It's now currently Sunday, two days ever since Steven had hung out with Y/n. It was an exciting couple of days. He had just officially made a new friend, he'll be returning back to Little Homeschool as a president again tomorrow, and is meeting Connie today; which he's currently driving for to specifically pick up from the bus.
"Man, to think we haven't met each other in real life in a couple of weeks now. Maybe even close to a full month!" Steven laughed in disbelief as he leaned close to the steering wheel. Smiling as he swayed to his dad's music, joyful and giddy inside. Thanks to the sunny atmosphere the day had given, it felt like the songs shone and ringed better in his ears.
"Hope I got the right bus stop to pick her up on- I wasn't really listening and zoned out once I heard she was coming over." He chuckled the thought off as he turned right. "Only ended up listening at the end where she said that she'll be at the bus stop." He mumbled as he neared the, hopefully, correct area.
Parking close, he looks over to the small group that patiently waited for their ride, yet still seeing no Connie in sight. Sharply inhaling through his teeth, he takes out his phone. "Did I actually get the wrong stop?" He went through his contacts and opened his favorites
Tapping on Connie's profile and pressing the call button, he places the phone close to his ear as he relaxed in his seat.
After ringing for a couple of seconds, she picked up.
"Steven? What's up?" Connie answered.
Chuckling nervously, he responded, "Uh- are you here yet? Cause if you are- then I might've went to the wrong stop and uh- dunno where I'm meant to meet you." He clears his throat.
No reply was given immediately, and Connie's silence, only scared him.
"No, I'm not there yet," Connie chuckled as she spoke out of the blue, well aware of how nervous Steven gotten in that silence.
"And my bus will stop at the one nearby Lars's new bakery." She added as Steven released a sigh of relief.
Looking around his surroundings, he caught sight of Lars's little pastry store, telling Steven that he was at the right area.
"Oh this is great! I got the right place!"
"Good job Steven!" Connie cheered along. "For someone who's got the smarts to be a president, it's surprising the amount of space that brain of yours has." She teased.
"Hey! I just got excited at the fact that you were coming over for the next few days! I couldn't help but zone out and think of things we could do together!" Steven reasoned, trying to defend his pride.
"Alright Mr," The female sighed. "I'll be there in around 20-30 minutes; I just got on the bus a few minutes ago. Keep yourself busy until then!"
"Great! I'll go ahead and check out how Lars is doing and get you a tiny snack and drink." Steven smiled through the phone.
"Sounds great, see ya later Steven!" Connie took the final word and hung up as soon as she finished.
Putting his phone away and taking his bag, he exits the car and locks it before walking out for his friend. Looking around the stranded, yet cramped stores and restaurants, it didn't take him long to meet the teal windowed door. Pushing it open, a little ding from a bell following, he looks around the area that was filled with delicious looking sweets, the aroma of the freshly baked goods making him rethink about his diet.
As he looked over the glass covered pasteries, a voice walks in from behind the counter. "Welcome to Spacetries, how can I hel- Oh! Sup Steven!" Lars's gains the boy's attention.
Steven turns away from the food and catches sight of the pink figure who wore a creamy apron, smiling at the sight of his old friend he walks up to the counter.
"Hey Lars! I was just checking up on your new shop and wanted to see how you were doing!" Steven waved. "By the looks of it you seem to be enjoying your time here." He took another look around the place.
"I am I am, this place has also been gaining popularity pretty quickly over the month." Lars eyes fall to the counter as his fingers tapped along the wooden countertop. "Is there anything you want or you just here to waste some time?" He looked back over to the other male.
"Nah, I'll just get some... black doughnut holes." He pointed up to the chalkboard menu.
"How many? You just want three or a six piece?" Lars walked over to the white tablet.
"Six piece, and two bottles of water! I don't want anything big, I still plan to do Jam Time with Connie later on today."
"Connie? Damn, not my princess, or sugar poo?" Lars snickered as he continued to jot down numbers on the tablet.
"Oh shut it." Steven rolled his eyes, chuckling along as he had gotten used to these teases, especially from this jerk.
"Haven't seen that gal in a while though, must be pretty busy like I am." He walks to the back of the store, voice raised just so the pink jacket boy could still hear him.
"She's prepping up for college now so it makes sense as to why she doesn't come as often as she used to." Steven takes out his wallet as he counted the dollars.
"Makes sense, I got my group and shop to take care of so I don't have much time to spare either." Lars places down the paper bag filled with doughnut holes. "I wonder how you manage to be a president of a school yet still walk around like your still 14." Lars shook his head as he takes the money.
"I'm not 14 though," Steven takes the bag as he waits for his change.
"You get my point." Lars hands over the coins and receipt.
Steven stuffing his belongings away, he turns around and walks back to the exit. Both sending a small wave and a goodbye, the sun already hits his face as he leaves.
Opening one bottle and taking a small sip, he lets out a refreshed sigh up to the sky. Strolling over back to his lift, he takes a quick peek at the snacks. Smiling at the sight of the frosted treats, his eyes catches a small piece of paper laid next to the bag.
Sticking his hand in and taking it out, he scans the paper and finds a messy yet somehow neat handwriting scribbled all over.
Swiping away some sugar that stuck on the sheet, he chants out the words on the page. "Hope to see you next time with your hands curled up to your wanna-be-girlfriend... kissy faces- Lars."
"You have to be kidding me." He forced out a smile as his brows furrowed and twitched in irritation. "His teases change so frequently yet he always sticks with the same one." He shook his head as he crumbled the ball and threw it to a bin he had passed by.
Finally reaching the car, and maybe sneaking a donut hole into his mouth, he lifts himself up to sit at the front of the vehicle.
Taking his phone out to check the time, he finds that there was only about 18-23 more minutes for waiting. Placing the food to the side, after taking another quick sip of water, he leaves to the homepage and thinks over on what else he should do to pass time.
Shrugging mentally, he takes out the notepad app and creates a new pad to jot down his plans for the week, which was mostly only filled with plans for the school.
"Well- I have to keep in mind that I still need to do the student signups and organize classes. Amethyst has the duty to find open spots, but I'm usually the one who does the papers." He mumbled to himself as his thumbs glided across the digital keyboard.
"Then there's the fact that I need to plan out more humane lessons for the next units, and maybe find an assistant teacher to help out Garnet for her uhm- realistic-to-the-point lessons as well." His face forms different expressions throughout his words.
He continued to type more important things to add to his list. Things such as: Pearl's plans for the field trip across the seven continents with her students, finding scraps for Peridot's building and mechanics class for humans, searching for new artistic projects Lapis's students can take on, and more.
It was ironic how he had so many things to do, but most of them were for other people to be able to do things, but it wasn't anything new, as this is what they call the, "Steven Way".
After a few minutes of thinking things out, he stares at his work and reviews all the topics just in case he had missed some. Currently, he couldn't think of anything else and had only been staring at empty words. Deciding to end it for now, he opens up WooTube and scrolls through his recommended.
He cringed at finding his face on some advertising panels about coming to join LHS (Little Homeschool), but if it was on his recommended then it should be in others; and that seems like pretty good news.
"Hmm, I should recreate the ad, I need to add new details to make it current." He thought as he reminded himself to set a reminder of that.
Continuing on the scrolling, his eyes quickly land on a familiar name under a video he had never seen before.
He clicked on the account and checked their profile, and surely enough it was his new pal's WooTube channel. His eyes scan at the subscriber count and his brows slightly raised. "Oh wow, she's growing quickly! Before it was just 2 million, now it's 2.01 million!" The corners of his mouth perked up at his friends success.
He thought over if he should watch a video or maybe watch it along with Connie to show her his new friend, but before he could clearly decide, a bus had stopped right in front of the waiting area.
Turning around and quickly snapping his thoughts off of Y/n, he takes the bottles of water and donuts holes before running over to the crowds of people gushing out of the bus's entrance. Standing and waiting to where he wasn't in the way of others, he stood to the tip of his toes as he tried to look further in the bus to see if he could find Connie; sure enough, she came out as any of the others.
"Connie! You're early! I haven't seen you in so long!" He rushed in for a big bear hug, lifting her off the ground and spinning slightly.
Laughing to the sudden hug attack, she lets him have the moment and doesn't mind about her dropped duffel bag.
Setting her down and smiling brightly to see each other once more, he hands her over the bag of donuts with no context.
Taking the mystery sack, she looks inside and smiles softly at the sight of the snack.
"How did you know I didn't want anything big?" She looked over to the male and raised a brow.
"Just did," Steven shrugged as he lent down to take her belongings off of the ground. "Besides! We'll be doing Jam Time later on today right?" He began to walk back to the car as he kept eyes on the female, showing that she had his full attention.
"We'll be doing it everyday. Not just later." She emphasized with eyes closed and spoke with confidence.
"Great! Cause if you didn't want to then I'll have to persuade you somehow!" He laughed as he opened the trunk and placed her belongings away.
Taking the drivers seat and buckling in, quickly flashing a smile to Connie who sat in the passenger's seat, he begins the ride to the beach house. Steven subconsciously pressing play to let the music of his father flow out, Connie begins the conversation.
"I didn't get to call you the past few days because I had to do several calls and question the requirements for college, so did anything new happen?" She questioned.
"Oh yeah definitely! Uh, I got some more Tourmaline to join the schoo-" He began but was soon cut off.
"Nah-ah-ah, no work talk because I am currently on break from it." Connie wagged a finger as she shook her head.
"Oh commooon, can I at least talk about that fact that I'll be able to come back to work tomorrow after the break?" They shared eye contact for a second before looking back on the road ahead.
"Well you are really excited about it, as you talked about it nonstop, BUT let's save that for last. I can already imagine the 1 hour long rant about it all." Connie slowly waved her hand in an arc over her head.
"You know me too well." Steven laughed, not really bothering to look any deeper at that sting that had suddenly pricked his heart.
He thought over his boring work filled days, but his mind quickly led back up to Y/n.
"Oh right! I've told you about Y/n before, right? My new friend?" He questioned.
"Yeah, yeah. You said something about meeting her in like- a weird situation." She looked over to the road. "You still gotta tell me what happened."
"Nah, it's exactly as I said, a weird situation," He brushed the question aside. "But like- so I got to hangout with her again, with some circumstances, and apparently she was a really popular WooTuber!" He pushed himself to touch the back of his seat.
"Really? That's such a cool surprise!" Connie turned to look at the male, trying to imagine what this mystery friend would be like. "But then again, people with secret identities isn't something new around here." She smirked as she elbowed Steven's side.
"Guess so," Steven laughed at the sudden realization of how similar yet different their identities were.
The two sighed in sync as they felt relaxed to know that they could be and do whatever they want for the limited time they had with each other, but since these two are still awkward conversation starters, Steven continues on before it could fall silent for too long.
"So should we watch a video of theirs to check out the reason for the numbers?" He questioned.
"You make it sound like we'll be stalking your arch nemesis's profile." Connie laughed as she spoke the first thing that came to mind.
"Wah- no no no! Of course not! I just want to support my friend! And see how they're doing cause they just posted a new video today. And I probably can't see them for the next few days in person! And uh-" Steven spewed reasons and excuses that could go against anything she had just said.
"Alright alright Steven! You can calm down now." Connie sent a few pats to his back. "You've been really over the edge lately. Are you okay? Do you maybe want to save whatever we have planned for tomorrow instead?" She suggested as worry seeped in her voice and expression.
Was I showing a weird face? Was I acting different today and she noticed it before I could? How long did she realize? Was she just keeping quiet to not make me worried? Thousands of unsolvable questions ran through his mind in a split second, and the sight of her worried expression only made more. He should be the one wearing that, whatever problem he has isn't their problem to solve.
"Nope! I'm probably just out of it because of the long day yesterday and for sleeping less than eight hours last night." Steven rolled his eyes, waving a hand dismissively and shoving his thoughts down an empty pipe. "I'll sleep on it, after we watch some terrible Rom-coms tonight." He winked and slightly nudged her as a tease.
At first, Connie wasn't so sure about the act, but she only pushed it aside thinking it was a normal reaction to doing too much work; for all she knew, she might've acted the same way as well.
"We're gonna have a laid back night, that's for sure." She sighed as she faced the road once more.
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"Guuys? I'm home!" Steven pushed the door open with his back as his hands were full of Connie's belongings, even though she had persistently spoken that she didn't need the help.
"And Connie's here too!" Steven turned to the female behind him and smiled.
"Oh! Connie! My prized pupil how are you?" Pearl's modulated outburst gained the two's attention. Pearl walks out the kitchen towards the duo with open arms, expecting both of their embrace.
As Steven momentarily laid it off to place Connie's things on the couch, he turns back for the hug as Connie had already beaten him to it. Pearl couldn't seem to let go of the two, but after a few words of desperation, they had finally split.
"Won't you look at that! Ms. Swordsman 2.0 and Mr. Princess is back together and in action!" A voice cackled over the sounds of the temple's door opening, walking out of it was Amethyst with a pile of empty, and already bitten on, soda cans.
Pearl would always complain how impolite and disgusting it was for her to eat objects that aren't meant to be edible, plus the fact that she eats them like a slob. But once Amethyst uses her ultimate move, "It's Recycling!", Pearl can't deny it further.
"Mr. Princess? That's not true! Just because I don't do so well with the sword, have a daily skin routine, do dress-ups with you guys, prefer words over violence, and read books doesn't make me a princess." Steven listed and counted with his fingers. Once finished, his stared down at his hands as he calculated how that list rebelled against his words, he takes a quick glance back at the vexed expressions of the others. Clearly, neither, even himself, didn't believe it. Rolling his eyes, his face turns to a small pout. "Okay fine, I guess I'm a tad bit feminine in some occasions." A huff follows.
The three others chuckles and giggled at his denial yet slight acceptance. Ever since he had turned 15 1/2 he would always try to avoid things that made him "girly" so to say, but he still hadn't grown out of his habits just yet.
Silence slowly filled the room as a figure stepped directly behind Steven. Two pairs of dark-magenta hands lands on both of his broad shoulders. The male turning to their owner(s), the corners of his lips perk up. "Don't worry Steven, you are the most handsome princess out there." Garnet spoke behind the visors with sincerity as if this was one of the most serious conversations, even though the group's interaction was only some light heart bantering.
But even with the broody attitude, she could never break the atmosphere if you know her well enough. She'll always make you feel like a protected child safe from harm, and she'll keep reminding you that feeling.
"Choosing the middle ground of this argument?" Steven questioned but expected no answer.
Looking back at his best friend's things, he looked back at the others. "You guys catch up real quick, I'll put her belongings up at my room." He pointed behind himself to where Connie's belongings are, before turning around to take them.
"Steven- I can do it myself! I'm probably point-five times stronger that you anyway." Connie's mind swayed back and forth to staying put or chasing him to snag her things, but since she couldn't really decide, she stood still as her eyes followed his figure as he climbed up the stairs.
"Yadi-yada, if I could show you my awesome muscles right now, I would!" Steven laughed from above.
"We can test that once we do some nostalgic training later." Pearl sighed through her smile as she sends a light pat to the younger girl's back.
"Ooh~ training sounds fun! You want to do it now Connie?" Part of Steven's head peeped out from the open space, although the majority you could only see was his fluffed out locks that never looked like they were bothered to be brushed.
"Well I need to change into my uniform. So as I do that I can also start unpacking!" Connie traced his steps to his room and was quickly welcomed by the warm atmosphere the bedroom had given.
"Sounds good to me. Will you be changing in the bathroom or do you want me to leave and let you change here?" Steven tilts his head as his eyes followed the female unzipping her duffle bag and searching for the new uniform she had bought.
Two years ago, Connie was much much smaller. If she were to try her old uniform on, it would never get past her legs.
"I'm good with the bathroom." She answers as she was already down the first step.
"Alright, I'll wait for you up here so I can help you unpack." His bottom hits the mattress and immediately gets hit with sense of inescapable comfort.
Hearing a faint hum as an answer, he falls backwards further into the creamy white sheets, as his calves and below hung out the bed. The springs creak slightly and a slight recoil bounces him up into the air before another landing back down.
"Maybe I can watch it now." He mumbles as he takes shuffles to take out his phone.
Still laying flat on hid bed and hanging the phone right above his face, he returns back to WooTube and finds himself in the same exact account he left in before. Thumb hovering over the over dramatic thumbnail for a second, he lightly taps on the screen.
Turning his phone to a landscape style and raising his volume, his eyes quickly reflect the sudden bright hue of color the screen emanated. The video was about 15 minutes long, but if felt slow as every second ticked because of the interesting things Y/n did; did things that seemed like things he could never do. He could never talk and speak in front of a camera without a script, or save a conversation from dying whenever it felt like it could end; well not like he used to at least. She seemed to understand so much and knew what she was doing. And even though she didn't blatantly say it, she always sent signals and messages that she cared for the viewer and made sure that they are an important part of this video; if he had forgotten that this was watched by thousands of people out there, he could've almost fooled himself that this little skit of entertainment was just meant for him.
Immersed in his screen as his legs swung like a little child, he didn't realize the newly dressed Connie walking up the stairs with her pair of dirty clothes wrapped around her arm.
Sending a look of curiosity to the male who seemed to be in the zone, she quietly walks over to her duffel bag, placing her things away, and leans down to where she could also see the screen.
Finally realizing the other's figure, he turns his focus back to the other and sits up, leaving the video playing in the background.
Inviting herself to sit right next to him, she smiles as she questioned. "Is that your friend?"
Looking back down to the device to pause it, he nods, "Yeah! This is Y/n. I know I said that I'll watch my first time reacting to her with you, but I kinda got impatient and wanted to do something." He chuckles as he flops back down to the bed.
Laying down flat next to him, she turns her head to his direction. "Then how bout we start from the beginning and watch it again; like it's your first time!"
Smiling at the suggestion, he lifts the phone above them to where both could watch. "I like the sound of that, but it'll be difficult to act like nothing happened cause it feels like I just memorized the whole thing like a script." He laughed.
No words replied but only a chuckle, he drags the red line all the way back to its beginning and quickly pressed the footage to play. The two watched in tranquil and laughed at most jokes or awkward conversations they witness. They would leave some comments here and there; which was mostly Steven comparing to how Y/n was similar as she was when she's in real life, and talk about the obvious differences as well.
15 minutes later, she had said her goodbyes, played the end card, and was soon welcomed by a black screen.
"She's pretty cool!" Connie raised her hands up to the ceiling before plopping them to the side, taking most of the space.
"Hey- I don't have any room!" Steven let out a joking scoff as he pushed her arm aside. "But yeah- she is really cool! She's really nice too! So it's great to see her use all those nice traits into something she can share all throughout the Earth." He smiled as he looked down at her profile and number of followers.
"Haven't you just met her like- three times?"
"Three meetups, equals to at least a few hours of bonding, so it doesn't mean anything!"
"Haha, alright alright..." Connie's voice faded out.
"What's up?" Steven took quick notice to her sudden change of expression, showing that she went deep into thought.
"Well- it must be tiring you know?" She shrugged as she sat up, Steven following.
"What is?"
"Well- to be in front of a camera to record, seems to take so much energy out of you. I mean you've told me so yourself right after you recorded your first Ad for Little Homeschool. The viewers have expectations of you, and if you don't want any unnecessary hate, then you'll have to meet those standards. You'll have to act and smile like a perfect doll."
Steven's brows furrowed slightly to the last sentence. "No you don't- WooTube is meant to be a free thing where you can whatever you want. Nothing is holding anyone back from something you love to do and it shouldn't effect the way you act!"
Placing a hand to his shoulder while taking his phone, Connie replies. "Steven- I'm sure both of us know what it's like to reach expectations. Our families are already taking so much out of us. Imagine doing that for thousands, millions of people." She glanced at the numbers before looking back to the male.
Pleasing so much people... Steven looked down the planked floor but was soon taken back to the conversation by the sound of her voice.
"Image is important for a job like this." Connie returns the phone. "How many times had she stopped smiling and let out a realistic complaint? You know her personally, is she any different?"
Staring directly at the eyes of his reflection, his fingers curl in deeper and a frown grew. Three meetings, yet barely any memory or thought of such a situation like. All he could think about was him ranting, not listening. Even in the car ride. Even though they were talking about the things that he done, she continuously smiled and felt like she was holding her own tongue back.
His eyes widen. "One." He mumbles, "One time I saw where she felt real- not like I'm saying she's fake or anything."
Connie nods, a small smile forming. "Good to know there's something happening there." Her brows furrowed down slightly. "But don't go around talking like she's the closest friend you can get... Like I said, three meet-ups isn't a lot. You barely know anything of each other."
Steven nods bashfully, embarrassed to think that's what she saw whenever he spoke of Y/n. Suddenly two pairs of hands reach in for his face and takes both cheeks, pinching them not-so-tightly yet stretching them out far.
"You aren't 14 anymore, Steven. No one's gonna take your hand and no one's gonna take yours immediately, you got that?" A bright grin shows on Connie's face.
He watched the light trace her dark skin while his mouth slightly gaped open. How come those words were meant to be light, yet something about those words weighed his chest down to his stomach?
"Yeah, you're right," A wry smile forms on his face, trying to compare to her brightness.
"Now let's get going and call Pearl to practice!" Connie jumps up to her feet and runs to the entrance of the stairs.
"Oh- wait! Lemme just change into a tank top real quick!" He pushed himself off his bed and lightly jog to his dresser.
"Kay! Hurry!" Light thudding faintly runs down the stairs.
Taking his shirt, his eyes takes up on his phone. Hesitantly, he goes to his contacts and opens up the well-known female's messages. Thumbs hovering the key board, he begins to type.
Im sorr|
Im|
I really liked your video today! :D
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