"Connie, I like you...No, that's not clear enough...Connie, I love you...No, that's coming on way too strong...Connie will you be my girlfriend?" Steven rehearsed several scenarios of what would be the best, possible thing to say to Connie, in order to take their friendship to a much, higher level as he walked along the sidewalk that lead to her house.

He had to get it right; this night needed to be perfect. Tonight was the night that he was finally going to ask Connie to be his girlfriend and he was extremely nervous about it. What if she only liked him as a friend or worse...what if he were to make things awkward with his proposal and she didn't want anything to do with him at all anymore?! His fragile heart wouldn't be able to take it! He took a deep breath and just continued to mentally remind himself that Connie wouldn't do that to him as he approached the front door of her house.

He hesitantly rang the doorbell and waited. He began to feel hot to the point of sweating as he pulled out the collar of his shirt to relieve some of the inner heat from his skin. He swallowed hard, in order to choke back his nervousness as he tightened his grip on the bouquet of flowers he had spent all day picking for her. It was then that Connie had finally answered the door, provoking a surprised gasp from Steven.

"Oh?! These are for you!" He squeaked, before nervously handing her the flowers.

"Whoa! Okay...Thank you...I guess...Steven, what's this all about?" She finally asked as she looked up at Steven in confusion.

"Well...you see? I uh...really like you and uh...I was wondering if you...w-wanted to be my..." Steven began to ramble, sweat dripping down his face as he did so. He then swallowed hard and took a deep breath, before speaking his next line.

"Connie, will you go out with me?!" He finally asked. He then gasped and covered his mouth upon realizing that it was now finally out in the open. Connie appeared just as in shock as he did as silence filled the area, a silence that seemed to go on for what felt like hours for poor Steven.

"N-No Steven...I...I can't..." Connie sighed as she shamefully lowered her head, a look of grief plastered across her countenance as she did so. She began to nervously rub her shoulder as she glanced back up at Steven; she felt even more horrible about the situation than before when she saw the pained, heartbroken expression, plastered across his countenance and the tears that had begun to gush from his eyes. Steven felt as if his own heart had just shattered into billions of pieces. It was the worst feeling he had ever felt before in his entire life.

"I-Is it because I made things awkward?" He sniffled, chocking back sobs as Connie's eyes began to tear up as well.

"N-No! Of course not; it's not that at all, it's just that...Steven...I like you a lot too and I do want to be your girlfriend but...My Family is going to be moving soon so...Steven I'm so sorry but I just Can't be your girlfriend..." Connie sobbed as she began to break down crying. This couldn't be happening; Steven couldn't be losing her, he couldn't be losing his Connie.

"C-Connie...Connie, no! You can't leave! You can't leave me!" Steven sobbed as he clung to Connie, pulling her into a tight embrace. He cried softly into her shoulder as she returned his hug, crying along with him.

"I-I'm sorry Steven...I have to go...I told you before, my Dad's on The Police Force...We're never in the same place long...Never..." Connie sniffled as she held Steven close to her shaking frame.

He tightened his hug on her, tightening it to an extent, where he was nearly crushing her small, fragile spine. He couldn't let her leave him, he wouldn't let her leave him but how was he going to stop her? He needed to think of a plan and fast. He stopped crying once he had gotten an idea as he released Connie from the hug but kept his hands in a firm grip on her shoulders.

"Well, will you at least come to the beach with me one, last time before you go?" He asked softly, giving her that infamous sad, begging look that not even Garnet could refuse.

"Of course I will Steven..." Connie agreed with a forced smile as she wiped her tears away and so the two children somberly made their way to the beach. They both sat down in the sand and watched the waves crashing in silence for what felt like hours, before Steven had finally broken the silence.

"So you really do have to leave now, huh?" He asked.

"Yeah...I wish I didn't..." Connie sighed as she hugged her knees close to her chest.

"There's no way you can make them change their mind?" Steven asked once again. He wanted to give her a chance to put a stop to her parents' selfish decision before he did what he was about to do to her.

"No...They can't just change their minds Steven, this is my Dad's job we're talking about; they have to go..." Connie explained. She hadn't noticed that Steven had begun to stand up at this moment, due to the fact that she was somberly staring at the ground.

"Well they're just going to have to leave without you then..." Steven growled, before roughly taking ahold of Connie's arm and yanking her up to her feet.

"Ow! Steven, what are you doing?! You're hurting me?!" Connie cried out as Steven pulled her close to him. He loosened his grip slightly as he gently began to slide his wide, firm hand down her soft, smooth arm.

"Let go of me!" She shoved Steven away from her and turned her back to him as she was beginning to feel uncomfortable with his actions at the moment.

"Come on Connie...I wanna dance..." She heard Steven's voice beg as she felt him hug her from behind, restraining her and holding her arms in place.

"I don't want to dance right now!" She shrieked as she began violently trying to snatch her arms free from his grasp. Steven made sure to match her violent movements; his plan wouldn't work if their moves weren't in synch. She finally managed to break free but Steven grabbed her shoulder firmly, causing her to whimper in pain as he violently spun her around to face him.

"Well I do!" He demanded as he began to violently shake her until she was forced to drop to her knees. She stood back up and managed to shove him away from her once again, causing him to fall back. He caught himself, doing The Butterfly move before quickly standing back up and spinning himself around to face her. He then did a cartwheel over to her, wrapping his legs around her neck, before using them for support to launch himself into the air.

"I'm doing this for you!" He shouted as he landed in front of her, leaning against her as he wrapped his arms around her neck to hold himself up. He then used the support of Connie's shoulders to pull himself back up to his feet, before pulling her closer to his soft, warm body.

"You're hurting me!" Connie shrieked as she once again broke free from his grasp.

"It won't hurt if you don't fight me!" Steven yelled as he hooked his arms underneath Connie's arms, swerving his body to perfectly match her struggling movements. It was working, he could feel that 'all-too' familiar sensation of his Gem beginning to glow. Connie finally began to feel tired. Steven was much stronger than her and her frail body was beginning to ware down.

She had shifted to the side, her body beginning to give in and collapse as she leaned against Steven's right arm for support. Steven allowed Connie to slide from his right arm, before catching her with his left arm. His hand slowly slid down her tired, limp arm before finding what he was searching for. He took ahold of her hand, before pulling her back up to her feet, twirling her then allowing her to fall back into his right arm. Connie had attempted to escape once again but had collapsed from exhaustion. She attempted to crawl away but Steven had grabbed her by her foot to stop her, then pulled her back up to her feet by the back of her dress, before spinning her back around to face him once again.

"W-Why are you doing this to me?" Connie sniffled as tears once again began to stream down her cheeks. Steven was forcing her to dance with him, he was being too rough and he was hurting her.

"Shhh...It's going to be okay..." Steven promised softly as he put a finger to her lips to shush her. He then caressed her cheek gently, before sliding his hand back down her arm until he had once again found her hand, taking ahold of it, he twirled her once again before pulling her weak and tired frame close to his strong, warm body. He stroked her hair comfortingly as his Gem began to glow even brighter. His body then fazed into hers, allowing them to become Stevonnie once again.

"Steven, what did you do?!" Stevonnie shouted as she looked down at her own, two hands. Her voice then deepened as she began to laugh manically. Steven's plan had worked, he had successfully fused with Connie and now he wasn't going to let her unfuse; he was going to hold her prisoner within his body like he had seen Lapis Lazuli do to Jasper and he was never going to let her go.

"Don't worry Connie; it worked! We fused and now we're going to be together forever and ever!" She explained to herself before laughing even harder.

"Steven! Let me go! This isn't funny! Let me go! I need to leave tomorrow! My parents need to leave tomorrow!

I can't leave with us fused together! You can't come with me Steven!" Stevonnie pleaded in a much, softer tone as her face began to warp. Connie was attempting to break free from the fusion but to no avail; Steven's hold on her was too strong, she couldn't escape.

"No! I won't let them take you away from me! You're mine now and I'm never letting you go!" Stevonnie roared in a much, deeper tone as her Gem glowed. Within a matter of seconds, brightly-glowing, rose petals began to surround her, forming a large, maroon bubble that trapped her inside.

"Steven, I can't leave my parents! They'll worry about me! They love me!" Stevonnie cried in a soft tone once again.

"If they really loved you then they would think of what's best for you and not try to take you away from me! Just let me do this for you Connie! You'll thank me later!" Stevonnie yelled in a deep voice before placing her hands on the walls of her bubble and beginning to roll it out into the sea. Stevonnie sank to the bottom of the ocean in her bubble. It wouldn't be for too long; just until they had enough time to lose themselves within Stevonnie's form and permanently become one flesh.

Steven couldn't help but wonder just how long that would take with Connie resisting him. He couldn't help but wonder why she was resisting him. Didn't she want to be with him just as badly as he wanted to be with her? So why was she so willing to go with her parents instead of staying with him? Nevertheless, he was never going to let her go...ever...

It had been one year since The Crystal Gems had last seen or heard from Steven and Pearl was a nervous wreck.

"Did you find him yet?!" She asked frantically once Garnet had returned from yet another futile search.

"Not yet...I've checked all of his usual hangouts over a thousand times and still no sign of him..." Garnet sighed.

"It's been one, whole year! Where could he have possibly gone for that long?!" Pearl asked tearfully.

"Maybe he's been Gem-napped." Amethyst joked, causing Pearl to burst into tears. It was then Stevonnie had walked in through the open door, still sopping wet from the ocean's waters.

"Stevonnie?" Garnet asked. The Gems watched in shock as Stevonnie began to ring the water from her long, curly hair.

"I am not Stevonnie...I am...Rose Quartz..." She corrected as she narrowed her eyes.

THE END...