Notes:

We get Star's shower this time! I always figured her first experience with a modern earth shower would be super fun for her, and definitely have led to something being broken. We get both of those here! And Marco being an actual teenage boy, if a super freaking weird one.

Chapter 6 (EDITED 12/22/2020)

"Okay!" Star bounces through the steam filled bathroom towards the shower, and the look on her face gives me a bad feeling.

"Star, you remember what I told you about how to use the knobs, right?" I throw her a pair of clean towels, leaning against the bathroom counter while still in my own towels.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. Hot and cold and righty tighty lefty loosey or whatever." Star slams the stall shut and begins tossing her own clothes over the stall door with a lack of hesitation that surprises me. Its definitely not my first rodeo, so it doesn't bother me knowing she's naked on the other side of that glass or seeing her underwear (petticoats? Chemise? Weird shorts? Medieval underwear is weird, especially with that almost modern blend, so I'm not sure what to call the little light dress and poofy, almost boxers I assume she was wearing under her dress) lying over her other clothes, but usually it kind of freaks exchange students out to have me in the room while they shower.

Regardless of male or female, I have to say. Although, the female response the first few times can be a bit more...violent. I distinctly remember the black eye I got from Jeane, a French girl who stayed with us a couple years back. Maybe being a princess, Star is used to changing and bathing in front of other people? I heard they used to get servants to wash and dress them back in the day, though Star seems independent enough that I doubt she had servants do that for her. If someone in her castle (does she have a castle, or just like a mansion?) actually is supposed to be the one in charge of cleaning this force of chaos, I really quite pity them. Anyway, long story short, I recognize that it's weird for me to do this, but I really have to make sure she's safe! It's just a bit more weird that she seems not to care herself.

I watch her silhouette through the cloudy glass finally managing to turn on the water, and a sharp yelp echoes out from the shower. Clearly not quite the temperature she was expecting, though whether too cold or hot I couldn't say. I decide to grab a nail file from its spot (outlined in a thin layer of chalk!) on my side of the counter and do my daily cuticle care. Hangnails could lead to terrible things, after all. The feeling of the abrasive surface dragging against my nails relaxes me, over the next few minutes. Really, this whole situation relaxes me. Star might be the...weirdest of our exchange students so far, but she still fills what always feels like a hole in the household when we don't have one. I wonder if I would react like this if I had a brother, or sister? Sharing a bathroom, not feeling relaxed unless someone is watching my back? I don't really know.

Out of the shower comes a steady stream of giggling mixed with yelps and weird curses as Star clearly can't keep her adhd hands away from the knobs. She doesn't seem capable of letting the water temperature be, getting bored within a few seconds no matter how comfortable she makes it. I've heard that if people are locked in a room with a box that does nothing but shock them, they'll eventually start poking the box even though it hurts them, just out of sheer boredom. We hate that more than pain by quite a bit. I feel like I'm watching that process happening right now in fast forward, seeing Star freeze or burn herself every few moments. It actually worries me a bit that she might forget herself and blast a hole in our shower, but a quick glance around shows that she left her wand on her side of the sink. At least that won't be a problem.

I nearly jump right out of my towel when I hear her scream, "Marco!" and opt to drop my nail file instead to grab and right my only current covering.

"What, Star? Now my file is all dirty." I begin grumbling, leaning over to snag the nail file from the ground. Just as I do so, I hear another, much louder clatter of something hitting tile-this time from inside of the shower itself. I blink, leaving the poor file where it lies and looking up at the shower. Luckily, based on the sound, the falling object wasn't Star herself but she seems squeezed into one of the corners.

"Marco! I think I turned the knob too much and it broke! Now the shower is in like, super volcano heat mode. Can you fix it?" in spite of herself even Star seems embarrassed to ask a boy into her shower, her voice shaking with nerves for that last sentence. It's a first for me as well, I might act comfortable with all this, but familiarity is a thin blanket of defense against the realization that we're both teenagers, alone in a soon to be very small space while wearing almost nothing.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Star! Just turn it off, grab your towel, and get out." She messes around with the one remaining knob for a few moments, before it too pops off and falls.

"That didn't work! And I haven't gotten to play with the weird bubble syrup soap yet. Pleaaaase?" Surely she has shampoo in her dimension, or something like it. I just chalk this particular bit of oddness up to Star's personality and sigh, a blush coloring my cheeks. I pinch the towel tighter, and glance down below my waist to give a warning look towards mister happy. Entering into a shower with a naked girl or not, I really don't need any tenting going on around Star after only knowing her for a day.

"Fine, I'm coming in. Just...cover yourself up! I won't look in your direction." I wait until she gives the all clear, still huddled in her corner of the shower, before slowly pulling open the shower door. I'm immediately blasted with a wave of steam and small sprays of hot water-Jesus, its has to be near boiling. Do we even have water that hot in our shower? I keep my eyes glued to the tile floor, and notice the pair of temperature knobs immediately. They're sitting in the spray itself, which will make for a painful snatch and grab, but should be possible. The other thing I see is a pair of pale, surprisingly small feet. I wonder if she has her boots made larger than she needs to for some reason? Looking up further make it clear what her leggings usually hide, that her calves are just as toned as her arms. No delicate daisy, Star. I have to physically force myself not to look up any further than that, turning my attention back to the knobs.

Star, uncharacteristically, stays silent throughout this. Maybe she's feeling just as awkward as I am. Or more so! I at least have a towel, after all. She just has… Don't think about it Diaz! I grab both knobs with a slight hiss of pain at the hot water, my hands going as red as my face must still be. I'm afraid to look down at my groin, but at least it should be mostly hidden with me kneeling down and hunched over. The next issue immediately makes itself clear to me, after having acquired the knobs. In order to fix them, I'll need to look up where they usually go-and Star will be directly in my line of sight. Half out of need and half out of teenage boy hormones, I raise my gaze.

A weird mixture of relief and disappointment engulfs me as I realize that Star is actually shockingly well covered. Her giant cloud of blonde hair has been moved from where it usually sits behind her, to in front of her shoulders. Everything from her knees up is completely hidden by the thick, wet blonde locks. Even her face is partially obscured, though when I look into the small part of her cheeks and eyes I can see, I realize she either was burned by that scalding water or is blushing even harder than I am-every bit of her face is the color of a tomato.

She intently whispers to me, "Marco, hurry up!" which finally distracts me from my shameless ogling. I feel my cheeks attempt to experiment with new shades of red as my embarrassment at being caught staring at a 'naked' girl hits me, and I try to just quickly screw the temperature knobs back on.

Placing them at their perfect sharpie marked spot, I warn Star not to touch them again before finally backing out of the shower, closing the stall door, and standing back up. My heart finally slows down from beating a million times a minute and I hear a similar release of tension in a sigh from the other side of the shower door. We both slowly find our previous positions, I finishing off my nails by the counter and Star having distracted herself with the wonders of shampoo.

It's not long after that Star leaves the shower, wrapped in her own pair of towels. Her hair towel isn't exactly equipped to deal with the sheer volume of her hair, but its doing its best. By mutual silent agreement, we don't mention the shower escapade. Better news, now that I'm back in familiar territory, Marco Jr. has completely settled down-no damning tenting below the waist. "Now we can just head to our rooms and get dressed. I, apparently, have a lot of cleaning to do-and you need to have a chat with Mom ASAP. As soon as possible, is what that means Star." I answer the question I can see forming on her face before she even gets the first word out, which has her giggling.

"Okay! I'll swing by your room later then!" She claims, before opening up the door and allowing two showers worth of steam to invade the house. I pretty quickly follow her out, though I make the turn to my room instead of hers. Everything I own is back! In a giant, disorganized pile in the center of the room. I feel my eye twitch at the sight, slam my door behind me, and get to work on the first priority: Finding my Jam-Jams.