a/n: theater tech just got 10000000% better bc of cuddles you don't understand. but yeah this is based on today's theater tech class. 

also human au ayeeeee

~

steven walked into the theater room, despite it being lunch time. the cafeteria was always too loud and chaotic for him to stand for longer than a few minutes. school had been underway for a little more than a month, and he had spent more than a handful of lunches eating by himself in the empty hallways of the school with a few other loners that preferred the quiet to the shouting and bad smells of the cafeteria. 

the theater room was mostly empty, but there were a few students eating. they were in a deep discussion about the lighting they should use for the next performance, which was only in a month. steven wished he could be smart enough or old enough to voice his opinions, but the table was completely made up of theater two techs and above. steven had started theater techs only a few weeks ago, and was still amazed at how many safety procedures he had to memorize before he was officially allowed to do pretty much anything. 

even here he felt alone. he chose one of the empty tables a little further away from everyone else. he tried to tune out everyone else's chatter, and even though this was much better than the cafeteria, it only drove home that he was the only one that didn't have anyone to talk to. he was numbly eating his lunch, studying the posters for old and new plays that decorated the walls not unlike the way that a general would sport off his medals. 

"hey, steven, right?" a voice asked. he jumped a little as four people joined his table, confidently sitting down, but not in a way that was meant to scare him. 

"yeah? yeah. my name's steven." he looked around at the strange group that decided to join him. there was ruby and sapphire, the couple that was never too far from each other. they had both been techs for three years, and were well known for their teamwork skills as a pair. the two of them were both juniors, but many people mistaked them for freshmen since they were so short. ruby never took too kindly to that. 

there was pearl, who tended to stick around ruby and sapphire, but wasn't nearly as well known as the pair, since she was only a tech two. she was the one that everyone called for art. the scenery that she made wasn't only beautiful, but also carried the emotion of the play. it was a strange thing, watching the board of wood slowly become dracula's castle, and despite it being beautiful and detailed, there was something unsettling about it. 

and lastly, there was amethyst. they were well known for being some of the more outspoken part of the community. she wasn't afraid to point out that something was wrong, or as she liked to put it: "stupid", even to the director themselves. she had enemies, she had friends, and she loved to tackle them head on no matter what it was. it was strange that she chose to be a tech instead of an actress, since her loud emotions and even louder voice would had made her an essential part of a cast, but it was her choice and not anyone else's, she liked to say. 

"uh..." steven looked around at the four of them, all older, all more experienced, and all of them were looking at him. amethyst snorted, then gave them all a scare when she let out a belly laugh. 

"you should see your face! calm down, kid, we aren't gonna bite. we're here for lunch. which we're gonna bite." and with that, amethyst opened her lunchbox and dug into a pb&j sandwich that looked like it had more pb&j than bread. pearl seemed to watch with amusement, and ruby had a look in her eyes, like she wanted to cheer on amethyst, but also had a feeling that sapphire might scold her. 

"you just seemed lonely, that's all. it's never fun to eat lunch alone, is it?" sapphire asked. steven had only head her voice a few times. she was often busy calming down ruby, which acted as the telephone between sapphire's soft voice and the eager theater tech department. he nodded. 

steven felt a little better eating lunch, but he still didn't try to join in on any of the conversations they had. all of them seemed to have such distinct personalities, ruby and sapphire working together to make something bigger than the two of them, amethyst with her blunt, but very honest comments, and pearl with her graceful, detailed, and artistic views. steven didn't seem to have such an extreme personality. 

eating lunch finished much faster than the actual lunch time given to them. steven was too awkward to leave the table, but too awkward to join in with the conversation that they were having. suddenly, amethyst stood up, stretched her arms, and laid down on a clear spot on the floor. pearl followed suit, and gently laid down, using amethyst's stomach as a pillow, checking her emails as amethyst ate the last of her grapes. sapphire and ruby joined them on the floor, lying next to each to other rather than using each other as pillows. 

sapphire was right. it's never very fun to be lonely. he sat down on the floor next to the group, still not comfortable enough to lie down with them. strangely enough, they didn't seem to have any physical boundaries with each other, but nothing they did seemed to bother anyone else. it was a strange feeling in his legs. 

pearl carefully reached over to steven's face, and gently bopped his nose. 

"you seem lonely." pearl noted. 

"yeah, c'mon kid! we're all friends now!" amethyst grabbed his leg and dragged him towards her. she started tickling his stomach, and soon he didn't feel so out of place.