CHAPTER 10: MISTAKES

"Good morning Pearl." Steven yawned as he made his way towards the kitchen, Pearl was already there, cooking breakfast for him.

"Good morning Steven, did you sleep well?" Pearl asked as she poured some chocolate sirup on the waffles she had just baked.

"Yes, ehm, thanks for making me breakfast Pearl but, you didn't have to, I'm big enough to do it myself." Steven said chuckling as he sat down in front of the kitchen counter, ready to eat.

"Nonsense, I'm happy to this for you." Pearl said giving the young boy a wide smile.

"Pearl you're so happy this morning, what is- ohhhhhhh, I get it." Steven said winking at the white gem.

"W-what did you get?" Pearl asked as Steven snickered.

"I'm glad she made you this happy." Steven said as Pearl flushed slightly.

"N-no no no! I just, I'm always like this!" Pearl tried to convince him, a really poorly made attempt.

"Yeah of course, then you won't mind if I won't borrow you my phone today." Steven said joking as he rose from the stool he was sitting on, pretending to leave.

"W-wait!" Pearl called him, Steven couldn't help but smile at this.

"Yes Pearl?" Steven said, playing dumb.

"I, may I use it for, ehm, maybe j-just one call." Pearl said fidgeting with her fingers nervously.

"Sure, here you go." Steven said lending Pearl his phone, before she could make her call, they heard the temple's door opening.

"Oh you wanted to call without me and Garnet listening huh? Not to mention me laughing at your speeches in the background obviously." Amethyst said snickering as Garnet followed her, a smirk on her face. Something Pearl appreciated of her leader were her smiles, not something really common, it meant there was something that was really making her happy, she saw how Garnet was rooting for her in this situation, how could she not? She was a living relationship, it was only logical for her to see others experiment what she already had.

"Oh if you think I'll just stay here then you are-" Pearl was interrupted by Steven's voice.

"Oh come on Pearl! I want to hear too! It's funny to see you calling her! And I really want to know how things are going between you two!" Steven said, his eyes were always so full of joy and hope, it was one the things she always admired in both him and his mother, and one of the few things she couldn't say no to.

"Alright… b-but I'm doing this only t-to verify if s-she has gotten safely at home last night!" Pearl said, trying her best not to be embarrassed in front of Garnet, Amethyst and Steven's chuckles at her poor excuse.

"Ohhhhhh of course!" Amethyst said trying to hold back her laughter.

"Now now, don't tease her too much, if you do, she might stutter so much Sheena won't be able to invite her over her place." Garnet said patting Amethyst's head.

"Whaaaaaaaaat?!" Amethyst said as the greatest smirk ever existed appeared on her face.

"W-what?" Pearl's voice came out as a whisper.

"Well, I just had a little glimpse, nothing more, but I guess you'll learn about it soon." Garnet said pointing at Steven's phone. She already told herself that she wouldn't have used her future vision in this occasions, but, it became even stronger than her, it was intriguing, this whole thing, it was a wonderful occasion, yet so uncertain and so frail, after all, she just had a quick glimpse, nothing more. Pearl digited Sheena's number and pressed the call button.

"Hey Pearly, didn't forget about me didn't you?" Sheena asked, this was enough to make Pearl feel butterflies in her stomach, the usual warm feeling she felt when she was with this human returning to her.

"Of course not!" Maybe Pearl had been a little too quick to answer that, after all, she still didn't quite get all the teasing thing, even if by now, she should've expected it by this girl.

"Happy to hear that." Sheena said chuckling.

"S-so… uhm…" Pearl tried with all of her strength to remember Steven's conversations with Connie on the phone, from what she saw, it wasn't that hard to begin a conversation, yet, Steven could start a conversation with anyone. "W-what are you doing?" Pearl asked, Amethyst, Garnet and Steven all showed her thumbs up, this was enough to fill her with determination.

"Oh! Just finishing something I started yesterday." Sheena sounded surprised, and Pearl couldn't understand why, regardless of that, she was feeling more and more interested in this human.

"What is it?" Pearl asked, she remembered Amethyst saying something about 'being too pushy', in this moment she didn't care, she was focused on something else.

"Hehe, if you want to discover, you could come at my place, I could show you and then we could have lunch together- oh wait, sorry, didn't remember you don't eat, plus, I still haven't had the time to buy something for this kind of occasions." Sheena gave a little nervous laugh.

"N-no no no! I'd like to c-come by! Even if I, ehm, don't enjoy eating so much, I could always m-make something for y-you!" Pearl said, Amethyst was already on the ground, holding her stomach, trying not to explode in laughter.

"Pearl, it's nice from you, but, I mean, doesn't seem quite right to make you come here and cook for me." Sheena sounded doubtful, yet, the fact she didn't want to seem rude struck Pearl, one surprise after another, Pearl was starting to feel something for this human… could it be- 'no no no' her rational side wasn't going to have any of this, 'it's just platonic admiration for a human that finally display a notable set of qualities, nothing more', but Pearl was starting to find harder and harder to believe herself.

"Nonsense! It's not rude! I enjoy doing this kind of tasks quite much! I'll arrive soon." Pearl said, she could hear Sheena snickering on the other side of the line.

"Well, how can I refuse such an offer from such a pretty girl, Steven already saw where I live, I bet he could show you." Sheena said as Pearl looked at Steven who already had stars in his eyes.

"O-okay… I'll be on my way now." Pearl said, she almost immediately slapped herself for what she had just said.

"Okay, I'll wait for you my dear." Sheena said laughing, Pearl was too cute for her heart, she enjoyed how much of a nerd this cute girl was. As soon as she closed the call, Pearl hid her face between her hands, to block Amethyst, Steven and Garnet's looks.

"Come on Pearl! We'll go buy something good to eat and then you'll have the most incredible lunch of all the time with the girl you love!" Steven said grabbing her hand, Amethyst laughing aloud, rolling on the ground, Garnet quietly snickering.

"S-Steven!" Pearl almost yelled, a huge blush on her cheeks.

Meanwhile:

"Lapis? Lapis?!" Peridot had been searching for her roommate for all the night. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why did you have to do that!' The small, green gem screamed internally as she kept searching. "Lapis…" Peridot quietly whispered as she saw a glimpse of the blue gem on the lighthouse, she quickly tried to reach the top of the construction, as she kept thinking about a way to apologize.

"Lapis…" Peridot said as she reached the top of the lighthouse as saw Lapis sitting on railing. Peridot moved forwards but stopped as she saw the blue gem's shoulders becoming tense. Lapis didn't say anything, she just stepped off the railing and sat on the ground, still not facing Peridot.

"Lapis, please I'm sorry, I-I didn't think about it, it was a stupid thing to say… I-I shouldn't have! I'm, I'm sorry…" Peridot said, rubbing her own arm as she looked the ground.

"It's… it's okay Peridot… I simply didn't expect that." Lapis said, becoming visibly less tense. Peridot took this as an opportunity and stepped closer, until she was by the water gem's side, she sat down and dared to look at her, Lapis simply gave her a small, sad smile.

"I- I can't imagine how bad it was… it was foolish of me to propose something like that, it seemed a good idea at the moment b-but it wasn't… I'm really sorry." Peridot apologized again. They remained there, silent for some minutes, until something Peridot wasn't expecting happened, Lapis leaned into her and hugged her, she kept her close, tight, the small green gem's eyes becoming wide as she felt Lapis burying her face in her hair.

"L-Lapis?" Peridot was struggling to not freak out, still, it felt good, to be like this.

"I'm sorry if I reacted that way, I shouldn't have left you alone like that, but I'm not ready for that, not now, I appreciated it Peri, really, you're the only one except Steven who really cares about how I feel… who doesn't simply want to use me, thank you, thank you so much." Lapis said, Peridot could feel Lapis' tears moisten her hair, she didn't care though, Lapis wasn't mad, and she cared about her too, this was enough for her. Peridot returned the hug, holding the blue gem close, being so close with someone, it always made her feel uncomfortable, but not now, not with Lapis.

Here it is! Another chapter! Hope you have liked it! Who knows what Peridot asked Lapis to make her react this way? It will be explained in the next chapter! Thank you for all the appreciation you're showing me, it really helps me. I hope you're liking how this story is developing and as always, I'll see you in the next chapter! (Knowing someone enjoys what you're writing fills you with determination!)