Out on the beach, most of the Beach City citizens had all gathered up for the fireworks. Garnet put on her 'Cool Dad' jacket, Pearl put on the sweater, and Spinel wrapped the white shawl on her shoulders.
"Like this?" Pearl asked Steven.
"Yeah! You guys are killin' it!" Steven replied happily and handed them some pots and pans to them, "And there are some pots and pans. We've got to make lots of noise. Dad and I do this every year."
"Well, in that case..." Spinel prepared to slam her wooden spoon against her pot, but Steven stopped her.
"Not yet! We do it during the fireworks!"
"Ooooh," Spinel nodded in understanding.
Steven looked around, "I brought some for Amethyst too. They should be here any second."
"Yeah... they sure are taking a long time..." Spinel spoke quietly to herself, sounding suspicious until her eyes widened and groaned, "Oh no, they couldn't be watching Lil Butler again!"
Pearl and Garnet stared at her but then they too groaned in annoyance.
Steven turned to face her, "What? What are you talking about?"
Spinel stood up, "It's... It's just some stupid show Greg and Amethyst used to watch. They'd disappear for days! And they're doing it again..." She growled quietly to herself.
"Again?" Steven was confused, "You mean... this isn't the first time?"
Garnet scoffed and Pearl shrugged, "They've done this about a year ago, but then they... stopped."
The fireworks went off and the citizens around them cheered and applauded. Pearl began to lightly tap her pan with a wooden spoon, "Happy New Years, Steven!"
Steven looked down, feeling timid and hurt. Spinel noticed this and whispered, "Hey sweetie, you go ahead and stay with Pearl and Garnet. I'll go find Greg for you."
Steven turned his head around, "W-What are you gonna do?"
"I'm just gonna..." She paused and gave Steven a smile that seemed fake, "Chat with him." She kissed his forehead and walked away, muttering something under her breath.
"How's my volume?" Pearl looked up at Garnet.
Garnet stood up with her pans, "It's low." Then she clanged them together loudly, prompting everyone else around them to cover their ears.
Spinel ignored the sounds of cheering and fireworks and continued her way towards the garage. Her eyes narrowed as she snarled, "What kind of father would abandon his son at a time like this?"
The pink gem could hear the voices of her kid's father and her teammate inside, but couldn't make out what they were saying. They didn't sound happy though.
Fists clenched, Spinel made her way through the piled up garbage and headed towards the light source, which had to be the television. Two shapes appeared, but they were hard to make out.
"Don't do this, Amethyst..."
"I bet you'd stay for her..."
"You wouldn't..."
"What? Do this?"
Spinel stopped in her path as her foot got stuck, blocking out the sound of Amethyst shape-shifting and talking to Greg mockingly. She even ignored Greg's pleading as she struggled to remove her foot out of the garbage.
And with enough strength, Spinel pulled her foot out and landed on the couch. She then shot her head up and glared at them, "Greg! Amethyst! Do you two have-"
She stopped, eyes widened with horror as she met Rose's surprised gaze. Everything in Spinel seemed to shatter at the very sight of her, tears beginning to spill.
Amethyst shifted back, panicking, "N-No- Spinel- It's not what you think-!"
But Spinel stepped backwards, cupping her hand over her mouth and whimpered in horror. The thick tears continued to run down her face, staring at the both of them. And with a loud, heart-breaking sob, Spinel dashed out of the garage and towards the Beach House.
Garnet, Pearl, and Steven arrived back at the Beach House, with the boy appearing more worried. When they stepped inside, they were shocked to see Greg sitting on the couch, and Amethyst was banging on the door of the Gem's room.
"SPINEL! I'M SORRY!" She cried, slamming her fists on the door, "I DIDN'T MEAN TO! I WAS JUST MESSING AROUND!"
Pearl walked up to her, "H-Hey! What's going on?"
"What happened?" Garnet questioned.
Greg continued to sulk on the couch, unable to answer the magenta gem. Steven stood there, eyes shining with concern and confusion.
"Amethyst! How could you be so callous?!" Garnet angrily scolded, Amethyst cowering away from her. Steven kept crying into Greg's side, his father rubbing his back in an attempt to console him.
"You know how we all feel about Rose being dead!" Pearl shared Garnet's fury, nearly crying, "And now, you've not only made Greg upset, but Spinel's upset as well!"
Amethyst refused to answer them, summoning her room and running inside.
Greg sighed, "No, it's all my fault-"
"No." Pearl snapped her head to the man, "Amethyst should've known better than to... shape-shift into Rose."
Steven looked up, eyes still filled with tears, "W-What's going to happen now?"
Garnet readjusted her visors, her tone heavy with sorrow, "We must give both Spinel and Amethyst some space. It will take them a long time for them to speak to each-other again."
A few days later…
At the Big Donut, Lars and Sadie were chatting about the mysterious person they had met last night, but stopped as Spinel walked in. Sadie prepared to greet her, until she and Lars saw the dull look in her eyes.
Spinel approached the counter, not looking at them, "One of the usual, please."
Sadie and Lars shared a glance before Lars reached for the donuts to find the one she liked. The girl gave the gem a concerned look, "Hey, you look bummed. Did something happen?"
Spinel didn't move, "Nothing. Nothing happened."
"Welp," Lars shrugged, handing her the paper bag, "Guess we don't need to worry then."
Sadie angrily shoved Lars' side before trying to smile comfortingly, "Ignore him. We promise that whatever's troubling you, it's not gonna last forever."
Still silent, Spinel took the bag, placed the money on the counter and left, leaving the two employees to stare at each-other in confusion and even slight concern from Lars.
Sitting out on the bench, Spinel took her donut out of the bag and stared at it. After a moment, she took a bite and sighed through her nose. She reveled in the flavor of the icing.
"Spinel!"
Spinel's eyes shifted up, meeting the boy's gaze. Steven was making the biggest smile he could muster, though it was clear it wasn't exactly an honest smile.
Swallowing her donut, Spinel blinked at him, "What is it?"
The boy handed her something in his hands; a card. "Someone who's really sorry wanted to give you this!"
Spinel took the card and opening it, seeing a crudely drawn picture of herself and Amethyst surrounded by flowers. Steven expected her to cheer up and possibly forgive Amethyst, but his smile faded into a horrified frown as Spinel shredded the card into two halves and dropped the pieces.
"How nice of her." Spinel deadpanned, "If only she had enough maturity to say sorry to my face."
Steven stared at her in disbelief and he hung his head, "Spinel, it's been a while. Amethyst really does feel bad for what she did. She knows what she did was wrong. And if my dad can forgive her, you can forgive her too."
Spinel didn't reply. Exhaling his breath, Steven walked away, leaving her alone.
"Are you sure these'll work?" Amethyst raised a suspicious eyebrow, holding a bundle of white tulips.
Steven nodded, "Yeah! Spinel really loves flowers! I kinda don't know why, but I don't judge!"
Amethyst's body seemed to droop, "I... I don't think I can do it. Spinel's known Rose longer than I have. She, Pearl, and Garnet go way back. She should've..." She choked on her forming tears.
Steven's lip trembling, and he sighed, "But Amethyst, you should apologize. You're the one who..." His words trailed off, knowing he didn't need to say more or he'll make things worse.
Just then, they saw Spinel walk in through the front door and stopped when she saw their gazes.
Both Steven and Amethyst tried to give her a kind smile, but they were met with Spinel's icy cold glare, mainly at the purple gem. She continued her way to the warp pad and she teleported away.
Amethyst groaned miserably, "Great, now she'll be gone for hours..."
Steven patted her shoulder in consolation, "Well hey, that'll give you the time to find your words."
"Right..."
That night, Spinel was sitting on the beach, her spiky pigtails dancing with the wind. Her eyes were closed, taking in slow deep breaths.
"Hey."
Spinel was jolted out of her peace and turned her head to see the purple gem. Scowling, she turned away. However, she didn't move when Amethyst sat beside her, still holding one of the white tulips. From far away on the balcony, Steven, Pearl, and Garnet watched them, looking hopeful.
After a few seconds, Amethyst spoke up, "Spinel... I just... wanted to say that I'm sorry."
No response.
But Amethyst wasn't going to give up quickly, "I mean it. I was just mad at Greg for a stupid reason. I didn't want him to leave so..."
"Forming into his dead wife isn't going to make him stay. You're only scaring him."
Amethyst shuddered under Spinel's harsh whisper, and continued, "I... I know. And... I'm sorry." Then she handed Spinel the white tulip.
Steven held his breath, Pearl continued to stare, and Garnet remained blank. Spinel stared at the flower, and actually took it and inhaled it.
"Amethyst."
The purple gem perked up slightly, "Y-Yeah?"
Spinel's eyes shifted to her, "Promise me you'll never shape-shift into Rose ever again. For Greg's sake and mine."
"Oh..." Amethyst breathed and nodded, looking at her straight in the eye, "I promise!"
Steven, Pearl, and Garnet all nodded to each-other and went back inside, leaving the two along for the night.
"Ya know, the stars are way prettier from far away," Amethyst commented.
Spinel's lips formed a small smile, "Definitely."
Yeah... I think Spinel and Amethyst have a very difficult relationship.
Like, before Rose died, Spinel and Amethyst were pretty much like sisters, with Pearl and Garnet being the mature ones. But after Rose died, Spinel decided that she wanted to grow up, only siding with Amethyst once and awhile, but she wanted to focus on raising Steven like Greg and knew she couldn't exactly be like Amethyst anymore.
P.S.: Look up the meaning of white tulips and you'll understand why I specifically chose them :)