Nothing but Lies and Stories (Steven Universe AU)

"First project of the semester. You have exactly 8 weeks to compose a song and perform it in front of the class" Groans echoed in the room as those words left the older woman's mouth. She fought the urge to roll her eyes at the whining. If she could only count how many times she's heard that in one day. With a slight glare, the students' voices slowly diminished into a silence. Steven had a smile on his face, he was excited to say the least. He wrote songs all the time, he was certain to pass this with a solid A. 

"You are to do this yourselves, no groups or partners. Everything will be graded individually" the teacher instructed, writing a few details on the white board which all the students took a note of in their journals. "There's ten minutes left of class, use it wisely and start brainstorming" 

Connie's nose flared, staring at the blank page in front of her. She wasn't exactly the most creative when it came to writing, much less songs. How she was going to pull this off? She didn't know. Steven turned and looked at Connie a few seats away from him. While others tried to get Steven's undivided attention, he was rather focused on the newbie. He quietly slipped into a vacant chair beside her after mumbling to the group behind him he was going to talk to them later. 

To her surprise, he had a large grin on his face when she had faced him. 

"Hey?" she chuckled, amused by the boy beside her. "Hey" He drew out the word, "Need some help?" Connie smiled and shrugged. 

"In all honesty I do, but no partners remember?" she pouted. 

Steven held up a finger, "Ah, didn't ask if you wanted to be partners, just offered my help you know? Just to get you started" 

Connie tapped her pen on the edge of her spiral notebook, thinking to herself on the offer. Steven was just being nice and offering to help, which she desperately needed. But how could she know that he knew what he was doing? She didn't know Steven that well, though he was the only acquaintance she's had so there isn't really anything she had to lose. 

"Sure why not?" she hummed. Steven's grin widened if that was possible. He held up some finger guns and tapped the table in excitement. "Great, i'll find you later then" Connie nodded, picking up her things and putting them into her bag, two minutes till the bell rang and she was antsy to get out of class. She observed Steven traveling back to his original set, seeing how easily he was able to jump into the group that was waiting for him. 

He grinned, smiled and laughed. It was so contagious, Connie found herself smiling to herself. He definitely had an affect on her for sure and it's only been 2 days since they've met. 

Alright Connie, stay focused. 

And the bell rang. 

Steven headed to the school's library. Usually during his study periods he takes the time to chill out at one of his favorite teachers' classrooms but today, unlike any of the other days, he had his mother's journal he's longed to read since the day started. Now he had the privacy to take a peek, his anxiety rose. 

Steven felt his palms sweating, heart palpitating rapidly in his chest as he took the journal out of his school bag and set it on the table in front of him. He sighed, taking one last glance around him and opened said journal. 

Here we go.

Steven opened the journal, the first couple of pages left blank. The pages were a little wrinkled and seemingly dry to the touch on the edges. Steven's fingers rubbed against them with each turn. 

He hit the first entry.

Date: January 5th 

Greg thought it would be a good idea to start this journal to document a few things after moving out and starting my own life. 

Life. Crazy how far i've gotten really. 

Ever since meeting Greg i've learned more about life and what's out there in this world than i ever did growing up. We all have our own little stories growing up, some horrible, some great. But along the way we've made connections.

Today I wanted to reflect on those connections, grateful for those I have met. 

First, Greg. Love of my life, man of my dreams. Overall, a great man who has helped me in more ways than he would ever know. I have only known him for the musician he is today and not much about his past, but granted he doesn't know mine either. We both wanted change, to make our own lives and live them to the fullest. 

Second, Amethyst. Girl who came to my beach house, hungry and lost. Away from her parents and looking for a place to belong. I never really knew what it was she was running from, or if she was simply left behind. I never really cared about it. My new motto was to never look back into the past and simply look into the future and I hope she will find her new path. 

Third, Garnet and Pearl. They've been there for me through thick and thin. Through my hardest times, especially Pearl. I can never thank them too much for everything they did for me these past few years. 

I think this ends my Journal entry for today. I will go to bed thankful for what I gained

The journal entry took about 3 pages in the small notebook. His mother had pretty big handwriting and a bit difficult to read but Steven managed to read it in entirety. He continued to the next entry and the next. Each page only describes small events of his mother's life like meeting new people, or going to a party or birthday. Some titled "I did this for the first time" and there were a lot to say the least. 

He was surprised to see entities like "I played around with some dogs at the park for the first time" things as innocent as playing at park or playground or an instrument seemed shocking to know his mother never did he knew children as young as 5 years old were doing. What kind of life did his mother have before meeting his father? Steven glanced at his phone, only 10 minutes till he had to go back to class. 

One more entry 

Date: October 20th

It's almost been a whole year since my relationship with Greg started. After babysitting a baby with Greg, I had a strange desire to want one. A baby of our own to say the least. I want to give a child, our child a good life, a better one. I would love him or her with all my heart. I wanna grow up, wanting to know who this baby would become. 

How would this change me? I've heard good and bad from having a child, and to be completely honest, the thought of it is both scary yet thrilling. But i need that change, this makes me happy, this makes Greg happy.

it would be amazing. I know he or she would be amazing and do great in this world. 

Baby if you're reading this, and if for whatever reason i don't say it enough in person. I love you- Rose 

Steven felt a tear slip down his cheek as he closed the book. He felt his shoulders and fingers shake. He longed to know what his mother was like, what she felt about him. For a while, he felt like his existence was just hard on everyone ever since she died, he felt like he shouldn't have been born in the first place. 

But now he knew, his mother loves him. She wanted him to exist. And some sort of relief had just washed over him. He could only wish she was here with him. 

Connie had wandered in at the last minute into the library to grab a book for one of her research papers. That's when he saw Steven staring down at the table at whatever it was in front of him. Connie could see the tears staining his cheeks, a slight sniff and a cough from his throat made her snap from her concerned staring. Connie wondered what had made him so upset, but she reminded herself it wasn't really her business no matter how sorta nosey she wanted to be.

Connie wanted to reach out to Steven, help him out in some way but she decided against it for the time being. He didn't look like he wanted someone interrupting him anyways. So, Connie slipped away silently, out of the building and to her next class. The rest of the day, Steven went off about his day, only seeming to talk when spoken to and kept to himself mostly. 

Connie didn't say a thing, she kept to herself and tried not letting it distract her. For the most part, she focused on reading or her school work. The day came to an end and she was off to deal with the next half of her day which was going home, eating, finishing an assignment or two and then it was time to work at The Big Donut . 

Thankfully, it was slow at work for the most part. People came and went, sat down at the tables and Lars was going on and on about how boring his life is and complained about Beach City needing more new people besides the tourists that come and visit temporarily during certain holidays. 

"...this town is weird enough, they need to just expand the place you know? Like Empire City" 

Sadie snorted, taking a clean rag and wiping a table down. "Lars if this place was anything like Empire City, you wouldn't even have time to just stand there and talk all day" Connie laughed, standing behind the counter and fixing some of the sweet treats. 

"I agree, Empire City is crazy. There's always an overwhelming number of people in stores and shops constantly" Connie answered. Lars frowned and rolled his eyes, mumbling something like: bunch of smartasses while he finished up the little work he had. Once 8 o'clock rolled around, a few people had come in to chill inside and eat. A familiar curly haired boy walked in, seemingly distracted. 

"Oh hey Steven, how's it going?" Sadie asked the daydreaming boy. Steven snapped out of his thoughts and smiled at the short blonde, giving her his signature eye smile. "Hey Sadie, it's alright. How's it going on over here?" 

"Connie has been a really great help, she's been working hard" Sadie spoke nonchalantly. Steven's eyebrows raised in curiosity at the mention of his friend Connie. "Anyways, let me know when you have time to chat about this annual Beachapalooza. I'm considering entering the talent competition portion" her voice toned down at the mention of entering. Steven grinned and nodded. 

Beachapalooza, the festival he's been waiting to come was finally just around the corner. Hadn't he gotten distracted by the recent events of his mother, he would have remembered about it sooner. Steven had always done some sort of performance or at least participated in it since he was 12. Being skilled in using various instruments like the guitar, drums, bass and ukulele, he's come up with various acts to do. He was happy to hear that his friend Sadie was considering joining. 

"Yeah! You can just stop by whenever later or tomorrow. Did you have an idea of what you wanted to do?" Sadie nodded. "Alright, we'll talk later about it" 

Steven approached the counter, freezing up slightly upon seeing the tan skinned girl. He smiled weakly, ruffled his hair back a bit and took a deep breath. Seeing Steven, Connie smiled widely and gave a slight wave. 

"Hi Steven, your usual?" she asked, already reaching for the items he seemed to order on the regular. He nodded, taking a few bills out from his wallet and set them on the counter. Steven's mind continued to wonder about his mother. Connie could see Steven was still distracted, from what she assumed involved whatever he cried about. She could tell he was tired from the slight droops of his under eyes. 

Unlike usual, Steven paid for his things and wandered around the store, looking at the snacks the store sold. Not really making conversation with the workers like he normally would. Lars and Sadie looked at each other confused and concerned. 

"Is he sick or something?" Lars mumbled to himself which Connie caught. "I have no idea," Connie sighed, finishing Steven's drink. "He's been a bit quiet since school" Lars sighed in irritation but then chuckled, a thought coming into his head. 

"Looks like you're gonna have to cheer him up" 

Connie's cheeks flushed and she began to stutter. 

"Wha-why me? Why don't you do something" she coughed out. Lars laughed, "He'll listen to you. You seem to have a special effect on him" Connie pouted, glaring at the taller male. 

"Whatever, it's not my business anyway" she mumbled, taking a hold of the finished drink and food, she walked towards the only customer in the building.

"Here you g-AHH!" Connie screamed in surprise, feeling the lukewarm liquid seep through her shirt and apron. It seemed like the moment Connie had come up behind him, she hadn't noticed he had taken another snack and was making his way back to the counter when he knocked right into her, making her spill the drink on herself. 

"O-oh god i am so sorry!" he exclaimed. His hands reached out to try and help in some way. Connie bit her lip and hunched over, feeling the hot sensation cool down. Steven panicked, reaching out for napkins and handing them to Connie. 

"It's okay! It's fine, don't worry about it. My shift ends in like 10 minutes so i'll change out of it soon" Connie said quickly, to calm the alarmed and apologetic teen down. Steven's cheek flushed a light pink, feeling embarrassed. His face twisted in slight discomfort. 

"Still, I'm incredibly sorry Connie, are you in any pain at all?" He asked. Connie shook her head, rubbing a napkin on her shirt. "No, I'm okay" Steven sighed in relief. He thought for a moment, looking outside seeing it begin to rain. Steven stripped off his backpack that he carried and slipped off his varsity jacket. 

"Here, take my jacket so you wont get sick or anything on your way home" Connie took a moment to register what he was doing. 

"Steven, im okay really-" 

"Connie take it, I'd feel terrible if you got sick while it rained out. Least i can do since i spilled the drink on you" he rubbed his neck, his arm outstretched to her for her to take his jacket. Finally, Connie hummed and took the jacket from his hands. 

"Thanks Steven, that's sweet of you" She smiled at him. Steven stared down at the girl, feelings his insides twist a little as they looked at each other. Steven felt himself smile as he looked at Connie. His thoughts swarmed. 

She's super pretty, I can see why Jeff might be into her. I wonder what she would say if i asked her to hang out at my place for a night. Shes new after all, maybe she'd like going to Beachapalooza with me- 

Whoa wait Steven, you're thinking of a date, you're wanting to take this girl you hardly know out on a date? He stopped to ask himself. No, I just want to make her feel welcome, she can hang out with me and the others. The more the merrier, maybe she'll like that.

Steven cleared his throat, pulling away, awkwardly walking backward towards the door and coming down to Earth from his thoughts swarming in his head about the girl. All he was able to think about was how it would be if she was around him more. Hanging out, having fun with him and his friends. She was just a girl, just like any other girl in his school.

But his brain said otherwise. He couldn't understand why she was any different as much as he tried to convince himself she was. 

"Right well, let me know when you want that help on the music assignment 'kay? I can always stop by tomorrow or we can work on it during study hall" he rambled. Connie's eyebrow lifted in amusement while laughing a bit. She had almost forgotten that she had that assignment and groaned internally as Steven reminded her. 

"Right, yeah. I'll let you know" she answered. Steven nodded, giving an awkward peace sign as he left the store. Connie stood there, staring down at the pink varsity jacket, gripping it tightly in her hands before walking to the backroom to clock out for her shift. Lars and Sadie raced away from the corner they peeked around from to avoid being caught that they were listening in to the conversation.

They carried on doing their own things in the breakroom, avoiding being suspicious. Connie didn't seem to notice anything odd about them, so she mindlessly did her thing and was quick to leave. Lars and Sadie looked at each other, pursing their lips and burst out cackling.

Point 1 for Lars

Zero for Sadie