"Star?" Marco whispered with a soft knock on her bedroom door. He hadn't seen or heard from her all night. She remained so quiet, that Marco began to become concerned. Star wasn't like that at all. There was something wrong. "Your, uh, nachos are getting cold." He explained, not loud enough for his parents to hear but loud enough for Star to.

After a long enough moment for Marco to hear no noise from Star's room, he turned the knob and pushed the door open as it made a slight creak. In his other hand, he held a plate of nachos that wafted the smell of perfectly melted cheese. Marco peeked through the crack of his friend's door before welcoming himself into her room.

He sighed and tried to be as silent as he could to not wake her, if she was sleeping. Though, he couldn't tell. Underneath her covers in her bed was her figure, curled up like a baby fetus would. In the dark corners of her bedroom, Star was the only one that illuminated and lit up in it like a nightlight. To say the least, her body was glowing a blush pink color and flowing with magic, overdosed with her own wand's special powers that they decided to grant upon her.

Marco decided to set the plate on Star's side table and take a seat next to her bed. He observed the lump under the sheets. She didn't seem to be moving, but her breathing was steadied. Marco wasn't sure if she was sleeping or just trying to hide herself. "Star?" He muttered again.

Being stealthy and cautious, he leaned forward in his chair and peeled off the sheets over Star's head. He did not expect the response he got. Star, awake and well-aware, took the sheets and pulled them back to borrow her head. "Leave me alone." Star replied in a normal volume, telling Marco she wasn't asleep at all. Though she didn't mean to, Star had given Marco a good jump scare with her sudden movements.

"I know you're in there. I can still see you glowing." Marco said with an accidental chuckle. "C'mon, Star. Talk to me."

Being stubborn, Star tightened the sheets over her head more and did one last squirm. Marco let out a sigh of frustration. "Alright," He started, getting up out of his chair. "If you're not coming out, then I'm coming in. Make room." He proceeded to get into Star's bed while she scooted over to the other side. Then, he flung the sheets over their heads and met Star's absent eyes. "See?" He said to her in a hushed voice. "Not so bad, right?"

"It hurts." Star mumbled so soft that Marco could have missed it, despite only being a couple of inches away from her.

"What?"

"I can't make it stop. I don't know how."

Marco didn't know what to say. This was above his control. He couldn't help Star, no matter how much he wanted to. To let Star know he really did care, Marco took her hand and held it in his. Right away, he felt his fingers tingle and become numb. The feeling soon multiplied and crawled up his arm, until the tingle transformed into a sting, and the sting, evolving into a burn. What followed along with the pain was Star's physical magic, brightly colored. Before it became too unbearable, Marco let her hand go and flinched back.

"Marco?" Star said, choking on the name of her best friend. Her bottom lip seemed to shake as she witnessed him let go. Marco couldn't respond. His throat was clogged with tears. He now understood the awful pain that Star had to live with every second.

That night, when Marco left Star after the unforgettable incident, he tossed and turned and threw his pillow over his face. He tried to help, yet this time he couldn't. His best friend's pain and hurt was real. He couldn't sleep and neither could Star. He could tell she couldn't. Her sobs and weeping from the room across from him made him do the same.

It was clear that neither of them would get even an hour of sleep that very night.

(My own alternative ending to Storm The Castle - after the wand is ordered to be destroyed by Star, her wand protects and keeps its powers alive by giving them to its owner, AKA Star. But, the wand's magic is too much for Star to handle. She doesn't know how to control it.)