Hello everybody!

Welcome to my new story: Catch the Chance Before it Flies Away.

This is going to be a fairly short story with only 3 or 4 chapters. I'm writing this because I need a break from my other stories.

This will not have an upload schedule. As it is a short story and is not one of my main ones, it will take a long time to upload (unless I have lots of free time). You can check my profile for upload dates for the next chapters of my stories, including this one.

Some sadness in this story. If you aren't familiar with my stories, I am a very dark and depressing author. This story is more lighthearted and isn't dark. Still sad at some points though.

Enjoy!

Steven smiled and waved as Connie shut the door to her house. As he walked back over to Lion, a sigh of relief escaped his lips - Connie had finally forgiven him. It was still a funny thought that they'd both accepted an invite from Kevin, just to see eachother.

Yet, something still didn't feel right.

"Take me home, Lion." He muttered to his large, pink pet. Lion roared and a large portal appeared. "Thanks."

Steven yawned. It'd certainly been a long week, with being in space and all that had occurred since. Lapis had left and taken the barn, Sadie and the Cool Kids had made a band with him, the Gems had taken him on holiday and Connie was talking to him again.

As he snuggled into bed, he found himself unable to sleep.

...she's so wild and entertaining...

He tossed over and tried to sleep again.

...she's so elegant and talented...

He clenched his fists and tried to clear his mind.

...Connie is so strong, so wise, so...beautiful...

He gave up. He wasn't gonna sleep tonight.

His cheeseburger backpack at his side, he trundled down the stairs.

Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl and Peridot were all together in the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" Pearl asked, putting the last dish in the sink. She had been washing plates while the others had been discussing something or other. It didn't really matter to Steven right now.

"I..." He looked around at the four Gems (five if you counted Garnet as two Gems) that sat before him. "I'm gonna go see somebody."

And with that, he rushed out of the door.

"DAD! I NEED YOU! QUICKLY!"

Greg awoke the alarming sound of his son's shouts. Quickly, he got up and ran out of the van in alarm, his trusty guitar in hand.

"WHAT IS IT, KIDDO? ARE YOU BEING KIDNAPPED? ARE YOU HURT?"

"Dad, I'm right here."

Greg looked down. There, his boy was staring up at him, unharmed and smiling.

"Sorry if I startled you..." He apologised.

"Steven, there's no need to apologise. It's fine." Greg set aside his guitar. "Do you need anything?"

"...I need to talk to you about something..." He nervously replied.

Greg sat down and shuffled over a little so that Steven and him could sit comfortably on the edge of the van.

"Dad, how do you know when you love somebody?"

Greg was a little surprised at the random question. "Well, you can't stop thinking of somebody. You worry about them; you wonder if they'll accept you. Sometimes, your heart can even feel a little warm when you think of them."

"Does your heart flutter?"

"Yeah. Is everything okay, Steven?" Greg asked, curious not worried.

"I-I think I feel that way...about Connie..." Steven blushed and looked up at the stars.

Greg smiled. "I thought so."

Steven turned to him. "Really?"

"Yeah!" Greg laughed. "It was pretty obvious that you want her."

Steven blushed an even deeper shade of red. "Dad!"

"I'm just kidding, schtu-ball." Greg put a comforting hand on Steven's shoulder. "Why don't you write a song?"

"A song? About what?"

"About how you feel."

"What if she doesn't like it?"

Greg frowned a little. "You're really that worried, huh?" He gave a sigh. "This is up to you, kiddo. You have to tell her yourself."

Steven looked a little hurt by this.

"Sorry, Steven."

"No. It's fine." Steven stood up and climbed out of the van. "I'm gonna go to back to the temple before everybody begins to worry about me. I did kinda leave abruptly."

"Oh, okay. I'm gonna doze off too. Bye, Steven."

"See ya, dad."

The Gems turned to look at the door as it swung open. Steven was stood there, a downcast and distant look in his eyes.

"Hey, Steven! Is everything alright?" Amethyst asked.

"Well..." Steven began. He looked up at Garnet, who clearly had no idea what he was going to say.

Steven looked at each of the Crystal Gems. All of them had a worried expression.

"I...I'm in love with Connie."

There was silence for a few moments.

Amethyst looked up at him. "Are you sure, dude?"

Steven was taken aback by Amethyst's comment. "Yeah."

There was another moment of silence.

"Uhh...why is everybody so awkward?" He questioned, beginning to panic.

"So...you and Connie..." Pearl put a hand on Peridot's shoulder in order to relax herself. "Who's gonna disappear?"

"W-What do you mean?" He knew exactly what was going on but he didn't want to believe it.

"If you and Connie...you know..."

Steven felt his heart break a little.

"You guys don't support me, do you?" Steven felt himself tear up.

"That's not what we mean, Steven." Garnet added.

"NO! THAT IS WHAT YOU MEAN!" He felt himself get angrier. "YOU JUST DON'T WANNA LOSE ME!"

"Ste-man, you know that we support you. It's just...we don't wanna lose you or Connie..."

He looked at everybody in turn, his mind filling with rage and sadness. Then, he looked at Peridot. She hadn't said a word ever since he had told them. She didn't look angry, nor did she look upset. She was just...blank.

He turned his attention back to the other Crystal Gems. He growled and stormed into the bathroom. He locked the door.

He fell to the floor, tears flooding from his eyes.

This wasn't ever going to work out. His dad wanted him to go for it himself. The Gems were just...ARGH! All he had said was that he loved Connie. He was alone.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the bathroom door.

"Steven?" The unmistakable voice of Peridot spoke. "May I come in?"

Peridot was the only Gem who hadn't actually said anything about it.

He unlocked the door and let her walk in.

"Steven, can I talk with you?"

"You're just gonna give up on me like the other Gems, aren't you?"

"Of course not! I want to help!"

Steven's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Of course! That's what friends do, right?" Peridot smiled.

"Right." He replied. He's never heard Peridot say something like that before. It was almost suspicious. Although, this was Peridot. She was known to be a bit unpredictable.

"Love is love. If you love Connie, you shouldn't let everybody push you around. If the Gems don't support you, don't listen to them."

Steven felt a small smile creep onto his own face. "Thanks, Peridot."

"Not a problem. Now, how are you gonna tell her?"

Steven took a piece of paper out of his pocket. "I was thinking of writing a song." He handed it to her. "I wrote this on my way home."

Peridot read through it. "Steven...this...this is amazing!"

"Honestly?"

"Honestly!" She handed the paper back to him. "She's gonna love it!"

"But what if she doesn't?" He asked. He was still really worried.

"Try to think positively. You need to take the chance." She looked at him with a strange expression which Steven had never seen her use before. It was a look of determination crossed with guilt and upset. "You never know how long that chance will last."

"Peridot..." He put a hand on her shoulder. "...you had a crush on Lapis, didn't you?"

Peridot stared blankly at him for a moment. He watched as a single tear rolled down her cheek. "I should've taken the chance when I had it." Another tear fell, swiftly followed by another. "...I don't know if I'm ever gonna get that chance again..."

This was the first time he'd seen her cry. Sure, he'd seen her tear up but he'd never seen her actually cry.

"Peridot..." He wiped the tear from her face. "...I'm so sorry..."

"It's alright." She told him.

"Wanna friend hug?" Steven offered.

"Yeah."

The two enveloped eachother in a hug. They stayed there for ages. Steven felt his shoulder become wet. Peridot still be silently crying.

"You just need to take the chance. It's not too late for you two." She muttered, not letting go of the hug.

"Thank you, Peridot."

"Not a problem."

The two finally broke from hug and stood up.

"When do you wanna tell her?" Peridot asked.

"Tomorrow. For now, I'm going to go to bed. It's, like, midnight."

"Alright, I'll be in the bathroom if you need me."

"I told you, you can sleep on the sofa if you want."

"Nah, the sink is much more comfortable."

"You sleep in the sink?"

"What's wrong with that? Amethyst does it all the time!"

They both burst into laughter.

"Well, goodnight!"

Steven crawled into bed, his mind filled with positive thoughts. Talking with Peridot had really helped him - he was glad to have somebody to help him. Peridot may not be the best at advice but she knew exactly how he felt.

As he laid there, he began to think of scenarios. Not bad scenarios.

Ones of Peridot and Lapis meeting eachother. Peridot saving Lapis. Lapis saving Peridot. How they would hug eachother and apologise. How they would talk and make up. How they'd cross paths again.

At the same time, Peridot was thinking of the exact same thing. She longed to be with Lapis. Her metaphorical heart would crack whenever the blue Gem's name was mentioned. She wished Lapis was with her. She wished everything could just fix itself. She should've told Lapis before.

Maybe, Lapis missed her too. Maybe, Lapis longed to be with her too. Maybe, Lapis wished that they were together.

Maybe, just maybe, it wasn't too late for Peridot and Lapis either.