Ch. 2: You Get the Couch
It was high noon in Beach City and Connie was quite beat from yet another day practicing at the tennis court; her coach pushing her to do better than ever put a lot of strain on her body, but she was at least finished for the day. As she weakly got into her house, the first thing she did was make herself something to eat, take a quick shower and change into something more comfortable: a simple blue t-shirt and jeans. Once she managed to regain some energy after a few minutes of rest, one thing popped right into her mind.
'Maybe I should drop by Steven's place this afternoon and see how he's doing. I'm sure he and the Gems don't mind.'
Having made up her mind, Connie picked herself up and was about to head to the front door when unexpectedly, she heard the phone started to ring. Puzzled by this, Connie went to the kitchen and picked up the receiver to see who was calling.
"Hello?"
"AHH! AHH! AHH!" Connie was probably one of the few people who could figure out who it was by just them screaming. On the other end was Steven, screaming bloody murder into the phone and startling Connie. His screaming nearly caused her to go almost deaf.
"Steven, calm down!" Connie worryingly shouted back, fighting Steven over who could out-shout the other. Fortunately for her, he complied to her demand, ceasing his screaming shortly afterwards. "Now, what is the problem?"
Connie could hear Steven on the other end of the line taking a deep breath, as she waited patiently for him to give her a simple explanation. Instead…
"IHAVEGEMSONMYBODYTHEIRSTUCKONMELIKEGLUEANDIDONTKNOWHOWTOREMOVETHEMANDI…" Steven spoke in a very frantic, incoherent gibberish that vaguely resembled a sentence, but it went by so fast that Connie couldn't even understand what he was trying to tell her, further confusing her.
"Steven, do you want me to come over?" Connie asked, concerned that Steven was having problems forming coherent sentence structure; almost as if she was questioning if he was still sane.
"YESNOMAYBEI-" Steven was so conflicted on what he was trying to say, that it alone was incomprehensible, prompting Connie to make the decision for Steven.
"Just stay put, Steven; I'll be right there," Connie instructed him, before she hung up the phone and quickly made her way to the beach house. Whatever is happening to Steven, she needed to find out what's going on and see if she can help him.
Despite being exhausted from her sprint to the beach house, Connie was able to make it there in great time. She just hoped that Steven was still okay and had at least stayed put, just as she had told him; she was concerned for Steven's well being with his erratic actions over the phone; he was definitely not his happy self. She cautiously approached the front door and knocked on it.
"Steven, are you-" Before Connie could finish, the door flew open, nearly hitting her, with Steven quickly grabbing her by the arm and pulling her inside, before quickly closing the door, causing her to shriek in surprise by the unexpected action. After finally getting her bearings together, Connie saw that Steven was now wearing a red headband and two black leather gloves.
"Steven, what's going on? Why were you shouting when you called me? And what's with the headband and gloves?
"...Promise me that you won't freak out on me," Steven eventually told Connie.
"Don't worry, Steven. Just be honest with me," Connie assured him with a warm smile.
Her smile was enough to calm Steven down a little, but not much. Tears could be seen in his eyes, as he prepared to explain.
"Me and the Gems were playing in the sand yesterday when another gem monster started shaking the ground," Steven began, a tone of sadness clearly coming from his voice.
"That would explain the tremors," Connie commented. "What did you and the Gems find down there?"
"...A giant gem crab," Steven answered, his voice still a bit shaky. Connie decided to move the conversation to the couch so Steven could sit.
"So where are the Gems? I haven't seen them since I got here," she noted.
"Th…They're not here anymore…" Steven quietly replied, as tears started running down his face; Connie gasped as she realized what that meant.
"You mean they're d-" She had to stop herself from saying it.
"They're not really gone, Connie," Steven corrected her, as he tried to fight back any more tears. "They can make new bodies when they lose their current ones."
Connie was relieved to hear that from Steven, but a new question came to mind.
"Where are the Gems then?"
"They're still around, but…" Steven paused suddenly, much to Connie's curiosity.
"But what, Steven?" she questioned Steven, when he suddenly stopped in the middle of his explanation.
Steven still hesitated, unsure how to explain what happened to their gems; it would have been awkward trying to tell Connie where they are now. So with one deep breath, he removed one of his gloves, as well as his headband and pulled down his shirt, revealing the gems that are now embedded on his body. Upon seeing them up close, Connie gasped in surprise by the shocking sight.
"Wow, Steven, you weren't kidding," a stunned Connie admitted, as Steven put his headband back on, along with his glove, as well as putting his shirt back into its position. Then a thought occurred to her. "How did this happened?"
"I don't know!" Steven exclaimed, as he rocketed up from the couch to panic once again. "I tried to remove them, but they're stuck to me like glue! What if I'm like this for the rest of my life?! What if Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl won't ever come back?! What if-"
Without warning, Steven felt something hard smacking in his face, ceasing Steven's panic and leaving a red mark in the process, snapping him back to reality, as he turned to Connie with a less despair in his face.
"Thank you; I needed that," Steven said in a very calm tone.
"It was nothing, Steven," Connie simply said. "Have you told anyone else about this?"
"I didn't," Steven answered "You're the only one I talked to so far. I haven't left the house since this morning. I'm worried how everyone in Beach City will react. I don't want everyone asking me about this…it was hard enough just talking to you about it," Steven said with his head down, as Connie walked up and put her hand on his back.
"I understand, Steven," Connie said, bringing a small smile to her friend's face. He looked like a mess from all the tears he's cried. An idea came to Connie about how Steven could get around without being seen. "Then why not use Lion? He can teleport you anywhere in a second," she reminded Steven.
"...Dang it!" Steven face palmed in annoyance, realizing the answer was right in front of him this whole time. He took a deep breath, turned to the front door and let out a big shout. "Lion!"
Almost as if he was waiting right outside, Lion, the pink oversized pet lion, burst through the window no more than two seconds later, shattering the window completely, as he calmly approached Steven and Connie in his usual stoic manner.
"Lion, who's going to pay for that?" Steven wondered as he pointed to the window, though he was only met by Lion just staring blankly back at him.
As much as he wanted an answer, Steven quickly shook his head, wanting to focus on the important task at hand. But first, he had something to show Lion.
"Lion, promise that you won't freak out," Steven then removed his glove and headband first, before lowering his shirt, revealing Lion his new gems. Lion, however, just licked Steven's face, prompting Steven to sigh with relief.
'I guess he's taking this well,' Steven thoughtfully concluded.
"Steven, we should probably tell your dad," Connie stated, prompting Steven to cringe a little. He didn't even what to guess how his dad would take it. "You know he'll want to know about this," Steven sighed, as he knew he couldn't argue against it.
"You're right," Steven replied, before he and Connie hopped onto Lion. "To It's-A-Wash, Lion!"
Lion nodded his head, understanding Steven's command, as he ran up to the window, "No, Lion, don't-!" But it was too late, as Lion quickly smashed it upon leaving the beach house, before creating a portal, entering it and disappearing with his passengers shortly afterwards.
Today was a great day for Greg. Ever since summer had arrived to Beach City a few weeks back, there were lots of cars coming to It's-A-Wash from every state, which meant that he could make at least enough money to keep his business afloat, even if it was going to last for only three months. But until then, he just needed to get everything ready...if something sparkling hadn't caught his eyes.
"What the-" was all Greg was able to say, as a portal suddenly formed out of nowhere, with Steven, Connie and Lion unexpectedly coming out of; the pink lion skidded on the pavement, before stopping right in front of a shocked Greg, just an inch away from one another, causing him to fall to the pavement on his back and chuckle rather nervously in response.
"Lion! Why didn't you do that indoors instead of breaking the window?! We could've gotten hurt!" Steven voiced in an exasperated tone, to which Lion responded by sitting down and putting Connie and Steven onto the hard asphalt below. Steven simply shook his head, before he and Connie spotted his dad on the ground.
"Hi dad!"
"Hello, Mr. Universe."
"...Hey there, kids," Greg eventually greeted back, picking himself up from the ground and noticed Steven's new look. "Why are you dressed up like that for, Steven? Are you planning on joining a rock band and going into the music biz like your old man?" Greg happily teased his son, though he looked at Steven and noticed that he was far from amused. "Hey I was just kidding, bucko!"
"It's...fine, dad. I'm just not in a good mood," Steven explained to his father, much to Greg's relief. "Dad, just promise you won't freak out for what I'm about to show you," he pleaded.
"Why would I freak out?" Greg asked, a bit worried what Steven was going to show him, but he put the feeling away to be supporting of his son. "Don't worry about it, Steven; after that shape shifting incident, I'm sure I can handle anything," he assured his son a smile.
"Shape shifting incident?" asked Connie, before looking at Steven with an arched eyebrow.
"Yeah, I almost got killed by cats that were trying to take over my body after I tried to shapeshift," Steven said in an unnerving calmness for such a topic.
"Wait, what?!" Connie was more shocked that Steven never told her about the story, much less that it actually happened. What bothered her the most was that Steven treated the incident like it was nothing. However, she shook her head and decided to ask him about the incident for another time. "Steven, why don't you show him what happened to you," Connie suggested, quickly changing the subject.
Steven nodded his head and not wanting to waste any more time, he removed his headband, his glove and lowered his shirt, revealing the gems on his body to his dad. The moment Greg saw the gems on his son's body, he freaked out in a matter of seconds.
"AAH!" Greg screamed, losing his composure and almost fell down to the pavement. Instead, he felt something soft and furry behind his back, as he quickly looked around and saw that Lion had rushed behind him and broke his fall. Though his reaction did nothing for Steven's self esteem.
"Mr. Universe, are you alright?" Connie asked, approaching Greg with a worrisome look.
"I'm alright, Connie, but thanks," Greg replied, with Connie helping him up his feet, before turning his gaze at his son with a worrisome look. "Steven, how did this happened?!"
"Well, Amethyst and I were playing on the beach making a sand castle before a gem crab destroyed it so we went to defeat it but…but…" Steven's eyes started to water, causing Greg to quickly pull his son into a comforting hug just as Steven's tears started to run free. "The Gems…l-lost!"
"There, there, Steven. It's going to be alright," Greg softly whispered to his son. "Don't blame yourself for what happened to them. I'm sure they'll be fine. Maybe the Gems have attached themselves to you to keep you safe."
"Y-you really think so?" Steven asked hopefully, looking at his dad with a tear-stained face.
"I know so," Greg, of course, didn't know for sure, but it was the only conclusion he had for now. "It's probably their way of saying that they're still with you and will keep you safe, even if they're inside their gems."
Steven ceased his crying, wiping the few remaining tears from his face and a smile was formed on his face. It was the first good news he had heard for what felt like a long time.
"Um, guys?" Connie interjected. "I don't want to be a downer but…who's going to be watching Steven?" Both Greg and Steven instantly caught on, realizing that with the Gems gone, Steven was now living alone.
"Looks like I'll move into the beach house and look after Steven until the Gems are back. After all, he can't be all by himself at the beach house," Greg spoke up. Steven's eyes perked up into stars. It was so rare for Steven to spend a lot time with his dad and this was now the perfect time for that.
"As you always say, dad…" Steven began. "If every porkchop were perfect, we wouldn't have hot dogs!" Steven then smile proudly upon finish his dad's favorite phrase, as Greg sheepishly rubbed his head, while Connie and Lion looked at them with confusion.
Steven, Greg, and Connie were able to head back to the beach house in a few short seconds, courtesy of Lion's teleportation portal ability and fortunately for Greg, this beats traffic by a long shot. After exiting his van, Greg followed his son to the beach house, though as soon as he entered, he noticed two broken shards of glass laying on the floor.
"Steven, who's going to pay for this?" asked Greg.
"We...don't have any money around here," Steven admitted to his dad, before he let out a nervous laugh. Greg then stared at his son for a few seconds before realizing the obvious.
"Looks like I have to pay for this then," Greg simply said with a sad sigh. He could hear his wallet crying in his back pocket. "Guess I'll go unpack."
"How about if I help you, Mr. Universe?" Connie asked.
"Actually, that would be great. Thanks, Connie," Greg expressed his gratitude to her, before he and Connie head to unpack a few things from the van. While the two went out to unload the van, Steven sat on the floor right next to Lion, also laying on the floor and licking his paw.
"I don't know what's going to happen from now on," Steven confided to Lion. "With the Gems gone, I need all the help I can. What do you think I should do, Lion?"
Lion looked at Steven and simply let out a soft growl at Steven, before licking his paw some more.
"You're right, Lion. I shouldn't worry about that for now," Steven thanked him, before getting himself up off the floor and out to the front door. "Anyway, I should help my dad moved his things in here."
Over the course of an hour, Steven, Greg and Connie unpacked the van and moved its contents right into the beach house; some were easy to carry in, while a few needed a bit more muscle to move them. Eventually, the trio were able to get everything out of Greg's van, just as night was starting to set in Beach City.
"Looks like everything is in place," Greg commented, before turning his gaze to the kids. "Thanks for the help. Right now, I need to go back to the car wash."
Greg then head right outside and into his van, before driving back to his workplace, leaving just Steven, Connie and Lion alone in the beach house.
"Thanks for sticking around, Connie; I really needed that," Steven said to Connie.
"No problem, Steven. If you need to tell me anything, don't hesitate to give me a call," said Connie, as Steven nodded his head in response.
"I appreciate that Connie, though with Lion and Dad around, at least I won't feel alone around here," Steven said as he pet Lion's mane.
"Good to see you smiling again. Anyway, I have to go now. Bye, Steven," Connie said, as she left for home. As Steven waved his goodbyes to her, a thought suddenly came to his mind, much to his concern.
'Who's going to protect the Earth now?'
To be continued…
A/N:Yes I know what I said but I've decided to run both this and Return From Limbo at the same time. I feel really good about this story and Return From Limbo is coming along smoothly for those wondering.
Now I didn't get much of a reaction for this but it was enough that I think I should continue it. Even if only two people voiced their opinions.
Till next time, Sal out!
