Author's Note: This chapter is pretty serious, so there isn't much in the way of comedy. I did my best to write Star's reactions as well as I could. I wanted them to be accurate to the show, but I may have veered her away just a tad.
Anyways, the tone of this chapter is much different than what I plan to use for the rest of the story, so please don't give up on the story. It's only just beginning.
Enjoy the chapter! I'll see you at the bottom!
Chapter Two: Room 113
"You must not return to Earth… at least for a little while," Moon pleaded, gesturing to the wand in Star's hands, "Look at what happened to your wand! You won't be safe!"
"I can't just leave them," Star argued, "What am I supposed to tell them—what am I supposed to tell Marco, I-"
"You mean the Earth boy? You couldn't possibly think that he's important," Moon interjected with a stern face.
Her words echoed in Star's mind even hours after she had heard them. She sat in a wooden chair in the Echo Creek Hospital with Mrs. Diaz by her side. She wanted to be in the room with Marco—to make good on her promise not to leave him alone, but after much argument, she was convinced to stay in the waiting room so the doctors could operate on him.
It took all that she had to stay put. Thoughts pushed themselves into her mind of what might happen while she was too far away from him. Would he get attacked again? Would he even survive if it happened again? Her eyes grew weary as she pulled her planted her face into her knees, pulling them close as panic consumed her.
Angie turned to her with similar worries. Her lip was busted, but her injuries were insignificant compared to those of her husband and son. She wasn't in much pain herself, but it was easy to tell that Star couldn't say the same.
"They're gonna be okay, you know that, right?"
Star turned to her with teary eyes but was met with a faint smile.
"It's all my fault," she cried as she turned away, "I left him alone again like yesterday didn't even happen! What was I thinking?!"
Her tired eyes ached as she cried into her knees. She sobbed beyond her control. Angie reached out without a word, placing her hand on the girl's shoulders.
"Even if that was true," she began, waiting until Star turned to face her, "You came back. Without you, he would be dead."
Star continued to struggle to meet the woman's eyes, but her tears mostly subsided. Her eyes lingered on the ground. She couldn't manage a response, but Angie still continued.
"I've learned a lot about you in the few months you've been staying with us…"
Seconds passed as silence lingered between the two, and only when Star finally met her eyes did she continue.
"You definitely have your faults…"
Star cringed, nearly turning away again, but before she could manage to, Angie continued once more.
"-but… You are the best thing to happen to Marco. I know that the things you two do together are dangerous, but he's never been as happy as he is when he's with you."
Star couldn't force herself to speak. She couldn't even force herself to smile, no matter how much she wanted to, but she knew she needed to hear those words, and without a word, she wrapped her arms around the woman, holding her close with all she had.
"Family of Rafael Diaz," a doctor called out, immediately earning the attention of both women. They practically sprinted to the doctor, following him through the hospital until he led them to Rafael's room.
"I must warn you," he began before opening the door, "He's in a lot better shape than your son."
Star felt her heart drop. The doctor walked away without another word. Star gnawed at the end of her wand as she turned toward the open door. Angelica stood at her husband's side holding his hand in her own. Star stepped toward the room, but before she made it through the door, she stopped.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a trash can with a red hoodie sleeve hanging outside. Without a second thought, she walked toward the trashcan at the end of the hall, glancing from side to side as Angie quickly came to her.
"Star, what are you- stop"
She walked from door to door, glancing through the windows desperately. Angelica grabbed her arm, but without even thinking, she yanked it away.
"Star, we're not supposed to-"
She finally stopped, standing on her toes outside of a door. Her eyes widened. Inside the room was a group of doctors. His stomach was open. Tubes ran through his body. She had never seen so much blood in her life. Unconsciously, she felt herself begin to tremble. She turned to Angie with wide eyes.
Angie looked back at her with sympathy, pulling her into a hug.
"I'm sorry you had to see that, I- I was trying to stop you."
She couldn't form a word. In fact, she could hardly breathe. She began to hyperventilate. She held her hands to her chest, but couldn't manage to control herself.
"They're helping him," Angie shouted "You need to calm down!"
"How?!"
"Just- Just breathe, Star."
"No," Star shouted, her eyes welling over once more, "How am I supposed to calm down? Marco almost died! My mother wants me to come home! Nobody knows where Toffee is!"
"Star, I don't know who that is, but-"
"He's a bad guy. My mother fought him like thirty years ago and he's even stronger now."
"Well, you're safe here," Angie rushed out.
"But I'm not," Star shouted back, "Look at Marco! Clearly, he wasn't safe last night!"
He bent over and put her hands on her knees. Her breath was growing more uncontrollable by the second.
"Star," Angie began.
Star couldn't breathe.
"Star," Angie shouted, earning her attention immediately.
"You can't control everything."
Seconds passed. Star continued struggling to breathe but managed to give a response.
"But- What if- What if he died?"
"He didn't."
"But what if-"
"He didn't," Angie asserted, meeting Star's eyes with a stern expression.
Star's eyes fell to the ground. Her breath was still hard to catch, but as she straightened her back, she finally managed to take a deep breath.
Again, she stood on her toes, staring through the window at Marco's unconscious body.
"Come on, Star, we should go back to Rafael's room. We can see Marco when he's awake."
Star took a moment, her eyes lingering on Marco before she finally turned to Angelica and gave a reluctant nod. She trudged back down the hallway, her eyes on the ground until they made it back to the end of the hallway, where the red hoodie stuck out of the trash can.
For some reason, the sight made her mad. She stopped and stared at it, Angie stopping and watching her with confusion. She slowly reached for the hanging sleeve and lifted the torn hoodie from the trash.
It was covered in blood and sweat, but she couldn't bear to see it in the trash, even if Marco had several replacements.
She pulled it to her chest and walked to Angie's side. Neither said a word, even as they walked back into Rafael's room. Angie walked back to her husband's side and Star took the seat closest to the door.
From where she sat, she could see the door to Marco's room, and for hours, she stared at the door with his ruined hoody in hand. She held her wand inside the hoodie but didn't care to look down at it, even when its glow grew further and further from its typical pink hue.
…
"He's my friend! I care about him," Star shouted at her mother, who merely scoffed in return.
"Is that so? Do you really care about him?"
She nodded without hesitation. Moon furrowed her brow.
"Then you should leave him there, where he's safe."
Star opened her mouth to argue, but words escaped her. She crossed her arms and turned away with a groan.
Moon sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Star, I understand that this is difficult, but-"
She paused, Star turning around with visible frustration on her face.
"-but it's for the best that you come home."
Star's eyes blinked open, being greeted by a dimly lit room. To her side was Angie, sleeping in the small hospital bed with Rafael, but as she turned to the hallway, she saw a closed door.
Her feet worked without permission. She walked to the door and turned to Angie. Her hand found its way to the handle, and after seeing that the woman was definitely asleep, she opened the door and walked out.
She followed the same path that she had before and got to the same door as before within seconds. Like she had hours earlier, she stood on her toes and peered inside, but this time, the room was empty.
Star's eyes widened and for a moment, she began to panic. As quietly as she could manage, she ran across the hallway, going door to door in search of her best friend. Minutes passed as her search grew in speed and recklessness until she heard footsteps from across the hall.
She searched for someplace to hide. She tried to use her wand, but only green sparks flew out. She even tried to hide in a hospital room, but all of the doors were locked.
The footsteps grew closer. Seeing no other option, she tried to run back to the room that she was meant to be in, but to her chagrin, as she turned the corner, she bumped directly into another doctor.
"Ouch," Star shouted as she bounced back, landing on the tiled floor harshly.
"I'm sorry," the rotund man rushed out, reaching for her hand and helping her to her feet quickly, "I thought I heard something over here. That must've been you…"
Star nodded sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. She expected the man to scold her, to tell her the same thing that everyone else in that stupid building told her—that she needed to go back to her room—that they'd come and get her when Marco was ready, but when she met his eyes, she only saw a smile.
"Well, tell me, who exactly are you looking for?"
Star's eyes widened. Before she could even think, she shouted out.
"Darco Miaz!"
The man tilted his head with confusion, looking through a notepad he pulled from his pocket.
"Um," the man began, "There's nobody with that name here, did you mean to say something else?"
"Wait, what'd I say," she asked, genuine confusion visible on her face.
The man chuckled.
"Darco Miaz?"
"Oh Oh Oh… I meant Marco Diaz… Duh."
The man smiled, scanning the notepad once more and snapping his fingers.
"Ah ha," he said, "I can bring you to him."
Again, Star's eyes widened. In fact, her head nearly exploded when she heard it.
"Really," she shouted, bouncing with excitement.
"Well, I'd be breaking about every rule in this hospital," he chuckled, "...but I know how it feels to be in your position."
Star smiled and nodded. After a few seconds, the man turned to his notepad one final time, laughing to himself.
"You won't believe this," he said, "but he's actually right here."
He turned around and gestured for Star to follow him only to stop mere seconds later.
"Here, room 113, best view in the house."
Star tilted her head with confusion. The man stood directly in front of Rafael's room, but as Star turned to the door, the man shook his head. He turned to the side and pointed to the room next door.
Star rushed to the door and pulled it open, immediately smiling as she laid her eyes on Marco.
"I see the parents are asleep, so…" the man began, waiting for Star to turn around, "-I'll give you ten minutes before I wake them up."
Star nodded. The man winked and walked away. Within a second, Star sprung into the room. Throwing caution to the wind, she practically tackled the boy, whose eyes were barely even open.
"Marco, I'm so sorry!"
"Star, I'm so sorry!"
They practically screamed at each other at the same time, both as confused as the other when they heard the other apologize.
"It was my fault that we weren't together that night," Marco asserted.
"No, it was mine! You know? I said that I didn't even know why we were friends…"
"But-"
"But-"
Neither would give the other an inch and after several seconds of confusing silence between the two, Star threw her arms back around the boy.
"I should have been there," Star remarked, "I should have known that someone would come, I-"
"It's okay, Star," Marco interjected, "You're here now… and you told me you wouldn't leave me alone ever again."
Star's smile faded as she remembered her mother's words. She was expected back home, but how could she leave now. No. She would make good on her promise to Marco. He needed her.
"I'll keep you right here," she chuckled, pointing to her shirt pocket, "That way you'll never get hurt again, okay?"
Marco nodded, coughing and wincing in pain.
"Still hurts…" Marco remarked, patting his bruises only to wince again.
Star couldn't help but smile at his charming ignorance.
"Do you want me to go get your parents? Or the doctor?"
"No," he rushed out, gripping her forearm with both of his hands.
He chuckled, releasing her before explaining.
"I just- Can you stay for a little while?"
Star smiled once more, "I said I wouldn't leave, didn't I?"
Author's Note: So, there's chapter two. I'm really happy with what I've got here. I feel like I really nailed Star's character at some points there and I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did. I know that these first two chapters have been short, but trust me, once we get into the meat of the plot, they'll get longer.
Anyways, I don't want to keep you for too long. I hope you enjoyed it! Please feel free to leave a follow and favorite if you liked the story and I'd greatly appreciate it if you left a comment to let me know how you felt!
Follow my new Instagram starcovstheworld