Templeschool

12. The Sleeping Twoie

Steven coughed as the cloud of sand veiled the beach. "Two-cough, hack. Twoie! Answer me!" He strained against the arms holding him. He hadn't even noticed the cliff breaking apart. But Twoie had. And he'd thrown him out of the way.

The dust was finally settling. There was a sound of twinkling before the rocks shifted and sunk in further. Garnet's hold slackened enough for him to wriggle out of her grip. The young boy darted across the sand to the pile of rocks. "Twoie, please!" He analyzed the pile and picked up a boulder that wouldn't shift it. He tossed it aside.

Steven threw another rock out of the way, revealing part of his brother's jacket. "Don't just stand there, help me!" Steven panicked. Garnet snapped out of her shock and rushed over to pick up a large chunk that Steven couldn't reach. Pearl and Amethyst made their way over as well. With the other three helping him, Twoie was uncovered in seconds.

Steven rolled him over. His brother's eyes were closed. He was bleeding from the back of his head and from several scratches where the rocks had torn through his clothing. Steven licked his hand and gently touched his older brother's face. The healing spit worked its magic, erasing any trace of his injuries. But Twoie still didn't wake up.

"He should only be sleeping now. Probably due to how much energy he expended. We should get him into the house." Garnet leaned forward to pick him up, but Steven scooped him up before she could. He carried his brother up the stairs without waiting for the gems.

"Man, he's really mad at us." Amethyst murmured. She nervously rubbed her arm as she contemplated what to do next.

Garnet sighed. "He has every right to be. We were so blinded by our fear and hatred of Homeworld, that we injured someone he cared immensely about."

Amethyst scoffed at her. "You mean, someone we should've cared about. I told you guys from the beginning that Twoie is still Steven." Her voice became meek as she muttered, "I just can't believe I hurt him, anyway."

Garnet brushed a hand through her hair. "You're right. I kept seeing him as someone else, unrelated to our Steven and our timeline, but he is Steven."

Pearl shakily wiped tears from her face."T-this is all m-my fault. I'm the one who freaked out over his knowledge of Homeworld and the corrupted gems. I came up with the thought of him working with Homeworld. I was so obsessed w-with finding Peridot that I kept pushing him to tell us about the future."

Garnet placed a hand on Pearl's shoulder. "It's also my fault. I'm the one who kept pressuring him to tell us the future. I kept making meetings so I could demand answers from him."

Amethyst rubbed her arm in discomfort. "We should've listened when they tried to explain earlier. What do we do now?"

Garnet made her way towards the house. "We listen to Steven, we apologize to Twoie when he wakes up, we let them explain, and we give Peridot a chance."

When the gems re-entered the house, they found Steven sitting upstairs with Twoie lying in his bed. The young boy scowled as he turned his back to them. He didn't even want to look at them right now. He was so tired of the gems never listening to him. After the robinoids, he'd really thought they would take him more seriously, but this stupid fight proved him wrong.

Amethyst quietly walked up the stairs. "Hey, Steven. I brought you a glass of water." Steven took the glass from her without looking at her.

"Thanks."

Okay, she deserved that. She awkwardly stood there for a moment, trying to see if she could get Steven to talk to her. "Do you need anything?"

Steven scowled, but kept his gaze on his brother. "I need you to leave us alone right now."