Fic

Maths wasn't exactly Steven's strong suit. To him, maths was meant to be about numbers, just numbers. No letters, no really long words, just numbers. English wasn't really a strength of his either. Reading was fun and all, but he wasn't a big fan of trying to figure out all the hidden meanings behind a book, especially not when he was enjoying what he was reading. To Steven, it was a sure fire way to both ruin the book and make him wonder if the people who wrote these books were really thinking of all that stuff when they were writing. Science was yet another concept that was almost completely lost on Steven. Being raised by 3 gem surrogate mothers, who had both taught and shown him that the explanation of almost everything was magic, Steven had always just accepted that things worked the way they did because of magic and he needed no other explanation than that.

Generally, Steven didn't really comprehend a lot of stuff that was taught in schools. Not geography, not PE, not Spanish, not French, not ICT, not Art. The only subjects that Steven was able to begin to get his head round were history and music. Growing up with a former rock star for a dad meant that music and playing his ukulele had always been a source of recreation and fun when he was growing up, and living with the gems meant that he knew little bits and pieces of history, mostly gem history, but history all the same. The fact that Steven didn't really have an active working knowledge of lots of the different subjects that are taught in school, alongside the fact that he'd never actually been to one, meant that the young gem wasn't exactly the best study buddy in the world. This was something that his best friend Connie was finding out the hard way.

Studying was something Connie had grown accustomed to; having a mother as demanding as hers, as well as the usual pressures from the school system, meant that pressure to succeed was just something she had to live with, both at home and at school. Despite being expected to excel in literally every area, which required a lot of revision and studying on her part, Connie always tried to make time for her best friend, Steven Universe, who was absentmindedly chewing on one of her pens while staring blankly one of her maths workbooks. The two had set aside today for two things, studying and hanging out, and as much as they both wished that this sunny Saturday in particular could simply be a day dedicated to relaxing and hanging out by the sea as jam buds, Connie's upcoming week of mock exams being a matter of importance had led to the young gem pledging to help his friend prepare.

It was pretty clear to Connie that Steven wasn't really reading the maths book that was open in front of him; he'd been staring at the same page for the past 20 minutes, occasionally nodding his head and "hmmm"-ing when she cast her eyes away from her biology revision and towards him. She felt quite guilty for trapping him inside on such a glorious day, despite him being the one to suggest the study buddy idea, but the fact that he was trying to stay silent so as not to disturb her during her study and create a good study atmosphere made her thankful that she had him for a best friend. Having finished looking over the different parts of human cells, Connie closed her biology revision and sighed, allowing both her eyes and brain a brief reprieve from the 2 hour science revision that she'd just finished. She once again cast her eyes towards Steven who, seeing that she'd closed her textbook, met her with a smile, "How's your studying going?", asked the boy, now sitting up from where he had been lying on the floor of his bedroom, "Pretty good", the dark haired girl answered, "what about you? You seemed pretty lost in Pythagoras theorem", she asked playfully knowing full well that he hadn't actually been reading it. "Umm, yeah it's pretty…. Something", Steven responded awkwardly.

The room fell silent. The two of them just sat appreciating the warmth that was radiating from the sun, which was not making its way through the western part of the sky. When they'd last taken a break the sun was just moving past the midway point, but now the shadows cast by the Gem temple were stretching further and further towards the sea and the latening afternoon was beginning to give the shores of Beach City an orange hue. Connie was very conscious of the time, while her parents trusted her and Steven would not get up to anything dubious they still insisted on her being home for no later than 8PM, so that Gregg had ample time to get both Steven and himself home before it got too late, the Maheswarans were all about safety after all.

Steven was the one to break the silence, prying his eyes away from the glistening water, "Wanna go sit on the beach for a little? I know you've gotta study and stuff, but if you don't take breaks then your brain might get too big and explode!" said Steven, half joking, half genuinely concerned for his friend's wellbeing. "Sure", Connie replied, "I think I've studied enough for now, I'll leave the rest for when I get home." The tired youth began placing all of her revision materials into her backpack, placing textbook after textbook inside and neatly placing her exercise books, taking extra to ensure that no pages were being bent as her bag grew fuller with her mass of studying resources. As she and Steven stood up and headed for his front door, she dropped her bag so that she could just run up to collect her stuff before she had to head home.

The sand was soft beneath their feet. With each step Steven could feel the sand wash over his feet and sandals, and Connie could feel it beginning to inhabit the inside of her shoes. Finding a suitable spot to watch the slowly setting sun, the two sat down close to the shoreline, not too close to the tide so as to avoid getting their footwear soaked. Connie took this opportunity to remove her shoes so that she could empty the sand from them meanwhile Steven once again directed his stare toward the horizon. The dark skinned girl placed her shoes to one side and moved so that she was sitting alongside her best friend, "Hey Steven?" She said to the boy, who responded with a "hmmm?" which was very similar to the ones he'd vocalised while focussing on Pythagoras theorem inside the house, "I'm sorry we didn't have too much time to hang out today…", the girl began before Steven cut her off, "oh, that's okay Connie", he said directing a smile towards her, "I understand how important studying is to you, I just hope I wasn't too much of a distraction." A small smile crept onto her face, "Of course you weren't! Half the time I couldn't even tell you were there", she responded, causing the young gem to return her smile.

For a couple seconds they both just sat there, staring into each other's eyes before Connie turned her gaze back toward the, this small silence seemed to last ages, but after only a solid ten seconds of silence Steven once again turned to face his friend, "Connie…. I need to ask you a question, and it's something that's been bugging me for a little while now and I think it's something only you can answer for me." Connie noticed as she turned to face him that he was having a bit of trouble maintaining eye contact with her and that he was fiddling around and wringing his hands repeatedly, was he nervous? And if so, why? She looked at him for a moment before responding, "Sure, what is it?", a smile once again appeared on her face, hiding her confusion and curiosity.

The boy once again appeared sheepish, taking a deep breath before finally speaking, "How do people….how do people know who they like? As in 'like like, not just 'like", Steven exhaled deeply before once again meeting Connie's gaze, which was now directed solely at him. She took a moment to consider what he had asked her, yes she was well studied but this wasn't something that was taught, she always thought it was something that people came to on their own. She cautiously responded, really considering each word through before she vocalised it, "I'm…. not too sure", she stated bluntly, "If anything I'd say it would maybe be in psychology, but I've never studied it so I'm not really sure", she continued, hoping that her response would not disappoint him, "My mom told me once that girls are prone to liking boys who remind them of their dads, and that boys are attracted to girls who remind them of their mom."

She instantly regretted what she had said. Steven directed his attention directly toward the sandy ground, a frown appearing on his usually happy face. "Hey, that's just something my mom told me one time, it doesn't mean that it's true", Connie tried to reassure Steven to no avail. Connie felt terrible, she was well aware of how Steven felt about that fact that he never got the chance to know his mom and she was mentally kicking herself for letting what she said slip out. "Hey, just because my mom said it doesn't mean it's right", said Connie, once again trying to correct what she had said. "But Connie", Steven said, "Your mom's super smart like you; if she said it then it's probably right," the boy turned to face the sea, looking dejected.

What followed was possibly the worst silence Steven had ever been a part of in his life. He felt bad because he was probably making Connie feel awful, it wasn't that he wasn't used to the idea of never meeting his mom but the idea that it could mean he would never know if he would be able to properly feel the way people felt when they knew that they loved someone was something that he wasn't all too sure how to take. The sun was now getting closer and closer to the horizon and Steven knew that if he didn't say something now Connie would probably go home feeling bad. "I'm sorry Connie", he said, "I didn't mean to make you feel bad or anything." Steven looked up at his friend, whose face carried a look of surprise, "Why are you saying sorry? I'm the one who should be apologising, I made you feel bad", she said confused. Once again the two just gazed into one another's eyes, Steven's lips curled into a smile and the two turned to face the now setting sun once more before it disappeared for the day.

"I think", began Connie, "I think that liking someone, like knowing you really do 'like like' them is something you can just feel, not something you need to be taught how to recognise", she continued, not breaking her gaze from the almost disappeared sun while edging her hand slowly towards her friends until hers rested atop his. "Yeah", Steven agreed, "that sounds pretty accurate."

The sun had now fully sunk behind the horizon and the darkness of night was beginning to set in, the two stood up and began making their way back towards Steven's house so that Connie could grab her bag before Greg and Steven drove her home. As they entered the beach house, Steven handed Connie her bag and before the two could begin to make their way towards the road where Greg was meeting them Pearl began to speak, "Ah Steven, would you mind coming home after walking Connie to Greg's van? There are a few things I need to discuss with you", the gem said, smiling at the two youths. "So I won't get to go with dad and take Connie home?" enquired Steven, his voice heavy with disappointment, "I'm afraid not", Pearl responded, "I'm sorry Connie" she added, looking at the girl. Connie, who was more subtle than Steven, didn't wish to let her disappointment with having to say goodbye to her best friend sooner show, "Oh, it's okay, I understand" she said, smiling at her sword fighting mentor.

Returning the gesture, Pearl waved goodbye to Connie as she and Steven set off across the beach, soon reaching the stylish vehicle/home of Steven's father, "Hey kids", Greg greeted them with a smile, "ready to hit the road?", the balding man took his place in the driver's seat, expecting both Connie and Steven to join him in the van, "Pearl says she needs to speak to me about something so it's just Connie going with you" Steven informed his father. Greg shrugged, "Okay then kiddo, stay safe" said Greg, starting the engine of the van. Steven turned toward Connie now, "I'll see you later Connie, I hope I was a good help with studying", said Steven, "I had a great time Steven, thanks for being such a big help", replied Connie, and before she could even react Steven had embraced her with both arms before quickly freeing her and jogging back towards his home, waving as he went.

Connie felt the heat rushing to hear cheeks as they became a deep shade of red; she stood there frozen for a few seconds before Greg caught her attention, "Um… Connie? Ready to go?", he said, his voice carrying a slight hint of uncertainty, "Oh, sorry Mr Universe", she replied before hopping into the back of the van, "Hey" , Greg said, "Why not sit in the front with me? It's always nice to have someone to talk to on the road" he offered. Connie nodded her head before clambering into the passenger seat of the van, clambering over piles of Greg's clothes before Steven's father began the journey to her home.