Star and Marco vs Evil Book 1

IV

"THAT CUDDLE WAS MEANT FOR ME!"

Marco jolted awake and sat up in bed, flinging the covers, and Star, off of him. Star used the momentum to spin out of bed, grabbing the wond off the nightstand. She finished the spin on her feet, facing the intruder.

"Wha? Demon! Tom? What ... what are you doing here?"

"Came to invite you and Diaz to hang," Tom replied, grinning.

"You just walked into his room without knocking?"

"He's never had a problem with me sneaking in and watching him sleep before."

"What? First Janna, now you?" Marco yelled, while scratching an itch on his scalp.

"Just kidding," Tom replied. "Kidding about the cuddle too, but seriously though ... I trust the both of you, but why, exactly, were you in bed together?"

"What's the big deal?" Star asked. "We've done it before, like when we shared that small tent before Quest Buy's Squire Blowout."

Tom scowled; he had not been told about that.

"Don't give me that look, Thomas Draconius Lucitor," Star scolded. "Teens and sleepovers are normal, so what's weird about it? Two teenagers sharing a bed, one boy, one girl ... oh. Oh, no!"

"It's not like that," Marco quickly said.

"Then what's it like?" Tom asked.

Star and Marco looked at each other. Just the night before they had promised they would not tell Tom about their bad trip. They routinely kept secrets from Tom, suggesting that Tom's trust was misplaced, but he had caught them in the act of doing something they would have kept from him. They knew they had no choice but to 'fess up.

Marco got up out of bed then stood beside Star. In perfect unison, with gestures in perfect sync, they said, "We visited an alternate universe where we accidently blew up its Star and Marco. We healed them, but we had to take their place in an exhibition game. Things got out of hand, and we kind of freaked out. Neither one of us wanted to be alone, and since we figured the freak-out was caused by the same things causing our nightmares, we thought being together would help."

Tom was silent, looking back and forth between them, making them feel uncomfortable. Finally, he asked, "How long have you two been doing that?"

"Doing what?" Star and Marco answered simultaneously.

"That. Matching each other exactly when you move and talk."

"Erm, often enough that we don't really notice it any longer," Star answered. "Let me think for a sec ... I'd say now and then after the Blood Moon Ball, then bunches of times after the photo booth at the wed..." Star squeaked and covered her mouth.

"Photo booth? At the wedding? What happened in the photo booth?"

Star sighed. "I'm sorry, Tom." Star used the wond to summon a photo strip, which she handed to Tom.

Realization dawned on Marco. "You ... kept the photos?" Marco asked in shock.

Tom looked at the photo strip, ending in the kiss between the two. Tom looked at Marco, and with face and tone neutral, asked, "So?"

Marco rubbed his arm. "We were trapped by an evil little Hirsch Goblin that told us the booth was magic and would release us only when we took the photo it was 'waiting for.' I thought that meant that because it knew I had ... have ... feelings for Star, that a kiss was the only way out."

Tom continued to look at Marco impassively, making Marco even more uncomfortable. After a long few moments, Tom looked at Star, and said, "So, let's see: you didn't tell me about the kiss, your adventures to alternate universes, your nightmares, and you sleeping with Diaz. Is there anything else you haven't told me?"