Changed for the Worse (Stevinel)

Analysis Paralysis

It was quiet for once. At least it was for Steven. The night sky overcame the Earth, while a large shadow from the outside patio appeared in the middle of the bedroom. He lays on his bed, but he didn't feel the need to sleep. Instead, he stared at the blankless, white ceiling.

Earlier today, Connie had been over. This was the only day she had off, considering it was the weekend, and the two spent as much time together as they could squeeze in. In the morning around 8 AM, both Steven and she took a mini road trip around Delmarva, heading any and everywhere. Although they had a warp pad to travel to many cooler places, it was the simple things that mattered. Plus he was always excited to drive his car whenever given the chance.

During the evening, they came back to his house and stayed in to watch classic anime movies. The first choice was "Spirited Away" Connie's personal favorite. They continued this up until they'd fallen asleep.

Unfortunately, things didn't play out the way they hoped for. Their peaceful nap was later interrupted by a loud ringtone. This didn't alarm them at first. Then, a few seconds later, Connie had begun to panic, recognizing it was her ringtone. Steven could recall her eyes bolt up after she looked at her phone.

"Oh my gosh! My parents are gonna kill me!" She freaked out. Before the half-asleep teen could say anything, she was already down the stairs and out the door.

Steven grabbed his phone out of his jean pocket and opened the device. The time read 11:05 PM. It had been twenty minutes since she left. No message yet from her. Surely she should be home soon.

He knew for a fact that Beach City wasn't entirely dangerous. Little Homeworld was right around the corner, and many gems would visit here from time to time. Still, he felt uneasy with her walking home at this time of night. He couldn't help it. She had a long distance to go and when he tried offering to drive her home, she'd mostly deny.

Connie was quite aware of what he was doing. It was hard to stop at first, given that it's in his nature to worry about those he loved and protect them at all cost, but he eventually did. She was independent after all. He saw her grow stronger by the day and knew she was fully capable of handling almost anything in her way. Plus, he figured she would text him when she got home at least.

The two started dating not too long ago, although it was technically the same way things were when they were younger. Neither one made it official, but it just kind of felt that way. The only difference would be that they're much older now. They've kept things simple such as her coming over his house, hanging out at Funland, or whatever they could come up with with the amount of time they had in their hands. He liked how things were at the moment, and wanted only for their relationship to build up naturally.

Steven scrolled through their past messages. They usually texted almost every day, unless she was in the middle of doing tests or whenever she needed her full concentration on projects. And lately, Connie had been busier than ever. As she got older, so did her responsibilities, and he certainly didn't want to cling all over her. Steven admitted to himself that he also had a lot on his plate as well. From holding responsibility as the Guardian of the Earth to having the title as monarch of the Diamond Authority, it was more than obvious that they couldn't pursue anything further than what they had at the moment. Not like it wasn't anything serious, other than two close friends bonding when they are available.

The only time he could recall a bit of romance in their relationship was his very first kiss from her. It was nothing more than a kiss on the cheek. And nothing else came out of it rather than just a hug here and there, and holding hands. Still, it meant something for the two of them.

Steven proceeded to open up his photo gallery. There were ranges of photos, and a majority of the photos were the two of them together. This morning on their road trip, Connie had access to his phone and would take pictures when he wasn't aware at first. Steven chuckled from one of the photos with him giving her a scowled look after realizing what she was doing. He found his serious expressions kind of funny. He then scrolled down to the next photo of the two with cheesy smiles on their faces. This made him smile as well. It was moments like these that allowed him to sometimes forget about the past. Even on that day...