Sorry for the wait in this chapter. Enjoy. I'm also going to update growing soon, so to my faithful readers, keep an eye out for that.

Star and her mother walked out of the house and over to the SUV. Looking up, Moon spotted the dark storm clouds rolling across the sky before she looked across the street and saw Marco stepping out of the house and slammed the door shut behind him before he began walking down the walkway, "Mother?"

Moon inhaled slowly and frowned, "Boy!" Star's eyes widened as Marco stopped and looked across the street with narrowed eyes, "It's going to rain, why not come with us? We'll give you a ride,"

Marco scoffed and shook his head, "Ride? You mean like last week when your dwarf of a husband refused to give me one and had me walk in that bad storm, even though we live on the same damn street?" Moon frowned as Star hung her head, "Thanks, but no thanks. I'll take my chances with the weather," he turned and ran down the street in a hurry.

Moon inhaled slowly as Star looked at her mother in confusion, "Mother? Marco was right. Father refused to give him a ride home last week during that horrible storm an-"

"Well, Star, if you could take the time and tend to his injuries this past weekend without him acting like a brute then maybe there is some good in the boy and he just needs a little guidance," Moon climbed into the driver side of the SUV as her daughter climbed into the passenger side in a confused state, "But given our first impression with him, I suppose I can't blame him for refusing the offer,"

"Mother, Marco is right, father refused to offer him a ride last week during that heavy downpour, forcing him to walk in the rain and-" Moon looked up as Star frowned and lowered her head, "I'm sorry mother," Moon hummed and nodded before backing out of the driveway and drove down the street and Star stared out the window in silence.

Marco sat at a table in the library, earbuds in his ears and a book in front of him, his eyes narrowed as he twirled a pen in his hand. Seeing a hand waving in front of his face, he jumped and looked up to see Star sitting next to him. Groaning, Marco took the earbuds out and glared at her, "What? What is it? Why are you sneaking up on me and-"

"It looked like you could use some company," Marco groaned and shook his head before looking down at the book in front of him, "Marco, my mother offered you a ride to school an-"

"And I declined," Marco sighed as he leaned back and crossed his arms, "More importantly, why in the hell would your old lady offer me a ride to school when your old man forced me to walk in that mess last week? Your folks hate me, that's not a fucking secret," Star slightly frowned and shook her head, "Whatever, I don't have time for this," he stood up and Star watched as he turned and walked out of the library.

Moon and River sat at the table in the dining room of the Butterfly house, hardened expressions crossing their faces. River took a deep breath and shook his head and Moon looked up, "So…the boy declined a ride to school, even after you told him a storm was coming and he acted like-"

"Can you blame him, River?" Moon took a deep breath and shook her head, "His parents doing that to him and him finding out what his girlfriend and his friend were doing? True, him acting like a delinquent is uncalled for, but his parents putting money before their son is even worse,"

Moon crossed her arms and leaned back on the chair, "Perhaps the boy would appreciate a ride home from school during the storm. And I want you to try and get him to open up, River,"

"And how am I supposed to do that? The boy barely opened up to Star while she was tending to his injuries," River took a deep breath, "If that's what really happened to him, talking to anyone will be a problem and you know it,"

"If he refuses to talk, perhaps we can invite him on one of our family drives. Maybe a long drive will calm him down some and we'll see what happens after that," Moon suggested and River slightly nodded.

Star stood in the cafeteria and looked around and saw Marco sitting at a table in the corner by himself with his head down and earbuds in his ear. Taking a deep breath, the blonde girl began walking towards the table when a voice called to her, "Hey, Star Butterfly," looking back in confusion, she saw Janna, Jackie, Alfonzo and Ferguson sitting at a table a few feet behind her, "You don't have to spend time with that ass, you know where everything is so why are you-"

"If you must know, I am going to sit with him and keep him company," Star turned and walked away, leaving the four stunned in shock.

Sitting across from Marco, Star reached over and waved her hand in front of his face. Sighing, Marco took the earbuds out and leaned back with his arms crossed, "Is this going to be our greeting or something, girly? And I thought after I showed you around last week, you were going to avoid me like your parents said an-"

"I would like to talk to you some more," Star answered sweetly and Marco groaned as he looked out the window wit narrowed eyes, "Marco, my mother was willing to bring you to school this morning and-"

'The rain's coming, and it looks like it's going to be another bad one," Marco shook his head, "Don't you hate the rainy seasons? They're always so depressing, and yet, they can be helpful,"

"Marco…my father is picking me up after school and-"

"I'm not staying with you again," Marco looked back with narrowed eyes, "I stayed with you and your old man had me walk in the mess. I looked like a fucking drowned rat when I walked through the door and instead of worrying for their son, my folks yelled at me because my old lady had just finished mopping…she's a fucking nice lady, huh?"

"Marco…mother and father are…they…father will give you a ride after school," Marco hummed and arched a brow in confusion, "I'm positive my father will give you a ride home after school, but you have to believe me and stay until he gets here,"

Marco scoffed and shook his head, "Whatever, it's not like I have anything to lose if I wait," Star slightly frowned as Marco closed his eyes and placed the earbuds back in, "But if your old man refuses to give me a ride then I'm done waiting with you. I don't want to hear about your astraphobia or anything else for that matter," Star slightly nodded before she silently ate her lunch.

The students hurried out of the school as thunder lightly rumbled. Janna, Jackie, Alfonzo and Ferguson looked back and glared at Star and Marco standing by the door before they turned and continued to walk down the street.

Marco looked at Star and saw her placing the phone up to her ear and he narrowed his eyes and shook his head. Some time has passed and Marco saw Star put her phone away and she looked up with a faint smile, "Marco, father said he will give you a ride home today," Marco crossed his arms and rolled his eyes before looking away, "Marco? Didn't you hear me? I said my father would-"

"I heard you," Marco saw the black SUV pull up in front of the school and Marco narrowed his eyes, "Now let's see if your old man was telling the truth or not," Star frowned and nodded before the two of them walked towards the vehicle.

Star climbed into the passenger side while Marco climbed into the back and River smiled at his daughter, "How was school, sweetheart?"

"It was fine, thank you for asking, father,"

River smiled and nodded before looking back at Marco and saw him crossing his arms and looking out the window, "Mar-"

"I'm not saying thanks," Marco looked up with narrowed eyes and Star frowned and shook her head as River inhaled slowly, "Why the sudden change of heart? Your wife offered me a ride this morning and now you offered me a ride. What the hell, man? Last week you told me to stay away from your daughter and now we're in the same car…that makes perfect sense,"

Marco rolled his eyes and looked out the window again, "Marco-"

"Star," Star looked at her father and frowned as River inhaled slowly before looking back, "Marco, my wife and I would like to talk to you on your next day off," Marco glanced over his shoulder before looking out the window, "You're not in any type of trouble, my boy, but we would like to speak to-"

"Not in trouble? Try telling that to my folks," Marco looked back and took a deep breath, "I'm sure those morons will believe it if someone else told them that," River sighed and shook his head before the SUV began pulling away from the school.

And…enjoy this chapter…things will be picking up soon.