Lost

Chapter 3

The next morning Steven wakes feeling, if anything, worse than last night. His head still aches, and his mouth feels like a desert. He can't even enjoy the beautiful day he can see through the sliding glass door in his room. The sun is shining, not a cloud in the sky and glittering off the calm ocean. He can't even enjoy it though as he trudges downstairs to the bathroom. Pearl is in the kitchen getting things ready to make breakfast.

"Good morning Steven!" she calls, "Would you like some waffles for breakfast?"

Steven shakes his head, the action making his headache worse, "No thanks, I don't really have much of an appetite right now. My head hurts."

"Is this because of last night? We heard about it from the Off Colors. They stopped us before we headed home from Little Homeworld and let us know. They seemed pretty worried about you. Are you alright?" Pearl is worried about him, looking him up and down from where she stands in the kitchen.

Steven wouldn't be surprised if she'd kept an eye on him all night, like she used to when he was younger. The last thing he wants to do is worry her more right now, so he raises his hands placatingly and says "Yeah I'm fine. Lars actually stopped by last night to check on me. We talked and it's all good now!" He gives Pearl an awkward smile, she doesn't quite believe him, but she's not willing to push it. She figures if he wanted to talk about it more, then he would.

He shrugs and chuckles, "I think with everything going on, between running Little Homeschool, and planning the first graduation, I may have overdone it. It's all catching up to me now. I should've probably listened to you guys and taken it a little easier." He thinks for a moment, "I think I'll take the day off."

Pearl crosses her arms and nods in agreement, "That's probably for the best. Rest up and we'll see you later. Don't hesitate to call me, Amethyst or Garnet if you need anything!" She puts away everything she had taken out for breakfast, and heads off to Little Homeschool for the day.

Steven nods and goes to the bathroom. He gets a drink of water to soothe his dry mouth and ease some of his aches. His head still hurts along with his mouth and upper back. He must've slept funny to wake up with all these aches and pains. Thankfully it isn't too much for Steven to handle. When he goes back to bed he's able to make himself comfortable enough and falls asleep quickly.

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When Steven next awakes he sees the sunrise just beginning. The sky turning from dark blue, covered in the glitter of stars, to the pale pinks and pastel blues of daybreak, is always one of his favorite sights. Realizing this means he slept the entire day yesterday, Steven sits up in bed and stretches. He feels much better now, no more headache, backache, or dry painful mouth. He definitely needed that day off.

Heading downstairs Steven looks around for the gems. No one's home, not even Pearl. It must be earlier than he initially thought. Steven shrugs, they're probably all still in their rooms. He hums to himself as he goes to the bathroom to get ready for the day. After washing his hands he glances at himself in the mirror. He stares in shocked horror at the image he sees. It looks like him but... not. His wide eyes have pink irises with diamond shaped pupils. His ears are pointed and pink, a light touch tells him they're covered in a pink fuzz. A glance down at his open mouth shows teeth much sharper than they should be. They look more like the teeth of a carnivore than that of a vegetarian teen.

Steven's heart begins to race and breathing quickens as he backs away from the mirror. He leans against the far wall, staring at the floor in fear. He thinks he knows what this is and he furiously wants to deny it. Corruption.

That can't be though, right? He's part human, and part diamond, he shouldn't be able to corrupt! A diamond is still a gem though, and when it comes to him his very existence is supposedly an impossibility, so anything is possible.

Steven takes deep breaths, places his hand on his chest, and tries to calm his racing heart. He looks at the mirror again and briefly considers taking a bath with the diamond essences inside the cabinet, but decides against it. He doesn't want to risk it not working and wasting the valuable essence. Besides, what if he's wrong? His state of mind has affected his physical form in the past. When he was younger and felt bad about himself, he aged til he almost died. After the incident at graduation, this could very well be the same! Maybe all he needs is some time away to relax and recenter himself. He then decides to go spend some time at the healing fountain. It's out in the middle of nowhere, plus the healing effects of the water can only be good for him. Sure it's his moms fountain and he's still got a lot of strong feelings regarding her, but still, it couldn't hurt to go. He'll come back once he feels better and gets these changes to stop.

With a plan in mind and feeling determined to fix himself, Steven gets dressed in his usual jeans, black star shirt, sandals and pink jacket. He steps onto the warp pad and warps himself to the area near the fountain. He makes his way through the bushes and plants his mom used to tend to in this area. Barely noticing the beautiful sunshine and flowers. In his haste Steven doesn't realize he's left his phone on his nightstand, and he didn't tell anyone where he was going.