Marco put his hands on his knees, trying to frantically catch his breath. It was like he ran for his life back there. Star could've seen him, and he didn't want that to happen. He's been on the run for two days now, and how would she react to have him just come back into her life? She probably wouldn't be so thrilled, he thought. She wasn't too thrilled when he randomly climbed through her window when he came back to Mewni.

That sad feeling washed over him again. He had nowhere to go. His family and friends didn't take him seriously, and Jackie... she was probably upset still about their breakup and didn't want to see him anymore. All he did when he went back to Earth was talk about Mewni and think about Star, Star, Star...

There was H-poo. He could go to her dimension to live out the rest of his days. The demoness would probably be thrilled to have him there 24/7, perhaps she would make him immortal. He was already 30 there. A bit longer and he would be on the verge of dying from old age.

But his heart wanted Star... after thinking about it for a bit, the love he felt for Hekapoo wasn't genuine. He only enjoyed the thrill rides that she took him on, and riding his dragon bike Nachos. Marco felt like crap that he only enjoyed being around Hekapoo when he was thrill-seeking.

And Star... he loved being around her all the time. She just emitted happiness and positivity everywhere she went, and god, did he love it, and her. He wanted to be hers and make her happy throughout the rest of her life. He knew it was a long shot though, which caused his heart to sink once again. His heart ached; he was on a roller coaster ride of emotions.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he quickly pulled it out and swiped the screen. It was a text from one of his good friends.

Unread Messages:

Kelly: Hey Marco... I just thought you could come over for a bit. I'm a little lonely.

Kelly. She had been a big help with his dilemma with Star. He smiled as his thumbs twiddled on the keyboard.

Sure Kelly, I'll be right there. :)

Sent. He stuffed his phone back in his pants pocket and pulled out his scissors as a shadow creeped along the wall behind him. He began to sweat, it had to be Star.

He quickly sliced open a portal and jumped inside as the shadow got closer and closer, but it was a second too late, Marco had already left.

"Marco?..." Star said as she rubbed her eye with a hand, using her wand as a flashlight with the other.

"Oh... guess I was hallucinating...."

~•~

It was high noon in the butterfly kingdom, and the sun was high in the sky, lighting everything that it touched.

Star and Tom were at the ice cream parlor trying out the new flavors. They had just come out with 4 new flavors: Corn Cream, Cream Corn, Corn Bread, and Simply Corn. Yes, that was it's name.

Star wasn't too thrilled however. She was still hung up on last night. She could have sworn she saw Marco in her room, but she didn't get a good glimpse of him to be sure. And Tom... she thought she told him to go home. That was creepy how he hung around long enough to tuck her into bed. Then again, a lot of stuff that Tom did was plain weird.

"Here you go, babe," Tom said as he handed her the fourth flavor, in which Star took tiredly. The demon licked his and sad next to her.

Star yawned as she watched her demon boyfriend blow on the ice cream with his scorching hot breath, turning it to nothing more than a liquid. He then slurped it like it was a milkshake. He was so weird, but cute to her. She licked her ice cream a few times before interrupting.

"Uhm, Tom?"

"Yes, Starship," Tom replied, taking a bite of the waffle cone.

"Were you... watching me sleep? I mean, you were the one that carried me to bed, right?"

Tom raised an eyebrow, then gave a slight chuckle. "Star, I may be a demon, but that's plain creepy. I would never do that. I'd kiss you though~"

The demon boy puckered his lips to kiss the princess, but she put her hand up, causing his lips to collide with her palm. She then took another slurp of her ice cream.

"Tom, I'm serious. You creeped me out last night! I mean it was sweet and all... but you can't watch me sleep!"

The demon was growing agitated. "Star, I just said it wasn't me! I went home last night to feed my pink bunny."

Star shut her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. "Ugh, fine... Sorry, Tom..."

"Don't sweat it, you know I love you," he commented, his mouth full of waffle cone. He was getting better at controlling his demons, Star thought to herself. A year or so ago, he would have burned down the ice cream trunk.

"...Tom?"

"Yeah babe?"

Star sighed softly. "I'm worried about Marco. This is his third day missing."

"That's pretty weird, Starship. You count the days he's been missing?"

"Well, yeah," The blonde began, a little ticked off at his remark, "We're best friends. He's my squire? I thought I explained this to you."

Tom chuckled as he took a sip of his drink. "I get that. I'm sure the earth turd is fine. His mommy and daddy probably called him back to earth or something. I mean, he did come back uninvited."

"That's not the point. The point is that he could be hurt and we know nothing about it!"

"Well, you're right... but you're the one who wanted him gone, Star. Remember how you vented to me that you hoped he wouldn't come back? How you simply wanted him gone out of your life?"

"I..." Star was lost for words. She did do that, and  she felt horrible for admitting it. However, that didn't mean she didn't care. She would always care for Marco. He did take her in and do so much for her over the past year. She would never stop being friends with him... right?

Tom smirked, tickling under her chin with a finger as he pecked her on the lips. "You're so cute when you're mad. Look, I know how to get your mind off of it. There's a new wicked amusement park opening up tomorrow in the Underworld. Huh? How about I take you to it?"

"That sounds... great!" Star forced a smile as Tom rubbed her hands and kissed both of them. He then stood up.

"Awesome, I'll catch ya later alright?"

"Yeah, Tom," Star replied with a half smile. The demon waved goodbye as he flew up into the air with fire coming out of his feet. Pretty soon he was gone, leaving the princess alone with her thoughts.

Star buried her head into her arms, groaning to herself. Why couldn't she get Marco out of her mind? She tried so hard to get him out, but he was still there, and didn't plan on leaving any time soon.

~•~

"Is this the right address," Marco asked himself as he approached the small but modest hut that looked similar to Kelly's hair. The boy walked to the side of the hut and peered inside. There was no sign of the green-haired girl anywhere.

"Uh... Kelly?" Marco said, raising his voice, "I'm here! Are you..."

"Hey Marco!"

The Latino boy jumped, turning around as he clutched his chest. He could have nearly had a heart attack. "Goodness Kelly, you scared me!"

Kelly giggled, gesturing Marco to the inside of her house, in which he followed. "Sorry Marco! Here, come inside!"

The boy's eyes wondered around. Like Kelly's hair, it was so much bigger inside then it looked from the outside. The green-haired girl snorted as she at her kitchen table, holding a tea kettle. Marco was too busy looking around to notice.

"Heh, you like it Marco? I bought it after Tad moved out. Unfortunately, your talk with him didn't work. He still hung around, so I had to file a restraining order."

"Ugh... well, I'm glad you finally got him out of your hair," Marco said, rubbing his hair nervously, "literally."

Kelly poured a bit of tea into a tea cup, then slid it over to him, giggling slightly at Marco's pun. He didn't seem too well, and she could sense it as she watched him continuously zip and unzip his hoodie like he did when he was upset about something.

"Oh, Marco. What's bothering you?"

Marco sighed as he grabbed his tea, looking at his reflection in it's steamy surface. "Nothing..."

"I know that face. What is it?" She looked up at him and smiled reassuringly, "You helped me, so I should help you, right Marco?"

He didn't reply, which in turned caused Kelly to think for a moment. She thought back to Star's Stump Day celebration, and how angry Marco was at Star's new boyfriend. Then, it all fell together.

"You're upset about Star, huh?"

"What? No... of course not..."

"Marco, I know you. It's Star, now, tell me what she did now..."

Marco pursed his lips. "Fine, Kelly... I trust you. You want the whole story?"

"If you have the time, yes..."

And with that, Marco began from the end of his ninth grade school year where he had that party, and things between him and Star became awkward. How she admitted his crush and left for Mewni, and how sad he was over it. He then fast forwarded to Toffee's defeat, and how he was prompted to go back to earth. However, things at home were never the same. He yearned for Mewni, and Star, and that costed him his relationship with Jackie Lynn Thomas, who could sense this, and was made sure when he brought his cape on their date, which turned out to be a meat blanket. Now, he was avoiding her for days straight, and he was scared to discuss what he felt about her. 

"... And then when I came back to Mewni, it was like she was a totally different person. She didn't want me around anymore. She even tried to shove me into the laundry room, which is at the very bottom of the castle... she then made me her squire..."

"Do princesses even have squires," Kelly interjected.

..."but it's more like a glorified servant... I have to follow her every order. It's not that I mind... I mean we're still friends."

Kelly sighed, touching his shoulder. "Oh, Marco. That's not what friends do. Friends don't order friends around, and when she's dating Tom? It's wrong to expect you to be around, especially when the only thing you're doing is making yourself miserable."

"You think so?... Star said she did it so we'd have a chance to hang out while she focuses on her princess duties and her new boyfriend,"
Marco remarked.

"Hmm, I see it as her trying to make you feel better while she bosses you around. You should really talk to her about this, you're a wreck."

Marco pondered her comments for a moment. Would Star... really do that to him? He didn't want to believe it, but it was for sure becoming more apparent to him. All she wanted him there for was so that she could boss him around while he remained miserable, and he was falling for it?

"I guess you're... right Kelly.... I should stop avoiding her and tell her how I really feel."

"That's the spirit," Kelly exclaimed, jumping up from her seat. She was Star's friend and all, but she hated how she was treating Marco. It made her angry, since to her, Marco was a good guy who didn't deserve it.

Marco got up from his seat and gave a smile to the green-haired girl. "Thank you so much Kelly, you're a big help."

He walked over and gave her a tight hug, in which she happily returned.

"No problem, Marco. I hope you feel better soon."

Marco then knew what he had to do. He was going to tell Star exactly how he felt.