Well, here's Part 2. Sorry it took a little longer than I said it would. I finished it by the end of January, but school and stuff caused me to forget to upload it before the month ended. So, here we are: Chapter 2, Adventures in Apparel Projection. I hope you all enjoy it.

"Um, Amethyst? Steven? I really don't think this is necessary." Pearl said.

As she spoke, Amethyst and Steven were in the process of picking out what she was going to wear. Garnet, meanwhile, was working on something else.

"But it's your first date. You've got to look nice," Steven replied.

"What about my regular outfit doesn't look nice?" Pearl queried.

"Well, for starters," Amethyst chimed, making Pearl immediately regret asking, "the colors don't really match well. Light blue and yellow-orange just don't mix well, P."

Before Pearl could interject, she continued, "Also, the pink socks pop too much, the flats look really stiff, I don't even know what that sash is doing there, and-"

"Okay, Amethyst, we get the gist," Steven said. "Look, Pearl, it's not that it doesn't look nice, it's just...well..."

"Well, what?" Pearl asked.

"For the first date, you've got to give the person a better idea of who you are and what you're like. So you should wear something that shows a different side of your personality. That way, she'll get a better picture of you."

Pearl stopped to consider his words for a moment before relenting. "Alright, I guess maybe a different set of clothes is called for here."

Suddenly Pearl had an idea. "Oh! Steven, since we need to save time, maybe you could open up Rose's room so we could try out outfits in there."

"Sure!" Steven replied. He walked up to the temple door and activated the pink keystone on the top point of the star. The door opened up in a flash of pink light to reveal a domain of pink clouds.

As Amethyst, Steven, and Pearl entered, Amethyst walked up to Steven and asked, "So where'd you learn all that stuff about dating? Personal experience?" she added jokingly, alluding to the particularly strong friendship between Steven and his friend Connie.

Steven blushed slightly, which make Amethyst snicker as he responded, "N-no. I just got it off of a movie, that's all."

Suddenly, a pack of small pink whales flew up in front of them and began chirping.

"Aw!" Amethyst cried. She wasn't usually the type to gawk at something's cuteness, but the extraordinary cuteness of the pink whales merited an exception to that rule. They soon returned back to their original course: a distant corner of the room.

"Huh. Weird," Steven said as they walked further and further away from the whales.

"What?" Amethyst asked.

"I didn't ask the room to make any of those," he replied.

"Maybe it's, like, hooked up to your subconscious mind or some biz," Amethyst responded.

"Maybe..." Steven said, but he didn't sound convinced. "Eh, anyway, it's probably nothing to worry about."

They continued onward towards their destination.

25, Pearl thought as she put on the next outfit in a long line of attempts.

"Nope," Amethyst said, exhausted. "It looks too...I don't know, snooty."

The outfit Pearl was currently trying was a long dress and a large hat studded with white pearls, both in her favorite color, turquoise.

26, Pearl thought. She grumbled some rather un-Crystal-Gem-like language under her breath and continued on to the next outfit: a light grey sweater with a bird on it.

"Nope," Amethyst repeated, "Grey doesn't really suit you, P."

27, Pearl thought, finally deciding enough was enough.

"Ugh! This is a waste of time! It's already 2:10 and I still need to drive to the place! Can't I just go in my regular outfit?"

"Hang on, Pearl, I think I've got an idea!" Amethyst exclaimed, and she went over to the back of Steven's clothing shop recreation and had Pearl throw on a side cut top and some sweatpants.

Pearl took one look at herself in the mirror and said, "No."

"Eh, worth a shot," Amethyst replied.

"Hmm," Steven was lost in thought for a second, however he finally managed to settle on an idea. He pulled out the required items and asked Pearl to put them on and let Steven make some adjustments, despite her insistence that she must get going.

When she emerged from the changing room, both Amethyst and Steven were amazed. Pearl was confused by this, and went to look at herself in the mirror.

She saw herself wearing a beautiful turquoise top, along with a medium sized white skirt. She also wore a nice pair of black heels, and her sash had been tied into a belt around the skirt, completing the ensemble.

Well, she thought with a smile, 28th time's the charm.

With the matter of her wardrobe resolved and Greg agreeing to drive her to the coffee shop, Pearl was ready to embark on her "date."

She was about to head out the door when Garnet stopped her and handed her a small memo pad.

"Take this," she said, in her typical no-nonsense tone that provided no opportunity for argument.

"What's this?" Pearl inquired.

"It's a notebook filled with everything you should and shouldn't say to ensure the best possible outcome for your date."

Flipping through it, Pearl couldn't help but notice that the "shouldn't" list was much longer than the should list. Much, much longer.

"Yes, well, hopefully that won't be necessary for us to have a good time," Pearl said optimistically.

Garnet looked at her with Sapphire's trademark "I am not joking" expression.

"...Right?" Pearl asked, growing more and more worried with each second of Garnet's silence.

Finally Garnet said, "The odds aren't in your favor on that one, Pearl."

Pearl gulped audibly. She decided to try and loosen the knot in her throat with a little humor.

"Ah, yes. Well, um, noted for future reference."

Garnet put on Sapphire's trademark smile as her visor reflected a glimmer of light.

With that, Pearl walked over to the road where the van was waiting and bid farewell to her companions as they wished her good luck.

"So what do you know about this Sheena girl?" Greg asked.

As he asked this question, the two were driving along the highway in his formerly-semi-famous van towards a coffee shop in Ocean Town.

Pearl spent a few seconds in contemplation before replying.

"Well, she likes Mike Krol's music."

"Hm. Good taste," Greg said approvingly.

"And she's tall. She's almost a head taller than me."

Whoa, Greg thought, that woman must be tall, then. I'm like 5'10" and Pearl's still a half a head taller than me!

"What else?" Greg asked. Pearl was hesitant to add on more details, given a certain comparison made by Steven on the night of their first meeting, but she continued regardless.

"She's...what's the word Amethyst used?...stacked. Is that the right way to describe it?"

At this, Greg laughed. Pearl took that to mean that it that was not the correct word to describe Sheena's body type.

After he'd calmed down, Greg chuckled and answered, "Do you mean that she was big?"

Pearl nodded, embarrassed.

"I think the word you were looking for was 'stocky,'" he said.

"What's the other expression mean?"

"Uh..." Greg hesitated before continuing, "You know what? Just look it up online."

Somehow, even though Greg didn't say anything as to the word's actual meaning, Pearl could already tell it was something inappropriate. She made a mental note to herself, Scold Amethyst when I get back.

With that last phrase, they continued on in silence for a while before Greg let out another chuckle.

"What?" Pearl asked.

Greg chuckled a little longer before he responded:

"Nothing. It's just...wow. I mean, look at you."

"I don't follow." Pearl looked down at her outfit, thinking maybe he was complimenting it or something.

"Oh, no. Not like that. I just mean..."

He paused for a few seconds before continuing.

"Well, think about it. 20 years ago, you thought a Gem would only go out with a human because they were a novelty, and now you're about to go out with one purely out of your own desire to be in a relationship. It's kind of ironic if you think about it."

Pearl paused for a moment before finally saying, "Yeah. I suppose it is."

Greg continued, "Just goes to show how much someone can change in 20 years. Even when they've already lived for, what? 6000?"

Yet again, Pearl attempted to reduce the awkwardness with a little humor.

"Now, now, Greg. Didn't Rose ever tell you it was rude to ask a Gem's age?"

At this they both laughed as they pulled up into the parking lot.

"So, is Miss Ramone waiting for us?" Greg asked.

"She said she'd be off work at 2:30." With that, Pearl checked the time. It was currently 2:45. "She'll probably be here in a few minutes."

"Good, good," Greg said.

The two sat in silence for a moment. Suddenly, Pearl decided to ask Greg a question she'd been tossing in her head since the minute she'd entered Sheena's number into Steven's phone.

"How do you suppose Rose would've felt about this?"

Greg had to pause for a minute of contemplation before finally replying, "Well, I think she'd want you to be happy. And I think she'd want you to have an opportunity to move on."

Pearl considered this as Greg thought some more and continued:

"I think she would've been supportive. She would've loved that you'd be willing to take such a risk, especially given how much you didn't like humans. Seeing you start to understand what she saw in them, I think, was something she'd wanted for a long time."

Another pause.

"At the end of the day...I think she would've been really proud of you, Pearl."

Pearl contemplated this for a moment. She teared up slightly, but wiped it away before Greg could notice. Afterwards, she smiled and looked up at the sky as she said:

"Yeah. Me too."