Star vs The Forces of Evil: Corn and Circuses

A Fanfiction by The Dapper Critter

*Chapter 1*

The last few weeks had been pretty emotional, to say the least. Finals, dating, saying goodbyes, corrupted magic, losing family friends, hostile takeovers, near-death experiences, hostile rats, bird-things, Septarians—it's a lot for two kids to handle. Even for kids that dealt with interdimensional adventures and teen drama every other day with, like, zero problems. It didn't help that this might have been the last time these two kids ever saw each other. But neither one of them wanted to think about that now. Right now, they just wanted to make sure they made it through their last showdown alright.

"You're sure you're alright?" Marco asked, looking concerned at his best friend.

"For the last time, Marco—yes." Star assured him. "I appreciate your concern and all, but that's the eighth time you asked me today, and the twenty-second since yesterday."

"Oh… Right," he chuckled nervously. "Sorry. Just never hurts to check," he hastily apologized with an awkward smile.

They were sitting at least a foot apart on Star's bed. Awkward but happy to see each other alright after all the excitement. Although Star invited Marco to her old room in the castle, it was still rather awkward for them to be around the other. On Earth, Marco visited Star in her room all the time with no problem. Of course, that was before she had to confess her feelings to him before fleeing and then getting involved in a major family situation. The fact Star nearly died during her confrontation with Toffee weighed heavily on their minds, but not as much as how this situation—however happy or uncomfortable it may be—could be the last time they ever got to hang out with their best friend.

The Butterflies agreed to let Marco stay overnight so he could recover from the excitement at Star's request. At first, she was just so happy to see Marco again that she thought staying a while longer would be great! Until now as she remembered all the drama they went through and still had to go through. Well, she thought, if this is the last time I can be with Marco, I should at least try talking to him instead of just avoiding it.

After a long pause she asked, "Are you okay?" Ugh, that was dumb, she immediately thought, chastising herself.

"Me?" Marco answered, a little surprised. Star hadn't asked him in a while, and he was so worried about her that he almost forgot about himself. "Uh, yeah, I guess I'm still okay. You know, for a guy who just lead a resistance, got imprisoned twice, and helped you defeat your mortal enemy. Kinda'," he added sheepishly.

"Oh, that's good!" She replied. "Just had to check."

"Um, yeah."

Pegasus feathers! It was still awkward.

As they sat there, Marco's mind drifted back to the night this whole thing started. At the graduation house party he and his family threw. He kept thinking about the moment Star confessed her feelings to him and ran off heartbroken. This wasn't going to be easy, but Marco decided that if he didn't talk to her about it now, he might not get the chance.

He took a deep breath and asked her, "So, uh, did you want to talk about what happened at the party? You know, just before you left?"

Star's heart nearly stopped then and there. She remembered that night in all it's painful detail, overwhelmed with embarrassment. She racked her brain looking for an answer and went with the best one she could come up with.

"No," she blurted.

"Yeah, me neither," Marco replied, embarrassed as well. Although, somewhat relieved.

After another long and awkward pause, Star took a deep breath and stood up. She did her best to smile, played with her hair nervously, looked at Marco and with what courage she had left said, "Well, uh… Thank you, Marco, for everything. For being there and coming to help us. And I know you've been through a lot so, if you want, you can go home and see Jackie and your parents again. If you're ready, I mean!" she added apologetically.

Marco stared at the floor for a moment. He thought. What should I do? What about Jackie? My parents? They must be so worried about me. But I don't want to leave Star like this. She's been through so much, and she and her family still have to get their kingdom back together. Not to mention I haven't found where my favourite hoodie went to yet.

"You know what?" He looked up with a warm smile on his face. "I want to stay here for the summer."

"Wait," Star said, taken aback. "You want to spend your whole summer here? With… me?" She toyed with her hair again hoping to hide her blushing cheek marks.

"Yeah! I mean, why not?" he added cheerfully, standing up. "School's out, I didn't have any plans back home, and somebody has to help your kingdom with the damage control."

"R-really? Wow, that would be… awesome!" She excitedly answered. "But what about your parents or Jackie?"

"Don't worry, Star! I'm sure they'll understand. All I have to do is just give them a call!" At that moment, Marco's heart jumped as he realized something. "Which reminds me, I haven't talked to my parents or Jackie since I left! They must be worried sick!" He ran out the room then peaked his head back in, slightly embarrassed. "Uh, do you mind if I just hop back to Earth really quick so I can talk to them?"

Star giggled and answered with a smile, "Don't worry about it, Diaz! You talk to Jackie and your parents while I go talk to mine," she added with hopeful eagerness.

"He wants to stay for the whole summer?" Queen Moon asked, a tad surprised.

"Yeah!" Star answered enthusiastically. "I was all ready to let him go, but he insisted. He says he'll even help us out with getting the kingdom back on its feet!"

"That's very nice of him, dear. But are you sure it's the right thing? His parents must miss him dearly, and—as much as we appreciate his help during the Ludo-Toffee fiasco—I'm not sure he's ready for Mewni." She added with concern.

The last few days had been just as trying for the Queen as well. Facing her mortal enemy again, nearly losing her family, and the thought of a certain Queen of Darkness escaping from her prison weighed heavy on her mind, as her daughter's own problems did on hers. Although she thought of Marco as a sweet and responsible young man, she felt guilty about letting him get wrapped up in her family's dilemma. However, she regretted tearing Star away from her best friend just as much.

"Oh, come on, Moon-Pie!" King River mirthfully chimed in, putting his hand on upon Moon's shoulder reassuringly. "You saw how the boy's doing. He's a resilient young chap—with a good head on his shoulders, too! Why, you should have seen him while you were gone: he got me to act like a real king again, escaped imprisonment, organized a resistance, and escaped imprisonment again! He'll be fine, dear."

The Queen paused, deep in thought for a moment. She then looked at her husband and gave him a warm smile and tenderly rested her hand upon his. Turning back to Star, she said "Alright. If his parents are alright with it, Marco is welcome to stay with us for the summer."

"YES!" Star exclaimed, jumping with joy "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, Mom! Thank you, Dad! He's just talking to them now."

"You're sure you'll be alright?" his father, Raphael, asked with gentle concern.

"Of course I will, Dad," Marco assured him. "I've got my dimension scissors, the Royal Guard, and I can always jump back here to restock and visit you guys!"

Marco's mom, Angie, gave her husband a gentle squeeze on the arm. "Not to mention he's got Star to look after him," she added teasingly.

"Mom!" Marco exclaimed, blushing with embarrassment. "But you're right though, I do," he admitted with a sheepish chuckle.

"But what about Jackie? It would be a little rude to leave your new girlfriend out of your summer."

"It's alright, Dad. I've got that under control, too. I'll just give her a call. I'm sure she'll be fine." As he went to use the phone, a sudden guilt came over him. "…I hope," he muttered, fretting about what Jackie would think of him running off to another dimension for the summer.

As he picked up the phone, Angie gently pulled Raphael's arm and the two went into the living room give their son some privacy. Neither one of them was very happy about their son disappearing for a week and then coming back to say he'd be gone again for the whole summer, but at the same time, they saw how unhappy he was when Star had to run away. With their trust in their son and his best friend, they decided Marco deserved to spend more time with Star while he could before they had to say goodbye again.

While the phone rang, Marco's heart raced. It felt like it sank deeper and deeper with every beat into his chest, filling with guilt. Worried thoughts raced through his head. What will she say? What will she think? She's my girlfriend, how's she going to react when I tell her I'm going to run off to spend my summer with another best friend? With another girl?! And so on and so forth until Jackie finally picked-up.

"Hello?" her calm, melodic voice asked over the line.

"H-hey, Jackie!" Marco answered with nervous excitement in his voice. "It's me, Marco!"

"Marco!" her voice perked up immediately, creating a little feedback on the phone. "Babe, where you been? I haven't seen you in forever!"

He let out a small, nervous laugh. "Uh, yeah. Sorry about that. I really owe you an explanation."

"Uh, yeah you do," Jackie teased. But she didn't sound so carefree when she pressed further, asking, "Seriously though. Are you alright, Marco? The last time I saw you, you looked miserable—and that was weeks ago! That's like forever for us teenagers!"

His heart sank even further under guilt. He could tell that Jackie was upset by his absence, and that she probably wasn't going to like what she heard next. Still, the best thing he could do was tell the truth, he told himself, and hope she'd understand. So that's what he did. He told her everything that happened—Star's situation, the coup, the rebellion, and the stay. When he finished, there was silence.

"You still there?" he asked solemnly.

"Oh yeah, yeah," she hastily replied. "It's just… that's a lot to take in. Like there was that creepy little bird guy who attacked Star's home, but it was actually some creepy lizard guy who was behind it, and you started a revolution with a theatre troupe, and Star exploded but… she's okay now?"

"Yep. Mewni's like that," he answered plainly. "So, now that you know," he drawled with uncertainty, playing with the phone cord anxiously, twirling it around his finger until it was wrapped tight around it, enough so that he was starting to lose feeling in it. "Are you okay with that?" he finally continued. "I mean, if I went on that vacation would you feel left out?"

"Well," uncertainty crept from her voice. Marco started panicking again, thinking this is it—I disappointed her! Broke her heart! "This is all so sudden," she continued with a melancholy calm. "First, Star ran away and now it kinda' feels like you are, too."

Marco's heart plummeted further into his chest than ever before. His palms sweaty as a teenage boy's could be, pulse pounding away, teeth clenched behind a guilt-ridden frown. He waited for the scathing break-up he deserved. But when she spoke again, she wasn't angry at all!

"But I can't say blame you," she added wistfully. "You almost lost your best friend twice and you still have to say goodbye. I can't even imagine what you guys are going through right now. So, if you want to spend this summer with Star, I'm okay with it."

"W-wha-really?!" Marco stuttered, flabbergasted. He had always known Jackie as a laidback girl who didn't take things too seriously, but this felt ridiculous! Which is something considering the kind of bizarre situations he and Star found themselves in regularly. Uncertain she was fine with this he immediately pressed, "You're sure you're alright with that? I mean, if you want, you're welcome to come with me."

"Nah, it's cool, dude," she nonchalantly reassured him. "You guys deserve all the one-on-one time you can get. Tell her I said, 'hi,' alright?"

Still stunned, he nevertheless felt extremely grateful. He excitedly replied, "Oh, thank you, thank you, thankyou, Jackie! You're too good for me! I promise I'll make it up to you when I get back."

"Pssh! Just have fun, dude."