Chapter Eleven: Blueberry Smoothie

It was Monday, June 19th, and the weather outside was absolutely stunning. It was twilight, and the setting sun had bathed the sky in the most beautiful array of pinks and purples. It was a lovely evening for a walk, and Ruby found herself longing for a chance to stretch her legs.

If she would suggest a walk, she was sure her wives would be quite happy to go with her. Which was exactly why Ruby wasn't going to suggest it. Both Sapphire and Garnet had been fighting with headaches all day, and though they had brushed it off as no big deal, Ruby could tell how much it was bothering them. She was afraid they might be coming down with something, and if that was the case, she didn't want to push them. Even if she was beginning to feel a bit penned in by the coffee shop.

Such a nice coffee shop!

It was a nice coffee shop, really. Ruby just wished something different would happen.

Well, wishing never got anyone anywhere. If she wanted something new to happen, Ruby would have to help it along. Which was why, instead of ordering her usual decaf coffee, she turned to Steven and Connie, standing in line behind her.

"What're you guys having?" she asked.

"Hmm," said Connie, stroking her chin. "I was thinking about getting a blueberry smoothie. How about you, Steven?"

"Huh?" Steven said, blinking at them. He'd been staring around the cafe with a preoccupied expression, and seemed to have to mentally catch up. "Uh… the same, I guess?"

Ruby wasn't sure if she'd ever had anything with blueberries before. Might be fun to try.

"Good idea." Ruby turned to the smiling barista waiting patiently behind the cash register. "I'll have the biggest blueberry smoothie you got!"

"Your usual, huh?" the barista said.

Ruby caught up with her wives, who'd already made their way to the drink delivery area. Sapphire pecked Ruby's cheeks with a quick kiss, while Garnet stirred honey into the tea. Ruby's own drink would be a while, so the three stood back, content to consider where they'd sit. They could have chosen to get a table to themselves, but something about that felt a little lonely. That said, there weren't a lot of alternative options.

There was Greg, who was always fun company, but he seemed so engrossed in his guitar strumming that it seemed like a shame to interrupt him.

There was Steven and Connie, but the two were on their date and didn't need anyone hovering around.

There was Amethyst, too, but it seemed that she had romantic aspirations of her own, judging by the way she was eyeing Donut Boy behind the counter.

There was Pearl, hunched over her computer. Probably not the best of company right now— what with that essay— but maybe she needed some herself.

There was also Peridot and Lapis, but they didn't look very approachable. They squabbled a lot— it was just how their friendship works— but there was something different to their bickering today. Bodies being held too tense, words being said too sharply...

"I just can't get it! Whatever I do, it won't work!" Peridot yelled at her computer, slamming her fist down on the table.

"Yeah, well," Lapis began, too loud to be snide, "maybe it's not working because you broke it."

The cafe fell into stillness, aside from the continued strumming of Greg's guitar. It seemed like almost everyone was watching Peridot and Lapis. The pair seemed to have noticed, flushing bright green and blue. Lapis spoke again, softer this time, too soft for Ruby to catch. Maybe an apology.

Slowly, conversation all across the coffee shop picked up again.

"I need to go talk with them," Steven said.

Ruby glanced at him. The comment wasn't directed at herself, or Garnet, or Sapphire— but to Connie.

"Okay," said Connie. "Do you want me to go with you?"

Steven shook his head, and began pulling away. "Nah, I'd– I'd better handle this myself…"

"Uh. Alright." Connie watched him go. "I'll grab us a table…?"

Steven didn't answer, just waved a hand vaguely at her as he went to join Peridot and Lapis.

Ruby chewed at her lip. Well, she had wanted something different to happen.

Her blueberry smoothie finally arrived. Ruby took a long sip from the straw without even looking. Neither Garnet or Sapphire bothered going to get a table. They didn't need one. What they needed was a plan.

The three didn't discuss it out loud; they didn't even need to glance at each other. They'd been together far too long for that to be necessary. Ideas seemed to flow wordlessly between them. Each picked up their drink and headed off in a different direction.

Garnet went to find a seat near Peridot and Lapis's table, where Steven had now joined them in hushed conversation. Something was happening there, and they might need help.

Sapphire headed towards Amethyst. She was trying to flirt with Donut Boy, who looked utterly bored by the whole thing. Hopefully Sapphire would be able to drag her over to Pearl. The two of them had been avoiding each other since their fight, and it would be better for everyone if they could get over it.

Ruby grabbed a stool near the table Connie had found. The girl was sitting there, alone, ripping a napkin to shreds. She kept sneaking glances towards Steven, then looking away quickly. Ruby ached with sympathy at the sight. She wanted to rush forward and give Connie a hug, or some kind words, or a listening ear, or all of the above. But she could practically hear Sapphire's voice at the back of her mind, saying: Wait. See what will happen first.

So Ruby waited. Maybe Steven would return in just a few minutes, and this would all blow over without her help.

One minute passed, then two, then three. Steven didn't come to the table, but his drink did, along with Connie's. Carrying them was the cheerful cashier who'd taken the order.

"Thanks, Sadie," Connie mumbled, taking the mugs. Then she said, "Hey, could I ask you something?"

"That's my job!" the lady chirped.

"No, not about the drinks or anything, I meant… I meant about Steven. I think he's really upset. What do you think is wrong? Did I do something? Should I say something? Or would that just make it worse?"

"What will you be having today?" asked Sadie.

Connie glared. "This is serious! Please, you're his friend. You've known him even longer than I have—!"

"Here's your hot chocolate!" Sadie said, before vanishing back behind the counter.

Connie stared after her for a moment, mouth wide, then she buried her head in her arms.

No more waiting , Ruby decided.

Ruby abandoned her own table and slid into the seat across from Connie. At the sound, Connie looked up, expression brightening— only to fall again when she saw who it was (or wasn't, rather). "Oh. Hey, Ruby."

"Hi," Ruby said. "How ya doing?"

Connie shrugged.

"Wanna talk about it?"

Connie shrugged again, not meeting Ruby's eyes. Her shoulders remained hunched. She gripped tight at her napkin. Her breathing was coming fast and shallow. Her eyes shone as tears began to leak out.

"Close your eyes," Ruby told her. "Breathe."

Connie did. She breathed deeply, in through her nose and out through her mouth. She let go of the napkin, letting her hands fall to rest in her lap.

"Everything's okay," Ruby told her, voice soothing.

"It's not," Connie said. There was a sharp note to her voice, but already it was calmer than it had been moments before. She opened her eyes again to look at Ruby, and the tears had receded. "It's not. I think Steven's really upset with me."

"Why do you think that?"

Connie looked exasperated. "Why wouldn't I? He's been nervous all day, he wasn't at all interested in ordering, and he's just gone to hang out with Lapis and Peridot!"

"They're his friends. He was worried about them."

"Or maybe he just needed to get away from me!" Connie took another deep breath, and forced herself to speak more quietly. "Maybe we're moving too fast. We never should've gone on this date. I mean, I don't even remember why we agreed to it…"

Ruby crossed her arms. "How do you even know that you're the problem here?"

"I... don't know. It just feels like it."

For a moment, Ruby didn't know what to say. She wasn't good with words. When she had feelings, any attempts to explain them always felt like a jumble, somehow making them even more confusing.

But maybe that was the key.

"I… I get it," she began. "When I had first started dating Sapphire and Garnet... whenever things started going wrong, it always felt like– like I was the problem. They're both so calm and thoughtful and pretty, and I was... just a ruby."

"You're not just a ruby!" Connie exclaimed.

Ruby smiled at the defense. "Yeah, I know that now. But it was hard. So whenever something went wrong, I figured I was the problem. But Sapphire— and Steven too— they have their own issues, separate from us. We can't see what they are unless we ask."

"I—" Connie began. Then she nodded. "Okay... Okay."

Perhaps there was something else she could have said, some other advice she could have given— but just then, Ruby felt something tugging at the back of her awareness. She glanced up to see Steven rising from Peridot and Lapis's table.

Time to go. Ruby pushed away from the table, giving Connie one last warm, reassuring smile. Connie responded with a trembling one of her own.

Ruby retreated to her original table, thankful that no one had come and taken it. But then, she'd left her drink there. Ruby took a long sip from it, mostly as an excuse to seem busy while Steven came to rejoin Connie on her date. The smoothie really was delicious. She should make a more regular habit of drinking things.

A warm hand pressed down on her hand. Ruby looked up and wasn't at all surprised to see Garnet, who'd come to join her. Clearly whatever had been going on with Peridot and Lapis had been sorted out.

Everything was being sorted out. Connie had offered a pale-faced Steven a water bottle from her bag, and the two of them seemed to be in the process of talking through whatever was bothering him. On the other side of the cafe, Sapphire had been successful in wrangling Amethyst, and the two of them were sitting at Pearl's table. Sure, Pearl kept poking despondently at her laptop, and yeah, Amethyst was half-hiding behind her hair, but at least they were talking again.

A soft, pink warmth filled Ruby up. Everything is fine.

"That went well," Ruby said.

"Hmmm," Garnet said, frowning. She radiated uncertainty.

Even though she'd been doing her best not to eavesdrop, Ruby felt her attention dragged back towards Steven and Connie.

"... sorry, Connie," Steven was saying. "I didn't mean to bail on you. It's just—"

"Just what?" asked Connie. "Steven, if something's wrong, I want you to tell me. Even if that something is– is me."

"No! No, it's not you, it's… It's..." Steven ran a hand through his hair. "This is going to sound crazy, Connie. But we— me, Peridot, and Lapis— we think something really weird is going on."

Connie's concern deepened. "Weird… Weird how?"

"Like super bad weird."

Next to Ruby, Garnet flinched, clutching her temples.

Ruby was with her in an instant. "What's wrong?"

"Just the headache," Garnet said, through clenched teeth. "It's fine."

But it wasn't fine.

Steven was still talking, faster and faster now, sounding panicked. "—and we don't know what to do! We're forgetting stuff, and remembering other things that don't make sense! Connie, I'm really, really scared, I think something's messing with my head—"

Ruby tried to focus, but it was hard. She felt so hot. So hot, and also cold, and fizzy and electric, and there was a shooting pain in her third eye—

Her third eye?

Ruby was shaking.

But there was Connie's voice, calm and steadying. "It's okay," she was saying. "It's alright."

Ruby felt Garnet's hand clasp around her own.

"I think you're right," Connie said. She had gotten up and was standing with Steven, wrapping her arm around his shoulder. "Something's… something's wrong here. I don't know what, either. But I promise: we'll figure it out. Together."