The (roughly) twenty-four hours that passed in between my visits with Pearl seemed to drag on for an eternity. But finally, after what seemed like a year, I was there, standing outside the Crystal Gem Teahouse.

I walked into the small shop. It looked nearly the same as it had yesterday, save for Peridot sweeping the floor.

"Jasper!" She greeted in her overly-enthusiastic voice. "Welcome to the Crystal Gem Teahouse!"

"Hey." I responded in my most casual voice.

"So," Peridot continued as she resumed sweeping. "What brings you here?"

I glanced to the side. "Is Pearl here?"

"Pearl?" Peridot asked. "She's in the back. I'll go get her."

As Peridot left into the back room of the shop, I sat down at one of the tables. In just moments, Peridot returned, accompanied by Pearl.

She was wearing the same uniform as the day before, but today had decorated her apron with star pins on the straps. Pearl was holding two glasses of iced tea and had a pleasant smile on her face.

Once our eyes met, Pearl walked over to the table I was sitting at. She sat down, handed me one of the glasses of tea, and took a sip of her own. After a moment of us drinking tea in silence, Pearl broke the ice by asking, "So, you know Peridot?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm her girlfriend's cousin. We've pretty good friends."

Pearl nodded. "That's nice. Peridot's a hard worker, though she can be a little... bossy." Her voice lowered a bit with the last word.

"Yeah, it gets kinda annoying." I nodded in agreement. After a moment of shared awkward silence, we both broke out laughing.

After our laughter had died down, I took another sip of my tea. "This tea is really good!" I commented, lifting the glass a bit.

"Thanks!" Pearl smiled. "It's you're same order from yesterday. The peach tea, remember?"

I nodded. "Y'know, I'm not really that big of a fan of tea, but this is great."

"Oh really?" Pearl asked, intrigued. "Are you more of a coffee person, then?"

"Nah, I never really got into any of that."

"Mmh." Pearl nodded.

Another moment of awkward silence followed. I caught myself watching Pearl's angelic figure. The light from the open windows hit her in a way that made her look ethereal, like a goddess of springtime.

"Jasper," Pearl asked softly, looking into her glass. "Why'd you come back to see me?'

"I don't know." I replied. "I had a free afternoon, and you asked me too. Why'd you do that?"

Pearl smiled. "You just... seemed interesting. Everyone keeps telling me I need to move on from the past and take action, so I guess that's what I did."

"Well I'm glad you did." I blurted out. "Sorry, it's just that... I want to get to know you better. Can I have your number?"

Pearl smiled. "Sure!"