You were lost in thought all the way home. How in the world did your homework fall out of your bag, and why was there a phone number attached to it. Who's number was it? Come to think of it, how did your homework get into your purse? You took your PURSE to the Big Donut, not your backpack. A suspicious frown began to form on your face as you continued to think of how this happened. That frown unfortunately stayed on your face as you walked in the front door to Ryan cooking dinner in the kitchen. He, of course, noticed your frown and immediately left dinner cooking as he came to console you.
"Everything all right, sport?" Ryan asked you with worried eyes. He thought the rip to the Big Donut would have helped your mood, considering how happy you seemed to go. But, alas. He know that worried stare all too well. Something was bothering you, and he didn't know what. His anxiety was beginning to increase again.
"I-I don't know," you said, shoving the note from your homework in your pocket. You couldn't let Ryan know about that. If it was a boy, you weren't sure how he was going to react. His mood swings were unpredictable, and you didn't want to get tangled up in one again. Not after last time.
Ryan saw you glancing at your calculus homework and noticed what the problem might be. "Is it the homework? Calculus can be hard. Do you need me to help you with it?" Ryan asked, concerned for you. He knows you rarely struggle with math, but when you had in the past, it felt like a nightmare. Little did he know, you actually really were good with calculus, you were just worried about that pink note in your pocket.
"Actually it's not," you said. "I just had a weird run-in with someone today." You said that as carefully as you could, making sure to leave out the fact that it was a guy.
"Really? What happened?" Ryan asked, his smile starting form. He loves a good story, even if it was just you venting about all the jerks at school. He straddled the counter top and hopped into his recliner, legs crossed. You plopped down onto the couch beside him and threw off your shoes.
"Ok so I got slammed into my locker again by those same idiots," you began. Ryan scowled when you mentioned them. "Then after the guys left, I was getting up when I felt another person come up behind me." You slightly smiled after saying that, thinking back on the moment you saw Steven. "You are NEVER going to guess who it was!"
Ryan looked intrigued, sitting literally on the edge of his seat, practically bouncing at this point. "Who? Tell meeee!!!" He squealed. You thought, considering how optimistic Ryan seemed about the whole situation to tell him exactly who it was.
"Remember the guy who saved Beach City last year? Steven Universe? Well-" you tried to explain before Ryan jumped out his seat.
"No way! That's insane! I didn't even know you went to school with him! Didn't you tell me you thought he was cute a few times?" You blushed when he said that. You were shocked at how well Ryan was taking the news. You thought he'd freak out over this. You still remained cautious with the information you were telling him. You decided not to tell him about the phone number. Even though he seemed calm now, anything could trigger his anxiety, so it seemed like the best decision.
You sat through dinner the most awkward way you ever had. You wanted so badly to tell Ryan about the note, to finally get it out of your system, but you didn't have the heart to do it. It was too risky, and you didn't want to put either of you in another rough situation. You never wanted to relive the last time Ryan went berserk.
......................
Later on that evening, you sat in your room, staring blankly at the pink note left on the calculus homework you never ended up checking. Honestly, how could you check your homework at a time like this? You couldn't stop thinking about who the number was for, and how you ended up even finding it in the first place. The thought of calling it kept crawling back into your mind, even though you continued to push it out. Then you began to consider it. I mean the least you could do was thank the person who returned it, right? It was the only polite thing to do.
You took your phone off of its charger and went to the keypad. You dialed the numbers one by one, hands shaking, then began to bounce your legs up and down as the phone began to dial. The tone stopped in a sudden halt, and you knew what that meant. Someone had picked up on the other line. "H-hello?" You asked the mystery number. You had never been more nervous in your life.
On the other line, Steven was silently rejoicing. He didn't think you were going to call him, but he was literally on the phone with you, and he was freaking out. He didn't want to come off as creepy, so he tried to stay anonymous. "Hey!" he said.
"Um, I was calling to thank whoever it was who left my homework on the step of the Big Donut earlier this afternoon. There was a note on the page with a number on it, a-and I assumed it was the person who left the homework there and I..." he listened as you began to trail off. He could tell you were nervous, but he didn't care. Steven began to blush uncontrollably. He couldn't even see you, but even just hearing you ramble made you even cuter to him.
"Hey yeah its totally fine. Hey listen, I saw-" he was cut off suddenly when you told him to hush. He tilted his head in confusion as he heard various shuffling noises on your end of the call. You were freaking out, because your brother was in the radius of your bedroom. You panicked as you hid the phone under a blanket and flinched as Ryan began to open the door.
"So, who're you talking to at 10:30 on a school night?" he asked, tapping his foot. You were about to enter full-on panic mode. You knew what side of Ryan you were seeing, and you knew it all too well.
He was doing it again.
"Ryan, I-I it was just myself. I wasn't-" he cut you off. You could barely speak.
"I've had it with you. Stop lying to me! You always do this! I don't my feelings hurt anymore tonight!" he yelled, approaching you. His hands were forming fists. You were overcome with a wave of terror, and you knew what you were about to wasn't going to end well.
"Can't you see you hurt mine too!" you yelled back. You had never yelled back at him before. However, you didn't need to get hurt before school tomorrow, so you did what you had to. You threw the first thing you could find in your room at your brother to distract him, grabbed your backpack, purse, and phone and bolted out the door, sobbing as you heard your brother screaming at you to come back. You know he can't control when things like this happen, but you did NOT want to see his face right now. You were getting sick of dealing with this too.
+flashback+
(slight trigger warning)
"Ryan, STOP!"
You laid weak on the floor, covered in bruises. Your brother practically rose before you, while you cowered below him. There was no escape. You were about to get the edge of his rage.
His girlfriend had just broken up with him, and he was a wreck. You had never seen him this messed up in your entire life. He was an actual train wreck. The house was a mess. There were open bags of snacks everywhere, a few broken bottles on the table, and shattered glass surrounding the floor around you. Ryan had thrown his only picture with his girlfriend at you, and it broke upon impact.
You were too far away from the phone to call 911, and too close to Ryan to try to escape out the front door. You had no choice. You had to take his pain-filled hits. You were powerless. The lat thing you remember was a box being thrown at the fireplace and a giant hand slapping you, knocking you out cold.
+end of flashback+
You shuddered remembering that last moment before straight darkness. You snapped back to the present and realized as you were walking by the beach, not only were you sobbing uncontrollably, but that your phone was still on. Had the mystery number stayed on the call this whole time? Through all of that? You checked, and sure enough, they had. You began to blush in embarrassment. "Oh my stars, I-I'm so s-sorry you had to hear all of that. I-I don't know-" you paused. On the other line, Steven was pacing around his room, panicking over your safety. He wanted so badly to take you away from wherever you were and keep you safe in his arms.
"Are you okay?" Steven asked in a calm, reassuring tone.
"I really don't know. I'm out somewhere on the beach by myself, which I've done before, just not at night. I know it's stupid, but I'm kinda afraid of the dark," you said looking around, then up at the sky. You heard some shuffling at the end of the line, which turned out to be Steven getting his jacket on, about to head out the front door of his house.
"What part of the beach are you on? I can come find you and sit with you for a while if you'd like. Just to help you calm down," Steven said, using this situation as an opportunity to connect with you, and hoping you would say yes.
"That'd be great, actually. I'm by the boardwalk, kind of towards the Big Donut I think'" you said, squinting around trying to make out the scenery around you, your eyes slowly adjusting to the moonlight.
"I'll be right there. I'll call back when I'm close. Just stay put and try not to wander off, okay?" the number said in the most calming, charming voice you had ever heard in your life. You felt safe, even though he wasn't there yet, and even though you didn't know who you were talking to.
"Gotcha. See you when you get here I guess. I'm wearing a pair of (f/c) shorts with stripes on them with a black t-shirt," you described before hanging up the phone.
.............................
About 10 minutes had passed and you still hadn't seen anyone or hear your phone ring. You were laying down on the sand, just trying to relax, when you thought it would be a good idea to check the time. You picked up your phone to see the time, but it wouldn't turn on. You've got to be joking. The one time you need your phone to be charged, it was dead. You started to panic again. Standing up, you looked around every angle you could see over and over, when you heard a noise. Somebody was on the beach. You felt a chill down your spine, realizing that this was probably a bad idea and you should probably just head home. You began to speed-walk the other direction when a hand touched your shoulder. You screamed and jumped back, falling to the ground in shock. You looked up and almost screamed again because it was none other than Steven Universe standing in front of you.
"Hey, it's okay. I'm the one who left the note and found your homework. I'm so, so sorry I startled you," he apologized as he reached out to help you up. You held his hand and began to stand up. Once you were upright, he took your other hand and looked at you for a minute. He could see the tears about to form in your eyes, so he gave you a hug as you started to sob again, recalling all the events happening prior to this. You eventually stopped crying, then you looked back up. Steven studied your face. He then wiped a tear from your eye, smiling at you. "I'm Steven, Steven Universe."
You were baffled. You couldn't tell if this was your delirious nighttime mood, but looking at him, you couldn't believe how charming he was. His smiled warmed you to the core, and you felt safe with him. "I'm (y/n)."
"Yeah, I know. It was on your homework," Steven said. Smiling even more at your geeky little laugh following his statement. You had almost completely forgotten about that forsaken homework.
"Oh man, yeah I forgot about that. Thank you again for that. I would have been toast if it wasn't for you," you thanked him. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew towards you two, almost knocking you over because of how weak and tired you were. You fell right into Steven, immediately feeling embarrassed, but of course, he caught you. He helped you stand back up. Once you were back on your feet, he looked at you again for a bit. He pushed a strand of your hair behind your ear, and you smiled, blushing slightly.
"Hey, so from what I could tell, home might be rough. Would you feel safer staying at my place for the night? I have extra clothes and stuff, and it'd probably be better than going back to... whatever that was," Steven suggested. You had to admit, it wasn't a bad idea. Anything was better than going back to Ryan the way he was. You made a mental note to text him in the morning, once your phone was charged. He needed time to cool off anyway.
"I would. Anything's better than my brother right now," you said. Steven nodded in agreement, then held you around your shoulder, and picked you up, causing you to gasp a little.
"(Y/n), you might wanna hold on," Steven smirked. You held onto his shoulders tight and closed your eyes. Steven noticed this and giggled a bit. After a minute or so, he spoke. "You can, uh, look now," he said, chuckling. You opened your eyes to see a sky full of stars. It felt so weird. You felt closer to them than normal. You looked down and saw that you were like a mile off the ground! Steven was flying you to his house!
"Oh my planets align..." you muttered, looking back up at the stars. Your eyes were sparkling and your smile was gleaming. You'd never felt this loose, this free. It felt like you could drift around carefree for ages. Steven was doing his best to sneak glances at you without being caught. You were just too beautiful. he couldn't help but want to see you over and over again.
.............
You arrived at his beach house, a little bummed that you had to stop flying, but relived you had a place to stay for the night. You walked into the house, rubbing your eyes to get used to the bright light filling the room. You had been outside for a while, so everything still seemed a little fuzzy. "Mmph, what time is it?" you groaned, remembering you had school tomorrow. You went to check your phone, but then remembered it was dead. "Hey, do you have a charger for this?" you asked, holding up your phone as you let out a small yawn.
"Oh, yeah. I think I have a spare in my bedroom. I'll go try to find it. Make yourself at home. I shouldn't be too long," Steven said, blushing at your cute yawn before heading upstairs, thankful he had a wall to hide his almost crimson face. You headed over to the couch and sat down. You don't think you've ever been this tired in your life. You tried your best to stay awake, but alas, you couldn't help but drift off to sleep within minutes.
Steven walked downstairs with the charger around 5 minutes later, only to see you asleep on his couch. He didn't want to wake you up, so he tip-toed to the kitchen, plugged your phone in, then tip-toed back over to the couch. He knew from past experience that sleeping on that couch is horrible for your back, so he picked you up as gently as possible to carry you upstairs.
Once he got to his bed, he laid you down and covered you up. You instantly, as if by habit, snuggled under the covers, falling deeper asleep. Steven yawned, realizing just how tired he was too. He went downstairs to shut the lights off. It was a relief the gems were gone for the next few days on a trip to Homeworld, because explaining this situation to them without any context would have been pretty awkward. He quietly headed back upstairs. Before he got in the bed, he couldn't help but stop for a minute. You were snuggled up in a bunch of blankets, and he couldn't handle all that cuteness. He smiled one more time before heading into the bed, making sure to keep a bit of distance. Your light breathing lulled him to sleep like a baby, and you both slept the best you had in a while, smiles upon both your faces.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Man, I wrote a lot words. I'm loving writing this book so much, and I hope y'all have been enjoying it so far. The next chapter won't have as much fluff since it's a little more of a follow-up, but I plan to incorporate some in there, so don't worry! I'm still pretty new to the fluff business, so I'm sorry if this seemed too clichéd or stereotypical or just really cringy in general, but I'm working on it. Again, if you have any suggestions feel free to leave a comment, and until next time, peace out guys!!
~ <3 xfandomxgirlx