*two years earlier*
"I gotta say, Rebecca," Steven remarked into his cellphone as he leaned back against the Dondai, "I think it's an incredible idea."
"You do?" Dr. Sugar replied on the other end with both surprise and delight in her voice.
"Yeah," Steven exclaimed. "I mean, like you've said - it's almost never one sole family member that needs help. Not to mention, the advice you've provided certainly helped Pearl with her compartmentalizing."
"I appreciate your kindness," said Dr. Sugar. "But you know as well as I that Pearl did all the heavy lifting. After all, you've done some heavy lifting yourself regarding your own mental wellbeing."
Steven hummed in acknowledgment, recognizing his progress, eyes scanning the distance. He was waiting in the guest-parking lot of Jayhawk University, just below the campus chapel, at the end of a long flight of red-brick outdoor stairs. There was a medium-sized pecan tree left of the stairs where Steven fondly remembered snagging a quick kiss from Connie on his first visit. This was his 2nd, and comparatively, he was doing way better.
Dates between him and Connie were common, though hard to plan due to Steven's ongoing 39-state expedition. The secret was timing and transportation. The two typically picked a spot where Steven would meet Connie either by Dondai or on the back of Lion (the latter of which when dates coincided with Steven's return visits home, granting him access to the teleporting feline). Stray warp pads also provided an excellent alternative. They'd even go on more fancy dates whenever both were back in Beach City. However, regarding Jayhawk, when Steven finally admitted his insecurities to Connie after his "pink incident," they both agreed Steven needed time before he'd be back. Steven also informed Connie that such a day was not too far off in the Future. He saw how happy she was at the university, which made him happy. He vowed to one day return to Jayhawk.
Today was that day, and as fate would have it, a perfect storm of events transpired to create the ideal date.
First of all, it was Connie's 18th birthday. There were…possibilities concerning this date and where it could go. Let that sink in.
Secondly, in Steven's wallet were two tickets to a concert being held that night at the Palladium Theater, one of the many music venues that resided in the town of Jayhawk, California (the university was named after the city).
The concert was for a group called Death Clutch, dubbed an experimental hip-hop trio…And Sadie Miller just so happened to be one of the three.
The other two were Shep (Sadie's partner) and a rotating cast of drummers. Steven had insider knowledge as to why Death Clutch couldn't find a permanent drummer. As Sadie admitted in a long-ago text, "it's just hard to find the right drummer for Shep's glitchy beats." Steven then asked how they successfully found drummers for every show on their tour. Sadie's only reply was, "It's complicated. But somehow, we make it work." They certainly did make it work - Death Clutch had two albums under their belt and currently were on their 2nd tour cycle.
When Steven found out one of the stops was near Jayhawk…well, he knew the opportunity presented was too good to pass up. Fate was calling his name. Destiny, thy name is Steven. Round two at Jayhawk - ding!
"But Steven," Dr. Sugar continued, bringing Steven's attention back to the conversation. "One thing we've discussed before is boundaries; how to establish them, enforce them, & respect them in a healthy way. You've never had a problem with respecting boundaries, but finding a balance between being open and needing space is where we've encountered struggles. When it comes to enforcing boundaries, you are the only one who can do that. I can't help but wonder if providing my services to the gems would be getting too personal. It's okay to say no. What do you think?"
"Well…we all need help in some way, right?" Steven finally replied. "That's what you taught me, and it's okay to ask for help. I'll admit, I can't think of another case where a doctor and patient were this close…unless it was like one of Connie's romance novels where the two end up married at the end."
Steven lightly chuckled at this observation. Rebecca did as well, easing the awkwardness.
"But, I'll think about it more, and in the meantime, I don't see any downside of having you provide help to all the gems in Little Homeworld. They're adjusting to a new way of life - they'll need all the therapy they can get."
Dr. Sugar replied, "Oh, thank you, Steven. You truly are a one-of-a-kind gem."
"In that, I'm only half of one?" Steven responded, constructing their personal farewell.
"And what's the other half?" Sugar continued.
"Human," Steven said with a smile.
And together, they sang, "and it's okay to be human."
"And it's okay to be a gem," Steven added. "You've helped me learn to accept both sides of myself. I truly feel Little Homeworld will welcome you with open arms. Feel free to call if you need any help with the move. It's always great to meet in person."
"Absolutely," Dr. Sugar responded. "But it will be a while before I have everything ready for the move; I'll keep you posted."
Suddenly, a large brass bell at the top of the chapel rang out, signifying the new hour. A large formation of students assembled down the stairs. Connie would be arriving soon.
"Awesome possum, talk to ya later, bye!" Steven said, ending the call. He then looked towards the oncoming traffic of students, scanning to find Connie. There were so many people; it was like finding Amethyst submerged in a field of violets.
However, unbeknownst to Steven, Connie was approaching the top of the stairs. She spoke to Micah and Michelle (her close college friends), who flanked her sides. They were discussing how difficult they expected one of their midterms to be when Connie's eyes finally caught Steven leaning against the Dondai parked at the bottom of the steps. She couldn't contain her excitement as she jumped up and waved her hand, signaling to Steven their arrival.
"STEVEN!" She exclaimed, "over here!"
Steven noticed Connie as well as her friends. Today was Steven's first time meeting Micah and Michelle. Due to how often Connie spoke of them and accurately described them, Steven correctly surmised who was who. Micah was a tall white dude with a specific muscular build that made him perfect as the rowing team captain. His body posture displayed great confidence with a beaming smile. He wore a light denim jacket that sported a bi-sexual flag pendant on the collar. Michelle was a black punk-rock goth chick majoring in political science and sociology. Her goal in life was to dismantle every societal status quo, as evident by the confident way she carried herself in her bright yellow Doc Martin boots and her fantastic set of dreads, three of which were colored gold, blue, and red.
Steven politely waved in return with a loving smirk as he approached Connie and her friends, meeting them halfway. Michelle finally got a good look at Steven.
"THAT'S YOUR BOYFRIEND?" Michelle asked Connie in shock. Connie casually turned her head back & nodded with a devilish grin. Michelle's retort was, "Oh, he IS cuuuuuute!"
"Mmm," Micah hummed, "That's a tall cool glass of milk right there, honey."
"Pfffffft," Michelle laughed as they weaved their way through the crowd, trying to keep up with Connie as her speed increased. "Seriously, Micah, what the hell does that mean?"
"Y'know, like, imagine working on a hot summer day," Micah elaborated. "And you just got done mowing the yard or whatever, and you're all sweaty, tired, and then this beefcake approaches you shirtless with a refreshing cool glass of milk. That's the dream right there."
"I'm lactose intolerant," Michelle replied.
As the three finally reached the end of the stairs, Connie broke into a sprint, running into Steven's arms. The two embraced in a passionate, romantic hug. Both were delighted to have the most beautiful, adorable face in the world up close and personal. Steven spun Connie while they laughed, kissed, and stared into each other's eyes. Connie looked fantastic, as always. Her red shorts showed off her well-toned legs, and Steven noticed that Connie's hair had light curls and a butterfly hair clip. It made his heart flutter, knowing she actively kept her hair styled in the small cut he always found so cute. His heart fluttered.
"How's my biscuit?" Connie asked, the sound of her voice muffled by Steven's shoulder as they embraced.
"Doing great," Steven replied as he let Connie down, his enamored smile making it very evident.
Connie then turned her head towards her friends as they approached. "Steven," she began, "I'd like to introduce you to Micah and Michelle."
"It's nice to meet you finally," Steven said as he shook both of their hands. "Connie's talked a lot about you."
"I'm hoping it's only good things," Micah teased.
"Mostly," Connie joked back.
"Nice Jacket," Michelle complimented Steven.
"Oh, this?" Steven mentioned as he did a little turn while holding his arms out, allowing the bottom of his jacket to catch the breeze momentarily. "Thanks!" That's when Steven noticed Michelle's t-shirt. "Ahh, Sadie Killer and the Suspects."
"Hell yeah," Michelle blared. For a brief moment, she began to sing at a light volume. While they weren't living in a musical, it was undoubtedly a musical moment - especially since a certain song was stuck in Michelle's head all frickin' day. "I wanna be, disobedient. I wanna be…"
"Disobedient," Steven added a harmony (up a perfect 5th) as Michelle continued the melody. The voices blended smoothly, and Steven's quick vocal snippet was delivered so excellently that Micah's eyes went wide with surprise as he jumped back, laughed, and ran around the group.
"DAMN!" Micah shouted. "HE CAN SING TOO? Connie, why do you get all this stud in a nice, neat, charming potato package?"
Connie snorted at Micah's remark. Then she engaged Michelle. "Y'know Steven was in that band for a moment."
Michelle was stunned. "Wait, what?"
"Nothing major," Steven brushed it off. "But I was in the room when The Working Dead was written."
"HO-LY-SHIT!" Michelle replied, enunciating each syllable.
"Oh yeah," Micah realized. "I remember reading like a history of all the band members that came and went in that group on Keep Beach City Weird. That's where I recognized your name from when I first met Connie, and she said she had a boyfriend. Is it true your blood runs pink?"
Steven couldn't help but laugh at this observation. "Don't believe everything you read on that blog," Steven informed Micah.
"Like what?" Micah asked out of genuine curiosity.
Steven recognized Micah's genuineness and happily answered any questions he had regarding Aliens (gems), UFOs (Diamond spacecraft), Cults (Little Homeworld), or any other topics Ronaldo gloriously misinterpreted on Keep Beach City Weird. As Connie watched the two converse, she felt pride. Usually, Steven was reserved when it came to discussing his gem life with strangers. However, Steven seemed very secure with himself today. Connie was delighted to see Steven kept true to his word about finding healthy ways to manage his anxiety when casually chatting with strangers about his background. She didn't know what techniques he was employing, but whatever he was doing, it was working. Also, Connie noticed Steven had grown a little stubble. The combination of confidence and facial hair made Connie severely attracted to him at the moment.
"Well," Connie interrupted Micah's continuous stream of questions by locking arms with Steven, "I hate to interrupt, but we have a date planned today."
"Whatchya doin'?" Michelle asked.
"Each other?" Micah snickered.
Michelle gasped as she playfully hit Micah in the stomach, a little harder than usual, considering Micah's bold question. "Micah! You Pervert."
Steven faintly laughed while scratching the back of his neck. His eyes sneakily darted to Connie on his right, but she caught his nervous glance. Not to mention, being Steven's partner had given Connie all the insight needed to recognize the many different types of laughs he used. There was the light giggle, the excited squweam, the mischievous snort, and of course, the "ehhhhhhh I'm socially awkward, and I don't know how to respond to this question, so I'll just laugh for the time being" chuckle (Steven's current type of laugh).
The truth was, Connie and Steven's relationship, while strong, developed slowly and gracefully, like a mighty oak planted with tender care. They were on 2nd bass; their mutual admiration and respect for each other prevented them from taking things further until Connie was of legal age. Now that Connie was 18, the thought had crossed Steven's mind several times throughout the day. He couldn't help it! He was a 19-year-old male virgin, soon to be 20; of course, he would be a little horny when thinking about his girlfriend.
However, Connie felt the same way. With it being her 18th birthday, and with the two having been together for years now, Connie was planning on hitting a home run with Steven later that evening. To borrow from baseball once more, they weren't going to be stuck on 2nd base much longer. She couldn't get her mind out of the gutter all day. A part of her wanted to jump his bones in the parking lot. Another part of her feared if she were too forward, it would startle Steven. He always was very considerate and had struggled with control issues before; the combination made Steven the type of lover who wouldn't be ready for their first time unless everything was perfect.
Nonetheless, considering Micah's remark and considering Connie didn't want Steven left clueless as to her plans that evening, It was time for Connie to be bold in return.
"Ehh," Connie shrugged. "Maybe Later."
Steven's chuckle immediately caught in his throat. His mind began to swirl. Did she just say what I think she said? He began to turn pink, though not in the diamond way. Thankfully, no one noticed his blush as Connie continued.
"We're going to a concert tonight; our friend's group is playing. We were actually just talking about her," Connie pointed at Michelle's shirt.
Michelle looked down (as if she had forgotten who her favorite band was) and then back up at Connie with excitement in her eyes. "No way, Sadie Miller?!"
"Yep," Steven replied, "She's got this new project called Death Clutch, and they're playing at the Palladium tonight."
Micah then tapped Michelle on the arm. "Dude! No way! I think that's the show J's playing tonight."
"WHAT?!" Michelle exclaimed. "J's going to be at that show?" Michelle turned to Steven with a delinquent smile. "Oh, you're in for a treat."
"Who's J?" Steven remarked with a cocked brow.
"Mutual friend of ours," Connie stated. "Bit of a party animal." She looked at Micah. "You sure he's playing that show?"
"He's been talking about it for weeks," Micah stated, firm in this knowledge as J's current roommate (although Micah was moving out soon). "He's been practicing the drums non-stop. Yapping on and on about this industrial hip-hop band with this heavy noise-rock edge."
"Yep," Steven chimed in, "That sounds like Death Clutch. So apparently, J's their drummer for tonight."
"We were planning on being there anyway. We always try to make J's shows. But knowing it's a Sadie Miller project, that just seals the deal." Michelle proclaimed. "You've seen him perform before, right, Connie?
"Nope," Connie remarked. "I've heard tales. Well, I guess we'll see you both there."
"See ya then," Michelle replied in a farewell. Both parties turned and went their separate ways. As Steven opened the passenger door for Connie, he asked her another question as she hopped into the Dondai.
"So I guess I'm meeting more of your friends today," Steven remarked.
"Looks like it," Connie replied.
"Bury me two thumbs / disappear three eyes run among you / Bass rattle stars out the sky," the vocal line blared.
The Death Clutch track blaring through J's speakers was "Bass Rattle Stars Out The Sky."A fitting title, as the bass EQ was so thick with sub-peaks that J's jeep vibrated violently while moving down the city streets. Even cars parked parallel to the curb shook as J strolled them.
The drummer was currently multi-tasking, refreshing his memory of the song's structure while looking for the alleyway which lead to the Palladium Theater's loading-bay dock. Sadie informed him earlier that they had permission to load in through the back, which was a relief. Many experiences of load-in, set-up, tear-down, and load-out at smaller venues taught J to ask multiple questions regarding show logistics in advance. What was the venue's parking situation? Was there a house kit? Could the club's sound handle DI for both bass and play-back tracks? But most importantly, could the band freakin' load their gear through the back? It was always slightly humiliating to pass an audience lining up at the front door who would then watch him fumble holding the door open with one finger while desperately clinging to gear.
Finding the venue was easy, but if navigating Jayhawk city traffic was difficult enough on its own, the addition of having his Jeep packed with drum gear like sardines in a tin can forced the young lad to travel slowly, not wanting the mountain of equipment in the back to topple. He was only fashionably late, 10 minutes behind the specified time he agreed to meet Sadie and Shep at the theater and well ahead of their soundcheck, but J always hated being late.
The reason for his tardiness was in a plastic shopping bag on the passenger seat. J had an epiphany to purchase some items on his way out to the venue in order to take the visual aesthetics of the show to the next level. He also reviewed an old "party trick" regarding handcuffs. One aspect of the trick developed naturally from J's time climbing around farm gear in his hometown of Ostenberg, Missouri. The other element interacted with his drumming performance. He only tried sparingly in more hardcore projects - and Death Clutch was precisely the type of hardcore project that needed the hand-cuff trick. The only downside was how sore his wrists were going to be afterward, not to mention that if he went too hard, there was a possible ER visit in-store.
Nevertheless, J was excited because the music was so good it was worth it.
As J found the alleyway, he briefly cheered in excitement and relief. He noticed Sadie standing outside, flagging him down. Sadie's on-stage look for this project was minimal yet aggressive; provocative but not sexual. Her outfit was a combination of black combat boots, black leather pants held up by a silver studded belt, and a white sports bra. Her face was covered with a large black "war-paint," stripe running diagonally across her face, starting above her right eye. Her messy blonde hair gloriously wafted in the breeze as J reversed the Jeep towards the lift.
As J parked the jeep, hopped out, and opened his trunk to begin unloading his gear, he quickly waved to Sadie standing above, resting her back against the stone wall with one leg propped up - the epitome of cool.
"Hi Sadie," J exclaimed. "Good to see ya!"
"What Up, J?" Sadie responded. Then, with a slight frown, "You're late."
J sighed as he dropped some gear off. "I know; not my intention. At least we'll still have time for sound-check, right?"
"Yeah," Saide muttered, "But the booker isn't too happy."
"Hmm," J hummed. "Yeah, not good. But doable. We only have to worry about making friends with the sound guy. The best way to sound like shit is to piss off the technicians & servers. But, in my defense," J opened the passenger door, retrieved the plastic bag, and tossed it underarm toward Sadie, "I had to grab one last item for the show."
Sadie opened the bag and was stunned by the contents inside. "You're doing the hand-cuff trick?"
"Uh-huh," J replied with a swagger unparalleled.
Sadie scoffed, smiled, and shook her head in disbelief. She was surprised but also excited. She knew immediately she made the right choice in hiring J for tonight's performance. His confidence definitely quelled any pre-show jitters she may have had. She was just hoping J wasn't biting off more than he could chew. Sadie saw videos of his trick all over YouTube. She knew there was going to be a lot of blood. Thank the stars Steven would be in attendance.
Within two minutes, J unloaded all his bags out of the jeep and onto the platform, which began to rise as Sadie pressed a button, activating the left. While J slowly ascended, Sadie took another peak inside the bag and noticed something else. She looked at J with a raised brow.
"What's with the collar and S&M mask?"
J flashed a wicked, toothy grin. "Also part of the show."