Night had risen in the kingdom of Mewni once again, and the three moons hung high in the sky, casting a porcelain glow on the architecture below.

Star waited outside impatiently. She had promised Tom that she would be there for their date tonight, and she couldn't blow him off. It was their two month anniversary, and everything had to be perfect, however, she sensed in the back of her mind that they weren't. They haven't been spending much time together with the recent events, and her constant thoughts about her best friend, or at least... she hoped they were still friends. Their relationship was sorta on the rocks now. Her mind tried to shut out what happened earlier today. It was about her and Tom now. Nobody else.

She was getting cold. It was seven on a chilly winter night. It was a bad idea for her to wear this sleeveless dress, the wind was picking up, causing goosebumps to form on her arms and shoulders. She crossed her arms for warmth, but it wasn't doing much.

Where was that demon, she thought to herself. He was supposed to be there five minutes ago, and he was late, and she was going freeze to death out there.

All of a sudden, a skeleton horse-drawn carriage appeared from the ground in a ring of fire, just in front of the princess. The fire was toasty, and she smiled as she watched it rise from the ground. The door opened, and a certain demon teenager stepped out, looking snazzy in his black suit. He fixed his tie and fiddled around with his hair as he stepped out to greet the shivering princess.

"There you are, Star. You look amazing. I could just devour you," he remarked, reaching out his hand for her to grab, "Happy Two Month Anniversary, babe."

Star blushed as she gently put her hand in his. "Uhh, thanks Tom. You too! I'm just... a little cold, heh."

The demon smirked as he lead her inside the carriage. "We can't have that, now can we? Don't worry, it's nice and toasty inside for you, Starship."

The blonde's eyes wandered around. It was huge side, compared to the tiny surface area that the cart took up from the outside. There was a couch, a dance floor, and there was even a fireplace. The furniture was tinted with a burgundy overcast, which was one of Tom's favorite colors that she could remember.

"Wow, awesome," Star remarked in a singsong voice, "It's like you have everything in here!"

"Heh, I'm glad you approve," Tom replied as he sat down, "I sorta do have everything in here. I'm a prince, and I do a lot of traveling, you know? It's nice to have some things that remind me of home." He patted the spot next to him on the couch, in which Star ran over and sat next to him. She began kicking her legs in excitement, which caused a smile full of sharp teeth from the demon prince. "You're happy, aren't you Starship?"

"Yeah, I am," she nodded, trying her best to be happy for him, "so Uh... where are we going, Tom?"

"To the new amusement park. It just opened up like I said. They call it, Magma Island, and it's not too far from Lava Lake Beach," Tom explained, "I want you to have fun, Star. You've seemed a little... tense."

Star's eyes widened. "What, me? Nonono, I am anything but tense."

The princess then felt two hot hands on her shoulders, which caused her to blush profusely. She looked back to see Tom work her shoulders, trying his best to alleviate her self-proclaimed tension.

"Oh please, I know you're stressed. Your princess stuff has been causing you stress. Just take it easy, and let me help you," the demon muttered as he squeezed and worked her shoulders, causing a sigh from the relaxed Star.

"What does a demon know about stress... aaaahh... relief," The princess inquired.

"Quite a lot, with the help of a certain magical princess," Tom replied, breathing on her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

"Ah, Tom..."

The demon chuckled as he loosened his grip on his girlfriend. "Feeling better, aren't we?"

"Yeah, a bit, thanks Tom," Star said, "that was... very sweet."

"No problem, Starship. We can't have you stressed out about princess stuff... and certain earth turds. This is a night to have fun! You're only going to be young once, ya know? Might as well make the best of it."

"I know," the blonde princess smiled, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. The demon blushed and rubbed the spot where she kissed him and smiled.

And that's exactly what Star would do. Have fun. She wouldn't spend her time worrying about Marco, oh no... that wasn't going to happen. She hoped not, at least.

~•~

The amusement park was hectic to say the least, and the fun that they had didn't falter. They checked out the new rides, including the dragon coaster and the lava raft, and had a blast. Tom accomplished his goal of having Star relax, which is what she needed right now. The events that occurred earlier today were... heavy, to say the least, but she was determined to not let it bother her. She was with Tom now, and this was their two month anniversary, and nothing, including Marco, was going to ruin her night if she depended on it.

Now the two teenagers were at a fancy restaurant that was popular in the Underworld, and chatter filled the air. Tom wanted to take Star to multiple places tonight to get her accustomed to the Underworld, since they were seeing each other a lot more often than before, and he was much more invested in his relationship with the princess.

Star sat down, relaxing in her seat as she looked at her demon boyfriend, who was fixing his tie. "So, Tommy, what are you in the mood for? This is so... different from the restaurants in the Overworld. Like, literally...ninty-nine percent of the time I'm chowing down on corn or something. You know how Mewmans love their corn, eh?"

Tom chuckled at her comment as he fixed his tie, turning to her to give a content smile. "Yeah, I can see that, and whatever you want, Starship." He picked her hand up that was on the table and pecked it softly. "This is our day, and I want it to be special. I mean, I'm still getting over the fact that you gave me another chance. It makes me so happy that you had faith in me."

The princess blushed at his hospitality and sweetness, though, the previous comment gave her thoughts that she tried to shove deep into the back of her mind. She gave him a content smile. "Aww, Tom. Of course I did. I'm impressed with your attempts to change, and all that matters is that you're trying."

The demon prince gave a half smile to his girlfriend, who's expression dropped a bit. Star looked down at her boots, kicking them together in an attempt to distract herself, which caused Tom to raise an eyebrow. "Something the matter?"

"Oh no, nothing's the matter," the princess said, flashing a toothy smile. "Just...nervous, I guess. We've never been...this serious, ya know? I don't wanna mess up." by thinking about Marco...oh, no, I'm thinking about Marco, Star thought to herself.

"I'm nervous too, but try not to worry about it too much," Tom reassured. He quickly thought of a way to cheer her up, and he snapped his fingers, making a burning rose appear from the flame in his palm. He offered it to her. "Here, take this. I know you think it's cheesy and stuff, but I love making them for you."

Star took the flower from him, making an 'mm' sound as she gave it a sniff. The smell was pleasant, and the faint aroma of burnt umber filled her nasal cavity. Using her wand, she made a simple vase between the two of them and stuck the rose inside. "Your cheesiness is cute, and I'm starting to like your weird flaming roses." Tom simply smiled at her comment. The princess then started looking at the menu, wrinkling her nose at the choices. "Ugh, they sale live eyeballs here? Disgusting."

Tom chuckled slightly, putting his feet on the table and his arms behind his head. "Silly Starship. You know they have other options too. They even sale corn products if you want them."

"Anything but corn," Star exclaimed. They both laughed at the comment.

"Say, want to go mess with the chefs," Tom asked, "I know you're always down for a good prank. What do ya say?"

The princess pondered the demon prince's offer for a moment, then sighed. She loved being mischievous with Tom most of the time, but today, she just wasn't in the mood. Her argument with Marco still lingered in the back of her mind, and she simply couldn't shake the feeling. She looked up at the demon coyly, flashing a half smile. "Uh, I'm just not in the mood today, sorry, Tom."

"Starship, you love playing pranks with me. Remember the one time we swapped that lady's sunscreen with mayonnaise? And today's our anniversary. We have to do something big to mark such a milestone."

Star gave a sheepish laugh. "Yeah, that was pretty rich, but I guess I'm just hungry. Maybe we can do something tomorrow."

Tom was not fooled by her lie, and gave her a concerned gaze, rubbing her hand softly. "You don't sound so good. Is something bugging you? You can tell me, let it all out." She gave him a saddened smile before it dropped into a frown.

"Fine... Well, a lot has been happening since Mmmmm-" She stopped herself mid sentence. She couldn't bring Marco up on their date! She mentally slapped herself, quickly grabbing her drink and gulping it down before slamming it on the table. "Mmm, that's some good stuff." Tom only save her a serious look, and Star slumped in her chair. "...You uh... know what I was going to say, don't you?"

Tom rolled his eyes, giving a sarcastic comment. "Nooo, not a clue. It's Marco again, isn't it?" Star gave a nervous laugh as she twiddled her thumbs together. "You can't fool me, Star."

"Uh... yeaaaaah." Tom crossed his arms, waiting for an explanation. She began again, "Well, I've seen him earlier, so I know he's alright. But, before he left, he's been acting really strange... he was so eager to help out. You see, I've been sleep portaling..."

"Sleep portaling," Tom mimicked.

"Sleep portaling," Star said again, "And he sorta helped me overcome that. I kinda stopped with his help. I was being called by ponies, and he kinda saved me from it, being my squire and all."

Tom felt his anger rising, and he clenched his fists, growling as he tried to keep his temper under control. "Wait... so you mean to tell me that you were in danger BEFORE this whole monster bash fiasco and you didn't even let me know?! But you let him know before me? Your boyfriend?" Star recoiled, but quickly slid a glass of water over to him, which he grabbed and dumped on his head, suppressing the flames. "Uh... sorry. I mean, Star... you don't have to let Marco know everything, I can do stuff too you know. It would be much appreciated if you would let me know these things too."

Star felt horrible. She sighed and gave the demon a sympathetic look. "Ah... Sorry, Tom. You're not mad, are you?" Her mind was racing. She knew how possessive the demon was, and she thought she had said too much, especially considering the fact that she was trying to slowly move Marco out of her life. She thought Tom was getting the wrong idea, but he was only laughing, causing Star to tilt her head in confusion.

"Nonono, of course not, Starship," Tom replied with a smile, "Seriously, Marco is my best friend... and... to put it bluntly, my only friend. We may butt heads sometime, but we will always be bros, even though we kind of gotten carried away at your birthday celebration.. I trust him with you, you two are friends. It's not cool of me to try and get between you two, you know?"

She mentally sighed in relief. She had dodged a bullet right there. "Oh, I'm glad that you and Marco are cool. Look, Tom... I'm sorry for bringing this up. It's just been on my mind lately, and I really needed to get it off of my chest. I didn't mean to ruin our night."

Tom looked up from the menu that he was suddenly reading, as he had just used it to dry himself off.The demon could sense that Star didn't spill the beans on everything, and was growing ever more suspicious, but he kept it to himself. He didn't want to ruin this day, or heighten Star's stress levels. "Don't sweat it, Starship. Let's just try and enjoy our date. I'm sorry too, for overreacting... The night is still young, and we still haven't gotten a bite to eat. Did you know what you wanted to order, yet?"

Star gave him a weak smile. "Well, no... I'm fine with whatever you get. Just...anything but corn, you know?" She laughed, causing a laugh to come from him as well.

"Heh, of course, Starship," Tom chuckled, "Anything for you."

~•~

After enjoying dinner together, and seeing some of the main attractions of the Underworld, Tom took Star back to the skeleton horse carriage and back to a quiet park back within the Butterfly kingdom. It was a nice contrast to all of the fire and smoke of Tom's home. There was a lake, a grassy meadow, complete with a backdrop of oak trees. Star had never been here with Tom, or any boy really, but she did know that Mewmans loved to take their significant others here. It was romantic, and being here with Tom, her first serious boyfriend, Prince of the Underworld, was rather special to her, and took her mind off of her duties... or so she thought.

Tom had put his jacket over her shoulders, as it was a unseasonably warm winter night, and she wasn't dressed accordingly. She was wearing the outfit that she had picked out this morning, and was practically a Star-cicle at this point. They walked over to the edge of the lake with the other couples, and watched the three moons that illuminated the night sky.

"I... really, enjoyed tonight," Star chirped, breaking the silence. She rested her head on the prince's shoulder, sighing happily.

"I did, too, Starship." His voice didn't sound as it did usually when he was happy about something, and the princess could sense it, but she tried not to think about it too much.  She lifted her head and looked at the demon, who was staring blankly at the water. At an attempt to lighten the mood, Star poked his shoulder. "Is there anywhere else you want to go, Tommy? I mean it's not that late... it's only 9 o'clock, we can stay out longer if you want! Eh, eh?" Tom sighed before giving a weak laugh as he gently pushed her off of him and took a step away from her, causing Star to become confused.

"As tempting as that offer sounds, Starship, I am going to have to decline."

Star was confused. She hopped back over to demon prince, but his back was turned. "What, why? You're the one who is always saying we need to spend more time together. You know, because being a princess is the most important thing on my plate right now. I'm here now, Tom, so lets make the best of this night."

Tom kept his back turned, and the princess could see his shoulders move a bit. He was trying his best to control his anger, and hide it from her. He took a deep breath and lowered his head. "It all makes sense now."

"Tommy...Tom... Wait, what are you talking about?"

"Starship, look at me." He shot back around and gently grabbed her shoulders, all three eyes staring back into hers. "You are...amazing. You are kind, accepting, and generous... Something that I will never be, no matter how many therapy sessions I go to." His comment made Star giggle slightly, and she kept her attention onto him. With a pointed finger, he gently peeled off one of her skull stickers, revealing the heart emblem underneath, that was glowing pinkish. "I think it's time for you to stay true to yourself, Star. You're not genuinely happy, and I can sense it."

Star grabbed the spot where he had peeled off the sticker, then averted her gaze back to him. She was confused right now, and was trying to process what was going on. "True to myself? What are you talking about? I AM staying true to myself. They don't call me rebel princess for nothing!" She folded her arms, shutting her eyes. "It's just... I have a lot of baggage right now: fixing Mewni, uniting Mewmans and monsters... Heck, I don't even know who my own family is anymore. It's time for me to grow up, Tom, you and I both know this." She gently pushed her hand onto his cheek before taking a step back, and looking away. "I'm just... scared, Tom. If I...stay fully true to myself, I will..."

"Get hurt," Tom finished, causing Star to turn back around and face him. Her mouth was opened slightly. How did he know? The demon prince crossed his arms, continuing. "I understand completely, but you can't run away from your problems forever. Take it from me, I figured out that I had a problem, and I tackled it, and tried my best to fix it. You should too, Starship." He turned his back away from her once more. "You know, from the time we've been avoiding each other, I've been doing some thinking... You, me... This isn't going to work, Star. You need to be with someone that brings out the best in you, and I am simply not that guy..."

Star's heart began to race, and her pupils contracted to the size of pins. She gently touched Tom's shoulder, frantic to direct this conversation to something else. "But... Tom, you are that guy!" Tom brushed off her hand and stared at her blankly. The princess laughed faintly, trying to ease the awkwardness, but it wasn't working in her favor. "I love yo-"

"You don't, Star, you're still head over heels for Diaz," Tom said firmly.

"What?! What are you-"

"Look at the sky. What do you see?"

The princess' craned her head up at the sky, focusing on Mewni's moons. One...two...three... Wait, something wasn't right, she thought to herself. Something was red. There was a red moon directly overhead, casting a red glow on the ground below. She gasped in surprise, trying to form words, but Tom just gave her a serious look.

"The.. Blood Moon? But I... the last time I seen it I..."

"...You were with earth turd," Tom quietly said, rubbing her back softly. "It's fine, I get it. You still have feelings for the kid. But look, we can't be together when you're in love with someone else. We'll just end up making ourselves miserable."

Star's lip quivered, and her blue orbs began to well with tears. "But... but Tom... I-I do love..."

"Oh no, don't you start! You know I hate it when you..." Tom couldn't contain his anger anymore. His body combusted in flames, and his eyes turned red as he rose into the air. Star watched, waving her arms in an attempt to calm him down.

"Wait, Tom-"

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU USED ME, STAR! I'M NOT YOUR PLAYTHING THAT YOU CAN USE BECAUSE YOU ARE TRYING TO FORGET ABOUT DIAZ!"

"Tom, please! It isn't like that... not at all. Please, calm down, and let me explain..." Star said, holding her hands out. Tom turned his back from her, arms crossed and still floating above the ground. Star blew her bangs out of her eyes and rubbed her shoulder, looking down at the ground.

"...I'm... afraid. I don't want to get hurt...I've been so fixated on the idea that Marco probably doesn't feel the same way that I tried to cover up my emotions, pretend that they weren't there... and maybe, one day, they'd go away..." She sighed. "...but they haven't."

Tom turned around to see her standing there, staring blankly at the ground. He was beginning to calm down, and the flames dispersed and he dropped to his feet once again. Star looked up at him. "...What if I just...end up getting hurt?"

"It never hurts to test the waters," Tom replied, "Just like I did with you. After our breakup, I was so sure that we were off for good," He chuckled and gazed at Star, "but I tested the waters, tried my best to change, and look at where we are now. We're ending things on a good note. As friends."

Star pondered his statement for a minute, then looked up at the demon, who gave her a reassuring grin. She was still experiencing a lot of anxiety though, however. "But Tom, you did change. You're so much better at controlling your anger. But... you're right. I should stop pushing Marco away, and just accept him...into my heart." She put her hands over her chest.

"I wouldn't say that, Star. One little demon guy isn't what I'd like to refer to as changing but..." He noticed her timid look, and gently lifted her chin to meet his eyes. "Look Star. I really enjoyed the time we spent together. Today was amazing, and I had amazing time with you. You, yourself are amazing. This is for the best, Starship. Remember this: no matter what happens between you and Marco, I will always be here for you. I still care for you a lot.I've come to accept it now, and I'm ready to let you go as a love interest. I will be your friend now."

He pulled the princess into a tight embrace, and she gently returned it, smiling through her tears.

"Friends," The demon inquired.

"Friends," the princess replied. She had accepted her feelings now, and were ready to deal with them head on.