“Didn’t already discuss making a bunker in the Temple? Making Mom’s old room into a place with beds and storage and we can rewatch all our favorite movies and shows in there… Or did I dream that?”

“Climate change, Steven, the Temple could be underwater in a decade! We don’t want to drown as soon as we leave it!”

“Hold on, what about asking Lapis to change the shape of the bay to prevent the flooding? Presuming that what collapses society doesn’t also doesn’t also take out the majority of the gems.” Steven paused. “Also, what does the Doomsday Clock have to do with societal collapse?”

“It’s the measure of risk of the world ending in nuclear disaster.”

“…Oh.” Steven replied, voice cracking with dread. “Uh Connie, what does it mean that we’re 90 seconds to midnight?”

“It’s the closest we’ve come in the history of mankind to true societal failure. This measure was implemented in the Cold War, and it’s never been this bad before.”

“Connie, I love you,” he said somberly, “but if my shield or bubble doesn’t protect me from high powered radiation I’m going to ask you to go on without me.”

“Steven!” Connie squawked.

“Radiation sickness is no joke, I regret watching that documentary about Japan in WWII last year, and I don’t want to go out like that.”

“Your mom’s shield protected the gems from the Corruption blast, it would likely protect us if we’re not in an immediate blast radius.”

“I know, but I wonder if that’s different, because it didn’t affect human life on earth, only gems.”

“I mean humans could be fundamentally different now, we’d have to check genomics on right before and right after the corruption blast.”

“I’m adding that to my notes app to look up later.”

“I think you’d have to fund a study for something like that.”

“Adding ‘Talk to dad about funding a genomics study’ to that note.”

“So you think that we can go to Show-me if things go bad?”

“Cheese is the primary reason I’m not vegan, so I’m not opposed to getting that as a major food source. But also, are there any onions that will grow in that climate? Or beans? Because grilled cheese and mac and cheese will only satisfy me for so long. Gimme chili and cheese or something else with good flavor and I will be a happy man.”

“We’ll find a way, I know it,” Connie pledged.

“Do you feel better about the Doomsday Clock now?” Steven asked.

“Yeah, I do.” She replied. “Thanks for letting me rant about societal destruction and cheese for a bit.”

“Cheese Louise, I could listen to you talk all night, but you should get some sleep.”

“Ok, good night, Biscuit, I love you.”

“Love you too, Strawberry. Good night.” She hung up.

“Tell me.” Steven closed his eyes, brow furrowed with distaste.

“We went to Amanda’s party, we were having a good time.” His voice was bitter as he recounted the night’s events. “ You talked to Natalie for a bit and then when Fiona offered me a cocktail, I stupidly didn’t ask ‘what’s in this’ or ‘how strong is this,’ I just thought, ‘it’d be rude to turn her down,’ then, ‘oh this tastes good’ and drank it too fast. You came over, I started singing something I was planning on playing for you when I had my guitar, and you got embarrassed. We left, came here, you gave me aspirin and water, you tried to brush my hair, I said some dumb things that made you cry, we talked, I got changed and we went to bed.”

“Ok, so you do remember,” Connie replied. “Do you-“

“I’m sorry for embarrassing you and I wish I could take back what I said that upset you so much.”

“You talked about being worried about losing control of your powers.”

“It’s happened before,” he replied voice edged with agitation. “You being around helped ground me when my head was fuzzy, but that kind of pressure shouldn’t be on you. I need to be more responsible.” Steven sighed, closing his eyes. “If I’m going to have more than one drink, I should have a gem chaperone me, so they can grab me so I won’t get out of hand.”

“Steven, you’re my best friend, and I will repeat what I said last night. ‘It’s ok to ask for help.’ I’m willing to help you, with anything you would do for me. If I do have a few drinks sometime, I know you’ll look out for me.”

“Connie, I can’t ask you to keep me out of trouble if my powers freak out. I could break something that normal people can’t. I could hurt somebody. I could hurt you. If my pink switch goes off, and I hurt you, I don’t think I could forgive myself.” She stared at him in confusion.

“Pink switch?” His eyes shot open, realizing what he had said, and his pupils shrank to pinpricks.

“I- I- uh, I shouldn’t have said anything about it, forget it.”

“You’re worried about it, whatever it is.”

“Most of the time I’m fine, it hasn’t happened since first year, so it shouldn’t happen again.”

“That doesn’t stop you from being scared.”

“I know. But it also doesn’t mean you have to make it something you’re afraid of too.”

“I feel like not knowing is making me more afraid. ‘The devil you know,’ right?”

“I’m sorry, Connie,” he sighed, looking away, “but it’s not something I like talking about. I’m not ready to talk about it.”

“Please know that when you are ready, I’ll listen.”

He turned his body back toward her and reached for her hand. She opened hers and gave his a small squeeze. “Thank you,” he replied, with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. She kept her face neutral as he drew circles with his thumb onto the back of her hand.

“There was one other thing you were doing last night that was a bit… concerning.”

“Was it the embarrassing song?” he asked, voice resigned. “Because that was supposed to be a surprise for you, not blurted out in front of a bunch of people.”

“No, you sang another song, after we talked.”

“Oh, right.” He avoids her eyes again, and she frowns.

“Steven, do you really feel like, you can’t-“

“Measure up? Well, sometimes. I’ve never been normal, so occasionally it feels like no matter what I do, it’ll never be enough.”

“It’s hard feeling that way.” Connie replied. “My parents wanted me to be a doctor and now, it’s not what I want, and I’ve finally accepted that. So those expectations aren’t going to be met. You shouldn’t have to be the one who meets everyone’s whims in your life.”

“Is it a bad thing that I want to make everyone around me happy?” He asked. He looked her in the eyes again. She shook her head.

“That’s not what I’m saying. Other people’s happiness shouldn’t mean more to you than your own all the time. You can’t satisfy everybody.” She rested her hand on his arm.

“It’s not all the time-“He muttered.

“You can only make so many people a priority and you have to make yourself the top of your priorities.”

“That’s-“He stops himself. “That feels selfish.”

“It isn’t. It’s caring for yourself.”

“I still do, just not- I don’t think of myself in the same way as when I think of when I’m helping others.”

“I think you’d treat yourself better if you did. If what you said in that song-”

“It’s only feels that way now and then. I try not to let it bother me too much.” Steven paused, shrugging. “Anyway, I didn’t write that one, my mom did. The gems taught it to me.”

“Oh wow,” Connie whispered. “That’s kind of… messed up?”

“I mean, they probably didn’t think I would feel the same way sometimes, but, what do I know?” Steven was deflecting, but she was almost sure she wouldn’t be able to press him much further.

“Well, I think that we should put a pin in this, and probably get something to drink. My mouth is getting dryer by the minute.”

“Hang on,” he said, and sat up, turning to face the rest of the room. He quickly spotted his empty bottle from the previous night and the one Connie hadn’t drank from. He hopped gently off the bed and picked up both of them. He strode back to hand her the full bottle and kept the empty one. “Take that, I’ll refill this one for myself.”

“Steven, wait,” she called.

“You took care of me last night, I can take it from here. I’ll bring you some ice too.”

“You don’t have to do that,” she said, sitting up.

“It’s no trouble, I’ll be right back.” Steven replied with a half-smile. With that, he stepped out of the room and Connie was alone. She pulled herself to the edge of the bed and leaned down to the brush forgotten on the floor from the previous night. Setting the water bottle between her knees, she began brushing her shoulder length hair.

Her eyes wandered around the modest dishevelment that had come about in her room. Her end table had been cleared to ensure that if Steven had gotten sick in the night her books would definitely be out of range for them to be damaged. The books were in a small stack by the edge of her closet. Steven’s shoes sat a few feet from the door in a heap next to her own sneakers. His jacket was messily thrown over her desk chair. Her desk and dresser were the only things that seemed to be in order in the room.

She stood, moving toward the doorway when Steven entered holding a plastic cup in one hand and his full bottle in the other.

“Gonna go brush my teeth,” she said hoarsely, moving her water bottle back to the nightstand and stood. Steven nodded and sat back down on the bed as she strolled past him. Placing his bottle back besides her he unscrewed the cap on her bottle and dumped the ice from the cup into it, sealing it afterwards with a twist.

“If you want to toss me my pants, I’ll get changed while you’re in there,” Steven requested, setting down the empty cup and bottle on the nightstand.

“OK,” she answered, picking up his wadded jeans from the floor and giving them a light toss toward the foot of the bed. He snatched them out of the air as they came close to the ground. “Nice catch,” Connie said, closing the door with a smirk.

“I’ll tell you when I’m dressed, won’t be long.” He called through the closed door.

“Sounds good,” she replied. With just a few minutes she completed her short morning routine of washing her face and brushing her teeth.

“You can come out now, Connie,” came Steven’s response from the bedroom, as she spat out toothpaste into the sink. With a wipe of her mouth she opened the door to find Steven with jacket and jeans on, hair up in its usual ponytail, and in the process of making her bed.

“You know, I can do that later, right?” She asked mischievously.

“Of course,” he replied, “but I figured it was the least I could do to straighten up-“

“Steven, having you stay over isn’t a problem you need to make up for.” She interrupted, stepping to him and opening her arms for a hug. He placed the comforter down and wrapped his arms gently around her middle, gazing affectionately at her. She smiled, and continued. “You are welcome here. If there was anything I wanted your help with, I’d ask. You don’t have to go out of your way to make yourself useful.”

“I’m trying to be the best houseguest I can be, and that means not leaving a mess.”

“The room doesn’t smell like vomit,” she snarked, “so that’s a win enough in my book.” He laughed, making a slightly queasy face, and released the hug. He turned around, tossing the pillows back in place and sat on the bed. She joined him with a smile. “Best drunk houseguest I’ve ever encountered.”

“I guess I don’t have very steep competition, huh?” he asked, reaching for the water bottles.

“No one else is a thoughtful as you when wasted.” He handed Connie her bottle and took a sip from his.

“Was I really that bad?” he asked quietly, not meeting her eyes again.

“The main thing was your balance, you were tripping all over yourself.”

“I’m-” Steven began.

“No more apologizing,” She interrupted again. “You’ve done that enough in the last 10 hours.” He rubbed his neck with a sheepish smile. “It’s ok. I’m glad things didn’t go badly, I still had a good time, you’re not hungover and I got to spend the night with you.”

“I’m glad you had a good time. I hope that me being stupid didn’t ruin any plans you had for last night.”

“Don’t.” she chided, reaching out with her empty hand and giving his arm a squeeze. “You aren’t stupid. You miscalculated how much drink you can handle and we dealt with the situation. Now we can move past that and focus on today.”

“OK,” he answered. “I should probably get going soon, huh? I don’t want to keep you from your essay you were talking about before we went to the party.” She released his arm to put a hand on her hip.

“Firstly, how are you going anywhere without your keys?”

“Oh, right.”

“And secondly, we should probably get a bite to eat before you go home. I don’t want to hear that you got lightheaded driving and wrecked your car.”

“If you’re hungry, we can get something, but if not I can get something on my way.” Steven grabbed his phone from his jacket pocket with his empty and unlocked it.

“I’m making sure you get something to eat before I let you leave campus.” He nodded, conceding. She drank from her water bottle while she waited for him to check his messages.

Steven opened the group chat between Connie, Natalie and himself, reading Natalie’s message from the night before: I have your keys, come get them after you’ve slept it off.

One new message had come in at 10:06 this morning: You awake yet?

Yeah, I’ll be at the café in a few, do you want to meet me there or should I stop by first? Steven replied, the timestamp reading 10:47. He looked back to Connie and set the phone onto his lap.

“There was one thing I remembered about last night that struck me as a bit strange,” Steven said.

“Oh? And what was that?”

“Well, other than the song thing, I don’t remember saying much that would be embarrassing, but you were blushing a lot when I was talking.” Connie ducked her head and looked away self-consciously.

“You sound different when you’re drunk.” She mumbled.

“Really?” he asked. “I didn’t notice.”

“Your voice goes a lot deeper. Bassy.” She replied, staring at the floor. Steven smirked and cleared his throat.

“Why Connie,” he said, purposely deepening his pitch. “I had no idea that you find my deeper voice alluring.”

“It does things to my head, Steven!” She replied testily, face flushed. “I don’t want to be thinking about how it makes me feel, I want to be paying attention to what you’re saying and not about the way you sound.”

“What do you mean?” He asked huskily. “You can’t focus when I get all sultry?”

“No!” She barked, redness reaching her ears. “I don’t like feeling like I’m beholden to the whims of the baser parts of my brain.”

“Aww,” He replied, adjusting his voice to its typical tone. “Ok, I’ll save that voice for special occasions then.” He waggled his eyebrows, and she pouted at his expression. A ping from Steven’s phone caught both of their focus to his message instead of each other.

Meet me at the café in 10 mins, Natalie’s reply read. Connie glanced at his phone and stood.

“I need to get dressed,” Connie said, moving to her dresser.

“Ok, I’ll brush my teeth and I’m good to go,” he replied.

“Hi Connie, is everything ok?”

“What happened last night after you left?” She wasn’t yelling but her tone was stern. He continued to pace.

“Uh, just a bit of car trouble, I don’t know what dad told you but-“

“Steven.” Connie barked. He swallowed hard. “You should have had some caffeine or slept on the couch, Mom is fine with that when you’re tired, but you insisted that you were able to drive and I have to hear from your dad that you dozed off while driving home!” Steven dragged the hand that wasn’t holding the phone down his face.

Connie, I didn’t think-“

“To tell me after it happened?” She cut him off, exasperated.

“I didn’t want you to worry.”

“Well, you did make me worry. I can’t believe you wouldn’t have called me after you were done on the phone with your dad.”

“It was late, and you had school today-“

“I want to know what’s going on with you Steven,” She said, voice tight. “If you got hurt, and nobody told me, I- I don’t know what I’d do.”

“I’m not hurt,” he said gently, trying to calm her. “It wasn’t that serious of an accident. No one else was hurt either. I messed up, but I’m waiting on the Dondai to be fixed and then it’ll all be ok.”

“You hit a guard rail, you could have gone through it, gone into the ravine and gotten really hurt!” Connie shouted. Steven cursed internally that his dad gave her all the details.

“I got lucky, I wasn’t going that fast when it happened.” He soothingly replied. “I also only grazed the side of the car. I’m ok, I promise.”

“I- I’m scared Steven,” she said, voice quaking. “What if this happens again? I don’t want to-” She choked down a sob.

“I don’t want it to either Connie.” His voice thick with emotion, but soft. His gut had twisted when he heard her start crying. “I’ll be more careful.”

“Falling asleep at the wheel kills people,” she bawled. “You could have hit a pole or tree or building! I don’t want to lose you.” His mouth went dry, heart thudding heavily as it had after the accident. “A- a-and if you do get into trouble, I want to know about it. Don’t leave me in the dark again. I hate it.”

“I’m sorry. I should have called. Your parents might be mad, though.”

“Well mom knows, I texted her after I got off the phone with Greg.” She admitted quietly. His pacing stopped, mind spinning. “She knows not to tell the Gems, though, your dad told me you didn’t want them to know, and I told her that.” Steven took a few breaths, trying to stop the tangled thought spiral of panic after knowing Dr. Maheswaran had been told about this accident. “So she’ll understand if you need to call after dark. Honestly, if you have to drive somewhere late, and you want to just talk on the phone to keep yourself from falling asleep, I’ll take that over worrying you won’t make it home.”

“Dad offered to do that too.”

“If you don’t call me on the ride, just text me that you got home when you leave my house. If I know you’re safe, I’ll sleep better at night.”

“I can do that.” He murmured. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m glad you’re ok.”

“Yeah, I’m glad I didn’t hit anything else. The car was scratched up but other than the passenger side mirror falling off, most of the damage isn’t too bad. I needed some other work done so they’re doing all of it today. I’ll be back on the road tomorrow.” He paused. “And I’ll be more careful from now on.”

“I sure hope you will,” she replied anxiously. “Why aren’t you getting enough sleep?” Steven chewed the inside of his lip as he considered what to say.

“It’s just been really busy lately.” Steven said, shrugging. “Little Homeschool takes up a lot of time, and some days are harder than others to get enough sleep.”

“Please try to take care of yourself, ok?” she urged. “I want you to be safe.”

“I know, I’ll try to be better about it. I don’t like making you worry.”

“My mom’s going to make you take a tea with you if you try to leave while yawning too much.”

“Yeah, just, please don’t tell Pearl. I don’t think I could take her hiding my car keys to make sure I don’t have any accidents. I don’t want to have to rely on Lion again, he disappears for days at a time, and warps can’t get me everywhere.”

“I won’t. I know you like your independence.”

“Are you still mad?” Steven asked.

“A little bit, but I know you understand, so I feel a lot better.”

“I hope you can forgive me.”

“As long as I know you’ll be more careful. I won’t stop talking to you over it.”

“Good, that was awful last time.”

“Yeah, but we made it through.” Connie paused. “I should probably tell mom you’re doing ok, I stopped texting her after you called me.”

“Ok, I’ll talk to you later.”

“Bye,” Connie replied, and hung up. Steven put his phone back in his pocket. He walked back to the pair of beach chairs his dad had at the front of It’s a Wash. He laid back in the chair and sighed.

Greg came out of the office where he kept his microwave and mini fridge with a piping hot egg and cheese wrap on a paper plate, in one hand and two sodas in the other. “Everything ok, Schtu-ball? I got a bite to eat if you want.” Greg offered the sandwich to Steven, which he took, but wouldn’t meet his dad’s eyes. “You mad?”

“Yeah, kind of,” Steven said, shrugging. “She brought up some good points though. She was yelling and crying, which made me feel bad that it was my fault, but I was gonna tell her later, just not today.”

“Well, I figured you should have somebody else to talk about this with.” Greg replied, rubbing the back of his neck. “I probably shouldn’t have pressed as much, but I know you feel guilty about the car, and if you won’t talk to the gems or me, somebody’s gotta check in with you, you know?”

“I hate being the reason she’s upset,” Steven muttered, taking a bite of the sandwich. The pair looked to the setting sun, and Greg sat down, placing one soda next to Steven’s chair and kept the other in his hand. ”I don’t want to cause any more trouble.”

“We all make mistakes, kiddo.” Greg said. “I know I did, at your age. As long as you’re learning from them and you don’t get hurt doing reckless things, we’re not going to hold it against you. She’s angry with you because I know the two of you mean a lot to each other. And you mean the world to me. Just be more careful, ok?”

“Yeah,” Steven replied.

With a clink, a glass was set down in front of him, Fiona sliding in from his peripherals. The drink didn’t look bubbly, a brown-orange tone with a few ice cubes and a lemon wedge hung over its rim. The glass looked like a juice glass, not designed to hold over 10 ounces, and it wasn’t full, so he assumed it was about a 6 to 8 oz drink. Fiona had her glass in her hand as she sat next to Steven with smirk.

“Ready to try something new, Steven?” Fiona asked. “Take a sip without the lemon first, then squirt it if you want it more sour.” She raised her glass, waiting to have him give her a cheers with his.

He lifted the drink and clinked hers, quietly saying “Cheers,” before bringing it to his lips. Sweet and sour was the first flavor he noted, and then mostly orange, with some cola blending in and a minor alcoholic tang. He was pretty sure the base of the liquor was tequila, but there were other flavors he couldn’t identify, since he was pretty new to trying drinks. He nodded and smiled after the first sip. “It’s good.”

“You like?” Fiona replied, voice coy.

“Yeah,” he said, and with two gulps his drink was almost gone. She snorted, seeing how quick he had downed the cocktail. He gasped quietly, the burn in his throat stronger than the flavors had made it out to be.

“Careful there, Universe, or you’ll be on the floor,” Fiona remarked. “You aren’t a lightweight, are you?”

“Its fine,” he replied, downing the last sip. His eyes drifted back to Connie who was quickly approaching from across the room, brows knitted in concern, and Natalie behind her. He moved to stand from the stool and stumbled slightly, not expecting to be feeling the alcohol so quickly. Connie moved her arms to steady him.

“You ok?” she asked, eyeing him over. Steven gave a dopey smile and leaned on her slightly.

“Heeeeeyyyy Connieeee,” his voice turning sultry and mellow. His lowered pitch sent a chill up her spine, but she pushed the feeling that thrilled her down and rounded on Fiona, glaring.

“What did you give him?” Connie barked.

“It looked like a Long Island Iced Tea,” Natalie said from behind Connie.

“I call it…” Fiona replied, pausing for effect and waving her half-finished drink in one hand, “a Strong Island Iced Tea. It’s got more tequila and sours than the standard.”

“A Long Island Iced Tea,” Connie half-shouted, exasperated. “Are you kidding me, Fiona? That has 5 kinds of alcohol in it!”

“Whoa,” Steven remarked quietly but with his lowered tone it made Connie feel warm in the pit of her stomach. “I didn’t know that. You’re so smart, Connie.” Her cheeks burned with blush as he said it with such adoration.

“He’s hammered,” Natalie crooned, half-way hiding a chuckle, before straightening up and gesturing her hand out. “Gimmie his keys. He shouldn’t be driving anywhere tonight.”

“I’m not hammered, jus’ a lil’ tipsy.” He slurred. He swayed slightly as Connie fished through his Jacket pocket. “Gimme an hour and I’ll be fiinnneee.”

“Definitely not,” she replied firmly, but not harshly. She handed Natalie Steven’s car keys. “You can stay with me tonight, ok? Sleepover?” He gasped with excitement.

“Sleepover!” he warbled hazily. “With Connie. You’re so sweet.” Her face felt hotter, as she gripped his hand in hers.

“Thanks for this, Fiona,” Connie said, voice dripping with sarcasm. “See you later.” Fiona grinned and waved.

“Don’t dare take advantage of him,” Natalie called, starting to walk back toward the party-goers. “I’ll find out. And make sure he hydrates.” She took out her phone and sent a group text to Steven and Connie, I have your keys, come get them after you’ve slept it off.

“I got this,” Connie replied, exasperation clear in her tone. She looked back in his face at his reddening eyes and put on a plating smile, trying to speak more kindly. “Let’s go get some rest, ok? You look tired.”

“You’re the best, Connie.” He said, glowing with inebriation. She began to lead him out when he started to serenade her, causing her mild blush to spread to her ears, face beet red. The tune was recognizable, a reworked Beatles cover.

“Connie, my sweet

You have made my heart feel joy complete

My Connie.”

“He doesn’t normally do this in front of others,” she called, voice slightly shaken with embarrassment to the partygoers as she led him through the entryway. “Please ignore us and have a good night.” They passed through the main doorway of the off campus housing as he continued his song.

“Connie, my sweet

Sont les mots qui vont tres bien ensemble

Tres bien ensemble”

His French pronunciation was faltering. She knew he was at an intermediate Italian level. But in trying to speak French, it sounded like he had tried Duolingo for an hour and was making a fool of himself pretending he had been doing it his whole life. He pitched forward again and she had to nearly dive to keep him upright. She hoisted as much of his broad shoulders and chest over her smaller frame without attempting to carry him outright as he sang sweetly in her ear, legs stumbling behind her.

“I love you, I love you, I love you

That's all I want to say

Until I find a way

I will say the only words I know that you'll understand”

She lead him on sidewalks, trying to take the most direct route to her dorm and avoiding uneven surfaces as best she could. Her blush had died down, mainly because other people weren’t watching them. The way his warm frame leaned against her dragging the thrilling feeling out of her again, making her heart pound firmly against her ribs. Still, she tried to keep focus and lead them out of the chill night air as quick as she could.

“Sont les mots qui vont tres bien ensemble

Tres bien ensemble

I need to, I need to, I need to

I need to make you see

Oh, what you mean to me

Until I do, I'm hoping you will know what I mean

I love you”

“You’re so sappy,” Connie replied, voice quiet. “I know that you would do his sober, but I just wish this kind of thing was just for the two of us, you know?”

“I want you, I want you, I want you

I think you know by now

I'll get to you somehow

Until I do, I'm telling you so you'll understand”

She leaned against him as she held his hand outside of her dorm, fumbling with her keys as she kept her left hand gripped tight to his right.

“Connie, my sweet

Sont les mots qui vont tres bien ensemble

Tres bien ensemble

And I will say the only words I know that you'll understand

My Connie.”

He faltered a bit as they came through the doorway, smacking his left arm just above his wrist as she lead him upstairs to her room. Connie winced at the sound. She was grateful her roommate Carly was out of town for the evening. She still probably will hear about it, the rumor mill ran strong on this campus, but at least Connie was spared from more embarrassment this evening.

“You done now?” she asked. She sat him down on the bed and dug through her closet for his spare pair of sweatpants she kept there.

“Uh-huh,” Steven replied, voice thick and alluring. “Thanks for takin’ me back, Strawberry, I know you always lookin’ out for me. I’m lucky I have someone like you. Love you.”

She shivered at the praise, avoiding his eyes as she set the pants down on a clean patch of floor.

“You need to drink some water and take some aspirin before bed.” Connie ordered. “Stay put, I’m going to get both of those things.” She pulled her own pajamas from the corner of the bed and closed the bathroom door behind her. She grabbed the aspirin bottle from the cabinet and set it on the counter. Glancing back to ensure that the door was fully closed, she peeled her outfit off quickly and tugged her PJs on. Grabbing her hairbrush and two pills from the bottle of medicine, she backed outside. Steven still sat on the bed, swaying lazily.

“Hiiii Connnniiieeee.” His voice had drawn back up to its usual tenor as he greeted him. She smiled.

“Hi Steven, stay here for a minute, ok?” She replied. “I’m going to the kitchen, and I want you to wait because I don’t want to risk you falling on the stairs.” She placed the brush on the pants she had set out and kept the pills clutched to her palm by her ring and pinky finger.

“Yooooouuuu got it!” He gave a thumbs up.

She darted out of the room after he confirmed he would stay, and hurried down the stairs. She pulled 2 water bottles from the fridge, both eco-friendly bottles that she and Steven had shared before. After grabbing clean reusable straws from the drying rack to put in the bottles, she marched back upstairs. She left her door open and found Steven had taken his shoes and jacket off in the time she was gone. He laid on his stomach, feet crossed and head propped up on his arms across her bed diagonally.

“You’re cute in your PJs, Connie.” He caught her off guard with that compliment. But she crossed the room anyway and sat next to his head. Despite how lucid he sounded, it was best he got some water in him before going to sleep.

“Thanks, but can you sit up for me? I have some medicine I need to give you and then I’ll brush your hair.”

“Yay! Sleepover activities!” He propped himself up onto his elbows and stuck his tongue out, leaning his head back for the aspirins. She was glad he trusted her this much, but it was a bit worrying that he was so lax. She hoped he would always keep himself safe as he dropped the two pills into his open mouth and pressed the straw of the bottle to his tongue. He leaned on one hand as he took the bottle from her in the other, sipping the water through the straw. If he was always this trusting while drunk, someone could take advantage of him, and that thought scared her. She wanted to think about anything else, so she gently took his curls in her hand and gave them a gentle stroke. A chill went along his back and shoulders and he made a little excited noise.

“I want to brush your hair,” she offered. “Can I take your hair tie out?”

“Mmm-hmm,” his response came around the straw. With a gentle tug the hair tie was out and his curls came loose, framing his maturing face. She stood, watching him as she moved toward the brush on the floor. He finished his sip and let out a contented sigh. “I hope I haven’ been too much trouble, Berry.”

“What?” she asked as she got the brush and came back to sit next to him.

“I’m all loopy, an’ you’ve been takin’ care of me.” His response was quiet but mostly coherent.

“I know you would do the same for me, drunk, sick or whatever, Biscuit,” she replied. “I’m not upset that you need help. It’s ok to ask. Now I’m gonna ask that you sit in front of me so I can brush your hair.”

“Kaaay.” He called, setting the water down on her end table. She gasped as he suddenly rolled off the bed and landed on his left forearm and knees, not reacting quite fast enough to catch himself with his hands. It was still impressive he hadn’t fallen onto his face.

“Steven-“Connie scolded.

“Huh?” he sat up and scooted his back up against her knees.

“Don’t be so careless,” she replied. “You scared me. And drink your water, please.”

“I can do that,” he said. He leaned over to grab the bottle and then rested his head touching her knees. She flipped his hair up onto her thighs, accessing the ends and began brushing. He hummed contentedly. “You’re great, Connie. I’m glad that this all didn’ go badly.” Her brows furrowed with concern as she worked through his tangles. “Was scared, ya know? If you weren’ keeping me calm, I might’ve been the angry drunk type, an’ made a mess of things.”

“I-“ Connie felt her hands shake slightly as she tried to muster a response. “That could happen to anybody, you shouldn’t worry too much…”

“Buh my powers, if ‘m not careful, I could hurt somebody, then I’d get expelled, or arrested, fer sure.” She gripped the brush tightly and accidentally pulled back on a knot. He hissed quietly through his teeth and she dropped the brush. His shoulders trembled slightly and she heard a sniff. She dropped down onto her knees, hugging him from behind.

“No Steven,” she replied, her voice thick with emotion. “I know you wouldn’t intentionally hurt anyone.” He sniffed again, putting his water down and scrubbed at his face.

“Turns out… I’m actually a sad drunk,” he joked, and turned to face her. Her eyes were shining with unshed tears and he gasped. “Oh nooooo… now I’ve made you sad. I’m sorry. ‘m so sorry. So so sorry.” He turned around fully, kneeling and held her tight to his chest. Fat tears dripped down his cheeks. She clutched to his shirt, resting her head on his shoulder and let her own tears fall.

“You don’t- you shouldn’t feel like it’s- it isn’t your fault,” she stuttered.

“I made you cr-cry,” He bawled. “I’m always hurting people, even wh-when I don’t meeean to.” She took a steadying breath, trying to defuse his turbulent emotions.

“You’re allowed to forgive yourself, Steven,” she replied, looking up. Her eyes still shone with wetness, staring into his face as he looked away.

“I- I- embar- rrassed you, I made you cryyyy, and- nd I burdened you with my prob-blems,” he hiccupped. “I shouldn’ be here- I need to-“He moved to stand but Connie held tight.

“No.” she ordered. “You should stay. You’re upset and you’re allowed to be. You can talk to me about anything. Please don’t go. I’ll worry if you leave.”

“B-B-but…”

“Please,” she repeated.

That was convincing enough. He wilted into her touch, resting his head on her shoulder. Any sign of resistance melted away into fatigue. A few trace sobs shook his frame before they quieted. She kept one hand on his shoulder and grabbed Steven’s water with the other. She pulled away long enough to press the drink into his hands. He nodded, sitting down fully and drinking quietly. She sat in front of him and ran one hand through his hair, and gave him gentle strokes on his upper arm with her opposite arm.

“You look like you’re stewing.” She remarked gently. “Having a few drinks doesn’t make you a bad person. Asking for help doesn’t either. I’ll gladly have a few embarrassing stories about me if it means you get to go home safe tomorrow. Letting you leave by yourself and get hurt would have been far worse than anything else that could have gone wrong. You deserve to be safe, ok?” He nodded meekly, finishing the drink with a loud slurp. “You aren’t asking too much to be here. You don’t deserve to feel like a burden, and no one I know would ever say that about you.” He quietly leaned forward, dropping the empty bottle to the space between his thighs and went to press his forehead to hers. She obliged him.

“Thank you,” he half-whispered.

“Now, are you steady enough to stand, or will you need help getting changed?” she leaned over to where the sweatpants she had put out for him earlier sat and pulled herself close to him after grabbing them. He opened his palms to her and let her place them in his hands.

“I think I got it.” His face was tinged with blush at the suggestion. He pressed his right palm to the floor, moving to stand. She pulled herself to her feet first and offered him a hand up. He threw his pants over his shoulder and took his hand. She smiled gently at him. He fondly returned the gesture, steadily making his way to the bathroom door.

“Oh wait, I just want to grab something out of there,” she called, hurriedly stepping in front of him. She snatched the aspirin off the counter and put it away, grabbing makeup wipes and a compact mirror from her medicine cabinet. She stepped out, gesturing behind her. “It’s all yours. Please be careful, maybe sit on the toilet to get changed? I don’t want you to fall.”

With a sigh he nodded. He stepped through the doorway and closed it behind him. She leaned against the wall next to the door and took a make-up wipe out, swiping her mascara streaked eyes before opening the compact. As she worked the wipe across her face she herd Steven’s gentle singing come through the door, just over the sounds of him changing.

“If I could begin to be

Half of what you think of me

I could do about anything

I could even learn how to love

When I see the way you act

Wondering when I'm coming back

I could do about anything

I could even learn how to love like you”

She recognized the song as being something he had said the gems had sung for him when he was young. It stung that he might think these kind of thoughts about himself. She swallowed hard.

“Love like you

I always thought I might be bad

Now I'm sure that it's true

'cause I think you're so good

And I'm nothing like you”

“Steven, I promise that isn’t true…” She called through the wall. She heard him stand and move toward the door.

“Look at you go

I just adore you

I wish that I knew

What makes you think I'm so special…”

She stood as the door opened and embraced him. He leaned forward into her and sang quietly into her neck. She held him close and rubbed soothing circles into his shoulders. He swayed gently into her touch as he crooned.

“If I could begin to do

Something that does right by you

I would do about anything

I would even learn how to love

When I see the way you look

Shaken by how long it took

I could do about anything

I could even learn how to love like you

Love like you

Love me like you…”

They stood in silence for a moment and just enjoyed being held by each other. After a bit, she lowered her hand and took him by the wrist, leading him to the bed. After he sat, she took her garbage and placed it near the head of the bead and cleared her night stand.

“You’re going to be on the outside of the bed tonight.” She remarked quietly. “I’m the big spoon this time. Just let me know if you start to feel sick. I don’t care if I’m sleeping, I will hold your hair back.” He nodded. “How do you feel right now?”

“Not great, but, better than before,” he muttered.

“Well, I’m going to try and make it better. Lie down, ok?”

“Mmm-hmm.” He obliged without protest. She grabbed the comforter, tucked him in and crossed the room, shutting the light off. She stepped over him and lied down by his left shoulder. She untucked that side of the bed to get herself firmly snuggled into the weighted blanket, and nimbly re-tucked them both in.

“Night, biscuit.” She murmured. “Love you.”

“Love you too.” He replied. “Night.” He turned to face away, pointing his face toward the trash bin in case his stomach lurched in protest while sleeping. She rubbed few more gentle circles into his back and let herself be comforted with his warmth beside him. He heard her breathing even out before long, hoping that sleep would come easier with her beside him. It wasn’t long before the heaviness in his heart was outweighed by heavy eyelids, and drifted into slumber.

------------

Morning came, as it always did, a bit too soon for Connie’s liking. She gave a quiet sigh through her nose and lifted her head to check on Steven, who she could hear was snoring quietly. He had turned in the night to lie on his back, and his calf draped over her lower legs. His expression looked peaceful, but dark circles still showed on the pale skin beneath his eyes. Craning her neck, she could see the bathroom had looked as she had left it, as did the trash bin. It was unlikely seeing these two things in place that he had gotten sick in the night and not woken her.

“What about a sport scholarship for tennis or fencing?”

“I haven’t dedicated the time into those to get the majority of my funding from that.”

“I don’t think you need to get most of it from the scholarship, you’ve got the college fund. Plus you’ve trained so hard for swordsmanship. And didn’t you go into a state competition for fencing this year?”

“I wasn’t in the top of them,” she replied dourly. “I placed 6th.”

“For a completion that was state wide, including seniors?” He responded with enthusiasm. “I think that’s got to count for something. If you place in the top 3 next year, you could probably go anywhere you want with at least half of your schooling payed for.”

“I wish fencing was a more recognized sport. But anyway, I have some in-state schools I was looking at, and only a few out of state. A couple in Keystone, one in Buckeye, and Jersey. The furthest ones are in the Empire City area. Well, except for the one in Lone Star that’s supposed to be one of the biggest pools that Nasa pulls from. But that one’s pretty hard to get into.”

“You’re smart enough, I think if you keep trying as hard as you have been, you can get there,” he said trying to keep his voice light. He paused for a moment. “I will miss you though, if you move so far away.”

“Well Lone Star does have a warp pad,” she replied. “I found out it’s a bike-able distance from the school. Forty minutes doesn’t sound that bad. Plus there’s Lion and planes and stuff. It won’t be too hard to see each other if we try.”

“Yeah,” he said, trying to keep the sadness from creeping into his voice. “But if you double major, would you have the time to see me, anyway?”

“You’re my best friend, Steven. I’ll make the time,” she responded confidently. He smiled wistfully, knowing she couldn’t see, but it encouraged him all the same. “There’s probably going to be heavy weeks where I can’t, but I feel like if I get into the Lone Star Aerospace University, I won’t need to impress as much by double majoring. So we can probably see each other most weekends. If you aren’t too busy, anyway. What do you think you’ll be doing next year? That would set you up for what you’re doing while I’m in school.”

“Now that Little Homeschool is done being set-up, and I’m not heading it anymore, I’m not sure.” He paused again. “I’ve been doing the gardening thing, but it’s just something to fill my time. I don’t think I’m becoming a botanist anytime soon.” Connie chuckled.

“Do you think you’ll want to teach again?”

“Even if I could become a teacher, what would I teach?”

“Why couldn’t you?” She sounded firm in her conviction. “I think if you wanted to, you could get your GED, and start school when I do. You’re organized and creative, plus you really seemed to enjoy helping the gems learn. I think you could do the same for music, or cooking, or anything creative, really.”

“I wasn’t as good as I wanted to be,” he replied solemnly. “I’ve had a hard time letting go, and I was so busy I let a lot of things get pushed to the wayside that I should have been better with.”

“Learning about being a teacher from professionals would help you get those kind of skills,” she rebutted.

“I don’t think I have what it takes,” he said sadly. “My dad never finished Community College, I don’t think I could get a four year degree, let alone a teaching degree.”

“That’s bull and you know it,” she replied. “You’re smart and very hardworking. That’s all it takes.”

“You think so?” he asked, hope inching back into his voice.

“I think you’d do well as a music teacher. You could also do design, you learned Illustrator in like 2 months to design those pamphlets for Little Homeschool. You’re a good cook, and you also have make-up skills, if you wanted something that doesn’t take as long to learn, those are good options.”

“Dad helped with the pamphlets,” he replied. “Also, I haven’t done much in terms of music in about 3 years, I’m probably pretty rusty.”

“You learned how many instruments before you were 14?”

“Uke, guitar, bass, drums, piano and vocals. So 6.” He counted on his fingers.

“Plus a few percussion instruments,” she responded.

“The cymbals and triangle barely count.” He rebutted, slightly disdainful. “And I learned harmonica while in space since it was easy to keep in my pockets for when I had too much downtime.”

“That’s something musical you did in the past 3 years. Plus, you have perfect pitch, you’ve taught Peridot about music when you guys were working on the drill, so you have some experience there. Why not share your talents with young musicians?”

“I haven’t been writing songs lately, not since Spinel-“

“So? Learning new instruments could be what brings that spark to make something new. You don’t have to focus on Music Theory, unless you find that’s where your driving energy is pushing you.”

“Other than figuring out what GED requirements are to see if it’s feasible for me to finish in year or two, where would I even start? If I want to teach music, don’t I have to learn like, all the instruments?”

“Start with orchestra instruments, there’s only 4 of them, so it’s more manageable. You already have experience with other stringed instruments. And since you know what the notes on electric bass are, a stand-up base wouldn’t be too different. They’re also the same strings on a violin. The main thing is learning how to grip the bow so you get a clear sound.” Connie paused. “Don’t you think you’d look good playing bass?”

His voice lowered to a mutter as he spoke, “aren’t I too short for that?”

“You aren’t shorter than the senior girl in my school who plays a full-size bass,” she teased. She paused thoughtfully and her tone changed, seeking to uplift Steven. “You don’t need to keep putting yourself down where you feel like you haven’t measured up, especially when it comes to music. You’ve done a lot of great things, and you can still find ways to improve, if you’re willing to learn.”

“Sorry,” he replied. “I just haven’t figured out where I’m going from here. You’ve got a plan, and I’ve…” He trailed off, considering his words carefully. “I’ve been looking for a fresh start, but haven’t found one yet.”

“Steven, comparing yourself to others isn’t helpful, especially since nobody has done the things you’ve done. You have so much to be proud of, you know that? It’s amazing what you’ve accomplished in just a few years.”

“You’ve done amazing things too, Connie,” he said pensively. There was a moment neither of them spoke, and he blushed, taking in all she had said.

“I, your knight, haven’t toppled an empire through Charisma and conviction,” she rebutted.

“Uh, well-“

“Just think about the music teaching, or culinary school, or beauty college, ok? You should have things to look forward to. You deserve that, I promise.”

“Thanks, Connie,” he replied admiringly, trying not to be overwhelmed with her praise. He heard her chair scoot back and she moved to stand.

“I gotta go, Steven. Mom just called for dinner and then I have to finish my paper for History tonight. I’ll text you when I take a break, ok?”

“Ok, talk to you later.”

“Bye!” she said, hanging up. He waited a moment as the call ended, phone still in hand.