Knock, Knock. The door. Star went to open it up and was greeted by what she had been quietly dreading. Despite that, she put on a cheery grin.

"Hi Jackie, how are you?" Star kept her voice masterfully calm and friendly. The bitter resentment that had built up over the past two weeks had been successfully concealed once again. 'Go me,' she thought disparagingly.

Jackie returned the smile, although Star's guts told her that Jackie wasn't faking it. "Hey Star, I'm fine," she responded. "Had a bit of trouble getting here, but nothing else. You?" She sounded like she almost always did: relaxed, content, and cool. Jackie was, after all, a relaxed, content (if not already happy), and cool person. Star had known her long enough to also know that Jackie was also very nice and had a very open mind, both to people and to the world around her. It was part of the reason Marco had kept going out with her after their first date. Jackie was wonderful, and that was the reason Marco had been hanging around with her more often, spending more time with her, talking about her all the time, and-

"Star?" Jackie asked, waving her hands in front of Star. Star's eyes snapped open. She giggled a bit, trying to go for kooky and carefree. She did so. Mostly.

"Sorry Jackie, just remembered a joke from earlier." Star's grin was back on her face. It didn't feel right to her, so she made it bigger. "Come on in."

After briefly giving Star an odd look, Jackie entered the Diaz household and looked around. "Hey, where's Marco?"

"Getting ready, I suppose." Star walked towards the stairway that led to the upstairs and yelled, "HEY MARCO! YOUR GIRLFRIEND IS HERE!"

After a moment, a voice of a young, awkward teenager replied, "GIVE ME A MOMENT, I'M HAVING PROBLEMS WITH MY OUTFIT!"

Star sighed, knowing full well that it could take her best friend nearly a half hour to get himself ready. If any problems arose, it could take significantly longer. A small hope arose within the young girl. If Marco didn't get ready soon, Jackie might get upset. She would complain to Marco that he'd been late and hadn't taken the date seriously enough. She might even leave, or better yet, break up with Marco.

"Sorry, Jackie, Marco might be a while." Star's voice gave no indication of how pleased she was. "Quite a while, depending on whatever's the problem."

Jackie smiled. She had a great smile, full of warmth and reassurance. A smile that Star hated. "It's fine, Star, I can wait. We don't have any reservations tonight."

Star's small, irrational hope died away quickly. She knew in her head that Jackie wasn't as shallow as she had hoped for, but her heart had different opinions on the matter. She gestured towards the couch. Jackie nodded and sat down. Star took the seat next to her, tense. She shouldn't be tense, she realized. Jackie was her friend, and a good one at that. It wasn't fair for her to have so much animosity towards such a nice person, and yet…

"Uh, Star?"

"Hmmm?" Star replied, distracted again.

"Do you- I- "Jackie bit her lip, hesitating. That made Star notice. Jackie was normally more mellow and ready to talk about anything. She might get weirded out by a three-headed demon snake or magical spell of magnificent power, but conversations were nothing to her. Yet now she seemed… anxious, almost dreadful.

"What's up, Jackie?" Star said, genuinely curious and more herself. Jackie took in a deep breath and composed herself. Star's curiosity rose.

"I'd like to talk to you about Marco," Jackie answered. She kept a straight face, refusing to show any emotions. Star's curiosity turned into annoyance. Of course Jackie wanted to know more about Marco. She was probably trying to find out what his ring finger size was.

Star shook her head. Jackie wasn't like that, she reminded herself. And besides, she was acting so oddly that there was no way of telling what she was thinking. "Of course, Jackie. Ask away."

Jackie bit her lip again. She took a moment to think before she stated, "I know how you feel about him."

Star blinked her eyes at Jackie. What the hell could she mean? Everyone already knew that Star and Marco were the best of friends. There wasn't any point in Jackie telling Star the obvious. "What do you mean?" Star asked, confusion clear on her face.

Jackie's eyebrows fell slightly. "Janna told me about what happened the night Marco and I went to the dance."

Jackie's response irritated Star. For one, Janna had told Jackie what had happened during their séance outing. It wasn't as though the event was secret or anything, but Star still felt betrayed somehow. Secondly, Jackie's tone made it sound as if she was accusing Star of something. "So?" Star responded, letting some of her mood slip into her words.

Jackie let out a huff of exasperation. "Star, if what Janna has told me is true, and she never lies to me, then I'm pretty damn sure that you've got a crush on Marco and haven't told him."

Star's irritation grew. "What?" Her voice was a mix of surprise and anger.

Jackie saw the change in Star's behavior and immediately switched gears. "Star, I'm not accusing you of anything. I'm not trying to imply that you're trying to take him from me or-"

"From YOU?" Star nearly yelled. Her irritation had quickly grown into outright anger. "You took him from ME! I was the one who spent the last year with him, not you! I'm the one who saved him from Ludo's castle, who's hung out with him every Friendship Thursday, who's been there by his side helping him get the courage to ask you out, you, you-"

Jackie's eyes were terrified. Her whole body was tense and ready to run. She was holding onto the couch with a death grip. Star realized, then, that the hearts on her cheeks had started to glow green with evil energy. Her anger vanished as quickly as it had come. She fell onto the couch (she had stood up at some point that she couldn't remember). She felt exhausted and, more importantly, depressed. The truth, a truth she had been running away from for months now, had finally gotten to her.

"I didn't mean to pry, Star," Jackie started, still cautious of her friend. "But… after your battle with Ludo, I asked Janna if anything weird had happened before the fight. She said that you'd been acting weird, asking about Marco a lot, trying to call him, etc. It wasn't hard to put two and two together. I didn't bring it up earlier because I was waiting for you to tell him, but…"

Star sighed, defeated. "Yeah," she replied. Her voice was a bit hoarse. "I couldn't tell him the truth until I told myself the truth. And if I did that…"

"Everything would change."

"Yeah."

Silence reigned over the household. Jackie was the first to break it.

"Do you hate me? I mean, it's cool if you do, I understand, but-"

"No, Jackie, I don't hate you," Star responded, mildly irritated again. "Although I hated the fact that I couldn't hate you."

"Why not?"

Star sighed, annoyed. If Jackie could figure out Star's feelings better than herself, then she shouldn't be asking such a stupid question. But Star decided to amuse her. "You're too- ugh, what's the word? Awesome, right. Or wonderful. Or nice. All of them apply." She looked at Jackie with a bittersweet expression. "You aren't a bitch, Jackie. I could only hate you if you were a bitch." Jackie looked like she was about to say something, but Star interrupted her. "And no, acting like a bitch now won't help. Marco deserves better."

"Oh, uh, no, that wasn't what I was going to say." Jackie said awkwardly. Star looked at her with her eyebrows furrowed. "I was going to tell you that you need to tell Marco."

Star looked away, apathy entering her gaze. "No, that will just make things more complicated. He's already having enough trouble trying to figure out how to date. If I drop this on him now, it'll just mess everything up. It might ruin our friendship."

"Star," Jackie replied very seriously, "Your relationship with Marco is based all around trust and honesty. I've only been with him for two weeks and I can already tell that he's worried for you. He doesn't show it much, but I know he's smart enough to know that you're upset. If you don't tell him soon, he'll either feel as if you don't trust him anymore or try to confront you about it. Or both."

Star shook her head. "Those are my options? Talk to him about it and ruin my friendship, or don't talk to him about it and ruin my friendship? Fucking wonderful."

"Those were your options," A voice from the top of the stairs said, loud and clear. Fear shocked Star out of her mood. She twisted around to find something awful. Marco was standing at the top of the stairs, looking somber in his nice clothes. Star gaped in horror. Marco winced, replying, "I heard everything."