HOLY SHOOT, i cant believe i'm finally gonna publish this.
You know, i wrote this fic in one month, as soon as SUF ended. But because we had such a 'fun' year, it was difficult for me to take time to edit it. Finally, i put my hands to it and here we are!
Dont get it wrong, its not completely edited, just a good portion of it. I'll try to update it regularly, but since i started working, i cant make any promises except that i WILL finish this fic.
Keep in mind that this fic contains an OCxCanon relationship, and lots of OCs. If thats not your cup of tea, its alright.
With that said, i hope you enjoy it!
PART 1: The Not-So Perks of Being a Magical Child
"It isn't what you have or who you are or where you are or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about it."
― Dale Carnegie, "How to Win Friends and Influence People"
Just try to chill out, man. Everything is going fine, Steven Universe told himself. Absolutely nothing was fine, however.
He'd thought that, after saving the galaxy —maybe even the whole Universe— from a swarming alien empire, a simple party would be a walk in the park. Life just loved to prove him wrong.
The party house was expensive, without ever reaching the threshold of fanciness. Steven came to the party little more than an hour ago, but he felt he has been there for days. He'd wandered the five or so rooms, walked up and down the stairs a few times; looking for someone to start a conversation.
People were abundant; the house was about to burst with them. The problem was the usual one —Steven.
When he'd enough of wandering around, he'd settled for the kitchen; it was big enough to fit Steven's car, and it was empty most of the time. People would come, pick up a beer from the icebox or a cup with something bubbly in it and then leave. The spot Steven chose to glue himself to the wall was next to the arc that led into the main hallway. That way, a quick, silent exit was possible.
The cup in his hand was half full of beer and sweating. Just like Steven himself.
Why, in the name of the Universe, had he decided to come?
Well, because he is Steven Universe, and he is incapable of saying no to anything, even a party invitation from a stranger.
'Its not gonna be a big deal', he had convinced himself. 'You can go and have a good time, drink something, have some much needed human interaction. You can do it, Steven!'
If he had a time machine, he'd go back to this afternoon and shake himself by the jacket yelling 'Of course I can't do it, you fool! Don't you know me?'
A couple walked into the kitchen, both men a bit older than him and joined by the hands. Each man picked a bottle of beer and walked back out, staring persistently at Steven as they passed him by.
Steven tried to make like a turtle, tucking his curls inside the tiny pink bean hat. He was feverish and assaulted by palpitations. Did they look at him —I mean did they have a real good look at him? Did the horns poke out from under the hat?
No, you idiot. They were staring because you're dressed like the world pinkest snowman, Steven reasoned.
It was hard to deny he was unusually covered for an early autumn night. Besides the hat covering his head, he had black gloves concealing his hands, jeans and white sneakers. His usual pink letterman covered a turtleneck shirt —a winter variant of his trademarked Star t-shirt.
Maybe it wasn't the clothes. Maybe they noticed the pink colored patches spread out over his face, making him look like a stained canvas. Out of all the scars of his 'incident', these were the hardest to hide.
Steven leaned further against the wall and closed his eyes to the World. Most of the attendees have gathered at the backyard. The band was about to play; Steven could see them even with his eyes closed and through the thick walls. A hundred and a half auras flickering with excitement, spinning with intoxicated glee.
There was a loud voice on the mic as the band started to properly play. Steven hunched over like he'd been gut-punched, both hands on his ears.
It was as if somebody had grabbed a guitar, a bass, and a set of drums, and have them all replaced with chainsaws. He couldn't make sense of the lyrics, except for the occasional mention of 'death' and 'gore'.
The attack against his ears was his signal to go home. If he was gonna be a wallflower, he could be so listening to his jams at the motel!
He made a move to leave, when a body shoved him back against the wall.
"Hey!" he shouted, but the woman gave him a glance and keep walking. She made her way into the kitchen like a whirlwind, looking everywhere at once. Finally she picked a bottle of who-knows-what from the kitchen island, poured the liquid in a cup and began to anxiously drink. She had a beautiful face, dressed in a fine 'talk to me and I'll kill you' look.
Guess she is not a groupie of the band, thought Steven.
More people came right away. Two massive humanoids walked at each side of a short haired younger man.
When she saw the guy, the girl tried to play it casual, leaning against the counter, head deep in her phone. The boy wasn't put off by this and initiated talk with her.
It seemed Steven wasn't the only one improperly dressed for the occasion; the guy's jacket alone must have cost more than the whole house —and let's not even mention his watch. It looked like a prop from a James Bond's movie.
The guy's haircut, however, was scandalous; in the way seeing a Shelby Cobra parked next to a Minivan was scandalous. It reminded Steven of that old 'The Beatles' poster his dad has. His goons had the same cut, but they were 8 feet tall and built like a pair of bricks, so Steven didn't feel tempted to compare them to Ringo Star.
Tired of talking to a back, 'Ringo' (the short guy) tiptoed to whisper something in the girl's ear. Steven —who had been watching with mortal and mental eyes alike —felt his stomach churn. The girl's aura was a shrinking, shameful ball of fire. Ringo's aura was a tree with his branches pointing forward. Sharp, metallic, possibly poisonous branches. It was like watching a rabbit trapped by a lion —and the lion's bigger, meaner goons.
An alarm gone off in Steven's brain. He searched for help, but he was the only other person in the room. And this was none of his business.
Right?
The girl tried an escape maneuver, but one of the goons pushed her hard against the counter, making her drop her phone.
Fuck that, thought Steven. Once you'd saved a planet, you were responsible for all the little people in it!
He drank the rest of his beer, discarded the cup and slid into the scene, just in time to catch a portion of what Ringo was saying:
"Come on, Sunshine. I am sorry for what I said, but you are just playing hard to get now…"
Oh, you are not getting anything today, Freshboy. Steven cleared his throat. Three pair of angry eyes (and one very confused pair) turned to look at him. It hit Steven right there that he might have not thought this through.
But it was too late to back out now; they were all looking at him like he'd stepped inside an occupied bathroom.
"I am sorry, did you need something?" asked Ringo, his aura rising up in anger.
Steven was at punching distance from him, but he drove those ideas away. Instead he put his best 'let's be friends' smile and said:
"Its OK buddy, I just need a minute with my friend here."
Steven gravitated to the girl. She was infinitely confused. "Hey you! I-I thought I saw you walk in. How are you doing? It's been a while."
An imaginary fist hit Steven's inner self. 'How are you doing'? Why don't you ask her ''how's the weather'? Can't you make small talk, you weirdo?
Fortunately, the girl was sharp —at least compared to Steven—, and her eyes opened as a smile grew on her face.
"Bennie! O.M.G!" she shouted, taking a moment to pronounce every letter. "It's so good to-hey let a girl walk would ya?"
She sidewalked around Ringo, and he was so confused by the turn of events he let her.
"I can't believe you are here, it's so nice to see you," the girl went straight for Steven's arms.
Smart; that'll make the whole thing seems legit. Steven patted her back and it felt like a drop of water in the desert. It was awkward to say but he'd been touch-starved for days.
Ringo, not wanting to be ignored, stepped between them. "Excuse me, do you know this clown?" he asked to the girl.
"Sure thing! He is… Bennie, my best friend from high school," said the girl.
"Oh yeah?" said Ringo, sharply. "I thought you said you weren't from around here."
The girl clung to Steven, hooking her arm around his shoulder. He held her by the waist.
"That's right!" Steven rushed to say. "I just, eh, came here by accident. I'm on a road trip. I came to this party by chance and uh… here she is! What are the odds, right?"
Steven and the girl did a depressed clown's impression of laughter. Ringo was unamused, while his goons were mostly uninterested.
"So, Ben," said the girl, "you, uh, you gotta tell me everything about schoolandyourgrandma and, you know, stuff."
"Oh, the stuff!" Steven repeated. "Yeah, I've to tell you everything about… stuff. I was going to a place right now, do you-"
"I do. Let's go."
They made a move, hand in hand, toward the exit, but were stopped by and unstoppable object. One of Ringo's goons had stepped in front of them, blocking one exit. The other one moved to their left, blocking the way to the other one.
"Woah, lets calm down lover-boy. I don't know who you think you are," said Ringo. He was smiling, but his eyes flashed with burning rage. "But this is my house, and this is my party."
Steven looked at all directions for a way to go —one that would not require any violence, by the way. Ringo took Steven's silence as fear and grabbed him by the neck of his jacket.
"And that girl is mine. So why don't… you…" Ringo's voice shrank until it vanished.
Maybe it was because the light was hitting Steven different now, or because he was closer to the other man now, but it was only now that Ringo noticed the patches of pink on Steven's face.
Ringo took his hand off him like if he had been burned. "Ugh, gross!" He rubbed his hand over his jeans, as if trying to clean off the dirt. He was wearing an expression of utter disgust Steven will never forget.
"Fuck it. Let the freak take the other freak. He'd already touched her," said Ringo to his goons. "Besides, there are a lot of girls around. Normal girls," he added to the girl and left the kitchen, his goons silently following him.
Once Ringo left, the pair breathed out. Steven's blood could have burn the grass, and the girl wasn't doing much better. Her aura showed distress, anger and shame. Her hand was still hooked onto Steven's.
It took her a moment, but her breath finally calm down. When she did so, she offered Steven a weak smile, one he couldn't resist but return.
"Let's get out of this hole," she said.
Steven agreed; he'd have too many emotions for one party. They stepped into the receiving hall, and who was there if not Ringo himself, talking to another girl. She was as bored as humanly possible, but Ringo's goons were blocking her way out.
Looks like he didn't waste any time, thought Steven.
The only other exit was through the backyard, and since neither he nor the girl felt like having their ears penetrated by death metal, they choose the hall. They dashed past beside Ringo so fast neither he nor his goons noticed them.
The girl walked outside and spread her arms at the chill night. The street was filled with parking cars in every direction. Steven had found a nice spot early on, right across the street. His beloved Dondai was still there.
When he was about to cross the doorway he heard Ringo's nasal, insufferable laugh. Against all better judgment, Steven peeped into his aura. Hunger, rage, and a hint of violent desire. He was doing the exact same thing with that new girl that he did before, and why wouldn't he? It was easy for him; as long as he'd his goons, he could bully anyone around.
Steven clenched his knuckles white. This wasn't right. And Steven could do something; teach him a lesson. Stop him for good. The light in his gem began to grow, reaching every corner of his body. He was close to do something stupid when a desperate voice brought him back.
"What are you doing? Let's go!" said the girl. She'd stopped walking at the front yard, waiting for him.
Steven did the breathing exercises he knew. The light receded back into its place, hidden inside Steven's gem. He gave one last look inside before stepping into the cold night, chasing the girl he'd just helped.
Aaand here we go.
I need to explain something, this fic is gonna come into three parts. Dont worry, this isn't a 300 thousand words epic novel (At best, its gonna be 80-90 k words) The reason i separated it into parts is because, althought they all make the enterity of the fic, each part have its own theme and tone.
(ahem! and also because i want to see if you guys liked part 1 before posting the second and third, ahem!)
Anyway, i hope you guys enjoy reading this fic as much as i enjoyed (and suffered) writing it!
