Steven woke up to three sets of eyes on him.
"Um. Hi?"
"Hello!" Spinel cheered.
"Good morning, Steven!" Pearl beamed.
"You slept well." Garnet observed.
"Um. I guess." He wiped his eyes. "Did you... watch me all night?"
"Um. Yeah!" Spinel answered.
"From dusk until dawn!" Pearl added.
"We had to make sure you were safe Steven."
"While I was sleeping...?"
"Yes." Garnet said.
"Thank... you." Steven slowly got out of bed, "I'm gonna go get some breakfast then."
Steven made his way down the stairs. His father was already at the table eating more than a fair portion of cereal. Garnet had retrieved what she could of his van from the bottom of the sea, but it was completely totaled. Steven couldn't help but feel a wave of sadness, though Greg looked happier than ever.
"Hey stewball." Greg said once he had swallowed, "Try some of the rainbow stuff, it's delicious!"
The milk and cereal were already laid out, so all Steven had to do was grab a bowl and spoon before sitting down next to his dad. "It's Amethyst's cereal. I'm pretty sure she stole it."
"Huh." Greg looked down at the rainbow balls, then took another big mouthful, "She should steal more often."
"Greg." Spinel huffed, "That's not a good example for Steven!"
Steven looked around. "Where is Amethyst?"
Pearl scowled and crossed her arms. "That lazy Amethyst couldn't even stay up one night with us to watch you! She kept talking about how you needed your space! You don't need space, you need protecting!"
Pearl leaned down and hugged him.
"Pearl." Steven flinched away from Pearl's embrace, "I'm eating my breakfast."
"Of course, Steven!" Pearl stood back slightly, "Eat your breakfast, I'm not stopping you!"
Steven scooped up a spoonful, but it was hard to concentrate on eating with Pearl's wide, baby-blue eyes staring just inches away.
"Um. Can I help you with something?"
"No, just watching." Pearl said.
"Could you watch from a little farther away?"
Pearl stepped a few feet away.
"Thank you." It was better, but not enough to make Steven comfortable. He ate as fast as he could, which wasn't very fast since he kept checking and kept seeing Pearl staring at him.
"All done." He announced to all the eyes watching him.
"I'll clean it!" Pearl offered.
"No, I can do it myself." Steven said. When he stood up and turned around, he nearly ran into Spinel.
"Want me to do it?" Spinel offered.
"Spinel." Steven walked around her, "I can wash my own dish."
The gems kept their eyes on him as he did just that. Greg came up beside him to start washing his own dish.
"Geeze, Steven, they're watching you like a hawk." He commented.
Steven sighed. "Yeah."
The gems watched Steven closely for all the days that followed. They followed him outside when he went to give Lion a treat, and they followed him back inside after. They sat with him watching cartoons (Amethyst had finally decided to return the TV) and Pearl plagued him with questions. They stood outside the bathroom while he took a shower, watched him while he slept, coddled him to the point of making all his meals and tending to his every need until he couldn't take it anymore and decided he needed to get some fresh air. They attempted to follow him again, until Steven finally spoke out.
"I'm just gonna go to the Big Donut, okay? I'll be back soon."
"We'll come with you!" Pearl said.
"No!" Steven said a little louder than he intended, "I mean, I just wanna catch up with Lars and Sadie for a bit, okay?"
"I thought Lars wasn't working the Big Donut anymore?" Pearl asked.
"It's his Christmas break." Steven explained, "So can I go catch up with him? Please?"
"Okay, Steven." Pearl didn't sound happy about it.
"We'll see you when you get back." Spinel said.
"Be safe!" Garnet added.
"I will." Steven said, "It's just the Big Donut."
"We'll wait here for you." Garnet said.
"You don't have to do that."
"We want to do it!" Pearl exclaimed.
Spinel nodded her agreement.
"Right." Steven tried to sound positive, but he was anything but, "Well, I'll see you later."
As he left across the beach, the gems continued to shout their praise.
"See you soon, Steven!"
"We'll be waiting!"
"I miss you already!"
"I'll do your laundry while your out!"
"We'll be here if you need anything."
All the praise and the positive words had the exact opposite affect on Steven.
Sadie placed the donut in front of him. "Hey Steven." She said softly, "You've been in here a while. You okay?"
Steven didn't know how to answer. He had caused so many trouble, and it hadn't been for anything. Lapis was free, sure, but she was gone. She hadn't stayed with him like he thought she would, and join the household and get her own room in the temple.
"Yeah, I guess." Steven said, "I just... don't want to see the gems right now." He took a slow, glum bite of his donut but all he could taste was his own despair.
Sadie sat down opposite of him, resting her elbows on the table and her head in her hands. "Did something happen?"
Steven sighed, and he leaned back in his chair. He was starting to get a headache.
"It's just that my friend was trapped in a mirror prison and I let her out, and her name was Lapis Lazuli. She was a gem from outer space land, like the Crystal Gems, well, except for Amethyst. Anyway, she kidnapped me and stole the ocean, and tried to take me away with her into outer space. Then she threw me off her tower, and I learned how to fly. Kinda. I mean, Garnet said it was more like falling very slowly. Now I think the gems are mad at me and my dad's homeless."
"Dude." Lars said from the counter, "What even is your family?"
"Refugees from outer space." Steven answered proudly, "They don't really tell me much other than that."
"Well uh..." Sadie rapped her fingers, "That's just... God awful Steven. Is there anything I can do?"
Steven thought, and then he looked down at his empty paper.
"Another donut please."
"Are you sure? It's your third one. I don't want you to get sick."
"I'm just hungry." Steven said, "Can you get me a jelly one?"
Sadie offered a tired smile. "Of course." She rose from her seat, "Anything for my favorite customer."
Steven forced a smile. "Thank you Sadie!" As she retrieved his donut, he continued to fill the silent void with his voice, "I just wish I could take a break and wait for everything to calm down. Ya know, like a vacation or something?"
Sadie returned with the third donut. "A vacation sounds lovely! I wish I could afford one."
Steven frowned. "Don't you have lots of money from working all the time?"
"Not really." Sadie sat back down, "Mind if I unload on you a bit? It would be nice to talk to someone about this. Ya know, someone who actually listens." Sadie looked over to Lars, far too absorbed in his donut to care about anything else; Steven wasn't even sure he paid for it.
Steven put his hands behind his ears and pushed them forward. "I'm all ears!"
Sadie laughed softly. "Even though I work all the time, I barely have enough to scrape by. My mom's nice enough to let me stay in her basement as long as I buy my own food and pay part of the bills. Every scrap I have left over at the end of the month I put into a savings account. I really want to rent a house, just to get my mom out of my hair, but I can't afford anything right now. If I save enough, I think I might be able to afford one in like, three years maybe."
"That's a long time from now."
"Yup." Sadie sounded defeated, "I work every second of every day, and get barely anything for it. It would be wonderful to get away."
"Yeah, I hear you Sade." Lars added, "My parents have been on my case all week about me getting my grades up."
Sadie looked to him. "Well, it is your senior year. Don't you think you should go out on a good note?"
Lars scoffed. "I guess. But who are they to tell me what to do?!"
"Uh. Your parents. You do live in their house and eat their food."
"Well, duh!" Lars leaned forward, "I'm their kid! They gotta support me or whatever. It's the law."
Sadie shook her head slowly. "You shouldn't treat them like that, Lars. They're your parents."
Lars crossed his arms. "I'll treat them like they treat me."
"You mean with love and affection?"
"Sadie, you don't get to-"
"WARP PAD!"
Lars' and Sadie's argument ended abruptly at Steven's outburst.
"The warp pad in my house!" Steven went on, "It can take you wherever you want to go! It can take us to an island!"
"An island?" Sadie's voice dripped with disbelief, "How does that work?"
Steven had to think for a minute on how to explain. "It turns your body into light and teleports you based on where you want to go."
"Sounds painful." Lars commented.
Steven shook his head. "No, it tickles a bit but it's totally safe! The gems take me on it all the time when we go on missions!"
Sadie whistled. "You really think it could take us to an exotic island?"
"Yeah!"
Lars looked between Sadie and Steven as if they were both crazy.
"You seriously believe that's even possible?"
Sadie's expression turned to stone. "Lars, a blue space goddess stole the ocean, I don't think teleportation is out of the question."
Lars shrugged. "Fair enough. When do we leave?"
"Later tonight!" Steven said, "The gems would never let me go, let alone take you guys." Guilt began to seep into Steven, "So we'd have to be really sneaky and quiet, okay?"
"Okay," Sadie said, "Sounds good to me."
"I'm in too." Lars said.
"You might want to pack a bag," Steven added, "Food can be hard to come by on a deserted island."
Sadie chuckled. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."
"This is gonna be great!" Steven exclaimed, "I've always wanted to go on vacation!"
"Hey uh, Steven, I think your folks are waiting for you."
Steven looked to the window. Sure enough, Garnet, Pearl, and Spinel were there at the window, their faces pressed against the glass as they stared inside. Steven turned back to Sadie and Lars.
"I'll see you tonight."
"See you then." Sadie said, and then she left Steven to return to the counter.
Steven went outside.
"Steven!" Pearl cheered, "You're back!"
"We know you said you were fine," Garnet said, "But we just wanted to check on you."
Spinel pulled Steven close into a hug. "Are you done catching up with Lars and Sadie?"
Steven sighed. "I guess I am."
Spinel's smile faded. "Why so sad?"
"I'm not sad." Steven defended, "I'm just, not feeling the best."
Pearl gasped. "Oh no! How could I have not see this coming!" She snatched Steven away from Spinel.
"Hey!" Spinel shouted.
"You were out there for so long freezing and wet, you must've caught a cold!"
"Pearl, you get a cold from an airborne virus, not by being cold." Spinel snatched Steven back.
"Well, that doesn't mean he still can't be sick!" Pearl argued, attempting to take Steven again, "We need to get him home and warm with some chicken noodle soup!"
"We don't have any!" Spinel argued, pulling Steven in the opposite direction.
"Well then we can just go buy some!"
"Can't; all outta money."
"We shouldn't be?" Pearl stopped tugging on Steven, and Spinel was quickly able to take the teen for herself. Pearl scowled. "Greg just gave us money last week; it was supposed to last us all month!"
"Well it's gone!" Spinel snapped.
"That's just unheard of!"
Steven could feel a wave of worry shooting off from Pearl like electric strikes.
"How are we gonna feed Steven?"
"We'll find a way." Garnet said simply, "Or we'll make a way."
"Wait, then, Steven, how were you buying donuts?" Pearl asked.
"Sadie gave them to me for free." Steven explained, "She does that sometimes."
"We shouldn't discuss this here." Garnet said calmly, and she was easily able to take Steven from Spinel, "Come; let's go back home and we'll discuss this with Greg when he returns."
When Steven and the gems came to the house, it was just in time to see Amethyst with her head stuck in the fridge, taking her time and swaying her hips. She picked up something from inside the fridge and dropped it into the grocery bag hanging from her arm, and then reached to grab something else.
"What are you doing?!"
Amethyst startled at Pearl's shriek and banged her head on the shelf inside the fridge in her haste to escape. "Geeze! Don't do that Pearl!" She rubbed her head.
"Are you stealing food?!" Pearl demanded.
"What? No!"
Amethyst was lying.
"I'm stocking the fridge, man!"
"If you're stocking the fridge, why are you putting stuff in the bag?" Spinel pointed out.
Amethyst blinked. "Alright, you caught me." She closed the fridge door with her butt. "I'm just getting a midday snack. Don't worry, it's spoiled."
"If it's spoiled, why is it in the fridge?" Pearl growled through gritted teeth.
"I dunno, you tell me Pearl." Amethyst smirked, "You're supposed to be the cleaning lady."
"It's not spoiled! Nothing ever spoils here!" Pearl argued.
"Yeah. 'cept you. You're way past your 'best by' date."
Pearl gasped. "You can't do that!" Pearl appealed to the leader, "Garnet!"
Garnet raised a hand. "Amethyst, give me the bag."
"What?" Amethyst held the bag protectively against her chest, "No! Get your own!"
Garnet advanced on Amethyst, but Steven was faster to block her. "Garnet, no! I don't mind!"
"That food is meant to feed Steven." Garnet said.
"It's fine!" Steven said, "I have donuts and fry bits!"
"You need actual food." Garnet replied, "Something filling, which you can't have if Amethyst keeps pillaging the fridge every chance she gets."
"She like's to eat too!" Steven defended.
"She likes to eat, but she doesn't need to eat. You do."
"Amethyst, it's okay." Steven turned to look at her, "Just go."
"Don't have to tell me twice." Amethyst was off in a flash, disappearing into the temple and slamming the door shut behind her.
"Amethyst!" Pearl ran to the temple door too, and banged her fist on it. "I'm gonna come down the waterfall after you if you don't get back out here with Steven's food!"
"At least we know where the money's been going." Spinel offered.
Pearl growled. "When I get my hands on that Amethyst!"
"You're aren't going to do anything." Garnet finished.
"What? But she, she!"
"Leave her be. She has to come out sometime, and we'll talk to her then. I don't want to have to search for you when you inevitably get lost in her maze like you did last time."
Pearl blushed, and looked away. "I did nothing of the sort."
"Of course not." Garnet clearly didn't believe her, "As I said, we'll discuss this matter further once Greg arrives. Until then, let's just make sure Amethyst doesn't come back for more."
Steven didn't expect the gems to leave him alone after that, and they didn't. They followed him around for the rest of that day, and he only got a moment to himself when his dad finally returned to the house and talked in a hushed nature with the gems for about ten minutes. Then they were back to his side for the rest of the day, until it was time for him to go to bed.
"Are you sure you don't want us to stay with you?" Pearl questioned.
"Yeah, I'm fine!" Steven said, "Really just..." He feigned a yawn, "Really tired. I'm sure you have much better things to do!"
"You're way more important than missions, Steven!" Pearl exclaimed proudly.
"I'll be fine here! Dad's here!" Steven looked back at Greg, and Greg waved at them. "I'll be fine, you guys go!"
"Well, we do have that heliotrope that's been terrorizing the Kyanite Canyon." Garnet said, "I figure it's about time we round her up.
"Good!" Relief cooled Steven's nervous heat, "Go do that!"
"Should I get Amethyst?" Spinel asked.
Garnet shook her head. "We don't need Amethyst for this mission anyway."
"Okay, if you say so."
The three gems stepped onto the warp pad.
"Steven." Garnet said coolly, "You're going to have a good night."
"Um. Thank you?"
Garnet nodded. "Yes. Let's go." She warped away without another word.
"I don't know about you Stew-ball." Greg yawned and stretched out his arms, "But I'm beat! I think I'm gonna hit the hay."
"Yeah." Steven said, "Me too."
Though Steven climbed into bed and turned off his lights, sleep was the last thing on his mind. He had to stay awake, he knew, to wait for Lars and Sadie to show up. He had gotten the gems to finally leave him alone to sleep, his dad was already snoring, and Amethyst was locked up in her room. The timing was perfect.
He laid awake for hours, constantly moving so he wouldn't fall asleep, checking the clock as the minutes wore on into the night. Once he was left alone with nothing but his thoughts to occupy him, they began to run wild. What if the gems came back before Lars and Sadie came? Or worse, when Lars and Sadie came? What if they were able to track Steven, when they came back to find him not in his bed? What if his dad woke up and caught them in the act? Sure, he could keep a secret from Pearl and maybe Spinel, but Garnet? No one could keep a secret from Garnet.
Steven sat up in bed and strained his ears to listen. He heard the steady breathing of his dad, the howling of the wind outside. The crashing waves. All the nighttime noises that would usually lure him to sleep helped him to stay awake. It was nearly midnight when he heard the slightest rapping that turned his attention to the door. Sadie and Lars were outlined in the moonlight, staring up at his loft. Sadie waved, and Steven waved back. His heart began to race and, as quiet as he could manage, he tiptoed down the staircase. He knew by experience which boards would creak and which ones could hold his weight without a sound.
After what felt like an eternity, he was finally able to creep silently to the door. He opened the door, slid out into the night, and closed the door quietly behind him.
"Hey Steven." Sadie said in a hushed whisper, "I hope we're not too early. You didn't exactly say a time."
"Right now's perfect!" Steven said, then covered his mouth, "I mean, right now's perfect." He repeated quieter.
"Great." Sadie said, "I brought some food; I hope it's enough." She held out her bag to show it overflowing with supplies.
"Awesome." Steven whispered, "My dad's sleeping inside, but he's a pretty heavy sleeper, so we should be fine."
"Are you sure this is okay?" Sadie asked, "I mean, I wouldn't want to get you in trouble."
Steven looked away. "I know... but we can't go back now! You're already here!" He opened the door and invited them in.
"Sure..." Lars muttered, "Two adults showing up at a teenage boy's house in the middle of the night while his guardians are asleep. Nothing seriously perverse about that."
Sadie elbowed him the stomach. "Come on, it's for Steven."
Lars grumbled, but followed Sadie inside the house. Steven was the last to enter, but he quickly took the lead in guiding them past the sleeping Greg and to the warp pad.
"That's it?" Sadie asked.
Steven nodded and stepped onto the warp pad. Lars and Sadie took the hint and stepped up beside him. Steven grabbed a hold of both their arms, though Lars flinched away from the touch and tried to pull away.
"I need to hold onto you so you don't drift out of the warp." Steven explained.
Lars stared. "So I don't what?"
"Drift out of the warp." Steven repeated, "The gems always have to hold onto me so I don't fly out, so I gotta hold onto you."
"You've done this before, right?" Sadie asked.
Steven shook his head. "Actually, no."
"WHAT?!"
Steven quickly shushed Lars. "Lars, not so loud!"
"You're never done this before?!"
"Warping now!"
Steven closed his eyes and thought of an island. Warm, surrounded by water, covered in trees. The perfect place to stay a day or two, where the gems would never think to look. A place with no humans. He could feel his body fade and turn to light, and the sensation of holding Sadie and Lars faded to the back of his mind. He had to focus everything he had on keeping them close as they warped through the stream of pure light. The tingling feeling rose in his stomach, his head felt miles away, and his body felt as if it were spread all throughout the known universe.
Then there was cold metal under his feet, and hands in his. The call of birds of the day, not of the night, and the whistle of a warm wind through his hair. He opened his eyes to a beautiful sight.
The air smelled humid and salty, and the sky above him was a clear crystal blue without a cloud to be seen. It was day. All around him were rocky outcrops and trees of all kinds that stretched into a canopy and casted shade over the vibrant grass below. Steven spotted a few birds flying overhead, and even more roosting in the trees above watching the new arrivals curiously. Steven almost jumped at the exclaims of wonder that came from Lars and Sadie as they took in the sight as well.
"It worked!" Steven cheered.
" Lars said, "What? No! How? What?!"
"Oh my God, Steven, you weren't kidding!" Sadie hopped off the warp pad and investigate a nearby leaf, almost as big as she was. "Look at these leaves!"
"Who care's about the leaves?" Lars asked as he ventured in the opposite direction and pushed some of the shrubbery aside, "Look at this view!"
Sadie and Steven both ran to check it out, and both were left in awe. The earth dropped down into a deep, rocky canyon beyond where the last trees grew, and at the bottom Steven could see waves crashing against the pointed rocks in a violent, somehow mesmerizing movement.
"This is spectacular!" Sadie pulled out her phone and took a picture of the view.
"Wait, we were allowed to bring our phones?" Lars asked.
Sadie shrugged. "I figured we should get some pictures, right?"
Lars leaned over Sadie's shoulders to look at the snap shot. "Send those to me when we get service."
"Will do." Sadie said.
"Come on!" Steven waved Sadie and Lars over, "Let's go explore!"
Sadie and Lars looked at each other and shrugged.
"Well, when on an exotic island." Lars joked.
"Lead the way, Steven."
Steven did just that. He found the path with the least resistance, the fewest low-hanging leaves and high-reaching overgrowth. He could almost believe it was an actual path, carved out by people that had come before him. Sadie had the same thought.
"You sure this is unpopulated?" Sadie asked, "This path seems human, almost."
"Yeah..." Steven paused, "I was thinking that too."
Lars pushed past them and pressed on. "Who cares?"
"I'm sure they'll care if we're intruding on their land." Sadie pointed out, "Or they might not mind as much since they could eat us."
That stopped Lars in his tracks. He backtracked, passed Steven and Sadie once more, and cowered behind the latter.
"On second thought, you guys can lead the way."
"It's gonna be okay." Steven said, "I mean, the people might be gone now, and even if they aren't, I can always bubble us if they try to attack. But we should probably make a note of where the warp pad is."
Sadie gave a curt nod and from her bag she pulled out a small knife, using it to cut a notch in a nearby tree. She worked the bark off of the foundation, until a surprisingly detailed S was engraved into it.
"There. Now we just gotta mark every tree along... the way." Her arms fell limp and her face fell as she looked out at the great expanse of trees spreading out into a seemingly endless horizon, "Or um. Maybe every other tree."
Steven smiled. "I can tell this is gonna be an amazing trip."
They continued to walk the path for what seemed like an eternity, and Steven began to regret his decision. He had no idea how he was going to explain getting sunburn when he was supposed to be sleeping, and the air was only getting more humid as the hour wore on. Just as he was about to suggest going back, the trees seemed to thin and he gave it a chance to see what would happen next. They passed fewer and fewer trees, and the high foliage began to dwindle until nothing but dirt remained. Dry, overturned dirt.
Sadie kneeled down in the dirt and pulled up a clump of it, investigating the grass that clung to the bottom of it.
"What is it, Sadie?" Steven asked.
Sadie huffed. "It looks like something's been digging here."
"Like a mole?" Steven offered.
Sadie shook her head softly as she continued to turn the dirt back upright, and her gaze only darkened when she continued to discover more and more that needed fixing, "That's some mole, Steven. I think we should go."
"Okay!" Steven continued to walk, but quickly felt his excited mood darkened by the mood of another. "Sadie?"
"Steven, I meant we should go back." Sadie said, and her voice quivered the emotion that surrounded Steven, "I'm getting a bad feeling."
"I can tell." Steven said.
Lars gulped, and pulled his body closer to Sadie's, holding onto her shoulders like his life depended on it. Sadie flushed red, and gave an awkward laugh at the touch.
"Anyone else feel like we're being watched?"
Steven looked around. "I don't."
"Come on." Sadie said through her laughter, "Let's go back."
Lars and Sadie turned around (Though Sadie quickly took the lead) and Steven had no choice but to follow them; he didn't want to be left alone.
They didn't get far before Lars' fear came true. Standing in the path before them was a small, green and yellow creature that Steven recognized all too well. Dark, seed eyes and a jaggedly cut mouth that jutted up into a smile. A crown of white and green feathers rested on the bumps that could be mistaken for hair, and around his waist a skirt made of dried grass. On its stomach was a golden painted star, bold against the rest of its pale colors. In it's rounded hand it held a spear, sharpened to a point.
"Steven, what is that?!" Lars cried, "Why does it look like you?!"
"Watermelon Steven!" Steven gasped.
"What the fuck is a watermelon Steven!?"
"Whatever it is," Sadie interrupted, "Let's go this way!"
Sadie made an attempt to shove the younger boys in the opposite direction, but they were quickly cut off as more the identical Steven's stepped out into the open and pointed their spears in the groups direction.
"Now being watched, huh?" Lars snapped at Steven.
Steven whimpered. "I didn't think anyone was here, let alone them!"
"What even are they?"
"I made them with magic spit." Steven explained quickly.
Two dozen more came out of hiding to surround them. They all made attempts to stab at the three, and when the group would flinch away from their jabbing spears, they were pushed back against other spears with the same intention.
"I told them to leave me alone like, four months ago!"
"I uh, don't think they appreciated it, Steven." Sadie said.
One of the watermelons broke formation, though without lowering its spear, and made gargled sounds of incomprehensible noises. Steven stared at his creation, trying to make sense of what it was trying to say, and why it was looking at him.
"I think they want us to go with them..." Steven guessed.
"How do you know?" Lars asked.
"I don't." Steven said, "But let's just try it."
Sadie took a deep breath. "I trust you Steven. Lars, if Steven says to go with them, we should do it."
"Why would you start trusting him now?!"
"Well, he made them! And we got no better ideas."
"Follow my lead," Steven whispered to them, and then said louder to the lead watermelon, "Okay, we'll go with you, we'll go with you!"
The watermelon's mouth pulled up into a grin, and again said something in its strange way. Turning to the rest of its army, the sounds the leader made changed. Instead of the gruff, rough words it tried to say to Steven, the sound that same out of its mouth was a whistle. A twitter and squawk type of sound that the rest of the army repeated, each in their own fashion. Excited, happy noises.
"Am I crazy or do those sound like the birds we heard earlier?" Sadie observed.
"Then I guess I'm crazy too." Steven joked.
Lars made the smallest noise of agreement. The melons turned back to their prisoners and aimed their spears all in the same direction before they began to march. It was easy for Steven to match their pace; they were roughly the same size as him. He made a game out of walking in their footprints to try and distract himself from the true horror of the situation. Every few seconds he'd turn around to make sure Lars and Sadie were still there, still safe. They kept up that constant pace until they arrived at the top of a hill overlooking a valley.
The valley was completely destroyed. Trees ripped up by their roots, strewn everywhere Steven looked; against fractured rocks, atop broken structures, and bridging the difference between the two sides of a nearby river. There were deep indentation marks in the earth, and where they may have once been nothing but a wide expanse of grass and trees was demolished. When Steven was finally able to look past the destruction, he instead looked to the assembly of buildings.
They were all lined up in neat rows, beside neat streets. The integrity was still there, the foundation on which the small community was built, but many of the wooden houses lay in ruins just as the rest of the valley did. Like some grave injustice had been cast down upon them and destroyed everything they worked so hard to build. Steven could even begin to make out what looked to be farms, albeit crushed into the ground. A grand monument, cut in half but still towering great above the rest of what remained. The statue was, of course, a giant watermelon Steven with a star carved into its stomach, and all around that statues were destroyed nests and colorful peacocks mourning the loss. A particularly beautiful one caught Steven's gaze; it was as if he had been split in half, with one half being green and all the colored of the rainbow and the other being pure white.
"Woah..."
The small leader melon leader stood up high and called a bird call into the open lands; loud and jarring and nothing like the sweet sounds they had cooed to each other before. Like some scene from a horror movie, more the watermelon Steven's began to appear from the ruins. Some big and dark, others small and light, and even more average on both accounts. Some holding the smallest among them while the biggest ones stood guard over them. Some with spears and skirts and others with hats and long gowns. In fact, though Steven searched, he couldn't see any two that were exactly the same.
The star-painted leader gave another cry, and the congregation below repeated the cry. Once the leader was satisfied, it lowered its voice into those quiet and calming bird songs. Sometime during it he pulled Steven close to him, and the crowd below gawked at the sight.
"Um. Hello?" Steven waved.
Like one solid hive mind, they all waved back.
The group of spear-carrying melons behind Steven, Lars, and Sadie jabbed at the three and Steven took it as a hint to begin descending the hill to meet with the rest of their community.
"Are you sure this is a good plan?" Sadie asked Steven.
"Nope." Steven answered honestly.
The moment they were within reach, the friends were ripped away from each other as each Steven found their favorite human. Most of them surrounded Steven, and a small group surrounded Sadie as well. Lars had one or two curious in his existence, but even that seemed too much for him. Steven felt constricted being surrounded by so many of his clones, all trying to touch him or caress him or hold his hand. Steven struggled to keep up until another loud cry parted the crowds. He watched with the rest while he could only guess they were receiving orders from the star-painted one.
As a unit, the crowd split evenly into four groups. Three of them lifted up their guests (or prisoners), while the forth group ran quickly ahead. From the scraps they searched until they found what they were looking for, and Steven watched in astonishment as a cot of thatch and leaves seemed to appear before his very eyes; then a second, then a third. Before the other groups even arrived, the fourth group had done their duty and were ready to present the beds. Steven was laid down in the middle one, then Lars and Sadie were put beside him.
The three crowds parted as the fourth returned and approached the humans; on their heads, they laid crowns of flowers and around their neck beautiful necklaces of seashells and polished rocks. A few of them dipped their hands into coconuts halves holding colored paint,. Steven didn't dare move or even breathe as they began to paint on him and Lars and Sadie. The lead melon appeared from the crowd, dipping his hand into golden paint and used it to draw a rough star-shape on Steven's pajamas.
The village hooted and hollered in their bird calls, and a few threw their flower crowns into the air in celebration.
"Steven what are they doing?" Sadie asked.
"I don't know!" Steven said, "Maybe they're having a celebration? I think…" He looked down at his star, "I'm a part of it?"
Three melons in woven gowns stepped forward, holding wooden plates adorned with all sorts of things: berries, a green coconut half with a straw of wood. Strange fruits that Steven couldn't begin to recognize, and an even stranger paste in a bowl beside the fruit, with swirling colors of blue and red and yellow. The presenters gave a plate to each of the guests before giving a gracious bow and walking backwards to fade away.
"They're… feeding us?" Steven asked.
Sadie gulped. "That's never a good sign."
Lars couldn't talk, for his mouth was full of berries. He stopped chewing immediately at Sadie's words.
"It's not?"
"They usually feed sacrifices before, you know, sacrificing them."
Lars swallowed his mouthful nervously. "Oh."
Steven sniffed cautiously at the drink they offered on the platter. He looked back up, and his clones nodded encouragingly. Steven took a hesitant sip through the straw and flinched the moment the salty, sweet liquid touched his tongue.
He spat the concoction out. "It's salty."
Lars took Steven's cue and tasted the drink as well. He had the same reaction as Steven, but didn't spit it out. Sadie followed Lars and sipped; she didn't gag as the boys had, but definitely didn't seem happy with the situation.
"It sure is... an acquired taste?" She offered, and then took another sip. "I'm not sure I like this." She continued to drink it, despite her concerns. "Tastes familiar."
Sadie laughed at herself, but Steven was confused as to why.
"Don't even go there." Lars warned with narrowed eyes, and that only made Sadie laugh more.
Steven picked up a blue berry and tasted it. Immediate happiness sparked in him, and he meticulously picked the blue fruits from the pile.
"Blue's are good!"
Lars tried the berries, and then Sadie did too. They both seemed to agree with Steven and started stuffing their faces with the sweet treats.
"So much for your sacrifice theory, huh?" Lars joked.
Sadie huffed. "It's still possible, but if I die, it's gonna be with a full stomach."
Steven couldn't agree more. He eventually made his way through the other berries, all the while acutely aware of the unblinking eyes staring at him with wonder. It didn't take him long to clear the platter, and he even attempted a few more sips from the coconut, though each ended with him shoving even more berries into his mouth to get rid of the taste.
Steven held the empty plate out to the Watermelon Stevens. "All done!"
They seemed excited about that.
"Can we go home now?"
The melons all shook their head. The leader returned and shoved something into Steven's mouth; honeycomb. Before Steven could have a chance to spit it out, he was pulled into the crowd, honey and mud slathered into his hair and padded into his clothes. Then he was being lifted high in the air like some sort of deity being worshiped.
"Lars!" He cried out, "Sadie!"
"Steven!"
Sadie tried to sit up, but the army surrounding her quickly pushed her back into the cot.
"Help!"
The warriors surrounding him started chanting. They wandered through the ruins of their destroyed home, and farther down the valley to where the destruction was at its worst. Then they dropped Steven to the ground without a care, beginning to strip him of all the accessories they had gifted him, smudging the star so loving painted on his bedclothes. Then they began to leave.
"What, what's going on?" Steven asked them, and the Star Leader paused.
It held out its hands, and one of its followers handed it a horn. It took a deep breath and blew into the horn with a loud cry that echoed through the island. It pointed, it's followers pointed, and Steven followed their guidance.
The earth began to quake, like something beneath its surface had suddenly awoken. Except it wasn't below the earth, it was above it, and whatever it was, Steven could see straight through it. It was like it was nothing but thin air, and Steven could almost believe it was thin air if it hadn't had one telltale sign of its presence. Every step the monster took, every time the earth quaked, there would appear a footprint. Deep, defined, and bigger than Steven was. There was a whole trail of them, leading to (Steven could only guess) where the beast now stood.
"Um, what's that?" Steven looked around, beyond his freezing fear, to try and seek comfort in the sentient plants that once surrounded him. He was alone.
Steven got to his feet and started to back up, feeling a whimper rise in the back of his throat and escape with no efforts to stop it.
"You're a gem mutant… am I meant to fight you?"
The invisible creature growled a shuddering growl and continued her steady approach. Steven wanted to run but his fear weighed him to the spot like a cinder block. The mutant suddenly stopped her approach. Steven let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding inside him, and could slowly feel the glue holding him in place begin to weaken. Then the earth started shaking again, and the path of the monster grew more swift, grew louder, like it was approaching. It was approaching! And fast!"
Steven barely had enough time to encase himself in his safety bubble before he was knocked to the ground by the force of something seizing the rosy wall and lifting it into the air. Steven screamed as the bubble was thrown violently from side to side, with him flying along with it. He curled into a ball to try and protect himself from the violet thrashing, but there was little he could do to stop it.
Then he was falling, and for a moment he thought his bubble had burst, but then he realized the rose-tinted hue still surrounded him, and he really was falling!
Slow down, slow down, slow down!
The bubble around him popped, but Steven didn't fall. He remained where he was in the air, as if levitating by some magic, but then he slowly started to drift back to the safety of the island.
Steven sighed his relief, but then the true danger of the situation occurred to him, and he searched around frantically for any sign of the monster. There, towering high above him, there was a splash of brown outlined against the sky. Steven got his answer as to what it was when he saw a projectile fire through the air and slam into the unseen creature. Mud.
"Hey ugly!"
Steven recognized Sadie's voice and looked to where he heard it. Sadie was soaked and covered in mud, waist deep in the slow-flowing river. Lars crouched on the nearby shore, cowering behind a rock.
"Not so bad when we can see you, huh?"
Sadie reached beneath the surface and pulled out a handful of mud, lunging it through the air. The monster roared her hatred as the sod hit its target and made her visible to the attackers.
"Steven, run!"
The moment Steven's feet touched solid ground, he did just that. He took off running so fast he nearly lost his balance, but he didn't stop. He didn't know where he was running, with everything blurring around him in an array of sounds and faded colors, until he stopped suddenly to catch his breath and found himself surrounded by trees on all sides. It took him awhile to find his bearings, to look back to where he came from and to see the battle still raging on without him.
"Lars! Sadie!"
Steven started to turn back to help, but quickly when he realized he wasn't alone.
"Melons?"
Steven pushed aside the low-hanging leaves of a powerful tree to see the cowering, whining Steven melons huddled together in their fear. Every time the fight in the background would get louder, they'd yet out shrill cries and pack in closer together. Despite the chaos surrounding him, Steven never felt more calm.
"Have you all been here the whole time? I mean, not here, here. When I told you to go away, you came here."
A few of the larger melons nodded their agreement. Steven pulled them in close, and found his eyes settled on the golden star on the lead melon. Baby melon.
"You brought them here?"
The leader nodded.
"You came here, and you built a home. You built families..." Steven looked at the smallest melons among them, "But then she came and destroyed everything you built."
All beady eyes were on him.
"You can't just... hide from your problems. They won't go away that way, even when you try to cast them off on someone else. It will still always be your problem. Even if you run away, the problem still exists..." A realization began to dawn deep in Steven, and he was no longer talking to his companions, but himself. "I ran away to this island to try and get away, and instead I found you. Or, you found me. We were both running from our problems, and we tried to cast them onto someone else, so maybe we're not that different after all. Come with me, and I can help you beat her! But I can't do it alone."
Steven gave them the chance to consider. The leader looked to his melons, and began to whistle. The others whistled in response, growing louder and louder until it was basically a war cry. They raised their spears high.
"That's it!" Steven encouraged, and the cheer grew louder, "Now are you cowards, or are you melons?!"
The melons screeched something that sounded surprisingly like the latter, and then they charged past Steven. Steven laughed, and he ran after them, hooting and hollering right along with them. The unarmed among them split off from the rest in the direction of the river as the ones armed with spears charged into the valley. Star Leader was the first to cast his spear blindly into the air, and the first to reach the target.
The transparent gem beast roared her dissatisfaction as the spear pieced through her invisible skin. That was the cue for countless other melons to launch their weapons at the monster, while the muddy assault from the river only continued to grow. The mud coated the gem corruption, and gave a bigger target for the attackers to aim for. Whenever one would miss, another would run off to retrieve the lost spear and try again; the same thing would happen when the beast shook a few arrows loose. The onslaught seemed endless.
The creature brought down a heavy, muddy tail and shattered a few of the nearby melons into pieces.
Steven flinched at a loud swear from Sadie, and turned to see her still in the water with the army now surrounding her, holding her face. When she removed her hands, it was coated in blood.
"Sadie!" Steven and Lars' voices mixed as one.
"I'm fine!" Sadie reached into the water and pulled out a spear, baring her teeth in a snarl. "But I'm ending this now!"
Sadie rushed out of the river, spear in hand, and charged past the gem mutant to a nearby tree. She scaled it with all the skill and agility of someone twice her size, until she stood on one of the highest branches. She crouched over it to keep her balance, with one hand on the branch to add to it. The melons didn't need to be told what to do next. They stopped throwing their quickly dwindling supply of spears and started instead to slowly approach the monster and force her back. She hissed and roared, but the melon's efforts weren't enough to push her to the tree line.
Then there was a cry, and a flash of white and green as a grand bird flew high, with an impressive wingspan and powerful claws. The peacock forced the monster back the few feet that was still required for the plan to work, and Sadie saw her chance and took it too.
She jumped, and for a moment Steven could almost believe his friend was flying, but she came down hard and drove the spear even harder into the back of the creatures neck. There was a howl of pain and a great explosion, and then the monster was gone and so was the mud that clung to her pelt. Then Sadie was falling fast, but the melons were there to catch her; Steven was too preoccupied with catching something else.
When the monster was poofed, in the sunlight appeared a beautiful speck of blue, and Steven was there to catch it when the gemstone drifted down to the earth. He quickly put it in his pocket for safe keeping, and then ran to join the celebration.
"Sadie!" Steven had his arms out for a hug, but was quickly pushed aside.
Instead, it was Lars to steal the hug, and Sadie flushed a red that had nothing to do with the sunburn taking hold on her skin.
"Sadie, that was incredible!" Lars tried to lift her up, but quickly realized he lacked the strength; Sadie picked him up instead.
"Yeah!" Steven got back up, and ran into the crowd, "You did it!"
His clones were having celebrations of their own; crying out victory cries and hugging each other and the human that had saved them.
"This whole thing was a nice gesture, Steven." Sadie said, "But I really think we should go home now."
"Yeah." Lars agreed, "This whole 'exotic island' thing isn't all it's cracked up to be."
Steven felt guilt begin to creep in. "I'm sorry I brought you here…"
"Don't be!" Sadie insisted, "If we hadn't have been here, we never would have saved these cute little guys."
Sadie picked up one of the smaller melons and cradled it like a baby. The half-white peacock leaped onto Sadie's shoulder and settled there. Sadie struggled at first under the sudden weight, then laughed as she reached up to stroke his head.
"Yeah!" Lars said, and he actually smiled, "Even though I never want to see your face again-"
"Lars!" Sadie smacked him on the head.
"Ow!" That didn't stop Lars from finishing, "I gotta admit this whole thing was a lot less boring than doing nothing back in town. And to be honest, working at the Big Donut doesn't seem nearly as bad as this place."
That earned him another slap.
"Ow!"
Steven couldn't help but laugh. He turned to the Star Leader. "Thank you for feeding us, and helping us poof that gem mutant, but we wanna go home now."
The small melon hung his head, but nodded. From there, he and his village lead the group through the jungle with all the expert of a native, and before Steven knew it he recognized where they were. He saw the notches Sadie made on the tree, and then he saw the shiny metal of the warp pad. Steven ran up to it with Lars and Sadie at his side, and he had never before been so happy to see one.
"Thank you, baby melon."
The leader smiled and, if melons could blush, he would have been.
Steven stepped on the warp pad, and his friends grabbed a hold of him. The peacock left Sadie's shoulder and flew off down the path and out of sight; Steven was actually kind of sad to see it go. The melon leader made an abrupt noise and ran forward, reaching up onto his head and pulling off his feather crown. He handed it off to Steven.
"For me?" Steven asked as he slowly took the delicate gift.
Another melon separated off, and took the necklace of flowers from around her neck, placing it around Sadie's instead. Sadie stared at it in awe.
"Thank you! It's beautiful!"
Lars looked around like he was expecting to receive a gift too, and when he got nothing, he crossed his arms and huffed. "Fine. I didn't want anything anyway."
Steven grabbed a hold of Lars and Sadie once more and began to warp back home.
Sadie and Lars left immediately after exchanging silent farewells with Steven. It was strange, leaving a place so brightly lit to return to another place where the sun was only beginning to rise and start it's slow stretch across the horizon in a rainbow of colors. Steven knew he could go back to sleep, pretend he had never done anything else that night (or day), but he didn't. He could, but he couldn't. Instead, he sat on the floor, occasionally stealing a glance to the sleeping form of his father, but never moving. It wasn't until the sun had started to seep through the windows and the rest of the town started to stir that the gems returned.
Spinel and Pearl seemed shocked to find him awake, but Garnet only smiled. Steven was quick to explain the whole thing before they could ask too many questions, starting from the first moment he created the living melons to the nightmare he had just experienced on the other side of the world. At first, Pearl tried to interject constantly, but as the explanation went on, she fell silent. And when Steven was finally able to wrap up his story, it was Garnet who spoke first.
"Rose was able to create sentient plant life to act as her defenders. These plant soldiers lived solely to fight. Never before have they sought out lives of their own…"
"Rose never gave them the chance…" Pearl observed.
Steven sighed when he failed to sense a fraction of anger in any of the three; only sadness. An overwhelming, nauseating sadness.
"I'm sorry for not telling you."
"I'm sorry for smothering you!" Spinel said, and though she raised her hands in preparation for a hug, she quickly caught herself and flinched back. "After Lapis… we were scared you would go running off again."
"I'm sorry too." Pearl added, "Spinel took my explanation, but the apology still stands."
Spinel stuck her tongue out.
"Garnet?" Steven looked up at the giant.
Garnet lowered her head. "I knew you were going to go there, Steven. It was inevitable."
Steven blinked. "It was?"
"I could have stopped you, sure, but then you would have never come to this conclusion on your own."
"I agree." Pearl conquered, "Though it would have been even better if you would have told us, too, Garnet."
Garnet looked down at her. "You expect me to believe you wouldn't go after him."
"Well uh," Pearl blushed, "Oh. Hum."
"She's got a point you know." Spinel smirked.
"Well, despite that," Pearl brushed over the topic and kneeled down to Steven's height to put a hand on his shoulder. "You should never be afraid to ask us for space."
"Though we could probably be better at taking a hint." Spinel half-joked.
"So you're not mad?" Steven didn't know why he bothered asking.
Garnet laughed softly. "Steven, I'd never be mad at you."
"Me neither!" Spinel echoed.
"Nor I!" Pearl added.
"What? What'z goin on?"
Everyone looked to Greg, still frazzled in his half-asleep state and drooling on himself. They all laughed.
A few days later was Christmas. They did the same thing they did every year; two weeks prior, they had each drawn a name from a hat and had to get that person a gift. This year they had invited Connie over to join them in their festivities; her family didn't celebrate the holiday themselves, but they wre more than happy to let Connie experience it for herself (after a few hours of convincing argument). Steven had been praying that he would get Connie's name, and luck played out on his side. She was the first to present her gift, being the youngest, and she brought a brightly colored gift bag over to Spinel.
Spinel squealed and pulled out a gift delicately wrapped in newspaper. She carefully unwrapped the covering and held up the gift for all to see: A beautifully detailed brass elephants head, wearing what seemed to be a hat on its head. Many designs danced across it in an array of patterns, and the trunk hung down low and curled up.
"It's a wall decoration." Connie explained, "It's supposed to be good luck."
Spinel thanked Connie, and put the artifact in her gem for safekeeping. Then it was Steven's turn; he couldn't remember ever moving so fast before as he pulled out the small box and handed it over to Connie. Connie opened it, and her eyes immediately lit up.
Inside was a simple silver necklace, with a star-shaped pendant engraved with the words "Good Friends are like stars, You don't always see them but you know that they are always there." Connie covered her mouth, but that couldn't hide her grin.
"Oh Steven! I love it!" She pulled Steven into a hug, and Steven accepted. "Thank you!"
She closed the box back up and sat it on her lap, though that smile still clung to her face.
"Here, I got this for you Stew-ball." Greg gave two gifts to Steven, neither of them wrapped; a box of chocolate and a small stuffed bear with a Christmas hat on.
"Thanks dad!" Steven immediately started to cuddle the bear, "He's so soft!
"My turn!" Amethyst stood up and grabbed one of the two things beside her; a long box poorly wrapped in brown paper. Amethyst gave the package over to Pearl. "Here you go."
"Thank you..." Pearl seemed hesitant to take the box, but she did anyway. She pulled the wrapping off (though all it took was for her to remove a single piece of tape) to reveal a wooden box. She opened it up, and her eyes widened at the contents.
"What is it?" Steven asked anxiously.
Pearl pulled out one of the things inside. "It's a tea bag."
"Shaped like a fish!" Amethyst had a lot more energy than usual, and she seemed extremely proud of it, "You like fish, right?"
"Well, I supposed I do, but..." Pearl put the fish-shaped bag back in the box, "Why is one of them missing?"
Amethyst froze. "I got hungry."
Pearl sighed, but it was clear she had expected no different. She closed the box, and folded her hands over her lap. "Thank you, Amethyst."
"I knew you'd love it!" Amethyst cheered. "I also got you this!" From her gemstone, Amethyst summoned two small slips of paper and handed them over.
Pearl gasped, and nearly fell over when she saw what it was.
"What?" Steven asked eagerly, "What are they?"
"Two tickets to the Gold Crest Aquarium!" Pearl cheered.
"One for you, one for a friend!"
Amethyst squawked as Pearl picked her up in a hug and squeezed her tight.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Can't she see fish any time?" Connie asked, "I mean, she doesn't have to breath. She could just go underwater."
"But these are exotic fish!" Pearl exclaimed, "Rare fish! I can't believe you got me these!"
"What can I say? Bitches love fishes!"
Pearl scoffed and immediately dropped Amethyst. "Vulgar!" She hmphed and stomped back over to put her gifts in her gemstone.
Amethyst frowned, and Steven could feel genuine fear radiating off of her as she whispered, "But bitches love fishes..."
"I'm next." Garnet stood up, and picked up a small book beside her. She didn't move for the longest time, then she sat back down with the book in her lap. "Thanks. I love it."
"Huh?"
Garnet looked slowly up. "I picked my own name."
"Then... why didn't you pick another?" Spinel asked.
Garnet stared. "I like me." She held up the hand-crafted book titled "52 things I like about you", "I really like me."
"Well then." Spinel said, "I suppose it's my turn."
She brought a parcel over to Amethyst, covered in beautiful pink wrapping paper. Amethyst ripped into it at once, and pulled out a colorful box.
"Sweet!" She cheered in a sing-song voice. She showed the rest of the family a unicorn-shaped mug, "Look at this masterpiece."
"It was on clearance." Spinel added.
Amethyst smiled. "Even better! It's cheap like me!" She got a few laughs out of that.
"Okay Pearl," Steven said, "Now you!"
Pearl huffed softly and stood up with an elegant grace, picking up the bag beside her and offered the bag to Greg. Greg dug around in the bag until he was finally able to find one of it's contents beneath all the tissue paper.
"Hey, bath bombs!" He cheered, "And they're donut shaped!"
"There should be twelve in there." Pearl added.
Greg continued to dig around until he had found the dozen. "This is great! Thanks Pearl! Now I can smell like..." He squinted at some of the labels, "Gingersnap and peppermint twist."
Pearl tried to hide her smile. "I'm glad you like it."
Amethyst threw her arms in the air, "Beckfast time!"
"It's breakfast." Pearl corrected.
Amethyst did the same movement. "Beckfast!"
Amethyst waited until she could Greg alone before she dared to approach him. "Hey."
Greg nearly choked on his drink, and started to fall into a couching fit. Amethyst tried to pat him on the back, but Greg quickly pushed him away, and so Amethyst let him finish on his own.
When the coughing began to dwindle, she said, "You good?"
Greg cleared his throat. "Yeah, sorry. Scared me." He looked away from Amethyst.
"Listen, I know I'm probably the last person you wanna see, and I'll leave you alone, but I just wanted to... give you your gift."
"What do you mean?" Greg inquired, "Pearl got my name, not you."
"Yeah, I know, but... I just feel bad for how I acted a few weeks ago... I wanted to try and make it up to you. It's not much, but here." Amethyst summoned the gift from her gemstone and handed it off to Greg. "It's about a thousand I think; I lost count. But it should help you repair your van. I know you didn't want to get a new one, ya know... nostalgia and all that."
"Amethyst..." Greg shook his head slowly, "I can't accept this! Where did you even get all this money?"
Amethyst shrugged. "Eh, sex pays. And it pays a helluva lot when you can be whatever they want."
Greg stared at her with a sad look in his eyes. "You shouldn't have done that. I don't feel right taking this."
"It's my choice, and it pays the bills. Keep it, Greg. Sorry I couldn't get more."
Greg struggled to find the words, and tears formed in the corners of his eyes. "I don't know how to thank you..."
There was a ding as the timer of the oven went off; Pearl and Steven where there cooking together. Steven used mits to pull the tray of cookies out of the oven, and started to make his way over to Greg with a bright, proud look in his eye. Amethyst elbowed Greg in the side.
"You can thank me by spending some time with your boy."
"Dad!" Steven beamed, "Look! Cookies!"
Greg quickly stuffed the money in his pocket and stood up with a smile.
"Wow! Those loose amazing Stew-ball!"
Steven beamed as his father pet him on the head. "Wanna help me put them on the plate so they can cool off?"
"I'm right behind you, son."
Steven ran off to the kitchen, and before Greg followed after, he turned back to Amethyst and mouthed 'thank you'.