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Star's Crossed Lovers	By : GeorgeGlass Category: +S through Z > Star vs. The Forces of Evil Views: 22548 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Vs. the Forces of Evil or its characters. I made no money from writing this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter 2: An Oskar-Winning Performance

“Morning, Marco!” Star sang as she joined Marco in their shared bathroom for their morning ablutions. Rubbing her hands together excitedly, she went on, “It’s Step One Daaaaay, so let’s look our cutest!”

She moved up behind Marco and looked over his shoulder at his reflection in the mirror.

“Hmm,” Star said. “Gotta make sure your hair has that adorable hang-y piece in the front.”

Stepping in front of Marco, Star spat into her hand, grabbed the foremost lock of Marco’s hair, and slicked it so that it hung down a bit—all while Marco stood there looking uncomfortable.

“We’re in a bathroom full of hair products. Did you really have to use spit?” the boy complained.

“I’m an artist, Marco,” Star replied, squaring her hands like a picture frame in front of Marco’s face. “Spit is my medium.”

“Oh, brother.”

“Now, let’s look at those cheekbones,” Star continued, her fingers gripping the underside of Marco’s jaw as she inspected his face. “You know, just a hint of blush would really bring out-”

“I draw the line at makeup, Star.”

“Okay, then we’re done with you. How about me?”

“Well, um, let me think. Guys like Oscar don’t usually care that much about how dolled up you are. In fact, you might want to tone it down a little today. Let’s see…Do you have a hair thingy that doesn’t have horns, or cacti, or whatever? Maybe something that matches your eyes?”

Star tapped her hairband with her wand and immediately transformed it, giving it an ordinary shape and coloring it a simple sky blue.

“I do now,” she said smugly.

“Perfect,” Marco replied. Then, as he used a brush to get every last strand of Star’s straight blond hair under the band, he added, “We want Oscar to see your whole face. ‘Cause that’s your moneymaker.”

Star grinned hugely.

“Oh, and wear the stripy stockings. They’re kind of offbeat, and guys like Oscar dig offbeat.”

“Ooooh, I’m so excited!” Star cried, jogging rapidly in place. “Today, we make our dreams come true, or die trying!”

“Right,” Marco said, suddenly nervous. “No pressure or anything.”

“Hey hey hey, don’t freeze up on me now,” Star said, zipping around behind Marco and rubbing his shoulders like a boxing trainer. “Eyes on the prize, eyes on the prize,” she chanted. “And remember, I’ll be right there when you need me.”

“You’re the greatest, Star.”

“I am the greatest!” she agreed, throwing a few jabs at the air. “And so’s my homeboy, Marco Diaz. Now let’s go do this thing!”

“Yeah,” Marco said, letting Star’s enthusiasm ignite his own. “Yeah, let’s do it!” Then, his face falling a bit, he added, “Right after English, Math, Gym, Social Studies, and Beetloaf Day in the cafeteria.”

“Beetloaf? Is that, like, meatloaf with rhythm?”

“I wish.”

***

At exactly twelve fifty-one that afternoon, Marco was in position right outside the cafeteria door, knowing that Jackie and her friends would emerge at any moment to visit their lockers before lunch ended and fifth period began.

He swallowed and resisted the urge to scratch, mess with his hair, or just take off running.

Remembering Star’s advice, he thought, Think about what could go right.

He imagined sitting with Jackie on the sofa at his house, watching some old movie on TV. They sat close, their sides pressed together, holding hands. Now and again they would glance at each other, and Jackie would smile at him, fondness and desire visible in her blue-green eyes. And when the movie ended and the credits began their orderly upward march, he and Jackie turned to each other and kissed in the dim light of the screen. And then her hands were on him, under his shirt, running over his bare chest, and his were on the small of her bare back, plunging down below the waistband of her blue shorts, caressing and gripping her gorgeous ass as he pulled her down on top of him...

The bell rang, and Marco halted his fantasizing; it wouldn’t do to be sporting a boner when he spoke with Jackie. Instead, he mentally rehearsed the words that he and Star agreed he would say to Jackie at this moment.

The cafeteria doors burst open, and a horde of students began to emerge. Scanning the crowd, Marco quickly spotted the green-streaked blonde head of the girl of his dreams.

Summoning every ounce of his resolve, he called out, “Hey, Jackie!”

She looked in his direction. “Hey, Marco!”

Keeping all hesitation out of his voice, Marco asked, “Can I talk to you for a sec?”

“Sure.”

Jackie said something to her friends, who continued on their way as the freckled girl came over to where Marco stood.

“What’s up?” she said.

“Well,” Marco began, “at the park last week, I saw you do this railslide, and...it was really cool.”

“Thanks!”

“So, I was wondering…if it’s not too much to ask…could you, maybe, teach me how to do it?”

“Well…”

“Hey Jackie! Hey Marco!” Star said, appearing from around a corner. Looking at Marco, she continued, “You feelin’ okay? That was a pretty big wipeout you had yesterday when you tried that railslide thingy.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Marco replied. “Thanks.”

“Cool. See ya later!” Star said, and flounced away through the entrance to the nearest stairwell.

Marco turned back to Jackie and said, “Sooo, can you help me?”

“Sure,” Jackie replied. “Especially if it’ll keep you from wiping the pavement with that fa- I mean, with your face. How about tomorrow morning at the park? I’m usually there by ten.”

“That sounds great. Thanks!”

“Sure. Catch you later.”

Jackie headed off down the hall. As soon as she was out of sight, Star popped up from behind a nearby trash can.

“How did you get back there?” Marco asked, peering around the can.

“That was perfect!” the magical princess exclaimed. Zipping over to Marco’s side, she continued, “And did you hear when she almost said ‘that face’ instead of ‘your face’? That means she likes your face!” she finished manically.

“You think?”

“I know, bro.”

Marco broke into a grin as he said, “Wow...I can’t believe this is actually working!”

“Told you this was gonna be awesome.”

“You were so right! Now,” he said, rubbing his hands together, “let’s focus on the next part of the plan—your conversation with Oskar. Gotta make sure it’s an ‘Oskar-winning performance,’” Marco quipped, jabbing Star’s upper arm with his elbow.

“Uhhhh, sure,” Star said, clearly not getting it. Then, instantly back in excitement-mode, she cried, “I’m gonna win me some Oskar!”

***

That afternoon, Marco was waiting for Star behind the school. Per their plan, he had just walked by while she and Oskar were conversing about music.

“Hey, Star,” he’d said. “Remind me who that band was that we heard at the Bounce Lounge the other night?”

“The Organ Pipers,” she had replied. Then, turning to Oskar, she had said, “They’re a band of demons who use their own internal organs as instruments.”

“Cool,” Oskar had replied as Marco walked out of earshot and around the side of the building to his designated waiting/hiding spot.

He was just peeking around the corner to see how things were going with Star and Oskar when a girl’s voice from behind him said, “Hey, Marco.”

After nearly jumping out of his skin, Marco turned around and saw a familiar face, topped by a familiar olive-drab ski hat.

“Hey, Janna,” he said, barely concealing his irritation. The girl had a talent for showing up at the least convenient moments.

“What’cha up to back here?” the girl asked with her usual air of sly smugness. “You’re not doing anything sneaky, are you?”

“Um, no,” Marco replied defensively.

“Too bad,” Janna said. “See ya.”

Almost the moment Janna walked out of sight, Star came flying around the corner of the building. Upon seeing Marco, she grabbed him by the shoulders, her blue eyes wide with anxiety.

“Marco!” she half whispered, half shouted. “I messed up!” Glancing around and biting her nails, she squeaked, “Oh, what did I do, what did I do?”

“Star,” Marco said firmly, taking the girl’s face in his hands and making her look into his eyes, “just take a few deep breaths and tell me what happened.”

Star took two deep, gasping breaths, and then launched in.

“So everything was going according to plan. We were talking about music, and the Organ Pipers, and then suddenly it just popped into my head that they’re going to be playing the Bounce Lounge again tomorrow night.”

“Okay,” said Marco uncertainly, dropping his hands from Star’s face to her shoulders, his arms parallel with hers.

“And the next thing I knew, I was asking him if he wanted to go! And he said yes!” Tightening her grip on Marco’s shoulders, she cried, “I jumped right from Step One to Step Two!”

Now it was Marco’s turn to take a deep breath, followed by a long exhale.

“It’s...it’s okay, Star. You did the right thing.”

Star’s blue eyes went big as she said, “I did?”

“You saw an opportunity to move the project forward, and you went for it. I’m...actually kind of impressed.”

“Really? Hugs!” Star shouted, suddenly throwing her arms around Marco. Then, just as suddenly, she let go of him and resumed death-gripping his shoulders.

“But now what do I do? What if I take Oscar to the Bounce Lounge and we have nothing to talk about? What if he doesn’t like to dance? What if he doesn’t like my dancing? What if-”

“Star,” Marco interrupted, “it’s going to be okay.”

Taking another deep breath, Marco continued, “Here’s what we’ll do: Tomorrow morning, when I’m skateboarding with Jackie, I’ll”—he swallowed—“I’ll ask her to come to the Bounce Lounge, too, and we’ll make it a double date. That way, you and I can be there for each other.”

Star’s wide eyes went even wider.

“But...we didn’t plan to go to Step Two this fast! And I don’t want to make you do it if you’re not ready.”

“Look, if this whole thing were up to me, I’d probably never be ready,” Marco confessed. “That’s why I threw out my old twenty-three-step Jackie-plan to make this new plan with you.”

Then, holding out his fist, he said, “Besides, we’re wingmen, right?”

Star grinned and held up her fist opposite Marco’s.

“Wingmeeeeen,” she growled enthusiastically.

They bumped fists and cawed.

***

Marco and Star were at home discussing the details of their planned double date and how Marco was going to ask Jackie on it. Although this idea had initially struck Marco as a good one, he was beginning to see some holes in it.

“What if she’s already got plans?” Marco asked. “I mean, I’ll be asking her on the day of.”

“That’ll just make it seem casual,” Star replied. “And if she can’t make it tomorrow night, well, we’ll burn that bridge when we come to it.”

“You know that’s not how the expression goes, right?”

“My point is, relax. Just keep not thinking about what could go wrong and thinking instead about what could go right.”

“Yeah, but it gets a little uncomfortable having constant bo-”

The front door opened, and in walked Mr. and Mrs. Diaz. Behind them was an older man with neatly groomed white hair and a full, well-trimmed mustache.

“Marco,” his mother said, “you remember your grandfather Rogelio.”

“Row-HAY-lee-oh,” Star murmured. “What a cool Earth name.”

“Ah, Marco, my boy,” the man said in a Latin accent as Marco approached. “How good to see you again.”

“Hey, Grandpa Rogelio,” Marco replied, shaking the man’s hand.

The older man looked at Marco and smiled. “I see you have grown like a tapeworm in the belly of a well-fed cow.”

“Ew, Grampa…” Marco protested.

“And who is this fair flower?” Rogelio said as he turned toward Star.

“This is Star Butterfly, our exchange student,” Marco’s father replied.

“She’s a magical princess from another dimension,” Marco added, curious to know whether this would faze his grandfather at all.

Apparently, it did not. “Encantado, princesa,” Rogelio said, bowing and kissing Star’s hand. The blond princess giggled.

“Star is staying in our guest room,” Mrs. Diaz explained to Rogelio, “so you’ll be in Marco’s room.”

“So good to have you here, Papi!” Mr. Diaz cried, grabbing the older man’s suitcase and hauling it up the stairs. The other adults followed.

“Marco, your grandfather is charming!” Star exclaimed.

“You don’t know what a tapeworm is, do you?” the boy replied.

“Well, they told us in school that silkworms make silk, so I guess tapeworms make tape?”

“I wish.”

***

Hours later, Marco was miserable. The living room couch was old and lumpy, the single blanket he had found in the linen closet wasn’t quite managing to keep out the nighttime chill that was typical of Echo Creek’s desert climate, and the streetlight outside seemed bound and determined to find gaps in the blinds through which to fire its sodium-vapor beams straight into his weary eyes. He tossed and turned, alternately trying to get warm and comfortable, never managing to be both at the same time.

He heard the stairs creak, then the sound of someone running water in the kitchen.

Great, he thought. On top of everything else, someone’s making noise.

“Marco?”

He rolled over, the movement aggravating the ache in his back as he looked up to see Star, holding a glass of water.

“Hey, Star,” he groaned.

“Gosh, you look really uncomfortable,” the girl whispered. “Why don’t you come sleep in my room?”

“That...sounds great,” Marco managed, thinking that pretty much anything would be better than the torture device that was the living room sofa.

Carrying his pillow and blanket, Marco followed Star upstairs. In her room, he espied the long, narrow couch along the wall, so he lay down on it.

“Oh, yeah, this is better,” he yawned, turning over to wrap his blanket around himself. “Thanks, Sta- ahhh!”

There was a loud thump as he rolled off the sofa and landed on the floor.

“I think that couch is too skinny for sleeping,” Star said unnecessarily.

“S’okay,” Marco groaned, crawling to the middle of Star’s rectangular throw rug. “This’ll be fine.”

“Marco, you don’t have to sleep on the floor. My bed’s plenty big.”

Marco awakened a little at that.

“If my parents find me in your bed,” he said, “it’ll be Armageddon.”

“Is that some kind of Earth holiday?”

“More like the opposite of a holiday.”

“Oh,” Star said, clearly only sort of understanding. “Well, how ‘bout this: I’ll stay under the covers, and you lie on top of them but under your blanket. That way, if your parents see us, they’ll know we aren’t up to anything.”

Marco didn’t need much convincing; a real bed sounded like paradise at this point. So he dragged his blanket, his pillow, and himself to one side of Star’s bed and lay down. With just the blanket, it wasn’t any warmer than the sofa, but it was infinitely more comfortable.

“Oh, wow, this is way better,” he said. “Man, there’s a lot of room in this bed! I feel like-”

Marco stopped in mid-sentence as Star scooted over to him and threw her arm around him, cuddling up to him through the covers.

“Uh, doesn’t feel so roomy now.”

“Gotta make sure you don’t freeze to death,” Star explained. “Oooh, I know what else will help.”

She whistled once, and within moments, the laser puppies came bounding into the room and leaped up onto the bed. Some of them lay down next to Marco, opposite Star, and snuggled up to him; others made themselves comfortable on his chest and legs.

“There,” Star said. “Warm enough?”

“Um, yeah, definitely.”

“Good. Now tell me a story.”

“A story?” Marco asked. “Uhhh…well, I know one about a magical princess from another dimension, but you’ve probably already heard it.”

“No, you goof, a story about you.”

“Like, from when I was a kid?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Hmm...Well, once when I was eight, I had this hamster named Skippy. One day, I came home from school, and Skippy was-”

Marco stopped. Star was snoring softly in his ear.

Great, he thought. How am I supposed to get to sleep?

It occurred to him that he was lying in a girl’s bed—for the first time ever. What was more, the girl herself was fast asleep but nonetheless had a firm grip on him. And the rest of him was covered in puppies.

What if I need to turn over? he thought. What if I need to get up and go to the bathroom? I mean, the bed’s really comfortable and everything, and...it’s nice and warm, and…and it feels…kind of…

And then Marco was snoring softly, too.

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