AN: This is my first fic in a looooooong time. Like 10 years probably. But I've never been as enamored with a show as I am currently with Steven Universe, I had to come back to it. I don't know if this is any good, in all likelihood, I've lost my touch, but I figured let's give it a shot anyway. Here's the first chapter of "The Outsider."
Steven walked out of the bathroom after completing his usual morning routine; Brushing his teeth, showering, changing into his signature star shirt, cleaning his ears, and trimming his nails, in that order. This was about the only thing predictable about Steven. As he walked into the living room, he saw that Amethyst had already taken over his bed to play video games, Garnet was lounging on the sofa with her arms crossed, and Pearl was making him breakfast. He smiled and shouted "Good morning everyone!"
Garnet responded first. "Hello Steven. Enjoy the Big Donut." Steven, chuckling, replied, "Garnet, I can smell Pearl cooking right now. You're not losing your touch, are you?" he smiled at her. She stared at him for a few seconds and said, deadpan, "No."
From up the stairs, Amethyst shouted down to him. "Hey Steven! I buried pitfalls all around your town, beat up some animals with a bug net, and trampled on a flower garden. You were right, this game is awesome!" Steven frowned. "Amethyst, come on! It took me weeks to get those blue roses to bloom!" She chuckled. "Well it only took me a few minutes to get 'em to wilt"
Sighing at the loss of his virtual botanical efforts, he walked into the kitchen to see Pearl hard at work on the sink. She was shoving something down into the drain. "Morning Pearl!" he said excitedly, staring at the eggs and sausage cooking on the stove. "Oh Steven! Good morning! I have your breakfast cooking, but I need to clear this clog in the garbage disposal. It's filled with all sorts of nastiness and isn't functioning properly." Amethyst laughed again from her place in front of the tv. "Sorry, P! That's probably my bad." Pearl huffed and took the wooden spoon she was using out of the sink. "I think it should work now," she said, flipping the switch for the garbage disposal.
As soon as she did, a small explosion of putrid smelling foulness came flying out of the drain. It all flew out to the side, covering the stove and everything that was cooking on it. Pearl shut the disposal off immediately and froze for several seconds, during which it was quiet enough to hear a pin drop. After the initial shock wore off, she screamed. First in horror at the rotten meat and fish that covered her and the kitchen, and then in frustration at Amethyst.
"AMETHYST! I've told you repeatedly to only use the garbage disposal for garbage, not for fun! Look what you did to this place!" Amethyst laughed and yelled back, "Oh come on, Pearl, we both know you love cleaning it up anyway, what does it matter?! Just do another one of your Pearl spring cleaning sessions, it will be fine in no time!" Pearl looked furious. "Spring cleaning is for SPRING! IT'S OCTOBER! And on top of that, now Steven's breakfast is ruined!"
That actually made Amethyst apologetic. "Ouch... Sorry, Stee-man, I know you're hungry." Steven, who narrowly avoided being covered in moldy, slimy meat, merely stared at Garnet, unblinking. Garnet stared back, uncrossed her arms, and shot him two finger guns.
Steven shook his head slowly, still staring at Garnet. "It's ah... It's ok." He broke eye contact and walked to the door, grabbing his pink hoodie. "I'm heading to the Big Donut then," he said as Pearl and Amethyst continued their verbal fisticuffs. "I'll be back in a few minutes!" Amethyst's ears perked up when she heard that and decided it would be best if she left the house for a little bit. "Wait up! I'll walk you out!" She ran after him as Pearl started shouting after her, but she didn't care to subject herself to more of Pearl's nagging and ranting. They didn't have the best relationship most of the time. She got through the door just in time for Pearl to realize that chasing after her was a fruitless endeavor, and she and Steven started off along the beach.
Steven looked kind of upset. He didn't like when his family fought, and it seemed to happen a lot lately. He wished he could get everyone to get along, but things in life aren't so easy. He knew it wasn't something he could force to happen, it would have to play out on its own. Amethyst, on the other hand, was just happy to get out of the house. She couldn't stand the way Pearl made her feel most of the time. While she shared the same feelings as Steven about the relationship between everyone in the beach house, her pride made it hard for her to let things slide so easily. She didn't like conflict, and that usually left her with two options; either avoid it altogether, or attack it head on, the latter of which made things worse most of the time.
"So Steven," Amethyst began to ask, "What do you have planned today? Anything exciting? Gonna visit Funland, or have Connie come over, or something?" Steven thought to himself for a moment, making an audible hum to signify this, before saying "Well not really… I wasn't even planning on going to the Big Donut until breakfast at home was taken off the table. Literally." He let out a nervous laugh, hoping Amethyst wouldn't think he was trying to hurt her feelings. She chuckled in return, putting Steven's fears at ease. "Heh, yeah, sorry about that. But hey, the Big Donut's not so bad. Besides, you love getting to see Lars and Sadie. And I know they like to see you too! Well, Sadie does, anyway… I dunno about that Lars kid. But after that, there's nothing going on?" Steven checked the time, though he didn't really need to. He only just woke up, so it was still early morning. Still a lot of time left in the day. He replied, "Nothing I can think of. Why, do you have any ideas?" Amethyst smiled. "Well, I was thinking about stopping by the nerd's place. Her art isn't as good as Vidalia's, but it still is fun to look at. I know last time I was a sour-puss about everything, but that toilet piece was actually kind of cool. I kind of… Well, I want to make up for how I behaved last time. Peridot and Lapis were getting along, making art. It's not traditional art, but they found something that made them happy. And I maybe stomped on their passion a little bit… I don't want them to feel like they're wasting their time with it, you know?"
Steven stared at Amethyst, his mouth agape. "Amethyst… Does this mean you care about them?" Amethyst looked at him blushing, her dilated pupils meeting the gaze of his star filled eyes. "What? Psh, no, I just… I mean, we're their uhm… I want to be a good ambassador for Earth! Yeah, that's it!" Steven continued to grin, seeing through her lie. And that was enough for her. "Ok, Steven, uh, I'm gonna head there now actually! Come on by when you get breakfast, I'm sure they'd love to see you!" She said all of this while running in the direction of the barn. Steven wasn't able to reply in time. He continued smiling, shrugged, and kept walking toward the boardwalk.
As Steven approached one of his favorite restaurants, he whistled and talked to himself, trying to work out a decent melody. "Maybe a Cmaj7 into an Fmaj7, then from there I could do an E7... Wait, this is familiar..." but before he could work out where he recognized those chords, he noticed a dark figure walking into the Big Donut. "Odd... I don't usually see anyone else eating there but me. Busy day for Lars and Sadie I guess."
When he reached the door, he saw the dark figure talking to Sadie. He came in just in time to hear the end of a conversation. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but that's just not enough money," Sadie told the stranger. "Usually I would just give you a couple on the house, but with how business has been, management is keeping tabs on everything. I could lose my job." She frowned, truly sad for the person who was short on cash. "It's ok... I'll figure something out..." a small, feminine voice said. Steven correctly attributed the voice to the dark figure he was slightly wary of.
The woman turned around and she and Steven made eye contact briefly. She was wearing a black hoodie with a design on it. The design was a triangle with a rainbow coming out of one side. Steven thought he saw it in his dad's record collection before. But the hoodie was in bad shape. Covered in dirt, not washed in weeks. Her pants were no better, torn on one knee and taped up with duct tape on the ankle of the other leg. Her shoes were also taped. They used to be red canvas shoes, but they were mostly just gray tape. Steven frowned and wondered if there was any actual shoe left.
The woman noticed Steven examining her and her lips started trembling. She left the restaurant very quickly, running past Steven before he could get a word in. He yelled after her, "Hey wait! I can..." he trailed off as she left earshot. "Help..." he finished. He sighed and walked up to the counter. "Sadie, what was all that about?" he asked, downtrodden. Sadie looked up from the counter she was staring at. "Oh, hey Steven. Yeah, that was kind of strange. She came in with 75 cents or so and wanted a donut. But the cheapest thing on the menu is $1.49. I wanted to help, but with the tourists leaving for the fall, management is making sure we don't lose any money to small gestures like the one I wanted to do. It's a shame, really... I don't recognize her. I think she might be homeless. Good thing Lars skipped work today, he probably would have made her feel a heck of a lot worse." Steven's eyes widened with every word Sadie said. "That's terrible! I... I have to help somehow. And considering what I have at my disposal, I think I know just the way to do it! Sadie, get me a dozen, no... A BAKER'S dozen of donuts! I'm gonna find her!" He put on his serious Steven face, which Sadie picked up on. "Aye aye, captain." she said, saluting and smiling, before she started packing a box of donuts.
Sam had arrived in Beach City only a few days ago with pennies to her name. She had hiked and hitched her way into town all the way from Keystone. Beach City wasn't her first choice of destination, merely her most recent one. She tried Empire City first, but the winter was too harsh. Charm City came next, but it was dangerous. She made her way to Beach City thinking that she would have a better time there, but she neglected to take into account that people usually only go there for the summer. It was a tourist trap, and there were no more tourists who were willing to put pocket change into her cup. The boardwalk was devoid of any crowds, and she only managed to get her hands on two quarters, three nickels, and a dime, and those were coins she dug around for. Sam hoped it was enough for something, but every place she went to had tourist trap prices. She couldn't even find a cheap vending machine for a candy bar. Her search for food brought her to the Big Donut. All she got there was glared at by a local child in a pink hoodie.
The encounter at the Big Donut made her come to the conclusion that no matter how hard she tried, she would not be able to find food in this town. Certainly not with what little money she had. She made a conscious decision about a dilemma she had brewing in her mind ever since Charm City. She chose the alternative to dying of starvation.
She rounded a few corners, ducking into an alleyway, and came to her makeshift home. It was comprised of a flattened cardboard box, a tarp held up like a tent with some driftwood, a cassette player with one tape that had been rewound and played so much that it barely sounded like music anymore, a small stuffed polar bear that looked as dirty as she did, and a blue box cutter with an elongated razor blade that she used for protection. These were all she had. The only possessions Sam owned. But they meant the world to her.
She crawled into her tent and sat up with her back against the wall of a building. She clutched one item with each of her hands. In her left, she held her stuffed polar bear. "Iggy..." she said, her voice catching, "Iggy I'm sorry... But I can't find any food. It's been days since I've eaten and I can't take this pain. I love you more than I ever loved anything in this world. I didn't want things to turn out this way, but I don't have any other options... Nobody wants us around, nobody wants to help us... So I'm doing this. For us..." In Sam's right hand was her blue box cutter. She rolled up her sleeves and extended the blade. Sam dug the razor into her left wrist. She sliced length-wise, right up her arm and let the blood drain out onto the cardboard mat beneath her. She hugged Iggy with what strength she had left. Her ears started ringing and she knew it was almost over. As her vision faded, she could just barely make out the image of a little boy with a pink hoodie.
Steven left the Big Donut with no clue where exactly he was going. He pondered for a moment as he stared down the shoreline. He and Sadie couldn't be the only people to have seen her. Today was his lucky day, he thought, as he saw Buck and Sour Cream rounding a corner in his direction.
"Buck! Sour Cream!" he yelled, running toward them. He kept the box of donuts against his chest, making sure to not crush them or let them fall out. Buck and Sour Cream stared at him, hands in their pockets. "Hey Universe," said Buck in his trademark monotone voice. "You look like you're in a hurry. You delivering donuts on the clock now?" Steven chuckled a little bit as he tried to catch his breath from the sprint he broke out in. "No no… Nothing… Like that…" He took a deep breath and calmed himself down. "These donuts are for someone I saw earlier. I don't know who she is, but she looked sad. She couldn't afford any of these, so I thought I'd surprise her." Sour Cream looked impressed. "Wow, Steven. That's really generous of you. Usually people only chase after someone if they're going to hurt them. This is like, a whole new way to interact with someone. I can rave to that… Do you know what she looked like? Maybe we could point you in the right direction.
Steven described the girl he saw at the Big Donut. The detail that stood out, however, was her hoodie. "Oh man, the chick with the Floyd hoodie? Yeah! Me and Buck saw her duck into an alley down the road a bit. Go past Beach Citywalk Fries and make a right. She went back behind the place. Hope you find her, little roadie dude." Steven smiled. "Thanks guys! I gotta run! These donuts are gonna get cold, and nobody likes a cold donut as much as a warm one." He dashed off, leaving the two cool kids behind. He would have to join them on an adventure some other time. He had a mission he had to accomplish.
Ten minutes or so had come and gone since Steven started from the Big Donut. He arrived at the fry shop and waved hello to Peedee as he passed by. Peedee didn't look up from the newspaper he was reading. But Steven couldn't stop. No time for bits now. He found himself in an alleyway he'd never been down before. He thought it looked like no one had been down there in years. But he put on a brave face. The worst he could find would be a gem monster, and they usually make a lot of commotion, giving some warning beforehand. No, the only thing back here would be a hungry girl who would appreciate some donuts. And he was mostly right.
"Uhhh, excuse me? Miss?" He asked the question and got no response. He continued down the alley. "It's me, Steven! Oh wait, you don't know my name… My name's Steven! I saw you at the Big Donut and felt bad that you couldn't afford any donuts, so I brought you some myself! Hello…?" He would receive no answer. He proceeded to walk to the end of the alleyway until he came across a dead end. All he saw was a pile of junk in a corner and a tarp over it. Right before he turned to leave, he spotted a duct-tape covered canvas shoe poking out from under the tarp. He smiled and walked over to the tarp. Steven poked his head in, and immediately the donuts were ruined. He dropped the box. But that didn't matter now. All that mattered was helping the sad, dirty, blood drenched girl who was dying in front of him.
Steven began panicking. "Ahhhh! What… Why? Who would… Did she… to herself? Just calm down… You can help her. She is going to be ok. I hope…" He crawled under the tarp and licked his hand. He closed his eyes and placed his saliva covered fingers on the girl's wrist. He kept his eyes closed for a couple seconds before he was brave enough to peek. To his amazement, it worked. The gash had already stopped bleeding and was closing up. It looked like the broken skin was clawing its way back to its original location. Before he knew it, scar tissue had formed over top of the wound. He smiled, but was soon brought back down when he saw that she was still unconscious. He thought quickly, putting his hand underneath the girl's nose. She was breathing. Barely, but it was still there.
Steven looked around at the grizzly scene beneath him. He thought for a moment, wondering what to do. He couldn't leave the poor girl here. She would wake up and probably try it again. Maybe he could take her to the temple. But he wasn't sure Pearl or Garnet would let her stay very long before they kicked her out and she was back to square one. Finally it hit him: The barn. Lapis and Peridot were both learning how to live on Earth. That sounds just like what this girl needs. Amethyst was there, but she was a lot more easygoing than his other two guardians. She might even understand.
Steven picked up the walkman, the bear, and then the girl. He carried her over his shoulder, not having the necessary height to do otherwise. In a flash, he sped off to meet his friends.