(9) Bonds

Star Butterfly gleefully took her first bite of jam-topped toast on a late October Wednesday, savoring the flavor of grape as she gave her outfit a final once-over, her teal skirt and faint pink top being the latest prize of her and Jackie's latest mall trip. She was interrupted from her examination by the unceremonious slap of stationery against cloth as Marco walked in and half-heartedly let himself slump into a chair by the kitchen table, the morning's mail and newspaper lying in front of him. The boy was already prepared for school, his bag lying against the table leg as he took the stack of mail in his hands, flicking them back onto the table one by one.

"Bill, card offer, bill, junk, junk, keep the coupons..." he muttered as he made loose piles of the letters and flyers. Star rolled her eyes as she bit into her toast, scratching a spot on her back with her tail.

"...Mom's Monster Trader order, junk, bill, junk, junk... and a letter from Jackie?"

Star's eyes followed his fingers in interest as Marco seamlessly tore a line in the top of the envelope with his fingernail and pulled out a card, a disgusted noise coming from his mouth as he shook glitter off of his hand. He opened the card up, carefully checking for any more glitter with a dramatic slowness that Star suppressed another eye roll at.

"Dear Star and Marco..."

Star's brow perked up.

"...You are both formally invited a Halloween masquerade party, located at the Lynn-Thomas residence on October 31. Costumes and masks are required. We look forward to your company this Halloween.

Regards,
The Lynn-Thomas Family."

Marco and Star turned their gazes towards each other, the boy puzzled by her disappointed expression.

"What's wrong, Star?" he asked.

"I'm not sure I want to go," she replied, turning her head down towards the table. "I don't really have a lot of friends other than you in school, and most people avoid me. I'll probably just get the same weird looks I always do, especially in a costume."

"Oh come on, Star, cheer up! This is a good chance to show people who you really are," Marco responded, throwing an arm around her shoulders. The girl smiled slightly as she felt him squeeze her gently, letting her head fall back into his chest.

"I guess you might have a point," she replied, looking down at her hands as she pressed her index fingers together in thought. "But how? Most of them have never even talked to me."

"Maybe you can ask Jackie for help?" Marco said with a shrug of his shoulders. "She's popular enough that people will likely listen to her if she backs you up." Star perked her head up, the gears in her head spinning. Marco laughed at her face of intense concentration before standing up, Star making a surprised noise as he pulled her up alongside him.

"Come on, we've got plenty of time before class. Let's call her up," he said. Star blushed slightly and began heading to her room, Marco ducking to avoid her tail as he followed her up the stairs. Star dialed Jackie's number in her magic mirror with the end of her tail as she grabbed her hairbrush off the nightstand. The girl's mellow face materialized on the glass, one of her eyebrows raised as she saw Marco enter the room behind the lizard girl.

"What's up, Star?" she said, her frame slightly shaking as she held her phone in her hand.

"Hey, Jackie!" Marco said behind Star, the girl jumping in surprise and grunting in pain as she accidentally pulled on her hairbrush too hard. "We got your invite!"

"Oh, cool! You got a costume yet, Star?" Jackie replied. Star turned her head down slightly as she set down her hairbrush.

"No, but that's not the big problem," she began. "It's just... I guess I'm just nervous, that's all."

"Don't know anybody?" Jackie casually said. Star shot her head back up to meet Jackie's gaze.

"How did you-"

"Your attitude back at the theater in August gave it away. You have a lot of trouble meeting new people," the skater interrupted, a smirk on her face as she set her phone down on an incline, the mirror frame finally stabilizing.

"Well, that, and I don't know if people will actually talk to me. You know how people look at me."

"Maybe we need to give them a surprise," Marco interjected. "A lot of people are nervous about talking to you. We might be able to use your costume to fix that."

"How? I've got a tail, Marco. A tail and fangs. You don't just hide entire limbs and expect to get away with it," Star said.

"How about a show?"

The two teens turned back to Jackie's grinning face in the mirror.

"You've got your magic, Star. How about we put on a big display with it, impress some people and give you a conversation starter?" she continued. Star mulled Jackie's words over before finally nodding.

"Alright, let's do it," she sheepishly said.  Marco and Jackie grinned at each other through the mirror, giggling as they began going over the finer points, while Star sat between the two of them, head ducked down.

'I think they're more eager about this than me.'

---

As the Saturday dusk fell upon the horizon of Echo Creek, Marco stood by his bed, looking himself over in he mirror. Despite his best efforts to keep calm, beads of sweat were already forming on his forehead. Beside him, Glossaryck floated casually, his face a deadpan stare.

"Anything else you need adjusted?" the pixie asked. Marco shook his head as he collected his voice.

"No. Everything's good. I just hope this crazy idea Jackie had goes over well." He sighed to himself for what must've been the tenth time that night and left his room, the door closing behind him as he carefully walked down the stairs, clinking slightly as he went.

"You owe me big for this, kid," he heard Glossaryck say behind him. He threw one hand up in acknowledgment as he reached the front door, unceremoniously crossing the way out onto the porch. His parents' eyes followed him from the window as he walked out onto the sidewalk, moving left out of their view.

Out on the sidewalk, Marco's thoughts unraveled and began flittering about in his head. He forced himself to focus with a grimace and recounted the steps Jackie had given him in his head, his fingers idly tapping together as he strolled.

'Not that we're guaranteed to do anything with this charade,' he thought. 'This might just end up making Star and me even bigger sore thumbs than we already are.'

His mulling was rudely interrupted by the sound of plastic wheels against concrete as Jackie coasted up behind him, a relaxed smile on her face as she came to match his speed.

"Looking good, Diaz!" she said. Marco blushed slightly and shrugged.

"It's nothing really. Just some light welding and a bit of magic, that's all," he replied.

"Still though, a knight costume that doesn't look like trash is rare, dude. Nice work! This is gonna be great!"

Marco sighed, wishing he could share her excitement.

"Jackie... how do you know this is a good idea?"

"I don't."

Marco stopped for a moment, eyes on the girl as she looped back around to stop in front of him.

"What?"

"I have no idea," she continued. "But that's why I'm looking forward to this. I don't think you'll fall flat on your face or anything, but I can't say what's gonna happen in there. It's just something you gotta accept." She patted him on the shoulder and smiled. "Now come on, let's hurry. This board's big enough for two, and your bulk should give us some speed." Marco sheepishly obliged, hopping on the back of her skateboard and kicking them off with a hard push.

---

As Marco and Jackie barreled into the parking lot of her home, narrowly dodging her father's sedan in the process, Marco could already hear the faint thud of dance music coming from inside. His greaves screeched against the blacktop as he forced the two of them to a standstill, Jackie almost falling off the board before stabilizing. Collecting themselves, the two wasted no time as Jackie opened up the front door and strolled inside, Marco following her to see a large living room almost devoid of furniture save for a televison on its' stand and a loveseat that had been pressed against the wall, with the rest of the room occupied by dancing attendees. Marco flipped down the guard of his helmet, obscuring his eyes from the world as he walked through, chuckling to himself as he saw a few heads turn towards his outfit.

Walking out the back door into Jackie's yard, he swallowed as he saw a massive, floating Oriental dragon sashaying itsway through the crowd, a pair of grey legs barely visible beneath them. Star stood underneath, panting slightly from the heat as she waved her wand in concert, an array of magical hands and sticks piloting the costume around her to her commands.

'I am so glad I don't sweat,' she thought to herself as she saw partygoers clapping and cheering at her getup through the magically projected eyes in the face, the details manifesting in front of her on a shimmering screen of arcane energy. She waved her wand a bit harder and felt the head of the costume shoot upwards as a billowing jet of flame shot forth from the mouth, harmlessly dissipating while screams of surprise and laughter rang out around her. She smiled as she saw Marco observing from the porch, waving one arm of the costume at him and Jackie. The skater hopped over the porch rail effortlessly, wading through the crowd and rolling a bottle of water underneath the costume, which Star immediately snapped up and quaffed from greedily. She snapped her eyes back to the screen just in time to see Jackie waving with only her pinky and thumb at her.

The signal.

Marco stepped down from the porch and slowly walked out into the crowd. Star began running underneath the costume, its bulk causing partygoers to back up a good distance from her as the dragon undulated, spurts of fire coming from its maw. Marco reached to his side and pulled the sheath he wore from his hip, releasing the blade inside and tossing the sheath aside. It was blunt, but he still suppressed a shiver at what could possibly go wrong with it. The dragon heaved and shot out another torrent of flame, Star wincing as she forced it high at the last second.

"Dragon! Your time is over!" Marco shouted behind his helmet, ducking and feeling heat on his back. He stood quickly, berating himself at how cringy he sounded, and rushed forward, sword in hand. His first strike glanced off the dragon's fiberglass frame, wobbling slightly before a second strike cleaved the right arm of the beast completely off, Star conjuring up a roar of pain from the mouth as she giggled excitedly. She brought the tail around to smack the boy square in the chest, the dragon shifting side to side as she charged up an exceptionally large fireball in the dragon's mouth. Marco rolled up from the ground and shrieked as he flung the blade out in front of him, knocking away the beast's head and sending Star's spell rocketing into the sky, exploding into a shower of red sparks that the enthused crowd gawked at. He dashed forward and buried the blade to the hilt in the chest, Star eyeing the blade as it penetrated the body and stopped a good two meters from her.

'Time for the finale!' Marco thought as he pulled the sword out, the dragon screaming and convulsing, thrashing from side to side as fake blood poured from its wounds, Jackie grimacing at the sight from the sidelines. Dodging two errant blasts of flame, Marco brought the sword high and slashed down with everything he had, crushing and tearing the body of the dragon as he cleaved the head clean from the neck. The body shuddered wildly one last time before going limp, the voices of the crowd beginning to fill the otherwise silent air again already.

"What just happened?"

"That got intense really quick."

"Is the person inside okay?"

"Yeah, that's fake blood. My dad works in special effects, showed me how to spot it."

Any further conversation was interrupted as the dragon body slowly rose into the air, vibrating slightly before it began rapidly smoking, the white cloud obscuring the scene. Marco planted the sword firmly in the ground with a single thrust before walking towards the smoke, waving the vapors away with one hand. He stopped in his tracks as the smoke finally started dissipating, revealing Star standing with her hands on her hips, clad in a scarlet and cyan Chinese dress, the flower petals of the hem swishing around her ankles as a small break in the chest exposed her slender collarbone, the flanged hole enclosed by a dark red choker. For a moment, he forgot about the act as he stood there, taking in her radiance, before she spoke.

"Oh, to be finally free of that horrid curse! Who do I have to thank for this wonderful act of kindness?" She turned towards him. "Was it perhaps you, brave knight?"

Marco stepped forward. "Yes, milady." He blushed as he freed himself of his helmet, his wet hair sticking to his forehead. Star walked up to him, moving a stray lock from over his eye with a smile.

"It seems my gallant knight deserves a reward," she spoke. Marco had no chance to respond as she kissed him, his hand almost instinctively finding its way to her lower back as she raised up on one leg, her tail swishing behind her as they let themselves part, their hazy minds clearing to the sound of applause and whoops from the audience. The two blushed and scurried inside, Jackie quickly following behind them as they all piled into the living room.

"Oh my god, that was amazing!" Jackie squealed as she shut the door. Star and Marco sat down on the loveseat, embarrassedly looking at each other. "I told you it would go over well!"

"Yeah, I guess," Marco offhandedly replied. "Could've done with a bit less fire, though."

"Oh come on, don't act like it wasn't exciting," Star piped up, falling against him playfully.

"Hey, you're the one who doesn't sweat. I though you were gonna cook me in this armor," he shot back. "Maybe you shouldn't be waving that wand ar-"

Star gently stopped him with a light slap of her tail against the back of his head. "Shaddup."

Jackie giggled at their banter and turned to the sound of the backdoor opening up, partygoers beginning to file back in to the dane floor. "You two kick back and chat with some people. I gotta go kick the music back on," she said as she jogged towards the tiny stand that held the equipment, leaving the couple to be occupied as the party kicked back into full swing.

---

As Marco's watch beeped incessantly, the red LED flashing 11:00 rapidly across the plastic cover, he and Star finally broke out of the gaggle of the party and out onto the front porch, gasping and taking in the fresh night air.

"We're free!" Star shouted, stretching her limbs out and grunting as an audible pop came from her back. "I thought they were never gonna let us go."

"Yeah, but look at all the phone numbers you got!" Marco replied, holding up a scrap of paper with over a dozen caller addresses scrawled on it. "You're a hit, Star!"

"Yeah, I think we might've overdone it a tad bit," Jackie said behind them as she walked out onto the concrete, causing both of them to jump in surprise. "But better than whiffing out, right?"

"I guess so," Star replied with a shrug. "But..."

"What?" Jackie said, one brow cocked.

"Why did you bother with all this preparation?" Star asked. "Why do you care so much about us?"

"W-Well, that's what friends are for, right?" Jackie stammered out, Star's eyes flicking upward slightly as she noticed a faint sheen of sweat forming rapidly on her forehead.

"Jackie, please, be honest with me. If it's something bad, maybe we can help," Star pleaded, stepping forward with her hands clasped. Jackie let out a heavy sigh and slumped back against the porch rail, her knuckles white as she gripped the wrought iron.

"...If you want me to be honest, it's because I'm jealous," Jackie began, her eyes focusing on the ground. "You two are always so comfortable with each other, you never fight, always just so... perfect! And here I am throwing parties, searching for someone who'll actually talk to me like a person, and not just some pretty face on a skateboard." Star frowned, her and Marco moving to either side of the girl. She saw Jackie tremble as she attempted to suppress a sob. "I keep telling myself that I don't need a man, but looking at you two makes me wonder what I'm missing, makes me admit that I don't have anyone as close to me as that! All these friends I have just see a blonde on a board and make so many assumptions. They don't know me, they don't want to know me! So I'm just stuck here, just... just..."

Jackie's words trailed into an open bawl as she finally broke down into tears. She would've slid down against the railing if not for Star throwing her arms around her, holding the girl tight as she cried into her shoulder, her torso almost heaving with each sob. Marco put one hand on her back, patting gently in as much affection he could show while still keeping silent. Star felt a tear of her own slip from her eye as she slowly released the girl, Jackie's crying slowing as she found her feet again.

"Jackie, I know exactly how you feel," Star said softly, wiping a tear from the girl's face as her other hand cupped Jackie's shoulder. "I know how much it hurts to feel like you don't have anybody you can rely on or talk to, who'll truly care about you as a person and show you that kind of love. But don't think that means you're not an amazing person as you are." She smiled as Jackie rose her head up to look her in the eye. "You're my best friend, Jackie. "You're confident, kind, able to roll with the punches and keep going. There's no way you're not gonna find a guy who'll love that about you." She hugged her again, shifting as Marco joined her in the embrace, Jackie letting out one last hiccup as she leaned in and held them both. They separated and found each of them smiling again, Marco's eyes looking past Jackie to see his mother's sedan rolling up on the curb.

"Keep your head up, Jackie. We're here if you need to talk," Star finished, giving Jackie one last pat on the back before her and Marco headed for the car. Jackie kept herself on the porch, one hand holding her pendant as she waved goodbye to them. She turned and walked back into the house as she heard the sedan take off behind her, wading through the waning festivities as she headed up to her room, closing the door behind her as she sat on the edge of her bed. She looked to her skateboard, hanging neatly on its rack in the closet, and smiled. She took her phone in her hand and shot off a single text message before flopping back on the sheets, staring up at the ceiling. Her phone buzzed with a response that she darted her head over to look at.

'Anything for a friend.'

Jackie chuckled to herself at Star's words and let the phone slip out of her hand. She felt so heavy and tired after all the excitement, and let herself be pulled into a hazy half-slumber. She didn't have to worry about the party- her parents could shoo them away. As the last tethers of consciousness left her, she found herself muttering.

"Anything for a friend.'