Chapter 7

Star hadn't felt this worn down in years. The entire kingdom was resting on her shoulders, and it was only now that she felt full weight of it. It wasn't just pressure- it was unrelenting pressure. It was all so much more bearable when Marco was there. It wasn't just that he lightened the load, his very presence by her side made everything easier to bear.

She had given up lying to herself. She wasn't alright. She missed Marco with every fiber of her being. Whenever someone said his name, or Kelly and Janna mentioned doing something with him, Star's heart threatened to throb out of her chest. She'd be torn by the urge to shut herself in her room to avoid any reminders of him, and a desperate desire to hear how he was doing, to know if he was okay.

There were times where she was tempted, after a long day of meetings and problems or after learning about another attack by Mina or rogue monsters they were too late to stop, she was tempted to use the seeing eye spell and find him, take him in her arms and beg him to come back. The only thing that stopped her was that she knew he wouldn't want that. He wanted- needed to move on, and after everything… it was the least she could do to give him that.

"Star?" It was Tom, coming to check on her again. He leaned in, and they shared a quick kiss. "How are you doing?"

Star forced a smile. At first it had warmed her heart to hear Tom worry for her, but every time they met up he'd ask the same damn question. She knew he was trying to help, but frankly, it was starting to grate on her. The worst part was she couldn't put her finger on why.

"I'm doing fine, Tom." She returned "Same old, same old, ruling a country and all."

Tom chuckled "How's the new guy, uh, Steven, how's he taking to the job?"

"Well, he's certainly working hard." Star said thoughtfully. She'd seen him exit the library earlier today with a stack of books up to his chin. She was reminded of how Marco had worked himself to the bone those first few weeks after she became Queen She should probably check on him… she didn't want him to overwork himself, and maybe she could give him some guidance.

"Hey, I told ya." Tom joked "That guy's gonna work his butt off to keep you happy. By the way, have you figured out what the deal is with the announcement?"

"Uhhh, announcement?"

"For our engagement?" Oh right, they were getting married, and she needed to announce that to the entire kingdom, the entire world.

"Ooooooooooh. Uh, I haven't actually done that, but I'll look that up right away!"

"Great! So what do you say we go out, relax for a bit? A new five star restaurant opened in the underworld, how about we go check it out?" Tom coaxed. Before, his cajoling tone and smile would have been enough to get Star to relent, or at the very least set up a time later.

"That sounds nice, Tom, but…"

"C'mon, Star, everyone needs a break. You're not a machine!"

He was right, but somehow the thought of spending time alone with Tom didn't exactly appeal to her at the moment. She knew that an evening with him would mean having to pretend she was okay; it would be filled with little white lies and awkward tiptoeing around the elephant in the room. And if she made misstep, Tom would look at her… the way he was looking at her right now, with that concerned and scrutinizing gaze.

She was saved from the conversation by Steven, of all people. "Queen Star?" He asked timidly "Whenever you have a moment, could-"

"Well, looks like I got stuff to do Tom, we'll hang out later bye!" Star shot out rapidly, and quickly motioned for Steven to follow her. She missed the way Tom's eyes lingered on her as he left, and the soft disappointed sigh he let out.

"So, what's up?" She asked Steven.

"Well…" He looked extremely nervous, and Star wondered if she was going to like what she was about to hear "There are a few things that I'm having a bit of trouble with, and I couldn't find resources for in the library, I was wondering if you could… point me in the right direction?"

Corn, he was acting like she would fire him for asking a question. She might have left a bad first impression on him… "Hey, it's cool, I can't expect you to know everything right off the bat. So what do you need help with?"

"Do you know what statistics are?"

Star suppressed a beleaguered sigh. Okay, she had her work cut out for her.

Marco Diaz sat at a park bench in Echo Creek, hugging his knees to his chest. He was there because he was waiting for Janna, of all people, to show up. He was waiting for Janna because she was one of the few friends he had left. In the past, he could have gone to Star, or Kelly, or Tom. None of those people were options right now.

Haltingly, he'd told Janna what happened over the phone not long after Kelly had left. She had more or less commanded him to go to the park and wait for her. Marco didn't feel like arguing with her.

Janna was late. Marco shut his eyes, willing tears back down.

"Marco? What are you doing here?" A voice pulled him from his self-pity abruptly, and he nearly jumped in his seat out of shear surprise. Because standing in front of him with a mixture of surprise and concern on her face was Jackie Lynn-Thomas.

"Jackie?" Marco uttered, feeling very much like he was 14 again- having no idea what to say. It wasn't that he and Jackie had parted on bad terms, but they had most definitely parted. He hadn't spoken to her in three years. Yet there she was.

Jackie settled in beside him on the bench, patiently waiting for Marco to answer her question. "I was supposed to meet Janna here." He was able to explain.

At this, Jackie actually chuckled. "That's funny, because so was I." Her eyes were dancing in amusement, and it clicked in Marco's brain.

"She set us up!" Even as he protested, he couldn't help but smile, and suddenly the two of them were laughing together at their situation.

"It's been so long, dude! How've you been?" That question wiped the smile from Marco's face. "That bad, huh?"

"Yeah. I've had a rough few weeks, and I don't…" Marco trailed off, not sure if he could just unburden all of this on Jackie.

"You can talk to me about it, if you want." She offered "I mean, I'm sure you've got Star to go to for these things, but…" She paused, noticing how Marco seemed to crumple at the mention of Star's name.

Her hand touched his forearm gently, rousing him once gain. He gave Jackie a teary look "Yeah… Star and I aren't exactly on speaking terms right now."

"Come with me."

Jackie led him by the arm, away from the park- to where Marco didn't know, and it didn't take much prompting for him to spill everything to her. How when he finally got to Mewni, Star had already moved on. How he didn't realize his feelings for her until it was too late. How he stuck by her side for three years, until it all became too much for him. How he left. His and Tom's argument. Kelly confessing her feelings for him- feelings he didn't return- and now she was gone too.

"I feel like I'm losing everyone, Jackie." Marco told her hopelessly "Star, Tom, Kelly- I'm running out of friends."

Suddenly, Jackie's arms were around him, and Marco found himself sinking into her embrace. "It's okay, if you need to cry." She told him softly.

He couldn't help it. He felt so raw and vulnerable in that moment. Jackie's human comfort moved something deep within him- like being wrapped in a warm blanket after being left out in the cold. It started with a sniffle, and soon tears were streaming down his face. All through it, Jackie held on to him, rubbing a hand up and down his back soothingly. She only pulled back once it seemed he had collected himself once again.

Holding his shoulders, she gazed at him "Oh, Marco, you have a lot of people who care about you."

"It doesn't feel like it at the moment."

"Well, what about Janna?"

"Okay-"

"And it sounds like you and Hekapoo are close."

"Well…. yeah."

"I care about you too, you know, and what about your parents?" It was at that point that Marco realized that Jackie had been taking him home- or rather to his parents' place. They were on his street- there was really no other place they could be going to.

"Jackie…" He sighed.

"And there's someone else you're forgetting about."

He had a… complicated relationship with his parents. They'd taken a very hands off approach to raising him. Sometimes he joked that he'd been raised by Mackie Hand movies. It wasn't all bad- he'd learned to take care of himself- be safe, organized, learned to cook and defend himself. But it left a certain distance between them- which only grew after Marco met Star and moved to another dimension.

Yeah, he visited a couple times a month to babysit his little brother, but…

His little brother.

Oh, right. He was an idiot.

Jackie must have picked up on his epiphany "You're not the only one who babysits little Marcus." She smiled knowingly "Your parents are going camping today. I figured it'd be nice to make some money on the side. Not to mention he's such a sweetheart."

"He is." Marco found himself agreeing.

"Look, Marco. I know things seem pretty bad right now, but you've got to remember the good things." Jackie told him as they walked up to the front door of his childhood home. "So just hang in there, pick yourself up. After everything you've done- I know you can get through this."

Marco understood what she was getting at. He remembered his first date with Jackie. How she told him how much she admired how he always picked himself up after failure. But there was part of him that just wanted to, for once, give up and wallow in misery. In some ways it would be the easy option.

Marco was never one to take the easy option.

Jackie rapped on the door, and his parents threw open the door to welcome them. "Mijo! Janna told us you might be coming to help Jackie tonight." His dad said happily, as his parents both went to hug him. It wasn't nearly as emotional as the hug he and Jackie just shared, but still, Marco had to admit it was nice to let himself be hugged by his parents.

Jackie caught Marco's eye over his dad's shoulder and just shrugged. He got her meaning and chuckled, he had no idea how Janna knew he'd be joining Jackie here and honestly he didn't want to know.

"And Jackie, it's always wonderful to see you." His Dad continued once they pulled back.

His mom looked between him and Jackie, as if trying to figure out a puzzle. "Thank you for helping us." She added.

"It's no problem, Mrs. Diaz." Jackie deflected.

"Mawco! Mawco! You're here!" Marco beamed and knelt down as his not quite three year old brother toddled up to him.

"Hey there buddy!" He greeted, taking the kid in his arms and lifting him up with practiced ease. "How ya doing?"

Marcus giggled, and babbled on about his day in the way that only a kid could. Jackie met his eyes knowingly, and Marco conceded that she was right. Somehow, she'd known exactly how to dispel his depression and show him just how much good there was in his life.

Setting Marcus down, he asked him "Hey, Marcus, do you want some of my special nachos?"

A/N: Not gonna lie, I'm pretty damn happy with this chapter. Don't you worry, more plot is incoming!