Disclaimer: The views and opinions in this story are not intended to be viewed as those of the author. The following is a fan-written fiction. Gravity Falls, Star vs. The Forces of Evil, Kim Possible, and Big Bad Beetleborgs are property of their respective owners, creators, and publishers. Please support the official releases.

TW: This story will contain references to physical and psychological abuse, murder, and torture.

|Party Hotter|

Misao's shoulders slumped, the energy that illuminated the club's eternal night died with Star's lament and birthed tension in its place. Pony Head rolled her eyes and shook herself, her lips turned down into a hard scowl. Star folded her arms tight and stared at the emerged couple, her brows furrowed.

Mabel didn't want to open her mouth and say something insensitive, like that Star had good taste in ex-boyfriends.

Tom Lucitor looked around at the crowd, then looked back at his carriage. "Oh…! Oh no!"

He turned to look back at everyone. "I am so sorry! Hang on, just a second!"

He looked up at the demon hauling the carriage. "Hey, you came up through the dance floor! You have to go!"

The hovering demon looked down at Tom. "Sorry, master…"

As the demon began to descend, Tom called. "And remember, no fire! This place has a hair-trigger sprinkler system."

The woman beside him, Amirana, looked at Tom with concern as the demon began to descend into the fissure he emerged from. She moved closer to him, whispering. "Wait, he's leaving? How are we going to get back?"

Tom turned to her. "Don't worry, we'll be back before intermission is over. I just really wanted to go somewhere more relaxed than the lobby of an Opera House, you know?"

She fidgeted, looking at the crowd surrounding them. "This is more relaxed? There are so many people…"

Tom brought his hand around her back and hovered it just off her shoulder to guide her away from the center of attention. "It'll be okay."

Once they stepped off the dance floor, the fissure sealed up and it was good as new–to the relief of the Bounce Lounge guests. Tom raised his hand in a hesitant wave. "Sorry about that! Don't let me stop the party!"

His self-effacing awkwardness was well received, the music starting up and the party beginning again like it'd never stopped.

Turning back to his companion, he smiled. "See? This is a great place with nice people…"

As he reassured her, Amirana glanced ahead, then did a double take with raised brows. Following her gaze, Tom's three eyes widened as well when he saw Star standing in front of him, with Pony Head floating over her left shoulder, and both Mabel and Misao standing to her right.

"Star? Oh, hey! W-what are you doing here?"

Star blew out an exasperated breath. "I was having a good time with my friends. What are you doing here?"

Tom recoiled from her tone. "Whoa, sensing some hostility. I just came here to have a quick drink with my date."

Tom gestured to Amirana, Star's gaze following. "You remember Amirana, right? The Duchess of Septarsis?"

Star glanced back and forth between them, her brow furrowing as she tried to recollect the face, before the memory of a family gathering years ago flashed through her mind and recognition dawned. "… Cousin Rana?"

Amirana flinched at the nickname. In a gentle, cultured voice that reminded Star almost a little too much of her mother, she spoke. "Hello, Star. It's… been a long time."

"It has! I haven't seen you since the family reunion, what… three years ago?"

Amirana's face twisted into a mild grimace. "Yes… it's been that long…"

Star looked back and forth between them again. "Wait, wait, you're going out with Tom?"

Before Amirana could reply, Tom cut in. "After the Blood Moon Ball your Aunt Felicity proposed an engagement between Amirana and I to my parents, and we've been going out to see how we fit together."

He looked at Amirana and gave her a kind smile. "On the whole, it's been nice."

The pale duchess's face relaxed and grew a light shade of pink at his smile. Averting her eyes, she brought her left hand up to cover her cheek and conceal the blush.

Star felt hairs on the back of her neck bristle, a red flag pitched at the end of every follicle, as she remembered feeling exactly how Amirana looked at that moment. In a burst of movement, she muscled her way between her and Tom, separating them, and swept behind her. "You probably want to get something to drink now, right? Let me show you the juice bar!"

"Actually I would rather-"

"Nononono, we are going to have some drinks."

Amirana heaved a sigh as she was led off.

"Uh, Star?" Tom called after her. He started to follow, when Pony Head flew in front of him, stopping him in his tracks.

"Mmmm uh huh, yeah… you might be hot and junk but you are not cute, Tom." She seethed, her nose crinkling.

Tom drew back, all three of his eyes narrowing. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Pony Head got in his face. "Every dimension you could go to, and you just happen to come to the Bounce Lounge. Where Star just happens to be. Mmmhm, that's just a coincidence."

Tom frowned. "You got me. I totally planned to go to see Hotel Hazbin with Amirana a week in advance in the slim chance that I happened to hear that Star was at the Bounce Lounge, so I could show her that I was happy and spending time with someone who is not her. Yes, my diabolical plan to let her know I won't pester her anymore was foolproof until you foiled it."

Pony Head let out a hard snort. "I'm not playing. If I find out you're messing with B-Fly? You're getting the horn, and you won't like where it'll go."

Tom rolled his eyes and brushed Pony Head aside. "Save it for a guy who's into that kind of thing, Pony. I'm gonna stop Star from scaring my date."

As Tom walked off, Mabel and Misao joined Pony Head's side.

"He's up to something," Pony Head said.

"Mmmhm!" Both girls agreed.

One cloud adjacent to the dance floor, Star observed her cousin as they stood in front of a juice bar. Amirana sipped from a glass of water while Star waited for the bartender to finish a drink that could be best described as sugar with water and fruit. Even she could see that the young woman was struggling to keep her energy up in such a loud and crowded place.

Why would he bring her here? Star wondered, before speaking to her cousin. "Are you doing okay?"

Amirana lowered her glass from her lips and tilted her head at a slight angle. "What?"

Star pouted. "Why are you surprised? I didn't forget the last time we saw each other."

"Oh." Amirana looked down at the counter, her face coloring. "Well, I am managing. That we're not going to be here long helps."

Star glanced at the dance floor and saw Tom was searching for them. "So how has it really been going with him?"

Amirana perked up somewhat and raised her gaze back to Star. "With Tom? It's been pleasant. We first met almost a month ago when my mother and Uncle Heartrude brought me to the Lucitor palace to discuss the arrangement."

She brought her glass to her lips. "He and I have been going on various outings every week since."

"And it's been okay? He hasn't blown up or lost his temper? Or said anything about me?"

Amirana finished her sip and shook her head. "Nothing like that. Though he did warn me that you two broke up because of his anger issues, and that he was working very hard because of them."

Star tightened her lips and hummed. "Just be careful with him."

She pointed her wand at the bar top and fired a quick spell that left a pink pamphlet. "Read this."

"'So he's a Demon… a dating guide', thank you', Star…" She set it down. "But I've already read it and numerous other books and guides on demons and their nature. I am prepared if he loses his temper, but he really has been nothing but charming."

Star hummed again as she received her drink, but her cousin's firm testimony raised questions. "Hmm…"

Climbing up some cloud steps towards them, Tom stopped when he saw Star and Amirana talking. Star's confused and self-doubting expression lit hope in all three of Tom's eyes.

Tom's expectant eavesdropping was in turn eyed through the zoom function of Princess Smooshy's phone camera. Mabel, holding the phone and perched on the ogre-like Princess's shoulders, eyed him then turned to the waiting members of The Princess Squad below.

"He's just sitting back and watching. But he likes what he sees." Mabel slipped off Smooshy's shoulders and landed among Misao, Pony Head, and the others. "Thanks Smooshy."

Princess Smooshy took her phone back. "It ain't no thing for another thick chick."

She held up her phone in front of herself and Mabel. "Camera phone."

As Smooshy snapped pictures of herself and Mabel making duck faces, Misao faced Pony Head, who watched Tom with narrowed eyes. "So what do we do?"

"We need to blow up his spot, oooh I just know he is trying to mess with her!"

Princess Gwendolyn spoke up. "Or maybe he's trying very hard to bury the hatchet?"

"Trying too hard," Misao muttered.

Princess Arms turned to Pony Head. "You know Star better than all of us, what's the deal with her and Tom?"

"Tom is a huge control freak! Like you don't even know, and if he didn't get his way, he would lose his mind! That's why he and B-Fly broke up–but you didn't hear that from me."

Mabel grimaced. "Oh… he was that kind of guy, yikes."

The Two-Headed Princess's right head pursed her lips before speaking. "He was, but it might not be some nefarious plot, girls."

Her left head rolled her eyes. "Oh my gosh, please do not start simping here in front of everyone."

The very thought disgusted Two-Headed Princess's right head. "I am not a simp!"

"STG you get like this for every hot boy with a swimmer bod."

Right head Princess turned to Gwendolyn. "Back me up!"

Princess Gwendolyn agreed. "I think you're being paranoid, Pony, and it's killing the vibe."

Cactus Princess nodded in agreement with the dissenting Princesses.

"That is so weak!" Princess Arms shouted. "Here we are getting our night ruined by ex-boyfriend drama, and you're going to side with him?!"

Princess Smooshy, seemingly not paying attention, remarked. "He do got that booty tho."

She held the phone up to get herself and Misao in the shot, Misao looking up and smiling. "Camera phone."

When Smooshy finished snapping her selfies, something occurred to Misao and she let out a hum.

"Thank you!" Princess right head yelled, drawing rebuke from the left, and prompting fiery debate among the Princesses.

"Princesses of the realms, wait!" Mabel pleaded before the arguing could break into regional war. "This is not the way for a Princess to live, turning on each other in times of crisis. We must remember why we are here, together, and what is at stake if we let the drama win."

The Princesses stopped and looked at all the handsome guys hanging around the Lounge. The quarrel quelled, there was too much to risk losing now.

"I think I have proof that Tom is up to something."

Everyone turned to Misao, and she explained. "When we first got here, I heard that loudmouth bird person saying something strange into his phone. He was speaking in the phonetic alphabet."

Pony Head cocked her horn to the left tilting her head. "Phoenician wha?"

Mabel knew what it was. "It's army talk in my world. My brother uses it sometimes when he's being extra dweeby."

"I thought he was just reporting bouncer talk to the club manager or something, but now thinking about it. He said some very specific things, ja? Sierra Bravo arriving in the AO."

"What's that mean?" Cactus Princess asked.

"Fancy army talk for Area of Operation."

"Wouldn't it be AOO?"

"The 'of' is silent," Mabel corrected, before continuing Misao's thought. "Sierra Bravo, that would be SB in normal person talk."

Pony Head gasped. "Star Butterfly!"

"He called himself Tango RomeoTango," Misao said.

"Talon Raventalon!" Mabel said, impersonating his gruff and aggressive yell.

Misao nodded. "And he was specifically speaking to a Tango Delta Lima Actual."

"TDL, right?" Princess Arms asked.

No one there missed the introduction the demon gave upon its arrival, and Pony Head gasped in anger. "Oh. MG."

"That's right," Mabel said, "Thomas Draconius Lucitor."

"The perfect edgy name for a hot edgy demon boy," Misao lamented.

"W-what about the Actual?" Princess Right Head asked, in vain hope that it was maybe someone else.

"Actual designates the commander of the unit or asset identified by the remainder of the call sign. Since Tom is a Prince, he'd go by that, or somethin'."

Everyone stared in silence at Princess Smooshy, who took another selfie.

"Camera phone."

Misao turned in the direction of the VIP section, where Talon Raventalon idled, messing with his phone. "I am a betting girl, and I am betting that if we had a look at Tango RomeoTango's phone, we would get an idea of Tango Delta Lima's intentions, ja?"

"… And then last week, we didn't go anywhere. He came to Septarsis and helped me catalog books in the library." Amirana explained as she ran her fingers on the rim of her glass of water. "… He even helped me fight off a bookworm without using any fire."

She smiled down at the counter, looking anywhere else besides at Star was difficult. "He gave me tickets to the Opera before he left, tucked in a copy of the Liber AL vel Legis."

Star was struck by Amirana's account of her and Tom's outings since their first meeting. "You've been really enjoying yourself with him, haven't you?"

"He's been the best company I've had in Septarsis, and he's respected my boundaries."

She stopped and tapped her finger on the glass rim. "… At least until today. I am just doing terribly here."

Star could tell. "… Do you want more water? Maybe something stronger? You're sixteen, right?"

Amirana raised her head a little. "I turned seventeen months ago, but I don't want a strong drink. I just want to go somewhere quiet with as few people as possible…"

"How did you survive going to the opera?"

"Tom got us balcony seats, up and away from everyone else."

Star smiled. "Yeah, that's the sort of thing Tom would do. It can be very sweet, all the effort he puts into impressing you…"

She took a sip of her drink as Amirana peeked at her again. "If there was something I liked about Tom, it's that when we were dating, he was always doing his best to make sure I was having fun. He took me out on nice dates, he got me gifts, he would even call me up and talk with me for hours if he heard I was feeling sad."

Amirana watched Star carefully, as the Princess looked up and remembered those days fondly. "He was such a great guy."

Midway down the steps leading to the juice bar cloud, Tom smiled as he listened.

Star inhaled deep and let out a long sigh. "But Stump help you if even one tiny thing goes wrong, because then he goes ballistic!"

Tom's smile fled.

Down by the VIP table Talon Raventalon was playing a game on his phone and enjoying himself. "Flappy Bird? More like Flappy Eagle. Heh, yeah… I am owning this game!"

"Hey Birdie-Birdie Man." Princess Smooshy called out.

He looked up to find the Princess Squad assembled in front of him, Smooshy front and center. "I want your phone."

Talon Raventalon stared at Smooshy, uncomprehending, before Pony Head floated around the large princess, and Mabel and Misao stepped from behind her.

Pony Head cut straight to the point. "You're working for Tom, ain't you?"

Talon Raventalon's eyes shot wide behind his aviators. "Talon Raventalon has no idea what you're talking about."

Misao huffed in derision. "Mike Papa, this is Mike Delta. I have a visual on the Tango RomeoTango, over."

Beads of sweat formed on Talon Raventalon's feathered head and beak as Mabel replied. "Copy on that visual, Mike Delta."

Talon Raventalon's mother raised no fool. With the jig up, Talon Raventalon drew a pair of Dimensional Scissors to cut his way out of reality to escape. A beam of glitter from Pony Head's horn struck him between the eyes and blinded him before he could open the tool.

"Get him!" Mabel yelled, and the entire Princess Squad fell on him like he was the last chocolate cupcake on a cheat day.

Back at the juice bar Amirana's eyebrows rose at Star's outburst. Behind them, Tom was cringing away, struck by the frustration in her tone.

"He wasn't that bad, was he?"

Star shook her head. "I liked Tom–I really did–but he was such a control freak. Whenever he took me out or got me gifts, there was a plan, and every step of that plan had to be followed, and if anything happened–even if it was something totally random that he couldn't expect? Boom, red eyes and fire."

Amirana visibly flinched. "Oh, oh dear…"

She sighed. "He was just so… ugh! He couldn't live in the moment, be spontaneous, or see the bright side of something going wrong, he couldn't even try! It didn't bother me at first because, you know, he was hot and sweet, but after a while…"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Well, we're not together anymore."

Amirana tapped her finger on the rim of her glass. "Well, I understand why you two would fall out. You are very spontaneous and energetic… and you don't really stop to listen. He is, on the other hand, very organized and likes to approach things with a plan."

Star winced, then laughed nervously. "Well, you know…"

"And I like that part about him."

Star stopped. "Eh?"

Tom grew concerned. "What?"

"I'm a perfectionist myself." She sighed. "Though why wouldn't I? I live in a library that has not been sorted properly in almost twenty years and probably won't be for another twenty. Sometimes knowing where a book is supposed to go is better than the book itself for me."

Star brightened, then laughed. "Oh my goodness, that's exactly the kind of thing Tom would care about!"

"He certainly did when he helped in the library," Amirana said with a slight grin. "And he has been excellent about his anger. He was so calm and diligent when we worked. Even when we couldn't tell where books went."

Star pondered that. "Maybe you and Tom are a good match. He's getting better at his anger, you're a very calm person… you have good energy together!"

Amirana's blush returned. "Do you suppose…?"

"Yeah!"

Tom's salmon pink skin grew a shade lighter. "Wait, no!"

He jogged up to the juice bar and practically spilled between the two of them. "H-hey, girls! Getting along?"

Star answered Tom with furrowed brows. "Yeah, she's my cousin?"

Amirana let out a relieved sigh. "Thank goodness. As stimulating as this has been–and pleasant to actually see you again, Star–I want to leave."

Star pouted. "Aw!"

Tom quickly tried to speak. "I'll call the carriage and-!"

Star continued over him, while flashing Amirana an incandescent smile. "I understand though, this place is just the worst if you're introverted."

Amirana nodded. "Thank you for sitting with me and helping me through it, and I am sorry if our being here disturbed your evening."

"Yeah, this was a total mistake and-" Tom rambled.

"Are you kidding?! I got to see the one cousin on Mom's side of our family who isn't a complete hoity-toity snob." Star gasped. "Actually! You should totally come visit me on Earth!"

Dread flashed in Tom's eyes. "Wait-!"

Amirana recoiled. "Earth? Is that how it's pronounced?"

Star gave her a wry look. "Let me guess: been calling it E-Arth?"

Amirana nodded, her face pink.

"I was doing it for days until Mom said she'd send me to St. O's anyway if I kept doing it."

The Duchess of Septarsis filed that away. "But yes, I would not be against meeting again. Especially if it's someplace quiet."

Tom suppressed his grimace as Star all but exploded with eagerness. "Oh you bet! Earth has all kinds of great places that are quiet! Like the park, movies, school, Marco's room when he's trying to do his homework-"

The mere mention of that name sent a nasty twitch through the left side of Tom's face, but he fought it down as he pulled out a small demonic hammer and bell. "Okay, calling the carriage now."

At that very moment, Pony Head flew in and got up in Tom's face. "Oh hey, Tom! Were you just about to bounce? How about no?"

Star and Amirana both gasped when they saw Pony Head looked to be covered in bruises and scrapes, like she'd just been in the mother of all beatdowns and the only reason she wasn't on the receiving end was that she was still conscious.

"Pony, what happened?!" Star gasped.

Mabel sat down on Amirana's other side. "Oh man. You can't hear it because of the beat, but the Princess Squad is laying the smackdown on the bouncer right now."

Tom went pale again, and his head turned a full 180 to look back towards the VIP–where the St. O's Princesses were gathered over him, stomping on Talon Raventalon like he was repping the wrong set in the wrong hood.

"Stomp him!" Princess Arms shouted of the cacophony of feet to flesh.

"Switch feet!" Princess Qwendolyn commanded.

"Stomp him!"

"Switch again!"

Princess Smooshy leaped in, slapping her elbow at the top of her jump. "Elbow drop!"

Smooshy came down on Talon Raventalon's gut, and the bouncer let out a chicken-like "BUCKAWW!"

"Oh no," Tom whispered.

"Oh yes," Misao said, and Tom's head turned a few more degrees to follow her as she walked around him and sat herself on Mabel's lap. Like her and Pony Head, she was covered in the scars of battle, and was holding her prize from it–Talon Raventalon's phone. She studiously tapped her fingers repeatedly on the screen lock, in an effort to crack it.

"What?" Star asked.

Misao held up her hand. "One moment, cracking this lock."

She smiled as the screen popped open. "Ah, gut."

Star and Amirana looked from her to Tom and back, completely lost.

"Duchess Amirana, ja? On what days did Tom spend time with you?"

"Every weekend, why?" Amirana asked.

"Weird how other dimensions line up like that, right?" Mabel asked before Misao finished browsing Talon Raventalon's call and message logs.

"Ja, it is confirmed. Herr Lucitor has been in contact with the Bounce Loungue's bouncer every weekend for the last three weeks."

Star and Amirana both turned to look at Tom, the former's brows furrowing, while the latter's mouth fell open.

"You've been what?"

"Telling his stool pigeon to squawk if he saw you." Pony Head seethed.

"So he could come show off his brand-new date and make you jealous!" Mabel had seen enough sitcoms to know how this worked.

Star gasped and erupted at Tom. "Really?!"

Tom raised his hands. "No, it's not like that!"

Amirana shot to her feet, her expression a mix between disbelief, anger, and nauseous. "Is that why you insisted we come here?!"

Tom turned to Amirana. "It really isn't, I swear!"

Misao looked at the texts between Talon Raventalon and Tom. "He even had instructions for if Marco had come along. Mostly to keep him distracted."

Tom looked at Misao, face flashing in anger. "He saved those?!"

Misao peered over the phone at Tom, a sinister twinkle in her gray eyes. "Nein, he did not."

The young man's lilac skin turned an interesting shade of gray.

Star threw her hands up. "You are unbelievable!"

Tom quailed from her. "Starship, wait. It's really not-!"

Amirana stepped up to him on his left, her fists clenched, her body shaking. "Your insisting that we come, even when I didn't want to be here!"

As Tom sputtered, Star stepped up to him from his right. "I was actually about to ship you with her!"

Tom stepped back from Star, only to face Amirana. "You brought me here just to make my cousin jealous?!"

Tom stopped withdrawing, red filling his eyes as a vein on his neck popped. "Can you please just let me explain mysel-f?!"

"Why can't you just get it through your head that we are over, Tom?!" Star demanded.

"Forget the opera, I want to go back to Septarsis!" Amirana shouted at him.

Tom's eyes flashed fully red, and he stomped forward, flames bursting from his back, shoulders and head as he yelled back at both.

"WILL YOU SHUT UP AND GIVE ME A CHANCE TO TALK?!"

He stopped as he watched his own flames pass in front of him. All three of his eyes shot wide and the color retreated from his skin, leaving him a paler pink than Mabel's headband.

Murmuring an "oh no", he looked up at the clouds above them. They were growing and spreading across the star-filled sky, a dull rumble echoing from them.

Pony Head looked up at the clouds. "Uh oh."

Mabel looked up, then at Pony Head. "Wait, what's going on?"

Tom's fire, his swiftness to shut it off, and the overwhelming regret on his face? Misao understood. "Fire suppression system."

Mabel turned to her. "Wait, sprinklers?"

"Mmm-mm, not sprinklers…" Pony Head said as a wind kicked up and made the air very chilly, very fast.

The sound of spreading thunder stopped the music and drew everyone's eyes upward, as the endless stars and moonlight that lit the lounge disappeared, blocked by the dense overcast. A flash of lightning near blinded everyone, before the most torrential downpour any of them remembered cut loose, near horizontal, wind-driven rains drenching the Bounce Lounge and everyone in it.

"Oh no!" Mabel cried out as she rose to her feet. "Of course a cloud dimension would use rain to put out a fire!"

Over the groans of the guests, one of the Robot DJs called out. "The Bounce Lounge is now closed. You do not need to go home, but you are denied shelter here."

Tom, looking like a wet three-eyed, horned cat, stared at Star and Amirana. His expression slumped in contrition he looked down at the floor and shook his head. Star tossed her head back and blew out a huff.

"Unbelievable," she repeated.

Amirana turned to Star. "Do you have a way of getting out of here?"

Star pulled out the Dimensional Scissors and handed them to her. "Here."

The sight of the red-handled scissors made Amirana draw back slightly. "These are… how…?"

She stopped and shook her head. "Nevermind."

Opening a portal, she handed the scissors back to her. "Thank you, Star."

With a final glare at Tom, she stormed off through it and it disappeared with her.

Tom raised his head but meeting Star's gaze dropped his back to his feet. "I'm… gonna go."

"Please do," Star hissed.

As Tom turned and walked away. Mabel's phone, Misao's, and Star's Compact Mirror all chimed at once. Grabbing hers, Mabel looked at the message and her face fell. "Dipper and Janna were attacked over at the scrapyard… ?!"

Misao threw her hands up in defeat. "Oh ja! And let this not be the worst thing that happened today!"

She was struck in the forehead by a quarter-sized hailstone. "Scheiße!"

More hailstones battered Star, Mabel, Pony Head, as the disappointed cacophony of the other guests turned into cries of pain.

"Oh no! The hail started early!" Pony Head cried out. "Yo, B-Fly! We gotta go!"

"I know, I know!" Star called back.

Shielding Misao from the brunt of the hail, Mabel called out as Star carved open a portal. "Princess Squad! Retreat!"

Pony Head was first through the portal, with Mabel hauling Misao out after. As the St. Olga's Princesses scrambled to flee through the portal–Princess Smooshy claiming Talon Raventalon's Aviators as her own–Star endured the pelting and glowered down at Tom. He had walked down to the dance floor and was ringing his little bell to await the return of his carriage.

As the dance floor opened again, he looked up at her briefly, before he averted his eyes.

Arm over her eyes to keep the hail from hitting her face, Star turned away and walked into the portal, the last one out.

"And that's what happened to us on Saturday."

Marco shook his head with a grimace after hearing Star's account of the disaster at the Bounce Lounge. They were sitting together on the bus near the back, for the short ride to Echo Creek Academy. Star had taken the window and was staring out it with an annoyed look on her face.

"So that's why no one wanted to talk about it."

"Mmhm." Even thinking about it aggravated her.

"How's your cousin doing?" He asked.

"I don't know. I don't have her info, and I don't want to bug Mom about it."

She huffed. "Not that we actually talk, or really even know each other. We hung out once at our family reunion three years ago. We didn't even really get along."

Marco could see that. "You two have very different personalities from what it sounds like. But hey, you sounded like you were getting somewhere."

Star had her doubts. "Yeah, anyway, it sucked."

"Well, on the bright side. At least you know that Mabel and Misao getting along with Pony Head will end in something being set on fire."

Star snickered, then broke into a smile. "Oh yeah, and we're all banned from the Bounce Lounge for a month. Pony Head's super excited about it."

"It's hard to get banned from there, huh?"

"Only five people ever have before, including my Great-Great-Great-Great-Great Grandma Festivia."

Star lowered her voice to a hushed, mystic tone. "Some say she partied too hard for even the Bounce Lounge, so she had to leave…"

Marco leaned closer to her. "See? It wasn't even all bad. You'll look back on it one day and laugh."

He kissed her cheek, and her face flared into a blush. "You don't have to now, though. It's okay to be upset about it."

If Star could remember what she was upset about, then she would.

"Marco!" She gasped with her hand on her cheek in an expression of mock disbelief. "I thought we agreed on no PDA!"

Marco gave her a small, sneaky smile. "I wanted to cheer you up, besides… no one saw."

Both had their own reasons for not wanting to be public about their relationship status, not least of all the news getting back to her parents and making a huge deal out of it. Or worse, making it very official with a bunch of pomp and circumstance Star didn't want or need.

Convincing Marco's parents to not blab about it was hard. It was a rare thing indeed to see Star trying to get someone to calm the eff down.

Even harder, though, was trying to keep their hands to themselves in spite of their own rules.

"Anyway," he said over her giggling as the bus pulled up in front of the school, "You should get in touch with your cousin and make sure she's all right."

Star bit down on the wing of her wand and nibbled on it as she eyed Marco's lips. "If you say so, I'll call Mom after school for her number~"

As Marco rose to follow the other students off, Star took his arm and yanked him back towards her, down out of sight of students distracted with getting off the bus. A few seconds later he stumbled out into the aisle, his face bright red with a pleased smile on his face.

"No one saw~" Star purred as she squeezed past him, headed for the front of the bus.

Wiping his mouth, Marco took a deep breath to try to calm his elation. Star's wild and untamed energy was why he thought she was great to begin with, but being the object of her affections on top of that made her… breathtaking.

I can't believe she's my girlfriend. He thought, wrapped up in that warmth in his chest, before he sensed someone behind him.

"Ah… ahh…

"Wh-wh…"

Two someones. He turned around, and there were his two friends Alfonzo Doolittle and Ferguson O'Durguson, staring at him slack-jawed as they held themselves back from shouting out loud.

"Dude!"

In vain.

A/N: Not even three whole days, you two.