"So, tell me all about it, Marco. And don't slip out on the details. What exactly, happened last time?"

Jackie sat across from Marco at a small restaurant. Or, maybe it wasn't a restaurant. It was exceedingly hard to tell when you were in Corag, a dimension devoted to being fans of Earth culture, though they'd never been. Coragans were mostly humanoid, but they had four eyes and purple skin, and they spoke most Earth languages pretty well. They had crude copies of cars, mimicked art and music styles, they did a wonderful job recreating food, and they seemed to really dig the architecture, even if they couldn't get it just right. For one thing, the walls of the eatery were pure glass but the floor was pure copper. The tables the patrons were seated at were rounded wheels of polished aluminum, decorated with some sort of cheesy picnic ensemble. The whole establishment seemed like a fast food restaurant put through a sheet metal factory and then a funhouse mirror. But the food was certainly worth the experience.

Marco set his burger down and wiped his chin, taking a moment to formulate a response. Wincing slightly, he gave Jackie a sheepish smile. "A lot of...drama? I didn't notice it at the time. But looking back on it knowing what I know now, it was all really dramatic."

Jackie gave him an acknowledging nod and took a sip of water. "Okay, I can vibe to that. But what happened? What was so dramatic, Marco? This stuff's interesting!"

"I don't really see how," he scoffed, shaking his head and shrugging. "It was like some really uncomfortable sitcom."

She leaned closer and met his eyes. "Do you not feel comfortable talking about it? I know I said you guys owe me an explanation, but you don't have to if-"

"No no! It's fine, really. Just, kinda have a hard time letting it all go." He made a point to avert her gaze, instead opting to look out the window wall at the floating cities in the skyline.

Jackie nodded and leaned back, giving him a sympathetic smile and looking out at the same massive floating structures against the purple sky. "You don't have to let it go, you know. Maybe none of us lived through it, but you did, Diaz. Those experiences made you who you are. Letting it go is the same as thinking it never happened, which for you, isn't true."

"But it is, Jackie. It never happened. And it's not fair that I treat you differently because of it. You're my friend, and I want to see you as someone I connect with. Not just an ex that I let down in another life."

Marco slumped his shoulders some, looking down at the burger he had hardly touched. Jackie noticed his shifting expression and decided to lean forward and take his hand. He recoiled slightly, but she held on and smiled at him reassuringly. "Marco. You don't treat me badly, and you haven't let me down. I won't judge you for anything, and I won't look at you differently. I want to know what you've been through, so I can help you move forward. For us, and for yourself." Jackie laughed at his softening look of acceptance and poked his forehead. "I want to understand you better. So I can be a better friend for you, dork."

He scoffed, shaking his head before meeting her eyes and smiling genuinely. "You know, that's what I'm supposed to say."

"Well then let's both understand each other. Tell me about what happened."

Marco nodded and leaned back, tapping the table lightly as he spoke. "Okay soo, it's kind of a long story, and a little embarrassing. I've sorta had a crush on you since kindergarten. And I had this whole, crazy step by step process to get you to like me. Last time, it wasn't until Star showed up and helped me out that I actually talked to you."

Jackie nodded, clearly following, and clearly interested. "Seems you were a little shy, Marco. Glad you found your wild side though."

"Ohhh, you have nooo idea. Like, this one time, Stars ex, Tom, cursed me with some neck parasite that told you all my innermost secrets. This other time, at the first sleepover, we played truth or punishment and I was forced to tell you about my crush." He paused, taking a breath to gauge her reaction. It was surprising. "But it was cool though, you didn't treat me differently, you didn't judge, it was really cool. A little while later, we started dating, after you asked me to go with you to the school dance. But, idk. Things got complicated that night."

Jackie frowned and leaned closer, looking around the restaurant. "Complicated, with Star? What happened?"

"Well, we decided to skip the dance and just hang out, so we-"

"HEY GUYS! WHAT DID I MISS?!"

Star jumped clear over the table and landed smoothly in the booth between Jackie and Marco. She took a sip of her leftover milkshake from earlier and smiled wide at them both expectantly. Jackie and Marco exchanged a look with Marco chuckling nervously.

"Uh, well ya know, just uhm. Talking about the other timeline and junk. How were your parents?"

Star shrugged at him and leaned back, eying the decor nonchalantly. "They were fine I guess. Just wanted to talk about how things were going. Apparently, there's some weird magic stuff going on with everyone, but mom had a meeting to go to before she could explain, so it's whatevs." She turned to Jackie and when she noticed her surprised expression, darted glances between her and Marco. "I um. Interrupted something didn't I."

Marco shrugged and nodded, turning back to Jackie. "I was just telling Jackie about, the seance night with the spellbook, if you remember that."

Stars eyes grew wide and she once more threw darting glances between them. "Oh. Ohhhh...yeeaaah... Haha, thaaat night. Yeeeaaah."

Marco nodded and continued. "Well, we skipped the dance and hung out in the park, went skateboarding, that kinda fun stuff. But, um. Well...things got complicated, like I said. I didn't know back then, but Star was...kinda watching."

Jackie's eyes grew wide at the obvious insinuation of jealousy, and intrusion, before turning to glance at Star. But to her surprise, Stars expression was absolutely mortified. Star choked out a quiet whisper, staring at Marco in shock. "You….. KNEW!?"

"Well yeah, I mean not right away. But after I found the spying spell, and the weird skateboard accident, I kinda put it together that you might have been watching us."

"Why didn't you say anything?!"

"How do I bring that up?! 'Hey Star in another timeline I think you spied on my date with Jackie and blew up her skateboard'?"

Star slammed face first into the table, nearly knocking over her milkshake in the process. "Uuggghhhh. I'm so sorryyy! I was just, SUPER jealous and I was making excuses to watch you guys and I ruined your date! I don't know what I was thinking I was just confused and-"

Jackie leaned over and patted Stars head, smiling gently. "Hey, girl. It's alright, past is in the past. Or, a different future is in the other future? I don't know. My point is, don't worry about it. I'd probably do the same thing if I was in your shoes. Anyway, what happened next, Marco?"

He looked nervously at Star and went on. "Well, the skateboard was ruined, but we kinda...kissed. It was...fine, but I saw the blood moon in the sky right after. I think it was a warning that Star was in trouble, because an evil bird monster was attacked her and Janna and stole her spellbook." He looked over at his girlfriend, who was doing her best to become one with the table, and continued.

"It was a crazy night, but things got better from there. You and I worked out pretty well, for a while, but it was getting more and more obvious that something was wrong with Star, and I put my friendship with her over my relationship with you. After a while, I started putting you first, and...i dunno...enjoying myself more indiscriminately. There'd be kisses, hugs, dates, I would just do normal boyfriend stuff all the time and I didn't notice how it was affecting Star. I had a hard time balancing my relationship and friendship."

Star groaned into the table and held her hands on the top of her head, shaking it in embarrassment. Jackie just continued to listen intently, blushing slightly as the story went on.

"But uh, there was this song day, where some dumb singer blurted out to all of Mewni that Star liked me, and it really strained our friendship even more. Last, we had a big end of the school year party, and Star announced that she had to leave for Mewni."

Stars face was now crimson as she stared blankly ahead, her lips tight and her hands doing anything but sitting still.

"She did leave, but before she did she told me, and announced to everyone at the party, that she DID have a crush on me. And then she left to fight Toffee, probably to never return. I followed her to Mewni and we beat him, and I spent a month there helping fix up the place."

Jackie nodded, but then held her chin. "Wait so, we were dating, Star fell in love with you, you were clueless and she was upset, and she left after she told everyone that she liked you?"

Marco thought for a moment and nodded. "Yeah, she was pretty messed up by everything, and I wasn't exactly helping. I guess I was focusing more on making our relationship work. I was a bad friend to her for a while and I didn't think about how she felt or how it was affecting her until it was too late. And, I chased after her without explaining anything to you, even though we were dating."

Jackie shook her head and smiled, rolling her eyes before pushing the very flustered Star closer to him. "Don't even worry about it, dude. You needed to make sure Star was okay. You guys are basically inseparable so I'm sure I understood at least a little bit. It sounds like she was going through a lot anyway."

"Still. I should have explained things to you, and made sure you were okay with it. One of a bunch of times I was a bad boyfriend."

Star continued to say nothing, far too engrossed in the exchange to work up the courage to interject. Jackie again shook her head and leaned forward, flicking Marcos' nose. "You're a lot of things, Diaz. A fighter, a good friend, a loyal partner, a smart kid, and a true gentleman. But a bad boyfriend? Not a chance, man."

"Jackie, when I got back from Mewni I treated you terribly. I made everything about me, went crazy about an imaginary knight status, never let you talk about yourself, and I put Mewni over you."

"And how did I handle that? Probably that dramatic thing huh?"

"Yeeaah, you let me down easy. You told me that my heart didn't belong on Earth and that my best friend wasn't you. So we broke up, and that was the last time I saw you."

Jackie patted his hand and leaned back, taking a sip of her own caramel milkshake. "Looks like alternate timeline me was right about you, then. Gotta say, Diaz: I'm too smart for my own good."

Marco tilted his head and looked at her curiously. "What do you mean? Right about what?"

"Right about your heart, man! You loved Star, even if you didn't know it yet. What you needed was to go back, and stay there for a while, clear your head and find out what your heart needed. Your best friend was probably missing you like crazy."

"But aren't you mad that I-"

"Lemme stop you there, Marco. You handled things pretty poorly, I'll admit. But you never wanted to hurt me. You missed Star and Mewni and didn't know it, so I can't be mad that you were projecting a little. It sounds like you did your best with what you had. Don't beat yourself up, alright?"

Marco shook his head and slumped his shoulders, staring at the burger on his plate. "I should have treated you better, Jackie. I didn't deserve you."

She looked at him with wide eyes, taken aback, but let her expression shift into one of reassurance and care. "Maybe not, Diaz. But you know what? I think you needed it to find your way to where you belong: on Mewni, with Star. Though, I'm sure it stunk for me, watching you run off with your roommate," she started, sticking out her tongue and laughing. "But seriously. I'm happy for you guys. And like I said, Marco, I don't hold anything against you. You came here and were honest with me and from the sound of it, you really care about me. Past, future, and present."

Star leaned forward and looked at Jackie, a light shameful blush spreading across her cheeks. "And, what about me? I basically stole your man after pining for him while you two were dating. Plus there's, all the stuff I did to you guys…"

"Star," Jackie began, putting her hands on the princess' shoulders. "Do you love Marco?"

Stars expression went blank, albeit still flushed. "Yes? I mean we spent five years as mercenaries before deciding we wanted to be together for real, but of course I do!"

"Well, people do crazy stuff when they're in love, Star. Like love game shows, or spying, or over the top confessions. I mean I'm not thrilled about it, but c'mon girl. You two are soul mates. Literally! I can't blame you for letting your heart do the talking. Besides, I feel like it's better this way. Nobody gets hurt, and nobody gets left behind. Right?"

Stars eyes had grown a bit watery, so with a sniff, she brought Jackie into a tight hug. "Right. Thank you so much, Jackie!"

"Hey hey, don't worry about it. You guys are my friends. So as long as I get to go on some adventures every now and again, I'm cool with how things turned out."

Marco smiled wide and fist bumped Jackie. The two giggled for a moment before meeting eyes and sharing a look of agreement. "Thank you, Jackie. Really. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it, knucklehead. Just try not to mess this one up too, okay?"

"Deal."

O - O - O - O - O - O

Star and Marco sat in her room, idly playing Super Crush Bros. as the afternoon went by. Lunch had been, eye-opening to say the least, but it felt like a bit of weight had been taken off their shoulders. Jackie seemed happy with how things turned out and even wanted to go on some adventures in the future. Things were looking marvelously better between them now that all the complications of another timeline were put to bed.

Star put down her controller after creaming Marco for about the tenth time that hour. He stared at the television with a thick grimace, but accepted a short kiss nonetheless. She leaned back and sighed contentedly, breaking the silence with a question.

"Do you ever think about how it might have worked out if I never pined after you?" She asked.

Marco blinked and sat back much the same, watching the special cutscene for a flawless victory, or in his case, defeat. "What do you mean?"

She sighed and leaned over him, resting her head against his chest and listening to his heartbeat. "With Jackie. If I never got in the way. Or if I never started liking you."

"You never got in the way, Star," he answered softly, running his hand through her silky hair. "You just, i don't know. Changed your mind. I made the decision to do what I did on Earth, and I made the decision to follow my heart to you."

She looked up at him with curiosity across her face as she laid on her back across his lap. "What do you mean? Changed my mind about what?"

"Do you remember that night at the blood moon, what you said the first time?"

Star thought for a moment before shaking her head. Marco nodded and sat back, closing his eyes as he held Stars hand gingerly. "After everything went down, I made a show about how I warned you and how I saved the day, but you put your foot down. You said 'I don't need a hero. I need a friend.' And I took that to heart."

Star sat up and stared at him, the memory coming back to her about that specific interaction on the balcony. "Well, I mean, I didn't mean romantically, Marco! I didn't see you that way. I just meant that I wanted you to treat me like a friend, not like you owed me anything or needed to watch out for me."

"Oh. Well, at the time I took it that you didn't see me like how I saw you."

There was a beat of silence before Star spoke up, keeping her eyes locked on him. "What do you mean 'how you saw me'?" Marco smiled at the ceiling and spoke with soft conviction as he rubbed her hand with his thumb. "I liked you, Star. From the beginning. But, that night, you sorta made it clear that you didn't want that from me. So, I went back to liking Jackie, hoping I'd just go back to normal. Later on, you started liking me back, and it got hard to choose what I wanted for myself."

Star mimicked his laid back pose and stared up at the ceiling, frowning to herself at the misunderstanding. "So when I told you I liked you and we went back to Mewni, you got confused between being on Earth, and being with me?" she asked. "Marco, that's still my fault! I shouldn't have confused you or-"

Marco yanked on her hand and pulled her into a kiss, slow and tedious, but soft and nourishing. The two held close to one another for a moment before Marco pulled away and looked at her with a loving expression. "You didn't do anything wrong. You just grew feelings of your own, and I chose to follow my heart again. I'm happy how things turned out and I wouldn't change this for the world."

Star smiled and pulled him into a tight hug, wrapping her arms around him as the game continued to prompt for another round. "Well, for what it's worth, sorry for taking so long, Macho Man."

They sat in silence for a while, enjoying the warm embrace of one another before Star spoke up. "Hey, wait a sec. You said from the beginning. Are you saying you've liked me since day one??"

Marco now looked uneasily at the ceiling as his cheeks flushed. "Well, I mean...I know it sounds dumb. But...yeah. I've felt this way since we first became friends. And my feelings for you just kept growing over time." He stopped and heard a heavy breath next to him. Turning to face Star, he found her eyes wide and a massive grin plastered across her face.

"Marcooooo! That is soooo cute!!!"

His cheeks flushed further as he pulled away bashfully, glaring at the floor. Star simply continued to fawn over him as he mockingly played upset with her, and after a moment of resistance, he gave in to a torrent of hugs and kisses. "Okay okay," he started, the two giggling as he sat up again. "You're pretty cute too, Star. When you're not going on a magic-induced rampage, anyway"

She playfully pouted and turned away from him. "Hmph. Fine then. Thought you liked my crazy warrior moments. But fine then, no more warrior princess for you. You'll have to find some different magic princess to be soul bonded with."

She had hardly finished her ultimatum before Marco dove over her, showering her in a return of kisses. "I didn't mean it, Star. I promise. You have no idea how awesome it is to see you go on a rampage! Plus, I can only be bonded with you."

She paused for a moment and looked up at him, enjoying his cute smile and now slightly disheveled hair. She leaned up and kissed his nose gently before receding into his embrace again. "Hey, Marco?"

"Yeah?"

"You ever wonder why we got picked? For this whole blood moon thing, and Vartek?"

Marco gave it some thought, holding his chis while Star began to enjoy his more poignant thinking face. The way his eyebrows scrunched up, and his lips tightened. Adorable.

"Maybe because we're good for each other? Like, we match well and the bond is easy for us since we're already best friends? And we did sorta literally steal the spotlight. That, or it's just destiny. But that's bologna."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, BOLOGNA?!" Glossaryck blurted from behind, startling both teens into a heap of tangled arms, legs, and shrieks. He stifled a chuckle and waited for the chaos to settle. Once they had calmed down, they both stared at him incredulously.

"What?" He prompted before opening a pudding cup and chowing down. "You don't honestly think we just chose you at random, did you?" Marco stood up and threw his arms in the air indignantly as he stepped closer. "WELL, YEAH! I mean, I wasn't even supposed to be there, Star didn't even feel that way about me at the time, and nothing about that night was planned out! It all sorta just happened. Nothing about that seems like destiny, you know!"

Star sat idly, remembering the completely random series of events that transpired that night, agreeing with Marco wholeheartedly. Glossaryck simply floated to the couch and sat down, slowly eating his pudding. "No no no, my boy. Think about it. Didn't you realize how perfectly things seemed to align to get you to the dance? Star leaving her bell, you having the perfect costume, she not noticing you, and you interjecting at the exact perfect time to be chosen?"

"No, not really? I mean, I just figured it was all random! Are you telling me no matter what, we were always going to be bound?" Marco scoffed, glaring at the small book elf who only shrugged in response.

"Yes and no. Yes, it was planned since forever for you two to dance. But no, she picked you two because that's just how the universe always works out. We don't decide the rules, so yes and no, sweet prince."

Star crossed her arms and glared at him, raising an eyebrow. "Well, which is it? Was it set in stone or not? And how would you even know about who gets chosen? Does she tell you?"

Glossaryck rolled his eyes and finished his pudding slowly. "In a way, it was, Princess. She never makes an exception with you two, given your, future exploits. You're always given the choice, and almost always, you both approve. You kids still pledged to be bound in soul for eternity, after all. Even as friends."

"Hold on," Marco interrupted, taking a seat beside Glossaryck. "So you know how everything pans out for us, and what's gonna happen, but you guys didn't stop Vartek?"

"That's right. You could say he's a little bit out of our jurisdiction."

Marco tried to draw in a breath, but he couldn't find the words that would accurately match his confused stupor.

Once against Glossaryck rolled his eyes and floated to the center of the room, smiling as smugly as ever. "Because Vartek is from a different timeline than you or Star, Marco. "

Both teens stared at Glossaryck with skepticism and suspicion evident on their faces. "Different timeline? I thought it was just this one. How does that even work?" Marco asked as Star sat beside him.

"Okay," Glossaryck began, "Let me explain." He extended his palm and produced a tall sandwich with a dozen layers of toppings each spaced by an inch of open air. "This is the universe. Each layer is a dimension, like Earth's, Mewnis, Vintals, Corag's, even Quest buy. Each layer occupies the same space in the universe in parallel with one another, but on different planes of reality."

Marco and Star both seemed to be following, so he continued. "Cutting a dimensional portal allows you to step from one location to another, but also to step from one dimension to another. The bread is the boundary of the universe, with an olive to represent a tavern somewhere, but I digress. Here is how timelines work."

He extended his palm again and more identical sandwiches appeared, each in varying states of freshness. One was even just two slices of bread. Another was moldy beyond recognition. "Each of these sandwiches is your universe, but at different times. Each with different properties and events taking place. There's an infinite number of them out there, and they each have small or large differences to set them apart. There's even one where you meet an interdimensional criminal and befriend some Earth scientists. You two are in every one of these universes, and almost always, you fall in love."

Star raised her hand and Marco followed in quick succession, but Glossaryck sighed impatiently. "Yes, sometimes you don't, but it happens almost every time. We don't talk about the others too much." They lowered their hands and continued listening as he went on.

"So, Marcos home timeline is further ahead, and likely has far different events taking place. That's why you know so much about future events, but only to a certain point."

Marco pursed his lips in thought for a moment, weighing Glossaryck words carefully. "So, what happened to me in that timeline if you took me away?"

"We didn't. We copied your memories and placed them in the you of this dimension. If we just took you, you'd have already been soul bound to your Star, and thus, wouldn't have been bound to this one."

"So, I'm not actually from the future, I just think I am," he sighed, taking the realization slowly before moving to Glossarycks next point. "But if I've never danced with this Star, then how come-"

"Because you remember it. It's not a literal double bonding, just that you have danced under her rays twice. Which for you, you have."

Star stood up and crossed her arms at her mentor, staring at him with a questioning expression. "Then how come I have some of those memories?"

"That, I'm not entirely sure about. We only sent back Marco, so you should have been completely the same."

Star slumped and sat back down, pouting to herself. "That doesn't help at all."

"No, I suppose it doesn't. But anyway, Vartek is from a different timeline. I won't go into details on what happened to set it on that course, but we couldn't stop it. We can only do our best to clean up and contain its changes."

Marco looked at Star and then to Glossaryck, shaking his head after a moment of silence. "So, what do we need to do then? To clean up? Just...kill him? How do we make sure this timeline doesn't end up like his?"

Glossaryck floated closer to them and smiled casually, as if everything he had just said actually made sense. "Keep doing what you've been doing, and try not to alter things too much. Speaking of which: Star, we need to fix your wand."

Marco stood and eyed Glossaryck carefully, not giving away his emotions as he spoke. "Glossaryck, I know you're lying."

He stepped closer but the blue wizards tell was even better than his own. Glossaryck simply cocked an eyebrow and held a straight face as he held Marcos gaze. "Lying about what, my boy? I feel like I've been exceptionally helpful today, given your recent pudding purchase."

Marco scoffed, "I know you sent back Stars memories too. Or at least tried. So what really happened?" he asked, his voice turning suspicious and wary.

Star just stared at them both. On one hand, she could agree that Glossaryck had been surprisingly helpful, but on the other, Marco had a point. Her teacher shook his head after a moment of silence and floated up to eye level with Marco.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. So if you're done learning, and if you're actually out of pudding; Star? Come along. We have work to do."

She stood up and walked over to Marco, taking his hand. "I want him to come with me this time. I almost died last time, so I'm not taking any chances."

Glossaryck rolled his eyes and floated closer to them both, gaining a small grin as he stopped two feet away. "Very well then. Time for a field trip into Stars wand. And just because you ignored me last time, Star; don't talk to your other selves, don't break anything, no smooching, you're just after-"

"Yeah yeah yeah, find Toffees finger, get out of the wand before my other selves catch up, no smooches. I can follow at least two of those rules, Glossy, don't worry!"

Glossaryck pulled the skin on the sides of his face down as he groaned heavily. "I really don't want to do this again. But, no time like the present. We're here."

To be continued in: Study session Pt. II

AUTHORS NOTE

Well, this took waaaaay longer than it should have, but if you're reading this when it came out, given what the shows been doing, can ya blame me? Hope you enjoyed the chapter everyone! Sorry if it's a lot of exposition but these chapters are gearing up for stuff to come.

Like I've said before, this is my first fic, so if the writing styles change frequently, or the content comes out in different paces, I'm really sorry. I'm just trying to get a feel for what works best for my productivity and comfort. Bear with me, okay? Promise it'll get better as I go on, even as far as I am now. I'm not a pro, this is a hobby, that I enjoy and want to get better at. I appreciate all of your feedback and suggestions. New Yorktown, Celestial, D4RK, six string, Mr. Ursine, Noobl2, Azure, Allen, and Sugar queen, just to name a few: Thank you for your continued support, suggestions, and critiques. You keep me going with this, so thank you so much.

Enjoy the rest of your day, and thanks for reading, everyone! Next chapter coming soon, moving closer to the ungodly event that will be the season 2 ending of Forgotten Ventures. Toodle doo everyone! BUH BYYYEEE!!!

~Mr. Ronald Reagan