A/N: Hey everybody! LordCorwnalis here with a fun one-shot! It's an interesting take on how the end of season 2 might have looked if certain secrets were exposed in a timely fashion. I hope you all enjoy it because I had a ton of fun writing it! This originally began as a friendly little competition with Lord of the Storm and I, so definitely check out his one-shot which should be right near this one in the story lists as we've synchronized our release dates. If for some reason it isn't, it's called "We Need to Talk" so check it out there.
That being said, if you liked this story, feel free to leave me a review and as always, the bulk of my scribblings can be found on my rollicking Starco Epic, "In the Pale Starlight" as well as "The Once and Future Queen," which I am co-writing with none other than RonaldReagan of Forgotten Ventures fame. That particular Story is under the combined pen name of LordRonaldwalis, but it's easy enough to find.
"It's only noon and already another scorcher…" thought Marco as he packed away the last of his books in his locker, excited to start the weekend early. It was Memorial Day weekend for the students of Echo Creek Academy and somehow despite the long odds, it seemed the scheduling gods had smiled upon them and given them an extra-long holiday weekend. All around him, students happily chatted about their weekend plans, or else were absorbed in the brokering of those plans. Blowing out a relieved breath, Marco quickly shed his trademark red hoodie. He was already feeling a trickle of sweat running down his back under his Cobra Kai t-shirt even though he'd only left the air-conditioned classroom mere minutes ago.
Ruefully, he remembered grabbing it that morning, thinking the iron-grey sky and waving palm fronds meant a cool, rainy day. It seemed, however, that the weather had decided not to follow his predictions, and the promised rain never materialized, instead remaining hot and oppressive. He'd had to endure an unpleasant walk to school with his best friend, Star Butterfly, both of them too busy sweating in the sweltering morning to get much talking in. It didn't help either that Star's mood, always a little fragile these days since she lost the Magic Instruction Book and Glossaryck, had seemed to reflect the sizzling temperature. Absorbed in thoughts about how he'd cheer his grumbly bestie up that evening, he failed to notice the arrival of a certain beanie-wearing girl who had seemed to appear out of nowhere.
"Hey, Marco, does this milk smell like it went bad?" she asked, pushing an open carton under his nose before he could react. Gagging he backed away from the offending smell. "Ugh, Janna…that smells horrend-ARGH!" he had started to say when his right foot found the banana peel she had strategically placed behind him. Spinning on the snot-slick peel, he only caught a split-second image of a surprised looking Jackie before he collided with her and sent the two of them sprawling in a tangle of limbs and skateboard.
When the shock and disorientation of his tumble to the gritty tile cleared, Marco found himself on his stomach, face nestled between two soft, warm… "Oh God, I'm so sorry, Jackie!" he shouted, realizing exactly where his face had landed. Pulling his face from her breasts, he shot to his feet like a rocket and moved to turn away from her. He wanted to disappear on the spot, to leave town or hell, maybe even the country… He was just about to rush off down the hall when he felt a warm hand on his shoulder.
"Babe, Relax…" came the reassuring voice of Jackie Lynn Thomas. "Don't worry about it. I saw Janna setting you up from down the hall, guess I just kinda got caught up in the collateral damage," she laughed, shooting him a reassuring smile. When he still looked like he wanted to will himself into non-existence, she turned him around to face her and dropped her voice to a whisper so only he could hear. "Marco Diaz, are you or are you not, my boyfriend?" she asked and when he nodded slowly, she continued. "Then relax… Besides, you got to see them last weekend so I don't see why you're so embarrassed…"
"Well, umm, Ya see…" he sputtered as his brain fought to form a coherent sentence, while inside his thoughts echoed with a repeated chant of, "Don't pass out, don't pass out." Leaning in, Jackie kissed him lightly and beamed when that seemed to have broken him out of his ramblings. "So are you coming tonight to my end of year sleepover? It's the first year my parents are letting me have boys over and they'll be out almost all night anyways. Some big concert in L.A."
"Yeah… I mean, yeah I'd love too!" he answered, perking up immediately at the thought of a party with her that night. Images of him and Jackie kissing in a secluded corner of her finished basement floated tantalizingly in front of his eyes as he imagined all the possibilities and delights that evening might bring. That is…until the thought of Star at home on a Friday night by herself in a dark house seemed to throw a wet blanket on his fantasies. "Hey, uh Jackie?" he asked as he saw Janna hovering uncomfortably close.
"Marco?" she answered, her mint green eyes sparkling as a heavy, leaden cloud shifted suddenly to bath everyone in the courtyard in bright sunlight. He marveled at her ability to steal the words right out of his mouth with merely a look. "Gotta be the eyes…" he thought with an inner grin.
"Would it be cool if I invited, Star?" He didn't really know why, but for some reason mentioning his best friend's name around his girlfriend always seemed to make him uneasy. It was almost like he was waiting for Jackie to get mad for bringing her up so often. But in the last month, they'd been dating, Star had been a frequent companion to them and Jackie had never shown any outward sign of annoyance or exasperation.
"Of course, dude! I was going to text her later and ask her, but you're walking home with her, right? So yeah, I'd love it if she could come tonight. It's going to be a small group, just like five or six of us anyways." Dropping her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, Marco watched as she seemed to be checking their immediate surroundings for potential eavesdroppers. "Actually, Janna said she was inviting someone 'special' tonight. I asked who and well… You know Janna…"
"What's up chickenbutts?" asked the aforementioned teen as she threw an arm around both of their shoulders. Wary from long years of experience, Marco automatically slipped his hand into his pants to grip his wallet. He knew how wily Janna could be at her most benign, but with her recent prank so successful, her blood would be up.
"Not much, Just giving Marco the heads up about the sleepover tonight. Did you get the stuff?" asked Jackie.
"Oh, ye of little faith…" scoffed Janna as she held up her phone for them to see. Marco surmised it must have been taken inside of her room, as he could see what he hoped was a model of a human skull next to a bottle of vodka. "My cousin's 23 and he owed me a favor from when I got him off the hook for an artifact smuggling charge."
"Niceee."
"Breezing right past that," muttered Marco as both Jackie and Janna laughed. "But is that vodka?" His question, largely rhetorical at this point given the photographic evidence in front of him, did serve to buy him time to organize his clouded thoughts. Underage drinking and peer pressure, it was everything the videos he watched in middle school had warned him about except… "Well, I don't feel any pressure…" he thought.
"Babe, don't feel like you have to drink tonight if you don't want to, okay? I just thought it might be fun to play some drinking games. We'll have plenty of soda and stuff too though…so, no pressure." It was if Jackie had read his thoughts like a book and he felt extremely grateful to her for not setting any expectations for the party that night.
"Thanks, Jackie," he smiled at his girlfriend as Janna rolled her eyes.
"I can give you two some privacy if you want to duck into one of those unused classrooms. Maybe Jackie can show you her pillows again. She said you blushed so hard last weekend you almost got a nosebleed…" Janna said, an evil smirk on her face.
"Janna!" Jackie half-shouted in shock as a loud clatter behind them made all three teens turn. Star Butterfly, looking very flustered was hurriedly bending down to collect her wand, spilling half the contents of her unzipped backpack in the process.
"Hey, Star," mumbled a red-faced Marco to her as he left his girlfriend and Janna to their whispered argument.
"Hey," she greeted back, a distinct lack of enthusiasm to her normally chipper voice as he stooped to help her retrieve her scattered belongings. Not noticing the concerned look he shot at her, or his offer to "Let me help with that stuff," she found herself staring at her wand as it lay face up on the tile floor. Immediately her eyes were drawn to the yellow crystal on the front of her wand, or at least… The half it that had remained. "Amberized Starglass" she remembered Glossaryck had corrected her the first time she'd remarked on how pretty it looked. "But now half of it's missing, just like Glossaryck and my spellbook…" she thought with a grimace. It seemed emblematic of her life at the moment, missing vital pieces that were necessary to make her whole. Lately, even her time with Marco-
"Star, you in there?!" Hearing him say her name again seemed to snap her out of her thoughts and she looked up to see Marco's smiling face. "And those chocolate eyes that I just wanna stare in al-not the time, Star!" she scolded her titillating, but distracting thoughts aside, she shook her head to clear her thoughts and answered him. "Sorry about that, a lot on my mind…"
"I know," he nodded understandingly before stashing the various papers and books back in her backpack and zipping it up. "Ready to head home?" he added, offering her his hand to pull her up.
"Definitely." She felt a genuine smile spread on her face as she reached to take his hand. "Did you see how much homework Skullzers gave us in first period?! It's going to take all weekend to get through that!"
"Yeah, and on a long weekend too… Doesn't that old troll have anything better to do?" scowled Marco as they rejoined Janna and Jackie. "Don't worry about that though, I'll help you through it like always. Shouldn't take more than a few hours if we work together." Star couldn't help but blush at his words, feeling like finally, something was going right today.
"Jeez, Marco… Where has my offer of help been all year? Or is it only reserved for beautiful blonde princesses that live with you?" asked Janna, feigning shocked outrage.
To her left, Jackie didn't miss the brilliant shade of crimson that Star seemed to be turning at her insinuation. Early on in Star's tenure on Earth, she had suspected her and Marco of secretly seeing each other despite their protestations to the contrary. She was always so touchy-feely with him, often giving him hugs or else holding his hand to drag him off excitedly somewhere. More than once too, she'd even caught Star looking at Marco well… "Like the way I look at him," she thought. But when Marco had begun making moves towards getting closer, she just figured that maybe physical displays of affection were just more common on Mewni.
But seeing how Star reacted just now, she wasn't so sure… In their private moments, Marco had told her how Star had been acting differently since losing her magic book and apparently a little blue man called "Glassyryck," or something like that. However, that was also the first night they'd officially started dating as well. She really couldn't blame the Princess if she had developed feelings for her boyfriend, for he was a smart, caring, generous, and extremely handsome guy. It was only natural after living together and being best friends for almost a year that feelings might become complicated. But as long as Star respected what she and Marco had, Jackie didn't feel any compelling need to comment or take any action out of the ordinary.
"Janna, the last time I tried to help you out with your homework, you tricked me into doing all the work and then put that pet snake of yours down the back of my hoodie." Her boyfriend's retort seemed to bring Jackie out of her introspection and she hitched back the smile that had slid off of her face when she noticed Star's blue eyes flick away from her own once she'd looked up.
"He was cold! And you were wearing that warm looking hoodie. What did you want me to do, let Larry freeze to death? Jeez, heartless much?"
"That's it, I'm done!" Marco threw up his hands and turned to leave. "Jackie, I'll see you tonight. C'mon, Star, let's go home." Leaving his girlfriend standing there looking somewhat bewildered and Janna cackling with laughter, he felt a modicum of pride when he heard Jackie's admonishing, "Dude…not cool."
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Ten minutes later, Marco was eyeing his best friend as she trudged along next to him in the oppressive heat. They had barely said ten words between them as they wove their way down the streets, the crowd of students around them thinning out until it was just the two of them. "Something is definitely up," he decided as he observed his best friend. Her normally sparkling blue eyes looked lifeless and dull, matched by her long blonde hair that seemed to hang limp and lank. Even her walk looked off to him. Where normally she had her shoulders thrown back as she took long strides, always in a hurry to see her next adventure, now she looked hunched and small. Her head down as she took hurried short steps to keep up with his naturally longer step.
"What's up, Star?" he asked again, watching as she seemed to pull her arms in closer around her. "It can't just be the usual stuff. You seem extra… Bleh, today for some reason. Something's up."
Star didn't answer right away, she couldn't. "How do I tell my best friend I'm head over heels in love with him when he's already in a relationship?" It was the same exact question that had kept her awake every single night for the last month. Just thinking about it made her stomach clench and the sweat on her back to run cold. The selfish part of her was screaming at her to answer his question by grabbing both of his hands and pulling him in for she knew would be the best kiss of her life. But she knew she could never do that to Marco. It wouldn't be fair to ruin his chance at happiness with Jackie, something she'd known he'd dreamt about for years.
"You know you can tell me anything right?" he asked, nudging her shoulder playfully.
"It's nothing, just me being upset over stuff I can't change…" she sighed, frowning as she continued to avoid his eyes. It was actually several seconds before she realized Marco was no longer walking beside her, instead, he had stopped and was staring at her, a troubled look on his face. "Coming?" she asked, feeling a growing sense of annoyance to get out of the Southern California sun as it beat down relentlessly on them.
Marco grinned and sauntered over to her, leveling a finger at her as he did so. "I know what you need…"
"What do I need, Diaz, besides getting out of this scorching sun? Pegasus feathers, this dimension is too hot sometimes…" she groused.
"You need a piggyback ride!" He was grinning ear to ear as he turned his back and looked at her over his shoulder.
Rolling her eyes, she scoffed at him. "C'mon, Marco… It's a bajillion degrees out and the last time I had a piggyback ride was-"
"Was AWESOME!" he interrupted. "Dude, your dad jumped UP a waterfall and ran like sixty miles an hour!" Marco was gushing like an overexcited fanboy, but he didn't care. River Butterfly had impressed the hell out of him and he wouldn't forget that amazing day with Star and her dad for the rest of his life. "Now I know I'm not as strong or as fast as your dad, but I can certainly help cheer up my bestie with a fun ride back to our air-conditioned house. So, c'mon…hop on." He wiggled his body to emphasize his point.
It was the little shake of his tush that finally broke her. Well, that and the 100-watt smile he was flashing her way. Somehow it always seemed to make her worries and fears seem not so intimidating. Whether it was about her future as Queen or just a bad grade on a test, his smile would blow them all away like a stiff breeze blowing a rain cloud away to let a rainbow shine through. "Alright, you win," she said, feeling the beginnings of a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.
Walking over to him, she crouched for a moment before hopping up onto his back. She felt a rush of pleasure as she latched her strong arms together around his neck and felt his hands gripping the back of her thighs once she'd wrapped them around his waist. "He smells so gooood," she thought, almost letting out a moan of pleasure at the electric feel of his touch against her legs while the scent of his cologne wafted into her nose. "Home, Diaz," she ordered with a giggle, finally feeling a genuine smile on her face for the first time all day as he took off at a steady pace towards 4815 Avocado Terrace. "So what's the plan for tonight? Mackie Hand movies and nachos?"
"Not tonight, Star…" puffed Marco as he continued to speed down the sizzling sidewalk. "Tonight, both of us are headed to Jackie's house for a little sleepover."
It was the last thing she wanted to hear right now, especially as she was so happily pressed against Marco's back, relishing in the warmth of his body against hers. The idea of spending an entire night in close proximity to Jackie and Marco sounded about as appealing to her as kissing Ludo. "Is, um… Is anyone else coming?" she asked, hoping that the desperation in her voice for any additional company didn't show.
"Oh yeah, Janna will be there too. And get this, Jackie said she's bringing someone."
Star was so caught off guard, she forgot about her growing dread at being stuck next to Marco and Jackie all night as they made googly eyes at each other. "Whatttttt?! My Janna-Banana is bringing a date tonight!" she squealed so loudly, he flinched.
"I didn't even know she liked guys, or girls for that matter…" mused Marco with a chuckle. "I kinda just thought she was madly in love with causing as much trouble as possible."
"Psh, nahhhh," Star waved her hand in a dismissive gesture, causing both of them to wobble violently. "Y'konwwww, Marco," she giggled and he felt an unseasonable chill run through his body despite the sweltering heat. "I always thought she had a crush on you. I mean, she's always messing with you… Always stealing your stuff… Didn't she even tell you to call her after you got your first divorce?"
"Star, there is a less than zero chance that Janna feels anything for me other than a pathological compulsion to make my life as difficult as possible."
"I don't knowwww, I think that might be how she shows she's interested. When I was 10, I had a crush on my cousin Rey. He was a little bit older than me and I just thought he was the coolest guy on Mewni." She paused to readjust herself, scooching up his back to get better purchase and feeling another thrill in her heart when he slid his hands slightly farther back up her legging-clad thighs. When she was happy with her new position, she laid her chin on his shoulder and continued her story. "Well, I was so flustered every time I was around him, I couldn't help but pinch and poke him. It felt like I was going to explode when he was around, and that was the only way I could relieve the pressure."
"Ugh, promise me something," he groaned, starting to pant as Star's weight and the torrid heat took their toll on his stamina. Luckily, the turn up the front walk of his house was less than thirty feet away. "If Janna ever kidnaps me in an elaborate plan to take me to Vegas for a shotgun wedding, you'll come to the rescue."
"Don't worry, Marco. If anybody's gonna marry you, it's gonna be me!" The words she longed to say strained at the leash of her thoughts, begging her to let them fly with honeyed images of a blissful future together. Sadly though, she had to push that tantalizing image from her mind, fighting to put her treasonous words back into the dark place she kept her most vulnerable secrets. Deciding to keep the mood light and playful, she smirked. "If Janna kidnaps you, what makes you think I haven't helped her? I could be working with Janna right now! OOOooooh, scarryyyyy." she said, laughing hard and once more waving her arms in front of his face.
"Star, hold sti-whoa!" he half-shouted as he lurched sideways, the fatigue in his legs throwing him off balance. With both of them shouting in alarm, Marco stumbled and tripped halfway across his front yard before clipping the mailbox and crashing to the sunbaked ground. "OOF!" Marco felt the wind get knocked out of him as Star pancaked on top of him, forcing him even harder into the unyielding earth. Gasping for breath, he got up on all fours as soon as Star had rolled off of him, fighting hard to refill his lungs as his diaphragm spasmed from the blow. Despite knowing exactly what was happening, he had never gotten used to the terrifying experience even if it happened in the dojo several times a year.
"Oh my gosh! Are you okay, Marco?!" asked Star, her panic rising as she listened to the ugly, ragged breaths her bestie was taking as he tried to pull air into his lungs. She was just about to pull out her wand and try her hand at a magical solution when he held up a finger. Nervously, she watched as his breathing began to slowly become normal again.
"Star, *pant* I told you, *pant* to hold, *pant* still…" he finally managed to wheeze out before flopping onto his back on the hot, dried out grass.
"Sorry about that…" she said, feeling terrible at getting him hurt.
"At lee-he-he-east," he began to laugh, coughing hard as his lungs burned from the effort, "you got a goo-hahaha, a good piggyback ride!"
Marco's sudden outburst of laughter proved too much for what little remained of her composure, and soon Star was laughing uproariously alongside him as they both rolled around on the grass together. Finally, after chortling into a contented silence, she opened her eyes and found herself staring deep into the comforting pools of his chocolate brown eyes. Their faces had come to rest extremely close to one another and she felt her heart race from the intimate proximity. "I don't know what I would do without him in my life…" The thought was as terrifying as it was true and she had to fight down the urge to lean forward and kiss him with every ounce of willpower she possessed. She was in the process of pulling back to sit up when she spotted something that stopped her cold. Not believing her eyes, she double, then triple-checked, until there was no mistaking the creeping blush staining Marco's cheeks. It was small and subtle, but to Star, it was everything. Like a life ring thrown to a shipwreck survivor, it made her heart burst with hope and set fire to her soul. "Maybe, just maybe," her heart whispered, he might feel something like the yearning that filled her every day.
It was a panacea for the relentless pressure that was slowly but surely seeming to buckle her resolve, and Star reveled in that ray of hope, no matter how faint. Grinning goofily at her bestie, she pulled him for a scratchy and dusty hug. "Thanks for the piggyback ride and for cheering me up…" she whispered in his ear as she squeezed him tight.
"You're my best friend, Star. I'd do anything to cheer you up when you're sad," he whispered back, returning the pressure of her hug and holding it for slightly longer than was strictly necessary. Finally, when they'd broken apart and stood up to brush the dried grass and dirt from their clothes, he spoke up again. "Why don't we go inside, and bask in the air conditioning. You pick out a video game and I'll make us some sandwiches. Jackie probably won't have anyone over until seven or eight tonight, so we have plenty of time to hang out until then.
Still feeling like she could fly, Star grinned at him, "Don't think I'm going to go easy on you just because you cheered me up, Marco. If you wanna claim victory, you're going to have to work for it!"
"You're on, Butterbutt!" he shouted, sprinting for the door, Star hot on his heels.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
It was hours later when they turned up Jackie's walk. The journey from Marco's house had been an enjoyable one, as a stiff breeze had blown in from the ocean, cooling the scorching day into a pleasant twilight. Marco had mostly just listened as Star went on about her morning, especially her encounter with Ms. Skullnick. He was glad to see his best friend exhibiting some of her old gusto and upbeat attitude, as he had been missing that aspect of her personality deeply ever since Ludo had stolen the Magic Instruction Book.
"Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh," chanted Star as he reached for the brass knocker, "I can't wait to see who Janna brought!" She was practically bursting at the seams with excitement for tonight's festivities. The idea of Janna romantically involved with someone human was so foreign, so alien to her that she was excited beyond words to see what kind of guy Janna would actually pick. That and her little "moment" with Marco earlier that day were more than enough to push the impending dread of seeing Marco and Jackie together for an entire night out of her mind.
Laughing, Marco worked the knocker before turning to her on the step. "I gotta say, I'm curious myself. Betcha five bucks he's like twenty-five…" He let his words trail into silence as a cool breeze lifted Star's hair. Behind, the lights of the city were twinkling and shining, framing her perfectly in the dim glow of the porch light. She was wearing a summery teal dress adorned with a glinting, linked belt of glittery stars around her waist. Striped pink and purple leggings led down to a pair of white sneakers with matching little wings on the heels and of course, she was wearing her trademark devil horns to top it all off.
Seeing her there next to him on the porch, he was dumbstruck. He'd forgotten just how pretty Star actually was. Usually goofing around, or getting into some kind of trouble, either here on Earth or in another dimension; it didn't leave much time for romantic thoughts, especially now that he was dating Jackie. But tonight, just as on the night of the Blood Moon Ball, he found himself mesmerized by the mewman princess by his side. "Uhh, Marco? Dude?" the concerned sounding voice of his girlfriend snapped him back to reality faster than being doused in ice water.
"Oh! Uh, Sorry Jackie…" he shook his head and greeted her before giving her a peck on the lips. Star, who had already said her hellos to Jackie when she'd opened the door, slipped by the chatting couple and hurried into the living room, desperate to spot Janna and her "date." When she spotted the girl, she stopped dead in her tracks, as a cold sweat began to break out all down her back. Standing next to her, looking just as sulky as she had remembered, was none other than her ex-boyfriend Tom Luctor…
"Hey, Starship…" he greeted awkwardly, as Janna grinned like a jackal scenting fresh blood.
"Tom? What are you doing here?" Star couldn't keep the annoyed tone out of her voice as her eyes flicked between an uncomfortable-looking Tom and a Janna who still looked like all her Christmases had come at once.
"Ohhhh, welllll… I'm actually here as Janna's guest for the evening," he answered, now looking extremely uneasy as Jackie and Marco joined the conversation.
"Hold that thought, Tom. Janna, can I talk to you for a minute? In private?" she added when Janna opened her mouth to speak. Not waiting for her friend to answer, she strode forward and grabbed her by the arm; half dragging, half carrying her out of the room. Finding the closest unoccupied room, she marched in and pushed the door shut before fairly growling at her friend. "Tom?! What the hell, Janna?! Why would you invite my ex-boyfriend here of all places?" Star's face was flush with anger as her sky blue eyes bored into Janna's brown ones. An ominous green glow seemed to be leaking from gaps in her purse, tinging the room with a sickly light.
"Hey, not everything is about you, Star…" defended Janna, her voice as calm as if she was telling her the weather. Star, however, didn't miss the slight contraction of her friend's pupils at the ominous green light coming from her wand hidden just out sight but easily in reach. "Besides," she pressed on, "you two haven't dated in like a year. Why do you even care if I want to start seeing him?"
"That's not the point, Janna!" she shouted, taking a second to breathe before she slapped the smirk off her friend's face. "And for the record, I don't care if you want to date him, but if you haven't noticed, Tom's been trying to get back with me for like the last year. So I can't help but think that maybe you invited him here for a different reason…"
"And what reason would that be?" asked Janna, crossing her arms. She studied the mewman princess with a calculating look, finally grinning a sneer of understanding. "Oh, I get it now… Because you can't get Marco for yourself, you're upset because I'm interested in Tom, who was what? Your back-up plan."
"What?! Marco? Interested?" she sputtered, the hard edge of anger in her voice replaced by a not so convincing incredulity. "Marco and I are just friends…nothing more. And besides!" She fired up again at the look of naked skepticism on Janna's face, "How do you even know Tom?"
"Star… C'mon girl… Anyone with half a brain and any observational skills can see you're nuts for the dork. As to how I met Tom? I accidentally summoned him last month. Meant to get John Keats, ended up with him instead," explained Janna, her face still looking like she was having the time of her life. "Turns out we like a lot of the same stuff. Skulls, fire, lava, the undead…" She counted the things off on her finger as Star narrowed her eyes in suspicion. She had known Tom for years, and he had at best, a passing interest in all of those things. Star knew the things he cared about were much more in line with typical teenager stuff like video games and avoiding responsibility.
"Look," she said, blowing out a calming breath, "if you're really, actually romantically interested in Tom, then go for it. I have ZERO interest in ever dating him again. But if you invited him here to cause trouble or drama like you ALWAYS do… then I am going to be so pissed off."
"Star, you have my solemn promise as an agent of chaos and mischief that I legitimately invited Tom here because I like him," swore Janna, holding up her hand as if she were in court.
Star studied her friend's face for a long moment, trying her best to discern any possible deception. She knew well Janna's talent for dissembling, as the girl had fooled many seasoned teachers over the years to get out of trouble. But Star was no slouch herself, having spent years dealing with duplicitous nobles who would say one thing, yet mean two others. Finally, though she decided to be a good friend and take her friend's word at face value. "Alright, well…if you're serious about seeing Tom, I wish you all the best. Just be careful, he's got a temper on him."
"Oh, I know," Janna giggled, sharing a knowing look with Star, "but demons are all bark and no bite. You just need to know how to handle them." Slipping past her, she opened the door to the brightly lit hallway and motioned back towards the living room with a nod. "Coming?"
"Yep," sighed Star, feeling her enthusiasm for this evening souring faster than piggoat milk left in the sun. "First Jackie and Marco and now, Tom and Janna…" she thought, beyond annoyed now that the other smelly shoe had dropped to sandwich those blissful carefree hours with Marco. Part of her just wanted to pretend to be sick so she could go home and go to bed, but she knew Marco would ask too many questions for her to make a smooth getaway. "No," she decided, the only real course of action was to make like she was at an official royal function and hitch a fake smile on her face. And so, she left the darkened sanctuary of her solitary room and followed Janna back to the party.
"So you going to drink with us?" asked Janna as they rejoined the group. She had pulled an oversize glass bottle from under her jacket. It was clear with a bright red label that had "Kommissar Komrade Vodka" stamped on it in silver, faux-Cyrillic letters.
"Vodka?" asked Star, unsure what the stuff was. She'd had wine and cornale at dinner with her parents before in small amounts, but something told her this was a little higher horsepower than the stuff she was used to drinking. A quick glance at Marco showed her was looking somewhat nervous himself at the prospect of drinking whatever was in the bottle Janna was holding. Meanwhile, Jackie had nodded approvingly at the selection and gone to the kitchen to get cups.
"Earth Vodka, hrmm haven't heard of that stuff before. I wonder if it's like soul-quila?" mused Tom as he took the bottle from Janna and twisted the lid off with a sharp snap. He gave the bottle a tentative sniff before screwing up his nose in disgust. "Ugh, smells like the degreaser I used on my carriage's axles."
"You don't smell it, Horns," laughed Janna as she pulled the bottle from his hands, "you drink it!" Without so much as a moment of hesitation, she tipped the bottle back and took a swig of the clear liquid. "Hoooooboy," she managed to wheeze out after swallowing. "Pretty sure that could strip the paint off Marco's bike," she laughed before passing the bottle to Jackie who had returned with cups full of ice and a mysterious blue liquid.
"Now dudes, you don't have to drink if you want to, this is purely voluntary. I have plenty of non-alcoholic stuff if anyone's not comfortable, or wants to stop at any time," explained Jackie as she added a healthy pour of vodka to each red cup.
Marco watched, feeling slightly apprehensive at the prospect of drinking. He'd had a few sips of wine or beer at dinner, but nothing more than that. He was actually thankful then when Star seemed to have read the look on his face correctly and slid in next to him asking, "Gonna have any?"
"Not sure," he answered honestly, before turning and meeting her eyes. Her face seemed to be a reflection of his own, mixed uncertainty and apprehensiveness coupled with the prospect of trying something forbidden. "Have you had alcohol before?"
"Mom and Dad let me have wine and the occasional small mug of cornale with dinner or at fancy royal junk, but nothing strong," she explained as she eyed up Janna and Tom both looking excited as they accepted a mixed drink from Jackie. "Sooo do you wanna?" she asked again, feeling a bit better knowing her bestie was a novice at this as well.
Marco ran a hand through his hair as he thought hard, his inner caution fighting against the desire to fit in and try new things that might be a lot of fun. He knew if this had happened last fall before he met Star, he would have probably excused himself to go home and called the cops on the party just to be safe. But thanks to his energetic and some might say, reckless best friend; he was finding himself willing to do a lot these days. If he was honest with himself, he found the change in his personality quite liberating. "Maybe I do deserve that Wildman title," he thought with a smile. Finally, he came to his decision. "Tell you what Star, I'll do it if you do it with me. We can always stop if we feel like we've had too much."
"Sooo, together?" she asked, feeling like maybe the night wouldn't be a total disaster after all.
"Together," he nodded, leading the way for them to collect their own drinks from an excited looking Jackie.
Two hours later the party was in full swing. Love sentence was blasting from the speakers as all five teens huddled around Jackie's coffee table. They were feverishly slapping cards down, each one intently staring at the current growing pile. Marco watched as Star to his left threw down a five and barely beat out an excited Jackie as she tried to play the three fives she had in her hand to clear ahead of him.
"Trickyyyyyy," she teased as she rechecked her hand and gave him an evil grin, "but not tricky enough, Mr. Diaz." She laughed evilly as she threw down another set of three sixes, making the requisite four.
"Clear it!" shouted Janna as a sulky looking Tom reached in and swiped the pile of cards away from the center of the table.
'Thank you, Asshole," laughed Jackie as she tipped her drink to cheers a scowling Tom.
"You're welcome…" he said through gritted teeth.
"You're welcome what?" ribbed Star, over her own blue drink, sharing a laugh with Jackie.
"You're welcome… Madam President…" Tom corrected himself, before taking the requisite penalty drink.
Slapping down her last three cards, Jackie threw her hands up in triumph, shouting "President!" Tom, who was unable to make a play against her triples, simply scowled and drank again before Janna cleared the cards and began the cycle anew.
The rest of the round went about as well for Tom as the first part, with him having to drink repeatedly due to being unable to make a play. He was routinely scolded to drink by a laughing Star and Janna and he felt his fragile temper strained to the breaking point by the repeated ribbing and bad luck. Finally when Marco, who had been having a similar if slightly less terrible streak of luck, beat him out and resigned him to yet another round as Asshole, he snapped. "GRRR, ENOUGH!" he shouted, the impressive pile of cards still in his hand bursting into flames and raining down as black ash on the table, "can we PLEASE play a new game!"
"Tom, chill out bud. It's just a game…" said Star, looking annoyed and embarrassed for him.
"Easy for you to say," he growled, "you haven't been losing all damn night!" he spat out in a huff before downing the rest of his now steaming drink. After he'd replaced the empty, half-melted cup on the table he breathed in and out, mumbling something under his breath that sounded to Marco like, "Serenity now." The rest of them shared confused looks with each other until Star clarified the confusion, simply answering, "Anger management" to their unspoken questions.
"Sorry about the cards, Jackie," he apologized, snapping his fingers and plucking the black and gold card box that had appeared in a puff of flame. He handed the small box to her, explaining, "Here's a replacement pack. It's untearable and heat-resistant to 1500 degrees, but can we please play something else? I can't handle being the loser for the next hour."
"Alright, Tom. We can play another game," said Star in a voice laced with promised mischief. She was starting to feel the drinks now and with her lowered inhibitions, a thought had taken root in her mind. A thought that might perhaps answer some very important questions. Slowly she slipped her wand out of her purse, grinning wickedly as she held it up and prepared to cast a spell. "You guys remember Truth or Punishment?" she asked.
"Starrrr," said Marco, a warning look on his face, "what are you planning?" He remembered that insane night all too well. The danger, the pain, and the various truths that were shared that he felt were most likely better left unsaid.
"Its fineee, Marco…" she waved dismissively. "I promise it won't be like last time. No crazy Box of Truth to try and murder us all. This time, it will be totally voluntary. If you don't want to answer you can just take a drink, no electricity, or crushing blocks I swear!"
"C'mon guys, where's your sense of adventure? Secrets are fun, right Marco…" said, Janna, a hungry look in her eye as she stared at a very nervous looking Marco.
"This all seems scarily familiar…" he muttered into his hand before Jackie gave him a light punch on the arm.
"It'll be fun, Star even said it's totally voluntary if you answer or not. Tom's in, right dude?" she asked the demon teen who merely shrugged noncommittally and took a long sip from his drink.
"Alright alright, but if I end up maimed, crushed, or stabbed, both you and Star have some serious explaining to do to my parents." Nervously, he took a drink and sat back in the chair, watching as Star's face lit up in excitement. He smiled at that, he couldn't help it; Star just always seemed to have that effect on him. No matter what kind of day he'd had, or difficulty he was facing, whenever she was in a good mood it invariably bled over and cheered him up as well.
"Hold onto your drinks then!" shouted Star as she stood and brandished her wand with a flourish. "Gloaming Terrible Truth Compulsion!" she shouted just as her wand crystal flared an ominous green. When the blinding light had faded, she blinked several times and joined the rest of the group in checking out their surroundings.
They appeared to be in a featureless room made of black stone without any doors or windows. On each wall, an ominous-looking torch made out of wrought iron burned a dull orange, casting them all in dim, shadowy light. All five of them were sitting in carved stone chairs that matched their ominous surroundings; though, instead of sitting around a coffee table on the carpet, Star noticed that the other four teens were now facing her solitary chair. "This looks more like an interrogation chamber…" she thought with a chill, remembering seeing something similar in the bowls of Butterfly Castle on one of her many youthful wanderings.
"Ummm, Star? This is pretty ominous looking…" said Marco as he took in their medieval surroundings with growing unease. "Where did you say this spell was from?"
"I read about it in Solaria's chapter…" she answered, thinking hard to try and remember any details about the spell.
"Solaria? As in, Solaria the Monster Carver?!" he asked, perhaps a bit more forcefully than he'd wanted to as he saw Star's frown return full force at his words.
"Huh, no wonder this place looks like the Marquise de Sade's idea of a good time," chuckled Janna, nodding her head in approval at their dismal surroundings.
"Well, can you end the spell?" asked Marco, definitely getting a bad feeling now as he watched Janna and Tom whispering to each other.
"Not that I read… But hey, it only lasts an hour before fading away anyways, so worst case? We just chill out here and then poof! We're out. Easy peasy taco breezy." Star shrugged as she stood up from her chair. "Whose first?"
"I'll go." Tom sounded confident as he stood up and strode over before plopping down in Star's former chair. He waited for Star to take his old one before leveling all three of his red eyes on Marco in an amused gaze. "So Marco, let's start with something easy. What's the most scared you've ever been?"
"Of course," muttered Marco, rolling his eyes. He knew he was going to be the target early on. It was as predictable as a sunrise with both Tom and Janna in here with him, but he would hardly consider this an easy question. He was just about to decline to answer and drink instead when a strange tingling sensation made his head feel light and he heard himself begin to speak. "The most afraid I've ever been was the night of the school dance when Ludo attacked. It was just after he'd made off with the spell book and I'd run over to stop Star from being pulled into that terrifying green vortex she'd summoned. My foot was slipping and we were both getting dragged into a portal. But…it wasn't the prospect of being pulled into that portal that made me so afraid… It was the thought of losing you, my best friend, forever." As soon as he finished speaking, Marco clamped a hand over his mouth.
Everyone else around him stared in amazement at his apparent candidness. Star, in particular, felt incredibly moved, a mixture of affection for Marco at his emotional confession and annoyance at Tom for asking something so deeply personal. She could tell even in the dim light of the chamber that Marco's eyes were wide with shock and she desperately wanted to reach out and comfort him as he sat in that cold stone chair. The silence continued to linger awkwardly, the echoes of Marco's confession seeming to reverberate around the room like a gunshot. Finally, Jackie spoke up, desperate to break the rising tension. "Dude, that's so sweet…" she said, impressed despite the Star-centric nature of the confession.
"I… I didn't mean to say anything…" Marco said after he'd finally let his hand drop from his mouth.
"What do you mean? You just told us all that mushy stuff?" said Tom, a confused look on his face.
"I wasn't going to say anything actually, because…well, you heard it. It's really personal. But then I felt this really weird tingling and just sorta…started talking." , For Marco, it was that same old familiar feeling in his gut when he knew something was about to go seriously wrong. He'd developed a bit of a sixth sense for it in his time with Star, being able to predict when her usual magical hijinks could and often would devolve into the seriously dangerous. On high alert, he felt his sense of dread grow exponentially stronger when Janna leaned forward and addressed the group.
"I think I know what this is," she announced, instantly capturing all of their attention. "Star said this spell was in Solaria's chapter, right? Well she hated monsters, and this place looks an awful lot like an interrogation chamber, doesn't it?"
"So that means…" muttered Star before sitting up straight, her eyes wide. "That this spell forces us to tell the truth!"
"Exactly," nodded Janna, "your genocidal old granny probably invented it to interrogate monsters and figure out if any of them were plotting against her. Not a bad move on her part to be honest…"
"Wow," muttered Marco, shaking his head in disbelief. "Guys, since this isn't really, 'voluntary,' why don't we just hang out before one of us says something we really regret."
"Relaxxx," scoffed Janna, "that confession was super adorable. I thought Star was doing a tomato impression, she was blushing so hard. And speaking of…why don't you take the next turn? I'm sure there's plenty of things you're dying to know."
"You can find out for certain why Janna invited Tom tonight," whispered a seductive voice in her head. It was tantalizing having the absolute truth at her fingertips, and Star hadn't been completely sold on her friends' reasons for inviting him that night. So with a nod, she stood and swapped seats with Tom before taking a bracing sip of her drink. "Tom," she began, noticing a slight twitch of Janna's jaw when she leveled a steely blue gaze at her ex. "Why did Janna invite you here? Was it because she's interested in you? Or was it for a different reason?"
Tom's face looked white as a sheet as he shifted uncomfortably in his stone chair. Discordant words like "umm" and "err" were escaping his mouth as he struggled against the spell's magic. Eventually, though, he succumbed just as Marco had and he began to speak in an oddly calm, even voice. "Janna told me you wanted to get back together, Starship. She said you were too embarrassed to make a move yourself, but she'd set things up so we'd get some time together alone to talk about us." He finished much the same way Marco had, looking mortified at his own treacherous words.
"I KNEW IT! DAMMIT JANNA YOU'RE UNBELIEVABLE!" roared Star as she leapt to her feet, glaring daggers at her friend. "I knew you invited Tom tonight to cause trouble, you just can't help yourself can you?!" Wheeling to face a slightly cowering Tom, she softened her tone slightly, "Tom, I am only going to tell you this one last time. I am NOT interested in dating you again. We can be friends, heck I'll even hang out next time you and Marco do something, but that's it. Am I being clear?" Meekly, Tom nodded, looking genuinely frightened in the face of her volcanic anger. Turning back to Janna, who was no longer smiling, Star shook her head. After yelling so much, she felt the apoplectic anger of before leaving her, and instead, she just felt disappointed and betrayed by a girl she considered a very close friend. "You might be my friend Janna, but tonight…you were a huge jerk…"
"Shameful…" muttered Marco as Jackie looked on, a deep frown on her face.
"Just wanted to have a little fun," mumbled Janna, looking more grumpy than chastised, "didn't think you'd get so upset…"
"Whose turn is it?" sighed Star, choosing to ignore Janna's nonapology. When the troublemaker herself stood up to take her turn, she rolled her eyes and marched over to sit in her newly vacated spot, their shoulders bumping into each other's rather hard. Sitting down, she watched as Janna seemed to regain some of her usual swagger, knowing well the power she now held over the rest of the group.
"Probably should have let her go first," whispered Marco, the needle of his impending doom meter buried firmly in the red.
"I think you're right…" Star whispered back, feeling a foreboding as Janna's eyes settled on her. It was time for payback, and she knew it was going to be a rough one.
"Star," said Janna, her Cheshire Cat grin returning full force. "Why don't you tell the group what you really think…" Star's blood turned to jagged ice shards as she watched the girl's mouth finish her question, "of Marco."
"Janna no…" choked out Star as she felt the impending implosion of her world. This stupid game was going to ruin everything. She had managed to conceal her growing romantic feelings for Marco for months: pretending to be happy when he came back from dates with Jackie, grinning and bearing being the third wheel when the three of them hung out, and even accepting that her time with Marco would be more limited now that he had a girlfriend. "But all of that is over now…" she thought, fighting with everything she had against the inexorable grip of the magic on her will.
Jackie watched with morbid curiosity as Star's face lost its sad and pained expression, instead morphing as it had with Tom and Marco into placid calm as she began to speak. She knew Jann's question was over the line, knew that it was a gross invasion of her privacy. But still… A part of her had to know what Star was feeling for her boyfriend, especially after today's curious behavior. She just hoped that after tonight, they'd all still be friends.
"Marco is more to me than just my best friend," said Star in the matter of fact voice they'd come to expect from the room's magic, "he's the most important person in my life. He was my first and closest friend when I came to Earth and despite a slightly rocky start, he welcomed me into his home with open arms." Looking between the mewman princess and her boyfriend, Jackie noticed Marco's blushing cheeks as Star continued. "He's been my guide, teaching me how this dimension works without ever once losing patience when I caused trouble because of misunderstandings. He's cheered me up when I was sad, and together we've gone on countless amazing adventures across the multiverse. He even showed me that while my future as Queen might be set in stone, I don't have to be a boring, uptight, and cold queen like my mom is… I can be better."
Jackie nodded understandingly at those words, feeling touched at the close bond that Marco and Star shared. She hadn't heard anything she didn't like, and was just about to speak up to scold Janna for being so invasive when Star opened her mouth to speak once more. "He's all of that and yet… He's more. He lifts me up when he's near, he makes my heart beat like the war drums of the Johansen Clan whenever he smiles at me. I think…" Star paused, her face drawn and white as she seemingly struggled hard against the magic compelling her to speak her innermost secrets. Wordlessly she worked her jaw as a single tear rolled down her cheek until finally, she blew out a hard breath, panting like she'd just sprinted a mile. "I think, *pant* I *pant* love him *pant*."
As the repercussions of her bombshell raced around the room, Star saw through tear stung eyes the various states of shock each of the other teens wore. Tom looked surly and defeated, pointedly avoiding looking at anyone else as he retreated into himself. Jackie's mouth was hanging agape in pure shock and even Janna looked stricken, perhaps finally feeling like she'd crossed some sort of invisible, irrevocable line. But Marco was where her eyes rested. He looked neither angry or upset at his bestie. He was simply staring at her in something she assumed was disbelief.
It was all far too much for her and she felt a crippling wave of hot shame and embarrassment roll over her like a crashing wave. "I'm so sorry…" Star croaked out, covering her face and getting to her feet. She quickly walked over to a corner of the room and stood to face it, her shoulders jerking slightly as they betrayed her muffled sobs.
"Well that was awkward…" chuckled Janna, looking guiltily around the room.
Marco had had enough. Janna's cavalier attitude and the sight of his best friend falling apart in front of his very eyes combined to drive his temper beyond the boiling point. Standing up, he glared at the other three teens before leveling his scorching gaze at the Filipina. "I can't fucking believe you guys right now," he spat at them, his hands trembling as they balled into fists at his side. "And YOU! Janna I told you to leave this alone when we first cast this stupid spell. But nooo, the ever-mischievous and edgy Janna Ordonia just had to do what she always does and push the envelope…"
"Marco…" Jackie's voice was soft and understanding, full of sympathy for her boyfriend's predicament as she tried to temper his anger. She went to lay a comforting hand on his shoulder but he shrugged it off and took another step towards the focus of his ire.
"This isn't a game, it's a goddamn interrogation chamber… What did you THINK was going to happen after we found out it forces you to answer! You didn't have to ask her that question, especially not as some kind of sick revenge after she outed you on your plan to play with Tom's feelings and cause God-knows-what kind of drama tonight."
"Oh please, don't make me laugh, Diaz," Janna fired back, standing and meeting his fire with some of her own. "Everyone with half a brain can see Star's been crazy about you for months. Only you couldn't see it sitting right in front of your face because you were too busy chasing after Jackie… As far as I'm concerned, I just did you a fucking favor!"
"Don't," he growled at her, "don't you say another fucking word right now… You twist and ruin everything around you, playing people like a puppeteer for some kind of sick amusement, Janna. I'm only going to say this one time. But after tonight, don't mess with me, don't even talk to me, because we are no longer friends."
Janna didn't respond to Marco, she just stared back defiantly as he unloaded his anger onto her. Whether it was because she agreed with what he'd said or some other unfathomable reason, Jackie didn't know. She was shocked that things had gone from bad to worse with the apparent demise of Janna and Marco's friendship. They'd always had a bit of a contentious relationship, but Janna always had known where to draw the line. "Now though…" she thought sadly, thinking of their shattered friendship and the difficulties that would mean for them as a group.
But something else seemed to be bothering her as well. It was a nagging thought, sparked by Janna's words that seemed to be bothering her more and more the longer it rattled around in her mind. Jackie couldn't help but think of Marco's stunned, almost smitten expression as he had gazed at Star on her front porch that evening. And just a minute ago, when Janna had forced Star to admit her feelings for him, he didn't appear to be mad or angry… She had originally thought it was just disbelief at the stunning revelation, but now that she replayed the scene in her head over and over, it looked more to her like shock that she had feelings too. It was thin as evidence went, but it was enough to plant a seed of doubt in her mind. "Am I wasting both of our time?" she asked herself, the need for an answer burned in her chest.
Stepping forward, she tried to get his attention with another hand on his shoulder. He turned and glared at her, but quickly the anger left his eyes when she smiled at him. They gazed at each other for several quiet moments, Marco looking exhausted as she worked up the courage to ask what she knew she had to ask. Finally, she spoke, her curiosity overcoming her hesitancy to offend him. "Marco, can I ask you a question? On the chair I mean…" she corrected herself quickly when he began to nod immediately. "You can say no and that will be the end of it, but um…there's something I really need to know."
"Jackie…" his voice was brittle as he said her name, "I'm really confused right now. Are you sure you want to ask me what I think you're going to ask me?"
"I just have to know. I won't be mad, I promise," she assured him with a weak smile, before taking his hand kissing his cheek. She watched as Marco thought for a moment, blowing out a breath before he nodded to her. "Thanks, Babe." Crossing over to the chair, Jackie sat down in it and waited for her boyfriend to seat himself as well. Taking a deep breath herself, she took the plunge and finally asked him her question. "Do you have romantic feelings for Star?"
To her mild surprise, Marco made no effort to fight the magic she knew was suffusing his body right now. In fact, he didn't even seem surprised at her question, likely figuring out exactly what she intended to ask by her hesitant and delicate tone. Across the room, she spotted Star, wiping her eyes, having turned at the asking of another question. "Good, she needs to know too," thought Jackie as she waited expectantly.
"Even the first day I met Star, I thought she was beautiful," he began. "Almost immediately, we became the closest of friends and I began to feel a growing attraction towards her as the days turned into weeks. Star did everything for me that she said I did for her. She helped me not be the 'Safe Kid' and pushed me to enjoy life, to go after the things I wanted… Something she still does every day. I knew even back then that I was falling in love with her," he said, turning to look at Star and smiling at her.
"Wait…then why did you try so hard to date me if you had feelings for Star?" asked Jacke, confusion and hurt in her voice as she looked between the two teens.
"Because of the Blood Moon Ball. After Star and I had come back from the Underworld, she yelled at me for not trusting her to handle Tom. I think she knew I went because I was jealous, that I wanted to interfere not only because I didn't trust Tom's intentions, but that I wanted to show her that I was the better choice." Marco paused and frowned, his eyes staring hard at the floor between himself and Jackie. She could see that he wasn't fighting the spell, but his confession was clearly taking its toll. He looked emotionally wrung out as well as physically exhausted from the night's events, and when he spoke again it was in a quieter, more intimate voice.
"Well, Star told me she 'didn't need a hero, she needed a friend,' and I took that to mean she wasn't interested in any kind of romantic relationship with me. So I kind of just pushed down my feelings for her and tried to move on. And that's when I started to make a serious effort with her help to get to know you better, Jackie." He finally looked up when he said her name and Jackie felt her breath catch in her throat. His eyes were red and wet, his light tan skin looking pale and bloodless as he poured out his deepest secrets. "I'm so sorry if I had known…" he said, choking back a sob as Jackie felt her heart break for the both of them.
"Marco?" Star's gentle voice made both he and Jackie look over her. "I'm really sorry if I gave you that impression that night. I didn't mean it. I just wanted you to start trusting me to take care of my problems without you always having to help… I just wish I'd have been more clear… Because now I've ruined everything." A fresh wave of tears rolled down her heart-stamped cheeks as she wrapped her arms around herself. Before Marco could get another word out, she turned and stormed back to her dark corner in the room, slumping into a tight ball against the black stone.
Jackie watched silently as Star rushed off, noticing with a small feeling of relief that Janna had wisely remained silent through all of this. Surprisingly, she and Tom were deep in quiet conversation with each other, which left only her and Marco to stand awkwardly together. "Can we talk? she asked, holding out her hand and leading the two of them to an unoccupied corner when he had taken it. Grabbing a handful of his hoodie, she used the soft material to wipe away the tears in his eyes. "Hey, no more tears dude," she said, kissing him on the cheek and returning his watery smile with one of his own.
"Sorry," he mumbled, still looking extremely uncomfortable.
"No, I'm the one who should be sorry. This whole night's been a disaster from start to finish. I thought we could just have some fun and have a great start to Memorial day weekend, but I guess nothing is ever simple when people from Mewni are involved…" she chuckled darkly. "About Janna…" she continued before he held up a finger to silence her.
"I may have overreacted slightly," he admitted with a sigh. "I'll uh, I'll make it up with her later… But we seriously need to have a discussion with her about limits," he added with a scowl. Marco was quiet for a minute as he studied his girlfriend. She was rocking slightly on the balls of her feet and fidgeting with her seashell necklace, something he knew she always did when she was nervous. It didn't take a genius to figure out why either… "Jackie, you didn't pull me over here to talk about Janna, did you?" he asked, figuring he'd save her the trouble and bring up the topic he knew was coming.
"No," she answered, pointedly averting her gaze from his. "But I need to know something. Marco… Do you…still have feelings for Star?" she asked, finally turning to face him, her mint green eyes blazing.
"Jackie, I…"
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
For Star, the remainder of her time in the spell was silent torture. She stayed in her corner, curled into a protective ball with only her racing thoughts for company. She knew everything was ruined. Knew that Marco would likely stop hanging out with her now that the truth was out. After all, he'd chosen Jackie…as if it was ever really a choice when she pushed him away from her all those months ago. "I'm so stupid! And now I've lost the most important person to me in the whole multiverse." The thought made her want to scream, to punch a wall or fling her wand into a lake. Why was nothing ever easy for her. Toffee, Ludo, her mother's crushing expectations… All of them conspiring to rob her of her happiness when all she wanted to do was be a normal teen with Marco at her side.
"Tomorrow I'll call mom and ask her if I can come back to Mewni…" she decided as she watched Marco and Jackie talking seriously in the other corner. She knew it was for the best to leave Earth behind and stop being a distraction to him so he could be with Jackie in peace. Leaning against the wall, she was surprised then when the spell ended and she flopped over onto her side, once more in Jackie's brightly lit living room. Standing quickly, she barely managed to mumble an, "I'll see you all later," before she had wrenched open the front door and sprinted off into the breezy night.
Twenty minutes later she found herself in Echo Creek Park, curled up on a wooden bench. It was the first place she'd thought of after she'd torn out of Jackie's house, not wanting to go home in case Marco came looking for her there. She didn't even know if she was going to go home that night, instead thinking she might just spend the night under the stars like she had the night she ran from the police.
"Hey," came a frighteningly familiar voice from behind her, causing her to whip around and see Marco standing alone under a streetlight. "Can I join you?" he asked.
"How did you find me?" she said, annoyed at his persistence, but still taking her feet off the bench to make room.
"We put trackers on each other's phones after Ludo took your spellbook, remember?" he said, holding up his cellphone which had a small yellow star centered over their location in the park.
"Seemed like a good idea at the time," she grumbled as he sat down heavily next to her.
"It still is," he fired back, "I would have had a much harder time finding you otherwise. Look, I know you're upset, and I'm sure you had a good reason to sprint out of Jacie's at the speed of light… But I wished you'd have stayed so we could talk to you."
"What's there to talk about? I was an idiot and pushed you away… I missed my shot at happiness with you and now you're with Jackie and everything's ruined! she moaned into her hands, too exhausted for any more tears.
"Star, c'mon. You didn't ruin anything. And…" his voice trailed off as he reached over and gently pulled her hands away from her face. "Well, Jackie and I talked after all that craziness, and um…we're not together anymore." He felt an odd energy seem to run through him when he said those words, surprised at how easily they came out after a hard night of uncomfortable truths.
"Oh corn, I ruined you guys… Marco, I'm so sorry. I'm a huge idiot that ruined everything, tomorrow I'll just pack up my stuff and go back to Mewni. I'm the worst best friend ever…" Star's voice was on the verge of breaking down as she faced her best friend. It wasn't enough that she'd destroyed her and Marco's relationship, now she'd ruined his chances with Jackie, the girl he'd had a crush on since elementary school.
"Relax, it's okay. It was mutual, Star, we're still friends," he reassured her, holding up his hands and not letting her look away. "Jackie and I had a long talk after she asked me that question. I don't know if you noticed because you were dealing with your own stuff, but she asked me an eye-opening question that I had been too afraid to face for months."
"W-What did she ask?" Star's heart seemed to have remembered how to beat as she studied his face. He didn't look upset or angry, not even very sad now that she looked close.
"She asked me if I still had feelings for you." The words were coming easier and easier now as Marco felt some of his crushing anxiety fall away. He had to do this, it was now or never. To stumble again would likely mean the end of their friendship and he would never allow that under any circumstances.
"What did you say?" came the breathless question from Star. She had to lay her hands on her lap to keep them from shaking as she waited for him to answer.
"I told her the truth. I told her that I've always loved you, and that I just put away those feelings because I never thought you'd feel the same way. I knew if I didn't bury them, they'd destroy me. That they'd ruin our friendship. So I pushed them down deep and tried to move on with Jackie. I care about her a lot, Star… But what we have is so much more. So much deeper…" he said, reaching down and taking her hands in his. "Star Butterfly, I do love you. And if you'd like, I'd really like to take you out to the all-night diner for some late-night pancakes, my treat. It can be our first date."
Star's answer didn't come in the form of words. Instead she simply threw her body forward and pulled him into the tightest hug she could muster before smashing her lips against his. There they stayed, softly kissing one another as above, a crimson moon burned brightly. "So is that a yes?" Marco asked once they'd broken apart, smiling against her lips as she panted slightly.
"Yes Yes! YES!" she shouted, throwing her hands up in the air and bouncing on the park bench in her excitement. "Of course I'll go out with you!" she gushed once some of the explosive excitement had died down.
Pulling her into another tight hug, Marco felt like venom was leaving his body as he held his best friend close. "I'm sorry I was such an idiot for so long," he whispered, his forehead pressed against hers as they continued their tight embrace.
"I was an idiot too," she murmured back, planting several light kisses on his lips.
"Mess up twins?" he asked with a laugh.
"Definitely," she answered, nodding to him before pulling them both to their feet. "Now let's go get those pancakes. I think something sweet to cap off the best and worst night of our life is just what we need."
"Lead the way, Butterbutt," he grinned with a sweep of his arm.