"Star, What are you... AHH!" An eager Star Butterfly pulled her best friend into her room, slamming the door behind her. Marco, dazed by the sudden actions, continued his apparent protest.  "Whoa, what do you mean use your wand? I'm not a Butterfly, I have no idea how any of this magic works. I'm good at karate, and fighting thousands of Hekapoos for sixteen years straight, not casting spells!"

"Marco, I know you can use my wand, I saw you do it with my own eyes," the blonde said frantically. "Remember when I was summoned to that weird place, and you saved me? I could have sworn you used my wand to do that, haven't you?"

"Wellllll... yeah, I mean... it's not a big deal, Star. I am expected to protect you. It's my duty as a squire, after all." the boy waved his hand nonchalantly as he began to walk away, only to be grabbed again by the hyperactive princess and shaken to dizziness.

"Marco, this is a GIANT deal! Y-you used magic! You're not a Butterfly! How exactly is this possible? It's only been thought that Butterflys, Mewmans can unlock the special properties of magic, but you, Marco Diaz, are from Earth! How does this work?"

"... I think you are thinking way too deeply about this."

"I know something is up, Marco. I saw it," Star trailed off as she walked over to her nightstand where her wand lay. She gently picked it up, eyeing the star-shaped crystal closely. "I know what I saw. I may have been a little foggy  by all of the magic mumbo jumbo that was tampering with my memory, but I know what I saw." Brushing the bell of the wand with her hand, she held the wand out to the confused boy. "Take the wand."

"What?! Star, it's not a bi-"

"Take it," Star snapped.

"Ugh...fine..." Marco, letting out a reluctant groan, took the wand from the princess' grasp, looking down at it. Time slowly ticked by, and Star peeked over his shoulder, waiting for something to occur. Nothing. A few more seconds had passed. Still nothing. Star was growing impatient.

"It's not... changing." She poked it with her finger. "Come on, wand. Do something!" Pokes became frustrated shakes.

"I told you Star. I can't use your wand. Maybe it was a one-time coincidence or something." He began to walk away, only to be stopped by the ring of Star's disappointment.

"Marco, I know you can. I know what I saw."

"No.... I really can't. I dont have magic like you or fire powers or anything. I'm just some regular boy from Earth. All I'll ever be is your squire," the boy said with a shrug.

Star felt her gut drop at that statement. Marco meant so much to her, and she knew dang well that he was so much more. "Marco, that isn't true... You're so much more than that to me!"

An exhale escaped his lips as he sulked and started to walk away once again. He tried to push the wand back to Star, who wasn't going to let her best friend go without a fight. "I'm sorry, Star."

Star gently touched  his shoulder, her fingers curling on the fabric of his hoodie. "Marco, wait..."

".. Woah ho-ho hahhh! Staaaar!"

"Marco!"

All of a sudden, Marco was propelled in the air by the wand as it started to change. His body was lifted high into the air as he began to spin more rapidly. Faster and faster; blue and pinkish magic began to firework in the room.

Star's eyes lit up into literal stars as her eyes watch the magnificent scene. "Woah..."

Marco's spinning form is lowered to the ground gently as he stopped spinning gradually with the newly formed wand. The body of the wand is a lightish green, with a magenta crystal at its center. The wings of the wand were a darkish purple, and a sharp crystal stood at attention at the top. Marco stared wide-eyed at his wand, his hair disheveled on his head from the inertia of rapid spinning.

"I...uhhh..."

"See?" I told you you could do it," the princess exclaimed, squealing as she jumped up and down.

"Yeah, I guess?" The boy gave a nervous shrug. He knew what was coming, and he didn't know if he was mentally prepared.

"Alright, let's try a spell." Star thought for a minute, tapping her chin. I knew it, Marco mentally groaned to himself.

"Uh, I got nothing. Let me go grab an apple real quick. I'm hungry." Star began to walk to the door, only to be stopped by her best friend.

"No need." Marco fiddled in his pocket and pulled out a juicy red apple. He then tossed it to her, and she caught it in both hands. "An apple a day keeps the doctor away."

"Thanks!" Star opened her mouth to take a bite, but pauses as she saw her reflection in the surface staring back at her, causing a light bulb to 'ding' in her head. "Oh, Marco! You're a genius!" She ran over and sat the apple on the table, then ran over beside Marco. She then pointed to the apple sitting pretty on the table across from them. "Bring me that apple."

"But... I just gave you that apple." He started to walk over to retrieve it, but Star tugged on the back of his hoodie.

"No no no, silly. With magic."

"Isn't that a little unsafe," the latino inquired with a slight head-tilt.

"It's perfectly fine, Marco, now make with the magic," Star exclaimed.

"Alright alright alright...uhh..." Marco pointed the wand in front of him, feeling the sweat bead on his forehead. Star was there, watching his every move, and it gave him major anxiety. WIth a deep breath, he mustered up the strength to give her request a try. "Apple come hereth." Nothing happened.

Star facepalmed. "No no no... Levitato."

"...Levi...tatoe?"

"No... Levitato," she groaned.

"Ahh... right right right. I got this uhhh..." the boy prepared himself once again, planting his feet firmly on the ground. . "Levitato!" Nothing happened.

He tried again and again, to no avail. Minutes pasted by and the spell hadn't been completed. By the time that passed, he was all sweaty and exhausted from all the effort he was putting into casting the spell.

"No no, you have to aim higher, Marco. Aim higher," Star called out as the boy failed to complete the spell once again. He tried again and again, but no matter what he did, he could not make the apple leave its spot on the table. "...Marco, you're being unrefined. You have to say it with conviction," Star said, as the boy failed once more. "This is only the basics. We haven't gotten to anything difficult yet." Star was confused by how the safe kid, the perfectionist, could have such a difficult time with the simplest of spells, especially when he casted one of the most difficult with ease not so long ago.

"You know what? Forget it," Marco exclaimed in frustration. Marco tossed the wand back to Star, which quickly morphed back into its familiar purple state. He quickly stamped over to Star's bed, plopping down and burying his head into his hand.

Star was surprised by Marco's sudden outburst. She knew that he was upset that he couldn't levitate the apple,but she sensed there was something else bothering him. "What's the matter, Marco," she inquired as she walked over to him.

"I can't even do a basic spell..." the latino boy grumbled as he rested his hands on his knees and his chin on his hands.

"Come on, let me help you," she coaxed as she sat down next to him.

"I don't think there is anything you can do, Star."

"Please, let me help you, Marco." Star begged, "You're my best friend. I can't stand to see you like this."

"It's not the spell... It's just that... that I feel like I can't do anything right anymore. It's as if I don't know who I am now." Marco averted his attention to the floor, away from the princess.

"What are you talking about?," she asked, surprised by the boy's declaration.

"I just feel like I'm doing everything wrong and hurting those close to me... Especially... you, Star," he began. "I haven't been here enough for you recently. You gave me the honor of being your squire, only to have me run off. Then, to make it ten times worse, I blamed you for all of my issues instead of realizing that I was the problem. Now, I can't even do simple magic. Star, how can I be your squire, let alone your best friend, if I can't even do what's best for you?"

"...How could you say that?!" Star replied as she wrapped her arms around him tightly, pulling him into a hug. "You're going to be my best friend always! You've always been there for me, and most of the time I don't ask for it! Besides, the conflicts in our friendship aren't all your fault. They're mine, too. I haven't treated you like a best friend should be treated, and I haven't been there for you like you have for me. The fact of the matter is, Marco... is that I'm proud to call you my noble squire... and most importantly, my best friend."

"Thanks, Star," Marco said as he hugged her back with a half smile.

Don't worry about it, Marco."

"I just feel bad," the boy interjected,"I mean, I never even congratulated you on getting back together with Tom. I'm happy for the both of you."

"Oh..." Star trailed at the end of their embrace. Those thoughts were coming up again; she was lying to the person she trusted the most, and it was killing her inside. However, she wasn't ready to spill the beans, not yet at least, despite literally knowing a spell that could wipe both of their memories clean.

Is everything alright?" He noticed her disappointed look. She looked up and flashed him a smile.

:"Yeah, everything is fine, Marco... So uh, do you want to give the spell another go?"

"Why not," Marco shrugged as he grasped the wand again, feeling the weight being lifted off of his shoulders as he stood up again. "So, enunciate more and aim higher?"

"It's more than just that. You have to concentrate and not let yourself get distracted. If your mind isn't focused on the task at hand, or you get distracted, then the spell will fail," Star began, placing a hand on her chest.

"Soooo... concentrate and focus on what I think. Got it."

"And focus on what you feel."

"What I feel?"

"If you don't control your emotions, you won't be able to control your spells. You have to accept how you feel inside instead of hiding it or running away from it. Otherwise, the results could end in catastrophe."

"Ohhh..." Marco suddenly felt the nervousness wash over him once again.

"But don't worry, Marco. I know you can do it. I'll help you this time" she said reassuringly, giving him a hopeful grin, "so there's no reason to worry."

"Okay, Star," responded the boy, as he turned to face the apple once again. He trusted the princess, but his emotions had been a mess recently, and he wasn't even sure he knew how he felt. The boy started to get even more apprehensive as he lifted the wand to his chest. What if something went wrong? Or worse, what if he hurt Star? A sudden chill ran down his spine as he felt the warm touch of Star's hand over his. Her small, dainty hand touched gently. He had held her hand before, but this time, it felt pleasantly different. He couldn't explain how he felt, but he felt his heart burst with joy knowing that she was there by his side.

"Are you ready," Star asked, interrupting his train of thoughts.

Marco looked down at Star's hand on his for a split second as a determined smirk appeared on his face. "Ready."
He and his best friend guided the every motion of the spell. Together, they executed the spell until the apple landed perfectly intact in the girl's palm.

"You did it Marco! I know you could do it," Star cried in pure happiness as she hugged him, and Marco happily hugged back, triumphant that he actually managed to cast the spell.

As the princess pulled away from their embrace, she noticed something different about Marco's facial structure. Time seemed to slow down as she carefully examined his face with her blue eyes. Two deep brown eyes, a mole dappling the side of his cheeks and... two yellow moons ablazed on his cheeks? She didn't believe it at first, but the longer she stared, the more real she realized they were, and they glowed faintly.

"No, we did it... Together. You okay, Star?"

"Uhh, yeah Marco. I'm fine. I think that's enough magic for today. You go rest up, we can practice some more tomorrow," she was still shocked at what she saw on her friend, but she tried to play it off as nothing.

"Alright, don't worry, I promise to do it without your help next time," Marco said as he walked to the door. Star walked with him. Even though he was her best friend, she needed some time alone to process this newly-observed information.

"Totally totally totally."

She gently shut the door behind him and her mind began to race. Marco... cheek marks? It didn't all add up. He wasn't a Butterfly, and as far as she knew, only Butterfly wielded the emblems.

Suddenly, Star felt her face grow warmer... and her peripheral vision noticed a soft pink emanating from her cheeks. Bringing a hand up to gently stroke her cheek, she quickly raced over to her mirror, in aew at her reflection.

Her cheeks were radiating a brilliant rosy glow.