AN: I'm sorry, this is like, really upsetting, but I can't help thinking how easily manipulated Steven would be...And if he ever got with the wrong person...Well. You'll see. He's 14 in this, so it's after the events of the show, wherever they lead. Have fun! (Bad ideas: Getting into something new and writing fanfiction for it. Things that I do: Just that. If any of you came here because you thought I updated one of my more popular stories, then both I Remember You and Get A Grip, Sowachowski have in-progress and very near finished chapters. So don't get your panties in a twist.)
OKAY, WARNINGS FOR: SWEARING, ABUSE (EMOTIONAL AND PHYSICAL, BUT HEY, MY MIND RUNS WILD, SORRY, THIS COULD GO ANYWHERE), MANIPULATION, AND PROBABLY SOME FORM OF SELF-LOATHING IN FURTHER CHAPTERS...WHICH COULD LEAD TO ANYTHING. IF IT DOES, I'LL PUT WARNINGS IN THE FRONT OF THE CHAPTERS.
~AP
"Hi! You're Steven, right?" The black-haired boy looked up and grinned. He liked making new friends. "That's me!"
"My name is Alex! I just moved here! I hope we can be friends...!" Steven giggled and his smile grew wider.
"I hope we can too! Alex is a really nice name! But, how do you know, uh, who I am?"
"Oh, Connie talks about you at school all the time!" The boy gasped lightly and felt a blush rising in his cheeks.
"S-she d-does?"
"Totally! Haha, Steven Universe with the funny family who lives in the hut by the beach who, quoting Connie, "my parents disapprove of for some reason even though he tries his best"." Steven just rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"I-I, uh..."
Pearl was watching from the temple through the window, and Amethyst nudged her leg not all-too-gently. "Spyin' on Steven again, P?"
"I don't like the girl he's talking to." Amethyst sighed and raised an eyebrow, grabbing some snacks from the fridge.
"You haven't met her, have you?"
"No...But something's off about her, I'm telling you. She's not...She's not going to be good for him."
"You don't think anything's good for him if he could get a bruise out of it." Amethyst gently yawned and then plodded back to her room. Pearl sighed and glanced down again. She guessed Amethyst was kind of right. I mean, what harm could a 14-year-old girl do? Not much. She decided...yes, she should give this girl a chance.
It was a bad idea.
"STEVEN! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!" Steven slung on his cheeseburger backpack and sighed a little. He'd said that Alex had to be careful; If the Crystal Gems heard her calling for him in that manner, they'd throw a hissy fit and kick her out. But she still did it whenever she wanted. Luckily, the Gems had gone on a mission 'too dangerous' for Steven, so they weren't home.
He sprinted until he was face-to-face with Alex, who was tapping her foot impatiently. "Hi, shortcake!" Steven didn't know much about dating, but he knew one thing; the girl would pretty much squeal at cute nicknames. Her serious expression turned into a grin and a blush. "Oh, Steven, you little dork." She leaned and gave him a kiss on the nose. It was his turn to blush, now. "T-that's me!"
Suddenly she looked at his backpack, and then wrinkled her nose. "You're going to take THAT? Isn't that a bit...childish?" Steven's grin faded slightly.
"I-I always take cheeseburger backpack with me places..."
"Not with me, you won't. You wouldn't want to embarrass me in front of everybody...would you?" Steven looked at the floor and quickly shook his head.
"O-of course not!" He slung off the backpack, leaving it at the door. "Let's go, then!" She smiled and linked her arm through his.
"Yeah, let's go."
Just as they reached the base of the hill that the temple sat on, the warp pad sounded. The Gems were home, but Steven had already told them he was out with Alex today...Though he kinda wished he could just go back and-
He hesitated, looking back uncertainly. Alex stared at him, a look of complete hurt on her face. "Y-you'd leave me for them...?"
"No! No! Of course not! Let's go!" Steven reassured, and they kept walking, but he couldn't stop himself glancing longingly back at the temple...Why? He should be happy to spend time with his girlfriend...right?
MEANWHILE, IN THE TEMPLE
"Steven!"
"He's out, Pearl. Again." Amethyst yawned. "If you were listening to the dork's excited blabbering this morning you might know that him and Alex have a date today." Garnet walked off the warp pad, past the two, who had started quarreling. Again. "You two?"
They looked to where she was kneeled, next to the door. "What?" Their voices were completely in unison in the words, and the annoyance.
"...He left his backpack." At first, Garnet had agreed with Amethyst; Pearl was overprotective and Steven was old enough to date now, just as long as there was nothing sexual involved, it was fine. "So?"
"Amethyst, when has Steven ever gone out for more than a couple of hours without his cheeseburger backpack?" Pearl gasped.
"I knew that girl was no good-!"
"Don't jump to conclusions." Garnet said, standing back up. "I'm sure he just forgot it and would be really grateful if one of us came to give it to him. Specifically me." She opened the door and Amethyst yelled after her.
"What are you gonna do, even?"
"Just a quick test."
And she was off.
IN TOWN
Steven had just told some hilarious joke and Alex was laughing her head off, when suddenly he heard Garnet. They shouldn't be back yet anyway... "Steven!"
"Huh?" He stopped and turned, and so did Alex, to see Garnet running towards him with his...cheeseburger backpack. Of course. "You forgot this!" She smiled lightly and held her hand out. Alex looked at him. "I-I...I actually...Didn't bring it?" Oh, boy. Garnet already knew as soon as he started stuttering. But she kept up the act. "Well, why not?"
"It was just...too much to carry around, so..."
"Well, you usually carry it around everywhere...Sorry for misassuming, but do you want to take it anyway? It's not much point to take it back now..." Steven shook his head.
"No, I'm sorry, I don't want it...Right now. It's too childish. I'm not a baby anymore." He tried to sound confident, but he heard his voice waver. Garnet shrugged. "Fine. I'll see you at home later, Steven."
She walked away and Steven turned to Alex. She looked fuming. "U-uh..." She grabbed his arm and dragged him into an alleyway near the Big Donut, and then...SLAP! "You idiot! You utter piece of fucking shit! WHY DID YOU LEAVE IT IN FUCKING VIEW?! NOW THEY'RE GOING TO STOP US SEEING EACH OTHER! IS THAT WHAT YOU FUCKING WANT, STEVEN?!" And another.
"N-no! Alex, I didn't- I didn't mean to, and they won't, they won't, I'll talk to them, I promise!"
"THAT DOESN'T-" Slap. "FUCKING-" Slap. "MATTER-" And to the ground. "NOW!" And a kick to the side.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He was cowering and he knew it, as well as nearly crying...He felt tears begin to spill and then heard a cold, harsh laugh. "Don't act like such a baby, Steven." The voice turned soft and she kneeled down, pulling him into a cuddle. "Aww, don't cry, baby, I'm sorry, you know I don't mean it...I just got a little angry and lost myself, I didn't mean to hit you, I'm sorry...B-But please, don't tell the Crystal Gems, I don't want to lose you...This is NEVER going to happen again, I promise, okay, Ste? I promise." He wiped his eyes and smiled a little, nodding.
"Y-yeah, I-I won't tell them...I trust you."
Sadie was standing at the end of the alleyway, and backed into the wall. She could take the trash out later; Steven's safety was more important, and boy if she didn't recognize this. She ran into the Big Donut, where Lars was lazing around on his phone. "Lars!"
"What?"
"STEVEN!"
"What about the freak?" The panic of her voice didn't seem to bother him in anyway.
"...This girl...Just...beat him up!" Lars made a joke under his breath and then looked up, but his grin faded.
"Wait, you aren't...kidding?"
"NO! His girlfriend, that Alex girl...she just..."
"...You should tell his Dad or something, Sadie." The girl turned and took her jacket.
"Yeah, I should. Cover me!"
"Wait, WHAT?! I didn't mean now-!" But she was already gone.
When Steven returned that night, he was surprised by many things. One: His Dad was there. Two: So were all the Crystal Gems. Three: And Sadie in the background. "Uh, hi?"
"Steven! WHAT-?!" Garnet placed her hand on Pearl's shoulder, who sighed and took a deep breath. "We need to talk. Amethyst?" The Gem threw Steven an ice pack.
"Works well for bruises, kiddo." He sighed and sat down on the couch, putting the icepack to his side. It felt good against the pain of the bruising, but he was more concerned about why literally everybody was here. "What's up, guys?"
"Sadie just told your father and us something very interesting." Oh no. They were near the Big Donut...This is what Alex said would happen... "D-did she?"
"Yeah, she did. And I'm not very impressed with this new girlfriend of yours." It was his father speaking now.
"I KNOW how to take care of myself, Dad, calm down."
"IF YOU DID THEN YOU WOULDN'T COME HOME FRIGGIN' BRUISED LEFT RIGHT AND CENTRE, WOULD YOU?! I SWEAR TO-"
"Greg. Calm down. Now is not the time to get angry." Greg turned away and stared at the wall, and then said in a near-tearful voice. "I'm gonna go for a walk. I need some air." He then walked out quite quickly, and Garnet just sighed. She seemed to be the only one actually managing to keep her cool. Amethyst just looked sad and Pearl looked like she was about to commit mass genocide, and Sadie looked like she wanted to hug Steven, but wasn't sure if she should. "Who did this, Steven?" Garnet said. As much as she trusted Sadie (The girl was nice.), she didn't want to believe it unless she heard it from Steven. "I-I just fell! I just fell! Alex got worried and said I should just go home to get help, so I did! Okay?!"
"Steven. Hand marks don't happen if you fall. Neither do shoe imprints, on your side, so...Please tell me the truth. Was it...Alex?"
"...No! Of course it wasn't! Who do you think she is?!"
"Steven-!"
"NO! I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF! STOP TELLING ME WHO I SHOULD BE WITH, AND WHO I SHOULDN'T, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE GONNA DO, AND I'M DONE WITH YOU CONTROLLING ME! I'M A TEENAGER NOW, NOT A BABY!" With that, Steven ran to his room, slamming the door behind him. Garnet sighed.
"Pearl?"
"...Are you going to say I was right? Because that would be SO satisfying!"
"...You were right." Pearl mimicked a 'YES!' and fist pumped the air.
"I TOLD YOU! THAT GIRL IS NO GOOD, AND IF IT IS REALLY HER WHO HURT STEVEN, I SWEAR, I'LL-"
"Pearl. As much as I agree that Alex is a bad influence, harming her in anyway or even banning them from being together would do more harm than good. We need to think rationally. About what's best. Maybe giving this girl another chance for now, but making sure that she's treading on thin ice; If she messes up or hurts Steven again in away, she'll never be allowed near him again, okay, Pearl? Never. She'd have to go through me." Pearl grumbled and nodded, with a quiet but grumpy 'fine', and then walked into her room. Greg came back in. "...He had a tantrum, didn't he?"
"Yep." Amethyst replied, chomping down on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Greg just sighed. "I have to get back to work for now...But if something happens, you'll keep me updated, right?" Garnet nodded, and let a tiny smile fall on to her face. The man wasn't the best of fathers, but he got worried easily, and as a parent, that was a good thing. She imagined it was less so as a friend, but she wouldn't know. Greg sighed again, and then walked out, with a quiet yell of 'I love you, kiddo!', that gained no reply from Steven.
Eventually, after a couple of hours, Amethyst went up with a plate of food, but paused outside the door. She heard...talking. "Y-yeah...Of course I can see you tomorrow...Sure! Uh, but I might have to sneak out...I don't think my Dad and the Gems want- N-no! Of course I didn't tell them! Sadie did! I know...Y-yeah..." For the first time, Amethyst genuinely sighed in pure exasperation. Oh, Steven...This isn't a game you need to play at your age...
AN: AND THAT'S THE END! Pretty intense for a first chapter, right? Well. I'm sorry if anything in this is out of character, and sorry (not sorry) that this is upsetting. I don't even know what brought this on...HAVE FUN WITH YOUR EMOTIONS! AND REVIEW IF YOU LIKED!
~AP