Marco's Sick Day

	"Are you SURE you don't want even a little help Marco? I've got the perfect spell in my book for dealing with nasty diseases like this! Somewhere." Star said as she sat on the floor of her housemate's room, quickly flipping through the pages of her seemingly endless tome of magic enchantments.

	"Absolutely not! Remember the last time I let you use magic to fix me up?" Marco protested as he wobbled over to his bed and crawled under the sheets. "Consider yourself lucky I didn't have you arrested for malpractice!"

	"Geez, you turn a guy's arm into a slimy, sentient tentacle ONE TIME and you never hear the end of it." The girl let out a sigh as she slammed her massive book shut and pulled herself up off the ground. "Is there anything I can do for you before I head out? Make it snappy though, I'm late enough as it is!"

	Marco turned his heavy head towards Star and replied in a hoarse voice. "Don't worry about it, I just gotta rest a bit and I should be feeling good in no time. If you see Ferguson, give him an atomic wedgie for me. When I told him to stop coughing in Alphonso's face I didn't mean start in mine! HeheheheeeaaaAAACHOOO!" Star threw herself onto the floor, avoiding Marco's sneeze as if it were rapid gunfire aimed right at her. "Gross! Don't get your sick germs on me Marco! Soooo nasty." Star cried out as she grabbed her backpack and reached for the window. "Try not to die on me while I'm at school alright? I'll be home real soon so don't have too much fun without me! Byeeeee~!" The energetic princess hopped out the window, waving goodbye to her buddy as she slammed it shut behind her. Marco could hear that hyperactive voice of hers fade into the distance over time.

	The sickly boy sniffled as he wiped his nose and whined in misery. Marco Diaz, renowned safe kid of Echo Creek, had fallen victim to none other than the common cold. Despite all the battle and trials he had been through lately, Marco could not protect himself from his careless chum's contagious bacteria. The slight pain in his throat paled in comparison to what he was feeling in his heart. Marco's one regret: knowing that he would not get the opportunity to see the cheerful smile on the face of Jackie Lynn Thomas as he greeted her with his daily nod. There was always tomorrow he supposed. The tired boy shed a single tear as he closed his heavy eyelids and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

	Marco slowly rose from his bed and let out a horrifying moan that was reminiscent of something out of a zombie horror movie. The exhausted boy stretched out his arms and rubbed his tired eyes clean. For a split second he had forgotten where he was before coming to his senses. He reached over to his phone and saw that it was roughly 10 AM, a mere few hours since he took his nap. A recent text from Alphonso with a picture was visible. Marco opened the image and saw a snapshot of Star posing and giving a thumbs-up to the camera while Ferguson wandered aimlessly in the background with his briefs stretched over his head. Marco grinned and chuckled, placing his phone back down on the side dresser. As Diaz retreated under his blankets for some more shuteye, he was hit by a sudden draft that gave him goosebumps. The boy turned his head and noticed that the window was left wide open. Marco was a bit puzzled since he was quite certain that Star had closed it on her way out. The boy groaned and begrudgingly pulled himself out of bed, shutting the window and throwing himself back onto the mattress face down. The safe kid's eyelids grew heavy once more and his body relaxed as he prepared himself for more slumber. Before he could completely crash out, Marco heard a noise. Not just a noise but a voice and a familiar one at that. It was enough to rouse him from bed and make every hair on his body stand on end.

	"Not feeling so hot, eh?"

	Sitting at the end of his bed was a young lady donned in a teal sweater, yellow skirt and a sporty green beanie. A smug smirk was draped across her naughty face and her gaze only filled the boy with worry. It was none other than fellow classmate and childhood nuisance, Janna, AKA the harbinger of trouble and mischief. "J-JANNA?! How did you— when did— what are you doing here??" Marco sputtered out as he retreated towards the opposite corner of his bed, peeking out from under his sheets.

	"A little Butterfly told me that you were under the weather so I ditched class and dropped by for a visit," the sneaky girl said as she gradually inched closer to her bedridden buddy. "I figured a friendly face would brighten things up for ya."

	"Janna you can't just go breaking into people's homes whenever you want! Trespassing is a crime!" Marco shouted as he attempted to stifle back a sneeze.

	"Oh relax, I do it all the time! I was actually planning on sneaking in later tonight while you slept." An awkward pause followed as Janna realized the very words she just uttered. "You know what, pretend you didn't hear that last part."

	"I intend to now can you please leave?" Diaz pleaded as he laid back down. "I'm very exhausted and the last thing I need is company. Don't make me sic the laser puppies on you!"

	Janna, unfazed by Marco's empty threats, chortled which only further aggravated the boy. She turned her head towards Marco and offered a rather sly look. The sickly boy, now feeling pretty miffed by the unruly girl's presence, saw that she had raised an arm and slowly motioned towards him. He sank down further into the bed and shut his eyes in anticipation of her next move, whatever it may be. Diaz winced as he felt a tingly sensation on his forehead. Peeking through one eye, he saw the hand of his intruder resting upon his face. The pale boy wasn't quite sure what to make of this.

	"Geez Marco you're pretty hot. Your forehead is burning up too. You know what, I think you might really be sick!" Marco gritted his teeth and sneered at her snarky response. "No worries kiddo, I'm here to help you out. Leave everything to nurse Janna, she'll have you feeling good in no time. Too bad I don't have a sexy nurse outfit on me, I bet that'd really get the blood pumpin' right?" The troublesome girl laughed at her own joke while Marco could do nothing but groan and dread. It didn't look like sleep was an option at this point.

	As the morning dragged on, the persistent girl stood by Marco's side, leaving the room on occasion only to quickly return with something trivial to help expedite his recovery. Every time she returned, Marco recoiled in fear of what she brought back with her. While some things were a pleasant surprise like the glass of orange juice and the extra blanket, certain things did concern the boy such as the pickled rat in a bottle and rusty tire iron. He didn't even want to know what she had planned with those. Marco briefly considered calling the cops but not at all to his surprise, his phone had gone missing. Things tended to vanish when Janna was around.

	At one point, Janna had returned back with a piping hot bowl of vegetable soup that she claimed to have made on her own from scratch but Marco could tell right away it was straight from the can. "Come on Marco open wide!" So this is what it had come to for Diaz. Laying in bed bereft of energy and motivation, being fed hot soup like a baby by his deranged childhood acquaintance. "Here comes the deluxe Boeing 787 filled to the brim with innocent passengers ready to be consumed! Marcooo. MARCO I SAID OPEN YOUR MOUTH NOT SEAL YOUR LIPS SHUT!" In an attempt to preserve his dignity, Marco refused the spoon. The two tossed and turned on the bed for a couple seconds until Janna accidentally bumped the dresser where the bowl of boiling soup resided, spilling the scalding broth on both of them. What followed shortly was a pair of perfectly synches screams of agony as well as the application of tons of aloe vera.

	"You know Janna," Marco pulled himself up and spoke for the first time in what seemed like hours. "I think all your help has really put some pep back in me. I feel like I just chugged a whole box of Bran! Yup, good as new! Thanks for everything, I can take it from here. See you later!" The safe kid couldn't make his message any more obvious and he was hoping that the meddler would take the hint. Kneeling on the floor with arms crossed on the bed, Janna just tilted her head and smiled at the boy which made him feel more than a bit uncomfortable. After a moment of silence, Diaz coughed and Janna's smile widened.

	"Oh Marco. Marco Marco Marco. Maaaaaarcooooo~. You've grown delirious."

	The frustrated boy threw himself back and unleashed a heavy sigh. His plan had failed. "Why are you doing all of this Janna? Isn't there somewhere else you should be or something?"

	"Believe me dude, there's no place I'd rather be right now than right here," Janna stated as she pulled herself entirely on to the bed and positioned herself atop Marco, pinning him down. "Besides I can't let my old buddy keel over on me now can I?"

	The frightened look in Marco's eyes vanished and quickly changed to intrigue as his gaze shifted downwards towards Janna's torso, more specifically her chest. He could see right past her dangling green shirt and it's not what he saw that made his mind run wild, but what he didn't see. It was enough to make the boy's heart beat like a raging piston and his pubescent body tremble and sweat. He crossed his legs and tried to say something to break the tension but his mouth hung agape, unable to produce words. Janna noticed what Marco noticed and the smile on her face nearly tripled in size.

	"Geez Marco, buy a girl some flowers first why dontcha?" Janna teased as she grabbed a hold of his cheeks, giving them a little shake. "I'm a professional here on business you dirty boy."

	"SHUT UP! I WASN'T DOING ANYTHING. YOU WERE THE ONE WHO STARTED MESSING WITH ME." The boy nervously blurted out as he wiped his nose, realizing that he was caught in the act. "You should just go Janna. I'm really tired of all this and honestly, I think you are only making it harder for me to recover."

	"That's not all I'm making harder apparently," Janna murmured to herself as she placed a hand on Marco's chest, twiddling and dancing her fingers about on him.

	"Okay that's it," Diaz said, finally out of patience. "Get off of me, I'm bringing in the puppies!" As Marco attempted to pull himself up and get out of bed, he noticed that Janna had stopped moving and stood pinned over him like a thumbtack.

	"Marco..." After a brief silence the mischievous girl spoke up in a rather quiet tone. "You're cold."

	"I'm cold?"

	"You're cold Marco! Colder than a freaking yeti from the Swiss Alps!"

	Absolutely puzzled by what Janna was getting at, Marco placed a hand on his forehead to take his temperature. "I don't feel all that— wait a sec what are you doing!?"

	Like a ferocious animal mauling her pray alive, Janna burst into action by ripping open Marco's buttoned up shirt, exposing his lightly toned abdomen to the elements. The safe kid shivered as he felt a gentle breeze move against his torso. In his weakened and vulnerable state, it was as if someone was rubbing ice cubes on his skin.

	"Darn it Janna, those were my favorite jammies!"

	Marco was taken aback by Janna's next move. The troublesome intruder lowered her head, pressing her face against Marco's stomach and gently nuzzling her cheeks across his abs which were quite impressive for a boy his age. "J-Janna? What the heck are you you doing?" Marco stammered at the girl who seemed to be in a trance, not even acknowledging his words. The unhealthy boy was quaking and his eyes darted across the room, unsure of what he should do. He stood perfectly still and let Janna do her thing for what seemed like the longest minute of his life. That soft navy blue hair of hers tickled slightly as it brushed against him. Marco clenched his blanket firmly as her skin made contact with his. It was a surprisingly comforting feel but if Marco mentioned that, Janna would never let him live it down. At long last, his classmate stopped and looked up at him before speaking.

	"Marco, you've got goosebumps and you're trembling. We need to warm you up!" Janna tossed the boy's blankets aside and with a fearsome and determined look on her face, took a mighty hold of his remaining clothes and effortlessly ripped them off. Not even his cute red boxers were spared from her vicious onslaught. Marco panicked and ducked under his blanket to censor himself. Needless to say, this safe kid wasn't feeling all that safe anymore. He spent the past few months with his new foreign exchange bestie looking for danger and excitement but it found him instead in a way he never quite expected.

	"WHAT THE HECK JANNA? TELL ME WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT RIGHT N—AAAAAACHOOOOOO!" Marco tried to play dumb since he couldn't accept what was happening but he had a good hunch where she was going with all of this. The problem was how he felt about it. Diaz was having an internal struggle unlike any other. He didn't know if he wanted this to proceed further but his budding adolescent mind was going crazy and he wasn't sure if he was thinking with the right head.

	Janna turned her back to Marco and let out a deep breath. The sneaky schemer kicked off her boots, removed her sweater and tossed it gently on the ground. "The best way to deal with extreme coldness is to share your body heat with another human. The effects of this are best when the bodies make contact or so they say, I ain't a scientist." The girl removed her green shirt without managing to disrupt her hat like some kind of magic trick. She shimmied her hips to and fro until her skirt fell loose from her waist and descended on the floor around her feet.

	"You don't say..." Marco mumbled in a monotone voice, completely mesmerized by Janna's moves and actions. He raised his knees a bit to hide the enormous tent he was pitching as he focused on the spectacle unfolding before him. His eyes widened as he watched the girl unclasp her tiny green bra, showcasing her bare back for the one she was teasing. The matching green panties came off shortly after and what Marco was left with made his already widened eyes nearly pop out of their sockets. The only part of the ensemble that remained was her olive green beanie which Marco had never seen her without for as long as he knew her.

	"How about you and me test this out?" Janna said confidently in a seductive voice as she looked over her shoulder back at Marco. The complacent look on her face was no longer one of hidden intentions. Much like her body, her feelings were laid out right there in the open, not that Diaz could read them anyways in his current state.

	Marco's gaze zipped about, darting all over Janna's body as she turn back to face him. This was his first time seeing the body of a naked female in the flesh and this crazy girl was leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination. Janna's small yet perky breasts were a sight for sore eyes and boy were Marco's eyes sore. The excited teen found himself fascinated by every inch of her peach colored body from the clear complexion of her smug face down to the toes on her delicate feet. Her clasped hands hid the one spot he desired to know more about and even though it was Janna, his interest was piqued. If this was the true Janna in front of him, Marco could only imagine what someone else, say a certain curvaceous radical skater chick, was like underneath it all. Even when another girl seemed to be throwing herself at him, Marco still found himself thinking of HER. The hormone enraged boy's train of thought kept on chugging and chugging to a brand new destination. As excited as he was to stop here, this was not where he planned to get off. Greater sights awaited him down the tracks.

	Janna hopped on his bed similar to a playful kitten and posed for Marco like some kind of seductive french woman from out of the movies. The sudden action snapped the teen out of his daydreaming and at last the situation he was in became all too apparent. A slight smile was cracked.

	"You like what you see?" Janna said alluringly as she handed Marco his missing phone back. "Take a pic it'll last longer."

	"Janna..." Marco whispered as he regained his composure only to begin breaking down again. "You look absolutely silly!"

	Janna's amorous demeanor was completely shattered as she watched the boy fall back laughing. The forward girl quickly grew flustered and bright red by this unexpected turn of events. Mortified, Janna pulled her beanie down over her face, hiding her overwhelming shame. She turned away and curled up in the fetal position to top it all off. In retrospect, the girl realized how much of a dork she must have looked like trying to appear sexy.

	"Oh geez I'm sorry Janna I didn't mean to hurt your feelings but.. what even was all that??" Marco asked while trying to hold back his laughter.

	"Shut up it was nothing! I was just messing with ya, don't take it so serriously!" The embarrassed girl shouted in an attempt to save face.

	"Well I've gotta hand it to you Janna I do feel a lot better now. I guess laughter truly is the best medicine. ACHOOO!"

	Marco's laughter simmered to a chuckle and eventually died down after a few minutes. Janna remained perfectly still the whole time without saying a single word about anything that just transpired. Diaz looked over at his huddled-up nuisance of a friend. Leaving her hanging for a while would be sweet revenge for all the times she hassled him but he figured he should try to make things right. Marco wasn't sure if what he was about to do would be something he regretted or welcomed.

	"Ugggh my head is killing me. I guess it'll be a while before I'm in tip top shape again. I think you were right Janna, my body is aching and freezing up!" Marco said loudly enough to get the shamed girl's attention as he played up his symptoms. "Hey. I heard from somewhere that humans could share body heat by huddling together. If you still aren't upset or hate my guts or anything like that I was wonder if...I can't believe I'm saying this. Would you like to maybe— I guess if you really wanted to— you knoooow—" Before Marco could even get the chance to finish his train wreck of a sentence, his words were interrupted by a faint snicker that over time grew into a full blown chortle at his expense. He was feeling pretty flummoxed about everything up to this point and wasn't really sure how to proceed.

	"Wow Diaz, I can't believe you actually fell for that totally fake panic attack," Janna said through a rather hoarse voice as she rubbed her eyes clean. "I bet you think these tears running down my face are real too, sucker! I got you pretty good right there." The ruffled girl couldn't even look Marco in the face as she talked. The best option at this point was to give her the benefit of the doubt.

	"All right, you got me! I fell for your big elaborate ruse and now I'm the one with egg on my face. I don't know why you do these things Janna, you can get in serious trouble."

	"Hey, the best things in life aren't a cakewalk dude. Sometimes you gotta get in a little trouble to find that thing you want. Or something deep like that, ya dig?"

	"I GUESS you're right in a twisted sort of way that I don't completely understand on a level I can't even reach." Marco responded in a tired tone as he huddled up and turned away for some much needed shuteye. "Well it was fun Janna but I'm physically and emotionally drained. You know the way out, have a nice day, see you at school tomorrow yadda yadda yadda."

	"Kicking me out before I even give you my answer to that offer of yours? Pretty weak Diaz." The troublesome girl stated as she put back on her smug grin that instilled Marco with fear.

	"O-offer? What are you getting at?" Marco said apprehensively, peeking over his shoulder.

	"Of course I'll warm ya up Diaz." The slippery troublemaker proclaimed before sticking her head out from under the blankets like an inquisitive groundhog searching for it's shadow. "No need to ask me twice."

	Marco didn't bother to question how she was able to so effortlessly slither into his bed without him noticing, much less into the blanket he had locked himself in. That's just the way Janna was. A weird, slick and capable girl who always knew how to get exactly what she wanted and appeared when you least expected it. The tired boy let out a hefty sigh of defeat, rolling his eyes as far as humanly possible. He lifted an arm, raised the blanket and granted his guest access to his snug and secluded domain. The meddlesome girl triumphantly smirked and wasted no time snuggling up next to the one she admired.

	"You can stay for a little bit but absolutely NO FUNNY BUSINESS. Also you are prohibited from mentioning this to anyone and I mean ANYONE. Got it!?" The safe kid boldly demanded."I'm still sick so if you catch something don't say I didn't warn you!"

	"That's cool," Janna said with a satisfied smile as she wrapped her arms around Marco and pulled herself as close to him as possible. "I'm pretty sick myself."

	Spoiling Janna would likely open the gates of hell and cause greater turmoil for Marco down the road but he didn't want to be thinking about that at the moment. The safe kid's curious hands ran along the contours of his partner's body as he felt the meddlesome girl bury her head into his neck and latch on to him like a starfish. Janna's legs began to interlock between Marco's as she wrapped her arms around his back, refusing to let go. Marco soon found himself wondering what he had gotten into as he felt her budding bosom gently prod his own chest. As the two teens tightly embraced each other, Marco realized that he had never felt closer to Janna than ever before, physically and figuratively. It was all a pretty strange and new experience for the young man. Not even he understood the very nature of their bizarre relationship and perhaps it was better kept shrouded in mystery. Janna's surprisingly soft body felt pleasant pressed against his own and despite her grungy appearance she gave off a sweet body odor that reminded Marco of apples. He'd never say it aloud but it was a soothing sensation that eased a bit of his nervousness and then some. It seemed this little snuggling session was doing a swell job at warming Diaz up, in more ways than one.

	"Heeeey Marco is that a rocket in your pocket or are—"

	"JANNA I SAID NO FUNNY BUSINESS!" The embarrassed boy blurted, pulling his lower half away from the bawdy girl.

	Silence again quickly filled the room with only Janna's gentle breathing to keep Marco company. It was just calming enough to lull him to sleep which was a thought he found a bit ironic considering all of her recent badgering. Diaz let out a mighty yawn and shut his eyes once more, taking in a final look at Janna's olive green hat before passing out.

* * *

	"Marco! MAAAAARCOOOOOO!"

	The sound of Star's booming voice as well as the door being knocked down woke Marco in a most ungraceful manner. "S-STAR? WHAT IS IT? WHAT'S GOING ON!?!?" The boy said as he floundered about on his bed in a panic.

	"YOU'RE NOT DEAD ARE YOU?" The wild blonde yelled as she carefully inspected her bestie's groggy face. "I came home as quickly as I could! Are you okay? Is everything still intact? More importantly, did you miss me?"

	"I'm fine Star now please stop shaking me!" The sick kid begged of his worried friend, doing his best to keep his entire body covered up.

	"Oh that's a HUGE relief! I feared your condition would have worsened over time but you seem much better than earlier! See? I told you all you needed was some rest! If you had just let me use a bit of magic this would have been so much easier." Star teased as she shook her wand in Marco's direction. "Oh by the way, did you get that picture? Ferguson's days of sneezing on innocent bystanders is no more. He said he was sorry but I made sure to deliver swift justice anyways as per your request. Hopefully he learned the error of his ways!"

	Marco was still in the process of putting himself together after his nap. He almost made the grave mistake of standing up buck naked in front of Star but luckily caught himself in the act. Janna was apparently long gone beforehand though without leaving any evidence of her presence behind. Marco was glad she did too since explaining to Star what their classmate was doing in bed naked with him would have been a nightmare.

	"That's nice Star but would you mind giving me a moment? I need to... do something. Alone. Should only take a sec."

	"Alright but I've got to tell you about what happened after I punished Ferg, you won't believe what— why helloooo there!" As Star walked away, something on the floor of Marco's room caught her attention. She picked up what seemed to be a piece of blue fabric that was ripped to shreds. Marco froze when he realized what it was. "Marco... your favorite jammies! Did someone attack you while I was gone? Was it Ludo and his minions!? Oooh when I see that slimy, little freak again I'll-" Once again, Star's train of thought was interrupted but this time it was by her bestie's phone vibrating on the dresser nearby. "Look Marco, it's a text from Janna!" Those words were enough to make Marco's heart sink and his stomach turn. "It's a cute little winky face with a picture attached! Funny thing about Janna, she went missing earlier in the day and no one had seen where she went. I wonder what she sent-"

	Butterfly took it upon herself to open the image that her classmate sent Marco before handing him the phone. It took her a moment to register exactly what she was looking at in the photo. All Marco could do was sweat and guess as to what Star was staring at with that stunned look on her face.

	"Marco what is this!?" Star angrily exclaimed as she shoved the phone in his face. On the tiny digital screen was a selfie of Janna and Marco on the bed, both shirtless. Janna can be seen pressing her chest against Marco's, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and smiling as wide as she possibly could for the camera while giving a suggestive wink. Diaz had absolutely no excuse for this nor was he aware it was even taken in the first place. His eyes zipped back and forth between the phone and the perturbed princess who awaited an explanation. Marco remained motionless and said nothing. He was at a total loss of words.

	"I can't believe you Marco," Star shouted in disbelief. "I can't BELIEVE you would let Janna crash naked on your bed BEFORE ME, the royal princess of Mewni, your very bestest friend! I'm insulted. Offended even! I'd kick you out if this wasn't your room and you didn't live here before me! You probably weren't even sick! Wait, did you guys throw a party? I BET YOU DID! Had I known this was your plan the whole time I never would have—"

	Marco said nothing as Star paced back and forth in his room, throwing out all kinds of hand gestures as she scolded him. He had a feeling that all of this would come back to haunt him, just not so soon. The stressed-out teen turned around and dropped forward into his pillow like a ton of bricks.

	"I don't feel well. AAACHOOOOO!"