Blinds

She laid completely still. Not moving a single muscle, limb or digit below her neck, a rare occurrence indeed. Sprawled out spread eagle on the floor of her room. Blowing the curly, blond parts of her hair out of her eyes. Making noises with her mouth, blowing raspberries to the rhythm of songs only she could hear. Counting the rungs on the rail of her spiral staircase. Timing how long the puppies could go before they started aimlessly barking again. She hated this. Boredom.

Why was she down here, again? It had felt like an eternity since she had just collapsed on the floor, her past life like a forlorn memory of some ancient being. She always had stuff to do, like maybe fight monsters? No, no, she beat the snot out of those idiots this morning. Took them all down in one go, too. Personal record. The clubs aren't open, and she didn't even feel like partying. Her cabinet was practically stuffed with cannonballs, she couldn't stockpile more if she tried. It revolted her that she had even drifted to the thought of doing schoolwork, not that it lingered long. He gave up tutoring her awhile ago and just did it all himse-

Him. She was an idiot. She'd just go see what he was doing. He was always doing cool, Earth stuff.

She sprung to her feet, practically kicking her door open. It was loud and damaged the wall, but she was sure his parent's didn't mind. She turned on a heel and sprinted down the hall, skidding to a stop in front of his room. She raised her fists and unleashed a vicious barrage of hits into the door, previously worn from the countless incidents of her abuse many times before.

"Marco! Marco, Marco, Marco, MARCO! MARCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! It's Star!" she clamored incessantly, still slamming the door with her fists. "I knocked for at least 15 seconds, so I'm coming in now! Pants or no pants!" she creaked the door open, peaking in to see if he was decent. The shades were closed in the usually sunny room and the only source of light came from the lamp on his desk, which he was currently hunched over, clutching his head. She tip toed over to him slowly, tapping him on the head softly with her wand.

"Watcha doin'?" she whispered. He put down one hand to turn his head and look at her, and raised a single pointer finger to his mouth. He shushed her, and returned to squeezing his own head, slowly grumbling under his breath.

"Oh, okay!" she murmured, and stepped away from the desk. She watched cautiously from a distance, chewing on her wand in anticipation. She recognized that piece of paper. It was his 23 step plan. She always thought it was a bit stupid, and bit her tongue whenever he pulled it out and checked it just to waggle a hand at his beloved and mumble something under his breath. He hated it when she criticized it.

But whenever he did this? Math problems would fall, questions about adams or whatever would disappear. It amazed her to no end, him just squeezing his head, staring at the thing and not moving an inch out of his own volition until the answer magically came to him. Maybe it was something only Earth guys could do. She was curious to see what it would do against a piece of work like this. Maybe it would give him the brilliance to rip it to shreds and burn the remains. Maybe.

"I got it!" he blurted out suddenly. She gasped with amazement and ran back over to his desk, eager to see the fruits of his labor. He slowly clamped a pencil, and hovered it gently over a part of the gray, worn paper. Was he just gonna draw all over it and cross it all out? "How didn't I see it before?" Her face hurt, she was smiling so hard, squealing excitedly and hopping in place. He placed the tip next to "Step 17: Compliment Skateboard," and slowly wrote the word "skills." He dropped the pencil abruptly, rolling his chair backwards and laughing softly.

"It's perfect." he giggled and swiveled his seat to face her. "What do you think, Star?" he asked eagerly. Her disappointment was palpable, a frown chiseled on her face. She slowly walked over to the blinds and yanked them open, light flooding into the room and making Marco yelp, throwing his arms in front of his face to shield his eyes from the harsh sunlight.

"Come on, Marco. THAT'S what you were cooped up in here for? Working on your master plan?"

"What? I thought it needed a little... refining."

"A little refining," she chuckled disingenuously. "I haven't seen that thing work ONCE, Marco. All this work, all this meticulous planning, hours of... doing that thing you do, for what? If you want my advice, be a little more aggressive! Ditch the plan and actually TALK to her, that things holding you-"

"Hey! Maybe it's come up short before, and maybe it wasn't perfect" he retorted defensively, standing up to walk over to the window and shut the blinds, plunging the room back into darkness. "but NOW it is! I'll get to know Jackie, and we'll fall in love, be sweethearts, and everything will work out for everyone!" he paused for a few seconds, tapping his fingers together with an anxious look in his eyes. "eventually."

"Oh, good lord," she pitied his last statement, shaking her head as he walked to the bed and collapsed face down onto it. "you need help, Marco. Alright, well, if you REALLY like her THAT much, then I'm sure there's something in the spellbook that'll have her all over you, let me just-"

"No, Star!" he raised his voice in alarm, pulling at her arm. "no magic of any kind! When it's just you, and-and me I can accept that I might lose a limb or explode into hair, but not Jackie. If she accidentally gets turned into a frog or a sheep or something it's over! She'd never speak to me again!"

"Excuse you, I'll have you know my shapeshifting spells have been getting a lot better! Observe!" she stuck the wand to her face, a beam of pink light shooting from the end and onto her face, producing a small cloud of white dust. Nothing had happened. She tried the spell again, and again, and again, producing more and more dust. When it had cleared, Star's face lay bare, while the blades of his ceiling fan whipped dangerously around the room, throwing slime everywhere.

"Well," she tittered nervously. "at least they've been getting more consistent." she could hear a muffled groan escape from him.

"Okay then," she shot his fan with another beam of magic, the wildly flailing appendages shrinking and stiffening back into fine grain wood. "if you don't want me to use magic, then we'll have to do it the regular way. Consider me a master matchmaker, Marco!"

He rolled over to face her, a sly smile on his face in contrast to his gloomily limp body. "You, Star? Come on, no offense, but your ex-boyfriend is an literal demon and the guy you like now barely even-"

"Marco, do you want my help or not?" He sat up to the look between his desk and Star, worry apparent in his expression. He thought for a moment, before sighing and standing up. "I guess... I could try something new. You know what you're doing, right?"

"Marco, have I ever done you wrong?"

. . .


"Okay, you're-you're SURE this will work?"

"Marco, that's the 80th time you've asked. This is foolproof, trust me! I've hung out with the peasant girls, I know what they're into! If a cute boy like you woo'd them like this, they'd be head over heels for you in no time!"

"But we aren't peasants."

"That's... debatable."

"This doesn't follow the plan at all, it's barely structured around it! Could we maybe take an hour to go home and edit my lines? Just a little?"

"Listen to the magical princess and go!" she shoved him brusquely, stumbling out into the open of the busy skatepark and away from the tucked away corridors of the rest area. He meekly shuffled further and further into the center of the park, tiptoeing precariously on the dividers between the deep basins. He could see her from here, talking to a friend with her pretty, full lips and soft, white hair with that green streak in it. She hadn't seen him yet. He still had time to waddle home and collect his thoughts, maybe revise a bit more. Step 14 was always a problematic one.

He could see her beanie wearing friend spot him, a sly grin and a muffled chortle immediately afflicting her. He still had time to jump into one of the bowls, maybe take off this stupid armor and climb out when no one was looking. A few more people were looking at him now, conversations hushed in favor of pointing and gawking at the strange boy in full metal plating. His thoughts preoccupied him long enough for her to bump an elbow into the girl with green hair, attracting her attention as well. It was too late now. He had to say something.

"Oh, hey Marco." Jackie greeted cheerfully, leaning an arm on a skateboard and wiggling her fingers at him. "Nice, erm, duds." He could see Janna beside her, kneeling away to cover her mouth in hopes of suppressing her mad giggling. He was sweating bullets, some parts nerves and some parts metal plating, which was currently roasting him alive in the California heat. He looked back to Star, hiding behind a bush with bright eyes and an eager, calzone stuffed smile. She chewed at her food and gave him two thumbs up, and he sighed heavily, turning back to the two girls.

"Uh, hey, J-Jackie." he barely wheezed out. Every faculty of his being yelled conflicting things at him, play it off as a joke, ask the time, drop the armor and flee, skip town and live in the desert for the rest of your life. The loud clacking and rolling of skateboard wheels that the park produced now barely a whisper. He could hear people murmuring and a few people giggling. This was a lot easier in his head.

"I, just... wanted to say that..." he could barely stomach what Star had told him to say to her, but he had faith in her. "I think you look like you've never had the plague in your life, and," he turned to Star once more, absolutely mortified but still holding steady. She was rolling her arms, signaling him to say the rest, half the calzone in her mouth gone with sauce stains all over her cheeks. "that you're wide hips would easily let you live through childbirth, and that I-I would gladly defend you in battle any day." he looked down shamefully while reciting the whole line, bumbling all his words.

"O-oh... Wow, Marco... Thank you..." Jackie stammered nervously, raising a hand to her now flushed cheeks, looking around nervously. Janna had almost keeled over, clutching her mouth and stomach but letting a few giggles escape, despite her efforts. Marco turned once more, watching Star frantically point to the food in her mouth and poking her hips.

"Oh, and I have something to give you!" he blurted out suddenly, and slapped a gauntlet against his side. He mumbled and shook the armpiece off violently, wiggling around inside the metal housing to retrieve something in his pocket.

He grabbed it quickly, and his hand shot out of the chestpiece to present it to her, but his greasy hands loosened his grip on it. The calzone he was going to give to her now graciously painted her white shirt orange, working its way down towards her shorts before falling off with a plop.

"Thanks, Marco." she said sourly, holding her shirt out and trying to wipe the grease stains out. Marco had had enough. He decided now was the time to cut his losses and waddle away.

"You're welco-" his heavy greaves snagged on each other, causing his already shaky frame to lose balance. He crashed to the ground, the loud clanking of metal being the only sound that populated the now quiet skatepark. Marco groaned painfully, rolling over on his back. The armor wasn't exactly made of the softest material.

"HA! HAHAHAAA!" Janna finally burst into wild, unadulterated cackling, with the crowd of bystanders soon following suit. He could only look to the sky pathetically as roaring laughter fell over him, Janna barely stopping to breath, enjoying his misery too much to bother with vital life functions. A yelp of pain came mixed in with her fit of laughter, as Jackie had driven her foot into Janna's shin. "Knock it off!" Jackie protested firmly, pity on her face as she looked down on him. He pushed himself to his feet and began to slowly walk away, shedding platemail as he hobbled from whence he came. "Marco!" she called out. He didn't stop.

"CALL AN AMBULANCE!" Janna howled, rolling on the ground and heaving from the lack of air. "I'M GOING TO DIE!" Jackie didn't share her delight, and drove another foot into her hip, causing a substantially larger reaction than before. "I said, knock it off!" she scolded, leering down at her friend. "I thought it was... cute. In a way."

Star looked on in horror, her sauce covered mouth agape and eyes wide. She reached a greasy hand out to hold his arm as he walked by, her grip loosening as he marched onwards. She sat back in the bush for awhile, listening to the birds chirp and the leaves rustle as the laughter soon died and was replaced by the rolling of skateboard wheels and the carefree chatting of strangers.

. . .

"Marco?" she creaked the door open softly, peaking her head in. The blinds were shut again, the desk chair empty. She could see him laying face down on his bed, she almost mistook him for a corpse. "I'm... sorry, Marco. I really thought that would work," she whispered, taking a seat beside him on his bed, rubbing his back softly. "At least you had me convinced!" He didn't respond for a few seconds.

"S fhnn, Shr." he finally spoke, his words muffled.

"What?"

"It's fine, Star." he craned his neck up, his hopeless face out of the pillow. "I know what I'm gonna do now."

"Really?" her somber tone took an upbeat turn.

"Yep. I'm gonna lay here and wait until I die. Maybe I can be reincarnated as someone who isn't a complete failure."

"Aww, Marco! Come on, it wasn't THAT bad. I saw them talking, I'm sure Jackie liked it. A little."

"I think that she hated it, and that she'll never like me now, and that Janna is never going to let me live this down, and that she'll buy 30 calzones next week and throw them at me when I'm not looking, and everyone will laugh at that for the next century, and that millions of years in the future when the sun burns out everyone will still be laughing."

"Marco-"

"And I think I'd like to sit alone and fester for awhile, Star." he buried his face back into his pillow, muffled wails of agony escaping the soft cushion. Star reached a hand out to console him, but stopped. She thought for a moment, and gripped her fist, standing up with agency. She marched out of the room, out into the hall, and kicked her door open. She dove under her bed, struggling to pull out a heavy, leather bound tome. She barely flung it open, shaking the frame of the house as the cover hit the floor.

"Okay, the regular way's out," she murmured to herself, flipping through a particularly complex part of the spell-book, scanning the pages quickly. She flipped and flipped until she found what she was looking for, studying the particular page closely and folding the corner for later use. She clumsily murmured the incantation several times and rattled her wand, the gem's color eventually shifting and swirling a hot pink from its regular yellow after many tries. "we do this MY way now."

. . .

"Star, I'm in a poor enough mood without you dragging me around like a sack of potatoes, please let me go."

"You're gonna try again, Marco!" she spoke excitably, dragging Marco's limp body forcefully by the arm down the sidewalk. "And this time, she'll be so impressed with the charm seeping from your every sweaty pore that she'll have to marry you on the spot!"

"Twice in one day is too much for me Star," he said somberly, barely reacting when Star let go of his wrist and let his arm whack into the pavement. "maybe next year."

"This time is different, Marco! When you go out there and talk to her, she'll be absolutely," she stopped to chuckle deviously, twirling the wand around her fingers. "enchanted."

"No, Star! No magic!"

"Relax, Marco, not one speck of magic will touch her, mark my words. This spell goes on you." He looked cautiously to the wand, sore memories of it's reliability flooding back to him.

"What's it gonna do to me?"

"Well, it was hard to read exactly WHAT it'll do under all the other stuff, but I'm pretty sure it'll make her fall in love with you the second she sees you."

"That sounds kind of... unethical."

"Do you want to be sweethearts or not? Cause if you don't want to try this then I'm out of ideas and you're on your own." Marco was silent, looking over the wand nervously. He could see Jackie in the distance from his position on the ground, resting on a bench and drinking a smoothie while the sun reflected off her tan skin just the right way. She was hanging out with friends, which unfortunately included Janna. He couldn't see what exactly what she was eating, but he was pretty sure it was a calzone. He frowned.

"You practiced it, right?" he got to his feet, some resolve returning to him.

"I can kinda pronounce it right now!" she admitted excitedly. He looked nervously to Jackie and her friends again. Janna was holding her arms out in a stiff manner, doing the robot and making absurd booping noises with her mouth, to the endless delight of their group. He scowled.

"You PROMISE this'll work? No monster arm, no giant beard, no freezing time, no nothing?

"Marco, I have full confidence in my abilities," she straightened up and posed like her mother instructed her to, throwing a hand behind her back and elegantly extending her hand, her smallest finger waggling. "I pinky swear."

He looked her over cautiously, her serious tone dissipating as she bobbed up and down in place and looked at him with a huge, goofy grin. "I hope you can do it, Star." He wrapped his pinky finger around hers and they shook. He backed up and closed his eyes, holding out his arms from his sides. She spoke in a low tone, mumbling some words he couldn't understand. She aimed her wand at him and a flash of pink lightning shot out the operational end, striking him and shooting throughout his body.

Despite the show, he didn't feel a thing. He opened his eyes and looked himself over, twisting and turning his body to check himself."Limbs, check. No tail, check. Still alive, check," he counted off pleasantly, in awe to have come out unscathed. "I don't FEEL any different... Did it work, Star?"

She gave him a blank stare, transfixed by something on his face. She put a palm up to her forehead, a hand over one eye, and then over the other, like she was trying to rub whatever bizarre feeling had flooded into her eyes. "Star?" he waved his hand in front of her face and snapped his finger.

"Uhh... pretty sure it worked." she mumbled gravely.

"Oh, really? That's great! Uh, how do I look?"

"Perfect. You go get her... tiger. I'll be here, cheering you on. Right here."

"Okay," he took a deep breath. "here goes." He walked out into the open once more, the sun much more pleasant against his bare skin. He could see some people look and point, giggling in the midst of screeching wheels. People didn't seem to notice his presence as much now that he wasn't toting half his weight in platemail. His foot dashed against the chestpiece he had abandoned in his panic, falling down one of the bowls and producing a horrid, grating noise.

He pulled a document from his pocket as he walked and slowly unraveled it, studying it closely despite having it memorized. He didn't know where Star's harebrained scheme had flung him in the grand scheme of his strategy, but he was pretty sure it was a good idea to start around subsection D, a contingency after every step in case things didn't, for a lack of better term, go to plan: profusely apologize for any colossal screw up perpetrated by him, and beg forgiveness.

The whole group of girls seemed to notice him approaching sternly before Jackie had, staring him down like cautious deer lingering on the edge of the woods. No churlish laughs, no hands to cover their sniggering mouths. Not a single giggle escaped Janna's lips. Had he really humiliated himself that bad? He must have looked stupider then he remembered. It was really do or die now.

"H-hey, Jackie!"  He was mortified to feel his scraps of self-confidence skitter away as soon she locked eyes with him. He was pretty sure his heart would give out on the spot if he made himself look like an idiot again. As blasphemous as it was, he prayed to any holy deity watching over him to make sure Star's magic had worked.

"Hey, Marco." she replied slowly, cloudy eyes wide and mouth agape.

"I just... wanted to say I'm sorry for all that, stuff. I said earlier. And your shirt. My friend put me up to it. Sorry." he could feel the flimsiness of his apology. Any second now she'd frown and turn to her friends and call him a weirdo, and they'd all glance at him in disgust, and he'd leave to go play hopscotch on the freeway. Any second now Janna would burst out into laughter again, and just throw her calzone at him, and everyone in the skatepark would bust a gut, again.

"Water under the bridge, Marco..." she murmured, still ogling him strangely. They shared a few moments of silence, Marco distracted by their strange behavior before another predicament crept up on him. This was the part where he said something back, at least he was supposed to. What would he say now? He didn't think this far ahead.

"Excuse me for a second." he turned around and clumsily unraveled his 23 step plan again, his nerves dangling his perfect memory of it just out of his grasp. He could hear them murmuring to each other behind him. Okay, think. He got past subsection D and all was forgiven, but what did he do now? He had skipped a few steps and wasn't sure whether to go back to where he was or not. The sweating was not helping. He'd ask the time, and then leave. Easy, casual, and cool. No chance it could backfire. Maybe he'd try talking to her? That's what Star kept pestering him to do. Talking to her was at least 10 steps ahead of where he was. He couldn't just skip over all that, he needed to ease it in, he needed to-

"Hey, Marco?" he yelped, his concentration broken, and whipped around suddenly, poorly obscuring the paper behind his back.

"Y-yes?"

"Do you think you maybe wanna," she stopped to look him over, biting her lip while she did so. Her friends sat by eagerly, seeming to share her fixation with him. It made him feel uneasy, but he pushed it aside. He didn't need to be distracted. "hang out? My place?"

Yes! Yes, yes, yes! His head screamed at him. Blurt out yes! "Y-" he barely stopped himself. No, no, belay that last order. Magic or no magic, he needed to play it off cool. "S-sure." he stammered out, his grip on the paper behind him loosening as he relaxed, fluttering off with the prevailing wind. He panicked and turned around to swipe at it, barely grabbing it before it was carried off by the gusts, which seemed to be picking up. Cool as ice.

Jackie stood up, placing one hand on her hips and beckoning him with the other as she walked. Marco could only stifle a girlish squeal and jog to catch up, neatly folding the plan back up and stuffing it in his pocket. He had never walked with her before. This skipped a lot of steps on his plan, but it didn't matter when he was at least TWENTY steps ahead. Maybe they were just gonna go grab a smoothie. Was this a date? What were they gonna do? Was this the way towards her house? Maybe they'd go home and play Monopoly. Maybe they'd hold hands afterwards. That'd make such a good first date.

"HEY!" a loud voice rang out behind them, which caused him to seize with anxiety, his face curled in pain. He could imagine a myriad of things that would ruin this moment, and turned remorsefully. It was one of her friends, his classmate, who was always with Janna. He couldn't remember her name for the life of him. "Why do YOU get to hang out with him?"

"Because, Hope," she had turned to yell back, wrapping an arm around his back and pulling him closer to her. He could feel chills run up his spine. "I asked first!"

"That's not fair!"

"Deal, then!" she started to walk away from the bench, a direction he was currently in favor of. Not that he could choose where they go, with his nerves strung thin as a rail and her arm locked around his midriff. They barely walked a few steps before he could hear frantic stomping behind them. Was she... running after them?

"Come on, you're being selfish! At least let me come!"

"Three's a crowd, man. I know Marco, he wouldn't blow me off for another girl in the middle of a date." she enunciated the last word clearly, looking at him with a smile. Her toothy grin would usually melt him, but its warmth barely phased him now. He couldn't put his finger on why.

"Yeah, Hope." Janna piped in churlishly, Marco reeling as she came close and groped at his tail end. "If he's gonna blow off another girl for anyone, it'll be me. Right, Diaz?"

"Uhh-"

Jackie sighed bitterly."Fine, you can come. But we gotta hurry, my parents get home at nine." A crowd had started to enclose on them, sordidly unaware of the meaning of personal space. The wind was definitely starting to pick up now, clouds rushing in from seemingly nowhere to blot out the sun, a scene that he could swear was familiar. He thought of purple. It filled him with dread. He was too preoccupied to try and remember why.

"You're just gonna hog him to yourself!" a girl he didn't even recognize spoke out in front of them, the crowd growing in size and shrinking in area. He looked around nervously, noticing a demographic. All female. He jumped as he felt a hand grab his midriff, another squeezing his shoulder. He was starting to regret getting out of bed this morning.

"We don't have to take this. Come on, Marco, let's bounce," she looked dreamily at him with her hazy eyes, his own bugging out of their sockets as she groped a sensitive part of his body, which she seemed to take great pleasure in judging from the intoxicated, devilish smile that rode up her face.

"Okay, that's enough." he interrupted sternly, pushing droves of people off and away from him, cutting his way through the disappointed crowd that had encircled them. "Hate to run, would LOVE to hang, but I have a dentist's appointment. Uh, Star? Star! Now's a good time to-" he looked to the rest area, waiting for his friend to jump out of the bushes or burst out of the bathroom and shoot him with a spell to stop this at any second. All he could see was newspapers, tumbling along with the leaves and the wind.

"St-Star?"

. . .

In, out, in, out, in, out. He was tired, and his lungs were burning up. The light drizzle helped cool him, little. This wasn't fair. He had no idea how he was ahead of them, maybe it was the adrenaline. This was probably the fastest he's run in his life. He could see his house cresting over the hill, thank god. His parent's car wasn't in the driveway, the door would be locked. He couldn't stop in time, slamming into the door hard. He groaned, but didn't stop. He couldn't stop. He shoved a hand in his back pocket. And his other back pocket. And his side pockets, just for safety's sake. He swore he grabbed his keys when he left this morning. Janna. This wasn't fair.

He threw away the welcome mat, grabbing the spare key under the mat. He could barely steady his hand, missing the doorknob twice. He could hear footsteps on the grass behind him. The key went in, he turned it, then turned the knob, and opened the door with the help of whoever behind him tackled him to the floor. Her arms were crushed around his waist. He desperately wiggled away and thrashed his foot, still grasped by an eager classmate. He pried them off with his heel and jumped to his feet, slamming the door in front of him. He could barely keep it closed long enough to lock it, falling back as the door rapped against the fists of many, their clamoring voices drowning each other out.

He was finally out of their reach, he let air flood back into his lungs. He gripped his chest, his heart rattling madly in his chest. He felt bare skin. He looked down, oh god, did they tear his hoodie off? He could remember some hands grabbing him, and looking up at the sky and a lot of people tugging at him, he had no idea how he slipped away. They had this crazed, hungry look in their eyes, they-

His panicked recollection was cut short by the shattering of glass resounding in his ears. A brick. One of them threw a BRICK through his WINDOW. He could see an arm sticking through, barely adhering to the dangerous glass threatening to slice up their arm. The hand searched, wiggled, and found what it was looking for. The latch, unlocked. It pulled it open. He pulled himself up. Up, up the stairs. Running out of places to go. What did he do now? He could hear the front door opening. He was stupid, stupid for even THINKING of trying that spell, stupid for-

Spell. Her spellbook. He ran into Star's room, throwing the door shut with a crash. They definitely heard that. Gotta lock the- no lock. Right. A dresser will have to do. Sorry, Star. He pushed, struggled, stamped his feet, slammed against it. What was in there, bowling balls? He finally managed to tip it over, just in time to stop the torrent of people crashing against it. He could breath, oh sweet lord. He laid there for what felt like an hour, taking in copious amounts of air, something he definitely wouldn't take for granted from now on.

He picked himself up and looked around the room, searching for anything that might help. The blinds were wide open. We're there always blinds? He didn't want any of them to get any ideas. He ran around the room, shutting them all urgently. He bumped a foot on the spellbook, laid out on the floor where she always left it. He collapsed in front of it, struggling to discern any of the text with such little light. Maybe he shouldn't have closed them all. A fishing trip to into his pocket yielded his phone, flipped open and light on. It was left open on a specific page, something about anti-magic glyphs. Could this be his solution? He couldn't do much with his knowledge without the wand. Where did she go? He could really use her help.

He flicked through the spellbook, looking for the pages with folded corners, something she always did in favor of using the many bookmarks he had given her. He found one page, one he hadn't remembered reading with her or being on the receiving end of. 'Unum Cum Multi Magis: Love Spell. Creator, Heir Markus (M for short C:) Throne a bit too empty? Royal bloodline stretched a little too thin? Cast this and you'll have no troubles producing heirs,' was all that remained of the sportive excerpt underneath the blankets of revision the page had over it.

Text of differing colors, handwriting and cleanliness all told similar stories. He could see one calmly written in blue, "barely controlled this with four decades of magical experience, no sufficient counterspell, would not recommend." Another written in purple, "blood ruins silk and purging rituals are tedious, don't even bother." Another scratched in red, scrawled frantically, "DO NOT CAST DO NOT CAST DO NOT CAST," over and over. He searched thoroughly, looking for some helpful footnote, a little advice, anything. "Do NOT cast," "Do not cast," "do. not. cast," was all he found.

He couldn't believe it. It was covered with ominous, foreboding warnings and everything. How could she? He fell back onto the floor, staring up at the ceiling. He could hear the pitter-patter of drizzle, the window panes standing strong against the wind outside, the siege on the door. The dresser he tipped over was starting to wobble and waver. He closed his eyes. Maybe this was all a bad dream. He'd wake up in a much, much better place, spitfaced in bed the next morning, jolted from a feverish nightmare he was having.  He'd go downstairs and have breakfest with Star, and they'd go to school and Janna would pants him or throw a calzone at him or something, and everyone would laugh at him, including Jackie, and everything would be alright.

He opened his eyes after a few minutes. Still spread eagle in Star's quiet room, half naked. Quiet? His awareness came back to him. The banging stopped cold. Were they still out there? He got up slowly, and tip toed over to the door. He softly held his head against it, stifling his own breath. He could hear faint murmuring, a crowd of confused deliberation.

"This is just like the cops do it, guys!" he could hear a voice lord over them all. It was Janna, of course it was Janna. He swore, one of these days he was going to throw her in a river. "On 3, 1, 2-" he couldn't hear the last digit as his head was thrown back, an impressive force throwing him onto the ground all the way through the thick wood of the door.

"A BATTERING RAM? Seriously?!"  he grieved to himself angrily as he picked himself up.  This wasn't fair. Where did they even GET a battering ram? The dresser held, but not firmly, rocking and teetering on its side to eventually fall back into place, just a little farther from the door than before. A cabinet had swung open on the dresser. He could see bowling balls in there.

"1, 2-" CRASH.  The cabinet tipped even more precariously, balancing on its front legs before thwumping down on the ground. He couldn't stand here and gawk at them, he had to move. He tore through Star's room, throwing open drawers like he was trying to start a lawnmower and almost ripping off her closet doors. He dug, scrounged, bore and burrowed through endless clutter at an inhuman pace, clothes, weapons, and magazines coating the barer parts of her room as he flung them away.

"1, 2-" CRASH. He could hear the dresser slide meekly across the floor, stray sporting equipment rolling in varied directions around the room. He hadn't found a single magical artifact. He tried to concentrate over the cracking of wood and his own rapid, borderline convulsive breathing. He tried to think of where she would possibly keep her troves of magical doodads, where a girl like Star would even THINK to stash the big guns? If not here, then where?

He scraped a chip of debris off his face, holding it between his fingers. A splinter of wood. The door had started to bend inward, shooting chunks and darts of plank all across the already devastated bedroom. There were arms poking in, feeling the wall and the other handle of the door. He ran over to one of the closed windows, throwing the blinds out of the way and shoving it open, leaning out the window precariously. He wasn't fond of one story drops ever since the day he met Star, maybe he could-

"1, 2-"

It just wasn't fair.

"3!" The girls screamed in unison, the door peaking open as the dresser slid away just far enough that someone could squeeze through. One crowded at the opening, pushing and forcing herself through the crack. Another two took her place, straining against each other to wedge themselves through. Then four. The door barred nobody after a few seconds, flung away to allow a horde of people to rush through.

Marco coughed, peeling himself from the ground to check himself. Didn't land in the cacti, that was a plus. Landed on the grass, a naturally soft cushion. He rubbed his pained back with a grass coated hand tenderly, retracting his last assumption and holding himself on one shaky knee. He could silhouettes moving inside her room. One of them poked its head out of the window, their thick, white hair fluttering in the wind. He could see something cut her breath and watched something loathsome squirm excitedly behind her green eyes as they both looked upon him.

It called out ravenously to its kin and pointed, a pack of them rushing to her side. He could feel his hands shake underneath their stare, the full gravity of his situation just dawning upon him. Friends he had known for years, classmates he had acquaintance'd, people he had never crossed paths with until now, all heaved by some vile, arcane creature. He recognized who it was, guiding them all with its shaky, grass coated hand. He could feel his stomach wring into a thread.

They all darted away from the window, dire alarm squeezing his heart. He raced to his feet, sprinting away as fast as his legs could carry him. He turned on a dime around the corner of his garage and grabbed his bike, hopping on and pedaling feverishly. He zipped across his lawn, bounced off the divider and landed on the street, skidding to his side and whizzing away from his home. He carefully let go of one handlebar, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. Into his contacts, he dialed the first name under F.

"Come on, come on, pick up!" he checked his six anxiously. To his relief, only a meager few had run out of the front door. He had a considerable lead on them, rushing downhill on the wet, deserted street. The dial tone stopped.

"Ferg! Hey, listen, I really need your help, can you get Al and get down to the- what? No, I don't care it's a Saturday! It- seriously? It's an MAGICAL EMERGE- What do you mean, 'you know?' YES, I 'really really really' need your help! Wha- I'll explain when I get there, okay?! Just bring something that can cut through metal, uh, maybe bolt cutters! Get bolt cutters and go down to the school as fast as you can!" he hung up without a single goodbye and shoved the phone back in his pocket, fording the large puddles in the road as he sped down the empty street.

. . .

"Okay Marco, what'd you do this time?"

"What do you mean, 'this time?' How did you-"

"How would I not? It was a nice, sunny day, the kind you keep your window open on. Then it got really cloudy and the wind started howling all of a sudden. That happens pretty much every time you guys mess with magic, it's like your bat-signal. Except instead of signaling a superhero, it signals anyone within a mile radius of you guys to run for their lives."

"That... that can't be right."

"You defend our fair, ungrateful city from your own antics but summon rain while you risk your lives!" Alfonzo piped up behind Ferguson, wrapping his bike in a chain and padlocking it. "You are the heroes California needs, not the ones they deserve!"

"Yeah seriously, every time it starts to drizzle I'm not sure whether I should put a coat on or hide in my basement and pray a giant butterfly doesn't kick the door in, dude." he finished blithely, taking an obnoxious gulp from a cup of soda he held.

"Guys!" Marco shouted under his breath, looking between both of them quickly and pulling the drink out of his friends mouth. "Focus!"

"Us focus? You haven't even told us what's going on, man! Why aren't you wearing a shirt? Why are we hopping the fence to school? It's a Saturday! I got stuff to do! Important stuff? Not really, but still, stuff!" he clamored over the fence while he listed his grievances, clumsily falling over the divider with a thwump.

Marco sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his hands and massaging his eyes. With the adrenaline out of his veins and the heartbeat out of his ears, it was getting harder to keep himself on both feet. "One of Star's... spells, kinda... backfired," Ferguson scoffed and Alfonzo rolled his eyes, both of them skeptical of the nigh impossible explanation he had put forth. "and now there's..." he paused as he unlocked his locker, trying to find a way to word his predicament delicately. "a mob after me."

"A angry mob? After you? Because of magic?" Ferguson mocked. "I'm surprised that didn't happen sooner. Are they mad?"

"...they were pretty frustrated the last time I saw them."

"Wow, dude. That's rough." he consoled him superficially, resting against the lockers they were in front of and patting him superficially on the back.

"I know," he whispered solemnly, slipping an extra hoodie he kept stashed in his locker over his head and onto his body, finally glad to be sheltered by its warmth against the rainfall. He closed his locker slowly, making sure not to make too much noise. Ferguson took another loud, drawn out slurp from the straw of his beverage, which Marco promptly pulled out of his mouth. "would you be quiet?! I barely lost them, they could be around here!"

"Jeez, relax Marco. There isn't anyone here. Unless, of course, we aren't the only students too eager to wait till Monday to come back to school, there won't BE anyone here. Well, except maybe the janitor. And unless that spell of yours made all his cleaning equipment come to life, I'm sure he won't give a rat's ass we're here!"

"Better safe than sorry, Ferg."

"So, what, that's what you wanted us here for? In the scenario they followed you here, WE'RE the muscle supposed to hold them off? I mean, I know I'm buff," Ferguson smiled cheekily, flexing the fat around his bicep and kissing it, his sarcastic grin fading as soon as his demonstration of raw strength had come. "but I don't think I could hold off that many people."

"I lost an arm wrestling match against my 10 year old cousin, man! She's small, too! We aren't going to do much, even with these things." Alfonzo attempted to clip the cutters menacingly, barely flinching himself as he snapped them shut.

"You don't have to fight anybody, guys, just help me open Star's locker, maybe keep a lookout," he checked around a corner skittishly, scrutinizing his surroundings before motioning them to follow him. "she'll probably have something in there to fix this. We'll be out of here before you know it, and you guys can go back home, just gotta open locker..." he raised a finger to his chin, rubbing it scrupulously. "263?"

"251." Ferguson corrected him, causing strange looks from both of his friends to fall upon him. "Unlike you two, I'm a good friend." he responded innocently, holding a delicate hand to his chest.

"Okay then, 260, 255, 251!" Marco counted off, gleeful and itching to be that much closer to the end of a long, long day. He held a hand torwards Alfonzo, beckoning him. "Bolt cutters?"

"My dad was not happy I took these and ran off, Marco," Alfonzo bemoaned, handing him the tool. "couldn't you just use her combination? You know it, right?"

"I was in a rush, Al." he squeezed the cutters around the padlock with all his might, clamping them together as hard as his arms would allow. They slid off effortlessly, failing to wrap around any groove it could have created. "Can you guys gimme a hand?" All three of them pushed and pulled on the tools handles, straining and groaning under their own exertion. The tool started to shake and vibrate violently until shooting out of their grip, flying through the air and breaking through a nearby window.

"What?!" Marco shouted, his eyes wide and arms thrown up in a huff. "How did-"

"Magic, dude." Ferguson pointed leisurely to the lock, all three of them leaning in to get a closer look. It was glowing purple, emanating white sparkles of light, humming with energy. They hadn't even scratched the surface of the metal. Marco could only bang his head against the locker hopelessly.

"Well, that's that. End of the line." he lamented. He wasn't sure how he would go about solving a magical problem without any magical artifacts. Maybe go with his original plan, lay down and die. Maybe he could run off and live in some other foreign country. Would the spell wear off after awhile? It would sow discord wherever he went, he'd just have to go live on some island for the rest of his life. Maybe Hawaii. His parent's always spoke fondly of it.

"Wait!" Alfonzo spoke hopefully, twisting the padlock to its back. "There's a keyhole!"

"So?"

"So," he continued. "we get the key that Skeeves has in his office for inspections, open it up, you get your thingymajigger, and we go home! Problem solved!"

"All the doors are locked, Al. We'd never get in."

"Guess which window those things broke, dude?" Ferguson spoke up. They both walked over to the broken window, leaning into inspect the hole it had made. He could see tacky motivational posters, small trophys and a worn, mahogany desk. Skeeve's office.

"It's a bit too small." Marco reported, barely able to move his arm around it before being poked by dangerously sharp glass. "You think Skeeves will mind if we, err, widen it a little bit?"

"It's a magical emergency and all. I'm sure he'll understand." Ferguson put a fist through the glass, shattering a significantly larger portion of it than the bolt cutters had. He shrugged when they both looked at him in surprise, smirking boldly. Marco began to climb through, carefully avoiding the sharp, jagged edges of the window's hole, large enough to let him climb through comfortably. He flipped on a light switch and scanned the room, unsure of where to start looking.

"Now, if I was a locker key, where would I be?" he spoke inquisitively, raising two pointer fingers to his lips.

"Maybe it is in his jar of personal candies!" Alfonzo suggested, shoving a hand in and pulling out a handful of sweets, stuffing them in his mouth. "Nope. Better keep looking, though."

"Under this trophy?" Ferguson asked himself, passing an Alfonzo greedily shoveling food into his mouth. "Nope. Other trophy? Nope. Behind these books? I don't think we're gonna find it, dude, it's masterfully hidden." Marco was barely adhered to his whining, checking behind a "Success" poster on the back wall. He looked around the room again curiously, before mentally scolding himself for not checking the obvious. He opened a desk drawer and dug through it, discarding magazines, notepads, and pens, caking the floor with debris without a second glance.

"Found it!" he shouted, holding up his saving grace proudly between both fingers and parading it about.

"Alright! Let's get your thing and get out of here!" Alfonzo managed to exclaim in relief through a mouth full of candy. All three of them slowly crept through the hole, making sure not to slice themselves open on the menacing jags of the window. First Marco, who promptly ran over to Star's locker and began unlocking it, followed by Ferguson.

He twisted the padlock shakily, trying to shove the key in the keyhole, only for some force to veer it away at the last second. He looked closely. Two small, purple hands had formed around the lock, blocking and throwing any attempts to unlock it away. He raised a finger to flick or scratch it away, only for it to grab his finger and fling it away without breaking a sweat.

"Well, that's an hour less in my weekend." Ferguson sighed wistfully, taking another sip from his drink. "Double XP doesn't just fall from the sky, Marco. But if you treat us both to pizzas at my place, I'm sure me and Al can find it in our hearts to forgive you. Right, Al? ...Al?"

Marco paid them no mind, still struggling with the lock. He pushed and stabbed at the lock, only for the small, ethereal limbs to throw his hand away at the last second. One of them pinched his finger tight when he tried to swipe them away again, which caused him to recoil his hand and yelp. The hands flung about excitedly, making rude gestures and taunting him. He growled.

He put two fingers together, the hands poised and ready to block any advances he would try to make. He hovered them around, making sure they were both following his digits. He moved them around and around, eventually stopping and pulling them both apart quickly. The hands darted in different directions, leaving Marco just enough time to skewer the lock and twist the key. The magic seemed to dissipate from the padlock as he unlocked it, its humming slowly dropping in pitch and eventually fading into nothing.

"Yes! In your face, you... hands! Alright guys, I got it. I can take it from here, you can-" he turned to dismiss them, only to greet an empty courtyard. A plastic cup leaked soda on the ground, bullied by the wind into rolling and fluttering away, past a shattered jar of candy lying longingly on the ground. They just left? He couldn't believe them.

"Fine, see if I invite you on any more magical adventures." he groused to himself, pulling and throwing the padlock off Star's locker. He opened it quickly, the knots and tension wrapped around his head and organs finally easing up with a solution so close at hand. She had stuffed it to the brim with everything, potions, clothing, drinks, small weapons, and most impressive, a magical mirror. It looked just like a regular mirror though, how did he know it was magic? Simple. It had showed two reflections.

. . .

He woke slowly, his burning eyelids barely creeping open. His head was killing him, it felt like somebody had split his skull in two. He could almost recognize the room he was in, the poor lighting throwing his normal perception of the area off. It was his English classroom. What was he doing here? His head was still throbbing. He could hear hissing coming from the wall behind him. What happened? He got the padlock off, and was opening Star's locker, and-

He could see two figures across the room, past the desks and chairs in the room. He peered closely. It was Alfonzo and Ferguson, slumped over and sleeping peacefully on the ground. What were THEY doing here? He tried to move his hands apart, some rope like material constrained around his wrists tightly. He tried to move his legs, but they shared his arm's affliction. The hissing seemed to get worse the more he struggled.

"Guys!" he called out to them in a low tone, rocking and shaking his arms madly, his efforts useless against the strength of whatever smooth, cold material was binding him. "Guys! Wake up!" He had rocked to his side, hitting his aching head on the bookshelf beside him. He swore he could feel the rope moving. He could start to hear voices, muffled conversations a distance away. Were they here? He could only flail wilder and tug harder.

"Oh, Marco!" an cheery voice called out from the other side of the room. "you're awake!"

"Star...?" he murmured slowly, almost recognizing their voice. The one and only had walked out of the shadier part of the room, grinning broadly like she usually did. He could feel relief flood through him, too distracted to be caught up with any of her other facial features. "Star! Oh, thank god you're here! The spell, it didn't work! It-it made all our friends- it made EVERYONE go insane! They-they broke into our house, and I had to jump out your window- some jerk knocked me out!" he pulled at his restraints to demonstrate his handicap. "could you help me out?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that." she took a seat on one of the desks, swinging her legs back and forth. "I was just gonna bring you here awake but you looked a little... on edge."

"Haha, very funny Star. Seriously, we gotta get out of here, I only barely lost those guys," he stopped to heave at his ties harder, which seemed to tighten its crushing grip even more and make the hissing grow louder."they could be around here somewhere!"

"What, these guys?" she pulled the blinds of a glowing window all the way up, TOO far up, letting cloudy, grey light shine into the room. He could see his pursuers looking in on the glass curiously, a wave of passionate yelling and fists pounding against glass erupting from them soon after. Marco could only yell and scoot away from the windows as fast as he could.

"YES, those guys! Close it, close it!"

"Relax, Marco," she tapped the window with her wand, white light reverberating through the purple film surrounding it. "magic!" He looked worriedly to the only other entrance, the door, to see a chair snug tightly underneath the twisting knob, keeping closed the hard, metal entryway.

"So... so we're safe? That's... that's such a relief..."

"Yep! Just you and me!"

"And Al, and... Ferg..." he stopped. "Star, why are they here? Why are they asleep? They were... on their way home..." she didn't say anything, instead staring at him culpably with her blue, hazy eyes. He twisted his legs, getting a good look at the rope around his ankles under the light of the open window. The green rope writhed tightly around his ankles, one end raising a small head to glare and hiss at him.

"Oh no..." the blood had rushed from his face. "no, no, no, not you too. Damn it, this spell is the WORST!"

"I don't know WHAT you're talking about," she giggled deviously, throwing her arms up ecstatically. "I feel GREAT. I've had this warm, fuzzy feeling all over me ever since I left the skatepark. I can't even remember why I needed that thing so bad. I was peaked right around the corner, you know, ready to pelt you with it... but... this sensation just got so much stronger when I saw you, walking around with your..." he could see her face burnt red as she trailed off, practically crushing her wand with her teeth in between breathless sentences. He preemptively started to knead the bellies of the snakes around his wrists. "so I just kind of, put that thing right back on the top shelf and locked it up... "

"Of course, this thing had its side effects. An annoying little voice in the back of my head, pestering me to stop, pleading with me to do the right thing, whatever that is, but it's quiet now! And now, now I can share this-this miracle with you!" she crouched over his legs, inches from his face. "This is the best spell I've ever cast, you've got no idea Marco!"

"Star," he started slowly, the snakes grip slowly loosening as he massaged them gently. "you've got to snap out of it. You've got to go to your locker, get whatever you put back, and you've got to end this. This spell, it's not the best thing ever, it's dangerous!" he could feel his hands start to drift apart, the snakes calmed into letting go of his wrists. "It's-I'VE messed up so many people, meddling with their thoughts and-and making them act against their own will... This has to stop, now!"

"Come on, Marco." she sat down on his lap comfortably, grinding against it with her own. Her hands skittered their way down to his waist, gripping the bottom of his hoodie and slowly lifting it up.

"Star, I-I don't want to hurt you!" he pleaded, digging into her eyes with his own, trying to find some part of her that wasn't choked by this hex.

"At least give it a little try." she rubbed his face again, scooting back and groping a sensitive part of his body, the second time today.

"No, Star! " he bucked his hips and sent her a little ways into the air, catching her pelvis with his feet and kicking her away. She slid back on both legs, stopping against the desk behind her, its metal legs screeching against the tile floor. He kept his hands behind his back, despite his urge to use them. He wasn't exactly eager to show her he remembered how to get these things off himself.

"I thought you might say that." she said disappointedly, brushing the hair out of her eyes. "Well... this is what rope was made for, I guess," she pointed her wand to his legs, a green flash of light erupting from its end. Scores of snakes enclosed his shins, all hissing aggressively. She hopped back into his lap, stroking his cheek tenderly and rubbing his stomach softly. "don't worry Marco, you'll love this."

She stared him down while she wrestled and unzipped his jeans, biting her lip while the hearts on her cheeks flushed all manner of colors. He could see his reflection in her misty, blue eyes. He looked terrible. He felt terrible. He was convinced he WAS terrible. He could see the magic over the window with the open blinds start to waver, its fortification on the fragile, besieged glass loosening. It was gonna bust at any moment, and they'd all pour in. Maybe this was his punishment for doing something so horrid. He could feel a hand rub against the bridge of his briefs. Was this it? Was this the end? What was he supposed to do in his final moments? He settled on yelling, for he did not know.

The rabbling outside grew in intensity in response to his dismal howl, the repetition of his name growing in volume and concern. He could hear the window start to crack, the magic still flickering and fading. Star got up, snarling under her breath and squeezing her fists, and marched towards the unobstructed window. Marco quickly pulled his free hands from behind his back, rubbing the snakes along his legs as softly yet quickly as he could manage.

"HEY!" she screamed at the crowd outside through the only blindless window, the purple film around it growing back to its full strength . "Could you maybe keep it DOWN a little?! It's kinda hard to CONCENTRATE with all your RACKET!"

"Come on, come on, fall asleep, off to dreamland!" he whispered urgently under his breath, managing to shed a few of the serpants from his legs, able to stretch his legs apart just a hare, grating his legs with his hands.

"Seriously, what's it gonna take to keep you guys quiet for TWO seconds?!"

Half of them we're off his legs, he was almost loose! He rubbed faster and faster, which made the snakes hiss and tighten their grip on him. Too fast.

"You KNOW I'm not gonna let you guy's in!"

He massaged and rubbed as pleasurably and softly as his shaking fingers would allow, only a few snakes remained around his ankles. So close!

She groaned angrily, stomping her one foot. "Fine! If it'll keep you guys quiet," she walked to the end of the room, pulling the blinds up all the windows one by one. "I'll let you watch."

He was already up by the time she had turned around, kicking the chair out of the way and throwing the door open. He dashed out as fast he could, the panic in his veins fueling his frenzied sprint. He was wrong. THIS was the fastest he's ever run in his life. Bolts of green light zoomed by him, whizzing past his head and dangerously close to his feet. A beam of magic struck his left hand as he turned, tiny serpents materializing around it. He shook them off violently, trying his best not to break his stride. The amount of times he almost slipped on the drenched concrete was about to give him a heart attack. He could hear a stampede behind him. He whimpered between breaths.

The corridor where Star's locker came into view, half open and tilting in the breeze. He slowed in front of it, snatching whatever was on the top shelf and once again picking up speed. What was it? A swirling, mysterious potion in one of those glass bottle? A magical cloak that would turn him invisible? He looked at the object in his hand. It had no high fructose corn syrup, it was fat free, and it was strawberry flavor. He clutched a milk carton in his hand, two months expired.

"A spoiled carton of milk...?" he laughed gingerly, his sprint slowing to a jog, which slowed to a walk, which slowed to a stop. He crushed the drink in his hand. "I'm going to DIE over a SPOILED CARTON OF MILK?!" he hurled it on the ground in a fit of rage, the putrid liquid splattering all over him. A train of people blew him over the second after, tackling him to the ground under their combined weight. His expression, a tired, solemn stare, changed nowise underneath their rabid yelling and the countless hands ripping and tearing at his remaining clothes. This was it. This was the end. He closed his eyes. He knew this time, he would wake from this bad dream, in a much, much better place.

The hands slowed their tugging at his hoodie, now one of two articles of clothing left on him. Their eerie yells now quieted to unenthusiastic mumbles. They began to pull themselves off of him, clutching their noses and coughing violently. They all fanned out from him, like the waves in a still pond, disturbed by a single raindrop. He sat up, in utter disbelief. He opened his mouth to talk to them, but began hacking and covered his nose as well. The milk was so rancid, he could barely stand to breath.

"Well, I would have used the potion I stuffed with garbage and week old pizza, but the milk works too," a nasally voice spoke casually to his side, a hand pulling his arm and helping him to his feet. He simply stared at her, silent and mouth slightly ajar. "yes, yes, it's me, I'm fine now. Looks like that stuffs blocking all the magical allure emenating off of you. Clever, Marco." she teased, bumping an elbow into his side and twirling her wand in her free hand.

"But, I- and the-the milk just..." the people previously mobbing him had lost their interest, a vast majority having hopped the fence and headed home.

"Relax, Marco, it's all over," she swung an arm over his shoulder, making sure not too rub up too close against him. "Unless that stuff comes off before I can purge you of all that voodoo. If that happens, well, you're probably done for."

"The-the-"

"Yo, dude!" Ferguson yelled out, hopping slowly towards both of them with Al following close behind. "you didn't tell me THAT was your angry mob! Where can I get some of- aw, dude, what crawled up your shirt and died?"

"I have been considered important enough to be knocked out and tied up!" Alfonzo boasted excitedly, bounding ahead only to lose his balance and fall face first onto the ground. He rolled to head to look at Marco as Star leaned down to undo his constraints, grinning widely as if he hadn't fallen at all. "I have never felt so light headed, and so alive! That was great, Marco!"

"They-they almost, I-"

"Hey, Marco!" Jackie called out, walking up to the group with a skateboard under one arm and her other clenching her nose. "just wanted to apologize for all that stuff I, uh, did, today. Kinda got weird at the end," they were all silent, Jackie looking over a pantsless Marco worriedly as he stared at her in place of giving her a response. "hey, I know I've been acting a little strange today, I might have said some stupid stuff, but, I wasn't kidding when I said I wanted to hang out. That is, if you still want to." he nodded slowly.

"Great! Tomorrow, my place, 5 o'clock. See you then!" she dropped her skateboard, hopping on and pushing off. She sped around the corner, and out of sight.

"Ooh, Marco!" Star gasped excitedly. "I got you your date! I guess things DID work out after all!" the group shared a hearty laugh, save for Marco. A thousand yard stare etched into his face, he could only concentrate on the broken window a few feet from them, the ripped shreds of his jeans scattered across the courtyard, and the bruises dotting his person. Even his body didn't know what form to twist his face into.

"I'm going home." he commented bluntly, twisting around and beginning his hobble home.  Star skipped after him, humming happily as they both walked down the street in silence. His shoes we're muddy. His underwear was absolutely drenched. Star kept stealing nervous glances at him, to his face and to other parts of him. He was walking down the street, rank and half naked for all the world to see. It unsettled him, as he couldn't muster the will to care.

. . .

"Well... that should do it!" she finished triumphantly, tapping the chalk on the floor of Marco's room. It hummed and glowed, softly lighting his room. "It'll probably take all night, but this bad boy will suck that spell right out of you! All you gotta do is stay in bed and keep that hoodie on. No midnight snacks, no breaks. Hope you went to the bathroom!"

"How will I know when it's done?" he leaned up from the pillow to murmur weakly, now sporting his pajama bottoms.

"Trust me. You'll know," he sighed wearily at her implications, which struck a blow in her excited demeanor. "I got this clothespin to help with the smell, though! Here!" she hovered it over the bridge of his nose, letting it go rather abruptly and snap around his nostrils like a mouse trap. She pulled her hand back, half-wincing as it crushed the soft cartilage of his snout.

"Ow." he grumbled blithely, making no efforts to move his head or remove the pin from around his nose. A single tear rolled down the side of his face. She couldn't tell if it was from the clip or his emotional state, barely hold back the wails that were desperately trying to come out of her mouth.

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry Marco! I'm sorry that I made you humiliate yourself, I'm sorry that I cast that bunk spell on you, I'm sorry that I ran away when you really could have used my help, I'm sorry I broke my pinkie promise, I'm sorry I almost- almost did something terrible! I just wanted to help you out, you looked so miserable, I-"

"Star," he raised a hand, swinging his feet over the bed and sitting up. "it's okay. I'm still alive, you're still alive, and I got a date with Jackie. That's a win in my book. You were trying to help, and that's... that's all that matters to me." she smiled tenderly, a single tear welling up in her eye. He spread his arms apart as if to invite her to hug him, which she promptly accepted. She rammed into his chest, nuzzling under his neck and squeezing him tight. He lowered his arms slowly, wrapping them around her and patting her softly on the back. They stayed like that for awhile, appreciating eachother's warmth before Star eventually pulled herself away, coughing and sputtering.

"You still smell... awful." she groaned out. He chuckled, pulling the clothespin off his nose and offering it to her.

"Yeah. I know."

"You need me to do anything?" she slowly snapped it over her nose. "Keep you company? Get you some nachos? Pick up where we left off?" she spoke sarcastically during her last suggestion, whirling her wand around and laughing to herself.

"I think I'd like to go to sleep. But there is one thing you could do for me, Star. The blinds, could you open them?"

"Sure, buddy." she walked to the open window, quickly pulling the blinds all the way open.

"Er, maybe a little lower." she held the cord firmly, slowly lowering it until it wasn't too open, yet not too closed, right in the middle. He knew that was exactly where they should be.

"Perfect." he rolled over, throwing his sheets over himself.

"Goodnight, Marco." she whispered, tossing the clothespin on his bed and slowly shutting the door behind her with a click. He stared at the ceiling for a moment, the soft hum of the chalk circle in his ears. He could hear the rain battering the roof, drops shooting into his room from the open window. He could hear the wind, now slowed to a hushed breeze, blowing past. He could hear the wind chimes from his neighbors porch, tolling dull notes into his ears. He eyes slowly slid shut. He knew when he woke, he'd be in a much, much better place.