Nothing but Lies and Stories (Steven Universe AU)

Steven was in a good mood when arriving to class. He woke up full of energy and feeling content, having a few things go great in his life compared to how he was feeling in the last couple of days. The negative and dull vibe in the house was now gone and replaced with a more calm and happy one. He got through the first two classes in a flash. 

Third period came around and he was quick to take his seat and wait for his friends to show up. Lapis was the first to show up which surprised him, she usually wasn't the type to show up early. Lapis took her seat as usual, right behind him. 

"Hey Steven, are you going to the movie night at Jeff's?" She asked, smacking the gum in her mouth, a smile plastered on her face. Steven looked at her confused before he remembered the movie night Jeff and PeeDee suggested a few days prior. Steven nodded back at his friend. It seemed like his friend was spreading the word about their movie night. Now that he thought about it, he wondered if he should let Connie know about it.

"Right, yeah i'll be there"

Jeff and Connie were next to walk and Connie's first instinct was to say hello to Steven. Since the two sat next to each other, the two teens thought it would be a good idea to catch up while they could, except Connie felt a bit more hesitant. She was conscious about Jeff hearing about everything that has been going on. She didn't know if Steven was sharing this information with him. If he wasn't, she didn't want to start an unwanted conversation.

"Hey Steven," Connie announced, taking her seat. "How's it going?" Steven smiled, sitting up a little straighter in his chair. Lapis, who sat behind Connie, lifted an eyebrow in amusement at Steven's reaction towards Connie, nonetheless she found it amusing. Still, a slight frown settled on the girl's face as she watched the two flirting.

"Hey Connie, it's good. Did you get home okay?" Connie nodded, she took her supplies and studying materials out of her bag and onto her desk. Like always, she was always on time and prepared for her studies.

"More or less yes, my mom gave me a less intense scolding than she usually does. Anything interesting happen?" Connie hinted, her gaze slightly locked on his as if trying to communicate through their thoughts. Steven luckily catched on, shook his head and shrugged. 

"No but my dad's back into town, so i'll be chillin with him for the weekend" 

"Oh Greg's in town? Do you mind if I stop by later Stevie?" Lapis hummed, interjecting into their conversation. She had enough of the two, it disgusted her. Lapis leaned in, poking her head between the two, and lightly smacked her gum. Steven hummed but didn't decline. Connie blinked, moving her head away. She did her best to not feel annoyed by Steven's friend but she couldn't hide the irritation. She found it a little rude.

"Sure, I'm sure he'd be glad to see you Lapis" Lapis smiled and sat back down at her desk properly. 

The classroom chatter increased, therefore Steven saw it as a perfect opportunity to talk to Connie about his family matters while everyone else was distracted. Scooting a bit closer to the girl, he lightly tapped her shoulder and motioned her closer. 

"I'm gonna read the rest of the diary later during lunch, wanna check it out together?" His eyes motioned to his bag as he spoke. Connie's eyes brightened and a grin plastered on her face. 

"Of course! Library?" 

XxxxXxxxX

FLASHBACK 

Rosaline anxiously tapped her fingers against the chair handles. Her eyes scanned the windows of the hair salon as if she was worried someone she knew was going to walk right through the doors of the place. She had to repeatedly remind herself that she was safe far away from them, she was free. She simply needed to relax. Everything was going as planned, nothing to worry about.

"You alright?" the lady that was busy brushing away her hair with a tool full of dye. Rosaline shot her attention at the young, tall woman behind her through the mirror. A small smile rested on her lips. 

"I'm fine" the tall woman gave her a skeptical look. 

"Doesn't seem like it's nothing, you've been looking out the window in an almost trance-like state" She laughed. Finishing one side of her hair she moved on to the next portion, flipping her hair around and clipping it to hold it in place. "Seems like you have a lot on your mind" Rosaline chuckled at her statement. "Well I do that's for certain" she replied. "But it's nothing to be concerned about" 

The woman smiled "Well in that case, i haven't seen you around, are you new to Beach City?" She tried continuing the conversation. In almost no time wasted, her hair was ready to wash the dye off. Turning her around, Rosaline was instructed to lean backwards, and the hairdresser began to wash her hair.

"Just new, wanted to start in a new and quiet place" The woman snorted out a laugh, "You definitely came to the right place, it's a small town, you're pretty safe here" to which Rosaline smiled, it was exactly what she wanted to hear. 

"Since you're new in all, you should really come down to the beach boardwalk, the whole town is having a festival, I can show you around maybe?" 

Rosaline giggled and nodded. "Sounds great..uh..?" 

"Pearl"

"What a beautiful name, nice to meet you Pearl. My name is Rose"

~~~~

Greg felt the anxiety settle down to the pit of his stomach. He glanced out to the big crowd and threw the red velvet curtains that covered the stage. Greg's hand gripped the guitar tightly as it hung around his body. The sweat seeped out of his armpit and started to settle in his back.

"Ready to perform Starchild?" a man chuckled lightly behind Greg. Greg flinched a bit in surprise then smiled slightly at the man. 

"Marty! Yes I totally am" it wasn't a lie. He was more than excited but also anxious about it. It was his first time performing, his thoughts only floated with how things could play out. He was trying to envision himself with his successful career after this, nothing but fame, cheers, and sold out copies of his CD's plagued his mind. 

"Great, you're gonna kill it. It's showtime" the raspy voice chuckled. The older man slightly smacked the back of Greg's head in affection before lightly pushing him on the marked floor. The stage director counted down, everyone got into position and before he knew it the curtain raised. The adrenaline pumped in his system and he grinned seeing a decent amount of people in the crowd. 

There was a woman that innocently caught his eye at first, nothing crazy. He just thought her crazy looking hair stood out from everyone else in the crowd as she was right up front to the stage. Once he began to sing, he was giving his all. His eyes scanned the crowd, but somehow managed to lock eyes with the pink hair woman that was having the time of her life. 

Once the two made eye contact, the woman grinned widely and gave a few waves once she got his attention. Greg felt his heart sore in his chest, not sure if he was just confusing his sudden euphoria with the pretty woman before him and his hormones just began to act up mid act or it was the rush and nervousness he felt about the performance. He couldn't decide what it was but nonetheless, he was happy and content with what he felt in the moment. 

He wanted more of it, and he wanted to see more of her.

The show quickly ended and by then Greg had maxed out all his energy. His manager Marty was heard laughing and cheering in the background while Greg took a seat backstage trying to catch his breath and eating. 

"Good job starchild, we made some great money. Keep it up and we'll get you bigger and better" he laughed, waving around the few stacks of money he had in his hands. Seconds later he threw a portion of that money to the young adult, to his surprise it was barely anything compared to the large sum the manager had in his. 

Not wanting to argue, he thought that it was best that he remained silent on this one. Of course, with being a star and wanting to gain fame, the price to pay and that was not getting paid in his case. All that money was going towards the greedy company and his manager Marty. He wasn't stupid, he knew what it was they were doing, so Greg vowed to hold on the best he could while he was still getting housing, food and clothes. 

He had a plan, but he simply needed time.

Time passed and Greg went out to enjoy a bit of the fresh beach air while the crew continued to pack up the rest of the equipment into the large buses. 

"Your music is pretty great" Greg heard a soft voice behind him. Oblivious to the fact that someone had come up behind him. Flinching, he turned around and met eyes with the same ones he had been looking at the entire night. It was the same beautiful lady with the pink colored hair. 

"Th-thanks, I worked real hard on my set," he laughed, trying to remain confident. The woman looked slightly amused. "I see, when's your next show? I'd love to see more about this "Space train to the cosmos" bit you got going on" her soft voice giving Greg a slight chill up his back, it sounded so soft and lullaby-like almost making him melt like putty at an instant. 

"Well, I have a concert in the next city over tomorrow if you want to come and check it out. Mr. Universe is about to take over" he smiled, running through his long hair. The pink haired woman frowned slightly but quickly picked up her smile not wanting to give him the wrong impression by her hesitation but leaving the city didn't seem like a fond idea for her.

"Oh, I might catch it then. I must get going, it was a pleasure Mr. Universe" She hummed. 

Greg's eyes lightened up but immediately a thought came to mind. "Wait just a sec, let me get you a signed CD and a free T-shirt to take with you" Greg sprinted to the van, anxiously looking for the shirt but when he did and went to find the woman again, she was gone.

His heart ached, but he was hopeful to find her again. 

Rose walked away quickly from him, blushing like a total idiot and almost instantly regretting that she talked to the singer in the first place. She was stupid, so stupid! Why did she run away! She looked as the boy sighed in disappointment and trudged back to his car. Rose took a deep breath. 

This is a new start Rose, you are in control, you can make new friends, meet new people as much as you please with strangers, what could go wrong. 

And so she booked it back to the man.

"Mr. Universe! Wait up!" 

XXxxxXXX

The first section they read ends there, the brief pages about Steven's mom's first encounter with how she met aunt Pearl and his dad. The rest continues about Amethyst and Garnet. All of which were only about how they first met when she first came to Beach City. Steven smiled to himself as he flipped through the pages. As much as he loved hearing how his mother met the caretakers of his life, he hasn't really gotten any insight of her. 

He was curious about her life prior to her coming to Beach City but there were only a few more pages left of the notebook, he wasn't too sure he'll get his answers in this journal.

Connie and Steven sat close to each other, reading at almost the same reading speed so it was easy to keep up with each other. Connie sat close to Steven, occasionally sneaking in glances at the teen and smiling to herself slightly, feeling content. She admired the boy who seemed to be relieved and happy with his little investigation he's got going on. She was sure that it was a lot to process but this all seemed to be very important to him. 

Connie swore that she wouldn't let a boy distract her from anything, hell she promised her mother nothing was gonna let her get distracted. Up until now, she was sure not a single boy batted a single eye at her, but Steven was different, he was greatly accepting and open, she could never ask for a better friend. She wanted to be there for Steven, no matter what. 

"These all seem to be pages and pages of when she met the others, I wonder if she wrote things about herself" Steven mumbled out loud as he flipped through the pages rapidly. Connie placed a hand on his shoulder to make him halt. 

Steven locked eyes with Connie for a brief moment, they were a bit too close to each other but Steven was not complaining, he wanted to be close. 

"I'm sure that there's more we just need to keep reading" she said, pulling her hand away as she saw Steven acknowledge it. Steven tried to hide the slight ting of butterflies that rose in his stomach and made him want to grin. Checking the time quickly, Connie realized that their lunch period was coming to an end and soon they would have to separate their ways. 

"Lunch is almost over" She pointed out, "I have a shift later but let me know what else you find out" she smiled. Feeling slightly disappointed that she was leaving early Steven frowned slightly but tried to keep his smile. He shut the notebook and nodded. 

"Hey, are you busy after your shift?" Steven asked. The girl shook her head, she didn't even have to think about it. Much like muscle memory, all she did after work was go home and study. 

"Nope" she popped her 'P'

"You want to come to Jeff's tonight for movie night? I figured it would be a good way to introduce you to the rest of the crew, you know?" He rubbed his neck. Connie smiled but internally she screamed. She wanted to go more than anything but the sudden thought of doing anything other than studying and her mom letting her go willingly might be a bit of a challenge so she couldn't make any promises. 

"I'd love to, it will take some great convincing but count me in!" She gathered her stuff and stood up. Steven followed her lead.

"Great!, i'll pick you up after your shift and we'll go together" he grinned, winking at the brunette. A light blush covered her face as she looked away but she mumbled a response and waved goodbye to the boy just in time for the bell to ring and echo in the building. 

Steven watched as she walked away, making sure she made it safe to the other building. 

"It's a date," he mumbled to himself.