This idea just wouldn't leave my head. Yes, I will still be posting semi-regularly for Whispered Words. As always, I don't own any of the characters.

Morning came with the loud jarring claxon of her alarm going off. A pathetic groan rose from the floor where Amethyst rolled over trying to ignore the noise. The lavender-haired teen groaned again, glaring at the cursed machine, and got up. She stumbled out of her roommate's bedroom to the bathroom. It was cold when she passed through the doorway. She checked the thermostat as she passed, shrugging the coolness off as the air conditioner.

It wasn't until she went to get her favorite cereal that she noticed something odd. She counted the plates on the counter, knowing she'd left three there. Now there were two left. Great, now things were disappearing unless Garnet moved it. She shrugged again pulling her favorite box of cereal from the top of the refrigerator. Garnet shuffled in, wordlessly preparing the coffee maker with her eyes shut to the morning light.

"One of the plates is missing," Amethyst said swallowing her food.

"It broke," came the grumbled reply, "I cleaned it up and tossed it."

"WHAT?!" Her roommate shouted. "That was my favorite round thing!"

"I'll get you a new round thing," Garnet said, starting the machine. The sound of coffee beans grinding filled the air. She remembered how the plate broke, and the beautiful ghost she'd talked to. It must have taken a lot of energy to appear like she did. She had to fight the sudden urge to look for Pearl, reminding herself that she wouldn't be able to see her and that Amethyst didn't know.

Caught up in her thoughts she didn't hear her best friend ask her a question. "Yo, Earth to G! Hello!" A tanned hand waved in front of her face for a moment before the shorter teen realized her friend couldn't see it with her eyes closed. "What's up with you today?" She asked setting her bowl on the counter. A blue eye opened just enough to watch this. Suddenly, the bowl moved. It wasn't far, less than a centimeter and Amethyst hadn't seen it, but it was enough to make Garnet open both her eyes to stare at it. Trying her hardest not to seek out the ethereal presence in the kitchen, the taller student put the bowl in the dishwasher.

"Okay, seriously, what's going on?" Amethyst asked. She raised an eyebrow.

"'M just tired," Garnet said. "I thought I heard someone break in last night, but it was nothing really."

A confused look crossed the other girl's face. "Is that why the plate got broken?"

"No, that was after." Garnet bit her cheek. "I knocked it off when I turned on the light. We should get ready for class." The air felt colder next to her as she walked to her room, a cup of coffee in one hand and a piece of buttered toast in the other. The AC was on so Garnet didn't think much of it. She ate, showered, and got dressed. Each time she passed the cold spot, she passed it off as normal. She slid on her sunglasses and slung her backpack over her shoulder, and was about to get her cell phone when it did something strange.

Her phone screen lit up. It was locked so no one would be able to easily access it. After a minute the screen went dark again. Disappointment set in when it didn't happen again after that. Meeting Pearl last night had raised a lot of questions for her. Were there other ghosts? Could they talk to each other? How did she die? Was there any truth in all of those popular ghost movies, or did they have it completely wrong? Grabbing her phone, keys, and student I.D., Garnet paused.

"Later, Pearl," she whispers to the empty room hoping it's not as unoccupied as it looks. When she turns around, her lavender-haired friend is standing there with an eyebrow raised comically high and her arms crossed. Garnet walked past her in silence making the shorter girl roll her eyes and follow. They been friend's long enough to know when to let the other have space.

The art studio she spent her free time in had a few students working in relative quiet. Some of them had their headphones or earbuds on listening to their music. This suited Garnet as she took out her sketchbook, kneaded eraser, and charcoal pencils. The assignment their instructor had given involved drawing a person's head at varying angles, using shading and highlighting as appropriate for the position the head was viewed. Her pencil moved in quick, short strokes and long, sweeping lines. Part of her always marveled at the way the lines appeared on the paper almost like magic.

Garnet penciled in the outlines of the eyes, wide and round, of the delicately beautiful spirit plaguing her thoughts. Her morning classes had kept her focus earlier, but as soon as they were over her thoughts wandered again. Her trip to the library had been less than helpful, so she'd turned to the internet instead. Without a last name it was nearly impossible to find out anything. During her lunch, she called her mum to ask if she had any information about ghosts. Sapphire gave her a list of books she'd found particularly helpful and promised to call back a little later when she found them. Her interest in the supernatural and paranormal was the reason her daughter turned to her for answers, and Garnet's sudden interest in ghosts specifically piqued her curiosity.

Halfway through her outlining her phone buzzed. Her display read 'Mum calling'. With a quick swipe of her thumb she answered the call, holding the device to her ear as she continued drawing. "Hey, mum. How'd your search go?"

Sapphire smiled at the distracted tone in her child's voice. A quick glance of the clock let her know the student would be in the art studio.

"Why the sudden interest in spirits, Garnet?" She inquired, wanting to get answers to some of her own questions. Silence from her stoic child didn't bother her. It was a trait she inherited from her after all. Looking around to make sure no one else could overhear her, she told her mum all about the events of that morning. She heard the minute gasp on the other end of the line when she described Pearl to her. "She was able to become visible?"

"Yeah," Garnet whispered, "Except for her lower legs and feet. She's very cute."

"She is?" Surprise laced the simple question.

"Mhm," She switched pencils, putting away her harder grade for a softer one. Its darker tones emboldened the soft lines she'd made. Bit by bit the picture was coming together even if it was only the preliminary drawing of her subject.

A door slammed in the background followed by her mom talking loudly. Garnet laughed, hearing her parents greet each other and her mum's giggles. "Garnet's on the phone, Ruby. She saw a ghost last night, and she says she's cute."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Ruby shook her head. "She saw a ghost, and thinks she's cute?" Her disbelief felt warming to the artist. Of the two, her mom had always been more wary of anything she couldn't physically fight off. It had been her mom who taught her self-defense and how to wrestle. Then, "So, how cute is she?"

Garnet groaned, embarrassment warming her cheeks. "Mom."

"Spill it."

"Very. She couldn't stay visible for long." The image on her paper looked like a cheap imitation of the real person.

Ruby grinned. "You're drawing her right now, aren't you?" The answering silence made her double over laughing.

Sapphire giggled, saying, "We'll let you get back to your art. Don't forget we're visiting this weekend."

"Right."

"We love you. Bye, and good luck on your assignments."

"Love you too, mum. Thanks, good-bye." Call ended, she looked up from her sketchbook and realized it was getting dark. Maybe if she put a digital recorder in the kitchen, she might catch Pearl talking. She was sure she had one around. It was Amethyst's turn to cook dinner, meaning she had time to look for it before she ate and worked on her essays.

The recorder she found in the hall in a box of extra school supplies. She checked the batteries, putting new ones in and closing the latch. It was perfect. Whether it caught Pearl talking or not was another story.