It's a bright afternoon in a new location, Steven and the Crystal gems are near a moss covered lake near a large hill. Steven was about to climb down into the lake, laughing mischeviously as he removed his shirt, however Rose stopped him. "Steven, no. This place is a no play zone." She warned, hand on his chest. She removed her hand and continued to study the moss.
"Aw, but why? I know it's magic related but just what is this place?" Steven asked as curious as usual.
"This is the moss we, or at least I tend to. You're lucky you get to see it again, Garnet and Pearl didn't think it was a very good idea." Rose said, peering over her shoulder to smile at him.
"That's because the last time we took him the moss was in the middle of blooming when somebody dropped Steven into it and Garnet had to save him." Amethyst added, folding her arms over her chest.
"That somebody was you! Look, Steven just don't disturb your mother while we're doing this, it could result in.. Less than comftorable results." Pearl ordered, Steven saluted as a response.
"I won't let you down!" The boy yelled, sitting down with Amethyst to watch his mom do her thing. A few seconds passed and.. Nothing. Just a lot of magic happening with her hands as the gems silently watched, even Amethyst was a bit impressed, no snarky comments whatsoever. Steven however was bored out of his mind.
"Well, Mom this is great and all but I've really gotta eat, so.." As he got up to leave, nobody said a word, except for Pearl who gave him an order.
"Steven, before you go, put this over the entrance on your way out. We'll be back home soon." The long nosed right hand asked of him,pulling out a ton of police tape from her gem. He nodded, taping the tape over the entrance before leaving for town.
The perfect place for lunch on this particular day sounded like pizza, so Steven made his way to Fish Stew and on his way down the boardwalk he started humming. "Gettin' me a pi, gettin' me a zza, gettin' me a pizza! Oh hey, is that Lars?" Sure enough, Lars was standing right next to the pizza shop, one foot on the wall with a jacket over his shoulder. "Lars!" Steven called out, rushing toward him. The teenager facepalmed and groaned.
"Why now? This is the worst possible time.." He muttered to himself as the young boy drew closer.
"Got a high-five for ya!" Steven yelled, running, "From way downtown!"
"No, Steven." Lars whispered, stopping him in his tracks. "No high-fives."
"Hmm.. Okay!" Instead, Steven simply placed his palm on Lars' chest and gave a warm smile. The older male slapped his hand away.
"Steven!" He yelled, gritting his teeth. Steven just chcukled in response. Then, awkward silence between the two as they just stood next to each other.
"So… How come you're not at the Big Donut?" He asked, Lars laughed.
"I don't spend my whole life at work, dude. Besides, wasn't your grandpa or something here two nights ago?" The fire haired teen asked, remembering some old guy talking about Steven.
"My grandpa? Oh, sorry, that was me, I don't have grandparents." Steven explained, only garnering a sarcastic laugh from Lars.
"Ha! Very funny. Anyways, get outta here, you're ruining my funky flow." He said, shooing Steven away, however the kid wasn't budging.
"We are so much alike. I get it, you want a pizza fresh from the oven, right? But you don't wanna seem desperate, I get that. But no worries, you can just go in and ask, that's what I do all the time, c'mon!" Steven took Lars by the arm and began to lead him inside.
"Steven, wait, stop!" Lars wiggled off of the short boys grasp, brushing himself off with his hand. The gem decided to peak in to see what the fuss was about.
"Oh hey, it's Kiki's sister and her friends!" He said, face against the glass.
"Jenny, Sour Cream and Buck Dewey." Lars corrected, rolling his eyes.
"Oh, you know those guys?" He looked back at the bigger male.
"Not exactly, but I'm sure we'll hang at some point." He responded with a grin of confidence.
"You should go talk to them while we have the chance." Steven recommended.
"Yeah, right, that's not how this works, Steven. The plan is to act cool and let them come to me." Lars stated, leaning against the building again, just as the trio of Sour Cream, Jenny and Buck had left the pizza place.
"Oh, here they are now!" The big boy said, pointing at them. Lars smacked his wrist again.
"Shut up, Steven! Act natural." The teen placed one hand on the wall and tried looking away, sweating profusely.
"Tell Dad I'll be back later." Jenny told her sister, closing the shop door and following her two friends to the boardwalk.
"I don't think they saw you, but an E for effort, here, let me!" Before Lars could do or say anything, Steven started running towards the cool kids.
"Oh god, he's ruined me! Why me? Why today?!" He began sobbing, subtedly looking toward the four from time.
"Muffins that are like.. This big!" Buck said, stretching his arms out in exaggeration.
"I don't eat those, those things are too sweet." The female responded. Steven waved at the three, catching their attention.
"Hi, my name is Steven." He greeted, holding his palm out for a high-five. The three gave him just that and introduced themselves.
Lars was still a panicked mess, sobbing into his shirt as Steven pointed at him and started some odd hand gestures in his direction. Eventually, Steven began his way back to the angsty teen.
"Hey, Lars!" Steven said.
"Yo?" Lars replied coolly, his eyes still wrinkly but not noticably wet.
"They invited us along for a ride. Wanna come?" Steven asked, shocking Lars.
"Steven..? You? You got lucky! So don't ruin this with any of your abnormalities, especially the magic stuff! Got it?" Lars shoved his finger close to Steven's face. The boy smiled and pointed his finger guns back.
"Pew, pew! You got it!" He replied, giggling uncontrollably as the two made their way to the car of Jenny Pizza.
"Hop on in, guys." Jenny told the two, opening the door for them before getting in the front seat herself.
"Alright, middle seat!" Steven cheered.
"That's a rad shirt, Steven. Where'd you get it?" Buck asked, pointing at the red star T. Steven thought for a second.
"My parents told me it's from my Dad's old concerts, back when he used to do them more often." The boy answered. Everyone but Lars smirked.
"Nice, I love a good concert, man." Sour Cream commented, throwing up a peace sign from the passenger seat.
"Yeah, man, you got lucky with good parents." Buck responded. Lars picked up on this and decided to take a bite of this pie.
"Hey, look at my shirt. Cool, huh?" He asked for their approval. Buck looked at the shirt and shook his head.
"Nah, man, that snake is nasty." Buck replied. Lars bursted out into a fake laughter, blushing.
"Y-yeah, I hate snakes!" He coughed out.
"Man, that's too bad, some snakes are pretty cool." The cool, brown haired teen added, looking out at the street. A silence filled the car and the four just sat there awkwardly.
"Sounds like it's time to buckle up." Steven said, cutting the silence as he buckled his seat belt.
"Quit being lame, Steven!" Lars whispered, hitting his shoulder with his elbow.
Buck looked at Lars and glared. "Hey, man, there is nothing lame about seatbelt safety." Lars' attitude quickly changed and he began awkwardly laughing.
"Car does not move until we're all buckled up." Jenny informed, and so the rebellious Lars did as he was told.
"Alright, let's play some tunes!" Sour Cream exclaimed, turning on the radio as they drove out of the back of the pizza place. The music was death metal, and no one really seemed to like it but Lars.
"Oh yeah! This is that good stuff!" He began dancing to the sounds of screaming until it was turned off.
"Man, that stuff is way too cynical." Buck sighed in relief.
"I- I didn't mean I actually liked that junk.." Lars stuttered, finding himself cornered.
"Calm down dude, it's your opinion. No worries." Dewey replied, reassuring him.
"You guys wanna listen to my Dad's mixtape?" Steven asked with a giant smile on his face, giving Sour Cream the cassette.
"Absolutely n-'' Lars tried to say, only to be interuppted.
"Totally!" Everyone else answered, and the white haired teen put it into the player.
A slow, sci fi beat creeps it's way into the car, making the group bop their heads from the funkiness of the instrumentals.
Greg: In.. This space
I would meet a certain pretty face
One that follows me like steam off a rocket
And unlocks my heart from it's locket~
"So.. Uh, Jenny, nice car." Lars compliments, only to be shushed.
"Shh, we're trying to listen. This is good stuff, Lars." Jenny whispered. Steven actually started to feel a little bad.
Greg: If you got it bad
It'll evaporate
Take me for a ride
C'mon, baby, let's go on a date
Through outer space~
"Oh, right, where to, ya'll?" Jenny asked the others, she was met with shrugs.
"How about the Big Donut?" Steven suggested, Lars was sweating profusely.
"That dirty place?" Buck asked in disbelief.
"Dirty? But that's where-" Suddenly Lars started fake coughing.
"Steven, no!" He whispered, covering the boy's mouth.
Greg: I live for the pink
I live for her face
I wish I could breath..
In space…
The group passed Funland Arcade, and Steven gasped. "Funland Arcade is the best, let's do that!" He pointed at the establishment.
"Meh, I beat every highscore in that place already." Sourcream bragged, putting his hands behind his head. Steven gasped in surprise.
"Wow, really? That's incredible!" Steven congragulated, while Lars smirked and decided to gloat as well.
"Yeah, me too." Lars stated and suddenly Sour Cream frowned.
"Well, actually, I was just saying that to sound cool.." The DJ confessed. Steven touched his shoulder reassuringly.
"I respect your honesty. Besides, you are cool." Steven yelled, chuckling as he did. The others - other than Lars - smiled and listened further to the music.
Greg: The longer I'm earthbound
The longer I feel found to you
Oooh, Rose Quartz~
The space communist!
A super rad
Super cute
Space chick!~
Rose Quartz~
What have you done to me?
My heart is stuck on a never ending fever beat~
Because I want you
One guitar riff
Because I need you
A second riff
And if that's cheesy~
A third
Then meet me in France~
The song ends and the group pull up to Mayor Dewey's van, only to see the man himself behind a podium giving a speech. "Hey, Buck, isn't that your Dad?" Jenny asked as the political figure talked his head off about being re-elected.
"Another reason you should re-elect me? I love babies! Would you look at that, a baby." Dewey read off a script and looked toward a member of secret service holding a squirming Onion. "Gonna kiss it.." Bill kissed the boy on the cheek before getting kicked in the throat, the thieving Onion running away with Dewey's money. "Hey, that wasn't part of the script! Agh.. Ahaha, hey, re-elect me!" The mayor recomposed himself, smiling and waving.
"Hm, I like his policies on babies." Steven approved, nodding.
"He never kisses me like that." Buck muttered from under his breath.
"Damn, man, that's rough." Lars sympathized.
"It ain't rough. The lack of daddy kisses in my life made me who I am. And watch your language, there's a kid in here." Buck responded, looking back out the car to his right. Lars looked down and sighed, trying to keep it together. Steven really felt bad now.
"It's okay! Lars swears in front of me all the time." Steven cleared the air, everyone gave Lars an odd stare, making him blush a dark red. The silence of the stares were broken when Jenny started driving again.
Hours later, the kids had been around all of Beach City, except for one place it was now dusk, and the sun was setting in the foggy sky. "Oh my gosh you guys, we should go to Dead Man's Mouth." Jenny suggested, picking up speed.
"What's Dead Man's Mouth?" Steven asked, raising his hand elementary style.
"Oh, it's this lake where some dude died. Or it looks like a mouth.. I can't recall the specifics." Buck answered, filling Steven in.
"Dead Man's Mouth, here we come!" Jenny said, shifting the car into first gear. The group sped off from the road and eventually made it to a forest entrance that seemed familiar to Steven. "We're here." The pizza girl announced, everyone leaving the car. As Steven got out he soon realized where this was and gasped.
"Mom's moss garden. Shoot, what if they're still tenting it?" Steven began panicking until he remembered the police tape. "Oh wait, nevermind, I sealed it. We should be a-okay!" He continued to talk to himself when Lars smacked his back.
"Quit being weird, Steven." Lars commanded, following the trio to the entrance. Steven quickly rushed to the tape and stood in front of it.
"Y'know, this place may seem cool, but it's actually really boring. Let's go back, maybe have some more fun at the boardwalk?" Steven suggested, but Lars just walked right past him, hitting his shoulder with his own.
"C'mon, let's check this place out." Lars led the group toward the lake until they encountered the police tape.
"Huh. Police tape." Sour Cream commented, the five just standing there, while Steven was grinning in relief. That is until he tore it off the rock and began walking toward the lake, only to see one huge, weird, magical woman with long, curly pink hair screaming and dancing while three others watched in amazement. Moss was following her up a hill, and the cool kids wanted in.
"This is so weird. Let's follow it!" Jenny commented, the others seemed to agree. Steven, tried to stop them from following, but his efforts to get even Sour Creams attention was null and void.
"Come on, Steven, lighten up!" Buck told the young one, who proceeded to follow the teens.
"Please, guys, stop!" The five found the crystal gems at the middle of the hill and gazed at them.
"Woah.. They're so creepy.." Lars whispered.
"No they aren't!" Steven yelled at Lars, pointing a finger at his chest.
"Woah, Steven, chill. Don't tell me those are your magical cousins or something. C'mon, I dare Sour Cream to poke the tallest one." Buck and Jenny let out an ooh while Sour Cream was pumped for the dare.
"Sure, I'll do it. It's whatever." The chillaxed music man vibed, beginning to tiptoe toward the crystal gems.
"Do it, do it, do it!" The teens whispered behind him. While Steven continued to shout "Please don't!" Under his breath over and over again.
"What's that noise?" Pearl asked her comerades, peering over her shoulder to see Sour Cream poking Rose's spine. The giant leader tripped in surprise, forcing the moss to become upset. The green dirt jumped to Pearl immediatly, while some of it began to accumulate onto Amethyst.
"Why!? Why does everything nasty happen to me!?" Pearl screamed, trying to summon her spear to cut the moss.
"Ugh, it's even kinda freaking me out. Get off!" Amethyst yelled, pushing the moss onto Sour Cream accidently. The moss instantly began planting layers upon layers of itself all over his tall body. The teens were horrified.
"Oh my good lord, Sour Cream!" Jenny rushed to his rescue and Buck followed.
"Steven, why are humans here?!" Rose asked her son, trying to calm the moss down from Sour Cream's skin which obviously didn't work. It went all over Jenny and Buck as well, the second they touched the blue eyed teen.
Soon enough, Pearl, Sour Cream, Buck and Jenny were all covered from head to toe in moss. "I'm sorry, Mom. I tried to warn them.. W-what are we supposed to do!?" Steven asked, stepping closer.
"Bring them to the hill, the moss cannot be on the hill any later than sun down or else we'll have to wait another year to do this." Rose ordered and picked up Buck. The moss was slowly but surely crawling down her hand and arm. Amethyst did the same thing with Pearl.
Meanwhile, Lars was breathing heavily in anger, his cheeks were red hot and he had tears in his eyes. "This is all your fault!" He screamed at Steven, pushing him to the ground. "I knew if something bad happened today it would be because of you! Now I'll never be able to be friends with these guys all because of you and your weird Mom!" Steven looked at Lars with a mixture of hurt, sadness and betrayel.
"You think you would be hanging out with these guys if it weren't for me? Do you think you would have ever stopped wasting your time to actually try and communicate with them? I gave you today, a day to have fun with these people and you're gonna assault me and my family?! You've never been nice to me, why do I even bother trying to fix you!?" Steven yelled back, catching the teen off guard. Lars sulked back and began crying.
"You're right! You shouldn't bother with me.. Just let the moss use me as food or whatever they do, I'm a waste of space.. To you and to these guys.." Lars whispered, crossing his arms over his face. Steven touched the sobbing Lars' chest with his palm and smiled.
"I know why. Because you're my friend. I love you, Lars, everybody does. Come on, help us save these guys." Steven added, tears creeping out of his eyes. Lars pushed his hand away, looked him in the eyes and hugged him.
"Steven, we could really use you and donut boys help." Amethyst told them as Garnet was covered in moss. The aloof gem managed to walk to the hill by herself and wait for the sun to go down.
"And don't hurt the moss, they just want to bloom." Rose finished for the short gem. Steven and Lars nodded their heads at eachother before lifting the bodies of Sour Cream and Jenny up the hill. As soon as the sun was out of sight, the moss left the bodies and turned into beautiful, pink flowers. They soared into the air, the group watching with stars in their eyes.
"Woah.. That's one beautiful sight.." Lars said, grabbing one of the flowers and viewing it closely.
"Ugh.. What happened?" Buck asked the others, picking his head off the floor.
"I think I died. You guys?" Sour Cream questioned his friends.
"Guys, look!" Jenny pointed at the flowers floating through the air. Rose grabbed Steven and ruffled his hair.
"You little rascal, what did we say?" Rose teased. Pearl was less than thrilled with the results while Garnet and Amethyst didn't seem to mind. "C'mon, let's go home for bed."
"I'm not tired, I'm super excit-'' Steven instantly passed out in Rose's arms before the four could even jump from the hill.
"Huh, we should hang again soon, Lars. This is a cool spot." Buck told the curly haired boy, giving him a fist bump.
"Oh uh, thanks! I'll stay in touch." Lars waved them goodbye, sighing before mouthing a "Thank you, Steven." to the temple.
