As she flipped to the next photo, Star started to feel the corner of her eyes getting wet, the photo was her laying on Marco while he was in the recovery room from surgery. It was way past visiting hours, but nothing was going to stop her from getting to him.

After a date with Jackie, Marco was walking back home, it was spring break and a warm breeze was all around him.

That's when Oskar took his chance getting some revenge. It had only been a few months after the incident and he never forgot the fear that came with it.

The bandana-wearing boy planned on taking Marco down a few pegs, the only way that was going to happen was with him sneaking up. The loveable safe kid never had to worry about anyone trying to hurt him let alone trying to jump him.

Everything changed that night and not for the best reason, the street lights just shut off for a break and Marco was on the phone with Star, "Yeah it went fine… I know right?"

Star wasn't too excited about his date but still wanted to make sure he was okay. Oskar saw his chance and ran from the alley. Marco didn't even hear him coming until there was a sharp pain just behind the lower back, right side kidney area, "Hssssssss SHIT!?"

In a flash, cold steel was plunged into his body… it must have been close to his spine seeing how his spinal cord felt like it was on fire…

The person on the other side of the line heard him yell and dropped his phone to the ground, "MARCO!? MARCO?! ARE YOU OKAY?!"

Instantly Marco looked down seeing Oskar pulling out the knife and ready to jam it back in, he was able to sidestep the attacker, but was still sliced, "OH, YOU LITTLE MOTHER FUCKER!?"

Oskar doesn't say a word but lunges himself again with the knife ready to enter his pries chest. Marco could feel a wet hot slimy substance exiting the wound and knew it had to be bad if that much was already coming out.

Marco was much stronger than the teen boy who was lucky to be a hundred and twenty-five pounds when wet. The latino dashed forward locking his hand around the adversary's neck, the knife was whipping all over the place trying to land in as many blows as possible.

He was able to continue his momentum by twisting his body and delivering the back of Oskar's head into a nearby wall, as much as he wanted to continue smashing the skull in… one time was more than enough to knock the boy out.

Our injured hero went back to his phone to call 911, but his vision became blurry, his right hand went over to the wound and pulled back to his face. The street lights came back to life and he could see the dark red covering his hand and a good portion of it was now on the ground, "Fuck me running…"

Then his knees hit the ground with the rest of his body following with it, the last thing he saw was the wallpaper background on his phone. It was him putting Star in a headlock, she was laughing about it like always.

…

The little Princess immediately calls 911 when she starts to hear the fight and is on her way to find him. During the bike ride, she had to remember to thank Janna for tracking the GPS on his phone. Marco was about to be loaded up into the ambulance when she jumped off the bike and ran up yelling.

"I'm sorry miss but you-" The medic was stopped when Marco started to wave his hand, one eye closed and the other just barely open to see Star screaming out his name.

"MARCO, MARCO UBALDO DIAZ… HIS BLOOD TYPE IS O POSITIVE AND HE'S DOESN'T HAVE ANY ALLERGIES!? I'M HIS I.C.E!?" Star shouted and passed Oscar as he was being arrested.

The lights coming from the police vehicles showed too much blood on the ground and it turned her stomach upside down. Without another word, he was loaded up with Star right next to him holding his hand.

Back in the present, Star recounted the events that followed later. Oskar had been sent to juvenile detention for being caught in the act of assault with a deadly weapon, which his parents didn't seem to care about at the time. Making her understand his situation a bit as it became more obvious during the time he was accused, that his folks cared more about the money they had to pay rather than him.

Finally, his sentence was to stay in a secured juvenile facility until he reached the legal age of eighteen. She wouldn't mind since his birthday was the month after school ended so this would be her last time seeing him ever again. Marco healed up nicely and was sent to a Rehabilitation Center after leaving the Hospital, Star was always there helping anyway keeping him from falling over, the stab wound to his back damaged some of the nerves in his right leg.

"I… I can do it… Prin… Princess-" He was currently walking on a platform with his hands holding onto the railing and keeping him straight up. Star kept one hand on his chest and the other on his back, the Physical Medicine therapist was more than happy to have her during the sessions.

He was pushing himself too hard again and fell over with Star keeping him from hurting himself, "Told you, you're not ready for that…" Said the therapist.

"Why won't you stick to her plan? You'll be good as new in a few months…" Star asked never seeing this side of Marco. Yeah, he could be head strong and not willing to give up after one try. But this was different, almost like he was feeding off the pain to push himself harder.

His whole face was covered in sweat and was more than sure a few of the stitches just popped out, "I don't want to sit in that damn wheelchair all day Star… help me up and let's try it again!" There was no use in fighting him on this.

"Do whatever you want… I get paid either way." The therapist said nodded to Star to get him back onto his feet.

Jackie was having a hard time seeing him like this so she opted to give him space, it always bothered the blonde how his girlfriend only visited once at the Hospital. Her lost anyway, Star would be more than willing to help him get back to hundred and ten percent alone.

Even Janna showed up a few times to offer support, mostly her pissing him off to push himself harder and quit relying on Star doing everything.

Which earned her a punch to the arm from said blond, "I DON'T MIND TAKING CARE OF HIM!?"

Janna puts up her hands, "OUCH… okay, okay I was just kidding… overprotective much?"

"I… don't… see… you helping!?" They looked up to Marco walking without anything holding him up, he was pretty wobbly on his feet and looked ready to fall over any second.

"Just take it easy Marco…" Why in the world did she take her eyes off him to hit Janna? Star thought to herself.

The two girls watched his eyes widen and his body starts to fall forward, this point, he had been out of the Hospital for three weeks and was nowhere near ready to walk on his own. Janna stands up to help catch him, but Star already closed the gap.

Their hands were interlaced together above her head as she studied his body movement and kept him upright, "Please… take five… for me?"

Marco couldn't say no to the way she was looking up into his eyes, but his pride was on the line "I… I can keep… on…" A fighter to the end.

"Well tough luck, now sit down before I make you!" Janna had the wheelchair behind his knees.

He looks over his shoulder and back to Star, "O… Okay… can you guys please help… I think… I can't move…" A nervous chuckle slips out of him.

"Yeah, just hold on…" Surprisingly, Janna didn't have a joke for this. She makes her way to the side of his body, one hand was placed a little lower than it should be on the front of his hip. The over was just over his butt as the girls gently guide him to the chair.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch… HSSSSSSSS!" They could see the pain in his face as his eyes were shut tight.

"I'll get you some water okay, don't let him move an inch Janna!" Star had one finger pointed at the young woman's face.

She was returned with a salute, "Aye aye Captain"

The little one is gone, "Where's Jackie, Marco?" She has been meaning to get some alone time with him.

Marco knew this subject was going to come up…

Flashback

"Marco… I can't deal with this!" Jackie shouted to a barely conscious Marco.

It had been about 2 weeks since the incidents, the male had a breathing tube down his throat and all his limbs felt like they weighed about a thousand pounds each. All he could do was look at her with one eye as Jackie paced back and forth in the small room.

"I-I-I know we got something great between us, but Marco! I'm too young to deal with this… if you're going… going to be stuck like this…" She said with no concerns about how he would take her words.

This was more of a chance for Jackie to get something off her chest, it was better that he couldn't talk back, "I know you'll get better… one day. I just can't say for sure if I'll be here for you then…"

If Marco could pull that damn tube out himself, he would grab Jackie and swear to her that everything was going to be fine. All he could muster up was his vision becoming blurry as tears swelled in his eyes.

Jackie stopped and glanced at him, "This has to be hard to hear from your girlfriend… so maybe we can just be friends… for now?"

Flashback End

"Oh, she's doing something really important right now…" Marco said as the memories replayed in his mind of their last talk.

"Uh huh… that's the story you're sticking with?" Janna could smell a lie a mile away when it came to him.

"Story? That's the truth, why do I need to lie about where my girlfriend is?" Marco was pushing himself too hard just for her, even if he wasn't sure if she would be willing to take him back.

"I'm just asking, this whole thing with you going into the ER happened a bit over a month ago and I haven't seen much of her here." She lifts her arms to scan the room for anyone else.

"… don't worry about it, I know she's doing something important right now." Damn… why did Janna always have to be right?

"Bullshit… more like doing somebody else right now!" Marco wasn't the only person she spied on…

"What did you say-" He was cut off with Star running up to him with a bottle of water.

"Drink up buddy, we're not done yet!" She had to put on a fake happy persona after crying around the corner for a few minutes.

The rest of his recovery went better than anyone thought it would go, he was able to walk to the podium to grab his high school certificate all by himself. Marco had to beg Star to go back into the audience saying that he could do it on his own.

Her heart ached when he stumped down the stairs, but Janna was there to make sure he was fine, there was even a photo of Star squeezing the life out of him in a hug as Janna grabbed his head and licked along his face.

At some point, Jackie had come back into the picture, much to Star's demise.

Star couldn't stop laughing as she whipped the tears from her eyes looking at the next few photos.

So this was something I wanted to fix from the first time the story was posted. That whole flashback with Jackie pretty much putting their relationship on pause, it was something needed for the upcoming chapters.