Once the two of them had their order, they sat down at a table together.
"So how long have you been dancing?" Rose asked. Pearl hadn't overtly said she had danced before their intro class, but it was something Rose had picked up on by the way Pearl always seemed to know how to do things right away.
"Since I was 5," she admitted shyly, blushing even more as she saw how impressed Rose looked. "But, um. My parents made me quit when I went into high school, so that's why I'm in an intro class… I'm not that out of practice, but… It's true I hadn't been at a barre since then until I got here, and practicing without one isn't the same."
"Why did they make you quit?"
"Because ballet isn't… 'useful.'" She averted her eyes, the happy flush from earlier gone. "They don't think it's really possible for me to have that be my career. So… they took that away in the hopes it would get me to focus on more 'useful' pursuits." Pearl stopped then, feeling bad that she was unloading all her problems onto Rose even though today was the very first time they had ever talked.
But Rose had asked, so she didn't see any problem with Pearl answering the question. Her heart hurt a little, though – the way Pearl described it, saying that they took it away from her, and how sad the memory made her, told Rose much more than Pearl's words themselves. She reached out, putting a hand over Pearl's. "That's… a common criticism of arts," she said softly. When Pearl looked up, she offered a reassuring smile. "But some people manage to make it, and why can't we be among them? Besides, even if it ends up a side-job and you do something else just to pay the bills… you enjoy it. I think that's worth pursuing. I don't think it's ever useless to do things you enjoy."
Pearl could feel her eyes becoming wet, and she cursed how easily she always cried. Rose's hand stayed on hers, and she looked up to her with embarrassment. "I'm sorry; you must think I'm…" She trailed off, not even sure how to finish the sentence.
"No," Rose said with certainty. "I'm sorry for prying."
"No, no, it's okay! I don't mind, just…" I don't want you to see this side of me yet…
Rose decided the best thing she could do would be to change the focus from Pearl. "I suppose I'm lucky," she said, though the sadness in her eyes didn't fit the statement. "My parents didn't mind at all when I told them I wanted to go into singing."
Pearl did notice the look in her eyes, but it didn't seem like she ought to ask. Her questioning gaze showed that she had picked up on it, however, and Rose tried to give a reassuring smile. "So other than dancing, what do you like to do?" she asked, deciding to change the subject entirely.
"I like to read. And… sometimes I write." Another 'useless' hobby. "I do like history…" Not that there were any more jobs in that. "What about you?"
"I've played the piano for a few years, and I've liked to sing since I was little… though I didn't give much thought to the quality until I joined the choir my junior year of high school." Rose normally wouldn't be quite this detailed with a stranger, but Pearl had opened up so much to her that she couldn't help feeling she ought to give some in return. "And I spent – still do, when I'm home – a lot of time with my brother and sisters." She smiled as she talked about them.
"Oh – how old are they?" Pearl asked, happy for Rose that she seemed to get along well with them.
"One of my sisters is 14, my brother is 12, and my youngest sister is 11." Her expression seemed to brighten as she talked about them. "Snowy, Citrine, and Moon," she added. Much as she went by Rose despite her name technically being Rose Quartz, Snowflake Obsidian and Moonstone chose to go by shortened versions of their names. "Do you have any siblings?"
Pearl nodded. "I have a twin sister, actually – not identical, though. Her name is Coral."
"What's it like being a twin?" Rose asked, curious. She had heard so many things about it that she couldn't help wondering about – she had never really talked extensively with someone who was a twin, as far as she was aware. Pearl shifted uncomfortably, though, which made Rose instantly regret her question. Poor Pearl… her home life hadn't been so good, had it, she mused. But luckily, she was in college now, allowing her some distance from them.
"It's different for every set of twins, I guess," she said carefully. "I can't say we really had any sort of 'twin telepathy,' but… we also haven't been very close in a long time. That's why, I think it must be nice that you're close to your siblings." She smiled, but that dropped and was replaced by concern as she saw that sad smile on Rose again.
"…Yeah."
"Maybe, um, let's not talk about our families," Pearl suggested with a nervous laugh to try to lighten the mood. "Since I'm a freshman, I don't have that much else to talk about, but… What about you? Are you in any clubs?"
"I'm sure you have plenty else to talk about," Rose said, her smile real again, hand still over Pearl's. "And, I am. I'm in the music club. Have you joined any? Or looking at any?"
"I'm not sure yet," she admitted. "I'm… pretty shy, so I suppose I worry a little about whether I'll, you know. Fit in?"
Rose nodded understandingly. "Would you like to come to Music Club with me sometime? At least you'll know someone there," she said with a reassuring smile.
"Maybe," she said, blushing, definitely appreciating the offer. "My roommate, she's trying out for track and volleyball next week, but other than dancing, that's not really my thing. Oh – do you have a roommate?"
Rose nodded. "Having three siblings, it'd be a little lonely if I didn't!" she said, though it was with an amused smile. "Her name is Amethyst. I have to warn you, if you ever meet her… she can take a little… getting used to." She chuckled.
"What do you mean?"
She gave some thought as to how to answer the question. "She's messy, and… she can come off a little… rough around the edges? But she means well, and she's a really good friend once you get to know her. What is your roommate like?"
"Well, she's… Garnet is sort of… aloof? At least, she kind of comes across that way. But she's really nice, and doesn't mind that I'm kind of… I tend to worry too much, and over-share, and I'm not good at hiding my feelings…" Pearl began to give an uncomfortable laugh, but Rose spoke, seeming quite serious.
"I like that about you," she said. "Not that you worry so much; I'm sure that must be stressful for you. But that you're able to be so open about your feelings, and that you're honest about what you're thinking and feeling."
Pearl flushed at the compliment. "I, um… I don't really like that about myself," she mumbled, looking away. "It's embarrassing to cry in public, and I feel bad that I'm always… over-sharing like this, because I just… I don't know. I guess I've never really thought about why I do it, but… really, who wants to be around someone who keeps talking about stuff like that?"
"I do," Rose said, giving her hand a light squeeze.
Pearl's heart melted as she looked up again, smiling. It didn't really make sense to her, at all. But she appreciated it immensely. After a long pause, she added, "In Music Club, would I, um…" She was shy again. "Would I get to hear you sing?"
The sudden question surprised her, and she laughed. "Probably not. But I'll let you hear sometime." An idea struck her then. "How about karaoke? I can't promise it would be just us, though, unless there's sometime Garnet is out and we could do it at your place. Amethyst's schedule is… a little irregular."
"Wouldn't the other people on our floors mind?"
"On a Saturday night? Not on my floor, at least. I made sure to pick one where people wouldn't be bothered by my singing, since I have to practice anyway."
"I'm not sure my floor would appreciate that… and anyway… I'm not a very good singer," Pearl said, blushing. Or at least, she didn't think she was, in the same way she was perfectionistic about everything else, too. It was a wonder she considered herself good at dancing instead of picking that apart for any tiny flaws as well… "But I wouldn't mind meeting Amethyst."
"Alright. You can bring Garnet too, if you'd like."
Pearl was thoughtful for a moment. "I'm not sure whether she'd be interested in that or not. But I'll invite her."
"Alright. We'll do that sometime, then," she said with a smile. It was currently Thursday, so this Saturday seemed a little soon. "How about next Saturday? I'll see if I can get Amethyst to pick a schedule for the day, and you can talk to Garnet."
"Okay!" she replied, face flushing with excitement. Her face slowly became even redder as she spoke again; "Um, we should probably, um… You know, e-exchange numbers?"
Rose couldn't help an amused smile at how cute Pearl was, but she stopped herself from laughing this time. "You're probably right."
As their hands separated, Pearl realized she suddenly really missed the contact. Still, she shook it off, bringing her phone out.
"Mind if I take a picture?" Rose asked suddenly, surprising Pearl. "I know some people hate pictures, but... If you're okay with it, I just like having pictures for my contacts~"
"H-Huh? I, um... well, I... I guess it's fine," she said, blushing. "It's just, I'm not very photogenic."
"Nonsense; I'm sure you'd look adorable. Oh! I know." She got up and went over to Pearl, putting an arm around her as she moved close. She held her phone camera out as much as she could reach, pressing a button for it to use the front camera. "Is this okay?"
"Y-yeah. This is fine." As if the feeling of her cheeks burning wasn't enough, she could see her pink face on the phone's screen, and she couldn't help but to feel embarrassed.
Noticing that Pearl seemed self-conscious, Rose smiled and assured her, "It's okay. You're even cuter when you blush."
When Pearl smiled shyly in response, that's when Rose took the picture. "R-Rose!" she squeaked.
Rose lowered the phone, concerned and sincerely apologetic. "I'm sorry; was that not okay?" Pearl had said that it was fine to take a picture, but she was starting to wonder if she ought to question that more.
"No, it's fine," she replied, recovering. "It just surprised me." A shy laugh escaped her lips. "Will you send it to me?" That would make Rose the one and only contact in her phone with a picture, but... Rose was so beautiful, and they had already taken the picture, so...
She was relieved to see that Pearl wasn't actually that bothered, but she did make a mental note that she should make a little more certain that Pearl was really okay with something even if she said she was. The last thing she would ever want was to make her uncomfortable. "Of course." She returned to her own seat before texting it to Pearl.
"Thanks." She saved it, blushing still.
After putting away their phones, there was a short silence. Both of them were pretty close to finishing their orders, but neither particularly wanted to part ways just yet.
"So... How did you get into dance?" Rose asked, not wanting the conversation to die.
"Well... my parents let me take ballet lessons when I was little. They were fine with it until I got old enough they thought I should find a... 'real job' to aspire to. How about you, about singing?"
"So you've known it's what you've wanted to do for that long?" she asked, surprised and more than a little impressed, temporarily forgetting to answer the question that had been asked of her.
Pearl seemed to feel self-conscious at the question, though. "…Yes."
"That kind of devotion is really admirable," she said. "Especially when you've had people try to block you from it." She smiled at her. "As for singing… I don't know, exactly!" she admitted sheepishly, cheeks tinting a little pink. "I mean, every kid likes to sing a little, right? But I don't know exactly when I decided, 'this is what I want to do with my life.' There was just a point last year where I was taking some various classes, and I realized… 'this is what I want to do more than anything else.'" She laughed. "Is that strange?"
She shook her head. "I think there's something special about how it just… happened so naturally."
Rose gave a small 'hmm,' but she was smiling. "Well," she said after a pause, "even if we didn't choose the easiest of careers, at least we know we really love them, right?"
Pearl smiled back, giving a nod. "Right."
Rose looked at their finished plates and drinks, and Pearl's gaze followed. They then looked at each other.
"This has been absolutely lovely," Rose said with a soft smile. "But I suppose we ought to leave ourselves with something to talk about next time too, hm?" Her face flushed a little as she realized her assumption. "That is, assuming…" you want a next time.
Pearl grinned, interrupting. "Of course I do."
"Good~ Well, let me know about next Saturday- oh, where are you going after this? I've still got free time; I can walk you."
"Oh! You don't need to. I'm just going back to my dorm, so, um. I know it might be out of your way…"
"No, I'll probably go to mine, too. So we're headed in the same direction~"
She couldn't help grinning. Pearl had been a bit worried about inconveniencing her, but in that case… And she was more than happy to spend some extra time with her. Later, both of them would reflect on how quickly things seemed to have happened between them, and question how they felt about that. But as for right now, both were simply enjoying the moment.
Both getting up, they made their way out and back toward campus. It wasn't a terribly far walk, so even if Rose hadn't been heading that direction, it really wouldn't have been a notable inconvenience. Especially not if it meant getting to spend more time with Pearl.
