Jackie Lynn Thomas. She was something else. Pretty, cool, talented, the whole package. Marco had waited his entire life for this very moment. Here they were, alone, in his room. Everything else on planet Earth just seemed to melt away. The only thing that mattered was the beautiful young woman sitting right beside him. This was going to be the night. Marco knew it! All the pieces were set. He couldn't mess this up if he tried! He was going to do it.

Marco Diaz was going to kiss Jackie Lynn Thomas.

As excited as he was, his internal confidence did nothing to quell the boy's crippling anxiety. He could barely keep his composure when he mingled with Jackie in the hallway, and here he was, literally inches away from her. He wasn't prepared for this. They skipped so many steps in his plan. He should probably say something.

He turned to her, opening his mouth to speak, but Jackie beat him to the punch.

"Marco…" she spoke softly. That, alone, was enough to make Marco's heart jump. Jackie's voice was warm, gentle, almost shy in a way. Nothing like the way she normally spoke to him. Marco's shock must have been clearly plastered on his face, because Jackie couldn't help but giggle at his reaction. "You alright, Marco?" she asked with a warm smile. Marco opened his mouth again. Nothing. Marco just spastically nodded his head. This got another giggle out of his crush. "I just wanted to tell you that…" she turned her head away from him, a blush clearly sneaking on to her face. After a few seconds, she turned back to face him, but still had some trouble making eye contact. "…That… I had a really nice time tonight."

Just hearing herself say those words caused Jackie's blush to deepen twofold. Jackie gently placed her hand on top of Marco's.

This wasn't happening!

Marco's mouth opened once again to respond. Nothing. What was he doing?! Say something! Anything! Jackie Lynn Thomas is here, opening up to him and he stays silent?! What would she think? That he didn't have a great time with her? Nothing could be further from the truth!

All those thoughts were immediately thrown out the window when he felt something warm and soft press against his lips. There was no doubt in his mind. Jackie Lynn Thomas was kissing him. It was a short, close-lipped exchange, but it was so much more than Marco ever expected. When they parted, Jackie spoke again, but her voice was much different.

"Marco." Sharp. "Marco!" Energetic. "MARCO!"

"AH!" Marco's eyes shot open and his body jolted into the air. He landed back onto the bed with a loud creek of the springs. He propped himself up by the elbows and looked around the room. His gaze was met with the panicked face of Princess Star Butterfly.

Star grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. "Marco! Get up! We're late!"

"Wha…?" he groaned, still half-asleep.

"Come on come on come on, let's go!" She said, throwing off Marco's blankets. At that moment, both of them froze. Star's eyes were glued to the giant wet spot on the crotch of her friend's pajamas. Now exposed to the cool air of his room, Marco could feel it too. The two of them locked eyes before Star quickly and silently walked backwards out of the room and gently closed the door.

Marco was definitely awake now. The boy sighed and checked under the slimy hood. Yep, it happened again. Wait. Did she say late for school? Marco instinctively darted out of bed. "No no no no no no no no no!" He franticly changed out of his PJs and put on a fresh pair of boxers. "I was supposed to talk to Jackie today! Today's the two week anniversary of us moving from nodding to talking! What if she thinks I forgot? What if she thinks I don't care?!"

Marco swiftly got dressed, rocketed down the stairs, and was greeted by the smiling, blond princess. Amazing, even after that whole awkward exchange, Star was still her energetic, perky self.

Marco's breath was heavy. "Are we taking the dimensional scissors?"

Star tossed the magical pair of blades into the air and caught them. "You know it!" she said with excitement. Without hesitation, the princess jabbed the pair of scissors into the air and opened a blue, swirling vortex. She turned back to Marco "But seriously, we are reeeeaally late!"

Marco checked the clock on the wall. 7:10? "Wait, Star. What are you talking about? We're not la-" But before he could even finish, Star grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him through the dimensional tear.