NOTE: The note at the end of this chapter contains important information. Please read it to avoid confusion in the future. Thank you. Please enjoy.

Chapter 10

"…and that's what happened," Katey said, having told her story again for a new audience. "The rest is, as they say, history. I mean, it was only a few hours ago, so it's not really 'history' as much as it is 'events that happened not-that-long-ago.' Though I suppose any past event is history by technicality, it's just not…"

"So there's someone lurking in the woods with an arrow that gives people superpowers?" Connie ignored Katey's ramblings regarding the semantics of language. "That's… really freaky," the young girl said and shivered.

"Yeah…" Steven said. His usual smile missing. "Tall, blonde and muscular… I don't think I know anyone who fits that description."

"Me neither," Connie said. "But hey, what about the boy Katey was talking about? The one who tricked her to follow him into the woods, to the person with the arrow?" She turned to Katey. "Hey, Katey, what did you say that boy looked like?"

"Ah, well… he was tall, brown hair, uh… he had one of those circle scarf thingies that go around the neck… Said his name was Kevin…. He was kinda dorky, you know, trying way too hard to act cool…"

"Wh-what did you say?" Steven interrupted her. "Did you say 'Kevin?'"

Katey frowned. "Yeah, I mean, that's what he said, but he could have been lying for all I know…"

Connie's eyes had become wide with shock. "And he was trying way too hard to act cool?"

"I thought it was kinda cute actually…"

The two kid Crystal Gems looked at each other.

"Did he keep calling you 'baby?'" they asked with one voice.

"Uh… yeah, he did," Katey said quite sheepishly. "What, do you know him?"

Well, I told you 'bout your attitude
And it didn't do me any good
Cause you took your love away
Left me here alone with all this lonely heartache

Santana 1: All I Ever Wanted

When?

A day earlier, at that magical time where the summer day seamlessly turns into a summer night. The sun setting behind the distant forest, struggling to cast a few last rays of light onto the land.

Where?

A few kilometers outside of Beach City, in a large expensive villa, like a fairy tale castle of old in the modern world. And there it was; the young prince's carriage, a yellow sports car, pulling up on the driveway of the property.

Who?

Kevin. Professional charmer, stealer of women's' hearts and cool guy extraordinaire. He had just returned home after yet another long day of being just about the most interesting person in this part of Delmarva. Not that it was all that hard, really. The only other remotely interesting person was Stevonnie, and they were… a special case.

A stray ray of sunlight bounced off the pool and caught Kevin's attention. His eye twitched, and he muttered a curse to himself.

His previous good mood ruined, Kevin wasted no time looking at the romantic sunset. He entered the dark house.

Kevin hummed on some lame summer hit he had heard on the radio when he passed by the hall mirror. He shot it one of his trademark Charming Smiles™.

"Hello there, pretty," he said, smoother than butter. "You come here often?"

His reflection looked back at him, unamused. "Really?" it said.

"Well, you're no fun," Kevin muttered and continued on a leisurely stroll towards the kitchen.

Man, it really was dark inside. The entire house seemed to be bathed in heavy shadows. He could have sworn that he had at least left the lamp in the kitchen on. And… had he really pulled the drapes over the windows?

Kevin ran his hand along the wall, trying to find the light switch.

Now, don't think that Kevin was afraid of the dark. He definitely didn't feel like there was someone or something hiding in the dark just waiting to leap out at him. He just didn't want to bump into any of the expensive furniture, was all. His heart was not beating a little harder and a little faster than usual.

He found the light switch. With a sigh of relief, he pushed it.

「CLICK」

Nothing happened. Kevin pressed it again.

「CLICK」

The lamp remained unlit.

「CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK」

Kevin furiously mashed the light button, which proved to be useless, as the lamp still did not light up.

"Fucking trash," Kevin mumbled and took his phone from his pocket. Screw the lamp, he'd just use the flashlight in his phone. He fumbled a bit but managed to turn on the small but powerful lamp in his phone. And in the light, he saw… nothing in particular. Just an empty room, and some glass shards on the floor, just below the where the lamp that didn't work was.

Obviously, it had spontaneously exploded by itself while Kevin was away. So he should probably go get a new one. Right now. He better hurry before any of the stores where you buy lamps closed.

Kevin ran for the door. He didn't get far.

"Argh," screamed Kevin as someone grabbed him by the wrist. "Gyah." Someone very big and very powerful lifted him from the floor. They had emerged from behind a corner and was still mostly hidden in the shadows.

Oh no, p-please don't hurt me," Kevin cried. "T-take whatever you want, just don't kill me, p-please…"

The man in the shadows tilted his head.

"Kill?" he said softly. He placed his index finger on the crying Kevin's forehead. "No."

"Gah!" Something sharp stabbed Kevin in the head. A shockwave of pain spread through his body. He was panicking, crying uncontrollably and kicking his attacker, trying to get away. His heart felt like it was about to burst out of his chest.

And then… it didn't. Kevin could feel his heart rhythm slowing down. The pain faded away. He suddenly felt… calm. He stopped struggling. There was no use.

The man in the shadows set him down again.

"Hey, why did do that? You nearly scared me to death," Kevin said. He picked up his phone. He had dropped it before.

"I don't like the light," the figure in the shadows said. "Turn it off."

Kevin shrugged. "Kay," he said. He turned the light in his phone off.

Kevin felt hungry. He started walking towards the kitchen.

"Will anyone else be coming here?" the stranger asked.

"Nah," Kevin said. "Mom's on a business trip. Dad never bothered to stick around. I'm all alone."

The man didn't reply.

"Anyways, I'm hungry," Kevin said. "I'm gonna make a sandwich. You want one?"

"No," the man said. He began following the young man, slow and quiet. Like a cat.

Kevin had never had a cat. He had a fur allergy. Not like he cared. He didn't like animals anyway.

He entered the kitchen. It was really hard to make a sandwich in the dark. But he managed. Muscle memory or whatever.

"If you don't mind me asking," Kevin said. "What are you doing in my house? Hiding from the cops?"

"Cop…?" the stranger mumbled. "No… I am allergic to sunlight."

Kevin shrugged. "Beleive it or not, that is not the craziest thing I've heard lately." He started eating the sandwich.

"What is the craziest thing you've heard lately?"

"Two lame kids transforming into one hot and super cool teen," Kevin said.

The stranger looked puzzled. "I don't understand," he said.

"There are these two kids down in Beach City," Kevin explained. He had finished the sandwich. "Stephen and Conny. And sometimes when they're close they like…" he did a gesture with his hands, interlocking his fingers. "…combine into one person."

"And they are humans?" the stranger asked.

"You wouldn't think so…" Kevin said. A brief spark of life returned to his eyes. "They are… the coolest person around. Strong and independent, and beautiful…"

Kevin started walking to his room. He was feeling very tired right now. Must have been the rush of adrenaline before.

"Ste-von-ie," the stranger tasted the word. "Do you 'love' them?" he asked.

Kevin blushed. "Wha-no. I just want to… you know… have them?"

"You want to… own them?"

"When you put it like that, it sounds kinda creepy," Kevin said. "I'm not some kind of crazy stalker. I just… it gets lonely on the top, you know?" He opened the door to his room. Inside, he was greeted by a mirror. His reflection looked back at him, absolutely terrified.

"What are you doing!?" it yelled at him. "Run, you dumbass!" It banged on the mirror glass separating their two worlds.

Kevin felt the strong hand of the stranger grabbing his shoulder. "Fascinating," he said. "I understand what it's like being alone… even if you're not." A cold metal edge was pressed against Kevin's chest. Right over his heart.

"Let me help you."

xxXXxx

「Kevin MacLeod」

Professional charmer, stealer of women's' hearts and cool guy extraordinaire.

Blood type: O

Cool Level: 9 001

Favorite Food: Has a sweet spot for Hasselback potatoes

Secret: Really wants to be a fashion designer

Stand: Lonely Heart

Description: Lonely Hearts makes it so its user never has to be alone.

This Concludes JoJo and the Crystal Gems part one: Phantom Corruption

—To be continued…

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I couldn't find any official last name for Kevin anywhere, so I gave him the name 'MacLeod' as a nod to the composer/musician Kevin MacLeod. He makes royalty free music and distribute it online. Basically, he makes the music for all the youtubers. Look up "Sneaky Snitch," and you'll see what I mean.

His stand is named after something else though.

The important part: When I first started writing this story, I only had a very, very loose picture in mind of what was actually going to happen. It was exceedingly poorly thought out, and the current plan looks vastly different. At the time, I had several times tried my hand at writing longer fanfics, making grand plans chapter-by-chapter… without actually getting any story written. So when I got the 'inspiration' to write this one, I basically said 'screw it' and just started writing.

This had lead to me making some odd decisions when writing which I later regretted. For example: Katey referring to the Gems as aliens. At this point, there is no reason she would know of their extraterrestrial origin.

Another one: In the notes of chapter 7.2 I said that, in this story, I would ignore cannon, and keep Pink Diamond and Rose Quartz as separate characters. I did that for (backstory stuff). I didn't realize I could use it to (spoilers).

Thankfully, the format of fanfiction allows me to go back and edit stupid mistakes like that. Which is what I've done. I have:

•Removed every time Katey referred to the gems as aliens

•Edited a bit of dialogue in chapter 7.2 (happy now, mdudegamer?)

•Removed Jason's reference to a "holy man" in chapter 7.3 (that character will no longer feature in the story)

•Added an "h" to one word in one line of dialogue of chapter 6.

Most important of all, I retract my previous statement about the true identity of Rose Quartz/Pink Diamond. I've realized I can make an even better story by incorporating the fact than I could without it.

xxXXxx

Wow, that was a lot of boring talk. Hopefully, the next chapter will be a bit more fun. We'll have to see. I can't promise anything, but hopefully it'll be ready in two weeks. So until we meet again, take care of the planet Earth, and remember that anything can happen in space!