Star vs the Forces of Evil is owned by Disney and Stands are the creation of Hirohiko Araki. Blah. Blah. Blah. Enjoy.
Flowers and Brimstone: Chapter 2.
(Forty-Five Minutes Later)
"HMMMMMMMM! HUUUUURGGGH! HAAAAARGGGGHHHH!" Jackie groaned in virtual agony as the vein in her forehead threatened to burst. "HAAAAGH! HAAAAAGH! HAAAGH! HAAAAAAGH! HAAAAAAGH!"
You know, at first, she thought Jefferson was just blowing smoke when he said this exercise was going to be painful. I mean, picking up pennies and dropping them into a cup wasn't exactly doing a double marathon; and yet surprisingly, that's exactly what it felt like. She could fire her Stand, Pinball Wizard, at the speed of a bullet and will it to ricochet off solid objects without breaking a sweat. But somehow, just getting it to pick up a small copper coin with its thumb and index finger was enough to give her migraines. It just didn't make sense.
Anyway, after trying and failing sixteen times to lift the now hated first penny even half an inch off the ground, the young skateboarder was determined to make seventeen her lucky number.
Unfortunately, this was easier said than done.
Which brings us back to…
"HAAAAAAAAAGH! HEEEEEEEENGH! HUUUUUNGH!"
"Okay, that's it." Jefferson spoke up suddenly, causing her to drop the copper piece yet again. "Jackie, take fifteen."
"What? No, I can… I swear I almost had it that time."
"A) No you didn't. B) Your face is so red it looks like a tomato. And C) Those noises you're making are about to make me lose my Korean barbeque. So, D) Take fifteen. That's an order."
"Sigh. Yes, Sir." Jackie said begrudgingly, before retracting her Stand.
"Good. Now just sit there and try not to strain yourself. I've gotta go talk to Janna about… something."
And with that, the young blonde was left alone with her thoughts.
She hadn't realized it until just then, but all that exercise had really worn her out. Her face was hot, her breathing was heavy, and her whole body seemed to be drenched in sweat. Suddenly she wasn't quite as angry at Jefferson for making her take a break.
On a whim, she looked around the open field and saw that her compatriots weren't having much luck either. Annie's Aqua Boogie had managed to drop in three pennies, but as she attempted to drop the fourth the little frog Stand accidentally kicked over the cup; forcing her to start all over. Star was fairing a little bit better with her Ice-Ice Baby; having successfully dropped in four. But upon dropping the fifth, she grew so excited by the accomplishment that she unintentionally froze the cup solid. Janna's Bangles had managed to drop in two, but Jefferson had apparently ordered her to take a break as well; which explained why she was just sitting under the shade of a tree munching on a granola bar. Her sixth one that day.
Janna seemed to be doing a lot of snacking lately. Almost every time she saw her she had her lips around some kind of bar or cake. When asked, the young Philopena just waved it off; claimed she was only stress eating. Which she supposed made sense. After all, there were crazy people with superpowers after them. And Jefferson had appointed her the team's Watchdog. That's a big responsibility; enough to make anyone a little buggy. She just hoped all this extra eating didn't cause her friend any permanent damage.
"What are you doing?" asked a familiar voice; shaking the young skateboarder back to reality.
To her surprise, it was Star's friend, the bush girl; Kelly, if she remembered correctly. Now sounding only about half as miserable as she did before.
"Uh… just taking a little break. I guess."
"I can see that." She said bluntly. "But I mean, what were you doing before? Cuz it looked like you were trying to lift that penny with your eyeballs."
"Oh… well, it's just some new exercise Jefferson cooked up to help us with our Stands."
"Your… what?"
"Our Stands. They… wait, didn't Star explain any of this to you?"
"Maybe, I don't know. If she did I probably wasn't listening. I've been kinda… distracted today."
"So I've heard."
"Yeah… so, what exactly are these… Stance thingies?"
"Heh-Heh. Well, first of all, they're called Stands. And they're… uh… no, wait… they're more like… er…"
"You have no idea what they are, do you?"
"Yes, I do! I just… I'm not that good at describing them. I was kind of… asleep when Jefferson explained it all the first time."
"Jefferson? You mean the old guy who smells like gin?"
"Yeah, that's him. I know he doesn't look like much, but he's actually pretty smart. I'm sure he can explain it to you."
"I don't wanna talk to him. He stinks." The bush girl said offhandedly. "Just put it in your own words. I'll get it."
"Oh, uh… okay. Just give me a sec." Jackie replied, before pausing for a moment to think this over. "Okay, a Stand is… it's like a second body. Only its invisible and made of psychic energy and you control it with your brain."
"Okay, with you so far."
"And… they're all different. And they give you special powers. Annie, that girl over there in the glasses, she can make ninja weapons out of water. That girl there, Janna, can travel through shadows. Star can freeze things. And Jefferson can heal anybody just by touching them."
"Whoa… What about you? What can you do?"
"Well… my Stand can move super-fast and bounce off stuff like a pinball."
"Oh, well… that's… kinda cool. I guess."
"What do you mean 'you guess'?"
"N-Nothing personal. I just mean… bouncing off stuff sounds… kinda lame. When you compare it to healing powers or making weapons out of water. Ya know?"
"Wow… I never thought about it that way."
"Yeah, but what the heck do I know? I mean, you're all superpowered… Stand… people. And me, I… I… I'm just a stupid girl who can't even hold onto a boyfriend!"
And with that, the young shrub-head suddenly broke down and started bawling like an infant.
"Hey, no, you're not stupid." Said Jackie sympathetically, while doing her best to calm the wailing bush girl. "I mean, I just met you, but you seem like a nice, smart, sweet girl. I'm sure you'll meet someone else."
"No, I won't! I gonna spend the rest of my life alone! Just like a palm tree."
"Er… Okay… But, you know… life is just full of surprises." She said, ignoring the shrub-head's extremely confusing metaphor. "I mean, for the longest time I thought my soulmate was this guy I met at skate camp. But then there was this whole crazy thing at Star's sleepover and… well, it made me realize that sometimes the thing you're looking for is standing right in front of you."
"Aww~ that's so sweet." Said Kelly, wiping some of the tears from her eyes. "So, I guess that means you have a boyfriend?"
"Yeah, his name's Marco."
"Marco? As in Marco Diaz? Wait, you're that Jackie?"
"I guess, but how do you know Marco?"
"Long story. Well, I guess not so much long as not very interesting. But, whatever, he's a great guy. And sooooo sweet. You're a lucky girl."
"Thanks." Jackie replied, before her expression suddenly fell.
"What's the matter? Did I say something wrong?"
"No, it's not that. I just… I've got a lot on my mind right now."
"Like what?"
"Well, for one thing, there's this whole business of being a Stand User. It's got me kinda… freaked out."
"Why? Invisible 2nd bodies. Cool powers. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me."
"Yeah, but there's this whole other side to it. A dark, messed up side. These powers… they make people go crazy. I mean, just look at Jefferson. He's the sanest Stand User we've met so far and he's still all kinds of messed up. Plus, there's all these psychos running around who wanna kill us just for living. And now even Marco's starting to act all weird. I just… UGH!"
Suddenly overwhelmed by her emotions, Jackie buried her face into her open palms.
"Um… are you okay?" asked Kelly concernedly.
"No, I'd say I'm about as far from okay as you can get." The blonde skateboarder replied; lifting her head back out of her hands. "I mean what's the point of surviving all this if we're all just gonna go crazy later? What's the point of having these powers if they're just gonna land me in a bughouse or some filthy crack den? I just… Sigh… I don't know. I just wish there was some other way."
"Well… maybe there is."
"PFFT! Not from what I've seen. Based on the Users I've met so far, the only things I've got to look forward to are either becoming a serial killer or high functioning alcoholism. Not exactly uplifting."
"Maybe not, but then again, you can't always trust your own frame of reference."
"What does that mean?"
"Eh… I actually have no idea. It's just something my dad always says. Of course, he's an idiot. So, I'm not really sure how useful it is."
At this, Jackie couldn't help but start giggling.
"Hey, what's so funny?"
"Nothing, I just… Wasn't I the one trying to cheer you up just a minute ago? How'd we get all turned around?"
"Huh, good question. Just one of those weird things, I guess."
"Yeah…" the blonde skateboarder said with a smile; suddenly feeling as though a great weight had been lifted off her soul. "Say, Kelly. As long as we're both feeling better, mind if I ask you something?"
"Sure, what is it?"
"Why did your boyfriend break up with you?"
At this, the bush girl stiffened.
"I hardly think that's any of your business."
"But you just said…"
"No!"
"Why not?"
"Because you'll laugh."
"No, I won't."
"Yes, you will. You'll laugh and then you'll tell me that's it's the stupidest thing you've ever heard."
"No, I swear, I'd never do that."
"That's the same thing Star said, and she laughed."
"Yeah, well, I'm not Star. And I promise you, I swear upon all that is holy, I will not laugh."
"Well… okay, I'll tell you." Kelly said, pausing for just a moment to take a quick deep breath. "So, me and Tad were hanging out, when he got a text from his sister Shelly, saying that she just had her baby. At first, we were both really excited, but then I noticed that she put a period at the end of the text instead of an exclamation point. I told Tad about it and he was all, 'What's the big deal' and I'm like, 'It's the birth of a new living being. You should use an exclamation point'. But he was all, 'Well, maybe Shelly isn't as loose with exclamation points as you are' and then I was all 'What is that supposed to mean'. And then we got into a big fight and now we're not together anymore."
Having said all that at the speed of a woodpecker, it took Jackie a few moments to fully process the bush girl's story. But after about a minute, the young skateboarder finally recovered from the shock and said,
"Let me get this straight. You and your boyfriend broke up… over punctuation?"
"Yes."
"BAH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!" laughed Jackie, holding her stomach as if to keep it from bursting. "That… that is the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my life!"
"Hey! You promised!"
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry-HA-HA-HA! But you gotta admit, that's a pretty silly reason to end a relationship."
At first, Kelly failed to see what was so humorous. In fact, for a moment, she looked like she was about to bounce on the young blonde and give her quite the thrashing. However, the more Jackie laughed, the more her expression softened. Eventually, the laughter became so infectious that the bush girl couldn't help but join in.
"Heh-Heh-Heh. You know, when you think about it, I guess it is pretty stupid, isn't it?"
"HA-HA! The stupidest!"
And with that, the two girls continued with their little laugh.
Not even realizing that Jackie's fifteen-minute break had ended eleven minutes ago.
End Notes:
Again, sorry if this chapter was a little slow, but the action should be starting sometime soon.