When she finished all the preparations, Star flopped lazily onto her couch. "So what are we gonna do about school?"

Marco joined her on the couch. "I got this one." He said, pulling the phone from his hoodie. Star just sat and stared as Marco's thumbs danced across the clicking keypad. "Dad. Star and I. R. Stuck. In her room. 4 a few. Days,. Dont. Worry. About us. Were fine. But. We need U. 2 call. Us in. Sick. Until. We. Can. Get. Out… Send."

The two waited in silence for about 30 seconds before the phone buzzed.

"What did he say?" Star asked.

"Alright, if you say so, mijo. Just make sure you take care of the work you missed. Love you. Smiley face."

"Your dad is adorable."

"Not the word I'd use, but sure." Marco said, stuffing the device back in his pocket.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Star spoke up. "Soooo… What do you want to do?" She said, kicking her feet.

Marco stroked his chin. "Hmmmm… How 'bout a movie?"

"We… don't have any movies in here."

"We don't need them." He said, rising from his seat. Marco started to dig around in his backpack before pulling out his laptop.

"We don't need a movie… to watch a movi- Marco, what are you talking about?"

"Internet, Star." Marco said, placing the device on the table. "Don't you remember? I already told you about it."

Star scratched her head. "From what you showed me, I assumed it was just an archive of Earth's cat pictures and videos of people getting hit in the groin."

Marco laughed, pushing the coffee table towards the couch. "Maybe I didn't do the best job explaining it." He said, taking a seat next to her. Marco opened up the laptop and turned it on. "Without getting too technical… If there is something you want to see or know about, it's probably going to be on the internet." Marco said, opening his browser.

Star's eyes were glowing with awe. "Anything?"

"Anything on Earth, at least. All you have to do is type something here, and the internet will show you what it has."

Star gasped. "Earth is so cool." She whispered to herself. "Can I try?!" She asked with a look of beaming excitement.

"Sure." He said, handing her the computer. Star placed it on her lap and slowly punched in: M. A. R. C. O. Space. D. I. A. Z. Enter.

The first two results she saw were:

Marco Diaz or KKBad_Boy on something called 'Tweetur .com '

And what looked like a video labeled: MARCO DIAZ HILARIOUS KARATE FAIL!

Marco swiftly snatched the laptop back. "Oh-ho-ho kaay. That's enough of that… Uh, how 'bout that movie?" He said, typing Webflicks .com into the search bar. "What are you in the mood for, Star?"

"I'm game for whatever, man." She said, using her wand to dim the lights.

"Escape from Doomsday Island it is!" Marco announced, before placing the laptop down on the table and hitting play.

The time absolutely flew by. They decided to spend the whole night going through all the movies in the franchise.

The room was dark. The main source of light was radiating off the screen before them. Star and Marco were sitting on the couch, a shared bowl of chips between them, their eyes and ears, glued to the screen. Agent Blaze was strapped to the evil, Dr. Kalco's massive nuclear warhead!

"You won't get away with this, Dr. Kalco!" Blaze shouted, struggling against his bonds.

"Muh-hu-ha-ha-ha-haah! I don't think you're in the position to make threats, Mr. Blaze. You should feel proud. You get to be the very first casualty of World War III." Dr. Kalco slammed his fist on the giant red button. "Ah-ha-ha-ha! AH-HA-HA-Ha-ha… wait, what?" Nothing happened. The missile didn't move. Dr. Kalco took the radio out of his lab coat. "Chauncey! What is the meaning of this?!"

"Sir, the engineers have run into several issues with the missile. She's not ready to fly!"

Dr. Kalco threw his radio to the floor. "Curses! Blaze, what did you do?!" But when Kalco looked up, Blaze was gone. "Guards! I want every single person looking for agent Blaze. Shoot on sight. I want him dead."

Star adjusted herself on the couch. "Getting a little chilly in here." She said, rubbing her arms.

"Yeah, a little." He responded. "You alright?"

"I'll be fine." She said with a dismissive gesture.

Marco wasn't convinced. He got up from his seat and pulled the comforter off of Star's bed. He brought it over to couch and draped it over her friend.

"Awwwwww!" She cooed at the sweet gesture, hugging the blanket close to her.

Marco sat back down next to the bowl of chips. "Better?" He smiled.

"Mm-hm." She said, snuggling up with her new blanket. "Wait… What about you?"

"Me? Nah, I got a jacket. I'm good."

He was so good to her. Always thinking of her needs first. And how did she repay him? By making him uncomfortably spill his secrets and locking him in a room. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair! Star picked up the bowl that separated them and placed it next to the laptop. She slowly scooted closer to her bestie before draping the blanket over him, as well.

Marco smiled. "Star, really. I'm okay-" Marco's protest was cut off when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist, followed by a warm body leaning close against him. Star rested the side of her head on his shoulder, taking a deep breath. A hug? Right now? A little weird, but hugs were always welcome. Marco returned her hug, after a few seconds, he let go. But Star didn't, she continued to hold him.

"Star, what are you doing?"

Star didn't respond, she just held him tighter and snuggled up to him. Marco looked down at the girl. She was so cute, it hurt. Star looked up to meet his gaze. Marco didn't understand why she was doing this, but she just looked so happy. And the embrace of his friend didn't feel particularly bad, either. Giving in to the princess's demands, Marco removed his hoodie, pulled the blanket up to his neck, and cuddled with his bestie, on the couch.

With the extra layer removed, the warmth of Star's body became much more apparent. All the questions of 'why was she doing this?' and 'what did this mean about their friendship?' just melted away. He didn't care about what led up to this, nor the future consequences it may lead to. It felt too good. Marco's flag pole was at full mast, but Marco didn't notice, and Star didn't care. They continued to watch the movie, wrapped in each other's arms, before the gentle force of sleep carried them away.

(Jesus, Jim! Only five chapters in, and they're already cuddling!? Slow down, you two. Oh my God! Children, avert your eyes!)