Till Death Do Us Part

Graduation Day

"It is with great pride that I now pronounce you all graduates of Echo Creek High School! Goodbye and good luck!" As soon as the principal finished his speech, all the high school seniors seated below the auditorium stage threw their blue-and-red graduation caps high over their heads as a joyous roar rose up among them.

Star couldn't stop jumping up and down in excitement. "We did it! We did it! We did it!", she screamed over and over again. She ran over to Marco, who was sitting just a few seats away. They thanked their lucky stars that the first letter of their last names were so close together in the alphabet. Star practically tackled him to the ground, squeezing him so tightly, he feared his inner organs might burst.

"We did it, Marco! We graduated!" He returned her hug as best he could with the hold she had on his arms. "And now, its on to the rest of our lives!" They were then approached by Janna. "So! What's next in store for our Dynamic Duo?" Everyone in town knew Star and Marco as a team, never one without the other. They were the Batman and Robin of Echo Creek.

"Well, after the summer's over, we're both off to Arizona State University!", Marco said. "I'm gonna study to be a professor or a therapist or some other cool job where I get to wear glasses and a sweater-vest!" Janna rolled her eyes. "And I'm gonna take courses in animals!", Star cheered. "I'm gonna be the first Queen of Mewni-slash-veterinarian!" "Sounds awesome!"

"Marco!" All three friends looked to see Jackie waving Marco down towards where she was. He looked at Star with an uncertain expression. "Hey...is it okay..." Star quickly nodded her head. "Oh! Oh, sure! Its fine!" Marco smiled and ran towards Jackie, leaving his best friend behind without so much as a "Thanks" or a "See you later".

Janna looked back at Star, whose face was becoming sadder and sadder as she watched Marco pull Jackie into a deep kiss. "You alright?" Star snapped out of her hazy state and back to reality. "Oh, yeah! I'm fine!" She put a big smile on her face, but Janna could tell it wasn't real.

She, along with most of their friends, could easily tell that Star still had strong romantic feelings for Marco. All except for Marco himself. He was much too focused on his pretty, popular, laid-back skater girlfriend to notice anything that Star felt about him. What's more, if confronted about it, Star would refuse to talk about it and deny everything, so her friends had given up asking her.

Before the sadness could sink in any further, Janna swooped in and took some action. "Hey!", she remarked loudly, placing a firm, friendly hand on Star's shoulder. "Why don't we get on over to the Honky-Tonk? We don't wanna miss the big graduation party!" The Honky-Tonk was the most popular teen hangout in Echo Creek, and always had been since it first opened in 1952.

Much to Janna's relief, Star's demeanor immediately brightened, a true smile coming easily to her face. "Alright! Graduation par-tay! I'm gonna request "Space Unicorn" like, a dozen times!"
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The party was at it's peak. Eighty-five percent of the attendance were gathered on the dance floor. The entire hockey team were wearing lampshades on their heads. There were couples making out everywhere you looked. The music was so loud, you could hear it from five blocks away. Oscar Greason was even swinging on an overhead lamp. Needless to say, everyone at the party was having a blast.

Star and her friends were no exception to this rule. She, Janna, StarFan13, and Princess Pony Head were totally tearing it up on the dance floor. "Wait, wait, wait!", Star cried, getting their attentions. "Check this!" She dove onto the floor and did a triple spin on her rear end before ending lying on her side with her head propped up on one hand. Everyone cheered.

"B-Fly, that was the sickest move that entered may eyeballs!", Pony Head chanted. Star beamed and clasped her hands together with pride. "Thanks! Marco taught me how to do that!" Just then, her phone dinged, and she looked to see that she had recovered a text message from him. "Speak of the devil!"

She glanced at the message, and her smile faded away. "Star?" She handed her phone off to Janna, who read the text from Marco out loud. "Not coming to the party. Jackie and I want an evening to ourselves. Have fun though." Pony Head let out a groan of annoyed anguish. "Earth Turd is blowin' us off AGAIN! And on grad-day, no less! I swear, the next time I see him and his lil' mer-whatever, I'm gonna smack 'em right into next Tuesday!"

"What?!  No!", Star cried, suddenly springing back to life.  "Don't do that!  Marco and Jackie are our friends!  Don't get mad at them for being in love!"  She folded her hands over her heart.  "Don't worry about me.  I'll be just fine."  Janna looked at her sympathetically.  "Are you sure?"  Star nodded.  "Of course."

She coughed.  "If you'll excuse me..."  She quickly spun around and hurried out of the Honky-Tonk restaurant.  Janna sighed heavily.  "I'll go check on her."  She pushed her way through the crowds, following her distraught friend outside.
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She soon found Star sitting on a park bench, her back slumped over, her face buried in her hands.  Janna walked over and sat down beside her, placing a firm but understanding hand on her back.  "Hey.", she said, in a tone of softness and kindness that was rarely ever heard in her voice.  "Are you sure you're alright?"

Star sighed as she sat up straighter and lifted her head off the palms of her hands.  Even in the dim light of the moon, Janna could still see the tear tracks and broken hearts on her cheeks.  "Honestly?  Not at all."  She stared at her lap.  "I really thought I'd get over Marco eventually, Janna.  I thought for sure I would have found somebody else to by now.  But look—its been over four years, and almost nothing's changed.  I'm still in love with Marco Diaz, and he's still head over heels for Jackie Lynn Thomas."

Janna nodded in understanding.  "Love is a brutal game, Star.", she explained to the blonde princess.  "You like this guy, he loves this girl, so does another guy, this girl only loves one, and right behind you is another guy who loves you, but you never notice.  Its complicated, and more often than not, its just plain unfair.  That's why some people like to say, 'Love stinks'."

When Star didn't seem to perk up, Janna tried again.  "You never know, Star.  Maybe something will happen that will make Marco realize he loves you.  Y'know, like in all those cheesy romance books and movies where an unexpected twist of fate brings two unwitting souls together in love."  Star looked at Janna with a sarcastic expression.  "I'm pretty sure Marco and I won't be brought together by an unexpected twist of fate."  "Uh, duh!", Janna said.  "That's why its unexpected!"

Star chuckled.  While Janna's less-than-realistic prediction didn't seem very likely, she had to admit it had cheered her up a bit.  Janna was relieved to see the smile on Star's face.  "C'mon!  Forget about those two.  We can have fun on our own."  Star displayed her usual beautiful Butterfly smile.  "Alright!  We're gonna boogey 'til we're blue!"

She and Janna had only just gotten off the bench when Star's cell phone rang.  She fished it out and checked the caller ID.  "Oh, its my mom!  I gotta take this."  She pressed "Accept" and held the phone to her ear.  "Mom?  What is it?...Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down!...Wait, now?  Like right this second?  But Mom, I'm at my graduation party...Okay, I'm on my way."

"Sorry.", she said to Janna as she hung up the phone.  "Mom says I have to go to Mewni right away.  Its an emergency."  Janna shrugged.  "Its cool.  We'll save you a slice of graduation cake."  Star smiled as she pulled out her dimensional scissors.  "Thanks, Janna.  I'll be back as soon as I can."  She ripped a hole in the atmosphere with her scissors and set one foot inside.  Giving her friend one last glance, she waved goodbye and leapt through the portal.