"Alright, alright! Keep it moving!"

Steven waved his arms forward like a traffic officer. The small worms around him chirped and gurgled as they crept forward in the sand. Most had already fled into the ocean, disappearing into the foamy waves. They were small things, probably the size of Steven's fist. They were orange-brown in color and the only things they had for faces were round toothless mouths.

The Gems had discovered the collections of eggs earlier that morning. They had mistaken them for rocks at first - they were heavy and black with rough, uneven textures. Then they started hatching, and the worms started to wriggle all over the place. They weren't deadly, per se, since the most they could do was nibble with their gums. Everyone agreed that they were probably the offspring of a Gem monster left on the beach. Gem monster-offspring didn't grow, so they were considered harmless enough to be guided into the ocean, where they seemed to be headed.

"Come on, come on," Steven kept waving them forward until they had all gone into the waves. Their small silhouettes disappeared into the blue water. When he turned, he saw that one was still left, curiously staring up at him. Steven put a hand on his hip and pointed behind him. "Get."

The worm let out an almost guilty chirp before following after his siblings.

Opal sighed and dusted off her hands. The drape of her top and her long white hair were both whipping around in the wind. The sun glinted off of her Gems, making Steven wince in their glare. "Well, at least that's taken care of." She turned to Sapphire. "Are you sure this won't cause us trouble?"

Sapphire paused a moment to kneel down into the water. A worm in her palms slithered out into the waves, and she stood upright. "The mother is unlikely to come here."

Ruby walked past them with her arms full of the empty eggshells left behind. She knelt down to another pod of them and started gathering them. Each one made a small clink sound as they touched. "That still means there's a mother we have to take care of. We should get to it soon."

Steven watched as she shifted her arms to pick up more shells. "Why are you picking those up?"

"Because we don't want this beach swarming with people coming by to collect them. Or eat them." Under her breath, Ruby mumbled, "Why do humans always try to eat every pretty thing that they see?"

"We can take care of the mother when we find out how to," said Opal. She held a hand over her eyes to shield it from the sun's rays as she looked out over the horizon. As for now - " She patted a hand over her belly. "I'm hungry."

Steven threw his hands into the air and cried, "Who's up for pizza?!"

Sapphire's reply was a reluctant hum, Ruby's a grumbled "sure", Opal's an enthusiastic "Cinnamon!"

Steven winked at them and gave them a quick thumbs-up. "I got us covered!" He dug into his pocket and pulled out a small slip of paper. "Punch card~!" He took off for the direction of the pizzeria, calling over his shoulder, "See you guys at the Room!"

"Lars!"

The red-haired teen flinched when he heard the familiar voice calling his name. He could hear the tell-tale smacks of flip-flops against feet coming closer. He ducked his head down and stuck his hands further into his hoodie. He thought to himself, 'Maybe if I just act like he isn't there...'

"Lars! Lars! Lars! Lars! Lars! Lars! Lars! Lars! Lars! La - !"

"WHAT?!"

Steven jumped back when Lars suddenly rounded on him when he was just a foot away. He almost went falling, but managed to keep his balance. The warm smile he had on his face was replaced with a concerned frown. "Are you okay?"

"I'm. Fine."

"...Okay, then!" Steven gestured to the door of the pizzeria. Hanging from the middle was a sign reading, Come on in, we're open! "Are you going in?"

Lars scoffed and looked away. "I WAS. Not anymore."

"Why not? If you want..." He held up the card in his hand teasingly and sang, "We can share a punch card~."

When his hand touched the handle of the door, Lars suddenly reached out and grabbed it. "No!" He nodded his head at the restaurant and whispered, as if someone were listening, "Don't go in there today! Jenny's upset."

Steven curiously stood on his tip-toes to look inside the window. Inside, Nanafua, Kofi, and Kiki were tending to the restaurant, serving tables, taking orders, and cleaning up. Jenny, meanwhile, was seated at a booth with several empty cups all around her. It was hard to tell, but Steven thought that he could see Buck Dewey and Sour Cream sitting across from her. Jenny was waving her hands around angrily and shouting something unintelligible from the outside. She paused every now and then to take an angry gulp of her drink.

"What's wrong?" asked Steven.

Lars sighed as he hugged himself to the wall. He took a quick glance inside before ducking back out of sight. "I dunno. I think something went wrong with her birthday party."

"Well that reeks." Steven went back to his normal level and grinned encouragingly up at Lars. "We should go in to see if she's okay."

Lars scoffed again. "YOU can. I'm not going in there today."

"Why not?"

"People don't want you talking to them when they're upset. They won't like you if you do."

Steven looked him up and down. "Soooooooo you're just going to stand outside by yourself?"

"Yep."

Steven paused. "...Well, good luck with that." He swung the door to the pizzeria open. As the bell chimed with his arrival, he called out, "Good eve, Pizza family and eaters!"

"Steven," Lars hissed after him. He was already gone inside and out of earshot. Lars looked left, then right, then angrily huffed and swung the door open. He stormed inside sulkily.

Steven greeted Nanafua and Kiki, but made a beeline for the booth at the back. As he approached, he could hear was Jenny was saying in-between gulps of her drink. Buck and Sour Cream listened calmly all the while.

"...and I'm a good person, you know," cried Jenny. She continued to wave her arms around wildly. The drink and ice in her cup sloshed around with each movement. "I didn't deserve this! I didn't deserve nothin'!"

From across the table, Buck gently told her in his ever-serene voice, "You're a good person, Jenny."

"THANK you!" Jenny bit into her already-mangled straw. The cup made an empty slurping sound, causing Jenny to glower and pull back. She cupped a hand around her mouth and called, "KIKI! GET ME ANOTHER - Oh, hey, Steven."

Steven didn't so much as flinch, despite the fact that she had just screamed in his face. He instead smiled warmly and greeted, "Hey, Jenny." He turned to the boys. "Hello, Buck Dewey and Sour Cream."

Sour Cream gave a slow wave of his hand. Buck sent Steven a peace sign with his fingers and greeted, "Hello, Steven Universe."

Steven gestured behind him to Lars, standing at the counter. He had clearly been listening in, and blanched when he saw he'd been spotted. He span around to face the kitchen. "Lars told me about your party. You okay?"

Jenny sighed and leaned back in her seat. She crossed her arms over her chest and explained, "Everything I planned got canceled. No more dance floor, no more party games, no more food servers, no more DJ!"

Sour Cream held up his other hand. It was wrapped in bandages and held in a splint. Steven gasped in shock.

"Kiki and I always have different birthday parties. We are too special to be contained in one day!" Jenny threw her hands into the air. "What did I do to deserve this?"

"Nothing," said Buck. "You did nothing."

"You're so understanding, Buck." Jenny sighed again and cradled her chin in her hands. "I guess I'll just hang out with you guys tomorrow."

"I'm sorry, Jenny." Steven held up his punch-card. "Do you want me to get you anything?"

"Just tell Kiki to get me another soda." Jenny crossed her arms over the tabletop and laid down on top of them. As Buck comfortingly patted her shoulder, she said in a muffled voice, "Extra bubbles."

Steven went to the counter, where Lars was still sulking. He read his order (two medium pizzas, one pepperoni, one half-cheese half-cinnamon) to Nanafua, and leaned against the wall as he waited. Lars was occasionally glancing over at the Cool Kids' table, but made no move to go join them.

Steven noticed him doing this pretty often. Sometimes, Buck, Sour Cream, and Jenny would be in the same place as Lars - the beach, the boardwalk, the Big Donut, wherever. And despite Lars casting looks at them, opening and closing his mouth as if wanting to say something, he always kept his distance and remained silent. The one time Steven had seen Lars talk to the Cool Kids, it was to tell a knock-knock joke...that he had to explain when they didn't get it. It wasn't like the Cool Kids were ignoring him. Jenny would occasionally offer some small-chat of sorts, and maybe Buck would ask him about his job, but the talk never went anywhere.

When Lars sent another look at the table, Steven finally spoke up, "Why don't you go over there? Jenny's the only one talking, anyway."

Lars surprisingly didn't scoff or snort at that. Instead, he just looked away from Steven and mumbled, "They don't want me over there."

"You don't know that. Here, let's go."

He took hold of Lars's hand and pulled him behind him, despite Lars's hisses of protest. He stopped resisting when they came into earshot of the Cool Kids, instead pursing his mouth shut. Jenny was still laying across the tabletop with her head in her arms. Sour Cream had set up his phone to play some sad violin music. Buck was leaning on the table with his chin placed over his intertwined hands.

As they approached, Steven greeted them enthusiastically yet again. Lars kept a foot behind him, as if ready to retreat at a moment's notice. "It's Steven Universe again. With his friend, Lars...Don't-Know-Last-Name."

Lars awkwardly waved a hand. "Hey."

He was given a wave by Sour Cream, a peace sign by Buck, and a muffled 'hello' from Jenny. Steven patted on Lars's pants leg, causing the teen to take a step away from him. "Lars here was just wondering if there was anything he could do to help."

Jenny lifted her head to look up at them with lidded brown eyes. "Not unless you can get a DJ, a food service, party games, and a location for a party in twenty-four hours." Jenny ducked her head back down. A moment later, she added, "Thanks anyway, though."

Though he remained silent, Steven turned to Lars with raised brows. You can totally do that!

Lars gave a toothy frown and shook his head vehemently. No! No I cannot!

Steven wiggled his eyebrows at him. I can help!

Lars raised one of his. You can get ALL of that done?

Steven nodded. Me and the Gems! He darted his eyes to the Cool Kids. They'd reeeeeeeally appreciate it!

Lars looked between Steven and the Cool Kids with narrowed eyes. With his eyes still glowering, he nodded.

Steven winked. Wink!

Lars turned back to Jenny. He tapped her on the shoulder, then immediately reeled back with instant regret. Jenny didn't seem to mind, though, and just looked back up at him expectantly. Lars took one last look at Steven, and when he got an encouraging nod, he said, "I can help you put together a party, if you want."

Jenny rose a brow at his statement. She sat upright with her arms still folded over the table. Curiously, she asked, "You can do all of that?"

"Yeah, totally!" Lars chuckled. He had sweat drops the size of pin-balls rolling down his cheeks. "Just, uh...Leave everything to me and - " When Steven tapped him on the knee and shook his head at him, he sputtered, "Me. Leave everything to me and me."

Jenny hummed. "You don't have to do that. I don't want to dump a bunch of responsibilities on you. Plus, that's a lot of work to do in just a little time."

"But I want to," Lars assured her maybe a touch bit too quickly. He chuckled again and raised a hand to the back of his neck to rub there. "Really, it's okay. I can do it."

Jenny smiled warmly. She held up a hand at him, and it took Lars just a moment to realize what she meant. As he clapped his hand against hers, Jenny said, "Thanks, Lars! That's real sweet of you."

Sour Cream sent Lars an appreciative thumbs-up. Buck smiled just slightly so and awarded him with a mellow "Cool." Jenny continued to smile warmly. Then she went talking away as if she'd never had a meltdown over her party to begin with.

Nanafua called for Steven from the counter. As Steven went to pick up his order, he sent one last look at Lars. He wasn't looking at him, but he was nodding at whatever Jenny was saying. Steven smiled at the sight.

THE NEXT DAY

"You set up this party all by yourself?"

Lars nodded, causing Sadie to raise a brow at him. The two of them were heading out of the Big Donut together, locking the small shop behind them. Jenny had insisted that Lars bring whoever he wanted with him to the party. So, he had invited Sadie, and although she was a bit unsure at first, she eventually agreed. The party would be on/close to the beach, so Lars had decided to bring swimming trunks and a T-shirt with him to work that day. Sadie herself was wearing a blue one-piece swimsuit with a pair of shorts pulled over them.

"I got Steven's moms to help out," said Lars. He smiled cockily and chuckled, "Pretty sweet of me, huh?"

Sadie looked him up and down with lidded eyes. "Uh-huh..." She crossed her arms over her chest as they kept walking. "So Steven had nothing to do with this?"

Lars glanced down at her. He shut his eyes and held his hands behind his head. "Nope."

"...Right. Well, there it is."

Lars opened his eyes to see the scene laid out for Jenny's birthday party.

He stopped where he stood.

It was set up at the base of the cliff, right where the sand turned to soft grass. Two rectangular tables were set up side-by-side. One table had white plastic and foldable metal chairs set up, while the remaining had none. Each table was covered in red-and-white checkerboard tablecloths and had shimmering star-shaped confetti sprinkled over their tops. Balloons were tied to some centerpieces. Some read It's a Girl! and Happy Birthday in colorful letters across their shiny faces. Others were just simple party balloons with the name 'Jenny' written across in black marker. A small boombox was set up on the chairless table, and beside it, a cardboard box filled with colorful items that Lars assumed were party games and toys.

Steven was sprinkling more confetti onto the tables when he noticed them. He was dressed in a tank-top version of his signature T-shirt and denim shorts. He also had a cone-shaped party hat pulled over his head, and held two more atop a small cushion as he approached. "Good evening, lady and gent! Welcome to Jenny's party, here are your ceremonial hats."

Sadie took hers casually, while Lars suddenly took a gentle hold of Steven's arm and pulled him a small ways over. Steven just blinked up at him confusedly, while Lars spat out, "THIS is the party?!"

Steven nodded proudly. "Impressive, huh?" He put a hand under his opposite elbow and spoke like a refined gentleman, "I was trying to go for a fun, but not overpowering feeling, as if this were not a pressuring party but rather an inviting - "

"Steven!" Steven's curious frown returned once more. "THIS can't be the party! Where's the dance floor? Where's the food, and the DJ, and the party games?"

"Well." Steven galloped his foot against the ground, kicking up sand. "This is a dance GROUND. Opal and Ruby are taking care of the food, Sapphire's doing the music, and I got all the fun stuff we're going to need!" Steven turned the box full of items around. "Fun Stuff!" was written across it in bubbly letters.

"Noooooo!" Lars ran a hand down his face and growled. He waved his arms around at the scene. "We've got to get rid of this and set up something cooler before anyone shows up!"

Steven hummed. "That's going to be hard, considering everyone's already here."

"Hey, Lars!"

Lars blanched as he turned around to the source of the familiar voice. Jenny, Sour Cream, Buck, and several other teenagers, including Kiki, were approaching them. The pepperoni-and-mushroom-patterned Fish Pizza jeep was parked in the sand a few yards behind them, as well as a few other small vehicles. Buck and Sour Cream were both dressed in T-shirts and swimming trunks. Jenny was wearing a short blue-and-white striped dress over her swimsuit.

Jenny looked around the scene of the party. She nodded with a satisfied hum. "Homey. I like it." She turned back to Lars with a smile. "Thanks again for doing this."

Lars chuckled nervously. The pinball-sized-sweat was back, along with a pink flush across his cheeks. He hoped it could be passed off a sunburn. "Heh, heh, n-no problem. Happy to help."

He heard a ahem behind him. Steven was giving him an encouraging thumbs-up, but he wasn't the one who had spoken. That was Sadie, who had her arms crossed over her chest. She gestured to the other people of the party, who were either standing around chatting or already seated at a table. "Where are the Gems at? I thought you said they were going to help."

Steven heard this and immediately ran over to the boom box on the table. Hidden from view, Ruby, Sapphire, and Opal were standing behind a nearby boulder at the base of the cliff. They were watching intently but carefully from their hiding spot. When they saw Steven nod at them, Opal and Sapphire both gave Ruby a thumbs-up. Ruby climbed to the top of the boulder just as Steven pressed the 'play' button of the boom box.

Dramatic and triumphant music began to blast out, catching the attention of all the teenagers. At first, they looked to the boom box, but then they were watching the red ball spinning through the air in a perfect arc.

Ruby landed with a thump on her feet. She straightened herself and placed her fists on her hips. "Greetings, party-goers! You have come here today to celebrate the day of birth of a very special girl! And we, the hosts of this party: Ruby!" With this, Ruby held her arms out beside her. Her entire form flashed bright red, and when the light dispersed, she was wearing a short dark tank-top that exposed her belly button-less midriff, matching shorts, and no shoes.

Sapphire gently descended down beside her with her arms extended outwards. "Sapphire!" She, too, was engulfed in bright light as she changed her form. Her long blue hair was pulled away from her face in a high ponytail. Her dress and gloves were replaced with a one-piece blue swimsuit with a lighter sash tied around her waist at the hip.

Opal did one graceful flip in the air and landed just behind them. She had large scroll of paper in one of her hands. "And Opal!" One pair of arms went down as the other went outwards as she lit up in a light purple color. The pieces of white hair on either side of her face were now loose from their ties. She was dressed in thigh-length shorts and a teal tank-top, as well as a sheer cover-up that ended just above her knees.

Ruby continued from where she had left off. " - Would just like to say...!"

Opal unscrolled the long banner in her hands at her arms' length. Ruby and Sapphire struck matching poses, one knee bent as their arms gestured to it. On the banner, HAPPY BIRTHDAY PENNY! was written across in sparkling gold letters, framed with images of balloons.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JENNY!" The Crystal Gems cried. Steven ran beside them to toss up a handful of confetti and blow a party whistle.

For a while, silence was the only sound in the air as everyone took the scene in. The Crystal Gems just kept their places. Lars could feel his stomach turning into water. His thoughts were a mantra, repeating, Pleasedontbemadpleasedontbemad.

To his shock, Jenny just smiled and clapped her hands together. The other party guests joined in with calm applause. Ruby and Sapphire bowed as Opal went to rolling up the long banner in her hands. Steven continued to blow on his party whistle.

"That was sweet," said Jenny. "Misspelled, but sweet." She winked at the ginger-haired 'host.' "Thanks, Lars."

Lars let out a single, breathless cough of a laugh. As Jenny and the others went to mingling around the tables, Lars looked back down at Steven. He winked at him again, but it only gave Lars minimal comfort.

The next few minutes were spent preparing everyone for the cake. Steven insisted that everyone put on a cone-shaped party hat and take a seat. Jenny was the only exception, as Steven had given her a long, fur-trimmed cape and crown as a "Lars Family Birthday Tradition". Jenny did not protest - actually, at the seat on the end of the table, she looked immensely satisfied with her attire. Steven poured everyone drinks of either soda or water. Lars continued to sit at the edge of his seat, waiting for something to go wrong at any moment despite Steven's occasional wink and thumbs-up.

Eventually, as the figures of the Crystal Gems appeared from the side of the cliff, Steven called, "Here comes the cake!" He waved his arms at the party-goers like an orchestra composer. "All together now!"

Everyone went to singing,

"Happy birthday to you!

Happy birthday to you!

Happy birthday, dear Jen-ny!

Haaaaapy birthday to y - "

All singing stopped when the cake was set down before the birthday girl.

To say that it was a mess was...a bit much, but yet, pretty accurate. The white frosting appeared as if it had been applied carefully and steadily, but ultimately bombed. Most of it was misshapen, lopsided, or even missing, as if the cake wasn't completely cool when it was put on. Across the front, in red icing, was written 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY, B JENNY'. Five unlit candles were lined above the letters. From halfway down the table, Lars gripped his knees tightly. 'Oh no...'

Opal was giving the cake's appearance unsure glances, while Ruby didn't seem bothered in the slightest. "Hot n' ready, just for the birthday girl!" She winked at Jenny and leaned over to catch the wick of each candle in-between her thumb and forefinger. Soon, they were all lit, and Ruby leaned back expectantly.

Jenny, although naturally surprised at first, eventually just shrugged and blew out the candles. More polite applause ensued, and as Steven went to go get the plates, Jenny turned to Buck, Sour Cream, and the others. "Never had a hot birthday cake before. Sounds interesting.'"

Sapphire appeared a moment later with a stack of plates and a knife in hand. She cut out precise squares of cake and set them on the paper plates for Opal, Ruby, and Steven to pass out to the guests. The cake itself was vanilla and dotted with various colors like confetti cake, which Jenny seemed to appreciate.

Jenny bit into a forkful of cake. She hummed at first...then her chewing began to slow down. There was even an unexpected 'crunch'. She didn't look disgusted, per se, but confused. The others mimicked her look, pausing in their chewing with furrowed brows. Sadie gulped audibly. Lars took a bite of his and had to stop himself from choking at the taste. The cake was sweet, but also very minty, with small pieces that crunched in-between his teeth. There was also an underlying spiciness that became more intense as he kept chewing.

Eventually, Jenny swallowed and put on a polite smile as she turned to Opal. "What kind of cake is this?"

Opal beamed proudly. "Only the best kind! Vanilla cake with thyme, peppermint, rock candy...Hey, Sapphire, what was the other thing we put in there?"

Sapphire held up a small, half-empty container in her hand. The wrapper read 'Ultra-Spice Pepper Flakes'.

Jenny's reply - as the pepper flakes seemingly hit her at last and she reached for her drink - was an "Oh. Okay." through a confused grin. Other party-goers reached for their drink as well to wash it down. Steven didn't seem to very much enjoy the cake, either, but continued to eat it nonetheless. Lars was too humiliated to take in anything else.

After the cake - Steven was the only one who asked for seconds - came the presents. Plates and cups were cleared off so that gift boxes and bags could be put on the table before Jenny. With each gift, Jenny either cooed or squealed and thanked whoever had given it to her. The Crystal Gems kept to themselves a yard or two away. Everyone else chuckled and conversed all the while.

...Except for Lars, who was cursing himself for FORGETTING A FLIPPIN' PRESENT FOR JENNY. He dug his fingers into his shirt anxiously as he looked around for Steven. Jenny was already more than halfway through her gifts - he'd look like even more of an idiot if he gave a gift to her late. Each paper torn and every bag opened was like a twist of his gut.

Finally, Steven reappeared with a small blue box with a yellow ribbon in his hands. Lars all but pounced on him, eliciting a yelp of surprise from the boy. "PLEASE tell me that's a gift for Jenny!"

Steven nodded. "Yep! Made it all by..." He paused when he saw the pleading look of desperation on Lars's face. Steven looked back down at the gift box. He removed the name tag in one swift pull and held it up to him. "Yourself. You made it all by yourself."

Lars sighed in relief and took the box. He dashed back to the table just as Jenny was looking at her last gift. It was a gold bangle bracelet with purple, blue, and red gemstones going through the middle. She held it out so that it glinted in the sun.

"Nice!" She winked at the short blonde sitting three chairs down. "Thanks, Sadie!"

Sadie just murmured "You're welcome" back shyly. Lars appeared maybe a bit too suddenly beside Jenny with the box in hand. He held it out to her with an almost painful smile. "Gift."

Jenny blinked once, then took the box from him. She pulled the ribbon loose and tore off the paper as the others watched expectantly. Lars crossed his fingers that Steven had at least gotten something decent. He was trying to think of 'best case scenarios': jewelry, gift cards, anything to do with a phone...

"Oh!" Jenny grinned when she looked inside. "A T-shirt!"

Lars sighed in relief -

- which turned into a choke when he saw the actual T-shirt.

It looked like it had been a regular, gas-station beige T-shirt before it had been modified. On the chest, in what appeared to be permanent markers of various colors, was a crude image of Jenny. Her name was printed underneath in the same colors. The T-shirt also looked two sizes too big for the teenager. She wasn't even wearing it and Lars knew that the sleeves probably came to almost her elbow.

From where they stood, Ruby raised an eyebrow and turned to Steven. "I thought that was YOUR - "

Steven shushed her. He watched Jenny expectantly.

Jenny turned the T-shirt around and held it to her chest. The reactions from the others were either raised brows or casual nods. Jenny, although she didn't squeal or giggle in delight, gave Lars an appreciative smile. "Thanks. It's cute."

Lars was far past the point of feeling calmed by compliments. His back was starting to hurt from shaking so much. His palms were slick with sweat, and his muscles were stiff. His heart was likely to break his ribs with how hard it was pounding.

"Alright!" Steven clapped his hands together to summon everyone's attention. "Who's ready to dance?"

This brought up several cheers and whoops of agreement as everyone got to their feet. Everyone made way to the empty space in the grass. All eyes seemed to be on Sour Cream, in particular. Lars shuffled beside Sadie, who was shyly twiddling her thumbs as she waited for the music.

Steven turned to the blue Gem standing beside the boom box. "Hit it, Sapphire!"

She pressed the 'play' button on the small music device. Everyone moved all of a few inches before either freezing or awkwardly slowing to a halt. The music, rather than being upbeat and lively, was a slow piano ballad. A few moments passed as everyone waited for it to pick up or maybe change, but it didn't.

Steven shuffled closer to Sapphire to whisper, "I was expecting something a bit more...more?"

It was a long pause of piano notes before Sapphire murmured, "Everyone's a critic."

The others didn't seem to know what to do with themselves. Kiki started to rock on her heels. Buck remained immobile and emotionless. Sour Cream was frozen where he stood, his eyes the size of pinpricks. "I cannot rave to this."

Lars pulled Steven away once again. This brought a few looks, either out of confusion or, for the Gems, distaste. Jenny was apparently trying to tell everyone that there was nothing wrong with starting with a slow dance, but Lars didn't care anymore. He was absolutely livid.

He stopped pulling Steven along when they were far from earshot, some twenty yards down the beach along the cliff's side. He rounded on the boy, but Steven was as curious and confused as ever. "What kind of party is this?"

Steven shrugged. "A birthday party?"

Lars growled and pointed behind him. "Everything that you've done today has been a disaster! EVERYTHING!"

Steven's brows furrowed atop his head. "I thought Jenny was having a good time."

"She's just saying that! OF COURSE she's just saying that!" Lars's arms began to move around wildly as he continued to speak. All of the annoyance and anxiety that had been building up was finally coming out in every way imaginable. "The place looks stupid, the cake was disgusting, the present was lame, and you even got the music wrong!"

Steven's confusion finally began to make way into anger. Whichever comment had gotten under his skin, Lars didn't now, but he was now putting his hands on his hips as he stared hotly up at the teen. "The Gems and I tried our best and put a lot of work into this."

"But now everyone thinks I'M stupid! Everything that you've done today, everyone thought that I did, and now everyone thinks that I'm just a pathetic loser that they don't want to talk to!"

Despite the angry, hot tears gathering at the corners of the teen's eyes, Steven kept his ground and sternly replied, "Well, then why didn't you just tell them that we did it?"

"Because - I - YOU - Ugh!" Lars dug his fingers into the tuft of orange hair atop his head. "This was my one chance to make myself look good and you - !"

Steven somehow guessed exactly what he was going to say, because he cut him off to reply, "I ruined it? I was helping you, Lars. I set up the party and the food and the music because I wanted to help you out, not because you asked me to." He took a deep breath and said in a calmer tone, "I'm sorry that you're embarrassed, okay? Maybe this is just me, but if someone was going to judge me for doing something nice for them, I wouldn't want to 'prove myself' to them."

Before Lars could reply to that, someone at the party shouted, "Cool! Check this out!"

Lars and Steven hardly spared a momentary glance at each other before racing back to the party. A short teen whose name Steven did not know was holding something in his hand. It looked like a baseball-sized round rock, except that there was a piece missing, showing off its hollow, sparkling green inside. One of the eggshells from the previous morning. Everyone was huddled around to get a closer look. The Gems were an exception, as they seemed confused and a touch bit anxious as the teen held it.

As the teen turned the 'rock' around, letting the sunlight shimmer off its surface, someone in the crowd cried, "Cool! Eat it!"

Ruby was immediately shouting, "No, no, no, no, no! Put it down!"

A low rumble summoned everyone's attention. It felt like a small tremor running through the earth. Murmurs and whispers of confusion rose up from the teens. The Crystal Gems went rigid, eyes darting everywhere, prepared to pounce at a moment's notice.

"What is that?"

At Sadie's exclamation, everyone turned to the ocean. Near the shore, three collections of bubbling foam were approaching. The third one dispersed, then the second, as if something were moving closer underneath the sand. The small tremors increased, and then it turned into a steady rumble from movement underneath the soil.

Something burst up from the ground and sent small and large clods of dirt everywhere. Some people squeaked and yelped in fright, others went still with surprise as something rose up to tower over them.

It looked like a giant worm, its bright orange skin surrounded in a thick, gelatin-like clear substance. From its head protruded several limbs, almost like tentacles. It lacked eyes or a nose, an inside its mouth flashed razor-sharp green teeth able to shred anything to ribbons. Even without any form of eyes, it was almost glaring down at the party.

Atop its head sat several of the small worms that had been on the beach the day before. One chirped triumphantly, as if to boast, 'Yep, that's them.'

The worm dove down, and everyone scattered. But no matter what direction they went running in, they were blocked off by the Worm's body. Yelps and screams rose into the air. The tables and everything on them were crushed within seconds.

The Crystal Gems wasted little time. Opal summoned her longbow, Ruby her gauntlets, Sapphire her knuckledusters. Ruby went to landing as many blows as she could. Sapphire did her best with her knuckledusters, but the thick layer over the Worm's skin was almost impenetrable. Opal, however, managed to get some spots open with her arrows. So, when a piece of the protective layer went missing, Ruby and/or Sapphire went to hit the weak spot. This worked somewhat, but each hit made the Worm shriek and writhe, putting the teenagers in further danger of being hit or crushed.

Steven found himself, Jenny, Buck, Sour Cream, Kiki, Sadie, and Lars all trapped in a small circle of the Worm's body. The more the Worm moved, the smaller the circle became. Everyone huddled together to get as much space as possible, but it was doing little good.

Steven was trying to figure out what to do, but he was coming to dead ends every time. There was nothing they could use to attack the Worm. They had nothing to keep the body pried apart from them. The only hope seemed to be waiting for Opal, Sapphire, and Ruby to defeat the Worm, but he was pretty sure they didn't even realize that he and the others were trapped.

Buck, although as calm as ever, was holding his arms in front of the others as if to protect them. Sour Cream seemed largely unfazed part for looking around for an exit. Jenny was all but crushing her younger sister against her in a tight hug. Sadie tugged on Lars's T-shirt to catch his attention. "What do we do?"

Lars's eyes darted left and right. There was no way they could go under, and the body may as well have been brick walls. The only way out was to go up, but how would they manage that?

Fortunately, a light bulb went off over his head just as he thought that. He tapped on Buck's shoulder. "Get on my shoulders!"

Buck immediately understood, and climbed onto Lars's shoulders when he knelt down. Lars, with some small difficulty, stood to his feet with Buck balanced atop him. Lars turned to everyone else. "Everybody up!"

Jenny immediately thrust Kiki to them. "TAKE MY SISTER FIRST."

Kiki, with a sigh at her sister's melodrama, carefully climbed up Lars and Buck to the opening above. She couldn't get a grip on the slippery surface of the Worm, so she eventually resorted to just flinging herself forward and over. She disappeared from sight, but they heard her land just a moment later.

Steven refused to go next, so the next insisted person was Sour Cream. After that was Jenny, then Sadie. Buck, Lars, and Steven were the only ones left, but even without words, they were trying to figure out how this was going to work.

"Steven, go!" Lars nudged the boy with his knee. The walls of the Worm's body were enclosing more. There was about five feet of space around them.

"What about you?"

"Does it LOOK like we have time to argue about this?!"

Steven still didn't seem comfortable with leaving him behind, but reluctantly climbed up Lars's body, then Buck. The usually-silent boy told him in a surprisingly gentle voice, "Up you go." He threw Steven upwards onto the Worm's body.

It was almost like going over the edge of a bouncy-house. After climbing a small ways, Steven fell, but only for a surprising few feet. He looked down to see that Kiki, Jenny, Sour Cream, and Sadie were all standing atop one another's shoulders, slightly leaning against the Worm. Jenny, standing atop the stack of people, nodded at Steven.

Steven nodded back in understanding, and turned around. He held his arms over the edge of the opening, and a moment later, Buck's hands met his. Steven turned his head over his shoulder to call, "Pull!"

Sadie, at the base of the stack, went walking forward. Steven kept a tight grip on Buck's hands as the both of them were pulled backwards. The opening was closing tighter by the second. Finally, Lars appeared on Buck's feet, rising out with him. He was pulled out just in time - his foot was squeezed as he was pulled out.

The teens and Steven landed in a heap on the ground. They quickly took off running, and luckily weren't cut off or blocked this time. They ran past the cliff to the beach, and only stopped when they were positive that they were safe.

The other teenagers fortunately had also made their way out of harm's path. The Gems were continuing their method of attack. The Worm was now missing several spots of its protective layer, and the skin underneath was bruised and scratched. It was also positively livid by this point, thrashing and roaring. The smaller worms somehow managed to stay on its head.

Eventually, as it continued to move about, the Worm whipped its head around and took a hold of Opal's foot with its mouth. The four-armed Gem yelped as she was tossed into the air. The Worm opened its mouth wide for her with every intent to swallow her down. However, as Opal went falling, she instead aimed her bow down to its open mouth and fired a quick arrow inside.

The result was almost instant. There was a muffled pop, and the Worm's body had dispersed into glittering purple dust. Its smaller worms yelped as they went falling to the ground. They landed alongside their mother's discarded Gem.

Ruby was quick to capture the Gem inside a red Bubble and send it to her Room. There were a few cheers and whoops, but they were all short-lived. Everyone instead went running to Lars, Steven, and the other teens as they came back to the scene. They were met with the expectant questions of "Are you guys okay?" and "What happened?"

"We're fine, we're fine," Jenny said with a wave of her hand. "We weren't even scared." Behind her, Kiki rolled her eyes and smirked.

Someone in the crowd asked, "What did you guys do?"

Lars was content to let the others explain that they had just climbed out. However, Steven pulled Lars beside him and proclaimed, "Lars saved us! He came up with the idea to climb out."

Praise and compliments rose up from all around. Some kids cried "Good job, Lars!" or "Nice thinking!" Jenny beamed at him in appreciation, while Buck sent him a thumbs-up and a small smile. Steven patted him on the back encouragingly.

For the first time in the evening, Lars beamed.

When everything had calmed down, and the Crystal Gems cleaned up the mess of dirt and debris left behind by the Worm, everyone was content to carry on with the party. Although his arm was still in a splint, Sour Cream hooked up his cellphone to the boom box to play more party-appropriate music. They danced for a while, and eventually, they took out some of the things in the "Fun Stuff" box. Some people went to play a game of Frisbee, others set up a game of Twist-N-Stretch on a flat bed of earth. Even Lars joined in for some, and did a dance with Sadie when a slow song came to play. The sun was setting on the horizon, casting everything in orange light.

Eventually, Ruby called, "Anyone up for some burgers?!"

This was met with exclamations of agreement, and a sigh of relief from Jenny and Kiki for having something other than pizza for a change. As The Crystal Gems headed towards Steven's Room to grab the grill and ingredients, Sapphire told Opal, "Let's not put peanut butter on them."

"Fine." Opal rolled her eyes with a playful smirk. "Scaredy-cats."

Steven did a running jump to catch the Frisbee coming at him. There were a few cheers when he caught it, and he flung it back to the crowd. He felt someone tap on his shoulder, and turned to Lars.

Lars sighed and sheepishly ran a hand up and down his arm. "Thanks for setting up the party. And...sorry. I'll tell the guys it was you who did everything."

Steven smiled and waved his hand. "No worries. I already explained everything."

Lars glanced sideways. Jenny, Buck, and Sour Cream were talking to a small group of their friends. Jenny caught him looking from the corner of her eye and sent him a smile and a wave. "What?"

"I told them that you just wanted to help Jenny out, and that it was me that was doing everything wrong. Jenny said it was cool. She told me to thank you."

Lars sighed. He gave Steven a small smirk of a smile. "Thanks."

Steven held his arms out.

Lars furrowed his brows bemusedly. "What?"

"Hug...?"

"No." Lars turned on his heel and briskly walked away with his shoulders hunched over.

Steven tsked. He cupped his hands around his mouth and called after him, "I'll get you one day, Lars!"