As always, it was a bright, sunny and warm day in Beach City. The sky a brilliant streak of unbroken blue, accompanied by occasional drifting cloud and the yellow sun hanging just below its highest point. Everything was set at just the right degree; the temperature, the humidity in the air, the breeze of the wind. It was a beautifully perfect day
Partaking in this perfect day was Steven Universe and his best friend Connie, the two of them strolling briskly down the vacant sidewalk, enjoying the fresh air, sunshine and best of all, each other's company. Unfortunately, one of those was things was about to be cut short.
"I'm sorry I don't enough time to hang out today Steven" Connie said, with an apologetic look. A large duffle bag was hanging over her left shoulder. She herself would much love to spend more time with Steven, but she knew she had her own obligations that had to come first. "I gotta get to my tennis practice soon. Then my Mom wants us to go for a family dinner."
"It's ok" Steven said, trying not to sound upset at the expense of Connie's feelings, but he couldn't help but leave a small twinge of disappointment in his voice. They stopped at edge of the sidewalk beside a nearby bus bench. He heaved himself up onto the bench, avoiding Connie's gaze. "I'm sure I can find something else to do"
"The Gems don't have any missions today?" Connie asked, knowing just how much Steven enjoyed going out on one of their Gem-escapades, as he never missed an opportunity to tell her about every single one of them in detail after he came back.
"No, not today" Steven sighed, laying down on the bench, his hands flat on his belly as he stared up to the blue sky. "None of Peridot's flask robots have found anything weird that we should go and investigate. That's why I thought maybe we could spend the day together, but I guess not"
There was no accusation in Steven's voice, but Connie nonetheless lowered her head, as she couldn't help but feel a little guilty for being too busy to spend time with Steven when his own schedule was wide open. But then another thought quickly popped into her head to cheer her up.
"Well hey, don't worry" Connie said, putting on a happy smile. "School's going to be over soon and then it'll be summer vacation. We'll have lots to spend together then"
Steven sat upright on the bench, looking interested, rubbing his chin in an expressively pompous and intellectual manner.
"I've never been to this, how you say, schooool?" he said, pronouncing the last word with a prolonged drawl, like a visiting dignitary from some foreign country adapting to a new vocabulary. "How does it work?"
"It's where you go to learn" Connie said. "It's got books and maps, and desks and chalkboards, and lockers and-"
"Hmm-mmm" Steven said, his eyes closed, nodding pensively at Connie's every word as she listed off all the school related paraphernalia she could think of. Once she had finished, Steven stood up on top of the bench, placing his fists on his hips.
"Okay, I think I have everything I need to know" he said, feeling revitalised and exuberant. "It's time for me to create my very own school!"
Steven hopped off the bus bench, with a renewed sense of determination for the rest of the day ahead of him, but before he could make it even five feet down the street, Connie cleared her throat loud enough to get his attention, forcing him to stop and turn back to face her as she was giving him a stern, yet amused expression.
"Steven, follow-up questions?" she said, coyly raising one eyebrow at him.
"Oh, right" he said, blushing in embarrassment, making Connie giggle at him. "So, what do you do with that stuff you mentioned?"
"Well, we use to them learn about things" Connie continued. "Like say, a teacher might write something on the chalkboard and we'd write it down in our notebooks. Or they might ask us to read out of one of our books. And then we put our books in our lockers, and then we go to the lunchroom and have something to eat, then go back to class and then at the end of the day, the bell rings, meaning that we can all go home on the bus"
"Wow, that's what school is like?" Steven said in awe. "It all sounds so interesting. Why haven't I been doing that all this time? How could I have missed out something so entertaining and meaningful!"
Steven fell to his knees and threw his airs up in the air, lamenting towards the sky. "I've wasted my entire childhood!"
Connie giggled again at Steven's reaction, particularly at the use of the word entertaining, which wouldn't typically be the first adjective she would use to describe school.
"Well, I'm sure it's not a big deal for you" she said. "You wouldn't really have time for regular school, since you're too busy doing Gem stuff. So, does that mean you were home schooled then?"
"What is this, how you say, home schooled?" Steven said, repeating his earlier expression and drawl.
"It's like regular school, except that you do it at home" Connie replied. She looked at him curiously. "Hasn't anybody ever taught you things before?"
"Well, you teach me new stuff all the time" Steven said with earnest, not noticing the sudden flushing in Connie's cheeks. "And Dad always been teaching things since as long as I can remember. Like how to read, how to write, how to count, how to play the guitar, how to apply fresh coats of wax. Plus, the Gems teach me all about the magic stuff we do. And I get see all sorts of weird and amazing new places whenever I go missions with them".
While Steven spoke with great enthusiasm, his statement didn't come off as a boast or gloat, as he himself was far too humble for that. Nevertheless, Connie was now staring at him with something that might have resembled envy or longing.
"Yeah, that does great" she said quietly, wistfully while gazing up at a nearby set of clouds. After a moment she spoke again. "I guess school is just something for regular kids like me to do. Kids without magic powers who go on amazing adventures. Really, it's mostly something to help us get jobs and plan ahead for our futures"
"Futures?" Steven said.
"Yeah, what they want to do with their lives when they grow up" Connie said. "Like my Mom. She started studying to be a doctor when she was my age. It took a lot of time and effort for to get to where she is now, so she had to be sure to plan out her career path"
"Whoa. She thought all way ahead?" Steven said, amazed.
Connie nodded. "And my Dad had to work hard to be a private security guard too. Well actually, I think he might have just taken an online class"
"What are you gonna be when you grow up?" Steven asked, very eager to hear to her answer.
"Hmm" Connie paused, as she considered this. She glanced down at her green duffel bag and opened it, pulling out her tennis racket. She turned the racket over in her hands a few times, as though it held some intrinsic value that she was trying to decipher.
Then in a sudden flash of motion, Connie jumped up into the air and landed with her with her feet spread out, thrusting her tennis racket out in striking pose.
"Professional sword fighter! He-yaa!" she cried, performing a series of practice swings with her racket, slicing it through the air, cutting down some invisible foes standing before her. The bookworm Connie had vanished and in her place was a seasoned warrior on the battlefield, relentless and determined. She continued to swing her razor-sharp blade with such intensity and clinical precision, that she was actually starting to frighten Steven a little.
After bringing her racket down for one mighty vertical slash, Connie then thrust the tip of her racket at Steven, pressing it right up to his throat.
"Ahh! Mercy, mercy!" Steven cried fearfully, throwing his hands in the air. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was trying to convince himself that the tennis racket was not a real sword.
Connie held Steven in place with the tip of her racket for a few moments, until her cold and merciless expression broke into a fit of innocent laughter. She pulled the racket away from Steven's neck, making him breathe a sigh of relief, consciously rubbing the spot under his chin where the racket had brushed against. Her moment of fantasy now over, Connie return to her normal posture, feeling a little embarrassed, the blade in her hand transforming back into a harmless racket.
"The truth is, I don't really know yet what I'm going to do" she said, getting back to their previous topic while placing her racket back inside her duffel bag. "I've still got a lot of time to figure things out. Except-". Connie trailed off, her optimistic smile turning to a frown, as an unpleasant thought suddenly crossed her mind.
"Except what?" Steven asked.
Connie sighed and crossed her arms, staring down at the pavement with a slightly frustrated expression. Steven noted this with a hint of concern and curiosity.
"Nothing" she said finally. "It's just, well, it's just my Mom". She sounded rather guilty. Steven blinked at her in surprise. "She's been pressuring me a lot lately about putting some more serious thought into my career path".
Connie groaned wearily. "Sometimes, it's like she expects me to know everything that I'm going to do in the next ten years, every ten minutes."
"Why does she want you to do that?" Steven asked, his curiosity rising.
"She always wants me to be thinking about my future" Connie said. "Always wants me to be prepared and have some kind of plan in place to fall back in case anything goes wrong. That's why she and my Dad try to plan out everything I do all the time. All my classes, my homework, all my extra curriculars. They want to be sure I can get all the best opportunities possible, making sure I have all the right advantages for my future career. I have to know what I'm going to be doing every day before my day even starts. It gets really exhausting"
Connie didn't notice it, but Steven was staring at her in a kind of awe, hanging on every word she was saying.
"You know everything that you're going to do every day?" he said, hardly able to control his sense of disbelief at such a concept.
Seeing the look on his face, Connie reached into her duffel bag again and pulled out a folded-up notebook. She opened the middle of the notebook, to reveal a detail calendar, coloured-coded with numerous activities and times.
"See, this is my schedule" she explained, handing Steven the calendar. "It's got all of my activities for each day which get planned out a week in advance. What they are, how long they'll be, what comes next…"
Steven only barely seemed to be listening to Connie as she explained the machinations of her schedule. He was staring at the differently coloured square boxes that covered the entire page, as though he was admiring a piece of priceless artwork, marvelling at the efficiently of how Connie could organise her daily routines.
"Even today I knew I only had a little while to talk to you before I-oh no!" Connie abruptly snatched the calendar out of Steven's hand and examined it again, before tossing back into her duffel bag, which she then hurriedly threw over her shoulder.
"I gotta go, or I'll be late for my tennis practice" she said, only now realising that she had lost track of time, already heading over to the side of the street, while waving to goodbye to Steven as she left. "Bye, Steven! I'll see you later"
Steven stood on his end of the street, waving his hand idly in response, watching Connie as she sprinted down the pavement and out of sight.
With literally nothing else planned for his day, Steven simply went by his natural instinct and headed toward familiarly territory, in this case the Big Donut. He hoped the prospect of a good donut would clear his head, but he couldn't get the conversation with Connie out of his head.
He had never devoted much time to thinking about his own future before, about would come of him the next day. He had never thought about what any day might bring for him, but to see Connie play every day in rigid detail made him feel a little envious. He now wished he could plan out his own life as effectively as she could. Steven had always been the kind of person who lived in the moment, but now that he was thinking about the future, he found he could not stop thinking about the future and was barely able to remember the present anymore.
The store bell chimed loudly, signalling Steven's arrival as he entered the Big Donut, not Lars or Sadie needed to hear it, as they knew he'd be here by this time of day. Still pensive, Steven walked up toward the counter, where Lars was sitting on a seat behind it reading a magazine, while Sadie was busy restocking some of the shelves.
"Two usual, please" Steven said. Lars made no move to get up and although he didn't say anything, Sadie was already preparing Steven's order for him. As he waited, Steven leaned his arm down on the counter top and stared up to the celling, before speaking again.
"Lars, where do you see yourself in the next ten years?"
"Pff, me?" Lars said, looking up from his magazine, with a smug grin on his face. "Tell you where I'm gonna be; I'll be cruising across country, in my own sweet, hot ride, with my own rad posse of the coolest people you'd ever meet, going wherever we want, doing whatever we want, not letting nobody and nothing to tell us what to do. Plus, I'll have a hot and righteous babe right beside me"
Sadie, who was in the middle of moving a tray of fresh donuts, snorted loudly in amusement. "Oh yeah, Lars" she said, with deep sarcasm. "And a year from now I'm gonna be a pop star with my own band and everything"
Steven gasped in shock, his hands gripping the edge of the counter. "Sadie, you can sing!?" he exclaimed, his eyes lighting up as he stared at her.
"What?" she said in surprise, blushing suddenly. "No, Steven that was a joke. I honestly don't know where I'll be in the future. For all I know, I could still be here. I mean this was supposed to be just a summer job and that was three summers ago"
"Ah, who cares about the future away" Lars said dismissively, flicking through his magazine once again, returning to his previous dull expression. "Everybody always tells you to think about your future, put a little effort in, make some plans, but by the time the future actually gets here, it's just gonna be the same old lame present. So, why bother?"
"Oh, come on" Sadie said, with an encouraging smile. "There's nothing wrong with making plans for the future. Like, where you'd like to go, or places you liked to see or people you'd want to meet. Maybe if you just took the time to really talk about it. You never know what could happen".
Sadie finished as she picked up a bag of donuts meant for Steven. She was looking at Lars, with an almost hopeful expression, but whatever she had been expecting did not come to pass, as Lars appeared just as disinterested as ever.
"What's gonna happen," he said with distain. "Is that we're both going to be serving donuts until we're a hundred years old geezer without our teeth, and Steven's going to keep coming here every day and stuff his face with them"
Sadie scowled and glared at Lars with disappointment, but not much surprise. Steven on the other hand, seemed to be greatly affected by Lars' blunt statement.
"You really think I'll be coming here for the rest of my life?" Steven said, sounding fearful. "Is eating delicious donuts the sum total of my ambitions in this world?"
"Could have fooled me" Lars muttered dryly, going back to his magazine.
"Oh no, this is terrible!" Steven said, clutching his curly black hair as he slowly became overwhelmed with despair and panic, beginning to pace up and down the counter. "I've never made any plans for my future! I should have been thinking ahead this whole time. But I never thought about it before until now, and now that I am thinking about, all I can think about is how I never thought about it before now! What's going to happen to me?! What am I going to do?! I don't even have a schedule!"
Steven slammed his face down on the counter, covering his head with his arms. One the other side of the counter, Lars gave another flip of his magazine, not so much as passing a glance at Steven, while Sadie was looking at him with more concern.
"Hey, Steven come on" she said, putting a consoling hand on his arm. "You don't think maybe, you're over reacting. A little more so than usual?"
"You're the lucky one, Sadie" Steven said, looking up at her. "You and Lars are gonna get married one day, but what does the future hold for little wayward Steven?"
"For the last time, we are not getting married!" Lars snapped indignantly, almost ripping his magazine up in frustration. Beside him, Sadie blushed again and averted her eyes up to a corner of the celling. Before anyone could respond to his comment, Lars brusquely snatched the bag of donuts out of Sadie's hand, much to her growing chagrin, and tossed them on the counter.
"Here," he said impatiently to Steven. "Just take your donuts and go complain someplace else"
Unperturbed by Lars hostile tone, Steven placed his money on the counter stop and took the bag of donuts. Just as they finished this transaction, doorbell jingled once again as another customer entered into the shop.
"Uh, Lars did you turn down the AC again?" Sadie moaned, letting out a slight shiver, rubbing her left arm. "It's freezing in here"
"I didn't touch it" Lars said defensively.
"Well it can't be broken again, we just got it fixed" Sadie shot back at him.
"Why do you always blame me for when stuff happens?"
"Because you're literally the only other one here!"
Not wanting to intrude on one of Lars and Sadie's tender moments, Steven turned away from the counter and headed for the door, pulling out one of the donuts from his bag and placing half of it in his mouth, trying to take his mind over his current predicament. He also couldn't help but note the slight drop in room temperature.
He had just made it to the door of the shop and was about to push it open, but then paused, catching something out of the corner of his eye, that made him look back over his shoulder.
Sitting alone at one of the tables near the coffee machine was a young girl, who appeared to be about Steven's age. She wore a blue dress and skirt, with long white socks and black shoes, a small, black beret sitting on top of her head; the formal attire of privileged and well-mannered schoolgirl attending a fancy prep school of some kind. Her hair was a light colour of whitish blue and hung down her back, while the front side of her face was covered by a small puff of low hanging bangs, that masked her eyes. She was sitting perfectly still on her seat, her hands neatly folded on her lap, looking dignified and serene, like she was posing for a portrait.
Taking in all these details, what really caught Steven's attention about this girl was the fact that her skin was literally blue. This was something Steven couldn't help but note as a bit odd, seeing as how he had only ever seen one other person with blue skin before. Well, not counting that one time he found his Dad choking on a hotdog.
Curious about this strange and surprising newcomer to the Big Donut, Steven walked away from the door and gingerly approached the table where the girl was sitting. If there was one thing Steven liked doing, it was meeting new people.
"Hi there" Steven greeted the girl in his usual, friendly manner. "I'm Steven"
"Hello, Steven" the girl greeted back to him, without turning to look at him; her voice was very courteous, yet at the same time, extremely flat sounding, giving away virtually no emotion.
"Are you trying to figure out what donut you want to buy?" Steven asked casually, taking a seat opposite the girl, now taking up her field of vision.
"I will be having the strawberry one" the girl answered.
"Really?" Steven said, in surprise. "I always get the strawberry one. Here, you can have my extra"
Without a moment's thought, Steven pulled out the extra donut from his own bag and placed it on the table in front of the girl, graciously offering to let her take it. He took another bite out of his own donut, while looking expectedly at the blue skinned girl, who made no move to take the donut sitting in front of her. Instead she remained as she was, keeping hands folded on her lap. She stared back in silence at Steven as he chewed nosily at his donut, her face expressionless, without so much a twinge of muscle, her eyes still hidden behind her bangs of hair. Steven swallowed and the shivered, as he felt another uncommon chill pass through the atmosphere.
"I haven't seen you here before" he said, making another friendly attempt at conversation. "Are you new in town?"
"Yes, I am" the girl replied. "I have travelled a very, very long way to be here at this exact place, this exact building, sitting in this exact chair at this exact moment in time. This is a very special place"
"Whoa, I had no idea the Big Donut was so famous" Steven said, in amazement. "I come here every day at this exact moment. But I always think of it as special"
"The winds of fate rarely impose their significance on those it traps within its pitiless, endless torrents" the girl said, somewhat coldly. "Neither enlightened nor ignorant, powerful or helpless can ever hope to grasp the infinite and encompassing void of potentiality".
"Are you ok?" Steven asked, starting to grow a little bit concerned for the girl's wellbeing. "You haven't touched your donut yet. Also, you seem a little ….blue?" He hoped he wasn't coming off as being rude.
"I was never going to eat that" the girl said, raising her left palm and gesturing at the donut.
"But I thought you said you wanted the strawberry one?" Steven said.
"No, I said I would be having that one" the girl corrected.
"Do you not like having your donut and eating it?" Steven asked.
"Whether or not I wanted this donut was of no consequence to the act of me receiving the donut" she said, both cryptic and frank. "It came to pass, just as it was meant to and just as I saw that it would. Such is fate"
Steven pursed his lips together, his eyes darting back and forth; he was beginning to feel the same uneasiness he felt whenever he was with Onion. He opened his mouth to say something but paused when he noticed that he could see his own breath.
"Brr, is it cold in here or what?" he said, half-jokingly. "Do you want maybe go outside or-?"
"We must continue sitting here" the girl said, with a small note of insistence in her voice; the first real sign of energy the girl had displayed.
"Are you sure?" Steven asked. "I just thought it might warmer outside and -".
Steven was cut off as the girl continued to speak, talking as though she had not been interrupted.
"In a few moments, Lars is going to say something regrettable to Sadie, who will respond by shoving him off the counter. In his panic to escape Sadie's wrath, Lars will trip over the misplaced wash bucket that he forgot to put away, which will then roll into the nearby coffee machine that is situated directly behind us, hitting it with enough force to launch the freshly made pot of coffee upwards to the air, where it will rain down upon the two of us, drenching us both"
Steven blinked twice in a row, hanging on every word the girl had just said. He wasn't sure which part to address first, but that last line about getting drenched in hot coffee seemed to be a cause for concern. He was about to follow up with another question, when…
"LARS, YOU MORON!"
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that!
With a loud grunt Sadie shoved Lars, knocking his skinny figure over the counter top with absolute ease. Lars quickly scramble to his feet again as Sadie came out from behind the stall, looking ready to strangle him.
Just as Lars tried to retreat from Sadie, the back of his legs bumped into the wash bucket that was sitting in the middle of the floor, making him tumble over again, while the bucket was sent spiralling in the direction of the coffee machine, crashing into it with a loud bang. The resulting collusion knocked the machine over and hurled the pot of coffee that was resting inside of the machine up into the air, where its contents emptied directly over Steven and the unnamed girl.
Too panicked to duck out of the way, Steven let out a yell and instinctively threw his hands up in the air, despite knowing they would do little to shield him from the spray of scalding hot coffee as it made contact with his body in one huge splash. Steven flinched, expecting the intense heat to burn across his skin, but opened his eyes in surprise when he realised the coffee had not burned him in the slightest. Quite the opposite actually; it was ice cold.
"Huh?" Steven stared at his coffee-soaked hands, trying to piece together what just happened. He looked up at the blue skinned girl, who like himself was now soaked in coffee, yet had remained perfectly still throughout the entire event without so much as a flinch, looking just as expressionless as she did before. Steven was about to her ask if she was alright, but before he had the chance, the girl stepped off her seat and calmly walked toward the door, exiting the Big Donut.
Steven watched in silenced as the girl left the shop, so stunned by what had just happened that he didn't even notice Lars desperate pleas for help after Sadie had finally caught hold of him and placed him an intense headlock.
Without wasting another moment, Steven quickly got out of his seat and bolted out the door, hoping to catch the mysterious girl before she disappeared. To his relief, he saw that she hadn't gone far yet, spotting her as she was walking down the boardwalk.
"Hey, wait a minute!" Steven called out to her, panting as he ran up alongside her. "How did you know all that was gonna happen back there?"
"The same way I know that when I don't answer your first question, it will merely peak your interest in me" the girl replied, not breaking the pace in her stride.
"So, does that mean you're not going to tell me?" Steven asked slowly. His interest had peaked.
"Not yet" she said, patiently.
Steven remained silent for a moment. "How about now?"
"Not yet"
"Nowwww?"
"Not yet"
"Well, when exactly would you tell me?" Steven moaned, rubbing his arms, his impatience being made worse by the fact it the air outside was a lot colder than he remembered.
"It will be sometime between the setting of the sun and when Mayor Dewey almost hits us with his van" the girl said, just as she rounded the nearest corner that was ahead of them.
"Mayor Dewey?" Steven said, smiling in disbelief, coming around the corner after the girl. "He can't hit us here. This is the broad walk and-ahh!"
Steven was cut off the as he came face to face with a van speeding down the boardwalk towards them, a klaxon blaring the words 'Mayor Dewey', over and over again mounted on its roof. Luckily, the van came to a halt just before hitting Steven and the blue-skinned girl, who once again, didn't show any kind of reaction to this sudden surprise.
Once the van had stopped, Mayor Dewey's head and torso popped out of the passenger window, dressed in usual baggy clothes, a megaphone in one hand and looking rather displeased.
"Hey, carwash kid, what are you doing?!" he said, speaking into his megaphone.
"I don't know" Steven admitted, still a bit frazzled by the near collision "Why are you driving down the boardwalk?"
"I'm the Mayor, I'm not going to walk anywhere" Mayor Dewey replied as though he was stating the obvious.
"Then how come you're in such a hurry?" Steven asked.
"He's late for his speech" the girl answered, much to Steven's surprise.
"I'm late for a speech" Mayor Dewey said, apparently not hearing the girl's statement, his megaphone-enhanced voice drowning hers out. "Now go get run over somewhere else with your weird girlfriend"
The van manoeuvred around Steven and the girl, driving another few meters down the boardwalk before turning into the beach, parking in middle of the sand.
"I wonder how Mayor Dewey's speech is going to go?" Steven asked, watching as a small crowd was beginning to gather around the van.
"It will go rather poorly for him but will also be very entertaining for everyone else, thanks to you Steven" the girl said, yet again answering with more insight than one might expect.
"Really? What did I do?" Steven only barely finished his question when he realised the girl had already left him yet again, walking out onto the sand to join the small crowd assembling around Mayor Dewey's fan. Steven followed after her and stood beside her at the back of the crowd. He glanced at her hesitantly, unsure if he should her something or wait for her to speak first. For now, she attention was on Mayor Dewey as he climbed, or rather attempted to climb up on top of his van.
"So, uh, what's going to happen?" Steven asked her cautiously. He felt himself give another shiver. He couldn't understand how the day could be so sunny, yet so cold.
"You put your hand to mouth, inhale some oxygen and then exhale into your palm" the girl answered.
"Why would I do that?" Steven asked, starring at his hand in confusion.
"Because it's going to seem appropriate" she replied.
Still uncertain, Steven turned his attention back to Mayor Dewey, who was now standing on top of the van as he delivered his speech to the crowd.
"Hello, Beach City, my friends!" he said amicably into his megaphone. "It's great to be here to celebrate the coming season. A warm summer breeze wafts through the air"
And there it was. The appropriate moment. Smiling in excitement, Steven put his hand over his mouth and blew as hard as he could.
"PBHT!"
A slight murmur of laughter briefly ripped throughout the crowd, but Mayor Dewey continued on with his speech as if he didn't even notice.
"We all look forward to the sounds of the summer season".
PBHT!
"The smells of the busy boardwalk."
PBHT!
"The hot, wet ocean wind."
PBHT!
"The time to take that pressure that's built up all year and just let it out. "
PBHT!
By this point, the crowd was now bursting with laughter. Mayor Dewey finally stopped talking when the crowd's laughter became loud enough for him to notice and began glowering at them indignantly.
Steven finally stopped in his antics as he too became overwhelmed with laughter to continue. After a while, he re-composed himself again and tuned to the blue-skinned girl, who was the only one in the crowd not laughing. "Oh, man. You can get so much mileage with that joke!"
"Yes, it certainly will be used many, many more times to come" she said, nodding knowingly.
Stifling another chuckle, Steven now stared at the unnamed girl with a sudden sense of anticipation, feeling himself grow more and more excited with every exchange they had.
"Can you tell me what's going to happen next?" he asked. He still had no idea what was actually happening, but right now he didn't really care. He just knew he wanted to hear the girl's answer, even without an explanation.
"You are about to remember something you forgot to ask me" the girl replied.
Steven paused as he considered what he might have forgotten when the answer came to him.
"Oh, that's right. I forgot to ask what your name is" he said, suddenly feeling like a fool. "What is it?"
The girl turned her head in Steven's direction.
"Sapphire" she answered, with the same flat, emotionless voice. "My name is Sapphire"
"Okay. Sapphire" Steven said, nodding his head. "So, what happens after I ask you for name, Sapphire?"
"First, we go to the arcade, where you will play Skee ball, Road Killers, Whacker Man Jr., until you eventually lose all your money trying to beat the high score on Meat Beat Mania.
"Then what happens after that?!" Steven asked, going bright eyed with excitement.
"Then we will go play miniature golf. Then after that we will go bird watching, but we'll run into some trouble involving bird seed. Then we will make seashell necklaces together, followed by a quick workout on the beach. Then we go kite flying for a while, then we re-tile a roof, then we will go to see a baseball game, and afterwards, you will suggest we get Fry-bites, which will lead to a hilarious, yet extremely unsatisfying adventure with someone named Ronaldo. And then, finally, we come back here to this spot on the beach, just in time to enjoy the sunset"
Steven lower lip was quivering as he formed a wide smile, looking as though he was ready to weep with joy after hearing what he was sure would be the best day ever.
"This was the best day ever!" Steven declared, some hours later, returning to same location on the beach with Sapphire by his side, who had remained with him throughout the entire day. "I got to do so much cool stuff and it all turned out exactly the way you said it would, Sapphire. And you were right. We are just in time to see the sunset"
Steven laid down on his stomach, placing his hands on his cheeks and began kicking his feet in the air behind him, relaxing, taking the time to appreciate the sunset. No matter how many times he saw, it was always a sight to behold.
"Isn't great?" he said, in wonder.
Sapphire stood behind Steven, staring at the sunset and for the first time throughout the entire day, a faint hint of a smile crossed her face.
"Yes," she said softly. "The sunsets were always beautiful here"
"I've never had a day like today before" Steven said joyously, rolling over onto his back, still feeling giddy as he recalled the day's events, but what made them better was the fact that he knew everything that he would be doing, Sapphire providing him with a perfect play-by-play of what was set to happen.
"I knew every single thing that I was going to do before I even did it, right down to the smallest detail. Wait a second" Steven bolted upright again and turned to Sapphire with anticipation. "It's sunset now. Is this part where you tell me how you know all these things?"
Sapphire let small, girlish sounding murmur that might have been close to a genuine laugh. "Haven't you already guessed?" she asked, looking down at him with a slight smile.
"Uhhhh…." Steven scratched his head as he fumbled at putting together an answer.
Sapphire smile quickly turned back to a frown, returning to her detached demeanour. "I knew you wouldn't answer that question, but I also knew I was going to ask you". Sapphire then kneeled down on the sand opposite Steven, locking eyes with him, or rather his eyes locking onto Sapphire's puff of white hair which covered her eyes and upper half of her face.
"Steven, I possess a rare give of foresight" she said. "Unlike yourself, who only sees events as they occur, I see events before they are set to occur. I can see the path of fate as it stretches toward the horizon. I can see the future"
Steven moaned in frustration. "Darn it, that was my first guess. Should have gone with my instincts. So that explains how you knew that stuff that was going to happen. That's so cool! But then again-".
Steven abruptly got to his feet and turned his back to Sapphire. He glanced at her from over his shoulder, eyeing her with a sudden suspicion. "It does seem really convenient. Perhaps too convenient, one might say".
Steven drew closer to Sapphire, giving her an inquisitive look, in a very comical attempt to intimidate her, which was obviously was not working as Sapphire appeared just as unfazed as ever.
"How do I know you can really see the future?" he said, trying to cast as much doubt as he could muster into his voice. "This could all be some kind of elaborate hoax. Like crop circles or magician hats!"
"I did foresee that you would express scepticism of my ability," Sapphire said calmly, getting to her feet as well. "But I also saw that your suspicions will be quelled once I ask you a simple question"
"Oh, really?" Steven said, soundly royally unconvinced. "And what is that?" He crossed his arms in a show of defiance, refusing to allow himself to be swayed by anything Sapphire might say.
Sapphire looked directly at Steven with her blank stare and held his gaze with an unwavering expression. "Do I look like a liar?"
Steven's tough guy façade held up for about one second, before he slouched his shoulders forward in defeat with a heavy groan.
"No" he admitted, almost shamefully. "I think… you'd only say stuff that you'd really mean". It was true. Of all the impressions he gotten from Sapphire since they had met at the Big Donut today, one thing was clear to him; she was very candid.
"Don't worry" Sapphire said, as Steven hung his head down low. "You'll be happy in a moment, because now you believe me"
"Hey, you're right. I do!" Steven said, his mood brightening up again. "This is so great. I don't have to worry about anything ever again! You can just tell me what's going to happen. Like right now, what's going to happen next?"
Steven grabbed Sapphire by her shoulders, practically shaking her, itching with excitement to hear what she would tell him next, his mind racing at the all the possibilities that she could tell him.
However, Sapphire's face suddenly darkened, displaying an emotion with a powerful semblance to anger; the temperature in the air around them went from chilled to freezing. "You're going suggest something horrible"
"What?" Steven said, surprised by her reaction and the sudden cold snap which seemed to have been following them around all day. "No, I wasn't. I was actually just thinking that I'd take you to meet my friends, the Crystal Gems. There's Peridot, Lapis and Jasper. Come on, you'll love them"
With a happy smile, Steven took Sapphire by the hand and began to lead her toward the direction of the Temple, eager to introduce her the Crystal Gems, but after taking only a few steps forward, Steven felt an almighty force pull his arm in the opposite direction and his whole body was suddenly being dragged backwards against his will, as though a giant anchor had been attached to his hand.
The surrounding beach and boardwalk became nothing but a series blurs that zoomed past him, as Steven continue hurtling backwards, the wind whipping past his ears, his feet and legs flapping in the air, not even touching the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, Steven could see Sapphire in front of him, still holding onto his hand, and running at an impossible speed, her feet kicking off the ground ten times a second.
Just when Steven thought he might throw up from the velocity, everything came to an abrupt halt. Steven felt his feet touch solid ground again, though he wasn't exactly sure if it was solid as everything around him kept spinning. Once his vision began to settle, Steven recognised his surroundings as the old abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town. Sapphire was standing next to him, still holding onto his hand.
"Wow, you're really fast" Steven said, shaking his head in an effort to steady himself. He was about to let go of Sapphire's hand, but then noticed something strange. He could feel an oddly shaped bump in the middle of her palm. Still holding her hand in his own, Steven turned over her palm and gasped when saw something he was definitely not expecting; a blue-coloured gemstone, embedded into Sapphire's skin.
"Wha-?" he said, thrown for a loop. He glanced back and forth between Sapphire and the gemstone in her hand. "You, you're a Gem?"
"Yes, I am" she answered,
"Oh, whoa" Steven said, now looking at Sapphire in an entirely different perspective; one that now made far more sense. "I've never met any Gem except for the Crystal Gems before. I didn't even know there were other Gems around. But, wait, where did you-"
"That's not important" Sapphire said, very abruptly. "Steven, you must listen to me, because I saw that you wouldn't interrupt once I started talking"
Steven suddenly clapped his hand over his mouth, almost involuntary.
"It is true I am a Gem. I can't tell you how I came to be here, I will tell you why. You see Steven, my powers of foresight are finite. I see only through a tiny key hole. But there is a way to widen this key hole. To let me see the paths ahead to a new future. And it is by your hands, that this will come to happen"
"My hands?" Steven said, glancing down at his open palms. Sapphire nodded impassively.
"Inside your home, there is a door, that leads to room where thousands of Gems are kept inside bubbles. Of all those thousands of Gems, there is one that is unlike any other. A single, bright ruby. That is the Gem you shall bring to me. Once I have this Gem in my possession, my powers will reach beyond their limits and I will see through the myriad of endless possibilities, to see fates that I could see before."
"Uh, ok" Steven said nervously. "I can just go ask the Crystals Gems and see if-"
"No! You can't!" Sapphire snapped, grabbing Steven by his arms. "You-!" Sapphire cut herself off, her voice almost becoming shrill sounding.
Steven was surprised by her outburst, unsure of what he had said to set Sapphire off like this. Not to mention the fact he had not once seen her get this emotional over anything throughout the entire day. Steven felt another sharp dip in the temperature around them. He also felt the touch of her hands on his arms become so cold they were actually starting to sting him. But after a moment, the freezing touch of her hands seemed to lessen before she released Steven and folded her hands down at her waist.
"You are not supposed to ask them" Sapphire said, calmly, re-composing herself. "Because that is not the future I saw. In the future I saw, you will sneak into the Temple and steal the Gem without them noticing you"
"What?!" Steven exclaimed, shocked by what she was suggesting. "I can't just sneak a Gem out of the Temple. Do you have any idea how mad the Gems will be with me?"
"No, because they won't be mad" Sapphire replied indifferently. "In my vision you enter the temple and will be undiscovered, and I'm going to show exactly how this will happen"
Before Steven could ask her what she meant by this, Sapphire took him by surprise when she put her hand on his shoulders, leaned her body forward and kissed him on his forehead. Then, in an instant, Steven saw a series of images flash through his mind, almost like memories, only these were memories that had yet to happen. He saw them and understood exactly what he had to do.
Once Sapphire detached from him, Steven shook his head, a bit dazed by the strange sensation, but quickly came back to the present moment
"But I can't just go behind their backs like that" Steven said, fearful. "I mean, that's not—I don't think that I should…"
Sapphire quickly grabbed a hold of Steven's hands, gripping them tightly. "Steven, listen to me. I sense that you conflicted. Earlier today, your thoughts were preoccupied on what may come and what may not. The vast magnitude of the unknowable was crushing you to pieces. You have questions and you seek answers? You are afraid because you don't know what tomorrow might bring"
"Y-yeah" Steven whispered softly, captivated by her words.
"Bring me what I need, and you will have your answers" Sapphire said. "We have both been guided here by fate, by laws and mechanism beyond our control or understanding. There's no need to question it"
"But I just don't really feel right about it" Steven said, guiltily. "I'm not really sure if I want to do this"
"Steven, I am here, because I have seen every step that we were meant to take today. From the moment you gave me your donut, to when we watched the sunset together. I have played these events over in my mind a thousand times. This is the path that fate has laid out for us"
Steven still appeared unconvinced, rubbing the back of his neck. Part of him wanted to help Sapphire, mainly out of sheer empathy, but at the same time nothing about this situation felt right to him. She was basically asking to break into the Temple and steal something for her. He couldn't even begin to count the number of rules he'd be breaking. Despite this, he didn't nesscessarily want to deny Sapphire's request either if it meant she could tell more about his future. He wished that the Crystal Gems or his Dad or Connie were here. They'd be able to tell him what to do.
Sapphire was quick to notice Steven's hesitance and choose to capitalise on it
"Do you understand what fate is, Steven?" she asked.
"Not really" he admitted, shaking his head.
"Fate is something that comes to be pass because it's meant to be. It's like…. a promise. A promise that can never be broken, even in a thousand years. The two of us meeting, being here, this was promise we made without even knowing it
"So, the two of us becoming friends was a promise?" Steven said, in wonder, slowly beginning to understand.
"Y-yes" Sapphire said, a bit surprised by his answer, but quickly recovered. "I am asking you to help me keep a promise. It's a promise that was made so long ago and I have wished so, so badly that it would true, that I…I…"
Sapphire voice began to crack, her body now trembling uncontrollably. Steven instinctively reached to touch her shoulder to comfort her but had to pull his hand away when he felt a sudden cold snap on his palm when he touched her. He then looked around the warehouse and to surprise saw that it had actually begun to snow, despite the impossibility of the weather. Steven then looked downward at Sapphire's feet; shards of icicles had begun to form where she was standing.
"Please…". Sapphire clasped her hands together, almost in a pray like fashion. She wasn't asking him anymore. She was begging.
"Please, bring me what I need to become whole again."
Steven stared at Sapphire in surprise. He had known her for less than a day, but this was the most emotiona he had seen her display yet. There was such a desperation in her voice, such vulnerability in her composure. She had acted so detached and controlled at all times, that anyone would assume she didn't care about anything. But right now, Steven could see what she was asking from him, what she wanted him to do for her, it must truly have meant everything to her.
Knowing what he had to do, Steven grabbed hold of Sapphire's hand and squeezed them as tight as he could, making her cease her trembling.
"Okay, I'll help you" Steven said, affirming his resolve. "Because I promise!"
Sapphire stared at Steven, her mouth hanging open; a large tear drop trailed down the middle of her face. She quickly wiped it away and took a breath to steady.
"Thank you, Steven" she said, reserved, yet nonetheless grateful.
Steven let out go of Sapphire's hands and tucked his arms behind his back, averting his eyes from her with a bashful expression.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Well, I was just thinking that, um-". Steven cleared his throat and pulled out his phone, holding up in the air, with a shy smile.
"Before I go, can I take a selfie with you? I mean, I didn't see that happening in the vision you gave me, but I was thinking that, if us becoming friends was supposed to happen, then wouldn't we also take a selfie to commemorate that?"
"Well, uh…." Sapphire paused for a very long moment; for once she seemed to be at a loss for words. Steven stared at her with hopeful eyes, his expression sincere and guileless.
"Y-yes" she finally said, with the first trace of hesitancy in her voice. "Yes. You, uh, you do take a selfie with me. That's…what I saw"
Giggling happily, Steven put his arm around Sapphire's shoulder, pushing his cheek up against hers, putting on huge smile as he held his phone out in front of them, ready to take the picture, but stopped when he noticed that Sapphire wasn't smiling.
Thinking that all she needed was a little nudge, Steven placed the of his finger on her left cheek and lightly pulled it upward, giving Sapphire a lopsided looking smile. But this proved to be enough incentive for Sapphire to pull back her lips and smile for the camera as Steven took their picture.
Not long after leaving Sapphire, Steven had returned home and was now standing outside the front door of the Beach House, staring through the glass panels of the door; from here he could the entrance to the Temple, just behind the Warp Pad. He gulped slightly, mentality preparing himself for what he was about to do, but first the thing he knew was that he had to wait. He remembered the vision that Sapphire gave him. Once he reached the front door, he had to wait before going in.
Just then, Steven heard a loud squawking noise from behind. He turned his head to see a seagull land on the railing of the balcony, briefly peaking at its wing with its beak. That was Steven's cue.
Taking a deep breath, Steven opened the door and took exactly six steps forward, then stopping in the exact centre of the house, the perfect distance between the couch and kitchen counter. Sweat was already forming on his brow, as he repeatedly tried to reassurance himself this would work.
Steven glanced from one side of the room to the other. Lion was taking a nap on the floor, pressed up against the side of the couch, a small book lying opened on the armrest.
Lapis was standing in the kitchen, in front of the cooker, humming a slight tune while in process of making herself a pot of tea. Once the kettle had boiled, she lifted it off the stove and set it down on the kitchen counter next a cup, hardly even noticing Steven as he remained where he was, glued to the one spot. With a casual wave of her finger, Lapis summoned the tea from within the kettle and poured into the cup, while she opened the fridge get a fresh carton of milk.
Steven gulped again. There was no one else in the house, just like it had been in his vision. Now he had to hope everything would pan out as he had seen. He nervously turned his head back to Lion, who was still asleep. Steven was beginning to fear his vision was about to be proven wrong, when to his relief, Lion finally woke from his nap, yawning loudly and stretching himself out on the floor. Steven's eyes snapped onto the book on the armrest of the couch.
Once he was done stretching, Lion lumbered his way around the couch and spotting the book. He sniffed at it curiously before picking it up in his mouth and began to gnaw away at it, apparently mistaking for a chew toy. Steven said nothing and turned back to Lapis in anticipation. She was just about finished preparing her cup of tea when she saw Lion tearing away at the book.
"Lion, no!" she cried angrily. "That's mine! Put it down!"
Lapis leapt over to the other side of the room and grabbed hold of her book, trying to pull the book out of Lion's mouth, but pink mammel wasn't letting it go without a fight.
Steven briefly watched as the two of them began to play tug of war over the book, before turning his attention to Warp Pad and no sooner than had did, it activated, transporting six of Peridot's flask robonoids into the room in a flash of light.
The robonoids scurried off the Warp Pad in a single file, walking toward the Temple door. The green gemstone symbol on the archway lit up and the doorway to Peridot's room materialised.
With Lapis too busy dealing with Lion, she didn't see Steven as he ran up behind the flask robonoids and quickly slipped through the Temple door, seconds before it closed right behind him. With an immense sigh of relief, Steven slummed his back against the now closed doorway.
He turned his head upwards to see the robonoids as they climbed onto a nearby circular platform which rose up towards the celling and into a giant floating sphere, that Steven recognised as Peridot's own private observatory and lab. Not waiting for Peridot to realise he was here, Steven slipped into a nearby crevice which brought him to another passageway leading further into the Temple. He then saw what he was already expecting to see; one of the many vein-like apparatus embedded into the Temple walls that lead down the passageway. Steven didn't have an exact layout of the Temple, but he knew that if he followed the veins, they would eventually lead him to the Burning Room where the bubble Gems were being kept, just like it happened in the vison Sapphire gave him.
Steven knew that the Gems never let him go into the Temple unsupervised and the only other way he could get in was through the door leading into Rose's room, but after the last the catastrophe he had when he went in there, Steven knew it was best not to risk going in again. Even if he had, there was no way to through the Temple door without Lapis seeing him.
So far, everything had gone exactly as Sapphire had shown him. Lapis making tea, Lion eating her book, the robonoids opening the door for him. Having this knowledge beforehand made Steven feel safe. He'd hate to think of what would happen if he tried doing without this kind of inside information. He felt like he was playing video game after having ready memorised all the levels and knowing exactly how to win. All he had to do was keep following the vision he had seen, and he knew he wouldn't be caught. This knowledge was a much-needed comfort for Steven as he had been experiencing this horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach ever since he entered the Temple.
After some trekking, Steven finally found his way to the Burning Room. He walked into the centre of the room, next to the pool of lava and turned his head up to see the dozens upon dozens bubbled Gems hovering in the air, covering the entire celling like balloons at a birthday party.
Sapphire said she needed a red ruby Gem inside an orange bubble, but there were so many bubbles here. Steven had never asked the Crystal Gems how many there were or ever tried to count them, as he was not allowed into be in here. Steven shivered, the unpleasant feeling in his stomach swelling up again. He tried to suppress it and focused on Sapphire's vision, the details already becoming fuzzy in his. But he soon remembered what he had seen and where he was supposed to go next.
He turned to the nearest vein on the wall to the far right and wrapped his arms around it, shimming his way upwards at quick, yet careful space. After he had almost reached the celling, Steven saw it; the red Gem inside the orange bubble floating just inches away from him. Again just like his vision.
Holding on to the vein tightly, he reached out for the bubble with his free hand and felt his fingers wrap around it. Careful not to burst by accident, Steven pulled the bubble closer and secured it in arm.
Steven was beyond ecstatic. He had done it. He had the Gem. It had all worked out, exactly as Sapphire said it would. Now he understood; this was all meant to happen. He was meant to do this. He was meant to succeed, and he was meant to bring this Gem back to Sapphire. This was his fate.
But that if that was true, was he also meant to keep having this terrible feeling of guilt forever?
Steven groaned and leaned his head down on the vein, with a heavy frown. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get over the fact that he was breaking a serious rule, that he was going behind the backs of Jasper, Peridot and Lapis. He was going against everything he had ever been taught. The belief that this was something he had to do, didn't mitigate the sense of guilt he was feeling. If anything, it only made him feel worse. He felt like he just using it an excuse to get out of his own responsibility.
"Should I really have done this?" Steven whispered, already second-guessing himself. "Maybe-"
Steven was so preoccupied with his thoughts, he didn't notice that his grip on the vein had begun to slack and he felt his foot slip, causing him to fall. Yelling, Steven landed on the stone floor, next to the pool of lava, with a hard thud. Groaning, he pushed himself, winching from the pain in his back. It took a second for him to realise that he had lost the bubble during the fall.
The bubble had landed on the ground a good ten feet away from him on the other side of the room and popped open, the ruby Gem dropping to the floor. In a panic, Steven quickly crawled on his hands and knees, trying to reach the Gem, hoping bubble it again before it was too late and praying that he knew how to do it again. His hand was inches away from touching it when an aura of crimson light erupted from the Gem.
Now it was too late. Petrified, Steven could only watch helplessly, his mouth hanging open, as the ruby Gem rose up into the air and began to reform.
Well, that was a long one. Couple of notes on this chapter.
This was actually going to be longer than it was, but then I decided to break into two parts which I thought would help with the pacing. Also, because of that, the second part of this chapter is partly done, so I have less ground to cover now.
I wasn't always sure how I'd want to do the whole Crystal Gems counterpart theme in this story or who would be replaced with whom, in this case Lapis replaced with Sapphire. But it did seem more appropriate than having either Pearl or Amethyst instead. I actually have other ideas for them in this story, so we'll see how that pans out if I ever get that far. And as to how Sapphire is here and why Ruby is in the Temple, well that's spoiler for now.
I also enjoyed doing this chapter more from Steven's POV, much like a normal episode would. It made me take a closer look at his overall character, from previous episode and current ones, to help me better gauge his interactions with others, so hopefully I did that well enough for people to enjoy
Anywho, thanks again to everyone who has already reviewed, favoured and followed this story so far, and if you like to, please leave a review and tell me what you think of the chapter.
I've also been giving a bit of thought to making this story a bit more serialised. This chapter and the next one needed to be a 2-parter but going forward I might try to follow the story events more closely. Thoughts on this?