-Chapter 6-

Their relationship was still young, but definitely blossoming into…well…into what she assumed was love. Yet all the while she'd kept a very open mind about all this. She wanted to lower her expectations, she wanted to tell herself not to get too attached or comfortable because if she did, the parting would only hurt worse… But, as fate would have it, she already found herself craving more of him all the time—his kisses, his cuddles, the sweet nothings he would whisper in her ear sometimes… She couldn't get enough of that. He wanted her for her… Not for his bloodline. Not to be used as an item to keep the Diaz legacy alive. She was worth something more to him and she knew it.

But it just gave her all the more reason to wish she'd never met him. To wish she'd never even heard of Earth before. The pain of leaving wouldn't even exist.

…On the other hand…she would never have met Marco… She would never have seen Earth…

It was both conflicting and frustrating. She could go one way or the other but she couldn't go both ways. She had to wish for one thing and that was final. Not that it even counted for anything… She would…be leaving… Very soon no less…

The TV flickered as it transitioned from one commercial to the next. She had learned early on that commercials were just lies and scams specifically meant to interrupt a show right at all the best moments. Earth did have a few downsides… Still, she would even miss commercials. Maybe.

"These things are so annoying," Marco grumbled. "It's like they go on and on."

"Mmhm. On purpose, to annoy you," she replied.

"That is exactly what commercials are for, Star. Nothing. But. Irritation."

Marco's parents walked through the living room and outside, his mother sitting in a chair to read a magazine and his father throwing a couple of hamburger patties onto the grill.

Once the door was shut and his parents' backs were turned, Marco put one arm around Star and pulled her closer, against his chest, then kissed the top of her head. She smiled in response.

Their relationship was still early and growing, but it had remained a secret ever since it started, like an unspoken rule between the two of them. Mr. Diaz had explicitly stated that his son was not to do anything that would upset her own parents. Neither of them knew for sure, but this could include anything beyond friendship—clean friendship. So in front of Mr. and Mrs. Diaz—just in case she might tell her husband about it—they acted as thought nothing ever happened, as though they were completely innocent just as they had been before. In a way this forbidden lov—relationship was thrilling.

"Star?" Marco said.

She looked up at him.

"M-Maybe it's a little early to say this but I…" His voice paused for a moment and the look on his face showed uncertainty. "Never mind. I-It's nothing."

"Marco…" she pressed, moving forward to rest her head on his shoulder and attempting a puppy dog face.

She was being sly, and she knew it too. A long time ago she had asked him, just out of curiosity, what he found most attractive in a girl. Originally she had been asking more along the lines of personality, and she probably should've clarified that, but he began describing appearance instead. And one thing she took immediate notice of was that he was eyeing her head to toe as he described blue eyes, long blonde hair, a full figure…ultimately using her as his "most attractive" example. Of course he did throw in that the hearts on her cheeks were cute too. She'd remembered every word since then, and quickly discovered afterwards how to take advantage of her looks and win over his favor to get what she wanted.

"I um…" And then he looked into her eyes. "I…I really…I really love you, Star…"

Without a second's hesitation she replied, "I love you too."

But she didn't love him, she couldn't love him, so what was she even saying?!

He smiled and let out a sigh of relief. "And…instead of just dating…"—they had been going out on secret dates under the cover of two friends spending time with one another—"…I sort of want to take it a step further, and so I gue— I think, what I'm saying is that, I-I want you to um…to be my girlfriend?"

Again there was no hesitation on her answer. "Yeah, I will."

No, no, no, shut up, shut up! This was crazy, insane even! She was engaged, she couldn't be doing this! This was wrong, dating was supposed to be the limit and she went past the limit! Why was she doing this?! Why was she blatantly…b-blatantly…confessing what…what she wanted…?

She heard his nervous chuckle as he wrapped his other arm around her and lowered his head to kiss his new girlfriend.

Oh yeah…that was why…

She let herself give in and put her arms around his neck, closing her eyes and relishing the butterflies in her stomach. She felt his love and could only hope he felt hers too.

But unlike the times before, this was very short-lived. After they broke their kiss, Star noticed a figure behind Marco and yelped, shoving him backwards to the point where he was vertical on the couch. From there they both had a perfect vantage point to see who it was—although in their eyes it didn't even matter.

"Oh, uh, Mrs. Diaz!" There was no hiding the panic in her voice, or the red on her face. "I was just, it's not what it looks like!"

"Yeah," Marco agreed as he sat up and turned towards his mother. "See, Star was just…"

"I was helping him."

"Exactly! She was helping me out, because I was just wondering…"

"How to kiss a girl—"

"Yeah, yeah."

"—and so, I thought, since I'm a girl, you know?"

"Yeah, and she was helping learn how to kiss her."

"A girl. How to kiss a girl, not specifically me, is what he meant to say."

"Oh. Oh! Yeah, no, I made a mistake, I meant just any girl, not Star."

"Not specifically me."

"I— Yeah. No, just any girl that is not specifically Star."

"Even though it can be me too."

"Yes. Exactly. So, that's just, that was what was happening…"

"A-And then, you walked in. We just sort of, well, were in the middle of that…lesson, and yeah, that-that's all that was happening."

"Just bad timing, Mom," Marco finished up.

Mrs. Diaz's initial sigh turned into a lighthearted laugh, which in a way was shocking and in every other way completely unexpected. But, honestly, who would ever expect someone to laugh after seeing that they had been hiding a relationship for weeks?

"Oh, now, you don't really think I never knew, do you?" his mother asked.

"…That…I'm helping him…?" Star said in one last attempt to keep this hidden.

"I've known since day one, you two. Star, you never noticed the way Marco looks at you every time he sees you? And Marco, you never noticed Star smiling more around you than she ever has before?" she asked, looking at both of them in turn.

And, when put that way, it did seem a little obvious if you were looking for it… And Mrs. Diaz especially seemed to have keen observational skills. She always seemed to catch on to everything far quicker than anyone would think possible. So maybe it was true that mothers just knew…

It was Marco that asked the question both of them had been dying to know the answer to. "Are you going to tell Dad about this?"

His mother smiled warmly—and somewhat excitedly—and answered, "And risk splitting you two up? I don't think so. I like the idea of my son with someone so amazing."

"Awww. Thanks, both for the compliment and not letting Mr. Diaz find out."

"Do any of your friends know about this?"

Their turn to answer her questions—how quickly the tables turned.

"I don't think so… Not unless they were spying on us," Star teased.

"You're not doing anything else, are you? No touching in inappropriate places or further?"

"Mom, no!" Marco replied.

Unlike Star, he knew what his mother meant by "further", and from his response "further" never happened anyway. She could only assume it meant sex. She just didn't know why Earth was so determined to use other words for it… Either way, no, they had never taken it that far.

"I have absolutely no problem with you two as a couple, but if you go too far in this, I'll have to tell your father, and we all know what will happen if I tell your father," she warned.

"Thanks, Mom. We won't go too far," Marco promised.

"Yeah, thanks Mrs. Diaz."

Mrs. Diaz smiled again and walked over to hug them both.

"I was serious when I said I'm excited this finally happened," she chirped.

"So uh…how much did you see, exactly…?" Star questioned.

"Ohhhh, pretty much everything. I'm glad my Marco finally has a girlfriend, and to be honest, I'm glad it's you, Star," she answered.

Only Star caught on to the subtle new tone in the woman's voice as she spoke. Mrs. Diaz wanted her to stay… She wanted her to be with Marco but that couldn't happen. They both knew that. But, she supposed, it couldn't hurt to be happy about it for now. Everyone was certainly happy about it, aside from Mr. Diaz and their friends, but they also had no idea about anything regarding either of their love life. So as far as every else knew—excluding Mrs. Diaz of course—both Star and Marco were still single and still fair game. But secret or not, Marco was happy. Star was happy. Mrs. Diaz was happy. That was what counted.

Mrs. Diaz walked over to push Star and Marco together, as though trying to get them in the same position they were in before, then walked back outside to read the same magazine again, not too far from her husband, who was still focused on his hamburger patties rather than what Star and Marco were doing in the house…alone.

"This is a little weird," Marco said as they both pulled away from each other, the moment clearly ruined by his mother.

"Yeah," Star agreed. "If your mom is in the house but your dad isn't, does that mean we still act like a couple or do we act normal…? I'm sort of confused on what to do now."

"That's a good question… I guess we'll just find out when it happens?" He shrugged.

"Guess so. By the way, any girl except for me?"

"I had to say something, and you said not specifically you so I just went from there…"

"Well when it's not an excuse, I would hope it is specifically me."

He reached out to grab a lock of her hair and fiddle with it. "I have a few girls in my life but you're the only one I would kiss."

"I think…I need a little proof," she said flirtatiously.

"Oh?"

He slid one hand over hers and leaned in for at least a quick kiss, but he never got it—Mr. Diaz came in when he was only halfway there, making both of them sigh in frustration as the second moment was ruined just as much as the first.

"Kids!" Mr. Diaz announced. "I made some cheeseburgers for the whole family. Let's come eat now."

"Okay, Dad," Marco said, standing up and turning to his father just as the door closed again with Mr. Diaz slipping back outside.

Marco sighed yet again and looked over his shoulder at Star, who was getting ready to go outside for the burgers.

"I'm getting that kiss," he said with determination. "One way or another."

"And I'm getting that proof," she said as she walked past him towards the door. "One way or another."

A/N

Sorry for the long, long, long, long wait... ;-; At first it was college holding me back, then life in general.

Hoping deh Starco was worth the wait though. And yeah there was a lot of dialogue but I wanted to at least try to add some humor in.

Thank you so much for all your encouraging reviews! :) They're ultimately what pushed me to finish up this chapter.