The gorgeous tent was filled with brilliant lights and decorated generously with lovely flowers, ribbons, and streamers. Delicious scents of food and desserts wafted all about the tent, a delicate mixture of European and Mexican cuisine that warmed one's heart the way only a home-cooked meal truly could.
And the people, too. Beautiful and vibrant coloured dresses flourished beneath the white undercover of the tent, most of which were delicately complimented by a sleek dark suit linked at the arm.
Star immediately found herself swept away by the energetic atmosphere, like a careful wave being powerfully lifted by the tide.
It almost felt ok for a moment.
Taking a deep breath, she strode forward, ignoring the passing glances she got from those who recognized her, friends and acquaintances alike.
Hours earlier
"Tom, leave me alone."
"Wow, that's gotta be the nicest way you've greeted me in about ten years."
His sarcastic remark resounded off the walls, warranting no response. Star simply sulked back towards her bed and sat back down on the soft satin sheets.
"What? No 'eat slugs, demon-breath'? No 'drop dead spider-head'? Or, or my favourite-" He stopped, sensing the hostility.
She felt her fist clench tighter around her wand.
"Woah, easy there Starship, just teasing you is all, no need to ge-"
"What do you want, Tom?" Her voice was cold and stern.
His childish smirk quickly disappeared, solemn concern replacing it.
"I'm… kinda here on behalf of Marco."
Present day
"Wow Star, you look gorgeous!"
"That's such a beautiful dress, can I ask where you got it from?"
"Oh my, your shoes are to die for!"
"Hey, how come I didn't see you after the actual ceremony?"
Star blinked. "I-I'm sorry, w-what was that?"
Janna raised an eyebrow. "I asked if you think I should put helium inside the ventilation system or itching powder in the toilet paper rolls? Come to think of it, I'll do both."
"Oh, heh, I totally thought you said something else…" Internally, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Uh-huh…" Janna gave Star an unbelieving stare. "Well whatever. I'm gonna go boo the karaoke singers first." And just like that, she disappeared into the crowd of people.
"Star, are you feeling alright?"
Her gaze was drifting along the party-goers. There was so much going on she would never be able to find what she was looking for.
She dismissed the thought immediately. "Yeah yeah, I'm fine Starfan."
"I-I'm Sabrina!" Her facial expression became completely despondent after Star's remark.
"Oh my… I'm… s-... I'm so sorry Sabrina." She stuttered, embarrassment and guilt flooded her cheeks. "It's just… I wasn't listening a-and you two sound sooo much alike and-"
Sabrina returned a sad half-hearted smile. "It's fine Star, I… I need to go to the bathroom… not because I need to rethink my existence or anything!" She dashed away immediately.
"I'm so sorry Sabrina! I didn't mean it!" She called after her, but she was already gone in the crowd.
Mentally, she face-palmed. God, she could be so stupid sometimes! If it weren't for the ceremony, Tom seeing her… her parents, the reception…
And Marco.
Yeah, she thought to herself, above all else this was all because of stupid Marco.
Hours earlier
"You're clearly mistaken, me and Marco are fine."
"You haven't even heard me out yet, Star."
"I'm sure I can guess. Now leave me alone, please."
Tom huffed a deep breath. "Ok. Y'know what? I'm just going to say what I need to right now before you -ahem- annoy me any further."
Though Star could almost smell the smoke venting from his head, she knew he couldn't afford getting, 'ahem, angry' with her. After all, their kingdoms were at peace, not to mention she didn't need his advice.
But it couldn't hurt to at least let him speak his mind.
"You listening Star?"
"Huh? Oh yeah totally am."
Tom sighed. "Fine. I'll repeat what I said. I know I told you I'm here on behalf of Marco, but the truth is he didn't ask for me to talk to you. I'm just here… for him."
"For… him?" Star raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "What do you mean by that?"
"Be real here. Are things ok between you two?" His concerned tone caught her off guard.
"Wha- pshh… yeah of course… we are…" Her eyes immediately averted his gaze. "Best buds for life, y'know."
"Then… how come you're not by his side right now?"
Present day
"I'll show them…" she whispered under her breath.
The world seemed to slowly dissolve around her. The vibrant and beautiful colours merged horrendously in a blur as she reduced her vision to what was directly before her. Like a melted carnival.
"Hey everyone! How're we all doing tonight?" The crowd erupted into cheers in response. "My name's Amanda and I'll be your Master of Ceremonies for tonight's event! Quick reminder for everyone, dinner will be served in fifteen minutes, the bar is open, and…"
Star tuned out the voices around her and continued to search for her parents. They had to be at the most extravagant table in the tent, so it wasn't like it would be difficult to find them.
It seemed her mind wandered back and forth from thought to thought, drowning her emotions with intrigue and task.
Ah, right there, table number three. She could notice her mother's hairstyle and crown from a mile away, or in this case, from the opposite side of a large tent.
Finding her seat to the left of her father, she huffed a deep breath and pushed the torrent of feelings that swarmed her lungs down to her gut.
"Star sweetie! We weren't expecting you to show up, erm... so soon!"
"Huh?" She glanced at her mother's direction to see concern drawn all across her face. "What do you mean?"
"Well, after the ceremony, your… rather obnoxious friend approached us and informed us that you would be attending to… other businesses." Her father coughed following the Queen's remark.
"Wha-? No no no, I was just… -ahem- re-freshening up. No biggie." Star gave a reassuring smile to her parents. "Besides, I can't go missing before my best friend's wedding reception right?"
"Of course, my dear." King River returned her an understanding smile. "Chin up and all that."
Hours earlier
"I get that you're upset, okay? Don't think I can't understand what this must feel like, but you can't avoid your problems like this!"
"There's nothing to avoid, Tom. He's living his life and I'm living mine. And if it so happens that he's happier this way then so be it." Her blood was practically boiling from trying to suppress her deepest thoughts from spilling out.
"Tsch." Tom scoffed in annoyance. "Is there no getting through your thick skull? You're being as stubborn as, well, me."
Star stood up immediately. "What do you want from me, Tom? Huh? You think this is about you? You think that you're doing me a justice by being here? I'm done waiting for Marco. I'm done with caring. I'm just-... done."
Her words echoed within the room. Crossing her arms she turned back and strode towards her balcony. "If all you came for was to hear yourself be the nice guy for once then congrats you did it. I'll sign off on whatever anger management voluntary good deed sheet you need me to and pretend my life was made better by having you in it. Alright? Just leave me be."
Star felt herself go numb. The harsh words echoed within her mind, louder each time it vividly replayed the scene, accented by the silence around her. She could hear her pulse racing, driving her mad.
"Look, I'm sorry Tom. I jus-."
"It's alright Star, I get it." His emotionless words were followed by a flash of light.
She spun around, surprised. He was gone.
In his place, still smoldering in flames, was a crisp white envelope.
'To Star; From Marco'
Present day
Star had to admit, Earth food was a heck of a lot better than Mewnian cuisine, at the very least much more diverse. The dinner consisted of five amazing courses, a couple of which were strange Italian-Mexican amalgamations like baccalà tostadas, spicy jalapeño minestrone stew, and of course, nachos, then followed by dessert, the sweetest, most melt-in-your-mouth chocolate lava cake she had ever tasted.
"So how was dinner everyone!?" The MC shouted above the restless chatter. Another cheer in response.
"I know I definitely enjoyed it, because I'm getting seconds after this! But hopefully you all didn't stuff yourselves too much because the dance floor opens in twenty minutes!"
Well, at least she could say she survived the majority of the festivities.
"Also a big shout-out to table number three, if I may have your attention!"
Star's pulse froze solid.
"On behalf of the newly-wed couple I would like to thank the Butterfly royal family of Mewni for attending such a momentous event! A round of applause please!"
The spotlight burned through her vision, blinding her, the whole room became deafening loud, all but drowned out by the pounding of her heart in her chest.
This was it.
He could see her now.
No more hiding.
"If I may, I'd like to hand the mic over to Queen Moon Butterfly and King River Butterfly for a few words before we get the party started." The MC cast a happy grin over at her family.
Everything blurred. Her parents, the MC, even the crowd became one mess of fluorescence that flowed from shape to indiscernible shape. And at the end of it all, her mother and father stood at the forefront of the stage, only standing a few feet adjacent to the grand tables that encompassed the sides of the stage, designated to the bride, groom, and corresponding bridesmaids and groomsmen.
Boy, this was gonna get awkward.
But she couldn't allow it.
"I, Queen Moon Butterfly, would like to say, first, a great congratulations to both the young Mister and Misses Diaz on such a wondrous occasion." Her mother's voice boomed into the microphone. The touch of regality was never lost with her family no matter where they were.
"Yes, and we would like to say we are equally as honoured to attend both the ceremony and this joyous reception dinner. The blessings of our family and our kingdom are with both of you for many happy years to come." Her father followed up shortly after her mother.
More cheering followed, but Star heard none of it. All she could focus on was her composure before the crowd, trying to maintain an unfazed and unaffected look upon her face.
Marco was watching, after all. She couldn't possibly let him see her how she was.
In fact, she could do one better than that.
"Hey, um, dad? I'd like to say a few words too."
"Yes, yes, of cou-" her father, startled, snapped his attention to her. "Erm… Are you sure, m'dear?"
Star clasped her fingers around the microphone and muttered under her breath. "As I'll ever be."
Hours earlier
"Ugh, I swear I'm such a loudmouth sometimes."
Star slapped herself internally for jeopardizing not only her for-once steady friendship with Tom since they were teenagers, but the political ties between her kingdom and the underworld.
The envelope was crinkled, warm, and still intact despite the flames that engulfed it a few seconds earlier. The smell of smoke and ashes dissipated from the lip of the paper as she lifted the note contained within, and began to read.
Hey Star,
How are you? I'm doing alright. I realize I probably could've tried calling using that magic mirror you gave me but-
The rest of the words appeared to have been crudely scribbled out, and so Star flipped over the letter.
Well, I guess I'm no good at writing these so I'm just gonna be straightforward with what I'm going to say. It's been a few years, and I wanted to know how you're doing. It feels like ages ago since we last talked and to be honest, I miss you. I miss my best friend. And I wish I knew what happened between us because some days I can't help but think about the fun we had when we were younger and where those people went. I know you-
More scratched out words.
What I'm trying to say is, I hope you come to my wedding. Even if you wouldn't do it for me it would still really mean a lot to my mom and dad, our friends, and Erica too.
Anyways, I think this has been going on for too long. Regardless of your decision to come or not, I wish you the best. I've seen you become the most capable queen to ever rule over Mewni, and I want you to remember that I'll always be your squire, if you ever need me.
Sincerely,
Marco
Present day
The room was practically silent before her. Eyes seemingly distant pierced her gaze from every direction as the environment felt like it began to dissolve, and all time melted away.
"I- um.. ahem-" she choked, heart panickingly beating within her chest, threatening to burst.
Star looked around, unsure of where to begin. This was no time to be completely lost for words, to lose her composure. And in front of Marco no less…
In that instant, she looked in his direction. It was true, she missed him as well. She missed herself. She missed them.
His eyes appeared soft and warm, like they always had.
"Ahem. Thank you, Dad." She swallowed hard. "I would first like to thank, personally, the families of both of the bride and the groom, for gathering us all here for such a wonderful celebration. It is most certainly an honor to represent Mewni and our wishes for the happiness of your people, and the peaceful ties between our dimensions."
The crowd remained silent. She hadn't prepared for that. Although, she frankly hadn't really prepared to give a speech in the first place. Star looked around the room, her heart racing faster by the second, hoping for something to give her inspiration.
"Uhh, furthermore, I'd like to stretch my gratitude to mutual friends and acquaintances, as this beautiful reception would not have been made possible without your capable planning and skills." Star internally nodded to herself, feeling reassured by her inclusion of everyone at the banquet.
Still silent. How was this possible? She gave a pretty good speech, like how she was taught during her "Queen-ly" training. Proper grammar, check. Related topics only, check. Straight posture, loud projection of voice, regal tone, all checked. What was missing?
*Cough*
Star glanced to her side at her father, who was non-discreetly motioning towards the opposite side of the room. Suddenly, her eyes grew wide as realization struck her.
"A-and of course, the biggest congratulations to the newly wedded, of course, I suppose this wouldn't have been made possible without their, er-, existence. Heh." Sheepishly, she smiled back into the crowd, hoping that sufficed to gain their approval and end this nightmare.
A few uncertain claps came from various directions.
Star felt ashamed. This isn't how she wanted this to end, there was so much more that she could've said, more ways to make this all better.
Star bit her lip and clenched her fist. This wasn't about her anymore, and she had to accept it.
"I-uh, what I really meant to say was… I-" The room felt like it was expanding now that she couldn't find the words.
Deep breath.
"I-... I've known Marco for a long time. A very long time. Some of you might know that we were best friends back in the day. We would do almost everything together, in fact. Fighting evil monsters, movie marathons, dimension hopping, midnight taco fiestas, time travelling, you name it."
She glanced down at her feet, guilt striking her chest like a cold, steel battle-axe.
"But lately we haven't been talking as much. In fact I honestly didn't know this wedding was happening until I got the invitation. It's been a rough few years, to say the least, and we've grown distant to each other. As do all good things that come to an end."
In the distant crowd, a few mumbles from the crowd echoed through the pause.
"I wanted to apologize to you, Marco, for not being the friend I should've been. I know now's not the time for it but this is something I've wanted to tell you for a while now…"
Her voice trailed as she found herself once again meeting the warm and comforting gaze of her (former) best friend. No, she couldn't do it.
Not to him.
Not today.
"I-I-... Um… I'm sorry. There." She stopped, lowering the mic from her lips.
But this wasn't good enough, was it? Nothing felt right by her speech, in fact it felt almost… empty.
The cold and silent vibe that reverberated throughout the tent reinforced her suspicion.
"I guess what I mean to say is… I wish you all the best. Both of you." She was now looking directly into his eyes, unwavering. "Even though I wasn't there for you in the past, I want to be there for you in the future. No matter what, I'd still hold you the honour of being my best bestie of all time."
She could almost hear the metaphorical ice daggers protruding out from Pony Head's eyes.
"I give you the blessing of our family, the royal kingdom and all those who inhabit Mewni, your second home." She raised a wine glass filled with water, looking towards her audience. "A toast, to the true king and queen of this celebration!"
An overly-eager "Cheers!" sounded off from the crowd as many patrons lifted various cups, cans, and in some cases, goblets, into the air and drank to the new couple, mostly out of gratitude to be finally rid of the awkward and lengthy speech she just gave.
Star sighed and placed the mic on the table, slipping back into her seat. It was over. She got her catharsis. So why didn't it feel at all like it was cracked up to be?
She gulped down the glass of water, throat dry from anxiety, and excused herself from the table, as the reception patrons began to migrate towards the dance floor.
The party was in full swing at this point, from what Star could hear. Music blasting a fairly bold clash between the various cultures that embodied the families of the wedded, screams and whistles at what was most likely an embarrassing dance off between her dad and Marco's, as well as lights occasionally swinging across the opening of the tent, casting far into the crimson sky.
Star didn't feel like partying, for once.
*Bloop*
The stone she tossed into the fountain next to her made a satisfying sound as it pierced the pristine water's surface and proceeded to slowly float peacefully towards the stone bottom. Moonlight shone from overhead, revealing a shining plethora of quarters, nickels, pennies, and dimes, tossed into the fountain as well, probably from some superstitious passer-bys with clearly way too much spare change.
"I wish this wedding was over." Star muttered to herself, staring intently at the rock she threw into the fountain moments ago.
The magical wish-granting well probably had as much chance to operate with coins as it did with pebbles.
It seemed like just days ago when Marco had to drag a screaming and noticeably furious Star out of a public fountain for attempting to 'locate and destroy' the 'essence of the wishing well' to prevent those who may abuse its power come into contact with it.
He eventually managed to explained to the park security that she was not on any hallucinogens, and was, in fact, a teenager that did not know water fountains were incapable of world destruction.
She quietly chuckled to herself. There were some good times, even if some were at her expense. But still, Marco would always be patient, loyal, and helpful to her, allowing her to learn so much about Earth culture, get through school, and more importantly, come to terms with her identity. Looking back, high school was all a blur.
Star threw another rock into the fountain and watched it plummet to the bottom, resting alongside its companion, the ripples obscuring her own reflection.
"Excuse me, your highness," a clearly fake British accent started from behind her, "but your presence is required on the dancefloor, a matter of great urgency, truly."
She turned around to face him, expressionless.
"Oh, hi Marco, are you enjoying the party?" She wanly questioned. "The weather was perfect for the venue, and you look great." Words slipped without meaning from her tongue, and fell to the floor.
Marco frowned, feeling the distance in her voice. "Star, it's me." He took a step towards her, causing her heart to rapidly change pace. "C'mon, remember? The super-cool bad boy who made your life a million times better?" He attempted to produce a smolder on his face and strike an over-the-top 'cool' pose.
Star felt a tiny smile curl on her lips, but she faced back towards the fountain. "Really? I remember you as the 'safe-kid', y'know, the one who installed seat belts and safety helmets on the school buses, or who bubble-wrapped all the desks when the school replaced them with ones that had slightly pointier corners, or who-"
"Okay, okay I get it, you remember me." He laughed. The same old Marco laugh that she recollected from so long ago, it just didn't affect her the same way anymore.
"You still remember me?" She was still gazing into the crystal clear water. Marco opened his mouth to speak, but stopped, and looked away.
"I-... Yeah, of course I remember you."
"What do you remember?"
These questions were clearly catching him off guard. They weren't meant to, but it only confirmed the suspicion that she held in her heart for so long.
Marco breathed in deeply.
"Well, I remember all the great times we had." He began. "All the bad ones too. I remember the time you covered my room in bubble gum, or the time when you attacked a vending machine because it stole your money, and how you used to laugh whenever I sung to the theme songs of all your favourite cartoons. All the hours I spent in your room keeping you company after arguments with your parents, the weeks of planning our course schedules before the first day of college so that we could still walk together before, after, and between classes, and even all the times we would take study breaks on the roof of my house to talk about nothing. I remember my first date with Jackie after you pushed us together, I remember us destroying Toffee, chasing you all around the school when you went through mewberty, every single time we would get lost travelling the multiverse, and I remember crying my eyes out the night you…"
"Yeah… yeah I know." Star swung her legs up sideways, sat curled up on the ledge of the fountain. "I'm glad you remember."
Marco took a seat beside her. Not too close, but close enough to still breathe in her scent. He had missed her.
"I'm sorry, Star. I've wanted to say that for a while now."
"For what? It's not really anyone's fault."
"You apologized too."
"... I guess."
The two remained in silence for a few seconds after that, prompting Marco to shift closer to Star, swing his legs onto the edge of the fountain and rest his back against hers.
"How did this even happen?" Marco sighed. "One day we were inseparable and the next…" he trailed off, mindlessly staring into the evening sunset.
"I can think of a few reasons." Star focused her attention back to the tent, still as lively as it were moments after she left it. "Speaking of which, where's… y'know…?" She motioned towards the more energetic venue.
"Oh, Erica? She's busy being popular with the crowd, our family, and our friends. I told her I'd be out here, getting some fresh air." He looked back down at the shimmering water's surface, which now faintly began to reflect the stars above. "I think she saw you leave back there and expected I'd pull the 'gonna take a walk' excuse sooner or later."
"That's… good. I'm happy for you, yeah." Her lips pursed, holding back even more thoughts than before.
More silence.
"How about you?" Marco inquired. "Anyone-?"
"No." Star answered flatly, cutting him off.
"Oh."
Why did this have to be so difficult? He was right there, all she had to do was extend the olive branch just a little bit, barely an inch.
But she couldn't. Not even an inch.
"Well, I guess it was nice seeing you, if you wanna… talk, or something, let me know. I'll alw-"
"Did you know?" The question came before he had time to move a muscle.
"... Know what?" Marco realized he had to tread cautiously with these sorts of topics.
"Don't make me say it, please. Did you know?" She repeated.
He sighed. It was inevitable that they would one day have this conversation, as the two were bound for life, they would come back to each other sooner or later. Marco only wished that he could delay it until 'later'.
"Yeah. I guess I did."
Star felt her lungs tighten. He knew. Probably for as long as it was even real, and kept it to himself for who knows how many years. It hurt trying to bottle in the emotions that wanted to scream, cry, and punch something senselessly.
"Oh."
Now it was his turn. The guilt, the fear, the sheer amount of pride that he had spent so long on building was being torn right down before his eyes. She was the first one who could ever bring him to his knees like that.
"Star, I… I-"
"You what? Huh? Wanted to protect my feelings? Was hoping to avoid your problems by making it someone else's? Whatever it was, Diaz, I don't care anymore. What's done is done."
"I'm… sorry." She was startled by his relent. "I know this isn't what you wanted but it's what I needed. I didn't think about the consequences, and I hope you can forgive me."
He had hoped that was vague and surprising enough to keep his intentions from spilling out.
"What do you mean by that?"
Clearly it wasn't enough.
"Nothing, I guess. I… had different priorities then. I never really saw the present for what it was." He lamented. "By the time I realized what I had left behind…"
He didn't have to finish that sentence because deep down, she always knew. Life had a way of never making things easy for her, issuing challenge after challenge to test her limits, to know full well that it was just never in the cards for this to work out. After all, he moved on without her, didn't he?
She felt him sigh.
It hurt knowing she needed to move on without him.
"Hey, Marco?"
"Yeah?"
"Remember that old Chinese food joint you used to take me to whenever we got hungry at midnight during college?"
"The noodle house?"
"Sure."
"What about it?"
"Is it near here?"
Marco understood. His eyes scouted around the parking lot for anyone that may have been looking for him, but, unsurprisingly, saw no one.
"It's pretty close, actually." He lied.
"We could take my scissors and be there in an instant?" Star suggested.
"It's fine, I got my keys. I'll text Erica and let her know what's happening, she'll understand." Marco gazed over the cliff that overlooked the town, rummaging through his pockets for the rental car keys.
"Thanks."