"Movie night!" Amethyst proclaimed excitedly, bouncing on the couch next to Pearl. Pearl laughed, taking the bowl of popcorn from her friend before she accidentally spilled it.
"What are we watching tonight?" Pearl asked, pulling her feet up on the couch. Amethyst smiled slyly.
"You know how you hate rom-coms?" Pearl groaned. "No, like, this one's a classic, P! You have to watch it! Please, for me?"
"Fine, for you," Pearl mumbled, face feeling warm when she saw Amethyst get excited again.
"Great! I'll put it on!" Amethyst got off the couch and started search for the movie in her bag.
"Shouldn't we wait for Garnet?" Pearl asked, looking at her watch. "She is running a little late, but I'm sure she'll only be another minute."
"Oh, she texted me a while ago. I thought she texted you, too. She's caught up at work or doing something for her moms or something. She said to start without her; she may or may not make it," Amethyst said, producing the DVD case from her wreck of a bag. "Ha! Got it!"
"What is it?" Pearl asked, a little curious, but not really. She did not care for romantic comedy movies. Amethyst put the movie in the DVD player and covered the television from Pearl's view as she started the movie.
"You'll see!" Amethyst said, turning off the lights and sitting next to Pearl on the couch. She grabbed a blanket and pulled it over her lap as the the television screen faded to black. "You want some blanket?"
"I'm alright, thank you though," Pearl said politely. Amethyst shrugged.
"If you change your mind." Then she unnecessarily shushed Pearl, who hadn't said anything, as the movie started.
About twenty minutes into the movie, Amethyst laid her head on Pearl's shoulder. Pearl tensed for a second, then relaxed. It wasn't unusual for Amethyst to be affectionate, but it was usually directed towards Garnet. Pearl took the edge of Amethyst's blanket and tugged it over into her lap. Amethyst snickered, and then they settled back into watching the movie.
Fifteen minutes later, Pearl cautiously put her arm around Amethyst, who was too enraptured by the main character's plight to notice. Pearl's heart beat a little faster as Amethyst shifted, leaning into her more.
God, what if she thinks I'm trying to start something with her, Pearl thought, now watching Amethyst instead of the movie. Am I? I do like her, and I think she likes me. She flirts with me, but she flirts with everyone, right? She kissed me on her birthday, but we haven't spoken about it. We should talk about it, right? Maybe she regrets it. Maybe she thinks I regret it. I don't. I'd like to do it again. But what if she doesn't actually like me? What if it was a joke?
"Popcorn, P?" Amethyst whispered at the climax of the movie (the boy realizes he's in love with the girl) breaking Pearl's train of thought.
"What?" Pearl said, thankful for the darkness covering her blush.
"Do you want some popped corn, Pearl?" Amethyst whispered, moving the bowl out of her lap.
"Oh, yes, thank you," Pearl said, taking a handful of the buttery snack. They lapsed back into silence; Pearl tried to watch the movie but found it much more interesting to watch Amethyst watch the movie.
She looks so cute. I wish I could be this interested in a movie like this.
As the credits rolled, Amethyst sat up and stretched. Pearl waited for what was about to happen.
"So it's absolute bullshit that he doesn't realize she's in love with him until she's moved on and gettin' serious with someone else!"
Pearl laughed.
"I mean, she basically fawned over him the first, like, thirty minutes of the movie and he wanted none of it!"
Pearl took the popcorn and placed it on the coffee table so Amethyst could express herself without spilling popcorn kernels everywhere.
"Whaddaya think, Pearl?"
"Hm?" Pearl hadn't really been paying attention to the movie.
"What did you think about the movie?" Amethyst reiterated. Pearl thought for a moment.
"Well, I mean, sometimes you take someone for granted because they're always there. Then the second something changes, it's like you see them for the first time. And you have to reevaluate the relationship because suddenly it's different," Pearl said, not looking at Amethyst.
"So you think her leaving home and falling in love made him realize that he loved her all along?" Amethyst asked.
"I think that he felt the attraction but didn't want to mess it up because of how close they were. He didn't want to lose her. And when he realized that he was going to lose her, he had to just tell her," Pearl said, picking at threads on the blanket.
"Huh, I never thought about that. It's still shitty that she leaves that new guy though," Amethyst said, standing up. She picked up the popcorn bowl. Pearl watched her take it to the kitchen and return to the living room. "I'm gonna head to bed, P. Good night."
Kiss her, Pearl thought. No, don't kiss her. Talk to her about the kiss, idiot.
"Amethyst," Pearl said as Amethyst walked past the couch. She stopped.
"Hm?"
"Uh, um, nothing, never mind," Pearl mumbled, suddenly too embarrassed to broach the subject.
"Oh, okay. Night, P," Amethyst said. Pearl looked up at her. Amethyst smiled goofily at her and leaned down to kiss her cheek very briefly. Pearl exploded. In her brain.
"Good night," she finally whispered, after Amethyst was already upstairs. She sat in the living room, overthinking that simple kiss on the cheek, until Garnet came in through the front door, soaking wet from rain.
"Wha' are you doin' up, Pearl? It's almost two," Garnet said as she took her wet coat off. Pearl shrugged, still deep in thought.
"I can't sleep."
"Oh, the thunder? I think I've got an extra pair of ear plugs," Garnet offered. Pearl shook her head.
"No, I'll be okay, thank you. I'm about to go to bed," Pearl said. "Don't worry about me."
"Alrigh'. Good night, Pearl," Garnet said as she made her way to the stairs. "Whatever the real problem is, try not to overthink it."
Pearl sighed and lay down, pulling Amethyst's blanket over her, listening to the combination of rain hitting the roof and the waves crashing outside.
"Don't overthink."