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Princess Charms - Chapter 5 - Stars

Some responsibilities that you were resolved to do no matter how you felt about them. Things that you'd taken upon yourself or that had been appointed to you, which without your action would fall to ruin. Marco Diaz wasn't new to responsibilities as he'd been charged with caring and assisting a number of exchange students that had stayed in his home for years now. On top of all of this were his normal routine of homework, house work and simple daily exercise for his hobby in martial arts. You could easily assume that if any of his responsibilities was considered a chore it would have been having to care for their newest exchange student. Star Butterfly was unique, even by the standards of the far off travelers Marco had come to know over the years. A magical princess who was on the verge of being attacked by monsters on a weekly basis seemed like the perfect recipe to drive an organized boy like Marco over the edge.

However this was so far from the truth it was almost a joke. Marco loved spending time with Star and all her silly antics, something about her made him feel more alive than all the previous visitors combined. Even the monster attacks didn't bother him as it allowed his practice in martial arts to find a use outside of the dojo and exercise. Instead of the stress of life threatening adventures, these days it was his daily life's chores that were bogging him down. Saturday morning with the sun shining and Marco was out in the yard with his father, helping him landscape and pull offending weeds despite wanting to be anywhere else. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy spending time with his father but he'd rather be using today for more worthwhile activities like watching TV or playing video games. You know, things that weren't a waste of time.

Pulling a few of the offending plants around the base of the fence, Marco dropped them into an old plastic grocery bag and proceeded along at a bored pace. His father meanwhile was setting up a new stone carving he'd created on one of the pedestal in the back yard. Ludo's regular attacks on the house had left a few of his Mr Diaz's previous creations destroyed but somehow it didn't bother him. Rather he saw this as an excuse to create more art to fill his yard and was oddly fulfilled by challenging himself in the process. By the time Marco had made a lap around the entire house with his weeding, Mr. Diaz had finished setting up a statue of a poodle balancing on a ball while balancing another ball on its nose. Marco couldn't made sense of it but he figured his dad knew more about modern art than himself.

"Marco, come on over and tell me what you think." Mr. Diaz called out and Marco finished his task by tying up the bag with its handles and dumping it into the larger trash receptacle they had in the yard. Walking over next to his father the boy looked the piece over in confusion.

"It's... a dog?" Marco asked not sure what more he could comment on it. "It's a good dog. Talented too, balancing like that."

"Yes yes, do you think it is better in the front yard or the back yard?" Mr. Diaz asked and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Marco wanted to say backyard if just to keep it out of sight of the neighbors, but honestly by now everyone was aware of his parents' peculiar tastes. It's not to say their house looked bad, but his father had interesting ideas of how to add flourish in small ways.

"You want to put it in the front yard, don't you?" Marco asked with a smile.

"Well I wouldn't want to deny everyone such a good dog. Front yard it is!" Mr. Diaz decided and picked the stone dog up with great ease, Marco following along behind him with the stone pillar to display it on. After a few minutes of set up everyone driving by would get a view of the good and talented dog. Marco might hear a few comments on the crazy statue in his front yard again from kids at school but by this point people rarely brought it up anymore. Can only talk about something for so long before everyone starts to accept it as normal. Just trying living in such a house, your view of what's weird and wild will change pretty quickly.

With that move their work was complete, Marco's father grabbing a pair of sodas for themselves and drinking them down. The boy sat on the front porch and let out a tired breath, working in the sun in the morning always wore him out. Somehow though his dad just seemed to get rejuvenated with each task they did. Mr. Diaz took a few moments to look over his stone piece before turning to his son. "Good work today. Now the back yard is all cleaned up for tonight."

"Yeah, thanks for that." Marco said as his mind drifted off a bit. In a way it was his fault that they had started this early morning activity. After mentioning to Star that tonight there would be a meteor shower visible in the sky the Mewni princess had become thrilled with the idea of seeing it. He would have thought something like this would have been on her own planet too but apparently Mewni was more unusual than he thought. Always seeming to lack the common things of his own Earth while adding the unusual to everything else. But now that she was set on checking it out his father had gone to getting a viewing party set up for the two of them, complete with lawn chairs and a table for a pizza dinner for the kids. It was going to be fun, he liked showing Star new things.

"So Star is out for most of today?" Mr. Diaz asked curiously.

"She's hanging out with some friends from school, doing girl stuff I guess." Or hounding after Oskar. Or both. Marco didn't really know what she was up to but Star could take care of herself and she needed to explore sometimes without him guiding her by the hand. "She'll be back by tonight though, already said she would."

"Mm-hm." Mr. Diaz mumbled with an interested tone that warned Marco something was up. "Just going to stay home then?"

"Yeah, didn't feel like going out and Star has my phone anyway so if Ferguson calls he's going to get her. And... now that I think about it I haven't heard from Alfonzo in a while. He's probably okay though."

"I see." Mr. Diaz said simply in response and sat on the front porch next to his son, and act that really made Marco nervous because his dad usually didn't sit around for long anywhere. "Do you enjoy having Star staying here with us?"

"Well yeah! It's been a lot of fun having her here. Everyone at school gets along great with her too."

"She is a sweet girl. We were lucky to get someone so nice to stay with us. So you don't mind having to show her things still? Being from that Mewni place must make it more difficult than some of our other exchange students."

"No. Come to think of it, it's been easier than some of the other ones. She doesn't even have an accent so talking to her isn't even difficult." It was pretty odd that Mewni spoke the exact same kind of English you'd find in America, but the place being a magical wonderland full of monsters was already weird enough. He supposed speaking the same thing where ever they went had something to do with magic or another.

"This is also good. It seems like you've become inseparable friends since Star arrived." Marco couldn't argue with that. Truth be told he didn't really think about what life was like before Star had moved in. Ever since the first day after he'd over come their rocky start, having Star around felt very natural. Sure some days the house was completely transformed from her magic but in a weird way this didn't feel out of place for Marco. He'd go as far as to say it was comforting seeing the effects of her being around.

"That's true, it's probably a good thing she moved in with us too. I don't know how many families could have handled Star being around."

"Their loss if they don't want a water slide or trampolines appearing in their homes." Mr. Diaz certainly knew how to look on the bright side. Every new experience was a chance to enjoy himself. "That being said Marco, you do remember that Star is an exchange student?"

"Well... yeah, of course. What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm happy you and Star get along so well. In fact you've been more outspoken and energetic ever since she came into our lives. It is a blessing in many ways for your mother and I. But I just want to be sure you are going to be okay when the time comes." Marco felt something hit his stomach like a rock when his father suggested that.

"Oh. That. Well, you don't have to worry. It's not the first time, right?" He put on a brave face for his father but until today Marco hadn't given any thought to the fact that the day would come when Star would go home back to Mewni. Her time on Earth learning to use her magic would end and she'd be ready to take her place with her parents in the castle. The sound of metal crinkling could be heard as Marco squeezed his can of soda tighter than he'd intended.

"No, it's not. But Star is a special girl. I just want to be sure you'll be fine."

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm cool. You don't have to worry about that." Or rather Marco didn't want to think about that. They've talked about it in the past, long before Star had ever come to visit. How each visitor was a friend to welcome into their family and to care for until they had to leave again. Marco had become accustomed to travelers visiting and leaving his home but... Star was special.

"Okay then." His father said, feeling relived they'd gotten through a conversation he'd been planning for a while. "Oh, Marco, you remember our talk about our guests, right?"

Yeah, didn't we just go over it?" Marco asked raising an eyebrow. He thought they'd just come to the end of that conversation.

"No no no, the other talk. About having girls stay as our guests." Oh. OH! That talk. Yeah, he remembered that talk.

"Um... yeah?" Marco asked feeling a little nervous. Did his parents somehow know about what he and Star had been doing? It had only been a few times. Only twice was it at the house and even then his parents were only home for one of those instances. They hadn't even gone all the way but he knew that probably wouldn't have mattered to his father. "What about it?"

"It's just that Star is a very pretty girl, and I wanted to be sure you were being a gentleman to her." Marco felt dread filling his stomach where the rock had hit just a moment ago.

"We're not going to have 'The Talk' are we?"

"Do you need 'The Talk'?"

"No."

"Gracias a Dios." Mr. Diaz said with a sigh. "No we don't have to have 'The Talk' but I was a teenager once too you know, so I needed to be sure that you kids haven't been doing anything that King and Queen Butterfly would be upset about. After all they're trusting us with their only child. I know I would be concerned if you were staying with someone else." That made Marco feel nice to hear that from his father. He knew his parents loved him but they were never shy of reminding him of it. He often protested the show of affection but really he was grateful every time.

"Star's my best friend, dad. I wouldn't do anything to hurt her, ever." That much he meant, even if he and Star had done a few things by now that he was sure Star's mom would have freaked out about. Maybe not her dad, that guy was even crazier than Star.

"Okay. So does that mean you're still nodding at that girl Jackie?" Marco's dad asked teasingly.

"Actually we've moved up to talking."

"Oh!? Well don't go breaking any hearts now." Marco rolled his eyes and his father laughed, rising up from his sitting position. "I'm going to head inside, thank you for the help today."

"No problem dad." Marco said in return as his father entered the house, leaving the boy with a cloud of thoughts filling his head. All of them around the two girls most prominent in his life and the one that was at risk of leaving it. They were the kind of thoughts he'd been avoiding for a while now. Each day he got closer to Star was another that he convinced himself the party would never end.

Then there was Jackie, who thanks to Star's efforts was starting to notice him more. Marco found that holding conversations with her was becoming much easier despite himself. While she was still a knockout beauty Marco was beginning to notice that he didn't really care as much anymore what Jackie thought of him. She was nice and he was happy that they got to know each other better but in the long run it felt like all the anxiety he'd been building in the past was for nothing. He still didn't want to look stupid in front of Jackie but he wasn't breaking out in cold sweats like he used to at the sight of her.

He drank a long gulp from his can, finishing it off and letting out a sigh. There was no point in focusing on all of this right now. Things would happen as they would happen and Marco would react accordingly with preparation and attention to detail. It's how he'd gotten through his whole life up until this point and the strategy had served him well. Sure he was regarded as an overly cautious nerd, the girl he liked was only just starting to realize he was alive and he was experiencing a personal crisis at the idea of losing his best friend but he could probably handle it as long as he didn't stop to think about any of it. Picking himself up off the front step Marco walked inside to where he'd spend the rest of the day until all the stars were visible from his home.

Later in the evening behind the Diaz residence in a clean and well maintained back yard, two teenagers were laid out in long, green lawn chairs that rested their entire bodies to make it easier to watch the night sky. Between them was a table with an open pizza box that Mrs. Diaz had brought them not long ago. By the time four slices were gone from the box Star had gone through her story of how she spent her day. Checking out the mall, being amazed by all the weird Earth stuff they had for sale and the delicious flavor of an elixir called the Orange Julius. Marco sat back for most of the conversation and just absorbed what she had to say, the princess very excited to inform him of things he'd already seen but with an air of discovery to them. It was funny and undeniably cute.

"...and then we went into this place called Bed, Bath and Beyond where I got that lotion-y stuff that makes my hands all soft and smell like coconuts. I also got this pillow!" Star lifted up a pillow shaped like a heart with a smiley face on it that she'd been using to cushion her head. "I wasn't ever able to find the beyond area though, maybe that's where they keep the multi-dimensional stuff? Kind of dangerous for an Earth store section if you ask me."

"I dunno, didn't Quest Buy have batteries powered by dark matter?" Marco countered through bites of pizza covered with a little bit of everything. "Well I'm glad you had fun. And not a single monster attack the whole day."

"Pfft. Whatever, I could have handled it if there was one." Star said confidently while chowing down on her dinner. "Speaking of which the yard looks pretty good. I thought we tore this place up after Ludo snuck in here the last time."

"Dad and I were back here most of this morning. And the front yard too."

"Heh heh, doggy balancing on a ball." Star giggled in amusement, usually finding Mr. Diaz's work to be to her taste. "So what's this meteor shower thingy like? Do we need an umbrella?"

"No no, it's nothing like that. We'll just see a bunch of tiny meteors pass through the sky as they enter Earth's atmosphere. They'll light up when they catch on fire and leave trails in the sky as they burn away." Star's eyes were wide with wonder at the description.

"That sound so cool! I can't wait to see it. Do you guys have space rocks flying at your planet a lot?"

"Oh heck no. That would cause chaos all over the world if we did." Marco made a mental note to show Star some of the meteor disaster movies later. She'd probably find them fun. "But every so often one does land on Earth and we're able to recover it."

"Oh wow! I'd love to get my hands on one. Do they ever have aliens inside them or evil magical beings from other planets?"

"Nah, never anything like that. They're called meteors but most people call them shooting stars because of how they look when they fly towards Earth. If a meteor lands it's going to be pretty burned up by the time we find it." Marco could see the disappointment start to snuff out Star's excitement right on her face. He tried to spice things up to make it more interesting for her. "But sometimes stuff survives inside them. Mostly they're made up of rock and metal and stuff like that but every so often you see a weird one with crystal like stuff in the center."

"Ooooh, crystals are pretty." That seemed to bring her spirits back up a little.

"Yeah, I guess they're not too uncommon from what's on Earth already. Some people think a lot of the metals and crystals and things we have here originally came from stuff like shooting stars hitting the planet forever ago. There's always the hope that one day we'll see one that's going to have something special inside it that we've never seen before." Star thought about that for a little bit in quiet after Marco had finished with his brief science lesson.

"So... they're usually a lot like every other rock on Earth on the outside. But they have the potential to have something special inside that no one's ever seen before?"

"I guess that's one way of thinking about it, yeah. Makes them pretty interesting still, cause who knows what could be inside until you look." Star nodded thoughtfully about that. "I would have thought it would be the same on Mewni."

"Well, I guess so."

"You... guess so?" Marco was a tad lost as to how she couldn't be sure.

"We do have magic stars, but they're not the same as your shooting stars. They're kind of these pokey things." Star tried to use her hands to motion a design with her fingers of something in a round shape with many spikes coming off of it. "They glow and are made of a material we use to keep magically powered devices running in the kingdom. Sometimes they're pink or red or yellow. Sometimes white. Their designs can be varied too, most aren't alike and have some difference from one or the other."

"Wow, these things sound awesome. Way better than the space junk that tends to land on our planet." Despite Marco's amazement at what Star described she still didn't seem that interested herself.

"They're useful but really no one cares what they look like. Magic stars hit the ground the same time every month in the same place every month. We send people out there to gather them up and bring them back to the castle where they get used for all sorts of things. No one really cares what they look like since their sharp edges make them too dangerous to use until they're broken up or ground down into something we can make. Just rinse and repeat." Marco sat there quietly, letting her explanation sink in. What he thought of as amazing Star considered routine. Maybe Earth really wasn't that different, I mean how many things had humans trivialized up until this point? Amazing and remarkable things that get consumed for a resource. There was whole forests full of amazing plants and wild life that just get chopped down every day.

The two teens sat staring up at the sky for a while, both calmed down after learning the facts about their two unique worlds. The pizza box was empty at this point and all that was left was to wait for the show to start. Marco didn't mind though, it was a nice night and the weather was comfortable. Laying outside like this after eating was enough to make him want to fall asleep. Star however brought him back to reality when she spoke up. "What was bugging you when I came home?"

"What? Nothing was bugging me."

"C'mon now Marco, I could see it on your face. You were thinking about something that was bothering you and you seemed sad about it. What was it?" Was he that easy to read? Marco thought he was better about keeping stuff to himself than that. Or perhaps Star was just that good at seeing what was going on with him when she wanted to.

"It's, y'know, nothing at all. Just stuff, you don't gotta worry." He put on a smile and flashed it across to her but the Mewni princess wasn't at all satisfied.

"Fine, if that's how it's going to be." Reaching down next to her lawn chair Star pulled her wand out of her purse and Marco felt his whole body clench up. Who knew what she'd do when she reached for that in reaction to a problem. His fears were alleviated however when the wand glowed with magic and the table between them was lifted into the air and set on the opposite side of where Star was sitting. Soon after their lawn chairs were pulled together side by side and Marco found himself squeezed into a powerful hug. "There, you're hugged. No escaping me. Now spill it!" Marco wanted to argue but she was making him smile too much to resist. Besides, this was really comfy. Slipping his arm around her too they hugged each other as he prepared to let his concerns loose from where he'd buried them.

"I guess today I was just thinking about... the future?" Star was watching him intently now as he explained himself, Marco feeling like he was doing a poor job of it right out the gate. "Like, I don't know. I guess I never really think too much about what's going to happen ahead of time but today I was."

"Never think of... Marco you plan more than anyone I've ever met. You have an entire routine designed for getting dressed, eating breakfast and arriving at school at a certain place and time." Okay, that might have been true, but she didn't have to describe it like he was some kind of weirdo.

"I like to be fashionable and on time, thank you very much." Marco corrected her and Star giggled seeing she'd hit a nerve with him. "But I guess today it was different than that. I was thinking of like... months or even years into the future. You know as in what I'll be doing or how things will change." This part was harder to say than he expected it to be but she'd asked him and he wanted to let it out to someone. "Or when you'll... you know, have to go back. Cause maybe I'm just not sure what I'm going to do without my best friend around anymore and that worries me because now that I've met her I don't ever want her to leave and I know that's selfish but it's what I keep thinking and I just want to-" Marco felt a finger move over his lips to quiet him and he managed to hold in the emotional torrent that was trying to escape from him.

"Marco, I'm here right now, okay?"

"I know, but-"

"I'm here right now. You don't have to worry about that. You'll always be my bestie." Marco swallowed a lump in his throat and let his body relax some more, Star still nestled up beside him. Marco laughed a little to himself.

"Sorry about that. I must have been acting really stupid if you had to get me to calm down, huh? Just blurting out everything."

"I don't think so." Star said sounding more serious than Marco was accustomed to from the princess. "I just don't want you to worry about stuff like that. You should have fun in the moment like you always do. I like that about you, you're always taking care of what's around you."

"Well it's my job, I have to take care of who's around me. Because the person that is always around me manages to find something enjoyable about what's always around her. It makes life fun." He felt Star give him a little squeeze. "Without that special person to look out for I'm just a worrier and a 'Safe Kid' anyway."

"Whaaaat? Excuse me but not true at all. You're a monster punching bad boy." Star corrected with a little bit of sass in her voice.

"I'm only that way because I have you around to punch monsters with. Till then I was just another kid going to karate classes in a strip mall. Big whoop, just like everyone else."

"Well maybe on the outside you looked like everyone else, but I don't think so." Star lifted her arm that was hugging around Marco's chest and poked him over the heart. "Because I know there's something special inside, no matter what it looks like on the outside." Marco's cheeks reddened a little when she touched him so gently, not used to receiving such direct compliments from a girl.

"But how can you be sure?"

"Women's intuition. Don't you know anything about girls?" Star said and put her arm around Marco again, looking up at the sky for the awaited meteor shower to begin. Marco let out a breath when she hugged him tightly. You wouldn't be able to tell by her appearance but Star was even stronger than himself. He wasn't sure if it was because she was from Mewni or if maybe she was just naturally this tough.

"Well, I probably don't know much about girls. But I do know you're the coolest one I've ever met. Coolest princess too."

"What about Pony Head?" Star asked and Marco audibly grumbled remembering the magical unicorn creature with the annoying voice and sassy attitude.

"She's the second coolest, I guess. Beats that monster princess that tried to steal your face at least." True he hadn't met many princesses in his life time but that second ranking was being held by a thread. "Say Star, do you ever think about the future too? Like when you'll be queen?"

"Every. Single. Day." Star said with severity in her voice. It wasn't the seriousness that caught Marco off guard but instead her tone. As if she were someone facing a prison sentence.

"R-really?"

"Every day." Star repeated. "Always in the back of my mind."

"I didn't think that... it was on your mind so much." Star suddenly turned her head away from the night sky and instead down on top of Marco's chest. Laying her face sideways to look away from him. Marco wasn't sure what to do but he wanted to make her feel comforted and placed his hand on her back to hold her against him. She didn't shy away, instead just holding position there.

"My mother won't let me forget it. That one day I'll stop being Princess Butterfly and then I'll be Queen Butterfly, with all the responsibilities of ruling a kingdom and using my magic for good and preserving the royal line by having my own Princess Butterfly one day to pass my wand onto. That it's my inevitable fate."

"W-Whoa."

"Yeah. Whoa." Star repeated back to him.

"Okay. Wow. Um..." Marco thought for a moment, not realizing just how big Star's emotional baggage might be. Here he was worrying over a future without her in it and she was agonizing over a future where her life was already decided for her. "But it's not so bad right? Being a princess? You get to do and see all sorts of things that no one will ever get to."

"No, it's not bad." Star said sounding just as serious as before. "But I'm on a time limit, you know? A time limit to be Star."

"You'll always be Star." Marco said, now stroking her hair in his hand softly.

"One day I'll be Queen Butterfly and that's all that will matter. Just another princess meant to become the queen. It didn't matter who I was before or who I am at the time. It doesn't even matter how special or powerful I am as the queen. All that matters is that I take the throne and get married and then pass the wand onto the next Princess Butterfly and keep the chain going. Everything else, pointless." Marco just listened as she let him understand the outlook the princess harbored every day. That each moment was ticking down to when her freedom wold be taken away. Her individuality, as far as she was concerned. He couldn't stand the thought of that, but telling her that fate could be altered wasn't true either.

"But, like... even when you're queen you can still do things you like, right? I mean your dad still hunts monsters and acts all silly and crazy at his age. Aren't there any good things to look forward to?" Star didn't respond and Marco felt he had to say something. Not just something, the right thing. She needed him to be on point for this one. "Maybe the future king will be a cool guy when you meet him? Someone who won't mind you having fun and take care of things for you."

"Maybe." Star finally muttered. "I hope so. Someone I can trust, who will let me still be me and join me in having fun. Who can help me run a kingdom when I mess it up."

"You won't mess it up."

"Marco, I'm gonna mess it up."

"Yeah, probably." Marco admitted, knowing Star all too well.

"So they have to be able to help me when I mess things up. Someone like that."

"Someone like Oskar?" Marco asked, knowing Star had been hoping to get a peek at her crush today when she had gone out. To his surprise though Star laughed at the suggestion.

"Pfft. No! Of course not, Oskar isn't king material. Silly." Star said matter-of-factually and it threw Marco right off.

"Wait... so he's not someone that could make it as king?"

"I'm pretty sure he lives in that car he's always on." Star admitted.

"So then... why do you like him so much if he's not the kind of person who has what it takes?"

"Just because I want to date him doesn't mean I want to marry him." Star explained. "He's cute and cool and plays awesome music, I want to get all over that! But he's hardly marriage material." Marco was left completely lost by this and she must have sensed it because the princess carried on. "I'm not looking to get into a relationship right now with the kind of guy I'd want to marry. I just want to have fun while I can. Before that kind of stuff happens. I want to go out and see things and do things and date people and just party! Before I have to grow up." Star lifted her head and body up from Marco's chest now to look at him from her side of the chairs. "And I want the man I marry to have all those experiences too. So none of us ever miss anything we want to do before it's too late. No regrets." He was looking at her eyes now, deeper than he'd originally viewed them. Just as she was much deeper than he'd expected her to be. "Do you understand?"

"Yeah... yeah I think I do." No, he didn't. Not completely anyway. But when she looked at him like that, after revealing everything she feared and wanted of the future, he felt less afraid of his own now. He wasn't sure why, they hadn't addressed anything he'd confessed to fearing before. But still his heart was calm. Behind her light shined in the sky and Marco realized their show had started. "Oh, Star! Look!"

"Yay!" The princess fell back against Marco on the lawn chairs and looked up into the night sky. Curled up together the two teens watched as the Earth provided them with a special show through the evening. Star enjoyed every moment of it and Marco had to admit it was a lot prettier than he'd been expecting. Once it was over they continued to lay together, talking about how nice it had been and how happy they were at getting a chance to enjoy it and after that just random things about what they planned to do later that week. Any conversation at all to act as an excuse to stay outside longer. When the suggestion to go inside was brought up the idea was pushed aside enough times that before long Star had fallen asleep on Marco's shoulder. Readjusting her pillow under her head Marco laid back and closed his eyes as well. Something special had been shown to him tonight and he was exhausted having taken it all in. The meteor shower had been nice too.

Well into the night Marco and Star slept peacefully on their outdoor furniture, now covered by a blanket on their slumbering forms to keep them warm through the night. Mrs. Diaz had successfully removed their evening meal without detection and provided them with their cover as they slept. Even slipping it under their arms and on their bodies with a mother's care and not alerting either teen that anyone was there. She raised her phone and steadied her hand, smiling wide as she took pictures of the two of them curled up together. Once she was sure they were okay and nothing was out of place or in the open Mrs. Diaz returned to the house and went inside, quietly closing the sliding patio door behind her.

The house was dark save for the light upstairs coming from her bedroom. When she arrived Mr. Diaz was reading a book in bed and awaiting her return. When his wife entered the room he placed it down on the night stand and saw the big smile on her face. "The kids are finally asleep?"

"Yes, and it's the most adorable thing. Look at this." Closing the door behind her Mrs. Diaz sat on the bed and shared the pictures she'd taken with her husband. Mr. Diaz looked on amused at the multiple angles she'd captured of the pair sleeping together on the lawn chairs.

"Marco's going to be embarrassed when he sees these later."

"I know, it's so cute." Mrs. Diaz said with great joy in her voice. "Isn't it great how close they are? I'm so happy Star came to live with us, she's been such a good influence on Marco." Raising from her seat on the bed she set her phone down and walked to the master bathroom to get ready for the night, changing into her nightgown with the door open. "I hope Marco will be okay when she has to go home."

"I think he'll be fine. We had a talk about that earlier today."

"Oh? He didn't seem upset?"

"I think he was but I also think he's a strong boy. If we're lucky we can keep them in touch after she moves back in with her parents. King Butterfly is practically a friend of the family by now."

"Speaking of family, don't you think they'd make a cute couple?" Mrs. Diaz suggested, coming back to bed now that she was changed. "They're such a natural fit together."

"Hm, I don't know. Marco's still attached to that girl at school. Jenny or whatever her name was."

"Jackie." Mrs. Diaz corrected, setting her phone on the charger and finishing up her nightly routine. "He's had a crush on that girl for forever, I don't think anything's ever going to happen there. It's not close like they are."

"Speaking of close... they went to their rooms, correct?" Mr. Diaz asked with a small tone of concern to his voice but his wife dismissed it.

"They don't have school tomorrow so I figured it would be fine to let them sleep outside. I'll check on them when I get up in the morning."

"It's not that, it's just I'm not sure we should leave Marco alone with Star like that."

"Oh honey, come now. They're just kids. I trust Marco."

"Maybe, but I remember what I was like at fourteen." Mrs. Diaz stopped for a moment, recalling herself how she and other girls behaved at that age. "And Star is a very pretty young lady, who is with him without supervision."

"... maybe I should wake them up." Mrs. Diaz said sounding more concerned now.

"Then again..." Mr. Diaz countered, sliding up closer to his wife. "If the kids are sleeping outside tonight they can't hear what's going on inside."

"Oh, you devil you." Mrs. Diaz countered and playfully swatted at him. "Suggesting such a thing this late at night."

"Is that a no, my spicy habanero?"

"Now now, don't get too out of hand." Mrs. Diaz countered and slid away from him with a sultry smile. "I'll lock the bedroom door just in case they wake up."

Thankfully for Marco and Star they didn't get up from their chairs that night to head inside and hear familiar yet unwanted noises within. However their own night wasn't without event. As the two slumbered together, nestled side by side, another visitor crept upon them in the dark. This one more sinister in intent from Mrs. Diaz and far from alone. The small monster leader Ludo was informed of his target's vulnerability by his spy, being left out in the open as she was he decided now was a good time to seize the opportunity. Quietly he and his gang stepped out of the portal that had appeared in Marco's back yard and tip toed towards the slumbering teens. His eyes fixated on the magical wand held firmly in Star Butterfly's grip, her arm resting on top of Marco who was passed out on his back.

Creeping carefully through the grass, Ludo reached out his hand to try and slip the wand away from Star's grip. His fingers were ever so close, once he'd hooked it into his hands the magical weapon would be his at last.

"Ludo."

The small monster stopped cold, as did the rest of his entourage as they looked on. Star spoke clearly and deliberately, though she did not move a muscle. Still and quiet right beside Marco, seemingly asleep up until she had spoken. Ludo had frozen in place when she'd uttered his name but after a few moments he reached out again to grasp her wand.

"Ludo." Again Star spoke and froze him in place, Ludo deciding to respond finally.

"Yes?"

"Do you see that I'm sleeping?" Star asked, not sounding the least bit tired as she spoke. "Can you see that I'm relaxed?"

"Er... yes."

"Good. That's good. Because I've had a veeeery busy day today and I've had a veeeery emotional night."

"Um... I'm sorry?" Ludo responded, not used to having this direct of conversation with his nemesis.

"Not yet you aren't." Star answered back coldly. "Right now I am relaxed, I'm comfortable and I'm happy. Can you see how happy and comfortable I am, Ludo? Can you see that right now this is important to me?"

"I... guess so?"

"Good. Because if you don't appreciate how important this moment is to me right now Ludo, I'm going to have to do something about it."

"Do something about it?" Ludo asked hesitantly.

"Do something about it." Star confirmed.

"Like, what woul-"

"I learned a new spell Ludo. Do you know what it's called? It's called Ruby Red Rash Rayblast."

"Ruby Red Rash Ra-"

"Ruby Red Rash Rayblast. Do you know why it's called Ruby Red Rash Rayblast?" Ludo's mouth opened to reply but he wasn't given the chance. "It's called Ruby Red Rash Rayblast because it's a rayblast that makes ruby red rashes. They're awful Ludo. Really awful, as in I wasn't going to ever use this spell awful." Ludo's henchmen had at this point started to back away, having been hit by Star's spells many times in the past and not wanting to feel the brunt of one even she was scared to try. "I'll use this spell Ludo. I'll use it right now. I don't even care how bad those rashes will be. Try me."

Ludo stood there now, tapping his clawed fingers together and weighing his options. The little monster looked back to his cohorts who were all shaking their heads violently against making a move and trying not to retreat too loudly should that bring Star's wrath upon them. He looked back at the portal his men were slowly running for and to the object of his desire before him. Making a tactical decision he went with what his gut told him was the right idea, and reached out for the wand.

The resulting explosion of magic would be remembered by the monsters for weeks after in the form of thick red spots on their skin and terrible itching.

When the flash of light shined out on the Diaz property Marco stirred from his slumber and opened his eyes slightly, looking upward. "Mm... Star?"

"Yeah?" The princess asked, dropping back into position next to Marco.

"Did something happen? I thought I saw a light."

"Nope, nothing at all." She said with a big smile on her face.

"Oh, okay." Marco let out a long yawn, rolling onto his side and facing Star as they got comfortable under the blanket. "Should we go inside."

"Nah." Star responded and Marco agreed, already falling back asleep.

"Goodnight Star."

"Goodnight my king." Star said happily and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Hm?"

"I said goodnight Marco."

"Oh, okay. Sweet dreams." Marco said as he fell asleep with a big smile on his face. The next morning he would wake up feeling very happy but not certain as to the reason why, his dreams having mostly been filled with what sounded like the noises of monsters groaning in pain and agony. Still despite the heavy yard work, emotional outpouring and embarrassing pictures his mother shared the next morning, Marco would go on to remember this as one of the happiest nights of his life.