Lost

Chapter 1

"If I don't figure out how to get rid of this dome, all my friends are going to die!"

"Wouldn't be the first time."

Silence reigns in the brisk evening air along the beach. Not even the ocean seems to make a sound as it washes back and forth across the beach. The graduation had been going so well, the Off Colors got their diplomas, and the party was going great. Sadie and Sheps' music was awesome, but everything went south when Steven learned of all the changes his friends were doing without him. Then when Lars went to leave, he started glowing pink, and a giant dome appeared. When Shep was able to pinpoint what was causing it Steven felt so embarrassed, but instead of the dome vanishing, it began to shrink, slowly getting closer and closer to crushing everyone. One singular statement from Lars, however, stops everything. Steven feels like everything screeches to a halt in his head. The shock from that offhand comment, about Lars dying, has him reeling. The dome stops shrinking, reflecting the sudden halt to his thoughts, and slowly it begins to disappear. Segments shrink and disappear one after the other until the entire thing is gone. Everyone breathes a sigh of relief, except for Steven who's standing perfectly still.

"Thank goodness that's over." sighs Sadie, "Should we get going then Shep?" Sadie glances at her partner, but they're not paying attention. Their focus is, instead, on Steven who hasn't moved an inch. Gradually the others notice the strange silence from the young man standing with his back to them. He'd be difficult to see in the darkness of the evening, if he wasn't glowing a bright fluorescent pink. A light breeze plays across the beach, slightly ruffling the still teens curly hair.

"Hey man, you alright?" Lars casually walks up and pats Steven gently on the shoulder. He shudders, gasps, and turns to Lars with tears in his unfocused eyes.

"I'm sorry." He says in a small voice. Sounding more scared than Lars has ever heard before. Tears stream down his cheeks. There's a loud ringing in his ears. He can barely see Lars standing, skin and hair various shades of pink, in front of him. The image of Lars straddling a Shattering Robonoid, an explosion throwing him into a rocky pillar. Lars lying unmoving, not breathing, and lacking any heartbeat. These images playing and replaying in his head, faster and faster, his breathing picks up as his heart begins to race. The ringing in his ears is gradually overcome by the sound of his own heartbeat. He gasps out another small "I'm sorry." and runs.

Everyone gasps as Steven seems to vanish, before reappearing further down the beach, nearly all the way to the beach house. If it wasn't for him glowing pink, they wouldn't have seen him at all in the dark. Lars watches Steven run, puts down the hand that was on Stevens shoulder, shrugs and turns to leave. Nearly running right into Shep standing behind him. They had come over to try and help Steven, but now stood staring angrily at Lars.

"Why did you say that? You have to have known how a comment like that could affect him! Aren't you supposed to be his friend?" They say, quietly. Shep had just met Steven today, so no one expected them to be the one to scold Lars. Especially Lars, who would have expected Sadie to start yelling at him before anyone else.

"What do you know? I was the one who died, not him! So I used a little dark humor during a tense situation," Lars shrugs and shoves his hands into his jacket pockets, looking at the temple in the distance, "it's how I cope."

Shep sighs "I think you're forgetting he watched you die. Not only that, but from what I've been told, he had no idea he could bring you back! As far as he knew, you were dead and gone, and nothing could fix that! Think about how much that moment must have hurt and terrified him." They take a deep breath before continuing, noticing everyone is listening. Sadie moves to stand next to them, and gently holds their hand. "From what little I've been told by Sadie and the others, Steven's childhood has been very chaotic and he doesn't have good coping skills yet. Add in magic powers, aliens, and probably a lot of trauma, and it's any wonder instances like this don't happen more often." They look Lars directly in the eyes, "You've had the support of your family, Sadie, the Off Colors, and Steven, to help you cope with what happened to you. Steven's been working his butt off supporting everyone else, and I'm not sure he's been getting much support back." They pause before finishing coldly, "As for 'what do I know?' I had my own life before I met Sadie."

Lars, hands still in his pockets, lowers his head. He'd be lying if he said his comment wasn't, at least a little, meant to hurt Steven. He's not mad at him, doesn't hate or blame him for what happened. He just fell, somewhat, back into his old habits when he felt scared. He used to always blame Steven when something weird or scary happened in Beach City. He knows better now, and he knows what he needs to do next. Looking down the beach again, Lars begins the long walk to the temple. He wants to apologize.

Shep and Sadie watch him go, while the others clean up the mess from the party. "Lars is a good guy, he's just insensitive sometimes." Sadie says, still holding Shep's hand.

Shep sighs, "Yeah I can tell. He's not a bad person, he just didn't seem to think before he spoke, and Steven is very clearly going through something. He needs support from his friends right now, not Lars 'dark humor. I hope he'll be okay."

"It's Steven, he'll get through it. He's strong."

Shep squeezes Sadies hand gently, watching Lars disappear down the beach.