Steven Universe At The Creek Chapter 6 Neighborhood Creekers

After Steven and Bernard left the restaurant, it took a while to get to the neighborhood on foot instead of a vehicle. More than several blocks wasn’t as far compared to Beach City from Steven’s experience, but he can tell from his last road trips in other towns, he saw a lot less than more.

“So during your time in Beach City, you had a ton of friends, even older than your age?” Bernard replied.

“Yeah.” Steven answered. “Granted you wouldn’t believe it at first but when I was a kid, I turned fourteen.”

“Well…yeah, teenagers are mostly kids before they turn into adults. And we're still teens.”

“True, only a matter of time until adulthood arrives.”

“Are you prepared for that?”

The many times Steven went from place to place, his plans of becoming an adult are slowly, but surely processing. The only roadblock that’s stopping him is what his adult life is compared to others, especially how different it’s gonna be.

“At times I am, but…let’s just say I didn’t have the best of talents at school.”

“Some people don’t have special talents, I have to disagree with you on that.”

“Really?”

“I may not gonna meet you again, but there’s a talent in you that everyone including me could witness if it’s ever out in the public eye.”

“Yeah…similar to that.” Steven makes an awkward grin, still keeping his secrets from everyone.

The two came across houses after passing another road. The houses that are close to Bernard’s with only a couple that are rentable for people like Steven to move in. “When I come over to my friends houses, the neighborhood itself is peaceful at times.” Upon allowing a citizen to walk past them, Bernard continued the subject. “Sometimes kids spend their time in the front yards but they usually go to the creek.”

“Is that the same place your brother and his friends go to?”

“Yes, if you're curious, you can go to the creek before you leave.”

“I still have little plans on that.”

“Okay then.” Bernard accepts Steven’s decision. “I barely go there unlike my brother, who sees that creek as a one of a kind to him.”

“Yeah, but I still can’t believe what he and his friends did back at the restaurant.”

“Don’t worry about it too much. Tonight, he, my parents and I will have a private meeting which is before we go to our grandparents tomorrow.”

Before Steven would consider learning about Bernard’s grandparents, a kid came out of his house while walking down the driveway. Steven took notice of the kid while wearing a scout uniform with a neckerchief.

“I am so late!” Jason heading straight to the sidewalk while running past Steven and Bernard.

“Watch where you’re going!” Bernard reacted.

“Sorry, it’s an emergency!”

“Where is he going? Steven wondered.

“Incoming!” Vanessa called while riding her dog Cheese Sticks. In time, both Bernard and Steven moved out of the way, with Vanessa rushing at full speed.

“Was she just riding on a huge dog?”

“Yeah.” Bernard signed. “And to fill you in, yes she’s wearing a teddy bear as a hat.”

The image of a young righteous girl riding on her pet instantly reminds him of how he rode on Lion, or similar to how Connie rides when she uses Lion. “Do these kids go to the creek?”

“Yeah.”

Soon Steven turned around and noticed another girl walking down the sidewalk. She wears swimming shorts, sandals instead of shoes all the while carrying a fishing net. “Hey!” He called the swimmer’s attention. “Can I ask you a question before you do your hobby?”

“What are you doing Steven?”

“Give me a minute.” As the young girl walked up to the two teens, Steven went back on topic. “Are you going on a fishing trip with your parents?” He asked.

“No, not at all.” She asked. “I’m going to the creek where all my friends are heading to the sewers.”

“Ugh…disgusting.” Bernard commented.

“You’re going to the sewers located in the creek?” Steven blinked.

“Yeah, when I’m there, I’m the Sewer Queen at the creek.” She wasted little time as she walked past the two teens.

“Wait, what’s your real name!?”

“Steven, why do you care, you just said you had little plans on that.”

“I just never knew these kids would wear those kinds of outfits just for the creek and nothing else.”

“Should that be a surprise? You have to at least meet someone who wears one outfit that feels odd.”

Steven didn’t take Bernard’s words into consideration. “I’ve seen much odder, except it used to be normal.”

Bernard didn’t expect a response that felt bizarre, but he soons to see what type of friend Steven is. “So you were a weirdo?” He guessed. “Others were once weirdos in their lives.”

“Different types of weirdos.”

“Can we please just get back to the tour?” Bernard sighed, while trying to be as nice as possible.

“Okay.”

The two resumed the tour, all the while Steven took his mind off after three kids came across him. The only thing he can’t get over is how the creek in the neighborhood is any different then the creeks he went to.

After a few more blocks, Steven saw a black boy wearing a green pilot poncho shirt. Out of all the kids, he felt he was the most normal he'd seen today. Not to mention he has a bow on his back, giving him memories of Opal when Pearl and Amethyst fuse together. Just when he paid his attention back to Bernard, he’s starting to notice that the neighborhood is a lot smaller while the creek itself could be bigger.

“So you wanna go to the other side of the neighborhood to see more houses?” Bernard asked.

“Actually, I think I’ve seen enough. You can get back to your job at the restaurant.” Steven replied.

“You’ve seen much better places than this?”

“It’s not that, I’m just seeing this much smaller than I thought.”

“Is that a problem with you?”

All that Steven did was shake his head while placing his hands in his pockets. Little did he know, the black kid walked up to him. From the way he looked at him, it wasn’t a way a kid would just walk past like the others.

“I haven't seen anyone like you before.” He spoke without hesitation. “Are you planning to move here?”

“Not to be rude, but why does it concern you?” Bernard replied.

“Bernard, please.” Steven turned to his friend then back to the kid. “I haven’t made my decision yet. Are you going to the creek too?”

“Yeah, even though there’s not a lot happening there since everything turned back to normal but better than ever.” He replied.

Steven found the way the kid talked to him normal, but for someone like the other kid’s age just a minute ago, it felt unexpected, similar to Craig. “What’s your name and what do you do at the creek?”

The kid slowly grew a smile as he answered Steven’s questions. “Omar, I used to be the Green Poncho at the creek, but even since our Capture The Flag victory happened, I’ve joined The Stump Kids on their adventures.”

After getting the answers, Steven had another question in mind. “Who are The Stump Kids?”

“Craig, Kelsey, Mortimer, and J.P.”

“Here we go again.” Bernard rolled his eyes.

The reflection Steven just received only got more complex by the moment. Just when his visit from the restaurant wasn’t the thing on his mind, now he learned that Craig is friends with someone who used to take his goals seriously.

“I used to have goals just like yours.” Steven said.

“At my age?” Omar wondered.

“Let’s just say they were harder goals, even at a young age.”

“You’re kind of overdoing it.” Bernard crossed his arms. “If you want to see the Creek yourself, that’s fine, your choice, I’m not stopping you.”

“You know, just because your brother is still a kid doesn’t mean I’m on your side.” Steven turned to Bernard.

“That doesn’t mean there’s no consequences. I’ve texted my parents about everything that happened and we’re gonna have a family meeting with Craig. He’s still coming along tomorrow regardless.”

Omar would want to know who Steven is but at the same time, he has to go. “I’m gonna go to the creek, speaking of Craig, he texted me to show me something.” He walked past the two grown teens, heading to the creek like everyone else.

“Honestly Steven, even if from what I heard about the photo he took, I’m not gonna show it in the meeting. I mean, what’s under your shirt? I won’t judge, is it a surgery scar?”

Steven wants to be honest, but refuses to blurt out his secret. “I’ve never had surgery, but I will tell you that I haven’t seen a doctor since…last year.”

“Wait, you mean to tell me you never went to the doctor before turning sixteen?” Bernard blinked. “Like never when you got sick or to a point you had cancer?” Steven nodded which only made Bernard even more dumbfounded. Just when he wanted to give his friend more of the tour, what he just learned made it difficult to think.

“Bernard, I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s fine.” Bernard taking a deep breath. “I’m gonna go back to Pasta La Vista now, I’ll meet you later.” As he left Steven all alone, Steven remained still on the sidewalk. He may not like what Craig did earlier but he’s sure he’s onto him. After he had lunch, he made the choice to confront Craig about the photo he took. And yet at the same time, he didn’t answer Bernard’s question about what’s underneath his shirt.

“Me and Craig must have something in common. Or maybe it’s because he’s not like me.” As he lowered his head, he made his way to the creek to find Craig.