode 2:
Playing Hooky
Part 2
"Alright, kids, time to get off," the bus driver, a small middle-aged man with a moustache told the kids as the bus came to a halt.
They got up and exited through the back and front entrances of the bus. After there was nobody left on it, the bus driver drove away.
"Well, we're here," Marco said, looking at Comet. The girl smiled widely, turning her head from left to right and taking in the scenery. This school was so much different from the Academy she'd recently graduated from. No high towers, no floating islands, no over-the-top design, just a simple structure with a front gate and a running track.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the school bell. She turned her head towards Marco, "What does that signal stand for?"
"Signal?" Marco questioned, not quite understanding her. Realisation soon hit him, "Oh, you mean the school bell? That's just to inform us that class is about to start, so we'd better hurry inside. Follow me," the boy told her and began walking. Comet eagerly followed him, soon catching up to him.
As they walked through the school halls, Marco tensed up; if he could so easily tell that the girl beside him wasn't the real Star, then maybe others would be able to as well.
His worries were put at ease when Justin and a group of cheerleaders casually greeted the duo, mostly Star, as they passed by. The same happened with a few other students and teachers, after which Marco let out a sigh of relief.
"Wow, I didn't know my cousin was this popular!" Comet exclaimed.
"Yeah. People kinda instantly fell in love with her," Marco responded.
Comet smirked. "Hmm... A very bold choice of words!"
"Oh, shut up!" the boy exclaimed, earning a giggle from Comet.
They arrived at the classroom and walked inside, where Marco guided 'Star' to her desk. She was greeted by even more classmates, aside from one raven-haired girl that merely narrowed her eyes at her. Comet raised her eyebrow and was about to question Marco about it but never got the chance as a giant female troll entered the room, slamming the door behind herself.
Instantly, Comet reached for her wand, or Star's wand, as it was, only to be stopped by Marco, who shook his head in panic. Comet was confused.
The troll made her way over to the front desk and sat down.
"Hello, class," she bluntly greeted the students.
"Good morning, Miss Skullnick," the all responded in unison.
Comet was baffled. She leant closer to Marco. "Wait, I thought this dimension didn't have any trolls!" she whispered.
"It doesn't!" Marco replied, "That's just another one of Star's little 'accidents'," he explained. Marco's next words came out as a whisper: "And believe me, it's an improvement!"
Comet raised an eyebrow, looking at Miss Skullnick, then took out Star's wand and shot Marco a questioning look. "Should I...?"
Marco shook his head. "Nah, she actually likes being a troll, oddly enough..." the boy explained. Comet was still confused but decided to just roll with it and hide her wand before anyone caught glimpse of it. Shortly after, Miss Skullnick began her lesson.
Meanwhile
Star looked at her surroundings and frowned. What a dump! She thought, referring to the numerous pieces of litter. that were scattered all over the ground. Not only that but the trees were really dense and the ground was uneven, so she had to watch her every step. Janna, on the other hand, seemed to be used to this, meaning that the girl probably walked this path very often.
"Ok!" Janna suddenly spoke, "Just keep following me. We'll be there soon," she said.
Star frowned. "You said that, like, 37 times already!" the princess exclaimed, growing impatient.
"Relax, we'll get there," Janna casually replied.
Star narrowed her eyes muttered something under her breath. This better be worth it!
Echo Creek Academy, after 1st period, Outside
"Well, that sure was serendipitous!" Comet cheerfully exclaimed as she walked next to Marco. "You humans sure have a funny understanding of how the Universe works!"
Marco frowned. "It's not 'funny', it's scientifically and mathematically proven!" the boy retorted.
"Ah, young races!" Comet blissfully sighed, "How cute and naĆve you are, thinking that you know so much, yet understand so little..."
"So you're saying that mathematics are useless?"
Comet nodded. "Yep!"
"Then explain to me how else you would solve problems that require addition, multiplication and division or figure out how astral bodies move and function!" Marco demanded. "Without maths, you couldn't explain half the stuff that happens in the universe!"
"Soooo cute!". Marco glared at her, causing her to giggle. "I would explain it to you," she began, "But unfortunately, you'd need to read at least the first three volumes of Tallara's research on Cosmic Forces and Time to even understand any of the terms, and even then you still wouldn't comprehend much, so let's just leave this topic be, alright?"
Marco muttered something under his breath; Didn't she come to school with him to be like Star for a day? If so, why was she not trying to have fun but was instead making fun of Earth's knowledge?
Now that he thought about it, he noticed that Comet was constantly turning her gaze from left to right, not in wonder and awe of seeing Earth culture, but in caution. Her look, when she wasn't speaking to anyone seemed reserved.
Marco shrugged; She was probably just trying her best not to stand out or something.
"Look," Marco suddenly said, stopping and pointing his finger in a certain direction, "There's Jackie!"
Indeed, the said girl was, as usual, riding her skateboard and high-fiving other students as she rode past them.
As Jackie rode closer and waved at the two, Comet eyed her seashell necklace and her hair. It seems so familiar but, why...? she wondered. Since she'd first seen Jackie, something about the girl had been bothering her, not just her necklace...
Jackie approached the two, hopping off her skateboard. "Hey, Marco!" she cheerfully greeted the boy, who greeted her back, then the two began chatting.
To the side, Comet was still busy thinking, her eyes narrow, struggling to put the pieces together.
Seashell necklace... Mint green eyes... Aqua stripe on her hair...
Comet froze, her eyes wide. An image popped up in her head, an image of a picture. NO! Not a picture, a portrait! she swiftly corrected herself. She stared at Jackie, the pieces finally falling into place. Could she really be...
Comet shook her head, snapping out of her trance, hoping that neither of the two had noticed her spacing out. I gotta make sure I'm right about this, and hope I'm not... she made a mental note.
Jackie and Marco finished their brief conversation and the former turned towards her with a smile.
"Hi, Sta-" Jackie paused.
"Um, Marco?" Jackie asked the boy, her voice sounding sceptical.
"Yes?"
"Would you mind telling me why you brought Star's cousin to school?"
Both Marco and Comet jumped and quickly looked around themselves to make sure nobody else had been in earshot to hear that. They both stepped closer to Jackie, Marco wrapping an arm around her and drawing her closer, startling her.
"Keep quiet! We don't want anyone else to find out! And how could you possibly tell!?" he whispered.
Jackie broke free from the boy's grip and bluntly stared at the two. "Because A: Star usually clings to you during school; You'd literally need a pair of tongs or Miss Skullnick to separate the two of you!" Marco blushed. Indeed, Star had developed a tendency of sticking extremely close to him during school, often putting him in awkward positions. His best guess was that she was trying to show-off their 'newly-found-eternal-companionship-and-everlasting-love', as Janna liked to tease him.
"And B," Jackie continued, breaking Marco's trail of thoughts and raising his and Comet's left hands, "She isn't wearing her ring..."
"Dang it!" Comet smacked herself across the forehead. "I knew we forgot something!"
Marco sighed raised his finger. "You know, that might just be the reason I recognised you so easily this morning..."
He's still making excuses? Jackie thought, finding the boy's obliviousness absurd at this point. "So," Jackie spoke, ignoring the thought, "Care to explain why you brought her here and where Star is?"
Marco looked from left to right, making sure nobody else was in earshot. "Hey! It's not like I wanted to! Those two came up with this plan without even consulting me, so what other choice did I have than to just go with it? And... no harm's being done, right?"
Jackie blinked a couple of times and looked at Comet. "You gave him the puppy-dog eyes, didn't you?"
Comet nodded, causing Marco to look away awkwardly.
"Alright then, I don't really care about why you're doing what you're doing, but where's Star? Aren't you obliged to make sure she goes to school?" Jackie inquired.
"She's with Janna," Marco responded.
"Well, that would explain why I haven't seen her today, which isn't anything out of the ordinary," Jackie said.
"Could you please not tell anyone?" Marco clasped his hands together, "You know how Miss Skullnick is when she catches someone skipping school and I really don't wanna get detention, again!" Marco said, referring to the fact that, since it was his responsibility to make sure Star went to school and didn't cause (too much) mayhem, he'd probably end up with detention as well.
"Don't worry, I won't say a word; If you treat me for some ice cream, that is!" Jackie said with a smile and a wink.
Marco let out a sigh of relief and chuckled, "Trying to blackmail me now, are we?"
"I prefer the term 'one-sided negotiation'," Jackie said and the two shared another laugh.
To the side, Comet noticed something move in one of the trees. It was swift, too swift for her to tell what it was.
"Thanks, Jackie," Marco said and turned his attention toward Comet. "But in all seriousness, next time you do something like this, which you hopefully won't, make sure to get every little detail right! Some people may get suspicious when they don't see 'Star' wearing her ring..."
"Yeah, our bad," Comet bluntly admitted, staring into the distance with narrow eyes. he noticed something sparkle in one of the trees. In a fir of panic she started looking in all directions.
"Yep, especially since that ring doesn't even come off," Jackie added.
Marco nodded, then widened his eyes upon realising what Jackie had just said. He pointed a finger at her, "Um, how do you know that?"
Jackie jumped and shot him a panicked look, "Uh..."
Out of the corner of her eye, Comet spotted something. "DUCK!" the princess exclaimed as she lunged at Marco and Jackie, knocking them both down. Not a moment later, a tiny, sharp, metallic object flew past them, narrowly missing Comet's head and impaled itself into the ground, causing a crack in the pavement.
"Urgh..." Marco groaned, feeling dizzy. Jackie's reaction was similar.
"You two alright?" Comet swiftly asked, her voice direct and stone-cold. Her expression was dead-serious, a flare in her eyes. Marco was surprised; he didn't expect Comet of being capable of making such a face.
"Yeah, we're fine, I think," he looked at Jackie, who nodded. Marco then looked at the crack in the pavement and shot Comet a questioning look. "What was-"
Before he could finish, Comet stood up and dusted herself off, then grabbed her wand, or Star's wand, lifted up to chest-height and, holding it with both hands, began muttering an incantation. Before Marco could question what she was doing, Comet held the wand up high into the sky, the star crystal glowing brightly. A flash of light blinded Marco for a second and forced him to close his eyes.
Upon reopening them he saw Comet's free hand, the girl eyeing him with the same expression as before. "Up!" she said, her voice cold and harsh. Marco obeyed, standing up with her help.
"Hang on a second, I'm just gonna help Jackie up and-" as Marco turned around, the colour from his cheeks drained. Everything around them seemed grey and...
"Sweet cheese and nachos!" Marco shouted. Everything was standing still, including Jackie! He turned towards Comet, his expression that of pure panic. The girl was again holding the wand with both hands, chest-high again, and muttering something.
"Did you just freeze time!?" He exclaimed. She ignored him and kept chanting. "Stop it! Trust me, I've been in this scenario before and unless you-"
"Could maybe stop whining and shut up for 2 seconds?" Comet said with a glare, silencing him. "Great, thanks," she added and carried forth with her spell. Underneath them, a giant circle with strange runes appeared, sending shivers down Marco's spine. Comet sighed. "Hope this will hold..." she muttered.
Marco was confused, shocked, stunned and above all, was freaking out internally! What in blaze's name was going on!?
Comet turned her head around, the glare on her face apparent. "I'm only going to say this once; You either help me with this or tell me to freeze your sorry-butt in time so you don't get in my way. What'll it be?"
Marco stared at the girl in disbelief. Since when did she speak so harshly and coldly? Wasn't she sweet and nice a couple of moments ago? What was going on...?
"Help out with what? What's even happening right now, and why did you freeze time!?" Marco shouted, frustrated that she didn't answer any of his questions.
Comet's expression remained unchanged as she turned her head forward. "You'll find out in about 5 seconds..." she muttered, her back turned to him.
Before Marco could inquire any further, an unfamiliar figure leapt out of a nearby tree, landing silently and gracefully on the ground on one knee.
Marco eyed the figure's clothing as it stood up. It wore leather black and red armour with small spikes sticking out of it, more for decoration purposes than for anything else. The boots matched the outfit, being neatly crafted and pitch black. On its head, the figure wore a mask and a black hoodie, the entire face concealed, apart from the eyes.
It stood there, a fair distance away from the two.
"Don't speak, and don't move!" Comet harshly ordered him, not even bothering to turn around.
The figure extended its hand and opened its palm, causing the small metallic object, a blade of some sorts, to pop out of the crack in the pavement and hover over to its master, who tugged it into his belt.
"I must say," the figure spoke in a rich male voice, "Not everyone can simply dodge my attack, especially when I strike so swiftly and from the shadows..."
"Yeah? Well, I'm not everyone!" Comet retorted with an edge of confidence in her voice.
"It appears so; Most impressive, Butterfly, most impressive!" the man admitted, clapping his hands.
Was it a man or was it a boy? Marco couldn't really tell but he was definitely older than him. And wait, did he just say 'Butterfly'? Did he mean Star?
"Now," the man continued in a smooth voice, staring at Marco and Comet and interrupting the former's trail of thoughts, "Die."
He waved his hand through the air, throwing dozens of his small blades and sending them flying towards the two.
Meanwhile
"Um, Star?" Janna asked, suddenly coming to a halt and raising her eyebrow at the princess, who shortly closed the gap between them.
"Yes?"
"I don't mean to sound weird or anything but, what is this purple thing around us?" the girl asked.
Star raised an eyebrow. "Purple thing? What purple thin-" Star said before noticing that the two were now surrounded by a purple bubble of some sorts, while everything else around them was grey. "Huh?" Star scratched the top of her head.
Janna looked up at the sky and pointed towards it with her finger. "Look!"
Star complied by looking upwards as well and widened her eyes upon seeing a flock of birds frozen in mid-air. All of the falling leaves were also suspended, not moving a single inch.
Janna then noticed a strange glow coming from Star's pocket. Star noticed it too, so she reached into her dress and took out Comet's wand, which was glowing the same colour as the colour of the bubble that surrounded them.
"I thought you said you couldn't use that thing?" Janna asked, confused.
"I can't!" Star retorted. "But somehow, it managed to freeze time around us..." the princess.
"Woah..." Janna muttered. "Now that is cool!"
"We'd better find Comet and ask her what's going on," Star said, her expresision growing concerned as she remembered the last time she'd frozen time, and nearly ended up breaking it.
"Yeah, we could do that, or-" Janna put her arm around the back of Star's neck. "Better yet, we could hang out without having to worry about anything and then ask her to fix it. As far as I'm concerned, time being frozen equals more time for us to do what we want!"
Star made a thoughtful gesture before grinning happily. "Can't argue with that!"
"Now we're talkin'!" Janna exclaimed and let go of Star. "So, let's 'hurry' it up, since it's only about another 10 minutes of walking,"
"Why? You worried that we're burning daylight?" Star joked and the two burst into laughter before resuming their walk.
To be continued...
Chapter End Notes:
Alright, this is where things take a dark turn. For those of you who were expecting a cheerful fanfic, I must disappoint you. Don't get me wrong, things will still remain somewhat light and will have both romance and humour, but the overall mood will definitely shift in certain chapters. Expect the next chapter to feature some rather unexpected events in both story and character development. That's all for now, see you guys next time.
Expected Update: In 1-2 weeks.
