Change

After her talk with Jasper, Garnet decided to call a Crystal Gem meeting.

Naturally Pearl was present in the living room with her when Jasper emerged from the temple doors. A few minutes later Amethyst and Peridot walked through the front door with Lapis right behind them.

"What's up G?" Amethyst asks as she immediately makes her way toward the refrigerator.

Garnet didn't answer immediately as she was waiting for Steven to finish up in the bathroom. Once he exited, she began speaking. "I've called this meeting because as you all know we've had a rough past week.

At the mention of the previous week, every one of the gems visibly cringed.

Garnet noted the visible cringe of all her teammate. "With that being said, Steven's sixteenth birthday is coming up in a couple weeks."

"Oh yeah, Ste-man, what you want to do?" Amethyst questions with a mouth full of food. Lapis and Pearl look at Steven almost expectantly.

"Birth day?" Peridot questions out loud. What on Homeworld is a birth day?

"A birthday, Peridot, on Earth is the celebration of one's birth," Pearl says almost immediately.

"Yeah PeriNerd, it like celebrating the day you popped out of the ground," Amethyst murmurs.

"Anyways, Steven, what did you want to do to celebrate you birth day?" Lapis questions turning the attention back on Steven.

Steven nervously scratches the back of his head. "Well, after the week we had," another cringe, "I wanted us gems to celebrate a relaxing day eating pizza."

Everyone is quiet for a moment. Jasper and Garnet knew of Steven's plans, so their reaction to Steven's idea was less of a surprise.

"Wait, just us gems?" Pearl questions. "What about Connie and Greg? Aren't they coming too?"

Steven shook his head. "I just want it to be us gems. Won't my dad and Connie understand? I just want to make sure that everyone is okay."

"Steven we're fine," Lapis says.

"Yeah Ste-man, we're fine. Ain't that right PeriNerd?" Amethyst asks.

"Yeah Steven, we're fine. It was just .. mind play," Peridot hesitates with the last words.

"But you're not. None of us are," Garnet speaks up. "As much as I want to say that it was mind play, because it was, at the same time it wasn't."

"I don't know what you guys saw, but after what I saw, I'm not okay. I just want to know that you guys are all okay," Steven says.

"We don't have to talk about what each of us saw today, but we do have to talk about it," Jasper breaks the silence, shocking everyone. "What?"

Garnet doesn't miss a beat, even though what Jasper said shocked her too. She never thought she'd hear those words come from Jasper. "Jasper is right." Never thought I'd hear myself say those words. "We don't have to speak about what we saw today, but we do have to talk about it."

"Yeah, for our own sanity and peace of mind. Holding it in will only hurt us," Steven says and turns to smile at Garnet. "Garnet taught me that."

Lapis is silent fore she knows that holding in her pain definitely did hurt her. It was one of the reasons she in turn trapped Jasper in Malachite.

"Yeah well, you said not today? I'm going to go take a nap then. I'll see you guys later," Amethyst says as she makes her way to the front door. "Coming PeriNerd .. Lapis? I think there's a new season of Camp Pining Hearts."

"There is?" Steven exclaims. "I'm coming too!" Steven shouts as he quickly follows Amethyst, Peridot and Lapis out the house.

"Well, I'm going to go make the reservation for Steven's pizza party," Pearl says as she grabs the house phone. "Excuse me." She disappears behind the temple doors.

After a moment of silence, Garnet turns toward Jasper. "What? Jasper questions as she sees the fusion gem turn her attention on her.

"Where did that come from?" Garnet doesn't say much else as she know that Jasper knows what she's referring to.

"Well, it's not like you weren't going to say that. I just beat you too it," Jasper says with a smirk.

Garnet rolls her eyes behind her shades. "So about that work out regime that you wanted me to try or was that just a lie?'

"Wasn't a lie. I do have a new work out regime, but I just had to speak with you. If you still want to we still can," Jasper offered.

Garnet takes a moment to think about Jasper's offer. There's nothing wrong with getting an extra work out but something doesn't feel right about Jasper's offer.