Chapter Eight: Soy Vanilla Caramel Latte

It was Monday, June 19th. The pitter-patter of hail hitting the roof filled the coffee shop.

DING!

The door to the coffee shop chimed as Steven and Connie walked in, Steven sheltering Connie from the hail with his pink jacket. Connie snuggled up against the warmth of Steven's body, her heart fluttering as he kept her in a protective embrace. She had often wished that her feelings for Steven would be reciprocated, ever since the pair had become friends on Orientation Day, their freshman year. Who would have thought that she would actually get what she wanted?

As they made their way to the counter, she felt Steven slightly tense up. She wasn't sure why, but Steven seemed uneasy now. Perhaps it was the nervousness around their date?

She was nervous too, of course, but she hadn't thought that Steven would be even more nervous.

She looked around the coffee shop. Lapis and Peridot sat in their usual spot in the corner. Lapis was scribbling on a notebook while Peridot held her tablet, grumbling at the device's inability to connect to the wifi. Pearl sat at a table near the counter, looking through the menu while occasionally looking up and blushing at the tall, pink-haired barista. Garnet sat between her daughters who were giggling while reading the creative coffee names in the menu. Steven's roommate, Greg, was sitting in a corner seat, strumming his guitar softly while Amethyst watched from her seat in the corner by the window

"Um … I'll have a small, soy vanilla caramel latte," Steven started, startling Connie back to reality.

Connie looked up at the menu. She grinned, looking at all of the choices. Finally, her eyes landed on something that she had always wanted to try. She had never done it because her mother was always concerned about sugar.

"I'll have the triple shot mocha with whipped cream … and some strawberry and chocolate sauce on top!" Connie chirped excitedly.

She felt Steven tense up and worry began to bubble up in her mind. Did she do something wrong? She looked over at him and saw his jaw clench slightly.

"Your usual, huh?" The barista replied with a cheerful smile.

Connie felt Steven's arms leave her shoulders as he turned to walk, stiffly, to a table.

This wasn't like him.

She made her way to their chosen table and sat across from him before looking around at everyone at the coffee shop. Peridot's grumbling became slightly louder as her tablet refused to connect to the WiFi while Lapis continued writing away. Connie turned to look at Garnet who sat between her daughters. She looked over to see Pearl gawking at the pink-haired barista. Amethyst strolled towards Greg, most likely to pester him about one of the classes they went to together.

Everyone was here.

But it all felt off.

She turned to look at Steven again who seemed nervous. She wanted to attribute it to first date jitters, but this seemed different. This seemed like something more serious was bothering him.

Was it her?

She gently placed her hand on Steven's. Their eyes met and Connie could see near terror in his eyes.

"What's wrong, Biscuit?" Connie started. "Are you OK?"

"I…"

"I hate Mondays," Lars grumbled as he set down the tray with Connie and Steven's order.

Only it wasn't correct. They hadn't ordered scones.

They hadn't ordered hot chocolate.

Connie looked to Steven to see his eyes widen. She looked up at the barista.

"This isn't what we-"

Lars seemed to ignore Connie as he grumpily shuffled away.

Connie looked down at their food and suddenly didn't feel hungry. It didn't feel right.

She went to pick up her mug of cocoa and then realized she wasn't really in the mood for the cocoa either. She looked up at Steven who stared at her. The uneasiness on his face was telling enough.

She had done something wrong. She knew it.

She gently touched Steven's hand and looked into his eyes. She felt his hand ball into a fist. She gently stroked his hand with her thumb.

"Steven, you know you can tell me anything. What's wrong? Did I do something?"

Steven blinked, then smiled nervously.

"N-no! No, it's not you! It's just…" He looked down at her hand. "Something just feels different, you know? This is all just… different."

Connie smiled. She supposed it was true. Their relationship had become something different. They were no longer just best friends. They were dating now.

The thought swirled in her mind. It was comforting but also unnerving. Something wasn't right about that thought. They were still just best friends now, right? She wanted them to be more, of course, but she couldn't even remember when they had decided to go on this date.

(It had been very romantic though. It must have been.)

Perhaps it was truly just first date jitters.

Something told her it wasn't.

She looked at Steven. He looked as if he was expecting something. She wasn't sure what, but as they began to talk about their day, his uneasiness started to subside. She could feel herself relax as they fell into a familiar rhythm, talking about Connie's classes and Steven's hobbies.

Everything is fine. Stop worrying.

"Hey," Steven smiled. "I just realized, we should probably take a picture to commemorate this! Our first date!"

Connie grinned as Steven pulled out his phone and opened up the camera app. As she leaned in and looked up at the screen, she noticed something alarming.

There was nothing behind her.

Well, that wasn't completely true. She could see Peridot and Lapis behind them, chatting with each other

But the rest of the coffee shop…

It was all black. No chairs, no floor, no windows, no nothing.

She looked to Steven who seemed confused as he stared at the picture they took. His expression unsettled Connie deeply.

She gently placed a hand on Steven's hand. Their eyes met.

"Are you doing OK?" Connie asked.

"Y-yeah," Steven started. "Guess my phone's being weird. Here, let me try again."

They did, but the glitch seemed to be persistent. Something must have been messing with the exposure, because no matter what, the background came out pitch black, sometimes so dark that even people couldn't be seen.

Steven grew more and more distressed with every failed shot. Finally, Connie pulled the phone out of his hand, closing the camera app with a definitive swipe. "It's okay," she told him. "Doesn't matter. We've got our memories, right?"

"Right," Steven said. For a moment, he remained strained and hunched over, before he relaxed. "Of course. Everything's fine."

Connie went to take a sip of her hot cocoa and then looked around the coffee shop. The hot chocolate was absolutely delicious- why hadn't she wanted to drink it?- and the cafe so warm and cozy. Her eyes fell onto Garnet and her daughters once again. Ruby and Sapphire were squabbling good naturedly about what food to order, Garnet with a fond smile as she watched over them.

Something about that was wrong, but she couldn't quite figure out what. It didn't make sense that something about the small family was setting off alarm bells in her head.

After all, Ruby and Sapphire were always with Garnet.