Corrupted Heart - Steven Universe x Reader

Chapter 33

'No! Stop it! Don't think like that!', he scolded himself. 'Why am I being so selfish? Jerry's her friend and she's allowed to talk to her friend. There's nothing wrong with that. And, there's nothing stopping me from inviting myself'.

So that's what he did.

Steven tried to piece together what I was talking about, "--There could be some left".

"But, this place has no power and was probably decommissioned ages ago, so even if there was any, I doubt they're in good condition".

"What are you guys talking about? Have you found a way in?", Steven's voice chirping behind me unexpectedly caused me to jump. I turned around, inadvertently appearing suspicious even though I wasn't hiding anything.

"Um, no. We haven't found anything", I responded, not wanting to mention the ice cream sandwich discussion in case my hunch was a bust.

Steven knitted his brows in a way that seemed like he was sceptical of me. 

Jerry clearly caught onto it. "What? You don't believe us?", he asked.

Steven widened his eyes, "I...I didn't say that. I do believe you".

"Well, you're looking at (Y/N) as if you don't believe us", Jerry pressed.

There was a brief silence before Steven's gaze unexpectedly hardened up. "I do believe you guys, ok? I never said I didn't", his voice was laced with a sharp, acidic tone that I've never heard come out of his mouth. 

I was slightly taken aback as stood between the two boys.

"Guys, come on", I ushered them to calm themselves. "Don't start an argument over something stupid. We're trying to find--".

"I FOUND A WAY IN!!" Frankie exclaimed with excitement, making me, Steven and Jerry temporarily forget the discussion that almost turned into an argument. Glancing between the two boys whose eyes averted from each other's gaze, I scoffed and made my way over to the other side of the warehouse. I tried to brush off what happened but my mind wouldn't let me. Even though technically, neither of them said anything rude to the other, there's definitely some unspoken tension between them. This was especially weird since neither of them had talked to the other. Once turning the corner, I caught Frankie and Owen pushing against a giant rear lift bin that seemed to be blocking something. Two of the wheels had popped off and even though there were two people pushing, neither of them made much movement. 

"Th-There's...A vent...Behind this b-bin", Frankie heaved, pressing her back against the side of the bin, hoping it would move. "What on Earth is in this thing?! Bowling balls made of cement?! A solid gold piano?!".

Panting, she forced more weight against the bin, but to no avail.

Owen gave up.

When Steven turned the corner, Frankie's eyes lit up.

"Hey, Steven! Maybe your lion can help! Lions are strong, right?", Frankie asked, pushing her back further into the bin. It still hadn't moved.

Steven glanced back over his shoulder and frowned, "Uh, I think he actually just took off".

I sighed, exasperatedly, "Of course he did. He's always there to eat your lunch and never there to help you out".

"Heh", Steven whimsically chuckled, "That's Lion".

"Alright, new plan; Frankie, Owen and Jerry, grab the bottom and try to lift up the bin from the floor as high as you can. Steven and I will push".

Raising a brow, Frankie rose from her slouching stance. "Since when did you become Miss 'Idea Girl'?", she asked with frivolous puzzlement.

Everyone dropped their school bags to the side and began getting into their positions as I leant onto the bin with Steven on my side. A whimsical sigh left my lips as the feeling of grime on my fingers made me jitter with disgust, "Almost getting killed a hundred times does that to you, I guess".

"Don't say that!", I turned to see Steven pouting with a glance of distress. "I would never let that happen to you!".

Though the sudden response caught me off guard, I smiled, "I'm holding you to that".

"Alright, alright. Let's just move this thing already. My fingers hurt", Jerry sounded like he speaking between tight teeth.

Counting down, we all synchronically pushed our weight against the bin. With three people holding up the bin, it made it easier to push it aside. It was a slow process and really physically demanding but luckily we manage to move the bin enough to get a clear entrance to the vent. It was quite big and probably had enough room for us to crawl in.

"I could've stayed home with my dads to bake blondies and watch Fail videos on TubeTube, yet I'm here; Breaking into an abandoned warehouse", Owen slid a hand down his face, muffling his sigh, "Please tell me at least one of you has the common sense to recognise this as a bad idea. This whole thing could collapse on--".

Frankie was already on her hands and knees before Owen could finish his sentence, effortlessly removing the grate as the loose screws popped off and sticking her head into the entrance of the vent. "You chose to hang out with the wrong people if you wanted common sense!", her chuckle resonated through the vent walls. "Honestly, Owen, we've known each other since we started high school. Come on! I want to be in and out before it gets too dark!".

Frankie shuffled into the vent until the sound of her moving had become faint.

Jerry shrugged, "Whelp, I didn't come all this way for nothing", before crouching down and following Frankie into the vent.

Owen eyed the shaft with dread and showed no indication of wanting to move. Noticing this, Steven made his way in front of him. "Hey, I know it's not really my place to speak, but you don't have to do this if you don't want to", he consoled him with a smile, "If going home will make you feel safer, then do it. I'm sure the others will understand. We don't want to force you into doing something that'll make you scared".

Owen was quiet for a moment, taking in the request. He turned his head towards the direction we came from, contemplating the decision. His eyes gradually glanced back to me, "You really wouldn't care if I left?", he asked.

"It's fine", I responded, "Like Steven said, we don't want to force you".

I paused before continuing, "I'm sorry if we were coming off as forceful. We just want to have fun with you".

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Owen's lips curved into a soft smile as he faced Steven, "You have a weird influence on her, you know that? The (Y/N) I met on her first day at school would bury herself alive before she apologised for anything".

"Now you're just exaggerating. I wasn't that bad", I folded my arms over my chest.

"I'll wait out here for you guys and take care of your stuff. You can tell me everything when you come back out".

Giving a thumbs up, Steven lowered himself and crawled through the vent shaft. 

And I followed suit.