The knob twisted, opening the door halfway from inside. Steven's head peaked in first. It was obviously dark with no sign of anything different from how he left it from before. But that didn't exactly mean they were in the clear. He had to be quick with this predicament he was currently in. Get Spinel off of Earth without anyone spotting them. Simple right?
"It's clear," he said quietly.
Behind him, appeared the pink gloved-hands clenched on his armed-jacket, Spinel followed from behind inside his home. The quiet ambience of Stevens house made it hard to imagine from the last time she had been here. But it was still there. Deep within her core held memories that never went away. This included the time when gems and some other humans drew their weapons at her. Fortunately, Steven was there to defend her actions.
'Not like anyone else would've understood...' she felt her body shudder at the thought.
Steven closed the front door behind the two, and they started up the stairs. That was until he felt his arm being weighed back, forcing himself to stop on his second step. Steven looked behind him to see that it was coming from Spinel, who seemed to have halted herself in place from a sudden reaction. She was still at the bottom of the stairway, and clutching hard on his armed sleeve. Looking his way, Spinel stared up in horror. Steven raised his brow and looked up in front of him. There was nothing he could see that made her act weird.
"Hey... you okay?" he asked, while turning back to face the gem. Spinel's pupils spiraled for a few seconds before realizing Steven was staring right at her.
"Ye-yea." she stuttered as she quickly looked away from him, and stared down at the step she was on.
Steven bit his lip, debating if he should further on the question. She didn't look okay, and it felt as if she was stuck in place.
"You...sure?" he asked again.
"I said I'm fine!" she snapped, arm still tugging hard on his jacket.
The teen felt himself jump from her sudden burst. She didn't use any force physically, but she was sure loud. He did not expect that one bit. And worse of all she was not moving. He did not need a scene. Not here, atleast.
Steven stepped down one step right above her. The gem below him did not notice this as her eyes were still closed. He needed her attention. Without warning, Steven placed his hands on her shoulders. Spinel opened her eyes wide open as she felt his body pressure a few inches away.
Steven moved one of his hands close to his mouth, placing one of his fingers vertically over his closed-lips, giving her a hush gesture. She was confused by his actions, before realizing what he meant. Her eyes widened from the sudden realization, before they lazily lowered down into lifeless pupils.
"...sorry…" she said quietly.
In a way, Steven was relieved from her getting the idea without him having to explain to her, but regret began slowly emerging on the surface more so than ever from his actions alone. He knew he didn't have to grab her like that. He should know better than invading personal space. But she didn't seem to scramble him away from her. Steven released her shoulders, and softly held one of her hands, with little response from her. Atleast, she was slowly trusting him.
Guilt still lingered in. He had to fix this soon. She wasn't brash like Jasper, nor was she cold like Lapis from his first encounters with them. It was almost a mixture of both with everything going on. From everything that's happened between the two up until now, all she needed was someone who understood her. That's if she was willing to let him do so in the first place.
'She's gonna be a handful...' Steven thought.
There was no sound coming from the temple, so that probably meant they didn't hear her. So that's a plus atleast.
Looking up the stairs, it was still empty, but the frame of him and the others became more apparent in his point of view. For some reason, he envisioned Spinel being part of the picture frame had things been different over 6000 years ago. Steven frowned at the thought.
'Stop doing this to yourself.' he had to tell himself that consistently.
The two slowly walk up the narrow stairs. Finally reaching his room, the door was already opened as he had left it. He entered, along with Spinel. It all looked the same as usual. And most certainly, it didn't look like the gems came up here either. He was surely glad Pearl had stopped snooping in his room in the middle of the night. The more he thought about it, the more awkward he felt for that reason. She was surely infatuated by his mom, but going to this extent was far to his liking. He still saw her as another mother figure regardless of her bizarre habits from the past. She was an alien after all.
Suddenly, Steven felt a cold breeze. It was much colder than usual in his room. He looked over to see it was coming from his… balcony?
"How did that..?" he almost asked, noticing his patio door was left wide-open.
Adrenaline went through his body, as a cold chill spiraled through him, as to thinking someone might be out there. The only thing he was waiting for was someone to call out his name.
'Please don't be Pearl or Garnet, please don't be Pearl or Garnet...Or Amethyst at that matter..oh gosh, please don't be Amethyst-'
"I told you I came from your warp pad remember...?" Spinel quietly, reminding Steven of their conversation from earlier.
Steven looked over at the gem, taking a moment to realize what she was saying. He felt relief hit him all at once.
"Oh..." he said.
He knew getting mad about something this small wouldn't solve anything. Not like it was as bad as the time he had to deal with Sapphires cold temper at the motel. But still, it was way out of his comfort zone. Just what he needed from this stressful night.
Still holding on to Spinel's hand, the two walked outside through his balcony, reaching his personal dome. As the shuttle automatically opened, both stepped in. Steven felt his body grow tense at the scene.
There stood his greenhouse surrounding the entire room. He had almost forgotten about them. Not like he took care of them. But there were memories that slowly came back to surface. All of the things he wanted to leave behind him, all leading from the main source, the main problem, right here. And who else would he blame but himself? He knew repressing those thoughts within this place would do him no good. That was probably why he barely came up here. But letting them die was the last thing he wanted to happen.
'Ugh what are you doing?' he asked himself. It wasn't about him right now…
He looked over at Spinel who, to his surprise, seemed very intrigued at what was in front of her.
"So... you have a...garden?" she arched her eyebrow at the last word. Garden. A question he was not expecting from her. Not in the slightest.
Did it not bother her…like it once bothered him?
"Ohhh yea! I like to call it a greenhouse rather than a...garden.." he cleared his throat before continuing on.
"I just had a lot of time on my hands. That's how it gets then there's nothing important to do. Ya know, the Earth is peaceful and all." he said with haste.
The words bunched in together, all the while scratching the back of his hair from the sudden anxiety hitting him. He knew she didn't ask why but he didn't know if she'd even ask that in the first place. But he felt almost defensive in his reasoning. And that was not a good sign to put off.
She didn't respond. Instead, she stared around admiring what was in front of her. Steven forced himself to not look at her while he tried not to give any obvious signs of him not being his usual self. He didn't want to worry her about his problems. Right now, he wanted to focus on her.
"I guess it must've caught you by surprise when you came here." he assumed, still scratching the back of his head.
"You can say that..." she responded, still gazing around. Steven caught notice of this. He watched as her eyes wandered around to each plant. She almost had an astounded look on her face. Her gloved hands were near her gemstone area, as she rubbed them together.
Just what was she seeing? Could she see what he once saw? Surely not. Steven looked around. He certainly did not want to let this be the ultimatum for their future amity...Not here.
"I'm sorry if this bothers you...I just wasn't expecting you to come here all of a sudden-"
"No! It-it's fine! It just caught me by surprise… I didn't know it was your thing...heh…" she admitted.
Steven looked over her way. She had that same face of embarrassment.
'Hm, maybe we could explore that later on.' Steven thought to himself.
"Well, honestly it's more like a hobby I got into after I stepped down from Little Homeschool so I'm still sorta new to this thing..." he rambled.
"Little Homeschool…?" she said the name in question, as if trying to change the subject.
He stared at the gem with delight in his eyes. He realized he never even told Spinel about this program. Not like he had the chance to explain it to her.
"Oh, yea! It's like a school for gems who want to understand more about the Earth."
"Oh...cool." she replied in a more apathetic behavior. Steven sighed. Perhaps he usually got more excited than the gems themselves that he tells them to.
"Well… let's go." Steven said with a change in mood. He felt like a downer based on how his voice was. He was the one who usually had an enthusiastic voice, but things were changing...
Spinel, next to him, looked back up at him with confusion on her face.
"Wait, you're coming with me? W-what if the Diamonds see-"
"It's fine! I told you I'll take you home right? Plus I'll be your excuse if they end up seeing us..." Steven responded.
Spinel's face stayed the same for what felt like a minute, but Steven saw a saddened look on her face. She stared back at the surface, hand still in contact with his..
"Yea…" she responded. The two stood on top of the pad. And with that, they warped their way on a shimmer of light into space.
A glimmer of light shined through the dark skies, as it led to the warp pad located in the Throne room. Spinel quickly slinged onto Steven's arm, scared from the new setting, while Steven's eyes squinted from the sudden change of lighting. The echoed room was brighter than what he remembered. He tried looking around, slowly adjusting his eyes back to normal. But he didn't hear a single gem in sight. The Diamonds must also be in their headquarters. Well atleast that is what he wanted to believe. No telling where anybody was at the time. It was night time on Homeworld afterall. Meanwhile, Spinel's head spiraled everywhere, from the thrones to the large opening, and even at the rooftop.
Steven sighed, before a loud yawn came out of him. He had to get her home as soon as possible. He was reaching his limit.
"Aren't we lucky? Nobody's even here." he said almost sluggishly. Steven grabbed the gems hand. This was becoming a habit for him.
"I actually know a way back to moms- I mean your room. It-it's pretty quick too!" He tried backtracking his words from almost mistaking Spinel for his mom's belongings.
"Lets go." he said,leading the gem down a familiar hallway.
The walk this time felt hasteful, but Steven knew there was a long way to go, no matter how short of a cut this was. Homeworld was much larger than the Earth, and he still had yet to explore this part he wanted to call another home.
Spinel recognized this exact way. This was the same way Pearl took her. Spinel felt herself tense up a little from the memories. They usually walked this way to her room, while talking about their past time with Pink Diamond. But they barely talked about the negative impact she brought to themselves as individuals. Even when she wanted to reopen those wounds, Pearl would just change the subject. She'd even go as far as to make Spinel look like the bad person for bringing up the bad things kept in the past. A shiver went through her gem from the shere pain in her voice from that same day.
"Steven..?" Spinels voice peeked up.
Steven looked over to see Spinel. Her arms were crossed as she stared at the ground. He couldn't tell whether or not she was
"What's up?" He responded.
"I...I hope I didn't offend you earlier…" she said quietly.
Steven arched an eyebrow, confused as to what she meant..
"What do you mean..?" he asked.
"umm...my silly, stupid- I mean-my...request. T-to call you a Diamond and all." she simply replied.
Oh...that. Now that it was on the table, it felt more wrong than he thought.
Steven sighed. Surely he almost loathed the idea of anyone calling him his mother. For as long as he could remember, most gems only saw her and not him. Never him. But Spinel...It was not like she was doing any harm. She wasn't even referring him to his mother. Just her ranks as an Authority figure. That was it.
"Spinel, it's fine really. I'd rather be called a Diamond then my mom herself. And honestly, you're the first gem to even ask for permission..." he retorted.
Not that he cared about the rule of an authority figure, but the idea of being called a Diamond was something that stayed in the back of his head.
'Diamond Steven Universe...kind of a nice ring to it.' he thought.
If anything, he was trying to normalize it for future reference. But it wasn't like she was going to say it in front of anyone else, would she? They made a promise after all. In the end, it was all up to her.
"heh... I guess I'm the first huh..?" she asked.
Steven stared over at Spinel. She wasn't looking his way, but he noticed a half lidded smirk on her face. This made his mouth curve from amusement. Being able to get some type of reaction from her has been pretty hard, even if the situation at hand was meant to be taken seriously. That was true for the most part. She was the first gem to ask him for permission. Ever.
"Yea, you actually are." he retorted, while now smiling.
Spinel looked over at him. She felt her face grew warm from the same expression he always made. Just what made him so cheery like always? It wasn't annoying...but it almost reminded her of her old self. That annoying stupid litter pester like-
"So… how are the pebbles?" he asked with ease. Now that she wasn't so flustered, or atleast he hoped, maybe he could delve deep into her personal life with the time they had. He didn't have to be so hasty to her yet.
"Oh, my Stars! How could I forget about my little pebs!" Spinel spewed out.
"Heh! Is that a nickname for them?" he asked.
"Umm yea...look we're almost here too!" she pointed forward.
Steven looked ahead before realizing the gem next to him was gone, faster than he thought. Spinel proceeded to run down the hall leading to her room. Well, she was right. Once she reached the room, the door had opened. She looked inside the room and began having tears run down her cheeks.
"I'm home!" she said cheerfully as she barged straight into the room.
Steven could hear giggles from the pebbles as well as Spinel around the wide rounded corner, where her room was. Then it was quiet as the doors closed. She sounded innocent. To innocent...Steven frowned. Well, at least she had something that made her happy. He followed the noise leading to her room.
Once he entered his once old temporary room, he was taken aback to see the room was redesigned ultimately.
Pedestals stood on each corner of the six ends, with artificial vine-like plants that twirled to the top, and laid colorful flowers on top of green small bushes. There were red Spider lilies laying beside the pedestals. The floor was made to look like thick coats of grass. The ceiling on up looked the same from how he left it, but Steven wouldn't have noticed if he didn't stare up. He was too focused on the layout of the room without noticing the gem is on the floor giggling with the pebbles on top of her. He was in awestruck.
It was like a Garden…
'Just how did they pull all of this off?' he asked internally.
"Spinel.. Your room is...beautiful…" Steven worded it out in a breathless tone.
Spinel, still on the floor with the pebbles, looked up at Steven. His eyes told her everything.
"Isn't it? Well, you have these guys to thank!" she cheered.
The pebbles surrounding her began pummeling in a playful manner. Steven then took notice of this. He smiled from the joy she felt for the moment.
"Hey guys a long time, no see!" he said cheerfully.
The pebbles looked over Stevens' way, before all running over to him happily and hugging his shoes. Before long, they began crawling on him.
"Heheh ! you guuuys! I take it Spinels have been taking good care of you?" They all nodded happily, most cheering 'yes'. He felt one of the pebbles go into his jacket pocket, grabbing his phone like they usually did before.
"Why of course Universe, who else would?" she said in defense, while watching Steven get attacked from the pebbles way of showing love. This also made her smile.
After their warm welcoming back to Spinels' newly found room, everything had calmed down. Steven and Spinel sat down on the thick coats of grass. Spinel huddled onto herself, while Steven did the same. They both looked out at the opened patio of her room. For Spinel, this was home, but for Steven, this was nostalgia hitting him during the times when things were more difficult.
"I...never got a chance to...thank you...fr-from everything you've already done for me." she said quietly as she looked over at Steven, who was looking back.
At first, he was confused about what she was thanking him for until he thought about it.
"oh! Don't worry about it! I just try to help whenever I can. It's just in my nature y' know…"
"I see…" she mumbled, looking the opposite direction.
Silence again. This time it was awkward. Steven knew he had a time limit. But he couldn't leave on this note. She seemed to be holding back on something. The two stared at the same outskirts. White Diamond's ship stared right back at their home. It felt as if his privacy was never secured all those years ago. He hoped this did not fall on Spinel.
"So is this helpful for you to see it all over again like this..?"
Spinel looked over at Steven for what felt like minutes before looking around her surroundings.
"Well...it does bring back memories, seeing the same type of things back at Pinks garden… but... it sorta calms me down at the same time...it's a different kinda feeling from anger or rage…" she paused. The gem felt herself biting the inside of her lip.
"It doesn't make any sense, I know…" she said out loud.
"No, I think I get what you're saying.." Steven replied back. Spinel looked next at him. He stared back. She felt herself smiling before looking back ahead of her.
So that's probably why she didn't seem so bothered by his 'gardening'. Maybe he was jumping to conclusions, but she seemed to find her calling in a calming way than he imagined. But her temper on Pink Pearl was another thing in mind, including her self-image on herself.
"Too bad I can't just stay here forever…" she mumbled.
Steven frowned from her comment. Surely she did not mean that. That was never a good sign.
"Don't say that. it's never good to keep yourself away from everyone...else..." Steven felt himself shutter from his own sentence.
"Who said that I'll be alone when I have those guys to keep me company?" she retorted as she looked down around to see the pebbles laying out, resting just as she and Steven were.
A group of pebbles gathered close to his phone, taking photos. Steven stared at the scene. He knew the pebbles were her friends sure, but this isn't the way it should be. Never.
"I'm not saying you'll be alone… but…there's just so much more out there to explore! You could make many other friends-"
"Well I tried that befriending part with Pip and that didn't seem to work out now did it!?" she interrupted.
Steven watched her body movement as her temper changed. Her face expressed distress as she stared hard at the ground.
"...Pip?" he asked, as if trying to brighten the mood a little.
Spinel suddenly realized what she had said. Steven watched as her face turned completely red.
"umm w-well yea that's what I called her for short sometimes…" she retorted.
Steven wanted to let out a snicker, but he knew they were not in a laughing manner. Then he watched before his own eyes, as the gem began to crack down.
'And I thought my nicknames were bad...' he thought.
Spinel began biting at her lip again, wondering if this was a bad idea. Having Steven in her room. She was already anxious to leave to Earth and this was the result of it. Perhaps it was just nerves.
"Spinel, remember our promise from earlier? You told me you would atleast try. Starting now." he said.
"... I know... I just have doubts is all…" she mumbled.
He looked at the gem. It felt like they were on top of the hill all over again. Same expression, different setting. Steven sighed.
"I understand how you feel Spinel...meeting new people can be...hard. When I first met Connie, I was at a loss on what to say to her, so all I did was try to impress her… which didn't end well. But nonetheless, we became friends as a result of that...disaster…"
"...who's Connie?"
"oh! Well I guess I never properly introduced you guys after...last year…" he said.
Spinel felt her eye twitch at the mere thought of it. Steven knew he couldn't bring up the past in this manner. This was still a new turning point for him.
"She's a close friend of mine. I've known her since I was like 13. I can show you a picture of her!" he explained.
Spinel looked up after what he said. Something about showing her things must have peaked her interest. Realizing his phone wasn't in his pocket, Steven looked over at the pebbles.
"Hey guys, you mind if I get my phone back?" he asked, while getting up from his spot.
He walked over to their area, while they looked up happily giving his phone back. Spinel starred as his way.
"Look at the pictures we took Steven!" they cheered.
Steven chuckled, and took hold of his phone, with the photo gallery still opened up. Before he could check out the photos, he first noticed the time.
1:02 A.M
'Dammit.'
"Oh wow! Nice photos, you guys are becoming quite the professionals!" he quickly said.
For some reason the realization of the time made him start feeling the weight of his eyes from exhaustion. After everything wined down from the beginning, it seemed like it was all hitting him at once.
"um you okay?" he heard the voice of Spinel. She was looking up at his direction with concern on her face, and a bit of confusion from his sudden pause.
"Y-yea! Just give me one sec." he said trying his best to smile brightly.
Steven knew he had to be quick. He would show her a picture of Connie… and leave without her feeling like she did something wrong. He was exhausted at this point. He walked back to her side, sat down and brought the phone to her view.
"Here's one of us from earlier today, we decided to go on a road trip and venture outside of our comfort zone. It doesn't sound too exciting, but It was fun altogether."
Steven proceeded to show the gem a few more gems of the things he took pictures of, and she stared in awe. He explained to her where he and Connie went this morning, indicating about the travels of Earth. Something they would soon endure after...this.
"Hopefully I'll be able to take you to the same spots so you can see it for yourself!" he said. Spinel stared at the photos. She smiled at the thought of it.
"Fun…" she said as she stared into his phone.
"Oh yea...fun." he said with a smile. The more he stared at the photos, the more sheepishly his eyes felt.
"Well then I should get going, now that I got you home, this should be our parting ways for now at least."
"Oh yea...thanks for walking me here..." she said slowly, while the change of her attitude became apparent.
"Hey, I told you I would come and visit you tomorrow, right? It'll be like I never left I promise." Steven assured.
"But it is tomorrow…" she mumbled to herself.
"What?"
"Nothing… I understand…" she said.
Steven raised his eyebrow. She always seemed to have her head down. He definitely needed to bring her confidence back up.
"Hmm.." He puts his hand on his chin, giving a thought gesture. He needed to come up with something to reassure her his promise at the end of the bargain. Then he comes up with an idea.
"How about this..." Steven brought out his cellphone again. He took the time to unlock, go to settings, and his clock options.
Spinel looks at the phone curiously again. She knew a thing or two when it came to gem technology, but this was something beyond her rocker. She watched as his fingers dwindled around the screen displaying what felt like gibberish to her.
"So I will set an alarm for 1:30 PM meaning that would be like…" Steven counted with his fingers.
"12 hours from now!" he finished his sentence.
"12 hours…?" she was beyond confused.
"yea! Give me 12 hours from this exact time and then I will be right at your doorset." he said confidently.
"I promise it will be worth the wait." he continued on, while smiling to reassure her.
Spinel looked at him. She thought about it again.
"Okay."
"cool! Well..." he looked down at the grassy floors, wondering how to leave on this note. He wasn't sure where to go from here. Should he shake her hand? Hug her?
Way too soon...right?
Not like it was nothing more than a friendly one… Then he remembered their promise. Steven took hold of the same hand he had from earlier, grabbing the same pinky gloved finger and attaching it onto his.
"I'll see you later Spinel." he said quietly.
He was looking right at her. Spinel noticed that same height difference from earlier. He was taller than her.
Steven slowly lets go, jumps off the ledge, walked over to the pebbles to say his goodbyes, and promises to see them as well. The automatic door exit opened, allowing him to leave, with the doors to shut back.
Spinel sat on the ledge while looking at the ground for a couple of minutes before she picks herself up and runs over to the door. She exits out as well to see if she could see Steven. Nope. He was already gone.
"See ya later, Steven…" 12 hours, and counting down was all she could think about.
Steven began speed walking down the hallway of Pink Diamond's headquarters until he could no longer see the door behind him. Then he stopped to catch his breath. After everything that's happened tonight, he sure had a lot to think about. It was back to reality for him once again.
"Ugh… what am I gonna do now…?"
He told Spinel he could help her, but at what cost and how far was he willing to go? Pep talks aren't always the solution. That's all he's known for… ugh... He just needed to sleep. He couldn't think straight...Maybe a good night's sleep could help ...Walking down the halls felt like more nostalgia hitting him while this all happened… His eyes began to slowly fall…
Suddenly Steven could hear voices coming from the corner of where he was headed, bolting his eyes open.
Odd.
He and Spinel didn't see anyone here in the halls earlier. Who knew how fast these gems act. He wondered if they noticed both him and Spinel, or was it more coincidental for them.
Just as he reached the corner, he spotted several gems surrounding the outer layer of the hall. Steven began to slowly walk in the middle of the room, presenting himself, though they did not pay attention to him. For some reason, he was more than ever surprised to see that these gems looked all too familiar with the gemstones but their faces were shadowy.
"Umm… hey everyone.." he says presently.
He wasn't the type to leave unnoticed. But they didn't even seem to bother him.
Up until now...
The noises that were being made from the gems talking stops suddenly. They all turn their way to him and this caught Steven by surprise as his eyes stared wide-eyed… Never has this ever happened...ever.
"Oooh umm don't mind me! Just walking through.. You guys keep doing what you're doing! Sorry!" he explained as he made his way through.
The gems don't respond. All they did was stare.
When Steven walked a little further down the fall, he turned his head to see that the gems were still staring at him. This brings a chill to his stomach. He felt as if he had to keep his eyes on them to make sure they weren't following him...
Good they weren't. But the more he stared, the more they looked familiar…
A Peridot…
Lapis…
Bismuth?
Pearl?
Ruby...Sapphire…
Amethyst…
what was going on?
Steven continued to stare behind him. His eyes stared into theirs as they gaze back. He couldn't tell their expressions because of how far he was at this point. But He recognized them nonetheless.
Before realizing what was in front of Steven, he felt himself bumping hard into a gem from his hasteful steps. He didn't realize he was walking so fast. He backed up a little from the hard impact. He almost fell on the back of his knees, but balanced himself just in time.
"Oh I'm so sorry! I didn...I..."
Steven looked at the person's back. Their pattern, their hair, it looked like…
"You…" he whispered.
He took a few more steps Pearl… She didn't seem to notice him. Not yet.
"Hey..I'm sorry, I...didn't see you t-there..." he said quietly.
Steven quickly turned around to see no one behind him...He looked back in front to see...nothing from the gem yet. She still had her back turned from him. But he could hear small weeps from her.
"Hey...Volleyball…?" he raised his hand towards her shoulder.
He felt as if his hand was taking hours to reach her shoulder from the pure fear of the unknown of what will happen next. It was quiet.
Suddenly, Steven was interrupted when the gem turned around to look his way-
"Whaa!~"
Steven jumps back from the sheer horror of what was in front of him. Her face was…
Shattering? He remembered watching her already broken eye crack further, while on their 'trip' to the reef. But now, It appeared as if both her eyes were completely cracked, and shattered. Her once pointy nose was broken. Her mouth was cracked on one side.
Yet her gem was perfectly fine.. Everything else on her body stayed the same as well.
What the hell was going on…?
Who did this to her…?
"How did this happen to you…!?Please tell me what happened…!" He tried to get something out of her, to which she didn't respond… Instead her face was full of grief as she began making weaping noises.
"Who hurt you ...?" he asked.
No answer. All she did was cry… but no tears would come out… just shere horror…
"Did…. did she hurt you…" Steven asked the gem before him.
She.
This made the Pearl look at his direction. Her face became poker. All she did was stare with a straight face. But she wasn't staring at him. Steven backed up from her facial expression, and felt a presence from behind.
He was hesitant to turn around, and did so slowly.
Spinel? Her head was down as usual..
"Spinel…what...are you doing he-"
"You never came back…" She interrupted him.
"Wha-"
" I couldn't help it… I promised to never do this... But… but I just snapped."
"What are you talking about-" Steven paused. He began putting the puzzles together.
"You...you did this to her?" He pointed at the gem before him...she wasn't there...what?
"No…" a soft moan came from behind.
He turned back around to see two dark shadowy figures in front of him.
Spinel and Pearl. She only looked with distraught on her face. Spinel slowly picked her head up, revealing her face to Steven.
And to his horror, her eyes were… blackened while black tears were coming out…She was in pain while Pink Pearl, still shattered, had grief on her horrid face..
"you did this to us…" they intertwined.
A loud scream echoed in the medium sized room, as Steven bolted his eyes opened. He grew more conscious of himself, jumping up suddenly from what appeared to be his bed. Looking around, he was in his room.
"What just happened...what was that…?" he asked quietly.
From the time Connie left up until now, was any of it real? It felt real. All of it, up until the end. He didn't quite remember what happened after he parted ways with…
Spinel… was that all real? Pink Pearl's face was… she wouldn't have done that. No, that was just a dream. Part of him wanted to believe most of last night did happen while the rest became a blur. He was tired after all. Steven looked to see he still had the same clothes from yesterday. He wanted to see if there would be any type of proof that she did come on Earth
'...well there was one thing.'
It was still dark outside, but the sunrise was at foot. The door to his balcony was still left open. He closed the door behind him, and decided to check out the hilltop where everything started. Steven leaped up to the tower, high enough to reach the lighthouse. He began walking towards the crater like hole. The walk alone made him visualize the events last night. From the footsteps the two walked up as he walked down, up until he saw it. The exact spot he fell down and the rubble of flowers and grass in place of the fall incident.
Steven then patted himself to check his phone. It was cracked, but the screen still lid up. The battery percentage was at 17%. Looking at the time, it read 6:24 A.M.
Then he noticed he had an alarm set for 1:30 PM. But for what again…? Oh right...He proceeded to check his gallery, looking at the most recent photos of the pebbles.
"So it was real after all." He told himself.
Everything from the night walk to walking her home. But that other part... When he left her room, it wasn't real. It couldn't have been real. He could've been hallucinating or something.. It was a dream.. He was in bed after all… and everything was proven that the first set of events did indeed happen. Just how did-
"Steven!?" He heard from a far distance of Pearl calling for him.
Steven ran back up the hill top to see that Pearl was on his balcony, walking towards his dome room. Steven quickly leaped back down.
"Oh, hey Pearl.." he glided towards her.
"Oh there you are! What are you doing out here?" she asked.
"Oh yeah...I was just uuh going for an early morning walk ya know!" Steven excused himself.
Pearl had a bewildered look on her face. Steven took it as though she didn't believe him.
"Steven, are you okay?" she asked with worry.
Steven knew it would take a lot more than just reassuring Pearl he was fine. Especially from the previous episodes they had from the last few months. His attitude was no longer childlike. Pearl couldn't treat him like one anymore. He was almost an adult after all.
"I'm fine. I just had a nightmare. It was nothing." he responded.
"Nothing? Steven I just heard what appeared to have been your voice screaming bloody mary and I ran up to find you not in your room. Then I see you out here. That wasn't nothing." she argued.
Steven didn't respond. He wasn't sure what she was getting at. He couldn't tell her the exact truth.
"Please, Steven we've been through this before and all I want to do is help you." she pleaded.
"Pearl. I said I'm fine. Don't worry about me so much." Steven said. His tone in voice had some attitude in it. Pearl's eyes just looked down at the ground and sighed.
"Alright Steven." she said quietly. Steven immediately felt bad. He wasn't used to his own anger.
"I'm sorry Pearl. I'm just a little cranky...that's all." he admitted. That was some truth to his attitude.
"Long night?" she asked.
Steven nodded but said nothing more. Pearl only left it at that. She couldn't get too much in his personal life than what she knew now. Pearl sighed before continuing another conversation.
"Well since you're up now, Garnet and I were leaving for Little Homeworld to adjust some things around for the upcoming newcomers for tomorrow. If you need anything just call us please?"
"I know Pearl." Steven got out his phone, and to his surprise, Pearl nearly screamed from the sudden realization.
"STEVEN! What happened to your phone?" she panicked.
"Oh! Umm I just accidentally dropped it when Spi-umm -c-Connie and I were spinning around-"
"The car was spinning around?"
"No! We were just spinning around in a field, and my phone just flew out w-while it happened…" he further lied into reasoning.
"Oooh Steven do you realize how much time and effort it took for me to get you that phone?"
"Pearl it's fine, my phone still works. Don't worry, see?" Steven proved to her to show that his phone was up and running.
"Oh...well then... Just be careful next time. Anyways I should be on my way, Garnet's probably waiting for me."
"Yea! Don't let me keep you! See ya Pearl."
Steven waved his goodbye as he watched over his balcony to see the two walking.
Steven yawned out loud. He still felt exhausted. The adrenaline of the nightmare waking himself as well as Pearl's overwhelmed concern for him drove his energy up for so long. He began slowly walking back to his room, closing the door behind him. After he took his jacket off tossing it over the T.V, he suddenly fell forward on his bed. Nothing had ever been so comfortable in his life.
"Just a few more hours." He told himself.
Steven pulls his covers over him. He surely didn't want to have that same nightmare again. He just needed a few more hours of peaceful sleep, then everything would be better than ever.
It's not like he had anything going on today. It was Sunday after all.