Dragon Titan 1: Yeah, I thought it would be interesting if the Gems' physiology were different from in the series.
coronadomontes: thanks
Steven was helping Greg wash cars at It's A Wash, the car wash that he ran. As they worked, Steven was recounting the fight between the Crystal Gems and the Rough Emerald at the boardwalk.
"And then Pearl jumped up onto its back and sliced its head off with her spear! All by herself!" Steven wrung his sponge over a bucket. "She really is a lot stronger than she looks."
Greg gave a chuckle in response as he hosed down the car they were washing, a large, white van with a giant effigy of Mayor Dewey's head atop its roof, which the mayor called his "Election-Mobile". "Yeah, she used to brag about how much stronger she was than any human when I was still dating your mother." He stood back to see how good of a job they did. "Looks good! Could you go turn off the hose for me, Schtu-Ball?"
"On it!" Steven went to do just that.
The mayor of Beach City himself was sitting nearby reading a newspaper.
"She's all clean and ready to roll, Mr. Mayor, sir!" Greg called to him.
"Wonderful, Universe!" Mayor Dewey walked over and climbed into the driver's seat. "You can't be a good mayor with a dirty Election-Mobile." He took out a 50 dollar bill from his wallet and gave it to the chubby man. "Here's fifty dollars for your trouble." And then he drove away, the siren of his van chanting "May-or Dew-ey" on loop.
"So, what are the Gems up to now?" Greg asked his son.
"They're out looking for a big Rough Gem that's on the loose around Beach City, and they didn't want me to get hurt, so here I am, helping you at the car wash."
"Well, it doesn't look like anyone else is coming by right now. Why don't you go grab us a pizza for lunch?" Greg gave Steven the 50 dollar bill.
Steven was walking to Fish Stew Pizza with the 50 dollar bill in hand, humming a happy tune. As he walked, he spotted Lars standing near the entrance with his back against the wall and his hands in his pockets.
"Hey, Lars!" Steven broke into a run towards the Filipino teen.
"Ugh, why today?" Lars groaned as he brought a hand to his face.
"Lars, Lars, Lars, Lars!"
"What do you want, Steven?"
"Whatcha doin'?"
"Nothing," he answered curtly. "Leave me alone."
"Well, I was just gonna go in and order some pizza for me and my dad. Do you want anything?" Steven waved the 50 dollar bill in front of him. "I've got plenty of money right here."
"No, Steven, I don't want anything."
"Then what are you doing outside of Fish Stew Pizza? Is Sadie ordering lunch for the two of you, and the reason you're not in there with her is that you don't want anyone to know you're dating?"
"No, and we're not dating!"
"You're not? Then why are you out here, then?"
Lars gave a sigh of hesitation as he cast his eyes to the door. "The Cool Kids are in there talking about the rave they're having tonight, and I was going to go in and ask if I could come."
Steven looked inside the pizzeria and saw Jenny and two unfamiliar teenage boys sitting at one of the tables and having a conversation. He looked back at Lars and asked "You mean Jenny and her friends?"
Lars turned back to Steven. "Yes. But now I don't think I can talk to them now that you're here."
"Why not?"
"Because if they see me with you, they'll think I'm lame or something."
"No they won't!" Steven assured him. "Just go in and talk to them!" And he held the door open for him and gestured for the teen to go inside.
Lars looked at Steven, then looked at the Cool Kids' table. "Alright, but you're staying out here where they won't see you. And if they do see you, I don't know you, got it?"
"You got it, dude." Steven gave him a wink and a thumbs-up.
Lars sighed and made his way in.
Lars struggled to figure out what to say to the Cool Kids as he walked to their table. Should he ask how their day is going? Or should he go with a more direct approach and ask about their rave tonight? Crap! What should he say? Should he even say anything at all, or should he just stand there and wait until they talk to him first?
"Hey, Lars!" The Filipino froze in response to hearing his name. He looked at Jenny, who was the source of the voice.
"H-Hey, Jenny, Buck, Sour Cream! How's it going?"
"Pretty good. Come sit with us!"
Lars turned around a chair and sat down at the table with them, resting his arms on top of the back. "So, uh..." He cleared his throat. "I... uh... heard you were having a rave tonight." A tapping on glass caught Lars' attention. He looked at saw Steven outside, grinning and giving him a thumbs-up.
"Who's that?" the pale teenager, Sour Cream, asked.
Lars started sweating bullets. "Uh..." He made a "pfff" sound with his mouth while waving a hand in the air. "Just some random kid I don't know. It's fine."
"That looks like Steven," Jenny said.
Lars sweated harder. "S-Steven who?"
"Steven Diamond Universe!" Jenny replied. "He's a regular here!"
"Y-You don't say..."
"Hey, Steven!" Jenny shouted loud enough for the boy outside to hear, causing Lars to flinch. "Come on over here!"
Steven pointed to himself, as if asking if the girl was referring to him.
"Yes, you! Come on!" She gestured for him to come inside.
Lars watched with dread as Steven made his way in. The younger boy walked over to the table where they were all sitting. "So, what's going on?" He asked Jenny. "Jenny, did you want to introduce me to your friends?"
"Yeah!" Jenny gestured to Sour Cream. "This is Sour Cream."
"It's a pleasure," he said.
"That's Buck."
Buck, the teen with the opaque sunglasses, held up a peace sign. "Sup?"
"And this is Lars. He just got here."
Lars faked a smile, still sweating profusely.
Seemingly oblivious to Lars' discomfort, Steven held his hand out to shake. "Hello, stranger whom I've never met before!"
Lars ignored Steven's offer for a handshake and said "So, uh... about that rave?"
"Oh, yeah!" Jenny said. "We were gonna go throw a rave at that abandoned warehouse outside of town and invite some of our friends. Did you guys wanna go?"
"Heck yeah! I mean," Lars cleared his throat again. "Sure, sounds cool."
"I don't know," Steven said. "My dad told me about the sort of stuff that happens at raves."
"Don't worry. It'll be totally family-friendly."
"I'll be deejaying," Sour Cream said.
"And there'll be plenty of free glow sticks," Buck added.
"Free glow sticks does sound like a pretty good deal."
"I don't know about letting him come, guys," Lars said. "I mean, it'll probably be really late, and I mean, we all know how important it is for kids to get their 10 hours of sleep, right?"
"Don't worry," Jenny said. "It starts at 8:30, and I'll be sure to bring Steven home before it gets too late."
"I'll discuss it with my dad and the Gems later," Steven said. "But for right now, I gotta order some pizza for lunch." And he walked up to the front counter to do just that.
After a few hours had passed, Steven was now getting ready for the rave. He looked at himself in the mirror as he fixed the leather jacket he was wearing. He shot himself a couple of finger guns. "Lookin' good."
"So, what time did you say this rave was?" Amethyst asked.
"8:30. Are you sure you guys don't wanna come?"
"We would if we could, Steven," Pearl said. "But the Rough Gem we've been looking for is still on the loose somewhere around Beach City. We hope you'll have fun regardless."
Just then, there was the honking of a car horn.
"That must be them!" Steven ran out the door to greet them.
"Bye, Steve!" Ruby said as she and the rest of the Gems waved. "Have fun at your rave thing!"
Steven made his way over to a Jeep that was painted like a pizza. Jenny was behind the steering wheel while Buck was in the passenger seat and Lars was in the back. Sour Cream was nowhere in sight. "Hey, guys!"
"Hey, Steven!" Jenny exclaimed. "Glad you could come with us! I'm really likin' the jacket."
Steven took a look at his jacket. "Thanks. I got it at the thrift store. I thought I'd look good for tonight. Nothing too fancy, but not too casual either."
"Man, thrift stores are so lame, right, guys?" Lars said.
"Man, don't say that," Buck said. "Thrift stores sell some pretty cool stuff."
Lars laughed nervously. "Oh, yeah. Thrift stores sell some awesome stuff. Like, this one time, I went to this thrift shop with my mom, and there were all these tee shirts with the logos of old rock bands on them. That's cool, right?"
"Yeah, I guess," Buck said. Lars shifted uncomfortably in his seat, not sure how to feel about the teen's flat, nonchalant tone.
"You comin' in, Steven?" Jenny asked the younger boy.
"Oh, yeah!" Steven climbed into the Jeep and fastened his seatbelt. "So, where's Sour Cream?"
"He's already at the warehouse deejaying it up," Buck answered.
"Okay, who's ready to party?!" Jenny asked, receiving some cheers in response. "Alright! Let's get this show on the road!" And Steven, Lars, and the Cool Kids all drove to their destination.
"This is pretty great, isn't it, Lars?" Steven asked the Filipino he was sitting next to. "Just you and me, hangin' with the Cool Kids."
"You better not do anything to embarrass me at the rave," Lars warned him through gritted teeth, speaking in a whisper so the Buck and Jenny wouldn't hear him.
"Don't worry," The half-Gem assured him. "I'm sure you'll be having too much fun dancing to be embarrassed."
"Doubt it."
A few minutes later, they had arrived at the warehouse, muffled music and colorful lights eminating from inside. Everyone climbed out of the Jeep and went in.
The warehouse was teeming with teenagers dancing and waving glow sticks around. Sour Cream was perched on the indoor balcony, standing at his homemade DJ table and playing upbeat chiptune music which the rave-goers were dancing to.
"Hey, Sour Cream!" Jenny called as she waved to him.
He spotted her and the rest of the group standing in the crowd of partying teens. "Oh, hey! You guys made it!"
"Of course, man," Buck said. "Wouldn't miss a Sour Cream rave for the universe."
"Well what are we still standin' around for?" Jenny asked. "Let's dance!"
"Yeah!" Steven cheered.
Sour Cream played a different song, an energetic house piece which was more lively than the previous song. Jenny, Buck, and Steven started dancing to the beat. Steven lost himself in the rhythm, letting his body go wild. He waved his arms and gyrated his torso, even doing an occasional spin. He was so focused on dancing that he didn't even notice that everyone was watching him.
"Woo! Kick it, Steven!" Jenny cheered at him.
"Pshh, that's nothing!" Lars said. "Check this out!" And he proceeded to dance rather awkwardly before slipping and falling on his butt.
"Are you okay, Lars?" Steven asked him.
"I'm fine," Lars said, his face red with embarrassment. "I, uh... meant to do that."
"It didn't seem like you meant it."
"Well, I did!" the Filipino snapped, louder than he intended. He looked up at the Cool Kids, who were staring down at him with odd looks on their faces, that he could only assume were looks of judgement.
Lars stood to his feet with a frustrated sigh. "I'm going outside." And with that, he turned and walked out the door.
"Lars, wait!" Steven ran after him.
Lars was standing outside the warehouse, leaning against the wall near the door. The door creaked open, and out came Steven, who asked "Lars, are you sure you're okay?"
"Ugh, yes! I'm fine, okay?! Why don't you go back inside and keep dancing with the Cool Kids? They seem to like you better anyway."
"Really?"
Lars groaned in frustration. "Of course they like you better than me! You're confident, cheerful, and good at dancing!" He looked away with a sigh. "And I'm not."
"C'mon, Lars. I'm sure they like you just fine." Steven put a hand on Lars' arm, which the older boy drew away. "Even if you are a bit of a jerk sometimes."
Lars just scoffed.
Suddenly, the two boys heard frightened screams and animalistic growling from inside.
"What the hell is that?!" Lars asked.
"It's probably a Rough Gem," Steven said. "Stay out here." And the half-Gem boy went back inside, leaving the door open behind him.
Inside, he saw a large, spider-like Rough Gem terrorizing the rave-goers as it skittered all around the warehouse. The Rough Gem's coloration was mostly made up of different shades of blue, with its four legs being more of a greenish-teal color. The Crystal Gems ran over brandishing their weapons. "Steven!" Pearl said. "You need to get out of here!"
"Guys!"
"We tracked that Rough Azurite down just outside Beach City," Ruby said.
"It had somehow made its way in the warehouse without being noticed," Sapphire said.
"Don't worry, I can help!"
"Steven, we've talked about this!" Pearl said.
"No, I mean, you guys can fight the Rough Azurite, while I get everyone else out of here."
"Well, I suppose that would be alright."
"Okay, Gems, let's do this!" Ruby commanded, and the Gems all ran to the Rough Azurite to fight it.
Steven went back outside. "C'mon, Lars, you gotta help me get everyone out of the warehouse."
"Are you nuts?!" Lars exclaimed. "I'm not going back in with that thing in there!"
"It's okay! The Gems are taking care of it as we speak. Now, come on." Steven grabbed him by the arm and pulled him inside. They spotted the rave-goers huddled against the back wall, watching as the Crystal Gems took care of the blue beast that terrorized the warehouse. They also spotted a large hole in the adjacent wall, which Steven figured was how the Rough Gem got in in the first place.
Steven and Lars ran over to the group of teens. "Alright! Everybody follow us!" Lars said.
"And make sure to watch your step!" Steven said. And the two boys led the way out of the warehouse through the hole. As soon as everyone made it out safely, Steven asked "So is everyone okay? Nobody got bitten or anything?"
Everyone reassured their wellness. "I'm good!" "I'm okay!" "I'm fine!"
"Okay, good."
"So, uh, Steven, thanks for saving everybody. Sorry I was always such a jerk to you."
"What are you talking about, Lars? You had a hand in helping everyone too."
"Yeah. I guess I did, huh?"
"Yeah, man," Buck said. "That was pretty cool."
"You guys think I'm cool?! I-I mean, really?"
"Sure," Jenny said. "I mean, you're kinda jittery sometimes, but all in all, you're a pretty good guy."
"Thanks! So, are we friends now, or..."
"Totally," Sour Cream said.
"Of course!" Jenny said.
"Yep," Buck said.
Lars' voiced lowered to a whisper. "Awesome!" He then cleared his throat and said at a normal volume, "I mean, cool. That's cool, we're cool."
"We sure are!" Steven piped up. "High five!" And he raised his hand in the air, waiting for the Filipino teen to respond to his offer.
Lars looked at the younger boy's hand rather hesitantly before deciding to slap it. "Alright."
