Note: Takes place the second afternoon after "Steven Floats" and a few days before "Drop Beat Dad"

At this moment of time, Kurtis realized an important fact of life.

Never let Steven and Amethyst decide the first stop.

Which, in this case, turned out to be Beach City Fries.

"KURT, IS EVERYTHING OKAY?!"

Because the sight of Ronaldo bursting his head out the service window, voice at full volume? Not healthy for the heart.

Ronaldo must had seen Peridot enter Flores and Gardening earlier because the moment he spotted the gang at the window, he demanded answers from Steven and Amethyst and Connie about the 'eco-terrorist android' and her intentions for the local fauna of Beach City.

And the entire Flores family's well-being, much to everyone else's surprise and Kurtis's melted heart.

Peedee, who handed Steven his usual fry bits right before Ronaldo interrupted, tugged at his older brother's shirt with routine exasperation. "Ugh, Ronaldo! Get back to the fryer before Dad sees this! You can do this later."

Ronaldo turned to his younger sibling with dejected eyes. "But Peedeeeeee! This is import"—

A strong hand gripped the portly teen by the collar of his Fieri shirt and, faster than a blink, he found Kurtis up close and personal to the point of their noses touching.

Everyone gaped in shock at the reticent teen displaying such roughness.

"Calm. Down," Kurtis stated in a low firm tone and nothing more. Connie released a relieved sigh, thankful for the lack of a scene...but then heard the following words. "Amber is with the Crystal Gems and the android. We can transfer their conversations to your laptop later."

The blogger's bottom lip jutted out and his eyes sparkled like those of a puppy presented a treat. "Promise?"

Kurtis smiled minutely. "Promise."

Ronaldo locked the other male in a sudden brief yet intense bear hug, strong enough to almost knock his friend's glasses off, smile grand and alit as though someone granted him the key to the cosmos. Probably not too far off in hindsight. Kurtis patted the chubbier teen's back in a way that should have been awkward in that position but somehow came out genuine instead.

Once the two teens ended their moment and anyone else who fancied a meal got their orders (namely Kurtis and his curly fries with ketchup), the group departed for the beach.

Ten feet later, Kurtis felt a gentle yet incessant tug at his pants. A glance down revealed Steven giving him an interested smile.

"You and Ronaldo must be really good friends."

Kurtis angled his glasses to cast an inquisitive stare on the younger boy. Our half-Gem hero hardly flinched as he let go.

"I mean it. Ronaldo's a really cool guy once you get ta know 'im. He just gets a little ahead of himself sometimes."

Connie pursed her lips, not quite siding with her Jam Bud on that opinion. While she did not know Ronaldo personally well and knew better than to just write him off as trouble (the guy never came off as someone to act like a jerk for no apparent reason), the thought of enlightening the same guy that kidnapped her best friend and later accused him and his family of endangering Beach City did not sit well with her.

Then again, she remembered and reacquainted with Kurtis enough over the past weeks before Steven and the Gems' return to know he never associated with such people without good reason. And Steven still had gall to hang around Ronaldo and treat him as a friend despite all that happened between them.

In silent defeat, Connie heaved a light sigh. Their intuitions' hardly let me down before.

At Steven's comment, Kurtis shrugged. Nothing he hadn't figured out about the blogger beforehand. Still the florist had to admire the kid's optimism. An elbow to the left arm dragged his attention to Amethyst.

"So yer are buds then, huh? Color me surprised," she shapeshifted into a violet counterpart of Kurtis himself, voice deep and monotone, "I hate being annoyed. That's why I like looking grumpy. How else can I get some alone time?"

While Steven and Connie held back snorts at this display, Kurtis perked an eyebrow at the performance, secretly amused behind the stoicism, before switching his attention to the kids.

Connie shook her head, empathetic grin showing. "She does this a lot."

"She's super good at it, too," Steven added.

The florist looked back at his lookalike, who fluttered eyelashes back at him, expectant on his answer.

"You got it wrong."

When Amethyst's face twisted in confusion, Kurtis pointed to his own eyes. The purple doppelganger facepalmed, eyes rolling skyward— "Oh duh!"—before fashioning Lennon glasses of her own, jazz hands included.

Kurtis nodded in approval. Much better.

"Okay, now that looks more like your moody self."

That familiar sass, coupled with an old engine's grumble, diverted attention to further down the boardwalk, from which came a pizza jeep that seated two unmistakable characters. Steven hopped up and down with starry eyes before dashing towards them, the others following in his wake at a calmer pace.

"Jenny, Buck!"

"Yoooooo!" Amethyst added as she reverted to her usual self, waving a hand high above. "What up?"

"Hey Steven! Hey Amethyst!" Jenny returned. Her eyes caught sight of Connie. "Oh hey, Connie Maheswaran, right? Steven's told us you're a pretty cool kid."

"Kurtis said the same at the party yesterday," Buck added in his usual laidback monotone. "Says you're pretty sharp."

With a blush and fiddle of her hands, Connie blinked at the compliments, not expecting to hear them from popular kids she barely knew. To be fair, though, she shouldn't have been as surprised that two of her favorite people shared such positive descriptions of her, especially Steven.

She brushed back her hair with a modest smile. "Heh, well thank you."

"Anyway," Jenny continued, "we came by to remind ya and Amethyst of the gig he's setting up for this weekend, Steven."

"Oh yeah!" Steven balled his hands in excitement, eyes brighter than all the stars in Andromeda, as he turned to Kurtis and Connie. "Sour Cream's got this cool extra-special rave he does every year! There's gonna be food and music and a whole bunch of other awesome things! You gotta come!"

Kurtis shared a look with Connie, who offered an assuring nod and grin, before looking back at Jenny and Buck. "What time?"

"Saturday evening," Buck answered, "at the old warehouse."

Connie crossed her arms and turned her gaze downward, thinking the invitation over. While she had improved on her social anxieties since last time, she still got a bit nervous about dancing in public sometimes. However, if she had Steven and now Kurtis there, then their presences could take the edge off.

"Well, I've got nothing planned for then," she poised her hands behind herself and gave Steven a saddened frown, "but my parents still get pretty wary about me being out at night."

At this point, everyone's eyes shifted to Kurtis, the man scrutinizing Connie and Steven's abrupt hopeful eyes like a judge.

"No later than ten."

That point-blank proviso earned him a hearty slap on the back from Amethyst.

"Attaboy!"

Jenny stiffened at a sudden thought. "Oh that reminds me. We also drove by cuz me and Buck figured SC is gonna need some help getting the equipment out tomorrow," she scoffed in exhaustion, "Trust me, that stuff is killer heavy! 'Cept me and Kiki both got our hands full with work that day and Buck's got a family reunion that won't end 'til the day of the rave."

Like a sugar-fueled rocket, Steven's hand shot up at blinding speed. "Oh, oh! I can help!" Then he turned to Kurtis, Connie, and Amethyst. "Guys?"

Connie offered an apologetic grin. "Can't. My schedule's swamped until then, too."

Amethyst raised both her hands in a 'we'll see' manner. "No promises."

Much as she genuinely supported Vidalia's firstborn, the demands of life as a Crystal Gem could be downright capricious. Of course, one could say the same for Steven and arguably Connie, but then again Amethyst and the other Gems didn't have to worry about matters such as school or maintaining ties with all facets of a diverse heritage.

Mostly, though, she just wanted to weasel out of additional busywork to her 'schedule'.

Regardless, she snapped her fingers at Jenny and Buck. "But hey, don't go thinkin' I'll be a no-show once Sour starts his thing!" Free food and music, after all.

Jenny's dark eyes narrowed in on the only person who hadn't objected. "Well, Kurtis Flores, I know for certain you can't talk your way outta this. C'mon, you're practically done with your summer classes, and the fall ones won't start 'til next week! Besides, what's the point of those muscles if you're not gonna use 'em?"

Hard to refute that logic, Kurtis mused as his face scrunched from considering the offer. Sour Cream had turned out to be a cool dude judging by the few parties the Lenape-Latino elected to attend. And considering how difficult Amber had gotten lately over certain matters, some time away from her might do some good for everyone.

Once again, screw Jenny and her uncanny ability to argue.

With a halfhearted smirk, Kurtis threw his hands up in surrender.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As did Peridot once the quirky quartet returned to the shop an hour later.

The technician was pacing back and forth on the boardwalk, hands in her hair, grumbling to herself. She never even noticed Steven and Amethyst calling her name, that was how lost the unexplained frustration rendered her.

"...doesn't make any sense...follows no logic!"

Garnet and Pearl were off to the side, talking in hushed tones and judging by the rigidity in the former's crossed arms and latter's worried tone, their topic of conversation did not bode good news either.

Steven shared a look with Connie, puzzled, before he approached his caretakers with meek steps.

Pearl noticed him first; she plastered on a cheery smile that failed to reach her eyes. "Oh, um, Steven, Connie, everyone! You're back!"

"Geez Pearl," Amethyst scanned her eyes from Pearl to Garnet to Peridot then back, usual joviality gone from her voice, "what's eating everybody?"

When Pearl struggled to answer, Steven angled his head with a tiny frown. "Pearl, did something bad happen with Amber?"

At this question, Pearl held her hands up, frantic. "No! No, nothing...bad, per say. We're only experiencing a slight...compromise." When the worried gazes on Steven and Connie's faces and the puzzled one on Amethyst's refused to let up, Pearl angled her face to the side, one hand to her mouth and the other on her elbow.

"She needs our help," she finally murmured. For some reason, Pearl did not smile when she stated this, a fact that worried the three greatly. "It's just..."

"She wants no help herself!" Peridot screeched skyward from behind everyone.

How did that make—Connie shook her head, bewilderment growing with each passing second. "So, wait, Amber needs our help but doesn't want it?"

Amethyst scoffed. "Okay, you guys are makin' no sense. Either she wants to be healed or she doesn't. Which is it?"

Though Amethyst had taken care to keep her voice even, the stress showed on Pearl's face as she faced the younger Gem with a firm yet still heartbroken countenance, sighing as she did. "She wants to cure all the Gems the Diamonds damaged. All except for herself."

"But why?" Steven asked, starting to catch onto Peridot's disbelief.

A silent discreet stare passed between Garnet and Kurtis, who'd been in the background the whole time, unreactive and observant.

They mutually nodded and Garnet returned her attention to the others.

"Amber wants to stay corrupted."