An awkward silence fell between them. Hope felt her heart hammering in her chest. She began to remember the time where she showed her gem to a few kids and adults. The laughter. The sheer disgust. The idea of having her gem removed because it could've been a serious medical condition. Just seeing this man like this was too much for her to bear.

"Um...I believe this is yours." The man spoke. His eyes were still wide with awe. He flinched as Hope snatched her scarf. He watched her run a few feet before yelling, "Wait! Don't go! I'm not going to hurt you!" He put down his guitar and ran after her. "You just remind me of my son!"

Hope looked over her shoulder in shock. "Your son?" She fell backward after running into something hard. She was stunned for a moment. Her gray-blue eyes looked up to see the familiar molten eyes of Jasper. She stiffened and braced herself for what was to come next. Large hand held her from her armpits, temporarily a few feet on the ground. Hope noticed Jasper's eyes went from anger to surprise. Hope self-consciously put a hand on her gem.

"Why are you hiding your gem? What are you?" Jasper asked.

"Jasper!" A british voice rang in the air. It caused the orange gem to put Hope back on the ground. "Leave her alone! You're scaring her!" Garnet came running with Pearl and Amethyst in tow. She was next to the man and looked at him. "Greg! Are you alright?"

"Yeah." The man answered. "It's just that I never expected to find a gem hybrid like Steven."

Hope instantly thought back to what Pearl had said earlier. "Steven?" She turned to face Greg. Even though she had to get back to her aunt's place before dark, she wanted to know of this mysterious Steven. "Can any of you tell me about Steven?"

Greg approached her. "Let's go inside. I have some towels so you can dry off."He held out his hand. "My name's Greg Universe. I run a car wash in town."

Hope took it and shook it firmly. "My name's Hope. Hope Vericonstell."

Hope sat on the sofa with a towel draped over her. Pearl handed her a hot mug of tea and leaned against a counter. Amethyst was eating a box of mac and cheese. Garnet was sitting next to her. The square-headed gem had been protective of her ever since Jasper held her. As for the orange gem, she reluctantly followed them because she was curious of Hope and her gem. Oddly enough, Hope was a little ok with that.

Greg walked up to them with a photo album. He opened it to a page to a thirteen-year-old boy with curly black hair and dark eyes. "This is my son, Steven Quartz Universe. He's a gem hybrid just like you." Then he pulled out a small picture frame that showed a beautiful woman with curly pink hair and a gem at her navel area. "This is Rose Quartz. She's Steven's mom."

Hope looked on bewildered. This gem looked close to being human. She was absolutely breath-taking. "Where is she? I would like to hear from her. Or maybe your son. It'll be nice to know what it was like."

Silence filled the room. They each looked sad, trying their best not to cry. Hope blushed. "Oh...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"No-no! It's just that we are still having a hard time adjusting without Steven." Greg said. "He's a really great boy." Before long, he started to tell his story of how he met Rose and the Crystal Gems. How he and Rose develop a relationship that in turn created Steven.

Each of the gems took turns telling their time with Steven Universe. A young boy who started out as a major goofball struggling with his gem powers. He was a kind-hearted boy who wanted to help others whenever possible. Each gem friend he made had its own set of challenges. How they all had to deal with Rose's choices and her actual identity. Hope noticed that Jasper flinched at that. Hope would laugh at some of the funny ones. Her favorite being when Peridot got stuck in Steven's bathroom and tried to escape through the toilet. She found herself crying when they got to the part where they had to fix Steven's corruption and finally saying goodbye as he was moving out.

"He was always a selfless boy," Garnet said. "In the end, he just needs someone to help him through the tough times." Garnet removed her visor to wipe away her tears.

Pearl wiped away her tears. It was hard though since she cries constantly. "You know, Hope if you're looking for some work or some help you can always join us at Little Homeschool."

Hope smiled slightly. "Thank you. I really appreciate what you're all doing. I'll think about it once I hear back from Blue Lace. I don't think of myself as a teacher let alone a good one." She looked down on her mug. "But at least my Aunt Cassie would-" Her brain immediately clicked back to reality. "Oh my god! What time is it?!" She looked outside. It was already dark out. Her Aunt will be worried by now. "I gotta get home!" She ran to the door only for Garnet to stop her. "Let's use the warp pad! I'll walk you home. It's not safe for you to be alone right now. Also, what does it look like?"

Hope nodded. "Ok and it's basically an eyesore." She looked at Jasper. She had a forlorn look on her face. She was eerily quiet when they talked about her time on earth. Not a lot of positive experiences and she wasn't exactly the best person. "What about her? Does she have a place to stay?"

"I'm fine." Jasper spoke. Her voice filled with bitterness. "You should just head back to your home before your aunt worries enough to hunt you down."

Moved by a strange sense of kindness and sympathy, Hope went over to hug Jasper. "Thank you." She went back with Garnet and joined her on the warp pad. She held Garnet's hand and braced herself. Suddenly, a blue-white glow enveloped her and suddenly, she was in Little Homeschool. She looked around in amazement and dizziness. She had to sit down for a bit. "You could have warned me about the dizzy spells."

Garnet laughed. "Don't worry you'll get used to it." She offered a hand. "Your neighborhood is not far from here. There's a quick path to take at the back of the house."

As they traveled down the forested path, Hope thought for a moment. "So, your future vision warned you that Jasper was going to hurt me? Is there anyone else I should look out for?"

"My future vision shows many possibilities. Sometimes they don't always come true. It mostly depends on you. As we've mentioned, Jasper is a warrior and sometimes seeing something outside what she's used can rile her. She doesn't see you as a threat, but you struck her as odd."

Hope made a face. "Oh, great. Even among gems I'm strange."

"I like your gem. It reminds me of a lotus flower in Peridot's greenhouse. Don't let that bother you." Garnet smiled. Then, it quickly turned into a frown. "Do you remember when we mentioned two gems that nearly killed Steven?"

"I believe it was an aquamarine and a ruby right?"

"Yes, you're going to meet them and I wanted to make sure they didn't take advantage of you. More importantly Jasper. Anyway, they can form a gem fusion named Bluebird Azurite. She has two gems where her eye should be. She's very cunning, so be careful."

Hope nodded. "I will." Before long, they arrived at her house. She laughed when Garnet said, "Whoa. That house needs a lot of work. You aren't kidding when you say it was an eyesore." Hope hugged her goodbye and went inside her house. Before long, she had to explain her long day to her exhausted Aunt Cassie.