Steven Universe fic

pt 8 Chapter Three: Night Walk

Spinel jerked herself awake, falling off the couch and hitting the floor. She looked around, befuddled and dazed from her sudden wakeful state.

The room was dark, aside from the soft glow of the kitchen night light and a clock that read 3:40 am.
Great, she thought, I can't get in my room.

Steven was likely deep in slumber, and she had no access to the infinity room without him, did they decide not to wake her? Oh well, if anything it was out of consideration.

The gem stood, glancing around once more, trying to decide how to spend the night, now that she was awake, it would take a lot more than a boring movie to make her doze off again.
Spinel looked out the window at the night sky, and decided to go for a walk.
The fresh air and soft hum of the night life was bound to tire her out eventually, and staying still wasn't her forte.

The gem opened the front door, stepping into the humid air and staring down at the beach, it was lit in small sparkles of moonlight as the waves created and gently crashed into the sands. The sound of it calmed her, and for a moment she swayed in time with the push and pull of water before hopping down to the sands below.

She made her way to the edge of the beach, just far enough that she wouldn't get her toes wet from the waves, and picked up a small shell, turning it over in her hands. The gem sighed, and set the shell back down trailing along the edge of the beach, away from the house and beach city.
The quiet of the air and the softness of the earth brought some semblance of calmness to her thoughts.

She had tried to move past Aquamarine's manipulation, and she tried to forget about being slowly corrupted by her own weapon. But the fears she held deep inside grew nonetheless.
Steven hadn't asked her about it; any of it. And she didn't know why. Perhaps he thought she didn't want to talk about it, or simply couldn't talk about it.

He was right, on some level. Spinel didn't know how to talk about it, and she didn't want to ruin his jovial demeanor by intrusively forcing her problems onto him. That wasn't how friendship worked, and she wanted to do it right this time.
She was proud of herself, despite the struggle, that she had grown so much in her short time on earth.
It didn't change her past actions, but it helped her see how far she had come since.

The gem sat down now, her feet just inside the waters edge, she let the waves lap at her toes and rested her head in her arms.
Spinel stared out at the night waves, bracing herself for the tide as it began to rise, pushing the water halfway up her waist.
Her thoughts turned back to the darkness and noise that had enveloped her on homeworld. She tried to recall what had happened, what she had done, if she had hurt anyone.
But all she could remember was screaming, loud and horrible, constant screaming.
It was like one of those audiotapes Steven had introduced to her, the kind that you put into a player and listen to but don't see. Except it was worse because you couldn't turn it off, and you couldn't hear or see or think past it.

Another wave crashed against her, nearly pulling her with it. Spinel stood, shaking off the water and staring back at the ocean as it turned.
The waves grew in size, signaling the high tide that was to come. She took a step back, making herself out of reach as the waves rose and intensified.
The cold of the water mixed with the night air made her shiver and she let out a cough, wiping her spit away with her hand. A small black drop hit the waves, dissolving in the ocean waters. 

Spinel made her way back to the beach house, slinking quietly in the door as to not wake her friend. A shudder rippled through her body, causing her to shake for a moment before crawling back onto the couch. She stared at the ceiling, ignoring the quiet ringing of her ears and closing her eyes.