Star threw the dirty cotton on his face and got up abruptly going to the other side of the infirmary to try find some band-aids “That's the problem!” She said angrily, “As a prince I should do this and that, what the hell Marco?! I thought you were better than that!”

She didn't turned to see his face, but she could see how he got confused the glass reflection as she opened the cabinet to search for what she wanted “What's wrong with you?”

“What's wrong with me? You should ask this to yourself!” Star replied angrily “Is this what the normal class teaches you guys? How to be enchanted, charming and saving damsels in distress so they will fall in love with you? That's a lot of crap!”

“What's wrong in helping people?”

“There's nothing wrong in helping people in distress. The thing is you stepped in something has nothing to do to with you to help me”

“So what?!”

“You think I'm not able to handle things by myself?! Maybe here doesn't count, but I am a princess in Evilland, I took care of things and I did pretty well. I don't need your charm or anything!-” She found the band-aids and took them, slamming them on the table as she took a breath “I need no prince or knight in a shining armor, enchantment, promises or any of that, Marco…” Star looked down at the band-aids sadly “I don't need heroes. I need a friend.”

Silence filled the air for a moment, giving the tension in the air in which none were able to give in to say they were wrong. It stood like that for almost a minute until Star sighed and closed the cabinet taking just the band-aids she needed.

“Let's finish.”

She sat back where she was, taking a band-aid and setting it on his hand, then taking another to put on the left side of his forehead. It was just when she got the last one to place on the right side of his chin he decided to speak again.

“Sorry…” Marco sighed taking her attention “I always forget you're more than just an ordinary princess… I am sorry.”

Star sighed lightly still annoyed, “What do you princes expect from doing that? Love? Trust? Honor? Fame? I just don't get it…”

“I don't know about others, but I do it because I want to… I don't do for praises or honors, I do because it's something anyone should do. That's all.”

Star could tell he wasn't lying. He truly believe in that as a person, not as a prince. He took off the ice bag since most of it had already melted “But as a prince, it’s a way to give example and hope others do the same… Is that wrong?”

So she curled a half smile amused at him, “Well, I guess that isn't wrong… But be careful from now on, I’m not gonna be there always to save you, Princess.”

“Prince.” Marco corrected and Star laughed. When would he give up on trying to fix her nickname for him? Hadn’t he realized she did just to annoy him because it was funny?

Marco smiled at her, he got the last band-aid she had and applied right above her eyebrow, a cut that she didn't even have seen “I sure will be, but you must help me. It’s hard to be best friends with a troublemaker.”

Star rolled her eyes and mocked him, “What your parents are going to think when the news about their perfect prince and son got into a fight because of the bad girl from Evilland?”

“I think they would be pretty proud. They like you.”

Star looked at him wide-eyed by the statement. She just caused trouble since she arrived (even when she didn’t mean to), and they liked her? She was incredulous.

“Really?”

“Yeah, they think you're cool and that you can be a great ruler with the right guidance…” Marco replied. “Though I think they have been keeping something from me… ”

Star smiled. That was the kindest thing she had heard since she arrived the Enchanted Kingdom, and from the king and queen nonetheless. There was a possibility that Marco was lying, but there was no reason for him to do so (and he was a horrible liar, she would know right away.)

“That sound like a investigation mission to Princess Marco and Troublemaker Star!” She bounced happily, getting up to get their bags and head to the their class.

“Prince. And I don’t think that’s a good idea, my parents aren’t the kind of people who hides things just because. They might have a good reason for it and I’ll trust on their reasons.”

“Maaaybe, but a sneak peek wouldn’t hurt.” She shrugged.

They walked in silence in the hallways. It was comfortable enough for them, even with the judgmental stares from people passing by. They were use to it. Many royals always thought Star had befriend the prince of Enchanted Kingdom to use him, Star couldn't care less. She didn't need to use anyone, if she wanted to do something bad she could use her spell book or do it by her own hands.

Even so they would still get in trouble once in awhile by people that didn't accept their friendship. Just like a few hours ago Justin got a purple eye for suggesting that Star was “opening her legs” for Marco because that was the only acceptable choice for someone like her to be around the prince. Needless to say, he did deserve that punch, but Star wanted to be the one to hit him and fight, she was not expecting Marco to take the offense or defend her. She was taken back by the fury Marco showed on the fight (he got some scratches, but Justin was a lot worse.)

It made her like her best friend even more to know he would step up for her and get into a fight just to defend her.

“I think they are right” Marco supplied a few minutes later interrupting her thoughts.

She took a second to remember what he was referring to and scoffed “Right, a Evil as the queen of Shiny Shiny Pink Princessy Land. What's next? A arranged marriage?”

Marco laughed lightly and added “It could be us, promised to each other since newborn. Separated and reunited by destiny. It could be a good fairytale.”

“Yeah, right. The Prince and the bad girl? Pfft” She held her laugh, “Evil ones doesn’t have fairytales, and when they do there’s no happy ending to them” Star explained, she went on before he tried to convince (yet again) things didn’t have to be that way. “Besides, you can do better, Princess. You're the popular one here.”

“Prince” Marco insisted and laughed back “Yeah, and still you're the one by my side to fixing me up.”

Star paused for a moment, looking at him and then the band-aids “This can hardly be called fixing up. And I was the one the help you because I was faster one and your fans would be head over heels for you instead of taking care of those cuts.”

He smiled raising one eyebrow “Isn’t there any other reason? Maybe jealousy over the other girls?”

Well, there could be, but she wouldn't tell him anything until she was absolutely sure of herself.

“Why would it be?” She turned to him suddenly, tiptoeing to be on his level and her right hand on his chest while the other still held her backpack, “Do you want to have some other reason?”

Ok, she might not say, but a little tease wouldn't hurt. Besides his blush was too adorable funny to resist.

“Personal space, Star.” Was all he said before she was laughing and he pulled her in direction of the class trying to hide his embarrassment.

It wasn't a perfect friendship and it was far from being a fairytale, but it was her story and she loved to be the one creating it. Maybe she could even find her own happy ending despite being destined to fail by being an evil being. Her objective there was to prove that even Evil deserves happy endings and a second chance, right? So she might try…

It's been sometime since we last spoke This is gonna sound like a bad joke But momma I fell in love again It's safe to say I have a new girlfriend

 For an instance Mrs Diaz felt like celebrating, but then she realized something was off. Why wasn’t telling her that with him? She would be just as energetic as him, unless…

“Oh, that’s good!” She said smiling nonetheless, “Who’s the lucky girl?”

“It’s Jackie.”

Unless her son was a blind clueless boy about what’s right in front of him.

“Jackie” She said trying to keep her happy tone, but it sounded more like a very confused question.

Well, she was confused. She and Rafael left for a week and suddenly their only son had a girlfriend, he wasn't even dating when they left! God she couldn't leave the house for more than one day and everything goes out the track…

“Yes! You remember her? My classmate since kindergarten?”

Yes, she remembers the blond skater she just don't get it at happened that they suddenly were together?

“Oh Yes!” She tried to sound more energetic than she felt “How it was?”

 And I know it sounds so old But cupid got me in a chokehold And I'm afraid I might give in Towels on the mat my white flag is wavin'

 As Marco described how it was their date and how they got to be together, he had a slightly impression he heard a sigh as he told his mother about how Jackie made food for him and gave to him on Valentine’s day, but then he got interrupted.

“Marco!” Star called from the living room “Come on, I just set the newest season of Race to the Edge to a marathon!”

He smiled at her showing up on the door frame, “Ok! Wait for me!”

“Huuuuuurry” she whined.

He got back on the phone “Mom, I gotta go. Star want to make a marathon, you know how she’s eager to marathons.”

“Ok, darling” His mother said “Take care! I want to talk about this when I come back, ok?”

“Sure thing, mom. Good night”

Once he hung up, he went to the couch sitting down and smiling widely at the image of the dragons and trainers. Star gave him the popcorn she made (well, in the microwave) before sliding up to lean on him to be more comfortable.

“Why did it took so loooong...?”

“Sorry, I know you don’t like to wait but I wanted to tell it all…”

Star shrugged “It’s fine. I’m happy for you, but let’s begin this!”

As they watched the new episodes, they somehow ended up on a weird - Yet, very comfortable - position in which they were laying down, Star was hugging him by his waist, occasionally she would rub his belly by her own distraction. They kept in that position until they had fallen asleep.

 We even got a secret handshake And she loves the music that my band makes I know i'm young but if i had to choose her or the sun I'd be one nocturnal son of a gun

 In the monday, Marco saw his new girlfriend coming, so Star made their habitual handshake with him before going up to meet Janna for science class. Marco didn’t pay attention on her holding something related to Love Sentence, he just smiled at his little sunshine friend before going up to jackie.

“Hey, Jackie!”

“Hey, Marco!” She said happily “Did you liked the chocolate?”

He smiled in a stupid way, but he didn’t care, “Yes! They are amazing, I was not expecting it…”

Jackie smiled back content “It’s my pleasure. Jason can’t have chocolate since he’s lactose intolerant. I didn’t know it though…”

His smile faltered, but he kept still, “Jason?”

“Yeah, my boyfriend. I made him those chocolates, but I didn’t knew he was lactose intolerant… So I gave a few to you, Star and Janna.” She replied

Is it possible to a heart to melt by sadness? Because Marco was pretty sure his had just vanished. He was good at pretending everything was fine for the day, he kept his routine trying to overcome his broken heart. Star helped him by always distracting him until they got home, she realized something went wrong at some point and decided to help him. If he decided it was better to let it all out once he was home, she would help him to do that.

She was a great friend. He smiled looking at the girl by his side rambling about how Glossaryck training her, the princess was effectively distracting him, until they got their feet home.

He stood still, looking at nothing. He did read the wrong signals by Jackie, she had never said they were dating or called him as her boyfriend. She acted as always, but he was blinded by the possibility that she might have noticed him. He felt like an idiot.

“Hey,” Star said gently holding his arm “I know you’re sad, it’s ok. We are home already.”

Marco looked at her smiling and broke. His tears fell before he could think in hiding in his room, but his friend didn’t mind. Star held him for a while, he was busy trying to dry the tears to return, so she released him a bit after to give him space.

“I know what!” She said brightly “I’ll make the happy pancakes so you feel better! Go upstairs, I’ll get there soon!”

That was her way to say he could be alone for a while, but that she would soon be by his side again to cheer him up and make company. Her pancakes wasn’t the best ones, but it was hers and she made with love, so he always endured the little flaws as the crusty or slightly burned ones.

He nodded and went upstairs, laying down on his bed to bring himself down the hill of sadness. Star showed up minutes later, a plate of pancakes and syrup. They had eat to the final until he laid down on her lap to continue his sad bubble.

While she was caressing his hair to calm him down, she looked at something on her phone before looking at him again and smiling.

“You know what can cheer you up?”

“A whole of pity to myself?” He replied.

She rolled her eyes, “No… Love Sentence!”

Before he could ask, Star started to play his second favorite song by the band. She set on a playlist and they begin to sing them. He often would scream something about Jackie not loving him, Star would give him a tissue and pat his back until he got into a new song.

 Take a look at my girlfriend She's the only one I got (ba ba da da) Not much of a girlfriend I never seem to get a lot (ba ba da da, ba ba da da)

 Mr. Diaz was fishing with Star’s father, trying to teach him how to catch a fish without getting in the water. It wasn’t easy, but it was fun. They were talking about their children when the king asked if they got along well.

“They do!” Rafael replied happily “Maybe they do even better later on!”

River raised one eyebrow “What do you mean?”

The man smiled brightly “They got feeling for each other, but he doesn’t notice.”

 It's been awhile since we talked last and i'm tryin' hard not to talk fast But dad i'm finally thinkin' I may have found the one Type of girl that will make you way proud of your son

 “Star is a clever girl, she would do something if was the case.”

“She’s not the lazy one-” Mr. Diaz sighed- “Marco doesn’t notice her!”

The king looked at him surprised, “Then how do you know?”

Mr. Diaz looked at the water before speaking again, “It’s been awhile since me and my wife noticed. The girl knows he needs to notice her more than a friend to try go on him, so that’s what she’s doing.”

“Star is waiting for him?” The other man nodded, “You think it will take long?”

Mr Diaz looked at the king with a bored expression and showed him the phone with a message by his son, when the king got it to read, he spoke up again “A little longer…”

Hijo says: Dad, I… kind of think I have a girlfriend??? I don’t wanna get my hopes up because of what happened last time, but… She’s been calling me, she wants to meet up and all. I gave her some help a few days ago about calling the boy she liked out… I didn’t think it would turn up to me… Well, cheer on your boy!

The king raised an eyebrow again, “It’s not about him, is it?”

“It’s the girl who hangs with Star and used to tease him all the time. If she would like anyone, it would probably be Star.”

The king sighed and pat his shoulder “Patience, they’re young.”

 And I know you heard the last song about the girls that didn't last long But I promise this is on a whole new plane I can tell by the way she says my name (ba ba da da)

 Marco gave up trying to contact his father for advice and almost jumped out of his body when suddenly she called him. He took a deep breath before answering her.

“Marco! Good thing you were free, I need to ask you something!”

Oh God, this is it. This was the moment she would ask him a out, isn’t? He couldn’t say his karate class would started because he saw there were messages while he was on class, she probably guessed he was out because it must been marked read.

Damn technology.

 I love the way she calls my phone She even got her very own ringtone If that ain't love then I don't know what love is (ba ba da da)

 “Do you think Tom would mind going to ‘Prisoners of love’ show with me?’

Marco needed a few seconds to think before finally saying something intelligent. “Huh… what?”

The most wise phrase and overly used on the whole universe and dimensions, everyone.

“I know he likes Love Sentence, but the tickets for tonight’s show were sold out, so… Do you think he would accept go to the ‘Prisoners of love’ show next weekend, instead?”

Marco didn’t know he felt more relief or hurt. Yet another girl he thought was into him ended up to be a misunderstood by his own ideas… Well, at least he didn’t jumped into conclusion thinking he had a girlfriend and planning dates (oh God, he felt like crying again.)

“He’ll like it” He replied finally, “He likes that band too. Not much like Love sentence, but it’s a good go.”

“Ok… Thanks Marco!”

So she hang up and Marco made his best to take a shower, get changed and go home.

 It's gonna be a long drive home but I know as soon as I arrive home

And I open the door take off my coat and throw my bag on the floor

She'll be back into my arms once more for sure

 As soon as the door was open, he heard the sound of someone running around the house. It was already a routine to hear she running to greet him and his mother telling her to be careful in running inside the house. He had time to drop his bag before she hold him tightly into her.

“Welcome!”

He didn’t even tried to fake happiness “Heeey…”

She let go of him and made a face, before she could say anything, he got his bag and went upstairs. Star followed him waiting him to speak, it was nice to not be pressured. Once he opened his door he decided to tell her everything. From how Janna was getting closer to him, to the messages, to finally the call and realization that he understood it wrong.

“I feel like an idiot.”

“Aw…” Star tried to make him feel better by caressing his back, “Don’t say that.”

Marco shoved his pillow into his face and dropped into his bed “Why no one likes meeee” he grunted into the pillow.

Star rolled her eyes “I’m sure there’s a girl out there who likes you. The right girl for you it’s somewhere just waiting for you to look at her with the right eyes.”

 Take a look at my girlfriend She's the only one I got (ba ba da da) Not much of a girlfriend I never seem to get a lot (ba ba da da, ba ba da da)

 Marco took out his pillow and looked at his best friend with curious eyes “Do you really thinks so?”

“I know so. I do say so myself!”

He smiled at her, but she didn’t see as she was trying to get something on her purse. He got up and begin t wave two tickets on her hands smiling smugly at him. Marco lost his words when he recognized which tickets those were.

“How about this, I got twooo tickets for Love Sentence tonight. Invite someone and have a good time with her to forget about all this!”

Marco jumped from the bed, right into the princess to hug Star. The princess laughed at her best friend, but he only got tired after the 5th time he was spinning them around.

“You. Are. The best!” He said brightly and took the tickets happily.

“Oh, I know. Now go and try to find a date” she winked at him.

She got out the room and went to her own, she heard something falling and right after Marco was out his door with a red forehead and tripping over himself. He looked at her with sincere curiosity before speaking.

“Are you free tonight?”

Star blushed, was he asking her on a date? No… He probably just wouldn’t find someone so fast and called her to go as his friend. Marco didn’t see her as anything else.

“Yeah, why?”

He lifted his two tickets and smiled sweetly at her “We got an appointment!”

And then he left to get ready, abandoning a brain fried Star in the corridor, screaming internally trying to control her own feeling over the boy she liked and happened to be her best friend.

 She's got a smile that would make the most senile Annoying old man bite his tongue I'm not done

 Marco and Star were able to get closer to the stage, singing all love songs and dancing as Love Sentence conducted the show. It was funny that it wasn’t overflowed with people, maybe it was the show itself, or maybe it was the area they were, all Marco knew is that they were having a wonderful night full of laughs, songs and dancing.

Star even got the singer’s bandana when she was at Marco’s shoulders to take some pictures better. Once she was down she laughed with him balancing that bandana on his face.

“I got a special reward! I got a special reward!” she sang waving the bandana at him.

Marco laughed while he tried to get it to himself, laughing with his best friend trying to take from her, by holding her close to him by lower back while she tried to keep him away from the bandana extending her arm as far as she could so he wouldn’t get it. She kept laughing while trying to push him away and he kept holding tighter while trying to reach out for her hand.

That was until the lights at the stage changed as a new song was coming up. Marco knew all the songs and he knew this one was a bit slower, not very unusual for them to perform in a concert, but the sound of it together with the image before his eyes made he completely immerse in the moment.

All because somehow in that moment of complete happiness (despite what happened hours earlier), for once he was able to notice (he meant really notice) how Star’s smile was bright, sincere and pure. On how it was contagious and living, and funny, and beautiful. He had never really noticed or stopped to think on how the pink lips curled upwards on her made him feel just this wonderful feeling he couldn’t quite name it.

 She's got eyes comparable to sunrise And it doesn't stop there Man I swear

 Marco actually felt his lungs failing him when she looked straight at his eyes. Deep light blue eyes that seemed to look at all of his soul and still was not uncomfortable at all. Bright and vibrant shining at him like precious jewels, like it was the sun shining on him and bathing on warm light and loving embrace.

The purple and pink lights on the stage gave it a special effect, he could see a bit of the light's reflection on her eyes, which made them look even deeper… Was it always like this? He was the only one that didn’t realized how gorgeous her eyes were?

Were them always looking at him like that?

Because, right then, right there, he suddenly felt it so special. Both blue oceans looked at him as he was the most wonderful creature in the the whole universe, like he was the sun, the moon, stars and everything that it matters… Had them always this bright when she looked at him? Was he looking at her the same way?

Maybe it was because he was indeed looking at her like that that she let her guard open to look at him the same way and reflect exactly the same thing he was feeling… To show him she just felt the same?

 She's got porcelain skin of course she's a ten And now she's even got her own song But movin' on

 His hand moved from beyond her, the bandana suddenly forgotten as he caressed her face gently and lightly, circling her cheek hearts as they felt warm, shining just a bit by all the laugh and cheeks slightly pink.

Marco was suddenly aware on how soft and delicate her skin truly was. He knew it would probably feel soft, but he was never tempted to touch to find out just how good it felt. He was curious, just like any other boy would be, they held hands before for sure, but this was so different… What did it change? Was it him? Was it her? Was both of them? They grew up enough to notice those things they would normally ignore? Was this longing he felt so suddenly that he could feel it being given back to him by her?

Was because just now he realized he had fallen in love with her without realizing since who-knows-when?

 She's got the cutest laugh I ever heard And we can be on the phone for three hours Not sayin' one word

 Star laughed lightly by his starstruck expression and of her own awkwardness by his stare on her. He looked like a deer caught on red lights, is was kind of dumb, but it was cute on anyway. Even so, he looked at her with so much emotion, she felt awkward for herself. Star had no idea of what to do about it, or do whatever in a situation like this.

She always waited for the moment to he would look at her like that, but now that it was happening, she suddenly had no idea of what to do. He was so close, he was still holding her against him with one arm around her waist, while both of hers were at his arms by their little fight just moments ago.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

The bandana on her hands was forgotten by him, the music around them and the people still dancing didn’t seemed to care to any of them. Marco tried to make the words out his lips, it was hard when your heart is beating so much on your mouth.

“Nothing, it’s just…” He looked at her lips, “Something is on my mind.”

 And I would still cherish every moment And when I start to build my future she's the main component

 Star shivered when she felt his thumb caressing her lower lip, once for all she understood what was really going on and what was about to happen. She didn’t know if she felt more eager or scared of it.

His hand was so gentle and she could feel his insecure about his own actions. She felt numbness taking over her just like him, maybe even more lost of actions since she felt it for so long she was already had got used to the idea it might never happen, and then suddenly there they were, just centimeters - Seconds! - away from happening.

She looked at his lips, she felt temptation to try to move. Star hadn't even realized when she licked her lips in anticipation, which was the last straw for Marco to take the action. Still holding her face, he leaned in and kissed the princess.

It was a stupid action, but Marco found it impossible to regret.

Her lips were just as soft as her skin, either it was something she ate before, her lipstick or just her natural taste, all Marco knows is that it was really sweet, they tasted like the sweetest dessert he could ever imagine and it felt good. Her in his arms, her lips on his, the faint smell of her perfume, the way her hands moved to his shoulders to get support… It was amazing, and the fact she was kissing back made him feel like a firework in infinite combustion. It felt amazing to had all he was giving right back to him at the same intensity.

 Call it dumb call it luck call it love or whatever you call it but Everywhere I go,I keep her picture in my wallet like you

 The kiss was brief, but it felt like an eternity. He pulled away and stared at her with surprised eyes. Star tried to hold her laugh at his shocked face, he looked at like she was the one who kissed him first.

“Oh my God, I'm sorry Star. I didn't mean to… I mean I wanted to, but I didn't mean- I… I'm sorry for that, I shouldn't have forced you…”

Star was taken by surprise of his apologies, did he really thought he forced her into the kiss? Sure, she was taken by surprise, but he didn't force her to anything. She could have pushed back, she could have used her magical wand to push him away, but she didn't because she wanted that just as much as he did.

Holding her laugh while Marco was still rambling (about how he liked the kiss but shouldn't have forced her into it), she decided to clear Marco’s mind from all doubts.

Using the bandana he was trying to steal moments ago, she used it to pull him down to her lips again. This time she was the one prepared, so she was able to take control. She was more passionate than him, but then again there was no kind of insecurity within her to hold back anything, so she let it go of restrictions and kissed him fiercely until the moment she felt him melting into it. Both of his hands rested on her waist, unsure where to be placed and awkward to never have done that before.

The princess let go of him once he was completely into it. She giggled at his startled face, he probably was still trying to process everything, from she starting to kiss him to stopping so suddenly.

“I waited for this for months. Don’t you dare to regret!” She said faking annoyance.

Marco blinked twice trying to clear his confusion, but all he could say was, “Months?”

She smiled pulling him again, but just to touch her forehead on his “It took you long enough to realize.”

Marco smiled down at her, just before his arms were around her again, pulling her closer as he could, holding her waist with both his arms as her arms were around his neck and they went back to kiss each other to make up for all the time they had lost.

Maybe she wasn't the perfect girlfriend and he didn't thought about her in a romantic way before, but she was Star and she was perfect to him. Besides, she was right: the right girl for him was out there, by his side, just waiting for him to notice he was looking for her in the wrong places.

The brunette man started to play a soft but deep melody on his guitar; it was a promising tone that seemed somehow controlled, as if it was going to get really intense in any second. It was almost hypnotic. A sweet and strong music that reflected the relationship of the young Star and Marco who used to be together in those days. "The year the princess turned twenty one years old, she was ready to become the queen of Mewni, but not before getting a king. In order to find a proper husband, her parents decided to organize a fight in a magical stadium in the dimension of Vold… imagine the stadium" he got closer to his younger son, trying to sound as scary as possible to catch his attention, while his daughter was giggling. "An enormous stadium of 150 feet of high, with many different environments: volcano land, frozen heart and the wild forest" he told with a mysterious tone without quitting playing his instrument. "All the suitors had to fight the different creatures hidden in the place, plus try to defeat the rest of the competitors. The last one standing would win the hand of the gorgeous princess of Mewni, having proved his strength to her… though she didn't seem to mind about any of the suitors at all… until a familiar face showed up in the arena"

Star slowly stood up as that recognizable sunned face with a cute mole walked in. The brunette boy looked up at her with a concerned expression, knowing fully well that he was letting her down by doing it. Of course she didn't need a hero, but he needed to win her heroine. They shared a glance that said it all, a glance they would never forget. Everything around Star stopped existing at the second she realized what was happening: Marco was going to compete for her hand too.

The music stopped as Marco began to sing.

"I said remember this moment, in the back of my mind"

A strike of heat affected Marco as he got inside the fighting place. His chest felt heavy and he was overwhelmed by the crowds that were cheering the fight. The boy didn't know how to feel anymore. He was anxious, sad and uncomfortable… but he had never been so determined to win something before. He needed to be the winner, not only for Star but for him. The human knew that he would never handle the idea of Star marrying someone who wasn't himself.

"The time we stood with our shaking hands, the crowds in stands went wild"

The king's hands were shaking and his voice cracking, but he had to keep up. Even though he knew about the situation and tried to convince the young boy not to do it, the poor man wasn't prepared to see him in the arena. "And now…" he presented sweating. "The eh… next competitor… is from the Earth dimension..."

"We were the kings and the queens and they read out our names"

"No…" Star mumbled still astonished

"Behold… Marco Diaz!" the king finished more nervous than the boy in question

"No!" the blonde girl screamed in denial, nothing in the world could ever prepare her for such a sacrifice, what if Marco lost? What if he died because of her fault? She madly turned to face her parents. "Did you know about this?!"

"Eh... perhaps… uh… I…" her father mumbled without giving the correct answer

"DID YOU?!" she repeated in a louder and madder tone

"Yes, we did" her mother answered coldly

"How did you let him do this?!" Star continued questioning horrified

"We didn't have anything to do with this, Star. It was his own idea…"

The blondie stared at Marco one more time, quick memories of him flashing in her mind. Their hugs, all the times he supported and cheered her up, the few times they shared a dance, the blood moon ball, the time she realized she had a crush on him, the first time they kissed, the endless nights they spent watching movies with a bowl of nachos, mindlessly laughing at the world.

"The night you danced like you knew our lives would never be the same"

"Marco!" she called breaking every rule about not interfering. "Don't you dare risking your life for this, Diaz!" she screamed with a frown, though her eyes were full of tears

The rest of the suitors glanced at the young adult who was trying to avoid looking at her in the eye. He couldn't do it. He knew that she wouldn't be agreeing, but at the same time he couldn't stay at his home with the arms folded, waiting for her wedding invitation.

"I'm sorry, Star… but I have to"

"No! You don't!" she claimed before her frown softened, turning into a desperate expression. "Please, Marco… you won't win anything by dying"

"You held your head like a hero on a history book page"

The brunette teen made eye contact with her for the first time in the day. He was dressed with a Mewni's warrior suit that actually fit him. His brown hair was made a mess, but it was still surprisingly attractive. His chocolate brown eyes had a determination she didn't remember seeing before. "At least I'd have tried… you know I love you"

And she did it. Star wasn't innocent, she was aware of his feelings for her, but she never expected him to love her as much as risking his own life for her hand. A tear rolled down her cheek as she realized she would do the same for him. Being honest, they were having a kind of couple relationship in secret in the last few years. They had it in secret so no one would want Star to go back to Mewni before it was time for her to become a queen, but in spite of all the risks, they both couldn't conceal their feelings. "And I love you too, idiot…" she admitted making everyone in the stadium gasp

"It was the end of a decade"

He smiled. "Trust me, okay?"

The princess gulped and bit her inferior lip. She didn't want that, she wanted to skip that stupid competition and marry Marco right there. But it wasn't any boy who was going to fight for her… Marco was a black belt and he had fought monsters that were three times his size. Maybe… just maybe he had a chance to win.

"But the start of an age"

She slowly nodded. "I trust you"

"Long live the walls we crashed through, how the kingdom lights shined just for me and you"

And that's how the competition started. With only a sword on his hand and barefoot, the brunette boy went inside the volcano land. To win this part, he had to cross through a little and cracking bridge that was barely standing a few centimeters away of the lava to get to the other part of the volcano, in order to get to the next part of the contest. At the beginning, it didn't seem so hard, until the suitors discovered that the volcano's lava had life… and once in a while attacked the competitors. As soon as Marco put a feet on the bridge, it almost seemed as every drop of lava wanted him dead, as it all began to unexpectedly combat against him.

"I was screaming long live all the magic we made, and bring on all the pretenders"

With the image of Star smiling at him, the human grabbed his sword in panic and tried to cut the lava in the half, thing that surprisingly worked… for a few seconds until it came back to its right position. "Oh, c'mon…" he muttered angrily wondering if Star's parents really wanted him dead

Taking a deep breath, he ran as fast as he could to get to the other side of the bridge, dodging attacks, jumping lava and without the need of harming anyone on the way.

"I'm not afraid"

After arriving quickly to Frozen Heart, the lava stopped following him. He then turned to the next part of the quest, this time; the environment was a peaceful and snowed land, with pines and frost. The boy was just wondering what was going to be the next trap when he noticed that his feet weren't moving. That's right, they were completely frozen in the two minutes in which he was in the snow, looking at the sides, he realized that many competitors were trapped by the ice trick, and many others were untouched, decided instead to attack the trapped ones. The human had to find his way out of there, but how? With a deep breath, he used his sword to slice the ice in two, though the ice was too frozen to free him only like that.

A suitor noticed his situation and decided to take advantage of it, internally liking the idea of killing the biggest threat in the arena. But when he tried to attack him, the stuck boy found the perfect occasion to free himself. Marco managed his opponent to break him free from the ice, due to the fact that the sword instead of hurting Marco damaged the ice. The boy smirked before kicking the suitor, not too hard, but with enough strength to make him fall.

"One day, we will be remembered"

Afterwards, he moved to the last part of the challenge, the wild forest, fighting some monsters -without necessarily hurting them, just distracting them-, while he remembered all the adventures he had with Star, along with all the fights they fought together as an inseparable team. Those thoughts were plaguing his mind when he saw the ending line and he slowly put his guard down, thinking that he had won that easily… but nothing is easy.

Without any warning, another competitor jumped over him, with a dagger on his hand and a furious expression, showing high desperation for winning the princess' hand; little did he know that Star would never marry someone who even cut a Marco's hair.

"Marco!" the princess exclaimed getting ready to jump out of her sit and go help him

"Hold on to spinning around"

"Star!" Moon called grabbing her arm. "No! You can't interfere!"

"Let me go!" Marco shouted as he was trying to stop the guy's hand that held the weapon

The blonde girl's heart stopped beating at the thought of losing her best friend.

"Confetti falls to the ground"

The stranger tackled Marco to the ground as his dagger was getting every time closer and closer to his throat, as the Latino was trying to put all his strength on stopping him and surviving. But it was no use, the knife was too close, so he just closed his eyes, almost accepting the obvious dead.

Star's eyes were filled with tears while she truly discovered that she was an idiot if she let him die having the chance of saving him.

"May these memories break our fall"

Marco's guitar got louder and louder, reaching an intense rhythm that sent shivers down his kids' backs, to then stop all of a sudden making both kids stare in confusion. "So?" they asked

Their father was still shaken for those memories that haunted him. Of course, he knew there was nothing to do about that situation now. He had to move on and repeat to himself that there was nothing he could do to change it. No, it wasn't his fault. How come would he suppose that would happen? Who would ever know? Nobody blamed him for it though, but that memory was an open scar that even after fourteen years it hasn't completely healed yet.

"When the lad opened his eyes… he saw something terrifying… Star was on him, receiving the stab instead"

"What?!" they almost yelled surprised

"That's right…" he confirmed returning his guitar playing. "She used a portal to get there in time, preferring to risk her own life for him… just as he would do for her"

There was no need to mention that every single being in the stadium stared completely speechless at the situation. They couldn't believe their own eyes: the princess gave her life for the suitor she was really in love with, just like that. But no one was more speechless than Marco, who stood frozen as the girl dismayed on his arms.

"S-S-Star?" he questioned astonished, not fully falling into the account that that situation was really happening. "Star?!" he asked this time louder as he looked down at her injury: the dagger was stabbed in a side of her hips. The suitor dropped the dagger in shock. Not even his eyes were fast enough to see who he was actually hurting. "No, no, no… Star!" he screamed caressing her face in panic as she weakly opened her eyes

"Will you take a moment, promise me this"

Marco?" she asked whereas the boy grabbed her hand desperately

"Star… I'm here…" he managed to say at the border of tears. "Why did you do that?"

"Well, now we're even. You risked your life for me, and I did the same for you"

"That you'll stand by me forever"

"No… this… this is wrong" the brunette boy reposed as he was mentally freaking out

"I couldn't let you die" the girl admitted with a small smile

Marco looked down at her injury, which was losing a lot of blood.

"But if God forbid fate should step in"

"I can't let you die either"

Star smiled. "I'll be okay… I suppose that as a mewman I must be more resistant…" she sobbed

"What if not?"

"And force us into a goodbye"

The blondie caressed his soft hair one more time as she let some tears down, the pain being almost unbearable. "Then, could you do something for me?" she asked a question which the boy almost frenetically answered nodding

"If you have children someday"

"Know that this wasn't your fault… that I love you and…" her voice softened even more

"When they point to the pictures… please tell them my name"

"Remember me" Star finished with a sincere tone of fear, the fear of being forgotten by the person she cared the most

"Tell them how the crowds went wild; tell them how I hope they shine"

Marco slightly smiled at the memory. "Long live the walls we crashed through, I had the time of my life… with you" he finished staring at his sleepy children. "The end"

"What? It can't…" the young boy made a break to yawn. "End like that!"

"Yeah! Is that even a real story?" his daughter questioned, also tired but more outraged

"Hey, remember that an ending brings also a new beginning…" the adult explained leaving his guitar aside. "Tomorrow I can tell you the continuation of it, with a happier song, telling how Star really survived because of her mewman's strong genes and how everyone in the kingdom agreed to let the princess and her best friend get married"

"You'd better do so…" his wife opined standing up. "Because as far as I know, I'm still alive"

Marco chuckled. "Weren't you sleeping?"

"Oh, honey, if you don't want to wake me up… next time try to sing in another room" Star proposed with a giggle

"Right, now, kids…" when he turned around, Marco was surprised to find both of his children asleep in the bed.

With a shrug, he took his daughter in a bridal style and carried her to her room so she could sleep peacefully.

As soon as he left the room, the brunette girl giggled and took her cellphone, calling to his best friend. "Connor? Are you awake?"

The black-haired boy tiredly rubbed his eyes. "Nova? It's more than midnight, what happened?"

"Oh, do I have a story to tell you! My dad finally told me and Sol the story of how they got engaged! And it was in Disney style!"

Long, long live, the look on your face, and bring on all the pretenders.

One day, we will be remembered.

Hope you enjoyed reading it! This is my probably last story for @starcoweek2! Thanks to @mrevaunit42 for letting me use his amazing characters (Nova, Sol and Connor)

“I will!” Marco insisted as a good seven years old boy, “I will grow and be taller than you, you’ll see!”

“I'll be waiting, small legs.”

His mother was between them before they started a fight, finishing the argument as she put nachos at the table and they begin to eat them eagerly.

Their parents were really close, both fathers went to the same College and played on football team, his mother obeyed the cliche of the cheerleader who dated the player; but he never quite understood how someone fancy as Star’s mother got to be with her dad. They were great together, but Marco never understood how they became a couple, his parents also said they didn't knew (apparently they showed up one day as a couple and that was it.) The mix of the wild and fancy gave origin to the “princess”.

He thought she was annoying when he was little, even so, she was still his best friend.

When he was around 10 they moved. Her grandmother needed care and her parents were the most available ones. He remember tears, hugs and goodbye gifts.

“So you remember me when you're cold!” She said giving him a red hoodie “Mom didn't let me get you that doll from the stupid hero,”

“Mackie Hand is not stupid!” He replied.

“Whatever” she shrugged.

Marco gave her a devil headband, she looked offended for a moment, “What? You didn't expect me to give you a crown or a princess one, right?!”

“You are stupid!” She replied back, but put on her head anyway “You better give me a really nice princess one when I come back!”

There wasn't a date for it, but the Butterfly’s had promised to come back one day, even if just to visit.

“Why would I do that?” He asked confused.

She couldn't reply, since adults called them.

“Star, we need to go. Say bye to the Diaz.”

The little girl looked down, before getting close to his parents so she could hug them close, “Bye Mrs. Diaz. Bye Mr. Diaz…”

She went to Marco, he extended his arms ready to hug her, but received a punch instead, “Hey!”

She held him right after “I'm gonna miss you, moron.”

Marco knew she was about to cry, he felt him also fighting back tears. But he was a brave boy and his mother had said he would have to be very strong for his friend. So he tried to cheer her up and avoiding the situation “I'll get you a princess crown if you come back.”

Star looked at him surprised, drying up her tears, “Really?”

He nodded and she smiled at him happily.

Thinking about that day right now, it was nice to realize their parents realized how hard it was for the kids to say bye to each other. They grew up together since they were toddlers, it would take some time to kick in they wouldn’t see each other anymore, even so they knew what “bye” meant and just as the adults, they needed a moment to say theirs. So there was no rush on the kids to get apart.

“Ok, I'll tell you what!” She raised her hand a few centimeters above her head “If you grow bigger than me like this I'll let you play king!”

“Deal!”

He still remembers waving to the car and watching her waving back from the back window. Marco waited they turn the street, he kept looking to the point where the car was gone waiting for it to come back. It was when he realized it wouldn’t and begin to cry, being comforted by his mother’s embrace.

Years had went by, contact with the Butterfly’s begin to dry up until there was almost no news from both sides. Sometimes her parents had come by, but Star was on a boarding school because of something she did and misbehaviour. When they visited they were always by them two, Star would only get out after she completed elementary school and with years going by, Marco had let his hope in meeting her again fade little by little.

It was normal, right? To childhood friends lost contact and forget each other, right?

Marco wanted to convince himself that that was the true, but the Princessy headband kept on a box in his closet would always remind him that he still got hope, by the simple fact he just couldn’t throw it away.

He sighed plugging his earphones on and heading to the tree on the backyard. It’s been around seven years since Star was gone, she probably had forgotten him already, even if he still kept his promise.

Marco didn’t even get to sit when suddenly something fell from the tree branches and screamed on his face.

“Hi!”

He refused to acknowledge the high pitched scream that came out his mouth.

His head hit the tree as his legs failed and he stumbled back to the opposite direction of the sound. Marco rubbed the back of his head where it hurt.

“Wow, I knew I would scare you, but I didn’t think it would go like this…”

Marco opened his eyes, meeting the smug smile, golden hair, blue eyes and a bit of blush instead of hearts made of lipstick on her cheeks.

His voice come out more surprise than he thought it would “Star?!”

“Still totally worth it.” She said doing a backflip from the branch to get down the tree and standing on without any trouble, once she was standing by his side, she smiled at him. Her hair was long just like he remembers, blue eyes recognizing him just like he was doing and… She was still tall as he could remember - Even so he was sure he was taller.

She leaned on her shoulder against the tree “It’s good to see you, Marco.”

There was a pause before he laughed and she did the same. She sat down by his side and they stood like that, catching up on everything that happened in the missed years. School, friends, adventure, distance… It was funny on how it felt like they never got apart.

“So you’re coming back to live here?” He pointed to the house next to his.

“Yep! Grandma passed away a few months ago, so we took our mourning. Mom decided the best way for us to move on would be if we went back to where we should had been.”

Marco put a hand on her shoulder “I’m sorry, Star”

“It’s fine. It’s a bit of a relief even. She was old and most of the time too dependant for her own like, when she passed away it hurt, but it was also a relief to see her resting in peace…” She said looking without a exactly focus, “It’s weird, but we’ll get used to it.”

He smiled at her “I have no doubts you will.”

The blond stood up, patting her legs to get free from leaves and grass, “Let’s go, you have a promise to fulfill.”

“Huh?”

She pointed to her head, where the devil headband still was. Since it was made out fabric, there was no problem to be too small “You owe me a princess headband. Don’t think I forgot!”

Marco looked surprised at her, before giving her a smug smile “well, princess, I think you had forgotten something about that…”

“Oh yeah, what did I forgot?”

He got up, standing beside her, before leaning on her direction, using one arm to support himself on the tree behind her. Marco tried to hold the laugh when he realized her tensing at the proximity and the light blush when she had to look up to meet his eyes.

“Am I tall enough, aren’t I?”

The look of surprise on her face told Marco she was not expecting him to remember that, she looked up realizing he was measuring his height difference with hers on his hand. Much for her surprise it was a closer proximity of difference from what she pointed on that day.

Satisfied with the reaction, he turned around and walked back to his house, raising his voice so she could hear, “You’ll get your princess headband when I get to play the King.”

Star stood there, shocked and trying really hard to not squealing with both delight and panic. Did he just flirted with her? Was that he asking her out? It was a date? It was a dare? It was a indirect way to say he would try to get to her heart?

It sounded like a indirect marriage proposal…

No. Nope, she had to focus. She just came back, it couldn’t be that! They didn’t even catch up on everything, why would he… Why did he?

Star laughed. She didn’t even know why, but she was laughing. She was happy, but there was so much confusion too… It didn’t matter thought, it would eventually unfold and she was ready for anything that came out of it. Marco was a nice guy, he would be worth the time even if it didn’t work out in a romantic way.

When the laughing ceased, she smiled at the memory of when her mother asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up.

“Marco’s wife.”

Her father broke the plate he was washing, her mother looked at her nine years old self in shock “Why?”

“Why not? He lives near, he will have a nice house, a fancy car, he will be a cool guy… Mama and Papa Diaz are nice and you’re friends…” she looked at her parents confused “We are just like you. It mean we should be together, right?”

Her mother explained things weren’t like that, but right now Star forgot everything in order to get it through. If she was a “princess”, then there was only one way for Marco to become king.