Changed for the Worse (Stevinel)

Indecision

"Then, the worst part happened when my parents forced me to stay after class for overtime tutoring."

"That's kind of surprising."

"These are my parents we're talking about, Steven." Connie's voice huffed out in slight aggravation.

Steven wasn't sure what else to say and only laid on his bed in silence, waiting for her to start back up the conversation. But it remained silent, and vivid noises came from Connie's end.

Usually, she would video chat with him often, but instead, she called. This told him something was wrong from the get-go, and he was right. They had been talking on the phone about her morning disaster.

It first started with her sleeping over her scheduled time, which was usually 6:45. She had class at 8 while she woke up at 7:40. Not only that, but she also left her notes back home from her parents, rushing her out the door. Her parents proceeded to scold her for the entire trip to school and back. Everything she had told him up until to now nonetheless sounded like one problem after another.

"I just don't understand this aging cycle. You'd think parents would start bothering you less after you turn 16," Connie's voice peaked through the other line, bringing the teen boy out of his thoughts.

"Sometimes, life kinda jumps at us with surprises in our lives."

"By the way," Connie's tone in her voice softened over the phone, readying Steven for what was her next line of words. "Sorry... about the whole 'parents coming over' thing."

He thought back just a couple hours ago when her parents decided to visit him as he'd imagined.

This had been their fifth time doing this over the past couple of years. Usually, Pearl and Garnet were here, but this time it was slightly different. Amethyst was the only one around by the time they knocked on their door. And this time, he had slept over the usual time he would be up. But no one questioned it. Right after their talk, everything went back to normal. He took a shower, ate breakfast, and watched T.V, up until Connie had called.

"Hey, it's fine, seriously,"

"No, it's not, Steven! They keep their eyes on me, 24/7," she further exaggerated their strict, overbearing behavior. "And to top that off, they know who you are! It's not like I'm hanging out with some random person..."

"Well, explains why they thought to blame me for the incident this morning was the solution."

He was sort of used to being the one blamed for specific problems, especially when it came to his loved ones. And it was technically his fault. This whole ordeal happened due to Connie sleeping over his home last night. And this wasn't the first time. It just sort of happened.

"What did they say to you this time?" Connie interrupted Steven's thoughts.

"Well, the same' o lecture they usually give. I apologized and left it at that, no harm done," Steven answered back.

"Steven, you didn't have to apologize. It wasn't your fault,"

"Well, maybe they don't see that." he countered.

"And that's the problem. My parents can't trust me at this point."

"We're still teenagers," he replied.

"Says you." She retorted his comment.

"C'mon Connie, I'm only 17. It still doesn't change the fact that they still see us as kids." He tried explaining.

"Steven...we've been to space and even faced a Dictatorial Alien race light years away from here! We've saved the Earth countless times! In those cases, that just gives us more than enough credibility," Connie huffed over the phone. "Even your dad isn't this strict." She added.