Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

They say that everyone is the protagonist of their own story.

But Marco Diaz knew that his wouldn't be worth reading.

He knew that if there was a published story of his life, it'd only be an add-on for the  real  story people should be reading. He knew that if he was in some sort of story, then at  most , he'd simply be an unliked 'best friend' of the  actual  main character that's only meant to make them shine.

Which is the case now.

The technically 16-year-old Hispanic boy stared directly at the ceiling of a room identical to his own on Earth, all made by an astonishing girl without even breaking a sweat. He thought about the girl he had fought monsters to protect, the girl he spent  sixteen  years in a dimension for just to get her back some scissors.

That was Star Butterfly... the magical princess of Butterfly Castle, the shining star of Mewni, and the girl Marco considered his best friend of all time.

Well... used to be, anyway.

Don't get him wrong, he still viewed her as his... 'bestie,' and Star herself always gave him time and attention along with her signature smiles of optimism and bubbly fun.

But the problem was... things just never felt the same between them as they had been back on Earth. Their time together no longer gave Marco the genuine belly laugh he had when dealing with the magical princess's antics. They had gone through everything together—fighting monsters, dimension-hopping, and even disguising themselves as 'wayward' princesses to save another friend.

But ever since Marco chose to live on Mewni to help her, things were just... different. No longer did the two ever hang out alone. It was always with either Tom, Ponyhead, or even both. Don't misunderstand; Marco always did enjoy hanging around with Star regardless of who else was around, but... it just felt like there was some sort of gap between them that neither had intended to make.

He remembered how awkward and nervous Star looked after receiving his declaration that he'd live on Mewni. She didn't face him for half that day while trying to sort his situation out. Her answers to any of his questions were short, she sighed more than he had ever usually heard from her, and sometimes she even cut him off when he tried to apologize about coming back, saying that things were 'fine.'

At least afterward, when Marco was chosen to squire for Sir Lavabo and nearly died to some lint monster, there was a glimmer of hope for the two and their bond. Star had made Marco into her personal squire so they could spend as much time together as they did on Earth. Not only that, but Marco could assist Star with any problems she needed advice on while the girl attempted to become a better princess. He thought that this was precisely what he had wanted. To remain around the girl who changed his life and support her as her best friend.

However, things didn't end up how he hoped at all.

*Beep! Beep! Beep!*

Marco emotionlessly sat up on the bed of his room, using an arm to wipe his eyes while the other blindly reached for the interdimensional phone mirror on his nightstand. 

He brought it close to his scrunched-up face and turned off the alarm while checking the time.

Five in the morning. 

Marco sighed as he turned off his brightly lit phone, then looked ahead at his dark room. The window on the other side of him showed the faintest signs of orange and red in the distance, the sun slowly but surely rising for the new day.

He dragged himself out of bed and grabbed some clothes, preparing to get ready for the day. He could feel the sweat on his t-shirt after another rough night of sleep. It felt gross to feel the coldness against his skin. After putting together a basket of his usual clothes and bathroom supplies, he quickly left for the Mewni showers.

If there was one good thing for him on Mewni, it was the chance to take a nice warm shower every morning.

Actually, it might've been the  only  good thing for him in the castle... besides seeing Star, that is.

When Marco became Star's squire, he thought things would be like before. Dimension hopping adventures, fighting anything that came their way, or hanging out with his homemade nachos. He didn't mind if Star had to act more 'proper' or had to spend less time with him so she could focus on her studies. In fact, he was proud of her for doing so.

And he thought that while Star was preparing to inherit the throne,  he  would do what he could to support her as her squire. A squire not just for her but for Sir Lavabo in what was surprisingly the most dangerous place in Butterfly Castle.

The laundry room, most notably called, The Wash. 

He knew that most of the castle knew him in some way from the time he spent with Star, so Marco thought that not only would he be able to spend time around his best friend, but he could get familiar with the other knights and nobles to show them his worthiness as a royal squire.

But he never even got the chance to prove himself...

Marco got near the end of the hall and peeked around the corner. The royal showers were just a few feet ahead, and in front of the entrance was a stern-looking, tanned knight on guard.

A slight frown formed on Marco's face, retreating behind the corner and putting his back against the wall while groaning.

"He really needs to find a better use of his time..."

When Marco first started taking showers in the castle, there was no such guard at this position. 

There was no one in that spot that would constantly ask him who he was  despite  having seen him every single day. No one in such a position would refuse to let him into the showers because he didn't 'trust' him enough.

Marco knew that Star, Moon, or Richard would ever put such a guard here, so either this guy was doing this for amusement, or another royal staff had placed him there to harass him.

Sure, he could report this to Star herself, but... he remembered the last time he resorted to reporting to the higher-ups.

In his early days on Mewni, Marco reported the knights and staff treating him poorly. Star had gathered the ones Marco said were bullying him, and the princess herself had given them a verbal scolding with a threat of punishment, something Marco deeply appreciated.

Sadly... things just got worse.

The knights continued their hateful actions toward the boy, ranging from verbal insults when his back was turned to even having dirt or mud thrown at him. Or at least, he prayed to god it was mud. Sometimes he couldn't even tell ever since he got used to the smell of Mewni's streets.

Of course, Marco had reported this once again to Star, but he couldn't even give her any names this time because of how careful the knights and squires had become to hide their faces and only do something when not seen. Since Marco couldn't give her any names, Star did the easy thing and gathered up all the knights and squires, to which she gave them yet another verbal scolding. But this time, she included a punishment for  everyone  in the form of adding more to their training regimen.

Marco remembered the hateful glares when Star proceeded to leave with him, the guilt he felt when the squires and knights he knew hadn't done anything looked at him differently. He realized that he had dragged so many more people into his problem and had made further enemies. 

From then on, the harassment was worse than ever, with even  more  knights and squires mistreating him because of the punishment they had received. Even the ones who had done nothing before were now joining in. I mean, if you were to get in trouble for doing nothing, you might as well do something, right?

By then, Marco gave up even trying to report anything else. He took everything thrown at him, never bothering to retaliate against it. After all, he couldn't fight with them if it wasn't in a duel or spar. He'd get in trouble for that.

This treatment has continued all the way up to now.

Marco grumbled as he turned the corner and approached the guard, the tall man catching sight of him immediately and straightening his stance.

"Halt! You there! State your name and business!"

"Marco Diaz of Earth, royal squire of Star Butterfly and Squire of the Wash for Sir Lavabo. Here to get clean for the day... as I've told you every single morning since you decided to show up..." Marco responded in a bored monotone.

The knight scoffed and slammed the bottom of his spear onto the ground. "I haven't heard of such a 'squire!' How can trust the word of such a-!?"

"Yeah, yeah, here you go..." Marco reached into his shower basket and pulled out some money tied up with a rubber band, tossing it to the knight.

The greedy knight snatched the cash out of the air with a sly grin, his stern and composed expression wiped for a second before returning immediately as he put the money into his suit.

"Hm... It appears that you are indeed  somewhat  trustworthy, so you shall be allowed to cleanse yourself of your own  filth,  Earthling." The knight stated, stepping aside.

Marco sighed and passed by the knight. "Dude, you really need to get your priorities straight..."  

The knight scoffed.

"You should too, lover boy."

Marco stopped in the doorway, his hands tightly gripping his shower basket. He knew better than to say anything or risk the knight doing more to inconvenience his future days.

He marched inside as his stoic gaze turned into one of anger. He really hated that knight, but it was better to deal with one knight in the morning rather than head towards the squire showers and risk his clothes being stolen again.

And at least this knight knew not to push his luck and be somewhat  fair  in price for scamming him.

Marco let his head press against the wall as the warm water ran along his back, grateful that he even had access to these showers. It seems selfish greed can easily sway who were supposed to be loyal knights of Mewni. Should he tell Star about it? No... He had bothered her more than enough with his own troubles before. She might not even believe him when it comes to the knights anymore.

Well, there was no use thinking about it now... He could deal with the knights. After all, it wasn't the first time he's dealt with bullies.

"Star's probably won't need you today."

Marco's eyes widened before he immediately shook the thought out of his head. It happened again; it keeps on happening. He'd be thinking about something completely unrelated to her, but then out of nowhere, he'd suddenly find himself thinking about the girl. He doesn't mean to, he doesn't even want to, but he knows why it happens... He had the revelation when he went to Lava Lake Beach to watch the Soulrise. 

He was in love with Star Butterfly.

He was in love with his best friend, the girl that changed his life. But she was together with someone else... Someone who he believed deserved her far more than him. The demon Marco used to hate was the one Star was with, and he couldn't blame her. Tom did so much not just to change for Star but for himself, and Marco acknowledged that.

But even though he knew this, he couldn't stop all the depressing and longing thoughts he had for the girl. These thoughts tormented him every day. He didn't want to think about Star; he really didn't. It made him feel so miserable when he wished to be happy for her.

So... why did it feel like he wasn't allowed to get her out of his head?

~{Butterfly Castle: Laundry Room- 6:35AM}~

Marco had woken up earlier than the royals, but that only made sense as a squire. Each squire woke up at the crack of dawn to fulfill the duties for their knights, and every knight woke up early to conduct the duties for their castle. Marco was no different, as he had to wake up to conduct his work as the squire of the wash.

He admitted that at first, he thought working for some old man who was too passionate about clothes was weird. And although this was still technically true, he realized there was much more to Sir Lavabo and the Wash.

Especially when going through battles such as now.

"WHOA!" Marco dove out of the way of a flying table thrown at him, then rolled on the ground to avoid a chair that followed.

He hid behind a pillar, glancing at the elder across the room.

"Sir Lavabo! I thought you said we were just facing some dust bunnies!?!"

The old man held a wooden mop that he swung to knock away a barrel hurled at him.

He turned his head in Marco's direction with an eyebrow raised.

"Did I say that? No, Marco Diaz, my dear boy, I said that we'd be fighting  Musk  Bunnies!"

Within the laundry room were several giant, bunny-shaped beasts made entirely of dust, cloth, and strands of wool. However, they were taller than even Sir Lavabo, standing on two feet. Rather than paws, they had muscular fists, their mouths contained teeth made of needles, and their eyes were made of balls of different colored yarn. But rather than just gray color from dust, these creatures were a mixture of brown and black and had a visible stench spewing from their bodies.

"Musk Bunnies!?! That's a thing!?!" Marco questioned as if he had heard a joke.

 But then he caught a whiff of the monsters, and his face turned instantly green, to which he covered his now puffing mouth with one hand as the other pinched his nose.

"Oh god! That REEKS!!"

Sir Lavabo had gotten close to two of these bunnies and rapidly spun his broom like a staff to force them away, not bothered by any scents thanks to a clothespin on his nose.

"Yes! Musk Bunnies! Vile monsters formed by lint and magic mixing with the filth and odor from all the armor and clothing of the royal squires and knights! It rarely occurs, but when it does, it MUST be taken care of post-haste!"

"That's... disgusting."  Marco thought, keeping his nose pinched as he kept himself from puking. He dove from behind the pillar and did a front flip over a Musk Bunny that attempted to tackle him down.

"Catch!" Sir Lavabo said between spins of his broom, tossing Marco a clothespin and a spray bottle.

Marco held his breath and snatched both out of the air, quickly putting the clothespin over his nose and breathing from his mouth.

"You now hold the mightiest weapon against these threats, Marco Diaz! Our victory is guaranteed!" Lavabo laughed as he leaped onto a table and parried swipes from bunnies with his broom.

Marco looked down into his other hand at the spray bottle Sir Lavabo gave him, only to deadpan.

"Freshener? Really?"

He sighed.

"Well, I guess it makes sense..."

Several dust bunnies dove at him with open mouths intending to clamp down.

Marco just looked up at them while aiming the bottle.

~{Butterfly Castle: Dining Hall-8:11AM}~

So that's how Marco's mornings usually went. Head down to the laundry room first thing in the morning to clean mountains of clothes and fight creatures that somehow manifested from magic.

But as technically a squire for Star, Sir Lavabo understood that he shouldn't keep Marco for too long throughout the day. The two always started work at six in the morning and usually worked until breakfast, which was around eight for the castle. Marco  did  tell Sir Lavabo a few times that Star never really kept him too busy and that he could spend more time helping him, but according to the knight's words...

"Nonsense! You are a royal squire for the princess, a position I hadn't even heard of before! So if she created it, then it must be of utter importance for you to always be available for her!"

Marco gave up trying to explain that his position really didn't matter... So because of this, he was usually free for the rest of the day.

Speaking of Star...

"Hi, mom! Hi dad!" 

The cheerful princess slid down the stairs' railing while getting the attention of her parents and Marco, who was seated at the dining table.

Marco couldn't help but smile to see that the girl kept her cheerful individuality despite training to be a good princess.

Star hopped to the bottom of the stairs and quickly made her way to the table, giving Marco a tight hug.

"Good morning Marco!" She laughed, happy to see him the most.

But when she hugged him, Marco felt his body lock up, a strained smile forming as he returned the hug.

"Uh, morning, Star!" He replied, trying to sound just as cheerful as her.

These hugs... he had always enjoyed their warmth from Earth, but nowadays, they just made Marco feel cold and stiff.

Star dispersed her hug and plopped herself down in the seat next to him, cheerfully humming as she poured herself a bowl of cornflakes.

Moon, the current queen of the butterfly kingdom, smiled at her daughter, "How was your day yesterday, sweetie?" 

An even bigger grin formed on Star's face, "It was amaziiiiiiiiiing!!" she squealed. "Yesterday, Tom and I went to the Cloud Kingdom and helped clear out a bunch of Stormcloud Spirits! They were zapping lightning all over the place!" 

Marco felt the lump of cornflakes he swallowed stop at his throat, barely managing to bring them down as the jealously started burning through him once more. Here it was again... He was supposed to be her squire, to just help and support her, but here he was, longing for that time alone with her instead of being glad she had fun.

Upon mentioning Stormcloud Spirits, King River, King of Mewni, and Star's father, let out a booming laugh. "My, my, that sounds rather  shocking , doesn't it!"

The king's daughter groaned and let her head hit the table. "Dad... Why do you do this to me?"

"Oh, come off it, Star! It was funny!" River defended.

Marco managed to gulp down his cereal and took deep breaths, trying to keep calm despite the surge of emotions that had suddenly come. Luckily, Star and Moon were busy cringing over River's joke to notice. 

He hated feeling this way; he really did. Star being alone with Tom, the two having the adventures he used to have with her, it ate him from the inside. The princess was usually busy, but she spent most of her free time around Tom. Yes, she always invited Marco out whenever the two wanted to go somewhere, but he had been declining more and more recently. These outings with Star, they just didn't help him feel better. He just felt like a third wheel. It was always clear Star was excited to go somewhere with  Tom , not him. He knew that if he went, he might slip up and become a downer for the two...

But don't get him wrong, it wasn't like Marco hated Tom. In fact, he actually liked the guy after just how much he changed. It was just that... hanging out with his crush and her boyfriend as a third wheel was just uncomfortable. 

He'd rather just have some time alone with Star, even if just as a friend. 

Apparently, he had been in his thoughts for a while, as Star had finished scarfing down her cornflakes before jumping out of her chair.

"Thanks for breakfast! I gotta get going now! Tom and I are visiting the Johanson kingdom! They're really starting to like me!" Star exclaimed.

Moon took a sip of her milk, "Do enjoy yourself, Star. You've been working really hard as of recently. You don't have to think that you're only there for politics."

"Indeed! You should try the mud wrestling!" River suggested.

"I'll think about it! Bye mom, bye dad! Bye Marc- Oh, wait!" Star turned to Marco with a big smile and was bouncing in place. "Marco, guess whaaaaaaat?"

Marco snapped out of his daze and turned to her with an eyebrow raised.

"Uh, yeah?"

"Tonight, Tom and I are gonna visit the Underworld to have dinner with his parents! We want you to join us!"

Marco's eyes widened in a mixture of shock and horror.

Visit the home of his crush's boyfriend? Feel his heart scorch him from the inside by being constantly reminded that Tom had what he didn't?

There was no way... He couldn't go there and be able to keep himself in check.

"Er, sorry, Star, I'm gonna have to sit this one out." Marco answered as calmly as he could.

There was a twitch in Star's smile, which actually surprised him. 

"I uh, already have plans." He added with a hand raised.

Star's smile looked like it had been locked in place, and she wasn't even blinking.

"Plans? Is it with Sir Lavabo?" She asked, getting cheerful. "If that's the problem, then I can just-"

"No!" Marco didn't mean to raise his voice like he did. It was just a small burst from the agony developing in his chest to refuse her. It quieted the girl, but it made her flinch with the corners of her mouth falling, so she only had a half-smile now.

Marco was nearing the point of giving in to her just by seeing how hurt she looked. He was tempted to accept the invite so he could see her smile again. But he knew he couldn't go to literal hell. The fake positive persona he'd have to keep up, the uncomfortable anxiety that would kick in to meet Tom's relatives, the burning jealously that would threaten to make him suddenly say something he'd regret... 

He couldn't go with them. He knew he'd just ruin it.

"S-Sorry Star, I said that louder than I meant to." Marco awkwardly chuckled, trying to play it off as he scratched the back of his head. "I guess I'm just kinda cranky from fighting the Musk Bunnies this morning. They really reeked."

Thankfully, the hurt on Star's face was replaced with a perplexed expression.

"Musk Bunnies?"

River, who had been watching the two with Moon, suddenly stood up in his chair.

"You've fought those filthy monstrosities!? Well, no wonder you're out of it, Marco! Fighting something as revolting as those would put a frown on anyone's face! I still remember my first experience fighting one; Moon-pie made me stay in another room for a week until the smell left..." He stated, then cringing as he recalled the experience.

"I told you not to tackle them, River..." Moon deadpanned beside him.

Star turned back to Marco with a suspicious look, it seemed to make sense to her, but she didn't seem convinced.

"And what, you don't wanna come because of that? You don't even smell, Marco." She moved her face by him, taking a few sniffs.

Marco's discomfort grew more than ever. Star never seemed to get the concept of personal space, and he usually hadn't minded before. But now that she was with Tom... it was different.

"No, that's not why, Star. Like I said, I... I have plans. Plus, I don't think going there is right for me anyway. It should be a time for you and Tom to reassure his parents about your relationship. Didn't you tell me before that they still seem a little wary about you for breaking up with him before? Use this moment to prove how serious you are to be with him." He said with a big smile.

It hurt so much, offering advice for her relationship, but he still believed it was right. He still had to say what he could to help keep her happy, even if he wasn't the one she'd live a happy life with.

"Oh... Okay."

The disappointment heard in Star's voice made his heart stop. Did... Did she really want him to come that badly? It had been a while since he had hung out with her...

He was bringing her mood down; he could see it in her eyes. She had been so happy when she arrived, but he was hindering her happiness because of his own emotional problems.

"Uh, m-maybe next time we could go somewhere?" He asked, forcing the upper corners of his mouth to remain up.

That sparkled some hope in Star's eyes, her grin returning as big as before.

"Oo! I know so many places we can go! I'm still trying to fit them in with my duties, but I'll make sure to have my bestie and boyfriend hang out together!"

"Heh, yeah!" Marco responded with hollowed excitement. He didn't mean Tom included, but he couldn't tell her that.

"I'll see you later then! I hope you get everything done!" Star said, embracing her friend in a tight hug before taking off up the stairs.

"Yeah..."

Marco stared at where Star had just left, then turned back to his cereal with rather cold eyes.

"Bye..." He muttered.

She really did want to include him... She wanted him to have fun with him, but he couldn't, not until he could finally get over his feelings—both his feelings towards Star and the feeling of worthlessness he had for himself.

Because ever since staying in Mewni, he felt like... he was only  just  there.

Marco didn't feel like he was influential in any way to the kingdom. He had put his life on the line to try and save Mewni when Ludo took over, but no one seemed to even be aware of it.

He knew that only Star wanted his presence. Sure, Moon and River also seemed to care for his well-being, but he didn't think they saw him the way Star did, as someone important who was needed for Mewni.

"Marco, is something wrong?" River asked.

"Crap."  Marco realized that he must've zoned out at the table since Star left, as indicated by his soggy cornflakes. He looked up, and sure enough, he saw both the king and queen of Mewni staring at him with a hint of worry.

"Er, no! I just-! Uh... I forgot I had something important to do! Yeah! I've gotta head down with the other squires!" He lied.

That quickly convinced the king, who brought a fist up with a smile. "Then go on then, my boy! There's nothing like fighting with some of Mewni's finest warriors to start the day!"

Marco cringed. Calling  those  knights the 'best' of Mewni really left a bad taste in his mouth. He spent sixteen years in one of the most dangerous dimensions ever, and the knights of Mewni weren't even close to the warriors he's seen at the time. Here, they were selfish, arrogant, and foolish overall. They weren't 'bad' fighters necessarily, but they could improve by getting experience fighting those not from their dimension. Yet, these knights wouldn't even give  him  the chance to even prove himself in combat to give them his experience. He was just some 'Earthling' not worth their time, a  boy  not even worth fighting just because of where he came from.

"Yeaaaaaaaah... I'm sure it'll be fun." Marco answered River sarcastically, pushing out his chair and turning his back to the two royals.

Moon raised an eyebrow, as this attitude was uncalled for from such a usually polite boy. 

"Marco, is something the-?"

"Atta boy! You'll make a fine knight yet!" River cut his wife off, surprising her and allowing Marco to leave the room before she could get a word in.

She frowned, "River... Don't you think something was a little... 'off' about Marco?"

River turned to her with a chicken leg stuffed into his mouth, "What do you mean, Moon-pie?"

"Nevermind..." Moon deadpanned.

Outside the room, Marco started marching, thinking about what River had just said.

 He'll make a fine knight... That's  rich  coming from him.

The old guy hadn't even thought Marco would even come back to Mewni in the first place. He had planted a seed of confidence in the boy and had gifted him what Marco had thought was some important royal cape, only to learn that it was some  damn  meat blanket. 

He remembered the echoing laughter from the knights when he declared he'd become a knight, he could still remember the embarrassment, and he vividly recalled the feeling of betrayal. He thought the king of Mewni had really acknowledged Marco's abilities to have offered him such a rank... But to learn that it was just some joke? Something that he didn't take seriously despite Marco risking his life? He had helped River reestablish his position as king and encouraged him to be more considered and confident for his people, and that was how he repaid him?

The boy lost both respect and trust for the man. 

Marco pulled his hood up and stuffed his hands into his pockets, walking out of Butterfly Castle and onto the dirt streets of Mewni with the sun hitting him from above. Since he had said so, he might as well head over to the training grounds to at least  try  to spar with any of these 'fine warriors,' even if he'll most likely get mocked again.

The royal knights of Mewni... They were one of the main reasons Marco's life was hell. He didn't know just when they had started to resent them, but they always tried to make his life as miserable and inconvenient as possible. And it wasn't just them, but the squires acted the same way towards him, maybe even worse since they're even less mature than the knights.

Could it have been when Ruberiot's song to Mewni exposed how Star had felt for him? How close and familiar an otherworlder like him was to the royal family? Or maybe it was because he was not only the squire of a laundryman but even the princess's royal squire just for being her 'best friend.'

Well... he knew someone who hated him for that last part.

"Hey, nerd!"

And speak of the devil.

"Oh boy..."  Marco had been following a dirt path to the training grounds when he heard that voice, and apparently, one squire was going the same way.

He sighed and looked behind him to the last person he wanted to see.

Higgs, fellow squire of Mewni and self-proclaimed rival to Marco. Her cream-colored skin, short orange hair, and shining green eyes reflected the sunlight rather well, but not so much for her blue tunic, white pants, and red thigh-length boots.

If Marco had to name someone who genuinely hated him, it was Higgs. She resented him more than any other squire or knight because of her belief that he had 'cheated' the system by using his friendship with Star to become her squire. She was petty whenever she could be, even stealing Marco's clothes the one time he took a shower in the squire's section of Mewni.

And here she was, holding a wooden sword with her green eyes glaring at the boy.

"What? Your princess finally had enough of you?" She mocked, resting her sword on her shoulder.

"Good morning to you too, Higgs..." Marco replied dryly. "And no, I just got curious to see if any of you would get your heads out of your asses and at least  try  to spar with me."

Higgs's eye twitched. "What, you think anyone here wants to waste time with you!?"

"I could show you guys that I'm not a waste of time, I could show you that I can actually give you all a run for your money, but you're all just too stubborn to believe that maybe,  just  maybe, I could be a good fighter. Maybe even better than the knights." Marco replied in irritation. 

This seemed to strike a nerve for Higgs, the girl scowling at him. "You? Better than  me ? Better than  SIR  Stabby? You're a joke."

"All your egos are jokes. What kind of a true knight  or  squire would reject a friendly spar just because of their own arrogance? I've watched you all train and have seen soldiers  twice  as better as you guys, not to mention three times as respectful. So many of them weren't even part of any royal army! I thought I could try teaching you guys something but nooooooooooo, you think I'm just some earth 'boy' not even worth fighting." He said as he flailed his arms in the air in emphasis.

Now Higgs was getting annoyed, moving her sword from her shoulder and pointing it at him. 

"Bullshit! You sound like you've fought through kingdom after kingdom even though you can't do anything without your princess girlfriend!"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Marco abruptly yelled. "I've told you this so many times already! Ugh! Why can't you just stop being a complete jerk and try to broaden your experience with fighting someone not from Mewni!?!"

"Hmph, because it's not even worth fighting you, nerd. I'd just look dumb fighting against your 'sword hand' dance." Higgs declared with air quotes on the mention of his fighting style. She then marched past him and made her way toward the training grounds. "I wouldn't gain anything from it."

Marco facepalmed in disbelief at the kind of idiots meant to protect Mewni. All the experience the knights and squires have come from fighting each other or fighting mindless monsters from the Forest Of Certain Death, nothing else. They could quickly become overwhelmed if they were to face someone like him with an unfamiliar fighting style that the dimension had never encountered. The knights only appeared to rely on the weapons they had or at most would use grappling techniques most likely learned by the Johansen Kingdom. He had seen them conduct hand-to-hand combat before, but he wasn't impressed. 

He  just wanted  to help them all gain a new experience in combat. He thought that maybe Higgs would try to face him because he knew she hated him, but she was just like the others. Refusing to fight because it just wasn't 'worth their time.'

...

Wait.

He formed a smirk, removing the hand from his face.

"What if I make it worth your time?"

Higgs stopped walking and glanced back at Marco with a dull look.

"Oh please, just being around you isn't worth breathing."

Marco crossed his arm with a smug look.

"Would it be worth it if winning a duel got me to leave Mewni?"

Higgs's eyes widened.

"Permanently?"

"Permanently." Marco nodded.

He had gotten her full attention.

"You? Leave Mewni? Just for losing a duel? You'd put that on the line? What about your princess girlfriend?" Higgs asked suspiciously.

Marco didn't even acknowledge that last part, shrugging as if he didn't care while maintaining his smile. "I mean, if that's what it takes to prove that I'm not just the 'nerd' you think I am, then yeah. I'd risk it. But it doesn't really matter because I'm not losing."

He raised a finger.

"And from what I know here on Mewni, knight and squire pledges are  always  fulfilled by both sides, so I, of course, would have to honor the agreement if I lost. Even if I refused to leave afterward, you could just get the other knights or royals to basically kick me out, right? So it sounds like I'm 'guaranteed' to leave." 

Marco unraveled his arms and put his hands on his hips.

"So what'll it be, Higgs?" He finished confidently.

He knew he had her when he saw that evil grin.

~{Outskirts of Butterfly Castle- 9:05AM}~

"Why did we have to go all the way outside the castle?" Marco deadpanned as he and Higgs stood in an empty grass field, each holding a wooden sword.

"Obviously, because I don't want to be judged by anyone for even amusing you with a duel!" Higgs snapped.

"O...kay?" Marco raised an eyebrow. "Then what are the rules for the duel?"

Higgs suddenly let out a mocking laugh. "Are you serious!? You don't even know the basics of a duel!? Some 'squire' you are!"

Marco frowned. "From what I've seen, different kingdoms can have different rules for their duels,  Higgs . I like to know exactly how things are gonna be done rather than just rush in. Or do I just assume we're fighting to the death?"

"Pfft, yeah, yeah." Higgs smirked with a wave of her hand, clearly not taking him seriously. "It's so easy that even your earth brain should be able to understand it. We start from these spots, and when the mark is given, we swing swords until one of us successfully hits the other, marking that person as 'dead.' We can't have any outside help, no magic, we can only use swords or our body, yadda yadda, that stuff."

"Okay, sounds simple enough, but..." Marco responded, yet still confused about one thing. "Who's gonna give the mark?"

"I will. You'd probably just count down to one immediately to get the jump on me." Higgs frowned.

"Just what the hell do you think of-? Actually... nevermind." Marco gave up. "But one more thing, we didn't actually agree to what I'd get if  I  won."

Higgs rolled her eyes. "Is there even a point? You're gonna be sent crying back anyway."

"Just humor me." Marco deadpanned.

Higgs smirked. "Alright, whatcha got?"

Marco put a finger on his chin and thought about what to ask. He didn't think about it when he made the offer with Higgs, but... this was a good chance, wasn't it? A chance to keep showing her how much stronger she could be and maybe help her learn some lifelong lessons.

He smiled, snapping his fingers.

"If I win, then from then on, whenever I want to spar with you, you'll always cooperate."

"Pfft, sure." Higgs remarked, then slightly bending her knees while grabbing the hilt of her sword with both hands. "Let's just get this over with so I can send your ass back!"

Marco's smile fell as he got into his own fighting stance, raising his sword into a hanging-right stance and bending his knees with his feet apart.

Higgs saw this and immediately laughed. "Why the hell are you holding your sword like that!? What kind of-"

"JUST, count, down." 

The girl was caught off guard by the sudden change in Marco's tone, noticing a few other changes in his composure.

For one, Marco's eyes were completely emotionless as he stared deeply into Higgs's own. His breathing had changed to a very calm and steady pace, an unwavering aura seeming to make the atmosphere turn tense.

Higgs squinted her eyes suspiciously. Even though the nerd looked stupid in that weird stance, it didn't look like he was just putting it on to act cool. Something was off, but she didn't let that bring down her confidence.

"On one exactly." She said, tightly gripping her sword.

Marco nodded.

"Three..."

Marco took a deep breath.

"Two..."

Higgs shifted her feet.

"ONE!"

With a cry, Higgs ran right towards Marco with her sword above her head.

Marco narrowed his eyes.

Good speed, not a bad stance, but still too many openings. Still, not bad for a squire.

Higgs swung down her sword but found that her target had vanished, causing her to stumble forward.

"What the-!?" She turned and brought her sword up, finding Marco nearly in the same spot he was before, staring at her with unamused eyes and holding his sword in a blocking stance.

Higgs glared as she ran towards him again, swinging her sword several times. Each strike had a clank as Marco parried her hits while backing up. He made no effort to swing back. He just studied Higgs's movement, her firm, precise swings, and the focus and determination fueling her with each attack.

"Not bad. You can really tell she fights a lot. But still..."

A few minutes of swinging and blocking went by before Higgs was left panting and significantly sweating in frustration while Marco looked completely fine, if not bored.

"Too much startup."

Higgs paused. "What?"

"You've got too much started up on your swings. It lets me predict where you're gonna attack."

Apparently, Higgs got offended by this 'insult' to her fighting ability.

"Shut up! All your doing is blocking, coward! Don't act like you're all-knowing when you can't even get a hit in!"

"I could hit you anytime, Higgs. I just wanted to see how far you were in fighting. You're actually a lot better than I gave you credit for. But you've still got a long way to go." Marco sighed.

This triggered the girl to rush right at him with a battle cry, repeatedly swinging her wooden sword once more.

"Don't act tough just because you can block! A  real  knight would be fighting with everything they've got! They'd be able to fight to easily hit their opponent! Unlike  you !"

Their swords clashed, and Higgs started trying to push it into Marco, but the boy kept himself firmly planted with an unamused eyebrow raised.

"You don't want me to hold back? Fine."

With a push of his sword, Marco sent Higgs stumbling back. The squire was surprised by the sudden push and tried to keep her balance but failed and landed on her butt.

She let out a gasp and immediately got to her feet with her sword up, having expected Marco to suddenly rush her.

But the boy held his sword out before letting it fall to the ground, a stern but intense look on his face.

He slowly shifted his feet and got into a karate stance, hands straight, and body relaxed.

Higgs looked infuriated, her ears turning red at the thought that Marco was looking down at her by getting into that  stupid  dance.

"You're just making fun of me now, aren't you!? You asshole!"

Marco narrowed his eyes as Higgs continued.

"You'll  never  be a knight, got it!? That stupid dance of yours is gonna get you killed! Even the princess is gonna realize that she doesn't need you-!"

Marco had enough, so with a precise and blurred movement, he ended up right in front of Higgs, bringing a hateful and dangerous glare to her face.

"Oh  really ?" He asked, face inches from hers.

Higgs let out a yelp by the sudden closeness and swung her sword sideways, but Marco ducked right underneath and avoided it. Then, worried that he'd suddenly punch her, Higgs tried to catch him off guard by trying to kick him in the face while he was low.

But Marco easily dodged to the side while getting close. He cocked his fist back, took a deep breath, and dilated his pupils in focus.

"Hi-YAH!" He then struck Higgs's stomach, sending her flying back and tumbling down the slanted fields where they had been dueling.

Marco stood up and breathed out as he watched Higgs tumble down the hill, the girl dropping her sword along the way before coming to a stop facefirst into the grass.

And since Marco had gotten the first hit on her, he knew he won.

He unenthusiastically strolled down the hill towards his opponent, scooping up Higgs's sword along the way.

Higgs rose from the ground with a groan, grass stains on her face and dirt on her cheeks. She pushed herself up with an arm while coughing, felting the aching pain from her stomach.

Marco arrived beside her as she stumbled to her feet, stopping with a stoic expression.

"You alright?"

Upon hearing him, Higgs turned back to him with one of the most hateful glares he had ever seen her give him, getting an idea of how enraged she must be.

"You... YOU-!"

"I won, yes, I know. Thank you." Marco cut her off, not seeming too satisfied with the results. "So, how was fighting against an earthling?"

Higgs didn't even seem to be listening to him. Instead, she pointed right at him while spewing nonsense.

"There's no way, th-there's no way I lost! You cheated! You must have!"

"Oh, for the love of god... Higgs! I only  punched  you, alright!?! How the hell could I have cheated!?!" Marco shouted, absolutely baffled at her refusal to accept what just happened.

"You must have! There's no way I would've lost to someone like you!" Higgs snapped, still keeping her finger pointed right at him.

"The audacity..."  Marco cringed.

He put both swords in one hand and pointed a thumb at himself, "Well, guess what, Higgs? I won. So I'm staying on Mewni, whether you like it or not. And not just that, but due to our wager, you've got to spar with me whenever we've got the time. And try not to come up with any false excuses to avoid it. I don't want to bother Star or her parents with this, and I don't want to suddenly have you kicked out of Mewni either just for not keeping a deal."

Higgs clenched her hands into fists and ground her teeth together. She had a squire's oath to go through with their agreement, even if she was sure that this  nerd  did something to cheat his win.

"You... You-! GRRR!"

"Oh, come on, Higgs, don't be like that. Face it, I'm going to be staying here for a while. And I  am  a guy with a lot of experience, so I think you can learn a bit from me. I can even teach you some of my ka-rah-tay." Marco said, mimicking a karate chop with a confident smile.

"AS IF!"

He was genuinely shocked by how loud Higgs screamed, recoiling a bit as the girl got in his face and poked him on his chest.

"You think I'm gonna entertain you by learning that stupid swords dance! You got lucky,  nerd ! And luck doesn't belong on the battlefield! Next time, I swear that I'm gonna knock you on your ass and smash my sword against your head! You don't belong on Mewni, and you never will! No one cares if you're here and wouldn't even notice if you were gone, got it!?!"

Higgs snatched away the wooden swords Marco held and started marching away.

"And if you tell  anyone  else about this, then I swear I'll make your life here a hell even worse than the underworld!" She shouted, shaking a fist back at him.

And so, Marco was left alone with the gentle breeze of the wind, a neutral expression on his face despite the verbal attacks he had just received. He already knew this. He already understood the perspective that Higgs and the other knights and squires had of him, but...

It still hurt to hear it out loud.

He thought he'd be fine after his first day in Mewni. He kept this mindset for several days while adjusting to a squire's life. Even if he was mistreated and not accepted, people would soon see his worth over time. He'd help Star with organization or politics. He'd fight the other knights and earn their respect. He'd occasionally speak with the townspeople and those in the castle to hopefully give himself a good name. He thought that as the days passed, he'd end up getting used to this place, that maybe he could call it his second home.

A week had gone by when his optimism had stopped.

Nobody liked him; nobody wanted anything to do with him. The royals thought he was just some boy that was trying to chase Star to marry into wealth, the knights thought he was a weakling that used his friendship with Star to get a royal position, and the townspeople just saw him as a naive boy from the magicless Earth Dimension that they could scam, repeatedly trying to whenever he tried to talk to any of them.

Besides his work for Sir Lavabo, Marco knew he wasn't doing anything for Mewni. No one cared that he was even here and gave him looks like he was some sort of pest.

"Why am I still staying...? Why do I keep doing this to myself?"  Marco sighed as he looked down at the ground, pulling his hoodie over his head as he started heading back to the castle. Even though he asked this question to himself, he knew why he was here.

Star needed him. Otherwise, she would've told him to just go home. He was the squire who had to help her with her work, help her with politics, and protect her whenever something terrible happened.

But... he wasn't actually doing any of that, was he? Whenever Star had paperwork or documents to fill, she always did them herself, even if Marco offered to do them for her. Whenever Star went to another kingdom for political business, she was always with Tom and asked him for advice, even though the demon hated politics. And lastly, as for protection... Star apparently didn't need it from Marco, as once again, she had Tom with her. With both of their powers, those two could take on anything thrown at them.

And Marco? All he could do was throw some punches and kicks...

So far, all Marco's been doing for Star hasn't been fulfilling. And if anything, his royal squire title was empty of any meaning because of it.

So why was he still here?

The moment he questioned this, a sudden burning in his heart came out of nowhere. The pain grew fierce, and Marco nearly toppled over while choking on his breath. Flashes of Star came into mind, and the pain grew at the thought of leaving her.

He couldn't doubt his position. He had to be positive. Star probably hasn't told him to do anything notable because there wasn't anything important enough for his caliber to deal with... Yeah, that was it.

The pain slowly subsided as he concluded that he had to stay. He believed Star needed him for something greater. That explains it. Sooner or later, Star will ask him for help for something even she can't handle, and he'll fulfill whatever request she made so perfectly that everyone in Mewni would have to finally acknowledge him as something bigger than an earth boy.

But for now... there was nothing to satisfy Marco.

He enjoyed fighting in the wash. The creatures formed there were surprisingly pretty dangerous, but Marco just itched for adventure. He had his dimensional scissors, but he didn't just want to leave on another lifelong journey like in the Neverzone. He had already tried once in his second week staying at Mewni, but it only took him about a week of traveling alone before the pain in his heart became so unbearable that he thought it'd burst. At the time, he felt like he just  had  to go back; he had to go back to Star.

Maybe he just needed something less than a long journey? Maybe he just needed some sort of quest that wouldn't take too long? That sounded better, but not enough... It wasn't that he wasn't alright with taking jobs, but it'd be so boring going alone, not to mention risky.

He felt like he just needed someone to venture with him. Not just a friend, but a  partner  that could watch his back. Star had always been this person, but now it was unlikely, if not impossible, for him to get her to hang out with him alone like they used to.

Marco was back in the castle halls when he found his answer, eyes widening in hope and surprise by who he saw walking in his direction.

Hekapoo, forger of all dimensional scissors and member of the Magic High Commission.

She was a woman whose strength was only matched by her beauty. Her pale white skin, lovely long red hair, and jagged yellow horns always matched perfectly with her yellow-orange ballgown. Marco remembered how he managed to get on the being's good side after completing what was supposed to be an impossible trial for a 'human.'

Afterward, he was surprised when the woman occasionally came back to him for help. When he first stayed on Mewni, Star never asked him for help besides watching over the current man-child Glossaryck or some personal issues involving herself and her powers. This was where Hekapoo came in to entertain the boy.

She asked him to help close rogue portals that were suddenly opening in different dimensions, and that was exactly what he wanted. Action, adventure, and a deep friendship with a partner who appreciated his existence. 

However... all of it was ruined by his own selfishness.

He knew where those rogue portals were coming from, Star was causing them in her sleep, but he never said anything... Yes, he was 'ordered' by Star to keep silent about it, but thinking back on it, he really should've told someone. But... he let his feelings for the girl and his love for adventure cloud his judgment, allowing Star to cause chaos in many dimensions.

So, of course, when Hekapoo saw Star make a portal and learned that Marco knew all along, she was completely livid. He had lied to her, people could've gotten hurt, but he didn't even think about these consequences and simply enjoyed his time with Hekapoo. So, of course, the magic high member ended their partnership and maybe even their friendship, not wanting anything to do with him anymore.

They haven't spoken to each other since, as much as Marco tried.

But maybe now he could patch things up?

"Uh... Hey, Hekapoo!" Marco nervously waved.

The flaring beauty stopped and glared at him.

"Alright, bad sign already."

"You doing alright?" He asked, hoping to get some sort of response.

He didn't know if it was out of pity, but she actually talked to him.

"I'm doing  fine.  I'm just trying to find Moon. Any idea where she is?" She asked with a sour tone. It was clear she didn't want to be around him.

"Uh... Not really. I saw her at breakfast, but then I went to the training grounds, so I don't know where she went. If you didn't find her in her room, then try checking the dining hall." Marco honestly answered.

Hekapoo let out a huff and walked past him in silence, not making any eye contact.

Marco panicked; he didn't want things to just end there.

"Wait, Hekapoo!"

The woman stopped.

"Shouldn't... Shouldn't we talk?"

Hekapoo turned back to him with another glare.

"There's nothing to talk about. I thought we could trust each other with anything, but nope. You lied to me, kept information hidden, and risked screwing up several dimensions just because you wanted to play the hero."

Marco flinched at her words with a look of shame. He couldn't deny what she said... But it wasn't primarily for the adventure. He also wanted to protect Star, too, you know?

The woman pointed at him with a hand on her hip. "You're  lucky  I kept quiet about Star and the portals she made! But that's it! That's all I'm doing for you! We're done!"

She turned her back to him and started marching away. 

"Huh? Wait, wait! Hekapoo, I'm sorry! Alright!? I know I messed up!"

The woman was already cutting open a portal to get away from him.

Marco knew that if Hekapooo left here, he might not see her for another long time. So desperate to keep her here to listen, he did what he did before to convince her to keep Star's portal-making a secret.

He cleared his throat and formed a confident grin, changing his voice to mimic his muscular form in the Neverzone. Hekapoo even said that she loves his adult voice. Maybe it was just what he needed?

"Come on, H-poo~ Don't be-" 

" DON'T  CALL ME THAT!"

Marco's confidence shattered and morphed into fear as he instinctively recoiled from a fiery Hekapoo turning to him. Her flames erupted from the top of her head like a blowtorch, her hands tightly gripping her scissors with a look of absolute outrage.

She marched towards him, and Marco backed up, afraid of what she'd do.

"Wait, I-!"

"You don't get to call me that,  ever ! You could've just told me about Star from the very beginning so we could've worked something out! We could've stopped those portals! But no, you CHOSE to protect Star from a small inconvenience over protecting the thousands of people who live in those dimensions!"

"Sh-She didn't want me to tell anyone!" Marco frantically explained as he kept walking backwards. "She was my friend! I couldn't just betray her!"

"I WAS YOUR FRIEND TOO, MARCO!" Another blast of heat exploded from Hekapoo and sent Marco flying back, causing him to fall on his bottom. "I  trusted  you! I thought of you better than nearly anyone else!"

Hekapoo left scorching footprints as she marched to him, with Marco scooting back with a fearful gaze.

"You were the only  kid  I've ever sent to take the trial for scissors! I always made sure to only give adults the challenge because I knew giving it to an immature brat would be sending him to his death! I only ever offered the challenge to  you  because I just wanted to scare you back home! But you actually impressed me! Not just by finishing the trial, but by being the ONLY one who actually gave a  damn  for my clones when you ran into them!"

Marco's eyes widened as he got closer to the end of the hall, sweat dripping from the heat Hekapoo gave off.

"You were only supposed to hunt them down! You were only supposed to put out their flames! But you... You-!"

Her violent flames calmed down to the small candle on her head, but the anger was still evident on her face.

"You actually... cared."

Marco stopped his movement in shock, and Hekapoo stood before him, staring him down.

"My clones were each doing their own things, each overlooking their own places, each fighting their own battles, and you were considerate of that... You helped them fight off armies, you've helped them save people, and you even saved a few of them yourself even though you could've just let them get put out!  That  was special to me, Marco! I thought you'd be the guy I could work with, the one I could trust with anything!" 

She let out a sad sigh and turned her head away.

"But apparently, I was just some replacement when you couldn't be with Star... An adventure buddy you thought you could just lie to and think it was fine because it wasn't  her. "

Marco was completely frozen by what he was hearing. To be considered special by a magical being thousands of years old? To have really gained that much trust from her? 

That... That was why she asked for his help as often as she did; it was why she came to him specifically. It was because she had appreciated him and felt he'd be honest and have her back, no matter what.

And he messed it up all up.

"Hekapoo, I... I..." Marco trembled as he forced himself back to his feet, the guilt and shame overwhelming him to the point where it seemed like he'd cry. "I'm sorry... I-I'm... I'm so sorry."

The demonic-looking being just gave him a disappointed look. 

"I know you are, Marco. But as of now, I can't trust you... Not when I know you'll do  anything  for Star, even if it hurts me."

She turned around and walked back, heading to the portal she had created.

"Bye, Fleshwad. I hope you're happy with her..."

Then she was gone, hopping through a portal and leaving nothing behind.

Marco felt like shit. He underestimated just how much he had hurt Hekapoo. He didn't know just how brightly the woman had seen him.

His hands moved to his head, and he clutched it tightly. His pupils shook, his breathing was ragged, and the feeling of shame and hopelessness filled his head.

"I'm an idiot..."

He closed his eyes and fell to his knees, water forming in the corners of his eyes.

"What... What have I done?"

He ruined a perfect friendship with someone who understood him for 16 years, compared to the friendship with Star he only had for only a year. 

He really... was...

"Pathetic!"

*Indeed.*

Marco's eyes snapped open in panic at the sudden voices, the boy shooting to his feet and frantically turning in all directions. He wiped the tears that started to form and got a clear look at his surroundings, but he didn't find anyone else in the hall. He repeatedly looked around but didn't notice anything different about the hall he's walked through hundreds of times.

He felt uneasy, unconsciously scratching his right arm as he started making his way back to his room.

"You're losing it, Marco... You've gotta pull yourself together!" 

He gulped down air before taking large deep breaths.

"You're hearing things again! Lets... Let's just take a nap! Yeah, that should help! You're just tired."

The halls behind him darkened into nothingness, following Marco.

"You... You messed things up, as always... But it's not like she'll 'never talk to you again! You just have to give her time. It'll be fine, yeah, it's gonna be fine."

He arrived at his door and fumbled with the lock, eerie echoes and breathing closing in.

"You're fine... You've still got Star. Sh-She might be with Tom, but she still cares about you, she still trusts you, she needs you."

The darkness nearly got to his foot when he opened the door, getting inside and slamming it shut behind him. Marco panted with his back to the door, not even noticing that his anxieties had just been creeping upon him.

He wiped the now cold sweat from his head. The sun was partly lighting up the room from his window, but Marco only saw the creeping darkness forming around him as he trudged towards his neatly made bed.

"You're alright... Y-You're alright. Things are gonna get better. Th-They have to..."

He fell sideways onto his bed, not even bothering to take off his shoes.

"Just remember your reason... Remember why you're here..."

He then pressed his head against his hands as he struggled to keep himself composed.

"You're her squire, her best friend. That's all you need. That's what she needs right now, just for you to be here..."

His eyelids felt like they weighed tons, and Marco couldn't keep them open.

"She... needs... you..."

From his mental exhaustion, he fell into a deep sleep.

~{Butterfly Castle: Marco's Room- 4:21PM}~

"Mmm... Ngh..."

Marco slowly came to, feeling even more exhausted than when he had gone to sleep. His eyelids slowly opened as his sensations all returned to him, but these returning senses had him realize that there was something off about his surroundings.

For one, something had been placed over his body from below the neck. The softness from it told him it was his covers, but that confused him, as he didn't remember bundling up in them.

The second odd matter was how much closer and different the ceiling was. There weren't any wooden beams like he remembered, just some brown eyes staring right into his.

Wait, that's not the ceiling.

Marco blinked several times to process who he saw.

A mischievously grinning girl was staring at him with her face above his.

"Evening, sleepy beauty."

"GYAH!"

His eyes shot wide open as he instantly sat up, the girl over him backing up before a collision could happen.

Marco instantly recognized the olive green shirt, turquoise jacket, yellow skirt, and most of all, that olive green beanie.

"Janna!?" He shouted, wide awake and shocked to see a familiar Earth friend here.

The girl was sitting cross-legged on his bed, smirking.

"What up, Marco? It's been a hot minute."

He had so many questions, but the first was...

"What are you doing here!?!"

"Watching you sleep."

He immediately deadpanned, not even surprised by the girl's answer.

"That's... not creepy at all."

Janna shrugged with a chuckle. "Hey, it's not like it's the first time."

Marco let out a deep sigh. "Janna... Get outta town..."

His friend just shifted from her spot and sat beside him, casually wrapping an arm around his shoulder.

"Heh, it's been a while since I've heard you say that. I guess some things never change."

"How did you get here, Janna? Did you pick the lock to my door?" Marco simply asked stoically, gently lifting the girl's limb off him.

"Wouldn't you like to know? But anywho, I haven't seen you since we helped Star through that whole sleep-flying and portal-making thing, so what else have ya been up to since ditching all your friends and family?"

Marco instinctively cringed when she said it out loud like that.

"I, uh... I've been doing a lot!" He said with a fake smile. "Being Star's squire sure keeps me busy! I barely ever have any time to relax!"

Janna raised an eyebrow.

"Squire? I thought you were a knight?"

"Urk!"  Marco realized he had already messed up.

"Er, well, the thing is, I um..." He scratched his head, trying to think of an excuse.

"So you lied, gotcha." Janna said, forming a conceited smile. "So much for being such an 'amazing knight." 

"I didn't lie!" Marco defended some anger, only for him to look down, dejected. "I just... kinda misunderstood..."

Janna could see that there was more to it than she thought, but she'd rather not hear the whole story.

"Hm, riiiiiiiight." She laid down next to Marco and stared straight up at the ceiling, her arms behind her head. "So you're just a 'squire' for Star then? How's it going with her?"

Marco cringed once more as he reminded himself just how different things were between him and the girl. 

"I, er- things are great!" He said with a forced smile, looking down at Janna. "It's just like the old days! Like nothing even changed!"

The girl looked unamused and unconvinced, a finger reaching up and poking Marco's cheek.

"You really suck at lying, Marco. Only I'm good at that. So what's wrong?"

Marco's smile faded, his expression turning conflicted.

"Huh? But... But I'm not-"

"Oh, Marco, Marco, Marco..." Janna sighed. "You don't want people knowing your middle school search history, do you?"

"NO!" Marco's face turned redder than Hekapoo's hair, desperation clear on his face.

"Then come on, just spill it. What, did you and Star get into a lovers quarrel about whether to pour the milk or cereal first?"

"Wha-!? First of all, you ALWAYS pour the cereal first! And second, Star and I aren't together!" Marco declared angrily.

Janna's expression suddenly changed into bewilderment.

"Wait... what?"

She sat up and turned to him, genuine surprise on her face.

"You're not?"

Marco's own expression became perplexed.

"Wait... you didn't know? But you even came here to hypnotize Star so we could find out why she was making those portals! I thought it was obvious."

"I thought you two were already smooch-buddies at the time. I didn't wanna ask and hear the gross story of how you two sucked-face. But why are you  not  with her? Didn't you leave Earth the  day  after Jackie broke up with you so you could crawl back to her?" 

Janna was relentless in her phrasing, and the guilt visibly punched Marco in the gut remembering how he had ruined his first relationship with the girl he had loved for his  entire  childhood.

"B-But! I didn't come back for that! I-I just came back because Star needed me! As a friend!"

Janna sighed in disappointment.

"Marco... we both know that's not true. Not entirely, at least."

The earthling raised a finger to retort, but he found himself choking on his words. Because if he were to deny that claim, Janna would just see through yet another lie.

"You left me, your friends, your family, people you've known for  years  just to stay with Star. Not to mention, Jackie, who you crushed on for your  entire  life, dumped you so you could go after her! And you're telling me that the two of you  still  aren't together!?"

The more she bluntly spoke, the more horrible Marco felt. She was right, he had left literally  everyone  to be with Star, and at the time, he didn't even process that it was because he genuinely loved her. The only reason he was able to admit it was when Tad said it to him straight, that he could be  anywhere  in the universe, but he chose to stay with his unavailable crush.

He lowered his head, hiding his hurt eyes.

"Janna, I... It's not that simple... I guess you didn't know, but Star, she's... she's already got a boyfriend... Tom, remember him? The demon that came to our school?"

Janna blinked in surprise again.

"Oh."

There was a pause.

"That's rough, buddy."

Marco groaned, a hand to his face.

"Yeah, yeah..."

Janna wasn't too sure what to say next, just shrugging.

"Soooo... You got dumped by your first girlfriend, and the girl you're crushing over is now sucking face with her previous ex? So does this relates to how much 'fun' you're having on Mewni then?"

"I... That's part of it, I guess... Okay, maybe a lot..." Marco mumbled, hugging his legs closely with a blank stare.

Janna hopped off the bed with Marco's wallet in hand, the boy not even caring as she dug through it with a smile. "Well, you got your wish in a way, didn't you? You're staying with Star as her best friend, and you're kicking butt with her like you used to, right?"

She avoided the $650 in his advanced Quest Buy wallet and dug into the other pockets, her back to Marco and missing the expression of pain that formed on him.

Marco let his head fall to his knees.

"Not exactly... Star and I, we... haven't really been hanging out..."

Janna paused in her search and turned back to Marco with yet another look of confused curiosity.

"What? Like for a few days?"

"Like... at all..."

Janna could hear how disheartened Marco was, staring at his self-loathing position. She frowned before walking back and hopping onto Marco's bed, landing on her side while gazing at him with a dull look.

"But aren't you supposed to be her squire? Shouldn't you be around her at all times?"

Marco just weakly shook his head.

"She's never asked me for anything important anymore... Things seemed fine at first. She asked me for help when she made those portals in her sleep, and she even brought me to one of the other kingdoms to help her settle some political issues. But... I guess I did kind of screw things up by breaking the prince's leg. Maybe... Maybe she thought I'd mess things up again...?"

"Okay... besides all that political stuff, you guy's just don't hang out? Don't you guys have those 'Friendship Thursdays' you had back on Earth?" Janna asked, casually locking Marco's wallet back up.

Friendship Thursday... The day that Marco and Star both agreed would be the day of the week  just  for them. After settling the matter with him staying on Mewni, the two agreed to keep the tradition like on Earth.

But it seemed like that day was just wiped from Star's memory. It was as if it was never a thing in the first place.

"No... Not anymore. Star's been busy trying to be a better princess, and the free time she does have, she tends to spend it with Tom... They do invite me when they're gonna go somewhere, but... but..."

"But it kinda sucks being the third wheel and watching your crush and demon boyfriend explore each other's mouth, gotcha." Janna cut him off.

Marco continued. "Star does check up on me sometimes to see how I'm doing, and she's always happy to see me, but... things aren't the same as before... It hurts..."

Janna finished messing with Marco's wallet and let it slip out of her hands, sitting up and turning her body to sit beside him.

"You know what it sounds like to me?

Marco didn't respond, so Janna poked him in the shoulder.

"It sounds like she doesn't really need you here."

Marco once again felt his heart start crumbling.

"No!" He somewhat raised his voice as he turned to Janna, a hand on his chest with a look of anger and frustration. "There just hasn't been anything important enough to involve me yet! That's gotta be it!"

Janna was surprised by the outburst, even backing up a bit, but her expression became stoic.

"Whatever you say, dude. I just think you'd be happier staying back on Earth. People miss you, you know? Alfonzo, Ferguson, and even Jackie."

Marco's frustration turned into shock.

"Even... Jackie?"

"Yup." Janna declared with her arms crossed.

He was reluctant to believe it. He believed that he had been a terrible boyfriend. He didn't give Jackie the attention she deserved and had prioritized Star above all. Of course she had broken up with him. She probably hated him for not being considerate at all to her.

He did the same thing to her as he did to Hekapoo, just treat them as less important people over Star.

Marco's eyes fell.

"I can't go back, Janna... Star needs me..."

Janna frowned.

"Is that really what you think?"

"It's what I  know ." Marco sternly responded, hands balling tightly.

It was clear he had a one-sighted mindset and that she wasn't gonna get through to him, so Janna just jumped off his bed in disappointment.

"Well, I can't force you back unless I threaten to expose all your personal information to the world, but even then, you'd probably still choose to stay anyway."

Marco put his hands to his face in shame. He probably would.

Janna adjusted her beanie and headed to the door with an unimpressed look. 

"I guess I'll head out and see if I can mess with the knights."

She got to the entrance and opened it up, only to pause with her back to Marco.

"By the way, you're welcome."

Marco glanced over at her, confused. "What?"

"You looked pretty chilly, shaking in a little ball on your bed, so I tucked you in."

That explained why he was under his covers. That was... oddly considerate, but still creepy, from Janna, but it reassured him to call her a friend. Even if she teased him, violated his personal space, and drove him crazy, Janna was one of the few friends Marco had known since kindergarten. But he was still never sure why she ended up being drawn to annoy him specifically as time passed.

But nevertheless, he was glad to know her.

"Thanks, Janna..." Marco muttered, a small but genuine smile forming.

"Don't mention it, but one more thing." Janna turned back to Marco, a flirty grin on her face. "Just remember that if all else fails, there are others just as hopeless when it comes to love. Finding someone like that may be your best bet."

Marco's smile turned into a frown, not liking how she implied he would most likely be alone.

"Ha, ha, Janna..." He robotically laughed sarcastically. "To find someone part of the forever-alone club? Where would I even look?"

Janna just smirked.

"Maybe you don't even have to?"

Marco didn't know how many times he'd change from mad, depressed, to confused in a day, but here he was, once more raising a perplexed eyebrow.

"Huh?"

"See ya later, Diaz." Janna waved, then slammed the door shut behind her.

And thus, he was alone in his room once again.

"O...kay?"

He remained completely still for a few seconds before letting out a sigh.

"I swear, I'll never get a read on her..."

*Grooooooooowl!*

Marco suddenly heard his stomach echo in the room, flinching before looking down at it.

"What? But didn't I just eat earlier!?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, eyes widening in horror when he saw the time.

"4:36!?! I was asleep for over three hours!? Why didn't anyone wake me-!?"

Marco stopped himself when his answer immediately came to him, to which he lowered his head and phone in defeat.

"Right... No one really cares..."

He turned his head to see the faint sunlight leaking in. Because of where his room is positioned in the castle, the sun doesn't really hit due to the tower's shade.

"Ugh, I missed lunch... I won't even be able to get anything from the castle... Moon and River won't be there at this time, so the staff will just try to keep me out."

*Space Unicooooorn! Soaring through the staaaaars-!*

Marco nearly dropped his phone by the sudden song that blared. It had been so long since he received a phone call that he had forgotten which ringtone was set. He had chosen the cheesy song because he thought it would just be funny, but Star genuinely loved it, so he had decided to keep it.

They had even sung it together for the laughs on Earth... those were good times.

...

Marco shook his head to stop thinking about Star and looked down at who was calling him, shocked to see a familiar name.

"Kelly?"

Kelly of the Woolandia dimension, a teenage girl and the only Woolet Marco had ever seen underneath their enormous amount of hair. He always did like the aquamarine color her hair had. It went well with her pink-and-white-striped sweater, black shorts, and pink boots with aquamarine tassels. He also did like the big round black-rimmed glasses she wore. It always gave her adorable eyes.

Kelly was one of Marco's few friends in a dimension other than Mewni. The two didn't know each other too well initially, having met because of Star and Goblin Dogs, but their friendship escalated at the Soulrise of Lava Lake Beach. Marco had helped the girl with an issue involving her ex-boyfriend, Tad, and afterward, the two ended up getting much closer. 

She was probably the person he's been the most open toward when it came to his life. He told her about the bullying from the knights (though he made it sound like they only annoyed him), he told her about his previous adventures, and... the girl even knew just how bad his crush on Star was.

They talked to one another, going to a dimension or two, and overall they were just helping each other forget about their previous crushes. They both really did enjoy each others' company.

However... as time went on, Marco's depression increased, and as it did, the time he spent with Kelly slowly decreased. He didn't invite her anywhere as much as before, and his texts became shorter and more to the point. Something about interacting with Kelly would suddenly bring his mind back to Star, even though the whole point of the two hanging out was to help him get over the princess. It's been a few weeks since he talked to her last, but...

Maybe this was what he needed now?

Kelly at least deserved to know how he was doing, and he didn't really know if she was completely over Tad yet. He should do this to catch up with her.

He answered the call and unsurely raised his phone to his ear.

"Hi, Kelly!" He said, trying to sound cheerful.

The voice on the other side squeaked.

"M-Marco!? I... actually didn't expect you to answer..."

He felt a tinge of guilt.

"Uh... Well, I did! Pretty great, right?"

God, he sounded cringey.

Thankfully, he got a giggle on the other side.

"Yeah, it is. Sorry for calling you out of the blue. I probably should've texted you first in case you were busy."

"It's alright! I wasn't doing anything anyway!" Marco immediately answered. He wondered if he sounded too forceful in his answers, hoping that wasn't the case.

"You weren't? Um... are you in your room on Mewni right now?

"Huh? Well yeah, why?"

He suddenly heard the cutting of the air and turned his head with a dumbfounded look to see a pink and blue portal emerge in his room.

Who then emerged from the said portal was the familiar Woolet girl who he was just talking to, a cheerful smile on her face with her phone in one hand and most likely family-lent Dimensional Scissors in the other.

"Hey." She said with a smile, hanging up the call and shoving her phone and scissors into her hair.

"Uh, h-hey..." Marco stammered, not having expected the girl to suddenly appear. He lowered his phone and stared at her, not really knowing what to say.

As for Kelly, she noticed his unmade bed and got slightly worried.

"Oh, shoot! Did I wake you up?"

"Huh? No, no!" Marco quickly reassured, getting to his feet with an awkward smile. "I was already awake since a few minutes ago! You're good!"

She seemed relieved, the smile returning to her face.

"Alright, so how've you been? Defeat any Button Fairies in the Wash? Or did the fluffy pink lint monster clog up the filter again?" She teased.

Part of the adventures Marco had told Kelly involved him and the monsters he had to face in the Wash, and she had been shocked to learn that the laundry room was such a dangerous place.

Marco returned Kelly's teasing smile with a smug one. "If I didn't know any better, then I'd say you're mocking me. But no. Today, we had to fight Musk Bunnies."

Kelly's expression turned perplexed. "Say what now?"

"Think of monstrous dust bunnies that give off the grossest smell you can ever imagine."

Kelly suddenly stuck out her tongue with a comedic barfing sound, "Dang it, Marco! I didn't want to remember the smell of my dad's underwear!"

Marco started laughing while Kelly continued to gag.

This was good. He was already feeling better. Kelly was just who he needed to forget his troubles.

"My bad, Kells. So how have you been? It's been a while."

Kelly stopped her fake gagging and turned to Marco with a big smile.

"It's been great! Jorby found time to start sparring with me again, even when he has a girlfriend! Which reminds me, he wants to fight you and your Sword Hand dance again. He's still really confused by how it works."

"Why do even you guys call it the Sword Hand Dance!? It's karate! Ka-rah-tay!" Marco comedically fumed with his hands up.

Kelly giggled. "It's just funnier to call it that. So what about you? How have you been?"

Marco opened his mouth to speak, but...

*Groooooowl!*

He completely froze. Kelly stared blankly at him.

Marco's cheeks started turning a deep shade of red.

"I-I... Um..."

"Pfft!" Kelly had turned her head away with her hand over her mouth. Although Marco was glad that he had amused her, he was still completely flustered.

"I... slept through lunch..." He defended.

Kelly turned back to him, excitement overriding the amusement she had just been feeling.

"Actually, I didn't really eat either! Do you wanna get something together?"

Marco formed a small smile. "Uh... sure! Wanna go get Goblin Dogs?"

To that question, Kelly's composure suddenly changed. She seemed to be contemplating something, then shyly turned away while fiddling her fingers.

"Actually... Marco? I was wondering... Could you... take me somewhere to eat on... Earth?"

Marco suddenly choked, and his pupils shrunk, not having expected this request. All his cheerfulness was suddenly broken away to leave behind a tense smile.

Earth... When was the last time he came back? To talk to his family, to visit his friends, to see how anything has changed? He never came back even  once  ever since leaving for Mewni. He was literally a snip of some scissors away from his room, a short hop away from hugging his parents to tell them how much he loved them. So why didn't he ever do so? The thought never came to his mind. All he could think about was staying on Mewni and helping Star. His parents and friends didn't have interdimensional phones. They couldn't even contact him. He just left them all in the dark for months. 

The more Marco thought of it, the more ashamed he felt, barely able to keep his composure as he turned to Kelly with a smile that killed him to make.

"Wh-Why the sudden interest?"

Thankfully, Kelly had gotten flustered for some reason and avoided Marco's gaze.

"I mean... I just kinda wanna see the dimension you grew up in. You know? Explore, look around..."

"You don't wanna go to Earth! It's not really that exciting!" Marco suggested, trying to dismay her from wanting to go.

Kelly immediately turned to him with a pout.

"I'll judge it for myself when we go! Or... do you not want to go with me?"

Kelly made the best puppy dog eyes she could muster, the look being taught to her by Jorby when she wanted a guy to give in to her demands.

Apparently, it did the trick, as Marco's smile fell into a captivated look as he stared with a blush at how adorable she looked.

"Sure..." He unconsciously said.

Kelly's face lit up with a toothy smile.

"Really!?"

"Huh?"  Marco blinked before realizing that he had unconsciously answered her. A look of dread formed on him, but Kelly was busy turning away with a victory fist to notice.

He gulped down air. Okay, it'd be fine. He could take Kelly somewhere to eat, definitely get takeout, and then show her to the places where the least amount of people usually went. Plus, if it was the afternoon on Mewni, it was on Earth as well, even though he was confused about why these time zones matched. But at this time, the people he knew on Earth should be home.

He couldn't face any of them, not now, at least. 

He was... scared? Wait, why? Why was he so scared to talk to any of his friends? Shouldn't he be glad to talk to them after having been gone for so long?

No, this fear... this  anxiety ... He knew why he had it...

It was because he was ashamed. He left everyone he's ever known for his for a single person, didn't visit any of them in the months, nor even bothered to contact them.

He had so many worries. What would they say? Would they be angry with him? Or would they just not even care?

It would make sense if everyone just... forgot about him. 

Marco hadn't gone to visit any of them. He hadn't  talked  to any of them; it was like saying he didn't even care about them. He didn't want to hear what they'd say now if he saw them again. He knew how terrible he was, but he didn't want to hear it from them firsthand.

He took a deep breath, trying to look confident as he took out his dimensional scissors with a smile forming as Kelly cheerfully turned back to him.

 "Alright, Kelly. I know the perfect place we can eat."

~{Earth Dimension: Echo Creek- 5:16PM}~

Marco didn't realize how much he had missed Britta's Tacos until he had the paper bag in his hands. For such a small, fast food joint that doesn't even have indoor seating, it was perfect for him. Whenever he got his food here, the amount of joy was always present on his face.

But he didn't feel excited to be back in such a spot. He had always gone there with Star when she had lived with him, and just seeing the area filled him with longing memories that started to plague him once more.

As he ordered his food, he was afraid and vigilant about seeing anyone he knew. Luckily, since it was somewhat past lunch, there wasn't anyone around. He picked up his orders with Kelly with no problems, but he knew he couldn't leave Earth yet. Kelly  really  wanted to eat somewhere in Echo Creek, as she knew it was where Marco said he grew up. So he had to improvise; where could he go at this time where no one he knew would be?

He decided that the answer to that was the park. Since today was a school day on Earth, no doubt his previous friends and classmates must be mentally strained from classes and would be heading home. The park was the opposite of where he knew his friends lived, so it would be a hassle for any of them to go when they must be tired.

He and Kelly had portaled right by one of the picnic tables, where Marco then waved a hand to present the area, feeling much more relaxed than before.

"Welcome, Kelly, to the park! A completely free area to relax, play, or in our case, eat!" He proudly stated.

Kelly looked around in interest. She loved the bright green grass filling the areas, she saw some water fountains, and the clear blue sky looked beautiful above them. She could see the sun heading to the horizon and the moon becoming clearer in the sky.

"It's so pretty..." She mumbled.

Marco ripped the paper bags that held their hard-shell tacos and flattened the pieces to make makeshift plates.

"Alright, Kelly, are you ready to try to universe's best tacos?" He asked with a smug grin.

Kelly turned to him with a giggle, sitting down on the bench with him. "Marco, I think your dimension's the only one that even makes these 'tacos.'"

"Oh, come on, there are goblin dogs, which are just better Earth hot dogs! Shouldn't there be tacos  somewhere  in the universe?" Marco asked, half sarcastic but also genuinely curious.

"Who knows? I'm sure there are over a million dimensions we haven't gone to yet! We should go find them next time. Maybe we can even find one with tacos?" Kelly declared, hopefully, the suggestion would be one Marco would accept even if she was partly joking.

Marco chuckled, "Yeah, I think that'd be great. It was the best when Star and I-"

And there went the mood. Marco's expression changed to horror when he realized he had done it again. If there was something he and Kelly agreed on, he shouldn't mention Star when it was the two of them. After all, he was supposed to be getting over her. Yet he unconsciously spoke of her again, which of course, brought anxious thoughts to him.

"K-Kelly! I didn't mean to-!"

"It's fine, Marco." Kelly said, trying to be reassuring despite the sad look in her eyes. "Emotions are hard to control. Here, let's just eat! I'm really excited to eat these tacos!"

"Y-Yeah..." Marco replied with an awkward and guilt-filled laugh, looking down at his food.

What followed was an awkward silence, with Marco and Kelly unwrapping their meals with both containing depressed looks neither saw from the other.

But Kelly's spirits did go up from a bite from her meal, as she found the tacos quite amazing. Not as out of this world as goblin dogs, but she would still love to eat them again, especially with Marco.

"Mmmm! Sho good!" The girl moaned before stuffing another into her mouth.

As for Marco... He had only taken small bites from his food. He thought he'd be ecstatic after taking a bite of a taco after so long, but he could only taste the disappointment in himself for unnecessarily bringing up Star again... Why did he keep doing it? He talked about her whenever he hung out with Kelly, sometimes in several instances.

He turned his gaze to the park, the crunches of his taco losing all satisfaction as he just tried to think about something else. The trees, the playground, the small pond with ducks, so much he hadn't seen in such a long time.

Yet Marco didn't feel happy or overwhelmed to see any of this again, just... numb. He didn't expect he'd be here today, he didn't feel excited about coming back, and if anything, Marco felt worried and wanted to avoid meeting anyone he knew. Shouldn't he want to stay here? 

"Marco?"

He blinked with his eyes widening. Shit, he had zoned out again, judging by the worried voice he heard from Kelly.

He turned to her as if nothing had happened, giving her a fake smile.

"Sorry, I was thinking of something. What was that, Kelly?"

Kelly had already finished her multiple tacos and was staring at Marco, who hadn't even finished his first. She had a sad but sympathetic stare as she knew something was wrong. From the moment they stepped foot on Earth, she had noticed Marco's character change. He was tenser than before, his gaze had shot all over the place as if looking out for something, and she easily saw through his fake smiles. She had wanted to explore so much of Earth with him so the two could enjoy each other's company. She wanted to see him smile and hear how much he enjoyed being with her, but they hadn't even been on Earth for an hour, and it seemed like Marco was dying inside.

"Hey, Marco? Do you... hate your home?"

Marco's eyes completely opened, freezing on the spot. He didn't expect her to suddenly ask that, caught off guard and processing the question.

Kelly took his reaction as a sign that she had hit the mark, looking down in guilt.

"I'm sorry... Even though you looked so uncomfortable being here, I was selfish... I just really wanted to see your home dimension..."

Marco panicked, his hands shaking side to side in denial.

"No, no, Kelly! It's not like that! I love Earth. It'll always be my home!"

"Then what's wrong?" The girl looked up at him, the guilt still on her face but frustration also present. "I thought hanging out here would cheer you up, but it hasn't! It just made you even more down than when I saw you in your room!"

Kelly wanted to come here out of consideration for him? Now Marco felt even more shitty. He looked down and scratched the back of his head, unsure of what to say.

"Kelly, it's just that... I-I..."

"Is it that bad to be away from Star?"

Marco felt his stomach drop, looking forward and staring at Kelly's stern eyes.

"You can't even spend a day back at your home with someone else? To just be happy and enjoy yourself?"

"I... I..."

"Why do you  always  have to be near her? Would it kill you to spend some without her?"

Kelly's expression turned anxious and almost desperate.

"Do... Do you really love Star that much?"

That question... It was a reasonable one. For a person to give up their previous life for someone already taken and to live in a world where almost no one wanted you around, why was he so   hell-bent on remaining with Star? It'd be smart to move on, escape from all that mental abuse, and find a way to be  happy  again. Isn't that what he should be doing? Prioritizing his own happiness? The pain he felt with and without her made him miserable. So...

Shouldn't he stop loving Star?

The moment this thought hit his head, Marco's breathing stopped, as did his heart.

It was only for a split second, but he would've hit the table if he hadn't managed to catch himself with an arm. 

His breathing then turned into panicked breaths as if he had nearly drowned, his other hand gripping tightly over his chest with his eyes completely losing their color, only agony present in them.

Marco felt his heart burn like it was being branded. He felt his thoughts become static as he struggled to keep himself propped up with an arm.

"Marco!?! "Are you alright!?!" Kelly dropped all the frustration she felt with worry seeping in, jumping from her seat and rushing to Marco's side.

"I-I'm fine!" Marco barely managed to choke. "Th-That taco just didn't hit well..."

Marco thought of Kelly's question. He thought about the pain he felt when even thinking about staying away from Star.

Neither he nor Kelly noticed a moon flash in a beautiful blood red above them, only to vanish as fast as it came.

It was clear what the answer was.

"But... I-I do, Kelly..."

"What?" The girl paused, confused.

"I... I do love Star... so... much..."

Marco didn't hear an immediate response from the girl, only receiving silence as he caught his breath.

When he rose his head and turned to her, he felt his guts twist within him.

Kelly looked sad, anxious, and even a little hurt. But then her gaze fell to the ground, rubbing her arm as she let out a depressed sigh. 

It seemed that she finally realized just how bad Marco's crush on Star was. She had hoped it was just some momentary passion, but it had lasted for several months, only showing signs of worsening.

It almost... didn't seem normal.

"I... see..." 

She felt defeated, stupid for even asking, and now... hopeless.

"I-I know I shouldn't love her, but I just can't help it..." Marco whimpered, staring at Kelly in dread. 

"..."

Kelly looked up at him, holding the look of a depressed girl who's given up.

"Don't... Don't you think you should talk to Star about this then?"

That had Marco immediately turn his head away.

"I can't, Kelly... I can't... If I were to tell Star now, that'd just make things even more complicated between us... It wouldn't help anything. I'd just be a bother to her and give her another problem to deal with. I'm supposed to be fixing her problems, not become one of them..."

The two remained in silence for what felt like hours. Marco could feel Kelly's disheartened stare eat at him. Why did he have to screw things up, why did he have to be such a disappointment, why couldn't he just change? He ruined his friendship with Hekapoo, and now...

Did he just destroy another one?

After another few seconds of pure agony, Kelly stepped back from him.

"Okay, Marco. I get it. I... If it's how you feel, then I can't stop that. It's just how it is. I just hope you can work things out with her..."

No longer in the mood to explore Earth, Kelly turned away and brought out her scissors, tearing a portal.

"Wait, Kelly!" Marco rushed over and grabbed her hand before the girl could leave. "I-I'm sorry, Kelly! I know I'm a pain to deal with! We were supposed to enjoy our time, but I just messed it up again! I'm sorry! I really am!" He apologized, fearing losing another friend.

Kelly gave him a weak smile.

"You don't have to be sorry, Marco... You can't control love. And we're still friends, don't worry. I'm just sad that I wasn't able to help..."

She then reached forward and embraced Marco in a tight hug, the boy surprised by the action yet slowly wrapping his arms back.

"I just hope you can be happy, Marco..."

She tightened her hold for a split second.

"Even if it isn't with me..."

"Huh?"

Kelly slipped out of his arms and went backwards into the portal, the route to her home closing up.

And so she was gone, leaving Marco alone.

He remained motionless while staring into his hands, the hands that had just held a person who truly cared about him. And yet, he couldn't even show his appreciation for her. He couldn't just stop being so damn obsessive over another girl and just enjoy his time together with her. 

He was so disgusted with himself.

It was no wonder why everyone viewed him as such a disappointment.

He wasn't just a failure of a supportive squire, but a failure of a friend...

He stumbled back and sat on the bench, holding his head tightly in grief.

He ignored the world around him. The chirping, the chittering, the breeze, he shut it all out, only one thing filling his mind...

"I... I really am pathetic..."

He didn't know how long he spent sitting on that bench. He just had a lifeless gaze as he remained hunched over in his seat, barely holding himself as he struggled to take deep breaths. Everything was shut from his mind, his normally sharp senses dulling from his own emotional crisis.

He didn't even notice the sound of a skateboard skidding to a stop.

"Marco...?"

He didn't even look up. He just remained motionless on the bench as that voice passed through his ears without effect.

"Is that you?"

It was when the voice rang for the second time that his brain slowly processed who it belonged to.

When he realized who it was, he became mortified.

Marco nearly snapped his head by how fast he looked up. His breathing stopped completely to see the one person he had been the most afraid to see again.

"Ja... Jackie?" 

He could barely get her name out, his voice cracking in significant pain.

Here was the girl who had broken up with him because of his selfishness. Her style was still the same as Marco had always seen in her. Her wavy, shoulder-length platinum blonde hair, green and white raglan shirt with matching socks, cyan jean shorts, and white and blue sneakers were still there. She even had the streak of aqua in her hair and the same orange sea-shell necklace around her neck. The only difference in features was her purple helmet that she was currently taking off, but even then, that was a standard feature she had when skateboarding.

Marco didn't know what to do. He became the spitting image of a deer in headlights, just completely frozen in panic. He hadn't talked to Jackie since their breakup. Was she still angry at him? Was she disgusted to see him again? Why couldn't he move? Shouldn't he just use his scissors and leave before she reminds him how terrible he's been to her?

Despite all the worries and insecurities going through his head, Jackie's mint green eyes were just glowing to see him.

"Oh my god, it really is you!" She had a large smile as she kicked up her signature blue skateboard and caught it with her arm, holding her helmet in the other. "I almost thought I'd never see you again!"

She walked toward him, and Marco felt his body start trembling as she did.

Was she gonna laugh at him just like the knights? Or would she tell him how stupid and creepy he was for his infatuation with Star? Maybe she would even kick him? He deserved it, didn't he? Should he say anything?  Could  he say anything?

So many worries made him anxious about what the girl was going to do, he wasn't ready for any of it, but he was too petrified to grab his scissors and escape.

His breathing started coming out in small gasps when Jackie stopped in front of him. He expected a look of resentment or disgust, pity or disappointment, the same looks he's always received daily. 

But all he saw was a girl's look of concern, her previous smile gone.

"Dude... Are you okay?"

The care in her voice wasn't what he had expected, but at least he started breathing again, even if it came out in short pauses. Was it a trick? Was she acting like she cared to lower his guard? Why would she even still care about him?

"Hey, what's wrong?" 

Jackie crouched down and moved a hand to his face, which was when Marco's whole body tensed up. Was this it? Was she coming in to get a good hit?

He closed his eyes and braced for impact, expecting at least a hard slap across his face and even letting out a small whimper.

But all he felt was a gentle and warm touch he hadn't felt in so long.

His eye immediately opened in confusion.

Jackie's hand had gone to his cheek, gently caressing it with, out of anything, a comforting smile.

"It's alright. You're alright, Marco. No one's gonna hurt you."

Marco found his mouth opening as he choked on his words.

"Wha...? Jackie-! I-I couldn't-! I-I didn't-! I'm-!"

"Shhhhh..." The calm and collected girl got closer and wrapped her arms around him. 

Marco's eyes widened as he felt Jackie's hand go to the back of his head, to which the girl gently pushed it so that his chin rested on her shoulder. 

She then whispered four gentle words.

"I've got you, Marco."

Marco felt all the tension in his body disappear, falling limp in Jackie's arms. This hug wasn't like any other he's had; from Star's energetic but uncomfortable embraces to Kelly's tight but sad hold, this... this one was different. It... It was the first time since he's left that he ever had a hug like this. It was a hug telling him everything would be okay, he was safe, and she was here for him.

And that's when his mental dam finally broke, releasing the waterworks.

His vision became blurry, he felt the warm droplets pour down his cheeks, and he started shaking once more as his arms instinctively wrapped around Jackie's back in a tight, desperate hug. Small gasps and tearful whimpers came out at first, but it didn't take long before he was just bawling his eyes out on her shoulder.

He had felt so worthless... So unimportant... Every day it was all the same. Every day he dealt with so much all alone. It was always his fault; he was always the problem; no one wanted him around; it had all been bottled up for so long. And today had been worse than ever. Rejecting another chance to hang out with Star, Higgs's piercing but true insults, the guilt from learning how bad he hurt Hekapoo, the depressing reality of how bad things were from Janna, and the self-hatred he had from messing up the day for Kelly. He could've gone through things differently; he could've fixed each of his bonds, but he just kept messing up...

"There, there." Jackie smiled as she gently patted the broken boy's back.

"I-It hurts... I-I can't-... I'm-! I-It's been s-so hard..." He sobbed through shaky breaths.

"I know. You must've been through a rough spot. Don't worry, I gotcha." Jackie patiently whispered.

He didn't know how long he spent in his previous crush's arms, but he kept sobbing until nearly all the water in his body was lost. That was how much emotional turmoil he had stored for so long.

It wasn't until he was only making small sniffles that Jackie finally spoke.

"There we go. You feel better?"

Marco was still shivering in the aftermath, but he took deep breaths.

"Y-Yeah..."

That was when Jackie slowly let go of him, Marco doing the same and backing up against the bench. His eyes were red and puffy, but he stared up at her rather emotionless now, seeming tired of feeling anything.

Despite his existential crisis just a few moments ago, he had to admit that Jackie still looked as beautiful as she did before. Especially with the moonlight behind her.

Wait, moonlight?

Marco quickly wiped his eyes with his arm and blinked several times to clear his vision. The sky had turned dark and was full of bright stars around the even brighter full moon. How long had he been on that bench!?

He reached into his pocket and checked his phone as Jackie raised an eyebrow in confusion. He saw the time, and dread again found its way to his face.

It was already 8:00PM.

He's been in the park for nearly three hours!?! Star and her family should already be having dinner at this time! He did miss lunch with them earlier, but Star no doubt must've eaten in the Johansen Kingdom at the time. Now now? She'd be at the dinner table and notice he's gone. He hardly ever missed a meal with her, after all.

"I-I gotta get back!"

Marco immediately tried to stand up, but Jackie's hands went to his shoulders and forced him back down in his seat.

"J-Jackie!?"

He stared up at her. She was calmly smiling, but she also had an expectant look.

"On no, you don't, Diaz. You're not just gonna soak my shoulder and then just leave without telling me what's up." She chuckled.

"B-But I-! Star is-!"

"Star will be fine a few minutes without you, won't she?" Jackie asked, keeping Marco firmly in his seat.

Marco then thought about it... had he learned nothing? Jackie had just let him bawl his eyes out to her, and he was just gonna leave because he'd miss dinner with a girl he saw every day?

He hung his head in shame, making no effort to stand up. 

"Yeah... Your right. I... I'm sorry..."

Jackie sat to his left and grabbed hold of his hand.

Marco flinched and turned his head to her, caught off guard.

The cool girl chuckled.

"Gotta make sure you don't suddenly take off."

He gulped nervously in return. "R-Right..."

The two then remained in awkward silence, which lasted for eternity for Marco. He wasn't sure what to say. He hadn't told anyone just how bad his struggles on Mewni were. Even the things he's told Kelly he always downplayed.

"Hey... Marco?"

Luckily, he didn't have to start what would be a painful conversation, as Jackie had spoken up.

"First things first, I just wanna say... I'm really glad to see you again. It's been a while." She said, giving him a cheery smile.

"Y-Yeah... I-um... Sorry about that..." He muttered, looking down in shame once again.

Jackie let out a giggle. "Yet you're the same awkward Diaz as ever. Good to see that hasn't changed."

"...Sorry."

"Hold on, that's something I like about you. You don't gotta say sorry about it." Jackie comforted him.

"I... My bad..."

He couldn't even hold a proper conversation with her.

"You're good. But..." Jackie's hold on his hand tightened, yet she still kept her cheery smile. "You ready to tell me what's wrong?"

Marco paused before speaking. "Not... really..."

"Well, then I guess you're stuck here with me all night until you do. Hope you don't mind me using your arm as a pillow?" She joked.

"..."

"Why...?"

Jackie tilted her head. "Hm?"

"Why... Why do you still care? I... I was horrible to you... I ruined... 'us.' I left you behind without a second thought, all for Star..."

"Whoa, hold on there, Marco, you were anything but horrible. And there's no way I'd be mad just cause you liked Star more than me." Jackie responded, looking a bit miffed.

Marco raised his voice but not his head. "Why aren't you!?! I  ruined  our relationship, Jackie! All because I couldn't let go of a stupid cape! And then, literally five seconds after you dumped me, I made the choice to leave Earth! I left  everyone ! My friends, my parents, eve-ry-one! I left them as if I didn't care about them in the first place!"

His free hand grasped his face, and the other tightened around Jackie's.

"So... why don't you hate me?" He muttered. "W-Why...?"

 It was as if he was  asking  her to do so.

Jackie now had an expression of shock from his rant.

Before she then burst out laughing.

Marco turned his head to her, removing his hand from his face with a look of confusion. The girl held her stomach like he had told her the funniest thing in the world. He was stunned but kept his eyes on Jackie as her laughter slowly started to die.

She wiped a tear from her eye as she turned back to him.

"Oh, Marco... Do you honestly think I'd hate you because of our break-up?  That's  what's been on your mind? Dude, there's no way I can hate you! You're one of the greatest guys I know!"

Marco was beyond confused. She... She didn't hate him?

"B-But... I-"

"You weren't horrible to me, Marco. You were a good boyfriend. You were nice, funny, considerate, and even when we dated, you still made sure to give time to Star and your other friends. There weren't any problems between us. It was just... you  really  loved someone else. You just didn't know it at the time." She continued with a reassuring smile.

"R...Really?" Marco asked, almost scared to hear her answer.

"Yeah! The only time I've been even a bit peeved when we were dating wasn't even from you. It was when Star confessed to you during the party at your place. You don't just confess in front of someone's partner, you know? But even then, I knew that something was just going on with her for her to suddenly leave, so I can't really blame her."

Marco blinked repeatedly. That's right... this was Jackie, the girl he had admired for his entire childhood. She was calm-headed, kind, and, most of all, understanding. Of course, she wouldn't hate him... he didn't even know if she  could  hate someone.

"Then... are we... good then?" He uttered.

Jackie paused, her smile fading.

"I should be asking  you  that."

"What?"

The girl leaned back against the bench, keeping her eyes on him.

"Marco, do you still see me as a friend?"

Marco grew nervous. "I... I thought we weren't because-"

"Don't talk about what you  thought . I'm asking how you  feel  right now."

There was a few seconds of silence before Marco's expression turned firm.

"Yes... I do, Jackie. I always saw you as one of the coolest friends a person can have."

Jackie then let out a breath of... relief?

"Good. That's been a thing on my mind ever since you left..."

"Huh?"

Jackie formed another smile that had a hint of sadness.

"Marco... When you left Earth, it had been so sudden that I thought it was because you hated me."

His eyes widened in horror.

"Wait, what? No! Of course not!" The fellow earthling immediately denied it.

Jackie let out a chuckle. "That's really good to hear it from you, but at the time, I thought about it a lot. You left the  day  after I dumped you. I didn't even know you were leaving... I didn't even get to say goodbye. You... You just left."

Marco's felt a stab of shame in his heart.

"Later on, I tried texting and calling on your phone, but I never got anything back... It was like you ghosted me. It made me wonder if...  I  really screwed up and made you hate living on Earth."

"No, no, Jackie! It had nothing to do with thinking bad about you I-!"

"Did it for Star, right?" The girl already understood, giving him a happy smile. "You left to go after her, I know. And I don't blame you, I basically broke up with you so you could go to her, anyway. You realized the girl you liked must be having a hard time and went after her." 

"Well... sort of." Marco mumbled.

"And hey, at least you're finally together now, right?" She grinned proudly. 

Marco cringed, immediately turning his head away.

"We... aren't."

That was when the air suddenly froze, the happy expression on Jackie being wiped into pure confusion.

"What? Did you and Star get into a fight?"

Marco just let his head hang in defeat.

"No. We... We were never together in the first place..."

"..."

"Marco."

"..."

" Look  at me, Marco."

The sudden danger in her voice gave a chill to Marco's spine, instinctively having him turn his head to her. The positive and calm expression Jackie held before had changed into a more stern and serious frown.

He had  never  seen Jackie mad before. Not even when he had accidentally broken her skateboard. Seeing such a rare face from her was... honestly scary.

"Tell me everything, Marco.  Everything  that's happened since you left Earth." She wasn't asking; she  demanded  him to tell her. And judging by how tight the grip from her hand was, Marco wouldn't leave unless he spilled it all or got physical, and there was no way he'd do that to her. And she had already seen him at his weakest anyway. Not telling her anything now would most likely lead to future problems. Especially since Janna somehow found a way to get to Mewni.

He gulped nervously.

"A-Alright..."

And so, he told her everything. He told her how he arrived on Mewni and learned that Star got back together with Tom, about being assigned as a squire for her and Sir Lavabo, and about the dangers of the Wash. 

Then he moved on to his daily struggles... 

From the harassment of knights and royal staff to the agonizing pain he felt daily with Star, also included was how he felt like he didn't even do anything as a squire besides becoming an errand boy at times. The most important part of his whole story was no doubt today, where he had finally talked to friends he hadn't seen in a while but ended up just souring relations between them because of his feeling for Star. He did have to explain briefly about names Jackie didn't know, such as Hekapoo and Kelly, before continuing how he screwed up with them.

The more he told Jackie, the more her face morphed from her stern face to one of horror. By the end, she had actually let go of Marco's hand and was groaning with her hands pressed onto her face.

"God damn it, Star..."

Marco was shocked. He had never heard anything even close to cursing from her before.

Jeez... He really was bringing out the worst in people, wasn't he?

Jackie kept groaning. "I didn't think she'd get over you so fast..."

"Well... I guess it was just karma for me." Marco returned with a sigh.

"But that's not right!" Jackie sat up and turned to him, a rare expression of anger on her face. "And then there's how she isn't doing anything to help your life on Mewni! There are knights bullying you and Star doesn't even notice it!?"

"I don't want her to, Jackie. She's busy enough as it is, dealing with her kingdom." Marco declared.

"That shouldn't just excuse her for leaving her best friend miserable when your sticking by her! Dude, you're telling me you've been going through all that for  months !? No one respecting you, no one to talk to about this!? You just kept all this bottled up!?"

Marco had never seen her so worked up. 

"Um... yeah?"

He was caught off guard as Jackie suddenly brought him in a nearly backbreaking hug, the girl being the one to rest her head on his shoulder this time.

"You didn't deserve that, Marco... You're a really great guy... Why didn't you come back? At least you could've talked to  someone  about it... I was always thinking about how you doing." She whispered in some pain.

Marco felt the guilt come up again.

"I... I don't know, Jackie. I really don't know... Coming back to Earth, the thought never came to mind. I know that's horrible, but I- No... I have no excuses... All I ever thought about was staying with Star. That was it."

Jackie let go of him and backed up, the worry clear in her eyes.

"But... what are you gonna do now, Marco? You're not  actually  gonna go back there, are you?"

Marco looked down in shame.

"I... I have to Jackie... Star still expects me to be there. She needs me by her side. And before you say anything about her not caring-!" He said, noticing Jackie open her mouth. "She does, okay? She really does see me as her best friend. She's always made sure to invite me to places to spend time with me, even if it's with Tom too... And she's actually tried stopping the mistreatment towards me. before, okay? Rounding people up, giving punishments and warnings, she really did care. Things just ended up escalating between the Mewmans and me, and it got to the point where I'd be getting too much in Star's way if I kept coming to her about those problems."

Marco looked determined as he put an arm across his chest.

"Like I told another before, I'm Star's squire. I'm supposed to be helping with her problems, not have her help  mine ."

Jackie couldn't believe it. She blinked repeatedly and wondered if this was a joke. Was he really gonna go back to chase after her like some lost puppy just asking for attention? No... She knew Marco enough to know that this wasn't doing it for the attention at all... He just prioritized Star's well-being over his own.

He really loved her... Maybe even more than himself.

She gripped the boy's shoulders with a frown.

"Marco... You can't keep doing this to yourself. You've gotta treasure yourself more. Are you really gonna live your whole life  just  for Star?"

Marco's expression didn't waver.

"I don't know, Jackie. But what I know right now is that Star needs me to be there right now. Not just as a squire, but as her best friend."

He... Was he really going to keep going with this? Even after all he's dealt with, he was still going to get up and keep going?

Jackie formed a small, if not sad, smile.

"Heh... I guess you still have the one thing that really drew me to you... No matter what you go through, no matter how many times you fall... You always pick yourself up and hop right back on. Like..."

"Like skateboarding?" Marco finished, a small smile forming on him.

Jackie's own smile got bigger. "Yeah... Like skateboarding."

And then the two stared at each other with happy eyes. For a moment, they flashed back to sitting together on a bench after ditching the school dance. Jackie was in her beautiful aquamarine dress and Marco in his gray and black suit. She remembered just how much she... enjoyed being with him.

But... she knew they didn't have a chance anymore. Marco made his choice.

It actually hurt her from the inside, but she had already let him go... And she doubts that she could say anything to dismay Marco from his choice to stay with Star. So she decided that there was only one thing she could do.

The same thing Marco was doing, to just be there for a friend.

"Marco?"

"Y-Yeah?" The boy uttered, lightly blushing as he realized that he and Jackie had been staring at each other for a minute.

"Just... promise me one thing, alright? If you end up being unable to take it again, if you just need to see  someone ... then come back to me. Let me help take a load off for you. I'll listen."

Marco's eyes widened.

"What? I don't want to bother-"

"It's fine, Marco." Jackie cut him off. "I won't be able to sleep well knowing that you're going through so much without even anyone to talk to. I'd be happy to lend you my shoulder. Just... Just don't deal with everything by yourself anymore."

Marco stared at her with his mouth dropped. Was she willing to let him dump all of his troubles to her? She'd really deal with him just to make sure he was alright?

He looked down with his mouth closing into a small smile.

"Alright, Jackie... Thanks..."

He couldn't help but let out a defeated chuckle.

"You... You really were too good for me..."

A punch nailed his arm.

"Ow!" 

Marco rubbed his arm and raised his head to see a smirking Jackie.

"Don't sell yourself short, Diaz. You're amazing yourself, don't ever forget it." 

Marco gave her a genuine smile back.

 He was really glad they were still friends.

*Brrr! Brrr!*

He suddenly felt his phone in his hoodie pocket, to which he shoved his hand and quickly checked it. 

And of course...

Star:   You doing okay? Tom and I are enjoying ourselves in the Underworld, but his parents are actually pretty bummed that you couldn't make it. Tom told them so many good things about you and wanted to meet his closest guy friend! We even wanted to sing some Love Sentence together!

Marco felt his heart drop.

He forgot... Star and Tom were eating dinner in the underworld... He didn't even have to come back earlier. Wow, he couldn't even remember a simple thing.

He sighed and turned back to Jackie, whose expression changed to concern.

"Was that Star?"

He nodded. "Yeah... She just texted me to know she's alright. She's having dinner with Tom..."

"That... Underworld demon that visited the school, right?" Jackie remembered.

"Yeah... And speaking of dinner, I think I should be heading back to the castle. Otherwise, they'd try to lock me out." Marco chuckled, even if it wasn't anything to joke about.

"Dinner?" Jackie blinked before bringing out her phone, eyes widening as she shot off her seat. "Shoot! Is that the time already!? My parents are gonna freak if I'm not back in a few minutes!"

"Heh, and you said you'd stay all night with me if I didn't tell you anything." Marco chuckled with a smug look, standing up too.

"I still would've, Marco. Even if I knew I had to get home. There was no way I was just gonna leave you like that." Jackie retorted with another smile.

"Yeah? Well..." Marco looked full of appreciation as he scratched the back of his head. "Thanks, Jackie. I-I really needed that."

She casually pointed at him with a chill grin. "Just be sure to come back and visit this time, alright? I know we can't talk far distances because my phone isn't 'dimensional,' so I expect you at my place at least once a week to talk, got it?"

"Yeah... I'm usually free anyway." Marco pulled out his scissors and stared at his name inscribed on them, a sad look as he was reminded just how much he did for Star. "Um... Bye..."

Jackie watched as Marco snipped open a portal. She honestly didn't want him to leave. She remembered just how much she had enjoyed being with him...

But she knew he couldn't stay, so she might as well get something in...

"Marco?"

"Hm?" The boy was just about to hop through the portal when he turned his head to see Jackie get close.

He didn't even process the light peck on his cheek until about five seconds afterward, to which he gawked at the girl with his cheeks flushing red.

"Wha-!? you-!?" he uttered, hand on his cheek.

"Stay amazing." Jackie cut him off, giving him a heartfelt smile.

Marco blinked several times before awkwardly turning his head away.

"Y-Yeah... You too... And once again... thank you, Jackie. I... I really enjoyed hanging out with you..."

He then slipped into his portal, the hole in the air shutting behind him.

Then Jackie's smile fell into a sad look.

"I did too, Marco... I did too..."

~{Butterfly Castle: Marco's Room-8:11PM}~

Marco stepped back into his completely darkened room, an emotionless expression on his face as his legs trudged through it.

"It's already ten minutes past eight... There's no way I'd be able to get any food from the kitchen now..."

He almost seemed like a zombie with how he forced himself to move to his bed, trying not to collapse on the floor.

He... He just felt so tired. He had gone through much more mental stress than any normal day on Mewni. And although the talk with Jackie did help lift his spirits a bit, the moment he had set foot into his room, all that exhaustion and guilt started to creep up on him again.  

There was so much that happened... First, he actually managed to fight with Higgs, and now he had her as a sparring partner. There were probably going to be many verbal attacks from her in the future, but he was actually glad to have the chance to constantly fight her. Out of all the other squires and knights, Higgs was the one who showed him the most willpower and conviction when it came to how hard she tried. He admired her in that regard yet also wondered what she fought so hard for.

Then there was his run-in with Hekapoo... Marco felt so ashamed of himself and knew he had to do everything he could to gain the female's trust again. But... she had already been ironically cold to him for months, so he didn't even know if he'd even be able to get back in her good graces, especially after today.

Janna appearing in his room was such a huge shock for him, but Marco surprisingly welcomed it. It was refreshing to have someone familiar from Earth to talk to, even if she was harshly blunt with everything she said. Yet Marco knew that was just her way of showing she cared, and he appreciated it.

Kelly... she must've really had enough of him. Even Marco agreed that if he was in her shoes, he'd want to get away from himself with how he always either self-loathed or thought about Star. But he doubted or  hoped  this wouldn't stop his friendship with the wooly girl.

Jackie really did help him cheer up... Not to mention, Marco was relieved that the two were still friends. And not just that, but now he had someone he could... cry to? No, he wouldn't want to visit her whenever something bad occurred. He wants to be a friend she deserves to have, someone who would always make her laugh instead of just troubling her.

And Star...

...

Marco made it to his bed, and that was when he fell limp, simply dropping onto the middle of it. Despite what everyone had said, he still chose to stick by his bestie's side. It was so foolish, but it was his choice... 

He knew things most likely wouldn't get better. It'll all be the same. The bullying, his self-hatred, and the distance he kept creating with the people he knew...

"I'm... I'm sorry, guys... I know I'm a failure of a friend."

Despite having cried waterfalls earlier, Marco could feel his sorrows creep up on him again. His hands tightly gripped his sheets as more shaky breaths came out.

Why couldn't he just stop feeling this way? Why couldn't he just be happy? He'll never have Star. He didn't deserve her...

But... the least he could do was help her be happy.

"Sh-She needs me..."

Small sobs filled the room as it appeared to darken; Marco closed his eyes as he felt them start to sting.

"She needs me... She does... A-And... I want to be with her, even if it's just as a friend..."

He curled into a ball of sadness.

"She... needs... me..."

He didn't know how many times he repeated this, but it was like counting sheep. The more he said it, the more he lost himself in his drowsiness.

It wasn't long until he remained still on his tear-stained sheets. 

With the blood-red moon shining directly down on him.