"It's been two weeks days since Pearl ran off." Garnet said shakily. In the two weeks Pearl had been gone, Garnet, Amethyst, and Steven were unsteady. Garnet was falling apart at the seams, Amethyst went a little insane, and Steven became emotionless. He hadn't told the others about what he said. He did tell them about what Pearl said. "Maybe instead of waiting for her to come back, we should actually look for her." Steven said, as kindly as he could. "Watch your attitude, Steven." Amethyst growled. Steven sighed, and went outside to think. While he was out there, he ran into Connie, his best friend.
"Steven, how are you?" Connie said cheerfully, blissfully unaware of the tragedy that had taken place. Steven hesitated to say something, and then sighed. "I'm doing really bad, Connie. I think i messed up." Connie's smile faded, and she took on a new, worried expression. "Steven... what happened?" Connie inquired. "Pearl accidentally hurt my feelings by telling me i couldn't miss my mom because i didn't even meet her, and she said it really coldly. And then i hurt her feelings back, and... well, she ran off." Steven said, sadly. "What exactly did you say to her?" Connie asked sternly. Steven sighed. "I told her that if she really cared about me, she wouldn't put me down for not being the one she wanted." Connie's eyes widened. "Steven, i'm going to real-talk with you. Pearl loves you. Even though she may be sad about Rose being gone, she'd be in an even worse state if she lost you. You are her light, Steven. You HAVE to understand she really does care about you."
A tear rolled down Steven's cheek, and for the first time in two weeks, he felt something inside. He finally felt an emotion. "Connie, thank you." Steven said, hugging Connie tight. He rushed inside, and told the others about what he said. "So that's what made her ran off." Amethyst said in disbelief. "Steven, that wasn't a very kind thing to say, let alone SHOUT at Pearl." Garnet told Steven with disappointment in her voice. "Not only that, but you waited two weeks before saying anything about it." Steven looked down with shame. "But... Pearl DID hurt your feelings, and while that doesn't justify your actions, If Pearl told something like that to me, i'd probably get furious too." Garnet said. "While you are still in trouble, i am not grounding you; i think that the pain you've gone through with Pearl gone is punishment enough."