"I don't think I can do this."

"Come on, Starship. Don't you remember what I told you that night?"

Star Butterfly nervously ran her fingers through her hair as she talked into her mirror phone. The burning sensation that built up in her guts was becoming harder to ignore, and time was fastly disintegrating. She had to tell Marco how she felt, but the thought of doing so felt so alien to her. For a little over a year, the boy was nothing more than her friend. Her partner in crime. Her roomate. The thought of this shift in feelings scared her, so she went to her ex demon boyfriend Tom for advice.

"I know you said that stuff about 'testing the waters', but what if that water is too deep," the princess whimpered.

Tom chuckled, taking a bite of his burrito. The worrying Star was slightly amusing to him. "Well, you could at least say that you told him. Still, I'm sure you will be just fine."

"I don't know, Tom. I just don't know. He never seemed interested in me before. Why now?"

"The mind can do crazy things, Starship."

Their conversation was interrupted by a chorus of 'globgores', followed by the sound of footsteps beating into the floor. Glossaryck came shooting in, followed by a disheveled Marco, who had twigs caught in his hair. He was also holding a leash, and his breathing was heavy.

"I love you too, Tommy! I can't wait to see you tonight!"

"Uhhh, you too, Starship-"

Star quickly ran over and closed the satin curtains, rubbing the back of her head as Marco walked over. He panted, placing his hands on his knees in exhaustion. "Hey Star, I just got back from walking Glossaryck. He dragged me through the woods so I think I did an okay job."

Star smiled as she sat on the bed, and a tired Glossy-dog jumped in her lap and was soon fast asleep, she gave his head a pat as she looked up at her squire. "Thanks Marco."

"Yeah, Star. So.... anything else you need me to do? I kinda owe you... since I ran away and stuff." He gave her a nervous look, and Star just shook her head.

"No, Marco. I think you did enough today. You look tired. I think you should get some rest."

Marco felt his heart flutter at her caring remark. This was such a radical difference from the cold, nonchalant Star that he had become accustomed to during his first days on Mewni. "Thanks, Star, but no thanks. I have a thing with Tom today soon."

"A thing?"

"A thing."

"What kind... of thing?" The princess blinked. Oh, if this is about Marco and I, I will kill that demon, she thought to herself.

The boy pulled a twig that was tangled in his locks out, then flattened and fixed his hair as he replied, "I'm not sure really? He said it was important, so I better go. You know how Tom gets when he's angry."

"Oh." She paused. "Have fun. Uh, I'm surprised he's not avoiding you after that whole birthday party fiasco. Have you two made up?"

"I guess so...? I'm kinda confused to as to what he wants." Before Star could respond, Marco was already at the door, he turned his head to face her. "Anyway, I'll see you soon Star. I'll organize your ship-in-a-bottles for you later if you want!"

"Bye Marco, have fun!"

The door softly closed, and Star's smiled drooped. That gut feeling was back; she knew what they were going to talk about deep down. It scared her, but why was she afraid? This was her best friend she was talking about. She could tell him anything in the entire world...and he would be okay with it, but one thing was uncertain: Would these new feelings ruin it?

~•~

Marco browsed his closet for a new hoodie. When he was back on Earth, he had gotten several of the same red hoodie. There was no important reason for him to own the same red hoodie, it was simply because he liked it, and red was his favorite color. The one he had on was sweaty, and carried the pungent odor of BO. He couldn't hang with Tom smelling like that, despite the fact that the demon smelled of charred timber all of the time.

"Ah, this is the one," Marco said to himself as he reached to grab the hoodie off of the hanger. He let out a girlish scream when he saw what was lurking in his closet.

"Marco, bro!"

"Tom! What are you doing in my closet? And how did you even get in there?" Marco watched as the demon teenager grab one of his hoodies, in which he snatched it back and snapped at him. "Hey, hands off the hoodie! Star already gave you one, and you completely destroyed it!"

He put his hands up in defense. "Sorry dude!" Look, Marco. We need to talk."

"Yeah, I know. I got your message," the boy replied, "I thought I was going to meet you at your place? Or do you have something with Star and had to cancel?"

"I just thought it would be easier to come to you," Tom replied calmly. He stepped out of the closet and his eyes scanned the room. "Nice space ya got here. Needs a bit more... Fire, but that's not your style, I'm assuming?"

"Heh, thanks Tom. It's just the room I had back on earth. Nothing really special about it." He walked over and grabbed a controller, tossing it to the demon. "How about a game? Let's face it, you're the ping pong champ and I'm never going to beat you at it." He then walked over, back faced to Tom as he turned on the television. He then walked back over and sat next to him as the game intro screen appeared, then he turned to face Tom, who's eyes widened in awe.

"So... how have things been?" Marco remarked awkwardly.

"Eh, the usual," the demon replied nonchalantly as he shrugged. His thumbed mashed the buttons as he began making a character in the game.

"...How have you and Star been?" He gulped as those words escaped his lips, careful not to upset him. He wasn't sure how steady their relationship was, considering what went down at Star's birthday celebration. They were physically hurting him. "You two have spending a lot of time together."

Tom kept his attention drawn to the television as he formed a response. He saw how apprehensive Star acted earlier, and thought it wouldn't be a good idea to tell Marco about their breakup just yet. "Oh, you know, same-old, same-old. She doesn't really tell me anything. It's like she's hiding something from me."

Marco felt his heart rate increase. The last thing he wanted the demon to think that he was doing things with Star behind his back, or perhaps reveal the crush that he had on her to him. "I'm sure it's not that at all, Tom. She has a lot going on right now," He smashed the buttons as he played the fighting game against Tom, "she's trying to improve the relations between Mewmans and monsters, not to mention fixing the damage that Toffee has caused, and Eclipsa's trial. It's important to her."

Tom's expression softened. "Like I said, she tells me nothing," he scoffed.

"I don't understand why," Marco said, careful not to push any buttons, "I mean, I always told Jackie about things I did with Star, and she was understanding. Heh, even though I didn't at the end of our relationship. She uh... kinda broke up with me at the end of it all."

Tom turned his head, giving a sympathetic expression. "Ah, sounds rough dude, I'm sorry."

"It's fine, really," the boy said, cracking a small smile, "I just want Jackie to be happy, and I wasn't the one making her happy. I'm Star's squire now, and that's what I should really be focusing on, even though it's a ton of work. Not that I mind though, I love helping her and all, we're best friends."

Tom raised an eyebrow. He was getting closer and closer to what he wanted Marco to confirm. "Seems like she's pretty open with you, huh? You're lucky to have the princess of Mewni as your best friend."

Marco chuckled as his thumbs clicked the buttons on the controller. "I wouldn't say she's open with me. I mean, she's hidden things from me as well. But yeah, I guess you're right, Tom. Growing up in Echo Creek, I have experienced my fair share of teasing. Nobody really understood me. Even in Mewni, it feels as if I don't belong. I don't know my place. It's... nice, to have a friend like Star." He let out a soft sigh, advertising his attention back to the game. "Ever since she came into my life, my whole world has changed. Sometimes I wish things would stay as they were before she left for earth. Just her and I as best buds who go on crazy adventures. I understand that we all have to grow up at some point, but still... I miss how things used to be."

"...You mean how things were before Song Day? The songstrel had puppets. She supposedly had a-" The answer shocked Marco, and he paused the game and stood up, clearing his throat.

"If this conversation is headed where I think it is heading, let me just tell you that I'm happy for you Tom, really," He said as he forced a grin, "I'm happy that you managed to get back with Star like you've always wanted, and I'm happy that you're trying your best to change. I told you to let Star come to you, rather than forcing her to be with you, and look what happened? I guess she was really into that. Congrats dude." He gently punched Tom's shoulder, and he grabbed it, smiling up at Marco. He then opened his mouth to speak.

"Thanks, Marco. That is really cool of you to say. It... wasn't for Star, though. I'm happy that she was into my efforts to work on my anger issues, but it was really for myself. I wanted myself to get better. It's not cool blowing up at losing to ping pong, ya know?" He unpaused the game and continued to battle Marco. The comment lingered in his mind, he was happy to know that someone other than Star was proud of his efforts.

Marco chucked at the comment, remembering their game of ping pong months ago. "Yeah, I know what you mean. That's awesome how you're trying to get yourself figured out. I still have a long way to go..."

"So, how did you like the Soulrise?"

Marco's eye twitched, and he nearly dropped his controller in reaction to the comment. He regained his composure, and answered calmly. "It was amazing. I'm sorry I couldn't see it with you and Star... I had some things come up. You see, Kelly was having some problems with Tad... and I ran off to help her sort them out. Then I had some issues of my own come up, and Kelly helped me. We then went and watched the Soulrise together, and I ended up feeling a little better. It had to be my birthday of all days..."

"Wait wait wait... That was your birthday?!" Tom was appalled, "Oh man, I am so sorry! I was too busy with Star to ask... I would have gotten you something if I had known."

"It's fine dude, don't sweat it. Star didn't even wish me a happy birthday either. I get it, you two wanted to have fun. Didn't want me getting in the way. Besides, seeing the Soulrise was a pretty awesome experience. I guess that could be considered my gift. I felt better after seeing that."

Tom looked at Marco as he kept his attention turned to the television, connecting all of the pieces in his head. It was all making sense now. Song Day, the Soulrise, Star's birthday. The demon chuckled to himself. "Heh, I hope you're feeling better, Marco," he said, even though he knew he had something on his brain. A certain princess of sorts.

"I am," Marco was practically lying through his teeth, "thanks. And... I'm sorry for saying all of that stuff on Stump Day. I don't know what came over me."

"It's fine earth turd. I'm sorry too, I guess I still need to learn how to better control my anger." The demon rubbed the back of his head.

"Heh, it's a start. You're a great boyfriend to her."

Tom was growing agitated. He had all of the information he needed from him. He was one hundred percent certain that he liked her too. But he figured to obey Star's wishes, and convince Marco that they were still together. "Say Marco, you ready to get your butt kicked?" He pressed start, and maneuvered his character to deliver a kick to the jaw in the game, in which Marco frantically made his character jump back.

"In your dreams, demon boy," the boy said darkly.

~•~

The sound of Star's boots hitting the cold marble floor filled the room as she paced back and forth in front of Pony Head, Starfan13, Janna, and Kelly. Their eyes darted back and forth as they watched the blonde-haired princess skip from one side of the room to the other, venting out her troubles to them. She had invited them over to to discuss the issues that had came up between her and Marco, and they were the closest to her, and she trusted them with her secrets.

"B-fly, wouldn't it just be easier to just tell Marco how you feel instead of lying to him about still being with Tom," Pony Head remarked, causing nods of agreement to reverberate from Janna and Starfan13, "I knew it wouldn't last with that demon, gurl, and by the way, you're still hung up on earth turd, it was obvious from the get go!"

Star stopped her pacing and turned to face the pony princess. "Ugh, Pony Head! You just don't understand! Marco is my best friend! I don't want to completely weird him out by telling him how I really feel about him! It's weird... I mean, we've been friends for so long, and to think that this might ruin that it's just..."

"You two should just get a kissing hole. There's been tension building up between you two since the start of summer. Problem solved," Janna interjected with a snort, causing an aggravated sigh to emit from Star.

"Janna! You're not helping!" the princess facepalmed with both of her hands, and Pony Head floated over, giving her a comforting nuzzle with her snout. "It's just so hard girls... I just don't know what to do... I don't want to lose Marco forever!"

Janna and Starfan13 walked over and placed their hands on Star's back as she pulled her hair, apprehensive and frustrated. The pony princess continued to nuzzle. "I think we all know how much earth turd means to you, B-fly, but lying ain't gonna cut it! You gotta be upfront with him and just tell him!"

"You don't deserve Marco..." a voice said. The three friends turned their attention away from Star and all turned to the direction the comment came from. Kelly sat there, arms crossed, a slightly angered expression showing through her circular glasses.

It was as if a cold gust of air had blown through the room. Complete silence, that you could hear a pin drop. Star looked up with a calm expression, and breaking the silence, she calmly asked, "What did you just say?"

"You heard me, Star," Kelly said, her voice growing in volume. The rage that was building up inside her could be felt by the participants in the room Star shot a glare at Kelly as the room's atmosphere darkered, and nobody made a sound.

Kelly continued her manifesto, " Maybe if you had actually taken the time to hang out with with him, instead of making him a squire so you can order him around, things would have turned out differently."

"Ohhhh snap," Pony Head said as she watched the standoff, sticking her head into Janna's popcorn that she had seemingly pulled from thin air.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Star growled, "I made Marco my squire so we could hang out and do fun stuff together like we used to do!"

Kelly stood up, her eyebrows furrowing as she scoffed. "Sure you have. Marco certainly doesn't feel that way."

The princess put her guard up, the volume of her voice increased as the sheer anger was becoming more apparent. She clenched her fists tightly. "Don't you talk to me like you know Marco better than I do! We're best friends, and I clearly know him better than you do!"

"I'm offended because Star is offended," Starfan13 said as she held the infuriated Star back.

Kelly rolled her eyes, crossing her arms, "Sure you do, Star. That's why you order him around like he's your pet. That's why you made him watch you make out with Tom. That's why you weren't so thrilled when he came back to Mewni after he broke up with his girlfriend, dropped out of school, and gave up his entire life on Earth just to make your sorry butt happy. No wonder Marco's been avoiding you."

Star's face contorted into one of confusion. "How do you know-"

"He told me everything," Kelly said, gritting her teeth, "I don't understand how you can claim to be his best friend, when all of your 'efforts' to bring you two together are just pushing you further apart."

The angered princess lunged at Kelly, but Pony Head grabbed her light blue dress with her teeth, and commented in an attempt to fizzle out the situation. "Gurls! Can y'all just chill out a minute? Y'all are fighting over an earth turd!"

"Shush," Janna said, "this is quality entertainment."

"I AM a good friend, Kelly," Star spat, "I was always there for Marco! I destroyed my wand for him and helped him get with Jackie even though it hurt so badly... I've known Marco way longer than you have, so don't butt into our friendship like you know him because of your jealousy!"

Kelly was livid, and lunged at the princess with her fists balled up, and got right into her face. "Good friend, huh?! Then where were you during the Soulrise, huh?! Marco was going through something painful, and you weren't there for him! But when your jealous butt was upset, he dropped everything to make sure you were okay! I may have not have known him as long as you, but I know when something doesn't smell right between you two!"
Star pulled out her wand, and clenched it in her hand tightly as it started to illuminate with red magic. She growled, shutting her eyes as her anger started to flicker, and morph into sadness. "Who do you think you are, accusing me of being a bad friend? You think you can just ride into our friendship and learn everything so quickly. You have no idea what it's like to care for someone who doesn't feel the same way about you! You have no idea what it's like to fall for a guy you have no chance with! And you have no idea what it's like..." She paused, tears running down her face as her voice begun to break down in squeaks and sobs, "...to want your feelings for someone...to go away, but no matter how hard you try, they'll be there forever...." The princess lowered her head, as tears rolled down her cheeks, splattering the ground.

The green haired girl just rolled her eyes. "Ugh, whatever Star. If you were really a good friend, you would have noticed how Marco felt before, and would have done something about it. You don't deserve him." Kelly pulled out her dimensional scissors, slicing open a portal and jumping through. The princess felt something snap inside of her, and the three remaining friends looked at her in concern.

"Daaaaang," Pony Head said, breaking the silence, "that was like, crazy. Kelly has it baaaaad for Earth Turd, what do ya think B-fly?"

"I think we should bounce," Janna said, stuffing the last of her popcorn into her mouth, "Star's got a lot on her mind."

"I'm sad because Star is sad," Starfan13 said, "and angry at Kelly!"

"Girls, I think you should go," Star sniffled, "I... need some time alone..."

"We understand gurl," Pony Head gave Star a quick nuzzle before floating to the door, leading Janna and Starfan out, "Just give us a holler if you need anything else." The door softly shut, and that's when Star unleashed her inner emotions.

The princess ran over and ripped her curtains off of her windows, went to her bed, and threw the pillows on the ground, shattered her ships-in-a-bottle, nearly forming cuts on the palms of her hands. She was livid, more than livid. What was going on between Marco and Kelly? Whatever it was, she felt like it lowered her chances of being with Marco. Her judgements were correct, she didn't stand a chance.

During her rampage, a picture of her and Marco eddied to the ground. It was them during their "BEACH DAY" adventure. Star scooped the picture up in her hand, and whimpered as more tears fell out of her eyes, dropping onto the picture. She felt completely hopeless. She dropped the picture and fell into a heap on the floor, sobbing into her lap.

"My dear, whatever is the matter," a voice said, causing Star to look up.