It was finally here.

Steven had been waiting for an eternity, to him anyway, for this day. Saturday, the day Connie didn't have to go to school. Sure it had only a week, but to Steven, not seeing Connie for that long was torture in its wickedest form. He had eagerly been waiting by the door for nearly two hours, fantasizing about all of the fun that he and Connie were going to have today. They had decided to spend the day at the arcade. It wasn't Connie's first choice, but Steven had convinced her that she would have a blast.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

The long awaited sound rings clear as day through Steven's ears: the firm knock at the door signaling someone requesting entry. Connie was only able to knock once before Steven had flung the door wide open, nearly ripping the screen door right off its hinges. Not only did he answer her beckoning call faster than she could've said his name, he nearly tackled her to the ground.

"Ah! Steven, what are you doing?!" Connie screeched, now being crushed in a deathly tight bear hug from Steven.

"Oh, sorry, sorry. I'm just soooooooooo excited to see you! It's been forever!" Steven gushed brightly.

"It's barely been a week Steven, you're exaggerating."

"Well, there hasn't been very much to do around here. The Gems have been a lot more busy than usual. They were gone for almost two whole days in a row! I got really worried a couple times. I even went to look for them once." Steven recalled.

"Woah, why were they out so long? Was it more gem experiments? Something to do with the Cluster? Oh my gosh, was it Homeworld?!" Connie began to panic, the mere thought of more Homeworld Gems caused her to become slightly more than a nervous wreck.

"No no no, everything's fine Connie, really! Calm down!" Steven couldn't stand to see Connie nervous like this. It was almost as bad as when she was sad. It hurt Steven, more than likely more than she was hurting herself. Can anyone really blame him, though? Connie was his best friend in the whole world. She meant everything to him.

"Okay, okay. I'm calm now, I'm calm. So, if it wasn't any of that stuff, then what were they doing all that time?" Connie was rather relieved that whatever the Crystal Gems were doing had nothing to do with what she originally thought. However, she was still curious as to what would be severe enough for the Gems to leave Steven at home all by himself for days on end. Sure, they've left him alone before, but not for this long. Someone always stayed back with him if he didn't go on the mission himself.

"Well, it's not as bad as what you said, but it's not that good, either. You see, some weird stuff has been happening at a few of the places Gems used to go a long time ago-" Steven began.

"You mean, like the Sky Spire where Pearl trains me?" Connie questioned but immediately regretted it.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you." She quickly apologized.

"It's fine, Connie. I don't mind. How would you have known what I was talking about if you didn't ask?" Steven gained a slight chuckle from Connie at saying this. He continued,

"Like I was saying, weird things started happening. A bunch of gem mutants were kinda, attracted to them? I don't really know how to explain it, and neither do the Gems. Everywhere they went, there were hordes of 'em, at least that's how Amethyst described it."

Connie was puzzled by his explanation. Why would they be attracted to the Gem monuments? She had never heard of anything like that happening before. She wondered what could have been causing these phenomena. Maybe some gem artifact? A powerful gem mutant? Or, maybe some kind of-

"But you're not here to talk about that kind of stuff. Today is the day that me and you play games until our eyes fall out, or at least until I run outta quarters." Connie does so much already, this was her day off and Steven was going to make sure she had fun. Steven snapped Connie out of her train of thought, not wanting her to dwell on whatever was going on with the gem mutants. He mentally chided himself for even mentioning it.

"Well Steven, you know we won't do very well in a battle if we don't have eyes." Connie joked, causing Steven to laugh, her following suit.

Connie tried to object as she wasn't all that fond of the public gaming scene. The noisy kids, the sticky floors, and questionable bathroom; not exactly her idea of a good time. She loved playing video games, especially when it was with Steven, but she always got so worried that onlookers would make fun of her if she did poorly, or if she made a goofy comment while playing. She never told Steven this, of course, because she knew he wouldn't have wanted to go anymore. She knew he loved the arcade, so she didn't want to keep him from going, even if she wasn't going to enjoy herself all that much.

After a short walk from the Temple, the pair arrived at their desired location: Funland Arcade. As Steven led Connie inside the establishment, they both plastered looks of confusion on their faces. Usually, the arcade was packed on a Saturday. Kids didn't have to go to school, so they would come here to kick back, relax, and blast a few zombies to bits. However, the arcade was barren, not a soul in sight. Steven was about to suggest they go somewhere else, thinking Funland Arcade was closed for some reason. He quickly dismissed that thought.

"All of the lights and games are on, and the background music is playing, but no one is here to enjoy the games." Steven thought out loud.

"I know. It's kind of creepy, in a way." Connie responded, commenting on how eerie the abandoned establishment looked.

Just as they were about to leave, they heard a familiar voice boom to them,

"Well hey there, Steven! Long time no see. Where've ya been, kid?" It was Mr. Smiley, the cardinal owner and maintainer of Funland Arcade. There would be no reason for Mr. Smiley to be at the arcade if it was closed.

"Hey Mr. Smiley. I've been pretty busy lately, that's why I haven't been able to come around." Steven kindly responded.

"Um, where is everyone? Is the arcade closed today? He continued

"No we're open, but I'm not sure where everyone is. I heard a group of kids talking who passed the arcade without even looking in. They were talking about this group of kids who recently moved to Beach City."

"We got some new arrivals?! I had no idea! I should go find them and give 'em a proper welcome!" Steven was giddy at the thought of making some new friends.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Steven. Those kids are bad news. They just moved here, and they've already made a pretty rotten reputation for themselves. They beat up some poor kids that were here earlier this week. When they came to the arcade, I didn't notice anything off about them. That was, until they started tormenting my customers." Mr. Smiley said with a deep frown and anger evident on his face.

"Oh my gosh, that's horrible! How could someone do something so cruel?" Connie gasped.

"That's what I though. I yelled at them to leave, and thankfully they did without me having to make them leave myself. I called the parents of the few kids they hurt. What was really shocking was they weren't just playing rough or anything; they really wanted to hurt those kids. One of them had to go to the emergency room to get stitches in a couple places. Since they just moved here, there's no way they knew each other, so why would they be so mean? I just don't understand it." The man replied sadly.

"Hm, maybe I should try and find those guys and explain to them that what they did was wrong. I'm sure they were just messin around. I bet they played like that wherever they lived before they came here. I just need to tell them that they're being too rough." Steven pondered, his voice containing traces of happiness spurred on by the thought of not only making four new friends, but to make them better people as well.

"Steven, it'd be best just to stay away from them altogether. I don't want to see you get hurt." Connie worriedly said to Steven, who still looked ready to hunt the kids down and give them a piece of his mind.

"I agree with your friend there, Steven. These boys are bad news. I'd hate to see you get hurt, too." Added Mr. Smiley.

"But what they did wasn't right, and I'm sure that they didn't really mean to hurt anyone. I can't just let them go around hurting little kids, especially if they don't know they're doing anything wrong. I have to tell them that they can't be so rough to the kids that live here." Steven rebutted, feeling mildly offended that his friends thought he wouldn't be able to handle a couple of bullies. He was a Gem, for goodness sake! He hadn't even planned on confronting them in a violent manner. If it came to that, he would have just walked away like his friends had advised him to.

"Steven, let's just forget about them and play some games. Come on, that's what you wanted us to do today, right?" Connie nudged, desperately wanting Steven to feel happy again.

"Hmph, fine." Steven muttered with crossed arms with a disappointed look set on his face.

Ugh, she's right. She's always right. Why is it that I'm never the one that's right or the one giving advice? Steven begrudgingly thought to himself.

"You two have fun. I'll be in the back doing some inventory and restocking if either of you need anything." Mr. Smiley said before strolling off towards the back of the arcade.

Steven and Connie played happily for a couple hours, Steven quickly forgetting all about those hooligans. The pair had separated, moving on to different games. Soon enough, they were each on opposite sides of the facility.

At around three o'clock, the nearly empty building gained four more members. They were four boys, all around the twelve to fourteen-year-old range, and were all stronger than the average child of their age. They were also the reason why the arcade was so empty; they had claimed it. Anyone who dared to enter their domain was swiftly and brutally dealt with. Thinking everything was still clear from yesterday's "events", the four turned to leave. Right before the leader of the pack was able to grasp the door handle, a loud voice was heard from across the arcade.

"YES! New high score! Woo-hoo! I can't believe it! It took me almost a year to get my last high score, and I beat it in less than a day! Awesome!" Steven was ecstatic at the fact that he had achieved a new high score in one of his favorite games, Road Killer. It was your average, run-of-the-mill racing simulator with decent graphics that encouraged the player to be a destructive driver, not a safe one.

Hearing his gleeful shout from across the arcade, the group of thugs made their way to the origin of the sound: Steven Universe. Little did he know, he had just unleashed a group of cruel, uncaring beasts upon his world. That was never his intention, obviously. He was simply celebrating his newfound superiority at a beloved game. Funny how even the best things in life can come with such dire consequences. The group quickly locked onto the sound of his voice, following it like dogs following the scent of a T-bone steak. Within seconds, he had been spotted. Locked in their sights, the posse made its move.

Steven, having noticed people coming towards him, stopped his celebrating. Four kids had come up to him. He didn't know any of them, so it was in his nature to introduce himself and attempt new friendship.

"Hi, I'm Steven. I haven't seen you guys around here before." Steven said politely, offering his hand.

The leader of the group stepped forward. Instead of shaking Steven's hand and introducing himself, he slapped it away, which caused Steven to yelp in pain.

"Hey, what'd you do that for?! I was just trying to-" Steven cut himself short as he began to put two and two together.

Wait a second: new faces, aggressive, group of four…...oh no; it's them. These were the new kids Mr. Smiley had warned me and Connie about. Why are they here?! I thought Mr. Smiley had banned them or something!

"Uh, c-can I help you? You can play this game, i-if you want. I'm finished with it." He nervously replied. Instead of a verbal response, all he got in return was nothing more than four sadistic grins.

Connie, while enjoying the quietness of her and Steven being the only kids in the arcade, quickly grew bored of all the violence-centered games. When she played a game, she wanted more of an adventure than bloodshed. Unfortunately, Funland didn't have much to offer in that category. Only two consoles to be exact. Connie had gone over every game in the building after having visited so many times with Steven. Not in the mood for alien hunting, Connie decided to catch up on the new book she had gotten at school Monday. Taking a seat at one of the bulky gaming cabinets, she began. Connie quickly lost herself in the book, becoming a part of the story herself. This happened every time she read something she really liked. That was how she breezed through books so quickly, almost like a machine. She would've finished her book before the arcade's closing time, which Steven had said would be the time that they left, no problem. That was, if she hadn't been interrupted by a scream.

"What the heck?" Connie thought out loud. Who would've screamed? Wasn't it just Steven and Connie there? It happened again, and this time, Connie was easily able to tell just who that shout belonged to: Steven. There was no doubt about it, that was his voice. There wasn't any reason for Steven to yell in the arcade like that as he never played any of the scarier games. Connie began to get worried. She decided to give her book a rest to go and find Steven. Steven's screams hadn't stopped, but were much quieter, muffled even. Connie knew something was wrong. She quickened her pace as sweat began to trickle down her face. After a minute or so of searching, she finally found him. The sight before her drained all the color right from her face.

The four boys had quickly surrounded Steven, stamping out any ideas he had of running away. In one swift motion, three of them had grabbed Steven's arms and legs, effectively immobilizing him. Steven screamed. They hadn't hurt him, but he knew what was coming. Mr. Smiley wouldn't have made up a story like that. The final boy stood right in front of Steven. Steven guessed that he was their leader or boss. Before Steven could utter a single word, the leader of the pack snapped his fingers, causing one of the boys to let go of Steven and walk in front of him. Before Steven could question what they were doing, the delinquent sent a high-speed ball of flesh and bone right into his nose. Steven yelled bloody murder, and he was right to do so. He had broken Steven's nose, which caused it to begin gushing blood, and he hadn't even broken a sweat! While Steven was holding his nose to hopefully stop the bleeding, the leader spoke.

"Well hello there, Steven. Allow me to introduce ourselves. My name is Zach, and these are my colleagues: Jack, Theo, and Travis." Zach introduced, gesturing to his friends as he named them.

"H-Hey, it's always n-nice to meet some new people around h-here." Steven nervously replied through his bloodied hands, trying his best not to sound terrified.

"Now, didn't you know that this place belonged to us? Of course you didn't, the truly confused look plastered on your face shows that. Now tell me, do you think it fair of us to simply let you off the hook when those other kids had to be taught a lesson for their ignorance?" His voice wasn't one that Steven was expecting. It was smooth and calm, with a bit of something that sounded like playfulness.

Steven feebly shook his head, blood still trickling down his face and through his fingers.

"Well, I guess my friends and I will just have to make sure that you won't make this unfortunate mistake again."

Snap

The punches resumed, increasing in speed and strength. Steven continued to scream, begging for them to stop, praying to gain the attention of Connie, Mr. Smiley, anyone.

"Theo, silence our little squeaker here, would you? We wouldn't want him cutting our fun here short, now would we?"

At his leader's command, Theo produced a roll of duct tape from his backpack. He placed a long strip over Steven's mouth to shut him up. They didn't want anyone to hear him and ruin their fun just yet.

Once Steven's cries were muffled to the point of near inaudibility, the trio resumed their work as Zach watched from the sidelines, guiding his minions to ensure an unforgettable experience.

After several minutes of ruthless punching and kicking, Connie appeared in front of the group. She gasped, seeing Steven being brutally assaulted like that.

"STEVEN!" She screamed, drawing the attention of the four boys. Steven, at that point, was a bloody mess; blood was dripping from his nose and down onto his shirt and pants, his right eye was black and beginning to swell, his bottom lip busted wide open, and bruises dotted his visible skin. When Steven saw her, Connie assumed that he would be relieved, grateful that someone had come to rescue him. She was dead wrong. On his face wasn't a look of gratitude, but one of pure horror. Due to all of the blood and sweat on his face, the duct tape had loosened, allowing him to get it off.

"Connie, run! Get outta here, now!" He yelled, fear and pain filling his voice.

Connie wasn't expecting that type of response at all. She was completely dumbfounded. Why would Steven want her to run? It was obvious. He didn't want her to get hurt. Steven cared far too much about Connie to see her end up like him.

"Steven, I'm not just going to leave you. I promised Pearl that I would protect you. This is what I've been training for." Connie boldly stated. She wasn't sure if she could take on four opponents at once, even with her sword. Now wasn't the time for sword fighting, though. Connie had been training diligently not only with Pearl to hone her swords skill, but also with Garnet to improve her hand-to-hand combat skills. Drawing on her lessons, Connie assumed a proper battle stance Garnet had taught her. She was prepared to do whatever it took to defend her best friend.

Seeing this, Steven really began to panic. He would've rather been beat up for hours than to rather see her get hit once. He wasn't going to stand idly by as his best friend, his Jam Bud, get hurt because of him.

"Connie, I said get out of here! I'm not going to watch you get hurt because of me! Run back to the Temple and get the Gems. They can help, just please don't try to fight them." Steven begged.

Having been fed up with the two's bickering, Zach decided to put an end to it.

"If I were you, I would listen to your boyfriend here. Now I suggest that you leave. I would never hit a girl myself, but I can't speak for my friends here, so there is always the possibility of you ending up like him. Don't be a hero and try to fight us. Please, a four on one? How do you think a pretty little thing like you would hold up?" The leader voiced with false concern as his face curled into a taunting grin.

"Don't talk to her like that! Leave her out of this!" Steven yelled at the top of his lungs.

Doing this gained Steven a hearty slug straight to the jaw from Jack, causing him to scream out in pain. By this time, Connie had tears in her eyes. It pained her deeply to see Steven get hurt, especially when she couldn't help him. Even though Connie hated the thought, she knew she would have to leave him to get the Gems.

"Don't worry Steven, I'll be back as fast as I can with help!" Connie stated before turning on her heel and bolting out of the arcade.

Now alone with their prey, the thugs resumed their work on Steven. After tag-teaming him for a while, the group began to grow bored. Steven, although thoroughly bruised and bloody, was beginning to react less and less, much to the dismay of his four aggressors. Zach, having done this type of thing before, knew that it wouldn't take much more to knock Steven unconscious. To make his pals' playtime as long and entertaining as much as possible, he decided to get creative. Steven, the whole while, had been quietly mumbling for them to stop. To his surprise, they actually did. Steven thought that the gang had abused him to their hearts' content and were going to finally let him leave. He couldn't have been more wrong. Zach's three puppets switched places, moving from standing behind him to standing in front of him, still holding him the same way. He also pulled a switcheroo, moving from in front of Steven to behind him. Steven was thoroughly confused. He was about to ask what they were doing, when all of a sudden, he felt his underwear being hiked up his back. Zach had given Steven a massive wedgie. The sudden wave of pain that coursed through Steven's body caused him to scream, albeit about an octave higher than his normal voice. Steven's mind was racing, thoughts coming and going frantically, hoping to find a way out of this mess.

Please hurry, Connie. Where are you?!

Connie ran as fast as she possibly could to get to the Gem's abode: The Temple. Before she could get very far from the arcade, however, an unknown figure silently snuck up behind Connie. He took her by surprise, grabbing her and quickly slapping a piece of duct tape over her mouth. No amount of kicking and muffled screaming allowed her to break free from her assailant's iron grasp. She was dragged against her will back to the arcade. Once just outside the doors, the boy that still had Connie in his firm grasp, quietly opened the door and escorted her through. After the pair had entered the building, they stuck around the door, never straying too far from it. Connie, having stopped her useless resisting, was able to see the remaining boys and Steven from where they stood. Connie cringed at the sight. What she saw was Steven getting the wedgie of a lifetime. He was screaming and begging for them to stop, which of course they didn't. Connie was furious, not just at those boys for doing those horrid things to her Biscuit, but specifically at the one whom still held onto her. She was enraged because she knew that he had just brought her back here to watch her friend suffer. They weren't worried about getting into trouble, they had made that quite obvious with the things they've done already. Connie tried her hardest to let Steven know she was there, but the tape just wouldn't allow it. Her pleas and cries came out as nothing more than garbled nonsense.

Steven asked for my help, but I failed him. I'm too weak to do anything; I'm worthless. I'm not the one protecting him; I never was. He's always been the one protecting me. She couldn't believe this was happening. She knew that she wouldn't have been much help in a fight, but she never thought that she would be so careless as to let someone sneak up on her as easily as he did.

With those thoughts, came tears. While she began sobbing, the boy still holding her loudly whispered for her to shut her trap, but she just couldn't. How could she when she had let Steven down like this? Now that she had failed, he was basically being tortured by a bunch of barbarians with help coming no time soon. Her crying intensified.

Steven was in more pain than he had ever been in in his entire life, and he had been pretty roughed up in a couple of skirmishes with some irate gem mutants. Zach just wouldn't relent. He kept pulling and pulling and pulling at Steven's tighty whities, causing him an extreme amount of pain and overall discomfort. Since the Gems and Connie's parents thought Steven and Connie were going to be out until sunset and it was only around four thirty, so no one was going to come looking for the two anytime soon.

Steven wouldn't stop screaming, much to Connie's dismay, yet much to the delight of the hooligans. After almost half an hour of constantly being pulled, stretched, and yanked, Steven's underwear finally gave out.

RRRRrrrriiiipppp!

Steven would have collapsed on the floor if it weren't for the two remaining munchkins holding him up. His face glistened with a layer of sweat and tears induced by the day's events. He was crying, still begging for them to leave him alone, his voice nothing more than a whisper. The two thugs still holding Steven up suddenly let go, causing him to fall to the floor like a sack of potatoes. The sudden impact gained a few pained moans and groans from him, much to the amusement of the boys.

"Well, this was fun, Steven. Let's get together again sometime. Come on, boys, I think we've made our point crystal clear."

Laughing, the group began to leave the arcade, but not before Jack gave Steven one final swift kick to the ribs, causing Steven to hoarsely cough, a few drops of blood flying from his mouth in the process. He curled up into a ball on the floor and quietly cried in pain.

Seeing that his friends were finished having "fun" with their prey, Connie's captor roughly removed the tape from her mouth and released her. Connie didn't pay him a second thought, only caring about her poor Steven. She ran as fast as she could to his side and kneeled down close to him. He was still crying, hands on his crotch in a feeble attempt to alleviate the agonizing pain. Connie gently pulled his head up into her lap and dried his eyes. She told him that the boys were gone and he was safe now in a soft, gentle voice. She kept repeating that until Steven's crying began to subside. Connie did everything she could think of to make him feel better and stop his crying completely, but she knew that he was in a tremendous amount of pain.

After a few minutes of Connie's quiet cooing, Steven's crying had dulled down to choked sobs. Both children remained silent for several minutes, save for Steven's light sobbing.

"Why did you abandon me?" Steven suddenly spoke up. His voice was so quiet and hoarse Connie almost didn't hear him. Almost. Connie's breath caught in her throat and her face paled. She couldn't believe that Steven said such a thing. She didn't abandon him, she was captured and forced back to the arcade to watch him suffer! Connie couldn't be mad at him though, for he had no idea that she never made it to the Temple. The boy that grabbed her had kept her by the door specifically so she wouldn't be seen by Steven. That's when Connie realized the true reason why he did it. It wasn't so she had to watch Steven suffer, it was for this, this moment. If Connie never returned with help like Steven had asked and like she left to do, then Steven would've thought that she had just ran away to safety and left him to face the bullies on his own. Steven never saw Connie re-enter the arcade. He had no idea that she saw everything.

"Steven, I didn't abandon you. You should know better than to think something like that." Connie replied in a soft, gentle voice.

"Then why didn't you ever come back with the Gems? Why did you get here right when those bullies left? Were you just waiting for them to leave so you could come back?" He choked.

Steven began to cry again, but not because of the pain. He started to cry because he thought that Connie, his best friend, had ditched him in such a great time of need. He had never imagined that Connie, of all people, would do something like that.

Before Steven could get all worked up again, Connie began explaining everything that had happened. She told him about how one of the boys from the arcade had slipped away and followed her, grabbed her from behind, taped her mouth shut, dragged her back to the arcade, and kept her right by the entrance so Steven couldn't see her.

Steven didn't know what to say. He had just accused one of the most important people in his life of leaving him to fend for himself against four heartless brutes.

"Connie, I-I'm so sorry, I really didn't know that all of that stuff happened. I'm so sorry, please forg-" Steven begged, praying that Connie didn't hate him for what he had said to her. Before he could finish, though, Connie cut him off.

"Steven, it's okay, really. I'm not mad at all. I know how you feel, and honestly, I would've felt the same way if our roles were reversed. I know it seemed like I just left you, but now you know what really happened."

How could Steven be sorry for saying what he did? He had no idea that Connie was at the arcade the entire time, being forced to watch those kids pound on him. Connie wasn't mad at all, though Steven wasn't so sure.

Making sure Steven was ready, Connie slowly began to help him to his feet. The moment she let go of his arms, Steven immediately crumpled to the floor, crying out in pain when he did so. That wedgie Zach had bestowed upon Steven had done a number on the poor boy. It was obvious to the both of them that Steven wasn't able to stand on his own, let alone walk all the way home. Seeing how helpless he was, Connie gently helped him up again.

"Don't worry, Steven. I'll help walk you home." Connie concernedly offered.

"No no, it's fine. I can walk, see?" Steven said as he shrugged Connie's hands off of him. He stabilized himself on his own two feet. Once balanced, he took one shaky step forward, then face planted the arcade's colorful, patterned carpet.

"Oof! I uh, I guess I really can't walk on my own. I'm really sorry Connie. I know you want to go home, and I'm sure your parents will start to worry about you if you're not home soon." Steven stated sadly, looking at the ground, twiddling his thumbs.

"Nonsense Steven. I'd be happy to help you home. Since I wasn't able to get help when they were attacking you, it's the least I can do. My parents won't be worried about me since it's not that late yet. As long as I get home by nine o'clock, I'll be fine." Connie reassured.

"Thanks, Connie. You're the best friend ever." Steven thanked.

"Haha, thanks Steven."

It was starting to get late and the sun had begun to set over Beach City. No one else was walking on the Boardwalk when the pair left the arcade, much to their relief. Steven was a horrible mess. He was covered in blood and bruises with his shredded underwear hanging out of the back of his jeans. If anyone saw the couple, whether they knew them or not, they would have flocked to the children, asking if they were okay and what had happened. Steven, although being greatly assisted by Connie, still walked with a bit of a limp. By the time they had left wooden planks in favor of the sandy beach, Steven had gotten a worried expression on his face. This didn't go unnoticed by Connie for very long.

"What's wrong, Steven? You look worried about something." Connie probed.

"Well, I'm just worried about how the Gems are going to react. I mean, the last time I was hurt, I thought Pearl was gonna to have a heart attack. Who knows what they'll do when they see me like this." Steven said solemnly.

The kids weren't in sight of the Temple yet, so there was still time to come up with a plan. They stopped walking and sat down on the cool sand. After about five minutes of silence between the two, Connie piped up, yelling a single word.

"Makeup!" She shouted, startling Steven.

"What are you-"

"I can go back to my house and get some of my beauty products. I can use those to clean up your face and cover up all of the bruises. It's perfect!" Connie squealed, delighted at her immaculate idea.

"Wow Connie, that's a great idea!" Steven praised. "How'd you come up with that so fast?"

"I don't know. It just came to me, I guess." She replied modestly, blushing a bit at Steven's comment.

"But wait, how will we get your makeup stuff? It's all the way at your house, and if you parents saw me they'd freak out. And you can't just go by yourself. What would your parents think if I just sent you back home all by yourself?" Steven knew Connie's idea was great, but he just didn't see how they would acquire the necessary materials to make him presentable to the Gems.

"Hm, you have a good point. Maybe I could just tell them you got sick and weren't able to walk me home? I think they would buy that." Connie suggested.

"No, Connie. I don't like it when people tell lies, especially to their parents. And besides, you promised your mom you'd stop lying to her and your dad that night at the hospital." He wasn't going to let Connie lie to her parents, especially after the promise she made to her mother.

"Yeah, you're right. Well, what are we going to do now? There goes my plan." Connie said dejectedly, a bit bummed that they couldn't put her exceptional plan to action.

The team began to brainstorm once more, desperate to find a way to make Steven look decent enough to face the Gems. It took several minutes, but progress was soon made, and by Steven this time.

"Hey, why don't we just get Lion to help us? He could make a portal to your house so we wouldn't have to walk all the way there and risk being seen, and I could stay on him while you went inside and got your supplies." Steven proudly boasted, prideful at having offered such a brilliant idea.

Connie didn't say anything. She had a look that said something along the lines of 'Have you lost your mind?!'. She was sure that he had sustained brain damage for even thinking they could get away with something like that.

"Are you crazy?! Lion sleeps under the stairs of your house. There's no way we could get anywhere near the Temple without the Gems knowing. They're super powerful aliens who have been around for thousands of years. They'd surely sense us sneaking around." Connie explained, detailing all of the flaws in Steven's "brilliant" idea.

"Connie, trust me. Everything's gonna be fine. All you have to do is be super quiet and sneak up to the house and get Lion's attention. He'll listen to you; you're like his second owner. I'd do it myself, but you saw what happened when I tried to walk on my own, heh heh." Steven chuckled nervously. He was rather ashamed that he had to rely on Connie just to walk. He felt weak.

"Are you sure the Gems won't notice me? I mean, they always know where we are. Garnet has future vision; she'll see me coming for sure!" Connie just didn't see how this plan could work. There were so many places where it could go wrong.

"Positive. I mean, even if they do see you, just act normal. Pretend that you're just getting Lion to play with him or something." Steven reassured.

After much internal deliberation, Connie decided that she didn't really have anything to lose. She trusted Steven's judgement. Not only that, but she was eager to make up for letting him down back at the arcade. She may act like she had forgotten about it so Steven wouldn't feel bad for what he said, but the truth of the matter was she was still furious with herself about it.

While Steven stayed sitting in the sand on the beach, Connie stealthily made her way to the front of the beach house. Once it was in sight, Connie was quick to spot Lion. He was right where she said he would be: asleep under the house's porch. Connie quietly ran up to him, taking care to make as little sound as possible. Once she was safely hidden away under the porch with Lion, Connie began to gently wake him up, being careful not to startle him. It only took a shake or two to awaken the drowsy cat, which meant Connie didn't have to stick around the Temple for any longer than she had to. With a bit of coaxing, Connie was able to get Lion to follow her back to the hidden section of the beach where Steven awaited their return.

The operation went much smoother than either of the two children had predicted it would have gone. They half expected one of the Gems to exit the house and call Connie out, exposing them both. However, what neither of them was expecting was for Lion to freak out when he saw Steven. Lion was quite obviously worried about his young charge, clearly seeing that he was battered and bloody. With a bit of sweet talk, and perhaps the promise of a couple Lion Lickers, Steven was able to calm down his furry companion.

"Okay Lion, Connie and I need to go somewhere so we can be alone. I need to get cleaned up before I can see the Gems. You know they'd freak out if they saw me like this." Steven said as sweetly as he could. Lion only stared at him, obviously not too happy with the situation.

"Aw come on, Lion. Please? I really don't want the Gems to worry about what happened. They have enough junk to deal with right now. The gem experiments, the Cluster, Homeworld, you know. Please, Lion? I don't want Connie to get in trouble either. Her parents wouldn't let her see me anymore if they knew someone did that to me and her and I wasn't able to protect her." Steven pleaded with starry eyes, pulling out all the stops to get Lion's help.

With an exaggerated huff, Lion crouched down in the sand so Steven and Connie could climb onto his back. The two exchanged quick high-fives before climbing aboard, happy with their success. With a running start, Lion roared open a portal to an unknown location. All Steven had told him was that he and Connie needed to go somewhere private.

Once the group of travelers had passed through Lion's portal, they came to a stop on a beach. For a moment, the duo thought Lion hadn't gone anywhere, then they looked around. They could both tell that they weren't in Beach City anymore. Steven recognized the area whereas Connie was clueless.

"Great idea, Lion! This place is perfect!" Steven thanked, giving Lion a big hug before being tapped on the shoulder by Connie.

"Um, Steven, where are we? I've never been here before." Connie confusedly asked. Steven was quick to wash away her worries with a cheery response.

"Connie, this place is awesome! The Gems said it was named Mask Island. It's a really cool island covered in beautiful plants and gem stuff. I took Lars and Sadie here for a little while as a vacation. Although, that didn't go exactly as I thought it would have." Steven recalled, shivering at the thought of Sadie having to fight that gem creature all on her own.

"Oh, okay. This place does sound really cool. It's secluded, right?" Connie nervously questioned, looking every which way for any signs of people.

"Uh, well I don't know what secluded means, but no one else lives here or anything. We're all alone. Hey, how long do you think it'll take for you to- Dang it!" Steven exclaimed mid-sentence.

"What's wrong? Is everything okay?" Connie asked, getting a bit worried.

"We didn't get your makeup and stuff. Now what are we gonna do?" Steven whined, plopping down onto the sand. He did so a bit too roughly, causing a shockwave of pain to shoot through his still aching body.

"Ow! Man, those kids were really mean…and strong. I wish I wasn't such a big baby. I should've just fought back; I've been training for a reason. Garnet said I shouldn't ever let anyone push me around, but I just can't hit anyone. I'd feel so bad about it. I'm so weak. Why would someone like you want to hang out with a wimp like me anyway?" Steven said, tears beginning to bud.

"Oh Steven, please don't talk about yourself like that. You are not a wimp at all; you're just kind-hearted. It's normal to feel bad for hitting someone. Even knights from medieval times felt bad about killing people sometimes, but they did it for a reason. They did it to protect the people they loved and cared about. If anybody here is a wimp, it's me. I didn't try to get those kids off of you, I didn't get the Gems, and I didn't hear that boy sneak up on me. I'm not just a wimp, I'm a failure. I'm worthless. Some knight I turned out to be." Connie said solemnly, eyes firmly locked on a seashell sticking out of the sand.

Out of nowhere, something grabbed Connie. She couldn't see what it was, as it was covering her face. She began to panic, but quickly stopped when she heard sobbing and felt her shoulder begin to dampen.

"Steven, are you-" Connie began, only for Steven to interrupt.

"Don't you ever say those things about yourself! You are the strongest, coolest, most nicest person I know! You may not have tons of muscles, but that's not what strength is, Connie. You have to believe in your abilities and know what you're fighting for. If you don't, then what's the point? Please don't think about yourself like that Connie. I think you're amazing, and so should you." Steven dejected, rather distressed about the way that Connie felt about herself.

"Steven, I-I don't know what to say. Thank you." Connie blushed. She had never received such praise, not even from Steven, before. She liked it, but knew it couldn't last long. The sun was sinking lower and lower in the sky. They had to act fast. Otherwise, Steven would have to face the Gems as he is. There was just one problem: Connie still didn't have her supplies.

"Steven, we really need to hurry up and get my beauty supplies from my house, it's getting late. If we don't hurry, I'll have to go home without being able to clean you up." Connie stated, trying to get Steven to forget about what she said and stop crying. He pulled his head off of her shoulder and sniffled.

"O-Okay, Connie. Let's go to your house and then come back here. I don't have to look perfect, just good enough so that I don't look like a banana someone threw on the floor." Steven joked, causing both of them to laugh.

It didn't take long for the two to teleport to Connie's house with the aid of Lion. The tricky part was Connie getting her supplies and coming back to Steven and Lion.

"Connie, why are you taking all of that stuff with you? It's seven o'clock, which is only two hours away from the time that you have to be home. What's in that backpack, anyway?" Dr. Maheswaran said confusedly to her daughter.

"Oh, it's just some stuff that I wanted to show Steven. Some new books, the music that I'm practicing on my violin, that kind of stuff. I'm taking this stuff with me because I want to spend as much time with Steven today as I can. I won't be able to see him for this long until next Saturday." Connie knew she said she wouldn't lie to her parents, but there was no avoiding this one. She had to tell a little fib in order to help Steven. What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

"Okay, that's fine, but did you come all the way back here from Steven's house by yourself?" Priyanka didn't like the idea of her daughter wandering the streets alone at this time of day, even though nothing bad ever happened there.

"No ma'am. Steven's waiting for me over there on Lion. I told him to stay over there so that we could be as quick as possible." Connie responded somewhat honestly.

"Well, alright. Just be sure that he has you home by nine young lady. I don't want to have to come pick you up myself." Even though she trusted Steven with her daughter, Dr. Maheswaran always worried about her daughter.

"Yes ma'am, you don't have to worry about that. I've always been home on time, haven't I? Steven knows how important curfew is."

"Okay, you two have fun. I'll see you at nine." Dr. Maheswaran replied with a smile.

"Thanks mom, see you then." Connie returned the smile.

After Connie had gathered all of her makeup and medical supplies, she left the house and ran back to Lion. As soon as she was securely on his back, Lion took off, roaring open another portal.

Once the two were back on the island, Connie got to work. Lion watched intently as she carefully wiped the blood from Steven's still incredibly tender face. Wincing and pulling away frequently, Steven was constantly telling her that it still hurt and to be gentle. To this Connie would always reply:

"If I were to be any gentler, I wouldn't be touching your face at all."

The whole while Connie was fixing Steven up, something kept bugging her. What was it? Why was she so conflicted? Then it hit her like a bus: Steven shouldn't have gotten beat up at all. Not because he was special or anything like that, but because he had a rock solid defense. Steven had grown very accustomed to using his shield and bubble for prolonged periods of time, so defending himself in the arcade should have been a cinch. He didn't have to fight back to protect himself, so there was no reason for him to just sit there and take such abuse.

"H-Hey um, Steven? Why…Why didn't you use your shield back there? I-I know you said you don't want to hurt anyone, but if you had just used your shield, or your bubble I guess, then they wouldn't have been able to hurt you at all. You wouldn't have even had to fight back! I-It just doesn't make any sense, Steven. You've mastered summoning your shield and bubble, but you didn't use them. Why?" Connie was truly confused, and somewhat nervous to ask Steven those questions. She was also a bit irritated to be honest. Why would Steven just let himself get beat up so badly like that? It just didn't add up to her.

Hearing Connie's questioning, Steven had begun to sweat. He had become extremely quiet, no longer complaining about his still aching face. His mind was racing, trying desperately to find the right words to make this conversation end as soon as possible.

How did she find out?! D-Did I say something by mistake? Ugh, no, I didn't say anything, she's just super smart. I should've known I couldn't keep anything from her no matter how hard I tried. Man, I just told her that she couldn't lie to her parents and now I'm going to have to lie to her. I'm such a hypocrite. I can't keep this up anymore. She already knows I'm lying, but I just can't let her worry about me anymore. She's already been through so much today, and it's all my fault. I can't give her something else to worry about, she has enough on her plate as it is.

"Well, I uh, I just didn't think about it then?" Steven said, rather unsure of himself. Connie immediately saw through his ruse; seeing his sweaty face, lack of eye contact, and nervous hand movements.

…...He's lying to me. How could he do that after he made such a big deal out of me lying to my parents?! Why can't he just tell me the truth? Does he not trust me? Is it because of what happened back at the arcade? I-I thought we had settled all of that. It looks like I was wrong.

"Steven, why are you lying to me? I mean, come on. You know you're a terrible liar. Why are you lying to me if you know it isn't right? Are you hiding things from me because of what happened? I thought we understood each other about what happened at the arcade." Connie spoke with a firm voice that demanded Steven's complete honesty. She was going to get answers, whether he wanted to give them or not.

"W-What are you talking about, Connie? I-I'm not….oh who am I kidding. I'm sorry Connie. I just…it's too…I just can't." Steven was looking at the ground now, talking in a sad, quiet whisper. He knew he had to tell Connie what was really bothering him, but she had gone through enough for one day; for a lifetime in his opinion.

"Steven. You know you can tell me anything, don't you?" Connie said, equally quiet. She could tell he wasn't hiding anything from her because he didn't trust her. Something was bugging him, and she knew that he wanted to tell someone, anyone, but she also knew how much Steven hated it when others were worried about him.

"W-Well, I just don't want-" Steven was quickly cut off by Connie as she knew exactly what he was going to say.

"Forget about that, Steven. I'll worry a lot more if you don't tell me. Remember what happened back on the beach after that Homeworld ship crashed? Don't you remember how worried I was about you avoiding me? Please tell me, Steven." Connie hated to see Steven so conflicted. She kept trying to guess what he was going to say to better prepare a response, but she just couldn't come up with anything. Nothing he was saying was making sense.

Steven just looked at the ground. Connie was about to say something to try and comfort him, but before she could utter so much as another peep, Steven started to bawl. Not only that, but he also started screaming. He was grabbing his hair and crying louder than he had ever done in his life. Connie was so startled by his outburst that she had yelped and jumped away slightly, falling backwards into the sand. She was scared out of her mind. Was he hurt? Did she say or do something wrong?

"Steven! What's –" Connie started, attempting to calm her friend before he cut her off.

"I just wanted to look normal, okay?! I hate it when people call me names like "freak" or "weirdo" or whatever just because I'm part Gem! I knew I should've used my bubble, but I knew they'd call me a freak or something and laugh at me. I….I just couldn't handle that. Not again, not ever! Anything that they were going to do to me would've been better than that. That's why I didn't use my bubble or my shield, OKAY?!" Steven was infuriated. His face was completely red and his voice was beginning to grow hoarse from all of his shouting. At the end of his emotion-fueled rant, Steven went from crying and yelling to breathing heavily from his outburst. However, when he took one look at Connie, his heart stopped.

Tears streaked her cheeks and a look of horror was plastered on her face. He had done this. This was all his fault. He shouldn't have screamed at her like that; she was only trying to help. Steven wasn't screaming at her, though. He wasn't really screaming at anyone in particular, he just had to get all of that off of his chest. He had kept how he really felt about his Gem heritage hidden from everyone. Steven didn't dislike the fact that he was part Gem, he just hated how other people reacted to it. To everyone else on the planet, he was different. He wasn't a Gem, nor was he a human. He was an outcast, an abomination,…..a mistake. Steven knew that the Gems blamed him for Rose leaving them to fend for themselves. It didn't take a genius to see that. He didn't let that bother him too much, though. What did bother him was the fact that he wasn't what his mother had wanted him to be: something extraordinary. There was nothing special about Steven, at least in his mind. How can someone so different, so alone, so….wrong, be anything other than a monster? Even though he had heard Rose herself say that he would be the best son anyone could ask for didn't change his mind. She didn't know what he was going to be like. She was just hoping that he would come out to be this amazing gem warrior just like she was, that way he could have taken her place as leader of the Crystal Gems. Needless to say, that is not who Steven Quartz Universe is.

"O-Oh my gosh. Connie, I-I'm so so sorry. I wasn't saying that to you. I just- I c-couldn't keep a-all of that in a-anymore…" Steven stuttered, tears beginning to prick up once again. He didn't know what to say. Nothing he could think of seemed good enough to make up for what he said. He was sure that Connie was furious with him for yelling at her for something that she had nothing to do with. Just as he was about to try apologizing again, all thoughts he had were erased as a miracle took place.

Connie jumped up from the sand and hugged Steven as hard as she could, quietly saying "It's okay, Steven, it's okay." over and over again in his ear. Not a word did Steven speak. All he did was fall to his knees, Connie coming too, and cried. He just cried, and cried, and cried. Connie stayed by his side, constantly whispering caring, uplifting phrases into his ear. Steven was truly moved at how forgiving Connie was. She didn't question what he did, why he did it, or what caused it. She just forgave it all and did everything she could to make him feel like his old self again.

About ten minutes later, Steven had calmed down enough to talk clearly, without a stray sob or hiccup interrupting him. No matter what Connie said, however, nothing could make Steven feel better. He had just dumped a massive amount of emotional trauma that he had kept pent up for years on Connie. Even though she had said over and over that everything was okay, he knew it wasn't. She had to be mad at him, she just had to be. No one just lets something like that go. He had yelled at her, at the top of his lungs, yet she still claimed to have forgiven him. He wasn't sure whether or not to truly believe her.

"C-Connie…." Steven didn't have it in him to say anything more. He was truly exhausted. Crying sure does take a lot out of a person, and pile that on top of everything he went through at the arcade and it's a miracle he hadn't collapsed from overexertion.

"Steven, it's okay. I know you weren't yelling at me." Connie said in the smoothest, most relaxing tone she could muster.

"T-Then why were you crying? I saw you. You looked terrified. You were right to be, though. I'm a monster." Steven had drawn his legs up to his chest and hid the majority of his face behind his knees. He was a monster, right? He wasn't a Gem, and he wasn't a human. He was just this weird, mashed together fusion of the two species. Something like him wasn't supposed to exist. It's wrong.

"Steven!" Connie yelled, causing Steven to jump a bit and scream. "Stop saying that! You're not a monster! You're amazing. Just because you're not like me or the Gems doesn't make you a monster. You're a bit different, so what? Aren't we all a bit different from each other? How would things be if everyone was just alike?" She tried using her incredible intellect and reasoning skills to help Steven see that he was just like everyone else.

"Connie, I know that people are different, but you know what I mean. I'm a species of my own. I'm all alone in this world; in this universe. I shouldn't even be alive; my mom should be. She was amazing, Connie. She was so strong, so smart, so…..extraordinary. I know she wanted me to be like her, but I'm not. I mean, look at me. I'm just a fat, stupid human with a rock stuck to his stomach. There's nothing even remotely extraordinary about me." Steven had begun to cry again, however silently. He wasn't sobbing, but there were tears streaming down his cheeks. Thinking these statements was one thing, but actually saying them out loud was something entirely different.

Connie had known that there was something up with Steven and his mom, but it was such a delicate situation that she never asked anything about her. No matter what she had thought, however, it hadn't come anywhere close to this.

"….Steven. That's some…really heavy stuff. Why haven't you told anyone about this? Don't you know that it's really unhealthy to hold your feelings in like this?" Connie was beginning to get worried. Steven was acting so….different. He always seems so optimistic and open, she never thought that he felt this way about himself.

"I-I know, but if I can't handle m-my emotions on my own, then how could I ever become a great l-leader like my mom was?" Steven was sniffling now, his tears falling faster.

That response was not at all what Connie was expecting. She was sure that he was going to say something like he didn't want anyone to worry, but he didn't. It seemed that Steven looked up to his mother much more than anyone had expected. The Gems and Greg had known that he would want to know more about her and maybe even try and be like her a little, but nothing like this.

"Steven, no matter what you do, your mother would be proud of you. She loved you more than anything, and nothing you say or do will ever change that. Just because you discuss your emotions with someone doesn't mean that you're weak or that you can't be a leader. Everyone has their limits, Steven, and everyone hits them at least once in their life. You really need to talk about these things more, it'll make you feel so much better. Trust me, I know from experience." At that, Connie blushed a little and looked at the ground.

"Y-You're talking about all of the stuff I've said about you being special and unique, aren't you?" Steven replied, looking up at Connie for the first time in a while, blushing slightly with a small smile. His sniffling had stopped and crying slowed.

"Y-Yeah. You may not have realized it, but all of that stuff you said really helped me. A lot. I was so….depressed, all the time. I thought I was going to coast through life all by myself, never meeting anyone new that wasn't family.

"Wow, I never knew that Connie. I was just trying to be nice." He retorted.

"How can you worry about being nice to everyone when you feel like this?" she quickly shot back.

"You always put others first, Connie. At least, that's what I do. I mean, I'm everyone's shield. I protect everyone no matter what. I have to put myself last." At this, Steven looked at the ground again, his own words dwelling on him.

"Steven, that's fine during a battle, but you can't put yourself last all the time. Look at what it does to you. You don't like how this feels, do you?" Connie saw that she was starting to get to him. She couldn't let up now.

"N-No, I guess not. But-" Steven tried to defend himself, only to be cut off by Connie.

"No "buts", Steven. You know that it's not right to just hold these kinds of feelings in. Look, I'm not mad at you for yelling, I'm really not. I know you weren't mad at me. You just snapped, and directing that anger towards me was the easiest way to get it out. I understand, Steven. Everything is okay, I promise." Connie was desperately trying to convince Steven that she truly was not mad at him for his outburst.

No matter what she attempted, it was clear that he wasn't going to crack. At least, not at this pace. Seeing as she was beginning to lose this battle, Connie decided to pull out the big guns. In a last ditch effort to fully convince Steven that she wasn't angry at him for yelling at her, she grabbed Steven's cheeks, which caused him to wince in pain a bit, and turned his head to get them face to face. Then before he could so much as breath, she began to speak in the sweetest, yet somewhat stern, tone she could possibly muster.

"Steven. Listen to me. No matter what you ever do, no matter what it is, I will never be mad at you. Ever. Please believe me, Steven. You are the best thing to ever happen to me, and I wouldn't dare ruin it by being angry at you for something you only think you did. You're my best friend, and I want to be your best friend forever. No matter what."

Steven was speechless. He had never heard anyone say such nice things about him. Coming from his best friend in the whole wide world made it that much better, and unexpected at the same time. Steven really liked Connie….a lot. There was just something about her that made him want to be around her as often as possible. He didn't know why that was exactly, but he didn't care. Hearing that from her really made him feel better. He could clearly tell that she wasn't lying to him just to make him feel better or anything like that. Steven knew that he was just being stubborn, but he had a right to be, didn't he? People don't have to talk about their feelings if they don't want to. They can be stubborn if that's what they feel like doing, so why shouldn't he be able to be stubborn? Truth be told, Steven didn't like acting that way. He just wanted for the entire conversation to end as soon as possible. He never liked talking about himself, and especially so if there was the possibility of making someone else worry about him. However, enough was enough. It was time for Steven to fully trust in Connie's words. It was more than evident that she had never been truly angry at him, so now all that was left for him to do was to let her know that he accepted that fact.

"Connie, I-I don't know what to say. Thank you doesn't even begin to cover all of the nice stuff you said about me." Steven blushed a bit, rubbing his left arm nervously.

"Oh Steven, "thank you" is perfectly fine. You've already done so much for me, so that was the least I could do. You've really helped me, Steven; you've helped a lot of people. You may not know or believe it, but you really do make a big difference in everyone's lives. You're always so happy, so upbeat no matter the situation, and you're just fun to be around. All of that stuff you just said, do you mean to tell me that everything is an act? Do you really act that way just to make people happy?" Connie had understood what he had said, but found it somewhat hard to believe. To put on an act like that for who knows how long must really drain a person.

"Well, yeah. I mean, I wouldn't just make all of that stuff up." He was a bit confused at Connie's question, as he thought that he had explained his situation rather well.

"No no no, that's not what I meant at all!" she said, raising her hands defensively. "I was just a bit confused. I mean, how can you do something like that? I know it has to be really hard on you both mentally and physically."

"Like I said, I'm everyone's shield. I take all of the damage so no one else has to." At that, Steven summoned his shield to emphasize his point. "My mom gave this to me for a reason. I may not be able to be everything that she wanted me to be, but I can at least try." Determination was present in his eyes, as well as doubt. "No matter what happens, I will fight to protect the ones I love. As long as I'm able to summon this shield, I will fight to continue with what my mom stood for. As long as I'm standing, I will protect the Earth and every living thing on it!" The doubt completely gone from his voice, Steven looked to the sky with a confident smile on his face, shield raised high.

Connie couldn't help but chuckle a bit at her friend. He could be so goofy at times. No matter, he was still her friend; her best friend. She had finally gotten to him. Steven was his old self again; his real self.

"Oh, Steven. You have no idea how good it is to see you acting like this again. I really missed you; the real you. I know want to protect everyone, and I know you can, but you can't just throw yourself under the bus like you had been doing. It's alright to think about yourself if you feel like you've had enough for a while. No one would be mad at you or criticize you. It's normal to need some alone time, some time to just relax or let off some steam. I do it all the time, and so should you. You can be the shield, and I will be the sword. I protect you, and you protect me. Together, we are an unstoppable force that is not to be underestimated. As long as we believe not only in each other, but in ourselves, then we will be victorious." Connie's speech left Steven at a loss for words, herself too. She had never said anything like that before. It felt…good. It felt good because she knew that every word she had just said wasn't said just to make Steven happy, but because it was true; every single word of it.

"Wow Connie, I can't believe all of that cool stuff you said. You really showed me how wrong I was doing everything, heh heh heh." With that nervous laugh, Steven dispersed his shield, blush growing on his face.

"Just remember, it's all true. Steven, you just have no idea how big of a role you play in the lives of everyone in Beach City. Without you, life would be this dull, unhappy thing that just went on day after day. You are what gives this town life. I don't know how anyone would even survive without you. You're just so…unique. You really tie everything together, Steven. You know, I think that's what your mom wanted more than anything. She wanted you to be the link between Gems and humans. Steven, she didn't want you to be a big, bulky warrior or some stuck up leader. She wanted you to just be you; to just be Steven. That's all she wanted, and I know for a fact that she would be very proud of you." Connie knew this to be true, and wanted nothing more than for Steven to believe it too. How could he not have seen that this is what his mother wanted all along? She didn't care if he could fight or lead, she just wanted him to be happy. She wanted him to live a joy-filled life on Earth amongst other gems and humans.

Steven finally understood. Everything that everyone had said to him up until now finally made sense. His view of what his mother expected him to be was completely askewed and couldn't have been farther from the truth. How he had gotten such a misconstrued view of his mother's desires for him was unbeknownst to him, but that hardly mattered anymore. The truth was now known and would forever be embraced by the one-of-a-kind child.

Steven hugged Connie tightly, crying tears of joy into her shoulder as she rubbed small, slow circles on his back. He began to talk into her shoulder as well, saying muffled phrases such as "Thank you, Connie" and "You're the best friend anyone could ever have." After a few minutes of this, Steven's mumbling and crying ceased, leaving his face pressed silently against Connie's shoulder.

"Thank you Connie, you really are an amazing friend." Steven finally spoke after raising his head. His eyes were extremely red and puffy from his frequent outbursts of tears that day. This most recent event caused some of Connie's makeup to smudge and smear off, leaving his face in a rather odd state. This gained a few light-hearted giggles from Connie.

"Hahaha, oh Steven. Just look at your face now." She presented the mirror once again for Steven to see his new look. His hilarious features caused him to break out into a fit of giggles, of which turned out to be contagious seeing as Connie joined in not too long after he.

"Oh man, Connie. I look ridiculous! Hahahaha!" Steven was tickled that he looked more or less like a clown than his normal self.

"Alright Steven, that's enough laughing. I have to get you fixed up all over again. It shouldn't take as long as the first time though since you didn't completely ruin it." Connie had already begun tenderly dabbing at his face to remove the excess makeup in order to apply a fresh coat.

"I'm sorry Connie, I didn't mean to ruin your work. I know that took you a while." Steven had begun to feel a bit bad for messing up Connie's hard work.

"It's fine, Steven. Look, I'm already almost done. You just smeared it a little, that's all." Connie definitely did not want Steven to become upset again. Sure she would be there for him no matter what, but if he cried anymore, her shirt would have become completely soaked.

"Okay good. Man, I can't wait until this day is over. I'm soooooo tired." He said with a mighty yawn

"Me too. I can't wait to get home and snuggle up in my comfy bed. So, let's get this done so that we can both go home and get some well-deserved rest. How's that sound?" Connie couldn't wait to get both Steven and herself home so that they could put this entire day behind them.

"Sounds great to me! I'll just be glad when this is all over. I don't want you to ever have to go through anything like that ever again." Steven still worried more about her than himself. No matter how many times she had said that everything was alright that day, that'll never change. He is such a compassionate spirit, it's just in his nature to worry about others.

"Alright, then let's finish off your face and then work on your arms and legs. After that, I'll clean up your torso. I'll be sure to be quick, but gentle too." Connie knew that they both wanted to leave, but she wasn't going to cause Steven more pain just to get them home a little bit faster.

Connie then began to work diligently on Steven's face once again. Since most of her original work was still in place, only minor touch ups here and there were required. After his face was as cleaned up as she could possibly get it without Steven bursting into tears all over again, Connie moved on to his arms and legs. They were bleeding in places and badly bruised all over, as well as his chest and stomach. Luckily, Steven's gem was in pristine condition, being the resilient piece of quartz it was. After Connie had removed all of the blood that she could find, who was shirtless at this point to display all of his wounds, with alcoholic wipes, she took out her concealer and began to hide his bruises. It took forty-five minutes of tedious work, but Connie had finally finished. Steven didn't have anything to do except stand as still as he could so Connie wouldn't mess up, save for him tucking the tattered remains of his undies back into his jeans. He looked as good as new, except for one thing that neither of the kids could fix.

"Well Steven, I've cleaned you up and covered up all of your bruises, but there's nothing I can do about all of the swelling. I'm sorry." Connie said with a mixture of happiness and sadness in her voice. She then handed Steven a small mirror to assess the damage that couldn't be hidden for now.

"Connie, I look great! You're so talented. I would've never been able to do something like this myself. Don't worry about the swelling, I doubt the Gems'll notice that in the dark. It should be gone by morning, I hope anyways. I mean, my face is kinda chubby as it is I guess, heh heh heh." Steven commented with a nervous laugh. This disturbed Connie, as she had never heard Steven mention anything about his weight, and she had known him for over two years. Something was wrong, but she didn't know what. Seeing that Connie was deep in thought with confusion and concern evident on her face after what he had said, Steven decided to fess up.

"While those kids were beating me up, they called me names." Steven said in a sad, quiet voice. He was sitting in the sand, drawing doodles with his pointer finger so he wouldn't have to look Connie in the eye.

"Fatty. Ugly. Tubby. I think…..I think that was worse than any of their kicks or punches. And I know that it's kinda dumb to get upset over name-calling. But it really hurt." Steven said, a lone tear cascading down his left cheek.

Connie was about to speak up, but Steven wasn't done.

"Connie, d-do you…do you think I'm…fat? I've never thought about that kinda stuff before, but after everything those kids said...I-I kind of agree with them. I mean, look at me. I'm a lot bigger than you. I'm a lot bigger than a lot of people. Do other people think those things about me?" Steven wasn't even really talking to Connie anymore, more like thinking out loud.

"Steven," Connie spoke softly, "I don't think there's anything wrong about the way you look, and I'm sure that no one else does. You're perfect, Steven; Rose would have said the same thing, I'm sure of it." Connie stated confidently.

Connie's kind words brought tears to Steven's eyes. He had never heard Connie, or anyone for that matter, talk about him like that. It made him feel…better. With a sniffle, Steven responded.

"R-Really, Connie? Do you really think I look perfect? I mean, I know I'm cute and all, but I didn't know you saw me that way." He joked, his sad disposition having quickly diminished.

Connie blushed. She knew Steven was joking, but she still blushed…a lot. Connie liked Steven, and he liked her back, but they were just friends. Best friends. Connie wanted to further her relationship with Steven, but he was so innocent and oblivious that every time she hinted at her true feelings, they would go right over his head.

"W-Well, yeah. I mean, I know we're best friends and all, but I thought that m-maybe, one day, we could be something more…." Connie stuttered, blushing like mad.

"Connie, I was just joking. I didn't mean to embarrass you. To be honest, I've wanted to be more than just your friend for a while, but I didn't know what to say." Steven admitted, who had also begun to blush furiously.

Both children were now looking down at the sand, faces as red as could be. Lion just sat there, watching them, waiting for someone to do something. After nearly a full minute of awkward silence, Lion gave an exaggerated huff and nudged Steven, causing him to stumble and fall forwards, having to catch himself on Connie's shoulders. The couple said no words, both just staring into each other's eyes. Finally, after a moment or two of silent staring, Steven began to lean in. This took Connie by surprise. She would never have imagined that Steven, of all people, would have made the first move. Nevertheless, she reciprocated his movement, closing the gap between the two. Eyes closed, Steven's lips met Connie's for the first time. If any more blood ran to either of their faces, it would've surely exploded. After pulling away from each other, all the two could muster was a synchronized "Woah". The kiss may not have been long, but it was most definitely magical.

"W-Wow, Connie. That was….amazing." Steven said in a whisper. He truly didn't know how to put it any other way.

Connie was in no better shape. All she could do was hum in agreement. More silent staring ensued. Having had enough of the silent act, Lion unleashed a mighty sonic roar into the sky, startling the two children. Getting the message, Steven knew that it was time for both of them to get home.

"I guess that means it's time for us to go, huh?" Connie guessed, judging by the looks on Steven's and Lion's faces.

"Yeah, it's starting to get late. When did you say you had to be home?" Steven questioned, beginning to get concerned as the sun was extremely low in the sky. He wanted anything but Connie getting in trouble after all that she had done for him.

"It's no big deal, Steven. It's just past eight o'clock. I have plenty of time to get back home." Connie responded, seeing the worried expression on her dear friend's face.

Having breathed a sigh of relief, Steven commanded Lion to lie down so Connie and he could mount his back. Before Steven could climb on top of his fluffy companion, however, Connie stopped him.

"Steven, wait. What about your clothes? What will you tell the Gems about them?" She asked, having completely forgotten about his visible clothing.

It was almost as bad as his underwear. His shirt and jeans had holes and tears scattered all about as well as large splotches of blood dotting the fabrics. Steven had also forgotten about that. He needed to do something about his clothes. Otherwise, all of Connie's hard work will have been for not.

"I'll just go to the bathroom and change into my pajamas as soon as I get in the house. Hopefully, the Gems will either be in their rooms or on a mission. If they're not, then I'll just have to come up with something to tell them." Steven stated, not having adequate time to come up with a true plan.

After that mess had been sorted out, the duo boarded their furry compatriot. A quick run and single deafening roar later, the trio was outside of Connie's home.

Having dismounted Lion, Steven began to carefully help Connie down. After she was safely on the ground, Steven began to speak.

"Goodnight Connie. I hope today wasn't the worst day you've ever had with me, even though I'm sure it was. I'm sorry." He said, giving her a sad look.

"Are you kidding? Today was awesome! I mean, most of it was absolutely horrendous, but the ending was pretty spectacular." Connie reassured, her face having begun to blush once more.

"Heh heh, yeah. I have to agree with you on that one. So…does this mean we're, you know, boyfriend and girlfriend now?" Steven timidly asked, eyes locked on his feet, a light blush covering his face.

"Well, I guess it does. I mean, only if you want to be. We can just stay friends if you're not comfort-" Connie spoke quickly, face getting redder by the second.

"It's fine, Connie. It's fine. I really want to be your boyfriend, I just wanted to be sure you felt the same way. I'm really new to this kind of stuff, so I may do some things wrong and say the wrong stuff sometimes, but I have you. You're the nicest, coolest friend anyone could have. You won't make fun of me for making stupid mistakes, you'll explain what I did wrong so I'll know how to do it right the next time." Steven responded sincerely, looking Connie straight in the eyes this time.

"Okay then, we're now officially boyfriend and girlfriend!" Connie happily stated. "But we can't tell anyone yet. I need to find the right way and time to break the news to my parents. They'd flip if they found out from someone other than me."

"No prob. I'm great at keeping secrets. This is so cooooool!" Steven replied, displaying a huge smile. "Oh, and Connie? I-I'm really sorry about what I said back at the arcade. I should have known better than to think you would've done something like that. You're an amazing friend." He continued, still troubled by his harsh words from the arcade.

"Steven, it's okay. I've already told you, I'm not mad at all. It made perfect sense for you to say something like that without knowing what really happened." Connie explained again, trying to lighten his spirits. "You're welcome, too. I was glad I could help you, even if it wasn't in the way I should have at first. You're an even more amazing friend. You care so much about everything and everyone. Anyone would be lucky to be your friend." She spoke honestly, staring affectionately into his eyes.

"Thanks Connie, you're the best." Was all he could think to say in response.

At that, Connie began to walk to her house, but not before sneaking a surprise peck to Steven's cheek, causing him to blush ferociously. Once she was safely inside, Steven hopped onto Lion's back for one final ride. This was the moment of truth. Time to see whether or not all of Connie's hard work would pay off.

"Alright Lion, here goes nothing." Steven said before Lion warped his young liege through space and time back to his home.

Upon arrival, Steven noted that all of the lights in the house were off, an encouraging sign. When he didn't make a move for the stairs, however, Lion gave him a rather harsh nudge in their direction, making sure that his point was crystal clear.

"Alright alright, I'm going. Sheesh." Steven remarked, rubbing his back where Lion had pushed him. He could tell Lion still was not happy at all about whatever had happened to him. Just because he helped Steven didn't mean that he had forgotten about what he looked like before Connie got her hands on him. With dread present on his face, Steven began his march up the slight hill and made his way up the stairs that lead to the house's balcony and main entrance. Taking one final deep breath, he pushed the screen door open and stepped inside, shutting the door as quietly as he could behind him. Much to Steven's relief, the house appeared to be empty.

"Phew, must be in their rooms or on a mission or something." Steven whispered to himself.

He quietly strode through the house and up to his loft. After grabbing his nightwear, he tiptoed back down the stairs and into the bathroom where he changed into his PJs. Once he finished getting ready for bed, he tossed his ruined clothing into the garbage can before exiting the bathroom. Before he was able to set a single foot on the stairs to get up to his bed, a voice caused Steven's blood to run ice cold.

"So, how was your day with Connie, Steven?"

Dang it! So close.

That firm, powerful voice could only belong to one being.

"H-Hey Garnet, I didn't see you when I walked in." Steven replied nervously, sweat beginning to form on his brow.

"Steven, I know about what happened today. I know about what happened with you and Connie at the arcade. I also know the great lengths that you two took to hide this from us. I'm very disappointed in you, Steven. Why did you and Connie work so hard to keep this hidden?" Garnet questioned, now squatting down so that they were face-to-face with her.

"I was just really worried Garnet, worried that you guys would overreact when you saw me. I thought everything would be fine and that everyone would stay happy if only me and Connie knew about what happened. I just didn't want you guys to worry about me. You have enough stuff to worry about right now. I just didn't want to make things any harder than they already are." Steven replied, staring dismally down at the floor.

"Oh Steven." Garnet said lovingly as she tilted his head to bring them face to face.

"We're supposed to worry about you. It is our job, you know." Garnet joked, eliciting a slight chuckle from the still-upset child. "We love you more than anything in this universe, Steven. I can't blame you for thinking that we would overreact, though. I was furious when I first saw that vision. I was very tempted to come and help you and Connie, but I saw that much more good came from that situation if I let you two work it out yourselves. That is why I decided not to tell Pearl or Amethyst about my vision, and is also why I'm going to keep this conversation between us. Just promise me that you'll tell me about these things when they happen. I am the leader of this team, and I've learned that sometimes keeping secrets is better for the sake of the team, and sometimes not so much." She continued, having transformed Steven's sad frown into a thankful smile.

"Wow, thanks Garnet! You're the best!" Steven replied, completely overjoyed that the other two Gems won't have to worry about what happened.

"I know." Garnet smirked, lowering her shades just enough to wink her third eye at the boy.

Steven let out a massive yawn, gaining a light chuckle from the Gem leader.

"I think you've done enough for one day, it's time for you to go to bed." At that, Garnet gently cradled Steven in her arms, being wary as not to exacerbate his wound. She climbed the steps to Steven's loft and gently placed the drowsy boy under the covers of his soft, warm bed.

"Goodnight Steven, I love you." Garnet quietly whispered.

"I love you too, Garnet. Goodnight." Steven lazily slurred before drifting off into a peaceful slumber.