4
(This is set back in time a bit to when Pearl is leaving to head to bed)
Pearl had seemed a bit shaken when he left, which was confusing, since Gem had been having a normal conversation with him a second before, with Pearl happily talking back with a bright smile plastered on his face.
Gem had looked away for just a second only to look back and see Pearl's frightened face, whatever it was it had to be the reason he went to bed so early.
Gem leaned back into the plush cushions of the couch, looking up at the ceiling. The issue now is what to do, she’s been here for a few weeks and when Pearl heads out Gem either accompanies her, or stays home and watches TV and looks at whatever games Pearl has on her laptop.
Both of those are great and enjoyable activities, but the TV could wake Pearl up. The laptop is in her room and Gem doesn’t want to bother her for it, and she also just doesn’t want to get up, walking with crutches is hard.
So now she’s stuck thinking about what she could do, a normal person would say sleep, but she's restless and eager to do pretty much anything, So she’s stuck sorting ideas in her head until she likes one enough.
After a while though, Gem starts to feel a slight itch on the back of her head and reaches to scratch it.
She hits something, she doesn’t know how to describe it, and to be honest the second she touched it she was too panicked to care. She tries to tug it and- She can feel it, like it’s attached to her own skull.
She’s panicking now, what the hell is happening. She sits up to grab her crutches and feels the weight of whatever is on her head or skull, whatever!
Gem grabs her crutches and sits up walking as fast as she could to the bathroom turning on the lights and looking in the mirror-
Gem shrieks and falls back onto the ground- that's not normal. There's no way that's normal.
Humans are not meant to have antlers.
Right?
“Gem? Are you okay?” Pearl's voice asks from behind the door, he must have woken up from her scream.
“Uhm… I think…? I fell and- and I can’t reach my crutches-...uh… Is it normal for-” Gem replies, hoping her voice is loud enough to be heard only to be cut off by Pearl.
“Gem, tell me the other thing later, can you unlock the door so I can help you up first?”
“But-”
Pearl cuts her off again, voice dripping with worry and anxiety, “Gem, please just unlock the door, I need to make sure you're okay first.”
Gem sighs before reaching over to open the door in which it quickly opens all the way
“HOLY SHIT” Pearl shouts backing away a bit as she spots Gem
“Uhm…”
“Why do you have antlers!?” Pearl yells, eyes wide as she looks right over Gems head at the antlers
“I…I don’t know.” Gem mutters, lowering her head from Pearl’s gaze.
“What do you mean! I mean this is just like all those eyes you had a few hours ago!”
“WHAT EYES!” Gem shrieks, a look of confusion and shock on her face.
“When we were on the couch and I looked over and you had these red, spider looking eyes!” Pearl claims, her face still showing her disbelief.
“I did?” Gems breathing picks up a bit, panic really settling in her bones, “What the fuck is happening to me…?”
“You really don’t know what's happening?”
“No.”