"I know how to drop my pulse to zero – but only for sixty seconds! Go!" Marco sprinted out of his gurney as Janna's heart monitor cried out in alarm. He was able to slip through the approaching EMTs as they ran towards the seemingly dead girl. The police, however, barricaded his path.

"Halt!" A man in blue commanded. He had his riot shield raised, ready to use it if necessary. Everyone thought the gas explosion at the Taco joint had either been a teenager prank gone too far or some kind of protest, so the police had been notified to bring riot gear. It'd seemed pointless when they'd arrived, but now the police officer was grateful that his intimidating presence was probably enough to scare the kid trying to escape the scene of the crime into rethinking his escape plan.

Marco, however, had much more important matters to deal with than such trivial things as law enforcement. He charged at the nearest officer only to dart to the left at the last second. He was clipped by the plastic shield and fell to the ground but he kept his momentum going. He hit the ground on his side and rolled like a hot dog past the officer. In less than a second he was back on his feet and running from the crime scene.

"HEY! Get back here!" The police officers screamed. But Marco would do no such thing. Getting to the strange illusion in the sky was the most important thing in his life now. He was running as fast as he could, but the magic circle was dropping too fast. He was never going to make it at this rate. It couldn't end like this.

Frustrated, Marco stopped running. There was no point in trying anymore; he didn't even bother moving from the center of the street. He had done so much in the past few months, he deserved to be with Star. He deserved his happy ending. He deser-

"Hey Marco. What's up?" Marcos head snapped to the left. It was Jackie! She was sitting on a bench with her arm around her… girlfriend? Despite the awkwardness of their breakup, Marco was happy for her. She deserved someone who made her happy.

"Jackie! Hey, wow it's good to see you!" She gave him one of her million-dollar smiles. Those smiles used to render Marco completely useless, but now it only made him happy to see an old friend. Star was the only one that could make him feel that way.

Star! Marco slapped himself – which probably wasn't the best first impression for Jackie's girlfriend – How could he forget about Star?

"I have a super important favor to ask – can I, umm, borrow your skateboard? It's super important. There's this light portal and it could be Star and I'm never gonna make it in time before it disappears and if that happens then I might never see her again and the-"

"marco."

"I need to see her again because we just kiss-"

"Marco."

"That sounds weird. I'm not a creep, but Star and I have to be together-"

"MARCO!" Jackie tossed her board to him. "Go get her."

Marco started to thank her and was about to get on his knees to worship her kind nature, but she reminded him that time was of the essence. She gave him a small smile as he ran out into the street and put the skateboard on the road

There was only one problem. Marco had never ridden a skateboard on his own. He'd ridden it with Star before, but he hadn't been in command before. Marco had no idea how this worked. It should be simple, right? Get on, push, and don't fall.

Simple.

Throwing luck into the wind, Marco put both feet on the board and focused on his balance. Jackie snuck up behind him and gave him a hard shove.

"Good luck!" She shouted and Marco was off.

It was a good thing the next part was downhill because he was having a tough enough time not falling off. The board was able to pivot depending on where his center of gravity was. The axles of the wheels turned with his body weight, too. Marco zigzagged down the hill until he was able to get his balance under control.

The hill evened out and Marco was forced to try and gain some more momentum if he wanted any chance of seeing Star again. He threw his right foot out and pushed as hard and fast as he could. He was set off balance by the sudden change in speed, but he was able to stay on. A few seconds later he had to repeat the motion again, and again, and again. By the fifth or sixth time, Marco was getting the hang of it. His back foot was able to strike the asphalt roads smoothly and push himself forward without too much shaking.

Marco's eyes widened. The road came to a T up ahead. The city park was past the road and the trees were starting to cover the bottom of whatever it was that he had been chasing. There was a wheelchair ramp off to the left and Marco leaned gently to try and guide the skateboard in that general direction.

He thought he judged the angles correctly, but Marco was coming in too steeply and couldn't adjust in time. The board hit the curb and Marco was flung onto the concrete sidewalk. He hissed in pain as he landed on his knees and hands. His left hand was stinging as blood trickled out from the scrapes.

Marco was too close to let the setback set him back. He jumped to his feet and took off running, leaving the skateboard in the street. The portal was hidden by the trees, but Marco knew he was running somewhat in the right direction.

He burst into a clearing and the portal came into view. It was still here! Marco had almost lost hope but here it was. He broke into an all-out sprint. It was a race against the clock now. As the portal got closer to the ground, it diminished in size too. When he had first saw it, it looked like a secondary sun. Now, the center appeared no larger than a basketball.

Marco had to admit he was out of shape. It had been much easier to ride the skateboard, although still a lot of work, than running as fast as he could. His breath came in short bursts through his mouth. He idly remembered an article he'd read a few weeks ago about how it was more efficient to breath through your nose because it almost forced you to take your time in-between breaths so that your lungs could fully utilize the oxygen in the air.

Whatever, Marco didn't have time to take things slow and easy. His heart hammered in his ribcage, but weather it was from exhaustion or anxiety he didn't know.

He was barely twenty feet away from the portal when disaster struck. His left foot hit a small boulder and Marco lost his balance. He crashed into the ground headfirst; dirt rubbing into the wounds from his previous fall.

Marco looked up just in time to witness the bottom of the portal finally touch the ground. The blue and purple portal collapsed into a scarlet red ball the size of a golf ball before exploding into a great wave of white energy. He was sure his eye sockets were smoking from the intense light.

Damn it!

He had been so close! Now he and Star would never see each other again. He'd missed his only opportunity to see the person who had come to mean so much to him over the years. Honestly, he wasn't sure if he could survive without her.

He curled up into a ball, anger receding into a deep pit of despair. Tears leaked from his eyes like an old rusty faucet. He'd failed.

Marco heard what sounded like a pack of wolves. The growling seemed far enough away but he couldn't bring himself to care about the danger he could be in. He wasn't even aware that Echo Creek had wolves. It didn't sound quite right, though. It was deeper than what he'd imagined wolves would sound like. And was that… a motorcycle engine?

Marco opened his eyes and gasped. The sky had been a bright pastel blue the last time he'd looked. Now it was a myriad of purples and greens. He could see a few stars through what looked… the northern lights?

A flock of dragon cycles flew over him and he gasped again. That was what he'd heard! But what were they doing here? Marco knew he hadn't made it through the portal in time. All of a sudden, he became acutely aware of someone else panting heavily in front of him. It couldn't be –

It was.

Star was standing in front of him. Marco rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating, but she was still there when he took his hands away. Her face was covered in sweat, but it only enhanced her natural glow. She was beautiful.

Marco got up and slowly walked over to her, waiting for her to simmer out of existence and prove that this was all in his head. But she didn't. In fact, she met him halfway and gently grabbed his hands.

"Hi." Marcos smile grew so big that he was sure it would rip. Whatever, Star was with him now. No matter what else happened, everything would be okay. As long as Star was with him.

A small yellow door creaked open in Marcos mind as he pulled Star in for a kiss.

AN: No, I have not forgot about the promised sequel!

It might be a little short compared to what I've been posting recently, but this is more of a teaser than anything else. I have no idea when the next chapter will be published as I am also working on another story (that you should definitely check out!) right now. I'm going try and update both, but be aware that 'A Chance Meeting' has my priority right now.

I hope everyone is staying safe with the virus going around right now; much better to be inside reading fanfics than outside risking your life.

Stay safe and I'll see you guys soon!