💫Still Not Giving Up💫

Chapter Thirty

Steven stood at the fryshop, chatting with Ronaldo about the moon base. he was, yet again, begging Steven to take him there.

"look, Lion doesn't really travel that far anymore..." Steven trailed off. it was a lousy excuse, but it would shut Ronaldo down.

"oh! hey, Steven~" a feminine voice purred from behind him.

Steven cringed internally, already knowing who it was. "hi Lindsay." be responded blandly.

she sauntered closer so she was in front of him, leaning into his space. "i heard you and Y/N broke up." she faked a pout. "that's so sad, you guys were such a cute couple." Steven nodded, only half listening. he was waiting for his frybits to finish so he could leave. Lindsay obviously didn't get the hint though. "so, since you're a single man..."

"no." he said. he finally turned to look at her, hoping and praying that his pink eyes would finally scare her away.

they didn't, but it certainly threw her off. "u-uh... what- where did you get those contacts? they're really cool." she recovered quickly.

"they aren't contacts." he said bluntly. he made eye contact with Fryman impatiently, and he signaled that he was hurrying.

Lindsay bravely laid a hand on his arm. "well... how about we exchange numbers and set up a date?" she whispered seductively.

he shrugged her off. "pass."

Lindsay scoffed and leaned in again. "come on, Steven. i'm much better than that common whore and you know it. she had so many issues you had to deal with. we can just have some fun." she winked up at Steven, who just glared.

bright pink illuminated his entire body, and he pushed her away from him as lightly as he could. he was seething now, and he slammed a hand on the fry shack bar. the bar shook with his force, and small cracks formed at the edges. he leaned down so he was level with her, and sent her a bone-chilling glare. "i don't think you understand the word 'no'. i don't want to date you. i don't appreciate you talking bad about my ex-girlfriend. and i don't appreciate you trying to force yourself onto me."

Lindsay leaned back in fear. "you-you're pink!"

Steven stood up straight, just as Fryman handed him the paper bowl of bits, totally unfazed by Stevens unusual color. Steven smiled brightly at Fryman. "thanks!" he turned to Lindsay, his smile dropping. then wordlessly, he walked past her and started down the boardwalk.

Lindsay turned to the man in the fryshop in surprise. "did you see- is that normal?"

Fryman turned to her and laughed. "if that freaks you out, you have no business dating Steven."

-.-.-.-.-.-
you sat on the damp ground, a little disoriented. Steven, completely pink, blinked down at you.

"oh..." is all you could say. neither of you moved for what felt like hours.

finally, Steven cleared his throat. "hey N/N- Y/N." he held out his hand, offering to help you up.

you took his hand hesitantly, immediately engulfed by a warmth you had so desperately missed. you nervously brushed off your pants when you stood up, not knowing what to say. he shoved his hands into his jacket pockets, kicking a small pebble near his foot. "i-"

he cut you off. "i'm sorry." his voice cracked slightly, and you met his teary eyes. he sniffled. "i'm so, so sorry Y/N. you were right, i need to talk about my feelings. about everything. i didn't mean to hurt you." tears were falling freely from his chocolate brown eyes now. "i've been so miserable without you. but you deserve someone so much better, someone who won't hurt you or yell. i'm so sorry Y/N-"

You wrapped your arms around his sides to cut him off, hugging him tightly. his pink hue faded completely, and he hugged you back even tighter. as if he was scared to let you go. "it's okay." you whispered. "everything is going to be alright."

and that's all you two needed to hear.

(edited!)

i'm counting this as the official end to the story. i should have ended it here when i originally wrote it. the chapters after this build the characters, yes, but are mostly separate chunks of the larger story. you could choose to stop here, or keep going.