Hello again everyone! Thank you all for all the support and feedback for 'The Ball of the Butterfly'! Now we begin the next part of this story, hope you all enjoy it as much as the previous installment! As always, all comments are welcome! I'll shut up now, let's begin!

Chapter 1: A Dream of Mauve

He stood in a fresh green meadow, surrounded by flowers of every imaginable colour. The wind whistled through the foliage, gently caressing the blades of grass and the leaves of trees. Petals flew timidly through the air, landing softly on the ground. There had never been such a tranquil setting. He smiled, enjoying the beauty of it all, basking in the glorious essence.

He looked up at the sky, and the sky looked back down at him. Not a cloud in sight, only the radiant majesty of the blazing sun could be seen in the baby blue sky above him. He shielded his eyes from the glaring yellow brightness, all the while enjoying it's subtle yet satisfying warmth. The sweet aroma of the flowers lingered in the air ever so lightly as the wind continued to blow, producing a calming sound for his ears.

It ended as soon as it began. In an instant.

The wind died, the sound becoming immediately nonexistent. The smells vanished, as if evaporating into thin air. All was silent, all was still in the meadow. At first.

Then suddenly the wind returned, although this was a different creature altogether. It produced a sound of unimaginable horrors. An ominous, looming sound that pierced his eardrums at impact. This was the sound of pain.

And then it happened all at once. The flowers around him began to wither and die in seconds, the once green meadow turning into a field of plant corpses. Dark clouds formed in almost every corner of the sky, the booming sound of thunder shaking in the distance. But the thing that his eyes were glued to was the once bright orange sun that graced the sky moments ago, surrounded by the storm clouds. Slowly, scarily, the colour of the sun began to drain, almost seep from its very being, as it was replaced with a new colour, just as bright, but nowhere near as comforting.

The sun shot rays of purple light down at him, encircling him in a dark mauve glow. The purple light hit the ground, and all at once the dead grass caught alight, blazing with what could only be described as purple flames. He was trapped in a ring of purple fire.

But that didn't concern him at this very moment, because coupled with the blazing rays hitting everything around him, they targeted him also. Purple light raced down from the sky and hit his skin, his arms, his legs, his face. And it burnt his very flesh.

He felt the searing pain of the heat melt away his clothes and sizzle against his body, the purple light consuming him in it's vast enormity. It burnt his hairs to a crisp and caused his skin to blacken and blister. Every part of his body was dying. Apart from his right arm.

Said arm just glowed purple, the same purple that it was being struck with by the sun. He felt his arm throb painfully as the glowing intensified. This feeling should have been insignificant compared to the pain of the rest of his body, which was scorching from the immense heat of the purple sun above him. But for some reason, it wasn't. In fact, he felt the throbbing more and more, it casting a shadow on his intense pain and hurt.

A solitary voice echoed through the dying meadow, soft but firm, strong but gentle, loud but quiet. It spoke over the evil sounds of the wind gusting around him and the roars of the purple inferno. This voice had no discernible qualities. He could not tell if it were man nor woman's, friend nor foe's. Just the voice, and only the voice. And it said but one thing.

"As it comes together, it falls apart."

And then his arm exploded. In a blaze of purple fire, it erupted. And he screamed.

BZZZZZ! BZZZZZ! BZZZZZZ!

Marco shot upright in his bed, shaking and panting heavily. He felt cold sweat dribble down his face and onto his neck as his eyes adjusted to his surroundings. The boy blinked a few times, causing the dreariness to retreat from his widened eyes. He looked around cautiously, his breathing starting to return to normal. All he saw around him was his bedroom. His normal bedroom.

He felt himself calm down, and Marco realised that his clammy hands were clutching the sheet of his bed. He let go and let the sheet fall down onto his wet, no longer shaking body. He closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to arrange his thoughts in his sleepy head. What … what was that?

The more Marco tried to remember the truly petrifying aspects of his dream, the more the memory of his dream disapparated. So I was in a field … a meadow? Or was it a forest? I can't remember, but there was definitely … erm ...

The Latino boy absentmindedly waved his arm to the side of him and managed to smash the off button of his alarm clock, the constant buzzing sound distracting him from reminiscing. As the sound of the alarm instantly ceased, Marco stared intently at his outstretched arm, taking in all of its features. He scrunched his nose and squinted. Wait a second … there was something about my-

"MARCO DIAZ!"

The sudden and unexpected sound made Marco jump up in fright and, subsequently, fall out of his bed. He hit the wooden floorboards of his room with a sharp thud, his extended arm taking the brunt of the blow. The boy groaned tiredly, nursing his right arm with his left hand, wishing that he had a lock on his door.

He looked up at the looming yet bright and cheery figure above him. "Good morning, Star."

Star grinned toothily at the boy, leaning down and batting her eyelids, "Oh Marco, what would you do without me? Must I wake you up every morning for school?"

"Okay, first of all," began Marco, as he picked himself up off of the ground, clutching his wounded arm all the while, "I was already awake, and about to get up. Second, you know full well that it is me that has to get you up every morning for school."

Star feigned a disbelieving look and waved her hand in Marco's direction. "Pfft. Okay, if you say so Marco." The boy chuckled, amused at Star's usual antics, which made the girl grin yet again.

Then Star remembered the other reason she had barged into the boy's room. "Hey Marco, have you seen Glossaryck anywhere?"

Marco raised his eyebrow. "Glossaryck? Won't he be in your spellbook?"

The princess shook her head. "Nah, checked last night after we finished those nachos you made us, and he was nowhere to be seen. Same deal this morning."

"Huh." Marco said, continuing to rub his arm. "Weird."

Things seem to be getting weirder than usual as of late, Marco thought, as his mind drifted back to that nightmare he had just experienced. It seemed falling out of his bed had completely knocked all memory of its contents out of his brain, as the boy just couldn't place what exactly had gone down. One thing he did remember, however, was that it was terrifying. And there was a voice…

His thoughts were interrupted by another, different and bubbly voice. "Oh well, it's probably nothing." Star said, seeming to let go of the mystery of her magic tutor. "I suppose it is Glossaryck. He does tend to come and go as … he … pleases …"

Star ended her sentence with a particularly large yawn, stretching her arms wide above her head. Marco formed a small smile at this gesture, his pondering over his dream abandoned. She looks so cute when she does that.

Suddenly, a surge of playfulness ran through Marco's body. He grinned slyly at the princess. "You seem tired. Half-asleep, almost. Suppose it was a late night."

The girl ended her yawn, her eyes half-lidded from exhaustion. She nodded slowly, only half paying attention to Marco's words.

"Well, I don't know about on Mewni," Marco began, snaking his now-feeling-better right arm around Star's waist, causing the girl's breath to hitch. "But on earth, we are taught that there is only one way to wake up a princess from a deep sleep."

Star blushed slightly, the warmth of Marco's arm spreading through her body. I still have to get used to this, she thought mirthfully, before donning a smile of her own and draping her own arms around Marco's neck. "Oh yeah? What's that then, Wild Man?"

Just the fire in Star's eyes when she was being flirtatious sent Marco's heart into a pounding frenzy. Nothing had ever seemed so … exciting as being like this with her. "Oh, you're about to find out." he grinned, and with that, he leant in, their lips softly connecting.

At first it was just a small, soft kiss that the pair shared to start off their morning. But as they stayed in that position, stood in Marco's room, lips locked, it turned into something slightly more passionate. Marco tightened his grip around Star's body as the kiss deepened, their lips moving in perfect sync with each other. Who started this, neither knew, but all the pair could do was enjoy this brief moment of passion, as both knew that it would sadly have to come to an end. Unfortunately, it ended in possibly one of the worst ways imaginable.

"Er, kids?"

Instantly their lips parted, making a wet smacking sound as they did so. Both still latched onto each other, Star and Marco turned their heads to the open doorway of Marco's room, and their eyes met a sight that caused both their faces to drown in a sea of crimson. There stood, wearing dressing gowns and holding mugs of coffee, Marco's parents. Rafael and Angie. Mr and Mrs Diaz.

It was then that something hit Marco, as he stared into the faces of his shocked, wide-eyed parents. Star and I haven't told them about … about us yet. Marco gulped. Come to think of it, we haven't told anyone about us yet. It only happened last night!

Star felt just as embarrassed, looking sheepishly at the wide open mouths of her surrogate family. Oh boy, caught in the act. Looks like we have some explaining to do...

While their heads remained firmly facing Mr and Mrs Diaz, Star and Marco's eyes travelled to meet each other for a split second. Then, all of a sudden, they leapt away from each other's grasp, and both began rambling all at once.

"So, you're probably wondering what-"

"You see, what happened is that-"

"-there was this ball, see, and we-"

"-Marco pretended to be my boyfriend for this-"

"-but then we danced under this big crystal-"

"-it all just sort of happened-"

"-out of nowhere, really, but-"

"-yeah it was really crazy, and-"

"NIÑOS!" Mr Diaz boomed, seeming to regain his basic functions after witnessing the shock of the sight before him. Star and Marco both shut their mouths simultaneously, lowering their gazes and standing stiff as boards. Their faces never dropped a shade of red all the while.

Mrs Diaz cleared her throat, "That's all … well and good, you two. So … you are both an item now, if I'm hearing this right?"

Marco's parents both waited expectantly for an answer, their eyebrows raised. Star and Marco glanced at each other once more, before the Latino boy sighed. Better to get the awkward part out of the way, he thought uncomfortably, as he took a deep breath.

"That's right, Mom." he said, meeting his parents' gaze. He reached out and gently grabbed Star's hand, surprising the princess. "Me and Star are … we're together now. We hope you're … erm … okay with that."

Star couldn't help but smile slightly, despite the embarrassing situation they were in. She gave Marco's hand a small squeeze. He is such a dork, she thought affectionately.

Marco's parents nodded slowly, both seeming to come to terms with this newfound knowledge. "Okay…" began Mr Diaz, speaking at a snail's pace and eyeing his son carefully. "So … if you can just answer me one thing…"

Marco and Star both gulped, afraid of where this was going. Things were awkward enough as they were. The new couple certainly didn't want to start off their relationship by being interrogated and/or scolded by-

"Which one of you made the first move?"

This was something neither of them were expecting. They looked at each other yet again, confusion evident on their red faces, before turning back to Mr and Mrs Diaz, who were eagerly awaiting an answer.

"Er, Dad?" Marco began, dumbfounded by his father's inquiry. "What do you-"

"Just answer your father. Marco." his mother interrupted, sounding almost shrill and kind of impatient, which took the boy aback. He glanced at Star, who looked just at puzzled as he did.

"Well," said Star carefully, feeling immensely uncomfortable as she looked between the two adults, "I, erm, guess since I sorta kissed Marco while we, er, danced, then it would be me who-"

The princess never got to finish her explanation, as she was interrupted by Mr Diaz, who was …

… cheering?

"WOO HOO!" exclaimed Marco's father, throwing his balled fist up into the air in victory, slightly spilling his coffee all the while. "I knew it, I just knew it!"

Contrasting to this, Mrs Diaz had folded her arms in a sulking manner and began to groan. "Oh, put a sock in it, Rafael! Pure luck, nothing more!"

Mr Diaz couldn't contain his smug grin, not even registering the bewildered children standing in front of him. "Yeah, yeah, of course a loser would say that, Angie. Now, I believe you have something of mine?"

The large Latino man held out his palm flat in his wife's direction, the cocky smirk never leaving his face. Mrs Diaz scowled and dug her hand into her dressing gown pocket, muttering bitterly all the while. At last, she pulled out a wad of crumpled green dollar bills and gingerly placed them in her husband's hand.

"Fine. You win. Enjoy." she said curtly, while Mr Diaz straightened out the money and held it up to the light, admiring his winnings. The couple's dynamic, however, was interrupted by their son.

"Just … what is going on here?" exclaimed Marco, feeling extremely unnerved at how the situation just took a complete left turn.

"Huh?" Mr Diaz asked, stuffing the bills into his pocket and looking back at his son. "Oh, that? Nothing to worry about son, just a little friendly wager is all."

Marco raised his index finger to interject, but his father continued, putting a warm hand on the boy's shoulder. "What is important is that we certainly approve of this new relationship, and we are both very happy for you. Right, Angie?"

Marco's mother, who still had her arms crossed and a glum look on her face, simply nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Could have at least raised a son that will kiss a girl, but oh no…"

She began mumbling bitterly under her breath, to which Star couldn't help but let out a giggle. Marco shot her daggers, making the girl raise a hand to cover her mouth.

Marco turned back to his parents. "So … everything's cool?"

His father let out a laugh. "Oh, it is more than cool, son." He put his hand in his pocket, fondling the money that resided there while his wife sulked. "Anyway, kids, don't be late for school! You can make out later!"

And with that, Mr Diaz rushed off down the hall, his wife trudging sullenly behind him. Marco, as red faced as ever, stuck his head out of his doorway. "DAD!" he yelled at him, the previous embarrassment returning.

Star giggled yet again at her boyfriend's antics, causing Marco to glare at her for the second time. "You think this is funny? They were both literally betting on us and how we would end up together! Do you not find that so completely patronising, undermining, and-and-"

The princess effectively silenced the boy with a swift peck on the lips. She retracted from Marco, who was now looking dazed. "Shut up." she said, smiling all the while.

Star then jumped excitedly out of Marco's room and into the hallway. "Now, time to get dressed, Marco! We've got school soon, and we still have to tell everyone about ussss!"

She finished her sentence in her usual sing-song voice as she skipped down the hallway and back to her room. Marco groaned, once again nursing his still slightly sore arm. If this is what telling people about me and Star is gonna be like, he thought as he flung his bedroom door shut and made his way over to his bathroom, then it is gonna be one heck of a long day.