(1) Learn How To Love

The Beach... house

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Once the sun had set, and you and Steven had walked the line where the water met the sand, he brought you back to his house to stay for the night.

"Alright, you know the drill," Steven smiled, leading you up to his room.

"Sure do," you replied, helping yourself to anything in his dresser that resembled pajamas. "I'll be in the shower," you chirped once you had found some sweatpants and a t-shirt.

"Okay, see you then. UH- after the shower, of course," Steven rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, his face growing redder by the second.

"Right, right..." you smiled awkwardly and started to walk downstairs. "See you then!" You called up to Steven's room before shutting yourself in the bathroom.

As you washed your hair and body of the salt and sand of the beach, Steven laid down on his bed. He looked around his bedroom for a moment, thinking about what it might look like from your point of view, before burying his face into his pillow. If it weren't for the water pounding in your ears, you might've heard the muffled groan coming from upstairs. Steven rolled over to his back and took a deep breath.

Why was he so nervous? Deep in thought, his eyebrows furrowed. "Why does this feel different?" he wondered, "What's changed?" Maybe it was because of what had happened earlier on the beach... the way he felt when he saw that look in your eyes. Or, it could've been the way you held his hand at the movies. How your face lit up when you tasted fry bits for the first time, the moonlight in your hair on top of the ferris wheel, the way you could dance like no one was watching.

Or maybe it was of all that and more.

Everything leading up to that moment... the talent show, stargazing, baking cookies, those stupid animal face masks... every moment the two of you spent together finally clicked for Steven. He sat up in bed abruptly.

"I love her," he whispered to himself.

The corners of his lips turned upwards, slowly revealing the world's biggest grin.

"I love her," Steven said, more confidently this time.

A giddy laugh escaped his lips as he began to float off of his bed. He couldn't stop repeating that same phrase to himself, over and over again.

"Steven!" You called from downstairs, startling him enough that he fell back down onto his bed.

Steven got up and jogged downstairs, almost tripping over himself in the process; "yeah?"

"Can you grab me a towel?" You asked him through the door.

"Yeah, of course," he replied. "Sorry, I thought there were some in there."

"Not unless you have magical invisible towels," you laughed. And although you were joking, you still felt around the towel rack with your hands.

"As cool as that sounds," Steven pulled an extra towel from the closet, "we just have regular towels."

"Darn," you sighed dramatically so that he could hear from the other side of the door.

"But..." you heard Steven close the closet door before his footsteps approached. "They're a lovely shade of blue," he smiled. And... you could see him smile.

Because he had opened the door.

After no more than a split second of eye contact, you both screamed.

"AAHHHH!!!!!"

Still screaming, Steven shut his eyes as tight as possible, and covered them with his left arm before dropping the towel on top of the toilet lid. Using his right hand, he blindly fumbled for the door handle and fled the scene, yelling apologies all the way.

"SORRY, I-"

"WHY?"

"I THOUGHT YOU'D BE BEHIND THE SHOWER CURTAIN!"

"WHY WOULD I BE BEHIND THE SHOWER CURTAIN?!"

"I DON'T KNOW! I SHOULD'VE ASKED!"

"OR KNOCKED!"

"OR KNOCKED!" He agreed, falling onto the couch and covering his head with a pillow. "SORRY," he yelled, the noise muffled.

You groaned. You weren't really mad, just... beyond embarrassed. "It's fine," you called back with a grimace.

"Are you sure?" Steven asked, his voice dripping with guilt and bashfulness.

"Yeah," you leaned against the door, "I mean... you were probably going to see me naked sooner or later," you laughed. You wouldn't have ordinarily said something so bold, but the rush of adrenaline from the whole ordeal gave you a mini boost of confidence.

"I-" Steven sat up on the edge of the couch, "I was?"

"Yeah, I mean... we've basically been going out all summer...?" a nervous laugh bubbled from within you, shaking your shoulders. Steven laughed, too. All the nerves and embarrassment escaping as the two of you rolled with laughter on either side of the bathroom door.

You tied your towel around yourself, ensuring that it covered everything before opening the door. Steven heard the doorknob turn and immediately turned his focus to the floor.

"I'm decent, I promise," you crossed your arms.

"I can never look at you again," Steven groaned, his head in his hands.

"Steven, it's fine," you chuckled, reassuring him. "We're okay."

Slowly but surely, Steven met your gaze with a squint. After no more than maybe two seconds, his head was back in his hands.

"Okay," you smirked, "how long will it take for you to recover?"

"I don't think I ever will."

You walked over to the couch and slowly sat down next to Steven. You took his hands down from his face and squeezed them firmly but gently. After a couple of deep breaths (he was really going through it), he looked back at you, making eye contact that lasted more than two seconds. His eyes stayed fixated on yours, gradually closing as the two of you closed the gap between your faces slowly. You placed your hands on Steven's shoulder and neck, getting carried away with the kiss. You froze, however, when you felt your towel slip off.

Steven stiffened, perfectly motionless.

"At this point, my eyes are just going to stay closed until you leave tomorrow morning."

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