Following Her

Following Her Part 5

Back from a super long break and I would like to apologise. I'm so sorry as I have been really busy with school and assessments. Hope you enjoy what has been a very late and deserved chapter!

"8 o'clock!" Marco shouted jumping out of bed. How could he have overslept, he swore he had just lay down in his bed for what was supposed to be a short nap. Yet here he was 10 hours later sleeping in his room while his best friend had to deal with her problems by herself, somewhere in the universe. Hurriedly, Marco rushed into the bathroom to take a shower to wake himself up. His eyes had not yet adjusted to the bright light after staring at the insides of his eyelids and he had to shield them as he stepped into the shower. He half expected to see Star's makeup and toiletries all over their shared sink. Yet those were gone too, and for once Marco truly missed Star's messiness. And her quirkiness, her uplifting nature, the way she never let anything put her off a good mood, her smile that reminded Marco of all the good things dimensions could offer. He just really missed her. It might have only been a few days, but those days had been the longest in his life.

Unfortunately, staying at home sulking wasn't going to get her back. And for once, the safe kid would have to take a few risks that could end up with either of them hurt, or worse. But he didn't care; getting his best friend back was worth anything in the world, or any world. And if he was right, then he had found the one thing that could free Star and possibly end the Butterfly's rule on Mewni in doing so....

"Marco Diaz!" Marco's mum called, somehow sounding worried, angry and disappointed all at once. "Come down here at once!"

Sighing, Marco trudged down the stairs. What could his parents probably want? He had always managed to go on wild adventures with Star without his parents noticing or worrying. Maybe they would ask him how he felt about Star? Marco shuddered, dreading having to talk about his feelings with his parents. As laid back as his parents were at times, talking about your feelings with your parents was never easy and would be especially awkward discussing recent events.

Marco Diaz loved his parents dearly, but sometimes they would try to play the cool parents, using teenage slang and attempt to immerse themselves in Marco's more personal life. Marco, like many other teenagers, preferred to keep his parents an arms life away from his social life. He was past the point where he would talk about all his problems to his parents, back when he was the "Safe kid". Now, he tackled his problems headfirst and by himself. Well, not all the time. No adventure would be complete without Star.

Marco had reached the living room, where his parents sat next to each other on the sofa. Party decorations were littered all over the floor, with the smell of pizza nuggets lingering in the air. Marco was surprised to see his parents' faces still and... tired? Especially his father, who was normally overly charismatic, sat still on the couch. Marco was worried, had they been replaced with robots that were going to snatch him any second? Were his parents somehow being mind controlled by Toffee or Ludo? But alas, Angie and Rafael Diaz were still themselves.

"Marco, we should talk about what happened sweetie," Angie said calmly, not taking her eyes of her son.

Marco sat down on the chair facing them, slowly turning red with embarrassment. Marco didn't even want to think about his situation, much less talk about it, especially not with his parents.

Marco didn't know what to feel about Star, or about Jackie or about his own feelings. Marco had liked Jackie for as long as he could remember; whenever he exchanged a nod with her, when he had finally worked up the courage to talk to her and when he had been asked out by the Jackie Lynn Thomas to the school dance. Yet Marco still felt uncomfortable at times with her, he couldn't believe he had managed to go out with his dream girl.

But if Marco was being completely honest, going out with his dream girl was not as... dreamy as he had managed. He had thought it would be like hanging out with Star, where everything felt natural and he could be himself without being worried about messing up or making a fool of himself. And with Star, he could always be honest about his feelings for Jackie and she would listen attentively and offer advice. The advice might not always work, in fact, it hardly ever seemed to work, but the attempt was all that mattered.

Marco felt guilty, knowing he had relayed all his feelings and thoughts on Jackie to Star, while she had a crush on him. Yet despite this, Star had pushed them together and supported Marco the whole time. Marco felt like a horrible friend for not being able to see the pain and suffering his best friend was experiencing, as it unfolded right in front of him. Maybe this meant Marco was starting to fall in love with his best friend. But this didn't matter; getting Star back was all that mattered.

"...and thus, we think that you should...." Angie continued calmly. Marco snapped back into reality, realising he had not heard a word from his parents.

"Mom, dad. I'm going to get Star back now and I know it's not very safe of me but she's my best friend, an...and she would do the same for me!" Marco exclaimed, the last part almost making him sob as he remembered the time when had been so foolishly caught by Toffee. "I know she would..."

"Hijo! We know you want to go after her. And we will support you no matter what!" Rafael Diaz said defensively. "Bring back Star Marco, remind her she will always have a home here." Rafael then bawled, blowing his nose into a wad of tissues as tears streaked down his cheeks.

Marco got up, and headed upstairs quickly, eager to save Star and to get away from the scene downstairs.

"Marco remember to keep safe!" Angie called as she patted her hand against her husbands back to calm him down, "and just know I think you and Star would be much cuter."

Blushing, Marco rushed upstairs to his room, hoping he would not start crying like his father. He grabbed his already packed bag pack of clothes, food, water and camping equipment and as he stared at his own dimensional scissors, he remembered the years of anguish and pain he had dealt with to earn them. Marco unpinned a photo from his mirror, staring down at it as he imagined the years of pain and anguish he would go through to get Star back. Staring ahead, Marco cut the air in front of him, creating a portal to Mewni and stepped through, unaware of the dangers he would have to face. But this didn't scare him; he had never been more determined in his life, maybe except maybe the wet socks were the worst thing in all the dimensions. After a long look of his room, which might as well be his last, he stepped through the unknown letting go of the photo.

As the portal closed the photo fell to the ground, the photo of Star and Marco, together, at a beach.

I'm really sorry for not updating in forever but I've been busy with a few family/personal issues and school. I am planning to update weekly but no promises. (definitely not as long as a wait for this chapter.) I hope most of you guys don't hate me too much for such a wait, but I truly am sorry.

Until next time <3 THESINGHER