Steven had no dreams for the rest of the night because whenever he was about to have another one, his heart rate would pick up and his mind would make him wake up as to avoid having any more dreams. Steven constantly woke up, gasping loudly every time he did. He didn't get much sleep that night. He looked around to make sure Pearl wasn't watching him from afar. He didn't know if he could even bear to look at her after his dream. He didn't know if he could even look in her direction when it was time to wake up. He was afraid to face her, but why? Just because of a dream?

'It was just a dream; it's not like that was actually Pearl,' Steven thought to himself. 'It wasn't real, so I shouldn't worry about it.'
With that thought, Steven fell back asleep, and stayed asleep with no more jumpscares at 3 am.

Noon. That was the time.

Too late to do morning exercises, too late to make Amethyst a small breakfast, too late to watch Pearl train from afar. Too late to do his morning routine.

Steven looked around the house, seeing it empty once again. He looked for the time somewhere and when he saw it was noon, his heart sank. The guilt started to build up. He quickly climbed out of bed, ruffled his hair enough so that it didn't look so bed-heady. He ran out the door, looking for any sight of the gems. He ran down the stairs and bumped into Lion when he wasn't looking.

"Lion! Have you seen any of the- wait, you can't talk," Steven said, while Lion gave him a blank expression. He turned and was about to run off to find them when he bumped into Pearl, who was charging at Lion. They both fell to the ground, groaning. Steven rubbed his head and opened his eyes to see a spear. He felt as if his heart and mind just froze right there. He couldn't move as his eyes set on Pearl.

"Steven, I'm sorry, I didn't see you," Pearl said, getting up on her feet. "Guess we're just so clumsy lately, huh?" Pearl stretched her hand down to Steven, offering to help him up.

Steven flinched as she raised her hand down to him, his body instinctively backing up to Lion. Steven's bubble activated, his body shaking as he got frightened. Lion bucked up and stepped in front of Steven, growling at Pearl.

"Steven? What's wrong?" She looked at her spear and gasped. "Oh no, did I hurt you with my spear? I'm so sorry, Steven, I didn't mean it! I never meant to hurt you, R-Steven!"

Steven whimpered, not looking her in the eye. Pearl took a step closer but was blown away when Lion roared loudly. Pearl was trying to collect herself from the sonic roar when Lion absorbed Steven into his mane and ran away, far from Pearl and the beach. From a distance, Pearl was yelling after Lion, telling him to come back, but Lion kept going.

When Steven opened his eyes and found himself in Lion's mane, his bubble disappeared. With it, his only source of oxygen. Steven gulped in what little air was in Lion's mane and tried holding his breath for as long as he could but he couldn't keep it in any longer. He jumped out and rolled down the hill where Rose's moss usually grew in Spring. Lion stayed up top of the hill and fell asleep as Steven gasped for air.

After getting his breathing in control, Steven calmed down, his heart pacing normally. He noticed a tear in his shirt, right over his chest down to the hem of it. Beneath it was a long scratch. Pearl had harmed him, but he knew that wasn't why he froze. He didn't even know about the scratch until just then. Just looking at her made Steven have flashes of his dream- but what one might call a petty dream that most likely meant nothing, Steven considered it one of his worst nightmares yet that symbolized a lot. Steven walked up and then sat beside Lion, petting his mane.

"Wait, why did Pearl even have her spear out? And why was she running towards you? ...Lion... was she charging at you?" Steven asked, looking at Lion gravely. "Was she going to hurt you?" Lion simply huffed out a breath, but Steven took it as a yes. "She was going to hurt you! She was going to hurt you just to get inside your mane! I could easily just go in and let her look at some stuff of mom's with no problem! Why doesn't she just ask me? I know she misses her a lot but it wouldn't kill her to just ask or talk to me!" Steven was now pacing, his eyebrows furrowed.

"She keeps making me feel... bad... for not being my mom. Her and Amethyst miss her, I know it, I heard them. Who else is missing her right now? That's dumb to ask, never mind. Everyone that knew mom missed her. Dad, Garnet- wait," Steven looked at Lion with sad eyes. "You... you probably miss mom too, don't you?" Lion laid his chin on his arms, staring at Steven. Steven stepped toward Lion and scratched the top of his head, watching as Lion closed his eyes. Steven sighed. "Every one is missing mom. And I'm being selfish about it." Steven sat down, feeling defeated just for solely expressing his feelings. "I don't deserve to be mad about it."

Feeling bad for just thinking of his feelings made Steven want to disappear so to not bother the gems. When Lion rode him home, Steven made him stop in front of the ocean. Lion wandered off into the house and left Steven alone. Steven waved his hand in the water, cupping some in his hand. Connie came up behind Steven, startling him. She widened her eyes and giggled a bit embarrassed.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, Steven. I called you earlier but you didn't answer. Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I guess I'm just feeling kind of down." Steven squeezed his eyes tight as he said the words. The guilt was coming back.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Connie asked, taking a seat next to him. "You look like it hurts you just to talk about it."

"I want to, but I feel guilty for expressing my feelings." Now he clenched his fists.

"Steven, is something going on at home?" Connie asked slowly, hoping the answer was opposite of her suspicions.

"N-no! Nothing like that is happening!" Steven replied quickly, shaking his hands. "It's just stupid. I had a really scary dream and now I feel scared today. That's it."

"You're getting bad sleep and you're having bad dreams when you can actually get sleep. What's going on?"

"I think... I think I miss my mom. It's weird to miss her because I never met her, I know, but, lately, she's being missed. It makes me feel weird."

"Maybe you need to find time for yourself, Steven. If you're feeling so bad, you need to find a time where you can go off alone. If we have plans to hang out and you feel like you need some time alone, it's okay to cancel. There's always other times to hang out with you."

"But what if I start cancelling on you a lot? I don't want you to wait to hang out with me just because I'm feeling sad."

"I want to hang out with you when you feel up for it and when you want to, not because you feel like you have to for my happiness. I want you happy too, Steven." Connie laid her hand on top of Steven's, smiling sincerely at him. "I want you to sort this out first, okay? Take all the time you need. I can help you out if you want me to in any way I can."

Steven looked down for a minute at the ocean. His eyes flickered back and forth from the ocean to Connie's hand on top of his. Steven sucked in a shallow breath and laid his other hand on top of hers, finally meeting her gaze. He smiled sadly yet warmly at her, a grateful look in his eyes. "Thanks, Connie. You're the bestest friend anyone could ask for."

"You shush," Connie replied, smiling bashfully at the comment. "Do you wanna eat a snack and play some music on your ukulele and my violin before I leave?"

"Okay," Steven nodded, feeling better. "Sure. But can we play somewhere else? I feel more comfortable away from the house right now."

"Sure. Let's play at the Big Donut? I'm sure Sadie won't min- woah, your shirt! And you have a big scratch mark! Does it hurt?"

"Oh, it doesn't hurt, I'm okay. I'll change my shirt really quick, grab my ukulele and we can go play."

"Alright, I'll wait out here!" Once Steven came out with a good shirt and his instrument, they headed into the city.

Steven hugged Connie as tight as he could, feeling happier than he could remember he felt the last time. She laughed as Steven lifted her up off the ground and twirled her around. They played their instruments for Sadie, which Sadie had enjoyed and applauded for. Their music even attracted some customers for the Big Donut. Then they went to the arcade for a while, walked around Beach City, reenacted some lines from the Spirit Morph Saga series, danced around and had a real game of hide-and-seek tag. Luckily Steven and Connie hugged before Connie's parents drove up to pick her up. Connie patted Steven's shoulder and gave him a warm smile.

"I hope you feel better soon, Steven. You call me whenever, okay? And don't be afraid to have to cancel if you're not feeling so good."

"Thanks again, Connie. I had a lot of fun today."

"Me too," Connie replied. "I'll see you later, okay? Bye!"

Steven waved as she drove off and strolled home, hoping his happiness wouldn't fade once he approached the beach. He stepped in, seeing all the gems inside. Garnet was watching Crying Breakfast Friends with Amethyst, unamused looks on their faces. Pearl was sitting on the couch, her eyes landing on Steven as soon as he stepped through. She shot up, startling Steven a bit. Steven felt like backing up, but he reminded himself that the mean, condescending Pearl was only in his dream, it never really happened. He looked at her as she slowly approached him.

"Steven, are you okay? I wanted to give you some time so that I wouldn't scare you any more than I already did. I really didn't mean to hurt you."

"I'm okay," Steven replied. Pearl lifted up his shirt and looked away as she saw that the big, long scratch was puffy and red. "Pearl, it's okay. It doesn't really hurt. But, I want to know why you were charging at Lion."

Pearl hesitated before she spoke. "I was trying to find a way to attack him when he used his sonic roar."

"...that's it?"

"Yes?" Pearl said, confused with his question. "Did you expect another answer?"

"No," Steven said, his hand on his head. "I'm relieved," he mumbled to himself, a little smile on his face. "Okay. I'm gonna try to sleep, I had a long day!" Seeing that his favorite show was on, he rushed up the stairs. "Wait, I wanna watch some before I-"

"No no," Garnet chuckled, sliding her hands under his armpits and lifting him up to her level. "You said you wanted to try to sleep, you little sneak."

"What? I never said that," Steven said, closing his eyes and hiding his hands behind his back, his lip puckered out. He opened one eye to see if Garnet bought his act, but her smile said otherwise. "Oookay, fine, I'll try to sleep."

"Good Steven," Garnet said, setting him on his bed. Garnet walked off with Pearl, leaving him and Amethyst. Steven leaned over to Amethyst a bit, a little smug smile on his face.

"Hey, wanna watch one episode before I sleep?" Steven whispered, a big smile on his face.

"Nah, I don't feel like it." Amethyst stood up, looking at him with a firm expression. "You better get your sleep so you're not so crabby again."

"Oh," Steven said in a mummer, sitting back down on his bed properly, his hands in his lap. "Okay. Night."

"Night, kid," Amethyst said simply, walking away.

Steven watched her leave, then fell flat on his back on his bed. He laid, his arms and legs spread out for a moment before he started to get a little cold. He pulled his covers over him and stayed awake for a couple of minutes, taking in some deep breaths to prepare himself for his sleep. What used to be his safe haven was now something he was a bit frightful to encounter. He closed his eyes, waiting for his mind to make him drift off to sleep.