Chapter Two: Iced Coffee

It was Monday, June 19th. There was a light overcast as it drizzled outside.

"G-good morning!" Steven exclaimed with a moment's hesitation as he walked in. He wasn't sure why, but he felt an odd sense of discomfort saying it...

He shook his head. Nevermind. He figured he was just nervous. After all, today was a big day.

He strolled up to the counter and smiled at Sadie.

"Can I have a..." Steven considered for a minute, briefly glancing at the menu. "Um... an iced coffee with extra caramel. No whipped cream?"

"Your usual, huh?" said Sadie with a grin.

Steven felt a sour feeling in his gut again. Not sure why. He was just ordering what he always got.

"Y-yep," Steven said. He paid with the twenty-five cents in his pocket, sat down, and waited.

He looked around. Peridot and Lapis were sitting at their window table as usual. Peridot was angrily mashing the keys of her laptop, while Lapis had her spiral notebook out. Greg stood next to her, chatting about something.

Steven smiled. He was glad to see his best friend and roommate Greg having fun with his other friends. It cheered him out of the odd mood he was in just as Lars walked up and handed Steven his drink.

"I hate Mondays," Lars said.

Upon hearing that though, the butterflies in Steven's stomach returned with intensity.

"Y-yeah, no kidding," Steven said.

He took a sip of his hot chocolate. It tasted perfect. Sweet, rich, and creamy.

Like always

oOoOo

"This Wi-Fi is trash," Peridot said, angrily tapping on the touchpad. "I can't pull up anything! How will I stream Camp Pining Hearts now?"

Lapis looked up from her notebook.

"There are ways you can entertain yourself without the internet, Peridot," she said.

"Lies," Peridot said. "Lies and falsehoods!"

Greg chuckled in the corner. Peridot rolled her eyes at him.

"Go ahead, laugh it up!" Peridot shouted. She looked up, just now noticing her friend Steven sitting down in the cafe as well. She would have said "hi" to him if she wasn't so enraged at the lack of internet. Instead, she glanced back at Greg. "Why don't you just... go bother your offspring over there, Greg?"

"Don't you mean 'roommate'?" said Lapis, as she went back to writing in her notebook.

"Yes, whatever. That's what I said!" said Peridot. "Just leave me. Leave me in my despair!"

Greg, still grinning, wordlessly left and went over to his son's table, where Steven was checking his phone and muttering something about it being past noon.

"So you send away Greg to stop bothering us and now you're just staring at Steven," Lapis said, an eyebrow raised at Peridot. "Okay."

Peridot pouted.

"Well, if I can't watch my web-streamed entertainment, I might as well be amused by the boring, mundane lives of those around me," she said. "Speaking of boring and mundane..." She glanced over at Lapis. "What are you writing?"

"Screw you."

"Is that a promise?"

Lapis smiled.

"It's just poetry."

"Ah yes," Peridot said. "Very hipster of you."

"Philistine."

"Do you even know what that means?"

"Do you even know what hipster means?"

Peridot narrowed her eyes from behind her glasses.

"I don't have to listen to these wild allegations!" she yelled. "I'm a certified engineer!"

"You're not certified in anything. You're still in school."

Peridot blinked. "Well, I..." she started, but nothing followed. Lapis was right, she realized— not that she'd admit that.

"You can't think of a response. I win," Lapis said.

Peridot waved her off, then sighed. She turned her attention back to the rest of the cafe. Connie, another friend from college, had just walked in. Greg had stopped chatting with Steven and moved to another table once he noticed as well.

"Looks like Steven's on a date with Connie," Peridot said. "I suppose watching this will do in lieu of Camp Pining Hearts."

"Nothing at all creepy about that," Lapis mumbled. Her pencil scratched against her paper. "Why do you even stream that show so much, anyway? We've already seen every episode."

"I like to look for new details each time," Peridot said, her eyes still on Steven and Connie. Steven pulled out the chair for Connie. "Oooh, I wonder what Steven's gonna do this time..."

"You're a weirdo."

"You hang out with me. You chose this life."

Lapis snorted. Peridot kept her eyes trained on Steven and Connie. Everything seemed to be going perfectly fine.

Just like always, she thought.

Peridot shook her head, getting that strange thought out of her mind. But before she could dwell on it, she heard Steven raise his voice.

"No really, Connie! This is super weird!" he said, getting to his feet. "I know it doesn't make any sense, but I feel like we've done this befo—"

Before Steven could continue, Connie leaned forward and planted a kiss on his lips. Steven's eyes grew as wide as saucers for a moment, before he closed them, clearly enjoying the sensation.

Peridot suddenly realized Lapis had stopped writing and was watching the couple as well.

"Oh wow," Lapis said with a smile. "Way to go, Steven."

But Peridot could only stare blankly.

"Wait a minute... That wasn't supposed to happen!" Peridot said, before she could stop herself.

Lapis turned to Peridot, stunned.

"What are you talking about?" Lapis said, a hint of agitation in her voice. "Steven's liked Connie since they were kids."

"They are kids!"

"Yeah."

"No, no, I mean..." Peridot's mind was racing faster than she could articulate. Her thoughts were jumbled, disjointed. It made no logical sense, she was only going by what she instinctively wanted to say. "I mean, this isn't how it usually happens! This is different!"

Lapis's face creased with worry. "I think you've been watching too many Camp Pining Hearts reruns."

"No, I'm not, Lapis! And that's not the poi—" Peridot froze mid-gesture when the word 'reruns' clicked in her mind.

She looked around, registering only then that she had been speaking way louder than she had intended. Steven had jerked away from the kiss and was staring at her.

But not just him. Connie was looking at Peridot, a serene smile planted on her face. At the counter, the baristas Lars and Sadie were staring as well, with the exact same smile painted on. Even Greg in the far corner had his eyes on her, also with the same placid expression.

It was unsettling.

"Why are you all staring like that?" Peridot said loudly. "That's not normal! AND THIS IS ME SAYING THAT! IT'S—"