It's New Year's Eve and an icy evening in Beach City. The countdown for another long year is marking down slowly and a range of fireworks are soon to parade into the atmosphere. Steven is especially excited for the year to end. And the residents of Beach City are settled in the shore ready for the annual display. During the time being, Lapis, Peridot and the pumpkin pup were brought to Beach City by Steven so they could celebrate the juncture. The 2 gems were unaccustomed with the festivity of New Year. So he thought it was a great idea to convey them.
They along with Greg came to the shore only minutes away from the countdown. Everyone was seen sitting on the sand, watching the sky and waiting for the pinwheels. Lapis and Peridot walk along with Steven as they turn their heads looking at all the people. They settled in an assured spot at the beach where they intend to wait for the show.
"So Steven," Peridot says while putting on a sweater Steven offered. "could you tell us about what this "new year" occasion is about?"
"And why we are wearing these sweaters too?" Lapis also queries.
Steven sat down in front of them and began elucidating.
"Well it's a holiday where everyone celebrates the end of the year and gets ready for a new one." He tries to think of how humans normally celebrate New Year.
"There are fireworks, loud noises, people jumping around,"
"Sound pretty dangerous." Lapis says
"It's actually pretty exciting." Steven adds. "And for the sweaters; it's just to keep you warm out here."
"And when do these fireworks come out?" Peridot inquires again.
"When everyone starts counting down until 1, that's when these exploding colorful lights spread into the air."
Peridot gets astonished by how it was pictured. She and Lapis have seen fireworks before in a few Camp Pining Hearts episodes, but it ALMOST looked like it was anything spectacular. But now they could get it up close and see the significance.
Steven stands back up on his feet. "I'm gonna stay over that spot with dad" he points out. "Are you sure you guys don't want to move with us?"
"We'll be alright here, Steven" Peridot says. "Thanks for helping us get arranged with this festivity." Then the pumpkin pup barks.
He heads to the adjacent place where Greg was and guises back at Lapis and Peridot's spot to make sure they were actually okay. "How are they doing over there?" Greg asks Steven. He sits down next to him and stares into the sky. "They're alright." Steven says.
"It's a shame that the Gems can't be here to watch the fireworks with us though." he also adds. "They're too busy with another recovery mission"
It's now less than 3 minutes until the fireworks take-off. The firmament is clear and wide open, and the audiences wait. Lapis and Peridot also anticipate the show as they stare into the azure. Lapis' hands are folded, and Peridot's palms are tucked inside the sleeves of her sweater. The pumpkin pup is seated beside Lapis, thus she spaces her hand on his head comforting him. The sand underneath them sinks them slightly as they relax.
Peridot sighs insipidly as she thinks of trivial thoughts in her head. "So what do you think the fireworks will be like up close?" Lapis suddenly asks hence Peridot shifts to her.
"It's like what Steven said; exploding vibrant lights spread into the atmosphere." She recalls.
"Yeah well what I mean is, how 'exciting' or 'vibrant' would they be up close?" Lapis clarifies. "And also, do the sparks fall back into the ground? When do the loud noises come in? How do we know we won't get hurt?" she flusters and begins to overthink the idea of a firework. "Maybe I should ask Steven…"
Peridot clutches her arm before she could stand up and gait to Steven. "Lapis," she halts her. "You're overthinking again. You know it concerns both of us when it happens."
The blue gem relaxes a bit when she perceives the look of Peridot. "Yeah you're right, I should just calm down." She says.
"It's going to be okay." Peridot says surely. "Pierre and Percy didn't seem to panic about fireworks underneath them when they won the last canoe race." She recalls a scene from Camp Pining Hearts.
It's finally a few seconds until the display. The 2 gems along with Greg and Steven have waited tolerantly and in a short time. The seconds started ticking, and soon everyone started counting down. "10, 9, 8, 7," the crowd shouts. Lapis and Peridot hear the audience counting loudly.
"They're counting. Just like what Steven said." Peridot says.
"You think we should be counting as well?" Lapis advises. And she agrees to it.
Later they both start joining in the countdown. "3, 2, 1…"
The crowd shouts in excitement as the countdown ends. A rocket hurdles into the sky and blasts into a disk of red sparks. Then another rocket follows, and then one more, until it becomes a barrage of colorful flared disks.
The whistling light show in the sky astounds Peridot, Lapis and the pumpkin pup. The 2 gems lay back and gawp at the lightened sky. Barking is heard from the pumpkin pup as the fireworks take off and noisily shatter. Different colors are observed from the pyrotechnics; red, blue, purple, white, etc. And they annex quarters of the firmament.
"It's…amazing" Lapis utters, fascinated by the display that beholds them.
"Now I see the wonder." Peridot also utters.
The pinwheels are just as she predicted. But for Lapis, she wasn't sure what she thought. A mixture of shrilling rockets and the cheering of the crowd augments the setting. Thus she wonders if it was bothering Lapis or not.
Peridot extends her hand out of her sleeve and places it on Lapis', attempting to ease her from the clamor as they watch the fireworks. She senses the grasp and feels as if the minute got even better.
Out of all the people in the beach, they were the ones who didn't seem to clap excitedly or scream breathlessly. They were merely entranced by the dazzling display.
"Are you liking this?" Peridot asks pryingly.
"Hmm?" Lapis probes.
"I said are you enjoying this?" Peridot repeats her question.
"Yes, I am." Lapis replies grinning. "What about you?" she also asks.
"Yes." Peridot says naturally.
She grasps Lapis' hand a bit more. "So Steven said once the fireworks appear, it's officially New Year." Lapis mentions. She ignores the pinwheels and moves to Peridot's direction. "Happy New Year, Peridot" she says. The green gem receives a small kiss on the lips making her blush faintly.
"Umm…" Peridot squirms. "Happy New Year too, Lapis." They both grin brightly. Peridot gawkily returns the kiss to Lapis, and then they both appear blushing equally.
The pumpkin pup hops between them, barking in a delightful mood. Lapis makes him settle on her lap making him relaxed while Peridot pets him. They go back to watching the fireworks, not making single move. Blue and green fireworks show up alluring in midair. Consequently they chuckle warmly.
At the back of their spot, Steven watches them with contentment. He could tell they were having a wonderful time watching the fireworks from the way they were looking at the sky. So he felt like he did a good effort bringing them to the show.
"Looks like they're having the time of the lives, Steven" Greg says interestingly while drumming a pot with a wooden spoon.
"Yeah. It looks like it" Steven says smiling.
The fireworks display lasted for countless minutes. After the display was done, everybody headed back to the temple. Steven, Peridot, and Lapis stayed at the courtyard of the temple to rest a bit.
"You guys seemed to be enjoying the fireworks a lot back at the beach." Steven recollects.
"Well it was pretty incredible seeing fireworks for the first time" Lapis points out.
"I liked the big green ones." Peridot says.
"We can do this again next year!" Steven says. "Or maybe we can wait until the fourth of July where there'll also be fireworks".
"Thanks Steven for bringing us" Lapis gratifies.
"You're welcome guys." Steven says. "Happy New Year"
Happy New Year everybody! 2016 was a huge mess and I hope 2017 will be a great year.