A/N: Hey! This is meant to take place after Running with Scissors. I always thought it was so weird they had Marco literally live through years and years of his life and then never mention it again, like what? Review if you like!

Something wasn't right. Janna knew the irony of this statement, watching her two closest friends battling back the large cluster of elephant-sized spiders. Of course, something was off with that scene. Rips in space with dangerous entities spilling out wasn't an everyday sight.

Except… that was almost normal for them. A tear in reality and a new threat following them out, the two would fight and send the danger packing. That part was normal. What wasn't right was her best friend. Her safe kid and favored victim.

Marco had let out a pained gasp as one of the massive chitinous legs slammed into his chest before he quickly clasped his own arms of the guilty appendage. Janna remembered him enjoying the fight before, but this? This was a cold and methodical kind of combat. Where before Marco reveled in showing off his karate, now he…

Janna almost had to look away as the high pitched squeals filled the air. Peering back over through squinted eyes, Marco stood glowering and coated in the monster fluid. Still clasped in his hands was the now detached limb of the gargantuan monster he fought.

This act was enough for the giant to understand. It turned itself around, weight spread out to its seven remaining legs and dove itself into the portal. Star finished hers off in the usual manner, the deluge of Warnicorns pushing her own assailant back into the dimensional rift. Absently dropping the heavy leg to his side, Marco quickly sealed the doorway and finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Man, I really hate spiders," he said in a light-hearted way. The small crowd that had gathered around all thrust their fists in the air and went on to shower praise on Star and Marco. Both were above and beyond the most popular kids with these constant displays.

Janna stayed on the edges, though. All the while watching her safe kid and taking note the way only she could with him. The stiffness to his laughter the hadn't been there a few days ago. The overly airy tones he was giving, and the exaggerated fear he showed when moments before he had gone toe to toe with a beast so effortlessly.

Janna felt her guts twist, and she winced. Whatever was going on she'd really need to get to the bottom of it. That would be later, though. No way she'd make any kind of discovery with the praising crowd and the hyperactive magic princess around. Janna loved Star, but she distracted Marco from having a serious conversation.

For now, Janna made her way forward as the group began to thin. She reached back and smacked Marco on the back, then stepped back two quick paces. Good move, it turned out, as Marco had swung around with that trained look in his eyes.

"Whoa, easy there tiger, just congratulating ya," Janna said, sounding nonchalant.

"Oh gosh, Janna!" Marco said and seemed to steady. Janna noticed him uncurl his fist and attempt to hide it behind his back, "Sorry, I'm just a little stuck in fight mode, I guess."

No duh. "Nah man, it's all cool. You seriously kicked that spider to the curb. And hey," Janna kicked the fallen leg, watching as it still twitched its final few movements, "You got a cool souvenir from it, huh?"

Marco paused as he looked at it, though gave no signs of revulsion as he used to. "Er, yeah. I got a little carried away with that. Speaking of which..." Marco ran his hands along his sweater front, watching as the strange semi-green liquid dripped off of him, "Yuck, I really should head home. This is real gross."

"Home? You know it's only been lunch period, yeah?"

Marco paused, and Janna noticed him take on a blank expression for a moment. Then he softened and sent a grin back her way. "Can't exactly go the whole day covered in monster guts, can I? Eheh…"

Janna looked him up and down, shaking her head. She put a hand on his shoulder and started pushing him towards the edge of the school. "I'll cover for you, just get back before the end of the day. And save me some of this gunk for my collection of gross stuff. You remember that, right?"

"Of course I do, Janna," Marco said, waving her off. He smiled back at her, "I haven't seen that for a while though, how's it coming?"

"Oh you know, still freaky as ever. Now get moving, Diaz, your girlfriend isn't gonna wanna kiss someone that reeks like spider blood."

"Okay, okay! I'm going!" Marco began to run off in the direction of his house, running faster than Janna remembered him going before.

"Janna-banana!" said a voice, high and excited grabbing onto her arm. Twisting around, Janna took in the full sight of Star Butterfly. Unlike their more physically minded friend, Star once again walked away from a battle with nary a scuff mark. "We had such an amazing time in the crystal spider caves! I still don't know why Marco wanted to head there in the middle of the day, but look!"

Star produced a number of floating purple crystals that sat hovering a few inches above her palm. Plucking one out of the air, Star tossed it into her mouth. Janna heard the satisfying crunch before Star slipped them back into her bag.

"Crystal candy!" Star explained, speaking through the shining bits of sugar in her mouth, "The best sugar block in the multiverse! Wanna try one?"

"Ah, thanks, Star. Maybe later, I think we should start heading to class." Janna said, looking at the clock.

"Huh? But where'd Marco go?" Star asked, confused. Janna pointed off in the distance.

"Said he was heading home to change cuz he was covered in spider guts. I thought it was a hot look on him though." Janna said in her typical snarky way. Star simply laughed.

"Oh Marco, always the clean freak, huh?" Star said, "Well then let's get going, Janna! We've gotta get to class before Ms. Skullnick gives us detention again!"

"What, scared of being mayor again?" Janna asked somewhat sardonically.

"I'm serious, Janna! Let's get going!" Star said, tugging on Janna's sleeve. Slipping her arm back out of her jacket, Janna took a few steps back from Star.

"You go on ahead, I've gotta check up on something. Quick as a heart attack, promise," Janna said. Star paused for a moment.

"Creepy, but okay!" Star said smiling, "Well I'll save you a spot!"

With that, Janna watched the Mewman princess scamper off between the school buildings before checking if the coast was clear. No one in sight save for a few distracted folks already in class, perfect.

Janna walked over to one of the fire alarms and took off her hat. Using the simple fabric as a buffer, as the principal had been checking for her fingerprints recently, she tugged on the alarm just as class was about to begin.

Janna absently wandered off the school premises as all the classroom doors flung open, already too lost in thought to pay much mind to the chaos around her. And why was that? Well, because of her gross stuff collection. The one she didn't have, despite Marco saying very clearly he remembered it.

That sealed it. Marco was trying to cover up something and was trying too hard to act casual. She'd corner him soon enough and get him to spill what all this junk was.

Janna simply went on a walk down the street, nodding slightly to the sirens of fire trucks rushing towards the school like they were part of her own little theme song.

"Oh, Janna! We are so happy to see you!"

"Thanks, Mr. Diaz," Janna said in a cool tone, peering past the broad-chested man at the clock. Just past 11:00, perfect.

"Oh, but what are you doing out so late? Is something the matter?" said the older man, concern now filling his tone.

"No no, nothing like that, just needed to talk with Star. We have a project due tomorrow, and we totally procrastinated."

"Oh my, well that's no good. You really should take initiative with these things, Janna! Like Marc-ahem."

Janna picked up on that. "Like Marco what?" she asked interestedly. The older man shuffled back and forth in his pajamas, looking more like the misbehaving child than the misbehaving child did.

"Ah, well you see, Marco has been..." Rafael Diaz paused, trying to form the words while still respecting his son's privacy, "He has been slipping lately. This last week something seems to have happened. You wouldn't know what…"

"Nope, but he's been acting sorta weird now that you mention it," Janna said, playing into Mr. Diaz's concerns.

"Did he and his girlfriend…?"

"No, they're still together," Janna clarified, "Jackie was just telling me about them having a date night this weekend."

"Oh good," Rafael said, sighing in relief, "I was worried it may have been something there. He'd be crushed if they broke up."

"Definitely, Mr. Diaz," Janna said, adjusting her backpack on her shoulder, "But anyways, I've gotta go talk to Star. I'll make it quick, I promise."

"Take your time, Janna, you can stay the night if you need!" The older man began to make his own way back to bed, gesturing towards the stairs, "I'm sure Star wouldn't mind a little sleepover."

Janna nodded and then took off upstairs. Completely ignoring Star's room, Janna walked over to Marco's bedroom door. It was closed, and Janna could hear the light sounds of shuffling just beyond the door. She turned the handle and pushed her way in.

She expected to see Marco tucked into his bed, sleeping away innocently. Or maybe slumped over at his desk, with the room lit up by his laptop screen. Maybe he'd have even been awake, a bad case of insomnia overtaking his senses.

As Janna stood in the doorway, though, she saw Marco curled into a tight ball on the floor, fussily adjusting himself in the midst of his slumber. He still wore his jeans and shoes from the day, though his chest was uncovered. Janna may have also taken note at how his exposed chest had started to lose the minimal flab and was becoming more toned, but that was for later thoughts.

Moving forward and quietly shutting the door behind her, Janna watched the somewhat grotesque display before her. Marco's bed was perfectly made, and nothing else in the room looked the least bit disturbed except for the rugs which had been piled against the wall. Kneeling down beside the twitching boy, Janna shook his shoulder.

"Ah!" Marco's eyes flashed open and his body twisted back into itself. Janna flinched back as he rolled back in a somersault, his eyes angry and his hand reaching for something at his waist. When his hand hit the air, however, Marco looked confused, and then…

"Oh no..." he muttered, the adrenaline settling as he slumped back against the wall.

"I'll say," Janna said, sitting back into a cross-legged position.

"Janna I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Hey hey, ease up Diaz, I was just coming to check on ya," Janna said, letting her bag fall to her side. Marco nodded, he didn't need to ask why she was checking on him.

"Has it really been that obvious?" Marco said, his tone losing that childish edge she so often heard him use. Janna's heart hurt realizing that in that more mature tone was no sign of the force acts from before. This was genuine Marco.

"To me? Yeah man. I'd be able to identify you just by dental records," Janna said, her own voice somewhat thick as she tried herself to act casual, "Of course I was gonna see something."

"Creepy," Marco said with absolutely no sign of being creeped out, "It's really nothing Janna, just been out of my head recently."

"Uh-huh," she said, before gesturing to the floor, "And out of your bed. What the deal man?"

Maybe Janna had expected to hear a bad prank was pulled on Marco in bed, or maybe this was part of a bet with Alfonzo and Ferguson, or maybe he was just overtired. Janna very quickly realized she should stop expecting things.

"My bed's too..." Marco paused, his expression clouded and older somehow before continuing, "...it's too… soft."

Janna never expected it to be something so trivial and silly. She could hear the honesty in his voice, the sincerity in his tone about the bed's apparent plushness. It was something so small and seemingly inconsequential.

It broke her heart realizing how much his mind was troubled. That one little admittance, the single word 'soft,' and suddenly Marco looked like he had been forced to relive something very worrying.

"Marco..." Janna said, swallowing her saliva in the hopes of choking back the lilt in her voice, "U-uhm, what happened? You've been like this for a week."

Sighing, Marco reached his hand behind his back and pulled out some small metallic instrument. At first, Janna thought it was some kind of knife. Then Mark separated the two blades, and she realized it was his pair of scissors.

"Are those…?"

"Dimensional scissors," Marco said, answering the unspoken question.

"But those aren't the same as..."

"Oh come on, Janna. You can't tell me you've caught on to all the rest of my stuff this week and not noticed the scissors."

Janna winced at that, she hadn't expected Marco to be cross-checking her. She sighed. "...yeah, I noticed. I figured Star lost hers or something and you decided to keep hold of the new set."

"Ha, kinda close actually..." Marco said, closing the scissors and placing them on the floor beside him, "I met the forger of all the dimensional scissors. This woman named Hekapoo."

"Pff, that's a dumb name."

"Careful, she might hear you," Marco said, his tone only slightly lightened, "I had to go through some tests to get a new pair of these, and it was some pretty hard work. Fun work, but..."

Janna shifted in her position, moving across the floor some to sit by Marco. "Well that sucks, did you get stuck there overnight?"

Marco actually let out a low chuckle at that. "No, longer than that actually. Time worked really different there."

"Different? Like you were gone for a week but it was only a few minutes?"

"Something like that..."

Janna put her hand on Marco's shoulder, and he looked up to meet her eyes. Janna hadn't really realized how much older his gaze seemed, and concern gripped her guts again.

"Come on, dude, you can tell me. We've been friends forever," Janna said, leaning against Marco. He shifted into the warmth, which they both appreciated. "Nothing's gonna surprise me."

"Doubt that," Marco said in retort.

"Try me," Janna said, pouring as much false confidence into her voice as she could. Marco leaned his head back against the wall, looking Janna in the eyes still. He exhaled, and Janna could smell the faintest bit of orange on his breath.

"Janna, I was gone for 16 years."

Suddenly, there was no floor to Janna. Her heart and stomach had both dropped and settled somewhere deep in the underworld. She had expected the worst, but she hadn't expected that.

"Whoa..." was all she could muster, the gravity of the situation hitting her as she leaned against him more.

"Yeah," Marco said, and Janna almost gasped as his hand found its way into her hair. He lightly played with strands as he stared at the ceiling. "I lived over half my life in some other world. I hadn't seen any of you for years! And then, suddenly..."

"You were back where you started?" Janna asked.

Marco gulped, "Yeah..." He fidgeted still, moving his hand to wrap around her, and Janna could tell he must've been starved for some kind of contact. She pulled away, sliding her hand around his exposed midsection and tugging him into a hug. Marco settled gratefully against her chest.

"Thanks," he said simply, his eyes beginning to close.

"No prob, man. I got dibs on your corpse, but I don't need it this soon," Janna said and felt her chest flutter as he actually laughed.

"I really did miss you for all those years. I was worried we'd never get to hang out again," Marco said, and Janna swore she heard him sniffle. "It's been a really, really long time."

It had only been a few days from her perspective, but Janna knew the weight of this. So she stayed quiet, sitting there on the floor with Marco's head resting against her chest. She was preparing herself to start digging, to start the tougher questions knowing he likely wouldn't want to talk about them. She wanted to know all the things that happened in the years he was gone.

Then Janna felt Marco shift, and she saw him reach up to his desk again. His hands curled around some small jar, though its contents were a mystery to her. As he handed it to her, she was getting ready to ask what it was when he answered her without being asked.

"I tried to get as much of that Megarantula's blood in there as I could," Marco said simply, leaning against Janna's side again. Janna's voice hitched in her throat, and she was glad the room was dark as her eyes grew misty. "It really has been a long time since I've seen your collection. I actually don't really remember much of it at all, sorry."

Cradling the small jar, Janna let herself lean back against Marco and getting both of them comfortable. "Th-thanks Marco. That's really cool."

Marco nodded dazedly, his head lolling against Janna's shoulder. "I...I'm happy you're here Janna. I..." Marco let out a big yawn, his eyes finally shutting as he finished, "...missed you..."

Janna stared at the gross jar of arachnid fluid and placed it to her side. With a quivering lip, she smiled and wiped her eyes, letting herself fall into slumber as well. "I missed you too, Marco. I really missed you too..."