messy // tomco

marco diaz

marco diaz lived the first fourteen years of his life playing it safe. he never broke a rule, always trying to make sure he and the people around him were safe and okay and not getting into trouble. he never took any risks, including even talking to the person he had the biggest crush on. that just wasn't the person he was, there were too many possibilities, too many ways for everything to go wrong. 

then he met star butterfly. she was a rich transfer student from london who came to live and experience the states alongside the diaz family. at first the two were polar opposites, and marco wanted nothing to do with star. until he accidentally got caught up in one of stars "adventures", and from then on the two were inseparable. 

for a year and a half, star and marco had it good. they clicked, even with their rocky start, and marco began to let himself lean on someone. they went on adventures, and marco let himself be dragged into danger and the exact things he was always afraid of. the things he never thought hed ever be apart of. things that he only saw in movies and stories. star was his best friend, and he was hers. they danced, they laughed, they broke things and fixed them. star taught marco to be more open, more adventurous, more outgoing and social. thanks to star, marco was able to do things he never imagined. he gained many friends, he even started talking to the girl he had liked for as long as he could remember. but just as sudden as she arrived, she disappears from the world, almost as if she never existed. no one has heard from her, no one knows where she went. 

closed off and shut down, marco started sophomore year without his favorite person. all his friends could tell he was not the same without her. his parents worried, he never left his room except for school. his perfect grades became average B's and C's. he was no longer the same safe kid, he hadn't been since she walked into his life. 

he used his crimson hoodies as a barrier between his fragile skin and brutal world. they became his security blanket, his protection, his armor. 

he couldn't bring himself to even look at her room, let alone go in. one day he finds himself just standing outside the door, not moving or thinking. after some time passes, time which he cant seem to keep track of anymore, he moves to go back to his room. this happens many times, and eventually he finds his hand on the door handle. it turns easily in his grip, and the door opens the same as it always had before, except its different. before star came to stay with them, they had had many other exchange students come to stay with them, but star was different. 

he expected the room to be empty, which it was mostly save for a wrapped box on the bed. the box had blue paper around it with little gold stars on it, along with a neatly tied bow on top. marco moved slowly into the room, towards the box. as he got closer he could see his name written on a pink heart sticky note in stars bubbly print. he picked up the present, clueless as to what could be inside. how long has this been here? why was it in here instead of in his room? he's seen his parents go in here before, so why haven't they given it to him? 

marco cautiously sits on the edge of the bed and sets the box on his lap. his fingers trace the lettering of his name. he pulls the ribbon out of its bow and carefully opens the wrapping from where it had been taped (although there was tape everywhere so opening it without ruining the paper was a challenge in itself). after struggling with a wrapping, he sees there is a white box with a letter placed on top. with shaky fingers, marco opens and reads the letter, mumbling the words as he goes.

Marco Diaz,

If you are reading this that means I've left. I'm sorry, I had to. I had no other choice. I wish I could tell you, but I cant. Marco, you are my best friend, and my favorite person in the whole entire universe. I'm so so sorry I had to do this to you. I hope you can forgive me one day. and I hope I'll be able to see you again one day. I know this wont make up for it, but I made you something to remember me by. Something to remember all of our adventures and fun times together. Please, go on adventures for me. Go hang out with Janna, she's got a lot of crazy ideas and you can always count on her to make you laugh, or Jackie, you guys are so cute together and you make a great pair. Go play that one nerdy cool fantasy game with Alfonzo and Ferguson. I can never remember what its called. Go laugh and dance and have fun, for me? I love you, bestie.

- Star Butterfly

marco's emotions were all over the place. his thoughts were running wild. he was upset, emotional, enraged, numb, and twenty other emotions that he couldnt name or place. moving like a machine, he sets the letter down on the bed next to him and opens the box. inside was two items, the first being a handmade necklace. the charm was a gold cresent moon with black bat wings made from some sort of stone, and on the back his name was engraved. the charm hung from a black rope-like chain, along with a silver clasp in the back. he unclasped the necklace, and hung it from his neck. it laid against his chest like it was meant to be there, like it was it was meant to be his. 

the second gift was bigger, a cape. it was exactly like one marco remembers telling star about, from his daydreams as a little kid. he would pretend he was the knight of a princess who would fight monsters with him. the cape was teal with a seafoam green 'm' on the back and a pastel green collar with a little gold clasp and chain. marco draped the cape around his shaking shoulders, feeling empty and numb. he layed down on the bed, tears slipping from his eyes. he layed there, just like that, until he fell into a dark slumber.