I know what you're all thinking, I said I would stop making shorts but this is one of those times where this story just had to be written. Truth be told, I actually finished it some time ago, about a week or two and with my recent track record for bad stories, I wasn't feeling too confident. But then I realized that this story wasn't written for people's amusement and I already finished it. But that's quite enough rambling.

Disclaimer: Star vs. the Forces of Evil characters belong to Daron Nefcy.

Lava lake beach aftermath

Marco and Kelly stood atop the tower as the soulrise came to an end. "You know, that was a lot better than I'd thought it'd be." Marco admitted.

"I always love the soulrise." Kelly added.

The two of them continued to stand there for a moment until the silence grew awkward.

"So." Marco began. "Maybe … we should …"

"Yeah." Kelly said as she ducked out of Marco's hoodie. "We should probably find Star and Tom."

"Yeah, it's getting late."

Kelly and Marco made their way down the tower and began backtracking to where they had set down. "So, you feeling better now?" Kelly asked.

"Yes, thank you." Marco began. "But … it still hurts."

"Yeah, it's not easy ending it with someone." She gave Marco a little smile then gently elbowed him. "But if you ask me, it's Jackie's loss."

"Jackie?" Marco asked. "What does Jackie have to do with this?"

"Didn't you break up with her?"

Marco looked at Kelly confused until he realized what she was talking about. "Oh, right, yeah, Jackie. She's … totally the one I'm bummed out about." Marco's tone was anything but convincing, and it was all too apparent that Kelly wasn't buying any of it.

"Okay, who is it?" She demanded as she crossed her arms.

Marco let out a sigh as he tried to avoid her stare. "Well … can you … promise … not to tell anyone?"

"Okay, I promise."

"And I mean seriously." Marco continued. "You can't tell a soul, this stayed between you and me, no matter who asks."

"Yes, I can keep a secret. Now what is it?"

Marco took a deep breath before he began. "Well, you see … thing is … it's Star."

Kelly stopped dead in her tracks at the mention of Star's name. "Star Butterfly?" She asked. "You mean-"

"Yes, I mean my best friend, who used to have a crush on me." He shoved his hands in his pockets as they both resumed walking. "Go on, say it. It's ironic, I should have realized a long time ago, I lost my chance, she's too good for me-"

"Marco!" Kelly interrupted. "All I was just going to say was … that's gotta suck."

Marco let out a sigh and nodded. "Yeah, it does, but … I came to Mewni to be with my best friend, not because I was in love with her."

Kelly smiled at him. "Star's lucky to have you as a friend."

"Yeah well … just remember you promised not to tell anyone."

"I won't."

The two of them continued until they came within view of Tom and Star who were packing up their supplies. "Hey Star, look who finally decided to come back." Tom said as he elbowed Star.

Star looked up from what she was doing to spot her best friend and Kelly making their way back to the camp together. "Tom, you don't think they …" Star looked at him, then at the pair walking back, and then back to Tom.

"What?" Tom asked as he looked at them. "Oh, well I doubt it, Kelly and Tad are still on their on again off again relationship."

"Yeah but … still."

Tom let out a reluctant sigh as he put down the umbrella he was holding. "I'll go find out then."

"Wait." Star began as she looked towards Tom. "What?!"

"Hey you two!" Tom called out as he walked over to the pair walking towards them. "You two watch the soulrise together?"

"Actually …" Marco began as he scratched the back of his head. "We did."

Star could feel a slight twinge in her heart, but quickly pushed it aside as she walked forward and wrapped her arms around one of Tom's arms. "You know that's going to make Tad jealous."

"Tad and I are done." Kelly replied. "And this time, I mean done; he's moved out, and we're never getting back together."

There was an awkward pause as the two groups reunited and Star could feel her heart sink. "Wait … so you two watched the soulrise together-"

"Are you two together now or something?" Tom asked abruptly.

Both Kelly and Marco blushed profusely as Kelly looked off to the side and Marco tried to get words to come out of his mouth. "Seriously?" Marco managed to choke out. "Neither of us have been single for more than a month." Star could feel her heart ease up as she tried to brush the whole experience aside.

"Right, right, right, that was inconsiderate of me." Tom replied. "Anyway, it's getting late so we should all get some sleep."

"That's right." Tom added. "We've got a big day tomorrow."

"Yeah, I heard." Kelly said with a smile.

Tom and Star shared a confused look. "Did you tell her about our plans?" Tom asked.

"No, I didn't tell anyone." Star replied.

"Wait." Kelly began as she looked between the two of them. "What?"

"Tom is taking me to an underworld fighting tournament, and I'm going to fight the champion."

"Now Star, remember, you can't challenge him until after he finishes his ranked challenge."

"I'm still going to crush him!" Star exclaimed.

"I bet, but back to what we were saying, how did you know about it?"

"I …"

"I told her!" Marco interrupted.

"You?" Tom asked. "How did you know?"

"I … heard you and Star talking about it."

Tom gave him a suspicious look while Star shrugged. "Well … I'm sorry we couldn't invite you but Tom was only able to get two tickets so …"

Kelly looked at Marco then back to Star. "But tomorrow … or today is-"

"It's okay." Marco interrupted. "I … I have other plans anyway."

"Oh, well that's a relief." Star said with a smile. "But anyway, we should all get home so-"

"Actually … I'm kinda tired, I think I'll just head straight to the castle." Marco suggested. "You guys can walk home together, I'll meet up with you all later."

Star stared at him a bit confused but shrugged it off. "Okay, see you at home."

Star and Tom walked off as Kelly slowly turned to Marco. "You didn't tell them it was your birthday?"

Marco shook his head as he began walking. "They already had the tickets, all I would be doing is making Star sad that she forgot my birthday."

"Did she know in the first place?" Kelly asked as she began to follow him.

Marco nodded. "Yeah, I remember a few months ago, she was going all detective on me, she even started counting the days down on her wall … then Toffee happened and we parted ways and she probably stopped counting."

"You should remind her."

"So she can feel bad? I think I'll pass." Marco turned to face Kelly. "Anyway, it was great hanging out with you and watching the soulrise."

"Yeah … it was." There was an awkward pause as both Kelly and Marco avoided looking at each other. "And … about what Tom said earlier … about the two of us."

"There's no need to discuss that." Marco said hastily. "I mean with the whole … me and Star … and you and Tad ... I think you're cool and all but-"

"Yeah, exactly what I was going to say."

They stood there for a moment before Marco slowly turned around. "So … I'll be seeing ya?"

"Yeah … see ya."

Marco and Kelly parted as they went their separate ways leaving Marco alone. "Well … I guess this is what I should have expected." He said to himself. "Of course, the universe had to make things even for when I broke Star's heart." He looked up into the sky as he began to recap what he had just experienced. "Jackie knew … she knew my heart wasn't into my relationship with her. Maybe if I hadn't been so convinced of something that wasn't real, I wouldn't have hurt Star." Marco looked down and closed his eyes. "I wouldn't have hurt Jackie either." He stopped and clenched his fist. "And maybe … Star and I …" He shook his head and started walking again. "No, she happier with Tom."

Marco was silent for the remainder of the long walk to the buss stop as well as the ride back to Mewni castle. It was unsurprisingly quiet seeing as it was well past midnight, making it easy for him to get to his room.

As he got ready for bed, he paused as he placed his dimensional scissors on his desk. "Should I just … go back to Earth?"

He walked over to his bed and took a seat. "Tad was right after all, I'm just making myself miserable hanging around Star." He paused for a moment. "No … even if I do Love Star … I didn't come here to be in a relationship with her." He got up and turned off the lights before going back to bed and pulling the covers over himself. "I swore an oath to always be by her side … in times of peace or danger. She's still my best friend, and I intend to uphold my oath."

He closed his eyes but before he could drift off to sleep, the door began to open slightly as Star poked her head through. "Hey Marco, you home?"

"Yes." Marco said groggily.

"Sorry, it's just … I'm sorry I didn't invite you to the fight tomorrow, but it's just … like I said, Tom could only get two ticket and-"

"It's fine Star." Marco interrupted. "I get it, you're going on a date with Tom, and I would just be a third wheel."

"You're not a third wheel, we just couldn't get any more tickets." Star hesitated for a moment before continuing with her next question. "And … on a side note … if you're not too busy could you … um …"

"You want me to keep an eye on Glossaryck?" Marco asked.

"Could you?"

Marco didn't have to lift his head to know that Star was giving him the puppy dog eyes and even though he wasn't looking at her, he couldn't say no. "Yeah, I can do that."

"Thanks, you're the best!" She rushed out of the room before running back and poking her head in again. "And I promise I'll make this up to you."

"Okay, but can I just go to sleep?"

"Oh, right, sorry." Star ducked back out again, this time, closing the door behind her.

Marco took a moment to look at the door before turning back to the wall. "And I will still do anything for you Star … because you're my best friend."