Star vs The Forces of Evil: Earthni Sweet Symphony

Episode 2: Star Butterfly: Terrible Student

Star, alongside brother Miles & Marco's sister Mariposa, found herself sitting rather comfortably on Marco's couch. In her right hand she held the remote to the television. In her left hand she held a basket full of unhealthy snacks for her & Marco to munch on. The plan for that night was to embark on an all-night - or at least as long as they could stay awake - TV marathon of all their favorite & least favorite shows & movies. This was a typical date for them. They weren't particularly high maintenance when it came to lavishing on romantic gestures. Merely being in each other's company & getting to show their affection for each other - whether it be hugs, kisses, or the more adult nature - was satisfactory for them.

But recently, that kind of time proved to be harder to come back.

With Marco having finally begun his college tenure, more of his time became devoted to his studies & to passing his classes. Granted, his courses were all online, so it wasn't as if Marco was constantly trekking out into town to take classes or boarding at a school hours away where he couldn't be with his friends & loved ones at all, but the classes themselves still proved to be time-consuming & challenging, justifying the need for expanded attention. Star insisted that Marco shouldn't feel lousy over needing to focus on his homework when needed, but of course it's Marco, so did he heed that advice?

The stress that the online courses were putting on him - and the stress he was putting on himself - was evident that night, as Marco dragged his feet down the stairs, yawning & rubbing his eyes. He tried his damndest to put on a front for his girlfriend, but she saw right through it without hesitation. As he finally approached the couch and took his seat, Star naturally adjusted hers, assuming the position that had become commonplace when they sat together, with Marco able to freely & unapologetically squeeze her rear end the way they both wanted him to. The babies could only giggle.

"How's your work?" She politely asked him as she kissed his cheek. She was careful with her tone. She was concerned for his well-being but also wanted to support him.

"Oh, uh...it's going fine..." He somewhat lied, hesitating to look her in the eye. "Nothing I can't handle..."

"You sure?" But she wasn't in the mood to dance around the subject. She wanted to be direct. "Because you look like hell."

His efforts to brush it aside were weak, and they were quickly failing. "N-Nonsense, I look-"

"Marco you look like I did when my depression & anxiety were at their worst." She point blank said to him, startling him slightly. "Thank corn you don't have anxiety or depression - at least as badly as I did - but you're exhausted. Your eyes are giving it away." Indeed, his slightly sunken & bloodshot eyes gave the game away. He had no way to argue it. "I was the same way when I was helping Eclipsa & overworking myself into the ground. You're not fooling me. I-Is it really that bad?"

"No! N-No..." He blurted out quickly & abruptly. "It...The homework isn't hard, the classes aren't really hard. There's just a lot and I wanna make sure I do really well in them. It'll help me when I graduate so I can get a really good job that hopefully leads to a good career." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed his sister reaching her arms out for him, asking to embrace him. He gladly obliged.

Star sighed & caressed the boy's cheek. "Yeah but don't you have, like, three years at that place to get good grades or something?"

"Four, actually. But that's not the point. I take my grades very seriously, you know that. So I gotta get all my work done."

"Even if it means running yourself ragged?" She wasn't going to let this point drop.

"Well, schools can be demanding. You remember how it was for you when you were enrolled."