Nothing but Lies and Stories (Steven Universe AU)

The next several hours was pure chaos at the Big Donut while the great spawn of humans appeared moments after it hit 5 o'clock in the afternoon. Every adult seemed to stop in for their second, third, or even fourth cup of coffee and a light snack for the night. The rush died down within minutes and soon enough Connie, Sadie and Lars had some time to relax a bit before Connie's shift had come to an end. 

Once school had ended, Connie had a pretty long discussion with her mother while on her way to her job. Took some pretty good persuasion on her part but with a little white lie involved but nonetheless she convinced her mother to let her stay out a few extra hours. The less details the less yelling and lecturing she'll have to listen through later when she comes home.

Connie had finished her stocking duties for the store and Lars began to close up cabinets and took out several donuts and put them into one of the huge boxes that fit a dozen. Connie dusted her hands off on the apron and immediately went to sanitize. Sadie finished mopping up the floor, putting a wet sign in the middle of the tiny floor section out in the open for people to see it as soon as people walked through the door if they were. 

"Finally, everythings all set. Lars, what are you doing with those donuts?" Sadie glared and sighed in disappointment at the male. Lars hummed away almost intending to ignore Sadie but gave in and spoke after finishing his boxing. 

"Just taking some of these to Buck and Sour Cream's rave they invited me too, it's gonna be a sick party" He grinned, tapping on the box gently. 

"Well it is a Friday, go nuts Lars" Sadie laughed then looked at Connie. "Are you doing anything tonight Connie?" 

Connie nodded, then she suddenly felt her cheeks heat up and felt a bit awkward admitting out loud she was going to go see a movie with Steven and his friends. 

"I'm going to see a movie with Steven and his friends" Instantly, Sadie's eyes lit up and a slight grin creeped on her face. 

"Steven huh?" she chuckled. Connie pouted slightly and held up a finger.

"And his friends! Sadie, there's nothing going on between me and Steven!" She huffed. 

"Yet" she mumbled. "Connie, there's nothing wrong if there were to be, frankly that kid is stubborn and was pretty emotionless until you came into the picture. I think it would do him some good really" Sadie reasoned. Lars, thankfully, only mumbled in agreement and wasn't contributing much to the conversation. 

Connie stopped for a moment to think. There really isn't anything wrong with Steven and her going out or seeking any sort of romantic partnership. If anything, this was something she thought she would miss out on as a teen since she was always stuck studying at home or preparing for college entrance exams since middle school because her mother asked for her to study and be successful prior to starting her official career. 

If it were to happen, she'd be living a part of the "Teenage dream"

Connie sighed defeated. "I guess you're right," 

Sadie smiled "Be honest to yourself about these things, trust me, the universe will do it's magic" 

The door flew open and Steven had popped in, walking in cautiously. He had layered on a brown jacket with a white hoodie and back jeans. His curly hair popped out every which way from his hoodie, some curls slightly dripping. The boy smiles at the two female friends that stood before him.

"Hey Connie, Hey Sadie, Hey Lars!" he shouted over to him. Lars gave him a thumbs up without looking up at him and Sadie responded as she usually does. "Connie, you ready to go?" he asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Connie glanced at her watch which read 8:05pm, five minutes past her shift. Connie scoffed in surprise. 

"Oh! right , sorry i got sidetracked, let me clock out and i'll be back" she explained, leaving towards the back. Steven smiled and nodded, watching as she walked away. 

"So Sadie, what song are you wanting to sing for the festival? I talked to my dad earlier and he's also performing, and asked me to sing with him so we'll be festival buddies this year again!" he laughed. Steven had phoned him as he walked from his house to the Big Donut. After the movie with his friends, Greg was gonna come over and stay with him and the others for the next two weeks. 

"I was thinking "Haven't you noticed" by Olivia, i've already started practicing actually. What song are you gonna sing with your dad?" 

Just then Connie walks out the staff door. 

"I'm not sure what song yet, but my dad is working on some new material so we might get to hear something new" He shrugged. Then a thought came to mind. 

THE SONG!

They were supposed to write and perform a song in front of their class in a few days and he hasn't done a single thing. If he keeps putting it off, he's gonna show up and have to take the F. Which he was prepared to do but what would Connie think of him?

"Well I just know that it's gonna be a hit like the last several ones" Sadie paused, "Well you guys have fun, get out of the store children" She shooed the two teens away and they both walked out the door. 

"How was work?" Steven hummed. The sun was just about to set and there was a pretty orange hue in the sky with a mix of purple and white. The ocean breeze carried, making the air colder than normal considering how close they were to the beach. The two walked a bit close to each other, hands almost touching. Steven, even though he was trying to walk straight he managed to keep eye contact with the Indian-American girl without bumping into anything along the way

Connie remained silent, then her nose wrinkled as she smiled in thought. 

"Well Lars wasn't much help today, per usual but apart from that it wasn't that bad. It was definitely busy earlier. That always makes the time go by faster" Steven chuckled. 

"Great, sounds like you've had a bit of a day" Connie nudged him slightly with her shoulder to which he lightly reciprocated her action back.

"Yeah well, what about you? What did you do today?" Steven and Connie reached the small blue car that had been parked feet away from the shop. Connie blinked looking at Steven and then the car before awkwardly getting into the passenger seat. She didn't know Steven could drive

"Not bad, my dads coming to stay for a few days so I was getting everything set up for him. Then I talked to him a little on the way here, we're both gonna be in the parade this year" 

Connie looked at him confused but then her mind flashed an image in her brain about a similar parade she saw from her window years ago when she last came to Beach City

"Oh? What kind of parade is it?" She asked. Steven turned the car on and began to drive away. 

"Just a parade. You can show your talents, make floats, promote anything really. It's pretty fun!" He laughed. "I was in it with my dad a few years back, we did this washing car bit, then I was banned from participating for a while cause I went totally nude. Only having fake bubbles covering me" Connie burst out laughing. 

"There's no way you did that!" Steven chuckled, looking at the road. "That I did miss Connie, have you ever been to a parade?" Connie hummed, her lips turning into a frown. 

"No, actually. I've never seen it up close before'' Wow, that sounded so LAME. Connie thought to herself. 

Steven's hairs stood on the back of his neck. 

Now's your chance Steven, ask her out!

"You want to come with me to the parade? You can hang around my house, see us practice, we stay for the rest of the parade then grab something to eat after? You can even bring your parents so they can enjoy it too" Connie smiled and took a few moments to process what he was asking. On one end, he was asking her on a date, on the other, he was also just trying to be inclusive and that was the most meaningful thing he's done for her as of yet.

 And her heart decided to do the speaking this time. 

"Yes, I'd love to" 

XxxxXxxXx

The car came to a stop minutes later in front of a house, Steven parallel parked on the street and proceeded to open the door for Connie. They both walked together up to Steven's friend's door and knocked.

They were greeted immediately and let inside. The entire living room wasn't overly decorated but there were some extra pillows, blankets, and a table filled with snacks. The projector was already set up in a caged set on the ceiling and a white draped screen on the wall to make it look bigger. There were a few people apart from PeeDee and Jeff from their class to which Connie was unfamiliar with but still made the effort to try and introduce herself. 

"Alright, I picked a few movies, snacks are up for grabs. Lapis is running late, so we'll start without her" Jeff stated. He sat himself on the floor along with the rest of the guys. Steven and Connie took a seat on the couch and the other girl sat on the other couch. 

"This movie is one of the best scary movies, the other two are a little softer" Connie felt her heart sank. Scary movies? She wasn't allowed to watch those, not much entertainment regardless since she was so buried in her books, but it shouldn't be that bad right? They're all pretty predictable anyways.

"I love scary movies," Steven said under his breath, rubbing his hands together like a fly preparing his meal. "They're so funny," he chuckled. Connie stayed silent but gave a small nod and a light smile, she prayed that this night ended somewhat well. 

The movie started easy to say the least, slightly creepy but nothing too much. It reminded Connie about the crime podcasts she's heard on occasion at the Big Donut which she could thank Sadie for. There was an occasion where she thought she was imagining things on the corner of her eye but it turned out that Lapis was the one that had entered the house without making a single noise.

Connie kept her eyes on the screen, she did start getting invested and unfortunately for her, it was a trap. There was a jumpscare, sending her body flinching in surprise and taking a hold of what was right beside her which of course was Steven Universe. Her hand found his bicep, she squeezed it a little bit and hid her face in his shoulder. The rest were too focused, not moving an inch to what was happening around them. 

All except Lapis.

She would look at the two of them and practically want to throw up, Connie was being a little too touchy with Steven. She would roll her eyes every single time Connie would squeal or make a sound. It absolutely annoyed the living hell out of her. Why was she even invited if she was just going to be scared?

Steven's head turned slightly, his hand reaching over to comfort her. 

"You okay?" he whispered. Connie took a breath and immediately separated herself from him. "Sorry Steven, I'm okay. I don't do well with these movies I guess" Steven turned to her, their eyes locked, the light of the screen fainting lighting up the room, enough to lighten their facial expressions. He smiled.

She's so goddamn cute he thought. 

"It's okay Connie, just grab onto me" Smooth Universe.  

And that she did. 

For the rest of the movie, Connie was glued to Steven's side. She wasn't sure when, but about halfway through the third movie she had fallen asleep. Steven felt the sudden weight shift, but didn't mind it at all. He did adjust her head a little as he leaned backwards to lay comfortably and give his own back a break. 

"Alright guys let's call it a night!" PeeDee yawned, standing up and stretching. The rest followed pursuit. Steven shrugged the sleeping girl and Connie snapped up instantly. No one else seemed to notice a thing about the two of them anyways. Connie stood first, straightening out her clothes. Steven followed suit. 

"Everyone planning on going to the festival? We should all be able to get a good spot as a group down by the pier, it's one of the best spots" one of Jeff's friends spoke as they all made their way to the door. 

"Yes! PeeDee your dad owns that restaurant right on the pier right? We can all just meet there and get a spot" Lapis said, popping the gum in her mouth. Steven and Connie looked at each other briefly, Steven almost said something about their plans but decided against it. 

"I'll let you guys know, I'll probably be performing with my dad anyway" Steven spoke. The rest of them looked at him surprised. Maybe it was the fact that he never ever performed since he was like 10 years old, or the fact that he never went public with his singing, hell his friends never heard him sing anything in their lives. 

"You. You're gonna sing?" PeeDee narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the boy. Steven quickly became flustered. 

"Yeah? Only around my dad and my caretakers. It's not a big deal" he shrugged. 

"Are you any good?" Jeff teased, causing the rest to giggle, even Connie. 

"He is, professional level if I'm being honest" Lapis gloated. Steven rolled his eyes but pointed at her as if agreeing. 

"She's caught me before" 

"We should do a little bonfire thing, sing some songs and barbecue some food you know" Connie suggested. One reason being she wanted to hear him sing and be more social with her new group of who she hoped were her friends. 

Everyone went wild with her idea. 

"Great idea Connie! Let's do it this weekend, my house? We've got the space by the beach" Steven grinned at the girl. Connie returned the smile as everyone agreed and praised the idea, shouting things they could do and who would bring what. 

Everyone left Jeff's house. Connie and Steven left together and Steven, as a courtesy so she wouldn't get in trouble, dropped her off at the next bus stop close to her house so her mother wouldn't suspect anything. Steven couldn't just leave her like that. 

Pearl always told him never to leave a lady alone, it wasn't right. So, he pulled up secretly on her block and watched as she went inside her house with no problems. With a satisfied conscience, he headed to his house. 

"I'm home!" Steven announced, setting the keys on the table. 

"Hey Kid! I was wondering when you were gonna show up" his dad laughed, looking at him from the couch. All his luggage was neatly piled against the wall of the living room and a pull out bed was already set. 

"Hey dad" he laughed, "I'm glad you're home" 

Pearl entered carting to cups in her hand. 

"Hi Steven, we were just discussing what it's been like for you recently, and what Greg's done on the road. He certainly has some stories you'd enjoy" 

Steven grinned, sitting next to dad on the couch. Greg strummed his guitar and hummed. 

"Great stories! That's right. We're just waiting for the rest to get here" he answered. Steven nodded, and thought about how he was gonna play the next words. There's no going back, he's gotta start the conversation 'cause no one else will.

"Hey dad, how 'bout you tell me a different kind of story" Greg seemed to comply, still in his cheery mood. 

"Can you tell me about mom?"