Author's notes: A friend of mine had actually introduced this show to me some time ago, and I regret not watching it up until now! Aside from the lack of a story, everything about it is actually pretty great!
Disclaimer: Star Vs The Forces of Evil belongs to Daron Nefcy.
"Don't get too crazy out there, wild man!"
Waving with an enthusiasm that was characteristic of her, Star Butterfly smiled as Marco Diaz approached his long-time crush, Jackie Lynn Thomas, and watched as the two walked off around the street corner. She remained rooted in the doorway for a few seconds, her eyes lingering on the spot that the two had occupied just moments ago before closing the door behind her, letting out an audible groan as she leaned against it.
It had taken a good amount of convincing - and a bit of forcefulness on Star's end - before a few 'meetups' had been set up between her best friend and the girl of his dreams. While the two could be seen talking to each other more after it had been made known how he felt about her ever since the 'Slumber Party' incident, Marco still had a hard time mustering up the courage to actually step up and ask the girl out, often offering a lame excuse as to why things needed to be 'just right' whenever he was asked; all it did was further prove why he had earned himself the nickname, 'The Safe Kid.'
The thin line spread across Star's face quickly gave way to a smile as she recalled the events that led up to these past few days. All the boy needed was the right push, and the opportunity presented itself on a cool afternoon when she had managed to snag Marco's phone away from him after finding out that he had been talking with Jackie. A few texts later, all the while fighting off a frantic Marco Diaz, Star had managed to accomplish what would have surely taken the boy weeks to do in a matter of seconds. The stern talking to that followed afterwards was worth it if it meant Marco would be happy later on.
The sound of light barking brought her back to the present. Looking down, one of the laser puppies began running in a circle at her feet, panting and wagging its tail happily as it fired off a few lasers from its eyes. "Aw! Come here, you little fluff ball!"
Picking the dog up, Star made her way over to the couch, jumping onto the cushions and eliciting a slight wheeze out of it as she adjusted the small pillow behind her. Setting the dog onto her lap, Star fell back, sighing in contentment as her head landed on the pillow.
"This is a good thing, right?" She whispered. "He's finally got a chance! But…" Draping her arm against the side of the couch, Star used the other to lazily pet the small dog cuddled up against her. While she was more than happy for Marco for finally stepping out of his comfort zone, if the two did end up getting together, than it would mean a number of things:
It meant fewer Sundays spent eating 'Breakfast Burritos.'
It meant less time fighting off bad guys together.
It meant that they wouldn't spend as much time together as they do now.
A strange weight had suddenly placed itself onto Star's chest at the last thought. Her body tensed up slightly, lying stiff against the softness of the couch cushions. A few seconds passed by before Star slowly propped herself up, her confusion evident by the expression on her face. She gently placed the dog down onto the floor, remaining in the same position as it bounded out of the room, firing off small lasers as it left, leaving her alone to her thoughts.
Life on Mewni was nothing short of fun and excitement when there was so much to explore and monsters to fight. Despite her parent's attempts to reign in their daughter's exuberant personality into something more befitting of a princess, Star Butterfly was too much of a force to be reckoned with, even in her childhood. When she had been sent to Earth after finally coming of age to inherit the royal magic wand, it was as if she were a child again; her time on the planet exposed her to things that she would have never even considered back in her home dimension, and it was all thanks to a certain hoodie-wearing 'bad boy.'
Marco Diaz had become an important person in her life, despite their rough first meeting. He was always by her side, whether they were fighting off the forces of evil or going off to other dimensions. Even when she plunged herself into the strangest of situations - which was almost a common occurrence at this point - Marco wouldn't hold it against her or treat her weirdly, instead indulging her and having her back, as she did his. They were best friends, teammates, and soulmates; the two of them together could accomplish anything as long they were together, and she found it hard to imagine a life without Marco by her side.
She found herself thinking back to today's planned excursion. Things seemed to be going pretty well so far, so who was to say that the two wouldn't try to make things work? Try it out for real? The only thing keeping her from jumping up and off of the couch was the rational part of her mind that managed to worm its way through the swirl of emotions that currently enveloped her thoughts.
"So what if we don't get to hang out as much?" She said aloud. "It's not as if I won't ever see him again. We live in the same house!" Star nodded her head, the statement giving her assurance. Pushing the rest of her thoughts to the back of her mind, Star reached over towards the small table in front of her and grabbed the television remote, deciding that a few shows would be enough to keep her mind occupied.
The sun had just crested the horizon, shifting from late afternoon to early evening when the sound of the front door opening and closing was heard. A tired expression adorned Star's face as she lazily turned her head away from the television; had she kept track of the time, it was likely that she would have slept on the couch from how long she spent sitting on it. "Hey Marco," she said, rubbing her eyes as she turned her attention towards the boy, who was busy untying his shoes, "How'd it go? You were out for a while."
There was a beat of silence in the room before the boy quietly replied, "It went fine, Star."
"Well, you don't sound all that excited about it."
A quiet sigh escaped the boy's lips as he took a seat on the couch. He leaned forward a bit, pressing his arms against his legs as he focused his attention on the show playing on the TV.
"It wasn't as if I didn't have fun. It was actually pretty great, what we did today. But it just felt… different." A frustrated sigh came out of his mouth as he sat up, looking as if he were trying to put his feelings into words.
"All this time, I've had this idealized version of what it would be like to 'be' with Jackie, but thinking about it and actually experiencing it are two completely different things. I've had her on this pedestal ever since we were kids, and I always imagined that things would just 'click' when I got to spend some time with her, but nothing did." Letting out a defeated sigh, Marco threw his hands up into the air before leaning back onto the couch, spreading his arms out across the back. "Sorry if I'm not making that much sense, Star."
Star was completely surprised, to say the least. Was that how Marco felt all this time? He'd always come back with a smile on his face and gush about how well he thought he'd done on his dates with Jackie. Was he just forcing himself then, trying his best to see if things would 'click,' as he'd just said?
Star felt a twinge of regret as she slowly made her way over to him. What's past is past, but Star can't help but blame herself for the current state that Marco was in. He wore his emotions on his sleeve, and it was clear how confused and frustrated he was with himself for being unable to find the answer to his problem. And yet despite all of the guilt that she was currently feeling, a tiny part of her felt… relieved? Another wave of guilt washed over her as Star moved to comfort her friend.
"The important thing is that you tried, right? That's what matters," she said, gently placing her hand on his shoulder. "Things might not have worked out between you two, but there's still plenty of people across all kinds of dimensions! Maybe they're just waiting for you to find them." The girl offered Marco a smile, nudging his shoulder softly before getting up from the couch. "Now, how about I go and make us some extra cheesy nachos? This movie marathon they've got on is really good," she said, playing out the last word in a sing-song sort of voice as she made her way into the kitchen. "And I'll make sure not to leave the cheese for too long!" A loud clang could be heard from the other room before being quickly followed by, "I've got it this time!"
"Star!" Despite his worries, a small grin inevitably planted itself onto Marco's face as he got up from the couch and walked over to the kitchen. Even if today hadn't ended up going as well as he'd expected, it was nice of Star to try and cheer him up. The girl's advice echoed within his mind, and he felt the smile on his face grow just a bit wider.
Regardless of whether or not he needed to go out and 'search,' there was one thing that he knew for sure; Star Butterfly is the coolest girl he's ever known, and he wouldn't trade her for the world.
And right now, he needed to make sure that she didn't burn their nachos.
Thanks for reading! Any comments/critiques are greatly appreciated!