Peridot's Pov

"Oh my stars, Pearl, isn't she just the cutest?" I looked over at Pearl quickly. "Ahem... second cutest. After you of course," Pearl blushed but was still staring intently at a spot on the floor. I frowned and set Centi down.  "Pearl? Are you okay?" She closed her eyes and shook her head lightly.

"I'm fine, Peridot." I frowned again.

"You know I don't trust that. Nobody says they're fine unless they're not." Pearl sighed and looked over at me.

"I'm fine, really. I'm just tired."

"You do not know how much I do not trust that!" I said quickly, almost yelling. I took Pearl's hand in mine. "Listen, Pearl; I'm worried about you. Opal's worried about you, and Yellen, and Sapphire, we all care! But we can't help you unless you tell us what Jasper's saying to you!" Pearl chuckled a bit and looked down again.

"You almost sounded like Opal for a moment there."

"Nggghhhh!" I groaned, falling back onto the sofa. "Pearl, what is she saying? You're being extremely difficult and I have a feeling that at this point you'll never tell me the full extent of Jasper's torment." Pearl smiled and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Peridot. I'm just not ready to talk about it."

"Then what are you ready to talk about?" I asked, sitting up.

"What do you mean?" I sighed and looked down.

"Listen, Pearl, I know that you're going through a lot right now. But I'm dealing with stuff too. And as much as I want to e here to support you, you have to be willing to do the same for me." Pearl was quiet for a moment.

"What do you need to talk about?" I looked back up at her.

"I miss Amethyst. And every time she and I speak I become increasingly more concerned for her wellbeing. Every day that we don't speak, I get scared and wonder if I'll ever get to speak to her again." I placed my hand on my chest. "I wish she was still here but the more I talk to others the more it seems I'm the only one who's worried about her!" Pearl recoiled slightly.

"I'm worried about Amethyst. She's in an unfamiliar environment with people she's unused to."

"But have you spoken to her? That video chat at the party last week, that's not what things are like for her! Almost every time we speak on the phone somebody is screaming in the background, and a good percentage of the time it's at her! They don't care about her and she's being forced to take on a parenting role!" Pearl shook her head.

"There's nothing we can do about it, Peridot." I stood up, filled with rage.

"Yes, there is. There's always something we can do. We tell someone." I paused, then in my anger said:"But I guess you wouldn't know anything about that."

Pearl left soon after that.