"Hey, Dad!" Steven exclaimed as he zipped up his jacket, the chilly wind nipping at his nose while doing so. "I'm gonna head over to the barn to see Peridot!"
Greg turned down the loud rock music he was enthusiastically jamming out to. He then poked his head out of the van's window. "Huh? Sorry, Steven. I didn't hear ya."
"I said I'm going to go to the barn! I wanna introduce Peri to the snow!"
"Well, alright." Greg bit his lip anxiously. "But don't stay out too late. It's supposed to get even colder later on." He sighed and turned up the heat. "As horrendous as that sounds." he said, under his breath.
"Will do, Buckaroo!" Steven promised, while giving his father a solid salute before running off. He excitedly raced out of the car wash's parking lot and into the sleepy streets of Beach City. Happily, he swung around light poles, skid across frozen puddles, and kicked small piles of snow. It was rather quiet on this freezing winter day. Most of the town's residents were staying indoors, doing all they possibly could to stay warm. Despite the fact that it was a Wednesday, school was cancelled due the immense amount of freezing precipitation the dreary clouds above have released upon the land. This, of course, brought great joy to the children. Well, except for Steven, who was homeschooled. That's beside the point, though.
As he pranced past The Big Donut, he spotted none other than the city's grumpiest citizen: Lars. Lars was busy shoveling snow off the store's sidewalk, a mean expression stamped on his face while doing so. He became distracted from his tedious chore when he heard a young boy's voice call out his name. He groaned. It could only be one person.
"Hiya, Lars!" greeted Steven, waving his hand while doing so. "Whatcha up to?"
The man in question sighed. "Gee, I don't know. What does it look like?" He continued shoveling. "And anyway, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, well, I'm just on my way to visit a new friend, but I thought I'd drop by to say hello to my good buddy!" Steven playfully punched him in the arm. "Oh, and to pick up a couple of donuts, of course! See, Peridot, my friend hasn't seen snow before and I thought-"
"Eh, I don't care." Lars said, waving his hand dismissively. "Just go get your food and leave. Haven't you bugged me enough?"
"Haha! Oh, Lars, you jokester. Well, have a good day and stay warm!" He skipped into the bakery, made some polite conversation with the beloved blonde, Sadie, and bought two of his favorite kind of donuts: the ones with pink icing and multicolored sprinkles. After bidding her farewell, he made his way out. He wasn't quite done with running errands just yet. There were still two more stops to make before meeting up with his new, nerdy friend: Fish Stew Pizza and Beach Citywalk Fries. As he entered the pizza parlor, he was instantly washed over by a the delicious aroma of melted cheese, baked bread, and cooked fish. The warmth of the building was much appreciated. A huge, genuine grin spread across his rosy-cheeked face.
"Hey, Steven!" Kiki said, stepping out of the kitchen. She whipped out her cell phone and began texting away to who, Steven assumed, would be a friend. The bubble gum in her mouth popped and snapped while doing so. "Will it be the usual, today?" she asked, not even looking up from the screen.
"Nah." he answered. He loosened his scarf a tad, as it was pretty hot in the restaurant. "I actually just want two personal pan cheese pizzas, please."
"Sweet, let me tell Dad." Kiki slipped the phone into her pocket and turned towards the kitchen. She then cupped her hands around her mouth, shouting "YO, DAD! MAKE TWO PERSONAL PAN PIZZAS FOR STEVEN, PLEASE!"
There was some not-so-nice grumbling from behind the door. Kofi opened it slightly and stuck his head out. A frustrated expression was on his face.
"Kiki, there is no need to holler! Why didn't you just come in here and tell me?" he questioned.
She shrugged and rolled her eyes. "Didn't feel like it."
"Aye, I swear. Sometimes, I-" he suddenly noticed Steven standing awkwardly before him. "Oh, hello, Steven. What kind of pizzas did you want, again?"
Steven straightened up. "Cheese, if you please!"
"On it. Kiki, will you ring him up while I get started on his food?" He then returned to the kitchen. Kiki sighed and went over to the cash register. Steven gleefully tagged along.
"Soooo, am I the first customer of the day?"
"Mmhm." She replied, totaling his order. "Aight, that'll be…$8 exactly."
Steven handed her required amount of money. "Here ya go! Oh, and how long will it take for those to be finished cooking?"
"Mmm about-" The register dinged, signaling the transaction a success. "Like, 15 minutes or so."
"Perfect! Thanks!" Steven was relieved to hear this. That would be just enough time for him to dash over to the Fryman's place. He thought it would be a great idea to borrow a few VHS tapes from the town's local conspiracist, Ronaldo. Peridot recently finished the Camp Pining Hearts series and she's been sulking ever since. Turns out, Percy and Pierre did not end up together. As if the fact that her OTP remained fanon wasn't enough, the final episode proved to be quite anticlimactic and left many burning questions unanswered. Peri was so upset about all this that she's become asocial. Not only that, but she's been rather gloomy, too. Steven, being the good friend he is, was concerned. He needed to do something that'd break her out of rut she dug herself. What better way to cheer someone up than by having a snowball fight? Or eating pizza? Or watching a movie? He could feel the excitement bubble and overflow within him. Nothing made him happier than seeing a loved one smile.