Chapter The Second

"She what?!"

"It doesn't mean anything, Marco." Star defended as she raised her wand and charged up another spell. "Narwhal Blast."

A monster got blasted by a ray of narwhals and magic, flying across the street, nearly taking Ludo's head off but fortunately he was perfectly short.

"Hey, hey! No fair!" Ludo complained, pointing angrily at Star. "I'm not the one fighting here!"

Marco leapt into the air, spinning and kicking Spike Balls in the face and throwing him directly at Ludo who collapsed under the monster's weight. "Of course it means something, Star!" Marco argued, ducking an overhead strike from two monsters just as Star blasted them both.

"It's just a girl's night out!" Star said, her conviction lacking as guilt gnawed at the back of her head. "You know, a hang out, that's all."

"But she didn't want me to go?" Marco asked sullenly. "Why? I totally love Exploding Hamster Face."

"Hamster Wheels," Star corrected. "And no you don't."

"Of course I don't! They're loud, sing about immoral values and have exploding hamsters! Who doesn't like that?"

"I agree," a nearby monster said with tires for feet. "They are very influential and spreading negative values amongst impressionable minds."

"Exactly," Marco said, nodding in agreement.

"They have fun music," Star argued. "And what do you know, you don't even have ears!"

She pointed at the monster who blanched and looked away ashamed at Star's observation. "You didn't have to be so—"

"Narwhal Blast." Her spell collided with the monster sending him dazed back, landing on Ludo who just got himself free from the last monster.

"We'll get that wand next time, Star Pooperfly!" Ludo exclaimed from under the monster. Freeing himself, he opened another dimensional portal and he, and his lackeys, limped their way home.

"Yeah, yeah, evil monologue, see ya next time Ludo!" Star said, waving dismissively at Ludo while she remained focused on Marco.

Once the monsters left, Marco crossed his arms and glared at Star but she could tell that he wasn't really angry, only sad and disappointed. The backyard was a perfect mess, with craters and puddles of sticky syrup strewn about. The night sky blazed above and in the moonlight, Star could perfectly see Marco's sad puppy dog eyes.

"Why wouldn't she invite me?" Marco asked softly, his voice sounding like cracked glass on the verge of breaking.

Star fiddled with her wand. To tell you the truth, Star didn't really understand why either. She thought Jackie Lynn-Thomas and Marco were friends or at the very least acquaintances. Star didn't get why Jackie Lynn-Thomas just upped and changed her mind like that so quickly, was it something she said?

"I don't know, honest," Star said, her wand blinking a weak green to reflect her fluttering anxiety. "But it doesn't mean anything."

"It means she doesn't like me," Marco grumbled, turning his face away.

Star wanted to protest but she honestly didn't know how. Marco's been crazy for Jackie Lynn-Thomas for as long as she knew him (though it hasn't been that long). Star watched Marco turn his back on her, hugging his shoulders. Her wand blinked a dull purple, indicating her downtrodden mood.

Approaching Marco, Star hugged him as tightly as she could (without breaking any bones) and felt him relax under her embrace. "You don't know that," she muttered into his shoulder. "I mean if you just ask her, maybe she'd clear everything up."

Marco was quiet for a count of three… then he lifted his head up and gasped. "Or… you could ask!"

Star let go of Marco, raised an eyebrow. "Uh, what?"

Marco turned around, his eyes lighting up brighter than the stars. "It's perfect! When you hang out with her, you could ask how she feels about me!"

"I dunno…"

"Okay, okay, you don't have to be so direct about it," Marco said, waving his arms about. "But sneak me into the conversation now and then, just to find out!"

Star rubbed her wand on the back of her head. "Well…"

"Please, Star!" Marco grabbed her hands, giving her those impossibly brown eyes. "I'll never ask anything from you again, just this one favor. Please?"

Star looked into his eyes and found she couldn't resist. "Okay, for you."

"Yes!" Marco leapt in the air, hugging Star tightly and she had to ignore how loudly her heart was beating and the blush on her face. "Thank you, Star! You're the best!"

"I try."

It was around eight when she met up with Jackie Lynn-Thomas.

Star wanted to go with her usual outfit but decided it wouldn't be cool enough for an Exploding Hamster Wheels' concert so she decided to change things up a bit. She wore a black and white frilly dress with a flaming heart on her torso. Her boots were black as well and featured flames surrounding it, so it looked like she was going fast. They matched her black-white tights and finally she kept her headband, headbands were cool after all.

Star waited by the bus-stop where Jackie Lynn-Thomas told her to meet up, straightening out her dress and fidgeting with her wand. She wasn't sure why, but she was… nervous about this. Ooh, nervousness wasn't a feeling she got very often. It's like this warmth bubbling up from her stomach to her throat and if she didn't push it down, she might spew everywhere!

"That'd be bad," Star muttered aloud.

"What would be bad?"

Star turned and saw Jackie Lynn-Thomas standing there. She completely understood why Marco liked her so much, she was quite pretty. Jackie wore a black leather jacket that fitted snugly around her and had silver studs on her shoulders. Under that she had an Exploding Hamster Wheels shirt, a white blouse with an image of a flaming hamster with green fur on there. Her black skinny jeans matched her leather jacket and black boots, she looked completely out of place standing next to the bubbly Star but smiled at her.

"If I spewed everywhere," Star answered, waving her wand in front of her face, hoping to get rid of the slight blush on her face. "I just got this dress and it would suck if I threw up on it."

Jackie gave her a smirk, as if amused by how strange Star was. She brandished a packet of gum and handed a stick to Star before taking one herself. "Here, maybe this'll help? At the very least it'll help with your breath if you do throw up."

Star chuckled, taking and chewing the piece of gum, trying to figure out the source of her erratic heartbeat. Maybe Ludo poisoned her drink somehow?

"Come on." Jackie took Star's hand, smiling. "Let's get going, don't wanna be late do we?"

"No." Star agreed, squeezing Jackie's hand. "We don't."