"What happened to your hair?" Steven laughed as the two walked toward the restaurant. Spinel thoughtlessly grabbed her pigtail that had been unkempt since last night, forgetting that it had even happened.
"You pulled my hair while you were asleep." She replied, providing a mild shrug. Steven laughed at her answer, and held his hands up in apology.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to." A smile grew on his face as he imagined himself accidentally ripping her hair out of place in his sleep. She looked more Similar to how she had when he first met her now, even if it was only accidental.
Spinel brightened, remembering her camera, and stopped Steven before he could enter the Big Donut. She pulled the camera out of her gem, a happy grin on her face.
"I wanted to take a picture, just the two of us!" She beamed at the thought, causing Steven to chuckle.
"Okay." He grabbed the camera from her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, holding the viewer high so it caught the both of them and snapped the picture. The white flash of the camera forced Spinel's smile into a terrified frown and she jumped away from Steven's arm.
Steven stood, mouth ajar, lowering the camera, confused by her reaction.
"It's only the flash." He stammered reaching toward the startled gem. Spinel blinked, adjusting her eyes from the sudden white light, the terrifying white light.
"I-I know, it's just.." she paused, afraid to say the words she was about to speak. "What don't you want me to remember?"
The words caught Steven off guard and he nervously tried to hide his concern.
"Nothing, you don't need to remember anything." He said, stepping backward toward the restaurant. "I'll get us some donuts, stay-"
"No!" Spinel yelled, rage burning inside her for just a split second before she realised the reaction Steven had to her words. His eyes were wide, staring at her. She averted her eyes, quickly darting them to her shoes.
"Why am I like this?" She muttered softly, finally looking up at the boy, "why do I keep feeling these things? And seeing things?"
The distraught gem began to ramble, disallowing Steven to interject.
"I keep- seeing these really scary things, in-in my head, and you asked me if I remembered them and I don't know. I can't tell- and the room, it showed me a garden, you were there-you said you wouldn't leave me there but then it died. And-" her voice fell to a whisper now, her face contorted in a look of horror.
"White Diamond."
Steven stared, watching the gem go through several states of disbelief, regret, anger, and fear.
"Spinel, are you-"
"Remember…" she breathed, "I remember...she-and you, you reset me. She made me-" tears filled Spinel's eyes as regret and guilt grew on her face. She began to glow, her pigtails loosening and her gem beginning to invert once again.
The gem that stood before Steven held her hand up to her cheek, tracing the black streaks that went down her face.
"I tried to hurt you." She said, the words fell from her lips as if she didn't realise she said them aloud. Steven took a step toward his friend, prepared to give chase, if she ran.
"It's okay, it's not your fault." He reached out and gently touched the gem, she flinched, but lent him her hand.
"Let's get some breakfast." He smiled, reassuring the gem that he wasn't upset with her, she nodded and followed his lead.
YOU ARE READING
Steven Universe fic
FanfictionSYNOPSIS: Steven Wakes up from a cryptic dream about Spinel who has been with the diamonds for at least a year now, only to find out that she has warped to his house unnanounced and in considerable distress. Now faced with a gem in desperate need of...
