Chapter Text
At that moment, Steven had been entirely consumed with rage. When he saw his father crying on the porch, he wanted nothing more than to make Eyeball and Aquamarine pay. Now, lying in bed, Steven couldn’t help but think about what happened. His father had told him that some people just don’t want to change, but he still couldn’t help feeling like the whole incident had been his fault. When Bluebird arrived at the welcome party for new gems, he knew immediately that she would be trouble. He almost objected when the gems insisted on giving her another chance, but lately, he was messing things up. He had messed up GHEM, he had messed up with Volleyball, and he had messed up with the Rose Quartzes. Sure, everything turned out all right in the end, but it was undeniable that Steven had messed up in each situation. So, he decided to listen to the gems, even though his instincts were screaming at him to do something about her. But once again, Steven messed up. Now, his father had lost his long hair, and though he seemed fine, his son knew he wasn’t. His father had had his long hair since before he met Mom. It had meant so much to him, and the older man took very good care of it. Steven was mad that his father felt he had to cut his hair to escape being used against him. It was his fault that Aquamarine and Eyeball had been able to hold him hostage in the first place.
Steven gritted his teeth. What had happened to him? How did he go from savior of the universe to a universal mess-up? He plopped onto his bed with a sigh. The young man stared at the ceiling, knowing he was in for another sleepless night. He had been wallowing in his bedroom for a couple of hours after his father returned to the car wash. With a heavy sigh, Steven pushed himself into a sitting position. “If I’m going to be up anyway, might as well be productive. Where’s my binder for Little Homeschool?” The half-gem looked around. Did he leave it downstairs? He was usually really good about keeping his briefcase in his room. Steven headed downstairs, noting how quiet the house was. Were the gems in their rooms? He didn’t see anyone around. Steven paused, then resumed looking for his bag.
After some rummaging around, he finally found it underneath the couch. “How’d you get under there?” It was a little dusty, but he just brushed the dust off with his hand. If the gems were in their rooms, then he was free to use the kitchen table to work. Steven sat the bag on the table with a tired smile. He preferred using the table anyway since it had more space than his desk. The young man started on his attendance sheets and then moved on to the lesson plans. He felt a lot better as he lost himself to his task. A few hours later, Steven had finished the majority of his work for the day and had one last pile to work on.
Noticing that it was past midnight, Steven stretched and packed up his stuff. He could work on the rest of the paperwork tomorrow. ‘Or, I guess it’ll be later today.’ As the man went to set his bag by the door, he noticed the dark skid marks on the wood floor. His anxieties returned full force at the sight, and Steven dropped the bag and looked away. He didn’t understand why everything was bothering him so much lately. It was frustrating and exhausting, and the worst was that he should’ve been able to deal with it. The young man clenched his fists tightly. He wished he could just get better. That he could actually be helpful like he was when he was younger. Suddenly, a soft light broke through the darkness. Steven looked up in surprise to see that the light was coming from the temple. Specifically, it came from the pink gem representing his mom on the temple door. The door opened, giving him a view of Rose’s room. Steven narrowed his eyes at the room and ignored it. Instead, he walked back up the stairs and threw himself into bed. There was no way Steven was going to go in that room. The young man pulled the covers up and closed his eyes. He managed to fall asleep an hour later.