Unbeknownst to Connie, later would come a lot sooner than she knew. The sky had faded into a low, dusky hue and they built a fire to sit by before going back to the warp pad. The remains of an impromptu picnic were scattered around the blanket they sat on, which came down to a few marshmallows and wine that they drank out of plastic cups that had faded Crying Breakfast Friends characters on the sides - a decision made by Steven as he packed his bag that morning.

Connie's cheeks were flushed as she finished her second cup. "You remember that time we were going to run away? And we actually got on a bus that night?"

Steven closed his eyes, visibly cringing at the thought. "I can't believe we did that."

She refilled her cup. "We really thought we were grown up," she said and laughed.

Steven laughed and finished what was his third cup. "And I really believed Garnet when she told me I couldn't watch tv for a thousand years!"

They both giggled at the thought. "Ok, ok," she said, taking a sobering breath. "I have another one." Her voice became low and quiet. "Do you remember the time we went to that pool party, and, we were mad at each other, and you asked Kevin to help you try and 'act cool'?"

They were both quiet for a moment, then busted out into laughter again. "I hated him so much!" Steven said. "I honestly thought it was going to get you to think I was cool."

"I thought you were cool anyways," she said. "Way cooler than I was! Always."

"Not true," he said. "You were even taller than me. Clearly superior!"

"If that's the case, then, we know who the superior one is now," she said as used her hands to motion towards him.

"Still you!"

"No... no way. You'll always be better than me." Her voice had fallen quiet. I can't even tell you the truth, she thought.

"I don't think it's a contest," he said, picking up on the seriousness in her tone. "What makes you think that?"

"Steven, I... I have to tell you something. Well, I've been trying to tell you something." She set her cup down and twiddled her hands in her lap. "When I had the chance to come home for awhile, it wasn't only because I needed to take a semester off."

He leaned in towards her, listening.

"I wanted to get away from... from something," she said and sighed. "Like I was trying to tell you earlier today, and how I've been trying to tell you this whole time, there are a lot of things I regret, and, I already told you I regret leaving and I wanted to come here and apologize, but..."

"Connie, what's wrong? You can tell me if you want, but if you don't want to, it's ok. I'm really worried about whatever is bothering you."

"You'll... you won't want to see me anymore." Her heart started to race, and she quickly finished the rest of her cup.

"Don't be ridiculous. You really think that I would think that?"

"Steven, I lied!" She blurted out. "I lied about the scar. I lied about why I came back."

"Connie, it's ok. Whatever happened, it's ok."

"No! No, it's not. Steven... did you see anybody else?"

"What?"

"While I was gone. Did you see other people?"

"Well, no, I didn't even think about it. I don't understand. Why does it matter?"

She felt a knot form in her throat. "Well I did, and I hate myself for it." She pulled her knees into her chest and covered her face with her hands. "There it is. The truth. I've been with someone since I left for school, and I hate it and him and I hate everything about it. I hate what happened. I hate that myself for letting any of it happen!"

Steven didn't say anything for a few moments. "Connie..."

"You don't deserve any of the things I've done to you, Steven. I'm just going to do it again when I leave to go back. I don't even know why I came back to try and apologize. I knew what I did, and I couldn't even tell you. So what did I do? Come back and act like everything was fine and play house with you before I leave again." She lifted her head and looked into the fire as it popped, its crinkling noise blending into the noise of the nature around them.

"Connie, stop."

Tears started to fall down her face. "No! I didn't even call you. I didn't keep up with you at all. We were best friends! I loved you! And I threw it all away for what? For a degree? For some asshole who I let treat me like shit? I deserve everything that happened. We had everything. I'm a monster."

He grabbed her shoulders. "Stop it!" She looked him in the eyes, taking shaky breaths."You really think that about yourself?" he said, traces of anger in his voice. "And you think you deserve that? Why are you beating yourself up about this? And what do you mean you let them treat you badly? Who? You don't deserve that ever! You honestly believe that I would think badly of you for that?"

"Why wouldn't you?"

"You really don't know?"

He pulled her close and placed his lips on hers. Her body let go of any tension it was holding and she melted into his arms. He cupped her face as she leaned back to look him in the eyes again. "Connie, I love you. I'm always going to love you. Whether you love me back or not. I can't change it. I never stopped. It's been that way since the day I met you."

"Steven, I... we can't... I don't deserve to-"

"You deserve whatever makes you happy. You need to forgive yourself... you can't keep coming down on yourself like this."

"I'm the one who left. I ruined it all. We went through so much together, and I left." She pressed herself into him, her chin resting on the top of his shoulder as she spoke quietly into his ear. "I wish I could take it back. I wish I would have stayed and worked things out with you when you asked me. That's what I regret."

"Who says we still can't? If that's what you want, then I'll be there for it," he said. The fire crackled in the silence and she pulled back to look at him again.

"Won't you have a hard time trusting me? You're not bothered by what I just told you? What if I can't... what if I don't want to stay? I don't even know if I'm sure about-"

"I meant what I said."

She took a moment to steady her breathing before she leaned in towards him again, this time pressing her lips against his before straddling his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck and locking her fingers in his hair. He groaned softly from his throat as his tongue slipped inside her mouth and she felt that melting feeling again, like the fire beside them was making her body dissolve into his. She breathed in deeply, the smell of the marshmallows, the wine, the smoke, and the wildflowers filling her nose.

Eyes closed, she used her mouth to feel the way down his chin and up his neck to his earlobe as a bursting feeling welled up in her chest. She felt like the world was fading around them, the only thing tethering them to reality was the faint sound of the fire and the loud hum of crickets in the fresh night air. Feeling his body this close made her forget everything, even if only for a short while. She could only focus on how wonderful it felt when their skin touched and, if it were possible, she didn't ever want to stop.

"I'm sorry... I don't know why I did any of it."

"You don't have to be sorry," he said. "You just need to do what makes you happy. If that's not here... that's ok."

"What if I leave again and I don't come back?" The question was a whisper, barely audible over the sounds around them.

The smoke of the fire crept quietly into the dark, star ridden sky. "Then that's how it'll be."

She let her mind soak in the words they exchanged while feeling his chest rise and fall against hers. Unsure of how much time had passed, their lips met a final time before they got up to put the fire out and pack their things. When they arrived back at the temple, Connie noticed a faint glow coming through the windows.

"Steven! Look!"

"What?"

"...It's snowing!"

He grinned and grabbed her hand and they settled down by the window, watching the first snowfall of the season together for the first time in years.

Connie sat in the corner of the Beach City boardwalk cafe, three large books spread onto the table. While her time off from school was slowly becoming enjoyable, the dark cloud that was the upcoming semester loomed in the distance. Winter was already grasping at the last bit of what fall had left to offer, and she accepted the fact that it would be her sooner than she knew. Drama or none, the work of her final semester would be an absolute.

It had been five hours since she last moved from her spot, or it at least felt that way to her back. The sun was dipping into he horizon as she took a moment to gaze out the cafe's windows. It was no longer snowing, but the half-foot that accumulated wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

She let her hand doodle idly while admiring the pink and orange glow reflecting form the sky to the calm sea. When her eyes drifted back, she had drawn stars across the top of her paper. She smiled, then sighed before scratching them out. The conversation they'd had by the fire a few weeks ago was something she thought about often.

"You didn't even tell him that you loved him back, stupid."

It wasn't the resolution she wanted, but it was progress since deciding to come back. Telling him about what she faced since leaving was a huge step, but what came next? She pictured herself leaving again. Graduation meant starting work, or more internships, at the very least. Beach City didn't offer much in that respect, and that meant not coming back. The thought of leaving Steven and not coming back after this entire visit made her feel too guilty to tell him the most-likely scenario for her life after graduation.

"If you break it off soon, it could save us both a lot of grief... Then again... what if I come back anyways?" She imagined the disappointment of her mother's face and the dark void of an uncertain future.

Bump

One of her books slid off the end of the table and slammed onto the ground making her thoughts dissipate. Bending down to grab it, she squinted her eyes at the guy in the hoodie who was now hurrying out the door without even bothering to look back.

"I guess there's rude people everywhere," she thought before flipping back to the right page. She took a long drink of coffee before beginning to skim its pages again.

It wasn't too long after that she started to feel like she needed to close her eyes. They were suddenly heavy, as if she could lay her head down right on the table and effortlessly fall asleep. Steven wasn't due to meet her there for another hour, but the sudden onset fatigue made her pull out her phone.

-Hey, I know we agreed to meet at 6, but would you want to leave now? I'm super tired all of a sudden.-

He responded almost immediately.

-Hmm... pick you up from studying or listen to Amethyst and Pearl fright over who knows what for another hour. Hard choice... ok on my way! ...Everything ok?-

-I'm fine. Staying up the past few nights are just catching up with me, I guess.-

-be there soon!-

She smiled before packing up her bag. It quickly faded, though, when she stood up and her legs felt like they were asleep.

"Sleep deprivation really is catching up with me, ugh."

Thinking the cold air might wake her up, she pushed the cafe door open to stand outside. The icy air blew onto her face and through her hair. Her cheeks flushed and panic started to settle in her chest when her hands felt numb too.

"What is wrong with me?" She started to pull out her phone as she attempted to walk to the corner of the sidewalk under the streetlight. Before she could wrestle it out, she felt her feet slip out from under her. The last thing she felt was her head crashing into the ground before everything around her faded into nothing.

When Connie finally regained consciousness, she saw nothing but darkness still. Her body felt like it was being tugged around in the ocean, with waves hitting her over and over that kept her from coming to the surface. It was forcing her eyelids shut and keeping her from taking a full breath. She frantically tried to get her eyes to open and her lips to move.

"I... I fell... Where... the snow. Steven was..."

"Steven?" she finally muttered.

The voice that answered wasn't Steven, that she could make out.

"God, shut up. You've been mumbling about whoever that is since we left. Is that the loser you keep a picture of on your phone background?"

The sound of the voice triggered her eyes to open and pain shot through her head as the headlights of a passing truck illuminated her surroundings briefly. "...Adam?"

"Finally awake? Took you long enough." She saw the shine of his teeth and the glint of his eyes in the dark as he spoke.

"What? Where are we? Why are you even..."

"I told you, you couldn't get rid of me that easily. I'm surprised you weren't expecting me."

"How did you even find where...?"

"You think I wouldn't know things you 'didn't tell me?' It was nothing finding out where you were from. Oh, and someone definitely didn't change their phone password." He laughed as he held up her phone in front of her face before tossing it into the back.

"Where are you taking me?" she tried to focus on moving her hands.

"I told you, remember? You'd regret leaving me. I'm bringing you back with me... I have a place for you. I know you'll come around, you always do, but I needed to make sure you came back this time."

"You're crazy... it was you in the cafe... and you drugged my drink! You think things can just go back to anything after this? Turn us around!" Slowly moving her fingers, she could feel that both her arms were strapped under the seat belt.

"No, I'm not. I'm not. I'm not crazy!" He angrily grabbed her leg and dug his fingers in. She winced in pain and tried to pull away.

"Stop!"

"There's nothing you can do about it. We're out of the city now, anyways. There's nowhere for you to go."

She focused her breathing and tried to look around in the dark for a sign of where they actually were. She could tell that they were indeed out of the city, but she didn't know just how far. While trying not to alert Adam, she felt her wrist unstiffen. While she wriggled it out from under the seatbelt the glimpse of her phone that was now in the backseat caught her eye.

She tried to distract him. "You know we won't even make it out of the state tonight, right? Even if you drive all the way through tonight, it'll take another half day after that."

"Don't worry about where we're going."

"...You know my family will know that I'm gone, right?" She inched her hand towards the buckle.

"We'll be too far gone by the time they do."

She steadied her breathing, trying not to let panic settle in. Light came up on them quickly as he turned into a gas station. She could now see that they were in the rural area about an hour outside of Beach City. Aside from the road, they were surrounded by rotten, frosty cornfields.

He leaned over to her, his hot breath on the side of her face.

"You move, and I'll make sure no one finds you."

Disgusted, she twisted her neck, trying to scoot away from him. He got out of the car, and she heard the doors lock.

She kept her eyes on him as he disappeared into the store, then quickly pulled the seat belt off. Her door wouldn't budge. A cry of frustration spilled out of her lungs as she tried to get her body to move-it felt like her legs were full of dead weight.

She was able to twist her upper body and reach into the back for her phone before she used her arms to pull herself into the driver's seat. After taking a heavy breath, she unlocked the door and took wobbly steps towards the corn stalks.

"God damnit!"

She heard him yelling behind her. Panic shot up her spine before she felt her legs break into a run, carrying her into the cover of the corn field, not stopping to look back.\