Steve

Steven "Steve" Roberts  is a part-time student from London. He's introduced as a mysterious friend of Kate's, whom she met at the library while searching for information on amnesia. He was an active member of the Hymn of One, but has since renounced his religion.

Background
Steve joined the Hymn of One after reading "Finding the One", a book promoting the teachings and "motives" of the religion, which promised to help him find peace in his life. Steve threw his entire life away for the Hymn of One, which helped him quit smoking, but also lead to his isolation and his inability to form close relationships with other people. It is implied that his parents are dead, as he states in a written blog that the only family he has are a grandmother in Doncaster and a pet cat.

Befriending Kate
Steve meets Kate at the library and claims to suffer from memory problems as well. He offers to help Kate regain her memories. However, Charlie thinks Steve's a creep and Tariq thinks he's lying just to put a move on Kate. Kate, on the other hand, can't understand why her friends don't like him, and believes they are simply judging him without trying to get to know him.

To Tariq's displeasure, Kate invites Steve to Charlie's birthday party, and they spend the entire event sitting to one side and talking while everyone else is dancing and having fun. Charlie and Gavin also become uneasy at his presence, especially when Kate ignores Tariq when he tries to talk to her. Gavin convinces Tariq to sneak around in Steve's bag, and he distracts Kate and Steve while Tariq does just that. Tariq finds several pamphlets promoting a religion called the Hymn of One. Upon further investigation, Tariq learns of the Hymn of One's involvement in the ritualistic murder of a teenage girl in California, and becomes convinced that Steve is luring Kate into a similar fate. Tariq goes to Kate's apartment only to find Steve there as well, and the two get into an arguement that ends with Tariq punching Steve and Kate kicking Tariq out of the apartment.

Steve claims he's not trying to push his religion on Kate and the matter is seperate from his wanting to help her. He found pictures on Kate's cellphone that were taken when she was missing, and figures out they are of Carnaby Street, and the two plan to go down there and take a look around. Gavin and Charlie become concerned for Kate's safety, and find the lonelygirl15 videos just as Tariq had. They figure out that Kate must be trait positive, and that the blood specialist did something to her as a result. However, before they can go and warn her, they are locked inside Gavin's office by a faulty security system.

That Saturday, Steve is seen running from Kate's doctor's office by Sophie, a girl who has been monitoring Kate's videos. She goes to the office only to find an ambulance along with a dead body on a strecher, which turns out to be that of the Specialist. When Kate confronts Steve about it, he claims he had nothing to do with it. She doesn't believe him and knocks him out, gagging and tying him to a chair. When Kate interrogates him, he admits he never had amnesia, instead, someone in the Hymn of One sent him to protect her. He used the amnesia to get her to trust him. When Kate accuses him of killing the doctor, he tells her he believes there's an unknown evil involved, although no one seems to believe him. Steve later threatens to press charges against Kate, but is talked down by Gavin. He says he still wants to help Kate despite everything.

Saving Kate
In early October 2007, Charlie caught up with Steve to ask him for help in finding Kate. He tells her the Hymn of One had nothing to do with Kate's disappearance and he can't help Charlie because he's being promoted within the Hymn of One that day. He goes inside the meeting hall, leaving Charlie outside. Steve later watches one of Charlie's videos and notices she's sick. He goes to her flat, bringing homemade soup. He tells her he can't get Kate off his mind, and he wants to help Charlie find her while also proving the Hymn of One had nothing to do with it. Although, later, Steve finds Michelle Clore's name on the Hymn of One registry and decides to expose her to protect the Hymn of One's name.

Steve leads Charlie and Tariq to the Watcher's van. He explains after he started looking into Michelle Clore, the van started following him. Tariq confronts the Watcher and steals the van. Steve takes over driving, with Charlie in the passenger side and Tariq in the back, trying to figure out what to do. Three day later, they stop in the woods and try to make camp. But, instead, Steve and Tariq fight with each other. During the night, Steve takes off with the laptop and papers found in the van, shocked and angered by the fact he found the Watcher's picture linked to a Hymn of One symbol. When Charlie and Tariq confront him, he throws down the papers and laptop in anger and storms off. Later on, Steve sneaks to a convenience store. He buys some cigarettes, explaining that he quit when he entered the Hymn of One, but he's having a little trouble hearing his eternal song at that moment. On his way back to camp, he's attacked by Dudley and his father, Dr. Griffin.

After returning home, he tries to stop Kate from meeting with Charlie due to the fact the Doctor and his son are there. Even still, he's unable to stop Charlie from injecting Kate with the trait negative serum. Steve comforts Charlie when Kate runs away, leaving her behind. Later, Steve posts a blog saying he's going going back to the Hymn of One. However, he has become doubtful about other aspects of his life, and posts a blog stating that he'll be spending time in Doncaster with his grandmother.

Almost two months later, Steve starts to text Charlie messages, and the two meet. He explains he was still in the Hymn of One so he could properly investigate. He then surprises Charlie by showing that he's kidnapped Kate away from Michelle Clore. He plays a video, taken by him, of Michelle Clore talking to an unknown person about Kate's trait positive levels. When Kate takes off again, Steve and Charlie go to Michelle Clore's house to find her. Michelle Clore warns Steve that eavesdropping wasn't a good idea. "You never know what could end up on your conscience." Steve and Charlie briefly catch up with Kate again, but she manages to sneak off and run away. The next day, she posts a video explaining that she has found her purpose in life - to save other trait positive girls, and begs Charlie and Steve to discontinue their search for her. The two reluctantly agree to do so.

Trail of the Killer
After Kate's death, Steve visits Charlie's flat, not knowing where else to go. While there, he hears a radio broadcast about the Hymn of One and its alleged connected to the murder. Steve runs off to find an explanation. When Charlie confronts him about this later, he feverishly denies that the Hymn of One had anything to do with Kate's death. Police officers show up, and although he tries to run, he is arrested for suspicion of Kate's murder. He's released soon after, as there was no evidence against him.

Steve shows up at Kate's memorial, but ends up getting into a fight with Tariq, who also accuses him of killing Kate. A few days later, he approaches Charlie and asks her for her help investigating the murder, as he fears that the police "don't seem that interested in the case anymore." After a suggestion from Charlie, he decides to go to the last place Kate was seen alive, the cafe from her last blog. He goes in and negotiates the release of the surveillance tape of that day. While watching it, he notices Patricia Neilson talking to Kate before the two leave the cafe. He goes to find Patricia for answers.

When Patricia contacts Charlie, she says she'll meet with her, but not to bring Steve and Tariq. After watching the video, Steve and Tariq find Charlie while she's talking to Patricia. They get into a fight with one of the waiters, allowing Patricia to sneak away in the commotion. However, Patricia goes to Charlie's office the next day and tells her that The FTO believe that Rupert Van Helden is the one responsible for Kate's death. Following the revelation of Patricia's information, Steve insists that the FTO are out to give the Hymn of One a bad name. He praises Rupert Van Helden, and views him as a brilliant thinker with nothing but good things to offer for the Hymn of One and the world, and regards his book, Finding the One, as a work of art. However, he fails to convince the others, who go to his book signing pretending to be journalists and attempt to get him to incriminate himself. However, Rupert is well informed to the situation, and assures them that he had nothing to do with Kate's death. Rupert and Steve meet when Rupert goes to leave flowers at the sight of Kate's death, and Steve is starstruck. Together, they visits the FTO's headquarters, and expose the organization as being fronted by Jeffrey, Dr. William Griffin's nephew, who was trying to discredit the Hymn of One to avenge his family members' deaths.

Losing his Religion
In his next blog he is seen drinking and smoking again, angry that all he had was gone. Steve lashes out at Michelle Clore for accusing him of Kate's murder, angrily stating "Don't blame them; dump it on the screw-up". He was then approached by Terrence, now calling himself Terry, who talks about how the Hymn of One helped him and asks if Steve has ever heard of the religion. Steve shows up at Charlie's doorstep in the middle of the night a few days later, banging on the door and asking for Charlie to talk with him. He declares he really did love Kate and has no one else to talk to who felt the same. Charlie, frightened at the situation, refuses to open the door. Though Charlie still has issues trusting him, Steve has maintained the hunt for Kate's killer, with Terry now in his confidence.

His latest lead for Kate's killer found him on the porch of Lauren, the sister of the latest abducted girl. Also trait positive, Lauren has refused to trust Steve or Terrence. . . quite simply, despite their pleas that Lauren is ill, she still sees them as nothing but "weirdos" and possible kidnappers. Though he responded trying to gain her trust, he only made matters worse when Lauren found Steve and Terrence alongside Charlie and Julia, thereby destroying Lauren's trust in the girls as well.

Unable to make her see reason, Terry convinces Steve to kidnap her to keep her safe. Steve becomes uneasy after the deed is done, and posts a video explaining his actions, and also expresses his disgust over Rupert's hypocrisy about his teachings of abstinence. He becomes so distressed that he begins smoking again. Terrence uses Steve's distress to his advantage, and manages to convince Charlie and Gavin that Steve was the one who murdered Kate and kidnapped the girls, and that he was going to harm Lauren as well. However, they soon discover that Terrence was the actual culprit, and he reveals that he has tied up Lauren and Steve in the bunker. When he forces Steve to access his Bebo account and post the video, he overpowers Terrence and he and Lauren manage to escape. Once Lauren is safely outside, Steve and Charlie go back to exert revenge on Terrence for what he has done. Instead, they encounter a Watcher and Shadow who chase them around the bunker. In the pursuit, they discover the body of one of the girls Terrence murdered, and decide to leave the bunker.

Steve and Charlie go to Steve's apartment, where they confess their feelings for each other and become intimate. On her way home, Charlie is abducted by Terrence. When the community figures out where she was taken, Lee finds Gavin, Lauren, and Steve and convinces them to cooperate in order to save her. Upon arriving, they discover that Terrence has doused the house in gasoline, and that he was planning on setting it ablaze once they were inside. Steve confronts him, but Terrence is chased away by the Watcher and Shadow from earlier. Gavin confronts Charlie about her relationship with Steve, and orders everyone to leave. Once outside, Steve tells Charlie that he can't be in a relationship until he does some soul searching, leaving her heartbroken. Days later, he goes to Rupert's lecture and accuses him of being an instrument of the Order.

Fighting the Order
Steve and Lauren team up in order to hinder the Order's activities in some fashion. They decide to aid a Los Angeles-based resistance movement's efforts to locate an Elder who killed their friend Bree. They spend a week digging up information on his activities and on his connection to Bree's death. One of their members, Jonas, arrived in London and shown around the city by Steve. Steve and Jonas began looking for Lord Carruthers, a man whom they believe is Bree's Elder. However, their search has less-than fruitful result, and Steve believes that Rupert has put a hit out on them.

During that time, Lauren and Lee prepared a welcoming party for Jonas. When Charlie finds out, she is not happy, but decides not to pull the plug on the party, and begins drinking instead. When Jonas and Steve arrive, Jonas immediately dives in, while Steve goes out of his way to not make eye contact with Charlie. Lauren becomes frustrated with Steve's stubbornness, and is pleased when she catches Charlie sitting in the bathtub with an intoxicated Jonas. Steve is less than thrilled, and forces Jonas to focus back on their mission.

However, they soon discover that Michelle Clore was the one who had put out a hit on them. In the DVD Charlie recovered from the bunker, Michelle, in Turkish, tells members of the Hymn of One that they will be rewarded if they kill any member of TAAG and provide proof. Steve accompanies Jonas to the airport, and Steve stops their driver (actually an Order Agent) from killing Jonas.

Steve accompanies Jonas back to LA, where his welcome is less than warm. Daniel accuses him of being the enemy, citing that he posted a video claiming that Bree's death was a hoax. Steve became very offended, and Gina becomes hostile towards him as well. As the discussion heated up, a van pulled up and began shooting at the group, injuring Steve. TAAG flee, leaving Steve behind, but call 911 and return to the scene to find him gone. Later, they wait for him outside the hospital, only to encounter the van once more. The group flees to the beach, where Steve thanks Jonas for coming back for him.

Later, when they find that the threats were ordered by a man running for congress, they decide to go to a fundraiser dressed as waiters in an attempt to kill or kidnap him. Steve was supposed to hit him with a bar, but hesitates, therefore letting the man escape. Everyone ran back to the car in order to escape Lucy and the bodyguard. In the car later they blamed Steve for the shootings and the fact they were being followed,then kicked him out of the car. He was left on the side of the road.

The Celestial Network
A few days later, Steve posted a video announcing that he established a new cult called The Celestial Network, against the Hymn of One. In this video, he hinted that he felt betrayed, and said that he had learned a valuable lesson: "It's impossible to find true happiness if you're obsessed with the past." He asked everyone to connect with him and join the Celestial Network. Worried, Lauren meets Steve on Primrose hill, and is annoyed that Steve brought a friend of his, Jeremy, who was previously part of the Hymn of One but is now part of the Celestial Network. Steve explains that the events in America opened his eyes, and goes on a long explanation that Lauren soon realizes is for the camera. She accuses him of starting another cult to fill the void the Hymn of One had left, and also claims that he is only doing this so he doesn't have to talk to Charlie.

Steve attends a dinner party at Charlie's flat, where he gets in a heated fight with Gavin over the intentions of the Celestial Network, and later find out that Charlie is stuck at work. Over the next week, Steve focuses on Celestial Network activities, and surfaces at Julia's wedding, where he begins bashing the Hymn of One and spreading Celestial Network propaganda. Julia slaps him, and Rupert arrives a few minutes later, revealing that Steve had slashed his tires. He orders Steve to leave, and he is escorted out by Charlie, which upsets Gavin.

Steve decides to film the first official meeting of the Celestial Network and make it available on Bebo. However, the meeting is thrown into chaos when Gavin arrives and accuses Steve of conspiring with Kate (whom Gavin believes is alive and causing mayhem). He mocks the Network's message to the point where he equates it to a "cosmic gangbang" and begins taking off his clothes. Steve later accompanies Charlie to meet Gavin at Kate's grave, where they try to make him see reason.

It around this time that Steve and Charlie begin dating. Their first on-screen date ends early when Charlie expresses her displeasure over the accompaniment to the "Two Blond Chicks", and seems to accuse the Celestial Network, and Steve personally, of practicing polygamy. After Charlie leaves, Steve expresses his confidence that she'll see the light, and the group goes off to a candy store. However, the two seem to have made amends, as they go on a successful date the next week, though Charlie begins questioning what Steve's goal is with the Celestial Network. Steve seems genuinely troubled by the points she brings up, and posts a blog on his bebo page asking for advice. Steve ultimately decides to Stick with the Celestial Network, but is forced to borrow money from Charlie to pay expenses. Charlie is furious when she comes home to find Steve holding a meditation session in her apartment, and Steve promises to make it up to her by taking her on a fun day out.

The day turns sour after Lauren goes missing, apparently kidnapped by Terrence. It is later revealed that Lauren faked her kidnapping in order to help the FTO kill Michelle Clore and Terrence, the later of whom made it out alive. Steve and the others begin desperately searching for Lauren, but his is hindered by Jeremy, who is trying to get Steve to focus on The Celestial Network again. But after the situation becomes more serious, Steve realizes that the Celestial Network has become a burden, and disbands it.

Paying off a Debt
The following day, Steve is visited by the taxi driver he had thought he had killed back in April. He said that he and the Order were going to make Steve and his friends pay for what he did unless he did a favor for the Order. He was told he must steal Michelle Clore's Last Artwork. As Steve is told this, Charlie arrives, and Steve goes with her to Paris, the threat in mind. Once there, the group spots Julia's bodyguard, and Steve follows him after they watch him make a phone call at a pay phone. He looses contact with Charlie, and spends his time deliberating over whether or not he should steal the painting. He shows up outside the exhibition of the painting, and runs into Charlie and Lauren. He claims that he had followed the bodyguard to the gallery, and Julia and the bodyguard's exit from the building seems to verify his story. He and the others follow Julia downtown, where they are accosted by a gang of hoodlums. Ironically, they are rescued by Julia's bodyguard, who leads them to where Julia is being held and helps them escape.

The next morning, The Last Work is stolen from the museum, and the police are told that the culprit drives a silver Aygo. They locate the painting in the trunk of Charlie's car, and arrest her on the spot. Steve is convinced of Charlie's innocence, secretly believing that the Order had taken the painting themselves when he failed to do so. However, the group soon figures out that only one of them could have pulled it off. Julia is quick to accuse Steve when he defends Lauren, who seemed to have the most to gain from stealing the painting. Toe immediately joins her cause, and Lauren reluctantly agrees when she discovers via footage that the man Steve was talking to the last week was from the Order. They confront him, and Steve comes clean about the debt, but continues to maintain his innocence, although Julia doesn't seem satisfied with his explanation. Ironically, Julia was actually the one who had framed Charlie, having faked the abuse with Rupert in Order to lure Charlie to Paris to plant a fake in her car.

After Julia abandons the others in Paris, Steve and Lauren pay their (and Toe's) way home. However, once they safely return to London, Toe reveals that he was able to pay his way back, but decided to conform to the stereotype that Steve had assigned him. Steve is furious, and demands that he pay them back. However, Toe refuses, and gets away from Steve. Once the confrontation is over, the group discovers that Lauren is missing, and see the footage of her attacking Julia's father. Steve and the others arrive and talk her down, and she hides in the bushes outside with Steve while Charlie and Lee take care of an infuriated Julia. As they head back home, they come across Julia's car and find Rupert inside gravely injured. Steve convinces the others to take him to a hospital, seeing this as an opportunity for his debt to go away. Once they get there, Rupert reveals that the Shadow is holding Julia hostage, and convinces Steve to help him when he informs him of Julia's pregnancy.

The Shadow posts Julia's location in the form of a puzzle, and Steve and Rupert go to Sophie's office. There, Sophie helps them decipher the puzzle with a less-than-helpful chat room at their side, and discover that she is on the roof of the very building they are in. They arrive, and Steve watches and Rupert tries to convince the Shadow to let Julia go. The spectacle comes across as ridiculous, and Steve begins to wonder what he is doing there. He realizes that all he wants to do is be with Charlie, and he informs Rupert that he is leaving. Rupert is infuriated, and threatens Steve with bodily harm, which Steve laughs off. He departs on The Shadow beating Rupert to death with Julia looking on helplessly. He sets up a birthday party for Lauren outside their flat, and contacts the others once they meet up with Sophie.

While they celebrate, Steve comforts Charlie while she copes with all that has happened, and Gavin tells Lee that he'll be waiting with open arms when Steve leaves Charlie for another cult. The group decides that filming their lives was partly responsible for what has happened, and smash the video camera.

Etymology
Steven is the medieval variant of Stephen. Stephen came from the Greek name Στεφανος (Stephanos) meaning "crown". Saint Stephen was a deacon who was stoned to death, as told in Acts in the New Testament, and he is regarded as the first Christian martyr. Due to him, the name became common in the Christian world. It was popularized in England by the Normans.