I'm Trying

Outside the House

I looked at Steven, who had a look of concern on his face. The gems stood up, and I walked over to Steven. I grabbed my sword and followed the gems out of the door. Garnet gestured for Steven, Obsidian and I to stay on the porch. We obeyed, and waited anxiously for them to either shout or return.

"Steven, Connie, Obsidian, you guys had better come check this out." Garnet yelled. We walked down to the beach and joined the gems, who had their weapons drawn and were watching what looked like an escape pod that was smoking in the sand.

"An escape pod!" Steven whispered, confirming my suspicions. "Has anyone emerged from it yet?" Amethyst shrugged and spoke.

"That's what we're waiting to see. No one has come out while we've been standing here, but they could've left before we left the house." I nodded, taking in the severity of what she had said. If there was a dangerous gem in there, and it had already left the pod, Beach City was in trouble. As soon as Amethyst finished her statement, however, the door on the pod opened. I gripped the hilt of the sword tighter and prepared for a fight.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Steven asked the form that was leaving the pod. The gem, which I recognized as a cat's eye, looked at us.

"I am a cat's eye gem. My traditional role is a spy, although I am an informant for the diamonds. White Diamond informed me of this planet and the existence of the Crystal Gems, also known as the rebels, and I decided to check it out and bring back information. I mean you no harm, although the Diamonds may attack if I bring back the right info." The gem smirked upon seeing our small ensemble, and I gripped the hilt of my sword tighter and unconsciously stepped closer to Steven.

"Leave, now. Bring back no information to the diamonds. Then we'll let you go. However, if you decide not to leave immediately, or bring info back to the diamonds, well, we might hat have to bubble you." Garnet threatened. I saw Cat's Eye gulp, and put her hands up in a sign of surrender. She began backing up towards her escape pod.

"Before you leave, we need your word that you won't tell the diamonds anything of this planet or the creatures on it." Pearl said. Cat's Eye nodded, and we all lowered our weapons. She walked onto her ship, and in the blink of an eye(pun intended), she was gone.

I looked at steven, and he grinned. As the severity of what had just happened hit me, I began to laugh. The gems all began to laugh as well,and we just stood on the sand, laughing in the aftermath of what could have been a very dangerous situation.

About an hour after Cat's Eye had left, Steven and I were watching Under the Knife(I can never get enough of that show!)  while discussing what would happen when we took Obsidian to meet Peridot and Lapis tomorrow, having completely forgotten the events of the previous hour.

"I don't really care what happens, I'm just excited to finally meet them for real!" I had never officially met Lapis and Peridot, but I felt like I had because Steven talked about them all the time. However, I was going with them to the barn tomorrow, and was finally going to actually meet them.

"I know right! Just wait until you see them!" He grinned, and I sensed he was about to say something about them. "They're actually in love with each other. I think Lapis might make a move on Peridot soon." I laughed as his grin grew larger.

"Is it obvious or do they hide it well?" I asked. I blushed as he let out a small chuckle. I really hoped I wasn't giving away anything with my question.

"Its obvious to everyone but them. They're totally oblivious to each others emotions." He grinned yet again and I saw an idea forming in his head.

"What are you planning, Steven?" I asked suspiciously. He laughed and spoke.

"Do you want to play truth or dare?" I fought the blush as he mentioned the game I had introduced him to a few weeks back. What I hadn't told him was that truth or dare was often used to either find out who someone liked or to kiss them. I hoped he hadn't found that out though. I nodded.

"Excellent. So, truth or dare?" He asked as he evilly rubbed his hands together. I laughed at him before responding.

"Dare." He pondered for a moment.

"I dare you to climb onto the roof and stay there for at least 30 seconds." I groaned, and he laughed. He knows I have a slight fear of heights after we fell from the ruins as Stevonnie. Regardless, I'm not going to chicken out, so I did it anyway.

After I return from the roof, I glare at him. He laughs, gives me hug, and apologizes. Its my turn. If he chooses dare, I am so going to get him back.

"My turn. Truth or dare?" He pretends to think for a moment, even though he clearly already knows what he's going to pick.

"Truth." I sigh. I was really hoping he would choose dare. I really wanted to get him back.

"Ok. What do you really think of Obsidian?" I blushed, hoping my jealousy wasn't showing through. He laughed, and I felt my blush darken.

"I think she would be a good friend if she wasn't so set on getting to Homeworld. I'm a little worried the gems might have to poof and bubble her, though. If she can get to Homeworld, she could reveal everything about us and Earth." I breathed out a sigh of relief. I was worried he might have a stronger bond with her than me. "Ok. My turn. Truth or dare?" I shrugged and responded.

"Truth I guess." He grinned and I playfully punched him in the arm. He let out a small laugh.

"Ok. This is a weird question, but do you like anyone? Even somebody o don't know? You don't have to tell me a name if you don't want to." I blushed. So he had figured out the purpose of the game.

"Actually, there's this one guy. He's really sweet, even though he can be a huge goof sometimes." Hopefully that was vague enough to keep him from knowing it was him. He shrugged, and I took that as an exception to my vague answer.

"Ok. Truth or dare?" I asked him. He grinned and responded immediately.

"Dare." I fist pumped. Time for some sweet revenge. He laughed at seeing the expression on my face. Wait until he heard my plan.

"I dare you to do a backflip onto the floor. I don't care if you float or not." He stood and stretched his arms. This would be easy for him if he floated. He jumped off of the edge of the higher platform and flipped. He floated for a few seconds, floating there to prove that he didn't just flip easily, then softly landed on the floor. He walked back up the stairs and sat back down next to me.

"Truth or dare?" He asked. I grinned, not sensing where this would go if I chose either direction. I weighed my options, and went with my gut feeling.

"Dare." I whispered. He smiled, and looked me in the eyes. I melted a little. He had such pretty eyes. They were a dark brown, the color of coffee before the cream was added. I loved that color.

"I dare you to tell me the full name of the guy you like." I sighed, frustrated with myself for not seeing this coming. I rolled my eyes and gathered my courage. I took a deep breath and looked at the floor.

"His name is Steven Quartz Universe." I said quickly. I hoped if I said it fast enough, he wouldn't be able to tell what I said and wouldn't make me repeat it. When he didn't respond to what I had said, I looked up at him. His face was beet red, and he was staring at me with his mouth open, lost for words.

"Really? Me?" He whispered. I nodded and felt the tears threatening to spill. I looked back down at the ground. He probably didn't feel the same. He probably thought of me as just a friend. I blinked back the tears as more collected in my eyes, and hoped one wouldn't escape. "Connie, I feel the same." I looked back up at him and smiled.

"I'm glad. That was eating at me for a while." We sat there awkwardly for a little while until Steven spoke again.

"Do you want to watch some more Under the Knife with me?" I nodded and he handed the remote to me. I turned the TV on and put on my favorite episode. Sure the show has a lot of drama and some unrealistic hospital scenarios, but it has a good plot line and some interesting characters.

About 15 minutes into the episode, I allowed myself to relax. Without realizing, I put my head on Steven's shoulder. I didn't know I had done it until I felt his head on mine and his hand wrapping itself around mine. I smiled. I was so glad he had brought up truth or dare.