Star vs The Forces of Evil: Beautiful Christmas

Chapter 8: Winter Wonderment

After taking some time to herself, Star finally gathered the courage to return to the park, where last-minute preparations were being made. A quick scan of the park noted that it was packed with people & monsters pitching in to help set everything up. Even Mr. Dunlap was aggressively assisting in preparations. She caught wind of a peculiar sight: the stage that was dead smack in the middle of the park had been expanded in size, and there was a massive, thick tarp that appeared to be covering something taking up the majority of the stage, while also doing a decent job of concealing the exact shape of what was underneath it. Marco, Tom, Janna, Jackie, and Chloe were over by the curtain helping get it set.

Star raced over to them and surprised them by tackling Marco from behind, nearly knocking him over. "Surprise!" She shouted, drawing laughs from everyone.

"You made it!" Marco said to her, turning around and embracing her. "Everything okay?"

Star hesitated; glancing back at both Jackie & Chloe, both of whom smiled at her, easing some of her fraying nerves. "Yeah, I think so."

"She just needed someone to vent to." Jackie explained. "But it's all good now."

"Yeah...all good..." Star said nervously with a blush. "Thanks, Jackie." She quickly turned to the stage to conceal the growing blush. "So...what's underneath the tarp?" She tried to make a move towards the stage, only to be stopped by Marco grabbing her arm.

"Nope! It's a surprise." He said firmly.

"I like surprises!"

"Well I'm sure you'll love this one, but it's not coming out until the party. Got it?"

She rolled her eyes and smiled. "Alright, alright. Message received, you can stand down. Come on, let's help finish decorating."

"Sounds good to me." Everyone else in the group took off in different directions. Marco was about to follow suit before being stopped by Star; she grabbed his arm tightly enough to stop him without pulling it out of its socket. "Star?" Marco was greeted in return with a massive bear hug, the likes of which couldn't be given by anyone other than Star. He returned it instantly. "What's that for?"

"It's a thank you."

"...For what?"

"...You know what." She sheepishly looked away in slight embarrassment. Marco didn't need any more to put it together.

"Are things okay between you and Jackie?"

She nodded slowly. "Yeah, actually, they are. We're-I'm...I'm taking things one day at a time. Pretty much like everything else that's been piled on me the last year and change."

"That's all you can do."

"Yeah." She let out a chuckle. "I guess I need to work on my social skills again. She told me I wasn't very subtle about my attraction to her."

"You weren't." He joked, which got a much heartier laugh out of Star, causing him confusion. "What?"

"Nothing. It's just..." She collected herself before continuing. "She said the same thing about you."

"Oh she did, huh?" He followed suit in laughing, but it quickly died down as realization set in for him. "She...she-"

"Mmm-hmmm..." She slyly nodded and smirked, causing him to go red in the face. They both turned to where Jackie and Chloe were, the former catching sight of them staring at her, and in response she gave them a fingerbang & tongue-click, which served to further redden Marco's face.

"...Oh no."

"Oh yes." She walked over to him, gently patting his rear end and passionately kissing him. "For the record, she said she was flattered."