Steven had woken up before dawn, and by the time the sun had started to rise was already rushing about making preparations for the day. Before long his dad and Quentin would be there. Everyone would be under the same roof. He couldn't remember the last time that they had all been together in the same place. He was so excited that he had barely slept at all.

The entire house was buzzing with activity. There was so much that needed to be done; the house needed to be cleaned, lunch and snacks needed to be prepared, and then there was the issue of getting Quentin to come over in the first place. Greg had already planned to make the call to invite him. But as he had told them, Quentin would be far more likely to show up if he thought it was a work-related visit. So it was essential that something was "broken" for him to fix when he got there.

It needed to be important enough to justify him coming as soon as possible, while at the same time being easy enough to fix so that there would be time to hang out afterward. After some debate, it was decided that the front porch would be the best choice.

"So we gotta break the porch?" Amethyst asked producing her weapon from her gem. "I can do that," she chuckled.

"Amethyst, wait!" Steven called rushing to block her path to the door. "We don't want to break the porch too badly. Remember, Quentin, needs to be able to fix it."

"Perhaps Pearl would be more suited to this task," Garnet said as she arranged the supplies in the kitchen.

"Me?" Pearl asked.

"A more planned and precise approach is required. I'm sure you're more than capable of handling that."

"Well yes, I suppose that is my forte," Pearl proudly admitted as she walked towards the door, taking note of Amethyst's rolling eyes as she passed by. "You three can take care of the rest of the preparations. I can handle this."

Ordinarily work requiring careful planning and precision were some of Pearl's favorite activities but this time, as she pried up and loosened several carefully selected boards on the porch and the steps with her spear, she just couldn't seem to derive any actual enjoyment from it. Soon Quentin would be there, and she absolutely dreaded that fact. As popular as he was with the others, she and him just never clicked with one another. There was always a heavy sense of unease between them. She could remember the day they first met way back when Rose was still with them. Beach City was holding a fair of some kind at the local amusement park, Funland, and Greg had invited them all to check it out with him. Pearl was naturally opposed to the idea, she just didn't see the point of it. She was certain that it wouldn't be a worthwhile use of their time, but at Rose's request had ultimately agreed to come along.

She hadn't expected to enjoy herself, and at first, she didn't. It was so loud and the smell of the greasy carnival food made her feel queasy. Everyone else, however, seemed to be enjoying themselves perfectly fine. Garnet was smiling serenely as she observed all the people around them having fun and Amethyst was ravenously gobbling down every scrap of food she could get her hands on. But rose seemed to be the most content of them all. Pearl sighed despondently to herself as she watched her walking side by side with Greg, smiling and happy. She hated this. Why did Rose like him so much? What was so great about him anyway? He was just a human. How could an ordinary human ever possibly be so much better than her, a Gem?

Feeling severely out of place, she quietly broke away from the group and wandered off to see the rest of the fair by herself. Walking through the park, alone in the crowd, she lost track of time. Eventually, the sun had set and darkness fell over the boardwalk. All around her lights had started to switch on, shining brightly in the evening air.

She was almost considering heading back to the temple when suddenly she saw it. On the other side of the midway, past all the games and food vendors, in the middle of the park, she saw the Ferris wheel which was fitted with a dazzling display of electric lights. They glowed, flared, and flashed in a vast array of colors in rhythm with music as if they were dancing gracefully through the air, seemingly having a life all their own. In that moment, transfixed by the enchanting spectacle, there was only one word that she could think of to describe it; beautiful.

"Oh, there you are Pearl," she heard Rose call out to her. She turned to see her and the others walking towards her. "We were looking all over for you. I was starting to think that you had gone back to the temple."

"Oh, Rose. Sorry if I worried you. I was just admiring the lights."

Pearl turned her attention to the people around them and saw the looks of joy on their faces. Everyone around her was so happy. She felt something stirring deep within her and she soon found herself with a smile of her own. She never understood how humans could get so much delight from something so trivial, but now even she had to admit that this was something special.

But it seemed that not everyone there was having a good time. Off to the side, she noticed a young man in a black leather jacket leaning up against a wall partially hidden in shadow. A thin trace of stubble was just barely visible on his chin. Pearl estimated that he could not be much older than Greg.

His eyes darted all around, observing everyone who passed by, a very grim expression prominently displayed on his face as he ate from a small bag of popcorn. He looked so out of place to her; a vortex of misery in the midst of a sea of joy. She couldn't help but notice how the flashing, colored lights from the Ferris wheel gave him an almost otherworldly look. Suddenly the mysterious man's eyes met hers and she felt as if she had been struck by lightning.

"Hey, I know that guy," Greg said before rushing over to the man.

"Hey, Quentin. How've ya been?"

"Can't complain," he answered as he continued to eat his popcorn, only partially paying attention to them as they approached. Although Pearl had noticed the sour expression on his face had softened slightly when he caught sight of Greg, she could definitely detect a trace of bitterness in his voice. She wasn't entirely sure what to make of him. She looked to the others for guidance but Garnet was mostly unreadable, as usual, and Amethyst and Rose just seemed excited at the idea of having another human friend.

"But enough about me. What are you even doing here? I thought you'd be on the other side of the country by now. What about your tour?"

"The tour's off."

"Really?" Quentin was now paying full attention to Greg, the popcorn forgotten for the moment.

"Yeah. Honestly, I had been having doubts about the whole thing for a while, like I had been telling you, and as I was getting ready to leave I remembered what you said. And you know what? You were right. You were right about Marty, and you were right about me. You were right about a lot of things," he said gently taking Rose's hand in his.

Quentin looked back and forth between Greg and Rose's smiling faces.

"Ah, well then, good for you," he said casually placing another piece of popcorn into his mouth, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

"Rose, this is my pal, Quentin."

"It's very nice to meet you, Quentin," Rose said extending her free hand.

Quentin stared at her hand for a moment before stiffly reaching his own hand out to meet hers. "Likewise."

"And these are my friends Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl," Rose continued the introductions.

Pearl had a little trouble believing that the two of them were friends, and if the look of surprise on Quentin's face was anything to go on, she wasn't the only one. They seemed to be total polar opposites from one another. While Greg was cheerful and outgoing, Quentin was far more reserved and possibly even a bit contemptuous. There was something strange about him, something that made her feel a little nervous. She felt shivers go up and down her back whenever he looked her way. It was his eyes; there was an intensity to them; a very cold intensity.

"Pearl? Are you almost done? I think Quentin will be here soon," Steven called her through the front door, breaking her from her reminiscence.

"What?" she looked down to the porch and saw that she had done an adequate amount of "damage" to the porch. "Oh, right. Yes, I think we're ready," she said turning to go back inside.

Suddenly Garnet, who had been silently slicing vegetables and arranging them in a neat and tidy display, froze and dropped the knife onto the countertop.

"Garnet, are you okay?" Steven asked.

"Pearl," Garnet said.

"Hmm? Wha?"

"We need to go to the ruins."

"Which ruins?"

"You know which."

Suddenly Pearl's mind became crystal clear as she started to panic.

"Oh my. Now? Oh, dear. Are you sure?"

"Ugh, do we have to?" Amethyst moaned, "I hate that place."

"I sensed something," Garnet explained, "it's small, but there is something there."

"Wait, you guys are leaving? What about Quentin?"

"Oh, that's right!" Pearl said, fighting the urge to smile. "Maybe we should cancel...or at least reschedule," she added after catching sight of Steven's sad eyes.

"That shouldn't be necessary," Garnet said making her way over to the warp pad, "we shouldn't be gone that long."

"Where are you guys going? Do you need me to come with?"

"No, Steven," Garnet replied gently, "it might not be safe. You will need to stay here for now. Besides, someone will need to keep Quentin company until we get back. Can we count on you to do that?"

"You sure can!" Steven cheered, giving a proud salute.

"Garnet," Pearl whispered, "are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I don't believe anything bad will come of it," Garnet whispered back, "remember, Quentin used to watch over him for us when he was younger."

"I know, I know. It's just that..."

"Everything will be fine," Garnet said, placing her hand on her shoulder, "and besides, we don't have time to come up with an alternative right now."

Pearl sighed in resignation as she stepped onto the warp pad with Garnet and Amethyst. The warp pad glowed brightly, the white light consuming the three Gems as a jingling chime filled the air. Once the light faded, and the chiming tone went silent, the three Gems were gone and Steven was alone in the house.

It was only a matter of time now. Quentin would be arriving at any moment. Steven went by the door and rested his elbows on the window sill, looking out eagerly waiting to catch sight of Quentin coming up the steps. Today was going to be a good day; he was sure of it.