Chapter Text
Marco should have known, as with all things, that when Star came bounding towards him barely able to contain her giggles, trouble was going to come sooner or later. In this case it was later, but Marco would have preferred it to be never. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be spending his last bit of allowance on a Triple Decker Fudge Brownie Ice Cream Sunday for his best friend at eight o’clock on a Saturday night.
It had started after Star’s harrowing dive into Mewberty had ended; that was when Oscar had really taken notice of Star’s brilliance. Perhaps being among real stars had made him realize how much cooler and bubblier she was than those shiny clumps of gas. Marco would catch him looking back at her sometimes when Star was in one of her “Crazy Crush Trances” as she liked to call them, and listened while she raved about what that could mean. Sometimes it wore a little thin, listening to her go on and on about Oscar, but he was her best friend, and it was his job. It wasn’t like she hadn’t done the same for him with Jackie.
Things had really started after fourth block on Friday, the last block of the day. Marco had been waiting for Star in their usual spot so they could walk home, and she’d been a little late, but he hadn’t worried about it. Three minutes later, she had come rocketing down the hall, a smile barely containing her happiness. She had stumbled a few feet away, crashing into Marco with a little yelp, and he steadied them both. “Marco, Marco, guess what! Oh my God, guess what!”
“What?” He was busy dusting himself off and calming his heart from the rather unsafe collision, and as such, was barely listening.
“Oscar asked me out!” She screeched, grabbing his shoulders and pressing her nose to his in excitement. Marco blushed, but brushed it off quickly, separating himself from her.
He grinned, genuinely happy for her, “That’s great! Are...are you like, going on a date?”
“Ye-e-e-e-s!” She sang, grabbing his arm and pulling him down the hall towards the door. They had a ten to fifteen minute walk until they reached home, so he was sure to hear all about the proposal. “I was on my way here, but y’know...got distracted by his awesomeness. He was singing one of his amazing songs-- did you know he writes them himself?” Star paused to look at Marco, who nodded dutifully, “Well, anyway, all of sudden he was next to me and we were talking and I thought I blew it, but then he asked! Me! Out! I almost died, it was so cool!”
“So when’s the date?” Marco asked, thinking of their monthly movie night that they’d spent the past week preparing for. Tomorrow night was supposed to be reserved for the perfect mix of bloody horror and romantic comedies, with Marco’s Super-Awesome-Nachos and bowls of candy on the side.
“Oh…” Her face fell, and he knew what she was going to say, “...well, it’s kind-of-tomorrow-night-at-seven,” she spoke quickly, her head down, “I know it’s our movie night, and I promise that I’ll make it up to you! This is like, a once in a lifetime opportunity!”
Marco sighed, but nodded anyway, “I know. It’s okay, I get it,” he reassured her. Star hopped over a hole in the sidewalk and then pause in front of him.
Her smile was more controlled, almost nervous now, and she wrapped her arms tightly around him, “Thank you, Marco. You’re the best.”
“I know,” he smiled warmly over her shoulder, wrapping his arms around her just as tight, “Just--”
They were interrupted by a loud screech as a passing car swerved to avoid the giant, swirling portal that had opened. Ludo and his minions had been trying to sneak out of their portal to catch the two off guard, but the little monster threw his hands up in frustration. “I hate this dimension! Get them!”
Marco and Star pulled apart, falling into their Super Cool Battle Stances. The battle was short and rather unimpressive, but Star still declared, “This is the best! Day! Ever! Mega Rainbow Happiness Explosion!” at the end of it.
It was lucky that Friday was so good, because Saturday, it turned out, would be the worst yet. Star woke up with an awfully nervous ball in her stomach, and Marco tried his best to soothe her, but she only became more anxious as the clock ticked closer and closer to seven. Right after dinner, Star had bolted upstairs to get ready and then frantically called for Marco. He thought by the break in her voice that she was in real trouble, but she was waiting with only her head peeking out from behind her door.
“Star?”
“Marco,” she frowned, her brows pulling together and her lips rather pouty, “I’m super nervous.”
Marco tilted his head, unsure as to why she was hiding behind her door. “I know, Star, you’ve been bouncing around all day.”
She was still frowning, which caused him to frown in turn, “What if I’m not good enough?”
Marco gave her a sympathetic look and leaned closer to the door, “Star, you’re way too good for Oscar. For anybody. Anybody who thinks otherwise is a...an extreme turd head.”
Star laughed, albeit nervously, so Marco figured everything was going to be okay She sighed and then pulled the door back to reveal her dress. Marco gasped, entranced by the glittery red fabric of her dress. He’d known she was a princess, but she actually looked like one now.
“What?” she fidgeted nervously, playing with the ends of her dress, “Too much?”
He closed his mouth and smiled, wholeheartedly believing his response, “Perfect.”
Star broke out into a real grin this time, and Marco walked her down the stairs, glad that she was happy. “Don’t stay out too late. Be safe. I’ll wait for you to get back, alright?”
“Sure, sure, Wild Man,” she teased, and then softened, “Thank you, Marco.”
“No problem,” he smiled back at her, sending his best friend off with a wave. He planned to spend the night practicing karate, or maybe catching up on some Not About History reruns. He was only halfway through the first episode when the door creaked back open, and Star slid in, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. He jumped up, concerned. “Uh, Star?”
When she met his eyes, she burst into tears. Marco approached her slowly, engulfing her in a warm hug. Cautiously, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
“He...he wasn’t there Marco. I w-waited for half an hour and he didn’t sh-show up! God, I’m so s-stupid,” she was having a hard time speaking around the tears. Marco thought that maybe he would do some karate tonight, but shook his head and focused on her instead.
“You’re not stupid, Star. He’s stupid for standing up a princess. Forget him,” Marco felt awful-- he hated when people cried, never mind when it was his best friend. He made a decision, abandoning the Not About History Channel “Come on.”
Marco pulled away, but grabbed her arm and gently tugged her toward the door. Star was able to stifle her sobs into little sniffles, and let him lead her out the door. “W-where are we going?”
“To get the best medicine on Earth-- ice cream.”
It took them fifteen minutes to walk to Georgio’s Ice Cream Machine, Marco’s personal favorite ice cream shop. The sun had set, but it was still fairly warm out, and he listened to Star vent without complaint. He could see the other stars in the sky, and wondered if she knew any constellations.
There were only a few other people at the shop, and Marco seated Star at a picnic table tucked away to the side while he went to order. He decided that this disaster deserved the Triple Decker Fudge Brownie Ice Cream Sunday, a dish Marco had yet to be able to finish on his own. He had just enough for it, with a few coins of change to spare, but Star was worth it.
When he came back with the heaping monster, Star looked a little alarmed. “So...you’re gonna cheer me up...by putting me into a food coma?”
“Trust me,” he set it down, “This thing’ll make you pretty darn happy...even if you get sick later.”
“Well,” Star gave him a small, thankful smile, “You’re doing a pretty good job of that already-- the happy part, not the sick. Duh.”
Marco handed her a spoon and dug in, scooping ice cream into his mouth. Star laughed when a bit dribbled out and he choked a little. She found that the ice cream did make her feel better, especially with Marco’s commentary about constellations and something called supernovas. She found herself thinking she was glad they had skipped the movie night and that fate had also canceled her date, because sitting here under the stars with Marco eating enough ice cream to kill a small child was more fun than she could have dreamed.
Marco himself was thinking that maybe a person like Jackie Lynn Thomas didn’t matter so much when he had a person like Star Butterfly to brighten his world. Just maybe, though.