Fleeting Moments

Ch. 2

Second chances

~For my late brother~

I know this isn't worth anything real, and there's a million other things I could do for you, but this is what makes me happy, and I know you understand. It's not something you'd have cared for, but even so, it's for you.

The front door creaked open like a rusty, slow-turning carousel, revealing the inky expanse of Marcos home for all who wished to see. He held it open as Star tentatively stepped around him, looking around at what she could see. Which wasn't much until Marco flipped on the lights to illuminate the space, and she could take it all in.

"You have a beautiful home, Marco," Star complimented with a genuine smile. Whether it was the careful touch of art, or the foreign style of decoration that was so engrossing, she couldn't tell. But nonetheless, she found it wonderful. Marco shrugged, moving further into the house on autopilot. He picked up some stray pizza boxes, and some thrown-to-the-wind nacho plates as Star placed her bags by the couch, still looking around the living room. "Are your parents asleep? I can keep it down if they are" She asked, lowering her voice.

"Try 'not here'," he offwred, though his eyes narrowed as he kept his expression hidden. "They uhh... they peaced out two weeks ago to Samoa, and they're not supposed to be home until next month, so feel free to scream if that's what you wanna do." Marco's grimace was scornful and bitter as he continued cleaning, but Star looked past it and saw the sadness in his eyes. The loneliness they kept secret from the world until she had met him on the bridge must have been unbearable, but thats why she was here, right?"

"Are you sure it's okay if I stay here then? I don't wanna impose, or be here if they wouldn't approve of my-" she began to ramble, one of her bad habits when she got nervous, but Marco waved her down and dismissed the questions with an eyeroll. "We used to have exchange students stay here every year, sometimes twice a year. Trust me, no one that lived here... is gonna mind." He looked down at her bags, wondering where she had been keeping them, but decided it wasn't really an issue, being already in his house. "Do you want help with those?"

Star's glance moved from the fireplace's mantle and its many decorations down to her pair of suitcases. "Oh! I should be able to-... Maybe- yes, please. And, where do you want me to stay?" She asked, trying, and failing to hide the small bit of excitement in her voice. She wasn't sure if she fully trusted Marco to be by himself yet, but given that he had taken her all the way here, maybe he would be fine for the night, and maybe she could relax a little too.

He gestured for her to follow him up the stairs, every other wooden step creaking just as loud as the front door had. As they walked, though, Star noticed the family photos lining the walls in a speckled mess of smiles and years since gone. Marco seemed happy in so many, with his parents. They looked like such a lovely family, and yet, here he was contemplating on letting it all go. How fake were his smiles, she couldnt help but wonder, and how long had he been the way he was on the birdge. "Come on, Star, your rooms up here," Marco called to her, tearing her focus from his once smiling face.

He led her down a hallway and opened a door across from what she could only assume was his, holding an arm out towards the darkness that lay beyond the threshold. "I dont know how long you plan on being here, but... yu can crash here if you want... I know it's not a whole lot, but-"

"But it's perfect," Star finished after flicking on the lights and drinking in the look and feel of the entire space, "thank you, Marco. You have no idea how much this means to me."

Marco, for what it was worth, managed a smile, and stuffed his hands in his hoodie, leaning against the doorway. Call it pride or some twisted sense of kindness, but it felt really good seeing someone happy at his expense, rather than bitter. "Well, you helped me, more than anyone else ever would. It's kinda the least I can do. Plus, now I have someone to share my chores with, so- bonus."

"Ahhh, and the picture falls into place," Star giggled, folding her arms in mock betrayal, "Almost wish I'd have let you-" her smile immediately fell, and her eyes shot wide open as she fully registered what she was about to finish saying, clamping both hands over her mouth. "I'M SO SORRY oh my god I can't- I meant- Marco I was only-" she stuttered for a coherent thought to finish itself, but she found Marco stifling a laugh, of all things.

"Oh, uhm...no, Star it's alright, seriously. I was trying to do something really...really stupid. I don't blame you for giving me some flak, especially when you're the person who took the time to try and help…" he gave her a warm, reassuring smile and patted her shoulder, his genuine forgiveness throwing her for a loop. Finally, she let out her breath and slumped backward, plopping down onto the bed like she had lost all of her endless energy from earlier. "I don't exactly have a filter," she mumbled, "so I'm sorry in advance if I get a little, 'too much'. Sometimes I get super nervous and I just say what's on my mind."

"Are you nervous?" Marco asked, sitting beside her, happy to try and help her, for all she had done for him. She nodded with an emberassed blush, answering, "a little, yeah. Like I told you earlier, new city, no family, no friends, and I'm staying with a total stranger alone in his house and really I have no idea if I can-" she slowed down and exhaled, something her mother had taught her, before she had grown into her rebellious and troublesome phase, to deal with her nerves. But thankfully, Marco was quick to come to the rescue.

"I'm nervous too. About a stranger staying in my house," he chuckled, earning an uneasy nod of assent from Star, "especially when she knows more about me than anyone else I know. But I feel better knowing it's someone who cared enough to help me when I was at my lowest. To talk to me when I needed a friend."

"Well, what are friends for, Diaz?" Star returned, noticing his expression shift for just a moment. He looked scared and uneasy for a fraction of a second before his eyes returned to their tired and calm state. Star would have missed it if she was anyone else, but she was Star Butterfly, and she knew how to read people better than her written language. "We are friends, aren't we?" She asked, this time with more caution in her voice, and to her relief, she was met with a thin smile and a nod. He may not have admitted it then to her, but he was happy to admit it now.

"We're friends, Star. At the very least I'd like to give it a try."

"Being friends with someone you don't know?" She asked, nudging his elbow with a grin. He returned it and found himself feeling warmth in his chest for the first time in a very long time. "Especially when it's someone I don't know," he said with barely a hint of distaste, adding, "But even if I don't know you, I think I'll take a page out of your book and get to know you."

Stars grin cracked ever so slightly under the weight of his proposition, the reality of sharing one's life with a friend not fully sinking in until now. She laced her hands together and from her posture, seemed to shrink into herself, betraying her prior attitude of excitement. "I'm an open book for you, Diaz, but there are some things about me you might not understand."

Quickly, Marco stood from her new bed and left to retrieve her bags, both of which had been noticeably heavier than he would have anticipated. Setting them down beside the dresser, he pulled himself a chair from her very simple desk and sat back down, watching her with careful interest. If the one light in his very dark life felt even half as alone as him, as she said she did, then he owed her nothing less than a chance. "Try me. Tell me about yourself, Star, and I'll try to understand."

Star pressed her lips together and shifted uneasily on her bed. He was clearly serious, and she didn't dare try to withhold things about herself from the boy that had already given her so much of him. But where should she even start? For a moment, she sat in deep thought while Marco waited patiently, patience being one of his sharpest virtues, until she finally broke and let out her captured breath. "I think...it would be easier to just...show you, if that's okay," she murmured, moving her purse towards her lap, "just...don't freak out, and try to keep calm, okay?"

Marco wasn't sure what that meant, or why she was suddenly acting so restrained after behaving like such an easy-going girl on the bridge, but when she pulled out something that looked like a baby rattle with wings? He was even more confused. "What is that?" He asked, pointing at the rattle, "Is that like, some kind of toy? Or is it like a baby rattle?"

Star bit her lip, debating whether she should call her next move off in lieu of something a bit simpler to grasp, but in for a penny, in for a pound. This was something that would come up eventually, no matter how hard she raged against the truth coming out. So without answering, she cast her first spell since coming to Earth.

"Sparkle," she whispered, and the bulb of her 'rattle' began to glow bright pink, its light illuminating both their faces as a gentle thrum began to sound.

"Glitter," she hummed, making the star-shaped gem at the bulb's center spark and sizzle with charged energy as Marco looked on with growing alarm and shock.

"Bomb," she continued, ignoring Marco's wide eyes and open mouth as the rattles hum turned into a low whine, a high pitched whir spooling up before she whispered the last word.

"Expand." Marco made to move back, his brain not believing what his eyes were screaming was really happening. He was terrified of what he was seeing, but just before he could move, he locked eyes with Star. She wasn't afraid, and her expression gave only her resignation away. Like she had given up on something before her display was even over. Marco wanted so desperately to run from the hellish scene before him, but her remorseful gaze kept him locked in his seat as the wand stopped in silence.

"Is it ov-" *BOOOOOM!*

It was nothing short of a hurricane when the wand unleashed all of its charged energy, a blinding flash of heat and light stealing Marco's senses, making him wish he had just gotten off his ass and ran. He was sure he was dying, feeling no alarm or remorse for death's release, but the pain didn't come. The pain he was so ready to accept earlier that night, and withstand even now, never touched him. He felt the heat and the light begin to die down and the vibrations of something moving beneath his feet fade away. Even still, he didn't dare open his eyes, being either too afraid to see what had happened or too content with pretending none of it was real.

But Star's hand gently rested on his forearm, rocking him slightly as the ringing in his ears began to recede. "-co! Marco! Are you okay! I'm sorry if that was too much, I didn't know it was that strong! I've never used that spell before and I didnt think it was so loud and bright and I-"

Pulling himself together, Marco held up a hand to let her know he was alright, and opened his eyes to let them quench his curiosity. She was standing in front of him, her apologetic manner remaining constant as she took a step back. "I'm sorry… I shouldn't have done that…" she offered, watching him for any signs of critical distress. But Marco only conveyed his awe through the same wide eyes and shock he had worn when she was casting her spell.

The room around them had changed completely, no longer the small guest room opposite his. It was now a towering, cylindrical structure at least three stories tall, and filled to the brim with girlish belongings and appurtenances of medieval royalty. Marco could have spent hours just ogling at the dazzling sight, drinking in the new surroundings, but Star caught his eye, waiting for some kind of response.

In reality, he didn't have one, but that was to say this was reality. As far as he knew, he had died, and was now experiencing some fantastical sort of afterlife. His gaze swept around the room once more before falling to Star, who examined him carefully with those captivating pools of sapphire. "What was that?!" Were the first words out of his mouth, immediately followed by "How did you do that?! Are you like, an angel or something?! Am I dead?!" All in all, not the response either of them were hoping for, Star much less than Marco, but she was prepared for it, whereas Marco was not.

"I'm not an angel, and you're not dead, as far as I can tell," she answered softly, keeping her voice level so as not to startle him any further than she clearly already had. "That...was magic, Marco Diaz. I'm a magical princess from another dimension, called Mewni."

Suddenly, everything began to fall into place. The bubbly attitude, the odd dress he tried his best to ignore, the odd phrases she had passed around, and all the magic? It was now so painfully obvious to Marco, he was surprised with himself it took this long to notice. "So you're a street magician from europe?"

Star's timid delivery was stunted in exchange for a confused look, thrown for a loop she wasn't expecting. "Uhhh...Europe? Marco I have no idea what that is but this isn't a trick, this is real, magic." She punctuated that with another, smaller burst of blue energy from her wands bulb, but Marco snatched the wand away and held it closer to his face to get a better look.

"And I'm the Easter Bunny, seriously, Star how does this thing-" he never got to finish inquiring of her how it worked, as the wand suddenly jerked awake, zapping his hand with a sizzling *pop* before shooting back to Stars. The force of its motion sent Marco's hand reeling, and he gripped his wrist with a hiss of pain. "Gah! Fffffffff- jeez?! What the heck was that for? The stupid thing shocked me!"

"Yes I know! Because it's real magic, and the wand only responds to me!"

"Bullshit," Marco spat, stepping back from her as she tried to help, not his first time doing so that night, "Magic isn't real, Star, and your stupid wand shocked the hell out of-!"

"Well I didn't tell you to snatch it from me, did I?!" Star answered back,her voice every bit as impatient as his. But with some difficulty, she exhaled slowly to regain her composure. "I know it's hard to accept but-"

"Hard? Star, if magic is real do you have any idea how insane that would make-"

"BUUUT, you have to work with me here. I'm from a long line of Queens that rule over a kingdom called Mewni in another dimension, and this wand is the most powerful magic artifact in existence," she explained, her filter wearing down as she belted everything she could to him, "and I don't really know how to use it. I don't know how stuff works here on Earth, but I do know you all have a pretty good idea of what real magic... is supposed to be, so why is this so different?"

"Yeah, we have an idea, but you know how crazy it is, right? What you were doing was just a magic trick, and if you wanna live here, ha, I got news for you: that's gonna wear thin pretty quick." Star glared at him, and another riposte about how rude he was being despite his earlier position was fresh on the tip of her tongue. But she held it in. With more willpower than she had mustered since leaving her home, she nodded slowly, realizing her position now. Marco was offering her a place to live on Earth, and she was already arguing with him after his...bad choices earlier. It was probably best not to push him too hard.

"Okay, you're right. It's just a trick, and this is just a toy that lights up," she conceded, sitting back down on her newly transformed bed, "But I am a princess, from Mewni. And I'm not going to argue with you about that. Okay?"

Marco wanted to argue, for whatever reason, but he knew better than to push her too hard. She was clearly new to the area, and maybe a bit too dedicated to her stage role, but he did promise her to try. And if Marco could safely, happily call himself anything, it was a fighter, and he wasn't going to be a total ass to the one good thing thag had happened to him since... "Okay. I'll call you Princess Star if you-"

"No!" She yelled, her eyes wide and alarmed, "just- just Star is fine, really."

"Are you sure?" Marco asked, tilting his head, "If it makes you feel more at home, I'm happy to do at least something for you." But Star waved it off like it wasn't something worth discussing. She seemed nervous, but she wasn't rambling, so Marco could only assume it was something akin to fear that was spoiling her good nature.

"I'm sure. ...no one can know I'm here, Marco. Only my parents know, and I'd like to keep it that way. Less trouble for me-...for us, that way." Marco nodded deliberately, but he was put off by the use of the word us. Why did she seem so reticent all of the sudden? Were people looking for her? Bad people? Whatever the reason, he didn't press, sensing it was a sensitive subject. Something she could learn in her time here, even if he was happy she hadn't yet.

Hoping to fix the tension in the air, and hoping she would feel better if she took her mind off of home, Marco leaned forward and gave her a reassuring, warm smile, offering a simple "Thank you, by the way."

Star figured he was talking about the bridge, how close he was to death, how far over the edge he had been, but she had to ask anyway. "For what?"

Marco met her blue eyes and shook his head, trying to find a good word for crazy, before plainly answering, "For being you, and for seeing something in me that even I can't see. For stepping into my dark little world and trying to make it brighter. Thank you for being my friend."

It was Stars turn at speechlessness, unable to form a good response to such a sincere thanks. An hour ago, he was ready to give up on everything, and now, he seemed just as happy to be here as she was. Gone were the sunken, soulless eyes, now replaced with a glint of hope and the light of new experiences. He was still broken, much like herself, and he needed far more than someone to be there for him in his darkest hours, but Star would be there regardless, ready to keep him fighting.

"You too, Marco," she answered with a smile, the object of her new world leaving to let her get adjusted to her new home in peace. She had given him a second chance at fighting, a second breath of air in his lungs to keep raging against his cruel fortune, and he had returned such a gift in kind. Giving Star a second chance to live her life on her own terms, and to find her own way through a forest of dark expectations.

Neither one of them knew it, but it was the end of the first day of their new lives, one brimming with second chances."

Second chances are not given to clean up a mess, or to rebuild a broken thing. They are earned by those who have fallen, and proven that they can stand back up. Some of us, will never have that second chance, at life, at love, at family, at trust….some of us will never find that 'do-over' we feel that we deserve. In such a case, all you can do is move forward, and hope you find a better way, than the one you took yesterday."

~Mr. Ronald Reagan