Steven readjusted his phone on the face of his steering wheel. The glare wasn't there anymore, but the angle of his face, he thought personally, was rather unflattering. Though he tried to ignore it. "How's that?" he asked and leaned back in his seat.
"Steven. It was okay the first four times you adjusted your phone." Connie said with a grin.
"Sorry. I.. just wanted the angle to be perfect."
"I thought we were supposed to be moving away from 'trying to be flawless and ideal'." she joked lightly.
I'm supposed to be flawless.. If I'm not perfect then.. who am I?
White's voice echoed in his ears but he quickly curved his mind away from the tall diamond that was glowing pink above him.
Usually that thought would linger, but he was slowly getting better at it.
Just slightly..
He sighed. "I am. really. But, I still find myself doing it unknowingly."
"Don't worry. It takes time." there was a reassuring smile on her face, but that only made him feel more guilty and a burden.
'It takes time'.. but just how much 'time' is this going to take?
Even five months of being on the road and seeing the States and meeting new people, he was still feeling like someone in space was watching him.. Whether it was just pesky Bluebird Azurite or someone else from one of the Diamonds' dismantled colonies or.. something else bigger and much stronger than him lurking amongst the stars of space.
And day after day, nothing happened, say for the pink glow of his own self during his panic attacks.
But, he didn't want anyone to worry. He thought that a road trip would be good for him and all in all, it was. And he always slowly putting pieces of himself back together.
He stretched his mouth out in a smile he hoped reached his eyes. "I know and I've definitely been getting better." he leaned closer to the phone's camera. Seeing himself at an even more unflattering angle. "So, how's cram school?"
"Crammy." she scoffed. "Though not that I'm complaining." she quickly clarified. "The classes are definitely preparing me for college. Also, with the existence of Little Homeworld, my school
is even planning on setting up a few extracurricular activities to teach us more about Gem culture."
"Really?!"
"Yeah! Mayor Pizza is really into bringing more of the humans and Gems together. She even asked the Gems if they'd be willing to host some of them and they said yeah."
"That's great, Connie! I'm glad that Little Homeworld was able to pave that way for more human and Gem relationships."
"Yeah." she nodded. "But what about you?"
"Huh? What about me?"
"Me- Well, also the Gems even though they don't want to admit it. They don't want to seem to clingy or that they're bothering you, but we've been wondering how you were doing? For the passed two weeks you'd been posting less and less pictures on your FaceSpace timeline and we haven't been able to talk to you."
"Oh.." he tried to not sound too dejected.
"We understand that you're out there doing your own thing and finding yourself, but.. we just want to make sure that you're okay too." she said gently.
"Oh, heheh.. I've been okay Connie. Honest."
She didn't look convinced.
"Really. And if I really wasn't.. if something truly bad was going on, I would tell you. Remember Connie, I uh.. learned that the hard way when bottling up my feelings.."
..In the form of an eighty stories tall and powerful pink kaiju..
"I haven't been posting pictures or doing much because..well.." he felt a touch of blush to his cheeks. Or he hoped it was blush and not him slowly getting worked up. He scratched the back of his head, feeling the sweat of his neck damp the back of his curls. "Honesty Connie I.." then he mumbled. "I guess I've been.. pretty lonely?"
"Oh no, Steven.." she changed from laying on her side to sitting upright. "Are you starting to feel a bit homesick?" then another thought came to her mind. "or... it wasn't because of..." she started to look guilty.
"No! No!" he held his hands up in a placating manner as he shook his head fervently. "No, it's not that. It really isn't. I'm.. happy for you." he said through his teeth. And this time he really did feel himself getting worked up and he could see the look of concern on Connie's face. Not to mention the bright pink boy in the upper corner of his phone. "Steven-"
"Connie, I'm happy for you. Craig seems like a really, really nice guy. And, it wasn't like you and I didn't try. We did and, it just wasn't working out. But, you found someone who completes you and, because of that, I'm happy." he looked at himself in the top corner again. He was still pink. He looked back at Connie. "Don't look at me like that, you know stuff like this" he gestured at his pink, glowing skin. "happens when I start talking about.. certain things."
"Certain things that's really eating at you."
"Pleaaase, Connie. I'm- I'm fine, okay? So I haven't gotten completely over our break up and.. maybe I.. am just a bit homesick and thinking about my dad.. and the Gems.. and.. everyone else in Beach City- BUT I'm still fine."
Connie looked at him. The same look she'd given him since he first started with his outbursts. Like she was scared for him and, maybe looking down on him. Though the latter could just be in his mind.
"I understand that you're getting better at this." she eventually whispered. "And the Gems, your dad and I are very happy and proud of you for how far you've come since everything you've been through since day one. But you don't have to completely dismiss us from your life. We're still your family and we want you to know that if you want to come back, even just for a break, then you can. And" she said truthfully. "if you need a bit of a break from talking to me, I will give you that space."
Tears were stinging his eyes.
He thought he would've passed this stage of crying. He thought he was over their breakup and not longing for his life with the Gems. But he missed them. All of them. And he wanted nothing more than to get a huge from all five of them and pet his buddy, Lion.
"I know, Connie. And while I know that I can do that, that I'll be welcomed with open arms, I just.. still don't think that that would be a good option for me. I need to start a brand new life. A place where I haven't made a name. Somewhere where I can start out fresh and not have people hate me because of my mom or praise me as some prince because I dismantled an empire. I don't want to be dragged under my mom's shadow and I don't want people doing the diamond salute. I.. just want to be me. A gem-human hybrid trying to live in this world like everyone else. That's it." he took a few calming breaths and he hopes that would lesson some of the pink. "And I don't necessarily want us to not talk but.. maybe I do need to focus on other things and not.. stuff between you and I? Uh, n, not that I'm.. trying to be rude, I just-"
"I get it, Steven." she smiled. "We need to widen the distance between us just a bit more. That's why I brought that up. I know my jam bud needs time for his self and I trust that you'll do that in a healthy way."
"Y, yeah. Right." his skin started to feel less hot. "And I'm still talking to my therapist as well, so I also have that going for me."
"Oh good. I was wondering if you were still talking things out."
"Yeah. And the talks are getting a bit better, you know, to uh.. talk about."
"I'm really happy to hear that. Steven, you really are making so much progress-"
The sound of Connie's timer went off and she was seen looking off to her side to dismiss it.
"Looks like you have to go back to studying."
She pressed the button and looked back up. "I.. unless you wanted to talk some more, I don't mind-"
"No, you need to focus on your schoolwork." he said sadly. "I shouldn't keep you from going to the best colleges in the States. Besides, the sun is going to be setting in a few hours and I still need to drive down to Los Angeles and find myself a motel." he tried to let out a chuckle, though it sounded forced. "Constantly sleeping in a car is not all what it's cracked up to be. Sometimes I just want a bed to sleep in to stretch out my legs."
"Wow, L.A. I'm soooo jelly." she giggled, trying to lighten the last bit of the mood up. "I've heard a lot of cool things happening over there."
"Me too. That's why I was planning on checking it out. And, I don't know, maybe get a bit of a tan." he joked.
She snorted, still giggling. "Be sure to take lots of pictures." then she added. "BUT, always remember to wear sunscreen. And that includes your gem too."
He laughed along with her. "Don't worry, I will. Though I'm not sure if I'll be showing it off just yet. Remember, these are folks who don't know me and who've probably never seen or even heard of a 'Gem' before. I'll still need to be careful and I might keep my shirt on."
"So you'll get a farmer's tan like your dad?"
"Hey, I guess I might?" he laughed.
The two laughed for a full minute before it started to die down. "Ah, I need to talk to him soon too. See how he's doing."
"Yeah. All he talks about is you."
"I'll definitely have to give him a call once I settle in tonight."
"Right."
There was a two second lull in the conversation and Steven grabbed the phone off the steering wheel. "Well I.. guess I'll talk to you later? Um.. a bit.. later than usual? You know.."
She nodded. "We'll send each other a text and plan another talk much later."
"Good." he smiled and he waved at her on screen. "Talk to you later, Connie. And have fun at cram school."
"I won't." she smiled. "but school usually sucks the life out of you anyway." she waved to him. "See you, Steven."
"See yaaa."
"See yaa~~."
"See yaaaaa~." Steven waved as Connie clicked off first. He sighed, still smiling.. and waving. And he stopped, slowing lowering his arm back down.
Already he was starting to realize how alone he was and how quiet the area was around him.
How would you rate this call?
Steven gave the call five stars and exited out the app. He sat back in his seat.
He was slowly getting better.. yet, he couldn't deny just how lonely and.. bored he was getting. The long drives and going from place to place. It was fun and exotic and exciting at first, but, after awhile.. it's just not as fun when you can't share the memories with someone else. Be it a family member.. or.. or Connie.. or heck, even Spinel or one of the new, uncorrupted Gems from Little Homeworld.
He was just so lonely..
..and homesick..
And he didn't want to constantly sulk and talk about it to his therapist and to the Gems or his dad or Connie and now and again, Lars either.
He really did need another new change of pace and a change of scenery. And he new that even something as vibrant and as dream-filled as Los Angeles wouldn't help much since he would still be alone as he toured the interesting city.
He looked out his window, seeing the tall, dirt mountains above him and the gray road just below him. Two cars drove by, rocking the Dondai.
Maybe he should at least leave the side of the road before someone hits him. Of course he could simply kiss the damages and fix the car and theirs, but that would just lead to him having to explain himself and that was the opposite of what he wanted to happen to him.
He put his seatbelt on and twisted the key into the ignition and the car started up. He changed gear shifts, out on his blinkers, checked the side mirror and drove out into the road.
Steven had driven three hours and only stopped once he heard his stomach rumbling. The last thing he ate was a small breakfast at an obscure diner and that'd been early in the morning. A bit after the sunrise.
He turned into the parking lot and parked his car. He pulled up the parking brake and unclipped his seat belt and got out. This diner definitely looked much livelier and way more busy. As he walked towards the door, he could already smell the burgers frying on the grills.
He could only hope that they had a vegetarian option.
He opened the door, walked inside of the vestibule and opened the second door to the inside. It was even more packed than he had imagined.
And right then, he was thankful that he was getting better at being around large crowds. Otherwise, he would've turned pink like the first few times when the eyes were staring at him, sending his body to defense mode just in case one would jump up and attack him.
But.. that's what happened the first few times. This time, he was okay (more or less) and he walked past the large crowds on either side of him and towards the counter. Above him was a large display of what they offered.
Not much of a variety for a vegetarian, but at least they offered garden salads. And, that was something to munch on.
He waited in line until he was called up next. He'd ordered a large garden salad and a bottle of water. He gave the cashier the money, she gave him the change back and he waited on the other side for his order.
It wasn't long until his order was called, just a minute or two later and he scoured around for a place to sit. He could've eaten in his car, but what was the fun in that? He was always in his car and, being around people, though still made him a touch nervous, made him less lonely as well.
A family was getting up and leaving and he made his way over slowly, not wanting to take the seat within seconds of his departure.
He sat down and popped open the clear top, taking a look at the nice, leafy greens with cherry tomatoes and onions. He picked up the two packets of ranch dressing and ripped them open. He started pouring the contents over the food.
"..nd it's cheap." a young looking fellow with a plaid shirt and glasses was walking over towards Steven's area. He was talking to two other guys his age wearing the same exact getup. "And some of them will even show you a tour around the city just because they want to. There's no upcharge."
"No way."
"Way man." he nodded. "It's called Sofa Diving. Weird name, I know, but you meet a lot of cool people on there. You just pay them a bit of money to just crash at their place for a limited amount of time and you get to tour the city. I'm telling you man, you should check it out." the guy opened the side door. "You can even filter your options AND add stuff that you like to-" he and the guys were leaving out, still talking about this app that'd immediately gotten Steven's attention.
Meeting people? And possibly touring the city with them? Sleeping at their place was an added bonus, but..meeting actually people?!
Oh, how he needed that..
That feeling of being around people he would soon get to know and help and-
He stopped mid ramble. He always had to stop himself when he found himself thinking like that. He needed to slowly come from his hero complex.. Not everyone needed his help.
Still.. there was no harm in at least meeting a few new people right?
Then why was he feeling so nervous.. yet so giddy at the same time?
He dug his fork into his salad and took his first bite. As he was chewing his healthy snack, he took his phone out of his pocket.
What was the name of the app again?
Oh yeah. Sofa Diving.
He searched it up online, wanting to read the reviews for it and to see if it was safe. (After all, one must be cautious of any space invaders- er, or people who could secretly be bad.)
He skimmed the reviews page and majority were positive and the app seemed very safe. He didn't let a handful of negative reviews get him down. Overall the app had a 99.99% rating.
He went to his Googlerz play store and downloaded the app. While he was eating he'd made a profile for himself. First, he posted a picture of himself. It was during the time he was in the air and when he was singing to Spinel. Right as he'd went through the clouds and as the moon was shining on him.
Yes, apparently someone had managed to take a picture of him in that moment.. maybe Ronaldo? But it was a nice picture that caught his good side and those who would see the picture would just think that the sky was a backdrop and not.. the actual sky he'd been thrown up into from Spinel.
He'd eventually even sent that to Connie for a good laugh. At first when he saw it, it'd triggered him into glowing. And he could practically imagine himself there with Spinel in that very moment. But, it got better and Connie was the first person he'd sent the photo to.
In his BIO he kept it pretty vague.
Hi, my name is Steven.
I'm 16 years old and I'm a traveler. I'm originally from the East coast, but I've been travelling for some months now and now I'm travelling along the coast of Cal. I love the beach and eating ice cream and having fun at the arcade and the amusement park. I also like protein shakes as they're a good substitute for pancakes and I like to sing and dance. Also, I'm a vegetarian.
He read it over.
Not bad. Sure it could use some work, but that would do, for now.
He stabbed the leaves onto the fork and took another bite.
He went to the pulldown box and started putting in the necessary information in the filter.
Looking for someone to host or a Sofa Diver?
A sofa diver
Which locations are you looking to Sofa Dive?
He typed in Los Angeles, but also put in a ten mile radius outside of the city as well. He was pretty flexible.
Are families with little kids okay?
Yes.
He LOVED little kids. And he was pretty good with them. A few times he'd babysat Pinto during those times when Garbanzo couldn't.
Are families with pets okay?
Yes.
He LOVED pets. And he LOVED animals in general. That's part of the reason why he became vegetarian.
And he loved and missed his widdle Lion. And he loved Cat Steven and Pumpkin and the others.
Wait.. does Pumpkin and her sisters count?
Eek.. good thing Lapis and Peridot didn't hear him say that..
He answered more simple yet incredibly important questions. Then he clicked on the 'families who were currently looking for hosts' box and hit search.
The page refreshed and showed but one listing.
Wow.. I knew that L.A was busy, but I didn't think that nearly every host family would be full. But then again, it is the summer.
He looked at the profile picture. The house looked pretty big from the photo and it looked to be in a clean neighborhood.
He clicked on it.
He checked out more of the photos; the one with a closer up picture of the house, of the garage, of the backyard, three pictures showing the house at various angles, then the living room (which looked very simple and cozy. Just a red couch with a t.v in front of it), the kitchen decorated with various herbs and spices (so they like to cook.), the clean looking bathroom and the Sofa Diver's would be room which consisted of a bed and a dresser. He clicked on, seeing more pictures of the house, say for the three other bedrooms of the house (which he understood the reason for that. Not everyone would want to post their own bedroom on their. There was also no need to do that).
He read the description under the photos.
Hello potential Sofa Diver. We are Oscar and Trudy. Husband and wife who lives with three beautiful children. Our eldest daughter who is seventeen and our twins who are two years old. Occasionally you may see my mother-in-law and her dog who visits us a lot. As well as our neighbors who live across the street.
We're currently looking for someone to host. While we're quite flexible, there is a non smoking and non drinking policy in our household. We also ask if you could be so kind to not play the radio or t.v loud in the house as to distract the other family members and to not bother the mother-in-law while she is watching her wrestling.
Steven gasped. "I love wrestling."
If you have any further questions, please feel free to call the number and ask away.
Steven read the amenities. He would have access to the kitchen and to the laundry room downstairs. The internet was free and he would just have to ask for the pass code. The air conditioner works in the room and if needed, they also had portable fans if the Sofa Diver doesn't like using the air conditioning. And if the Sofa Diver has a car, they would also have access to the garage unit.
Wow.. everything was so perfect about the house. It was like a dream come true!-
Huh?
Wizville, CA
Where's that located?
There was a small map where it showed the location of the city in California. And, as if the question had popped up multiple times, the person had also posted that they were just a thirty minute car ride, or hour and a half bus ride from Los Angeles. They'd even wrote down the different public transportations to get there.
Great! Not too far at all!
The scrolled down for the number.
Wait.. maybe he should send them a text first with his phone number? That way, they could read his profile and if they liked him enough and liked to proceed with it, they could give him a call.
He clicked on the message bubble and read aloud as he typed. "Hello, I'm writing in regards to your profile. I really liked it and, I just thought I would send you a quick message. Feel free to read my BIO and if I meet your criteria, feel free to call me." he typed out his number and pressed send.
It was a dinky, horrible message. And he grimaced at the use of writing out 'feel free to' twice in one message, but he wasn't exactly sure on what to say exactly.
And now, he would have to wait.
He finished his food and got up and threw his trash in a trash bin just beside the door. He walked out, then went out the second door and into the mid afternoon sun and the air felt even more hot on his skin since when he first walked out from the car.
He pressed the button on his car pad and he heard the door click open. Just as he opened the door, his phone started to ring. It was a number he'd remembered as the one on the site.
Instantly, happiness and anxiety and fear and giddiness was all fighting in his gut to be the top feeling.
He swiped across the screen and held the phone up to his ear. "Hello?" he heard the nervousness in his voice and hoped that it didn't deter her away from such a stranger like him.
"Hello, Steven." her voice was warm and welcoming and it immediately made him feel less anxious. "This is Trudy Proud. How are you?"
"I'm doing great." he slid the door open slowly. "How are you?" he sat down in the seat with his feet out the door.
"I'm doing great, thanks for asking. I got your message and I read your profile. I would love to be your host if you hadn't found anyone already."
"Oh! Uh, no. I haven't. I only contacted you."
"Oh, that's great." and Steven wondered if she was using her incredibly polite voice or if she just... sounded like that. "Was there a specific day you had in mind on? And how long are you planning your stay?"
Actually, he hadn't thought about how long he was going to stay for. He just wanted to dip his toe into the city, see if he liked it or not and either stayed longer or continued his drive down to Arizona and start all over again.
"I'm not too far from Wizville. Maybe an hour away. I'm in Ventura now."
There was a car trying to pull in. The driver honked the horn.
Steven mouthed out the word 'sorry.' and turned around, pulling the door towards him, but not closing it.
"Are you driving?"
"No ma'am." he quickly said. "I'm in the parking lot. I just grabbed something to eat." then he added. "I would never talk on the phone while driving."
"That's very responsible of you." it sounded like she was smiling.
"Yeah, I try." he said. He opened the door and closed it shut. "And I'm not sure how long. But it shouldn't be too long. Maybe two weeks? I'm actually looking to see if I like Los Angeles enough to live there."
There was a chuckle that caressed his eardrum. "Well two weeks sounds like an awfully short amount of time to see if you like a place or not."
"Yeah.. I know. But I don't want to overstay my welcome."
"How about this. You can stay for two weeks and if you would like to extend your stay, given that nobody has contacted us to fill in the vacancy, we will add an extra week. Though of course that would be an added charge for the extra seven days."
"Oh, of course. That makes sense, sure." he smiled. "Mrs. Proud, I would love to come stay with the family, or uh, Sofa Dive at your accommodation."
She laughed. "Either way you put it is fine. So we'll be expecting you sometime later this evening?"
"Yes ma'am." he nodded, despite of him being on the phone.
Though a lot of people have done that too.. right?
"I shouldn't be too long given that the highways aren't backed up."
"Oh, they most likely are at this time. Though good thing for you, you don't have to drive down the 405. Otherwise I wouldn't be expecting you until morning." she joked.
"Oh! Uh, hehehehehheheh."
He had no idea what the 405 was but he could safely assume it must be some kind of hectic highway.
"Now I won't hold you up-"
There was a sound of a door slamming open and a man shouting out, "Trudy!!!!"
There was a muffled "Not now, Oscar. I'm on the phone." as she covered her hand over the house phone.
"Trudy your little friends can wait. You need to see what Felix just bought for his home theater!! We need to get one of these-"
"Not now Oscar."
"Fine.." he opened the door back. He scoffed and grumbled out. "Women don't know anything about a good home theater anyway. -OW!!"
Steven heard the sound of someone laughing. "Hey, Puff. Hand me back my slipper."
"Sorry about that, Steven. That's my husband and my mother-in-law. You'll be meeting them when you get here."
"I can't wait to meet them."
And he honestly couldn't. Especially the mother-in-law since she likes wrestling like him. And the profile said not to disturb her when she's watching the matches, but maybe they could watch them together?
Hm. I wonder if she's ever heard of The Purple Puma or Tiger Millionaire?
"I'll see you when you get here. Drive safely."
"See you later, Mrs. Proud. And I will."
She hung up the phone and he went to his maps. He copied and pasted the address into the phone and pressed the navigate button.
Here he goes.
He was going to be meeting his host family in just an hour or two, depending on traffic.
He was all sorts of giddy and nervous and happy.
He was going to be meeting new, friendly people and he was going to explore Los Angeles and, now Wizville, CA now that he would be living there. And who knows, maybe he would end up liking that city over Los Angeles.
He put his seatbelt on and put the parking break down. Then he pressed down on the clutch and turned the key into the ignition and he went to first gear.
The boy was in all smiles.
Usually he feared for the future, but now, the future felt brighter to him. He had a good feeling about it all.
He was going to make a new name for himself.
Without his name behind a shadow of his mother.
Without them knowing he'd saved Earth more than once.
He was going to be Steven Cutie Pie Demayo Quartz Universe.
He drove out the parking lot and into the road.
Wizville, California. Here I come.
~~~~~
I've also posted more chapters on ao3, so if you want to read more, you can go just type in White Chocolate in the search bar of AO3. White Chocolate by OneCoolCat.
Hope you guys will enjoy the fic. I have a ton of ideas for this one 8)