Author's Note: Okay, so I should really be working on my Harry Potter fanfic...or the work that actually pays for my living, but no. I went on a Steven Universe binge and remembered an idea I had written down a few months ago for a potential story, not really thinking I'd ever actually write it. Then after my little binge I decided, why not, let's just go for it, and now here we are.

Warning, I'm making no profit of this story or own anything in the Steven Universe universe (lol). I'm not talented enough as Rebecca Sugar to have created something so pure and good and amazing as Steven Universe.

oOo

Chapter 1

"Laramie?"

Lars stared out the window, wishing he was anywhere but where he was. There were about a hundred things he would rather be doing at the moment. Hanging out with the Cool Kids. Jumping on his backyard trampoline. Watching a wrestling match or a scary movie. Maybe trying a new recipe.

"Lars?"

Even sitting at the Big Donut chewing on a maple bar and listening to music would be preferable to this.

"Lars!"

Lars blinked, returning to reality, and looked into the faces of his concerned and disappointed parents and his impatient and angry school principal.

"Lars please," his mother implored him, her eyes crinkling in a half smile he knew was meant to encourage him. "This is important."

"Principal Mazur here is giving you another chance," Lars' dad agreed, a hopeful expression on his face.

"Do you even care at all Mr. Barriga?" Principal Mazur asked dryly, clearly not as patient with the whole situation as Lars' parents were. "I know you've been to many of these types of meetings with teachers and counselors, but you should know, a meeting with me warrants a little more attention and interest."

Lars snorted, crossing his arms and looking out the window again in a show of indifference. He thought that if he stopped making eye contact, they wouldn't see what he was really feeling, which was worry. He was worried because Principal Mazur was right.

Lars was on the brink of failing out of senior year of high school and not graduating on time. In the past year he'd had countless meetings with teachers and counselors and his parents in an attempt to relay to him the gravity of his poor grades in school, and now it had come to this. One final attempt at scaring him straight in the hopes that he finally focus and improve in school.

Lars would never admit it out loud, especially to his parents, but he was worried. Worried that he would fail out of high school and be stuck working in the mediocrity of The Big Donut forever and never leave Beach City and be a loser for the rest of his life. Despite those worries, he was equally worried that if he did try harder, he and his parents would see that all he was capable of being was mediocrity, and he doubted that any amount of tutoring and parent conferences would raise his grades up high enough for him to graduate. If he tried, he'd have to face his mediocrity straight on, and he wasn't sure he could handle that.

So instead of trying, he simply...didn't. He occasionally made half-hearted attempts at homework and turned in incomplete work, but for the most part he didn't even write down what his assignments were. Sometimes, when what his teachers were talking about was actually interesting, he'd listen in class, but mostly he slept. That is, when he wasn't ditching.

And now he was here, listening to his parents and principal argue over what to do with him.

Lars slouched deeper into his chair, crossing his arms tighter around himself defensively.

Principal Mazur leveled him with an impatient gaze. "This is your final warning Mr. Barriga. If your grades don't improve, you won't be graduating from Beach City High. And I'm afraid that if you don't, considering your past record here, we may not be able to offer you enrollment next year. You'll have to see if Ocean Town High School will take you. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

It wasn't the first time Lars had heard that particular threat, only now hearing it from his principal it was starting to sound more like a promise.

Lars frowned, "Can I go now?"

Principal Mazur looked like he was on the point of exploding, meanwhile his parents frowned at him with crestfallen expressions.

Not being able to stand the looks his parents were given him, Lars grabbed his favorite red jacket and walked out of Principal Mazur's office without a backwards glance.

It wasn't until Lars had stepped off of school property that he finally felt like he could breathe.

He looked up at the sky. The sun would set soon, and he needed something to distract himself from this whole debacle if he didn't want his day to end on such a sour note.

With a sigh, he walked in no particular direction, waiting for something to present itself as a amusement.

As he walked, he saw the Cool Kids hanging around outside Fish Stew Pizza. Lars gasped, stopping in his tracks at the sight of them. The Cool Kids would be the perfect distraction.

Lars quickly ran his hands through his hair, making sure it was as he liked it, then taking a deep breath and standing straighter as he approached them.

"Uh, hey Buck! Hey Sour Cream! Hey Jenny!" Lars waved his hands erratically, already regretting and hating the too-eager tone in his voice.

"Oh hey Lars!" Jenny waved back, friendly enough.

"What's up man," Sour Cream nodded.

"Yo." Buck simply rose his hand in greeting.

When no one said anything else, Lars nervously jumped from foot to foot, unsure if he should stick around or go on his way. "So, what are you guys up to?"

Buck shrugged but Sour Cream answered for him. "We're going to take a little trip to the hills outside Beach City where there's corn growing and make crop circles. We got the idea from Signs."

"What?! That's so cool! I love that movie!" For once it was actually an honest admission and not just an attempt to make himself more likeable for the Cook Kids. Lars really did like Signs. It was one of the first movies he'd ever watched with Sadie.

"Want to come Lars?" Jenny invited with a wink.

Lars blushed, not quite able to believe that without hardly even trying, he'd somehow gotten himself a genuine invitation from the Cool Kids to hang out with them. He'd just been honest.

The cornfields Sour Cream had been talking about were on a hill about a half hour outside of Beach City, but Lars didn't mind the drive. He was basking in the sunset glow, enjoying the breeze in his hair as he listened to Sour Cream's tunes and the Cook Kids' conversation. It felt good to get out of Beach City's city limits. It made him feel like he was driving away from all of his problem. It was easy to forget about that terrible meeting he'd had to sit through with Principal Mazur and his parents.

When they arrived, Buck shared the sketch he'd made of the intricate designs he wanted made in the wide expanse of corn fields. Lars nodded, studying it closely so that he wouldn't screw it up and ruin the one time things seemed to be going alright with the Cool Kids.

When Sour Cream handed him a scythe, the nervousness returned a little, Lars having never handled a scythe before. But he wasn't about to not accept something Buck was handing him, so standing a little straighter, Lars took the scythe.

The four then spread out into the fields and began to work, the faint sound of Sour Cream's music still playing from Jenny's car where it was parked just out of where the corn field started. Lars tested the weight and swing of it before setting to work.

Lars alternated between chopping down corn and trying out some dance moves, feeling safe within the privacy the corn stalks offered, shielding him from the Cool Kids' view.

It was as Lars was dancing that he was startled by a curdling scream in the distance that sounded far too much like Jenny.

Lars gasped, turning to where the sound had come from, but not being able to see through the tall corn stalks.

Lars thought he saw something fly overhead but he was not quick enough to get a good look.

Then, far off, Lars could hear a shrill voice shouting. "How dare you disturb my experiment! How dare you cut down the corn I have grown in my image! You humans will pay!"

Lars froze, hearing the sounds of the Cool Kids yelling in the distance, and what sounded like running feet bursting through the corn stalks.

"Guys?" Lars asked, but his voice was a whisper and far too quiet for anyone to hear. The yelling and running was too spread out for Lars to focus on, too confusing for Lars to pinpoint where exactly in the field the Cool Kids were. Not to mention, Lars was to frozen in place to even move after hearing what they were yelling.

"Yo, this green kid is crazy!"

A shrill voice shouted, "I AM NOT A KID!"

"Ow! That hurt!"

"We need to get out of here!"

"Quick!"

"Wait! Where's Lars?"

"Lars!"

Lars blinked, snapping out of it. He had to get out of here before he found out just what had made Jenny scream.

"I'm over here!" Lars shouted, about to take his chances heading into the corn plants when he heard the sound of footsteps behind him, far too close for comfort.

Panicked, Lars whipped around, trembling as he held his scythe in front of him, trying to see amongst the plants for the source of the noise, but the sun was already mostly set and he struggled to see clearly through the corn.

"Did you hear him?"

"Lars! Where are you?"

"Jenny we have to go!"

Lars heard the sound of Jenny's car turning on and he knew that if he didn't move now, he'd be left behind. But Lars was too frozen in fear to move.

He wanted to yell at the Cool Kids, tell them to wait for him, but he was too focused on the footsteps that were getting louder coming from within the corn stalks. They were moving quicker and quicker, and Lars yelped, shaking so much he was afraid he'd drop the scythe, his only weapon.

The footsteps became even louder, and quicker, and then, just as Lars was certain something was about to burst out of the corn field...they stopped.

Lars could hear the sound of his heavy breathing as he waited. He wanted to run away, to move! But his feet weren't listening.

In a move that was uncharacteristic for Lars, he stepped forward, the scythe held out straight in front of him. Lars wasn't sure how many moments passed, and just when he thought that maybe whatever it was that had been hiding in the corn field had gone away, a tall figure jumped through and out of the crops.

Lars yelped and stepped backwards and away, but he tripped over something and fell backwards, dropping his scythe in the process.

Lars groaned, wincing momentarily at the pain in his back from having fallen. He was vaguely aware of the sound of Jenny's car driving away and the shrill voice still shouting, although it was becoming fainter as whoever the voice belonged to was presumably chasing after the Cool Kids that had managed to escape.

As the waves of pain began to fade, Lars gasped, remembering what it was that had caused him to fall in the first place.

With dread, Lars pushed himself up on his elbows and look up to face whatever it was that had emerged from the corn stalks. The further up Lars' eyes traveled, the less his body shook in fear as he realized that what he was looking up at wasn't a strange creature or a monster.

Lars was looking up at the figure of...a girl?

She was tall and barefooted, and sported an unimpressed expression on her face as she leveled her steady gaze on him.

Lars was used to unimpressed looks from people, and the fact that the girl was barefooted in the middle of the cornfield in the dark wasn't even what was throwing him off so much. What was throwing him off was that this girl was, well, different.

What was throwing him off was that this girl was...blue.

oOo

Authors Note: Alright, so I'm planning on writing only one more chapter and making this a short two-shot even though my original outline was for something a little longer. I may or may not write more than just two chapters and really flesh this idea out if my life isn't too crazy (especially since I'd be able to better explain the reason why I chose the title for this story), but we'll see! Let me know what you think so far!