Author's Note:
Hello all! I'm back with another chapter! It's a shorter one, but believe me, no word is wasted. This is probably the most fun chapter I've written yet and there's a whole lotta plot jammed into this one. I won't spoil anything here, but I'm excited for you all to read. So, I guess there's no reason for me to hold you up here. Enjoy!
…
Chapter Nine: Secrets
"Janna, what am I supposed to do?!" Star shouted. "How was I supposed to know I was in love with him? It wasn't even that obvious!"
Janna quirked her brow with an I told you so smirk.
"First of all, no more questioning me. I know everything. Second, there's nothing you can do, and third, you definitely owe me, so you better tell me how you figured it out."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE'S NOTHING I CAN DO? BUT-"
"Well, there may be something, but-"
"REALLY?!"
"... but first, how did you figure it out? You owe me, I told you."
"Finefinefine," she began, her mouth moving faster than her brain. "My demon ex-boyfriend took me to a ball, but I could only think of Marco. Then, when Tom tried to bind our souls behind my back, he came and stopped him at the last second."
"There. Good enough? Now tell me-"
"Demon ex-boyfriend?" Janna questioned, Star's face flushing white in an instant.
"YOU DIDN'T HEAR THAT!" Star shouted as she sprinted down the hall, disappearing for only two seconds before turning back, realizing that her class was in the opposite direction.
Janna sighed.
"Yep, now I have to know."
She scanned from side to side down the lengths of the hall. Ferguson and Alfonzo were gone, likely skipping, so her options were few, but as her eyes perused through the masses, she found her target.
"Jackie," she exclaimed with monotonous enthusiasm, wrapping her arm around the girl without warning. She flinched but quickly eased up as she met Janna's eyes.
"Oh, what's up, Jan?" she questioned with confusion.
"I need your help," Janna stated sassily, her arms crossed. "We're gonna go interrogate Marco."
"Oh god," Jackie remarked, her face anxious. "Do you think that Marco's-"
"No, he's not cheating on you, Jackie. God, it's like you forget who you're dating," Janna interjected, chuckling. "It's Star. She's withholding valuable information from me."
Jackie quirked her brow, and for about thirty seconds, Janna ignored her, but eventually, she caved.
"Jeez, Jackie, what is it?"
"What kind of 'valuable information' are we talkin'?"
"It doesn't matter …."
Jackie crossed her arms, raising her eyebrow even further than before.
"..."
"OH MY GOD! She won't tell me about her ex, Detective Thomas. There, you happy?"
Jackie took a moment, grasping her chin as she contemplated. She took only five seconds, but she could've fooled most people into thinking she was considering not helping.
"Good enough for me," Jackie remarked, smirking.
"Good," Janna said. "Now, let's go."
Janna grabbed her slightly taller friend by the collar and dragged her across the hall to where Marco stood.
He watched as they walked over, his face initially annoyed until he spotted his girlfriend.
"Oh, hey Jackie," Marco greeted, blushing. "... and Janna …."
His enthusiasm was lacking, but Janna wasn't going to be denied. She pushed Marco against the locker behind him, imposingly planting her palm above his shoulder.
He squirmed, but likely out of fear, he didn't fight back.
"Now, you beautiful nerd, tell us about Star's ex!"
"What did you just call me-"
"CAN IT, DIAZ!"
He gulped, and understanding Janna's approach, Jackie intervened.
"Come on, Marco," she began with a sweet tone. "You can tell me anything."
She batted her eyelashes at him and watched as sweat dripped from his forehead.
Janna giggled devilishly, backing away as Marco stared at the floor in contemplation.
"I-" Marco muttered, the two girls brimming with excitement.
"... I don't know what you're talking about," he said, his head hung low as he turned away from the girls and walked to class.
"Welp," Janna said with a sigh. "He's obviously lying."
"Yeah, but it's not like we can force him to tell. You know what? Why don't we just ask Star herself?"
"I already tried that, but like always, she vanished."
"She does do that," Jackie admitted, turning away as she pondered.
"Maybe we should just leave it alone then," Jackie suggested earnestly.
Janna scoffed.
"Not a chance," she replied, pausing as the bell rang. Again, she sighed.
"Meet me out front after class …."
…
"So let me get this straight," Jackie began with a deadpan expression. "You want me to stalk my boyfriend …."
Janna nodded.
"... and you want to follow him home?"
Janna shook her head.
"No, we'll wait until he's far enough from the school so nobody can protect him. Then we'll question him again …."
She paused for several seconds, Jackie quirking her brow.
"... THEN we'll follow him home if he still doesn't answer to my satisfaction."
"You're nuts, Jan."
Janna nodded, smirking.
"I guess I don't have anything better to do …."
"Yeah, yeah, I love you too, Jackie, but look," Janna remarked, gesturing toward Marco, who was oddly walking alone.
The short-black-haired girl's mischievous smirk returned as she deviously strolled in his direction.
Jackie scoffed but still came to Janna's side, walking by her side as the duo kept a healthy distance from the boy.
After a few short minutes of watching Marco, the pseudo-detectives determined that they'd gotten far enough from the school, increasing their pace to finally complete their mission.
…
"Janna, what am I supposed to do?!" Star shouted. "How was I supposed to know I was in love with him? It wasn't even that obvious!"
Janna raised her brow, but Star's anxiety only grew.
"First of all," Janna began, getting Star's attention. "No more questioning me. I know everything. Second, there's nothing you can do, and third, you definitely owe me, so you better tell me how you figured it out."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE'S NOTHING I CAN DO?! BUT-"
"Well, there may be something, but-"
"REALLY?!" Star questioned with every fiber of enthusiasm she had in her.
"... but first, how did you figure it out? You owe me, I told you."
"Finefinefine," she began, her mouth moving faster than her brain. "My demon ex-boyfriend took me to a ball, but I could only think of Marco. Then, when Tom tried to bind our souls behind my back, he came and stopped him at the last second."
"There. Good enough? Now tell me-"
"Demon ex-boyfriend?" Janna questioned, Star's face flushing white in an instant.
"YOU DIDN'T HEAR THAT!" Star shouted as she sprinted down the hall.
She reached the end of the hall before she realized that her class was in the opposite direction, so covering her face, she sprinted past Janna again with embarrassment.
Once Janna was out of sight, she ducked into the first bathroom she saw, locking the door behind her as she caught her breath.
"Close one," she remarked before walking to the sink and leaning over it. "For Mewni's sake, I need to control myself."
"Heh, you think?" Glossaryck jeered, floating out of her bag and teasingly flying around her head.
"Come on, did you have to come out right now?"
"Nope," Glossaryck said, smiling. "Felt like it."
Star groaned.
"What am I supposed to do? Marco's driving me crazy!"
"Well," Glossaryck began. "You could always just … forget about him for now?"
Star groaned even louder than before.
"You could get rid of your competition …."
"NOT AN OPTION!" Star shouted, palming her face.
"You could-"
plop
Star's face lingered in her hand for several seconds before she glanced to where Glossaryck was before, then to the floor, where he lay, his face discombobulated and his body strewn about.
"Um … Glossaryck?" Star questioned, kneeling beside him slowly before poking his motionless body.
She sighed, shaking her head.
"This … can't be good."
She reached back into her bag, pulled out her small, portable mirror, and opened it.
Inside was a keypad, into which she entered 6666, and in only two seconds, her mother's face appeared where the mirror reflected before.
"MOMINEEDHELPGLOSSARYCKISPASSEDOUT!"
Moon stared through the mirror with zero amusement in her face. She tilted her head slightly, and after a couple of seconds, Star straightened her back, took a deep breath, and started again.
"Mother," she sassed, doing her best to stay calm. "I am in need of assistance, as Glossaryck is passed out right now."
"What?!" Moon shouted back. She held her mirror away from herself and chattered to someone, but Star could neither tell what she was saying nor who she was talking to.
"Mom?" Star questioned, her hand trembling as Glossaryck lay in her palm.
She continued talking. If anything, the mirror only got further.
"Mom," Star called again, her anxiety only worsening with every passing moment.
Still, her mother remained distant, her face panicked as she continued to keep her daughter in the dark.
"MOM!" Star screamed, closing her eyes.
In an instant, she was beside her mother, the room silent as the great Magical High Commission stared at her from every direction.
She stood at the center of an ovular table, facing her mother, whose panic seemed to only grow in person.
Equally panicked was every member of the commission. First, to the left of her mother was Lekmet, a goat-man who served as the group's leader while being its second-eldest member.
Beside him was, funnily enough, the group's youngest and least mature member, whom Star hadn't personally met before, Rhombulus. He was headstrong and looked to be out of patience.
"Um… Hi?" Star said, chuckling nervously as her mother sighed.
Rhombulus groaned, turning to Lekmet.
"Come on, Lekmet!" he shouted. "Are we seriously just going to sit here and do nothing?! Clearly, the princess is responsible for the fritz! She must've killed Glossaryck!"
Star opened her mouth to argue, but a voice from the opposite side of the table came to her defense.
"Shut up, you dumb rock," shouted Heckapoo, the creator of the scissors that sat in her pocket. "She hasn't even gotten to explain herself yet!"
"Yes," agreed the final and the oldest member, Omnitraxus Prime, who controlled time in all aspects. "Only time can tell whether your accusations hold any weight, brother."
Rhombulus crossed his snake arms and turned away, Lekmet bleating at him angrily while the Queen merely palmed her face.
"Enough!" she shouted, silencing the room in an instant.
Seconds passed as she reveled in the silence before finally gesturing to her daughter.
"Now, please," she began. "Please explain what happened. You can start with why Glossaryck is so… limp."
"I-" Star stammered. "I don't know, I just-"
"See!" Rhombulus interrupted. "She's already lying!"
Lekmet screamed in Rhombulus's direction, and again, he crossed his arms, pouting as all in the room glared in his direction.
"Now, Star, what do you mean you don't know?" Moon questioned.
"Yeah, girl," Heckapoo piled on. "You have to know something."
"Well-" Star started again, struggling to find words. She turned to Heckapoo, scanning her from top to bottom, her eyes lighting up as an idea came to her.
"I know you look great!" she exclaimed with enthusiasm. "Have you been working out?!"
Heckapoo nodded with amusement, but before the ash-skinned woman could reply, Omnitraxus took control of the room.
"Princess!" he called with sober gravity. "You must divulge any important information you have! I know we don't have time for pleasantries!"
The room fell silent once more to the point that as Star took one final deep breath, one could hear the exact moment she stopped inhaling.
"Okay," Star started again, her tone solemn. "I don't know what happened."
She paused, but this time, even Rhombulus remained silent.
"Me and Glossaryck were talking about- it doesn't matter. We were talking. He was floating around me like always, but suddenly, he just …."
She gestured to the ground.
"He just … fell. I didn't touch him. I didn't even see it happen. I just heard him fall and called you right away."
As soon as she stopped, the table started to buzz with mumbles that she couldn't hope to decipher. Her eyes darted in circles as she hoped to get another word in, but with every second, their mutterings grew and grew more overwhelming until it finally became too much.
"WHAT IS HAPPENING?!" she practically screamed, the room falling painfully silent just as it had before.
All eyes froze on her as she held Glossaryck in her hand, and after a few seconds, she heard Heckapoo snap.
She turned toward the sound, and Heckapoo's face was full of confusion, but again, she snapped, a portal opening behind her. She turned toward her mother; before she could make eye contact, the woman forcefully pushed her through the portal.
"MOM!" she screamed as she tumbled through the portal, landing harshly on her back.
She struggled to breathe, her head and heart racing as she stared at Earth's sky.
"Um … Star?" Marco questioned from beneath her.
"Marco?" Star replied, equally confused. "How did …."
She finally took in her surroundings, the world seeming to stop spinning as she met Janna and Jackie's panicked eyes.
Seconds passed as she continued trying to catch her breath.
"Heh," Star chuckled, panicked. "... Hi."
…
Author's Note:
So there you go. Another chapter down! Like I said in the first note, I really enjoyed writing this one, so I hope you enjoyed reading it just as much! Either way, I'd love to hear your feedback! is still bugged, so I have no idea how many people are reading the story, let alone whether they're enjoying it. So, please, feel free to leave a comment, even if you're on Ao3, because I'd LOVE to hear from you.
As usual, your support is GREATLY appreciated and also as per usual, I hope you have a good time while you await the next chapter. Until then, stay safe!
~ lucash21