After waking up to find a naked Star cuddled up against his chest, Marco couldn't help but smile at the sight. After lightly shaking her awake and the both of them getting dressed, they went down stairs to find Mason and Wendy passed out on the couch, stubs of joints littering the coffee table. Walking up to the duo, Marco nudged them awake and they groggily awoke.

"Yo, what up?" Wendy asked tiredly, still mildly stoned.

"I wanted to get started on rehearsal as soon as possible. You guys have your instruments?" He asked.

"Yeah, yeah, we have Wendy's drum kit in my trunk. Penn should have the rest of the equipment in his car," Mason answered.

Looking around, Marco noticed that neither Penn nor Sashi were in the living room.

"Where are they anyway?" Marco asked.

Penn heard a tapping on the glass of his car window. Stirring from his sleep, he looked down to see that he was shirtless, his pants were undone, and he had a passed out and half-naked Sashi lying on top of him. He slowly moved out from under her as another tap came to the window. He rolled down the fogged-over window to find it was Marco and Star tapping at the glass.

"I think I now know why fish hate that," Penn said hazily.

"Up and at 'em, Zero! We've got some rehearsals to get through," Star exclaimed.

"Okay, shhh! Just give us a few minutes to get ready. Sashi's pretty irritable when she wakes up," He said quietly.

"Get your ass back over here, Zero," They heard Sashi's voice say. Apparently she talks in her sleep.

"We'll be out in a few minutes," Penn reiterated as he closed the car window.

They stood in Marco's garage, their instruments set up around the place. Marco walked up to the mic and took his pick out of the strings of the electric guitar as he looked to his band mates. Penn on Rhythm Guitar, Sashi on Bass, Dipper on the Keyboard, and Wendy on Drums. Star stood to the side, giving Marco a thumbs up and a supportive smile as he turned back to the microphone. Taking a deep breath, he let out a deep sigh before he spoke.

"Count us in, Wendy," He said.

Wendy then raised her drumsticks and tapped them together before she began to drum out a slow, steady beat, followed by Sashi plucking a secondary beat on her bass. After getting a feel for the beat, Marco leaned into the mic and began to sing.

"Good morning, Rita, don't you miss your wine?
Don't you miss your body being next to mine?
Got a hollow heart and I'm feeling wrong
Got a dollar in my pocket for a midnight song

When your lover's gone and the music's over
Oh no, don't wanna be alone any more
When your lover's gone, can't rest at night
Threading through the crowd in a low-tavern light

Yeah, she's gone, yeah, she's gone
My Rita was a light in my bright shining morning
Yeah, she's gone, yeah, she's gone
My Rita Mae Young

Good morning, Rita, hope you're doing right
I couldn't give you what you wanted, but you stayed on my mind
Got a tired heart, and it's been too long
Put a dollar in the jukebox for a midnight song
When your lover is gone, there's cloud in your eyes
It might be the bourbon, all the lies that you hide
When the evenings done, that feels warm
The soft southern air and a jukebox morning

Yeah, she's gone, yeah, she's gone
My Rita was a light in my bright shining morning
Yeah, she's gone, yeah, she's gone
My Rita Mae Young

My blue-eyed woman
Oh, she's gone
My blue-eyed woman

Good morning, Rita, don't you miss your wine?
Don't you miss your body being next to mine?
Got a hollow heart and I'm feeling wrong
Got a dollar in my pocket for a midnight song

Yeah, she's gone, yeah, she's gone
My Rita was a light in my bright shining morning
Yeah, she's gone, yeah, she's gone
My Rita Mae Young

Yeah, she's gone, yeah, she's gone
My Rita was a light in my bright shining morning
Yeah, she's gone, yeah, she's gone
My Rita Mae Young child

Long gone, child
Come back, woman
Come back, woman

Yeah, she's gone, yeah, she's gone
My Rita was a light in my bright shining morning
Yeah, she's gone, yeah, she's gone
My Rita Mae Young."

As the song finished, Star let out a loud cheer and applauded their magnificent practice performance.

"Woo! Awesome job, guys!" She cheered, running up to Marco and gripping him in a tight hug, which he gladly reciprocated.

"Damn right it was!" Penn chuckled. "Seriously Marco, that was some killer shredding."

"Thanks guys," Marco replied, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. "But come on, don't sell yourselves short, you guys rock WAY better than my old band."

At those words, the whole group couldn't help but smile with a small hint of embarrassment, coming from Marco that was definitely one of his better compliments. All of a sudden a muffled buzz emanated from Mason's pocket and he soon found himself taking to someone on his cell.

"Hello?" he said, the voice of his contact inaudible to the rest of the band. "Oh hey, Krieger, how's it going?"

"Who's Krieger?" Marco muttered, curious as to what was happening but also keeping his voice low enough so he wasn't interrupting anything.

"Mason's Weed Guy," Wendy sighed, rolling her eyes. " Don't get me wrong, he gives Dipper some pretty good shit but... well let's just say he's kind of a weirdo."

This statement of course resulted in a fair few nods of agreement from some of the other members of the band. Marco on the other hand only seemed to be even more confused, just what kind of a weirdo was this person exactly? Whatever the case, it seemed as though Mason was on friendly terms at least, judging from how he was talking to him over the phone.

"Okay, so same time, same place then?" he asked, smiling as he got a positive answer. "Alright, I'll see you in 20."

And with that final note he hung up his cell and put the cell back in his pocket, turning to the rest of the band with a look of seriousness.

"Listen guys, I better get going, got some work to take care of," he said. "You mind if I keep my instrument here, Marco?"

"No, go on ahead," Marco said dismissively.

"Cool, thanks, Marco," Mason said before walking up to Wendy and giving her a small kiss on the lips, "Later, babe."

"Later," She replied as he ran off out of the garage. Soon though, Penn, Wendy, and Sashi were getting their stuff together.

"Where are you guys going?" Marco asked the other band members.

"Well I've got a day job to go do," Penn said.

"I'm going to the gym, work out some stress," said Sashi.

"And I better head home, check up on my brothers and dad," Wendy answered.

Then, before Marco could say another word, either to protest or even say goodbye, the other band members ditched their instruments and left, leaving him alone with Star.

"Is this gonna be a regular thing?" taking note on how quickly everyone left. "I mean, just in case I come back from the bathroom or something and find no one else here?"

Star couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"Oh Marco, you worry too much," she giggled, playfully pinching his cheek. "I know we need to practice and everything, but we all got our own lives to live too, you know."

At those words, Marco couldn't help but sigh.

"Okay, fair enough," he muttered. "I suppose you need to bail too then?"

At those words, Star couldn't help but give him a seductive smirk, grab him by the scruff of his shirt, and bring him closer to her face.

"Actually..." she whispered in his ear. "I'm free ALL day."

Hearing this, Marco's instincts caused him to gulp. Knowing full well just what was about to happen, he then merely sighed in defeat, not even caring what the others were doing at this point.

-A Short Time Later-

Penn arrived at a street corner somewhere in downtown Echo Creek. He looked about at the bustling intersection and smiled as he set up a small table that he was carrying in front of him. He then took out a deck of playing cards from his back pocket and began to cut and shuffle them on the table before taking three from the deck: A Queen of Diamonds, a King of Hearts, and the Ace of Spades. He then cleared his throat a bit, dawning his character.

"Step right up! Step right up! Try to find the Ace of Spades and double the amount you bet! Anyone can do it!" He announced like a carnival announcer as he shuffled the three cards about the table at a quick pace.

-Meanwhile-

Wendy soon arrived at her house and opened the door. The first thing she noticed was the sent of booze in the air, and it wasn't just her (She checked). Following the smell of cheap alcohol into the living room, Wendy was not surprised to find the hulking mass of muscle that was her father passed out on the sofa, the TV still on, a bottle of whiskey hanging from his right hand, and a blanket over his lower body. She merely sighed at the sight of him.

Ever since the logging camp that her father worked for shut down its operation, her dad's been unemployed with only Wendy and her younger brothers to help out around the house and make end's meet. But since they were under-aged, they couldn't get proper jobs to help out. However, Wendy knows that with the help of the band, she can change all that. So, taking the bottle from her father's hand, she pulled up the blanket and tucked in her father. She then looked at the bottle before giving a shrug, opening it and taking a swig.

"Not like he's gonna miss it," she sighed, gulping the whisky down.

As for her boyfriend, he had a different way of making ends meet. Once he arrived at a certain house on the poorer side of town, his first course of action was to knock three times of the side door of the garage. After a few moments, another voice echoed from the other side.

"That's not the secret knock!" it said, instantly annoying the teen.

"Damn it, Krieger, open the door!" he snapped back, resulting in the clear sound of rushed movement from inside the garage.

Seconds later, the door snapped open, revealing an average built man with a brown head of hair and full beard,wearing a white labcoat and a nervous look upon his face. This was Krieger, Dipper's weed supplier and obvious local nutcase.

"What have I told you about using my real name!?" he snapped.

"You've always said that WASN'T you're real name!" Mason retorted, earning a confused stare from the man.

"Did I?" he asked confusingly, scratching his beard in thought before shrugging off the issue in a hurry. "Alright, come on in."

With a heavy sigh, Mason obliged. Now many would often ask why Dipper would always get his supply of weed from this OBVIOUS lunatic, but in the end he would always answer with the fact that the type of weed Krieger grows is without a doubt the best shit you can buy.

"So what have we got today, man?" Mason asked, eyeing the rows of plastic bags and potted plants lining the walls of the garage. "I mean, this isn't going to be like the LAST batch, is it? 'Cause I hear a lot of people are still getting hallucinations even after coming off that stuff."

"Oh of course not!" Krieger scoffed. "That was just a small mutation in the growth is all. What I have for you is a bit more... elegant."

At those words, Krieger went to a metal worktable and pulled out one of the attached drawers, after which he took out three large plastic bags of mulched marijuana for Mason to see.

"Now, we have the standard 'Monkey Haze', a fresh patch of 'Brain Spasm' or my personal fave, the 'Kreiger Krunch'" he said, listing off each of the bags. "Take your pick?"

Of course, Dipper still remained unsure.

"What happened to the 'Pot of Greed'?" he asked, earning another scoff from his supplier.

"Pft, 'Pot of Greed's' for pussies!" he retorted. "Come on, I haven't got all day, man,"

Realizing that he was taking too long here, Mason eventually picked out a few small bags of each. With his supplies packed, Dipper made his way towards the door.

"See you next time, Krieg!" he called out, closing the door behind him and leaving the crazy old man alone in the garage.

"See ya," Krieger replied, muttering under his breath after he was sure Dipper was gone. "...you cocky little bitch."

About an hour later...

At the Echo Creek Boxing Gym, Sashi was working a sandbag while dressed in her workout gear consisting of a grey tank top and black sweatpants. She worked on her rhythm and her technique. Three straight jabs and an uppercut. Right haymaker followed by left hook. Bob and weave around her opponent's attacks then hit with a powerful counter punch.

She was busy trying to get out all of her frustrations as she pounded into the leather bag. She tried to focus on nothing but the impact of her fist on the sandbag, the sound of flesh and bone hitting hard leather. But no matter how hard she tried, her focus drifted from the sandbag, and the impact on the leather turned to the sound of skin-on-skin. Her mind drifted to more... primal thoughts.

"No!" she quickly said, slapping herself in the face to wake herself up from the daydream. "Come on girl, get a hold of yourself!"

Deciding to take a break from the bag, Sashi decided to take her mind off by attempting some different exercises. Before long she had done at least a dozen push-ups, focusing all her efforts on using the strength of her arms to lift herself from the ground.

"Up, down, up, down," she grunted, her focus soon turning a bit more... lewd. "Up... and down... up and... DAMN IT!"

Her shout gained some unwanted attention around the gym. Looking around at the stares she was getting, she felt a twinge of embarrassment as she tried coming up with a quick excuse.

"I, uh, didn't break my personal best," She said in a quick lie, which the other gym-goers seemed to buy as they went back to their respective workouts.

Sighing, Sashi got up from the floor and went off to a corner where she took out her cellphone. Looking up her contacts, she quickly came to Penn's name and dialed his number.

-Meanwhile-

"And that's another loss I'm afraid. Better luck next time, sir," Penn said as he took his customer's money and put it in his back pocket just as his phone began ringing. Taking it out and looking at the collar ID, Penn gave a small sigh.

"Hey, Sash," He said, answering the phone.

"You, me, your place, NOW!" She demanded on the other end of the line.

"Sash," Penn sighed, rolling his eyes. "I don't think now's the best time."

Of course Penn was looking at the potential new "customer" looking his direction as he said this. However he quickly changed his mind once he saw that said customer had a shiny gold badge attached to his belt.

"Uh... scratch that, I'll be home in 10," he said, quickly hanging up his cell and packing up all of his stuff. "Sorry folks, business has closed down for the day!"

Thankfully, Penn had managed to pack everything away just in time before the cop arrived and was already running as fast as he could down the street.

Around the same time, Mason was doing a bit of business of his own in a more discrete location in the local park.

"Pleasure doing business with you," he said, accepting the small stack of money before giving his customer one of the smaller bags of weed he had in his possession.

"This better be better than that LAST batch you sold me," his customer complained, taking a small whiff of the contents of the bag. "Last time, it was a little too mellow."

"Trust me, Mr. Sherman, you won't be complaining about this stuff," Dipper replied casually, brushing the pudgy man's complaint off.

Seeing that there was nothing else to say, Mason's customer gave him a concerned frown, pocketed his weed and walked away. And thus became the usual routine with Mason's line of business. People ask for the goods, he accepts the cash. Equivalent exchange; no problems. But then...

"Dipper?" said a familiar voice, one that Dipper instantly recognized as he turned his head around to see who it was.

Sure enough, it was one of the few people that he didn't want to see right now. One of the few people allowed to call him by his nickname. His twin sister, Mabel Pines.

She stood there looking at him as he did her. Mabel was dressed in a fluffy pink sweater with a stitching of a rainbow over her name on the front, along with with a blue skirt that came to her mid-thigh and pink shoes with white socks.

"Mabel." Mason replied, with a heavy sigh, his face turning solemn as his twin walked closer towards him.

"I see you're doing THIS again." Mabel pointed out, her expression more hurt than angry as she spotted the small bag peeking out of her brother's pocket.

"Not that it's any of your business, but yes," Mason retorted, crossing his arms sternly.

At those words, Mabel couldn't help but shake her head and sigh, her disappointment reaching high levels.

"Come on, bro," she said. "This has GOT to end."

"It'll end when mom and dad stop complaining about my choices!" He said, almost yelling, "When you started dating girls, mom and dad were supportive of you. But when I stared dating Wendy, they got all uppity because of her dad lost his job. But you know something? I love her despite that. I don't care about her flaws. That's why I left home, Mabel. Because I apparently made the 'wrong choice', while you can do no wrong!" He finished.

Mabel was speechless for a minute, unable to say a thing after her brother's outburst. Just as she was about to speak, another voice spoke up.

"Is there a problem here?" A female voice asked. Turning around, both twins were faced with a girl of about fifteen with long blonde hair that reached her lower back. She wore a purple outfit with brown boots and a white purse over her right shoulder. This was Pacifica Northwest, Mabel's girlfriend.

"Well, if it isn't Miss Northwest herself," Mason responded coldly.

"Get bent, Pines," Pacifica replied.

"Now come on, Pacfica," Mabel said quickly, stepping between the two. "We don't want a repeat of what happened last time."

At those words, Dipper's jaw clenched while Pacifica merely rolled her eyes.

"Oh come on it wasn't THAT bad," she said casually.

"You fucking bit me!" Dipper snapped.

"Oh please," Pacifica scoffed. "It's not like you get any better treatment with that red-neck girlfriend of yours"

"Call Wendy a redneck again. See what fucking happens!" Mason said angrily.

"I'd like to see you try something, you drug-pedaling prick!" Pacifica countered with just as much fury in her voice and facial features.

The two were now in a stand-off, glaring daggers at one another; their teeth gritted.

"ENOUGH!"

Thankfully there was ONE thing the two had in common, thus being the sole reason why they weren't trying to kill each other at this point.

"Both of you, please calm down," Mabel begged, literally pushing the two of them apart. "I can't stand this."

Now it was Mason's turn to roll his eyes.

"Whatever Mabel," he said, turning his back. "I'm outta here."

"You're not alone, Dipper! You don't have to be alone in the world," Mabel called after him, making him stop in his tracks. Mabel thought that he may turn around and talk to her, but he just stood there for a few seconds before continuing on his way, leaving the park.

"I honestly don't get your determination, Mabel," Pacifica said, putting a reassuring hand on Mabel's shoulder. "I mean seriously, when are you just gonna learn that he's not worth the effort."

At those words, Mabel couldn't help but give Pacifica a soft glare.

"Well, never," She said bluntly. "He's my brother."

At those words, Pacifica let out a heavy sigh. It may have been Mabel's good heart that she was fond of the most, but sometimes the care she still had for Mason was all too irritating to witness, in her opinion it was only causing the girl more pain than what it's worth.

Back with Star and Marco, after a fair few hours of "alone time" at Marco's place, the two of them were currently enjoying a nice walk through the streets, the sun setting a brilliant orange in the distance.

"You are just gonna LOVE this place, Marco," Star said excitedly. "Not only is this club one of the most underrated place in town, it also has some of the best Chocolate schnapps you'll ever taste."

"Can't wait," He said with a smile as she cuddled up to him as they approached a brick building with a neon sign up front. There was a line up front at the door with a bouncer guarding it with a taciturn attitude to him. Just as Marco was about to go into the line, Star stopped him.

"Up, up, up, we're not going in that way," She said as she walked up to the bouncer with a smile on her face.

"Yo, Chunk," she said, greeting the large man with a smile. "Long time no see."

At first Marco thought the man was about to rip Star apart for speaking to him so casually, judging from the angry look upon his face, however that expression quickly relaxed and he gave her a small smile.

"Hey, Star," he said, giving the girl a small fist pump. "How are ya?"

"Good, good," Star replied. "How's the family?"

"As good as they can be," Chunk chuckled. "Who's your friend?"

"This's Marco, my new boyfriend," She said with a smile, hugging Marco's arm.

"Hi," Marco said a bit nervously, still intimidated by the large man.

"Well he seems like a good guy," Chunk said with a smile, standing aside to let the two in, "You two have a good time," he said.

"Thanks, Chunk. Say hi to the wife for me," Star said with a broad smile before she and Marco went inside the club.

Once inside, Marco was met with a wondrous sight.

"Whoa," he exclaimed, his voice barley audible over the music screaming over the speakers above the nearby dance-floor.

"Marco Diaz," Star said, her smile so wide it would make a clown jealous. "Welcome to The Bounce Lounge!"

The atmosphere inside the club was positively electrifying. Loud music, colorful lights, and that small hint of danger that caused people to come to places like this was everywhere inside the large club. Everyone inside looked to be having a good time, and the mood was almost contagious to Marco, who couldn't help but smile widely at the sights and sounds. Just before he could comment on the wonder that he was feeling, a voice called out to the cute couple.

"Yo, guys, over here!" The voice called over the loud music.

Looking around, Marco and Star caught sight of Penn, Sashi, Mason, and Wendy over at a small table.

"What's up, guys?" Star replied, happily giving them all a fist-bump as she and Marco joined them at the table.

"Good day?" Marco asked curiously, adding his piece.

At those words everyone basically came up with the same answer.

"Eh, nothing special," Wendy replied.

"All good here," Penn added, earning a smirk from Sashi in response.

"Can't complain," Dipper commented, acting pretty stoic about the question.

"So you guys come here often?" Marco asked.

"At least once a week. Mostly when we've had long days," Star said.

"Do you guys mind? I love this song," Sashi interrupted as the group turned and watched and listened to the band on stage playing.

"I'm like a star
I'm burning out fast
I try to shine
But it's never gonna last
Can't you see me just letting you down?
With all my friends, I'll make a picture
But in the morning I'll be gone

I'm missing you during the days
When the morning comes, I can't stay
If you saw me now, I wouldn't grant your wish

I'm like a star
I'm burning out fast
I try to shine
But it's never gonna last
Can't you see me just letting you down?
With all my friends, I'll make a picture
But in the morning I'll be gone"

As the band on stage bowed to the audience, everyone inside the club applauded their amazing performance.

"Hey, those guys weren't half bad," Marco chuckled.

"Yet another reason why I brought you here, Marco," Star pointed out with a grin.

However Marco merely raised an eyebrow at that.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Dude, the Bounce Lounge may be underrated, but it's one of the best joints in town for local bands to play," Mason explained.

"And we figured that bringing you here would give you a taste of what things are going to be like from here on out," Penn added.

"Think of it Marco," Star said gleefully. "Standing on that stage, playing to our hearts content, feels nostalgic, don't you think?"

"Yeah, it really does," Marco said with a smile as the waitress brought them and an assortment of soft drinks, one for each of them.

"Thanks, Cindy," Star said cheerfully as the waitress walked away and they all took their respective drinks. As they did, a man walked out onto the stage and up to the microphone.

"What a great performance, am I right? Let's give 'em another big hand!" He said as the audience applauded the previous band, "And now, the band you've been waiting all evening to see. The one, the only, Team Satisfaction!" The announcer yelled. Upon hearing this, Marco froze before he dropped his glass, it falling to the floor and shattering.

"Marco?" Star uttered, noticing her boyfriend's reaction. "What's the matter?"

But Marco didn't say a word, instead all he did was star up at the darkened stage, a group of silhouettes emerging from the side and readying themselves for a performance, silhouettes of people he knew all too well. After gazing upon Marco's look of horror for a few brief moments, eventually Star's eyes widened with realization and she too gasped as she looked upon the stage.

"Holy Shit."